Happy Wellness Wednesday! We are back with some more wellness tips for you all. In case you missed yesterday’s post, we shared our organization tips so far in our bathroom, so be sure and check that out!
Today, we are sharing the natural supplements we take! Since going plant based and focusing on our health,we have been making an effort to be more natural in everything we put in our bodies and on our bodies.
For those of y’all that have been following us for a while, you know that we used to take a lot of medications for our thyroid, but as of a couple months ago, we have been trying to slowly transition into natural supplements, and avoid all medications when possible.
Here are most of the supplements we currently take. It seems like a lot, but you all should have seen how much we used to take. We honestly feel so much better. Before drinking celery juice, we used to get a ton of headaches, and have no energy, but now we feel a million times better overall.
PS- we use lazy susan like this to store all of our daily supplements to keep them organized! This exact one we got at Homegoods.
We usually take the bulk of these in the mornings, and this is the schedule of how we take them:
UPON WAKING:
Dropper of VeganSafe B-12 by mouth (helps with energy levels and is better absorbed than other brands), followed by big mug or glass of lemon water. Use code ALEXIS10 for discount!
After 20-30 minutes, we have our celery juice.
Then, we wait another 20-30 minutes, and have our powders and supplements before we eat our breakfast
Shot of Hawaiian Spirulina (boosts energy and supports immunity), Camu Camu Powder (tons of vitamin c and antioxidants), and Barley Grass Powder (loaded with high proteins, all essential amino acids, rich fatty acids, all vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber and also great for detox!)– (mix all powders in a small glass with water and take like a shot to get it down– FYI: doesn’t taste the best!)
Fill water with 10 drops of Ionic Zinc (benefits are that it improves immune system and fights infections) and take the following supplements:
Gaia Thyroid Support: this one is designed to promote a healthy metabolism and support normal thyroid glandular production — helping to maintain optimal weight, neuromuscular tone, and heart health.
Gaia Liver Health: a vegan liver cleanse supplement that delivers herbal antioxidants and healthy levels of inflammation to maintain a healthy liver.
Advanced Bio Curcumin: helps maintain healthy digestive function, promotes healthy immune system function, and promotes healthy cell division and healthy inflammatory response.
Ester-C: Keeps your immune systems strong and helps to shorten the duration of colds and flu by strengthening killer cells in the body.
Mannose Cranberry: Samantha takes this because she gets a lot of UTIs. This one helps to support urinary tract (UT) health.
We have been meaning to do a post on organizing our house for the longest time, and to be honest, we are still organizing, and will do an update post once we finish it all, but we wanted to share some tips and our progress with you all since we have been getting asked a lot!
It is NOT fun to actually sit down and organize, but once you start, it feels SO good!
We took some quick iPhone photos of our progress so far with the bathrooms, so the quality is not great, but you get the idea!
So, embarrassing enough, here are the before pictures, and they are pretty messy! We had some organization going, but after living here for 5 and half years, it has gotten cluttered and messy!
Our makeup drawer is by far the worst, haha! We are very happy to share that we purchased this vanity and have reorganized– see below for the in-progress after!
We had wayyyy too many hair products that we couldn’t even see!
For this drawer, we used more plastic bins to organize teeth stuff, first aid supplies like bandaids and ointments, and another one for nail supplies.
This is the drawer that was SUPER messy, so we cleaned out a lot of it, and used these plastic drawers for all our hair ties and clips. We used this mesh organizer to store contacts, some lip balms, face masks, and some skincare we use on a regular basis, but not every day.
We used a glass shelf to put all our daily skincare and beauty products for easy access!
We got rid of all the hair products we didn’t use, and stored the ones we kept in another plastic bin under the sink.
Above the toilet, it doesn’t look super organized, but we have our cosmetic bags in plastic bins a the top, self tanners and contacts in a plastic bin, and all of our face masks and sunscreens and feminine products on the bottom.
This is another cabinet in our other bathroom where we store more skincare backups and travel toiletries.
For this drawer, we used more drawer organizers to store some more skincare products.
Now, for our makeup!
We got this white vanity that turned out amazing! We still need to get a mirror and a little stool to sit on!
We are SO excited about this because we can see everything. We got these acrylic drawers to store our foundation, bronzer, blush, mascaras, and powders.
This week flew by and we couldn’t be happier! It is Friday, so it is FAQ time! We are answering more of y’alls questions that got submitted this week! If you asked something that didn’t get answered, we most likely answered it in a previous FAQ post! Check out the last few here : #1 here , #2 here , #3 here, and #4 here.
If your question wasn’t answered, be sure and send us a message on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]
Happy reading! Xo
F A S H I O N:
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE JEWELRY ROLL FOR TRAVELING?
We love this pink one because it is under $20 and looks like a pouch! This one is also great and is a square shape, so it is compact and has a lot of compartments.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE JOGGERS?
We have a few that we love! This camo pair is super cute and this grey pair is more fitted, so great for petites!
I HAVE BEEN SEEING YOU ALL JUMP ON THAT MINI TRAMPOLINE. CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE BENEFITS AND WHAT IT IS GOOD FOR?
Yes! We have been loving it! We will be covering a blog post next week on all of it, but just to summarize: helps with cellulite, stimulates metabolism, helps with lymphatic drainage, and improves balance. It is also easier on the joints! We have been doing 20-30 minutes 5-6 times a week! We have this rebounder!
YOU POSTED HOW YOU CAN GO A WEEK WITHOUT WASHING YOUR HAIR. CAN YOU GIVE SOME TIPS?!
We shared some tips in this blog post and this podcast episode a while back, but basically, you have to “train” your hair to go that long between washes. Use a lot of dry shampoo, perfume (to mask the smell)
YAY! We made it to Friday! Well, you know what time it is: FAQ time! We are answering more of y’alls questions that got submitted this week! If you asked something that didn’t get answered, we most likely answered it in a previous FAQ post! Check out the last few here : #1 here and #2 here and #3 here.
If your question wasn’t answered, be sure and send us a message on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]
Happy reading! Xo
L I F E S T Y L E:
DO YOU LIVE WITH SAMANTHA? I NEED A TWIN SISTER IN MY LIFE?
Yes! We still live together, and fight 24/7, even though nobody believes that, haha.
WHAT IS YOUR NATIONALITY?
Both of our parents have European backgrounds. Our mom was born in South America, and our dad was born in Egypt, but their parents were both from different regions in Europe. People always think we are Middle Eastern!
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN ON THE WEEKENDS?
That is a great question! Not a whole lot, but we do love to stay active/workout, try new restaurants, cook, meet up with friends, go to concerts, live sporting events (love football!), hang by the pool or be outside when it is nice out, travel to new places. We are pretty easygoing, but we don’t drink a lot or stay out late, so you won’t find us out at bars too often– Grandmas at heart ;).
WHAT DOES YOUR DAY TO DAY LOOK LIKE?
This is such a tough question, but a good one! 😉 It honestly changes day-to-day.
Typically, we will get up around 7 AM and then have our lemon water, celery juice, vitamins, eat a quick breakfast (more in this post!), get in our 10-minute meditation, and a workout! Our workouts are either at home with P.volve, our reformer, or we go to Pilates or the gym! Sometimes, we will go on a walk!
In between all of that, we are glue to our phones and email, haha. Always responding to questions from readers, brands, or working on blog content. If we are not shooting any content, we will work from home on our laptops most of the day (not very exciting, haha!). If we are shooting content, we will get ready and do some light makeup and shoot it either in our house or go somewhere to shoot it.
Other days, we have appointments, meetings (either in person or via phone), and just work in between!
Of course, we are snacking throughout the day, and at night, which is the hardest part, where everyone usually slows down for the day, we typically do not. It is terrible, but we will keep working usually until we go to bed doing something that is “work-related”. It is very hard for us to put it away, and the truth is, we love interacting with you all!
H E A L T H / F I T N E S S:
CAN YOU POST MORE HEALTHY RECIPES?
Yes! We have plans to share more! We have a lot in our Instagram story highlights on Instagram under “EATS”.
Our favorite headphones BY FAR are the Apple Airpods. We use them for everything! We even accidentally washed them in the washing machine, and they still worked!
HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR THYROID LABS REDONE SINCE STOPPING MEDS?
We have not, but we are planning on it soon!
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH CRAVINGS? I FEEL LIKE I AM ALWAYS HUNGRY WITH HYPO?
This is difficult, and you really have to plan ahead! We literally eat/graze all day long. Some people may not agree with that, or it may be too much, but we snack all day long. We always are eating stuff like apples, berries, oranges, grapes, salads, raw veggies, potatoes, etc. Don’t be afraid to eat lots of fruit and veggies! Also, stay hydrated– we drink a lot of hot teas!
HOW DO YOU STEAM VEGGIES IN A PAN?
Super easy! We cut up our veggies, put them in a good skillet like this one, add a little bit of water to coat the pan (we do hot), put the heat on medium-high heat, and cover with a lid! Let them steam, and remove! We top with spices or whatever sauces you like!
WHAT THYROID SUPPORT DO YOU TAKE? I HAVE ALSO BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH HASHIMOTO.
HOW DO YOU STAY FULL ON A PLANT-BASED DIET? I FEEL LIKE I AM ALWAYS HUNGRY!
We answered this above, but we are hungry a lot, BUT, we do snack a ton. LOTS of fruits (we are talking 3-4 apples a day, whole melons for a meal, etc. We also eat a lot of carbs (most of our diet is carbs and greens! ie- potatoes, fruits, beans, etc.)
B E A U T Y:
WHAT SUNSCREEN DO YOU USE ON YOUR FACE? LOVE FOLLOWING YOU!
WHEN YOU GET A SPRAY TAN, HOW DO YOU PREVEN THE MELTING LOOK AFTER A WEEK OR SO?
From our experience and research, we do the following to try and make our tans last longer:
Moisturize A TON with lotions that are paraben and sulfate free! We recommend coconut oil or CeraVe.
Pat your skin dry after a bath or shower!
Avoid exfoliating or scented products.
DO YOU GET YOUR EYEBROWS MICROBLADED? IF SO, DO YOU RECOMMEND AND WHY?
We did have them microbladed a couple years ago, but last year we got semi permanent makeup done on our eyebrows (very similar to microblading), and LOVE the results, even a year later!
DO YOU GET YOUR EYEBROWS MICROBLADED? IF SO, DO YOU RECOMMEND AND WHY?
Yes! See question above 🙂
EYEBROW SHAPING TIPS?
We have semi-permanent makeup (answered above), but do get our eyebrows threaded every month or so, and we use this brow pencil to fill in when we need to, which isn’t often!
WHAT TYPE OF HAIR EXTENSIONS DO YOU USE?
We actually answered a ton about our hair extensions in this blog post, so feel free to check it out here!
WHAT TYPES OF EYELASHES DO YOU HAVE ON? HOW OFTEN DO YOU CHANGE?
We have volume eyelash extensions, and get them filled every 2-3 weeks! We talked about it more in this podcast episode!
B L O G G I N G:
HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTO FASHION AND MAKEUP OR DID YOU START GETTING INTO IT LATER IN LIFE?
Yes! We have always been into fashion, even since we were very young! We always liked putting outfits together, and we got “Best Dressed” in high school, haha! We did work corporate jobs, and did personal training, so we weren’t as into it around that time, but always had a passion for it!
F A S H I O N:
WHAT ARE YOUR TRAVEL ESSENTIALS (CLOTHES, SHOES, TOILETRIES)?
That is a great question! We have a few posts on our travel must haves that we will link below:
HOW DO YOU DECIDE IF AN EXPENSIVE ITEM IS WORTH THE SPLURGE?
We are honestly major fans of mixing high end and lower end pieces! We usually tend to splurge on bags and jewelry, since we wear those every day, but other than that, we will look for less expensive options!
We shared some of our favorite investment pieces in this post. We also did a post of look for less options in this post.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOU FAVORITE BELTS FOR WOMEN? AND WHAT SIZE DO YOU WEAR?
Here are some of our favorite belts: we are a size 24/25.
This leather one is $45 and comes in tan and black! Goes with everything!
We have been compensated by QVC for this post. As always, all opinions are our own.
You have probably heard it before, but meal prepping is probably one of the most important things you can do to stay on track health-wise, and even time-management wise!
Not only is it super helpful for meeting your health and fitness goals, but it also saves a ton of money! We were major proponents of this when we were in our last year of school, and when we worked our corporate jobs!
We used to dedicated every Sunday to prepping all of our feed for the week (or most of it), so that we didn’t even have to worry about what we were eating for lunch or dinner the rest of the week. When you have had a long day, the last thing you want to do is cook a bunch of food, or make a healthier choice. We totally get it! Most of us end up eating out, spending more money, and making an unhealthier choice. No bueno!
We wanted to share some of our tips for meal prepping for the week, and what has worked for us and what hasn’t! We honestly still meal prep a little bit, even though we work from home. Being prepared is key!
TIP #1: MAKE A PLAN
It is always a good idea to plan what food you want to make ahead of time! We recommend browsing on pinterest or different blogs for ideas. Figure out what foods you want to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Of course, also figure out how many meals you will be prepping for!
For example, plan out what you will be eating for dinner each night, especially if you plan on switching it up. Then, add in your breakfast and lunches (we typically eat the same things for these meals, so that make it easier). Then, decide what snacks or extras you want!
TIP #2: KEEP IT SIMPLE/FOCUS ON JUST ONE OR TWO MEALS AT FIRST
You don’t have to go from 0 to 100 the first time trying to meal prep. You can keep the meals all very simple (ie: oatmeal, breakfast smoothies for breakfast, power bowls like sweet potato, greens/veggies, and chickpeas for lunch, and slower-cooker meals for dinner like soups or shredded chicken or cooked veggies, etc.
You can also just start by prepping your most time-consuming meal like dinner, so that is ready when you get home after a long day!
TIP #3: COOK FOOD ALL AT ONCE
There are several ways you can cook food at once and make it the most effective!
We recommend roasting or cooking your veggies all at once, chop fresh veggies for salads, etc. while you cook other foods.
If you are going to make pasta or grains, cook those while roasting and chopping the vegetables.
You can also use things like a crockpot/slow cooker to do the cooking for you (for soups, meats, potatoes, etc.)
For smoothies or oatmeal, you can divide out the ingredients needed to make them like portioning out bags of frozen fruit, oatmeal in bags with necessary ingredients).
TIP #4: MIX IT UP
If you are someone who usually gets tired of eating the same meals, try making several different things for lunch and dinner throughout the week, and stick to the same snacks and breakfast.
For example, for breakfast: oatmeal with berries and snacks: hummus or guac with veggies, apples, bananas, etc.
For lunches: making a power bowl with prepped sweet potato, grains, veggies, and then maybe use more of the prepped veggies for a lentil pasta with tomato sauce.
For dinner: make a vegetable soup for a few of the days and alternate with veggies, potatoes, and either salmon or chicken or some grains like quinoa.
TIP #5: GET GOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS/MEAL PREP TOOLS
This is key! Of course, you have to have get good storage containers to hold all your prepped food! We always opt for glass containers, and this set is dishwasher safe for easy clean up!
We love that QVC has so many tools to make meal prepping as easy and efficient as possible and they offer easy returns and free exchanges!
These insulated bags are great for transporting your food to and from work or on-the-go. You can also use these when you make grocery store trips to keep food cold.
We love using these containers to keep our salads and fresh fruit in!
Of course, we couldn’t NOT share this amazing recipe with y’all! If you all are like us, you LOVE sweets, but not always do you want to indulge in something. These gluten free brownies are fudgy, super easy to make, and actually SO good for you!
We have been making them almost every week, and then they are gone way too fast! Even our dad is obsessed with them and begs us to make them for him!
Best part is: you can make them on Sundays and have them as a little treat for the rest of the week… if they last that long!
GLUTEN FREE FUDGE BROWNIES
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/3 cup cacao powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips
1 can chickpeas (15 oz can, drained)
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup organic applesauce
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all dry ingredients ( almond flour, cacao powder, baking soda, and baking powder) in a bowl and stir.
Add wet ingredients (chickpeas, applesauce, maple syrup) in a blender (We used our Vitamix) until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Stir together until combined well.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Add batter to an 8×8 greased pan or line with parchment paper.
Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top, if desired.
Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Once cooled, transfer to fridge so they can firm up!
Anyone else ready for spring?! We sure are! This spring inspired look is perfect as we transition into the more spring months, and if you live somewhere cooler, you can totally wear this outfit with some jeans! This blush scarf from Sole Society is super soft, and we wore it two ways so you all could see that you can wear it as a wrap/shawl, or as your typical scarf.
Now, I am about to get reeeeal personal (Alexis here). I went through a breakup in the last few months that was not expected, or how I thought this point in my life would go, but as I have experienced many other times, you can’t plan out your life, and just have to roll with it. Life is full of ups and downs, and this is a time for me to grow and learn about myself, which I am more than okay with. If you are going through something similar, I hope that this post will help guide you in some way.
Through learning about myself through this past relationship, and my previous one, I realized a lot of life really happens for a reason. As cliche as it sounds, it couldn’t be more true. I am using this time to do stuff for myself: yoga, work (which I do toooooo much of!), spend time with my family, workout, and be social. I know that sounds obvious, of course be social, but for me, I can be a homebody, and since I have my sister around a lot, I don’t feel the need to be super social and put myself out there as much.
My sister and her boyfriend are so sweet and always make me feel so welcome to crash their party any day, but it is important to have my own things going on. Instead of jumping in the dating world again, I am really taking this time to do stuff when I want to do stuff: sleep in, workout whenever I want to, eat dinner at 4PM or at 10PM, haha, etc.
I think in other relationships, it wasn’t that I wasn’t okay with being alone, but I was ready to move on and date again. This time, I am just not, which is a weird feeling for me. I keep saying tomorrow I may change my mind, but for now, I have really been focusing on making new friends, and continuing my existing friendships.
I told myself that I really needed to put myself out there. So, what did I do? Got on BumbleBFF. Yup, sure did! I had been on there before (but the dating side), and figured why not?! My job is on my phone, so it just makes sense for me, haha. I had met so many of my current friends through social media, and this is just another avenue to make newer friends.
At first, I felt kind of awkward. I wouldn’t say embarrassed, just felt weird swiping through a bunch of girls, but after I went on a few “dates”, I realized there were some really sweet and genuine girls out there!
There have been times I have not felt like going out, and would much rather be at home in my pajamas, but I make myself go, and almost always I have a great time! I end up being able to have good girl talk, vent, and just have fun because that is what it is all about!
I hope this was helpful to you all, and if you have been through something similar or are on the fence about Bumble BFF, you should try it out! Let me know your experiences, would love to hear them!
