Exploring a Plant-Based Diet

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Tips and Resources for Getting Started with A Plant-Based Diet

Healing, satisfying, nourishing and delicious. Are those the words you would immediately think of as describing a plant-based diet? If not, you might want to think again. As the experts I went to affirmed what I’ve already learned firsthand, a plant-based diet is more than just a way of eating, it’s a way of life, a way of healing and a way of looking at the world around you. As we help you to explore different ways of eating here at Peppermint Tea & Me, a whole foods plant-based diet is something that I hope you’ll at the very least come to understand a little better, and at most, possibly embrace for yourself. If so, these tips and resources for getting started with a plant-based diet will help to make your transition easier and will help to put you on a path to lifelong wellness.

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Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels

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5 Tips for Eating Healthy During Even the Busiest of Weeks

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Get Organized for Healthy Eating During This Back to School Time of Year

This back to school time of year can be exciting for everyone, but, if your family is like mine, it can also mean that things get quite a bit busier. Afterschool, evening and weekend activities; exercise; homework; meetings; and oh yes, the regular work that pays the bills. To some degree it all has to be done (or does it? Click here for more on how to prioritize), but where does that leave eating healthy foods that give us the energy to do everything we need to do? When things get busy, it’s all too easy to throw up our hands and do drive-thru yet again. It really doesn’t have to be that way though, and while my family is by no means perfect, I wanted to share my top 5 tips for getting organized so that you can eat healthy during even the busiest of weeks.

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Getting back on Track with Your Health

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10 Steps for Restoring Wellness with Nutrition and Exercise

We’ve all gotten sidetracked at one time or another when it comes to healthy eating and exercise. Life happens, we get bored or we might lose sight of why we’re doing what we’re doing in the first place. It’s not the end of the world. The most important thing is recognizing what’s going on and getting back on track. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but it’s probably easier than you might think – especially if you use these 10 steps for restoring your health and wellness to guide you along the way.

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Overcoming Food Cravings

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What They Do and Don’t Mean and How You Can Take Control

When you were a kid and had a bad day, did your mom or dad take you for ice cream? Do you do that with your own kids? Do you still do that with yourself? There’s no doubt, the intent is good and let’s face it, it works. But what are we telling ourselves and our bodies? That sugar and other exciting flavors can cure whatever ails us emotionally. Before we know it, we’re medicating ourselves with unhealthy food and craving them whenever the going gets tough.

Many people say cravings are just a natural part of life. While that may or may not be true, we definitely condition ourselves for them, and what we do with them is up to us. Wanting an unhealthy treat every now and then is one thing, and there’s nothing wrong with splurging occasionally. It’s when we constantly give in or relate certain unhealthy foods or tastes with specific emotions that we run into trouble. Many people feel defenseless against food cravings, but that doesn’t have to be the case. You can overcome them, learn what they do and don’t mean and most importantly, empower yourself to take control of your health.

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Exploring the Keto Diet

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Tips for Getting Started

If you’ve been curious about the Keto Diet and wanted to learn more, you’re in good company. This way of eating is all the rage because of its many proven health and weight loss benefits. I recently had a friend ask me what I know about it, and despite the amount of research and reading I’ve done on different theories for eating, I found myself only able to give her a partial answer. That’s when I decided to go to Dr. Will Cole, a leading functional medicine expert, so that he could offer some clarity for anyone interested in exploring this type of diet.

As you’ll see in this Q & A, Dr. Cole not only offers information that should be interesting to all of us and helpful to those interested in trying keto out, he also has some great tips for getting started. You’ll see find some additional resources at the end that I’ve added as well.

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Dr. Will Cole

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Integrated Wellness While on Vacation

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How to Keep It Relaxing, Fun and Healthy

When we go on vacation, we want it to be relaxing and fun. In most cases, the last thing we want to think about is whether we’re being healthy or not. After all, this is our time to take it easy on ourselves. While that’s definitely true, if we do everything differently than we do at home, we may end up feeling run down, tired, having digestive problems because we’re eating differently and just not ourselves before the vacation is even over.

That’s why integrated living is an important concept all of the time and not one that you can really take time off from. But that’s the whole idea. Recognizing how everything is connected shouldn’t be a burden, a hardship or create a lifestyle that isn’t enjoyable. It isn’t something that you should need a break from and is a mindset that you should want to take with you wherever you go. Yes, when you are in a different place or have a different schedule, you do have to be flexible. But you don’t have to compromise on everything and your health certainly shouldn’t suffer. That’s why we’re going to take a look at a few ways you can keep it relaxing, fun and healthy all at the same time.

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3 Tips to Jumpstart a Healthy Lifestyle

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How to Quickly Get Started

I’ve had quite a few people say to me that they want to adopt a healthier lifestyle, but they just don’t have time right now to figure out how to do it or what exactly that looks like for them. I completely get it, but if you think about it, when we’re at our busiest, craziest and stretched to the limit, that’s when we need to be our healthiest and sanest or something’s going to give. We’re simply going to fall apart. So, I get not having time, but on the flip side, can you really afford not to spend the time to at least get started?

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Meal Planning Tips and Tools for Healthy Living

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5 Best Meal Planning Tools

Does the idea of meal planning make you break out in cold sweats or cause your shoulders to tense up? If so, you’re definitely not alone. This is one of those tasks that can cause even the most seemingly together women (or men) to crumble. It doesn’t have to be that way though, and I’m talking to you about it because I strongly believe meal planning is one of the first steps to good nutrition, good health and overall wellness. Integrated living does at the very least, include a shopping list.

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Eating for Wellness

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Tips for Healthy Eating

Are you tired of being bombarded with all the newest information about what you should and shouldn’t eat? Are you confused about what healthy eating even means? Or are you simply saying, “I have three kids who all have different activities, drive-thru it is.” If you answered “yes” to any or all of these, you’re not alone, and please, let me say from the beginning, there is no judgment here. We’ve all been there, done that. But if you’re reading this, you must be at least a little interested in finding out what eating healthier could look like for you. That’s why I want to help cut through some of the noise and get you on your way to eating for wellness as quickly as possible. Your health and quality of life depend on it.
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Your Key to Success for a Healthy Lifestyle…Planning

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Tips for Achieving a Healthy Lifestyle

Do you want to be healthy… I mean down to your core healthy? If so, I’m here to let you in on a not-so-little secret. Your key to success for a healthy lifestyle doesn’t necessarily start with how many miles you run or walk, how much salad you eat for lunch every day or how many minutes you meditate in the morning. These and many more components all play important roles in a healthy lifestyle, but there’s one thing needed to bring it all together so that you can live your most vibrant and healthy life. Planning. That’s right, planning. It may not sound very sexy, but it’s where we all have to start and the place we sometimes have to come back to. That can be true even if you have a regular exercise routine in place but still aren’t feeling your best; you eat the healthiest of diets but still don’t have enough energy or you’re a master at mindfulness but can’t quite manage to get movement into your schedule. If any of this is true for you, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and come up with a blueprint for the healthiest you possible.

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