Health Warrior Pro Tip: Turn your Kitchen Into a Health Sanctuary

Your kitchen needs to be a health haven, a health sanctuary of sorts.

A large populations of Americans (and people around the globe) suffer from obesity, chronic illness, diabetes and a number of other health issues, and they often do not get moment of relief and anxiety caused their specific health condition. 

When most people go out to eat, it is the norm for them to be bombarded with have fast food and unhealthy options nearly everywhere we turn. When we find ourselves out to eat, the food and restaurant industries have made it almost impossible to order something that is "good for you".

This is one of the main reasons why you need to create a sanctuary of health and wellness in your home and in your kitchen. 

If you are trying to live a healthier lifestyle and make better nutritional choices on a daily basis, having junk food in your kitchen cabinets will ensure a rocky and turbulent path towards wellness. 

How To "Unjunk" Your Kitchen

There is only one step. And you thought this was hard...

1. Remove all the junk food in your kitchen.

•   Remove anything in your kitchen with:
  •  Any frozen food (aside from wild salmon, certain seafood and grass feed beef or high quality meats). 
  • Anything that comes in a package or box.
  •  Processed sugars.
  • Hydrogenated oils.
  • High-fructose corn syrup.
  • Added sugar.
  • Gluten.
  • Dairy.
  • Unhealthy oils (high in Omega-6's).
  •  Vegetable oil, canola oil, PAM, Crisco, safflower oil, vegtable oil, etc...

Turning your home into a health sanctuary may seem difficult, but I just laid out for you that there is only one, seemingly simple step, REMOVE THE JUNK. 

Once you are able to see that all it takes is 5-10 minutes to throw out anything (or donate) any food products that was listed, you will see that the cleansing process is actually cathartic and you will be liberated from the proverbial shackles held you in a health purgatory. 

Once your home is clean of junk, you are able to use it as a place of refuge. 

When your emotions are on a rollercoaster, rather than comforting yourself with something high in carbs and refined sugar, you can have a healthy, nutrient rich snack.

This is just the first step on embarking on an epic journey of health, wellness and self discovery. If you stack the deck in your favor, more often than not you will emerge victorious.

Coconut Whipped Cream

I am not a sucker for sweets, but for some reason, every time I see whipped cream my mouth waters and I cannot control myself. Whether it is on top of a pumpkin pie, a key lime pie, sitting alone at a Sunday bar, or on top of a hot chocolate, whipped cream is my kryptonite. In the effort of full disclosure, when I was young, I used to go to the grocery store with my family and hide the heavy whipping cream canisters in the bottom of the shopping cart so that once we got in the car I could be shooting whipped cream into my mouth with no regard for human life.

The truth is, my love for whipped cream has not waned. However, I am fully aware of what dairy does to my digestive system, my skin, and my overall health. So I did a little research and found a great alternative to whipped cream.

The answer: coconut whipped cream.

As you know by now, coconuts are a super food. They have a myriad of health benefits and they also taste great too! So I created a recipe that, if you are a dairy and a sweets lover, this will supplement your cravings and will help you get back on the track towards optimum health.

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Tools & Ingredients

A whisk, an electric whisk works best.

1 can of coconut milk (not light) or two cans of coconut cream.

One tablespoon of honey (You could also use vanilla extract or maple syrup). *optional

Instructions

Put bowl in freezer for 30 minutes before making whipped cream.

Open can of coconut milk and separate out the liquid and only use the coconut cream (the thick substance in the can).

Use sweetener of your choice (vanilla, honey or maple syrup)

Whisk the cream until there are wispy clouds in the mix.

Once finished, put in fridge until you are ready to enjoy!

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Why is this good for you?

Coconuts are one of the best things you can eat. They are high in healthy fats and they protect you against heart disease by increasing good cholesterol (HDL) and lowering the ratio of bad and good cholesterol. Coconuts are great for digestion since they are exceptionally easy to absorb and they also help diabetics by slowing the sugar release into the blood stream.

Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which can increase how many calories you burn compared to the same amount of other fats. One study found that 15-30 grams of MCTs per day increased 24 hour energy expenditure by 5%, totaling about 120 calories per day.

Coconuts are a powerful superfood, and the more coconut or coconut oil you use in your diet, the better off you will be.

This is one of my favorite recipes, and it helps that when I am eating a "sweet", it actually is doing wonders for my OVERALL health!