My Favorite Vegan Smoothie Recipies

Hey guys so I'm back and I wanted to announce that I will be doing new blog posts every Wednesday. Lately I've been proud of my Instagram content but not so much with my blog. I used to post on my blog twice a week and now it's like I only do one or two posts per month. So I want to get back into it and crank out some good content that I feel inspired by. So today I will be sharing my favorite vegan smoothie recipes. 

This is the one that I do the most out of all of these and it's so good like the title says. So for this recipe you will need...

-2 bananas

-2 spoonfuls of oats

-A berry mix (I use  strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries)

-A splash of orange juice

Now you will just add that mix to a blender and you will just blend until it's done

This recipe is perfect for breakfast since it involves granola. So for this one you will need...

-A cup of mixed berries (same mixture as the previous recipe)

-One banana

-One peeled tangerine 

-A splash of water

-A handful of granola on top

Now you will just add that everything but the granola to a blender and you will just blend until it's done

Then sprinkle the granola on there and you are done!

This one is my favorite out of these recipes. It literally tastes like heaven and it's like ice cream but it's completely vegan! So what you need for this recipe is...

-Three or four frozen bananas

-A splash of almond milk

-Splash of water

-Berry mix (same mix I used for the other recipes)

So you will put the bananas in the blender with a splash of almond milk and you will blend until it's done. Make sure you don't over blend because the mixture is supposed to be a little thick. The mixture is also supposed to be a light yellow color.

Then you will put your mixture in a bowl and clean your blender 

After it's clean you will throw in the berry mix with a splash of water and you will blend that until it's done. 

Then you will take out a jar or a bowl(I recommend a mason jar), and you will pour in the banana mixture first and then you will pour your berry mix on top. You can really layer it however you want but this is the way I recommend. It's like a layered taste and it's so good!!

That's all the recipes I have for you guys today. I hope you enjoyed! If you want more recipes that I didn't share on here today you can actually go to my Instagram and click on the healthy eats highlight and I have a couple more recipes on there that y'all can check out. See you guys next Wednesday! 

10 Benefits of Himalayan Salt Lamps

Have ya'll heard of Himalayan salt lamps? Well if you have not heard of Himalayan salt lamps they are pretty much natural Himalayan salt rocks with a light bulb placed inside of it.  For Christmas I bought myself a Himalayan salt lamp for more ambiance in my room but then I realized that Himalayan salt lamps actually have benefits. So I thought I would go over the benefits in this post! 

1) Enhance overall breathing

So to start out there are these things called Cilia that are hairs that line the windpipe. Cilia act as microscopic breathing filters. Based on studies positive ions decrease cilial activity and negative ions increase cilial activity. The negative ions have a more positive effect on your breathing and Himalayan salt lamps actually release negative ions and it is believed that Himalayan salt lamps can actually help you breathe better. 

2)Purify and cleanse air

Himalayan salt lamps can help filter the air by attracting water molecules and other particles in the air and the Himalayan salt lamp actually absorbs the molecules. This is also called Hygroscopy if you want to look it up. This process is known to remove any gross particles and molecules from the air and it makes the air quality better in that area. 

3)Raise energy levels

Positive ions make your energy levels go down but since Himalayan salt lamps release negative ions your energy levels actually go up. Fun Fact: This is why Himalayan salt lamps are commonly used when it comes to energy healing because your energy increases with Himalayan salt lamps.

4)Enhance mood

The negative ions from the Himalayan salt lamp can help increase serotonin in your brain which actually improves your mood and energy levels.  

5)Helps you relax and decrease stress

Himalayan salt lamps omit a soft glow that can actually reduce your stress and help you relax. The glow acts as chromotherapy and actually puts you in a relaxing mood. The glow from the Himalayan salt lamp is also known to balance emotional, spiritual, and emotional energies. 

6)Improve Sleep

When you are overly exposed to positive ions it reduces the brain's blood and oxygen supply which makes it harder to sleep. So by having the negative ions from the Himalayan salt lamp it is proven to increase the brain's blood and oxygen supply and make it easier to fall asleep. 

7)Balance out Electromagnetic Radiation

Whether you believe it or not all of our devices have Electromagnetic radiation. EM radiation releases positive ions into the air constantly. EM radiation can cause fatigue, stress, a weak immune system, and the list goes on. But the nice thing is that Himalayan Salt lamps actually cancel out the positive ions and release negative ions which can prevent static buildup.  

8)Reduce Asthma 

This one goes along with improving your breathing. Himalayan Salt lamps filter the air and remove all the gross particles and molecules from the air. By having a Himalayan salt lamp it is said that it can reduce asthma since the air will be a better quality. 

9)Boost Blood flow

Studies find that negative ions can help improve blood flow and Himalayan salt lamps omit negative ions so the lamps could increase blood flow.

10)Increase Performance

There was a cool study where people had to complete a fourty minute task on the computer and they were exposed to negative ions. After the end of the fourty minutes it was found that when they were exposed to negative ions it reduced stress and anxiety. It also increased their performance. The reason why this happened was because negative ions increase blood and oxygen supplies in the brain and then in turn increase performance. 

Now that's all the benefits! A lot of the benefits were due to the negative ions the Himalayan salt lamp omits. Now don't y'all want to get one, I love them! Who knew a lamp could have so many benefits. Thanks for visiting my blog, I'll see you guys soon!

https://www.jpost.com/PromoContent/12-Reasons-To-Keep-A-Himalayan-Salt-Lamp-In-Every-Room-Of-The-House-443379

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/himalayan-salt-lamp-benefits#section5

https://www.criticalcactus.com/himalayan-pink-salt-lamp-health-benefits/

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323527.php

Why You Should Meditate Everyday

Meditation. I'm sure we have all heard of it and how good it is for us but how many of us out there actually meditate? To make you guys familiar with what meditating is, meditation is pretty much practicing on your breathing and just closing your eyes and letting it all flow. I don't think there is really a constructive definition to meditation because it's really something that you interpret in your own way. I don't think that there is just one correct way to meditate or anything I think that you can do it in so many different ways. So to get that out of the way-

I think no matter how busy you are you can incorporate it into your routine everyday. It really only takes five minutes but you could go for a longer time period. Just do what works for you. I will say the longer you do it for the deeper you go into it. Most likely if you do it for a longer time than five minutes it will be more effective.

Now why meditate?

So as you can see there are many benefits to meditation. Personally I have experienced most of these benefits myself. Now I really didn't get into mediating until December of 2018, so I have only been meditating for around two months now. But in that time frame I have really enjoyed it and it makes you have a deeper relationship with your inner self. I have felt really present and more aware of the things around me and I feel really happy. Now I've always been pretty happy but it's like it just takes your happiness to a new level. It has also really made me realize just how connected everything in this world is. Like for example our connection to other human beings, animals in nature being connected to their environment, our connection with ourselves. I have also been more relaxed and unbothered and I'm just kind of in my own zone which I love. So I have experienced most of the benefits described and I for sure recommend meditating on a regular basis.  

I try to incorporate it into my nightly routine every night. I will say that when you are first getting into it it is hard to be consistent with it but once you get it it will just become natural to you to do it often. I think it is worth it for sure and you could even experience a spiritual awakening from doing it every day. Either way if you get anything out of it you WILL feel happier just by meditating everyday or on a regular basis. So I encourage all of you guys to start doing it. 

I am hoping to post more on my blog soon. I know I don't post as much as I used to but I am mostly active on Instagram. So you guys can find me on there @adventureswithcourtt or you can click the little Instagram button on the side of my blog and it can take you to my page. I post on there around twice a week so if you want to see my posts you can go on there. 

Thanks for reading and until next time have fun!

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation#section13
https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/meditation-101-techniques-benefits-and-a-beginner-s-how-to
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-it/201309/20-scientific-reasons-start-meditating-today
https://www.headspace.com/science/meditation-benefits

How To Minimize Your Digital Clutter

In this up and coming technological world it can be very easy to have lots of digital clutter. You could have thousands of photos, tons of unimportant emails, or even just a bunch of programs downloaded on your computer that you don't even use. With it being 2019 now I think it's a great idea to declutter and kick start the new year with a clean space both physically and digitally. Now let's get into it! 

I feel like lots of people get a bunch of people get spam emails from stores about the newest sale or just random sites that somehow found your email and now you are on their email list. I actually found a statistic that said 45% of all email is spam. Now to me that is no surprise but some may find it surprising. Just think of how much spam and junk is in your inbox right now that you could get rid of. All you have to do is unsubscribe and then you won't keep getting annoying emails from the same people over and over again. Your inbox will be cleaner and your stress just might go down a bit. 

Photos can really easily accumulate and you may find your camera roll a little out of control and messy. Keeping only the photos you like or the one's that serve a purpose is a great way to declutter your photos. For example if you have a Kangaroo meme that you were keeping and it made you laugh one time and now it's just sitting there clogging up your photos-just delete it. Also if you screenshotted your work schedule for the week and now the week is over then it would be good to delete the photo because now it doesn't serve a purpose. 

Unfollowing people that you don't resonate with is great for eliminating the content that you don't want to see. A lot of times there is random junk on social media and you look at some of the stuff on your feed and you are like "who is this person". So just hit the unfollow button if you don't like the content of the person you are following or if it's a random person that you don't even know. Follow only what inspires you and what you could get value from. Anything else can go.

Why have programs or apps on your phone or computer that you don't even use? It's kind of pointless and if you delete those apps or programs you could free up more storage on your phone. It is also nice for everything on your device to serve a purpose and not just have junk sitting there. I personally have 17 apps on my phone but every single one of those apps serves a purpose and I use them on a daily basis. So only keep what you use and delete all other apps you don't use. 

And that wraps up this post! I hope this helps some of you guys out there who are drowning in digital clutter. 

2018 in Photos

Hey guys welcome back to a new post. With the new year approaching I wanted to recap on 2018 with a cool digital collage. 2018 was a good year for me and I really discovered my love for nature and inspiring others through my blog. I also had some great memories with great people in my life. This collage will be split by months so each month of the year will have it's own collage if that makes sense. 

I hope you guys liked the collages. I put a lot of time into them and I hope to post more on my blog soon. I wish you guys all a wonderful new year and I hope next year is just as good as 2018 was. I hope to do some more blog posts soon so stay tuned and until next time have fun!! 

My Grounding/Barefoot Journey

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hey guys long time no see. I haven't written a blog post in what seems like forever but today I want to talk about my grounding/barefoot journey. I don't know if any of you guys have heard of grounding before but it is very beneficial for you and makes you feel really in touch with the environment. I found out about grounding over summer break and I have been walking barefoot a lot ever since. Some of my friends think that I'm it's weird that I'm walking barefoot and they are like, "put on your shoes". My response to that is, "you know I wear shoes when I have to wear shoes but any other time I'm going barefoot". It's kind of funny to see their reactions because they think I'm crazy. I will say through now that it's cold outside I haven't been walking barefoot as much. That's the only downside of grounding is that it's kind of a seasonal thing because otherwise you would freeze your feet off. Now if you are wondering what the benefits are of walking barefoot, well there is actually more than you think. Here are some of them...

-Better control of your foot position when it strikes the ground

-Improvements in balance and body awareness, which can help with pain relief

-Better foot mechanics, which can lead to improved mechanics of the hips, knees, and core
-Better control of your foot position when it strikes the ground
-Improvements in balance and body awareness, which can help with pain relief
-Better foot mechanics, which can lead to improved mechanics of the hips, knees, and core
-Maintaining appropriate range of motion in your foot and ankle joints as well as adequate strength and stability within your muscles and ligaments
-Relief from improperly fitting shoes, which may cause bunions, hammertoes, or other foot deformities
-Stronger leg muscles, which support the lower back region

So walking barefoot really does have benefits and it would be a great way to connect with your surroundings and be more aware of the environment around you. It would increase your awareness because while walking barefoot in nature you will need to look down to see where you're going and what you may be stepping on. I like that element of it because in the moment I'm thinking of where I am going and what I may run into along the way. For starters through I would just try walking around the neighborhood barefoot or any other soft paved surfaces. Just start out small and slowly increase your distance as you keep on grounding and after a while it will just become your second nature to walk barefoot for two miles on a hike or something. So that is my best advice for starters. Just take it slow and easy and over time you will get the hang of it. If you are dealing with foot problems too I would highly recommend grounding to let your feet loose and gain some support on the ground's surface. 

So get out there and take those shoes off! Thanks for reading and I hope to put out more blog posts soon and get back into it again. Until next time... Happy holidays! 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hammocking 101-How to Get Started

Hey guys long time no see but I am back with another post. Today I want to talk about hammocking and everything you need to know when you get started with hammocking. So I've been hammocking for a couple of months now and I love it. It's a good way to relax your mind by being in nature, plus it's comfy. 

So all you need to start hammocking is straps, and the hammock itself. For straps I recommend the eno atlas suspension system. I have been using the suspension system since I've started hammocking and I don't have any problems with the straps. They are very durable and you can also hang other things on the straps because the straps have slits in them. The suspension system has held the weight of me and one other person as well as other stuff in the hammock at the same time, so the straps can hold a lot of weight. The straps are around thirty dollars but it is worth the investment because you can trust that you won't fall down unsuspectingly in the middle of hammocking. Now for the hammock itself you can really buy any kind of hammock and it would work. You don't necessarily need to buy an eno right off the bat, I actually use an equip double nested blue hammock and that works perfectly fine as well. I also have another singular hammock that is called hammock in a bag and it's from Bliss hammocks. I use that when I hammock by myself. It's a Brazilian Eco-friendly beachy hammock and it's made out of cotton and polyester and that hammock works perfectly fine for me too. What I recommend is that you think of where you want to use your hammock and for what purpose. So if you camp a lot I would recommend a more durable hammock like an eno. Or if you just want to lay in your backyard for example I would recommend the beachy Brazilian hammock. So just think of what kind of hammock would best suit your purpose and buy a hammock based off that. 

Now once you get the hammock and straps now it's time to set it up. When you first set up at hammock you tie the straps first. There is no absolute correct way to tie your straps but you want your straps to support the weight of your hammock. What I like to do is tie my straps around the tree and knot it three or four times or I use a clip and wrap the straps around one time and then clip the wrapped around part into the remaining part of the strap. I hope that made sense but that is how I secure my straps to the tree. There is also other ways to tie the straps but those ways involve complex knots and everything else so I haven't tried those methods yet. Now once the straps are set up you clip your hammock onto your straps using the little holes on the straps. If your straps don't have holes then simply tie your hammock to your straps and that holds it up too. 

Now the cool thing about hammocking is that you can pretty much hammock anywhere where there are trees. Just to name a few places where I've hammocked, I've hammocked at the lake, in the woods, at a river, and I've hammocked in my backyard. Hammocking is a great way to experience the nature around you without the biggest hike or the effort that other activities take to experience nature. So basically you can sit back, relax, be lazy, and enjoy every second of it. So basically that is hammocking in a nutshell. It's great when you just want to relax in nature and just listen to your surroundings. I love hammocking and I probably do it anywhere from two to four times a week. I usually like hammocking at the river or lake. Those are my two favorite spots to go to hammock because it's pretty and it's peaceful. 

That wraps it up for this post. I hope to post more on my blog soon. Lately I've been more into Instagram and I've been posting around three times a week on Instagram. You can check out my insta @sugarcoatedbears. I post nature photos with lots of motivational captions to go along with the photo. So check me out there if you're interested and I'll see you guys soon with another blog post. Bye!