As the New Year is approaching with New Year’s resolutions being made, I thought I’d take just a minute to share some simple ways to take care of your health.
We all know that trying to change too many things at once is overwhelming to say the least, so I thought I’d just share a few ideas to get you started. All of these ideas are pretty simple and attainable, so I hope they’ll be as helpful to you as they have been for me!
You might also like My Go-To Natural Remedies for Colds and Flu.
Part of homesteading, I believe, includes finding ways to take care of your health that doesn’t rely on big pharma or the medical system as much.*
But taking care of your health really begins to add up if you think you must do all of it or none of it. While it’s wonderful to have a milking cow or a huge flock of chickens to get fresh eggs, this may not be doable for you at this time in your life.
Don’t give up! There are easy and cheap ways to take care of your health that don’t mean you have to sell your soul to afford it. Ha!
*The medical system and prescription drugs have their place, and I am by no means telling you to blindly listen to me. Please do you own homework and homestead your health at your own risk.
**I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
10 Things I’m Doing to Be Healthy {and STAY Healthy}
My goal is to keep this simple, so here are 10 things I’m doing to be healthy.
1. Add herbs and other spices to your food.
Certain herbs and spices do amazing things for your health! Add things like garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cilantro, sage, rosemary, oregano, and parsley {just to name a few} to your food while you’re cooking. If you want to dig in more to this topic, I recommend The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies.
You can usually buy these dried herbs/spices at your local grocery store for pretty cheap. Just be sure to read the ingredients so that extra things haven’t been added.
Another option is to grow your own herbs in a pot by a sunny window. You can grow them from seed or even purchase the herb when they’re in season at the store.
2. Make healthy substitutions.
- Replace mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt or avocado.
I’m not a huge fan of seed oils including vegetable oil. Yes, vegetable oil is super cheap, but it can wreak havoc on our health. When making things that call for mayonnaise, like homemade ranch dressing, I like to use plain Greek yogurt* instead. You’ll be amazed how it tastes! {You can also use plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to top off your tacos!}
When you want a sandwich, try spreading some creamy avocado with a little salt {see #7} on your sandwich instead of mayo. I personally LOVE avocado, but my husband would probably never go for this idea.
*I do not recommend cooking anything with yogurt as a substitute, but it works VERY well for cold things. See #3 below if you’re cooking.
- Use unsalted butter or applesauce instead of vegetable oil when cooking.
In recipes that call for cooking with vegetable oil {like a cake or brownie recipe}, use room temperature butter or applesauce when you can.
- Use sea salt or pink Himalayan salt instead of table salt.
Even though it’s super cheap, table salt often has extra fillers added to it that just aren’t good for you. Try switching to sea salt or pink Himalayan salt instead. You’ll find that you don’t need need to add as much salt because these are pure salts. Again, read the ingredients before you buy things to make sure you’re only getting what you want.
- Make your own electrolyte drink instead of buying store-bought.
Those big-named electrolyte drink companies often add extra things you don’t want in your body like tons of sugar {and often “fake” sugar}. Yuck!
The good news is you can make your own electrolyte drink! To get my electrolytes in, I often will add about 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt or Himalayan salt to my water, mix it up well, and drink it.
I also recommend LMNT Electrolyte Powder in water, which is more expensive. But it sure beats drinking the other stuff.
3. Use natural cleaners to clean your house.
For years, I’ve used Norwex cloths to clean, ditching both my kitchen and bathroom chemicals. Yes, they are expensive upfront, but I haven’t used chemicals to clean in YEARS. All that’s needed with Norwex is water; and I love that, especially when my young kids wanted to help me.
Lemons {or limes}, hydrogen peroxide, Castile soap, baking soda, and white distilled vinegar may be all you need to keep your home clean!
I love how Deep Roots at Home even shows how to use several household items to make a bleach alternative.
4. Cook at home whenever possible.
I totally understand that some days, you just want a break. Trust me; I get it!
But when we eat out, we’re at the mercy of the restaurant. And chances are, they cook with compromised ingredients that save them money, but aren’t the best for our health.
Eating out has also become very expensive for our family of six, so we can save a lot of money just by eating at home.
5. Drink water. Drink more water.
This one is an, “Ugh!” for many people. I get it. I know some people who absolutely HATE drinking water.
I think drinking water can be more bearable if you…
1- Drink filtered water with no added chemicals that leave a terrible aftertaste and/or are toxic to your health
2- Find your favorite way to drink water. I personally have a metal Bubba tumbler and LOVE it! I know how many times I need to fill it up each day to get my goal in.
6. Try Intermittent Fasting.
Oh, my goodness. I will be writing more about this, I’m sure. I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for a few months now and absolutely love it!
It’s been a total game-changer for me and several of my friends. Even my husband has had his life-long stomach issues greatly relieved just by intermittent fasting.
Two of my favorite things about intermittent fasting is that it’s…
- FREE. There are no diet shakes or expensive eating plans…unless that’s your cup of tea.
- FLEXIBLE. Your fasting window can and should be flexible from day-to-day, which I can tailor to my eating preferences.
I’ve read several books about intermittent fasting and follow lots of doctors on social media who recommend it often for a myriad of health issues.
My favorite book so far has been Gin Stephens’s, Fast. Feast. Repeat. If you’re more of a nerd and geek out with science-y stuff, you may enjoy Dr. Fung’s books: The Obesity Code or Life in the Fasting Lane.
7. Find an exercise routine that works for you…and that you ENJOY!
I heard it asked once, “What’s the best exercise routine for you?” The answer: “One that you enjoy and will stick to.”
My favorite way to exercise is to going on a walk outside. It’s easy AND it’s absolutely free, which appeals to me. If walking isn’t your “thing,” find what you enjoy and do it as often as you can.
8. Change things LITTLE by LITTLE
It never worked for me to wake up one day and say, “Okay, I’m never going to eat this, this, and that ever again.” Replace your trigger foods slowly or one at a time. I’m sure people have been successful at keeping up a healthy lifestyle and did it all at one time, but I never have.
Years ago, I heard a speaker on her health journey who used to eat a pint of ice cream every night. Instead of cutting herself off of ice cream completely, she began eating half a pint each night, then just a bowl each night, then just a bowl every other night. She did this until she didn’t have ice cream at all at night.
Slow and steady wins the race here.
I’d also include making SMALL changes in this tip. Instead of dumping ALL the ranch on your salad, challenge yourself to leave the ranch on the side and just use half of it. Small and slow changes make things much more manageable and long term.
9. Add More Fruits and Veggies
If you’ve looked at any research on being and staying healthy, you know that fruits and veggies are KEY. But if we’re honest, we don’t get enough! I’m also amused at what some restaurants consider as veggies. I mean corn- really?
We need the nutrients in those green leafy veggies and apples. It helps our bodies in thousands of ways, especially with fighting sickness.
For me, taking Juice Plus+ for the last 14 years has really helped me focus more on getting those fruits and veggies in my body. Before taking Juice Plus+, I was taking a multivitamin. But it wasn’t enough. The vitamins were mainly passing through my body {as they do for most people}. I needed something to get into my bloodstream to make a real difference. You can read more about that in my Juice Plus+ story.
We’re also supposed to fill up half our plate with fruits and veggies. One way I’m doing this is eating less pasta and more veggies instead. I enjoy eating spaghetti with 2 cups of zucchini instead of pasta.
10. Tell Yourself NO
Will power. Oh, it’s SO hard! But I’m learning it’s okay to tell my cravings no. I’ve come realize that just because someone is living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean their cravings go away completely. We all have weak moments when that chocolate bar {or insert your own food} is just calling our name.
It’s okay to say NO to yourself. {I must say that it’s okay to also say YES at times, as long we as set limits on that YES.}
11. Be REAL with Your Journey of Getting Healthy
Find someone else that you can lean into when you’re struggling. It can be a friend, spouse, or even a friend that lives far away. Accountability is vital to this journey! We all have days when it’s hard to do this healthy living thing.
One fun thing I’m currently doing is posting evidence pictures of my healthy choices in a Facebook group. That’s keeps me accountable, but find what works for you.
12. Set REALISTIC GOALS for Yourself
This goes along with #5 above. If you set your bar too high and change too many things all at one time, chances are it will be a short-term change. It simply becomes too much to keep up with.
It helps me to remember that real change often doesn’t happen overnight.
And when I set unrealistic goals {like I’m going to lose 5 lbs by next Friday} and then I don’t meet those goals, I’m disappointed and more likely to give up.
In this same vein, we have to give ourselves grace. If I eat the entire roll of raw cookie dough today {Oh, believe me. I’ve done it before!}, tomorrow is a new day. I can’t use that as an excuse to jump off the train completely. I can only control what I do today. Yesterday is gone. Get back on and keep going!
13. Get Your Sleep
This was another hard one for me because I couldn’t see how sleep had any relation to my health. Most adults need 7 hours or more hours of sleep each night to function at their best the next day.
Between real life responsibilities, juggling all the hats of my online business, and homeschooling my kids, I had been getting only about 5-6 hours of sleep for years.
This meant that I was often running on coffee: 2-3 cups in the morning and 2-3 cups in the afternoon. The snowball effect was that I was drinking less water, had less energy to exercise, eating more junk {because I was eating for comfort}, and was getting more headaches because I was dehydrated. See how it works? I never saw it then. But I do now.
Since learning this, I’ve become more intentional about getting 7 or more hours of sleep a night. And I’m happy to say, I have more energy to exercise and drink MUCH less coffee. I now drink 1 cup in the morning and 1 in the afternoon, but only if I feel sluggish.
14. Learn how to replace big pharma products with natural/homemade products and remedies.
Don’t get overwhelmed at all the options. Take it one baby step at a time.
For example, I started making my own melt and pour soap at home adding ingredients from my own kitchen. And I started using Jojoba oil on my face instead of facial lotions, which were full of harmful ingredients.
When you’re looking at replacing pharmaceuticals, I recommend starting with what your family struggles with. If it’s ear infections, start finding natural remedies for them first, like garlic oil drops. If it’s joint pain, start there.
Deep Roots at Home has a FANTASTIC post on natural remedies for all kinds of ailments! I printed and started working on her list months ago. We’ve already had to use several things, and they’ve all been very helpful at keeping us out of the doctor’s office/hospital.
If you’re more of a book person, I highly recommend Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch.
Enjoy the journey to getting healthier this year!
~Becky