Hi friends! I’m so excited to welcome Udo Erasmus back to the show today! He’s someone who genuinely inspires me, and has so much wisdom to share, and I’m thrilled he agreed to come back to another episode. You can check out the previous episode, #152, here. 

His 8-step process that takes into consideration all of the elements of whole health, including mental health, presence and awareness, life energy, and being in harmony with nature and humanity.

The legendary Udo Erasmus is the co-founder of Udo’s Choice line, which can be found in Whole Foods and other health food stores worldwide. Udo designed the machinery for making oils with health in mind and pioneered flax oil, a billion dollar industry. However, Udo walked a difficult path tobecome the man he is today. Being a child of war, Udo’s life began with intense struggle. As an adult, he got pesticide poisoning in 1980, leaving doctors at a loss regarding treatment. Deciding to take his health into his own hands, Udo began researching, and his discoveries led him to a passion for finding the answers to life’s big questions which would hopefully one day bring him and the world peace.

Today, Udo is an acclaimed speaker and author of many books, including the best-selling Fats That Heal Fats That Kill, which has sold over 250,000 copies. He teaches at events hosted by Tony Robbins and Deepak Chopra, has keynoted an international brain health conference, and has traveled to over 30 countries to conduct thousands of live presentations, media interviews, and staff trainings impacting more than 25,000,000 lives with his message on oils, health, peace, nature, and human nature. Udo has an extensive education in biochemistry, genetics, biology, and nutrition, including a master’s degree in counseling psychology.

You can connect with him on his website and Read more

Sharing tips on how to get side crow pose!  

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you’re enjoying the morning so far! I’m getting in a quick workout and then getting to work here.. our floors are being replaced and that means we have to move everything downstairs. It’s a mess, but will be amazing when it’s done!

For today, let’s talk about yoga things. Yoga has been something that has felt consistently good to me for many years. I can’t believe I started practicing 20 years ago!! I’ve loved my yoga journey, especially yoga teacher training. It’s taught me a lot about patience, presence, and grace. Sometimes a yoga practice feels amazing, and other times, it feels incredibly difficult and challenging.

One of my favorite arm balances: side crow! In today’s post, I thought I’d do a lil how-to for this post if it’s something you’re working on.

Exploring different yoga poses not only diversifies your practice but also builds physical strength in various parts of your body. The Side Crow Pose, also known as Parsva Bakasana or the ‘twisted crow pose’, is a powerful arm-balancing posture that not only strengthens your upper arms, core, and wrists but also engages your lower body in a deep twist.

*Note: it’s helpful to go over this pose with a certified yoga instructor, so they can check your form and give you tips!

Side Crow Pose In Yoga

The Side Crow Pose is an advanced arm balance that involves lifting your feet off the floor and bending your elbows deeply while maintaining a deep twist.

It’s a variation of the Crow Pose, but with a more challenging twist, literally. While it can be intimidating at first, mastering the Side Crow Pose is deeply satisfying and rewarding.

Here are some tips on getting started! As always, move within a range that works for your body. Talk with a doctor before making any fitness changes.

Benefits Of Side Crow Pose

Builds upper body strength

Engages core muscles

Enhances balance and coordination

Improves focus and concentration

Stimulates digestion

How To Do Side Crow Pose: Step by Step

Step 1: Chair Pose to Twisting Torso

Start in a Chair Pose, bringing your palms together at heart center. Begin to twist your torso to the side, hooking one elbow outside the opposite knee.

Step 2: Deep Squat and Palms Placement

Sit your hips down lower into a deep squat, bringing the hands down to the floor. Place the palms shoulder-width apart, fingers spread wide. Create a deep bend in the elbows, making a “shelf” for your legs.

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Sharing how I got back to wearing makeup after being diagnosed with dry eye, blepharitis and MGD, as well as my favorite brands. This is not medical advice; I’m just sharing my experience!

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you’re having a wonderful morning! We’re finishing up Rodeo break (wah) so the kids are back to school and it’s back to the swing of things around here. I hope you have a great day!

For today’s post, I wanted to do a reader’s request after a comment I received last week. Ever since I posted about my eye issues, I’ve been overwhelmed by amazing messages and comments, but also saddened to hear that so many of you have found yourselves in a similar boat with sudden flares, autoimmune issues, and painful, red eyes. While I was in the depths of all of this last year, I was so frustrated and sad. I couldn’t see myself ever wearing contacts or eye makeup again. (I have no foresight whatsoever, so in my mind, what is happening now means it will be happening forever.)

I couldn’t wear makeup for many months and slowly made my way back to contacts and eye makeup. It’s taken a lot of work and healing – I’ll share more on my healing journey and everything I’ve done to decrease my histamine responses and inflammation in an upcoming post – but *knock on wood* I can finally make it through the day without constantly thinking about my eyes. Just putting that hope out there for my dry eye friends — it can and will get better. This won’t be forever. Hang in there, friends.

Please remember that I’m not a doctor and this isn’t medical advice. At the same time, many traditional eye doctors were mystified by my situation and didn’t know how to help me. I was determined to get to the root cause and improve the issue, and have done a lot of research and experiments on myself along the way. Shout out to my beloved dry eye specialist who gave me some answers and guidance! Also shout out to the beauty of functional testing, because I learned so much about how stress was affecting me, my gut imbalances, toxicities, and deficiencies.

wearing makeup with blepharitis, dry eye, and MGD

Here’s t

Perfectly crisp on top and irresistibly soft inside, these Cinnamon Cookies are a fabulous blend of warm cinnamon and sweet sugar.

Cinnamon Cookies

These cinnamon cookies are the perfect afternoon snack with your morning coffee or an afternoon cup of tea. I came up with these while playing with our family cookie recipes to create gluten-free variations for a friend.

I wanted a version of classic Snickerdoodle cookies that could be made with butter alone, eliminating the traditional shortening in that recipe. If you prefer a cookie with a more cake-like texture, simply substitute shortening for ½ of the butter in this recipe.

This cinnamon sugar cookies recipe results in slightly thinner cookies than traditional snickerdoodles. They have wonderfully crisp edges and chewy centers, and have a distinct, buttery cinnamon sugar flavor. Call me very happy.

If you’d like more gluten-free cookie recipes, be sure to check out all of the gluten free dessert recipes on this website. I’ve worked hard to create cookie recipes (and other desserts!) that will safely satisfy the cravings of my GF friends.

What are Crinkle Cookies?

You may be wondering, “What are crinkle cookies?” I can’t recall the first time I heard this type of cook

Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole [+Video]

Picky eaters are going to love this Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole. Mom called it busy day casserole because it’s a quick and easy dinner.

Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole

Alright, this Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole recipe is definitely not my norm, but it is who I am and it happens to be a recipe that I get a crazy amount of emails about. I get loads of emails about our fabulous buttermilk pancakes too…have you tried those?! Total comfort food just like this casserole.

A long time ago (and seriously, check out the picture and you’ll laugh your heart out at how little I knew about food photography), I posted a recipe called Busy Day Casserole and it has been one of my top recipes for years now. It never disappears from the most viewed recipes. In fact, a lot of our hamburger recipe ideas are our top recipes. You can find them all here.

People love this cheesy ground beef and rice casserole, and while it’s totally simple I know why. This quick and easy dinner idea with ground beef and melted cheese is in fact the cure for all picky eaters. It’s very dependent on you for the seasoning so for picky eaters it’s perfect, but if you want more flavor season it well or add in more vegetables. If you wanted to try something similar, but with chicken, try this cheesy ranch chicken casserole!

read more: Looking for easy casserole recipes? Try our Pork Chop Casserole with Rice next!

What’s in This Ground Beef Casserole Recipe?

The ingredients you’ll need for this ground beef and rice recipe will vary depending on whether you want to make this casserole completely from scratch, semi-homemade, or if you’d rather throw together something really quickly (i.e. use a few shortcuts). 

If you have the time and energy, I highly recommend making this casserole recipe with ground beef from scratch. Don’t let the longer ingredients list fool you, I bet you already have most of them on hand already!

To make this cheesy beef and rice casserole completely from scratch, you’ll need some butter, onion, garlic, flour, cream, chicken broth, veggies, cheese, white rice, ground beef, and water. Oh, and salt and pepper, of course! 

If you’re look