The time leading up to Thanksgiving has been filled with thoughts of family, friends, food, food, and more delicious food. You've been perfecting that family recipe and coming up with new ones to become part of this yearly tradition. So much to be thankful for and so much more to look forward to.
There is something that we tend to not think about, until after the holiday season, and that's our tummy (gut) health. You're going to be filling it with all kinds of yummy things but you've gotta keep it happy and healthy at the same time.
Healing my gut has been a journey and during this time it can be easy to get off track and allow sickness to creep up. I don't want that for me and I don't want that for you either, sos here's my go-to gut health products to keep your tummy happy.
Save this so you can be prepared for Thanksgiving as well as the rest of the holiday season and beyond.
Morning
- Start your day with EssentialZymes. Enzymes are so helpful in breaking down and digesting food, so they're a great place to start your Thanksgiving Day. Add a few drops of Lemon Vitality to a glass of water, the one you drink to take your EssentialZymes with would be perfect. Lemon is a gentle cleanser, provides liver support, and tastes yummy!
- NingXia Red is going to become your new best friend once you get started using it. 2oz is all you need a day to help support so many aspects of your health. For the holidays it's going to be a game changer because NingXia contains ingredients that can help keep your blood sugar naturally balanced & help provide sustained energy. You could even swap your water out for NingXia and add your Lemon Vitality drops to it to take your EssentialZymes.
Post-Meal
- Rub some Peppermint or Digize on your tummy. Both of these oils are great for aiding in digestion and to help with that stuffiness you may be feeling.
- Take EssentialZymes-4. These are different than the enzymes we started the day with, and they're great to take after a big meal. they can help your body adjust to eating things you might not be used to eating all the time, and help you absorb what's nutritious and get rid of the rest.
Evening
- Make sure to get in a good probiotic. I love Life 9. Probiotics are full of "good guys" that go into your gut, fight off the bad guys, and repopulate the area with health.
- Pop a few DetoxZyme to get in even more enzymes. I wasn't kidding when I said you needed these for good gut health. they'll help your body detox from the excess goodies you may have enjoyed and help you recover.
- Lastly, take a Cortistop. Cortistop helps to balance cortisol levels. Cortisol is known as the "death hormone" that is released when we are under stress. The holiday season can be stressful and taking care of you is going to be important to make sure you are able to show up exactly how you want to the entire season. Having this stress-reducing supplement in your arsenal will help you do just that.
Stressing can cause it's own issues in our guts, having the tools to help manage it is crucial. Grab my free 10 Self-Care Tips to Reduce Holiday Stress to help you create easy ways for you to enjoy the season without the hard emotions and stress that may come along with it.
Create your free young living account to make check-out a breeze when you add these products to your cart.
I don't know about you mama, but when either of my boys are under the weather I'm looking for everything and anything to help them feel better. They may drive us crazy, lol, but when they have that helpless look -- I'd give anything to have the crazy back.
We are truly blessed when it comes to our health, I'm very much so about being proactive instead of reactive. We do a lot to make sure that we feed our bodies what it needs to run and fight in tip top shape. Hey, we're human though and sometimes we get taken down and we have to help our bodies by giving it a little more while it's fighting the good fight.
I have my go-to's that I reach for when any of us our out of sorts but recently I had to bring it because Kee had a cough and mucus that was lingering and refused to be evicted by my usual weapons. Like most kids, heck my almost 17yr old still does this, Kee was swallowing all the snot instead of blowing it out and mama we know that does nothing good. So, when it carried on far longer than I'd like for it to I went in search of a recipe that I could use in the bath for him. I ended up finding not only a recipe that reminded me why I'll never be without oils again but I also ran across an oil that I'd had for a while and never used -- as you probably guessed it ended up coming in clutch.
I'm dubbing this the Get Well, Kid bath salts detox and here's what you need:
- Ravintsara
- Frankincense
- Idaho Blue Spruce
- Eucalyptus Radiata
- Wintergreen
- Epsom Salt
- Baking Soda (aluminum free)
- Glass jar
These 5 oils worked so good together because of their amazing benefits.
Ravintsara is from Madagascar and referred to as "the oil that heals". This is a really good oil for working with your respiratory system, opening things up and allowing for those deep breaths. It's also known for being clarifying as well as purifying, all things that we needed.
Frankincense is truly a king of kings when it comes to oils. I could talk about this oil for literally days but for the purpose of this detox I specifically wanting its help with immune system.
Idaho Blue Spruce is a must have in my house not only for making the house smell like a fresh tree farm but also, you want all the tree oils when you're under the weather. Idaho Blue Spruce has been used by Native Americans for lots of things but what I added it in this detox for was Kee's throat. It's known as a relaxant and so, along with it's other benefits, I wanted to see how well it could help with his coughing.
Eucalyptus Radiata like all other eucalyptus oils, is a fave because of that "aaahhh" feeling you get when you smell it and Eucalyptus Radiata is always my choice when it comes to the kids because it's on the milder side. I wanted to help Kee kick out the mucus and this was the perfect oil for that.
Wintergreen is very stimulating and since, as you can tell from the other oils, I was looking to help Kee get out the mucus Wintergreen was a no brainer. Plus, I always love it for a post-workout massage and he was feeling a little achy.
Those oils ended up being so huge for him!
Epsom salt and baking soda are always my go-to's for detox baths because, well you know how well epsom salt works for pulling out toxins from the body so it's a must but the added benefit of baking soda always takes it to another level for me. Baking soda has cleansing and detoxifying properties that may help to purify your body and boost immunity and when you're trying to get rid of unwanted intruders this is always what you're looking for, lol. Now you want it to be aluminum free because you don't want to be introducing heavy metals to your body, the idea is pulling toxins out not putting them in. So always, always grab the aluminum free kind.
Now, once you've gotten all of your ingredients together you can add them to your jar and allow them to sit as long as you possibly can. I recommend overnight, so that the oils can combined together and be linked and ready for action. But if you need to use it right away, give it a few minutes, and you'll be good to go and will still get great action from the detox salts.
I've been using oils for a while so and Kee's been using them since before he could walk so I eyeball a lot but here are the measurements if you're just starting out or like a roadmap.
- 15 drops Ravintsara
- 6 drops Frankincense
- 6 drops blue Spruce
- 2 drops Eucalyptus Radiata
- 1 drop Wintergreen
- 1/4 cup Epsom & Baking soda
You can go more or less, you know your babies so use your judgement. But remember that more is less when you are using pure essential oils!
Once I'd gotten it all in the jar I gave it a shake and let it sit for a few hours (we needed it like RIGHT now) and then ran a bath. Get the water as warm as your little one can stand it and then add the detox salts. I always have Kee do his soaks for 10-15 minutes. By minute 5 he was already feeling so much better. After the right amount of time for your little make sure to rinse them off with cold water. This will help close up those pores and while it isn't always the fun part is important.
And that's it!
12 minutes of soaking and I started seeing my normal Kam Bam and my mama defenses went down 10 fold. We have the tools to be proactive as well as the tools to give our body a boost when they need it.
*I'm not a doctor, I'm not treating or diagnosing, I'm just a mama sharing what worked so other mama's can have that peace of mind too*
What if you took care of yourself the way you take care of everybody else?
What if you loved yourself the way you love everybody else?
It's as easy as breathing to pour into those you care about, to make sure that their needs are taken care of. While at the same time being so easy to push yourself to the back burner, so far that you forget what it even looks like to take care of you - your wants, your needs, your likes and even dislikes.
When you hear someone say, "practice self-care", you don't even know where to start or what that might even look like. I get it!
I've been there and over thought what it even means to me. If you're reading this and this is you here's what I did to answer those tough questions and how I got back to loving myself and taking care of myself in the same way, if not even more than, I was loving and taking care of everyone else.
💜 Find what makes you feel joy, things that you love and can do daily.
Self-care is not a one size fits all, doing what you need is what's right always. This was one of my favorite things I did to get a clear picture of what self-care was for me because it reminded me of all the things that I love, that makes me smile. When you're doing this, sit down with a pencil and paper (or your notes app, whatever works) and write out all the things that you can think of that bring you joy. I mean literally everything and anything that brings you joy. It can be things like having fresh flowers around the house every week, having music playing, a specific color, or a back rub. Take the time to sit in the moment, remember it's what brings you JOY.
💜 Have a plan for how you will bring those things into your daily life.
This is important to helping you make a habit of taking care of you. Start out small. Jumping in and trying to implement multiple new self-care activities/practices could become overwhelming, try adding just one at a time. You are working toward these being daily habits and you know as well as I do that if you pile too much on at one time you'll be more likely to quit. You can start by adding one bouquet to your living room or kitchen and then slowly work up to multiple rooms, asking your partner/spouse for a weekly back rub, or getting in at least one evening walk. Low and slow will make it so much easier for you to make these joyful activities/practices a daily habit you don't want to skip.
💜 Set goals for when you'll do them throughout the week.
Accountability was huge for me. Now that you've got the activities/practices down that you want to start doing more, it's time to set some easy, realistic goals for how often and when you'll do them. Like I said above, low and slow. Maybe you want to start unplugging from social media or your phone more. A good goal might look like taking 20 mins off every evening or before bed or taking 15 mins to just be with yourself after you've gotten the kids out the door to school. Once you've been consistent with these goals for a week or two, turn it up a bit and challenge yourself.
💜 Find support, Find support, Find support.
These changes are going to not only be challenging for you but they will be challenging for your family too. Make sure that you have a support system who can be there for you. Find people who are walking a similar path of getting back to loving and taking care of themselves, bonus points if they are engaging in the same activities/practices as you. If you're doing similar or the same things you can meet up and do them together to switch up.
💜 Don't be afraid to adjust and tweak as you go.
There will be set backs and bumps as you navigate through this so it's important that you know you can change things with the ebb and flow. What you decide to do this week is not set in stone for the next week or even a month from now. Your needs will change, life will change and that's ok. Figure out what it is you need in that moment, that stage of life and switch it up if you need to.
Self-care is about what you do to protect your wellness and happiness so you can operate & function at your highest level. From places of joy not obligation. It won't always be things as pretty as flowers, it may be to prioritize your dental checkups or to say "no" more. As long as it's ultimately boosting your wellness and happiness, it's taking care of you and that's self-care.
It's safe to say...kids are back in school!There's always so many emotions surrounding going back to school, for both our kids and us. But I think this year takes the cake. The emotions ran from excited to freaking the freak out. There was a whole lot of unknowns and not enough answers.
I know as a mama I want to be able to have all the information and be prepared for as much of the "back to school" things as I possibly can, but with all that is going on and constantly changing, it was obvious that, that wasn't going to be as easy to accomplish as it has been in the past. There was one thing that I knew I could be prepared for and that is keeping my boys healthy throughout the entire school year. Man, that statement takes on a whole new meaning now doesn't it!?
I know as a mama I want to be able to have all the information and be prepared for as much of the "back to school" things as I possibly can, but with all that is going on and constantly changing, it was obvious that, that wasn't going to be as easy to accomplish as it has been in the past. There was one thing that I knew I could be prepared for and that is keeping my boys healthy throughout the entire school year. Man, that statement takes on a whole new meaning now doesn't it!?
One thing is consistent and that is I can make sure that my boys, the whole family, is doing everything we can to make sure that we are feeding our bodies what it needs to be in fighting shape. The past 18 months didn't teach me that, but it did show me how very important and thankful I am that we have resources and tools available to us to keep us well.
Mamas we know when the kids head to school our wellness can take a hit. For some crazy reason kids like to over share on all the things we wish they wouldn't -- germs. School can bring a whole host of challenges that our kids have to deal with and keeping them well through it all is our priority, no question.
We all have our different ways of doing that but we all can agree that making sure they are getting 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨, all of the 𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙨 & 𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨, and 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚 is pretty much a good foundation for keeping them healthy. For us adding to that list is having good, quality supplements that actually work and essential oils.
The boys take Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc, NingXia Red, Inner Defense and/or Thieves Roll-on every single morning along with a few other things throughout the day. Adding these things into their routine insures that they have all the back up and support because let's be real, our modern world has created a mess when it comes to getting everything we need from just food.
I've created a list of my must haves for back to school...
✏️ 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘭-𝘖𝘯
✏️ 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦
✏️ 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘟𝘪𝘢 𝘙𝘦𝘥
✏️ 𝘒𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘪𝘭
✏️ 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘶𝘴 𝘖𝘪𝘭
✏️ 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘊
✏️ 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘋
✏️ 𝘡𝘪𝘯𝘤
That's just the short list!
Not only do I focus on their wellness from a keeping well stand point but also giving them boosts with their emotions -- focus, confidence etc.
Y'all know I'm all about the easy button so I created a Back to School Bundle that you can shop all of the Young Living items. There's tons of my faves for the kids in the bundle.You can pick and choose what you want from the bundle. Zinc is the only thing that I don't get from Young Living, I grabbed it from Amazon. We've been using the Zinc supplement from EIDON but I also like the Mary Ruth's too.
Whatever you choose for this school year, know that you are making the right choice for you and your family!
If you don't know Turmeric you should - it's AMAZING! The benefits to your body makes it a no brainer.
But Golden Turmeric is on a whole other level.
Golden Turmeric lets turmeric and its curcuminoids (this is the good stuff in turmeric) take front stage in providing benefits like joint mobility, recovery after a workout, aiding the body’s response to inflammation, and overall immune response, but it also has prebiotics to support healthy digestion, Boswellia serrata aka Indian frankincense which has been used in Indian herbal medicine for a very long time, ginger root extract, tapioca fiber, and Lime Vitality, all in a powdered formula that disperses into water.
A simple way to take it, but a powerful way to absorb this bioavailable (24x more than standard turmeric extract) turmeric supplement and get the absolute most out of it.
My favorite thing is that this supplement actually tastes good! Mango Rose flavor is everything and I'm here for it. It's not powdery tasting or grainy.
Here's live first reactions (me, my mum, and my youngest) to tasting Golden Turmeric for the first time!
