UA-141369524-4

Category: Physical Health and Body

Ayurveda to Unleash Creativity + Cherry Sherbet

Ayurveda is today’s topic. It’s part 2 of 2.

ayurveda - your mind body calm recipe to unleash creativity

This week, I’m breaking down the secrets of Ayurveda and how it can free you from feeling stuck. And how it restores calm, improves mind-body health, and allows for daily creativity which leads to your best life new opportunities, and passions.

…Plus, I’ll clear up the common confusion about Ayurveda if you’re wanting to learn more… and how you can apply simple, but completely effective Ayurveda ways to your lifestyle where you’re at… and with a special invitation offer below.

cherry sherbet ice cream.
Today is a good to celebrate with joyful cherry Sherbet. Recipe below. 🍒

Last time, in Part 1 of Ayurveda, I talked about why you want to care about the mind-body connection. If you missed that blog post or aren’t sure, you can go back and read that one too as it could make a game-changing difference in getting your best life today…

I also shared how change and permanence are part of the natural order in this life. They keep us going and growing.

You get to choose whether you want to do this life holding onto anxiety, fears, or worry, or letting them go daily for your emotional freedom and better moods.

…You can restore daily calm even with life chaos happening around you. That’s a healthy choice.

You can change how anxiety, overwhelm, irritations, and triggered situations stick to you when they don’t have to …but, interruptedly rear their ugly head into your system and you just want them to go away!

As humans, we experience these negative emotions to varying degrees. And everyone grows weary and tired at some point.

And, that’s when we want to be vigilant to snap out of those emotions after we purge, process, and know what’s behind them so we can take necessary action, and so that we don’t stay stuck in those places any longer than necessary.

…How?

You step out and sidestep into your daily calm and productivity with the strategy of partnering with your mind-body to soothe and get the most out of the situation and your life… with small effort and adding healthy enhancements.

At some point, you probably figure(d) out that Life is about being in the process. And filled with trying lessons.

Sometimes it can take several similar, but different scenarios to play out to catch onto the lesson and make changes for a better today, tomorrow, and life.

But, when you see your part and role in what happens next, your eyes are open and you can apply wisdom. That takes awareness in the moment or in reflection.

And if you have knowledge or know what to do, you can save yourself from unnecessary pain… and sometimes your life. Like if caught in a rip current wave, you survive by not panicking, calling for help that’s nearby, and swimming parallel to the shore if you can.

You also can survive your daily life situations and undesired moods weighing you down if you know what to do.

Getting through your non-life threatening situations can be challenging for a day or two, as moods can stick like mud, but don’t have to play out and grow into a season!…

And you don’t want them to, because health and stress are on the line, and your moods can worsen and influence you to make poor decisions and miss out on great opportunities.

[In physical health terms, moods are like inflammations… you want them out or on the way out within a few days, or else it could spread like poison ivy inside and become a bigger problem.]

But the really good news here is… you can nip-in-the-bud those less-than moods weighing you down as easily as they entered.

How?…

Co-create the right and comfortable environment that your mind-body wants, and therefore is what you also want!

Remember, you are not your mind-body. Your mind-body runs 24×7 and never shuts off when you’re asleep. Keeping your mind-body in mind (no pun intended), for your optimal life you want to do what will turn things around fastest for you.

That doesn’t mean you need to move or uproot your lifestyle, that just means a few healthy tweaks that your daily mind-body wants.

Ayurveda (the science of life) helps to restore and bring natural balance and order back into our lives despite constantly changing situations… and naturally, the way it’s intended.

In our work-life balance modern world there seems to be a gadget for everything to solve our daily problems and make life easier and help us live longer. But we don’t always use (and sometimes ignore) the most effective tool that’s already built inside us!

In Western world, our health is often seen through the lens of food, fitness, wellness, and self-care. In our healthy efforts, we don’t always get to the root cause and directly restore or heal what our mind-body needs. And that can lead to a long (sometimes painful) season.

…BUT be encouraged, it’s restorable and not your fault!

As you have free will to choose. You do what you feel like doing or think will help based on the (limited) knowledge you have at the time.

And also because…

Our Western Society… The Good and Bad

Conditioning that you and I have received since we were children, that goes like this… Oh, the doctor will fix that…

And as an adult, if you were sent home with a prescription for resting or exercising more, you’d be dissatisfied as most of us know that’s helpful but not what we want from our doctor. We expect a procedure, prescription, or two.

The problem is your body doesn’t want medicines if it can handle the foreign body disruptor on its own. But we don’t know what exactly our body needs because we can’t talk to our body or get inside for those knowing answers.

So, our common Western way is curing with medicines, “just in case,” and because we’re conditioned to expect those protocols.

But, too many antibiotics in the system damage gut health, and surrounding systems that alter your body. Good probiotics can only help so much to reverse effects.

So that’s the bad, but there’s a lot of good in medicine…

Like when used for a disease outbreak where massive chaos in the body has already erupted and medical intervention is needed. Your body needs help.

We can learn from Steve Jobs’ story in more than his genius Apple tech abilities. He passed away too young from cancer. Wisdom leaves clues.

Western medicine doesn’t usually prescribe natural herbs to cure cancer or other diseases.

Anything supernatural can happen in our favor at any time, but that’s not the common or wise protocol. God created doctors and gave us our brains to make good decisions to see doctors when needed.

…So then where does Ayurveda (science of life) fit in?

Ayurveda’s sweet spot is in health prevention, and helping change unwanted common everyday moods and annoying flare-ups.

It’s risky for most conditions that require medical attention. …and I wanted to clear up in case that wasn’t clear and obvious. So good, now you know what Ayurveda is good for…

Ayurveda works for what it’s meant for. But as a practice, not mentioned much in our society partly because prevention can’t be measured. And that’s not where medicine focuses attention.

So, it can get brushed aside or seen as a health fad.

…Even though Ayurveda has been around working as an Ancient healing system for thousands of years.

People smartly use it as part of their daily healthy lifestyle.

They can be part of the routines and habits we stack and track in our day.

When you have a healthy lifestyle and know how to use Ayurveda in your daily life, then you’re better off leaning into your balanced natural essence. There are no downsides to report.

And a decade later… in my opinion, it’s still the “best-kept secret.” And why I’m unpacking it here.

Your mind-body is a direct source that knows what it needs… and Ayurveda cracks that code.

Enter Eastern-Western Ayurveda Awareness

American society tends to lump natural, holistic, alternative medicines, and Ayurveda as mystical and woo-woo, when really what Ayurveda needs is rebranding.

Ayurveda is not just what you see as available products on the market.

Two things that could make people iffy  in the beginning about Ayurveda (I know I was!) are:

1.. Messy oils, strange elixirs, and take-time-out routines. They don’t always mesh well in a Western modern society that’s go-go-go where schedules are filled to the brim and even fitting in eating can be trying.

2.  Silent practices when you don’t have a door that stays closed or that can shut out the world around you. And without a list of to-do’s or worries for the day running in your head.

Those daily practices are more Eastern (slower-pace life) than Western techniques.

And what works in Ayurveda for Western-style living and restoring mind-body techniques, can be woven into your busy day with very little effort or inconvenience.

You can skip the Eastern-style practices and you won’t be missing a mood-improvement beat… I promise!

And some universal practices you may already be doing sometimes or regularly… like, yoga is a today-popular Western Ayurvedic general practice. Sometimes you have time to fit in, and sometimes you don’t, but it’s not the end-all-be-all to making moment-to-moment restoring changes because yoga reset to feel-good feelings lasts for a 90-minute class, a cup of tea, and maybe a relaxing spa visit, but then you’re back to your life, triggers and interruptions in your mind, and your work.

Even though I love yoga!… maybe you too?

In 2008, there were few studios when I had to search around so I’m glad it has taken root.

Another popular example is eating plant-based anti-inflammatory foods. Yup, that’s part of a healthy Ayurvedic lifestyle. Wherever you are, you have access to markets, online stores, farms, and gardens (…or you can start your own).

…So you may already have a ‘lil Ayurveda in you! 😉

…So, is an Ayurveda lifestyle right for you?

These are questions you can ask yourself and things to think about:

Are you interested in preventative health?

Are you interested in unleashing more daily creativity?

Are you a lifelong learner who is open to the deeper self?

And do you want to live sustainably healthier and longer?

…Like Blue Zone Centenarians who live healthy lifestyles that are part of their culture. They don’t live like most Americans (and not even the Adventist Health Blue Zone community in California).

Some live more simply, slower lives, eating from the land, and need less mood restoring without all the complicated high tech. 😉

And so many countries rank higher in longevity than the States, that’s ranked closer to the bottom. That’s a hard pill to swallow considering all the conveniences we have.

…Even though I can’t imagine my identity with any other culture.

So I added Ayurveda into my lifestyle to make up for the deficit.

And you can too. The thing is… you’re probably already habitually doing Ayurveda to some degree in your healthy every day routine. You’ve been using all your senses since you were born.

…But probably not for balancing moods consistently as you didn’t know what really works with your specific mind-body, type, and imbalance combinations you’re experiencing.  That’s really what it boils down to.

And when you do change your moods and imbalances, then you can get to your inner creative self more easily and consistently.

Creativity Inside Us

Sometimes there’s a creative block. And we don’t know what we don’t know could be, or are missing out on our greatest passions that give us joy.

I was creatively mind-blocked in my corporate management work life.

I couldn’t be fully creative beyond short spurts of free time where I delved into hobbies for creative outlets.

In those few moments, I experienced calm, joy, and felt weight off my shoulders. I could get into a creative flow where I lost track of time and those were usually well into the weekend or on a Sunday.

…Have you been there or can relate? 

Unleashing the creativity inside feels free-ing. And when I got longer stretches of time away from work, I realized I had creative hidden talents I didn’t even know I had, that were waiting inside me for the right-ready time.

…And you do too. Plus, ones that you haven’t uncovered because you have gotten there yet to take action.

After you remove the anxious, stressful, and overwhelming layers and feelings, you can get a direct path to your creative juices and energy.

That’s your ticket to your happiest and best life. When you feel lighter and good, you feel on top of the world.

You feel empowered at the very least, and maybe even superpowers to take on activities you didn’t know you could perform (like sing or dance… you get the point).

And that’s a time when you get the most out of your life and push the pedal forward and make breakthroughs.

It’s the opposite of these types of common feelings (that keep you uninspired and stagnant):

–Tired: where you don’t want to do much let alone work on a creative pursuit. You lack energy but with a good night’s rest you can be renewed and passion-filled again if you’re re-energized, aren’t triggered, feeling burnout, or are depressed.

–Anxious: where you’re trying to manage your anxiety symptoms to stay afloat… trying to stay relaxed while your body-mind takes over. That’s a bad time to make good decisions, let alone try and be creative.

–Irritated: where you’re trying to get over negative feelings and a critical-judgmental mind that permeate your system when energizing the wrong thoughts. Good creativity doesn’t emerge in non-loving attitudes.

But, you can change the channel or get your relaxed self back as quickly as you got in your tense state. Like in the shower, the ideas can come. Or in a joyful activity where you lose track of time.

And, if you’re feeling balanced and calm throughout the day as the normal way, that changes everything. You can switch to your creative self when you want without losing valuable time.

And those steps take you to your next move in life, passions, and pursuits.

And if that’s where you are ready to go and be your very best today, but maybe feeling off or not quite there yet, start with the body balance quiz that shows symptoms on the body as part of the mind-body connection.

And in creativity, I made this swirly dessert (nostalgic of Cherry Garcia and the tie die T-shirt era…). 🍥

cherry sherbet ice cream.
Print

Cherry Sherbet Ice Cream

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • maraschino cherries, chopped
  • natural food coloring (creatively select your favorites such as beet or cherry juice, Pandan, and matcha)
  • egg yolks
  • milk of choice (you can also add plain Greek yogurt if you want a thicker sherbet)
  • monk fruit sugar (optional)

Instructions

  • Whisk your egg yolks. And add sugar if you will be using.
  • Add milk, cherries, natural food coloring of choice.
  • Mix by hand or use an ice cream maker to set.
  • Freeze and enjoy!

Biohacking Your Sweet Craving With Baking Substitute Tips

While you don’t need sweets to survive and would be better off without sugar, biohacking your sweet craving works if you work it.

And it works well when you bake your own goods and proof your own dough (like in the sweet veggie umami pizza that you can read about below).

I’m living proof it’s doable 🤗

…I’ve had a super sweet tooth since I was a child… candy, cookies, ice cream, you name it. Going to the dentist became so familiar, that now as an adult, I don’t have any dental office chair anxiety.  That’s the good news.

…And I think that’s one of the places early on where I realized that no news is good news.

The happy sugar on the tongue and mind keeps dentists and doctors in business. Most (not all) people have a daily sweet hankering that’s hard to shake off (well, maybe with a milkshake or a rich smoothie!).

Especially us Vatas who love sweets. And if you get in the habit of eating sweets because those around you (or you) bring it in the house, then below are some biohacking your sweet craving tips that I use.

Plus, ingredients you could consider adding or substituting (and my personal faves!).

…Especially over the past few years, people have been more cooped up indoors snacking, and sugar is everywhere and part of irregular stress eating patterns, that lead to increased weight and growing health issues.

Health is what got me to change my sweet ways. But I feel like I haven’t missed a beat in sweet enjoyment making a few adjustments. You can change your tastes because of healthy desires.

Chocolate cake, for example, wasn’t one of my fave flavors and now is. It’s one of the healthier cakes that I call Cocoa Cake.

Because it’s mostly made with cocoa. It’s healthy without the rich buttery decadence we’re used to associating with chocolate cakes.

I bake with unsweetened cocoa and a flour blend that includes gluten-free flour and probiotic Greek yogurt, almond milk, unsweetened applesauce, and eggs.

Some of those ingredients are healthy, especially without full-on fat and sugar. A ‘lil dab of the bad will do you… or better yet, you could substitute with healthy fat and fruits that have fructose sugar…

Your sweet spot is “in moderation” relative to your body’s tolerances for healthy goodness. If you have a Kapha body imbalance you want to reduce sugar, and if you’re daily “getting addicted” to sugar. It’s common sense + building good habits.

You can use nuts, higher in fiber and protein. And you can use coconut oil or light EVOO that I use as baking oil to give a batter moistness, and also make consuming daily fat-soluble vitamins more bioavailable to the body.

And my personal favorite is fruit zests and spices to add sweetness. It’s not cheating… it’s being smart with your health and calories.

And here’s a savory example that most of us have a weakness for: french fries. Without frying oil, potatoes are healthy sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

So when roasting or cooking our potatoes, they’re then healthy. And even better if we add spices like turmeric, oregano, and pepper. Or my personal fave: tarragon.

And if you add proteins and veg to your plate, then you’re off to the races.

…Speaking of races, I’m still getting goosebump chills over the Kentucky Derby win over the weekend… the least likely to win (80-1 odds) horse, won. Maybe he got his winning oomph from the healthy grass diet too.

…Which btw, we too could graze on more plant-based foods for our human sustainable energy. And for world sustainability.

That’s what I did with this untraditional plant-based pizza. Or a pie, that we called it when I was a teenager working in a pizza-pie shop. 🍕

…And where I learned pizza-making techniques for 4 years. Most of the pies had tomato sauce, but occasionally, customers would order no sauce, light, or extra sauce. This pie has no tomato sauce.

It’s loaded with eating-from-the-rainbow goodness and flavors. It has beets, sweet potatoes, white cannellini beans, ricotta (goat or buffalo cheese also would be good too!), cilantro, garlic, and truffle oil baked into a whole wheat crust.

Then it was drizzled with balsamic vinegar for a sweet-umami flavor that “hit the spot” for lunch. I didn’t need a side dessert or sugar.

So this brings me to the first tip I have for biohacking your sweet craving:

When you eat less sugar, you crave less of it; and when you crave less, you eat less. So, you can use the cycle to your advantage.

And then your body resets to a “new normal” for the better, which helps you, your health goals, and prevents glucose spikes.

And you can more easily achieve this by baking and cooking that help change the way you look at the foods you eat. Because then you decide what ingredients to add and how much.

You get more choosy about what you put in your body and that can help you make healthier choices.

You end up making the extra effort and time when you know the health and tasty benefits. That’s what this girl did. 

Besides the sweet-savory veggie truffle pie, I baked a pan pizza with spinach, tomato, and ricotta that was just as easy to make. Oh, Vata me… I forgot to take a photo. Next time.

There’s also a time for other options for all of us like selecting pre-made convenience, eating out, or ordering out.

The big healthy difference is many packaged goods have more than 30 ingredients (some you’ve never heard of and are hard to pronounce).

And you really only need 2-4 ingredients to make a healthy meal or bake a whole cake. (That’s another category of whole food.)

With fewer healthy ingredients, then you change your taste buds one bake and bite at a time.

Today, if someone handed me a sweet something, it’d have to be pretty darn good for me to eat an entire serving because of the changes I made and how I see food in general.

For sweets, a smaller bite is all that’s needed to be sweet and happy if ya know what I mean.

That’s true for most. At a grocery store or during any food shortages, you’ll never hear, there needs to be more sweet options.

Overall if we bought less processed foods, then the big companies would make more of the good-earthbound healthy-happy packaged goods.

I wouldn’t mind some healthy strawberry licorice …anyone else? 😉

And biohacking your sweet craving with baking substitutes is another good way to change your sweet tooth.

For baking, these are some ingredients I use just about every week. These are a mix of healthy ingredients and iffy in-between ones I use in moderation.

Applesauce

*Berry Jams

Cardamom

Cherries, Maraschino

Cinnamon

Cocoa, unsweetened

Coconut, shredded

Coffee/espresso

Dark chocolate morsels

Ginger

Greek yogurt

Fruit zests

Fruits, Dried (currants, dates, apricots, raisins)

Fruits, Whole

Honey, Raw (instead of maple syrup)

Orange pulp and peel

*Pineapple chunks

*use sparingly

Switching up your ingredients does your body good (encouraging a diverse healthy gut microbiome that is also a gateway to our brain health).

Our gut wants to be happy and healthy like we do.

If a recipe calls for refined sugar, say ¾ cup, and it’s great for emulsifying like in ice cream, I only use about ¼ cup or substitute with monk fruit sugar.

You can always zhugh it up later or to individual tastes.

You can also make your own sweet sauce, dips, glazes and frosting. These are a few other ideas:

Balsamic-chocolate sauce: mixing balsamic vinegar and melted to liquid chocolate is quick and easy.

Coconut cream frosting: Long gone for me are days of grocery shelf frosting and powdered sugar icing. You too can make your own frosting with coconut cream.

When you buy a can, the thick part can also be used for ice creams, and keep the liquid parts for your soups. After you open it, you can freeze what you aren’t planning to use within a few days.

Extracts: I used to add vanilla extract to everything sweet, but I usually skip the step unless it’s the dominant or only flavor, like in vanilla ice cream. Zests and spice flavors come through best, and mixing them together, and changing them up is even better.

The fun part of experimenting with less sugar and healthy bakes is creating your own faves.

Variety is the spice and zest in life. 🧡

And if you want to take it up a level from biohacking your sweet craving to biohacking sweet breakfasts, healthy eating, and fasting, then stay tuned to future blog posts.

Once upon a time, I couldn’t do without a non-sugary breakfast growing up on fortified cereals, and these days that’s all changed… and that was one-step at  a time easy and something you can do! 🥣

This site is all about happy and healthy living and eating ways and inspiration. If this is your first time here, I encourage you to find out more about me and this healthy lifestyle blog.

Anti-Inflammatory Drinks That Help You and Zero-Waste)

Anti-Inflammatory drinks are common and very good for preventing inflammation that can lead to some chronic diseases.

Like this special blue matcha ocean one that reminds us that we are small in calm chaos with climate change. This recipe is below.

 

And yes, your dry skin eczema and other symptoms could be related. Check out the anti-inflammatory blue matcha tea drink below you can make to have a cool and inflammation-free day. 🧋

an heirloom orange loaded with Vitamin C is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant goodness.
Look for heirloom, organic, or local farmers market produce as in-season (free of pesticides, good for us and the environment)

As we’re approaching warmer months, we like our soothing and cooling anti-inflammatory drinks. But that can depend on what helps balance our healthy Ayurveda body (and restore imbalances for our season).

Natural fruit-infused waters are usually a great option to flavor water, where you can simply add parts of whole fruits and veggies. Like orange, lemon, or lime peels for natural sweet-tartness. And are on a list of 200 anti-inflammatory foods you can checkout. 🛒

If you don’t have a home organic composting system (most people don’t), saving food scraps helps to cut down on waste before discarding in the garbage or the disposal. Plus, this eco-move prevents attracting unwanted house critters in warmer months.

For the little extra effort it takes, saving is so easy to do!

Take an orange. You can zest the peel of an orange that can substitute the “sugar” for your baking. Then use the skin and pith for your flavored orange water. It usually gets discarded even though it has higher vitamin amounts.

And of course, saving the best for last… enjoy the juicy orange slices for a snack, which is the only part that almost never gets tossed.

Now that’s a systemized orange habit 👏 where nothing gets tossed out, and you would reap all the healthy and other benefits.

These are some other Zero Waste-inspired anti-inflammatory drinks you can brew in a mason jar or recycled container jugs.

Kapha “Fire Up Cider” Anti-Inflammatory Drinks

Ideal Storage: Cool, dark cupboard or pantry

An off-balance Kapha body often has a need to intake fewer calories, especially if feeling heavy or sluggish after meals is a common natural symptom.

And when lacking energy, I love healthy fire cider drinks made with acidic ACV and lemon juice from a lemon. You can save the lemon zest and lemon pith and skin for lemonade. Or you can use pre-bought lemon juice.

Horseradish is the pungent ingredient I add in this fiery elixir, but that’s for you to decide if you can stomach it, and then top off with a kick of heat that can come from cayenne pepper. You can also sub the horseradish with garlic or onions.

And if jalapeno peppers are more your pack-a-punch vibe, that’s a good sub ingredient. You can also tone down the spicy twist with turmeric or a balanced hint of ginger.

This drink is good for Vatas too, but if you’re experiencing any slight Pitta imbalances, you’ll wanna turn down the heat!

Vata  “Spice Digestion Elixir” Ayurveda Drink

Idea Storage: Refrigerator door or lower shelf in the fridge

An off-balance Vata can feel a sensitive or butterfly nervous stomach, and this drink can help.

Add Ginger, Cinnamon, Orange Peels, Allspice, plus your favorite spices and filtered water to a jar. Then shake up your mixture. Because of the peels, store this elixir in the fridge like juice if you plan on keeping it for longer than a week. These ingredients are anti-inflammatory.

I like to keep this in a repurposed plastic jar/container that was going to be sent to recycling (with a 9% chance of making its final destination… just sayin’ ♻️).

Pitta-Vata “Fermented Mother” Ayurveda Drinks

Ideal Storage: Cool cupboard or pantry (but not the fridge)

A Pitta or imbalanced Pitta can feel heartburn or upper GI tract symptoms. The ingredients in this drink all-in-all is a great elixir for high Pittas and Vatas.

Plus, this elixir is sweet and lasts in your cool cupboard with no expiration date!

Add organic ACV with “the mother enzyme” that looks like residue sitting at the bottom of the jar and mix with a few TBSPs of raw honey.

ACV improves digestion (increasing stomach acid production that tends to decrease as you age). Our internal body changes over time– a good message to share to younger friends and siblings who think they’ll stay the same forever! 😉

You can take a few spoonfuls of this before a meal and this helps glucose levels and prevents blood sugar spikes. The ACV smells can be off-putting to some, but the raw honey will smooth out the unfavorable ACV scent.

Honey is everything sweet in my opinion. So much so, here are some good storage tips:

Honey is best stored in a cooler, dark cupboard or sitting with a closed top in a pantry. By itself, raw honey never goes bad. It’s best not refrigerated or in changing (cooling) temperatures in a fridge that can speed up crystallization. And if you find the right honey and brand, it won’t crystallize at all in the right room temperatures.

Anti-inflammatory raw honey doesn’t have a hard rule expiration date that needs to be followed, as it has very low moisture content. I’ve never seen it go bad. But be sure to close the top or lid completely to eliminate moisture (and bacteria) in the air from entering over periods of time.

One popular honey dessert I remember was served up to many during my event planning days, is a dessert called Awamat, or Lebanese donuts, that is finished off with none other than honey and saffron as a glaze.

Because they looked more like donut holes they could be beautifully displayed as a croquembouche-style evergreen tree table display with a ‘lil engineering ingenuity and creativity… I’m sure recent GBBO contestants, Giuseppe or Juergen, could figure it out! 

And besides food, “honey is medicine” as it’s an antioxidant and has antibacterial and antifungal (microbial) benefits. Our ancestors (the ancient Egyptians) and our modern Ayurveda practices have been using honey to prevent infections and help lower inflammation for ages.

It’s also a natural humectant, so whether you have dry skin or a dry throat when applied, it will also help with relieving symptoms. I can’t say enough about raw honey’s sticky goodness. 🍯

And you can add your honey to this calming anti-inflammatory butterfly tea 🦋🍵 drink that’ll sweeten your day.

Cool blue matcha that changes…

Print Recipe

Print

Anti-Inflammatory Blue Matcha Tea Ocean Drink

Course beverage
Cuisine American, Japanese
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • blue matcha tea (Butterfly pea flower tea)
  • coffee or black tea like English Breakfast or Early Grey
  • raw honey, optional
  • blueberries, optional

Instructions

  • Brew your blue matcha tea leaves for about 5 minutes in a mug. Be sure to use cooler than boiling water to not burn the leaves. Cool in the refrigerator.
  • Pour about 1/3 high tea to your drinking glass or rock glass for your "ocean." Add honey (optional).
  • Freeze.
  • Add a "sand" layer with coffee or black tea.
  • Freeze again.
  • Add milk or cappuccino froth for "cloud." layer. Zhugh with blueberries if desired.

Seasonal Allergies Natural Tips Especially For Spring

Seasonal allergies is on the rise… and below is a checklist of home seasonal allergy natural health tips.

tree pollen cause spring seasonal allergiesHave seasonal allergies got you? If so, you’re in good company and I have a list of natural above-the-neck soothing tips below.

False spring in global warming times like these seem to be against us, but we can use better, natural ways to combat our daily allergy feelings.

The tips I share and use started from feeling the seasonal allergy effects in 2015.

Before that, I never felt outdoor seasonal allergies living on the east coast. Now, they linger around year-round and I’ve learned to manage them.

Tree pollen (e.g maple, juniper, elm, oak, etc.) found in most U.S. areas is the main culprit for spring seasonal allergies start as early as February these days.

With wacky global climate changes and extreme fluctuating weather going from 70 degrees one-day to 40 degrees the next (and snow in some areas and summer temps in other regions), seasonal allergies are only growing. Adults who never had allergies before feel the effects today.

Your best bet is to prepare what you’ll do in advance, and spend more time indoors on severe days especially in the afternoon and evenings when pollen is higher in the spring.

Test different ways that work best for you and keep trying. Remember what you did that works so you can repeat.

low histamine seasonal allergies meals and foods.
Red bell pepper and squash are two ingredients low in histamine. Recipe for butternut squash spaghetti below 🍝. Pair with homemade pasta made from eggs and you have another low histamine meal.

You may have even thought about getting an allergy test as I did. So that’s what I did and here’s what I found…

I’m not allergic to anything or any tree pollens as the test showed.

I was actually kinda disappointed because that’s why I got the test in the first place.

But the test did end up giving me peace of mind. And an allergy test could for you too if you’re wondering whether allergy shots are a good idea.

I found that my common symptoms like stuffy nasal passage congestion and other irritations are just part of the climate allergy changes.

And for anyone, it’s a good idea to be aware and manage symptoms daily.

Because you don’t want them to escalate to chronic and recurring inflammations. Inflammation is the body’s way of naturally protecting and healing itself.

In my case, this started back in 2015. That’s also when I heard seasonal pollen-related allergies only last for 7 years, so that would make this year a bye-bye bang🤞

Allergies are your body’s annoying, but healthy response to your immune system working. 🌱

You can make the most of those heavy pollen days by feeling gratitude for the things you can do. Like with breathing exercises and that’s one of the better things  when you’re stuffy: deep inhale and exhale breaths.

But still, changing your allergy perspective can test you. Because seasonal allergies are no fun and can affect the way you think, remember, and even see things on any given day.

So here are some practical tips to stay ahead and attack your symptoms:

These days, changing up your daily self-care routine helps.

Today you may be feeling exceptionally dry like you’ve never experienced before. And especially if you’re a natural Vata who usually has drier skin anyway.

I changed my moisturizing skin routine from once a day to a few times per day for heat rashes and shallow breathing from a stuffy nose. Yes, symptoms are related!

And sometimes the fix is simple like breathing, moisturizing, or drinking more water.

It gets easier once you recognize the patterns and you develop new self-care routines to stay ahead.

For head and nasal congestion, well… that’s another story.

Headaches, brain fog, and breathing more shallow awake or asleep are all common spring allergy symptoms.

You can feel like you’ve been hit by a windstorm on some days. And the wind is not a Vata’s friend. That’s like change on top of change.

Sneezing is actually a good way to rid of allergens in the body, but some days that doesn’t work. If that’s you, you can keep a black pepper tin nearby and peppermint essential oils are good to sniff and use in your steaming shower.

You can get through seasonal allergies naturally with occasional OTC allergy relief, e.g. if you’re gonna be outdoors. But you don’t want to rely on sinus decongestants or use them every day if you can avoid them.

There are homeopathy solutions that are popular in European countries and you can find in the vitamin stores in the States.

Also increase Vitamin C and bromelain. Pineapples are a good source.

Seasonal allergies are not affecting this unicorn in the pool
You have a choice to stay indoors for high allergy days which is really the most effective way to dodge seasonal allergies. Try to do your outdoor walks earlier in the day. I know that’s still a bummer. So another idea is you can jump or stay in the pool.  You may be able to pull it off like this unicorn making the most of it! 🦄

And when you’re indoors, stay further away from the open window if you’re super sensitive or keep the blinds semi-shielding.

You can always break out your filtered mask that will shield some allergens if necessary.

10 Tips For Seasonal Allergies

✅ Back indoors, change your clothing and take a shower as soon as you can or remember to. The steam will help you feel better faster. A night shower will help especially if your seasonal allergies feel worse in the afternoon or evening.

Sometimes you get a delayed effect on symptoms, feeling the effects the next day.

✅ Weekly, use a neti-pot to clean out nasal passages. This helps you get some relief naturally and prevents nasty sinus infections and your taking unnecessary antibiotics. That’s probably the best tip I can give you! Water is your friend away from pollen.

✅ Also, use a natural saline nasal spray to clear your nose as needed e.g. 2-3x per day for relief. Look for grapefruit seed extract with microbial properties that help prevent bacterial, viral, and fungal infections.

A reminder (or new) tip: antibiotics can work on bacterial infections but not effectively on viral ones (like a cold) and they hurt your gut. The confusion comes into play when you don’t know if it’s a cold, flu, allergies, or Covid. Prevention and reserving antibiotics for when you actually need them is key.

✅ Use a free-standing daily air filter machine with a HEPA filter for pollen (not just dust). Pollen kicks up in the afternoon and evening so it’s good to have the machine cranked up while you’re sleeping.

Change your house air filters as needed and vacuum the filters regularly as they will work better dust-free.

✅Use a desk humidifier or have one set in each room. Moisture like this works especially well during spring allergy season.

Like plants, humidifiers require some daily cleaning maintenance care, but if you’re stuffy this is a must!

✅ Keep eucalyptus or mint oil essential oil drops close at hand. They work well in the steamy shower. You can put a few drops in a small vessel of water and sniff. Unlike a nasal spray, the oil drops don’t enter directly into your nose.

The scented drop fumes indirectly help clear nasal passages that affect head congestion. You can also keep eucalyptus leaves hanging in the shower that will help you awaken especially if you’re stuffy.

✅ For foods, add fresh horseradish or spicy wasabi that’s great for clearing nasal passages.

Disappointingly, local honey doesn’t work the way we’d hope.

Honey comes from flowers, and tree pollen comes from trees so there’s no cross-pollination… or an ex-pollinating effect that would be helpful for spring seasonal allergies.

But raw honey is a good natural sugar substitute and a natural humectant that when topically used on the skin help prevent dryness and other light skin inflammations or itches. Yes, it works!

It also has other “anti” properties that are good for you… antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal. So it helps in other ways.

✅ Keep up your vitamins and minerals, especially Vit C, D-3, Calcium, Zinc, etc.

✅ Drink teas. You can try a good green matcha tea or black tea (Vata preference) early in the day and then switch to decaf/herbal teas in the afternoon. You can do decaf all day if you prefer.

✅ Keep eye drops close by for dry eyes. You can wear blue-light-blocking glasses, so you don’t have to strain on devices that worsen dry eyes (and they help you sleep better).

✅ Keep cough drops nearby, in case you get a dry or itch in your throat. And menthol cough drops help to open up passages. They’ve been hard to find these days I’ve found, but I think you can find ’em if you look hard enough. 😉

Elderberry and zinc help for immunity-boosting, and lemon and honey drops are good for dry throats.

Seasonal allergies don’t have to be the daily annoyance that runs your life. You can have a much smoother season if you stay informed.  And know, you’re definitely not alone.

✅ And finally, bring in more healthy anti-histamine foods such as squashes and eggs. One dish you can incorporate is a butternut squash spaghetti recipe. And add a cooked egg ontop or eggs in your homemade pasta. 🍝

Print

Butternut Squash Spaghetti

Course lunch
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • 1 box spaghetti, whole wheat
  • 1 butternut squash
  • basil leaves or pesto sauce (optional)

Instructions

  • Cook or bake your spaghetti.
  • Cook your butternut squash to soft.
  • Mix with your cooked sqaghetti.
  • Add a basil or pesto sauce to enhance (optional).

 

100 Best Yoga Poses Celebrating 100th Blog Post

It’s celebrational Easter holy week. I’m also happy to announce (my and) this 100th  blog post lands this week. Double holy cow! I thought it’d be fun to celebrate by listing 100 best yoga poses 🎉

100 best yoga poses to celebrate 100 blog posts
Easter and 100 blog posts deserve confetti sprinkles 🧁

But before mentioning the 100 yoga poses, I just wanted to wish happy birthday to anyone who already had a birthday celebration this year. I try to find an excuse to send a cake whenever I can 🎂

Even if it’s just an emoji. But sentiment and kidding aside, these days, it’s easy to be reminded with showering confetti “Happy Birthday!” emoji messages that bring us a ‘lil joy.

I think of the ultimate birthday as those who have reached the 100-year-old mark, who I think deserve their own special confetti emoji. That milestone is definitely worth commemorating. You’ve got to admire Centenarians who have endured and thrived through life’s marathon.

Besides seeing and participating in what their friends and families (young and old) are doing, some of the longest-living people have been naturally active and practicing yoga all their lives.

In some cultures, they get up and off the floor (or out of their sitting position) on a daily mat in one fell swoop as they did in younger years. And that’s just another reason for them to get back up and go out and appreciate the day.

Some Centenarians can even still remember facts and figures that younger decade folks can’t. And they can retell stories of their youth like a historical tale.

They breathe purpose daily (…and have breathed about 1.4 million more breaths than a 30-year-old).

And whatever age you’re at, you can too with your purposeful breath and yoga moves.

Here’s a list of 10 yoga articles to inspire your specific moves and journey:

Yoga is amazing because of the benefits for the mind-body connection: where the mind and body “talk” to each other. If we’re lucky and focused we pick up on the cues as a witness to our mind-bodies.

This is an area that traditional Western doctors aren’t necessarily trained on. It originated from Ayurveda, an eastern life science perspective, that’s made its way slowly to the Western world (and I started practicing in 2008 when I became aware).

Over the past decade, we’ve learned that the prevention of chronic diseases and inflammation in the body is connected to better mental health and less stress we carry.

And we can often tell by our anxious, irritated, or lethargic moods.

Sometimes it’s hard to do yoga until we get in a balanced mood,  even though we know if we did yoga, we’d get there sooner. We can get in our way.

So, in case you need to overcome that or need a dose of moving or getting going inspiration, I’ve listed 100 best yoga poses that are timeless reminders, challenging, and fun (I think so anyway!).

I included some quick encouraging words for each pose that come to mind. They include thoughts of when to do the pose, reminders, or intentions that could be useful for you as they are for me. Some poses are better done when you have more energy.

And it helps if have a known purpose for doing the pose, to help be motivated. We can all use a good metaphor reminder in our daily lives.

So here we go…

Standing best yoga poses: 

1.      Sun salutations – reminder: life is constantly changing, and you keep moving. This is a good series of poses to start the day with, like just before you have your first glass of water for the day

2.      Warrior I – reminder: feel empowered to take on the day

3.      Warrior II – reminder: take up more space

4.      Warrior III – reminder: focus on moving forward

5.      Sun Warrior – reminder: don’t forget to look up and stay open

6.      Dancer pose – reminder: you’ve got this day with your calm and grace, and letting go of the past. Today is a new day 🌱

7.      Tree pose – reminder: you’re resilient and unshaken even in uncertain times

8.      Mountain pose – intention: peace and reaching higher

9.      Heart center hand – reminder: focus more on what’s in your heart and get out of your head if you’ve feeling stuck

10.   Chair – good for when you want to feel grounded

11.   Triangle looking up – good for seeing different perspectives

12.   Lunge – reminder: stay productive

13.   Humble Warrior – reminder: lessen ego and pride

14.   5-Pointed Star – do when you want to feel balanced

15.   Eagle – good for when you feel on top of the world

16.   Tree with hands straight in the air – reminder: you’re a unique tree

17.   Tree with hands at heart center – feel centered and connected

18.   Tree with hands in prayer pose behind your back – intention: feel more spiritual

19.   Half-moon – do this pose when you’re feeling daring (tip: you can do this against the wall so you have back support, and you can use a yoga block)

20.   Extended leg stretch – intention: feel energetic

21.   Bird of Paradise – intention: be more mindful for the best outcome

22.   Forward bend – intention: feel earthly

23.   Standing half-bend – reminder: pause, but keep going because you’re almost there

24.   Crescent lunge – reminder: be flexible

25.   Pyramid Pose – do when you need more structure (feeling scatter minded, i.e. Vata mind)

Seated poses:

26.      Boat – do when you want to feel less grounded

27.      Pigeon – intention: feel less stress stretching out common areas of tension (leg, back, shoulders)

28.      Seated spinal twist – reminder: the past is behind you

29.      Seated forward bend stretch – reminder: keep challenging yourself and you may just surprise yourself with how far you can go

30.      Seated side angle – reminder: try a different way

31.      Lotus – intention: peace, and serenity

32.      Baby Cradle – reminder: you’re in control of your body

33.      Cow Face – reminder: it’s possible even when it’s hidden

34.      Staff – reminder: sit up tall and be disciplined

35.   Thunderbolt – do when you have problems, and you can reverse engineer to come up with solutions

36.   Butterfly pose (Bound angle) – reminder: you’re evolving

37.   Seated knee hug – reminder: you are loved

38.   Staff – do when you want to straighten your back and remind yourself that your back is an important part for your body’s support. (reminder: build strong abs)

Side best yoga poses: 

39.      Side angle – do when you need a break or stretch

40.      Extended side angle – intention: stretch your mind

41.      Side crow – do when you feel adventurous; one side is probably easier than the other and that’s your strength

42.      Side plank – do when you feel strong

43.      Falling Star – tip: like half-moon is great to do against a wall when you’re first starting out so you can lean further. Intention: feel free and creative

Front face down best yoga poses: 

44.      Cobra – reminder: you’re making progress

45.      Sphinx – reminder: you can do anything you want

46.      Upward Dog – reminder: you’re almost there!

47.      Turtle – reminder: stay steady on the course

48.      Bow – reminder: your hands, head, and feet are all closely connected

Lay down poses (starting with back flat on the mat): 

49.      Bridge – tip: use a block on the small of your back and feel grounded

50.      Fish – reminder: relax and let go of heavy problems

51.      Lay down spinal twist to one side – when you do this on each side, you see a different part of the room or space you’re in and is a good reminder that you have different options from different perspectives

52.      Corpse – intention: be stress-free

53.      Knees to chest (knee hug) – reminder: of self-love

54.      Half locust with one leg slightly lifted: reminder -it can feel strange but still be helpful

55.      Through the hole stretch – do when you feel tight like from driving or sitting, or when you feel uptight

56.      Spider laying down – intention: holding onto your purpose but letting go of how you’ll get there

On all 4’s: 

57.      Inverted plane – reminder: great for bringing your shoulders back in mindfulness

58.      Downward dog – intention: feel the day in earthly roots

59.      Downward dog with one leg lifted – intention: enjoy the day by doing something new

60.     Cat – do when you’re feeling fearless

61.      Cow – good for feeling balanced

62.      Balanced cat reaching out one arm and opposite leg

Back challenge: you can arch backward relying on all 4s

63.      Backward Bend – do when you’re feeling energetic and youthful

64.      Wheel – and you go higher to see and feel new possibilities

Front challenge: you may never do a full handstand, but you can get both feet off the ground

65.      Crow – intention: strength (you’re stronger than you think)

66.      Crane – and you can stretch higher

67.      Peacock – reminder: you can get over the limitations you have

68.      Firefly – reminder: you can do something different to light up the world. You may feel like a kid again doing this one (one of my fave poses and I have happy memories of catching fireflies  )

Inversion best yoga poses: 

69.      Shoulder stand – do when you’re feeling moderately energized

70.      Half shoulder stand – do when you want to feel energized

71.      Plow – reminder: encouragement that you can take two steps back and come out ahead

72.      Legs up the wall – intention: feel supported by the environment around you 

Resting best yoga poses:

73.      Child’s Pose – reminder: you don’t have to be doing something every minute of the day. It’s not how busy you are (something I had to unlearn)

74.      Hare – intention: purposefully resting

Other inspirational best yoga poses:

75.      Inclined plane – when you’re feeling like you want to get off the ground or you’re excited to start a new project

76.      Plank – intention: building daily strength for any trials or difficulties you’re going through

77.      Camel – reminder: let go

78.      Dolphin – reminder: we’re born with natural abilities

79.      Splits – intention: flexibly grow daily and watch progress

80.      Happy Baby – do when you want to feel safe and carefree

81.      Swan – reminder: have daily grace for those areas you can’t change

82.      Hero – reminder: we can all be a hero in our ways in our lives serving and doing what we do

83.    Neck rolls – intention: calming and releasing mind tension

84.   Neck side to side – intention: take a moment to relax

85.   Shoulder shrug – intention: be less stressed (letting the weight fall off your shoulders)

86.   Frog – intention: feel youthful and free to spread out

87.   Garland – reminder: take a break;  good for when you’re feeling unsure or in between energetic and tired

88.   Locust – reminder: try something different or take on a new project

89.  Wild Thing – intention: let go of worries and enjoy more

90.   Goddess – intention: feel ready for the world

91.   Swan dive – intention: go with the flow

92.   Cactus arms – reminder: take time off

93.   Airplane – intention: feel free and in control at the same time

94.   Spider with feet and hands on floor – reminder: you’re a beautifully unique creature

And then these sounds and breathing pair well with yoga poses and intentions:

95.   Om – making the sound clears nasal passages along with mind and body. Try a variation by using your mouth to create an ah-oh-mmm sound sequence. Intention: peace and living stress-free

In yoga, breathwork is super important and great for calming. If you get heart palpitations from anxiety, these are good breath exercises to refer to and do.

For all of us, staying mindful of breath gets us in a good reminder habit to be healthy-minded. And when you get a good breath of air you can send that energy through your mind and body, to help improve both mental and physical health.

Your nose acts as a natural filtration system. If you regularly breathe through your mouth when you sleep or if you have nasal congestion and obstructed nasal passages, you may want to look for solutions to help you breathe out of your nose regularly.

And these are the special breath exercises you can do with yoga:

96.   Sounding breath – this includes long and slow breaths while laying down, so is good to do when you’re getting in and out of bed. Reminder: you’re alive and able to take purposeful breaths

97.   Breath of fire – while sitting, exhale out short and quick breaths from your nose (like a fire-breathing dragon that doesn’t exist) until all your air from your diaphragm feels expelled. And then fill back up gradually like a balloon. Daily reminder: you’re a miracle with automatic breaths. You can control your breathing using your respiratory muscle, your diaphragm, that sits just below your two life-giving organs: your heart and lungs

98.   Bellows breath – do this one when you’re in standing mountain pose with hands at heart center (optional). Full inhale/exhale from the mouth. This is a good one to do in the morning when you’re first waking up

99.   Sufi Mother’s Breath – this is a simpler version than the Pranayama 4-7-8 version. Exhale through your nose, then inhale through your nose for a count of 7, and then exhale again for a count of 7. This is great and simple to do on a walk where you’re staying present and observing your surroundings

100.   Alternate Nostril Breath – take one hand and rest a middle finger on the forehead, thumb from the same hand rests on the closest nostril temporarily closing the airway, light ring, and baby finger on the opposite nostril. Then, inhaling through the open nostril. Intention: notice details about how each side feels as the air circulates more intently to one side of the body from your head to your feet. Reminder: how the air affects our body at and in this moment and how we affect others and the community around us with our breath

So there you go… those are my best yoga intentions and recommendations.

And one last thing that I wanted to mention…

Each week I bake and participate in an inspiring home baking challenge with a community of enthusiastic bakers.

And some could probably go on The Great British Baking Show.

As for me, I won’t be applying to be a contestant anytime soon, even though I’m pretty sure I’m one of their biggest fans in my area. 😊

But since watching the show, I’ve learned a thing or two.

Like this last season with German Week…

I’ve learned a sweet bun or two from The Great British Bakeoff show 🧡

And so, this week’s challenge is Hot Cross Buns, an egg-cellent choice for Easter. 🐇

I’ve never made the buns before, but I did make cinnamon buns for the first time this year. No matter how these hot buns turn out I’ll show you a photo in an upcoming blog post.

…And since I’m putting myself out there, maybe that’ll encourage you to stretch your mind-body and challenge yourself to a new yoga pose or two if baking isn’t your thing.

And if you need a ‘lil more gentle nudge, just send me a note (on the blog home page under “Contact”) letting me know what muscle pain or soreness or intentions you want to work on, and I’ll send back 5 yoga poses that would be good for you this season to bring back some fun. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Happy Easter! 🐣