Anti-Inflammatory Diet: 3 steps to lower inflammation naturally

I wanted to write about the anti-inflammatory diet because, even though I’m against “dieting”, this isn’t really a diet; this is about creating a lifestyle of limiting inflammatory foods and regularly incorporating anti-inflammatory foods and lifestyle choices to support better health. It’s something that has helped me immensely, and I can testify that it supports gut health, hormonal health, and maintaining a healthy weight WITHOUT dieting. Following these tips that i’m sharing below will help a lot towards achieving your health goals, I promise!

The food we eat — and don’t eat — can help lower and even prevent this chronic inflammation, to help us feel better, lose weight and reduce our chances of illness.

Today I share 4 ways to enhance your diet and lifestyle to help you reduce inflammation and feel better overall.

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Lactation Energy Balls - the perfect bite for any mom (or dad!)

These no-bake treats take minutes to throw together, are filled with good-for-you ingredients, and make for the perfect quick snack or healthy dessert that are satisfying and won’t spike your blood sugar.

These energy balls are the perfect healthy dessert or snack for anyone, especially new moms. They contain anti-inflammatory healthy fats along with tons of fiber and cinnamon which can help control blood sugar and cravings, promote healthy digestion AND can help with postpartum weight loss. Lastly, these bites help promote milk supply and healthy lactation. Not to mention - they’re so good they’re borderline addictive!

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I tried a CGM and here is what I learned + 8 tips to avoid glucose spikes

I'm sharing my experience with testing out a LEVELS Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to help me learn what caused increases in my blood sugar, and what helped me keep it stable. Based on my experience and research, I'm sharing 8 tips for balancing your blood sugar, to help with weight loss, balanced hormones and better overall health.

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Treat Yourself to a Healthy Chocolate Morning

Today I wanted to share 2 new recipes for an indulgent yet super healthy, nutritious morning when you’re craving chocolate - be it Valentine’s Day or any day that you want some extra comfort!

Plus, I’m sharing many of my previous favorite chocolate recipes - all VEGAN, DAIRY-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, REFINED SUGAR-FREE and PRESERVATIVE-FREE.

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4 Foods for a Healthy Brain

There are so many things we can do in our day to day to support our brain health, even through our diet. Remember to first use FOOD AS MEDICINE. Incredibly there are many foods that have proven to boost our brain health and help prevent early “ageing” of our brain (preventing memory loss, etc).

Here are 4 “foods” that you want to consume regularly to support a sharp mind and overall brain health (plus helpful, easy tips on how to implement them in your day to day).

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3 Date Recipes (perfect for pre-labor!)

Dates are packed with nutrition and provide lots of fiber and energy, plus are naturally very sweet, making them ideal for making healthy desserts.

Also, they’re said to be amazing for preparing your cervix for a natural birth, so with that “excuse” in mind, I’ve been making lots of easy, delicious date recipes to have in my last weeks of pregnancy.

Today I’m sharing 3 of my favorite date recipes– all of which are super nutritious, vegan, gluten-free, no added sugar and raw (no baking required!) - and don’t spike your blood sugar (as they’re packed with extra fiber, protein and healthy fats!).

Carob brownie energy balls

Almond & Peanut chocolate butter fudge

Balance with Mariana’s basic energy balls

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11 Steps for an Empowered Life

I’m sharing 11 recommendations to be healthier, more present, more conscious, and live life to your fullest (inspired by a podcast 10 Steps for a Powerful Birth - from Taking Back Birth). These are principles that I’ve gradually introduced into my life since I started my health coaching journey, which I feel have helped me so much, so I wanted to share them with you today.

Here are 11 inspiring steps for living a healthy, balanced and empowered life.

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6 Healthy, Delicious, Vegan, Low-Carb Zucchini Recipes

Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables as its delicious and has tons of health benefits as it’s low-carb yet packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and even antioxidants.

I also love it because it’s so versatile (and a great way to make your favorite recipes more low-carb / low-glycemic)! I use it in my smoothie bowls almost daily, love it roasted in the oven, sauteed, thinly baked (or air-fried) as “chips”, use it instead of lasagna noodles for a gluten-free lasagna, as part of a dip, a soup, and of course, it’s amazing spiralized as a pasta substitute.

Today I’m sharing 6 of my favorite zucchini recipes - that are vegan, gluten-free and low carb, plus flavorful and easy to make!

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10 Plant-Based Proteins for Optimal Health

There are tons of awesome plant-based (aka vegan) sources of protein, rich in nutrients and fiber (and easier to digest than animal proteins) that are important to be including in our diet. Even if you’re not vegan, it’s important to mix up your protein sources and eat some of these healthy, vegan proteins - for optimal gut health (and overall health).

Plant-based proteins have a myriad of benefits, and I highly suggest that everyone start to include a few plant-based meals a week (ex. try doing “Meatless Mondays”), focusing on having BALANCED, nutritious meals with at least one source of protein at each meal.

I share 10 of my favorite plant-based sources of protein in this blog (and tips on how to incorporate them into your diet).

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Plant Based (Vegan) Diet – Benefits, Potential Drawbacks and 6 Tips

Many people are curious about going 100% vegan and wonder if it’s for them, so this blog is primarily for you. I clarify many positives and negatives of a plant-based vegan diet, some options/alternatives, and tips to maximize the benefits of your diet.

What is a vegan diet and what are the huge benefits?

What are the drawbacks?

Can you get many of the benefits of a vegan diet without being 100% vegan?

I explore these topics plus share 6 TIPS on how to maximize benefits of your diet.

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8 Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy (including prenatal recommendations)

Pregnancy is such a unique and special time in a woman’s life, that really requires love and attention. We are creating life after all! Everything we DO, everything we EAT, and even what we THINK affects the health of our baby. So making natural, healthy choices everyday to maximize our health, our happiness, and that of our baby, is SO important.

So today I share 8 of my best tips for a healthy, happy pregnancy and baby.

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Pregnancy Diet: 12 foods for a healthy mom and healthy baby

To increase your chances of an amazing, healthy pregnancy, birth and baby, you want to focus on eating a real whole-foods diet as much as possible, avoiding processed junk foods, eating a variety of colors, and including these 12 pregnancy “superfoods” as much as possible (in addition to your prenatal vitamin and any other supplements/medicines that your doctor or midwife prescribed).

Check out my blog for 12 super foods you should be eating regularly as part of your Pregnancy Diet, for a healthy mom and baby.

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One Type of Stress We're all Facing – and 8 tips to decrease it

Nowadays, we are all experiencing some degree of oxidative stress in our bodies, which is keeping us from attaining our health goals. It can negatively impact our fertility, our ability to reach our ideal weight, our ageing process…. and more.

So what causes oxidative stress, and how can we decrease it?

In this blog, I lay out the key contributors to oxidative stress and 8 tips to reduce it in your day to day life.

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11 Tips for Balancing Blood Sugar

Sustaining balanced blood sugar levels (aka blood glucose levels) and minimizing swings in blood sugar is absolutely paramount to weight loss, and moreover, to a healthy lifestyle and avoiding disease.

The good news is that there is so much we can do through small DIET and LIFESTYLE changes to support our blood sugar levels and simultaneously boost our overall health.

Today in my bog I share 11 tips to keep stable, healthy glucose levels (which simultaneously support healthy weight loss).

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COCONUT – why I love it (+ 3 recipes)

As a huge lover of coconut (including coconut milk, coconut yogurt, coconut water, coconut oil, pure coconut meat, coconut flour and more!) today I’m sharing some BENEFITS OF COCONUTS and a few of my favorite super healthy and delicious detox-friendly COCONUT-BASED RECIPES.

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5 Easy & Healthy Butternut Squash Recipes

Butternut Squash is one of my favorite fall / winter vegetables (which I honestly eat year round) because it's not only sweet and delicious, it's extremely healthy - packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants, and very versatile. I eat it mashed (and add to smoothies and desserts), spiralized, baked/roasted and blended into soups. I share some of my top recipes below.

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8 Effective Weight-Loss Principes to try this year

Weight loss is – like most things – a completely personal journey. Every body is different. Our digestions are different, our metabolisms are different, our lifestyles are different…so what works for me, may not work for you. That being said, there are some health principles that help the majority of people with weight loss, and it’s just about customizing it for your unique, beautiful body.

In my experience, these 8 health principles can help boost your weight loss. Check them out below - and observe what you’re already doing, what you could be doing a bit better, what you maybe haven’t tried…. And just remember, if you’ve been trying to lose weight for a while and it hasn’t worked, then the only way it’s going to work is TRYING SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING DIFFERENT. So be open-minded and explore new things. And let me know how it goes!

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6 Tips for Improving Hypothyroid using Holistic Nutrition

Hypothyroidism is so huge nowadays that I feel approximately one out of every 5 clients I see has some degree of hypothyroidism. Crazy. Which is why I wanted to write a quick blog on the topic.

Like most things, diet and lifestyle play a big role in your thyroid function. Eating the wrong foods, chronic stress and poor sleep can interfere with your hormones and even contribute to autoimmune disease like Hashimoto’s.

I share 6 KEY things you can do right away that can help support your body to normalize your thyroid hormones.

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Family friendly recipe: Meatballs with Veggie Noodles Recipe

One of my main goals in life is to show you and everyone that HEALTHY EATING CAN BE (AND SHOULD BE) DELICIOUS). So i’m making it a goal to share more of my awesome, nutritious and super yummy (yet easy) recipes for you to enjoy.

Today I’m sharing my Meatballs and Veggie Noodles recipe - which is allowed on most detoxes (like my signature 10 day detox) and is both PALEO and KETO “approved”. (I always share this recipe in my Summer & Fall 10 day detox and my clients LOVE it, and for my Winter version where we omit nightshades, I offer it with a vegan cashew cream instead of tomato sauce).

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5 Thyroid Superfoods

If you’re suffering from low-thyroid (and the commonly related symptoms including slow metabolism and low energy), you’re not alone. It’s more common than you may think, especially with women.

Whether or not you’re already taking medication, your diet plays a large role in your thyroid function and it’s important to use your meals to help you in your healing process.

START BY TAKING BABY STEPS. Start by incorporating these 5 superfoods into your everyday diet to help you in your journey to balancing your thyroid hormones and therefore improving your overall health.

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