Momma B: 1 Simple Food Swap That Made Me Healthier & Leaner

Up until the past couple years of my life, my motivation to change my diet only came from my desperation to get rid of daily headaches and my desire to lose weight. Looking back, now I realize that when I focused on my weight I didn't eat well. Once I learned that eating the right things, (instead of avoiding the wrong things), helped me avoid headaches and migraines, I made nourishing my body my focus. As a result, I lost weight and discovered real food!

What do I mean by real food? Take my breakfast for example: for years I ate Shredded Wheat. It has less than five ingredients and I could pronounce all the ingredients. Those were rules I had heard often, so I figured I was eating something good for me. Well, there weren't as many bad ingredients in it, but there weren't really any nutrients either - my body was less than impressed. I can't tell you one health benefit you'll experience by eating shredded wheat daily.

Now, I eat Quinoa for breakfast. Quinoa has many nutritional benefits. Did you know it's a relative of spinach?! It's high in protein and full of trace minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese and phosphorus. We all want proper amounts of these nutrients to keep our metabolism in gear, our blood sugar levels in check, and to help our body rebuild and repair our cells as efficiently as possible - to avoid the formation cancerous cells and to keep our skin looking healthy and vibrant!

My favorite way to eat Quinoa is with nuts, maple syrup, coconut flakes and ground flaxseeds. Quinoa is not just for breakfast though! It's commonly eaten in place of rice or pasta. By making this change, and a few other simple swaps, I've lost 12lbs in the last year! Stay tuned to learn about more simple swaps I made to get my healthy back. Make nourishing your body your priority, and the rest will fall into place! 

Eat Your Wellness: Jennifer Hanway's Amazing "Glow Bites"

These gluten and dairy free Glow Bites are not only delicious, but they are chock full of superfoods, packing a nutritious punch in every one. All of the ingredients here are chosen for their beauty boosting benefits - no fillers or sweeteners here!

TigerNut Flour: the number one source of resistant starch, the prebiotic fiber that becomes food for your probiotic fiber. Great skin starts with the gut!

Cacao: with more antioxidants than any other food on earth, this superfood contains compounds that prevent wrinkles, protects skin from UV damage and increases the supply of nutrients, blood and oxygen to the skins surface. Talk about a beauty booster!

Collagen Powder: the protein present in all of the body's organs and tissues, natural collagen production begins to decrease as we age, resulting in a lack of firmness and elasticity in the skin. Supplementing with collagen powder can help restore these youthful qualities, giving you smooth and supple skin.

Avocado: you don't need to use avocado in a face mask for its beauty boosting benefits - it is rich in monounsaturated fatty acid (great for heart health), contains vitamins E and B, and can help detoxify the liver.

Glow Bites are one of the recipes from my upcoming 'Glow for It' online guide to glowing skin, shiny hair and endless energy which will be released in the next few months (stay posted for more details).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup TigerNut Flour
• 1 scoop vanilla vegan protein powder
• 1 teaspoon cacao powder (with a little extra for dusting)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon collagen powder (omit for vegetarians or vegans)
• 3 tablespoons almond butter (cashew is also a great option)
• 1 ripe avocado

Instructions:

• Combine all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl
• Mash avocado until smooth
• Add avocado and nut butter into the dry ingredients
• Put in a food processor, or mix by hand if you want a good arm workout.
• Roll into small balls (about 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture) and dust with cacao.
• Refrigerate for a couple of hours or until firm.
• Eat! Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (if you can make them last that long)...

Side Note: My favorite TigerNut Flour is from Organic Gemini, and I swear by Collagen Powder by Great Lakes for cellular repair and renewal. Also, a little cacao power goes a long way, so 8oz is plenty, and I recommend Navitas Naturals Organic Cacao Powder, 8 Ounce Pouch.

To learn more about foods and supplements that will give you clear, glowing skin, strong shiny hair and endless energy I'd love for you to join me at my Real World Wellness: Glow for It workshop in Boston on February 23rd. Click here to book tickets.

Jennifer Hanway is a Holistic Nutrition Coach, Bio Signature Modulation Practitioner and Certified Personal Trainer, originally from London but now living in Newton Centre and working in Back Bay, Boston. To find more of her recipes and expert advice visit her website www.jenniferhanway.com.

Momma B: Living With Chronic Pain

For all of you that suffer from chronic pain and argue that what you eat and drink doesn’t make a difference, I’m here to tell you - it does. I know you don’t want to hear that, because I didn’t want to either. For 30 years I wanted to prove that what I ate didn’t make a difference - mostly because I felt that preparing whole foods was just too much work. I was wrong about that too. But thanks to my stubborness, I suffered chronic headaches/migraines and extreme neck and shoulder pain for the majority of my life so far.

I went from doctor to doctor seeking relief. Once I realized that the meds caused me more grief than the migraines did, I started playing around with things on my own. I learned how to decode nutrition labels and had eliminated a lot of headache-triggering ingredients, so I thought I had things figured out. I was eating shredded wheat for breakfast - no artificial preservatives in that. I ate protein bars for lunch - I sit at a desk all day, so I wanted to watch what I ate so I wouldn’t gain weight. 

“Planning and preparing does take some time, but when you start to feel better it motivates you to plan and prepare for success.”

I had my system down, I was settled into my routine, but the frustrating thing was: none of it was working for me. The daily headaches continued and the migraines got worse. I was at a point where I was taking 7 Aleve a day for my neck and shoulder pain. I was also taking 20 Midol pills a month for headaches because they worked better than Tylenol. I used 15-20 migraine pills a month, and pills for acid reflux to top it all off. Turns out, the acid reflux was caused by the medication I was taking combined with the crappy foods I was eating. And oh yeah, I was anemic too. My body was SCREAMING at me, but I wasn't wise enough to listen. 

I just couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong until IIN taught me how important whole foods are for our bodies.  Now, I've traded my shredded wheat for Quinoa and my protein bars for vegetables. I've also discovered that preparing whole foods isn’t that difficult. Planning and preparing does take some time, but when you start to feel better it motivates you to plan and prepare for success.

Within four months, eating whole foods had created change!  It’s now been a year and a half since I made drastic changes to my lifestyle and diet. I no longer take Aleve for my neck and shoulders, I've stopped taking Midol, my daily headaches are a thing of the past, and I haven’t had a migraine in the last three months! I've also lost 10lbs and I’m no longer anemic. 

If you suffer daily from chronic pain, I encourage you to start creating a healthy sustainable lifestyle one step at a time. What you eat will either fuel the pain or relieve it. I started in the same place you did. If I can do it, you can too.

5 Reasons I Drink Warm Lemon Water Every Morning

When I (hesitantly) roll out of bed in the wee hours of the morning (I do it for YOU my faithful 6-AM-er’s!), the first thing I do to start my day is prepare my warm mug of lemon water. I turn on my Keurig, chop a lemon in half, squeeze the lemon into a mug, then throw the mug under the Keurig, (which I just run without putting a K-cup inside so that the water comes out pure and warm - #LifeHack!!). Then, I sip on my warm, tart beverage as I go through my morning routine.

The other day, I had that nagging feeling you get when you forget to do something - like brush your teeth or put on deodorant. I was half way through my 2nd session of the day when my voice went horse and my throat felt scratchy. That's when I realized what part of my routine I had forgotten: my warm lemon water. That's your answer right there – I drink warm lemon water daily because I scream and holler while I sweat alongside you beasts. I teach at least 12 classes a week, and the warm lemon water soothes my throat.

Cool story, right?! Ok, ok, well that's why I started drinking it, and it totally worked – but I've noticed a list of other amazing benefits. They're significant enough that I now recommend everyone add this habit to their morning routine, even you. Check it out:

I'm better hydrated. The nutrients and electrolytes wake up my cells and replenish my body first thing. This gets my metabolism ready to function so that the rest of the fuel and water I consume gets processed efficiently and effectively. Thanks to that, the rest of this list is true.

I'm “regular”. TMI! I know :( Ugh, it's so embarrassing to talk about, but I need to keep it real. Your body’s ability to eliminate waste is so important – especially for weight loss.  Why do you think detoxes are all the craze right now?! Along with sweating, your pit stops throughout the day are your body's natural way of detoxing. The nutrients in lemon juice aid your digestion processes, helping you detox, making you regular, and creating ideal conditions in your body for fat loss.

My skin is healthier! Your appearance changes from the inside out. Thanks to this daily habit, my body is better at detoxing, so now the cells that build my skin are healthier because of it. Also, the nutrients in lemon juice enhance skin elasticity. Do you know what this means?! Less wrinkles and no sagging, that's what it means. Pretty great, huh?!

Did you know that you have 4 layers to your skin? In your younger years, it takes just 28 days for the deepest layer of skin cells to die and work their way to the surface. Yes, the layer of skin we can see is entirely dead cells. Ew. As you age, this same process can take up to 120 days. The reason I think this is important to understand is that, in order to see a difference in your skin, you need to do this regularly for 2-5 months, and then maintain the habit to maintain the results.

My immune system is stronger. Lemons contain a high Vitamin C content, which is essential for immunity from pathogenic diseases and viruses. In addition to Vitamin C, lemon itself is an antibacterial. This means that consuming it could eliminate the bacteria that cause illness from your body before your immune system even needs to react. This is probably why I powered through the unimaginable Boston Winter of 2015 without ever contracting the cold or flu. Take that New England!

I'm less achy. Working as a full time fitness professional, I get a lot of activity and don't always get proper recovery. The build up of lactic acid, lack of stretching, and repetition of this multiple times a day often leaves my body tight and my joints achy. Lemons are alkaline, meaning they help balance pH levels in your body. This helps my body drain lactic acid from my muscles and uric acid from my joints to reduce the tension and inflammation that create aches and pains.

There are so many more benefits to consuming warm lemon water daily. I wanted to share the ways it has significantly impacted my own personal health and well-being, but this list is just the beginning. Invest in some lemons and give it a try! Tell me what you're hoping to improve and keep me updated on your results on Twitter @cassiebstrong #BWell.

B Well,

Cassie B.

Momma B Well: The Best Diet For... Everything

Momma B:

I remember the days of buying every magazine in the grocery check-out line that claimed to know the “best” ways to lose weight, increase energy, or cure headaches and migraines. Little did I know, the “best” solution for someone else's body wouldn't necessarily be the best for my own. Some of the diets even made me feel poorly. Ultimately, I had to find my own unique “diet” - sustainable, healthy eating habits - in order to feel my very best.

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Have you ever felt that way? Disappointed that the diet that worked for your friend didn't do anything for you. Or the magazine article that promised you would lose 10lbs in 10 days didn't work. Want to know the “secret”? As a professional Health Coach I call it “Bio-Individuality”.  What it means is: you don't need a book to give you a plan - you need to develop a relationship with your body. Recently, in “Decoding Your Cravings”, I explained that the way you feel is your body's way of communicating its reaction to what you fuel it with. Your body already tells you what it needs, (and what it doesn't), to function at it's highest potential. Tuning in and listening to your body, you will cultivate the ability to eat intuitively, trusting your body to guide you to the foods that best support you and your lifestyle.

“You don’t need a book to give you a plan - you need to develop a relationship with your body.”

This is far more challenging than following a prepared plan from the latest media-hyped fad diet, but in the end it will be far more effective. Plus, the process is way more rewarding! To learn how to tune in to your body check out my recent article “The Food Mood Connection”. Instead of following a plan, follow your body’s guidance to understand your own nutritional needs. You will arrive at a place of lasting health and physical well-being.