I am a Weekly Grocery Shopper

vegetables

I am constantly grocery shopping to keep up with fresh foods.

I changed the way I eat drastically in a way. I’ve always loved healthy foods and it was not hard to eat healthy so I thought. I just wasn’t doing it the right way. All my meals always had a carb and a protein together. Therefore making it a catalyst meal in my stomach which made acid break it all down. I was constantly overeating and maybe only eating 3 or 4 times a day. I was getting nowhere and feeling sicker.

Once I changed my meals, to just carbs or just protein I no longer was eating things out of a box! That was a huge deal for me. Most foods that come out of a box or can have a lot of additives and preserves. I needed to be eating fresh clean foods that have a lot of nutrients to heal my damaged digestive tract. It was not easy! I slowly worked my way into it and now look 3 months later I am finally having very little pain. About a week or two ago I started to bring fresh meats back into my diet and I am slowly switching back over to high protein and veggies and very little carbs.

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Without even knowing what I was doing I started shopping an “Urban” style of shopping.

You’re probably wondering what I am talking about so I’ll explain a little to you. First, off this style of shopping mostly came from Europe because of a higher percentage of people live in urban settings then America. We are pretty spread out here in America, making it harder to go to the grocery store every day or a couple of times a week. Think of it as a health investment though! Don’t look at it as a chore look at it as an investment in your health! By shopping more, even if it is every Saturday or Sunday to get your fresh foods. You are saving money by not letting anything go to waste. Also, something I found that works well is to buy the markdown foods on there sell-by date making them cheaper and Ill cook them that day.

When it comes to grocery shopping for me there are some veggies I always keep stocked in the house!

I love these veggies because I can make a lot of meals with them. They are Kale, spinach, zucchini, fresh garlic, onion, portabella mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, and red potatoes. It sounds like a lot but I have found that if I always keep those ingredients stocked I’m good to go. I probably stop 3 times a week at the local grocery store, to pick up fresh meats or anything I might need for the meals I’m making. You may be thinking that’s crazy I don’t have time for that and I don’t really either what so ever! I have made it a lifestyle habit to always have fresh foods in my house. Working in town or close to town allows me to stop on my way home from work to pick up whatever I may need. My health comes the first-period end of story.

You don’t always have to go to the grocery store and spend over 100$. I use to do that just because I wanted to stay stocked up. By doing that I bought too many vegetables, which ended in a lot of them going bad because I didn’t get to them in time. I had plenty of other foods to cook. I came up with a way to try to not waste any foods in my fridge. When I start to run out of food Ideas I will go on Pinterest and look up recipes with food that I have in my house, then I tweak the recipe to what I have in my house. Its been working really well lately. It also helps save you money and get your fridge cleaned out before anything goes to waste. Then I go grocery shopping and stock up with all my basic ingredients.

You will learn what works for your lifestyle and what doesn’t just like I’m doing. Don’t be scared to try new things and give your self an hour or two a day to make your food. The only way to eat clean and healthy is to prepare your own foods.

I look at it as investing in your self! You are worth it!

Hopefully, you found some of this information helpful.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave questions and comments. I’m always posting the food I make on Instagram.

Importance of Exfoliating

exfoliating

Let’s Talk Exfoliation

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 This is one of my new favorite body scrubs!! It is made locally by Raw Garden Scrubs, this one is the Orange Clove.

Exfoliating is a very important part of our skincare routines.

When a proper exfoliation is done it removes the barrier of dead skin cells that have been clogging the skin and uncovers fresh newer skin cells. Allowing moisturizers or other nourishing serums to penetrate more deeply into the skin, which makes them more effective.

Why do we need to Exfoliate?

When you find your skin looking dull, rough, or dry. It’s probably time for exfoliation. The skin cells have started to pile up on the surface of your skin. Therefore, the more buildup of dead skin cells can result in excess oils and clogged pores leading to blemishes or acne.

What are some of the benefits?

Exfoliating improves the texture of your skin, making your skin feel silky soft to the touch. It also helps with evening skin tone.

Proper exfoliation can help counteract signs of aging, by helping our skin get rid of dead skin. As we age the ability to shed our skin cells naturally slows down. Sucks I know!

It helps with breakouts, allowing the blemishes to come to the surface faster. This helps keep your skin from future clogged pores when we are constantly cleaning them out.

Oily and Acne-Prone?

This is me all the way! When it comes to exfoliating oily and acne-prone skin stay away from rough physical scrubs because they can contribute to breakouts. I stick with getting an acne facial treatments once a month (I try really hard to stick with that). I also have these corrective rounds from Believe that are a mini peel, I use that twice a week.

Sensitive Skin?

You all have to be extra careful not to over-exfoliate, especially in the winter where most people’s skin gets dehydrated more than usual. A good antioxidant scrub twice or three times a week spreading the days out will be good. Just remember your sensitive! Acne-prone can still be sensitive!

Body Exfoliation

Now when it comes to the body you don’t have to be as gentle as you are with the face! I still like to keep it as natural as possible though! My go-to always is just a plain natural sugar right out of the cabinet. So I’m just going to share some of my favorite body scrubs!

The first one is Orange Clove made by Raw Garden Scrubs. Absolutely love is scrub makes your skin feel refreshed and exfoliated! I highly recommend checking their other products out! Also, use another one of there the Vanilla Pomegranate.

This is what I use on my face for a weekly exfoliation!

Hopefully, some of that information was helpful!:)

Best Ways To Prevent Premature Aging Skin

Pink Skin

What I’ve been doing to prevent premature aging skin.

No matter what our skin will age with us if we let it.

80% of how your skin ages, is in your control!!!

I’m already wishing I had started taking better care of my skin at a younger age. But sadly the truth is I did not quite care that much about my skin when I was a teenager.

I struggled with acne my whole life from the start of puberty into adulthood. I’m 25 years old, almost 26 and finally excepted the fact that I am acne-prone and will forever have to learn to keep my acne managed & in check.

Crazy to think that my acne has driven me to be fascinated by skin, opening my eyes to the aging side!

We can start to see wrinkles as early as 25 years old. Not sure about you but I am going to do whatever it takes to prevent aging, from happening.

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These are some tips that I personally use to prevent aging skin and highly suggest you add to your lifestyle.

  • Drink More Water!

Ahh yes, the sound of a broken record! You already knew this was going to be the first tip. Our skin from head to toe is our largest organ; it makes up 15% of our weight! It needs water to stay hydrated. (You’re like a grape don’t dry out and turn into a raisin). We are all mostly dehydrated from our acidic lifestyles, everything starts from inside. Learn more ways to hydrate & alkalize the body.

  • Eat Fruits & Vegetables

Yes, fruits & veggies have lots of health’s benefits but their vitamins feed our skin that houses our hair and nails. Our skin needs vitamins from A-K. They all serve their purpose in benefiting our skin.

  • Don’t let your skin get dry!

Keep that beautiful skin of yours moisturized because dry skin is at the top of the list when it comes to aging skin. Even if you have oily skin like me, find a good oil-free moisturizer. If you’re prone to dry skin, find a good hyaluronic serum that you put under your moisturizer to bind the moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated.

My hands are proof that you shouldn’t let your skin get dry out! They show the most age.

  • Always use some form of SPF!!!

I can’t stress this one enough! The sun can be our worst enemy. UV rays cause 90% of premature aging skin which involves wrinkles. Those spots you call age spots, well most of them are sun damage. Along with the risk of skin cancer. Please, where some sort of sunscreen.

  • Keep your Skin Exfoliated

This will help your skin renew faster and allow your cells to turn over without clogging. Exfoliating the skin has many benefits from leaving the skin soft, evening skin tone and so on. As we age sometimes our skin needs help. Getting professional exfoliation is a must, the results are amazing. Please never ever over-exfoliate, it will set you back from getting the results you want and it will make your skin sensitive. Therefore, that being said no more than 2 or 3 times a week, should you be exfoliating. We don’t want to be exfoliating back to back. These are great at home exfoliators.

When it comes to deep exfoliation by professionals, it is good to get them every 4 to 6 weeks (Depending on which service you got done, check with your skincare provider) it will keep your skin on a great schedule and help you see the results you want.

  • Get some sleep!!

Our lives are crazy and we just don’t get enough sleep as we should.  But we should be getting at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night. It is very important due to the fact that a lot is happening while our bodies are at rest. When we are sleeping, cellular renewal is taking place. Cellular renewal is when the body is repairing its self from free radicals from everyday damage from environmental and natural damages.

Well, there you have it what I am doing currently to prevent MY skin from aging early.

Hopefully, you found some of this information helpful in preventing premature aging skin.

I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Xoxo

Bria