Health and Wellness: Regaining Health after a Brief Hiatus

It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to make unhealthy decisions away from home.  This past weekend I went with my mom to visit my brother six hours away.  Due to a series of unfortunate events (I love using that phrase), we ended up having to wake up at 2:00 AM to be there by 8:00 AM.   After a long drive, mom and I had exhaustion overload about mid afternoon.  Even though we tried to make smart food choices by choosing high veggie meals, the junk food was right there, and after that drive, we deserved it.  Right?

THIS was the winner of the night for me.

So, needless to say, after two rainy days and no walking, and a weekend of lots of car-time and no walking, I was feeling overwhelmingly icky.  It is hard to maintain health during difficult and exhausting times.  It was more than the amazing desert.  It was a conglomeration between that, lack of sleep, too much time in the car, lack of exercise, and a break of my routine.  (My home is my sanctuary and too much time away makes me one unbalanced lady.)

When I returned home, my main goal for the next day was to begin to regain balance.  First of all, I mixed up a detox drink that I discovered on Pinterest.  I can't find the original pin, so I am going to relate the recipe here.  (You can follow me on Pinterest to see all things eclectic peanut.)

Detox Drink

2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp raw honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 or 2 slices of fresh ginger root

I like to put the ginger and cinnamon into an infuser glass, add the ACV and honey and just enough hot water to dissolve the honey to the bottom of the container.  Fill the rest of the glass with water, adding ice if desired.  I like to use this one for a large wide mouth mason or ball canning jar.  I will sip on it until it's gone and refill the glass, using the same cinnamon and ginger.  This drink helps your body get rid of inflammation and "bloat" caused by too many unhealthy carbs and the wrong fats.

The next thing I do to help myself physically and spiritually is to get back on my activity schedule.  I went for my 1.5 mile walk and spent quality time in my yard interacting with nature.  I also cleaned my entire house.  I think this was an activity that helped my state-of-mind most.  When I eat too many sugars, bad carbs, and wrong fats, I get brain-fog and major sinus pressure build up in my head.  I am still learning how to counteract this when I make bad decisions, but one of the things I do is to cut back severely on breads.  I make our bread products, so they are healthier than store-bought, but cutting them out and reintroducing a smaller amount is how I rebalance my diet.  I generally only use honey and don't keep a store of sweets, and we use healthy oils and fats, so this rebalances itself over time.  I also use some essential oils from DoTerra to alleviate the pain and pressure.   I put one drop of peppermint, 2 drops of lavender, and a drop of lemon into my palm and massage onto the base of my skull, behind my ears, and on my temples.  The lavender is a natural antihistamine so it will fight any allergy reactions, peppermint has the same burning-cooling you get from something like BenGay or Icy-Hot (only it comes from nature!), and the lemon adds scent that I find appealing.  The effect on headaches and sinus pressure is immediate.  The effect on my mood is immediate as well.

Bright orange-golden poppies bringing life to the desert.

I've had a week where my focus has been more contemplative than on outward sharing.  When I take time away, I always have to do serious contemplation and recuperation.  This week has been that for me.  It has taken me all week to finish this one post (although I've started another!).  I am feeling appreciative about the new life coming from Spring.  If you follow me on Instagram, you will be able to see all of the beautiful things I appreciate about Spring.  I like to experience the awakening of the birds and the bees, and the blooming of trees and flowers.  We have grass returning to our yard and the cauliflower, radish, lettuce, and spinach have sprouted in the garden.  We are going to grow birdseed this year and have a wide variety of other fruit and vegetables planned.  Spring is a tonic to the soul, it allows us to get out and interact with nature in a way that we haven't since the end of Autumn.  If you have to take long weekends or other types of trips, I encourage you to take time out when you return to look around you and appreciate your living space.  Take part in nature and breathe in her healing.  In all things, work to regain balance and serenity in your home and life to promote your best level of health and wellness.

Light and Love,

Amber