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.
Our liver removes all toxins, clears medications from your body, breaks down our food so we can properly process it, and even helps us with hormone regulation - so it is absolutely crucial that we take proper care of this essential organ!
In this blog, I share my 10 most important steps to take to better care for your liver (via simple lifestyle and diet habits).
Read MoreHappy World Health Day - a special day (April 7th) that serves as a reminder to prioritize our physical, mental and social health and wellbeing.
For me personally, my definition and understanding of health has changed a lot over these past 20 years since I’ve been immersed in the health and wellness world.
Given my journey, personal experience and years as a health caoch, this year I’ve drawn 4 key conclusions on how we can best prioritize our health (and then I share 4 things you can start doing today to put in practice)!
Read MoreI used to constantly struggle with a bloated belly, where I often felt like I was 3 months pregnant. It was terrible, but nothing I did seemed to make it go away, so it became normal for me. I tried many diets, and maybe a 2 or 3 day juice cleanse would help temporarily, but of course, a few days back to my normal eating and the bloating would come back.
It took me a long time - essentially one year of nutrition courses and lots of additional personal research and experimentation - to finally realize that the bloating was not normal, and was totally curable.
So if you’re in the same camp as I was, struggling with constant bloating and maybe occasional gasiness, it’s important for you to know that there is a cure to get rid of this for good. Like most things, it all starts with identifying the root cause behind your bloating. So let’s take a look at what I have found to be the key triggers of bloating, gas and constipation:
Imbalance in your gut bacteria
Gut infections and/or Food sensitivities
Lack of digestive enzymes / low stomach acid
Lifestyle: Stress, Eating rushed, and Not chewing your food properly
Diet: Eating inflammatory foods, Improper food combinations and Not prepping/cooking your foods properly
Read more at my blog to discover the 5 steps to cure your gas and bloating both short and long term!
Read MoreThis week on Women’s Day I reached my 20-week half-way pregnancy mark, and I feel amazing, so I wanted to share some of the things that have helped me. I share both all of my daily lifestyle practices, and a deeper dive into my diet.
Read MoreMarch is National Nutrition Month, a month to help increase awareness about the importance of good nutrition for improving your overall health. Making healthy food choices and improving your eating habits (in combination with incorporating more physical activity and stress reduction into your lifestyle) can help prevent many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. And of course, it will help you LOOK and FEEL better, have more confidence and be happier!
Here are 6 of my best tips to help you make healthier nutrition choices (to minimize risk of disease, reach and maintain your ideal weight, and feel better in your body overall).
Read MoreI’m a big fan of fasting, for the right people. It can have some impressive results, but after extensive research on the topic, and experience with many of my health coaching clients, I’ve realized it’s not for everyone.
Even if it IS for you, you might be doing some things wrong and not getting the full benefits.
Today I share and/5 key tips to optimize your Intermittent Fasting, and make it work for YOU. (Plus I explain when it’s just NOT for you, or how you can tailor it).
Read MoreMOST of your typical go-to snacks, even that banana (and especially those packaged crackers/cookies/bars, etc. that are filled with sugar and preservatives) can lead to a large glucose spike. And this is something we need to minimize if we care about our health and our weight!
So today I’m sharing with you 5 of my go-to healthy, easy “sweet” snacks - for both me and my toddler.
NOTE: For all of these sweet snacks, in order to support blood sugar regulation, I add two KEY INGREDIENTS:
NUT/SEED BUTTER (and/or a little nuts/seeds)
a pinch of CINNAMON
Find out WHY, and get my 5 easy to prep snacks for when you’re on the rush and ant to be prepared for when the sugar craving comes in.
Read MoreI’m a HUGE fan of granola, but the reality is that most granolas are NOT healthy. Most are packed with sugar and consist primarily of oats, making them very high in carbs and lacking in protein and healthy fats - so they’re very likely to create a big spike in your blood sugar.
For this reason, I like to make my own, using a few tweaks to make it lower carb and super nutritious.
Today I’m sharing a delicious and super healthy granola recipe that is supportive of stable blood sugar, and an excellent option for a sweet breakfast or snack, given its high level of protein and fiber. I add tons of “superfoods”, including pure cacao to make it a chocolate treat. Check out my recipe below!
Read MoreIf 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 MoreAfter your Thanksgiving meal (or any large dinner) you will likely feel lower in energy, heavy, bloated and a bit guilty. I urge you to let go of the guilt, be thankful for your delicious meal, and instead, just focus on getting your body back on (a healthy) track.
The day after your big meal, follow these 9 tips to boost your metabolism, aid your digestion, and get yourself feeling light again!
Read MoreWhile I am a big believer in an inclusive, varied and balanced diet, there are times when we are unknowingly consuming foods that are taxing our beautiful bodies and causing us to gain weight or just not feel our best.
For this reason, I am also a big believer in doing a periodic cleanse (like my 10 day detox) as a mini RESET, and an opportunity to check in with our bodies and see what might be affecting us.
The thing is, many of the foods we eat every day contain a ton of pesticides, and/or have an acidifying effect on the body, and/or are mucus-forming, and/or are simply difficult to digest. By avoiding these foods for 10+ days, you give your digestion a pause from these potentially inflammatory foods (while nourishing your body with an extra dose of superfoods, vitamins, minerals and proteins that help your body detox), and will be in a good place to re-introduce potentially triggering foods and see how they affect you.
LEARN MORE about what we eliminate and WHY (it’s useful info so don’t miss out!) in today’s blog…
Read MoreHappy Halloween!! This is such a fun time especially for the kids, but candies and sugary treats are floating around everywhere, and the sugar temptation is huge! It's once a year, so enjoy this funky spooky holiday... but make this year a HEALTHIER one - for both you and your family.
It CAN be done with just a bit more AWARENESS. Today I’m sharing TIPS on keeping your body healthy this Halloween, plus better alternatives to traditional Halloween candy (and more). Check out all my links, and please share with your family and friends so they can stay healthy, too!
Today 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 MoreAs women, in order to feel our best and support our health, it’s important to understand our menstrual cycle and connect with the different stages and the hormonal fluctuations that accompany each stage.
This is the basis for what we call “Cycle Syncing” - which teaches us to connect with how our body shifts throughout our cycle, and use these changes to our benefit. It involves aligning lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, social commitments and more, in accordance with the different phases of your cycle to improve hormone balance, alleviate common PMS symptoms, improve fertility, and more.
The result is an increased sense of health, balance and connection to our femininity in our day to day.
The 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 MoreBalance 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
