Natural Beauty, Vegetarian Recipes, Interior Design Inspiration, and Healthy Lifestyle Tips
The following simple diagrams are a great resource to anyone looking for a healthier diet. With tips ranging from the grocery store to your kitchen table, these infographics provide you with the visual reference that you’ll need to make healthier choices at home.
Grocery Lists:
Food Storage:
Spices:
Healthy Recipe Substitutions:
Building the Perfect Salad:
Smoothies and Fruit Infused Water:
Simple Recipe Formulas:
I’m just starting to get over the worst cold I’ve had in years. It’s also the first cold I’ve had in years. I used to get sick with every change in the season. It was like clockwork. I’d be down for two weeks, completely miserable, at least twice a year…that’s a full month of misery out of every year. Then I made some simple changes.
My father always says that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I totally think he is the wisest man on Earth. As it turns out, he actually lifted that quote from Benjamin Franklin. Still, my father is a very wise man. An ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure. I say this with confidence because the cold I’m getting over is honestly not nearly as bad as colds I’ve had in the past. I say this with confidence because as soon as I stopped taking the preventative measures I’ve stayed true to for a long time, I got sick. Super simple lifestyle changes and you can pretty much kiss colds goodbye.
1 Keep Your Hands Away from your Eyes, Nose, Mouth, and Ears.
This is the main way cold and flu viruses enter your system.
2 Wash Your Hands Frequently
Those hand sanitizers that are so popular just don’t work. End of story. Picture your doctor examining another patient then giving their hands a quick rub down with hand sanitizer before coming at you with those unwashed hands. Ew.
3 Drink Lots of Water
I can’t stress this enough. Water really keeps your body’s different systems functioning full force. I’ve been drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day for almost a year, and it’s changed my life.
4 Limes are Better than Lemons
I always add some lime juice to my tea or water. It’s not really about the flavor, I just feel like limes pack more of a punch than lemons. Is this backed by science? I have no idea.
That’s it. Four really simple habits that seem like no-brainers, until you become aware of how often you touch your face… with unwashed hands… while thirsty… without any limes in your refrigerator at home. Sounds silly, but it’s so true. I made the mistake of relying mostly on those hand sanitizers and slacking on drinking water for a whole week before I got this cold. Sigh. Lesson learned.
Photo credit: ultrakml / Foter / CC BY
Are you a morning person? One of those people who hops out of bed, does a killer workout, showers, gets dressed, and is ready to kick the crap out of the rest of the day… all before a cup of coffee?
I must confess, I’m as far from being a morning person as Dracula is. I genuinely NEED coffee to wake up. Not sunlight. Just coffee.
You’ve heard the rule of thumb, though: your body needs about 8 glasses of water a day. To me, that’s a lot of water and I refuse to let water interfere with the quiet enjoyment of my all day coffee habit. So I ignored all the signs my body was throwing my way to try and convince my brain that I needed more water. I was plagued by a dull complexion, occasional breakouts, scarring from old acne, not to mention headaches, digestive issues, and an overall sluggish feeling. All of these are symptoms of being sick, right?
I remember in my 10th grade health class, the teacher asked us to wash our hands with liquid soap and soda. A totally disgusting and uncomfortable experiment to show the class that we need water to purify our bodies, not only externally, but internally as well. I remember her saying, “you wouldn’t choose to bathe your skin with soda, why would you choose soda to bathe your insides?” Lesson learned, health teacher lady. Lesson learned.
Photo credit: Yashna M / Foter / CC BY
It’s been quite a few years since high school, and I still hadn’t truly internalized (no pun intended) that lesson. I just kept right on ignoring the signs. Then about 2 months ago, I’d finally had enough of all the nagging symptoms I’d been experiencing. I decided to start thinking of water as the medicine that could treat what was ailing me. It’s not an overnight miracle by any means. I mean, think about it. Imagine how filthy you’d be if you spent your entire life bathed in coffee, soda, and juice instead of water. It would take a while to clean off all those years of accumulated goop. Same thing applies to your innards.
Anyway, I invested in an awesome water bottle, an absolute must when you’ve decided to change your water intake. I like to take a step by step approach to any lifestyle change I decide to make so I don’t get too overwhelmed and then quit. The water bottle you invest in has got to make it somehow easier for you to drink more water. I don’t mind plastic water bottles (I know some of you prefer glass), and the fact that mine holds 32 oz allows me the ability to separate the overwhelming task of drinking 64 oz of water a day into just 2 manageable steps. I have an AM water bottle and a PM water bottle.
Of course I realize that this won’t work for everyone, but I must say it’s done wonders for me. The beauty of it all is that I’m still drinking as much of my beloved coffee as I was before, but now I’m also drinking more water than I ever have in my entire life.
Feeling better and looking better. Awesome-ville. Population: Me.