Summer is here and the first thing many of us associate with this season is "vacation" - a time to slow down, de-stress, rest, and relax. Well, it's also the perfect time to detox our bodies too.

One of the best ways to stay healthy is to cook your own meals. However, while eating away from home may seem challenging, it doesn't have to sabotage your healthy diet. Dr. Mercola says, "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail", so think ahead when you are going to be eating out and make a plan.

A nutritional cleanse is akin to a human body oil change. We would never consider driving our car decade after decade without changing the oil. Our bodies need regular maintenance as well. Each of us is exposed to hundreds of toxins every day - from the food we eat, to the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the items we touch. If we don't regularly cleanse our bodies of these harmful impurities we struggle to maintain good health. 

Roast chicken is a classic dish all over the world. A classic roasted chicken, one of the great staples of cooking and a symbol of comfort and perfect simplicity, makes a delicious and healthy dinner that never goes out of style. It's super easy and super tasty, fills your house with the most wonderful aroma while it's cooking, is elegant enough for Sunday dinner, and easy enough for any other night of the week. Plus the leftovers can be used for sandwiches, salads, and quick meals all week long.

Gluten (from the Latin word meaning "glue") is the composite of two proteins called gliadin and glutenin. Gluten "intolerance" is a well-known and mostly undiagnosed food sensitivity that causes a mucotoxic inflammatory reaction in the intestines. This inflammation may go undetected for years, but the ultimate effect of this hidden wear and tear is the slow destruction of the healthy mucosa, or lining tissue of the small intestine which ultimately leads to all kinds of health problems.

I love to hike, capture photographs of nature “the way God made it”, AND I love to eat healthy food! Combine them all together and I call it a “self-care adventure”. I hope that everyone who reads this page feels inspired to create their own nature adventure days. ENJOY!

Walking has been my main "go-to" exercise for as long as I can remember. Being a Type A personality, I think it began when a doctor told me to "exercise to relax" - something to invoke the relaxation response rather than the "fight or flight" response in the body. I have found that exercising in the morning is one of the best things we can do to start the day and it also leads to making healthier decisions all day long.

“Whole” foods are any food humankind has NOT changed in some way. “Processed” or “refined” foods, then, are any food that HAS been CHANGED in some way. They usually come in packages, boxes, cans or bottles (such as sugar, flour, bread, pasta, cereal, white rice, mixes, sauces, salad dressings, junk food, fast food and more) and are the bulk of what you will find in the center of the grocery store — including HEALTH FOOD STORES!

While most people automatically reach for over-the-counter or prescription medications for seasonal allergies, natural treatments can provide relief that is just as effective without any nasty or dangerous side effects and toxicity.

I love to hike, capture photographs of nature “the way God made it”, AND I love to eat healthy food! Combine them all together and I call it a “self-care adventure”. I hope that everyone who reads this page feels inspired to create their own nature adventure days. ENJOY!

Eating healthy, balanced meals are a must if you want to manage your health, maximize your energy, and maybe lose some weight too. 

"Treat sugar like an illicit drug, a kind of legal form of heroin, a dark force to be avoided,and a substance whose use leads to physical ruin." ~ Dr. Frank Lipman

So many people claim that "it runs in my family", but while genetic “tendencies” may play a small role in our total health picture, we now know that positive thinking, diet, and lifestyle choices are the key factors. I share the brief pictures of my parents health histories as examples of what I observed as the two paths shown in the above graphic - the road to illness and the road to health.

In my opinion, eating healthy doesn't need to be so complicated. I LOVE food and I believe it is meant to be enjoyed. And it shouldn't require intensive study, calorie counting, or complicated calculations to figure out what you should eat and shouldn't eat. The holistic nutrition food philosophy that I was taught and have found to be successful for myself and my clients is really pretty simple: just eat real food!

It's known that in all dis-ease, the human body is always acidic. An acidic pH can result from an acid forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and immune reactions, or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients. To assist in the curing of any dis-ease, the higher the ratio of alkaline elements in the diet, the faster will be the recovery. Alkalis neutralize acids. Therefore, in the treatment of most dis-eases, it is most important that the diet includes plenty of alkaline foods to offset the effect of acid-forming foods.

Caffeine isn't all good - nor is it all bad, but it’s definitely a good idea to increase your awareness of it’s negative effects and reduce your consumption or avoid it altogether.

Over the years, I have seen many diet models come and go. However, the Eating for Health system has stood the test of time and continues to be relevant today - no matter whether you’re omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan.