Good morning lovely friends! I am currently being slightly crazy because I am drinking my hot creamy coconut matcha latte and it is 97 degrees outside. I can’t help myself its the beverage I want most every morning and it brings me so much joy.
I keep getting asked for a refresh on how I make my every day hot matcha so I am including the recipe here for you:
Creamy Coconut Matcha
watch me make it here
Ingredients
1 cup 175°F water
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp maple syrup (or more for sweeter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
matcha matcha (measure w heart — I use Cosmic Cultures my discount is ELLA10. I like the kasumi, haru, MTN & kotobuki for my lattes)
1 scoop collagen
pinch of salt
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup whole milk (I use grass fed, regenerative, organic, low pasteurized non homogenized A2)
Recipe
Froth & heat milk in a milk steamer (or heat it up and hand froth)
Blend together hot water, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, matcha, salt and collagen
Pour in a large mug and top with frothy milk, enjoy!!!
I can’t believe we are at the end of July! I love summer so much, and maybe that is why it feels like it is going so fast. But it is far from over so don’t let the fall obsessed crew convince you otherwise….we still have late sunsets, new gorgeous juicy tomato varieties harvesting, and sweltering hot weather that maybe is kind of making me a little bit excited for fall lol.
But before we move on from July….I want to share all of my favorites from this month! The things I have used & loved, created, new habits, obsessions, and everything in between. Let’s get intoooo it…..
OH also — I am going live with the AMAZING
this Friday August 1 at 12PM EST!!! We are talking all things summer: ideal meals, fun pairings and recipe ideas! Plus answering any questions you have. Will be super fun, she is the QUEEN of all things food x pairings so I am really excited. The link to join is HERE and there will also be emails sent out prior as a reminder!
Okay NOW let’s get into it!!!
1. OnDemand Lab Work
Sometimes a good functional medicine doctor or even just a normal physician can be super hard to get an appointment with. I literally spent over an hour calling different doctor’s office to get an appointment when I moved to New York just to be put on multiple waiting lists and never called back. LIKE WHY. Finding accessible healthcare can feel so frustrating, which is why I really love Labcorp OnDemand.
They make it easy to get lab work done on your terms, I just did the Women’s Health Test & Micronutrient Test. It’s the same tests your doctor would order for you (over 80+ options), but accessible for us to purchase. I chose my tests, made an appointment, went in and got my bloodwork done & tested all in the same day. So efficient. My results were ready in under a week (literally 3 days), notified through my email. Also even better that the woman who took my bloodwork was so kind and made the experience amazing. I get nervous around needles sometimes and she made it so pleasant.
I think getting bloodwork done at least once a year as a baseline is super important just to stay up to date with your body, health and its changes over the years. The best part is you can read the results yourself, or you can present those results to a doctor if you notice irregularities, that way you have an instant action plan versus just begging them to test for one thing or another to no avail (been there, the doctor fatigue is real).
You can get a 10% discount when you use ELLA at checkout on the site!!! If you have any questions let me know! Really excited to be partnering with Labcorp OnDemand to offer you this discount.
2. The Untethered Soul
A while back I asked my mom what books had made the biggest impact on her. She had a few answers, but one of the first ones that came to mind for her was The Untethered Soul. I’ve been making an effort to read a little bit every morning before starting my day. Literally just having it sit on my bedside table. One of the things I really try to practice is being more present, it allows me to be a better person and enjoy life to it’s fullest, and this book really helps with that. It really is a wonderful way to begin each day. I also got the accompanying journal too, because I feel like that allows me to better process what I have read, and it offers good prompts.
3. The Wellness Process Pod
I recently just chatted with the gorgeous (inside & out!) Eliza on The Wellness Process podcast! Had such a wonderful time I felt like I could’ve kept talking for hours. We talk about everything from meal shortcuts to breaking free from restriction to matcha and more! Her podcast is amazing, and you can listen to the full episode here:
4. Pelvic Floor Therapy
So I am someone who pees, a lot. I have always been like this, and I also drink a lot of beverages so I didn’t used to think much of it. My mom is also the same way, we both say we have SBS (small bladder syndrome).
BUT last year I started having an issue where I literally couldn’t sleep through the night without having to pee. It was really frustrating and caused me to take this more seriously (because interrupting my sleep is a NO from me lol). I also really have been thinking a lot more about pelvic floor health because I have been putting a lot of focus on getting stronger in my body overall, and as we say in pilates the core is the powerhouse, and I know the stronger my pelvic floor, the more strong I can be. Plus I eventually want kids one day and so by starting training my pelvic floor now, the healthier it will be when that time comes around!! Ok you guys really don’t care about the WHY I am oversharing at this point lets get to the HOW.
So I decided to go to pelvic floor therapy. I did a few sessions and decided it was too far away from me and was taking up way too much of my time BUT I am taking the practices I learned and using them on the daily. PS — I am FAR from an expert. This is a practice that works for me but consult a professional pls.
Diaphragmatic breathing. This is something I already practiced but have been more intentional with it lately. Right hand on stomach, left on chest. I prefer to lay on my back but sitting upright works as well. Take a slow and big breath through your nose, intentionally into your belly so that your stomach rises, if your chest is instead rising, try again. Once your stomach is all the way filled, slowly breath out through your mouth. Repeat.
Wobbling. This is a practice I did in chiropractic therapy too and it is a great one. It is essentially a pelvic tilt (which you can do without the wobble disk but I prefer to do it with!). I set the wobble disk on a chair or a bench and sit on it. I do tilts forward and backward while breathing, and then side to side. I do 30 forward and back, 30 side to side. Repeat once.
Wall stand. Ok this one is kind of hard to describe but its another one I did at chiro. Stand against a wall with your ankles touching the wall hips width distance apart, must be a flat wall. Put your arms upright against the wall, bent at the elbow at a 90 degree angle (kind of like a field goal position — elbow parallel to shoulder). Tilt your pelvis so that your lower back is flat up against the wall, and while breathing, hold that position for 60 seconds. Repeat three times.
Cat & Cow. Love doing this every day. It is such a relaxing stretch in itself and then paired with intentional breathing is just the best.
Inner Thigh Stretching. As my therapist said — inner thigh stretches can benefit the pelvic floor because it helps to improve flexibility/reduce tension in the muscles surrounding the pelvic floor area.
Deep Core Exercises. This will help strengthen pelvic floor muscles. Pilates targets these muscles well, and I also have been following movelikeamotha on Instagram, she has amazing tutorials for activating deep core & pelvic floor muscles. I love the pilates ball for activating deep core muscles too.
Glute Bridges & Leg Presses & Abductors. Both wonderful exercises for pelvic floor health. Outside of core strength I’ve really been prioritizing inner thigh, leg & glute strength as it is all connected. I am going to share the workout I have been doing below!!
5. Fruit Fly Traps
Idk if you guys remember but last summer in my old apartment I had a fruit fly infestation that literally took over my life it was traumatic. Like they actually overtook my apartment I had to move out and live with my mom for a couple of days LOL.
SO naturally in my new apartment I said NEVER AGAIN. I have become the expert in keeping the fruit flies at bay and these are my top tips that actually work after trying every single thing in the book:
Clean my produce as soon as I bring it home. A lot of times eggs or flies are carried on external produce so cleaning them immediately is important.
Cinnamon sticks & bay leaves in produce. Any produce that is kept on my counter after cleaning and drying I will put cinnamon sticks and bay leaves near them. This keeps away flies.
Boiling water down drains morning and night. They love to lay eggs in drains (kitchen & bathroom) so this gets rid of any excess.
Keep everything clean. Take out the trash daily. Clean counters, sink and stove immediately after cooking. They will feast of of any crumb.
FRUIT FLY TRAPS. I have tried every single trap out there, these are the only ones that really work (besides the homemade) but these work 100000x better than the homemade and they are way less work and mess. The amount of flies they catch is actually disgusting, but it shows they work. I have a couple in my kitchen and one in my bathroom since those are the two places they usually hang out.
Hoping you don’t need any of this advice, but if you do, just know I feel for you.
6. Glute & Leg Routine
I recently joined a gym so I can do more strength training, and I am slowly getting accustomed to all of the machines & equipment. This is one of the workouts I like to do when targeting legs/glutes! PS — please look up tutorials for all of these to make sure you are doing form properly. I’ve done a lot of research on proper form and technique and put it into practice, but its important you do that prior to these exercises. Also this is what works for me, I am not a professional so advise a professional! I didn’t include the weight I use for each because everyone is different.
WORK THOSE GLUTES
Need:
Dual cable crossover machine
Ankle cuffs
Bench
10 (R&L) — straight back kickbacks LOWEST CABLE SETTING
10 (R&L) — 45 degree angled foot kickbacks MEDIUM CABLE SETTING
10 (R&L) — side kicks LOWEST CABLE SETTING
10 (R&L) — straight leg kickbacks (while in tabletop on bench)
Repeat.
Need:
Abductor machine
50 hip abductors
Stop in the middle, pulse for 20 seconds
Hold as far out as possible, 20 second hold
Need:
Barbell
Bench
20 barbell glute bridges
20 deadlifts
Need:
Back extension machine
Round weight
25 45 degree back extensions
Need:
Leg press machine
25 leg presses
25 pulses mid way, 20 second hold
20 (R&L) — one legged leg press (pulse + hold)
Need:
Mat
10 (R&L) — one legged glute bridges
10 (R&L) 20 second pulse on the one legged glute bridges, 20 second hold
10 (R&L) — lunge
10 (R&L) — curtsy lunge
I did this yesterday at the gym and MY ENTIRE BODY IS SO SORE.
7. Clean Sunscreen
It is summer so when I am spending long hours in the sun, I am wearing sunscreen! I am hyper specific about the sunscreen I choose to wear because I feel like it is either filled with synthetic chemicals, ingredients that make me break tf out, or just has a terrible white overcast and bad texture.
For my face sunscreen I use THIS ONE. I like it a lot because it doesn’t break me out, it is mineral non-nano zinc and quality ingredients and it gives my skin this subtle glow that is super nice. For my body I use THIS ONE, I love love love everything they create and am so happy that they make sunscreen now (code 15ELLA for a discount).
I also pretty much am always wearing a hat if I am spending long hours in the sun. Loveee my bucket hats.
8. Ice Cream Attachment
I live in NY now so there is barely any room for any extra fun kitchen gadgets. Aka I cannot buy an entire ice cream maker no matter how much I may want one. SO I caved and got the Kitchen Aid Attachment because I already have my kitchen aid and I felt it would be the easiest option/ take up the least amount of space so I can make lots of ice cream all summer long. I am very glad I did so because I have gotten good use out of this.
Favorite Ice Cream Recipes:
9. Glass & Stainless Steel Food Processor
If you have seen in my videos me using a glass & stainless steel food processor more often (like all the time) — this is it.
I will say first and foremost it is not as powerful as a typical food processor. It is not meant to be a total replacement, although that is kind of how I use it lol. I got this because the food processor I have is a totalllll pain to take it out, use and clean. It is a whole production. So I wanted something more low maintenance, and also it was such a bonus that it is made with glass and stainless steel because I am trying to reduce plastic in my kitchen. I have been using this almost every day since.
10. Sourdough Grind
The warmer weather means that my sourdough starter and bread is THRIVING. The proofing and growing process is 10x easier in the heat, so yes I am back on my sourdough grindddd.
The recipe that I follow is in my guide:
And I am so excited for when my starter is ready because I also just got a butter churner……so I will be making fresh butter for my warm fresh bread. YAY.
Can’t wait for a new month with you all! Remember that going live with
on Friday at 12PM EST! & then my August seasonal menu is coming out that following Sunday this weekend!!! WOOOOO…. Talk to you soooon.XO - Ella
just made a trip to Vermont to get the good stuff (extra dark amber grade maple syrup) and i feel like a kid in a candy shop
I'm sorry but why did no one ever tell me that washing my produce would limit fruit flies?! My mind is blown! Great tips, Ella!