Mariana's BLOG page with her best health tips & recipes
Balance with Mariana's blog page, The Balance Journal, provides unique and useful tips on healthy living and holistic nutrition, delving into topics of digestive health, hormonal balance, weight loss, making healthier choices, improving body image and more!
Mariana also emphasizes eating healthier (yet delicious), more balanced, plant-based meals, and provides easy and delicious recipes.
If this year, you’ve realized YOUR HEALTH is a top priority, you know you want to positively and definitively upgrade your health this year (in a way that does not require suffering nor excess restriction, and actually LASTS), but you’re not sure where to start, I’m here to help!
After a decade of experience as a health coach, I can share 7 key steps to embark on a successful health journey.
Read MoreAfter a long day of work, we’re tired and have little brain capacity left to think of what healthy meals to make, so we often go for the easiest, quick, carb-based dishes like tortilla with cheese, or pasta, or order takeout from restaurants (which often contains processed carbs, even hidden sugars and inflammatory oils).
But these dinners can wreak havoc on our health!
Plus, we are generally, more susceptible to blood sugar spikes at night, so it’s even more important to be careful with carbs at dinner time. Focusing on blood-sugar balancing meals at dinnertime is KEY for our metabolic health, our weight, our sleep and our energy levels.
The good news is, there are many healthy, delicious low-carb dinner recipes that are also super easy, quick, and loaded with flavor and nutrients to support our health, and filling enough to satisfy us after a long day.
Today I’m sharing 3 of my favorite low-carb dinners (actually 4 recipes!) that keep my blood sugar stable and are super quick and simple to make! PLUS, they are moslty detox-friendly!
LETTUCE CUPS – two ways
LETTUCE CUPS WITH EGG SALAD
LETTUCE CUPS WITH TUNA SALAD (OR CHICKEN OR CHICKPEA SALAD)
EGGS WITH GREENS AND BEANS
CREAMY ONE POT CAULIFLOWER SOUP - WITH SEED CRACKERS AND VEGAN CHEESE*
*the soup is the only recipe that takes more than 10 minutes, BUT the recipe makes 3 to 4 portions so it’s great to make once and enjoy twice in the week (and its still one of the quickest soups to make, and all in one pot).
Read MoreToday i’m sharing my basic guidelines for holisitic nutrition - aplicable for toddlers and kids - plus 15 healthy homemade snack ideas for babies and kids, and 8 more healthy packaged snacks to buy (with links to amazon!)
Read MoreBoth Seed cycling and Tea cycling are 2 of the easiest ways we can help support our hormones in a gentle way (especially when combined with other diet/lifestyle habits to support hormonal balance). The idea is to use different seeds and teas to help support our hormones in the different stages of our cycle to help regulate our cycles and minimize PMS. It can also be beneficial for women with PCOS and women trying to get pregnant naturally.
Read MoreThe foods we eat have SO MUCH power over our blood sugar, hormones, weight, mood, energy, and essentially, our overall health and happiness. If we want to FEEL good (and LOOK good!), we have to focus on eating heathy, balanced meals that help keep blood-sugar stable.
What does a day of glucose-stabilizing meals look like?
Here is one of my go-to days of blood-sugar balancing delicious meals (which I enjoy in large portions, with dessert, too!):
Upon rising: Lemon water + probiotics (and sometimes glass of AG1 greens)
Pre-workout (after my meditation and playing a bit with my daughter); Matcha latte
Breakfast Post-workout (usually a 30-45 min barre or power yoga class): Green Protein Smoothie Bowl or some version of this one (and I’ll have any vitamins I’m taking)
Lunch: green appetizer salad (usually lettuce, avocado, microgreens, sauerkraut & Tahini dressing) follwed by zucchini noodles with meatballs OR this delicious veggie & protein-packed lasagna
After lunch: decaf “mushroom” coffee with cinnamon and almond milk + 1-2 squares dark chocolate
Dinner: A huge bowl of my Chickpea Vegetable Minestrone Soup OR this delicious Lentil Vegetable Soup (a favorite of my daughter Chiara), sometimes with a side of an avocado toast
Dessert after dinner: Chocolate Avocado Mousse (my keto version with no banana) - topped with cacao nibs, coconut & almond butter
Carbs can be found in SO many foods, ranging from highly processed foods (with NO meaningful nutrition!), to vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains that are rich in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals.
Some carbs are definitely more beneficial than others - though many factors play a role in determining this, including portion sizes, presentation, preparation, and even your own gut. To keep it simple, generally, the less refined the food, the better.
It’s important to remember that in moderate amounts, whole food carbs like fruits, vegetables, beans/legumes and whole grains can be excellent for our overall health, especially if we eat them right.
Read my blog to learn the different categories of carbs in terms of how often to eat them (ranging from always, often, less often to avoid) and TIPS for eating them to better support our metabolic health.
Read MoreThe gut-brain connection is extremely powerful, which means that a huge part of having a healthy mind is having a healthy “gut”.
If you’ve ever felt butterflies in your stomach when nervous, or nauseous when scared, you KNOW your gut is sensitive to your emotions and stress. And the reverse is also true. The health of our gut has a direct effect on our brain and mood. Poor digestion from too much processed foods, bad food combinations, or poor elimination (ex. not pooping properly) can have a huge negative impact on your mood, energy levels, mental clarity (and more!).
SO if you want to have a healthy, happy brain, you need to start by having a healthy GUT! Here are 5 steps to get you started…
Read MoreI like to share various “health & wellness tools” that have worked for me and many of my clients. I may educate on reserched benefits of some of nature’s superfoods, as well as share tips and suggestions that generally support a healthy DIGESTION, HORMONAL REGULATION, BLOOD SUGAR BALANCE, and overall better health. However, everyone is different and it’s so important to honor your bioindividuality, so if anything doesn’t ring true to you, then do NOT apply it!
Try to place more focus on being healthy and FEELING good versus just losing weight. Enjoy your (healthy) food, enjoy your exercise, and view any/all of your healthy habits as ways to give LOVE to your beautiful, unique body. DO NOT do anything that is making you suffer.
With that in mind, here are 11 health & wellness “guidelines” that I follow and believe in…
Read MoreFor those days when you feel a little “backed up” and need some help going to the bathroom, this delicious green smoothie is a great way to support your digestion and get you some good bowel movements!
Read MoreHow you start off your morning HUGELY impacts how you feel the rest of the day - in terms of digestion, energy, motivation and your metabolism/weight.
Today I’m sharing a delicious smoothe bowl recipe that helps STABILIZE BLOOD SUGAR, BOOST ENERGY, BALANCE HORMONES, IMPROVE IMMUNITY and can support WEIGHT LOSS.
Read MoreOctober is breast cancer awareness month; a month to raise awareness about our need for Cancer prevention education, something I’m passionate about ESPECIALLY since we’ve discovered how much we can do with food and lifestyle to lower our risk
Today I’m sharing 6 important doctor recommendations to lower your risk of breast cancer, plus 8 more holistic tips to help reduce your risk of disease in general.
Read MoreI’m a huge fan of smoothies for breakfast, but only because I’ve found how to make them delicious yet still super healthy, low-glycemic and most importantly: FILLING. What’s my trick?
I always add these 4 ingredients (in good quantities)… Read my blog for the 4 important elements to a healthy, delicious, metabolism-boosting, hormone-balancing, satisfying and FILLING smoothie.
Read MoreDue to popular demand, today I’m sharing one of my new favorite breakfast recipes (that's become my Sunday “go-to” braekfast): my super heatlhy, nutritious, filling and DELICIOUS overnight oats. I’m also sharing my grain-free “no oats” version (perfect for a detox day!).
Both the overnight oats and the overnight "no oats" are low-glycemic, packed with fiber, healthy fats and protein, and don't cause glucose spikes like many other breakfasts do (especially those based on oats). They're also dairy free, gluten free and have NO added sugar of any kind.
I make slightly different versions but today I’m sharing my favorite go-to chocolate version.
Check out my blog for the recipes (in both English and Spanish). Enjoy!!
Read MoreCheck out my blog for 8 TIPS TO BOOST YOUR ENERGY and 2 DELICIOUS METABOLISM-BOOSTING, ENERGIZING RECIPES to start off your day right and give you energy all day long.
Today I’m sharing one of my new favorite SUPER HEALTHY recipes (recipe in both ENGLISH and SPANISH) that is great to make for the entire family (and perfect for large gatherings). It’s suitable for anyone following a paleo or keto lifestyle (and is acceptable for most detox plans). It's a gluten-free, dairy-free, super nutritious lasagna with layers of zucchini, vegan cheese and turkey-tomato sauce. Try it and let me know what you think!
Read MoreI wanted to write about the anti-inflammatory diet because, even though I’m against “dieting”, this isn’t really a diet; this is about creating a lifestyle of limiting inflammatory foods and regularly incorporating anti-inflammatory foods and lifestyle choices to support better health. It’s something that has helped me immensely, and I can testify that it supports gut health, hormonal health, and maintaining a healthy weight WITHOUT dieting. Following these tips that i’m sharing below will help a lot towards achieving your health goals, I promise!
The food we eat — and don’t eat — can help lower and even prevent this chronic inflammation, to help us feel better, lose weight and reduce our chances of illness.
Today I share 4 ways to enhance your diet and lifestyle to help you reduce inflammation and feel better overall.
Read MoreThese no-bake treats take minutes to throw together, are filled with good-for-you ingredients, and make for the perfect quick snack or healthy dessert that are satisfying and won’t spike your blood sugar.
These energy balls are the perfect healthy dessert or snack for anyone, especially new moms. They contain anti-inflammatory healthy fats along with tons of fiber and cinnamon which can help control blood sugar and cravings, promote healthy digestion AND can help with postpartum weight loss. Lastly, these bites help promote milk supply and healthy lactation. Not to mention - they’re so good they’re borderline addictive!
Read MoreI'm sharing my experience with testing out a LEVELS Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to help me learn what caused increases in my blood sugar, and what helped me keep it stable. Based on my experience and research, I'm sharing 8 tips for balancing your blood sugar, to help with weight loss, balanced hormones and better overall health.
Read MoreToday I wanted to share 2 new recipes for an indulgent yet super healthy, nutritious morning when you’re craving chocolate - be it Valentine’s Day or any day that you want some extra comfort!
Plus, I’m sharing many of my previous favorite chocolate recipes - all VEGAN, DAIRY-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, REFINED SUGAR-FREE and PRESERVATIVE-FREE.
Read MoreThere are so many things we can do in our day to day to support our brain health, even through our diet. Remember to first use FOOD AS MEDICINE. Incredibly there are many foods that have proven to boost our brain health and help prevent early “ageing” of our brain (preventing memory loss, etc).
Balance With Mariana is a holistic Health Coaching practice that works with individuals looking to lose weight, overcome their food addictions and improve their digestive issues, by teaching them new healthy lifestyle habits that help them reach their specific personal goals. Clients of Balance With Mariana develop not only a better relationship with food, but also an overall more balanced and happy life.
Balance With Mariana | , Miami, FL
