Health and Wellness with Allison

Make Your Own Lavender Spritzer For a refreshing way to cool off this spring and summer, make your Lavender spritzer. Making the spritzer is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Lavender is a wonderful plant, with a rejuvenating aroma and many healing properties. What You'll Need Lavender Essential Oil Clear, Unscented Alcohol Water Spray Bottle First, add 10 drops of lavender essential oil into a spray bottle. Next, add a little bit of clear, unscented alcohol. Finally, fill the rest of the bottle up with water. Spray and Enjoy! Namaste*

Healing White Sage Salt Scrub White Sage is a plant that speaks to me. I have benefitted from its healing properties by using it in many different ways: as an essential oil, a hydrosol spritzer, a tea, and smudge bundles. I use White Sage products from Lucky Six ( luckysixfarms.com ). They have the highest quality and best White Sage products in the market. The sage is wildcrafted, and the oil is made by hand in small batches. Their products are truly phenomenal! White Sage is an adaptogen . It is a plant that can both stimulate and calm you, depending on what you need. If you are feeling stressed, it can relax you. If you are feeling lethargic, it can energize you. White Sage is highly revered in Native American culture and is one of the most healing and medicinal plants in the world. I have chosen to make a salt scrub out of this plant, but as always, I encourage you to make this product your own! Find a plant that speaks to you (may it's lavender or rosemar...

A lesson on  Allowing. I finally fixed my bike! It had been a big "to do" for me for many months. The bike is my grandpa's. It is old (I found out that the brand of bike no longer exists, and some parts will have to be special ordered) but in great condition. I was able to put off the project for such a long time because I had many excuses . . . and a car! The biggest reason why I hadn't started the project was that I told myself "I didn't have time" for it. Finally, on this past Saturday, different factors aligned so that I could finally fix my bike. It was a beautiful day, I felt energized, and I had one less commitment and therefore a window of time to dedicate towards the project. My bike went from being another "to do" in the back of my mind to being my top priority. I had so much fun fixing my bike !! at The Bicycle Works, a bike co-op in San Anselmo. It is a very welcoming environment with lots of creative energy and fun people. ...

GOAL SETTING A useful exercise for setting goals and realizing dreams   Until recently, one of my biggest fears was setting goals. This was a very harmful fear to say the least. It stopped me from believing in myself and following my heart. It dampened my ability to act on what I wanted in my life. This fear caused anxiety, stress, and depression. I am happy to say that this fear no longer exists for me! Meditation has transformed my life. It is a tool I use to find clarity, to calm down, and to increase my self confidence. And it has been a major reason for why I can set goals and realize them!  I was taught to meditate at Madre Grande Monastery in Dulzura, California (see photo). This magical place is in the high desert on the border between San Diego, California and Tecate, Mexico. On my most recent visit there, the abbot of the monastery, John, taught me a writing exercise on goal setting. I have benefited so much from this writing exercise that I wish to sha...

CRUNCHY and SAVORY PROTEIN SNACK A Healthy and Easy to make Snack! I am a big fan of snacks. I am even a bigger fan of crunchy snacks! Lately, I've been toasting a lot of nuts and seeds, and discovering new ways to improve the quality of this snack. I believe I have found a new level of yumminess! What You'l Need: Honestly, I did not go out to buy anything for this recipe, but used what I had in the cabinet. I encourage you to do the same! I found: 1/2 cup of raw Cashews 1/2 cup of raw Pumpkin Seeds 2 cups of raw Sunflower Seeds a small handful of raw Pecans 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar 1 tablespoon of Sunflower seed Oil Spices (I used Cardamon, Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander, Majoram and Red Pepper Flakes). How To: 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 2. Combine nuts and seeds into a bowl. 3. Add in spices. Measure out a small palm full for each of them but use a pinch (or two) of the red pepper flakes. 4. Add in oil and vinegar. 5. Stir. ...

Green Juice for Health Simple veggie juices packed with the nutrients you need to live well. Lately, I have been drinking a lot of Green Juices. They are easy to make and VERY delicious. Drinking vegetables is a great way for the body to absorb nutrients. Making your own green juices is much more cost effective than buying them at Whole Foods for $6 or more. Instead, you can spend your hard earned money on a bunch of Chard, a coconut water, an apple, and a lemon  - and wa-lah! you've got yourself some homemade juice.  When I first began my juicing journey, I tried to put too many fruits and vegetables together. Even though EACH ingredient was tasty, when I combined ALL off them the taste was ... well, bad.  The key to creating a delicious health drink is to keep it simple! I use 5 ingredients or less in mine. Here are two of my favorite green juices. And remember, I encourage you to try different variations to make these drinks your own! Clean Green ...

Roasted Veggies and Toasted Nuts and Seeds Many delicious and easy dishes can be cooked in the oven. Two of my favorite are roasted vegetables and toasted nuts and seeds. I've found the key to their deliciousness is in minimizing the seasoning. Doing so allows the boldness of the flavors to come through. I absolutely love the hardiness of yams, the sweetness of carrots, and the boldness of garlic! And I can't get enough of the salty and creamy taste of the nuts and seeds.  These dishes are simple to make and very handy to have ready to eat with meals, as leftovers, and for snacks! Roasted Veggies What You'll Need: 2 Sweet Potato Yams 3 Japanese Yams (a smaller, dark skin and white meat yam that is less sweet than its cousin). 1 Yellow Beet ( For a sweeter option choose a Red Beet). 5 small whole Carrots 2 leaves of Chard 1 glove of Garlic How To: 1. Set the oven to 410 degrees. 2. Chop half of the vegetables into cubes and the other half into longer cu...