Your best friend’s birthday party is coming up next week and you should be excited, but…the only thing you can think about is how you’re going to stop yourself from losing control at the buffet line. Sandra from work stopped eating carbs and lost 10 pounds last month—should you jump on the carb-free bandwagon too? All the diet confusion and resulting anxiety is driving you bonkers. All you want to do is eat in a way that helps you lose weight, feel balanced and get healthier.
 
So what do you do?
 
Here are 5 strategies that will get you there if you start putting them into action right now:

Know That Mistakes Are Not Permanent 

You don’t need to compensate for eating behavior that you consider ‘bad’, like picking a burger over a salad for lunch, or caving in to that extra large cookie, with habits like starvation, over-exercising, food restriction or purging, all of which don’t benefit you physically or emotionally in any way. Instead beating yourself up and falling into a negative, downward spiral, get into the habit of practicing self-compassion by acknowledging why you slipped up and get back on track as quickly as you can. No mistake is permanent and you have what it takes to do what it takes to succeed.

When you realise how many beautiful healthy alternatives are at your fingertips, the meals and snacks you can enjoy are limitless. Being healthy doesn’t mean avoiding all your favourite foods - it’s simply about switching to delicious healthier alternatives! 

Coconut sugar is an alternative to refined white sugar that opens up a whole world of recipe opportunities. There’s no need to deprive yourself of homemade cookies or fruity crumbles once you get coconut sugar in the mix. Of course, we’re not advocating a cookie a day, but when you do want to treat yourself it makes sense to choose healthier ingredients that still taste delicious. 

So How Is Coconut Sugar Healthier Than White Sugar? 

For starters, it’s packed with nutrition. While white sugar is stripped of nutrients due to processing, coconut sugar retains its rich mineral content, including calcium, iron, zinc and potassium due to minimal processing. 

Coconut sugar originates from the flowers of the coconut palm. The sap from the flower buds is collected and heated until the moisture evaporates leaving a thick paste which solidifies and is ground into granules. 

On one hand, it’s important to enjoy social occasions without obsessing over food. On the other hand, our bodies can start to feel a bit sluggish if we’re overdoing it.  

Here are our 10 Tips to enjoy the holiday season, without being a Christmas Food Grinch or compromising your wellbeing. 

1. Mix Up A Ginger Kombucha Punch

This is seriously delicious! Replace ginger ale with ginger kombucha in your favourite punch recipes - both ginger and kombucha are excellent digestive aids and your guests won’t taste the difference. You can also combine ginger kombucha, sliced citrus, fresh lemon wedges and pure fruit juice of your juice to create an extra restorative elixir. 

2. Plan The Menu Together

A little communication and coordination can really make a big difference to your Christmas Feast. Decide ahead of time who will prepare each dish or aspect of your Christmas menu. This saves a surplus of food that encourages overeating and also makes Christmas expenses more manageable. 

With a subscription to FMTV, you can press play anywhere and anytime. Here are a few tips for creating a beautiful space and principles of a  home practice so it’s inviting and something you actually want to do each day. With repetition, the mind will become attuned to dropping into the zen space you create each time you roll out your mat around your favourite inspiring things. Some of these are:

Create a beautiful space

It is important to give yourself an environment where you can practice and totally express yourself.

• Invest in a MAT (I love Jade mats or why not have a custom embroidered mat with your name on it?)
• Choose a room or area in your home where you can be undisturbed and find some quiet time.
• Decorate your space with what inspires you. Some examples might be photos, quotes, crystals, indoor plants or other objects that centre your attention and intention for your practice. 
• Evoke the power of aromatherapy and scent by bringing a lit scented candle or diffuser filled with essential oils (my favs are lemongrass, grapefruit, orange, lime and lemon). A few of James and Laurentine’s favorites include Twenty8, DoTerra, Young Living, and Mountain Rose Herbs.
• You may like to pull an affirmation card beforehand or afterwards.
• You may like to use a Tibetan singing bowl beforehand or afterwards to seal the practice.
• Your sacred space might contain a single object such as a special crystal, sculpture, or private alter you deliberately place in a special place.
• Play some music (My favs are Sacred Earth, Herrin Larkin, Deva Premal, Mantra in Motion, Krishna Das,Mannesh De Moor, Craig Pruess).
• Keep it simple and ensure you feel comfortable.

Organic food carries a reputation of being more expensive. This perceived price tag has become a common obstacle to eating organically. 

And with other living costs to juggle, especially coming into the festive season, it can be tempting to view organic food as something you just can’t afford. 

We honestly can’t argue that many families are doing it tough. It is also undeniable that the average cost of organic food is a little higher than its conventional counterpart. However, we can argue that healthy, organic food is possibly the most important investment that you will ever make.  

We can also show you easy ways to optimize organic eating on a budget, whilst making every food dollar work harder for you! Here are ten easy ways to optimize organic eating on a budget all year round:

Herbal teas, also known as tisanes and infusions, are a nutritious alternative to traditional black tea or coffee. Here are five reasons why herbal teas should find their way into your tea drinking ritual:

1. Nutrition

Herbal teas are made from plants – vibrant, nutritious plants!  When hot water hits the flowers, leaves, roots or fruits in your herbal tea, vitamins and minerals are released from 
the herbs.  Different herbal teas have various nutritional qualities; some of the most nutritive herbs to drink as a tea are chamomile, hibiscus, nettle leaf and rosehip.

2. Therapeutic benefit

Looking for an easy home herbal remedy?  Herbal tea may be just what you’re looking for.  Herbs used in Western Herbal Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine can be taken therapeutically as a tea to ease symptoms.  For example, ginger tea has long been used to help ease nausea, and peppermint tea is a great head-clearer if you are congested with a head cold.

As we are ever so close to the Winter months, many of us have been topping up our intake of immune boosters, to try to prevent a cold or flu.

Sometimes, even with preventative methods in place, viruses or bacterias can still work their way through to our immune system, and we succumb to coughs or colds anyway!

If you are overworked, stressed, under slept, dehydrated etc, you may be more susceptible to these symptoms. Oftentimes you can't put your finger on the reason. This is my situation right now.

So Here Are My 10 Favourite Fall Cold Survival Tips

1. WATER

Hydration is vital at all times of course, but during a cold, it can be extra helpful. Up your water intake, to keep hydrated in case of a high temperature, while flushing toxins from your system. Drinking water will also help to soften & break down any mucus that has built up.

Ginger is packed full of macro and micronutrients, fatty acids and amino acids. It is even classified as one of the world's healthiest spices according to the The World's Healthiest Foods. 

There are so many reasons to incorporate ginger into our everyday eating patterns. Not only does it bring a distinct aroma of flavour to our foods but brings many health benefits along with it.

Here are 10 you simply need-to-know:

1. Aids Digestion 


By increasing digestive fluids and saliva, ginger helps to increase the stomach's gastric motility. Allowing it to aid in digestive issues.
 


2. Assists With Inflammation 


Ginger contains anti-inflammatory properties which can help relieve symptoms of arthritis, osteoarthritis and rheumatism. 



Wheatgrass is one of Natures purest of elixirs. As the name implies, it is part of the wheat family, however, it does not contain gluten. This is because wheatgrass has been sprouted and no longer carries gluten or other allergic agents. That means that it’s benefits can be enjoyed by celiacs and other gluten intolerance sufferers alike. 

Often consumed freshly cut and juiced for optimal absorption and instant energy, wheatgrass is an amazing source of Vitamin A & C, amino acids like glutathione and is also made up of 70% chlorophyll. It has the ability to increase your red blood cell count all while cleansing the blood and organs and relieve gastro issues. This little green wheat is an amazing purifier, with its benefits being able to be felt and seen internal as well through that natural glow that comes with a cleansed well functioning body. 

Here are 10 reasons why wheatgrass should become an essential part of your diet: