Did you know fermented vegetables are a fantastic source of probiotics? Did you even know you can "eat" probiotics and they don't just come in a capsule? Eating your probiotics is the best and most natural way to keep the bacteria in your body balanced. 

Things like toxins, medications, and stress are key factors in the imbalance of bacteria in our guts. We need good AND bad bacteria, but too often, the bad bacteria take over and that is where all the madness happens; sickness, chronic disorders, and disease.

They call the gut our 2nd brain. Did you know 90% of our serotonin is made in our gut; not our brain?! Yes, honey! We need to keep our guts in good health in order for us to be healthy. Are you asking what in the world that means? That means our mental health starts in our gut; NOT OUR BRAIN! 

Fermented veggies are a GREAT source of probiotics; along with kimchi, miso, sauerkraut, and kombucha. They aid in getting the good bacteria back in our guts. 

Did you...

So, it was a Wednesday night and we went to a local brewery to watch one of our friend's son sing. The weather was perfect, the tacos were delicious and Jacks did a fantastic job entertaining us for 2 hours! 

When we left, it was fairly early, so some of us decided to go to a small pub and hang out. It was an Irish pub, which was so fun because this is the week of St. Patrick's Day, so they had live folk music. 

This band was so entertaining and completely chilled out. They played from their seats at a table. I'm not sure why, but that made it even more fun and relaxed.

It was a great night and on our way home, Neil needed gas, so we stopped at the famous Buc ee's gas station. If you aren't from Texas, you may not know what Buc ee's is, and if you don't, do yourself a giant favor and put a visit to Buc ee's on your road trip bucket list. It is like no other gas station experience out there. 

It's like a general store met up with Cabela's AND Cracker Barrel and decided...

There is one thing, without a doubt, that we ALL have in common. We all have to eat.

Can I get an amen!?!

Here are some best practices I have put into place over the past 5 years, during my journey to healthy eating and healing. I hope you find these helpful and are able to implement some of these into your life.

1. Never be rushed at the grocery store. Put your grocery store trips on the calendar. If you can make time to get your hair and nails done or play that golf game and watch that basketball game, you can certainly make time to buy your fuel (ADA food). 
2. Plan your grocery list. Search Pinterest, Google, your cookbooks, Instagram and so on and make your list ahead of time.
3. Take your own reusable grocery bags. It's 2020 friends. It's time. The seafood that you eat is swimming in plastic. 
4. Go to the produce section first. Buy as much as you can from this section. My goal is always to have at least 70% of my basket filled with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
5. Try to...

Some people are die-hard organic grocery buyers while others are anti-organic buyers. For some reason, there is a group of people that believe USDA organic is a giant joke. I'm not sure if they are just masking their "excuses" for not taking control of their health through food, or maybe it's because they think it's a scam. As a health coach, I am in the middle. 

When I do my shopping, I usually buy any foods on the dirty dozen list in organic. Not only that, but I wash them with vinegar water when I get home. These fruits and vegetables test very high in pesticides and I surely don't want us consuming pesticides.

Meghan Telpner, the founder of The Academy of Culinary Nutrition, uses these rules as a guideline when purchasing foods:

1. Organic + Local
2. Local
3. Organic from a faraway land

And I always purchase organic meat/poultry. Keep in mind, often times when food is grown in faraway places, they will grow it organically, but then spray it before it's loaded for the shipment...

Hidy and welcome to my blog! 

This is a topic I think about a lot, but haven't spent much time discussing. To me, it's simple. 

In my latest article on Thrive Global, I talk about priority lists and why I think most people have their's in the wrong order.

I'd love for you to read it. Here's the link!

What's on Your Fork?

January is the month for dieting, am I right?! In this vlog, I talk about my take on dieting, ways to put an end to them and how to start off your 2020 with undieting in mind!

Hey friends. Thanks for hopping on over. I'd love you to read my latest article on Thrive Global. It's an online lifestyle magazine created by The Arianna Huffington where you can find inspiration and I'm a contributing author. 

In this article, I talk about what I believe are 3 simple action steps you can take today to start living a healthier life. 

You can click here to read it!

What's On Your Fork?

Let's take a new view at cancer, shall we?! Here's my lastest Vlog.

Prevention is everything. 

What's On Your Fork?

I am so excited I am busting at the seems! Writing has always been something I have enjoyed. I wrote countless stories as a child & promised myself I will write 2 books in the next 5 years. In the meantime, I applied and was accepted to be a published writer for Thrive Global. Thrive Global is an online community & lifestyle website. So, I bring you my first article. 

I hope you enjoy a little insight into my personal life and my "why".

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/everyone-has-a-story/

What's On Your Fork?

Just know you are not alone when it comes to throwing in the towel on healthy eating during the holidays.

From the candy at Halloween, the gorging of carbs during Thanksgiving, the stuffing our faces at every Christmas party, to all the drinking at New Years....it feels like a hopeless cause to remain healthy. 

It's like 2 solid months of bad choices! Can I get an amen!?!

Watch my quick "vlog" on tips and tricks to survive the holiday food madness!

What's On Your Fork?