Interested in switching to safer products? In this post, I’m sharing ingredients to avoid in your beauty products and why it matters for overall health.

I’ll be honest, my journey to switching to safer personal care and beauty products began long after my health journey started. I’ve dedicated much of my life to fitness and eating well, but it wasn’t until more recently that I learned what I put ON my body matters just as much as what I put IN my body.

Lack of Regulation

Unlike the food industry, the beauty industry is unfortunately highly unregulated. The last major law regulating this multi-billion dollar industry was passed in 1938 – that’s over 80 years ago! Since then, thousands of chemicals have been introduced and companies can get away with sneaking toxic and potentially harmful ingredients into their products. Asbestos in makeup!? Scary!

My journey of switching to safer products for myself and my family and been slow and steady. I am so grateful I linked arms with Beautycounter a few years ago because it’s been an immense source of education and resources (not to mention, the community aspect and prosperous leg of my business).

As for regulating personal care products, the European Union is leading the way banning around 1,400 ingredients; Canada restricts around 600… and the United States, a measly 30! The FDA currently does not have authority to regulate what’s in our products, so it is really up to us individuals.

Once we know better, we can do better; by purchasing products with safer ingredients, we are voting with our dollar.

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Green Chile Carnitas are the perfect combination of two of my favorite savory things. It’s tough to find a combo that beats pork and green chile in my mind.

Carnitas are cooked until melt in your mouth tender; then roasted at high temperature until the edges caramelize.

Green Chile Carnitas

Deliciously seasoned pork carnitas are something we make as often as possible. Carnitas are delicious on their own but they become the star of so many dishes from salads to tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and countless other meals.

The crispy chopped bits of pork make the most delicious tacos. The meat is already full of flavor and perfect when topped with cilantro, onion, cheese, lime, and pico de gallo.

The beauty of this recipe is you can use the pork shoulder or a pork butt. I love finding them on sale at the grocery store and turning them into carnitas of all kinds.

My usual go-to recipe for carnitas is unique as it does not use traditional Mexican spices, but is deliciously flavored with citrus, onions, and salt and pepper.

Green Chile Pork

You’ll need these ingredients to make this recipe:

• boneless pork shoulder or butt roast 
• onion 
• ground cumin
• granulated garlic or garlic powder
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• chopped green ch

PB&J protein smoothie

You know how a song, smell, or a bite of something can take you back to a moment? That’s what this PB&J smoothie is going to do for you too! Right back to being a kid eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but better.

This one is packed with about 25g of protein to build lean muscle and burn fat, healthy fats to curb cravings, and an immunity boost we could all use right now!

And the best part? It will talk you less than 2 minutes to make!

PB&J Smoothie Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen strawberries (or other berries you love)
• 1 cup unsweetened oat milk
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 scoop LSF Vanilla Plant Protein or LSF PB Plant Protein
• 1 scoop LSF Wing Woman Immunity Boost

Smoothie Directions

Add all ingredients above in the order listed to a blender. Blend on high until smooth and enjoy!

Get Your Peanut Butter On

This smoothie is honestly great ANY time of day. It has a perfect balance of healthy fats, carbs, and proteins so you can’t go wrong. I love making this one for breakfast (maybe throw in some spinach for greens you won’t taste!), but it also makes a perfect post-workout snack too!

The post PB&J Protein Smoothie appeared first on Love Sweat Fitness.

Sharing the top reader favorites that I’ve recommended here on the blog in 2022! 

Hi hi! How are you? I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We spent the weekend celebrating Liv’s birthday! I’ll share some more pics in Friday Faves but we had an awesome dinner with her friends, saw Annie yesterday with my mom and nana, and the family came over for dinner. I hope you had a lovely weekend, too!

For today’s post, I wanted to share the reader faves from 2022! It’s always fun to look back on my analytics and see what your favorite finds were from the blog. Y’all have good taste, I tell ya. 😉

Here are the top picks from last year!

Top 10 reader purchases of 2022

1. HigherDOSE Sauna Blanket

The best sauna blanket in the land reigns supreme. I got this little beauty a couple of years ago (and upgraded to the newest version), and it’s still something I really look forward to in my routine. Since it’s been colder outside, I find myself craving the warmth and sweat. I always use it 2-3 times per week, and lately it’s been every couple of days. When I use my sauna blanket, it opens up my detox pathways (I sweat WAY more than I do during most workouts), I notice an improvement in my skin, and I sleep like a rock.

I’m so so happy so many of you are enjoying this one, too! If you decided to order one for yourself, use FITNESSISTA15 to get 15% sitewide.

2. Sakara meals

This is another thing that makes my heart happy that you all enjoy it, too! I look forward to these meals EVERY month. They’re a little treat and I gift myself some beautiful eats and some convenience. I book them during my busiest weeks, and it feels like the truest form of self care to eat a nutritious meal I didn’t have to make myself. A lot of friends have ordered Sakara meals just for lunch, as it can be one of the hardest meals to get in during a busy day. Check out all of the amazing options here and use XOGINAH for 20% off!

3. The tee shirt dress

Love this cute and casual Rails dress. It’s perfect with low-top sneakers and a baseball cap.

4. These golden goose sneakers

I was debating on these sneakers before I bought my other recent pairs of GG and they’re the perfect neutral.

5. The best egg chair!

I got this egg chair for our balcony for a steal and so pumped that many of you snagged it up, too.

6. These heeled sandals

These were so inexpensive but the quality is excellent. I hope they’re still in style this spring because I still plan on wearing them.

7. The jeans I wear constantly

This is when I dubiously accepted the fact that skinny jeans are no longer for the cool kids. This was my compromise. They’re still fitted enough to be flattering, but looser on the bottom to be more on trend.

8. This cozy cardigan

I’m wearing this cardigan while I type this blo

Tangy, sweet Honey Lime Jalapeno Vinaigrette delivers a hint of lingering heat that few can resist. It’s perfect on salads or drizzled over street tacos or burrito bowls.

Jalapeno Vinaigrette

My husband was working out of town a while back and he texted me one night to tell me about the fantastic honey-lime jalapeño vinaigrette from one of the restaurants he visited. His only dinner request that week was that I try to figure out how to make it.

Consider it done. He was a very happy camper with the version I created! This spicy, citrus dressing sweetened with a touch of honey was just the right combination.

I served this jalapeno lime dressing for dinner the first time I made it with a huge chopped vegetable salad loaded with chicken, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and just about anything else I could think of adding to it. It was so good!

I offered my boys ranch dressing for their salads, thinking that they might not want to try this one. However, two of them surprised me by liking the jalapeno dressing every bit as much as the adults did.

While to some people, salads may seem boring, I just can’t relate to that sentiment. Between changing up the toppings to different homemade dressings. I can eat them every day. In fact, I do. Check out my best tips for eating salad every day and loving it!

Want a few more awesome dressings to try that are a bit off the beaten path? Chipotle, garlic, and lime are combined to create a crazy flavorful Chipotle Vinaigrette that you are going to love.

This Pepperoncini Lime Vinaigrette is perfect for light salads or heartier ones, like this southwestern steak salad. The finely diced pepperoncini give a slight bite and the dill complements it nicely.

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