Browsing Tag:

immunity

ANTI-PROCRASTINATION

Anti-Procrastination Update 10-29-18

*This post contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

In this space of Anti-Procrastination Updates, I will periodically share with you all the things–things that are important to me, things I want to get to, and things that help make life purposeful and meaningful.

BIG NEWS!

It FINALLY happened! I launched my long-time talked about New Nostalgia The Shop! Did you see it?

New Nostalgia shop offers printable tools printable tools to help you pursue slow, simple, purposeful living in all areas of life. I would love for you to take a minute and see what I’ve been up to. This post will tell you all about it

 

UPDATE ON THIS ONE LIFE I GET TO LIVE

Lately, life has been all shop shop shop! And not shopping mall shop but launching my own shop. It has been so much fun and I can’t wait to continue to build it up an get more card sets out of my brain (it is swimming with them!) and into the shop.

I’ve also been sooo enjoying the fall season. I just can’t get over the beauty of the trees and freshly fallen leaves. The colors this year are beautiful here in Nebraska.

 

ONE BOOK I AM READING

The Ragged Edge of Night

I’ve been finding time to read right before I go to bed each night. I don’t allow myself to watch Netflix before reading a bit of a book…both are on my Kindle Fire so it is quite easy to read a quick chapter or two, then enjoy a show.

What show? I’ve been watching The Crown series on Netflix.

Continue Reading…

Drinks/ Featured/ Healthy Eating/ RECIPES

Honey Ginger Lemon Tea – A Cold Reliever

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Yesterday there was a blizzard here in the Midwest.  It was super fun to be snowed in, even though it was Super Bowl Sunday. We stayed in our jammies all day, I made a big ol’ lasagna, and my Avery made some chocolate chip cookies.  It was a super slow, super chill, super fun Super Bowl Sunday!

Today my 3 girls had a snow day as the roads were still a mess and the windchill was too low to be outside and stay safe.

We decided it is the perfect day for tea, especially when my Avery girl (11 years old) came to me and said “Mom, I think I’m getting a cold.  My nose is stuffy and my throat is a little sore and has ‘stuff’ running down the back of it.”  Oh no. Not cool.  Especially when she has been home bound for 2 days already.  She will be extra bored with a 3rd day at home, especially if she is not feeling well.

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Time for a cup of good, healthy tea.

I’ve been drinking this particular tea every morning, shortly after I wake up, and before I have a cup of coffee.  It is a great way to hydrate and get all those amazing good things that lemon- in -water gives you.  The addition of honey and ginger makes the tea even more nutritious. When I drink it in the mornings, I add a pinch of cayenne.  I’ve read that it is a great way to stimulate the liver to do its detoxifying magic first thing in the morning.  Read more about that here. 

I know when I have a cold, sipping on something hot is so very soothing.  I prefer something hot & light…like chamomile tea or this honey ginger lemon tea.  The steam will warm you  right up, and the ginger & lemon will help clear sinuses, and the honey will help soothe a sore throat. My sweet Avery certainly enjoyed it
and was very thankful for her cup of tea.  Later I will make her my Sweet Tart Smoothie for even more nutrition from aronia berries.  I do not want this cold going anywhere but away!

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The lemon in the tea gives a nice dose of vitamin C & there is wonderful goodness to the essential oils that diffuse into the tea from the rind of the lemon.  The ginger, honey and lemon all have their own natural medicinal qualities so when you drink them combined, they create a calming and relaxing tea that can ease cold symptoms and boost immunity.

This cleansing tea will become a favorite , whether you have a cold or not.  Make it for your family.  You will love it and so will they.  It tastes like a lightly sweetened hot lemon drink, with just a hint of ginger flavor.  It is so very thirst quenching and soothing.

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Before we move on to the recipe, I have a great tip for having ginger on hand and how to store it. It is to keep it in the freezer.  I like to store it in mason jars in the freezer 2 ways.  One–sliced thinly for tea.  Two–in chunks in a jar ready to be grated and used in the next recipe…like Korean Beef over Rice.  Frozen ginger is easy to peel and grate, and it lasts so much longer in the freezer.

Here are 7 of the top benefits of ginger:

1. Ginger improves the absorption and assimilation of essential nutrients in the body.
2. Ginger clears the “microcirculatory channels’ of the body, including the pesky sinuses that tend to flare up from time to time.
3. If you chew on ginger, it will help with nausea and airsickness.
4. Got a tummy ache?  Eat some ginger.
5. Joints giving you trouble?  Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that can bring relief.
6. If it is cold outside, ginger tea has warming benefits.
7. Rid throat and nose congestion by drinking ginger tea!

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Don’t you love that porcelain infuser teacup?  It was a gift and it is my fav.  Buy it here.

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On to the recipe.

 

Honey Ginger Lemon Tea

6 oz hot water

1 teaspoon raw honey

1 teaspoon thinly sliced ginger

1/2 lemon

 

~Start heating up water.  I LOVE my electric tea kettle and use it everyday.  It does a great job of heating the water quickly and keeping it warm for multiple cups of tea throughout the morning.

~Take a tea cup that has an infuser in it, and using a fork, pierce the half of lemon while holding it over the infuser and twist the fork and lemon to juice it.  Squeeze as much of the juice out of the lemon half as possible.  Cut the lemon half into 2-4 pieces.  Add them to the infuser.

~Meanwhile, take 1 teaspoon of thinly sliced ginger and put into the infuser.  (Slice using a mandolin and store in the freezer in a mason jar.)

~Last, take 1 teaspoon of honey and drizzle it over the lemon and ginger.

~Put the infuser into the cup of tea, then pour hot water over.

~Let steep 3-4 minutes.

~Lift the infuser our of the cup and enjoy your amazingly light, clean, fresh & oh- so- good for you Honey Ginger Lemon Tea!

HEALTH/ Nutrition

What You Should Know About Vitamin D

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by Sharon Porter  {Health & Wellness Contributor}

I was sitting at a conference a little while ago listening to a chiropractor, Dr. Richard Brouse, and he gave about an hour and a half lecture on the benefits of Vitamin D3! An hour and a half!!! I never knew!

Vitamin D is proving to be essential to good health. We have become obsessed with sunscreen in order to protect against skin cancer, however, in doing so we have gone in the opposite extreme and severely limited our natural production of Vitamin D from the sun. The results are devastating!

Here’s a quote from an article from the US News & World Report  – “U.S.News got in touch with Robyn Lucas, an epidemiologist at Australian National University who led a study published in the February issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology. Her finding: Far more lives are lost to diseases caused by a lack of sunlight than to those caused by too much.”

The good news is that you are able to get adequate levels of Vitamin D. If you live north of Atlanta in the U.S., you will need to find a quality supplement during the winter months to make sure that your levels are adequate. During the summer time, spend at least 10 minutes every day outside in the wonderful sunshine – without sunscreen.

A few reasons why this is important:

“The sunshine vitamin may protect against a host of diseases, including osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon. What’s more, sunlight has other hidden benefits—like protecting against depression, insomnia, and an overactive immune system.” (US News & World Report)

Here is a great article on Vitamin D from Shaklee – with whom I’m a distributor. It will help you decide if you are getting enough vitamin D. Shaklee is an amazing product & I believe they have the highest quality supplements on the market!

If you are taking any supplements, make sure you do your research on the company to make sure that you are getting all that you need, want, & are paying for.  Too many people are paying for cheap fillers in non-quality vitamins without knowing it.

Some questions to look for answers to on that search are:

Where do they get their ingredients? What is the purity of those ingredients?

Do they allow contaminants?

What quality control tests do they do?

Do they have scientific proof that their products actually do what they are supposed to?

If you want to skip the research, know that both Amy and I adore our Shaklee vitamins and would be happy to help you find what you need.  You can reach me with questions at www.strengthandbeauty4U@gmail.com or place an order here.

Know Your Vitamin D Levels:

Last, I strongly encourage you to find out your Vitamin D levels on your next visit to your doctor. When they draw blood and are testing for different things, ask them to please find out your Vitamin D levels. From there, you will know what you need to do to have the levels that are appropriate for you.

 Here are Vitamin D recommendation from Dr. OZ & Rozen.

To your sunshine!

Sharon-Porter-Shaklee

Sharon

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Hey Ya’ll…Amy here.

I am so happy to have Sharon here on the blog sharing her Health & Wellness tips with us.  She will be contributing occasionally.  We will get her full bio up soon and will let you know when we do.  Sharon has been a heart friend of mine for over 17 years.  She is the one who traveled to care for me for the week after my mastectomy and has so much health knowledge and wisdom. We are super lucky to have her willing to share it here with us!

I can’t stress the importance of this post.  Vitamin D is a KEY supplement that I take.  It is one of my personal top 3 supplements, and the first supplement my Oncologist tested me for and continues to test me for.  She knows the importance of it in my cancer battle and encourages me to take it

 

Shaklee Vitamin D3 Post AdShaklee Vitamin D-3 is my vitamin of choice.  I have watched my levels go up and stay up, and I know my health is better for it. 

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Shaklee Supplements

 

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