We’ve gleaned some great tips from Dr. Aviva Romm, a Yale trained MD, specializing in all areas of women’s health (and not to worry to all the men reading this, her practical tips will apply to you as well!)

We all know it’s essential to bring some form of relaxation into our daily lives in order to achieve the well-being we all desire. Volumes have been written about relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness, but here are a few fantastic tips from Dr. Romm to replenish and repair… 

Cave Proactively
When you hit the wall of overwhelm, stop everything. Unplug. Step away from your cell phone, stay off the internet, turn off alarms and notifications, and take some time to be a human being — not a “human doing.” It takes downtime for productivity to blossom, clarity to return, and your mood to smooth out. It could be a minute, an hour, or a vacation! But when you need it: cave.

Take a Bath
Before you go to bed, or anytime you need to soak up some relaxation response, fill your tub with wa...

In his book, Spontaneous Happiness, Dr. Andrew Weil writes about lifestyle practices that can help people achieve and maintain happy lives. His practices are designed to help people reach and maintain a state of contentment and serenity. From there, a person can still experience appropriate emotional highs and lows, but knows that he or she will soon return to a balanced state.

We love his summary of 9 lifestyle practices that will greatly benefit all who follow them, and be especially helpful to those who struggle with mild to moderate depression. 

1. Exercise
“Human bodies are designed for regular physical activity. The sedentary nature of much of modern life probably plays a significant role in the epidemic incidence of depression today. Many studies show that depressed patients who stick to a regimen of aerobic exercise improve as much as those treated with medication. Exercise also appears to prevent depression and improve mood in healthy people.  Many exercise forms – aerobic,...

Sticky Cauliflower Rice

• 5 cups cauliflower rice (use ready-made or see step 1)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• ⅓ teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut vinegar
• ½ cup coconut milk

Tahini Miso Sauce

• ⅓ cup tahini
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
• 1 teaspoon wasabi paste (optional)
• 1 teaspoon fermented miso paste
• 1 tablespoon coconut vinegar
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• ¼ cup cold filtered water

Add-ins

• 6 organic raw nori seaweed sheets
• 1 large cucumber, julienned
• 8 ounces wild-caught pre-cooked salmon, skinless and broken into pieces (option to use smoked or canned salmon instead)
• 1 cup purple cabbage, thinly sliced
• ⅓ cup scallions, white and green part, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. If you’re making cauliflower rice at home: Chop the cauliflower into one-inch chunks, including the core. Transfer a third at a time to a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower has a rice texture.

2. Heat the coconut oil in a large sauté pan over high heat....

When we think about making lasting changes in our health, we are convinced that all changes begin with a renewed mindset…

Want to eat healthy? Get your mind right. 

Want to build relationships that nourish you? Get your mind right.

Want a fitness routine that you enjoy and actually do? You got it— Get your mind right!

When we trade our old thinking in for new thinking, true transformation can begin. Proverbs 4:23 says to be careful what you think, for your thoughts run your life. 

And Romans 12:2 goes on to say that we are actually transformed by the renewing of our minds. 

It’s our thoughts and attitudes that determine what we feel. And our thoughts, attitudes, and feelings then ultimately determine what we do.

So let’s bring more focused attention on our thoughts, as we bring in the good and put aside any negative thinking that may creep in to derail our attempts to get healthy.

We thought a good way to renew our mindsets would be to start each week with some fresh inspir...

In Michael Pollan’s great little book, Food Rules, he lays out a diet paradigm that any Functional Medicine practitioner or wellness coach would heartily endorse…

Eat food. 
Mostly plants.
Not too much.

With these six words, he encapsulates so much of what we know about the benefits of eating a healthy diet. Today we want to focus on the middle two words, “mostly plants”, and share some incredible insights on the topic by our dear friend and colleague Dr. Mark Hyman.

“We all know that veggies are good for us, and most of us know we ought to eat more of them than we do. Vegetables are the ultimate low-calorie, high-nutrient foods. They are filled with antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins that we need to optimize our health. Moreover, they provide a myriad of health benefits like:

• Improving gut health. Veggies are a great source of dietary fiber, which helps food pass through your gut easier and may also improve the body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals.
• Lowering blood pres...

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup organic raspberries frozen
• 1/2 cup organic blackberries frozen
• 16-20 ounces iced green tea (prepare in advance)
• 1 handful of ice
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 2 kale leaves torn from stem
• 2 scoops vanilla- or chocolate-flavored protein powder (pea protein, sweetened with stevia)*
• 2 droppers full of liquid stevia I prefer berry or chocolate flavor
• 2 tablespoons avocado about ¼ avocado
• 1 scoop freeze-dried greens (optional and recommended)
• 1 tablespoon flax, hemp or chia seeds (optional and recommended)
• 1 tablespoon fiber inulin or glucomannan (optional and recommended)
• 1 teaspoon Maca powder (optional for the adventurous)
• 1 teaspoon pomegranate powder (optional for the adventurous)
• 1 teaspoon acai powder (optional for the adventurous)
• 1 teaspoon camu camu powder (optional for the adventurous)
• 1 teaspoon bee pollen (optional for the adventurous)
• 1 tablespoon aloe gel (optional for the adventurous) 

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to blender bowl (pr...

We all want strategies of how to keep our hunger at bay, maximize our metabolism and to be fully satisfied in the process. And thankfully it doesn't mean maintaining willpower of steel or depriving yourself. With these seven strategies from Nutrition and Fitness Expert JJ Virgin, you have everything you need to get the results you desire.

“Manufacturers have conditioned us to believe that even the slightest degree of hunger means we should run to eat something. As a result, we habitually reach for something at the slightest whim—usually a high sugar impact snack.

It isn’t just big food corporations that are promoting that graze-all-day mentality. Some people in the nutrition and fitness world still promote this myth that we should be grazing from the moment we wake up till when we doze off.

Trust me, you shouldn't be. If you eat a meal and feel the need to snack a few hours later, I encourage you to look carefully at what you’re eating. When you’re eating a good balance of protein, ...

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen peaches
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp protein powder
• 1 tbsp coconut butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder

Directions

1. Add all ingredients into your blending container.
2. Blend ingredients for 45 seconds.
3. Enjoy and serve! 

Does your life seem overwhelming at times? Personal responsibilities, taking care of family and managing a career, all at a non-stop pace that can get the best of even the strongest person. Fortunately, there is a way to prioritize yourself without diminishing the commitments you have to others. It all starts in your brain by working on your mental hygiene—a daily practice that is just as important as washing your hands.

We are huge fans of Dr. Daniel Amen and his wife Tana! The decade we spent working together on the Daniel Plan left an imprint that when it comes to our health, change is possible and with intentional effort, long-lasting results can be our reality.

We loved their focus on brain health and mental well-being, with the emphasis that we are not stuck with the brain we have. There is always room for improvement! As we jump into our week, we thought we’d take a deeper dive into Dr. Amen’s daily practices to protect and revitalize our mental well-being. We hope you find hi...

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed, leaves cut into smaller pieces (about 2 handfuls)
• 1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves (about ½ a bunch)
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup chopped cucumbers
• 8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• ¼ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
• ¼ cup sauerkraut (Recommended brands: Rejuvenate Foods or Eden Foods)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2-3 edible flowers (Look for calendula, violets or nasturtium in the herb section at your local natural food store)

Preparation

1. Add kale and parsley to a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and olive oil. Using your hands, mix the greens with the salt and oil, and then massage to soften up the greens. This takes about 2 minutes; you want the greens to appear wilted. Set the greens aside while you prep the remaining ingredients.
2. Place the pumpkin seeds in a dry sauté pan over medium heat. As the pan heats up, saute the seeds until they start to brown and begin to pop. Stir often to prevent burning
...