Archives for February 2014

5 Steps to a Healthier You {and Me!}

February 27, 2014 By

This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Authentic Simplicity!5 steps to a healthier you #gethealthy #health #fitnessOK, folks, there’s nothing earth-shattering or groundbreaking here. Just some simple (do I really need to say that still?!) basic truths that we all need to be reminded of occasionally.

This gentle reminder is intended largely for myself, because I have totally let these healthy habits slide in recent years, and it’s time to reclaim them. I have some minor little health issues that keep niggling at me, and I can’t help but feel that if I just took better care of myself, they would disappear.

So here goes: my 5-step plan to improving my health! These basic steps are applicable to anybody, no matter the circumstances, so this post serves as a reminder for you, too.

Here’s to good health!

5 Steps to Improving Your Health

1. Reduce Caffeine Intake

At this point in time, I’m not ready to say definitively that coffee must be completely eradicated from my diet. However, I’ll readily admit I have allowed myself to indulge in it far too much in the past year or so, and it’s time to cut way back! It used to be that I drank only one cup a day, maybe two. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with various coffee substitutes like Teeccino and Pero, and they’ve actually been a lot more satisfying than I had anticipated. I’ve also started drinking more tea, especially chai, which delivers a nice bold flavor that I love, and helps me forget that it’s not coffee. I still do drink coffee in the morning, but I’ve successfully eliminated caffeinated beverages in the evening, and my overall coffee consumption is back to no more than two a day.

2. Drink More Water {And Then Some}

I have always, always been bad at this: I can remember even as a child my mother telling me to drink more water. I’m pretty sure that, as a result, I’m walking around with a permanent case of dehydration, and I’ve got to get better at increasing my water intake! I’ve already started this one (so maybe it should have been step one?) by drinking a glass before going to work, drinking two glasses at work, and then drinking at least 2 more glasses in the evening. That’s probably 60-75% of what I should be drinking, so I’m getting there!

3. Exercise

Ugh. I hate exercising, frankly. I just don’t find it fun - I’m totally not one of those perky kind of fitness people. (Sorry if I totally wrecked all your illusions about me there.) I do enjoy Pilates, and when I have exercised regularly in the past, that’s been my chosen poison (albeit a relatively pleasant one). However, recently, I finally took the plunge and bought Teresa Tapp’s book “Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes a Day”, which details her basic “T-Tapp” workout. I’m currently on Day 4 of the 2-week “bootcamp” kickstart, and am anxious to see how it goes. If it works as well as everyone says it does, it seems like it’s pretty much the perfect exercise routine! I’m also interested in purchasing a small trampoline for exercise purposes - it seems like a fun and energetic way to stay fit and healthy, yes?!

4. Avoid Sugar

I go back and forth on this one; sometimes I’m good at this, and sometimes I’m not. Back before I had kids, I used to be perfectly happy going a whole day without anything sweet; but I find that harder and harder to do as I get older. Generally, my rule nowadays is one sweet a day. When I stick to that, I feel so much better! I’m hoping that I can get to a place where I am once again allowing days to pass before I realize I haven’t had any sugar… that would be marvelous!

5. Sleep!

This is another one I’ve already started working on. Over the holidays, my DH and I developed a really bad habit of staying up until almost midnight, and I feel like it’s really taken a toll on me. Now I’m trying to go to bed between 10 and 10:30, with a wake-up time of around 7:00, which gives me 8+ hours of sleep. I feel so much better when I manage to do this, so hopefully that feeling will motivate me to continue!

Leave a Comment Filed Under: At Home, Health Tagged With:

How to Help a Friend: Just Do It

February 24, 2014 By
How to Help a Friend in Need #justdoit

Not sure how to help your friend? Just do something! Anything!

This post has moved to its new home at The Fitly Spoken Word.

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Home

5 Reasons Why I Use Essential Oils

February 13, 2014 By

5 Reasons to Use Essential Oils

When I first signed up as a distributor with Young Living Essential Oils, I wrote a lengthy post about that decision. (You can read that post here, and you can sign up as a distributor yourself here, because once you’re done reading this post, you’ll probably want to. *wink*) I detailed then the mental and physical journey that led me to essential oils, but I didn’t specifically address the reasons why I chose essential oils as the primary healing modality, if you will, in my home.

Now that I have over a year invested in learning about and using the oils, I figured it was past time to put into words the reasons why I chose to go with essential oils. Naturally, I believe these reasons are good reasons for you also to choose essential oils, but please keep in mind this is only a post about my experience and it is not to be construed as medical advice because I am not a doctor. If you have any concerns or questions, please do speak with your medical practitioner before experimenting with the oils.

1. Essential Oils are Safe

Did you realize you have probably been ingesting essential oils and rubbing them onto your body already without even knowing it? That’s because many of them (here’s an itemized list) are categorized as “GRAS” (Generally Recognized as Safe) by the FDA and approved as such to be used as food additives. Companies add GRAS essential oils to food and toiletry items for flavor and fragrance purposes all the time.

And if you don’t trust the FDA (Ahem. I don’t blame you.), here’s an interesting analysis by Dr. Robert Tisserand, an expert on essential oils, about the safety and various concerns regarding the use of oils. I encourage you to read through for yourself, but my conclusion after reading it myself was that he was hard pressed to find any hard evidence of any sort of serious negative side effects or reactions from the usage of oils. A quote from this article: “As used in aromatherapy today, essential oils have not caused a single death.” The same cannot be said for modern chemical medicine!

Certainly, we need to respect the power of essential oils and use them wisely and with a heavy dose of common sense. First of all, we need to make sure the oils we use are of the highest quality to avoid the adulteration and chemical exposure referred to in the above referenced article by Tisserand. Secondly, it is a good idea to dilute essential oils for both topical and internal use. And it goes without saying that caution should be exercised when using oils on children (although I have read that studies done on children reveal no negative effects when they are used properly). With all that in mind, I think one can say that aromatherapy is just as safe as any other readily available therapy, if not safer.

2. Essential Oils are Effective

I have experienced the effectiveness of essential oils personally and in my own family, and I have heard the testimonies of many others’ positive experiences. Browse through Oil Testimonials and see how many people have benefited from the life-blood of a plant that is called its “essential oil”.

3. Essential Oils Very Rarely Have Side Effects

The most common side effect of an oil is that it can cause a minor reaction in sensitive skin, like a tingling, stinging sensation or even a slight rash. The best way to avoid this reaction is to dilute the oil with a carrier oil.

Some people respond strongly to some oils think they are having an allergic reaction. However, it is more likely that any reaction to an oil is actually part of the detox process, which can be a good thing. (Even so, it’s a good idea to stop using any oil when you experience detox symptoms and allow your body time to recover before using it again.) There’s some debate about whether or not oils can be allergenic at all, but here’s a good rule of thumb: if reactions strengthen with each use of the oil, it’s probably an allergic reaction. If the reactions reduce in intensity, it’s probably detox.

One thing worth mentioning here, although it’s not the purpose of this post, is that some medical conditions do not tolerate certain oils. Epilepsy comes to mind, since I recently had a friend with this concern. If you have a chronic medical illness or condition, do your research and make sure the oils you want to use will not aggravate your condition.

4. Essential Oils Have a Long History

The aforementioned Dr. Robert Tisserand gives a brief history of essential oil usage here, but suffice it to say that ancient cultures (Rome, Egyptian) regularly used essential oils medicinally. And, of course, the Bible is filled with mentions of oils (distilled and infused) used for many purposes, including physical and emotional health.

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot more trust in something that has stood the test of time! Modern medicine miracles exist and are not to be discounted, but give me a time-tested remedy any day over!

5. Essential Oils are Easy to Use

You know how I like things to be simple! I find aromatherapy to be the most accessible of all modern alternative remedies: Chiropractic care is expensive and time-consuming (although very beneficial!); acupuncture is also expensive and exclusive in that it’s not really something you can do at home; homeopathy is just downright confusing; and I confess that I find herbal medicine to be much the same.

Essential oils are easy to use at home - simply diffusing them into the air is an effective way to use them, as is rubbing the diluted oil into the skin. Although there is much to learn about the science of aromatherapy, at its very basic level, it can be used at home by even the most inexperienced person. (Provided, of course, that inexperienced person is willing to learn the basics of safety and usage!)

They are also neither expensive nor exclusive like the other therapies I mentioned. The average wholesale price of a bottle of essential oil from Young Living is around $20 and contains several hundred drops. (Ask me how you can get the wholesale price for yourself!) When you consider that you use only one or two drops at a time, that price is actually minimal in comparison to most other alternative meds out there. (Hey, it’s even cheaper than most run of the mill OTC meds!)

 

Leave a Comment Filed Under: At Home, Health Tagged With: ,

Simple Wall Art: Fill Those Empty Walls

February 11, 2014 By

Win your own free wall art from Bigstock!

It shouldn’t be a secret to anyone around here that I like it when things are simple. (Hence, authentic simplicity. Yeah, that’s where that comes from!) I don’t really consider myself lazy (most of the time), but for sure I’m not going to put extra effort into anything that isn’t worth it.

Home decor is one of those things, right up there with crafts and making the bed. (Changing the sheets, now. That’s important!) In the past year, the craftiest thing I’ve done is making some monogram-esque picture frames for our living room. They turned out pretty sweet - if I do say so myself - and weren’t all that difficult; but trust me when I say the easier the home decor is, the better.

Ya with me? Ok, good, because I have a fantastic idea (and a giveaway!) for you today. See that fun vintage wall art in the photo above that is now gracing my kitchen wall? It’s actually a photo from Bigstock, printed in poster size and framed. Very cool, yes? And very simple!

Bigstock has tons of photos available to purchase and download… and then print on a large scale and hang on your wall. With over 17,000,000 (yes, that many zeroes) photos to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect one for that bare spot. (Unless you’re really really picky, and then I’m afraid I can’t help you.)

FIFTY Images FREE!

And guess what?! Every single one of you - yes, even you! - gets to try Bigstock out for free! And I know you love free stuff, because you’re just like me. Here’s the deal: Bigstock is generously offering my readers a free 5-day trial of their site, which means that for 5 days, you can download up to 10 images absolutely FREE! The standard free trial only includes 35 images, so this is an extra 15 just because you like my blog (you knew that had to be good for something someday, right?).

Click here to start your free 5-day trial. Browse through Bigstock’s massive selection of photos and start dreaming of all you could do!

That’s Not All, Folks!

One lucky reader also will win a free poster-size image for themselves! You can choose the cute vintage coffee one I chose, or you can choose another from a list of selected images (something for every style). Please note that the frame is not included.

This giveaway will end next Monday at midnight and is only open to residents of the United States, aged 18 or older. The prize will be shipped directly to you by Bigstock. The winner will have 48 hours to respond with their shipping information or will forfeit the prize.

Enter the giveaway here:

3 Comments Filed Under: Home

Why I Use Young Living Essential Oils

February 9, 2014 By

Young Living Essential Oils #yleo #essential oils If you are interested in using essential oils as an alternative to chemical-based medications, then you’ve probably come across at least a few different brands, all of them claiming to be the best for one reason or another. The information out there is often conflicting, always biased, and extremely difficult to sort through.

I can’t tell you definitively which brand of essential oils (EO’s) is the best, but I can tell you why I chose to use Young Living oils almost exclusively. I’m not writing this post to bash any other essential oil companies out there - I have no reason to do that - but simply to explain what benefits led me to choose YL over other brands in the event that my decision-making process is helpful to someone else out there researching the available options.

Why I Use Young Living Essential Oils

  • History - Young Living has over 20 years built into the industry, giving them plenty of time to learn about and invest into the oils they sell, as well as plenty of time to develop a reputation. Many of the brands out there have popped up seemingly overnight (certainly that is not true of all of them, and surely there are companies even older than YL, but I am not speaking of those on this point), and are relative unknowns as far as I am concerned. It is awfully easy for those start-ups to be here today and gone tomorrow. Young Living is not a start-up or an unknown entity, and that’s enough to edge it out over others that were recommended to me.
  • Reputation - Twenty years has given Young Living plenty of time to develop a reputation, and aside from those who are skeptical of any alternative medicine, that reputation is a very good one. The vast majority of people who have used Young Living oils have been very pleased with them and found them to be of high quality. I can count on one hand the number of negative reviews I’ve read in terms of the performance of Young Living’s oils.
  • Quality - The quality of the oils is what is behind their strong reputation. Much has been made online of Gas Chromatography /Mass Spectrometry testing, but in reality that test only tells the beginning of the story when it comes to essential oils. Young Living performs a total of 7 tests on every batch of oil that passes through their facilities and onto their customers, and if the oils don’t pass the tests, they don’t sell them. Even so, that’s not enough to establish the quality of the oils, because once again, each of those tests tells only part of the story. The chemical makeup of an essential oils depends on so many factors, all of which are highly variable, so YL makes sure that optimum conditions exists in all those factors. Starting with the seed of the plant, and continuing with its cultivation and harvest, YL monitors every step of the way to ensure that the highest quality oil is the end result. If you don’t believe me, read this summary from a chemist that explains in detail all the efforts YL takes to ensure a quality product.
  • Training and Support - If I ordered a random oil from a random company online, chances are I’m left to sink or swim when it comes to using that oil. Sure, a quick google search will tell me the basics about any particular oil. Or I could read tomes and tomes of textbooks about oils, their chemistry, their usage, etc, and I probably will (I’ve already read a few!). But what has helped me more than anything has been the support of my sponsor and the rest of the folks on her team. Any time I have a question, I know where to go, and someone on the team always has an answer for me! Young Living’s company structure was intended to create that network of support so that no one is left in the dark on how to use their oils. As my own team grows, my desire is to create that same environment of training and support that has been so beneficial to me.
  • Thieves’ Oil! - This proprietary blend is produced only by Young Living, and although others have similar products, this is the one I kept hearing about over and over and over again. I haven’t been disappointed with this powerful oil, and I always make sure to have some on hand. I clean and disinfect with it, and I use it whenever someone in my family gets sick! I have seen it first hand cut colds and the like short when they’ve already started, and I’ve also seen it prevent various sicknesses from passing through the family from one person to the next. Good stuff, I tell you.

Reasons Why YOU Might Like Young Living Oils

Some more for you to consider as you make your decision:

  • Young Living has grown 75% in the past year! That’s some pretty incredibly amazing word-of-mouth sales going on there!
  • Young Living’s wholesale price (available to distributors) is comparable to a lot of the companies I’ve seen online, plus you have the option to enroll in their Essential Rewards autoship program, which allows you to earn bonus points you can use towards free oils! I’ve received 4 or 5 free bottles of oil in the past 6-8 months. When other companies imply that they are cheaper than YL, that’s probably because they’re comparing against the full retail price.
  • Young Living makes it easy for you to get the wholesale price - all you have to do is purchase a starter kit (from $40-150) and then make another $50 purchase within the year. No other commitment, but all the benefits of having a wholesale account.
  • Of the major brands, Young Living is the only one I know of that owns and operates their own farms and produces their own oils. Not all of their oils are produced in this way, but quite a few of them are. Some of those farms are based in the US, and some of those farms are based in other countries where the plants are indigenous to that area.

If you think you’d like to give Young Living oils a try, I’d be happy to have you join my team! Visit my Young Living website for more information.

Please note that I am not a doctor and I am not dispensing medical advice. I’m simply sharing what I use for my own family.

3 Comments Filed Under: At Home, Health, In The Budget, Spend Wisely Tagged With: ,

French Toast Casserole with Streusel Topping

February 2, 2014 By
French Toast Casserole with Streusel Topping #breakfast #wholefoods #nutfree

Delicious Breakfast - French Toast Casserole with Streusel Topping

On holidays and weekends, one of my favorite things to do is fix my family a slightly more involved breakfast than usual (read: something besides toast and a smoothie). It’s a plus if said breakfast is deliciously decadent without really being decadent. And it’s a total plus if said deliciously decadent breakfast is made with the leftover bread that accumulates over time in my freezer.

This breakfast is all of these and more. My DH even called it “epic” and he’s not one to effuse over his food. I’m thinking the cinnamon syrup is what pushed him over the edge this time.

French Toast Casserole with Oatmeal Streusel #breakfast #nutfree #wholefoods

Delicious French Toast Casserole with Oatmeal Streusel Topping and Cinnamon Syrup

If you don’t keep your bread ends in your freezer… well, you should! You can make a lot of things with leftover bits and pieces of bread, and this recipe is one of them. Other recipes include:

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Bread Crumbs

Easy Peasy Cheese Ball

Chicken Zucchini Stuffing Casserole
French Toast Casserole with Oatmeal Streusel #breakfast #wholefoods #nutfree

Recipe: French Toast Casserole with Oatmeal Streusel

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cubed bread (I used leftover bits of sourdough)
  • 1 1/2 cup milk (any kind)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbsp. coconut sugar (or 5 drops stevia)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Oatmeal Streusel:

  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

Cinnamon Syrup:

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp. tapioca starch
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Pour the bread cubes into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar (or stevia), vanilla and spices until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the bread cubes.
  2. At this point, you can refrigerate it overnight if you like, or you can proceed to the next step.
  3. In a bowl, cut the butter into the oats until you have a crumbly mixture. Stir in the cinnamon and sugar.
  4. Sprinkle oat mixture over the bread and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.
  5. While the casserole is baking, make the Cinnamon Syrup: Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes.

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Breakfast, In The Budget, On The Table, Waste Not Tagged With: