Thank you for letting me inspire you to live healthy in mind, body and spirit in an unhealthy world. I started Healthy Living How To in early 2011 at the insistence of my husband. I had no expectations at the time. With almost two years of blogging under my belt, I am still amazed at the e-mails I get from my readers, sharing their stories of how this site helped them on their journey. Never did I imagine the influence I would have through this blog. And the truth is, each and every one of you has motivated me on my journey as well. As I like to say, without YOU, there would be no Healthy Living How To. As the end of the year is near, I thought it only appropriate to share this year's top twelve posts.
1. How To Take a Detox Bath
There is no doubt in this day and age, our bodies are subject to more toxins than ever. Toxins are in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the medications we take and in the water we drink. Toxins cause irritation, harm and destruction in the body if left unchecked. Detoxification is the body’s way of removing and metabolizing these dangerous compounds. It is a process the body does naturally without us even knowing it. However, the capacity of the body’s detoxification process is not endless. By encouraging the body to efficiently flush out toxins, we will not only boost our health and well-being, but also strengthen our immune system and prevent disease. Click here to read more…
2. Make Your Own Sugar-Free Hot Chocolate Mix
My son loves hot chocolate. According to him, the coffee shop at church serves the best cup. I was able to hunt down the brand and nutrition information and not unlike any other brand of hot chocolate mix, a 2 Tbsp. serving has 25 g of sugar (that’s before any milk is mixed in). The next time we went food shopping, I checked out labels for all different brands of hot chocolate mix, even the organic varieties. They all had one thing in common, the first ingredient was sugar. Click here to read more…
3. 5 Strategies to Side-Step Sugar
Over the top, but true, sugar is toxic to our health. In all its forms, whether processed or natural (I’m looking at you honey and maple syrup), sugar negatively influences our health. Sugar suppresses the immune system, is the perfect food for bad bacteria in the gut, has been linked to obesity, hypertension, heart disease, type II diabetes, depression…you get the point. Sugar is so detrimental to health, it has become a major focus in cancer research, leading experts to believe if we limit sugar intake we decrease our chance of developing cancer. To the brain, sugar is addicting just like drugs and alcohol (some experts argue even more so); over time we need more and more for the sugar “high”. When it comes right down to it, sugar is not good in any amount (no such thing as a moderate dose of poison), whether young or old, big or small, healthy or unhealthy. Click here to read more…
4. The One Minute Muffin
My basic recipe is a starting point for a simple and savory gluten-free, grain-free bread replacement. Split it in half and you’ve got a bun for your burger. Toast it and you won’t miss your high-carb English muffin. Stuff it with some turkey, mayo and lettuce and you’ve got a healthy sandwich. The possibilities are up to your imagination. Click here to read more…
5. Super Simple Sweet Potato Chips
Not a recipe, per se, but more of a technique. Easily make your own crunchy sweet potato chips with a couple of my favorite kitchen gadgets, a mandoline slicer and a Misto sprayer. The mandoline slicer makes it super simple to thinly and uniformly slice the sweet potato and the Misto lets you use a healthy high heat cooking oil, like macadamia nut oil, to spray your chips without the unhealthy propellants found in non-stick spray. Top ‘em with a mineral rich Celtic sea salt and you have an amazing side to your bunless burger. Click here to read more…
6. Set Your Immune System Up For Success
Ever wonder why some people get sick more often than others? Or why some people get hit harder with the flu or cold while others seem to get over it more quickly? We are all exposed to germs, however, the mere exposure of germs does not correlate to getting sick. What impacts susceptibility to illness is the function of our immune system. When looking at ways to optimize immune function, it’s important to acknowledge the connection between our immune system and the digestive system often called our “gut”. Approximately 70-80% of the immune system is found within the gut, which means proper diet is key to a healthy immune system. Click here to read more…
7. What's So Great About Xylitol
Xylitol is a natural low-carb sweetener derived from birch or corn. It has the same sweetening power as sugar therefore it can be replaced cup for cup. Xylitol provides 2.4 calories per gram (for comparison sugar provides 4 calories per gram) and scores about a 7 on the glycemic index (sugar scores an 80). Xylitol has a negligible impact on blood sugar, making it a preferred sweetener for those living a low-carb lifestyle, diabetics or those wishing to reduce their sugar consumption. Xylitol does not feed the bad bacteria found in the gut like sugar (this includes natural sources of sugar, like honey, maple syrup and coconut sugar as well as high fructose corn syrup and all the other names sugar goes by). Click here to read more…
8. Sitting is Killing You
In an article titled Are You Sitting Yourself to Death, author Tom Nikkola, Sr. Dir. of Nutrition and Weight Management at Life Time Weight Loss, discusses at length how sitting negatively influences health. He cites that being sedentary or sitting, is associated with many health risks, including a 112% increase in diabetes risk, 147% increase in cardiovascular disease risk, 90% increased risk in cardiovascular mortality and 49% increased risk of all-cause mortality. Click here to read more…
9. 10 Things You Can Do Today
When we are unhealthy, many times our symptoms manifest themselves in our physical body in the form of weight gain, headaches, back pain, muscle aches, joint pain, exhaustion, fatigue and disease. Sometimes our symptoms manifest in our mind, with excessive worry, anxiety, stress, negative thoughts/attitudes, low self-esteem, complaining and perfectionism. While other symptoms manifest in our spirit resulting in a lack of joy, peace and calm, feelings of discontent and restlessness, as well as uncertainty and unforgiveness. It wasn’t until my own health went awry, that I had to examine what being healthy really meant. Click here to read more…
10. Almond Cream Cheese
I mentioned early last week, I found new kitchen inspiration, by stumbling on a few raw vegan blogs. Who knew raw vegans are experts at coming up with cheesy creations without dairy by using nuts. After watching endless YouTube videos and scouring the internet for tips and tricks, I thought I would test out my own non-dairy cheese making skills. I started out simple and made a Cashew Parmesan Cheese. It was all it promised to be and more. I decided to up the ante a little and try my hand at a nut cream cheese. While nut cheese can be made with a variety of different nuts, the most popular ones are almonds, cashews and macadamia nuts. Since I had almonds on hand, that’s what I used and with much success. I have made this three times now and have been very pleased with the results. Click here to read more…
11. Healthy Hot Tamales
I’ve had it in my mind for some time to come up with a recipe for healthy tamales. A Christmas tradition for many Mexican families and ours was no different. Tamales are traditionally made with corn or masa, mixed with lard, filled with pork or chicken, wrapped in corn husks and then steamed. The process can be quite laborious, however, the end result is worth the few hours it takes. In my family, several of my aunts will get together and devote an entire day to tamale making. While my aunts will make hundreds in an afternoon, we will be making only a dozen or two. A couple of tamales paired with my Mexi “Cauli” Rice and you have a delicious, healthy and very filling meal. Click here to read more…
12. Oh Mega Recipe for Chia Flax Crackers
Just putting the finishing touches on the Oh Mega series, if you haven’t already done so, you can catch up with Part One and Part Two. Stay tuned for Part Three tomorrow. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a very easy cracker recipe that is rich in Omega-3s. The crackers are made from both ground flax seeds as well as whole flax seeds along with chia seeds. Add a little water and a few seasonings and you’ve got a crispy crunchy cracker. Click here to read more…
