Beauty From The Inside

That Bloated Feeling
I’ve always believed that beauty starts from the inside and radiates out into the world through your skin, hair, nails and energy in relating to the world and people around you. I know how I have felt in the past after eating foods that were not good for me or my body. I’ve felt sluggish, oily (skin), heavy, bloated, constipated (yes I know that’s a bit personal, but it’s true). I spent years eating foods that were simply not doing anything good for me. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have learned so much about food over the last ten years and today eat a diet that is gluten free, dairy free, soy free and mostly vegan.

The Question
Whenever anyone asks me about eating in a more healthy way, the question tends to be asked with a look in their eyes of “ok, tell me ALL the things you’ve cut out to be healthy UGGHH!!” The truth is that people really love their food. Food can be an emotional support, a comforting friend, a delicious companion  filled with all kinds of connections and memories. I could go on for days and write a book about this topic alone. And I know many already have written that book so I’ll spare you by NOT writing that book.

Adding The Good Stuff
The truth is, I don’t think getting healthy in a holistic way has to be about getting rid of everything and throwing a BAD FOOD label on things. Getting healthy can be about adding some amazing things to each day that will begin making big difference in how you look and feel. And it will begin to inch out some of those things that you may want to remove from your diet. YOU know what is best for you, not me, and not some expert in a magazine. But we can all tell the difference between someone who is sharing something amazing that they have found versus someone trying to sell something.

Here are some things I’ve added over the years to each day that have made the most difference:

• Exercise - My choice is Yoga
• Daily Green Smoothies (Check out my daily recipes here – in case your wondering I use a BlendTec because it is an absolute work-horse that makes ALL my smoothies smooth as silk)
• Daily Juicing – Carrots, beats, greens, ginger etc. (in case your wondering I use the Hurom Slow Juicer because it has this amazing technology where it slowly presses the juice out of the veggies and leaves dry little piles of pulp. The juice is  AMAZING and the machine is super easy to use and clean)
• Lots of plant based vegan meals – take it one meal at a time. And find some great recipes to inspire you. Here’s a fave of mine: Blissful Bites
• Sleep – this is a big one that I don’t always remember to do. But when I get enough sleep the world is a better place and it truly IS a gift to my kiddo.

These are just a few of the things I’ve added. I’ll share more as we move forward.

Namaste – Light, Love & Gratitude

Elena