Healthy Families

6:54 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments




Transitioning your family to a healthier lifestyle can be frustrating and challenging, but it is possible and the benefits far outweigh the short-term headache.... You can create a family that appreciates good food and understands why it's so important, you just need to be diligent!


Here are a few tips:

1. Have a conversation with them about WHY transitioning to healthier eating is important to you. Keep the focus on your needs to eat healthy and ask for their partnership in your goals. Speak from your heart. Invite them to share with you what’s really important to them. Once they’ve shared what they’re passionate about, you can link eating healthy to more pleasure or performance though healthier food choices. For example, say your daughter is really into dancing. Explain that eating healthy will increase her energy and strength so she can perform at her best.


2. Get them involved in the meal planning process. You can let each person in your family choose a meal each night of the week and then experiment with small changes you can make to make those meals healthier.


3. Have them help with the cooking. That can come as early as planting a garden or simply making cooking a fun thing the family does together. The more you do this, the more positive associations they will have with the cooking process. As you cook together, you can take the time to teach them in a fun way why certain foods are good for you!


CLICK HERE for 30 healthy, "Jackie Approved" kid-friendly recipes!


Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.


www.OptimumWellnessMN.com





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Play With Your Food

10:01 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments






We had a blast last week in my children's class at Valley Natural Foods Co-op! I called it, "Fruitopia!" We made fish, turtles, octopus, peacocks, and hedgehogs out of fruit and a few other random ingredients! You can easily do this with your kids at home. This is all you need: 

Food Items: 

Kiwis
Grapes
Apples
Blueberries
Nut Butter 
Dark Chocolate Chips
Pears 
Olives 
Oranges
Carrots 
Cream Cheese 

Other Supplies: 

Toothpicks 
Knife 
Plates


Let them get messy and creative! The best part is eating what they make! 


Be sure to follow me on Facebook to be the first to hear about all my upcoming events and classes! 


Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.





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Chemical-Free Garment Care

7:38 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments




I had a bag of clothes sitting in the bottom of my closet since March I've been meaning to take to the dry cleaners. Last week I finally buckled down and dropped them off at Mulberry's! Mulberry's is a non-toxic, chemical-free company here in Minneapolis I have used a few times before.  Many people do not realize the dangers of conventional dry cleaning.  

The solvent that most dry cleaners rely on –the source of that sweet, heady smell that hits you the second you enter the cleaners - is a chemical known as perchloroethylene or PERC. It's the same solvent used in paint strippers and spot removers, and while it's great at lifting stains, it could be damaging your health! 

PERC lingers in recently dry-cleaned clothing and slowly escape into household air. Studies have shown that chronic exposure to small amounts of PERC can lead to headaches, difficulties with color vision, and impaired motor skills. People who work with this chemical have a greater risk of developing certain cancers, and women working at dry-cleaning facilities have higher rates of menstrual problems and spontaneous abortions. In animals, PERC has been linked to kidney and liver cancer. Pretty scary stuff! 

I encourage you to scope out a "greener" cleaner in the area where you live! Questions? Please ask! 



Sources: 

https://drycleancoalition.org/chemicals/chemicalsusedindrycleaningoperations.pdf

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/drycleaning/




Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.









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Burn Fat for 48 Hours

10:35 PM Jackie Mart 0 Comments





One of the best workouts you can do is interval training (HIIT). Here is a quick workout you can do at home in your basement, outside, hotel room or anywhere! No equipment is needed!  My boot camps consist of this type of workout. It increases your Human Growth Hormone (HGH), spikes your heart rate and metabolism, so you burn fat for 48 hours after! Surge of energy anywhere, anytime! 


Upcoming Boot camp Classes in the Park: (Please click on the link for more info and to RSVP)

Monday, July 24th: https://www.facebook.com/events/660737470778606

Monday, July 31st: https://www.facebook.com/events/1730310910600356




Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.














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Feeling Blessed

8:41 PM Jackie Mart 0 Comments





I received this drawing from an amazing woman I met a few years ago. She comes to most of my Self Love Sister's Meetup Group events and now I proudly call her my friend! She completed a project for me I have been dreading (imputing hundreds of contacts and email addresses into my Constant Contact Database) and hid this picture inside the folder. Needless to say once I found it I was instantly in tears! I never equated sheets of names and email address to all the lives I've changed! Proof that what we do for others and how we treat them DOES indeed make an impact! How we approach those around us is vital to leaving our footprint in the world --which reminds me of a quote I love from Maya Angelou:



Takeaway: I know I've said this before but I'm going to say it again. Do your part. Spread joy not hate. Treat others how you would want to be treated. Leave a POSITIVE legacy behind you when you go! #bethelight




Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.






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Additives in Pickles?

4:38 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments



My motto is: Count chemicals, not calories! If you see an ingredient on a food label that looks suspicious put it back on the shelf, it does not belong in your body!  

A few questionable ingredients in a simple jar of pickles.

Polysorbate 80:

Commercially also known as Tween® 80, it is a non-ionic detergent and emulsifier derived from polyoxylated sorbitol and oleic acid, which is often used in foods. Polysorbate 80 is often used in ice cream to prevent milk proteins from completely coating the fat droplets. This allows them to join together in chains and nets, to hold air in the mixture and provide a firmer texture, holding its shape as the ice cream melts. Polysorbate 80 is also used in commercial pickle products.

Yellow #5:

[Tartrazine] The most widely used color additives in foods (candy, desserts, cereals, soft drinks and dairy products), drugs and cosmetics. Tartrazine appears to cause the most allergic and intolerance reactions of all the azo dyes, particularly amongst those with an aspirin intolerance and asthmatics. Reactions can include anxiety, migraine, clinical depression, blurred vision, itching, rhinitis, urticaria, general weakness, palpitations, and sleep disturbance.

Blue #1:

This blue dye is a derivative of coal-tar and it is used in bottled soft drinks, ice cream, ices, dry drink powders, candy, baked products, cereals, and puddings. It is also found in face powders, other cosmetics and hair colorings. This dye has been a suspect of many allergic reactions.

Natural Flavors:

Each natural flavor may contain up to 100 ingredients, including synthetic chemicals such as the solvent propylene glycol, the preservative BHA, and GMO-derived ingredients (unless organic or Non-GMO Project verified).

The ingredients in natural flavors are considered proprietary and not disclosed either on the label or to a customer who inquires – so you have no clue what is in them.Natural flavors can be derived from anything in nature, including animal parts. The only difference between natural and artificial flavors, is that natural flavors are derived from things found in nature (such as beaver glands).

They can also legally contain naturally occurring “glutamate” by-products that act like MSG, which is an excitotoxin. Excitotoxins make food irresistible to eat but can cause stroke, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, obesity, migraines, fatigue, and depression.Flavors are designed to have addictive qualities and increase food cravings, contributing to what David Kessler (former head of the FDA) calls a “food carnival” in your mouth. They trick your mind into wanting more and more. The Big Food Companies are hijacking your taste buds one by one, and lining their corporate pockets at the same time as we buy more products with these addicting synthesized flavors in them. If you are having increased food cravings while guzzling down drinks full of natural flavors, you may want to take a closer look at what you are drinking.

YOU can be a detective! If you would like more help navigating the grocery store aisles please contact me to set up a grocery store tour at the local grocery store where you shop!

Sources:

www.foodbabe.com 
www.alcat.com

Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.

www.OptimumWellnessMN.com



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Social Media Detox

5:59 PM Jackie Mart 2 Comments



This past week I deleted my Facebook (FB), Instagram (IG), and Pinterest apps off my phone. It freed up a lot of time I wasted, I got more sleep, and I feel as though I got my sanity back! I accomplished many things I've been putting off, called and talked to my mom four times (instead of texting every day), and was able to keep calm instead of feeling anxious about posting and responding to comments and messages.  I also have a better sense of peace knowing not everyone needs to know where I am or what I am doing 24/7 and I don't have to know what anyone else is doing either!! 

I don't plan on adding my FB or IG apps back on my phone anytime soon but know a lot of you are missing my daily inspiration posts so will be posting again starting this week!   I urge you to take a week or two off social media and see how your relationships and sense of self grow! Let's get back to living in the actual world and not the online version! 




Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.






2 comments:

S'more Goodness

2:36 PM Jackie Mart 0 Comments


S'mores are a 4th of July staple for most families! Here are a few things to use/add to make them a tad bit healthier! 

Organic dark chocolate bars: http://us.greenandblacks.com/organic-85-dark-cacao-bar.html

Grain-free graham crackers: http://powerhungry.com/2015/01/easy-paleo-graham-crackers-gluten-free-grain-free-almond-flour/


Refined sugar and artificial coloring-free marshmallows: http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/healthy-marshmallows.html

Fruit: Bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples.

Nut butters: Almond, peanut, cashew, macadamia, etc.

Even more protein and fiber: Chopped nuts and seeds!



Copyright, 2017, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.








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