Usually, I'm thinking of goal setting, diving into challenges, and making resolutions at the new year...
but going into this year, I've been taking some time to reflect on 2022.
I came across a post that Mel Robbins shared recently with some questions to ask ourselves about the past year.
- What in 2022 triggered positive feelings, energy, and emotions?
- What in 2022 triggered negative feelings, energy, and emotions?
- What are the biggest lessons that you learned this year?
- What do you want to do more of this year?
- What is one thing that you are scared to start because you don't think it will happen?
The answers to these questions are eye opening! I realized how much I forgot about the past year, how much I learned over the past year, what I accomplished, or what I didn't...
So before you jump into a beginning of the year push to be better at all the things...
Go grab a notebook, find a quiet place, and take a few minutes
to answers these questions and reflect on 2022.
You will be amazed at how much clearer things become, and how it will help you stick to your goals by having a bigger purpose behind them.
God has big plans for you this year! 2023 is going to be Incredible!
- Bailey Lowe
Functional Nutrition Coach
(989) 245-5358
Granola's on the shelf at the store have so much sugar and a list of other ingredients that I didn't want. So i found this easy recipe to make at home and fell in love with it. Give it a try!
Christmas Morning Cinnamon Granola
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
- 2 cups raw nuts (I used almonds and walnuts)
- 3/4 cups shredded coconut
- 1 TBSP Vanilla
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
- 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries and raisins)
- 3 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
- 2 cups raw nuts (I used almonds and walnuts)
- 3/4 cups shredded coconut
- 1 TBSP Vanilla
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
- 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries and raisins)
Directions
Combine everything except dried fruit and place on parchment covered baking sheet.
Bake at 250 for 1 hour; stirring every 20 minutes)
Take out of oven and stir in dried fruit.
Put in a Mason Jar with a ribbon and gift tag to give as a gift or make some up to enjoy for a treat on Christmas Morning.
- Bailey Lowe
Functional Nutrition Coach
(989) 245-5358
I wish I could go back and tell my 20-year-old self a few things... but she did alright on her own. She had to learn a few things the hard way and is still learning every day.
Age is just a number! My skincare routine, nutrition, water intake, and supplements look a little different these days… I put a little extra effort in these areas now.
Our bodies can feel and look amazing if we give it the right tools.
A few of my favs for beautiful skin along with feeling amazing!
- Hydrate! Beautiful skin from the inside out. Water water water! Good clean water, not out of plastic, and if you have city water, make sure you have a filter that filters out chlorine and fluoride.
- Essential Oils for my face. A drop of frankincense is your 30’s and up’s best friend! #iykyk
- Gua sha stone with my fav Beauty Boost Serum. It’s a game changer and just feels boujee
- Collagen! My new fav to add to any drink for some beauty from within. And your hair, nails, joints, and Gut health will like this too.
- Sulfurzyme is my fav MSM supplement! I have noticed a huge difference in my skin, hair, and nails with this one.
- Antioxidants - We all of heard the buzz of antioxidants. But here is a visual. When an apple is cut open, it begins oxidizing (aging) so we want all the antioxidants to keep us feeling great and fighting that oxidation process.
So if you are like me and are seeing a lot of the clothes you wore in high school coming back into style, it’s time to start giving your skin some extra love.
Click the links above to read more on each of these! And add some to your routine!
Can't wait to hear how different you feel and the results you see!
- Bailey Lowe
Functional Nutrition Coach
(989) 245-5358
Sharing a fun recipe that we love to make at our house! Who doesn’t love dinosaur shaped gummies?
Most of the Jello, Gummy Bears, and Fruit snacks out there have ingredients like artificial food dyes, artificial flavors, GMO ingredients, and more.
We know that those ingredients are harming our health, so let's have some fun in the kitchen and make our own!
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cup of Juice - a lot of juices out there have dyes and flavors too! So make sure to get a clean organic option! We used 1 cup of organic apple cider and 1/2 cup of Ningxia Red (my way of getting some extra antioxidant power in there)
- 4 Tbsp Grass-fed Gelatin (great for your gut health)
- 2 TBSP Honey
Warm juice on the stove top until warm (do not boil) You don’t want to cook out all those good antioxidants.
Slowly whisk in Gelatin to avoid clumps.
Whisk in honey and poor in silicone molds and refrigerate for an hour
Pop out of the molds and enjoy a fun jiggly treat!
Watch the Recipe Video HERE
It’s a total mom win when something fun and yummy is healthy too!
Let me know if you give this recipe a try!
Can't wait to hear what molds you find for yours!
- Bailey Lowe
Functional Nutrition Coach
(989) 245-5358
Lack of Self Care in our world is a real problem….
As a society, we just do not know how to slow down…. alarm clock goes off, we rush to work, get the kids to school, clean the house, make dinner, and so on… and then we hit a brick wall and veg out on Netflix … Anyone else guilty of that?...
We all know that Stress has a HUGE impact on our Health
Let’s break down what physically happens when you're stressed?
Your adrenal glands go into overdrive and your cortisol levels go up. High levels of cortisol cause the body to scavenge for protein to convert into glucose to provide energy for your brain to deal with the perceived stress.
Any type of stress will cause the adrenal glands to react, and your cortisol levels go up!
When cortisol is produced too frequently, it can have negative health consequences such as feelings of fatigue, difficulty maintaining healthy weight, and even heart health. Stress definitely affects our physical health in a big way.
Have you heard of CortiStop? CortiStop is designed to address your body's reaction to the cortisol produced when under stress. It has herbs and essential oils that help to NATURALLY balance the stress response by calming the body and lowering cortisol levels. As cortisol declines, strength and energy return, and the body moves back to a state of equilibrium. Which is what we want!
Now that we know what happens when we are stressed... Let's answer the question... "What is Self Care?"
Usually we picture a bubble bath, a massage, a pedicure… which all sound lovely!!!...but....
I’m not sure about you, my life is pretty busy, and those are things that I usually don’t make time for in my typical day. And Self Care is something that we need to be doing everyday.
Self Care is more about giving your mind time to pause.
Do you ever jump in the shower or lay down to go to bed and your mind is running 100 miles an hour? Your body has stopped moving, but your mind is still going.
If you can relate... here are 10 ways to stress less and incorporate self care into your everyday life
- Put your phone down; take a phone break…. If you are feeling stressed or anxious, I promise that looking at the drama on Facebook or Instagram is not going to help. Take an hour or two to not worry about those calls, texts, or notifications.
- Deep Breathing- Most of us are shallow breathers. Practicing good breathing is so good for your overall health. Deep Breathing is something that I love to do when I feel like I’m starting to stress out. I even have my kids do this when they are getting big emotions. Bonus, grab an essential oil and put a drop in your hands; cup your hands over your face and deep breath.
- Gratitude - Start or end your day by writing down three things that happened in the last 24 hours that you are thankful for. It is amazing how taking a few minutes to focus on the small things can give you a whole positive outlook on your day. I loved how this helped me so much; I created a gratitude journal of my own. Check it out HERE
- Sleep - Getting a good nights sleep is the best type of self care! When we don't get a good nights sleep, we don't feel good, and struggle to stay motivated throughout our day. A few sleep tips - turn off screens an hour before bed time, read instead of watch tv before bed, turn on your diffuser at bed time with your favorite relaxing essential oils.
- Gut Health - 90% of Serotonin is produced in the gut! Serotonin is your feel good hormone! So when you have lots of your happy hormone pumping, you definitely feel better and that for sure is self care.
Dr. Uma Naidoo has a great book called "This is your brain on food". She shared a study of a group of people that for 4 weeks were treated with a probiotic. The study showed that these people had similar results to those treated with Prozac. That is mind blowing! If someone had the choice of taking Prozac vs. a probiotic, of course they would want the probiotic.
And 70% of your immune system is in your gut, so that’s another reason that gut health is so important.
So for all the things we do that damage our gut health, it is so important to build it back up! Enzymes and probiotics! Click HERE to read my full blog post on how your Gut Health affects your Mental Health.
- Journal- Stop and write down your thoughts. It is amazing how getting things out on paper can release stress.
- Go for a walk, enjoy some quiet time in the fresh air.
- Guided meditation & prayer - Have you tried to have some quiet time and your mind starts wandering to all the things on your to do list? Guided meditations have been something that I have found to help my mind calm down in the evenings. There are some great Guided meditation podcasts; Abide is a great faith based one that is one of my favorites to listen to at bedtime.
- Detox Bath - When you do have time for that bubble bath, elevate it a little bit by adding some Epsom salts and your favorite essential oil. Epsom salts have magnesium, which is great for your overall health, but is also very relaxing. Get a scoop of Epsom salts and drop a few drops of your favorite essential oil, then dump in the warm bath water.
- Nutrition - When you don’t feel good, you don’t feel happy. When your body is not getting the right nutrition that it needs, you don’t feel good. We all have nutritional gaps, that when we fill them with good quality nutrition, it makes all the difference! Start adding in more fresh foods; less boxed. HERE are a few of my fav Nutrition easy buttons.
Start incorporating some of these into your life and see how much better you feel. Small changes can make a big impact.
- Bailey Lowe
Functional Nutrition Coach
(989) 245-5358
