Journal prompt for a healthier mindset

Energy is everything.

“what you think, you become.” - Buddha

There is a ton of scientific data that proves that our brain believes the words coming out of our mouth, so why not change them up and switch our mindset? If we can speak more positive thoughts, our brain will begin to believe those positive thoughts - and they will become our reality!

It seems quite simple, but it takes some practice. One easy way to begin this practice is by journaling.

Every morning in your journal I encourage you to write down 3 things you are grateful for in that moment, 3 things that spark joy for you, and 3 affirmations about yourself.

For example it could look something like this…

3 things I am grateful for:

1. My Husband

2. My House

3. Living in the sunshine state

3 things that spark joy for me:

1. The book I’m currently reading

2. Long walks with my dog

3. Sunsets at the beach

3 affirmations about yourself:

1. I am smart

2. I am resilient

3. I am kind

These are just examples, choose what aligns with you in the moments each morning. Don’t overthink it, simply write what comes to you. Over time these 9 things will begin to become your truths, and although they may change daily, you will still be focusing your mindset on all the positive in your life and in yourself.

This positivity - and this mindset shift - will slowly begin to have a ripple effect out into your daily life. After 21 days of this practice you will notice that your positive mindset shift is lasting longer and longer, and stays with you for most of your day. When your mindset does shift towards the negative, it is now easier for you to bring it back these 9 things.

I can’t wait for you to try this exercise out tomorrow morning and see how much joy and positive it brings into your life!

Photo By Jontel Chere

3 Ways to eat healthier this holiday season

The holidays are undoubtably a time of indulgence. With numerous holiday parties, cookies in the break room, and family gatherings you are bound to indulge and get a bit off track during the holiday season. Here are three ways you can stay on track and still enjoy the holidays!

I’m going to share 3 ways in which you can eat healthier this holiday season (and still have fun!)

1. 80/20 Rule - I preach about this all the time, but in case you need a reminder…if you eat perfect for YOU 80% of the time, you have 20% to play with. That 20% could include a glass of wine, a Christmas cookie, dark chocolate etc…but keep it at 20%.

2. Start your day with the Lean and Green Body® Triple Play - starting your morning with this simple yet effective routine will help you to make healthier choices as the day progresses.

3. Hydrate! Drink 80+ oz of water each day…and remember to have an extra glass for each caffeinated beverage or alcoholic beverage you have!

How to energize your day!

The Lean and Green Body® Triple Play is my favorite way to start my day!

If I happen to miss a day I feel sluggish, fatigued and even dirty inside…my body literally craves this routine every day.

If we haven’t worked together yet, I’m about to let you in on one of my trade secrets!

The Lean and Green Body® Triple Play is a sure fire way to energize your body, gently detox your system, and flood your body with nutrients all before you’ve even had your morning coffee.

My coveted Triple Play morning routine is something I typically share with my nutrition clients during our first or second appointments, and now you can experience all the benefits too!

The Lean and Green Body® Triple Play is my morning routine…let’s break it down!

First thing in the morning when you wake up…before you put anything else into your body, drink these three things…

First, 8 oz of room temperature water with the juice from 1/2 an organic lemon…sip it!

Then, add 1-2 TBSP of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar to 4-8 oz of water (you MUST add to water, do not drink ACV on it’s own)…drink it down!

Followed by, our morning greens! My current favorite greens are the Amazing Grass greens OR the Garden of Life Perfect Food Raw Greens. I love both of these brands and rotate between the two! You’ll mix one scoop of your greens with 8-10 oz of cold water (I like to use a blender bottle), shake and drink!

Then you can have your coffee and breakfast!

So why do I encourage you to drink all that first thing?!? Let me fill you in on what each drink does…

Each morning we wake up and our bodies are so dehydrated from working on overdrive while we sleep. The room temperature water with an organic lemon works to rehydrates your cells, energizes your body, and helps to pull out toxins. I get this question almost daily…and yes, it’s essential that the lemon is organic! An organic lemon is alkalizing, where a conventional lemon is acidic. This was literally mind blowing the first time I heard this...a food is either alkalizing or acidic based off what it does inside our body. A conventional lemon will never be alkalizing because of the pesticides and chemicals sprayed on it…sorry but you can’t wash them off. The lemon water responds almost like coffee to the body, and provides a boost of energy without the jittery feeling associated with caffeine.

Next up, the Apple Cider Vinegar comes in to helps neutralize the body. When we wake up our bodies are in an acidic state, the Apple Cider Vinegar helps to increase the pH of the body creating a more alkalizing state. We want to keep our bodies in an alkalizing state as much as we can since this is an undesirable place for cancer, disease and illness to thrive in. (Disease thrives in an acidic environment.) Apple Cider Vinegar, Bragg’s particularly, is one of my favorite holistic remedies because it performs hundreds of benefits to the body. Just be sure to mix it with water, and never drink it straight. (do not take ACV if you have an ulcer or symptoms of an ulcer)

We round up our Triple Play with our greens! Probably my favorite part of the Triple Play. Both of the green supplements I recommended above contain approximately 34 raw greens that have been juiced first and then dried. This is very important because we are not cows, and it can be very difficult for our bodies to digest and breakdown grass and some greens. Having the greens juiced first helps our bodies assimilate and utilize the greens and nutrients much easier. You will mix your greens with about 8-10 oz of cold water, I like to use my blender bottle and shake them up! When you drink your greens on an empty stomach (no food) you allow the nutrients to be absorbed and utilized by the body right away, it takes away to need to digest them and this giving your digestive system a break. Greens will help to boost your immune system, keep you energized, gentle detox the body, and help to balance blood sugar levels!

That’s it! It may seem like A LOT at first, but I promise it gets easier and eventually it just becomes part of your morning!

My husband and I love to travel and I always bring all 3 parts of this morning routine with me when we travel. To read more about my travel tips click HERE

As a Certified Holistic Nutritionist I am very cognizant of what I put into my body, what I give my family and what I recommend to my clients. I do extension research on all products I recommend, but I always recommend doing your own research to see what you feel comfortable with.

Gentle reminder…you should always consult your Naturopathic MD or Certified Nutritionist before adding a supplement to your routine. If you are pregnant or nursing I would recommend eliminating the ACV portion of the morning routine, and simply doing lemon water and greens!

To learn more or to work with me, please email me at jennifer@leanandgreenbody.com

Photo By Jontel Chere

Learn the Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar {ACV} is an incredibly healing tonic, and has been used for over 1,000 years to treat and cure a variety of aliments.

I love Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar because it is organic, pure, contains “the Mother”…essentially all the good stuff…and this company has been around for over 80 years!

When using Apple Cider Vinegar it is important to ALWAYS mix it with water - you never want to drink it straight. I mix about 1-2 TBSP of ACV with 4-8 oz of water. You can add more or less water depending on your preference.

Here are some of the benefits of this healing tonic..

Helps to promote a youthful skin and vibrant healthy body

Helps remove artery plaque, infections and body toxins

Helps fight germs, viruses, bacteria and mold naturally

Helps retard old age onset in humans, pets and farm animals

Helps regulate calcium metabolism

Helps keep blood the right consistency

Helps regulate women’s menstruation, relives PMS, and UTI

Helps normalize urine pH, reliving frequent urge to urinate

Helps digestion, assimilation and helps balance the pH

Helps relieve sore throats, laryngitis and throat tickles and cleans out throat and gum toxins

Helps protect against food poisoning and even brings relief if you do get it

Helps detox the body so sinus, asthma and flue suffers can breathe easier and more normally

Helps banish acne, athlete’s foot, soothe’s burns, sunburns

Helps prevent itching scalp, baldness and dry hair

Helps banish dandruff, rashes, and shingles

Helps fight arthritis and helps remove crystals and toxins from joints, tissues, organs and entire body

Helps control and normalize body weight

Morning Routine Update!

For as long as I can remember I have been a morning person… like suns up, I’m up kinda morning person. 

I cherish that time before everyone is awake to fuel my body and my soul. How we choose to start our mornings in essential and can really lay the ground work for the rest of the day.

For years I have been talking about my morning routine…on my blog, on my social media and at my events…I have made a few changes over the years and thought it was time that I updated my morning routine for all of you!

My mornings are sacred to me. 

I love to wake up at least an hour before everyone else, when the house is quiet and it’s still dark outside. This is my time to just be and breathe. Once the day begins I give so much of myself to my family, friends and clients there isn’t much “me time” for the rest of the day. 

I start my day with 8 oz room temperature water with 1/2 an organic lemon. Each morning when we wake up our bodies are dehydrated from working so hard while we sleep. The room temperature organic lemon water rehydrates our cells, energizes our body, and helps to pull out toxins. It is essential that the lemon is organic. An organic lemon is alkalizing, where a conventional lemon is acidic. This was mind blowing the first time I heard this…but it’s true! A food is determined to be alkalizing or acidic depending on how it responds inside the body.

The lemon water responds almost like coffee to the body, and provides a boost of energy without the jittery feeling associated with too much coffee.

I then take 1 TBSP of Braggs apple cider vinegar and mix it with about 4 oz of water (be sure to always mix with water!). The apple cider vinegar comes in to helps neutralize the body. When we wake up our bodies are in an acidic state, the apple cider vinegar helps to increase the pH of the body making it a more alkalizing state. An alkalizing state is important for the body because it is not an ideal state for cancer, disease and illness. Apple cider vinegar, Bragg’s particularly, is one of my favorite holistic remedies because it performs hundreds of benefits to the body.

The third and final part of my Lean and Green Body® Triple Play are my greens! Currently I’m loving the Amazing Grass detox and digest greens, or the Amazing Grass energy greens (caffeine free). My greens are one of my favorite “supplements”. These greens are juiced and then dried to allow for easier digestion and absorption in our bodies. They also allow for super clean green energy! Having the greens juiced first helps our bodies assimilate and utilize the greens and nutrients much easier. Since it is a powder it is easy to travel with...I make sure to bring this with me on every trip. Greens will help to boost your immune system and keep you energized! The benefit of having these greens first thing in the morning as part of your triple play is that they will energize the body. Juiced greens provide raw energy to the body.

I know it seems like a lot to take first thing in the morning - I promise your body adjusts. We wake up so dehydrated every morning and all of this water is so beneficial. 

I used to wake up and check my phone and emails right away - this was so energy draining, the opposite of what I was looking for. I now make a cup of tea and write down 5 things I’m grateful for, this helps to set the tone for my day. Some days I read a passage in “Journey to the Heart” to find some inspiration or guidance. 

Then as I digest my water (Triple Play) and fill my heart with gratitude, I breathe. This may sound simple, but most of us go through our entire day unaware of our breath. I take a few moments each morning to intentionally breathe. This helps to lower any stress or anxiety I may have, it also brings my body back into parasympathetic (rest & digest) mode. It allows me time to focus on whats real. 

From here I often go through my schedule of my day, and create a list of the top 4 things that must get completed that day. This helps me to stay on track, prioritize and not feel overwhelmed by the never ending to-do list. 

How do you start your day?

Morning Mayhem

It’s Monday morning … you have a few minutes of solitude before the mayhem sets in.

Savor every second.

Within minutes it starts:

You desperately try to wake your kids up and get them ready for school or the sitter.

Make yourself and your entire family a healthy breakfast.

Iron your clothes, heck who has time to iron in the morning??

Pack lunches.

Hustle everyone into the car and drop off on time, so that you can still make your morning meetings.

Only to arrive to work in a frazzled mess with drips of coffee on your blouse. WTH. Hello Monday…

There has to be a way to simplify this routine, right?

There is no way that you can continue this morning routine.

Luckily you don’t have to!

Here are a few simple tips to make your mornings, especially Monday’s, go much smoother.

Pack everyone’s lunch the night before… including yours.

This ensures that you are making healthy choices for everyone because you are not rushing or desperate.

I find the easiest way to do this is to pack and prepare lunches when you are cooking dinner. Food is already out, and there is likely already a mess happening in the kitchen.

Packing leftovers is a great way decrease food waste and stress.

Go easy with breakfast. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, but let’s not complicate it.

Think simple.

Make everyone a smoothie…chocolate peanut butter anyone?

Or make a big pan of scrambled eggs or pre-make hardboiled eggs the night before.

Everyone in your family (perhaps excluding the baby) can have the same base for breakfast and make their own adjustments or add-on’s as needed.

This will clear up some extra time for you in the morning.

Play some upbeat music in the morning, nothing too crazy, but enough to draw your family out of bed. If you pick the right playlist you can actually set everyone in a great mood before they even leave the house. This will start everyone off on the right foot, and hopefully their positive energy will be contagious. My favorite morning playlist on Spotify is ‘Have a Great Day!’

If your job or lifestyle requires you to iron your clothes… I’m sorry, pick a new job… just kidding! If you do need to iron try to pick one day a week to iron, maybe throw on your favorite tv show and iron enough blouses or outfits for the entire week. This will make it much easier for you in the morning.

Lastly, wake up 30 minutes before everyone else in your house… and savor these quiet moments for you. If you are a Mom these may be the only quiet moments you get. You can use this time however you like, although I suggest a brief meditation practice, journaling or intention setting, or simply just allow yourself to sit there and sip your tea.

Mornings don’t have to be so chaotic.

How do you like to start your week? Comment below!

Celery Juice: What’s All the Hype?

Celery Juice is one of the most powerful vegetable juices you can drink. I recommend drinking 16 oz of pure celery juice first thing in the morning, after your morning routine. The Medical Medium turned me onto this principle, if you have not checked out his books they are so informative!

Drinking pure celery juice first thing in the morning will increase your digestive power for the remainder of the day.

Celery is extremely anti-inflammatory and can help heal the bodies of those suffering from autoimmune conditions. These anti-inflammatory properties in celery help to eliminate bad bacteria, viruses and pathogens. 

The natural mineral salts in celery act as an antiseptic agent fighting against pathogens and helping to rid our bodies of chronic illness and disease. 

Celery has also been known to help decrease and regulate blood pressure naturally, and balance blood sugar. 

If you have been reading my blog for sometime you know that I am all about detoxing the body naturally. Celery is one of the top detoxing foods, the natural mineral salts in celery cling to toxins and help your body eliminate them. 

These mineral salts keep our body functioning at an optimum level. They are necessary for proper kidney, liver and adrenal function, and keep our gut healthy. The mineral salts in celery also act as powerful electrolytes keeping our bodies in peak performance condition. 

Our bodies function best when they are in an alkaline state. An acid state brings about disease and illness, and can lead to many chronic conditions. Celery juice, like many raw vegetables, helps our body maintain an alkaline state, preventing disease and illness. 

You are what you eat. 

Eat real food. 

Healing food. 

Cheers!

Setting yourself up for a successful day

Take time each morning for YOU. 

I like to start each day early…before my family is awake. Taking this special time for just me.

I try to start the day calm & relaxed - manifesting a great day ahead!

Set your intentions for the day. 

Perhaps journal or meditate. 

For more info on meditation, check out my blog post here.

Think about what you are going to achieve that day… not in an overwhelming manner…but instead with a “yes, I’ve got this” attitude.

Think about each day being the best day of the week!

I like to make a cup of tea and then head into my home office. I light a candle or incense, and typically read a passage from Journey to the Heart, and then journal whatever comes to mind. This allows me to get any ‘stuck’ ideas out of my mind, and allows me to be open for a positive day ahead. 

Instead of getting stressed about the day, I am calm and collected. I start my day off with a meditation and quiet time, and if my day begins to get off track I bring myself back to this moment. 

How do you start your day?

Be a More Successful Morning Person

I have always been a morning person, and often start my day at 5:30a. I love being up before the city wakes up. I feel that this is my time, and sometimes to be honest it is the only “me time” I get during the day. I cherish this time. I wake up..and make sure to get up the first time my alarm goes off. Yes...there are the occasional days that I snooze...I am human. Typically, I get right out bed and head to the kitchen. I prep my Triple Play  and make a cup of tea. Right now I am loving Harney and Son’s Winter White Earl Grey. 

While I am drinking my tea I like to take a few moments and set my intention for the day.  What is it that I am looking to accomplish today? Where is my energy? What kind of mood am I in? I set an intention first thing in the morning so that when I get super busy and perhaps off track I can bring myself back to the intention. Back to a place of calm, and back to what is important today.

I then look at my schedule for the day...and if I have not done so already...I prioritize my day. I love color...so I use a variety of highlighters to signify what is of highest priority today and go down the list from there. What has to be done today...and what can wait until tomorrow or this weekend? 

Meal prep! I can not stress this enough. As a Mind Body Wellness Practitioner and Holistic Nutrition Specialist I can not stress how important it is to plan your meals and snacks the night before. Often times we get so busy in the morning that we forget or do not allot ourselves enough time to pack a healthy lunch or even grab a snack. I have fallen prey to this a few times myself because we get so focused on what we are doing in the moment, we forget to plan ahead. By packing your lunch and laying out snacks ahead of time you are saving yourself the stress of trying to find something healthy during the workday. 

The last thing I do before I leave my house in the morning is clean my space. I make sure my bed is made, and the dishes are put away. By taking five minutes to do this in the morning I save myself the stress of coming home to a dirty home. I thrive in a clean space. Small messes tend to turn into bigger messes and get pushed aside because no one wants to take time the handle the now big messes. By taking five minutes in the morning to do a quick check and clean up, I save myself the extra stress when I come home.

Here is a list of the 6 tools to make you a more successful morning person:

1. Do not hit the snooze button.

2. Tripe Play every day.

3. Set your intention.

4. Prioritize.

5. Meal and snack plan.

6. Clean your space.