Hey hey. Checking in, lil wellness check. How are you? When was the last time you did something just for you? First thing that comes to your mind, go do it.
We are so go-go-go all the time. Constantly consumed with worrying about what others think, everything on our to-do list, those unread emails, the laundry piling up - don’t even get me started on that list of people that I need to text back...
Take a deep breath. You have time. There is no rush. One. Step. At. A. Time. Without doing things for ourselves, investing in our health, we will never be able to get anything done. We are SO hard on ourselves, but we don’t treat anyone else that way. Start treating yourself as someone you care for. Remember that treating yourself with kindness should always be the top priority on your list. It will make everything else you have to do that much easier.
I met the sweetest woman at the farmers market this morning, she just turned 74, “74 and ready for more!” she said with a smile, and she left me with three take aways.
1. Get a lil roller cart for the farmers market because big heavy bags on my shoulder are compressing my spine LOL (she’s a chiropractor)
2. Stretch every day (at 74 she showed me she could literally touch her toes!)
3. Be happy. She said I am young, beautiful, and healthy, there is nothing now that should bring you down.
So simple. So often we try to overcomplicate our lives with problems when in reality we are HEALTHY, and that is something to be eternally grateful for :) Just thought I would share that sweet moment. Her positivity truly radiated.
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I am sipping on some turmeric ginger + dandelion tea + also a warm cinnamon latte. I have really been on an herbal tea and warm bev kick this past week. My mind thinks it's cozy warm weather Fall even though the weather is screaming that it is peak summer. Without further ado, let’s jump into…
ASK ELLA
Q: What is your skincare lineup? What skincare do you recommend?
For a deep dive into tips on how to get clearer and glowier skin from the inside out, check out my post Skincare 101, but I will give a breakdown summary here.
First of all - my skin is not perfect. Do not compare yourself to what you see behind a screen, so much of lighting and even camera angles alter what skin looks like in person! Secondly, your skin is a window to what is going on inside of your body. If you are having a skin flare up, your first thought should be curiosity and asking why. There is more likely an imbalance coming from inside of your body.
When I was dealing with gut issues, my skin looked incredibly different than what it looks like now. Everything from what you eat, your gut microbiome, environmental toxins, product toxins, endocrine disruptors and water sources could be affecting your skin health. Before you dump money into a skin PRODUCT, look internally.
Below are my favorite skincare products that are clean and EFFECTIVE.
Herbal Face Food is the most potent skincare ever, like truly you feel it immediately. It is made with 100% organic plants and herbals - no water, fillers or BS. It is fully edible (although I don’t recommend eating it). If you want to learn more about it, I chat with the founder HERE. It was such a wonderful conversation. They also offer 100% money back guaranteed if it does not work for you. You can get a large discount with the code “GlowWithElla”
Two incredible ingredients that I have fallen in love with when it comes to skin health this year are beef tallow & manuka honey. Who woulda thought. They have truly helped to heal my skin. Van Man’s beef tallow & honey moisturizer AND their sunscreen are a staple in my routine.
Such a wonderful company that creates beautifully crafted skincare with real ingredients. I love that they are making a conscious shift towards regenerative agriculture (big place in my heart for that!) and their products are amazing. Obsessed with the vanilla body butter, face masks, everything balm and candles! Discount is “15Ella”
Farmacy
Another company that consciously crafts their skincare and is careful about what they put into it - all honey based too which I LOVE! Their honey face mask is to dieeee for + I love their deep sweep toner.
Q: How do you include fermented foods into your meals?
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Eating foods with live healthy bacteria is very beneficial for the gut microbiome, this includes fermented foods and certain raw foods. Some of my favorite fermented foods include: sauerkraut, pickles, greek yogurt, coconut yogurt, cottage cheese, miso, sourdough bread and kefir. For raw foods, I eat a lot of raw dairy: milk, cheeses, butter. I also love raw honey. There are so many ways to incorporate these foods into your diet every day.
Sauerkraut: sandwiches, wraps, salads, breakfast bowls, avocado toast, egg scrambles, BY THE SPOON.
Yogurt: breakfast parfait, homemade frosting, smoothies, “sour cream”, tzatziki.
Sourdough bread: EVERYTHING.
Milk: coffee, matcha, plain, raw ice cream.
Butter: cook with or spread!
Cheese: cook with or eat raw as a snack.
Raw honey: drizzle on foods throughout the day or add to bevs!
The possibilities are endless, if you do not like these foods start small and add them into something you love. They are truly delicious and make you feel amazing. I add raw or fermented foods into pretty much everything I eat!
Q: How do you go from non-dairy to eating dairy?
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I was dairy free for about 8 years. Wild. I stopped eating dairy in high school because that is when my symptoms started and every doctor I went to diagnosed me as lactose intolerant. I thought that my reaction to dairy meant dairy was inflammatory, but I didn’t realize until later on that it was all my GUT ISSUES that were causing this inflammation. So many food intolerances are reversible when you heal your gut. The first step is to figure out what is going on inside of your body. First things first, go back to the basics, ask yourself the questions I outlined in this post HERE (answer to the question: Q: What’s the first step for healing your body naturally? How did you start?).
Once you figure out the root cause of your gut issues and work to reverse your symptoms and heal your body, then you can start experimenting with adding dairy back in.
I was extremely intentional with bringing dairy (& meat) back into my diet. I had worked hard on healing my body, and for the first time in forever I actually started craving dairy and meat again. This craving continued and I decided to experiment and listen to my body. I knew my body wanted it and it would be good for me, but I also knew my body was NOT used to it.
I started small at first, and tracked how I felt. The first dairy products I started bringing back in were raw dairy. This is because raw dairy contains all the beneficial enzymes and probiotics that work to help digest the dairy properly. In the beginning, my stomach was definitely not used to it so it took a little while to build up, but now I can eat it all without symptoms!
I made sure to eat in a non-stressed and relaxed fashion: deep breaths, I used digestive enzymes or bitters, and ate intentionally and non-distracted!
I did not force it. If your mind is stressed and telling you not to, your body will reject it. Make sure you are in a good place where you truly believe it is GOOD for you and you are doing the right thing! Your mind, body and action must be in sync.
To find raw dairy near you: go HERE
Q: Advice for a hormone healthy diet?
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One of the most important tips for a hormone healthy diet is eating with the seasons. Seasonal produce is more nutritionally dense, it is typically local which means it takes less to get from garden to plate, and it allows you to get a diverse amount of nutrients. Diversity is key to a healthy microbiome which translates to healthy hormones.
Quality of food is also important. Choose foods that are organic* (when you can), locally grown, made without synthetic/chemical/ or genetically modified ingredients.
When it comes to proteins, choose regenerative, pasture-raised, grass-fed/finished, and wild. Re-integrating high quality proteins into my life has completely shifted my hormone health for the better.
*Reference the EWG dirty dozen list and clean fifteen to know which foods should always be bought organic and which are okay not to
HOW you eat is just as important as WHAT you eat. When you eat, be intuitive with your body, tap-into your parasympathetic nervous system to eat in a rest-and-digest state, CHEW your food, and eat non-stress and non-distracted.
Q: Thoughts on an animal based diet?
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I will start out by saying if you are on an animal based-diet and feel good, power to you. If you feel good, I think that is amazing. I cannot emphasize this enough: bio-individuality is a real thing. Each and every one of us is different, our environments are different, our bodies are different, and what works for you may be opposite to what works for me. How YOU feel is all that matters.
For me personally, an extreme of anything does not work. I have been 100% plant based in the past, didn’t work. I have tried eating primarily animal-based, it doesn’t work for me. I need a good balance of both. Ever since I have re-integrated animal foods back into my life though, it has truly made the biggest impact on my health. My energy, hormones, recovery, lean muscle, skin, hair and nails, digestion, I mean everything.
The quality of animals you consume is extremely important. Ethically and nutritionally. When animals are raised right, they are good for the environment. When I can, I choose regeneratively raised animals. I always make sure I choose animals that live as nature intended (pasture-raised, wild, grass-fed and finished, free to roam). Raised without synthetics, antibiotics and hormones. Raised on farms with families that truly love and care for the animals. This makes a huge difference on the environment, and in the nutritional quality. From a nutritional standpoint and even an energy standpoint.
Animals that are raised against nature and unethically (without care, in cages, confined, shot up with antibiotics and hormones, fed GMO soy, wheat and processed foods) are living in an EXTREMELY stressed state. You are what you eat, eats. So not only are you getting all of those antibiotics, hormones, and processed junk transferred to you, you are also getting that stressed toxic energy. Bad for you, bad for the environment, and horrible for the animals themselves :(
I try to be very intentional about the source of my food, and it has made a big difference in my life. Ask more questions about where your food comes from. The more we can get closer to the source of what we are eating, the better!
Seasonal Recipe: Butternut Squash Mac n Cheeze
This has been a Thanksgiving crowd favorite the past few years. As mentioned previouslllyyyy, I was dairy free for years. So this is a throwback to my dairy free days. Even though it is dairy free, you would nootttt guess it. It is SO creamy and delicious.
*PS this is a big batch i used about 1 lb of pasta so feel free to half the recipe or save sauce for bowls / dinners throughout the week!*
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Ingredients for Sauce
2 cups chopped butternut squash
1 large carrot chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion
7 cloves garlic
1 cup raw cashews (must soak overnight or in boiling water)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 lemon squeezed
1/3 cup dairy free milk
Salt n pepper
1. Soak cashews overnight or in boiling water till soft
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. Chop up squash, carrot and onion
4. Cut off the top of a garlic bulb
5. Add everything to a baking sheet and douse in olive oil, salt and pepper
6. Cover the garlic with foil or flip upside down
7. Roast everything for 40-45 minutes
8. Blend together roasted veggies, garlic, cashews, lemon, nutritional yeast and milk
9. Cook pasta al dente, pour over sauce + keep some leftover pasta water to immerse
10. Add lots of salt n pepper & VOILA!
Have a beautiful day & an even better week. Remember to spend time today for yourself, you deserve it <3 Xo - Ella
Instinct is so important when it comes to our health! Reccipe sounds great - I'll give it try!
Love the reminder to pause and care for myself. And the butternut squash mac n cheese recipe!