HealthyME Living

Smiling...

Smiling is the most beautiful thing any of us can where and as a woman it is the best curve on my body. It doesn’t stop there though smiling improves health that’s right here are some great health benefits of smiling. 1-Smiling lowers stress and anxiety by lowering the heart rate, 2- Smiling releases endorphins and when this happens we can feel happier and more positive, 3- makes you more approachable and most of us enjoy socializing except when extroverted this is healthy, 4- Smiles are contagious and we tend to mimic them which stimulates happy emotions, 5- Smiles boost productivity, 6- Smiling can kill pain through the release of endorphins this hormone is known as a natural painkillers, and 7- Smiling makes you look younger; more smiles less frowns. Remember smiling is part of being a HealthyME(You).

What is beauty…

Well beauty is defined as that which pleases the intellect, moral sense, or aesthetic senses, especially the sight. When we see, hear something or someone we have already decided in our minds if it is beautiful. It is that idea (Your Idea) of beauty that causes you to turn away, tune out and/or turn off. Why because based on our idea of beauty something or someone can be intoxicating or rather repulsive. With that said beauty has always been defined by society and in this day and age it’s defined by social media and its influencers. In short if we are being honest beauty is truly defined by the beholder. Everything and everyone is beautiful to someone. We as individuals define beauty not the masses, we do most importantly define what is beautiful to SELF. The way in which you see beauty has been based as well as shaped by a combination of how you were raised, who told you, you’re beautiful/handsome or perhaps didn’t. Beauty is an experience, a feeling, an idea and again I’ll say only you can define it. It is no different than when someone choses to purchase a piece of art each piece appeals to someone differently and in various ways. What one person sees as beautiful the person to your left or right may oppose this view. Define your own definition for beauty. For me beauty is simply a healthyme mind, body, and spirit. It's defined by my ability to move, act, speak, and eat like I love myself.

Benefits:

• Energy
• Respiratory system
• Recovery
• Detox
• Boost Metabolism
• Immune support
• Digestive support
• Thyroid support
• Libido
• Improves Hair/Skin/Nail health
• Eyes
• Strengthens Joints
• Muscles
• Arthritis
• Natural Botox
• Brain health
• High in minerals and vitamins (92 out of 102)
• Clears Mucus
• AND MORE...

DISCLAIMER:
I am not a Physician, I do not diagnose, prescribe, treat, cure any illnesses or disease. The information here is based on my personal research, experience and the experience of my clients used as healthy strategies. If you are under the care of a physician that should be your point of contact for consulting about your health care needs. 

If I’m honest my journey began long before I had a choice in the matter. I can remember my mother having in and out ventures where we’d be on this health kick then on whatever again. We were the kids who’d be eating sugar-free candy and our friend would be looking at us like we had cooties.

By the time I became a teen my mother was introducing us to holistic medicine here and there little did I realize at the time the impact it would have on my life. By the time I’d had my first child I began learning to survive on my own. I still called mom when baby became ill and she’d always encouraged I first try a holistic approach before resorting to modern medicine. Fast forward to my 4th child and kick it up a notch by now we’ve omitted pork our diet.

Once I got pregnant with my daughter and what would be my last child everything would evolve from that moment and time moving forward. It would be important to not just be mindful of what I was eating but listening to, learn and everything I’d do. I no longer permed my hair well at least not while I was pregnant as this was a constant battle of the kinks after giving birth. I was conscious enough that it was an important step in teaching my daughter to love her hair as well as her black features the most high had blessed her with.

Let’s fast forward again, lol! I began to explore cooking more from scratch so I’d know the ingredients in the foods I was feeding my family and I even began making skincare products to solve her dry, itchy and sensitive skin needs. Now I’m on a new journey I’ve almost eliminated meat from my diet and am now working on diary! Yay sometimes you must be your own cheerleader. Can I get a rah, rah, lol. Well I hope you will stick around; be it to encourage, be encouraged or for all the resources you’ll find here as the site grows. I want you to know I appreciate you for stopping by and I look forward to next time!

This recipe feeds 4 people and takes about 30 minutes.

Ingedients:

• 8 oz. grape tomatoes, sliced in half the long way
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 17.6 oz. Gnocchi
• 1/8 cup veggie stock
• 8 Tbsp. cream cheese
• 10 oz. baby spinach
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. "Anything Goes" 7-Blend Seasoning

Directions:

1. Bowl water in medium pot be sure to add salt to water.
2. Wash and cut all produce.
3. Melt butter in large pan over medium heat. Add breadcrumb; make sure to toss/stir them till golden.
4. stir in 1 tsp of garlic powder
5. Turn off heat and transfer to another dish to use later.
6. By now water should be boiling so add gnocchi to pot. Cook about 5 minutes or until tender.
7. Meanwhile melt remaining butter in same pan used for breadcrumbs. Add shallots cooking till slightly softened. Stir in remaining garlic powder and 1/2 cup of water, stock, and cream cheese. Bring to a simmer stirring till creamy and season to taste using "Anything Goes" .
8. Add spinach and tomatoes cooking till wilted about 5 minutes.
9. Add gnocchi coating with sauce.
10. Put in/on serving dish. Add parmesan and breadcrumbs.
11. Enjoy!!!

I absolutely love me a good biscuit and this year I've been working on converting my recipes to meet a plant-based lifestyle which brings us to this particular recipe. I didn't realize it would be so simple to convert and I'm over the moon I made the attempt cause they are absolutely delicious if I do say so myself. They were a hit with my breakfast guest as well which by the way 5 out of 9 were Vegan and those who were not weren't the wiser. Most importantly my daughter loved them and she is not only a picky eater but one of the harshest critics. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. Till next time "It's Been D'Lish Dishing with y'all!"

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self-rise flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 stick of plant-based butter(avocado or olive)
• 1/4 c. Milk (I used rice milk)
• 1/4 c. Buttermilk (plant based milk +a cap full of ACV)

Directions:

• Heat oven 375 degrees
• Add all ingredients to bowl in order making sure to moisten all parts
• Form together and flour
• Flour surface, roll out and cut
• Brush tops with melted butter (*optional)

Are you believing something about yourself yet your desire is the opposite of that belief. I know we have all had negative self talk at one point in time or another. However did you know that it is this negative self talk that is blocking your ability to reach your goals. In order to attain ones goals and dreams you must connect your beliefs with your desires. Ok here's a few examples:

Ex. 1- Mary wants to be a Make-up Artist yet she keeps saying, "Everyone loves my make-up but no one's gonna pay me to do theirs."

Ex. 2- John wants to create art that can go on canvas and t-shirts to start his own business, yet he keeps telling himself his art isn't good enough.

Ex.3- Shanta has always had a glowing smile however she began to tell herself after someone mentioning her crooked teeth that she really doesn't like her smile.

What do you think happened to each of these people? Well let me tell you. Mary kept getting compliments on her makeup and even began to do others make-up for them because people actually believed she had skills. However she didn't get paid for her services because she had already set up in her mind that it was not possible when she already had the proof.

John didn't start his business because he believed he needed to perfect his skills before starting and always had an excuse for not making the time. He didn't realize their are all types of art forms. It didn't dawn on him that Art and it's beauty is different for every buyer or collector. He could have started and perfected his skills along the way.

Shanta eventually stopped smiling because she had already set up in her mind that her smile was ugly to others because her teeth weren't perfect. He made her less happy when she should not have allowed an imperfection to still away her joyful moments.

If this is you no matter the situation be it trying to loose weight, starting a business or any other goal; your beliefs are keeping you from achieving your desires. Your beliefs are just that which you believe about yourself. You must create the life you want to live by speaking it into existence. This is called positive self talk or speaking lovingly to yourself. You must believe you are capable of it before it is even possible. So lets talk about 3 ways to connect your beliefs and desires.

1. Mind Changing- If your belief and your desire don't match up you must change your mindset. A belief is defined as: an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists. While desire is defined as: a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. A negative and positive thought cannot occupy the same space. You must decide which one you will feed.
2. Affirmations - Affirmations whether spoken or visual can be extremely powerful. The saying "You are what you eat" applies also to what you feed the mind. Create an affirmation board or a affirmation mantra to say each day.
3. Align your actions- Begin to do things that put you on the path to accomplishing your goals. A Dream without action will never come to pass.

When you begin to change the way you think it will change how you see yourself, family, business, etc. Affirmations come in many form for some we have notebooks or pads with motivational sayings, affirmation boards posted in our homes and offices, and for me personally it's the artwork throughout my house such as pictures and statues.

These affirmations are a constant reminder of what you are trying to keep or are striving to attain. Reading is another way to change or keep the appropriate mindset to the path you want to be on. What we read and watch are a direct affect on our emotions and begin to shape our thoughts which create beliefs and encourage or discourage desires. I hope this helps you in aligning your actions and to getting on the path to accomplishing your goals.

I started Artisan Body Treats out of necessity; I needed to create a solution to my daughter’s dry-itchy skin. There is nothing like a mother on a mission to ease the suffering of her child. I was tired of watching as she sat on the floor scratching at her legs as if it were a job she was getting paid to do. Doctors were telling me she has eczema she needs this and that cream, you’ll need to bathe her in this soap and apply this steroid cream on her. Well needless to say none of these things worked and I’m simply not a fan of steroids let alone any other drugs for that matter. So it became necessary to find a solution that would work.

I was on a mission as my days and nights were filled with researching just the right ingredients. Those days and nights turned into weeks and needless to say through much research, trial an error I came up with a recipe that worked great for her sensitive skin. But it didn’t stop there while the itching had calm down it was still an issue. I noticed it always started after bath time so again I was determined to solve this too.

As a result of my dedication to being her problem solver and having the determination like a dog with a bone my goal to come up with a solution to her problem turned into a business. The products created for her were the “Baby Love” Triple Butter & “Mother’s Love” Unscented Soap; she’s since graduated to the “Mother’s Love” Lavender Soap. By creating the products myself I was able to ensure the products were created with integrity and truly 100% all natural but decided to take it a step further by making them vegan. All of the products created are made in small batches with love and care; tested on my family and testers, never on animals.

The Prime truck just delivered Babygirl's books. If you've ever homeschooled you know that the curriculum must be adapted to the individual child and if you plan to homeschool you will discover it during your journey.  So when we first started we chose to use technology as I thought this would be the best option after all it seem the simplest and I thought hey it will free up my time as it would do most of the work. Ha the joke was on me, fat chance I was getting out of anything and rightly so. I realized I really needed to take a more hands on approach at least until middle school and a routine had been established.

My lovely child who is apparently too smart for her own good had figured out how to trick and bypass the system and because of this she was not learning the work. As a parent it is ultimately our responsibility to ensure their learning whatever that looks like; we must do the work as well as them. I knew I didn't want to be the parent that said I wish I had invested more time or it's my fault she is behind in her learning so I jumped in the driving seat. We've tried a variety of tools such as online learning, Raz-kids, Moby Max, Time 4 Learning, ABC Mouse, Khan Academy, Kids A-Z, and Vocabulary Spelling City. Technology is truly not her friend; I realized just alone with the math on the computer she kept getting it wrong however when I'd write problems on the dry erase board and allow her to work them out they were always correct, wow huh.

So long story short we are going old school, yes doing things the old fashioned way in all its simplicity can solve so many problems. It always me to know exactly what she is doing and when, yes I have to correct it but hey this is all a part of homeschooling; it really isn't for the faint of heart. I mean that in the nicest way. This homeschooling thing is an extra job. No matter the tools you choose be sure it fits your child's learning style, it cover the required areas of content (math, language arts, etc...) and you are checking his or her progress along the way. I hope this was helpful and here's what we choose for our homeschool lessons:

Math

Math Lessons for a Living Education

Science

Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day

Language Arts

180 Days of Language 180 Days of Reading 180 Days of High Frequency Words 180 Days of Writing

Social Studies

180 Days of Geography Urban Intellectuals Black History Flashcards Vol.1