At RISE we focus on keeping wellness simple, and when it comes to food we know it’s essential to have a few strategies that work for your tastebuds and your budget.

So imagine this scenario: you open a fully stocked fridge brimming with delicious and fresh, high-quality foods that are chocked-full of the nutrients you need. And the best part is that it was super affordable and you have cash to spare.

While organic superfoods may cost more than your weekly food budget allows, you can still load up on the good stuff at an affordable price having a few tips in mind. Eating healthy doesn’t necessarily require expensive ingredients and your recipes don’t need to be overly complex. 

If you’re ready to add high-quality ingredients to your diet without breaking the bank, follow these four easy tips... 

#1 Keep Your Kitchen Stocked
It makes cooking so much easier if you stock up on canned and dry goods, like tomato puree, tuna, chickpeas, kidney beans, rice,...

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...

We thought it would be a perfect way to start our week by looking at a few practical ways to find peace when chaos is running high and how to cultivate hope (even now!)

Science has proven time and time again that stress is the biggest strain on our ability to cope with the challenges and changes we face. Panic can often bring with it uncontrollable fear and anxiety which narrows our thinking, and makes us an island of one at a time when we need each other more than ever.

Our takeaway today is to focus on the things we can control instead of the main circumstances outside of our ability to change. It’s a perfect time to slow down and be more aware of God’s presence in our lives, even when our focus is being diverted away.

When it comes down to key insights of how to soak in more of God’s presence, we have loved the insights from John Eldredge in his book, “Get Your Life Back”. He highlights a few wonderfully simple practices, or what John calls...

 We thought it would be a great way to start the week by featuring a few insights from Dr. Caroline Leaf on boosting your mental energy when you need it most! Dr. Leaf is a brilliant cognitive neuroscientist and found her 3 top tips super practical and easy to integrate, especially when stress is high and your energy is running low. Here’s a little background...

“Why do we get tired? Our nonconscious mind never stops. It’s always trying to make us aware of issues that are damaging our resilience and causing neurophysiological disruptions in our brain and body. However, the conscious mind and brain do get tired because they work on energy, like our phones. This is kind of like when we have a whole lot of apps open, the brightness is on full and we are constantly using our phone—very soon the battery will die. And, like you need to recharge your phone, you also need to recharge your brain and conscious mind. 

It’s best we do this in a regular...

Why is it so hard to find the right balance in practicing wellness into our lives? We all have struggled to create healthy habits, like those practices that help you love and feel good about yourself in mind, body and spirit. In today's article, RISE Faculty Expert Dr. Will Cole’s article reminds us that even with the best intentions the healthiest people can make some common mistakes in staying forever young, fit and well.

The Most Common Wellness Mistakes Even The Healthiest People Make by Dr Will Cole

1. Eating the wrong healthy foods for your body

“In functional medicine we understand that what works for one person may not work for the next. Because of food sensitivities and underlying gut problems, I see many healthy eaters unintentionally stressing out their bodies with foods that don’t agree with their individual bodies. Trying out an elimination diet can be a simple way for you to take charge of your food and figure out exactly what your body...

Suggested serving 4-5 pancakes 

Ingredients

1 cup almond meal
1 cup coconut flour
2 scoops vegan protein powder
1/3 cup raw agave, raw coconut nectar or 4 drops stevia
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp ground flax seed or chia seed
1 1/3 cup water

Directions

1. In a measuring cup add the flax or chia seed and water, stir and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. In a mid sized mixing bowl combine the rest of the dry ingredients and fold together.

3. Add the liquid sweetener to the water mix and pour into the dry ingredients, stir until well combined.

This mix should be thicker than normal pancake batter but not like hummus. If your mix is too thick add water until it is more like a thick cake batter.

RISE Tacos

Ingredients

 SAVORY TACOS

• 1½ cups diced mushrooms
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• ½ cup diced tomato
• ½ cup chopped spinach or kale

 Sauce:

• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

 SUMMER TACOS

• 1 cup julienned cucumber
• ½ cup shredded carrot
• ½ cup shredded cabbage
• ½ cup quartered baby tomatoes

 Cilantro Sauce:

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp raw coconut or agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

 SWEET TACOS

• 1 cup diced strawberries
• 1 cup diced mango or pineapple
• 1 cup diced avocado
• ¼ cup hemp seeds

 Sauce:

• 1 cup diced strawberries
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

For all taco fillings, cut the vegetables or fruits as described and toss together in a medium bowl. Prepare the...

Frozen Banana Bites

Suggested serving 4-6 bites.

4 cups ripe banana, cut into 1/4 inch slices (roughly 3 banana) 

11/2 cup chocolate chips (Lily’s is a good dairy free/sugar free option)

1⁄4 cup almond butter, chunky or smooth

1 teaspoon coconut oil 

Directions

1. Cut the banana into 1⁄4 inch slices and set aside on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
2. Spoon 1⁄2 teaspoon almond butter on half of the banana slices on the parchment paper.
3. Top the layered half with the other empty half of the banana slices to make a sandwich.
4. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze for two hours. When the banana sandwiches are frozen, prepare the chocolate.
5. Place the chocolate chips in a mid-sized microwave-safe bowl along with the coconut oil.
6. Cover and microwave on low/medium heat in 30 second bursts. Stir in between each round until the chocolate is fully melted. 
7. Prepare another baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the bites...

Well it’s a month out from New Year’s Day, and we thought we’d check in to see how things are going with some of your intentions for 2021. Since health and weight loss are typically high on the list of the goals desired, we thought we’d offer some sage advice on practical ways to curb your cravings! 

When stress is high it’s natural for your cravings to increase and for you to look to food to provide extra comfort. Pair that with the addictive nature of many of the processed foods that surround us and finding food freedom can often be a real challenge. 

Bottom line, cravings are real but there are solid strategies to help us break free.  Let’s take a moment to look at some key research from our RISE Expert, Dr. Mark Hyman on 5 key practices that will help to eliminate your cravings and lay the foundation to reach your goals...

The Right Mind Shift to Fight Cravings

“Nobody wants to be overweight or suffer...

We wanted to share some thoughts on our favorite stress buster and one simple way to create more joy in your life!
 

It’s been said, “A well lived life is like driving a car. Every time you get in the car you have a destination, but instead of putting it on “auto-pilot”, you get to decide to make turns, go faster or slower, and you have to make minor adjustments along the way.” 
 
Professionally, the most successful and experienced race car drivers have learned to slow their body and mind down and drive in the moment. The great one’s have learned to focus on the present…
 
…they are in tune with their body, their car, every turn along the road and they “feel every groove” off the road. 
 

Similarly, we can learn to be focused, present and mindful as we live with better balance so we can determine how much we enjoy the ride. 
 
So, this week, let’s focus on going out onto...