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Biking in Wine Country
This weekend I had the most amazing time in Wine Country. I enjoyed a joint birthday celebration with a friend, and there were 9 people all together. First we gathered for a picnic in the park around 11:00 am where we had vegetable pasta salad, hummus, fresh fruit and veggies, and donut muffins. Around noon, the whole group met at a local bike shop and picked up bikes, helmets, and maps. Our first stop was 2 or 3 miles away. The place was a winery set on a beautiful sprawling background of a great variety of wines. Some tasted wine, some nibbled on small bites, but everyone enjoyed good conversation.…
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The Benefits of Water
This past Thursday I treated myself to a massage as a birthday gift to me. 🙂 I felt great after the massage except one thing – I forgot massages can be severely dehydrating and I was in a rush after that and really did not do a good job of drinking enough water. You may know from previous posts of mine that once you are dehydrated it can take a couple of days for the body to recover. Since I’m going through this current discomfort, wanted to share with you all of the benefits of water. The video is less than one minute and you may find some new benefits…
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Foods to Eat for Healthy Hair
The last video of the healthy hair series is by far the most important. What you put in your body as fuel is more significant than any number of shampoos or techniques to grow longer, healthier hair. Here is a video with my top nutrients for healthier and stronger hair as well as a delicious salad! Salad Ingredients (Serves 2) 1 tangelo (or orange), sectioned and peeled 2-3 cups shredded leafy greens 1 bell pepper, julienned 5-6 basil leaves, cut into ribbons 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped 1/4 cup pecan halves, roughly chopped 1/2 avocado, sliced Dressing 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1/2 lemon sea salt to…
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The Myth: No Sugar Added
When I hit the supermarket for groceries, I often experience an internal conflict because I have to decide what is affordable, but healthy. The packaging the food comes in is not to inform me and help me decide on food, but instead it is masterfully designed as a marketing tool to get me to buy. I’m always having to keep in mind that I am the only one concerned with my personal health. If you read labels like I do, you’ll often see packages that say “sugar-free” or “no sugar added”. It’s a clever little trick that companies do, but the problem is it doesn’t tell us what we need…
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DIY Deep Conditioner for Long Healthy Hair | Cassia Obovata
It’s been over a year now of me using cassia treatments to strengthen my fine hair and add shine. I’ve gained both length and fullness! I absolutely love it and I want to share with you how I use it. What is Cassia? According to wikipedia, In India, it is used to produce a dye known as “neutral henna”. [It] is easily distinguishable through its many distinctive features. In India, the leaves are used as a dye called neutral henna or “blonde henna” to make the hair look glossy, but it seems to have a yellowish impact on hair rather than the reddish one produced by henna. This is a fantastic option for…
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RSVP: The Forgotten Common Courtesy
RSVP comes from the French phrase, “répondez, s’il vous plaît,” which means “please reply.” When it comes to event planning, the host would like the guests to reply and tell them whether or not they will attend. In this day and age, with the exception of weddings, most people don’t see the value of a timely reply. Not only does it help the host prepare the party space and amount of food, replying is really common courtesy. Other times, people reply with a “yes” and do not write the event onto a calendar. At the very last moment, there happens to be a scheduling conflict, and someone loses out. I…
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Blood Orange and Rainbow Chard Smoothie
Over the last year I have had a surprising amount of people tell me they just can’t get into green smoothies because of the color. I would hate for people to miss out on the nutrients, so I created this delicious drink which has so much rich color added, it masks the green! Before this, I never put rainbow chard in my smoothie. I’m usually partial to baby spinach because it blends up so smoothly. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s a hearty leafy green with red veins and stalks. It is really beautiful! Blood oranges are my currently obsession, so I couldn’t leave those out. To make this…
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Vegan Beet & Lentil Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries
Veggie burgers are pretty easy to come by these days. When I go to the freezer aisle of grocery stores, there are many types and flavors. The only problem is, most of the burgers have soy and gluten, and the ones that do no, have so little protein they really aren’t offering much nutrition. This latest food project was to make up a flavorful, hearty, and nutrient-dense burger without soy. The main ingredients are just steamed lentils and beets! It’s super easy to make and I found it to be very filling. After practicing a couple of times, I teamed up with my friend Hetal of Prettypolymath and I made…
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Doubt and Fear, Confidence and Hope
Earlier today I posted this quote on my fan page: Your dreams are the flowers, and doubt is the weeds. Get it?? I can think of so many times I had a great idea, and I talked myself out of it, or delayed action on it. Oh, I had wonderful excuses. I would hide behind perfectionism and say I was planning to start when I got my ducks all in a row. Other times I was honestly just plain scared! All around me, I would see people pursuing their ideas with courage– and they seemed unaffected by the hiccups and imperfections. They just kept going! They perfected their craft along…
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The Master Cleanse Green Smoothie
This morning I woke with the intent to drink my variation of the Master Cleanse– I do warm water, the juice of half a lemon, and two dashes of cayenne. Basically, I leave out the maple syrup. An hour later, I go and enjoy breakfast. The cleansing properties of the lemon, cayenne, and warm water are often enough to help me feel energized, and give myself a little reboot if I ate anything I shouldn’t have. I decided to convert this into a green smoothie, and I’m sharing because it was absolutely delicious! It’s always awesome when you choose function over flavor, but end up with good flavor anyway. Imagine…
