Salads are amazing for our health, but salads can lack appeal and get boring. Or worse, they can be unhealthy if you’re not careful! The key lies in using a delicious, healthy, HOMEMADE salad dressing! So I'm sharing 3 of my favorite go-to salad dressings (dairy free, gluten free, preservative free, refined sugar free, and made only with good quality ingredients) that can make any salad delicious, satisfying and healthy.
Read MoreWhy You Should Add Turmeric to Your Diet
Turmeric is a yellowish-orange colored spice, most commonly used in Indian curries, and is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory and disease-fighting agents on the planet!
It has been used as a medicinal herb in India for years, and recently has been discovered worldwide for its medicinal properties. Studies have shown the benefits of Turmeric to be just as effective (and MORE effective in some cases) than Ibuprofen, Advil, and many prescription medications.
Here are some the proven benefits of curcumin, the most active ingredient in Turmeric:
- Help lower inflammation. (This is HUGE because low-grade chronic inflammation has been linked to many common diseases, from heart conditions to Alzheimer’s and cancer)
- Controls blood sugar spikes and insulin resistance
- Helps regulate high cholesterol
- Boosts immunity and the antioxidant capacity of our body
- Helps manage Arthritis symptoms (and generally, works as a pain reliever!)
- Can lower the risk of heart disease
- Has anti-cancer properties, helping to prevent the growth of cancer cells
- Can improve many skin conditions like Eczema, and more!
It's amazing, and a little goes a long way. Plus, it's so easy to incorporate into your diet. Here are some of my favorite ways to use turmeric:
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Three Easy & Delicious Seasonal Dishes to Enjoy this Summer!
Eating seasonal foods is one of the best things you can do for your health. Seasonal produce is picked when it’s ripe (so plants get extra sun-time), and it generally has more antioxidants, more color and more flavor!
Where I am now, it's mid-summer, and I’m blessed to have a ton of fresh, locally-grown summer vegetables to enjoy. I encourage you to visit your local farmers market and stock up on seasonal produce; not only are you doing your body a favor, you’re supporting local farmers as well (and not paying the cost of transportation that you pay for out-of-season, non-local produce)!
Some of my favorite summer veggies include: arugula, avocados, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, corn and green beans. Cucumber is another refreshing, healthy summer veggie. While I admit it isn't my favorite, I have found a recipe that I LOVE with cucumbers (and I bet you will, too!), which I will share with you today!
Read MoreStruggling With Your Salads? Try These Simple Home-made Dressings
One of the most common things I get asked is what to use for salad dressings. Most people know the numerous health benefits of eating a large, colorful bowl of raw veggies, but they also recognize that most of the salad dressings in restaurants, or worse, the pre-packaged bottles sold in supermarkets, are usually not the healthiest choices.
So what do I recommend?
Making your own dressing is always the best way to go, and doesn't have to be complicated.
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