HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day! Celebrate with some of the ideas provided HERE !!

So plant a tree, turn off your lights for an hour, GET OUTSIDE, or contribute to a worthy eco-friendly charity (like The Nature Conservancy, The World Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club, etc.).

Happy greening!

LOW-COST, ECO-FRIENDLY BEAUTY

I have tried a TON of natural skincare products (and gone bankrupt in the process) and seen very few that actually work. So when I found a toner and moisturizer that ACTUALLY helped with my occasional pimples and reduced the prominence of my age spots (yep, already have some), I knew I had to share the news with anyone who would listen!

The brand Earth Science, you can check out their products HERE, is AMAZING!! Free of parabens, pthalates, and other harmful ingredients, these products cannot be beat! Not to mention my toner only costs $8.75!

I highly recommend the Clarifying Herbal Astringent (it's very gentle but effective), and the A/B Hydroxy Night Rejuvenator.




Oh, and if you have a moment, PLEASE CLICK ON OUR ADVERTISERS!! It helps to support the blog :)

PUPPY PALATE

I found THIS website with a list of vegetarian dog treat recipes!

A great way to please your puppy without spending a ton of cash. Not to mention you can make this a fun activity on a boring Monday evening. Invite friends who also have pets to come over and bring a few of the ingredients (and their pooch, of course!) and have a baking party.

Here is the recipe for the "Apple Cinnamon Pupcakes":

Ingredients:
1 tbl. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 tbl honey
4 cups flour
2 ¾ cups water
¼ c. unsweetened applesauce
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 c. dried or fresh apple
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all wet ingredients thoroughly. Mix dry ingredients separately. Slowly add wet mixture to dry mixing as you go. Make sure dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated into the wet.

Pour mixture into muffin tins. Bake for 1 ¼ hours or until toothpick comes out dry. Makes 12-14 pupcakes in regular pans or around 30 “mini” pupcakes.

DON'T HAVE A DOG? HERE is a website with some vegetarian KITTY treat recipes, too!

WEEKEND DETOX

So I've been feeling a bit crappy this week, mostly due to major changes in my diet. I'm staying with my parents, which means food that isn't exactly so healthy and tends to be loaded with trans and saturated fat, dairy, and white sugar. I searched the internet for some detox plans that DON'T involve starvation and found THIS article.

In this economy, why spend a ton of money at a detox getaway spa or buying "detox" regimens from your local grocery store? Create your OWN detox plan for a lot less! Try it out for yourself! For a successful weekend detox, include the following:

1) Eat ONLY raw, organic foods, focusing on fresh organic fruits and veggies.
2) Drink caffeine-free herbal teas, like the Peach Detox Tea from Yogi Teas (look for Dandelion in the ingredient list), plus Ginger tea and Peppermint tea are great for easing and supporting digestion.
3) Take FIBER! Psyllium is a great option, but make sure to increase your overall water intake to almost 3 Liters per day (it helps move the psyllium through and prevents you from becoming dehydrated or forming a blockage). Try Trade Joe's: Trader Darwin's Secrets of the Psyllium. Benefiber is great, too, plus it's a little easier to swallow...
4) Take Milk Thistle. It helps support your liver as it removes toxins from the body. Recent research has also shown that it may help reduce overall cancer risk.
5) Drink lots of water! Best if the water has fresh organic cucumber or fresh organic lemon. Just fill a pitcher and throw in a ton of cucumber or lemon and let it sit over night.
6) MEDITATE each day for at least 30 minutes each day. Find a quite corner and grab a pillow for a stress and mind detox.
7) Exercise for at least 30 minutes each day. If possible, pop in an at home yoga DVD to help support your detox.

I'll make sure to update the blog and let you know how my detox goes this weekend!

PEACE, LOVE, AND THE '70'S

A new report states that if we revert back to the lifestyle people used to live in the 1970's, we would be able to overcome climate change!!

So slip on some bell bottoms, turn up the Zeppelin, and check out THIS article!

BIKINI BASICS

HERE is a quick article on what you probably aren't but SHOULD be doing if you really want that bikini body for swimsuit season.

Simple and to the point! Good article. Here is a summary:

1) Write down your goals (keeps you on track, keeps you motivated)
2) Fit in some fun (do cardio that you ENJOY! Try something new, like paddle-boarding)
3) Toss the magazine (cardio should be hard enough to actually burn calories and fat)
4) Think outside the crunch (there are several muscles in the abdomen, work them all!)
5) Break less (don't rest between exercises, connecting everything burns more calories)
6) Remember all your major muscles (WHOLE body workout!)

Here's to fitting into that teeny bikini (preferably one made of organic fabrics)!

HEALTH AND IMMUNE BOOST

HERE is an article with a guide to living with "your best health", naturally. All of these techniques are also geared towards increasing the effectiveness of your immune system, helping to stave off disease. A summary of the tips:

1) Get your sleep!
2) Stay in shape (30-40 minutes of cardio/day)
3) Floss your teeth
4) Swear off sugar
5) Get a massage (I like this one!)
6) Meditate
7) Try acupuncture
8) PRACTICE YOGA
9) Take echinacea
10) Eat crunchy veggies
11) Take probiotics
12) Take a mushroom extract (like AHCC)
13) Boost your vitamin D (15 minutes of noon-time sun or add a supplement)
14) Laugh more (increases activity of T-killer cells, a major part of your immune system)
15) Take elderberry extract
16) Recharge your thymus (by going to a chiropractor or taking a thymus support supplement)
17) Spend time with friends
18) Eat bright, eat right (add colorful veggies to your diet for zinc and selenium)
19) Go with garlic (2 cloves a day. Antiviral and antibiotic properties)
20) DRINK TEA!

On top of increasing your overall health, some nice side effects of following this plan are decreased stress and decreased body fat!

BURN, BABY BURN!

Here are several tips on how to increase your resting metabolic rate and burn off those excess pounds, naturally! The tips:

1) Lift weights at least 2 days a week on non-consecutive days (allowing muscle to heal). Now don't be shy about using weights that are heavy! The more muscle you build, the more calories you burn just sitting at the computer reading this blog!

2) Add some spice to your life! Adding spices to your foods, including hot sauces, garlic, cinnamon, and others, have been shown to not only speed up your metabolism, but many of them decrease inflammation throughout the body (think Aleve without the side effects), therefore helping your body to effectively regulate your metabolism.

3) DRINK TEA! Green and white in particular. Have at least 3 cups a day to experience the effects of EGCG, an antioxidant shown to increase base metabolic rate.

4) Become a fidget-er. The more you move, the more calories you burn. Standing for a few extra hours each day burns an additional 100 calories! Unload the dishwasher one dish at a time, walking around the kitchen to put each item away. The calories add up fast and soon enough you'll be slimmer without feeling like you had to put in any work!

More tips to come, but for now, implement as many of these as you can. Every ounce of effort will make a difference in your goal for a sexy, slimmer you!

HAIR AND SPEARMINT...

OK, this is crazy!
A study coming out of Turkey shows that women with excessive hair growth (facial, stomach, and/or chest) who drank two cups of Spearmint tea a day saw a noticeable decline in hair growth!

The cause? Spearmint blocks the effects of testosterone, which is often the culprit behind hirsutism (aka men's facial hair on a woman).

So throw away your hair bleaching agents and grab a couple of boxes of spearmint tea!

The article is available HERE

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES OK'ED FOR TREATING CANCER TREATMENT SIDE EFFECTS

A study coming out of the Cochrane Collaboration shows that homeopathic herbs and treatments for side effects of cancer treatments like chemo do not interfere with the drugs, plus many of the remedies were proven to be effective!

Among the herbs they tested was Calendula creme, which was effective at treating skin irritation from bouts of chemo. Traummel S. for mouth sores was also included in the study

Soooo nice to finally see homeopathic health taken seriously! Normal pharmaceuticals often treat one symptom while creating another (like Ibuprofen helps with inflammation but can damage the liver). Naturopathic medicine is often effective, we just need more studies done to verify this to the scientific community so that MD's can offer these treatments to their patients in good conscience.

You can read the article HERE