Author: Shanda de Vries
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7 Essential Oils That Ease Allergy Symptoms
April showers are sure to bring May flowers (and who doesn’t love to see their first lily blossom?), but if you suffer from seasonal allergies, you’re probably dreading those flowers and the pollen that comes along with them. I’m pretty lucky in that I’ve never actually had to suffer allergies (I do get a little…
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Clever Hacks To Make Fried Food Healthy
If there ever comes a time in my life in which I have to choose a last meal, it’s probably going to consist mainly (if not solely) of deep fried food. My love for greasy goodness is unlike any other. Some people are all about their sweets – they love a good cookie, a fluffy…
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6 Easy Ways To Step Up Your Walking Workout
There’s nothing better than a long, brisk walk with my dog after a long day. Rain or shine, snow or sleet, we’re out there daily. Mind you, it helps that we have to go on that tour if we want to retrieve the mail (living way out in the country means that we all share…
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Carb Backloading: Is It Good or Bad For You?
Very few diets actually hold enough merit to be considered solid weight loss plans; some of them just make me roll my eyes with their inevitability to cause a yo-yo effect on any poor soul that decides to put their time and money into them, others just make me roll my eyes. Once in a…
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Teff Grain Health Benefits And Recipe Roundup
I like to think that I keep on top of things as far as the health world goes, but every once in a while, something will come up that I’ve never even heard of, much less looked into. Teff is the latest thing to make it onto that short – yet ever growing – list.…
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Epsom Salts Magic: 13 Unexpected Home Uses
There’s no reason that every household shouldn’t have at least a bag of Epsom salts in it – Not only are they dirt cheap (a super big bag of it usually runs you about five dollars), but they’re such a versatile product that they can end up saving you a ton of money! Until recently,…
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Stand Up Paddle Board Yoga: Strength, Balance and Water
It’s no secret that I’m a huge yoga fan, but just like with everything else, the practice can become repetitive after a while. Sure, I could change my yoga style (which I might end up trying before the winter is out), but I’d rather find a way to expand and further challenge myself with the…
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Ditch Margarine: Why Butter is the Healthier Choice
As a child throughout the nineties, I can’t remember when we didn’t have margarine in the fridge. Never butter. TV, radio, and medical shows (I was a weird kid) all taught me exactly why that was too – Butter causes heart attacks, strokes, and all kinds of other things because fats are bad for you…
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18 Savory Recipes For A Complete And Healthy Thanksgiving Meal
Before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here and you’ll be gathering with friends and family (some that you’ve not seen in ages, possibly) around a table that’s overflowing with everyone’s favorite foods. If you’re trying to manage your weight, the idea of having to cook and eat an entire meal of incredibly fattening foods…
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24 Easy Ways To Add Chia Seeds Into Your Diet
Chia seeds are incredibly versatile. Since they don’t have much flavor and their texture can range anywhere from crunchy to jelly, there isn’t much you can’t add this wonderful little superfood too. That said, everyone has their own personal palate and preferences; here’s a handy list that should have at least one thing on it…
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Next Year’s Project: The Pros and Cons of Joining a CSA Farm
Now that the fall has come and the garden is officially empty once again, I’ve recently been thinking that I might not go through all of that again next year. Keeping up a garden is a lot of work; the weather and bugs can be incredibly unpredictable, and some of it ends up going to…
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Doing Intermittent Fasting Right: The Eat-Stop-Eat Plan
Dieting can be hard to keep up with, especially if you’re someone who’s incredibly busy or you happen to be on a budget – Most diet plans consist of you (cooking and) eating five to seven small meals a day, and some of them have you working out – Who really has time for all…
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How To Make A Mouth-Watering, Good Salad (5 Easy Steps)
Just because summer is over and many of the farmers’ markets are starting to wrap up doesn’t mean that there’s any excuse whatsoever to abandon your healthy eating goals. I’ve mentioned before that having a salad for lunch every day is a really easy way to make sure that you’re getting your daily dose of…
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The General Motors Diet: 7 Day Weight Loss Plan For Fast Slim Down
The fall season tends to bring on cravings for comfort foods, and while all of those comfort foods might make us feel great while we’re eating them, it’s not long before you can see all those extra calories appearing on your waistline. Additionally, if you end up mixing a lot of your favorite comfort food…
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Safe Sunbathing: How to Soak Up the Sun Responsibly
After an exceptionally long and brutal winter, Mother Nature has gracefully decided to bless the Northern Hemisphere with summertime weather finally. When that very last bit of snow finally melts, and the trees begin to bud once more, it’s as though everyone comes out of their hibernation mode and begins to bloom just as much…
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10 Amazing Essential Oils For Weight Loss
Now that the summer has officially come and gone, it’s just a matter of time until absolutely everything is covered in a fluffy white blanket of snow (I have to admit that although I detest the winter season with the burning passion of a thousand suns, I do love the first couple of snowfalls. With…
