Your thoughts affect your energy
It sounds simple, but it is something that I had gone through many years of my life without truly realizing how powerful our thoughts are.
When I started Gratitude Journaling, it really opened my eyes to how negative my thoughts were. Gratitude Journaling is truly about creating a new habit and a new way of thinking.
It is easy in life to focus on the negative or bad things. But usually when we step back and look, we have some pretty amazing things in our life even if it is something small.
I definitely recommend reading The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon, this will help a lot on your journey to changing your mindset. And he has The Energy Bus for kids too; every kid needs this book in their library!
What is Gratitude Journaling?
Take a few minutes every day (I usually like to do this first thing in the morning or at the end of the day) write down three things that you are thankful for that happened in the last 24 hours... that's it!
I know what you are thinking, "Bailey... that is too easy and I don't see how that will change my life" Give it a try and let me know what happens!
And your gratitudes will not always be BIG AMAZING MOMENTS... it could be something as simple as “I’m so happy and grateful that I heard that song today” or “I’m so happy and grateful that the sun is shining this morning"
Be specific and notice the little things. You will start looking at things differently and reprogram your brain from automatically jumping to a negative thought. Writing my gratitudes was something that pulled me out of a place of grief and sadness. It was a huge step for my mindset and mental health.
So if you are ready to start Gratitude Journaling...
Here are 5 Benefits of Gratitude Journaling that are going to make it worth taking a few minutes to add this to your daily routine
1. Improves mental health:
Multiple studies in the field of positive psychology have shown that gratitude journaling helps people to get rid of negative emotions. Greed. Envy. Regret. And Frustration are often expelled when people take the time to express their gratitude.
2. Increases happiness:
Further studies have shown that daily gratitude journaling has a large impact on increasing happiness and improving self-esteem
3. Helps you sleep better:
With a lower amount of negative emotions and great happiness and feelings of self-worth, many of the things that keep us up at night tossing and turning are gone.
Helping to improve sleep quality and quantity.
4 Improves relationships:
Journaling about your gratitude makes you more aware of what others do for you.
This often leads to improved expression of gratitude to others.
When you express gratitude people want to be around you more because you make them feel good about themselves, regardless of whether you are grateful for someone holding opening the door or giving you a life-changing opportunity.
5. Gratitude increases resilience:
When you are grateful for the good things that have happened in your life, you also become more immune to negative reactions when the bad comes around. Gratitude gives your perspective and helps you realize that no matter how bad things are, “this too shall pass”.
I created a gratitude journal for myself and published it. A regular notebook will work just fine, but I wanted something pretty that I could keep and go back and look at when I needed a reminder of the good things.
And I took it a step further and just released a Couples Gratitude Journal.
Incorporating Gratitude into your relationships is life changing for both you and your spouse.
HERE they are if you want to give this whole Gratitude things a try!
I can't wait to hear how it changes your life.
We all know that too much sugar is not good for us... But that doesn't mean that you have to give up all sweets forever! There are a lot of things in nature that we can use to sweeten our favorite dishes, and I'm going to share one of my favorites with you, right now...
DATES!
Before I started using dates as a sweetener, these were not a regular on my grocery list. But now, I don't know what we ever did without them.
Whole Medjool Dates are what you want to look for; just remember to take the pit out before using them in any of the recipes below. (Ask my husband about the time he made me a smoothie and forgot to take the pits out of the dates, LOL )
So why are Dates a better option than sugar?
They have a low glycemic index, which means they won't spike your blood sugar. And dates have nutrients like iron, calcium, fiber, potassium, magnesium, fiber and antioxidants.
They also support brain function, improve digestion, and provide a natural source of energy because of their natural sugars.
Different ways to use dates as a sweetener alternative
- Smoothies - If you need your smoothie a little sweeter, add a couple dates. Especially helpful if you are starting green smoothies and need to tame down that "green" just a little bit.
- Lattes - Sweeten up a latte. This is my favorite way to use dates, and probably accounts for the majority of the dates used in our house. HERE is my favorite recipe for using dates in your favorite type of latte.
- Desserts -Google or hop on Pinterest and you will be amazed at all the ways you can satisfy your sweet tooth with dates. Date Turtles, Caramel Sauce, Homemade Lara Bars, Snicker Stuffed Dates (Yes, they taste like a Snikers Bar), Cookies, Protein bites or bars, brownies, and even bacon wrapped dates if you are looking for a delicious fancy appetizer.
- Date Sugar or Date Syrups - And for an easy swap for your favorite baking recipes, you can use Date Sugar or Date Syrup in your favorite recipes in place of sugar. If you can't find these at your grocery store, THIS is where I get them.
I would love to hear if you incorporate dates into some of your recipes!
It's St. Patrick's Day!
And I'm here to say that I loooooove Shamrock Shakes!
But... I do not love the ingredients in them... tons of sugar, inflammatory oils, and artificial food dyes.
So if you are looking for a Shamrock Shake Remake that tastes delicious... here are a couple recipes that I tried out and love!
Shamrock Shake Remake 1
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup ice
- 3-4 drops of peppermint vitality essential oil
- 1 tablespoon of raw honey or pure maple syrup or 1 pitted Medjool Date
Blend an enjoy!
Shamrock Shake Remake 2
- 1 cup non dairy milk
- 1 cup ice
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 2 scoops of Vanilla Protein Powder My Favs and more recipes
- 2-4 drops of vitality peppermint essential oil
- 1 TBSP Chia seeds (Optional add in)
Blend and Enjoy!
I hope you get a chance to give one of these recipes a try!
Let me know how you like it!
Coughs... I have been the mama that is up most of the night with the child that has a cough, and just wanting it to stop so everyone can get some much-needed rest.
I am not a doctor, but I have been studying natural health for over 10 years and wanted to share some of the things that we use in our home when a cough hit our house.
Here are some of our favorite ways to kick a cough...
A good cough syrup.
I couldn't believe the amount of cough syrups that are on the shelf that have ingredients like artificial sweeteners and artificial food dyes. Those are two ingredients that we try to avoid if possible. So when we aren't feeling good, i definitely don't want to put something like that in my body.
So what's a mama to do?
Honey is a natural cough suppressant, and you can add a drop of thieves and lemon vitality for extra help. Maty's Cough Syrup is a brand that we found that has clean ingredients and works great too!
And Thieves cough drops or Thieves lozenges are game changer for you or the big kids in your family.
Detox Bath and steam
Run the shower on high for a few minutes with the bathroom door closed. Then start a detox bath. We love detox baths to help us fight any kind of germ that comes our way.
What is a detox bath? Run the bath as normal and add a cup or two of Epsom salts with a few drops of your favorite essential oil (R.C., Raven, Lavender, Frankincense, Eucalyptus Globulus, or Snifflease are our favorites for respiratory support), and 1/4-1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar.
Chest Rub
Again, i found that a lot of the ingredients for chest rubs at the store had ingredients that I didn't like. Most of them are petroleum based, which is pretty toxic...
I used to DIY a chest rub, which worked great, but if you are busy like me, having a ready made option is always nice. Young Livings Thieves Chest Rub is a brand that we found that has a super clean ingredient list and let's just say, we are never without it! Even when allergy season starts up, my husband reaches for this.
And if you love DIYing... you can find my DIY Chest Rub Recipe HERE in my ALL THINGS RESPIRATORY GUIDE
Diffusing
We have our diffusers going every day because I love the smell and I want clean air in our home. But when someone has a cough, definitely get that diffuser going and my favorites to diffuse for respiratory support are all of the ones that we talked about above in the detox bath.
Most of my everyday diffusers are water diffusers which mean i fill it with water and add a few drops of an essential oil of my choice. However when someone needs extra support, i get out my waterless diffuser, and run it on and off throughout the day.
Support the Immune system
Last but not least, when anyone has a cough, we need to support that immune system!
- Cut back on sugar, which suppresses our immune system.
- Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and broths.
- Cut back on dairy which can form mucus.
- Add in antioxidants - Our fav antioxidant drink is Ningxia Red. We drink it everyday, so when someone isn't feeling good, we double up!
- Thieves - We will never be without this little powerhouse blend. We put it on our feet every morning and every night for some immune support, and more often when someone is struggling with any kind of sickies.
That was a lot of info, but if you want more!
Here is my full guide on ALL THINGS RESPIRATORY
I wish you health and happiness, and hope that this prepares your wellness cabinet so that you are ready to tackle the next cough or sniffles that come your way.
- Bailey Lowe
Functional Nutrition Coach
Young Living Brand Partner
(989) 245-5358
We all dread that moment when someone in the house is hit with a stomach bug.
Here are some natural remedies that you can keep in mind and be prepared for the next time the bug hits your house.
- Digize or Tummygize - These are two oil blends (Digize for adults and Tummygize diluted for kids) that were designed specifically for digestive troubles. And I am here to say that these have saved us more than once. We have grabbed for them for everything from heartburn, car sickness, nausea, diarrhea, morning sickness, and yes... the stomach flu.
How do you use them? We rub it on our belly at the first sign of digestive distress and continue to do it throughout the day until the symptoms are gone.
Digize is a vitality oil, which means it is safe for internal use, so I also put a drop under my tongue or put a few drops in an empty vegetable capsule.
- Homeopathy - This is a natural health outlet that I am still learning, but amazed at how it works. Nux Vomica and Arsen Alb are two that we have on hand for stomach troubles. (Shelson's Natural Health is our favorite Homeopathic Practice, and they do phone appointments if you are not local.)
- Activated Charcoal - Charcoal binds to toxins in your body, so this can be helpful. I buy them in capsules, but you can open a capsule and put a little in apple sauce. Some people suggest taking this if someone else in your house comes home with the stomach bug to help prevent you from catching it.
- Electrolytes - Alot of the electrolyte drinks out there have not so good ingredients like sugar, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and artificial food dyes... No thank you! Those are the last things that we need when we are sick.
So instead, try something as simple as coconut water (it is full of natural electrolytes) or YL Vitality Drops + Electrolytes are one of our favorites.
-Probiotics - And most important, we want to be proactive and help our bodies avoid any bugs that we can, right?
90% of your immune system starts in our gut flora (all those little good bacteria in your digestive tract) So we want to help increase the good guys in our gut to help fight off any bad guys that come their way.
Our kids take Mighty Pro probiotics (the kid version) and we take Life 9 Probiotics (the adult version) every night.
- Thieves - And of course we always have this immune super hero blend on hand. We put it on our feet (yup, bottom of your feet is a great spot to absorb the immune boosting power of thieves) every morning and every night and apply extra if someone is feeling under the weather(applying up the back is a great place too for sickies, may need to dilute a little because this blend has cinnamon bark oil)
And big priority! Get Thieves going in your diffuser! You want to clean out all of those germs hanging around the house and in the air. (cracking a window in the house for a little bit each day is a big help too! Get that fresh air in and germs out)
I hope this helps you get your wellness cabinet ready for any stomach bugs that come your way and helps anyone hit with it to fight it and feel better fast!
- Bailey Lowe
Functional Nutrition Coach
Young Living Brand Partner
(989) 245-5358
