Habits Archives - Page 2 of 10 - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Bloating Symptom Foods – Low FODMAP

Bloating symptoms from acidic foods are no fun that trigger and bother the gut lining. Following a low FODMAP list of food helps to recover quicker.

It’s a part of living.

And when you feel bloated, that’s not the time to try new foods.

When that happens, restoring the gut with a list of healthy, and selective food choices that will please and soothe the tummy is the fastest remedy.

It’s easy to do when you know what to do and which foods are safe.

And following a low FODMAP diet (at least temporarily) is a good food map to follow.

You can start with simple foods, but that’s generally good for 1-3 days and then you want to get back to some other foods with vitamins and minerals.

When you have bloating flare-up, that can also be a time to do a digestive reset, supporting a healthy eating lifestyle.

The safer foods to eat are mostly all plant-based and anti-inflammatory. 🌱

So a low FODMAP diet can be a reset diet to optimize healthy eating year round.

It helps to lowering gut acidity that can show up as heartburn, upper GI inflammation, or lower bloating abdominal discomfort.

Many of our American or Western world diet foods are higher acidity and can tip the cause to a condition called GERD… that I can attest to feels like amped up heartburn. Like eating tomatoes often is not acidic helpful, even though it’s a healthy food.

…So it’s good to keep a handy list of Low FODMAP foods that won’t 🌱 exacerbate stomach acidity.

Some foods are tricky.

Coffee is one such example. It’s a Low FODMAP healthy ingredient. But the way it’s prepared (like as a regular hot brewed coffee) makes it more acidic.

That’s why daily home cold brew coffee is my safer choice so I don’t have to give up the healthy caffeine starter. Cold brew is easy to make and an easy tweak change from regular coffee. But I still cushion with food like a banana. 🍌

Because I learned from my experiences that coffee alone on an empty stomach can play gut havoc.

Another example is nuts where walnuts and peanuts can be good and okay… that is, assuming you can even eat nuts.

But then other types of nuts, like cashews can be digestive havocs.

There’s no specific, easy rhyme or reason way to remember which foods are better and ones to avoid (other than with a handy list) or from memory recall from your past experiences.

And, I’ve had many adult experiences.

Where even healthy foods and that are good for triggered food bloating gut issues, that didn’t play well with my gut.

It was timing related.

Your gut looks at what else is not digested in the gut or if you have an empty stomach. Those can be sensitive times for the gut, and can cause heartburn symptom triggers.

Or if you eat at a time you don’t normally eat that breaks routine like just before bed. The gut likes a break and then in the morning likes to have an an opener.

Like you waking up, the gut is waking up to a new day.

And with any food going down at the wrong time to the gut, we can feel poked and burdened with the weight of lead after it goes down. It’s always after the chewing part in the gut.

Which is important too, to try and chew your food more to be able to digest foods better.

…Early on, we relied on a B.R.A.T. diet that were simple to digest foods: bananas, rice, apples and toast. It was easy to remember and you didn’t have to break out a list.

It was so short and easy to remember that I also added yogurt on my stomach-friendly list.

Yogurt has probiotics and protein.

And finding the lowest sugar (no added sugar) yogurt option optimizes the good bacteria count.

And the B.R.A.T.Y. (I added the “y”) simple digestive diet still works today.

But these days… NOT ALL SO SIMPLE with all the food choices we have.

So a personal bloating food or Low FODMAP list that works for your palate and body is good to compile, so you can reach for the safe decisions made when needed. You can even set the list in your pantry cupboard for your emergency convenience.

I keep a label on my Five-Spice and this article list as my reference.

Another one that has worked for me that’s a bit controversial is apple cider vinegar that naturally is an acidic ingredient.

But it works for heartburn symptoms. It’s best to mix apple cider vinegar with water.

It’s a passed down tip from those of the past and I was brave enough to give it a try.

In my world, it works. But everyone is different. So it’s always good to test.

How it works…

Apples cider vinegar signals to the stomach to stop producing acid that it does. And if you have heartburn symptoms, if you try, you may even get some burping up trapped gas that’s needed relief. Babies burp a lot. Adults need to too.

Our bodies are all about being counterintuitive mystery curve balls where the best proof is our baby steps and trial-and-error.

That’s how we learn specifics that work in our lives.

We test the apples…

And apple fruit is another one that is low FODMAP food questionable depending on the apple type (for us apples).

I like unsweetened applesauce as it’s like baby food so there’s no issue.

But another tip is do not, not eat. Your stomach will work better with some food.

Most guts aren’t happy on an empty stomach and that delays our happy restoration.

Our guts have been very forgiving… otherwise none of us would be still be on the planet.

Variety in food helps our gut.

And is a good diversifying principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

Eggs, btw, are generally ok too. 🥚

And even if we make a one-time triggered bloating food mistake, we can cushion with foods and ingredients that are generally safe on a low FODMAP list, including:

-bell peppers and most veggies

-avocado

-many fruits (and believe it or not… green bananas are lower FODMAP than soft, ripe ones).

-Yogurt (low-sugar Greek yogurt)

-quinoa, oatmeal, cooked soft rice (e.g. white rice)

Amaranth is one grain I discovered to be super gut-friendly. It has a Cream of Wheat bowl texture… but is gluten-free.

If you’re a sourdough or bread making person, for Low FODMAP you can even add amaranth to your whole grain roll or bread loaf.

And, some other Low FODMAP list adds:

-herbs/spices: fennel (in Five Spice powder), anise, peppermint

-teas: green, black, and some herbal teas (chamomile, chicory root, peppermint).

Peppermint tea is something I always keep in my “food-as-medicine” cabinet. It does wonders for some stomaches and other body aches like headaches. If it’s heartburn you’re experiencing, it will not feel like it’s helping so much and then it’s good to use food variety with the teas in the list above.

I have found peppermint is good for middle (or general) stomach aches and ginger tea is good for upper-stomach pains (e.g. bloating or heartburn) and chicory is good for lower stomach or upper intestine discomfort. But again, test on yourself.

And instead of reaching for candy or sugar sweets, you can chew on an anise star (like licorice) or make a simple applesauce blueberry cobbler.

Eating low FODMAP foods are healthy foods so you can eat them when you’re feeling 100% too. You can also check out a GERD grocery list to help healthy food guide you next time you’re food shopping.

Positive Attitude is Everything

Positive attitude (aka optimism) has always been the better way to make good things happen in life. But so often, easier said than done.

Like when dropping a box of spaghetti where you can look at it as an extra chore… or spending a few minutes playing a fun game of pick-up sticks.

But it’s easier to magnify our natural responses, complaining, and being with the realities of life.

Where you maybe mutter something that doesn’t help the situation.

It’s an automatic response…

But automatic responses can be changed like past phases (and phrases you used) going through life.

They were place holders until you found a better way for your snap! uh-oh situations.

…Where those and anything in life could change your mood in an instant.

And when you run into those sudden moments, you can practice your better ways.

Use those as prompts to change your auto-reactions to situations.

That helps to shape your positive attitude.

And enrich what you want to grow in your life, like your opportunities and relationships…

Which btw, have you ever noticed that leaders and successful people are positive and motivational?

It helps them and then others are attracted to them.

But like all of us, they’re not always happy… but a positive attitude also helps them to reach deeper within for answers. And rise above what could drag them down.

That can go either way.

And it’s not the situation they get that’s the downfall… it’s their attitude that can make or break what happens next.

It’s the positive attitude that carries them through and over the hump.

Their positive beliefs turn into good reality.

And in turn, they become what they believe when they look in a mirror.

And if what you believe is positive, growing, and happy then, that’s where you’ll go-al. 🎯

So finding the positive out of negative situations is still the answer to success, but getting there isn’t always easy.

One good way to grow that area is you can choose to find the comedy in life-in-play situations and laugh more… with a positive attitude (that’s not cynical).

Then by laughing, you’re spreading joy that’s positively contagious.

…I’m serious.

It helps to gain a reality check.

…Is it really that bad?

It’s usually not as bad as the moment of impact.

And having a positive attitude to survive the moment is everything.

Because most situations move on and become a memory.

And I know myself what it’s like to have to change the attitude side and run 180 degrees in the opposite direction from my initial thought reactions.

…Because cynical and sarcastic was the realistic culture I grew up in. And was probably what you grew up in if you lived on watching television sitcoms before the turn of the century.

Realistic was pessimistic.

And the word attitude used alone meant you copped an attitude where more words added could cause trouble.

People didn’t know they had an attitude until it was brought to their attention.

That zeitgeist wasn’t set up yet for mindset shifts, daily enlightenment, meditation, and quiet time that today are times to look forward to… and maybe even get a little excited about! 🎉

Today, thankfully attitude is reframed into more positive attitudes.

People are much more conscious and will forwardly say, my attitude is: __________.

An easy way to test your own attitude (and practice) is to see how you view the daily weather.

In climate change days, most of us are often tested as the weather can re-route our day’s activities and how productive we are.

If the daily weather is not so favorable and you have to change your plans you were looking forward to, how do you view that?

…Does it make you sad, disappointed, or discouraged? Or do you see it as a way to step into possibly better plans?

If you adopt the latter, then you become less stuck in your ways… more nimble, and open to what life could bring in your favor at any moment.

Flipping the script is how you rewrite the thoughts in the situational moments.

…And thrive in your day.

And one day at a time becomes your life.

So changing to positive attitudes in your life helps you for the rest of your life. …Making responses automatic and letting those healthy ways penetrate deep down in your core.

…Where you bypass negative emotions and bridge straight toward the positive and loving thoughts and feelings.

I know this because that’s what I practiced in life situations to be the better version of myself. 🙋🏻‍♀️

This week, when the power unexpectedly went out for a few hours because of a hurricane storm that came up the coast, I discovered a new coffee shop. And from that small re-route, I may have a new potential partner to work with.

And another example this week was I had a ticketed event and found out that it wasn’t what I thought it would be.

So I ended up re-routing myself to a store where I met new friends.

👉 But the main lesson here is that before I let any of those two sour situations affect me, my attitude was automatically re-routed to a good place. My auto-thought now is: there’s a good reason for this… and I don’t know yet what that is, but the day will play out and I will figure it out.

And that’s because of the practice I had been doing leading up those events.

So now that I did that practice, I also believe that good things are rigged for my favor.

If you too believe that for your life, and that your re-routes are to help you, then you can bypass frustration feelings and look for more good in your day.

And in return, your energy radiates as attractive to the world. 🎉

So if this sounds good to you and you’d like to grow more of a positive attitude (to be the better version of yourself), this is one attitude habit you can practice daily…

Anytime you catch yourself complaining or have a complaining thought, try to catch that right away.

It might take a few tries in the beginning like any new habit and natural way, but (by being self-aware) eventually you’ll be able to change that.

👉 What’s tricky is that most of us are self-aware about our attitudes in the places we’re already aware of… but the ones we’re not (e.g. ego blind), those are the ones we want to change for out better lives.

We’re blind to what we don’t see.

So those areas take more effort to discover.

But if you practice in the small daily stuff like your weather re-route attitudes and hearing yourself complain-talk, then they become visible.

They become your natural way one situation at a time. And you can change your overall attitude.

And with a positive attitude, you get to focus on bigger, brighter, and better things!

Cinnamon Donut (Baked) – Low-Sugar

Donut baked with low-sugar cinnamon and honey is a way to love the original fried dough dessert that tastes amazing. 🍩 And these are made with healthy flour and ingredients. Recipe below.

The hole is credited to a sea captain on the waters in 1847.

Holed-donuts even look a bit like life preservers 🛟… and his story (and history) goes like this: the captain wanted more even cooking all around, so he punched a hole in the middle.

Then years later, donuts became “oily cakes” from the earliest donut shop recorded on land in the U.S.

And today, you can avoid oil and water (in cooking) by easy baking low-sugar donuts.

And you get more of an even bake like I did, using your special pans.

I used my Nordic Ware for this baking project that would hold up to any heated baking wars inside the oven. 😊

When you mix in whole wheat flour, you’re getting more fiber and protein than all-purpose flour. It’s a small tweak you can make in your cakey dough recipes.

The dough-batter will be a little darker in color.

I grew up on whole wheat sandwiches so it was an easy substitute for me.

You can see it holds up well in the pan of whole and hole donuts. With holes too, you get double the w(hole), plus more.

And sometimes a low-sugar healthy sweet cinnamon donut hole bite is all you need to fulfill the sweet tooth inside the pie hole (mouth).

When I worked with food event planning in Lebanese restaurants, one of the more popular desserts was Awamat (donut holes).

So this is where it can get confusing… is the hole the space in the middle of the donut or the donut round hole? 😁

In my party planning days 🥳, it was the round holes.

Those were often the choice for birthday parties or special dinner events that could be built up into a Croquembouche display (like a Christmas pine cone tree 🌲).

Holes in the middle can’t do that as they’re just air.

So the solid holes was something special and new to me. 🍩

Another new change I learned: donuts aren’t just for breakfast anymore like they used to be.

And the decked out party cinnamon donut holes I worked with were made with honey instead, and zhughed with saffron that gave a tangy tasting top.

…Plus a pretty interesting look with the stringy red strands.

In reminiscing about those special event donut days, this is my low-sugar healthy whole wheat version of the donut that you can decorate for any sweet occasion. You can make these anytime.

And add a melted chocolate glaze to the top, add rose tea buds, or a low-sugar chocolate frosting.

You can also try a coconut donut with a chocolate glaze.

Celebrate! And Mabrouk as we’d say… that means Congratulations! 🎉

Healthy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Donut - Low-Sugar

When you want a sweet bite, these fill the hole with a low-sugar, healthy baked snack.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, lebanese

Servings 4

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup milk of choice
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
1 tbsp light extra virgin olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp cinnamon spice
additional cinnamon for zhughing (optional)

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients until fully combined.
Roll 8 balls with hands and add to baking sheet pan (or make 2 donut rings and 4-5 1" balls).
Bake on 350°F/180°C for about 20 minutes. Don't overbake. Tips: With whole wheat flour, you'll tend to think that it may not be baked through so time is more reliable. About a few minutes or 5 minutes before finished, you can also flip the donut bottom to top of the pan, and see that the bottoms are slightly darker and finish your bake more evenly. Or for the donut holes, have fun rolling them around!
For a simple glaze, save your egg white and add a splash or water. Glaze donuts about 5 minutes before end of bake. You can also add a melted chocolate, light honey, or maple syrup glaze after the donut pan is cooled. Or simply zhugh with a dusting of cinnamon.

Busy Decision Made Easy – Get Unstuck!

Busy doesn’t have to be your life if you want to get unstuck this season. And this 7-and-a half minute article has notes about how you can declutter busy in your life (and get more of the authentic best life you’re meant to wisely live!).

I know both ways well because busy is something I grew up aspiring to. A BUSY LIFE was my purpose like a busy bee going from flower to flower.

Busy as a busy bee in this pink garden flower.

…when I grew up and lived in the busy DC metro area culture where everyone working is busy. Having busy plans on-and-off work meant you were important in some way.

…And not being busy meant you didn’t have a life.

I thought busy was a great word, and lived busy up into my 30s.

Today, busy is a “b” as in bad word now to me years in.

But lemme quickly tell you how I got there…

I simply buzzed away from the busy bees in the DC metro area I grew up in for starters… 🐝

Before that, busy was a charm bracelet I wore. It also meant complicating life by adding more and more. Accumulating is a deeper concept that accumulates, taking up space in life (and adds to or creates Kapha imbalances).

The opposite of a simple life sounded so boring.

And where I’m from, you can simply say “I’ve been busy” and you won’t get questioned.

The answer of being busy often got the equivalent of a smiling thumbs up. 👍

On top of those attitudes, being stood up is and was rude, but it was (and probably still is) accepted and common in acting 20 year olds.

Because unless the person you’re interacting with is related to you or lives with you, they’re too busy to listen if they don’t have to. That’s part of the busy culture air.

Souls aren’t looking for deep conversations about the soul, ha!

What’s your dark knight of the soul? as the person walks away and I’m standing by myself.

…I laugh because those are my favorite types of conversations now. 😊

And gradually as I became more interested in personal growth (and grew less busy), I saw being busy from the lens of being an excuse.

That’s what happens when you fill up breathing in living an authentic life and prioritizing inner peace (that’s now occupying your inner space).

…Compare that to wanting to just come out unscathed from this life living on the surface, like during my lowest seasons where I also dreamed of external-only happy desires.

Digging myself out of this way, I carved out big chunks of the day to be free, silent and listening to my thoughts, immersed in relaxing hobbies, writing, reading, writing some more, and just being at-peace, happy-joyful, and balanced.

No meditation except getting input and ideas from initiated prayer and memories from experiences, books, and others’ useful words.

And I’ll even go out on a limb and say, certain types of meditation as I know it are just another way to be busy… you know after a while of doing if it’s sucking life out of you (not giving back) OR if it’s life-giving and you can’t do without. Amen?

For me, one meditation way that works is getting in the zone of creative free-flow writing.

That I did very little of if at all in my corporate headspace days when I operated at my lowest vibration, but what I was doing looked good on paper and to the people I grew up with and was mostly around.

Gradually in my new slower paced life, I developed personal growth through building up character traits that aligned with the fruit of the spirit if you’re familiar.

Mainly: faith, patience, self-control, and peace.

These are deeper traits I never improved before (and were actually made worse in my former culture that modeled the opposite by outward actions).

And I had to go out of my way to seek those things and let them penetrate.

So then I had a new mark of success as personal growth (over external and corporate role accomplishments that used to be the primary mark).

To help unravel the busy life damage I soaked in, one step I took was I stopped filling up a calendar (that my earlier-hospitality event managing planner lifestyle approved and cozied up with).

I now like the look of a blank white calendar with a few fun stickers.😀

And today a nearly blank calendar is how I clearly see if I should add or skip an event… and then I decide.

And how I decide is based on the principle of GIVE and GET that I think is helpful for you if you want clarity in your life… and especially if you’re stuck.

And in this case use, it’s give OR get.

It goes like this…

If you’re giving something like teaching, encouraging, supporting, helping, mentoring, presenting, volunteering your time or donating money, then you have good reason to take time out of your day to be in that event headspace and with those people. It’s worth considering to put on your calendar.

…OR if you’re getting something out of an event like building connections, learning something new, supporting someone else, or getting yourself into happy moods by being somewhere else, then those are all good reasons to carve out time on your schedule.

But if not primarily going in and doing it for a Giving or Getting reason…

Then you’re allowing your drifting subconscious mind (that often influences and decides 😊)… to be confused and wonder if you need to be at the event… or questioning other people and their behaviors or way of dress, and not focusing on what they’re teaching or saying…

And if we’re judging others or having negative thoughts or feelings about being there, then it’s best to catch that and exit gracefully when you can.

Move on and enjoy the sunshine where you feel good.

Get back your hours and move in the direction of where you want to go.

When you were younger, you couldn’t do that or you would be going against approval of some form.

And now you’re an adult who chooses…

Re-learning and setting new habits around the idea that what is good for others isn’t good for you… and taking action based on that wisdom saves you time and going down rabbit holes.

So when you determine if you’re giving or getting in a situation, that makes it Black-And-White easy to decide if you should add more of that busy to your calendar.

…So it’s clear all around.

But then there are exploratory busy time-taking areas that are Gray.

And these can be good (or GRAY-T) opportunities for growth.

For example, sometimes we sign up for things because our gut told us to and we’re unsure why… yet.

Because of unknown future and unlimited possibilities, you want to keep yourself open and sometimes intentionally busy yourself there to investigate… temporarily making yourself out-of-pocket for routine or something else.

So we go there to this new place to learn… and to check and figure it out.

…And when we’re there, sometimes we discover we’re not yet aligned with the message there… where we’re here and that’s there, but the seeds have been planted (by going to learn).

After the event, we may even think: that was a waste of time.

But it wasn’t because our soul (mind, will, emotions) and wise spirit (wired to the Universe) knew better than us… we just hadn’t caught up and weren’t ready yet.

And one day that boomerangs back to us in alignment when we have clarity and remember the experience and learning.

Leaning in and taking a reflective pause helps you investigate what’s best for your life and gives better discernment as to what to do next.

By choosing to NOT take action always, you gain clarity in the step back that’s also action.

And if you miss a specific space, place, or people you visited before to learn and meet with, then that could be a reason to go back to invite in more of those event occasions again.

You’ll know soon enough if you read your tea leaves right or if it was a false return to open you up for something new and different that’s your next pursuit… and not just a busy one.

That’s how we’re wired to do this life and figure out what’s BEST for us in the moment.

And using the GIVE or GET simple decision trick helps that.

Staying productive for a life of success is a balancing dance act of giving, getting, and enjoying.

It puts us at the higher energy level to bring in bigger and better, and less busy filler things… and higher leads to your fulfilling calling, purposes, and destiny. 🧡

Kind Smile Costs Nothing (and is everything)

Kind is described in so many ways. At the least, it’s being gentle, caring, and helpful. Those are all conversations that come from the heart (depicted on this wall where we’re like the colorful hearts sending out messages of kindness). 💛🩵♥️💙🤍

Others feel your kind (and your kind kind) in your energy and overflow without you saying a word.

All you need is a sincere outward expression to show your non-verbal kindness.

A smile does this to make a warm first impression. 🙂 😀

Because when you’re an ambassador of sorts, represent an office, or have been in position longer than another newcomer, the newbie feels judged if they smile and you don’t smile back…

It doesn’t matter if the other has more years or experience than you if he/she just sat down after you in a shared new space…

And it doesn’t matter your mind was elsewhere or absent-minded when you looked at them once and again…

Your gift for the day could be a smile or a smile back.

If the other person feels unloved or unwelcomed in a place unfamiliar, that easily trips insecurities and an ego mind when meeting eye-to-eye.

The unwelcomed feeling other wonders:

“Am I not good enough?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Do they not like me?”

“Does this person have a chip on their shoulder?”

“Do I avoid this person and keep my distance?”

They doubt themselves in some subconscious way… and then they also doubt you.

We live in a world of doubt already.

In their moments of doubt, the other person could remember you later for the wrong reasons even if it’s just a chance one-time meeting.

None are the loving and kind impressions or neutral interactions that were intended (where we need more love in this world). 💞

And when you smile greet to a newbie or stranger someone, they don’t remember you badly… or at all.

That’s the kind impression and peace we want to leave for most we encounter.

Be kind. 💕

…Going out of your way to be the smiling kind when you’re going out in the big wide world surroundings.

Going out is a leveling field.

We’re all just people with feelings inside.

Even those who don’t appear to care or are acting a bit nuts… and those on magazine covers or big platforms.

We only see snippets of people’s lives.

And we want to plant good karma in our travels.

Annddd a smile is a good way.

But most people don’t do it often.

And if it’s something you’re interested in trying more of…

It’s easy to build into your habits.

Practice by warming up your smile after your coffee and breakfast. As you’re getting dressed, exercise your face muscles as you look in the mirror. If putting lip balm on is a habit, you can do it again then.

And plant another smile before you exit your door. Leave your previous part of the day (and disappointing parts of the season you’re in) at the door.

If you’re a veteran to the places you’re entering or where you’re going on a certain day, be the one to smile first.

When eyes meet with others, turn the frown upside down to everyone who has done no immediate wrong.

This is your chance to show the world your kind side and a reminder that you’re sharing space with others.

You’ll feel better when you go back to your home realities… that you contributed to the world that day without even having to say a word.

…And even if you recently lost your job, have an ongoing health battle, and are dealing with financial or family problems.

Everyone has something or some thingsss in life they’re dealing with.

Not smiling when given opportunities doesn’t make those (in your life) better.

You free yourself when you enter the world smiling and those around you know none of this.

Play a little game with yourself, take your work-errand task list less seriously, and see how often you can offer your kind smile gesture first.

…For no other reason than so that others have no reason to doubt themselves and can feel good someone thought they were worth smiling at.

…and you gain more confidence (and feel less shy) if that’s what you need.

If a stranger beats us to the friendly smile first, be open to what the world is offering up in this encounter…

And kindly mirroring back…

That we matter.

And that we’re in this thing (Life) together.

Isn’t that the deepest connection and way to make impact in our fragile world?

Just by stepping outside.

…Of our comfort zones sometimes.

Where a kind smile requires little… and offers a lot not having to go far on our planet to give and make positive impact.

You and I can be the kind kind. And the world we cherish will be just fine.