Clarity Wellness

Have I ever told you how much I love Costco? They do an amazing job of finding high quality products at the best prices so we buy most of our grocery staples there. Let's take a trip around the store, and I'll point out some of my favorites along the way. 1. In my store, the first section you come to after you pass the clothing and housewares is the alcohol section, so we'll start there. :) If you want to stay low-carb and still enjoy a cocktail from time to time, grab a bottle of the Kirkland vodka and a case of sparkling water. 2. Next comes the meat section, where we pick up a pack of organic ground beef, some organic chicken thighs, breasts, and/or wings, and whatever else might be on our list for the week. 3. In the refrigerated section we often find snack packs of cheese, sausage, pre-cooked chicken, and guacamole or avocado mash. They also have a great selection of good quality brie, aged cheddar, Parmesan, mozzarella, etc.  Look for the ones that come straight f...

I hope you're enjoying your summer so far!  If you've worked hard to establish a low-carb eating routine, you may be a little worried about what will happen when you go on vacation.  Never fear!  It's easier than you think, and you may actually welcome the chance for a clean slate and an environment that isn't full of snacks and temptations provided by the rest of your family! :) Snacks: Raw nuts, especially macadamias or pecans. They’re easy to overeat, though, so make sure you measure out a ¼ cup portion and put the rest away. If you keep them in the freezer they are even more satisfying to chew. :) Hard-boiled eggs. Top with a little hot sauce, mustard, or salt. Avocado!!! Scoop out the seed and add olive oil and salt, hot sauce, salsa, or tuna salad.  You could also get the avocado mash containers from Costco. Veggie sticks with nut butter or cream cheese. Full-fat Greek yogurt topped with berries, mixed with a spoonful of nut butter, or mixed with Everythin...

My favorite place to get in a stair workout on vacation. I know you have the best of intentions to keep up with your exercise plan this summer, but what happens when you go on vacation and your regular routine is suddenly interrupted?   It can be really hard to get back on track once you return home, so it's a good idea to keep at least a small semblance of an exercise routine in your life each day while you're away. Some vacations naturally include a healthy dose of exercise by default.  You may be hiking, swimming, or walking around Disneyland all day.  Others may include a lot of lounging on the beach or next to a pool (with a cocktail in hand!)  Whatever your idea of a good time, here are some ways to make sure you keep up the healthy habits you've worked so hard to implement. 1.  Explore the town on foot.   I love to go for long walks or run around a town that I'm visiting.  If we're staying in a hotel I often ask the front desk staff for recommen...

  I don't know about you, but I've got lots of plans for this summer.  The fact that it's going to be a shorter break than usual makes things a little more complicated, but still, I'm excited to get out of the normal routine and use the time off for some personal growth projects, some household projects, and some long-awaited travel. Many of us, emerging from our Covid cocoons, have big plans for self-improvement.  We want to implement exercise programs, eat healthier meals, and shed the Covid pounds that crept up on us while keeping us comfortably insulated from the outside world.  Making the plans is the fun and easy part.  Keeping up on our plans and actually making them work is the not-so-easy part.  Here are some ways to help you stick to your plan. 1.  Write it down.   This seems obvious to most people (ok, maybe just to me), but I like to write things down as the first step in any process I undertake.  Make a list of things you want to...

  The term " self-care " gets thrown around a lot these days, but how many of us really know what that means, and even more importantly, how many of us actually do that?  With all the stress in our lives it's so important that we give ourselves a break from time to time to stop and recharge our systems.   Even the things we don't normally see as stressful are enough to raise our cortisol and adrenaline levels, adding to a baseline level of stress that our bodies and minds are not meant to handle.   Watching the news?  Scrolling through Facebook?  Sitting in traffic?  Staring at a computer screen all day?  Feeling a lack of purpose in our lives?  The pandemic has not helped things with the underlying anxiety we are feeling on a regular basis.  It all adds up and affects our mood, our sleep, our hormones, and our overall health.  We need to build daily self-care routines into our days, and every once in a while we need to ta...

Here in Arizona, allergy season is in full swing.  Trees are blooming, grass is growing, yellow dust is flying everywhere, and noses are itching!  I've dealt with allergies all my life.  I had the cute little crease in my nose when I was younger, I had sinus polyps removed at 18, and I spent years of my life in doctors' offices waiting to make sure I didn't react to allergy shots.  I've had allergy testing done several times, but I've never had better results and better data than when I took matters into my own hands and figured out where the problems were coming from.  Years of allergy shots didn't change a thing, but years of self-testing have made a huge difference. The first thing any allergist will tell you is get rid of the offenders.  I know that I'm allergic to most types of pollen, so I avoid those as much as I can.  If I need to do yardwork I wear a mask, and try to do the best I can to keep my house clean. I avoid synthetic fragrances, and m...

I love to plan! Planning trips, planning my day, planning meals--it doesn't always mean I follow through with what I planned, but it does make things go more smoothly when I have at least a general idea of what the day will look like. When it comes to eating, our lives are so busy that it makes things much easier when there is a plan in mind, ingredients ready, and an overall flow to the week. The first thing you need to do is plan a time each week to plan! My time is usually Sunday morning before the rest of the family is up. I look at the calendar to see which events we may have in the evenings that affect how much time I have to cook, who will be home, and what time we will eat.  I usually plan on 1-2 restaurant nights, one leftover night, and maybe a “breakfast for dinner night," so that leaves me with 3-4 meals to plan. Here's a list of things to prep, but of course, adjust it to meet you and your family's meal preferences. Move any meat you might need from the...