Showing posts from April, 2020

Happy Earth Month! A Guide Eco-Conscious Choices This Month & Always 💜

Hi hi! I wanted to put together a little guide today for helping you make eco-conscious choices in your life. It’s Earth Month, so it’s a great time to celebrate mama earth and make better choices, but honestly it’s always a good month to take care of the earth. If there is anything I have learned on my healing and spiritual journey, it’s that the Earth is us, and we are her. Her suffering is our suffering. And her thriving is our thriving! If you’re anything like me a few years ago, I very much wanted to make better choices...

Chunky Brownie Batter Banana Bread Muffins | Vegan, Gluten-Free, SOS-Free!

Hi guys! How is everyone’s week going so far? I know it just started, but… all the days are blending together big time right now so let’s just say we’ve probably all had one big ongoing “week” for over a month at this point.

As for me, J, and Hud, we are doing really well over here. I am one of those people who is really enjoying a lot of aspects of this quarantine, mostly because I finally have the time and space to pour absolutely all of my energy into my healing. My body has been asking, begging, pleading for this for a long time and most days I wake up with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and happiness to be able to just be.

I have also been receiving tons of creative ideas during this time and have been inspired to try new things, create in the kitchen, make fun YouTube videos, create this free healing guide, have a blast on TIK TOK, and record all of the TBB podcast solo episodes. Key word: SOLO episodes… because something in my heart keeps telling me to keep my energy really, really close to home right now and allow this space for my body to simply breathe and be. Comment below and let me know what solo ep topics you’d like to see me cover during this time… I am recording a bunch this week to get ahead!

Also, just because I am having such an enjoyable time being home doesn’t mean the reality and severity of what’s going on in the world is lost on me. We had a really tragic event happen in our building over the weekend that shook me to my core. I will leave it at that for now out of respect for our neighbor and his family. It was COVID related we assume, and I have not been able to get it off of my mind since it happened.

It was a big reminder to m that people are struggling right now in many ways, and it gives me even more motivation and inspiration to be a light during dark times. It’s the least I can do after living through the dark night or my own soul for the last several years. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: living with Lyme is VERY SIMILAR to living in quarantine. I have a whole podcast episode about that here, if you are interested in hearing more.

Anyway, in the spirit of keeping it LIGHT… I shared this brownie batter banana bread recipe on Instagram last week and HOLYYYY mother!! I have never seen you guys remake a recipe so quickly and abundantly in all of my years of blogging! It is so fun to see. Keep the remakes and the pics and vids coming, it is so fun to connect in community during this time.

You guys, they’re innsaaaannee!!

I also want to make it a point to include all of my recipes I share on IG on the blog so they will be forever searchable here! Gotta have that HUB, you know.

And by the way if you are loving these recipes, I want to remind you that I made the code TBBLOVE for 11% off of my vegan recipe ebook & detox program & everything in TBB digital store right now to be sure you can get in on the magic during this downtime.

OKAY, RECIPE! BTW WE ALSO MADE THESE IN MUFFIN FORM WHICH YOU CAN FIND HERE!

And and, you can find a quick 15 second video on how to make these on my TIK TOK, which is fun.

AS ALWAYS, they are vegan, SOS-free, gluten-free, whole food plant based, and heavenly!!

CHUNKY BROWNIE BATTER BANANA BREAD LOAF //

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled gluten free oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 large mashed bananas
1/2 cup almond butter (or sub any nut or seed butter you have!)
3 tbsp cacao powder
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax, 6 tablespoons water)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp almond milk
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or crushed up sugar free vegan chocolate)

Method:
• Pre heat oven to 350 degrees, and mix your flax seed with water to make the flax egg.
• Set aside and add all ingredients into the blender minus the chocolate chips.
• Add flax egg when it’s ready (about 5 mins), blend, and then pour into bowl to add chocolate chips.
• Pour into parchment paper lined loaf pan, bake for about 45-50 mins or until golden brown on top, let cool, and ENJOY!!

Ok, who is going to make these?! And what should I make next?! Also let me know how you are doing below. Here for you guys always, and always sending my love. Now and always.

4 Ways to Get Creative with At Home Workouts | No gym? No fitness studios? No problem. Make home workouts fun and efficient with these 4 easy tips. Creative ways to get your sweat on at home.

No gym? No fitness studios? No problem. Make home workouts fun and efficient with these 4 easy tips. Creative ways to get your sweat on at home. Thanks to adidas for sponsoring this post. Going without access to the gym or fitness studios can be tough for people that love exercising or crave movement in […]

💧 My Latest Water & Juice Fasting Experience: 2 Weeks of Deep, Deep Healing 💧

Hellllo, you guys! How is everyone doing? What wild times we are in… and that is an understatement… I am thinking of you all so much as this unprecedented experience we are all living through continues to unfold.

I for one have been using this time for deep, deep healing. In my own very intimately personal way, I feel that the universe has conspired with my soul and nudged me into a space of impossibly deep, unrelenting, REAL & TRUE healing during this time that calls for the utmost diligence, space, and stillness.

I.e. the type of healing that doesn’t happen in normal times. It’s just too hard, too hard to walk away from normal life, work, relationships, family, business, projects, my home, and more under normal circumstances. But these times? These strange times are the wild west. There is no normalcy to speak of. And while I know for many of us that means times are freaking challenging and scary and unpredictable, for me it means – it’s time to go inward and heal.

If that sounds confusing to you, I get it, but you’ve gotta take into account – I have been living this way for a long time. I have been bedridden and homebound for almost 3 years now, trying to figure out my health crisis and get my life back. I have definitely taken break after break after break to try to heal, but never have I had the space to FULLY surrender and FULLY let the healing flow in.

Until now, that is.

I have shared a bit on my podcast about how I feel like living with Lyme disease has prepped me for this COVID quarantine in a myriad of ways. You can listen to that episode here, as well as several of my other recent episodes that dive deep into what’s going on right now, as well as conversations with my favorite spiritual teachers about the topic, and guided + channeled meditations for this time. Also today I am releasing in tandem with this post a SOLO episode on my WATER FAST, so if you’re more of a podcast listener or want to hear more after finishing reading this blog post… check that out here!!

And before I stray way off topic and stay there (you guys know how I do), I want to get into the topic of today’s post… MY RECENT WATER FAST.

If you are new here and have no idea what a water fast is, I’ve gotchu. Head here to read about my previous experiences fasting. Let’s just say this ain’t my first rodeo when it comes to fasting for healing.

*And my briefest of brief disclaimer, because I know y’all are very smart and will continue to make informed and safe decisions for yourself & your health no matter what, but water fasting is not meant to be done at home and is not for the faint of heart. Water fasting is best and most safely done in a medically guided facility with trained fasting professionals – and is for people with severe chronic illness.

Water fasting is NOT a practice for weight loss (for most of us at least) and is not to be done flippantly or without great research and knowledge. It’s for sick people who are in need of deep healing, who are ready to commit to a new life, and who are ready to go through somewhat of a rebirthing process. And… it’s the most freakin’ amazing and healing thing ever if you’re ready to DIVE THE F IN, and if you’re doing it for the right reasons!*

OKAY now that we got that out of the way, and trust me those are important points to note, I want to tell you about my water fasting for healing experience this time around. For more details on the science and benefits of fasting, please refer back to my previous posts on the topic!

Time to take you along for the ride of my third long water fast, and by far my most healing !! //

This was my third long water fast, and I have officially lost count of the shorter ones that I do at home. I have been doing them for 2.5 years now. This was my longest fast yet, as it was 14 total days on water and juice, with a couple of days at the facility to re-feed afterward, and then another week at least of re-feeding at home. The re-feeding process has to be taken very slowly and cautiously after a fast, first introducing raw fruits and veggies, then steamed veggies, then steamed starches, then eventually grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

And why was I doing this particular fast? For Lyme disease and co-infections, and specifically for relief of my hardcore symptoms of severe joint pain, brain fog, migraines/jaw pain/body tension, extreme chronic fatigue, insomnia, skin issues, and more. Basically everything that comes along with the pain of #LymeLife. The first time I did a long water fast (11 days, two years ago at True North) my chronic hives and eczema completely disappeared, and while I still get patches of rashes… they have never come back in full, especially in the way they once plagued me so, so deeply that I could not even sleep, move, work, live my life, etc.!!

Quite simply, Lyme, mold, and co-infections cannot thrive in an environment where there is nothing for it to feed off of. So the cells die off, new cells regenerate, and magical, deep healing is able to occur. Also, in that process, a major detox goes down!!

So after that first long fast, I knew fasting was a healing practice that really worked for me. I always know intuitively when it’s time for me to go back and do a longer one, and I have known for a while that my soul was feeling the deep call to do another. Ever since before our wedding actually, but I didn’t want to get too fatigued around that time (the detox that happens with a fast is no freaking joke, that’s why I reiterate that fasting is certainly not for the faint of heart!!), and then the beginning of this year was busy, and then I really thought these next few months would be quite busy and packed too.

But then… COVID happened, and plans were getting cancelled left and right. Since I have a deep spiritual practice and routinely get into deep conversation with my soul, I immediately knew this time was happening for me… there were lessons that needed to be learned, healing to be had. And the timing was perfect actually, as I had been hitting a wall with my healing and was basically… for lack of a better description… hysterically crying every single day and desperately needing help. Needing a new phase of my healing. Needing a serious lifestyle overturn and change.

Days One, Two & Three //

In fact, I had signed up for this fast even before the spread of COVID and the quarantine, but it was originally only going to be 7 days because that’s all I could carve out. Once more time opened up, I headed to the facility indefinitely. (And for inquiring minds… this was a private facility I went to, where I was in contact with no one but the doctor who runs it, so I was actually safer there in total isolation than I would have been at home, going on walks in my neighborhood and going to the store & such).

So there I was, finding myself getting dropped off at this water fasting facility 3.5 weeks ago now, saying goodbye to my husband indefinitely and feeling the anxiety creeping in. “What am I doing? Why do I put myself through shit like this? Is this really… necessary? Am I really doing this? Should I really be separated from my family right now? Is it selfish of me to be away? I am already starving and I wish I could have some cold brew and a f*cking avocado toast.”

On and on and on. Those were the thoughts running through my head, on repeat, for those first few days. And you guys, the detox in the beginning was BRUTAL!!!!! Brutal, let me tell you. And it came on hard and fast. By the first afternoon (and I decided to start fasting at home that morning so I could head to the facility and already have “day one” under my belt by that first night there) I already had a pounding migraine, exhaustion, and brain fog so intense I felt like I was going to pass out.

And that was way fast! In my previous fasts, it was definitely late into day two or early into day three that I would feel so intensely detox-y. On Day One I stared at my little bottle of emergency Advil thinking… “I. Need. Youuuuuuuuuu.” but also knowing in my heart that I was there to detox, and taking the Advil would be the antithesis of what I was for there and would give my liver even more to detox. (I am not telling you not to take Advil if you have a migraine, BTW, just do you and do what you believe in. But during a fast it’s not advised to take anything unless 100% necessary!)

So after that, I slept a lot and night one was not too bad. Day two though, hollllyyyyyyyy sheeeittt you guys. It was a doozy. Day two felt like it lasted a year. The pounding migraine was back, intense sweating (the purge was happening!!), body aches, brain fog, intense discomfort in my body, shooting pain in my legs, an overall feeling of just weepiness and sadness to be away from my boys for an indefinite amount of time, and to be honest that day I had a lot of, “Why me?” moments, which you know is NOT my usual mentality.

I really try not feel like a victim in this healing role ever, but in those very difficult moments I sometimes feel like “WHY ME!!!! WHY DOES EVERYONE ELSE JUST GET TO BE HEALTHY, AND EAT, AND DRINK, AND WORK OUT, AND LIVE, AND DO WHATEVER, AND FEEL GOOD, and I cannot even function unless I do these painfully long ass fasts at least twice a year to kill the inflammation!!! And even then I can barely function!”

It was that kind of day. And then it was that kind of NIGHT, as I headed into a night that truly tested my will, my dedication to healing, my faith in the universe, and honestly tested my commitment to life. I really felt like I was dying. I went through every stage you could imagine that night as I hit the depths of the BIGGEST, deepest detox I have ever felt. The migraines turned into searing, blaring, full body seizing pain from head to toe, the sweat was pouring from my body like I have never seen, I was so woozy I couldn’t even see straight, light headed, dizzy, blacking out, nausea that turned into vomiting, the list goes on.

I will spare you the details beyond that, but I just wanted to explain what it is like to be in an INTENSE detox. I will never know what it’s like to detox from hardcore drugs, but I imagine it might feel like something similar. It gives me immense compassion for anyone in that position and oh my lord, if you can get through that I firmly believe you can get through ANYTHING.

That night, as you can imagine, I did not sleep. I was awake for a full 48 or so hours during that time. The night was brutal — and in the middle of the night I hit a point where I fell to my hands and knees and prayed to God. For the first time in this entire Lyme journey, I begged God to take the pain away. This whole time I have been strong, I have known there is a deeper purpose in all of this, I have been dedicated to riding out the pain, trying all the treatments, being patient through the process, knowing that healing is coming, being grateful for it all… but MY GOD in the middle of the night I HIT MY WALL!!!! It was a wall that my body burst through and I was never going back, and I begged and sobbed and pleaded with God, the Universe, my soul, the all knowing power above, to take. this. pain. away. from. me. forever.

I sobbed and sobbed. I hysterically told God I cannot do it anymore. I said, “Make no mistake, I want to live, I want to live this life I do, but I cannot live it this way any more. It is not natural to live with this much pain for this long, for my body to be in such trauma, to be trapped in this way that I am. I cannot cannot cannot CANNOT do it any more and I will do whatever you need me to do, I will do anything, absolutely anything, to heal. It’s time, I cannot go on like this, please tell me what you need from me and I will be your humble servant.”

You can imagine, I went on. This was an all night long conversation. And you guys, God answered me. I felt a deep wave of healing come over me the moment I fully surrendered. I still felt the pain, it was still majorly there, but there was also a wave of calm. God spoke back to me — it was clear what I needed to do in order to get out of this deep inconsolable place. I was basically given a plan, and it was not all that different from what I had known in my heart I needed to do all along, but it was so clear, so REAL, so tangible, I felt so much better and so much more at peace after having received that information.

I was going to share what the info that came through was, but to be honest with you my computer crashed as well as the server to my blog right after I typed that portion of the post!!! Maybe it’s a nudge from above that I should keep that info to myself for now? Regardless, I share some of it in the podcast episode released today all about the water fast. The main gist of it is stuff I needed to LET GO OF, like majorly let go of and leave in the past. And God was very clear about me spending way less time on technology, leaving a lot more time open to channel, meditate, and be in tune with all things related to my spirituality.

And so much more, but I will save it for the podcast ep and you guys can listen there if you want to know more about what God shared with me that night, that clearly the universe wants me to keep to myself for now.

I spent the next day journaling the day away. I still had not slept, and that morning I decided to go on JUICE because naturally, I needed to slow down the detox. That was the most CLEAR thing in the entire world. When you are water fasting, you can slow down the detox in a variety of ways. For me, slowing it down with juice for a few days made a ton of sense. I had done that in my previous fasts as well, but usually made it a few more days into it before the detox got as intense as it had.

The doctor checked my vitals that morning as he did daily during the fast, and my heart rate was a little high indicating a deep detox but nothing worrisome. The juice helped a ton.

It took the juice about a full day to really start taking the major detox symptoms away, but when it finally kicked in I was SO GRATEFUL !! IT TASTED LIKE NECTAR FROM THE GODS !!

Days Four, Five, Six & Seven //

From here, everything kind of turns into a blur. The juice on day four continued to help me a ton. It was mostly a mix of watermelon & celery, carrot & cucumber, celery & apple, and celery/apple/cucumber combos. Sometimes with beet too. And holy moly did my body respond well to that.

The important thing when fasting is that the body is in ketosis. At the fasting center, they test your urine weekly to make sure you are in ketosis. Interestingly, I remained in ketosis on juice after the first few days of water, which was great because that meant my cells were still regenerating and I was still experiencing autophagy, which is the die off of the dead, sick, toxic cells.

Which means that yes… I was continuing to feel the detox symptoms. But with juice, they were way more manageable.

Was I hungry? YES!!! I found a lot of solace and inspiration by watching vegan YouTube videos, losing myself in healing books like all of Louise Hay’s beautiful books, Jessica Simpson’s memoir (SO FLIPPING GOOD!!!), Glennon Doyle’s new book, and more. Soon I will do a book roundup for us all, but that is another post! I also watched a TON of TV… from my usual VPR to Real Housewives to The Morning Show to Tiger King (yep, I did it. Yep, it was trashy as hell but also so addicting… stranger than fiction!) and again, LOTS of YouTube.

Hence why I received the major inspiration and download to GET BACK INTO YOUTUBE, create a couple’s vegan cooking show (first ep here!!!), and will be creating lots and lots of content for you guys there soon. It excites me SO much!! The YouTubers I watched during my fast truly gave me life, made me feel like I was with BFFs with them from afar, and just inspired me a lot… it’s amazing how you can really feel like you’re getting to know someone via video. The Internet is a cool place.

CLEARLY I had a lot of downtime!!

Days five, six, and seven were water days.

Some of these days were brutal, with leg pain, liver / kidney pain, and an overall sense of major, deep, detox. The strength I found to continue on were the mantras I repeated to myself throughout the entire experience, which were:

+ Healing for my boys

+ One day at a time

+ Mind over matter

+ I am stronger than I know

+ This too shall pass

You guys, I cannot even tell you what a difference these mantras made in my mental health, strength, and overall healing during this time. I reached so many points throughout the fast where repeating those mantras to myself one by one were the sole reason I was able to continue getting through it.

They helped me remember my WHY… which was of course to HEAL. Heal for me, heal for my boys, heal my body for my future family (babies!!!!), be the wife and cat mama and daughter and friend that everyone in my life deserves, and leave this Lyme in the past to become a NEW person, a HEALED person, to continue on and revamp, cleanse, renew.

I also knew I had already been through the hell of it in the beginning and was not about to “reverse” that intensely hard work if you will by stopping early. I had a a few goals in my mind at that time… anywhere between 10 – 23ish days, but I knew my body would tell me when it was done so basically my trying to control the situation was useless! So I tried not to!

Days Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven & Twelve //

From here, let’s just say shit got real. WELL actually it was real the whole time, but it then got even REALER.

Days eight and nine were tough, but I knew I had come that far and I was not about to get too caught up in my head about how many days I had left to go. I was too tired at this point to really get on the phone or FaceTime with anyone, as much as it helped to pass the time. What really helped me the most during these days was getting myself outside to sit on the deck in the backyard, closing my eyes in the sun and just letting nature do its healing job.

I cannot even TELL you guys how much I spoke to the birds, the trees, the earth, the sky, the clouds, the wind, & the sun during this time. I know it probably sounds wild, but when you are fasting all of your senses are heightened to the millionth degree. I swear when the birds were chirping, they were talking to me — playing with each other and reminding me how beautiful life is!

Also, my SPIRITUAL SENSES were incredibly heightened during this time. At night, I was getting extremely powerful messages from beyond — from people who have passed, like my mom’s best friend Kathleen, and my grandparents, and a dear friend’s mother.

I felt like the clearest, purest, cleanest channel and that was the best feeling in the world.

Drinking my juice in the sun on one of my days on juice near the end. It felt so glorious to be alive, awake, in nature, with all of my senses heightened and sipping on such a nourishing, healing juice. Nectar from the Gods, as I started calling it!!

Then Day Ten things started feeling really, really rough. That day Jonathan visited, we did a lot of reading and relaxing on the back deck and in bed, and I remember repeating my mantras to myself 24/7. If I wasn’t reminding myself of my “WHY” every moment of every day I wanted to throw in the towel. My body felt weak and exhausted, and my nervous system felt flared like it just needed to be dooooone.

But I got over that hump and felt reaffirmed in the decision to continue pretty much every other moment — fasting is a mind game that way, because your feelings and detox symptoms can change so drastically within a matter of minutes. Ultimately at the end of Day Ten I felt really proud of myself and in it for the long haul to continue!

Eleven and twelve were similar — lots of rest, lots of exhaustion, a bit of aches and body pains… but here is where the miraculous healing comes in…

I realized around this time that my jaw pain that usually throbs 24 hours a day was… GONE!!!! Not just better, but GONE entirely!!! Same with the raging sinus pain I had been feeling since January. And I noticed that the joints in and behind my knees were buzzing wildly, feeling like there was deep healing happening there with Lyme dying off in those joints.

I also noticed the buzzing sensation of Lyme dying off in my hands, legs, forearms, and head/neck. Those areas are usually where I experience an immense amount of pain, so it made sense to me that those areas would be flaring and having die off symptoms. But around this time I noticed the flares were far less intense than they were in the beginning, and were starting to feel much more manageable. I was on the home stretch, and I knew it!!

Days Thirteen, Fourteen, & Fifteen //

Now, here we are at the home stretch!!!! I can literally FEEEEEL the excitement in my body and my bones even thinking back on it — ahhhh!! One day, most likely in a BOOK (yes, healing memoir, it’s coming!!) I will share my journal entries with you from this time. I was so motivated, so inspired, in such a deep state of healing at this point, almost entirely disembodied but in a very powerful, deep healing kind of way.

I was so READY at this point and so excited to get home to my boys, and I knew I was nearing the end of this fast. My body was in such a state of ease by the time I reintroduced juice on Day Fourteen that I knew I could easily continue on juice for quite a bit longer. But the other part of me was ready to bring back food (beginning with raw fruits) so that I could get home to them.

The mental aspect of fasting is for sure the hardest — being away from those you love, knowing that they are missing and needing you, and missing and needing them too! While I was away, Jonathan’s beloved family dog Brooklyn passed away and I knew he needed me more than ever. There is a lot of “wife guilt” and “cat mom guilt” and overall “human guilt” for being away, and I know I had nothing but the UTMOST support from him and everyone in my life for being gone but… I really missed home, and simultaneously my body was telling me it was pretty much done!

I didn’t feel comfortable being gone for any extra days, so I decided to call it around day thirteen, and plan to have juice for the following two days and then head into my re-feeding on food! A huge question I get all of the time is how do you know when your body is done fasting, vs. just having a really bad “herx”/detox reaction that you should push through to get over the next big hump to healing? And my answer to that, is that our bodies always know. When we are fasting, our intuition is heightened and then we REALLY know. Yes there were many days during my fast when I wanted to give up and I didn’t, because that little voice in my head told me I had made it THIS FAR and I was in it to win it, in it to heal, in it to KILL the Lyme for good and not to come out of it unchanged. So I believe deep in your heart you know when it’s just a hard hump to get over, vs. when you are truly DONE.

I also think that’s a huge benefit of having a doctor with you who is trained in fasting whenever you do a long fast. They can help you decide based off of your vitals, electrolytes, weight loss, symptoms, blood pressure, blood work, and overall experience whether your body is reaching its breaking point or whether it’s worth it to keep going for the long term healing.

I never said fasting was easy, you guys!!!!!! It’s one of the hardest things a human could ever do!!! But if you embark on a fast on your own (medically guided if it’s anything beyond a day or two, please!), please know that ANY amount of time is something you should be proud of. One day is something to be immensely proud of. I get messages from people a lot saying that they feel like they’ve “failed” because they attempted a 5 or so day water fast and then weren’t able to continue. THAT IS OKAY! Your body knows what it’s doing, and you will know when you are ready. Maybe it’s not your time yet, and maybe also it’s not your method of healing.

I firmly believe we all have our keys to miracle healing. For some friends of mine that has been bee venom therapy, for some its been herbs, for some its been stem cells, for some its been hardcore antibiotics and medications, and for others its purely been diet. I have heard it all, and I am not even beginning to scratch the surface here! For ME, water fasting is what will carry me home to pure, 100% healing. I absolutely feel this in my bones and know this in my heart to be true.

So… I did my final days of juice, and then on Days 14 & 15 I slowly introduced raw food!!!!! Then I promised to diligently continue to re-feed at home, meaning I would go very slow with reintroducing foods like legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds.

And yes, MY FIRST BITES OF FRUIT WERE PURE HEAVEN ON EARTH !!! But like I said, I could have gone on with the juicing because my body was so happy on juice but I wanted to get home and be with my boys!

And nowwww, what we are all here for, let’s talk about the VAST & AMAZING BENEFITS I RECEIVED!!!!

Look at that HAPPY FACE! Glowing from the inside out, and SO. HAPPPYYYY !!!!! TO BE FINISHING UP MY FAST & EXPERIENCING THE DEEP HEALING BENEFITS!

The greatest benefits I experienced from my 15 days away fasting were… major improvement with my joint pain, DIMINISHMENT of my jaw & sinus pain (that was previously like a 15/10 on the pain scale for a full year), a major lift in my brain fog, MAJORLY reduced inflammation that previously plagued me, my skin cleared up about 50% (still has a way to go), my stomach FEELS AMAZING and as we know with my food sensitivities that is no small fete, I’ve experienced a huuuuge increase in energy, and overall a major sense of HOPE that it is in my hands to kill Lyme and regain my full & utter health and vibrancy.

A few of the HUGE INSPIRATIONS and downloads that came through were… to start using YouTube more regularly, to sign up for a plant based nutrition program (which I did! YAY!), to share way more SOS-free recipes with you guys and share the truly magical benefits of plant-based healing in a big way, and to embark even deeper on the spiritual path by working closely with my mentors to be a LIGHT & a channel and a guide… in a deeper way than ever before.

As far as weight, because I know that is a big question from people out there, which I HESITATE to even mention because this fast has / had nothing to do with weight but I like to answer your pressing questions — I lost about a pound a day so as you can imagine, I have been healthily and steadily gaining some of the weight back since then in order for my body to be at its ideal weight for my size. I did not have much weight to lose going into the fast, but due to Lyme I tend to retain excess water weight and inflammation – so that was the first to go.

After the first few days of fasting and losing that water retention I felt amazing, like I was returning to my true body size and nothing in the world feels better than letting that inflammation GO, and looking in the mirror and finally recognizing myself again.

How I’m continuing to heal at home //

So many of you who follow me closely on IG have commented saying that I am looking amazing, glowing with health, radiating from the inside out, and for that I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s true that our outsides radiate how we feel on the inside, and you guys have seen me through some TOUGH SHIT. I am still working through it, and processing, and committed to the depths of my healing, but right now I feel like I have come about 65-70% of the way… and I am SO COMMITTED to going the full, full mile and killing every ounce of Lyme in my body.

Now that I have been home, I have been feeling really good. Like I said above, I have healed a huge huge amount but I have a bit of a way to go — that final stretch to really reach my complete, full, total healed self. I always find my SKIN to be a huge indicator of my healing, and soon I will share a big collage of before & afters I took all throughout my fast! When I arrived, my skin was a complete mess. Just a full on wreck. It healed about 50% while I was there, which is a big indicator to me that I have about another 50% to go… and I will do it.

So now, I am fasting at home one or two days per week and sticking rigidly as always to my healing, plant based SOS-free diet (you can learn more about that here!) and feeling amazing! The first one day fast I did at home was extremely brutal… almost harder than my long fast to be honest, because the beginning can just be so hard!

And I have been toying around with when I will do a longer one again, and I am really feeling in my heart and soul that during this time of quarantine is the time to do it, and also pairing it so closely with my last fast so that I can stack them on top of each other for those double benefits. With the life cycle of the Lyme disease spirochete being 21-30 days, I feel REALLY REALLY good and excited about doing another 14ish days soon for a full 28 days near to one another. I know it’s not 28 consecutive days, but for my body and my particular circumstance it feels right.

I will keep you guys super updated on my continued healing, and will very much document my next long fast. I am so ready for it and so inspired to just keep killing the Lyme. I really feel like fasting is one of the hardest, most excruciating things we as humans can do because it goes against our nature to NOT EAT, especially for extended periods of time, but shocking our systems into healing and then giving our bodies the gift of doing nothing but healing — turning our bodies into a place where disease cannot thrive — that is the way to go.

When Jonathan picked me up to finally head home… one of the best, most exciting and proud days of my life, and especially of my healing journey.

True, utter, HEALING is happening! And vibrancy! And health!! YAY !! I really want to be a beacon of light and hope to those who are suffering, to show you that it IS possible to heal, more than possible, and chronic illness is only “incurable” if you believe that it is. If you BELIEVE that you can heal, YOU WILL!

I wanted to release this post in tandem with today’s SOLO EPISODE on the podcast, all about the fast where you will hear me talk about it aloud! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

You can read about my previous long fast here, and the one before it here.

As always, please reserve any and all judgments and take them elsewhere. They are not welcome here and if you have never walked in my shoes, or the shoes of anyone with chronic debilitating illness, then you simply have no idea the pain and suffering that comes with our lives on the DAILY, so a two week water fast is beyond worth it to us compared to what we suffer from every day!

Oh also, I will be releasing a YouTube video about my experience because I vlogged the whole thing while I was there! I just need to edit it, so stay tuned for that!!

Sending you ALL love & light. Also want to give a shoutout to my sweet new friend Sarah, who really inspired me during this fast to stick with it. She put herself into remission from doing a 23 day fast and she was my inspiration this time around!! She has GREAT scientific facts on her blog about fasting and the lifespan of Lyme, all of the bacteria that fasting can kill, and she is an all around badass! Check her out!

Love you guys and grateful for you. Would love any and all thoughts below, and I am here to support you!! So grateful to have this space to share, to connect, to heal! XOXO

The Importance of Sweat | Sweat. It's not just a sign of a good workout! Sweat is so important for our body's daily functioning and for overall health. Read this post to find out more about the benefits of sweating regularly!

Sweat. It’s not just a sign of a good workout! Sweat is so important for our body’s daily functioning and for overall health. Read this post to find out more about the benefits of sweating regularly! One the things I love about power yoga is how every class is different. Sure there is a basic […]

VEGAN Banana Chocolate Chip Blender Muffins & Our New COUPLE’s Cooking YouTube Video!

Hello, hello my loves!

I am HOME from my water fast (woo!!!!) and I cannot wait to recap it for you. I have been letting it all sink in that I did it, I finished my 14 day water fast and came out strong. I have so much to share and haven’t yet found the right words to do so. But I can guarantee you that post will be coming sometime this week, along with a podcast episode about it & a YouTube video because I vlogged the whole thing!

That’s right… I said YOUTUBE! Because TBB is coming back to YouTube! I am thrilled about this and was super inspired to revamp my videos for a few reasons.

For one, I think it’s an incredible way to connect. Right now with everyone going on in the world and all of us being at home, I know we are yearning for that human to human connection. I definitely think that is what makes podcasts so incredible, but there is also something special and tangible about seeing someone via video!

Secondly, when I was water fasting I watched YouTube like it was my JOB! I was so inspired by the vegan YouTubers on there and the communities they’ve created, and the fun and profesh ways they edit their videos (I am definitely still in learning mode). As you can imagine, when water fasting looking at food is kind of like drooling over a little slice of HEAVEN… and for me since I am so, so passionate about the plant-based way of life and the plant-based healing properties it was also a great time to just do my “research” in the space of vegan cooking videos.

So let’s just say after my fast I was elated to get home and start VLOGGING! Jonathan, my husband, is a pretty private person although you’d never know it when you see him on my Instagram and other videos. So it is kind a big deal that I got him to do this video with me, and basically convinced him to do a Vegan Couple’s Cooking Show (!!!!) on YouTube with me, which is another fun idea that came to me while I was away.

I am sure many times it will be just me in the cooking vids, but when I can wrangle J into them with me I definitely will. I think it’s so fun to have two of us in the video with two diff perspectives — there’s me, who is obsessed with all things health and wellness and basically lives for the taste of straight kale. And there’s him, who is all about the healthy vegan food but also loves to gorge on sugary treats and vegan sausage alternatives, etc. AKA his taste buds are what probably many people watching are more in line with!

So when he gave these Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Blender Muffins a 9.5 out of 10 (which you will see in the video)… YOU KNOW THEY ARE GOOD! And he doesn’t even like chocolate!!!

Here we are in all of our wedding glory… this picture definitely describes us to a T.

AND without further ado, I think you guys are going to have to watch the video!!!!

Also, as promised, the recipe is posted here as well!! I thought it would be fun to do a “parry on the top, party on the bottom” style and make the bottom layer chocolate, with the top layer banana!! This makes them extra fun and different, because why not?

FYI they turned out a bit green because apparently when you bake sunflower butter, the baked good turns out green! I did not know that and was shocked when I saw the color, but OMG WOW they are so freakin’ tasty. I had two for breakfast this morning!! And can’t wait to have another tonight for dessert.

Vegan Banana Blender Muffin Recipe // Party On the Top, Party on the Bottom!

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled gluten free oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

3 large mashed bananas

1/2 cup sunflower butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 flax eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp hemp milk

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

3 tbsp cacao powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare your muffin tin with muffin tin liners.

Make your flax egg by combining two tablespoons of flax meal with six tablespoons of water. Set aside in fridge to firm.

Add all ingredients (besides the chocolate chips and cacao powder) to a high speed blender.

Remove flax egg when ready (5-10 minutes) and add in, then blend until desired consistency is formed.

Pour half of the mixture into a bowl, and then in the blender add the cacao powder for the bottom layer of the muffins. Blend until smooth.

Stir in chocolate chips to both layers.

Add chocolate layer into the bottom of your muffin tin liners, and then top that layer with the banana layer.

Bake for anywhere between 18 – 23 minutes or until the top starts to turn golden brown.

Pop them out of the oven, let them cool, and enjoy!

Okay, enjooooyyyy the video!! PLEASE let us know any & all requests you have for our next video! We are up for anything! Also, we would love if you would comment on the YouTube video & subscribe to the channel to show us some love — we are YT newbies and excited to pour our love and creativity and energy into it from here forward! XO

Fasting Updates & Some Girl Talk

Hey guys! I am currently on Day 13 of my water fast for Lyme and thought it would be a good time to check in.

I am taking lots of downtime from social media, regular work, and all distractions right now which has been a huge blessing and very needed in this stage of my healing journey. If you are able to during this time, I highly recommend taking more time for yourself — even if that doesn’t mean taking time off of work but perhaps spending the weekends sans social media to cleanse from the noise surrounding what’s going on in the world right now. Whatever you can do for you, do it!

So my fast so far… wow you guys. I will of course do a big update post when I finish, but for now what I can say is that if I had to choose one word to describe these 8 days thus far it would be TRANSFORMATIVE. I already feel utterly transformed. It feels very different than my previous water fasts, in that it has been more of a spiritual detox as well as a detox for my body. So, so much internal stuff has come up for me. I have met my shadow, gone through intense healing crises, and endured more pain than I even thought possible.

I have also been surprised and impressed that after my first big healing crisis on Day 2 (which I posted about on Instagram here), where I was vomiting, nauseous, lightheaded, had chills, aches and pains, throbbing migraines, the whole works, it has been shockingly smooth. *Knock on wood*!! I have definitely had discomfort but overall I feel the Lyme being killed in my body, and that is what I came here for.

I want to reiterate: I am doing this fast for healing. There is immense research on water fasting healing and eradicating Lyme disease, and co-infections of Lyme like Babesia, Bartonella, mold, heavy metals, and more. It is not for the faint of heart. Every night on the phone I tell Jonathan, “I literally don’t think 99% of people could do this,” and I mean that in the way that you have had to hit a SERIOUS rock bottom with your health, and have lived in chronic pain for a long long time, in order to gather the strength to carry out something as intense as a water fast.

I will share a lot more about my experience in the coming days and week, but for now wanted to leave you guys with that little update. I am not sure how long I will be here because I am listening to my body every step of the way, so we shall certainly see. I am grateful for this downtime as well, which has been healing and nourishing on a soul level.

Now, it’s time for some girl talk.

What are we going to talk about, you ask? We are going to talk about periods, and specifically period protection that is safe, free of as many chemicals and toxins as possible, and sustainable.

I can’t actually believe when I look back on my adolescence and early 20’s that I wore regular old chemical-laden tampons during every period. It actually makes me shudder, even though I know I didn’t know any differently… nor did anyone around me at the time! We did what we were taught, and we did the best we could. But holy F, knowing that you’re putting something inside of you, in one of the most sensitive and absorbent areas in your entire body (our vaginas), that could possibly give you Toxic Shock Syndrome the way they warn you about in school?!

LIKE HOW!!!! WAS I! OKAY! WITH THAT!

I vividly remember being on a field trip to Boston in 8th grade and having one of the girls in my class have a full on (justified) meltdown in the middle of the night because she was convinced she had TSS from her tampon. She was feeling sick and off, and what we had been taught in school the year prior was that it can kill you within days. We were terrified! And she was hysterical. Our teachers rushed to her room and luckily it was just her mind freaking herself out (we’ve all been there) and she ended up being totally fine.

But even back then, in 8th grade at the age of 14 (!!!) I knew something was OFF about tampons. I knew it was just not right to be putting something in our bodies that could hurt us in those ways.

Fast forward to now, after being diagnosed with Lyme and having several autoimmune issues as a result, I have become very educated on period protection ALTERNATIVES that are not dangerous or harmful to our bodies. If only this info had been so available when we were 14!

I learned that toxic ingredients found in tampons today include aluminum, alcohols, fragrance additives and hydrocarbons that mess with our hormone regulation and can even cause serious disease over time. Worst of all, tampon bleaching processes leave behind dioxin. Dioxin is a toxic chemical (chlorine-compound) linked to cancer and perhaps now to endometriosis, and is said by most manufacturers not to appear in bleached tampons at “detectable” levels. (As seen in this Goop article.)

That’s where Thinx comes in — I know you’ve heard of it! They are the best of the best, in my opinion. And they are a period underwear so they are also sustainable, cost effective, and safe for our bodies. In Thinx’s words, “We know the vagina is one of the most sensitive and absorbent areas of the body, which is why making period products that are free of harmful toxic chemicals is integral to our mission. It’s also why rigorous chemical testing and compliance certifications are part of our manufacturing process.”

I mean… this is what we all need! All of their underwear are rigorously tested for harmful chemicals, they are REACH compliant, and independently certified by OEKO-TEX Standard 100 (the type of fabric they use). And did you guys know that the US is not nearly as strict as the EU when it comes to harmful chemical regulations? While the US has banned 11 chemicals from cosmetics, REACH has banned 1,328! By complying with REACH, Thinx makes me feel very safe and comfy with the measures they have taken.

Not to mention, they are super transparent! They share all of their lab results as well as their certifications on this website so that those of us who are SUPER DUPER careful before buying any period products can feel armed with knowledge and make an informed decision. As always to be The Balanced Blonde approved, they are certified ORGANIC and use 100% organic cotton in their underwear.

And then let’s talk about how they actually work. I have fluctuated between using period cups, organic tampons, period underwear, etc. and I can definitely say that Thinx has had the LEAST leakage because their technology really works.

I am a huge fan of Thinx, and I wanted to share the love with you guys! It is so important to make informed decisions about our health, especially as women because our bodies go through so much. It is wild to me that there are so many products out there that are deemed as “safe” by our faulty US regulations when really… they are not! Just like food, which is a whole different story and something you guys know I am ridiculously passionate about as well.

Lastly, Thinx is currently working on a safer chemicals management program that will be released soon and I can’t wait to see where they go with that. They are a leader in the period category for a reason, guys!!! Check them out, I know you will love them as much as I do — and your body will thank you!

Now I am off to chill out, drink more water, rest, and give my body the downtime it so, so needs and deserves. Will you guys try Thinx? How is everyone doing during this time in the world? Check out my latest episode of Soul on Fire to learn more about my thoughts on what is going on + how we can all stay calm, meditate, and use this time for the greater good!

Leo Medical Trends