As an avid fan of Seeking Health, their mission and the quality of their products, most of what you will find in my home when it comes to supplements and caring for our bodies outside of food will be the Seeking Health brand.

In this season my focus is on lowering inflammation, detoxing heavy metals, mold exposure and possible candida, repairing gut health, and boosting immunity. As many of my readers and clients are in need of the same support (as are most people), I've listed my current favorite lineup below (not all pictured above). 

Already an affordably priced supplement line (which is a beautiful thing for allergen-free, non-gmo products that use no artificial colors or flavorings), I also have a coupon code for my readers and clients for their first order - just use NOSHNURTURE10 upon checkout for 10% off. 

Without further adieu, here are my daily go-to's. 

Also, again, I am not a doctor. I can not diagnose, treat or cure any disease. I am just passionate about natural health and supplementing our bodies with what we need. I am under the care of a naturopathic physician who helps guide me on what my body needs and I order accordingly. 

• Pure Greens
  This is HANDS DOWN the BEST greens powder I've ever tasted. PACKED with vegetables, probiotics, antioxidants, fruits and a rainforest blend, it delivers SO much goodness in a powder that tastes almost non-existent in a smoothie of fresh organic fruits and almond milk. NO sweeteners needed. I can't rave about this enough. 
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• Prenatal Chewable
  I have been on their Prenatal Powder since 2016 and recently made the switch to the chewables so I can take this in the AM and use the greens powder for my smoothies. I find this works best to double up on the nutrients my body is receiving. 
  
  
• Probiota Sensitive
  I love all of their probiotic blends, it's just finding the one that you prefer. I've been on the general probiota, the Probiota Women's and the Probiota Sensitive. I'm opting for this one at the moment due to my detox. I have Grey on the Probiota Infant as well. 
  
  
• Liposomal Vitamic C
  Liposomal supplements are in a liquid form and are most easily absorbed into the body without loss of nutrients. I take this every morning to keep my immunity boosted. 
  
  
• Liposomal Curcumin
  Again, the liposomal form of curcumin (turmeric) is readily absorbed, therefor I know I'm getting the most out of this anti-inflammatory powerhouse. 

• Liposomal Glutathione
  Our bodies utilize glutathione for our detox pathways to work optimally. If you have a MTHFR defect or other genetic factors that deplete your bodies glutathione, this supplement helps rid our bodies of the toxicity we are exposed to daily. A great addition for if you're traveling, exposed to chemicals, renovating a home, exposed to mold or recovering from or fighting illness. 
  
  
• Liver Nutrients
  This one is tailored to my specific needs as I am also on a couple of binders. This helps my liver to detox and protects it as it works hard to clean up my body. 

Again, you can see their entire  line here. Just use NOSHNURTURE10 upon checkout for anything you may try. If you want to chat supplements, you can contact me here and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have or get them answered by Seeking Health. I have a heart and a passion for helping others live their healthiest life. 

 Here's a question I get asked MANY times.

What can I eat when I feel under the weather now that I am... (gluten free, paleo, vegan, dairy free, etc.)

The "what can I eat now that..." questions are my most popular as a nutritionist and food blogger so I finally decided to sit down and start a product round up series. Since I believe I've tried nearly every gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan food made today (ok not all, but it feels like most) I thought it was time I put some little guides together to help you and give you a bookmark for when you're searching. 

Below I've put together a gallery of products that are my personal go to's when I'm feeling crummy. They are a mix of healthy, easy to prepare and are ALL gluten and dairy free. Not all below are Paleo, but most are. I remember the first time I got a cold after changing my lifestyle and thinking, "Great! Now I can't have ginger ale or crackers or hearty soups that are easy to prepare." Over time I found my way back to comfort items that I could microwave if need be if I was home alone and needed to tend to me or the baby without much energy. 

And this should go without saying, but making your diet primarily fresh fruits, vegetables, bone broths and lean meats should be your first line of defense in both fighting off and fighting during a sickness. The items below are just healthier substitutes for those "comfort foods" of your childhood, or foods that help curb nausea. 

You may click on any product below to quickly purchase on Amazon. 

​Do you have any favorites that you'd add to this list? I'd love to hear them!

As mentioned in my post on Spring Immunity, one of my top go to's for giving us a health boost are my Young Living oils (why I choose YL over any other brand here).  I use this roller on our feet when we are going to any big family event, crowded locale, a party, when we travel or when we start to feel under the weather. So basically, anytime we leave the confines of our home, haha. 

Nee
These rollers are super easy to make. I order my roller bottles from Amazon and always have some on hand so I can gift my girls when these babies when they travel too. 

To make yourself an Immunity Roller, blend up the following:

2 Drops Frankincense
4 Drops Thieves
3 Drops Lemon
2 Drops Oregano
Fill the rest of the bottle with carrier oil

... and place on your roller top. Voila! 

Need help getting started with oils? Visit my Oils page to read more about it.

​Ready to sign up and make your roller? Join here!

Last night we threw a dinner party for some dear friends of ours. My friend Emma is a total sweetheart and fellow "crunchy" mama like myself and she brought me a batch of homemade elderberry syrup as a hostess gift.

I mean.

Could someone know me any better than that? Haha. 

I buy Elderberry (which is not cheap no matter where you get it, I usually get it at Sprouts or on Amazon or Thrive), regularly to keep mine and the baby's immunity up, so a whole batch for the house was scoring huge. Thanks friend. 

I was lacking some creative ideas for the blog this week, #MomTired #MomBrain, and her thoughtful gift got me thinking about Spring immunity. The baby and I have both been dealing with some Spring allergy sniffles and the tail end of cold and flu season still looms throughout the U.S. so its always good to have strong go-to's to keep us well and breathing well. 

I wanted to share today some of what we are currently doing naturally to keep us well today and through the Spring and Summer season. 

And if you're wondering how to make Elderberry Syrup at home, Emma uses Wellness Mama's recipe, which you can find here. 

As a natural mama, I want to do everything I can to support Grey's body, and ours, with ways that are natural and created by God. Elderberry, with its anti viral and anti inflammatory properties, it's high in Vitamin A, B, C, antioxidants and quercetin and enhances the immune system. I could write a whole post on Elderberry, and I may sometime soon, but it is the powerhouse player of our immune boost regimen and we take it everyday. I usually take an Elderberry gummy that also contains zinc and vitamin C as well. 

Speaking of Vitamin C, I take a buffered Vitamin C powder from Seeking Health when I'm starting to feel run down, when I'm fighting allergies or when I'm sick to give me a boost. I use a buffered C as it's gentler on my stomach and bladder, which I've had issues with in my past. It's also the reason why I don't take it everyday and get my daily C from the elderberry gummy or through fruit and vegetables. 

My biggest go to to keep my home purified and healthy are my oils. In addition to cleaning with and diffusing Young Living Oil's Thieves Blend, I also make a custom Immunity Roller for our feet (Grey's included!). Thieves oil is a powerhouse immunity booster and has played a vital role in shortening our past illnesses (comparing our average colds to post-oil life vs. before we used them), curbing illness when we start to feel something coming on and for general everyday support. 

A daily probiotic has also been vital. We began taking them to boost our immune systems, but learned how they can support our immune systems so it became a win/win to make sure we take it with our dairy-free yogurt or smoothie in the morning. 

In addition to these steps, we also drink a ton of water, eat a hearty helping of fruit and vegetables every day and get optimal rest. 

How do you boost your families health naturally? Always love to chat with fellow healthy ladies on keeping their families well. 

As someone who's personally been using essential oils for nearly two years, I felt it was time to move from simply using oils, to sharing what they've done for me and my family. 

Authenticity means everything to me, which is why it's taken so long for me to move into the space of sharing and selling oils. As I really, whole heartedly began to believe in them and fall in love with this non-toxic lifestyle we are leading with our homes, health and bodies, I began speaking more of them and sharing them with those around me and with my clients and readers. 

Many have asked how they can get started, I have all that info on my oils page. 

This post, however, serves to inform on how you can best utilize the oils that come in the Premium Starter Kit. It's how I got started, it contains some of my very favorite oils that are versatile for your everyday life and it is how many of my friends and clients are starting their oily journeys as well. 

Below I've outlined what's included in the Premium Starter Kit, and how each oil is best used. If you have any questions, would like to try an oil or are interested in getting started, contact me. I'd be happy to chat! 

​4. Keep A Journal. By keeping a journal, I am able to share food ideas as well as my specific struggles along the way. I can reference back to how it went the last time each time I embark on a new cleanse, and it gives me hope to read about the days I felt lighter, lost weight or felt super energized!
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5. Don’t Beat Yourself Up. Remember that you are doing this for YOU. For you to feel GOOD. To feel LIGHT and HEALTHY. If you mess up, it’s OK. Be kind with you

Last year I guest posted on Around My Family Table on my Honest Girl's Guide To Surviving Sugar Cleanse. And as many of you are working hard at your resolutions, getting healthy and striving to stay healthy if you're on a good health path, I wanted to share it here in this space this year. 

t’s that time of year again.  When we all set out to refresh. Wipe the slate clean. Become A “New” Person, whatever that last one means. This intention is masked with words like “resolutions”, “goal setting” and “complete turnaround”, and while the effort we make is commendable, sometimes we are setting ourselves up for disappointment if our January 1st To-Do list isn’t completed by the next time the ball drops.

Today I wanted to focus on healthier goal setting, specifically one of the most popular trends on every social media feed and that is “Completing a Sugar Detox” or a “Sugar Cleanse”.  If you are unfamiliar with the concept, it’s a basic whole food diet that eliminates starches, breads, pastas, starchy vegetables and sugar in any form. As someone who has personally done a sugar detox in the past, and as someone who doesn’t consume dairy, my diet looked a little something like this.

– Grass-Fed and Free-Range Organic Meats
– Organic Vegetables and Some Organic Fruits
– Nuts and/or Seeds
– Healthy Fats (Avocado, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil)

Diets rich in these foods with help to cleanse and reset your system from all the holidays treats that it had to endure over the last few months and it will help you realize what you crave, what you’re sensitive too and what you can most likely live without.

As someone who has been through this,  I am here to paint the honest picture of the roller coaster that you might, er, will endure, and how to fight off your sugar dragon like a superhero.

Day One – You’re going to feel great. Powerful. Determined. You’ve spent your paycheck on the cleanest of clean foods and you’re ready to take on the world with a version of yourself that’s fitter, more energetic and healthier. Hold on to her. Hold on to this feeling and vision, because I am about to tell you that she will disappear or turn on you, but that there’s hope and she DOES come back.
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Days Two – Four. Or Ten.  Not going to sugar coat it, mmmm sugar coating, this is the hardest stretch and this is how your mind will start to work. Everything you look at will resemble a donut. Your energy levels will drop drastically and you may experience an onslaught of detox symptoms. One may wonder, why would I continue on with such a wretched lifestyle? Because you’re worth it. Your health is worth it and it gets…  So. Much. Better.

Days 10-14 – Your energy will surprisingly pop up sometime this week. You will actually want to work out instead of dragging yourself out of bed from your nap, and you will wonder how you still have energy to clean the house or walk the dog. You will start to see fat melting off and definition setting in, (more so if you’ve been working out along the way.)  It’s a good time. Enjoy this time.Skip along joyfully with your bag of washed carrots in hand and easily turn away the offers of sugar and starch filled foods at the office or your kiddo’s play date.
Days 14-20 – Halfway there! This is where I really got into the groove of making recipes, experimenting and eating more variety of approved foods.  I started to get more confident of my time in the kitchen and I had cooking and packing my husband’s lunch down to a science.
Days 21-29 – The sugar dragon strikes again! Around day 21, I almost gave up. The dragon kept saying, “You’ve done well enough.” “A three week detox is just as good as a four week detox.” “Coooooookies.” Don’t give in. Don’t listen to it. You made a commitment to go 30 days on your new healthy plan. Stick it out. Remember on Day 8 when you didn’t want to get out of bed, your head was throbbing and all you wanted was a gallon of hot coffee? Ok, maybe that was just me, we all have our own story, but the point is, don’t let it win.
Day 30 – You did it! Most of the stories you see on the detox plans is simply “I felt great. I got healthier. I was more energized!” And while truth be told, that is the gold at the end of the rainbow, getting there is a journey in itself. Like anything worth having it takes hard work, dedication and a good support system if you can rally one together. When I finished I went to a light grain, low sugar diet and I plan to start another sugar detox, this time my goal is to be strictly Paleo upon completion.

I would love to hear your experiences in taming your own dragon, and what worked for you. I will end with my top five tips for a successful detox.

While it's important to detox year round, the holiday season is a crucial time to take care to detox our bodies, mind and souls regularly. The change in weather, family and added financial stressors, additional caloric intake and cold and flu season all threaten our health on a daily basis. Below I share my detox routine that helps keeps me balanced overall. 

​Always looking for ways to aid my body in detoxing, I've asked Santa for a rebounder (translation: adult trampoline) which aids which also gets the lymph system moving. 

The gym I joined has a dry sauna which is king in ways to detox. I plan to start slow and steady under the care of my doctor and increase my time in the sauna. 

I also have more tests scheduled on my detox pathways. Always growing, learning, but most importantly praying for healing.

You may have noticed detox baths (usually a mix of warm water, Epsom salt and essential oils) are missing from my list. I found each time I did one I got sick. My doctor told me they are probably to intense for me right now (which is why everyone is different) and that a foot soak is probably a better way for me to go right now. 

Anything missing that you swear by to detox this time of year? Or do you have a favorite from the list? Also, for those of you that have experience rebounding or hitting the sauna, what's been your experience? 

I've learned that a lot of my fitness habits went to the wayside by my own excuses.  When I was touring my workout regime was on point.  I was dancing regularly, and even though I lived solo and didn't have a workout partner, I still hit the gym daily to do free weights, cardio, and abs.  Lots and lots of abs.

And then I grew up, stopped touring, got a full time job in journalism that put me at a desk all day and my health took a turn that for some reason makes cardio leads to me getting sick sometimes. 

But I've realized that I can excuse it away all day long, but when it comes down to it I've learned that I am good when it comes to eating healthy, I'm just not so good at working out on a regular basis.

And that's ok.  The important thing is that I learn what I can work with.  On days, like yesterday for example, when my energy is soaring (and I'll say I was on day 11 of the Whole 30 meal plan), that I get in a good workout.  That I try to lift weights, do cardio or power yoga.

And then, on the days when I have no energy, when I'm not feeling well, when I'm experiencing my pelvic pain, or I've put in 10 hours of writing and leaving the house is the last thing I want to do, I will improvise and dedicate to doing something good for my body.

And that can be a number of things, for you as well.  You all know your bodies better than anyone.  The beauty about this journey is that I've learned to tune in to know when I'm just being lazy or when I know my body really does just need to rest or sleep. 

I've put together a list of low-impact, easy exercises to do when your exhausted or just need to decompress or you need a good stretch session. 

1. Restorative or Relaxation Yoga.  This is my favorite.  It relaxes me and it helps me to really stretch.  After the half hour or hour I put in I am refreshed, feel like I got a gentle workout and am relaxed enough that I can do it at night and not be too energized to go to sleep. Tamal Dodge is my favorite instructor on DVD, or you can find a local yoga studio that offers these classes. 
   
2. Walking.  Simple as that.  Getting out in fresh air, getting my blood moving and taking time to pray and connect to God changes my whole day.  When I make the time to go out and take a walk I feel so much better.  And one of my best girlfriends and I have started making this a way we hang out in the morning.  We usually do 2 miles and walk while we catch up. 
3. Specified Stretches.  Sometimes when I don't do a yoga class or video, I will do a specific 15-30 minute set of stretches from my physical therapist or pelvic pain book.  If you have a specific pain issue or you just generally feel tight in a certain body part, shoulders, legs, etc. locate easy and effective stretches either with a book or online videos that will help you regularly stretch out.  It's a fact that we hold a lot of emotions in our psoas area (the muscle that runs from under your ribs, down to your inner thigh, deep inside) and when mine is tight I feel much more anxious and irritable. 
4. Low Impact Cardio Machines.  I adore the elliptical machine.  It's low impact and you can use as much energy, or not, that you are feeling on a particular day.  I used to employ the rule that if I wanted to watch FRIENDS (my favorite show of ALL time, if you know me at all) or read my latest issue of SHAPE, I had to be on an elliptical or treadmill to watch it. (I told you, I was hard core back in the day).  I have decided to start using the reward system for myself again, as I know this works really well for me, only now I use new issues of Gluten Free Living or Natural Health as my sweet reward.

I'd love to know what you do when you're not feeling to hot or want to hide under the covers? Fitness first! :) 

Made by Ortho Molecular Products InflammaCORE is a protein powder designed to alleviate intestinal inflammation. My doctor prescribed this for me, and though it's pricey, it's been a saving grace on my journey from how sick I felt just over a year ago. Packed with ingredients such as flax seed, green tea and turmeric it brings a well-rounded set of herbs to stimulate internal healing. 

Each serving has 19 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber in addition to 1,000 grams of Omega 3's. On top of it all, it's naturally sweetened with a touch of Stevia and it tastes delicious. Available in cherry, orange and banana creme, I myself prefer the banana creme. It pairs so yummy with all natural blueberry juice, coconut milk or chocolate almond milk with an added real banana as a dessert treat that takes care of my body.  Below is a listing from OrtoMolecular on the specific benefits of each herb. I've also seen many reviews on this product about how well it works, being a saving grace for a lot of patients with IBS. I myself can vouch for this product and highly recommend it to anyone struggling with inflammation problems. 

Visit OrthoMolecular's official site here. 
Turmeric (Curcumin) 
This orange-colored spice, used for thousands of years in cooking and medicine, is rich in curcumin. In numerous studies, curcumin has been shown to have strong NFkB-modulating properties. NFkB plays a crucial role in inflammation. High activity levels of NFkB are associated with cell death and tissue damage. This broad-spectrum activity makes curcumin a great choice for supporting balanced inflammation in the body. 
Skullcap Root Extract 
Skullcap root has been used historically in Chinese medicine to support balance in the basic inflammatory response function and healthy immune function. Studies show skullcap is a strong scavenger of oxidative radicals, and is also able to promote balanced NFkB activity and maintain normal prostaglandin synthesis. 
Green Tea Extract (EGCG) 
EGCG, the most well-researched catechin in green tea, has been shown to protect cells from free radical damage and positively affect inflammatory response markers. 

Intestinal Reinforcement 
Efficacious amount of l-glutamine and glycine, amino acids crucial for mucosal regeneration and tissue repair. 

Immune System Balance 
Biologically active amount of vitamin D and arabinogalactan for support of proper immune function.