Naturally Sara

I don't know about you, but I take time picking out good produce for my family, and want to fully enjoy it.....and much prefer it to be clean... Now, I am not talking about produce from my garden (a veggie garden is on the to do list so not quite there yet), more so the produce I purchase from the grocery store or farmers market.  I don't know how many hands have touched my blueberries, or what pesticides might have been sprayed near my kale. I like to buy organic, but I still want to know it is clean because I really don't know the conditions of where it has come from. When shopping, I rely on the Environmental Working Groups Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list. Each year the EWG update the list so it is always good to check back every so often. But, what do you use to keep the cleaning process natural? How is the best way to clean your fruit and veg?  Here are a few you can try: 1. Wash with cold water - rinsing multiple times with cold water, and getting into al...

I have a love-hate relationship with running. I know there is a point when I feel REALLY good when I run. But, finding that point, and maintaining it can be really hard. I use to run a lot. I trained a lot. I kept to a program. I didn't miss a run day. But, then something happened, or life got in the way, and I fell out of my routine. I remember trying to get back into a routine. I started slowly, but it didn't stick. Each time something came up - travel, a busy work week, too many kid activities, the weather was bad.... I found a reason to quit again.  The thing is, I know that running is right for my body. It counteracts the amount of sitting I do for work. It shakes the tension out of my body. It makes my heart and lungs feel good. And, it is the one thing I have found that keeps my weight in check. So, you would think I would jump on this bandwagon fast!  But, each time I start, it hurts and is miserable! I don't enjoy that "begin again" stage where ...

Have you ever considered working with a health coach or wondered what a health coach could do for you? Health coaches offer so many skills, ranging from diets and nutrition, through to helping to balance other aspects of your life. There are so many reasons to consider working with someone who is there to support and guide you in your health and wellness goals. The health of the US population is steadily declining with different lifestyle diseases. We are seeing diabetes in adults and kids in huge numbers, heart disease and ever increasing cancer rates. But, what if you could live a life that left you feeling healthy and energetic, AND it lowered your risk of many diseases? Many people write up new years resolutions that look something like this...lose 10 pounds, eat better, exercise more...but within a few weeks and a few sessions at the gym, it is a forgotten memory. This is where a health coach can help you. A health coach helps you identify your health goals and sti...

I didn't grow up in this country, and maybe it was different here when I was a kid too, but we ate dinner at home, together. These days, cooking a meal and sitting around a table to eat doesn't seem to happen very often, yet it is one of the fundamental parts of living a healthy life. Cooking at home, and enjoying your meal with family or friends brings so many benefits, yet we still opt to pick up Chipotle because life is a little too hectic. Statistics estimate that under a third of Americans eat together as a family more than two times a week. That is shocking! I truly think that most Americans spend more time watching cooking shows than they do actually cooking.  In our family, we make it a priority to eat together at home despite our crazy schedules. Some days, dinner is a little later than I would like to fit around my daughters dance schedule. But, at the end of the day, we cook and eat together. It is our time to connect after our day, and share what is goin...

Stress is a biggie for so many people. It is one of those things that creeps into your life, and often you don't know how stressed you are! But, when you continue to ignore it, it only gets worse and begins to show itself in physical ailments. Stress has been the one area of health that I personally struggle with most. It has been a HUGE learning curve for me! I have always felt like there isn't enough time or there is simply too much to do. It isn't that the individual tasks or events in my day are stressful, it is just that there are so many of them that leads me to overwhelm.  But then I realized that I am the creator of my time, and how I perceive my time really determines how my day flows. When I wake up feeling like there is simply too much on my plate for that day, it generally IS a stressful time, but when I wake up knowing that I am in control of (most) of my schedule and everything will work out fine, it generally does and I am a whole lot less stressed a...