BLTN Favorites
July Favorites
RECIPE: OKRA PICKLES
Experience something a little different with the crisp, tangy delight of okra pickles; perfect for a healthy and flavorful snack or condiment.
SELF CARE: FOOD & BEVERAGE JOURNAL
Download this free Food & Drink Journal to keep track of what you eat and drink to promote optimal health. Includes sections for meal planning, shopping lists, and food logs, with helpful tips and suggestions.
June Favorites
LENTILS AND ROASTED VEGETABLES
This combination of lentils and roasted vegetables can be enjoyed warm, or refrigerated and enjoyed cold as a tangy and delicious summer side or main dish. It is a healthy, satisfying, and nutritious dish.
SELF CARE: KEEP A GRATITUDE JOURNAL
A gratitude practice can take many forms, but at its core it’s about putting time aside each day to notice and reflect upon the things you are thankful for. This practice can have many benefits, including an improvement in mood, a feeling of connection, better relationships, less stress, better sleep, greater health, and a stronger immune system! Dr. Russell Jaffe (DrJ) writes about gratitude, and offers a link to a free downloadable gratitude journal on his website.
May Favorites
RECIPE: SALMON AND VEGETABLES EN PAPILLOTE
“En papillote” means “enveloped in paper” in French. This delicious recipe bakes tender salmon fillets and delicately seasoned vegetables together in parchment paper packets to seal in moisture and flavor as they steam to perfection. This surefire crowd-pleaser provides maximal flavor with minimal prep.
Click here to see the recipe.
SELF CARE: 12 YOGA POSES FOR BONE STRENGTH AND HEALTH
This video showcases 12 yoga poses that are great for those who suffer from osteoporosis, or those simply looking to build bone density and strength.
April Favorites
RECIPE: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese with Lentils
“Bolognese” is named after the town of Bologna, Italy where a meat-based Italian sauce originated. This vegan version uses lentils as the protein and is served atop a guilt-free plate of spaghetti squash. Experience the delicious flavors of Italy without leaving home!
Click here to see the recipe.
SELF CARE: Grow a Kitchen Herb Garden
Create an indoor herb garden to have fresh herbs at your fingertips while filling your home with fragrance and greenery. This article provides tips on which herbs to grow, as well as how to best care for them.
March Favorites
Relaxing Tart Cherry, Chamomile, & Lavender Tea
This relaxing combination of three flavorful and sleep-promoting ingredients will help you drift easily into slumber.
Click here to see the recipe.
5 Tips to Spring Back Into Fitness
With Spring approaching, you may be tempted to get back into exercising, whether walking, jogging, playing golf, doing yoga, or something else. You'll want to ease slowly back into exercise to avoid overdoing it. Check out these tips on how to prevent strain and injury while getting back in shape!
February Favorites
Salmon with Spinach and Goat Cheese
This nutritious, heart-healthy recipe is easy and quick to pull together. Enjoy a restaurant-quality meal in the comfort of your home!
Click here to see the recipe.
5 Easy Ways to Practice Self-Care During the Month of Love
“Self-care doesn't have to be big life-changing things that require a lot of time, effort or money. Instead, prioritize simple tasks that help you find inspiration, recharge energy, relieve stress and nurture your mind, body and soul.”
January Favorites
EASY, HOMEMADE VEGETABLE BROTH RECIPE
Using a blend of fresh, natural ingredients, this delicious, flavorful broth can be enjoyed on its own or used as the foundation for crafting soups, stews, and recipes that call for broth.
Click here to see the recipe.
SELF CARE: 7 Tiny Ways to Take Care of Yourself in 2024
This informative YouTube video by Ashlynne Eaton talks about 7 things you can do to better take care of yourself in 2024 to live a more intentional life.
December Favorites
GARLIC-INFUSED OIL-FREE GREEN BEAN ALMONDINE RECIPE
These garlicky green beans harmonize perfectly with the nutty crunch of toasted almonds. A classic favorite reinvented, this simple side dish provides a balance of flavors and textures that will elevate any meal.
Click here to see the recipe.
14 DIY Holiday DECOR CRAFTS
Engaging in do-it-yourself (DIY) crafts can be a wonderful avenue for practicing mindfulness. The process of creating something with your own hands encourages a focused and present state of mind so you can focus on the task at hand.
This video compiles 14 crafts you can do to create your own holiday décor. Watch them all, or forward to the one(s) that intrigue you!
October/November Favorites
FIVE HEALTHY SCIENCE-Y REASONS TO GO APPLE PICKING
In this article, learn five reasons why apple picking is not only fun for the entire family, but promotes general wellness and supports mood and brain health!
In this video, learn how to pick apples the right way.
August Favorites
Bite-Sized Mindfulness: An Easy Way for Kids to be Happy and Healthy
In this video, Kira Willey demonstrates simple mindfulness techniques for children that alleviate stress, enhance school performance, and assist in managing behavior and emotions. These fast, child-friendly exercises are versatile and suitable for anyone, making them an excellent introduction to mindfulness for kids.
Click here to watch the video.
Fruit-filled, dairy free frozen bark
Stay cool this summer with an easy and nutritious snack that’s perfect for kids and incredibly easy to make. Combine dairy-free yogurt with strawberries, blueberries, almonds, and sunflower seeds for a refreshing treat that’s bursting with flavor and crunch.
Click here to see the recipe.
July Favorites
6 Steps to make meal planning easy
In this video, Meghan Livingstone gives her top tips for meal planning and how to get started as a beginner.
Click here to watch the video.
Gluten-free, sugar-free kimchi
This modification of a kimchi recipe from Megan at Allergy-Free Alaska is a perfect blend of flavors and provides a sugar-free version of kimchi where you won’t miss the sugar at all. Ingredients can be found online or at your local Asian market.
Click here to see the recipe.
June Favorites
10-Minute Guided Meditation: Self-Love
Join Manoj Dias, meditation teacher, for a 10-minute guided meditation prioritizing self-love. Perfect for Men’s Health Month, this guided meditation can help to nurture men’s mental health and cultivate a profound sense of inner peace.
Click here to watch the video.
Men's Vitality Salmon Bowl
This delicious gluten-free salmon bowl is packed with healthy nutrients including, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein that provide antioxidants and promote wellness and overall vitality.
Click here to see the recipe.
May Favorites
HELPFUL HACKS FOR SPRING CLEANING
Springtime is here, and with it comes the perfect opportunity to refresh and declutter your living space. Spring cleaning allows you to physically and mentally let go of the old and make room for the new. Follow these simple tips to kickstart your spring cleaning process and enjoy your newly refreshed space!
Click here to watch the video.
ROASTED GARLIC RECIPE
Did you know that garlic has 50% more calcium than milk? Garlic has been known to improve bone health in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Try this delicious roasted garlic recipe.
Click here to see the recipe.
April Favorites
NATURAL DYES FOR COLORING EGGS
This fun video from HGTV tests a variety of natural food products to see whether they can color eggs.
Click here to watch now.
FUN FRUIT FUSIONS Recipe
Check out these fun ingredient combinations to flavor your water!
Click here to see the recipe.
March Favorites
Relaxation Response
In this video, Dr. Herbert Benson teaches you the basics of invoking the relaxation response, which is the opposite of the stress response.
He discovered the relaxation response’s power to reduce stress in the 1960s, and shares with you today.
Click here to watch now.
February Favorites
"Thriving in the 21st Century" audiobook
“Thriving in the 21st Century” is a guide to reconnecting and rediscovering your healing capacities by embracing a nature, nurture and wholeness approach to life.
Click here to listen free with Audible trial. Or purchase from Amazon.
1-Mile Heart-Healthy Walk at home
We love this heart-healthy one-mile walk you can do indoors if the weather is not cooperating for a walk outdoors.
Click here to watch the video.
Heart-Healthy Fruit & Nut Clusters Recipe
This sugar-free bark combines antioxidant-rich unsweetened chocolate with a variety of heart-healthy fruits and nuts to create a bittersweet treat for Valentine’s Day or any day.
Click here to see the recipe.
January Favorites
ONE WORD
Rather than making resolutions, Jon Gordon and co-authors recommend selecting ONE WORD to focus on in 2023. Selecting the right word and truly reflecting on it for the year will stretch you in all six dimensions of your life: spiritually, physically, mentally, relationally, emotionally, and financially. Use their free Poster Tool to choose a beautiful background that you can add your word to, download and print for free! One word could change your life.
Click here to make your free poster.
DECLUTTER
Start fresh in the new year by decluttering your environment. Read the Ingredient Guru’s top 12 decluttering ideas for the new year.
Click here to read more.
December Favorites
Learn to Paint Christmas trees using Watercolor
Have you always wanted to learn how to paint with watercolor? This easy tutorial will go over how to paint three different types of holiday trees; perfect for creating your own seasonal greeting cards.
Click here to watch the video.
November Favorites
Gratitude and Intention Journal
November is National Gratitude month.
Practicing gratitude can help us learn to appreciate and focus on the good things in our lives, leading to a positive mindset and a deeper connection to ourselves and the world around us.
We've put together a few printable pages with daily and monthly prompts so you can start your gratitude practice today.
Click here for the journal pages.
ARM-KNIT A CHUNKY BLANKET WITH “DO IT ON A DIME.”
Arm-knitting is a fun and easy way to make a cozy, chunky blanket, and once you make one for yourself, you’ll want to make more for holiday gift-giving. This beginner video breaks it all down with easy to follow steps, so you’ll be an arm-knitting pro in no time!
Click here to watch the video.
October Favorites
Positive Self-Talk
If we’re being honest, we are usually harder on ourselves than we should be. Most times it can be difficult to remember the importance of talking kindly to ourselves. Too much negative self-talk increases stress. But simply changing the messages that we give ourselves can help calm down and manage stress.
Click here to read more.
3 Minute Mindful Breathing Meditation
Click here to watch the video.
September Favorites
Alkalinizing and Energizing Slaw Recipe
Looking for an organic, biodynamic staple for your next gathering?
Try this alkalinizing and energizing slaw!
Click here to see the recipe.
30-Day Journaling Challenge
Journaling each morning can ease the mind and help set your intentions for the day.
Start your journaling journey here.
Tai Chi with Helen Liang
A gentle way to build your bones and relieve stress is through Tai Chi, an internal Chinese martial art. Tai Chi is practiced for its health benefits and meditative nature.
Try incorporating Tai Chi into your daily routine with this 15-minute beginner Tai Chi course with Helen Liang on YouTube.
Click here to watch the video.
August Favorites
Oil-Free Pesto Recipe
Are you looking for a way to enhance your weekly meals? Try this oil-free pesto recipe with your vegetables, greens, and beans!
As always, we recommend all ingredients are organic and biodynamic.
Click here to see the recipe.
Heartbeat: A mindfulness exercise to calm your emotions
Sometimes feelings of fear, excitement, or anxiety can cause your heart to race. If these feelings become overwhelming, this quick mindfulness exercise can help to calm your emotions and connect your emotions to your heartbeat.
Click here to learn more.
Ease anxiety through art
Gorgeous mandala coloring pages to print at home for free! Take a look at this huge range of designs, from beautiful flower mandala patterns to animal mandalas, holiday-themed designs, intricate geometric mandalas, and many more! We invite you to create something beautiful and restore your inner calm with one of these free printable mandalas from Homemade Gifts Made Easy.
Click here to learn more.
July Favorites
Improve Your Sleep With A Salt And Soda Bath
Some nights, falling asleep or staying asleep can be a challenge. You may be cramming for exams, worrying yourself awake, or taking care of a young one. The next day, you are left feeling groggy and tired. Too many of these sleepless nights can harm your health.
Click here to learn more.
Yoga For Gut Health
18-minute yoga practice you can do anytime and anywhere to help aide in digestion and reset your system! Whether you have been on the road, in a rut, or enjoying eating rich foods, this session will help you keep your lymphatic system and digestive health on track! Use asana and breath work to massage the internal organs & tap into the gut as a center of your knowingness and intuition.
Click here to watch the video.
Happy Digestion Smoothie Recipe
One of the ways we can give our digestive system a rest is through liquid-only days one day (or half day) a week. On these liquid-only days, it is recommended to consume an 8-ounce glass of liquid each hour. Herbal teas, infused waters, vegetable broths, “green” juices, and fruit smoothies are a few great ways to keep yourself feeling full and replenished.
Click here to learn more.
June Favorites
How Gardening Affects Mental Health
Gardening has been around for as long as humans have been growing food. Through the centuries, gardens have served not only as places to grow plants but as spaces for people to relax, to focus, and to connect with nature and each other. Today, gardening can provide many mental health benefits for your daily life.
Click here to learn more.
Reduce Inflammation with Guided Breathwork & Mobility
Feel a build of inflammation and tension in the neck, back, hips and legs? Learn how to reduce this inflammation with guided breath work and my favorite mobility exercises to reduce nerve restriction.
Click here to learn more.
May Favorites
Eucalyptus Shower
Eucalyptus leaves contain oil, which is often distilled and sold as an essential oil for aromatherapy. Eucalyptus can be found in many products, including decongestants, cough suppressants, mouthwash, cosmetics, and muscle rubs.
Some of the compounds in eucalyptus oil provide potential health benefits that include promoting relaxation and clearing nasal congestion.
Click here to learn more.
April Favorites
Seven Stress-Busting Sustenance Selections
Twenty-first century living can be stressful. On top of the normal routine stresses from years past including jobs, household chores, and demands of family members, children and pets, we are now connected through technology to a constant barrage of headlines, clickbait, reels, stories, tiktoks and more that are designed to keep us engaged and to produce an emotional response.
Click here to learn more.
30 minute Slow Stretch Yoga for Stress & Anxiety | Sarah Beth Yoga
Use this 30 minute slow stretch yoga practice with relaxing, deep stretching yoga poses to calm down & relieve tension, while melting stress and anxiety.
Click here to watch the video.
March Favorites
Yoga For a Relaxing Night's Sleep
This short, but effective sequence is best to do before bed, with 1-2 pillows handy. Follow along to ensure a relaxing, good night's sleep. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on free weekly yoga classes.
Click here to watch the video.
Febuary Favorites
4 Benefits of Dark Chocolate
It’s February: the month of Valentine’s Day and Heart Health. Who doesn’t love a good chocolate gift? The gift of dark chocolate will show how much you really care about your Valentine’s heart.
Let’s talk about chocolate. Once upon a time, chocolate was considered “the food of the gods”. For most of its 4,000-year history, it was used as a bitter drink, not the sweet treat that we’re all familiar with now.
Click here to read more.
Heart Chakra Yoga For Beginners
Heart Chakra Yoga For Beginners is a 24 min practice suitable for all levels! Open your mind and heart space, connect to the subtle energy of the body and tap into your spirit. This at home yoga session is great for the upper back and shoulders supporting posture, relieving neck pain.
Click here to watch the video.
