Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ayurvedic Survival Ways For Travel

Ayurvedic ways help you survive travel. Because they can restore through your senses, that are heightened. In travel, we see new exciting sights, hear new sounds, try new activities, and taste new foods. Those are good.

But we also experience the stress of travel (of not knowing, waiting, and new customs).

That can be sensory overload. So you can make your travel better, if you prepare with Ayurvedic remedies.

You may be rusty and getting your travel legs back, as you and some of us have not traveled much over the past years.

So whether you’re rusty traveling or not, before you board your plane, below are some great Ayurvedic tips to run through to prepare and pack.

…And good to share with companions who like to fly by the seat of their pants!

This article and list below can help you (or them) get excited again about packing and for your travel adventures. ✈️

First off, I’m personally happy that travel conveniences have evolved.

Liquids don’t have to be pre-packed in bags anymore, so you want to be sure to bring your creams and eye drops you may have forgottten about especially if we haven’t traveled in a few years.

There’s no total quantity limit.

And many innovative airports have smartphone chargers built-in.

You sometimes don’t even have to bring out your cords for your newer devices. That something to get excited about before you board! 💛

And as of 2025, we don’t have to take our shoes off to go through security!

Hello there… I’m Brandy, a planner at heart.

I’m the person that will have what is needed while others fly by the seat of their pants. 😁

I still neatly pack all my liquids in a plastic bag to stay organized.

…And just in case the rules haven’t changed in an airport I’m flying in or out of. As a planner, just in case is my motto.

One profile that I adopted as an event planner early on is focusing on details.

And in the details, we plan everything and don’t miss anything (or as best we can).

Some things we can’t plan.

I’ve learned from my hotel catering management days.

And I consider myself lucky to have leisurely traveled overseas almost every other year for a decade.

Because travel offers a good change in scenery and a learning experience wherever you go.

Hotels make vacation life easy, as they have an in-person check-in/out and additional services, a coffee café or restaurant with room service, and breakfast options usually.

They run 24 x 7 so there’s always someone there to avoid hassles with a card or code that doesn’t work (that leads to Pitta frustration).

Whether you deal with door hassles or other travel stresses, listening to your Ayurvedic body clues can soothe you.

No matter what temporary roof you have on travel, today we can do so much on-travel to self-restore our balance and wellness. 🌱

This can start with making choices like using a full-service hotel good for pampering and ultimate body self-care.

Some hotel rooms even come with tempting luxury robes and irresistible turn-down chocolates if you’re lucky.

Some have a knowledgeable in-house concierge who can answer your questions, and in-hotel spa and attendants.

They also have bellmen that can do the heavy lift, moving your luggage to your room and can help you get around by ordering taxis for you.

And if those services aren’t enough, there are usually clothing cleaning valet services from the housekeeping staff who clean the rooms and make your bed every day. That could be a robot someday soon, just sayin’!. 🤖

During the pandemic, hotels were one of the first business impacted and testing robots to fold towels.

Another hotel feature is in-room safes that give us peace of mind so we can relax on vacation.

Hotels run a business with consistent features that’s different experience than a short-term rental run by your neighbor .

For short stays, hotels can be less stressful and worth every penny.

And in true Vata fashion on vacation, you don’t mind and like to move around from hotel to hotel, to get a different hotel vibe and soak in a new locale while visiting new places. For others, that may sound like work.

…But, everyone’s a little different.

To each her own, and that’s what makes this world go round and each of us uniquely special. 🌍

One things that helps everyone is planning ahead. It comes in handy as it saves time and prevents hassle inconveniences as some need travel items can’t be found in certain places.

For flying travel essentials, I still put the liquids in a zip lock size bag (out of organized habit) and pack it to the rim.

But now you can pack many more on your carry-on as long as any one liquid bottle does not exceed the amount limit.

That’s something to be happy about. 😊

You can even bring your small liquid soaps, so you don’t have to use the shampoo or hard bar of soap.

So go ahead and add those toiletries you can’t live without to your list now or in your carry-on bag.

Other Ayurvedic flying travel essentials includes personal things that calm your senses like essential oils.

Vanilla scents will help your anxiety and rose scents for your irritated moments. Those are common feelings you’ll experience on travel.

Also, dryness is usually a part of flying travel life, as the re-circulating air on planes is filtered, but drying and drinking too many liquids mean inconvenient bathroom runs.

Time zones also affect your body in every way. You want to moisturize your thirsty skin after you get settled and after you take a shower especially from a long overnight flight.

You can also use a green tea, lavender, or rose face mist that feels soothing to restore a Ayurvedic Pitta body.

Ayurvedic Flying Travel Essentials

Jet lag temporary stress doesn’t do body damage like chronic stress, but being on a vacation can produce stressful moments if you get lost, are on a time crunch, or when you’re with a new travel partner where you don’t know what to expect.

Some other common stress-inducing situations:

…Once you leave your house for vacation, your eating times, patterns, and what you eat routine changes as food is prepared for you unless you have access to a kitchen under your temporary vacation roof. But then foraging is always a new adventure.

The ingredients consumed are different than back home. Maybe, bring a spice or two that reminds you of home cooking that’ll help calm nerves.

And also pack Ayurvedic spices like turmeric (anti-inflammatory), cumin when it’s Pitta hot, and cayenne pepper when it’s Kapha cool temperatures.

Cinnamon is good for Vata and good for a sweet addition and sugar-alternative for beverages

…A home sleeping routine is interrupted. You rarely hear that people naturally slept better on a plane ride than in their bed at home.

Bring your ear buds that come in handy in more ways than one.

Ayurvedic Flying Travel Essentials: What to Pack in a Carry-on Bag (checklist)

__ Allowable liquids (remembering you’ll have to toss out water or any liquids larger than the size allotted when you get to Security after you airport checkin)

__ Bagged teas for comfort (peppermint tea bags to calm a stomach that’s doing somersaults. Herbal teas are found in most hotels)

__Eye drops and nasal sprays. You can also carry a little coconut oil or Vaseline that isn’t considered a liquid.

__Moisturizing lip balm, sunscreen lip balm, face, and hand moisturizer, and body sunscreen.

__A light essential oil scent like citrus, vanilla, or bergamot for calming. Taking a whiff of peppermint oil helps headaches. Gone are the days when wearing scents on a plane are customary.

__Scarf for coolness. In some countries, they require shoulders to be covered going inside churches so it’s good to have a lightweight one for covering.

__ Compression socks (good for flying where air changes and it gets cold).

Wear regular socks on the plane as likely you’ll have to take your shoes off to go through Security. And there’s nothing less comforting than having to walk bare feet on the cold public floor.

__ Gloves for if you get cold hands or it’s winter. An extra pair of gloves is good to bring as sometimes you lose one.

__A squishable hat or ballcap that you can attach to the outside of your bag makes you American, but so adorable. If you have long hair, remember to pack hair ties to keep you cool.

__Vitamins help to boost immunity when you don’t have immunity foods at your convenience and you’re in and around the public more often.

Include: Vitamin C, a mushroom or onion complex, and/or zinc, elderberry.

Take extra vitamin C as it’s water soluble and your body naturally rids of any extra (that’s not the case with B, A, and E that are also essential flying travel vitamins you can get in a multivitamin or immunity support supplement that you can dissolve in water).

__Minerals such as magnesium-calcium will help you on travel and with your circadian rhythm. Lavender tea or your Sleepy-time blend of tea can also help your sleeping efforts.

Some other miscellaneous flying travel essentials that are often forgotten, include: tissues, cough drops (in case your throat gets dry), and an apple good when you can’t brush your teeth. It will help clean teeth, so is better than gum.

Check-in bag items:

Water bottles are not always easy to find in some countries outside the U.S. So if you want to be cool, and stay cool, it’s good to bring an aluminum one.

You can store some of your smaller items inside until it’s filled with water at your destination.

Plastic or aluminum ones can be expensive to buy in a pinch. I learned my lesson in Rome when the fountain-style public tap water is potable (safe to drink), but the water bottles for tourists to buy could be as high as $40. You can bring your cooling metal bottle or purchase a collapsible travel bottle to pack in your other bag.

Of course, you can use regular plastic water bottles you buy locally, but your water bottle would look cooler in your memorable photos. 📸

You can also bring cut ginger, to add to your water. This is an Ayurvedic practice. The best way to get the ginger juices out is to chew the piece with your teeth and drink with water.

Ginger is Ayurvedic and great for morning hygiene and digestion. It’s a good primer before coffee in the morning. Or you can bring ginger spice (to make everything nice) for your long travel adventures.

For in-between meals, oatmeal is a good dry food to bring along as you can usually find warm water in your room from the room coffee/tea maker.

Some chain hotels even offer free breakfasts with warm oatmeal or oatmeal packets.

It’s smart to carry nutrition bars just in case you get super hungry, have low blood sugar, or have a drop in potassium.

Carrying bars around even when you’re in town cruising around is a good idea as it won’t ruin your next meal but will tie you over

…I was once in a museum where you had to stand in a line and wait to go in, and the only food they sold in the gift shop was a high sugar candy bar.

I could’ve brought a bar and not spent extra minutes moving around.

On travel, you can bring healthy energy powder supplement where you just add water.

You can also consider protein powder if you want to squeeze in a run, or a quick workout in your room or the hotel gym. With a full-on meal, you’d have to wait for your food to digest. So powders and bars have their smart use in place!

It’s also a good idea to bring a bathing suit on any trip. I actually pack this in my travel flying essentials bag because it’s so lightweight and I know I’ll need it.

Even if it’s winter and not warm beach weather, I find an indoor pool, spa, sauna, hot steam room, or jacuzzi that can be very relaxing and therapeutic.

Aaah… I’m dreaming already.

And the last thing you want to do is go bathing suit shopping on vacation unless you’re at the beach.

And one last thing…

Pack a pair of flip-flops. They take little bag space and they’re good to walk around with in a room, outdoor patio, or hotel spa (…ahhh!).

And you can wash them off with a little shampoo and water in your hotel room before you can quickly dry them off and put them back in your bag.

You can easily find cheap flip flops for a few bucks in America, in case you don’t want to bring them back home.

And this is a good food-as-medicine bottle to make and bring for your Ayurvedic balance…

organic navel orange peel for ayurveda drinks

Ayurvedic Apple Cider Vinegar Heartburn and Digestif Elixir

To calm heartburn, apple cider vinegar is a good "medicine" to have on you and this digestif will help with temporary indigestion symptoms.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

apple cider vinegar (with the mother)
water
orange zest
cinnamon
five spice blend (fennel, cloves, anise, pepper)

Instructions

Shake up apple cider vinegar if it has the healthy "mother."
Add ACV and water (about 1:1 ratio) to a small bottle. Add additional ingredients. Shake. Ready to go! Are you?

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Hypochondria: Health Prevention vs. Health Anxiety

Especially if you’re predominantly a natural Vata body-mind, you’re likely sensitive to changing daily weather, body, and health conditions (and can have hypochondria or health worry tendencies).

To a sturdy, unaffected Kapha or a strong, enduring Pitta, your Vata body health thoughts could be seen somewhere between hypochondria thinking and healthy prevention.

We all have traces of each body type in us (air/space, water/fire, and earth/water in more eastern world dosha term descriptions), and at any time, any of us can get off-balance for a day, a season, or longer.

If you’re experiencing any natural body type imbalances these can start off as minor body annoyances, but that can gradually aggravate your quality of life as they grow and the season goes on–so it’s better to nip them in the bud and make the healthier lifestyle changes/choices now or asap.

Today I wanted to share how you can handle and next steps for any of your less-than feel-good (unhealthy) body symptoms (that we all will run into at some point in our lives).

If you’re a super sensitive person, seek healthy prevention ways, live a healthy, balanced lifestyle balance, or are even a slight germophobe, then you may have hypochondria tendencies that can be good and bad, and I wanted to delve deeper into how you can play up the good sides and get rid of the bad tendencies as a healthy lifestyle choice you make…

In some countries outside the U.S., like our sister countries, Italy and France, hypochondria ways of thinking are known to permeate the culture. So a French Vata person is more likely to be adaptive to healthy preventative ways and body health self-awareness. They can also get inside their minds a little too much, e.g. taking more than they need or before symptoms arise.

So let’s look at both sides.

The Good In Hypochondria

If you consider yourself a hypochondriac (or know of someone who is), you can help detect and prevent health issues with solid facts and knowledge, as you probably like to Google and research health symptoms and solutions, and read health articles to become aware of the latest trends and outbreaks.

You can replace old health beliefs with better ones as they evolve, a concept that’s never-ending.

You can be more in-tune with your body so that when you do have a health concern that needs to be addressed, you know which specialists to see over general help, as you’re been a researcher and live in and feel parts of your body.

You can also share helpful, health information with other people to bring awareness to better health ideas, such as OTC medicine knowledge and alternative medicine solution paths that you learn.

The Not-So-Good In Hypochondria

But then there’s the other side…

You can go down the wrong diagnosis rabbit-hole believing that something is causing your health issue that’s not based on all the facts.

You can falsely imagine your health scenarios worsening that cause anxious-worry energy, that further hurt your health or symptoms in our human bi-directional mind-body connections.

You can also become less productive and stressed as you believe yourself as a sick person or feeling less than 100%. Some of these thoughts can lead to chronic ailments or symptoms that last longer than a week.

So, the balance between healthy and unhealthy hypochondria thinking is doing and attempting the right things that don’t over or under-react to the symptoms you’re experiencing.

Observing your body, and gathering data from the opinions of others around you can be a good, first step sounding board. And of course, talking to a medical professional when it’s necessary.

Some people tend to go to the doctor for everything and anything, and then there are others who won’t tend to go unless they’re seriously ill and you have to convince them to go to the hospital. In general, you want to be somewhere in between these two extremes.

When you talk to friends and co-workers first, they will likely share their learned health journey experiences. They may advise seeing a doctor and that could be the next healthy step, but before that, here’s how you can handle almost any change in daily, health situation that comes up without a known cause and before you have a diagnosis.

And, before you consider seeing a doctor or reach for your medicine cabinet to treat symptoms with no known cause, you can ask yourself objectively:

On a scale of 1-10 — how severe (feelings, pain, and appearance) are your symptoms relative to your normal daily health?

Continue reading “Hypochondria: Health Prevention vs. Health Anxiety”

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Yoga Tips and Home Gym Workout Exercises Even With A Sprain

Sometimes body injuries happen outside our control that come and go. And when you’re slightly injured, say with a common sprain, you can still do light work around home workouts being careful, and then gradually restoring back to regular exercising and good fit health routines.

For a light strain or sprain, you can be out for a few weeks before you’re back to regular activities. If you have a more serious injury, it can be a few months before you’re mobile, and that’s when you may want to come up with a different strategy so the rest of your healthy body doesn’t have to wait. It’s easy to get out of a regular workout routine with a good excuse!

…I want to encourage you to keep doing home exercises year-round no matter what (unless your doctor tells you not to or you’re sick), as your mental health and happiness improve — a fact we all know about the happy hormones and endorphins that release in working out.

As you get the blood circulating into your brain and body, you gain more energy from working out and that can help you sleep and eat healthier. If you have a foot sprain injury, for example, you could still do simple arm exercises to keep moving (a good body goal to maintain).

With common inflammation, you probably know it’s good to rest and ice your injury first, which can take a few days or weeks (everyone is different).

If you’re an athlete, you’re usually less fragile as your body is strong compared to someone who doesn’t work out as often.

In either case, when you’re back on the road to body recovery, you can think about strengthening other body parts. You don’t want to not do any exercise for weeks waiting for your sprain to heal completely if you can, so you can stay strong (and not get weak) both overall mentally and physically.

Physical therapy (exercises) exists, so you can rehabilitate your overall body and health back to your norm or stronger than before your injury.

If you think about it, when you do regular daily activities like brushing your teeth, cooking, or cleaning, you still need miracle muscle strength to do those common tasks. We underestimate the need for muscles unless we don’t have the ability to do what we need to do.

Even though our muscles are adaptable, we want to create progressive muscle growth, especially in our large muscle groups like our legs, buttocks, arms, and upper body so we can be independent to lift, walk, and pull or push even daily light weighted things.

Ok cool.. all makes sense so far, right?

Below I share a few of my favorite exercises, sprain injured or not, for staying toned and getting some cardio in even if you have light limitations, such as a common foot sprain.

We all have some personal fitness goals even if we don’t believe in writing resolutions. One of mine is staying the same consistent size, proportions, and weight. Since I’ve been the same size for years, measuring is not necessary but if I were trying to lose or gain weight, then measuring would be more accurate and a way to determine if what I was doing, was working.

Another goal is staying toned (or sculpted which sounds like a muscular statue). This is good no matter what your weight is… it’s obvious if you’re toned or not from a mirror, so you don’t have to step on a scale.

The tone goal is good for most women because if you’re serious about achieving good tone, you will naturally do the things in between or in the process to make that happen, like eat less and do more pushups.

Remember the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”? – the second habit is “begin with the end in mind,” which is good for any goal setting you do. (I’m having a déjà vu moment right now where I can picture Stephen Covey who wrote the 7 habits. I was in a class of his decades ago where he taught his principles… I digress)…

Continue reading “Yoga Tips and Home Gym Workout Exercises Even With A Sprain”

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Healthiest Cookie and Nutrition Facts Low Down

Healthiest cookie vibes are almost unheard of, as they often have too much high fructose corn syrup, other sugar, fat content, artificial flavoring… and did I mention sugar? 😊

This spiced cookie is one powerful bite, loaded with anti-inflammatory spices. Recipe below. ⬇️

But, I share a piece of good sweet news… today, you could look for the healthiest cookie that tastes good (and not like the box it came in), and then feel better for your reduced sugar choice.

Included below is a helpful sugar content list next time you’re out cookie grocery shopping.

If you were born with a sweet tooth (ahem…Vatas!), eliminating sugar from your diet, may be one of the worst food elimination news you could hear.

But wait!… before you give up on all sugar, know that your natural makeup and desires are there for a reason, so you don’t have to give up all your sweets if your body and health allow.

Instead, you could look for better, daily choices so you don’t have to give up entirely one day.

Cookies are one sweet type and if that’s not your go-to sweet, what are some of the other daily sweet delights? Ice cream, cakes, pies, candy, and donuts.

Sugar is sugar. But some sweets are better for you and they originate in nature and from plants.

If a piece of dark chocolate or a juicy piece of fruit will give you the same effect, learn to let your healthy taste bud rule over your eyes that plays tricks.

Because the truth is if you or I tell ourselves, no, we can’t have that sweet piece of joy, then we just want it more as we have an internal debate.

And once we get a taste of the tasty stuff, our brain’s pleasure center can easily tempt us to go overboard in a weak moment, even if we consider ourselves self-disciplined in every other way.

That’s why lose weight diets (a.k.a. yo-yo or fad diets) don’t work long-term or lifelong because we feel we are missing out on what our mind and body know is out there. Short-term diets are not natural to our bodies. We want real tasty foods that we crave.

But, if you want to fit into that special dress or get your bathing suit body ready for the summer season, you’re better off doing it naturally so that you can stay the same size year-round.

Thankfully our abundant society has wised up with better accessible plant-based and healthier ingredient options (from farm to store), than when we were kids.

We can start with a plant-based breakfast.

Decades ago, I wrote a lifelong diet guide with recipes that included enjoying more or less one day “off” a week.

A few years before then I had gone on a diet of eating low-fat cookies that came from a dark green healthy-color box (that was anything but healthy or plant-based).

I don’t see those cookies on the grocery shelves anymore, but they were a terrible food substitute that led to weight gain and adding unhealthy processed ingredients to my body. I learned the hard way, but that saved me a lifetime of going down the wrong eating path, and from then on, I wised up.

And I try to save others from making the same mistakes I made.

I still very rarely eat red meat, dairy, or more than one or two bites of a sugary sweet, not because I don’t like those foods or can’t eat them (au contraire!), but because I choose to, now knowing what I know. And like Oprah says, “when you know better, you do better.”

And you can do the same with knowledge and a little discipline, which then becomes second nature where you don’t even want those foods anymore because you know they don’t make you a healthier being and that is more satisfying to you.

There’s no guilt, either way… it’s just a choice.

Plus, as you get older, the bad foods and sugar your body could tolerate in your 20s aren’t the processed same in your body so you’re better off wanting to change instead of having to or being forced to.

So that’s where cookie consciousness came into the picture for me.

My sweet weakness is cookies (and decadent cakes and cupcakes). It’s wired in my DNA.

But, I’ve learned to be discerning and find the best ones out there.

I enjoy the cookie if it tastes great and has low sugar content, or if I make my own in a controlled sugar baking environment.

And mostly bake my own cookies or biscuits like these biscotti that uses natural sugars (fructose) to sweeten. The nutrients also offset some of the sweet downfalls without compromising adult taste! 😋

Black and white chocolate dipped biscotti.

Healthy Biscotti (No Butter No Sugar) - Black and White Chocolate Biscotti

A healthy biscotti is great for dunking in your healthy beverage.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

2-1/2 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp aniseed, crushed
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil
1-1/4 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 cups blanched almonds
2 tsp milk
finely choped dates, orange zest, dried fruits as sweet

Instructions

Make your dough with the ingredients. It should be cohesive and sticky enough to become a dough. You may need to add more oil or can substitute with yogurt or apple sauce.
Roll out one or two rectangular rounded loafs (for mini biscotti) about an inch thick for the classic biscotti shape.
Bake in 350°F oven for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely. Then use a serated knife to make even-cut biscotti pieces.
Flip over biscotti and bake for 10 more minutes (for "twice baked").
Let cool and dip in melted chocolate (optional).
Refrigerate and then dip in white chocolate for duo-chocolate.

Keeping it real to yourself is what it’s all about…

And also celebrating your efforts, leaves you happy, your mental health improves, and your body benefits, so you want to balance health and happiness (btw, my blog name is healthy and happy 😊). I mostly do this through modern Ayurveda that my blog is about.

I also like to balance rules because they keep life simple.

So looking at nutrition facts is one practice that I like to do (and seriously I do find fun in a mature, adult sorta way).

And I started out my career out as a catering manager at a DoubleTree Hotel where they’re famous for their c.c. cookies you can make healthy 🍪 but yeah the original ingredients in the official recipe is not listed on the fresh brown paper cookie bags.

I know because I sat next to them and used them as a pound of butter paper weights for my BEO contracts I had on my desk, taking a bite here and there to curb my breakfast appetite.

Gosh, those were the early days!

And, on that note…

Quick trivia question:

Which of these cookies was famously credited as the first?… is it the Fig Newton, Animal Cracker, or Chocolate Chip Cookie? (Keep reading, as the answer is below ⬇️).

Choosing the Healthiest Cookie

Healthiest cookie goes to one with no white flour, no added white sugar and no butter. But still tastes amazing like this flourless oat based chocolate chip cookie. — This is a healthy chocolate chip cookie without added butter, white sugar, and flour.

In choosing cookies, the first step is acknowledging that all cookies are not created equal. You know this without having to think about it twice.

But when you’re in the grocery aisle, do you make mostly sensible decisions… or sensory-driven decisions?

If you’re not sure or your answer is it can vary, then take a photo of your grocery cart at the check-out line and evaluate when you get home.

Do some grocery introspection.

Take a look at the Nutrition Facts on the back of the food packaging as though you’re looking for the healthiest cookie out there that you want.

When you look closer and compare, you may find an oatmeal cookie may not be lower in sugar count than a chocolate chip cookie. So you are now informed and can make a better decision next time.

In those pleasantly surprising fact discoveries, if nothing else you get what you want and are happier for your choice! And sometimes you’re shocked at what your old favorites tell you.

You can also compare cookies in the same brand like a Girl Scout Cookie.

One GSC can be lower in sugar and another one can be off the charts. They may be made from the same factory, but they have a different makeup.

You can continue reading below how they rank in sugar content as I’ve included in the list. Today, gratefully we have so many healthier choices and from the same brands.

If the food item looks similar to another, the ingredients could be completely different, change over time or the next time, so it’s best to keep doing your due diligence.

This can become a healthy habit and you may end up doing a food pantry audit that’s not a bad thing.

It actually helped me when I discovered it was bothering my skin later in eczema where sweets or over-sweets could exacerbate flare ups. And any inflammation is not a good sign.

If you love a crunchy-style cookie, the list below is meant to open your horizons in search of the tastiest and healthiest cookie (best value). And one day, you may want to switch to even healthier options like making your own savory, plant-based, healthy good recipes and low-sugar summer desserts.

The average cookie listed here has 2 grams or less of added sugar. That’s pretty darn good in cookie terms!

Keep in mind, if a sweet food item or cookie has no sugar or low sugar, it could contain sugar substitute ingredients.

Sugar for sweetness I believe is the safest bet out there (next to pure juices and zests that come from whole fruits, or unprocessed honey or agave).

Be sure to read the actual list of ingredients and pay attention to artificial ones. A general rule of thumb: the fewer ingredients the better (closer to natural vs. processed or store packaged with additives for better taste or preservatives).

In Search of the Healthiest Packaged Cookie (That Tastes Good!)

If you want to be healthier driven, here is a better grocery list with less than 2 grams per cookie (but you should always do your research as cookies change):

Annie’s Chocolate or Neopolitan organic cookies –7 grams of fat for 31 cookies. (Compare that to other store-bought cookie or a deceptively high sugar-filled fig newton)

-Stella D’oro Stella cookies – 8 grams per 3 cookies (I wish they’d bring back the one in the assortment with the fruit in the middle)

-Stacy’s Cinnamon pita chips – 5 grams of fat for 7 chips

-Honey Teddy Grahams- 8 grams per 47 pieces – (wins the sugar healthiest cookie award from this list)

-Dansk Danish cookies (royal blue round tin) – 8 grams per 4 cookies

-Loacker Quadratini wafer cookies – 9 grams for 8 cookies

-Mulino Bianca Batticuori – 1.8 gram per cookie (when in Italy, you may want to stock up on this one)

-Girl Scouts Savannah Smiles – 11 grams per 5 cookies

-GS Trefoils – 7 grams per 5 cookies (the original is the GSC’s healthiest cookie by sugar count… go figure!)

-GS Thin Mints – 10 grams per 4 cookies (my fave stored in the freezer!)

-Nabisco Animal Crackers – 7 grams per 14 crackers

Compared to Not the Healthiest Cookie (above 3 grams of sugar):

-Vienna Fingers: 10 grams per 2 cookies

-Oreo Cookie: 14 grams per 3 cookies

-Chips Ahoy: 11 grams per 3 cookies

-Tate’s Cookies 11-13 grams per 2 cookies

-Carr’s English Tea Cookies (Ginger Lemon Cremes) – 11 grams per 2 cookies

-Girl Scout Do Si Do (peanut butter) – 11 grams per 3 cookies

-GS Samoas – 11 grams per 2 cookies (..was a personal fave until I learned the truth!)

-GS Tagalongs (chocolate/peanut butter)– 8 grams per 2 cookies

-GS S’mores – 10 grams per 2 cookies

-GS Toffee-tastic – 7 grams per 2 cookies

-Pepperidge Farm Soft Baked Oatmeal Raisin – 7 grams added (12 grams total) per cookie!

-Pepperidge Farm Verona Thumbprint/Brussels/Milano – 11 grams per 3 cookies

-Pepperidge Farm Mint Milano – 9 grams per 2 cookies – (…glad I got this one out of my system as a kid!)

-Pepperidge Farm Milano Dark Chocolate – 7 grams per 2 cookies (…huh, dark chocolate is less? – ok..noted.)

-Keebler Sandies shortbread – 7 grams per 2 cookies

-Keebler Simple Made butter cookie – 6 grams per 2 cookies

-Biscoff shortbread cookie 12 grams per 4 cookies (…good to know as you’re often handed these on some European international flights that don’t include nutrition facts)

-Honey Maid graham – 8 grams for 4 squares (2 whole rectangular pieces)

-Stella D’Oro Swiss Fudge – 11 grams per 3 cookies

Changing Your Sweet Habits

…If your fave is on this higher added sugar list (as my childhood ones are), maybe there’s a lower-refined sugar one in the list above it you can learn to love… maybe?

Just remember, sometimes all you need is a ‘lil something sweet. If you reach for a few raisins or a small handful of low-sugar cereal, that could do the trick to satisfy your want (and add some fiber at the same time ;-). … or maybe all you need is a juicy apple to satisfy your sweet tooth?

Have you ever tried an apple with all-natural peanut or almond butter? I think it’s delicious. If you choose a Granny Smith apple then you get a sweet and sour symphony of tastes, that’s better than a green apple Jolly Rancher… and can be very pleasing to a Vata.

What I’m suggesting here is a lifelong and year-round approach for your health success, and not a list of don’t do’s.

When you start looking at Nutrition Facts sugar content, then you get sugar conscious. Not eating high sugar foods helps you stay healthy and fit, lose weight, and reduce body inflammations (that are no fun).

When you do your household shopping for products at Target or wherever you go, on your receipt printout, most individual items are under say $10, but all those little costs add up… it’s the same with your daily sugar. It adds up daily and your body keeps score. Keep that in the back of your health-conscious mind.

Here are a few additional sugar rules I’ve created for myself and maybe you want to adopt in your life…

1.Be picky about your sugar choices. Think of your dessert as a treat for the day or week. When I was younger, I could’ve had a sugar IV drip in my vein and be happy eating spoonfuls of white sugar.

Weaning yourself gradually to better sweets is a better strategy than eliminating, especially if you have a sweet tooth (remember, the fad diet example I gave above).

2. If you don’t see the Nutrition Facts, ingredients, and the full-sugar content on the food packaging, skip the choice. If you order groceries online and the photos don’t show the written facts, keep going.

3. Eat candy sparingly, and maybe this is a good one to eliminate, as there’s no healthy nutritional value in candy. I think you can get a smile on your face another way. I know that one can be a downer as we all love candy (for the memories if nothing else).

When we were kids, our caretakers/role models could’ve helped us out if they informed us that candy is for kids. I’m serious. When you were a toddler, you were planning to get new adult teeth so cavities didn’t matter. That was the time to enjoy candy galore, not as an adult.

And If you love strawberry Twizzlers like I did and still do, you can stretch out your candy treat choice in moderation. It brings out the inner child happy in me. 👧🏻

You can be smart with your choices and find treats that have a longer shelf-life (e.g. keep in the freezer) so you’re not tempted to just consume more before your treat loses its freshness.

You could also buy a smaller quantity if the item is perishable. Remember telling yourself no, can backfire.

4. And finally, stay away from the gas station junk food aisle. I know that’s a no-brainer for healthy conscious thinking. You aren’t likely to find the healthiest cookie anywhere near those places, but reach for the healthy bar or nuts, or even a Hershey’s dark chocolate bar to fill you up if you get low blood sugar or feel you’re getting hangry with no other food source in sight.

Ok, so now you may know a little about sweet changes you could evaluate/make, and healthier cookies (and not-so-healthy cookies) out there.

Oh, and I didn’t forget…. here’s the Trivia Question Answer (from above):

Depends who you ask, but the Fig Newton made a debut in 1892 from Nabisco (The National Biscuit Company). Then Nabisco came up with the Animal Cracker in 1902. Chocolate chip cookies became famous in the 1930’s, credited to the (Nestle) Toll House Restaurant. You probably know which of these is lowest in sugar content… I’d choose the Animal Crackers.

And if you want a beautifully spiced cookie that’s usually a resurging trend around Christmas but you can enjoy year-round is a spiced cookie.

Pfefferneuse Anti-Inflammatory Spice Cookie

This is a punchy and classic Christmas cookie that's anti-inflammatory

Course desserts

Cuisine American, german

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
1-1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter, cut in pieces
4 cups almond flour (or combo of flours)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves (in addtion to the allspice)
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt

Instructions

Mix 3 wet ingredients on low. Then add dry ingredients until well-mixed.
Bake at 350°F for 11-14 mins.

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Bird of Paradise Yoga Pose – Mind Challenge

Bird of Paradise yoga pose is one that should be celebrated. I love this pose for several reasons I share with you below.

Firstly, it’s a mind challenge in a good way… and maybe you want to take the journey to discover more about you and your body!

Bird of Paradise yoga pose is a good metaphor for removing thinking overwhelm and mind blocks.

It’s a personal growth exercise pose.

And one you can practice annually on #InternationalYogaDay to measure your yoga milestones.

Bird of Paradise yoga pose (BOP pose) is great for mind-body balance.

It stretches your arms, legs, buttocks, and shoulders while you’re standing on your yoga mat.

If you’re injured somewhere between your head and toes, this is not one you want to try until you’re fully healed…

I mention that because I recently was injured, and I couldn’t do the pose.

I had a left foot injury where I often had to stand on my right foot without a crutch. I must’ve looked like a flamingo with my one leg propped up behind me resembling the number “4.” 🦩

With injuries, the last thing on your mind can be working out. After you start getting on the body healing path, you can get back, restore, and find ways to work out parts that work.

Working on strength is healthy.

So a good way to ease back into physical activity is with gentle stretches and yoga poses.

When you’re ready, one of these can be the Bird of Paradise yoga pose that helps build strength in your legs.

It also helps with your balance, especially when you need to rely on one side of your body over another.

That’s why it’s good to maintain and build body strength as you never know when you will need the extra gusto… and flexibility and muscle strength in the right places come in handy (even for a small framed person).

To get in the Bird of Paradise yoga pose on one side, let’s say your right side first…these are the steps:

While bending down at your torso, you weave or wrap your right arm under the same side/right leg and then grab behind you, your left hand.

Then without letting go, stand up and lift your right leg straight up. Either let that right bent leg rest on the back of your right arm or aim it up into the air at a pointed 45-degree angle (if you can and wanna show off ;-).

I know it can sound like a game of Twister with yourself, but it’s simpler than the instructions are once you get the hang of it!…

You’re basically hiking that shoulder behind the same side leg — so it can be done in two simple steps. Your leg in the air is more like a front, dangling handbag strap. 👜

That’s where you can overthink the pose. If you’re a newbie at the BOP pose, it can take a few steps like if you were twisting dough into a pretzel form.

…at this point, I’m not sure what you’re thinking about this pose… but hopefully you’re inspired to attempt (and not scared to try)?

If it’s new to you, it was new to me too. I first learned of the pose when they would teach this one in Hatha yoga classes I attended.

We all try and fail and then before you know it, you’re doing it!

And it’s worth trying because besides the stretch benefits, it teaches you to let go.

It’s a good exercise to teach yourself to lighten up and not take everything so seriously. That’s a side benefit.

And when you do that, you’re n the Bird of Paradise yoga pose.

Because when you’re first starting out, you can overthink the pose and not fully get off the ground (floor). Or, you can wobble or fall out of the pose somewhere in the process.

Here’s how you can bypass overthinking the pose… 🧘🏻‍♀️

You start off standing. Then bending over and taking one arm and threading the same side shoulder underneath the same side knee.

Then stand straight up with the entire leg and same side arm in one fell swoop. It’s that easy.

You probably got that part the first time, but where people get hung up (and I know I did in the beginning) is focusing on the arm and leg and how it would gracefully look instead of just looking straight ahead and trusting all the parts are where they need to be.

It’s about surrendering.

And before I surrendered, I stayed stuck and bent over on the ground.

I was ready to get up.

So I attempted again the next day without giving the pose much thought.

The next time I looked up slightly, and straight ahead with more confidence.

From there it became easy, breezy, and smooth sailing, as I know it will for you too. ⛵️

Also, if you stay in intentional present mindfulness, the success rate to bloom into a flower Bird of Paradise is high. 🦩

If you think of yourself as the flowering bird of paradise planted in life, 🪷 then you can aspire to achieve this advanced mind challenge yoga pose pose more eloquently and efficiently (bypassing negative emotions and confusion).

I’ve done the pose in linoleum floor office workplaces wearing stretchy leggings and riding boots… and I’m no superwoman, so getting off the ground if you want to, can happen for you too! 😊

Just a few final notes and words of encouragement before I close out here…

If you’re on the computer most of the day, the Bird of Paradise yoga pose is a great shoulder opener.

Without awareness, most of us have a habit of leaning forward and caving our bodies inward that isn’t great for our bodies.

Especially by our old age when we need support to balance our bowling ball-like weighted heads (and our shoulders are part of the main muscle group that helps with that cause).

So to counteract or correct bad habit postures, to undo them, bend them in the opposite direction from time to time. That’s a good overall rule of thumb for stretching practices.

Keep challenging and amusing yourself and others around you with your standing poses like Bird of Paradise, Tree Pose, and Dancer Pose. These are other favorite poses of mine..

And if you are having seasonal internal-body symptoms that are preventing you from doing a Bird of Paradise yoga pose, be sure to check out the Body Balance Quiz to learn more about restoring imbalances.

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