She Sweats: Blueberries

She Sweats: Blueberries

July is National Blueberry Month in the United States. One cup of fresh blueberries contains 84 calories, 0.49 grams of fat, 0 grams of cholesterol, 21 grams of carbohydrates 3.6 grams of dietary fiber, 1.1 grams of protein, and meets 14% of daily requirements. In honor of the eccentric holiday and healthy fruit I am going to give ten reasons to incorporate the blue fruit more in your life—or at least when it’s in season.

  1. Blueberries are full of nutrients.

Iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, manganese, zinc, copper, folate, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and more nutirents important for your diet.

  1. Blueberries can help maintain brain function and improve memory.

In 2012, the ANA (American Neurological Association) published a study that was conducted for six years that shows blueberries can delay cognitive aging for up to 2.5 years.

  1. Bye, Bye, UTIs!

The compounds contained in blueberries prevent bacteria from attaching to bladder walls, including urinary-tract infections.

  1. Milk isn’t the only substance that can build strong bones.

Blueberries contain iron, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and vitamin K—all of which contribute to the growth and maintenance of the bone’s structure and strength.

  1. Blueberries can put a stop to cancer.

The powerful antioxidants in blueberries help protect cells against cancer-causing free radicals. Blueberries also help to prevent the growth of tumor cells.

  1. Blueberries promote a healthy digestive system.

Blueberries contain fiber, which is how blueberries help to prevent constipation and assist with digestive regularity.

  1. Blueberries make you feel full longer.

One of the reasons that dietary fiber is recognized as an important factor in weight loss and weight management is because fiber increases satiety, reducing your appetite. The fiber that you digest consuming blueberries does all of that while lowering your overall calorie intake.

  1. Blueberries can be heart healthy too!

Fiber, potassium, folate, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and other phytonutrient content supports heart health, and can be found in blueberries. The fiber found in blueberries can also help to lower the total amount of cholesterol in the blood and decrease the risk of heart disease.

  1. Blueberries can turn the negatives to positives.

Studies have proven that blueberries have “anti-diabetic” effects because it helps to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar levels.

  1. Don’t look like a blueberry!

The vitamin C found in blueberries works as a nutrient in our bodies to help prevent damage to our skin caused by the sun, pollution, and smoke. The vitamin C also promotes collagen’s ability to smooth wrinkles and improve the overall texture of your skin!

xoxo,

Nadya

She Listens: Unbreakable Smile by Tori Kelly

She Listens: Unbreakable Smile by Tori Kelly

When you look back on the past summers, do you ever hear the hum of a song that was playing on constant loop all summer that year? When I first listened to this track not only could I see this song being on repeat for the summer, but I could also see it being a song for me to reflect on for my life in general.

The artist, Tori Kelly, sets the tone for the song as she sings the line, “You’re not breaking me”.

The California native goes on to sing about how her image is dependent on her. She sings about how she wants to “use her name for good and change the game…”.

But she also reminds people that she is still a person. “You see me hanging with my fam, but that don’t mean I’m living in a bubble / You’ll find me at church, but that don’t mean I can’t cause trouble,” she vocalizes.

Kelly is clear as glass in this new song, and the fact that she is open and honest resonates deeply within me. Although, the issues that she sings about in the song are more relatable to a person that is famous compared to myself, she challenges me to be me despite the pressures of the world—and that’s something that I need to be reminded of lately.

Everyone has a song that can be a reminder of where you are or a song that acts as a guide to where you are going. Whether or not this song can be that for you, I hope that you are able to reflect upon choices that you’ve made so that you may grow and create an unbreakable smile of your own.

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She Sweats: How Yoga Stretched Me Out

She Sweats: How Yoga Stretched Me Out

Recently I was feeling like I needed a good stretch—mentally, physically and spiritually. When I get this urge, I decide to try something new! This could be cooking a new recipe, reading a new book or experiencing a new workout! I’ve always done Yoga in the comfort of my own home by using YouTube as my yoga teacher, so when the opportunity presented itself to go to a local yoga studio and join in on a class I was ecstatic! However, I was also a tad bit fearful of doing yoga in front of real people who were probably really good at yoga. I decided to let the fear fuel me and pull me in the right direction by going to the class anyways. I’m so glad I didn’t because it ended up being a great experience and opportunity to be challenged! Yoga is a mental, physical, and spiritual exercise that originated in India. It includes breath control, simple meditation, and body movements that help your overall health and allows you to relax. Thankfully, I attended a yoga studio that didn’t push any certain kind of beliefs on me, but just allowed me to enter the studio and practice yoga with no restraints. I got the mental, physical and spiritual stretch that I was looking for and wanted to share with you guys how yoga helped me to stretch out in every area.

  1. Mentally- Mentally the yoga class allowed me to become focused and present. With the teacher guiding us through each move and the calming music that was playing, I was allowed to be aware of the now and push all other thoughts and concerns out of my mind for the hour class. It also allowed me to not rush to the next position or pose but rather to be still until it was time to move.
  2. Physically- Physically the yoga pushed me more than I was expecting! I was dripping sweat, my flexibility was being pushed and worked on, and I also learned what it meant to listen to your body and let my body sink into whatever position we were working on.
  3. Spiritually- Spiritually, the yoga class allowed me to be still and listen and converse with my Heavenly Father. I truly believe, no matter what religion you are, we all could use a little help in this area of listening and talking to our creator! At the end of the class the teacher had us all lay on our mats for about 5 minutes in silence and encouraged us to just listen to our spirits and our bodies. I took that opportunity to talk to Jesus and pray and listen. It was marvelous.

I hope you all are encouraged and go out there this week and find something new to do regarding your exercise regimen. I highly suggest putting yoga into your exercise regimen because it truly is a powerful way of being aware of all 3 parts of our bodies-body, spirit and soul!

With love and big smiles,

torrie.

Her Money: Cash Over Card

Her Money: Cash Over Card

CASH OVER CARD: How having cash helps you to not overspend.

 

Repeat after me, “CASH IS KING.”

This is something successful CEO of Nasty Gal, one of the fastest growing companies, Sophia Amoruso lives by. She’s never had to talk out a loan for her company and has never had to declare bankruptcy unlike a lot of other companies and she credits that towards only spending what she has and not a dime more.

Dave Ramsey, a financial author and mentor, also operates under the same kind of thinking using and preaching the envelope system.

It’s extremely easy to fall into the quickness of swiping our debt cards and credit cards. It’s how our society works now. Swiping all day but never balancing our check books or budgeting how many times we can actually afford to swipe our cards. Studies show that people spend less when they actually can touch and see the cash that they are spending

This is why I’m suggesting that you too, learn to operate with cash and not your card. Here’s some easy steps to get in the habit of spending cash instead of swiping your card and how to organize it the Dave Ramsey way!

  1. Know your current expenses.

Know what needs to go out and what can stay in. Be mindful of automatic bills that get withdrawn, be sure to not overlook them and get the cash out if it needs to be in your account instead.

 

  1. Find out how much cash to withdraw.

After you know your outputs, budget how much goes towards what and the total of cash that needs to come out.

 

  1. Organize your cash with envelopes.

Have titles for each envelope. For example: Tithe, Gifts, Gas, Groceries, Eating Out, Household Goods, Fun Activities, Clothing and whatever else you and your family decide to budget out for.

 

Now this is the trick, when the envelope is empty of money, YOU’RE DONE. No getting more money out of your account or taking money from other envelopes. You are done spending in that category until next pay day. When there is no more cash that means no more spending. This takes self-control and discipline which this system will help you to develop and cultivate.

With love and big smiles,

torrie.

Mommy Knows: Learning From Motherhood

Mommy Knows: Learning From Motherhood

Fun like This.

It’s summertime and because of that we are spending a lot of time out and about having fun in our city! Last week we were at the sprinkle water park and so many kids were there. My three year old daughter, Journey, is very social and doesn’t know a stranger, however she’s also very content with playing by herself. In a room filled with people you can sometimes find her make believing all by herself and having a blast. I often push her to play with other people and tell her that we play by ourselves when we’re at home and we get to play with others when we’re out and usually she agrees and runs off to find someone to play with. Well on this particular day she had a different view.

I called her over and said “Hey, how about we play with the other kids while we’re here.” And she simply said, “But I’m having fun like this.”

As much as I want her to be social, I also want her to be okay with being alone. In this moment she reminded me that it’s perfectly okay to do your own thing in the middle of the crowd. That being alone isn’t wrong and that being able to be your own best friend and “have fun like this” is just as important as making friends. May we all be as content and confident with solitude the way my three year old daughter was in that moment.

Learning from motherhood,

torrie.

 

 

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