Embracing Sundays: My 5 Simple Acts of Self-Care

Sundays are my absolute favorite day, because i have no schedule and I make time to do what I love most.

What do I do on my Sundays that brings me so much JOY?

Above else, i make time for:

*checking-in and reflecting

*moving my body (doing something different and/or something I love)

*connecting with family

*doing an act of love (like making breakfast for my hubbie)

What is YOUR favorite day of the week and why? What act of self-love, of self-care, can you add to your day?

READ MORE about my reflexions and get inspired to make a special day (or morning or afternoon) for YOU!

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One Day Reset Plan

During the holiday season, we get jammed with (usually fun) events, but that also means less time for relaxing, for exercise, for healthy cooking, and always implies lots of food (usually not so healthy) and booze (for most of us).

So what can we do to maintain a balance, to avoid gaining weight and feeling heavy, and to keep up our wellness game?

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The Best Matcha Green Tea Latte

This amazing Matcha Latte recipe has a ton of health benefits, including:

  • helps detoxify your body

  • boosts your metabolism

  • enhances weight loss and fat burning

  • promotes hormonal balance

  • good for gut health

  • give you an energy boost (without the jitters)

  • it’s filling and delicious!

I make it with dairy-free almond milk (I use my homemade almond milk) though you can also use oat milk, cashew milk or coconut milk; all three work great. It’s free of refined sugar, yet still has a slight sweetness, and has an amazingly delicious creamy texture. I also add collagen that’s amazing for your gut, hair, skin and nails (and adds a bit of protein) and MCT oil (that helps you burn fat). What’s not to love?

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Magnesium Supplements: What You Need to Know

Often times, the root cause behind many of our health issues (such as trouble falling asleep, energy dips, constipation, etc.) is linked to a nutrient deficiency in your diet. It can be that simple.

One common nutrient that is often lacking in our diet (that is keeping us from feeling 100%) is MAGNESIUM. Increasing our magnesium-rich foods is key, but often not enough.

That being said, there is a WIDE range of magnesium supplements, and taking the right one can be a huge help to your health.

READ MORE for a quick 101 on different magnesium supplements, to help you find what may be right for you.

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Paleo & Keto 101

Both Paleo and Keto diets have major health benefits, and I highly recommend applying some of their core principles to your way of eating if you’re looking to clean up your diet.

READ MORE for the lists of what to eat and what not to eat on each diet, differences & similarities between Paleo and Keto, and maybe you'll give a shot to applying their principles to your current diet.

**Remember however that it’s often best to modify the diet to YOUR lifestyle, YOUR body, YOUR needs, and make it a long-term way of eating versus a short-term diet. Applying some degree of “Intuitive Eating” is crucial regardless of which diet you are following.

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Mediterranean Diet: Key Takeaways for Your Healthiest Self

Today I wanted to share a bit about the principles of a MEDITERRANEAN, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET, which I personally apply a lot in my personal life, and recommend as a general starting point with most of my health coaching clients.

The Mediterranean diet is all about eating fresh, whole foods and keeping your heart healthy with tons of fiber and healthy fats.

It focuses on eating a wide variety of local produce, particularly colorful fruits and veggies packed with antioxidants. So it’s essentially a high-antioxidant and anti-inflammatory diet.

The BEST part about it is that it’s pretty relaxed and balanced. It encourages eating all food groups, drinking your water, even occasional coffee, red wine and dark chocolate are totally OK. Then accompanying these foods with a lifestyle of plenty exercise, time with family and friends, time in nature, and of course, promotes ENJOYING YOUR FOOD. (Think of the Italians and Greeks!). Not too complicated.

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Ayurveda 101: Bringing Your Body Into Balance

I recently shared with you why I’m a big believer of a NO-DIET plan and a balanced lifestyle. (If you haven’t checked out, READ HERE).

That being said, there are some dietary theories and lifestyles that I believe have good backing, lots of positive research showing their benefits, and are good for you to know more about. It doesn’t mean you have to follow their “rules” 100%, BUT their principles are extremely beneficial in achieving and maintaining a healthy, balanced diet and lifestyle that can help you reach (and sustain) your health goals.

I wanted to share a bit about the principles of AYURVEDA, which I personally apply a lot in my personal life and with my health coaching clients.

READ MORE to learn the basics of Ayurveda, and how you can use it to bring more balance in your life (and that includes reaching your ideal weight, improving your digestion, skin, destressing, and more!). 

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The “NO DIET PLAN” for a Healthier You

As a Health Coach, and as a former yo-yo dieter myself, I have learned the importance of avoiding the word diet, avoiding the labeling of foods, of needing to follow the latest trendy diet with obsession, of banning entire food groups that aren’t actually harming us, or worse, counting calories or measuring our food.

I constantly see people that feel they need to follow a strict diet for a period of time, every year, and it never works. They often lose a few pounds short-term, but when they get off the diet, the weight returns. It leads to a feeling of never being happy with themselves, and diet obsession.

READ MORE to learn what actually will help you find your ideal eating plan that will keep you at your healthy weight.

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The Perfect Healthy Entertaining Recipe: Sweet Potato Bites 3 Ways (for the omnivore, vegetarian & vegan)

I love entertaining, but it can be tricky to keep everyone happy with your choice of food/appetizer, while also keeping the preparation fairly easy.

For me its key to have a healthy “Balance with Mariana” approved dish, while also pleasing everyone else, including the guys who need something a bit more substantial after a few gin tonics.

 I’ve come up with the PERFECT entertaining appetizer recipe that’s fairly easy to make, yet seems super “gourmet” and of course, it’s DELICIOUS. The only part that takes long (the pulled pork) can be done the day before. And I use the same base ingredients to make 3 different appetizers – one to please vegans, one to please vegetarians, and a third version to please the omnivores (probably the majority, so make extra of these!).

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10 Ways to be Healthier in 2019

 I wanted to share some of my best tips to help you have a healthier year in a DOABLE and SUSTAINABLE way.

The key lies in finding your happiness, destressing, and learning to enjoy more healthy foods and healthy habits that sit well with you. The idea is NOT to stress about what you haven’t done, or to do something that will cause more stress in your life. Instead, be kind with yourself this year, and know that any little steps you take will be making you healthier and deepening your sense of wellness.

Here are 10 key ways you can start improving your Health and overall Wellness this year. Choose one or two steps to start, then build your way up!

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Why your SOCIAL LIFE matters for your Health and Longevity

Did you know that hanging out with friends is almost just as important to our health as eating our greens, drinking tons of water, sleeping our 8 hours, meditating and exercising? YUP there is tons of research, new and old, that links having a solid social network and frequent social interactions, to longevity, better brain health, and more. While being lonely can increase our propensity for poor health.

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A Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving: 5 healthy tips for a guilt-free holiday + Pumpkin Pie recipe

Thanksgiving is about GIVING THANKS; a time to be with loved ones and celebrate all the awesome things in life. AND it's about delicious comforting food. Who doesn't love Thanksgiving food, pumpkins (or ayote), wine, and family time?

Problem is, many of us health-conscious people simultaneously dread the aftermath of waking up bloated and feeling heavy the next day, and possibly even gaining weight in just one weekend.

Luckily I've discovered that doesn't need to be the case. IT IS TOTALLY POSSIBLE TO ENJOY A HEALTHY THANKSGIVING, while staying guilt-free. Of course indulging a bit (because indulging is OK once in a while), but if you balance it out with some healthier (and even more delicious) recipes, and a few more tips (that I share with you today and in other past blogs), you can fully enjoy the holiday without any negative consequences.

HERE ARE 5 TIPS THAT I PERSONALLY PRACTICE, then check out my blogs for more tips and recipes for a Healthy Thanksgiving

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5 Diet and Health Myths - Debunked

All of us read stuff on the internet, and hear things from friends and family that convince us that this food is bad for our health, or that food makes us gain weight.

We end up listening more to outside noise instead of listening to our own bodies. Not only that, we often go to extremes.

For example, we hear everywhere that carbs make us gain weight, so then we go cut out all carbs and next thing we know, we’re faced with constipation and a horrible hormonal imbalance.

So before you go to extremes, check out these common mistakes that many of us are making nowadays.

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Balance with Mariana's CLEAN EATING Shopping List

Healthy eating starts with stocking your kitchen and pantry with the right foods.

Today I’m sharing my CLEAN EATING Grocery List with 90 of the foods that I buy; foods that will put you on the path toward a healthier, happier, more balanced and confident self.

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Your Shopping Guide To A Healthier Life

The importance of the QUALITY of your food is truly underestimated by most people. Your life will change once you begin to really understand and appreciate what you're putting into your mouth. Remember, it's your body, and it's your job to take care of it! Stop feeding it junk, start feeding it real, high-quality foods, and you'll see a shift in your body, skin, hair, your energy, mood and sex life!

So what does that mean?

READ MORE to learn my TOP TIPS for choosing better foods and accomplishing a healthier supermarket shopping trip; an incredibly important step in your health journey.

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I'm a Health Coach. Here is What I Eat in a Day.

As a certified holistic Health Coach (and barre teacher), I practice what I preach; I live a healthy lifestyle and get my daily fill of greens.

Making smarter, healthier food choices is tough at first, but it gets easier with practice and consistency, and I strongly believe that everyone can change the way they eat to feel better inside and out.

I still sometimes struggle with balancing my long days of work, social life, and making time to cook, not to mention that my sweet tooth keeps me from having a perfectly healthy diet.

But I strongly believe in finding a good BALANCE that works for you, while always prioritizing your health and making sure you’re getting the highest quality ingredients on your plate possible.

I’ll take you through my typical day of meals.

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An Easy, Probiotic Mask for Clear, Hydrated, Glowing Skin

Natural DIY face masks are a great "facial" option that can work wonders on your face in just minutes, and are especially helpful when you can't make it every month to your facialist. Plus, you can do them while multitasking!

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite face masks – great for all skin types - that will help you keep a healthy skin microbiome and restore a healthy glow in your skin. I've been doing it a lot recently and am always AMAZED by the instant boost I see in my skin.

This mask is soothing, refreshing and cooling (hello yogurt!), moisturizing, helps balance your pH, remove dead cells, brightens your overall complexion, and fights off any blemishes, leaving your skin feeling baby soft and CLEAN.

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I Just Finished the Whole30 Challenge - Here are my 10 Takeaways

I am a believer in avoiding fad diets. Instead, I believe in finding the eating style that works for you longer-term. One that helps you reach and maintain your health goals.

But on top of that, when you feel you need a short-term boost to your health (and waistline), food-based detoxes are optimal.

In the toxic world we live in, we can all benefit from a light cleanse here and there. While they may not be necessary if you already eat a very clean diet, I find that the benefits outweigh any negatives, for almost everyone.

And, if you do have a particular health concern, doing a longer-term detox – like a 30 day elimination diet – can be EXTREMELY beneficial. And that’s what led me to trying the Whole30.

READ MORE to learn more about the Whole30, my takeaways, recommendations, and lessons learned!

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The Healthiest Chocolate Cupcakes - a delicious & easy recipe for you and the kids

Are you interested in trying a healthy yet delicious sweet treat for you and your kids that 1) isn’t filled with sugar and 2) actually contains healthy ingredients that supports your ( and your kids') overall health?

Check out my awesome, yummy and easy cupcake recipe that will satisfy your sweet tooth yet keep you healthy!

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Why You Should Try a 30-day Alcohol-Detox

I strongly advocate for living and enjoying a balanced life, and that means giving in to your guilty pleasures (in small, safe amounts) from time to time.

For me, enjoying a glass or two of wine is part of my balance, and luckily, there are tons of benefits that come along with small amounts of wine consumption.

However, there are even more reasons to go on an Alcohol Detox for a month. This means not one drop of alcohol for 30 days. Which YES is hard for most of us, but 100% worth it.

Read more to learn 6 Benefits of a 30-Day Alcohol Detox, and a few tips to get you started and help you commit!

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