With only 5 minutes prep time, this quick smoothie is a great and tasty (who doesn't love PB & J?!) option, especially when you are dealing with digestive issues.  In addition to being Low-FODMAP, this smoothie is also gluten-free and vegan.  If you have allergies or experience GERD, be sure to follow the special note for suggestions. Thanks to Karen Frazier, IBS/GERD Expert for sharing this recipe from her newest cookbook, The Quick and Easy IBS Relief Cookbook, with us. 

We often think of our phones as another source of stress - they're so often with us and asking for our attention.  However, there are a lot of great apps that can help you to take control of your mental health, and even find moments of grounding.

Pacifica

iOS, Android, & Web, free to download, subscription for full access

Pacifica is an all-in-one app that is designed to help manage stress and anxiety. The app provides guided self-help like mindfulness and cogitive behavioural activites, as well as relaxation like meditation and progressive muscle relaxation exercises.  The app also allows you to set goals and track your mood and progress over time to help identify patterns. 

 

Talkspace

iOS, Android, Starts at $32/week

Accessing therapy can be difficult - from finding the right fit, to fitting it into your busy life, to affording it.  Talkspace is an online therapy app that takes therapy into the 21st century.  A matching therapist will work with you to find you a licensed, background-checked therapist who suits your needs.  From there, you can message your therapist whenever you'd like and get responses.  If you need a little more facetime, you can also schedule video sessions.

 

Stop Breathe Think

iOS, Android, Web, Free with option add-ons

Stop Breathe and Think is an easy-to-use app that is a great introduction to meditation and mindfulness.  When you sign into the app, you're given a few minutes to select how you're feeling both mentally and physically, as well as any emotions.  The app will then recommend a short selection of meditations for you to do based on what you need in the moment.  Most of the meditations are fairly short, making this a great app to try.

What's Up?

iOS, Android, Free.

What's Up? is a great, free app that provides you with Cogntive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in your pocket.  Resources include games to help you stay grounded, breathing exercises for relaxation, activities to overcome negative thinking patterns, and more.  The app also includes a diary for tracking your emotions and habits.

Mindshift

iOS, Android, Free.

Although Mindshift is created for teens and young adults, it's a fantastic resource for anyone dealing with anxiety. The app provides information about ways to manage different types of anxiety, including perfectionism, test anxiety, social anxiety, and more.

Stigma

iOS, coming soon to Android, Free

Stigma makes tracking your mood easier with tools like a word cloud and reminders set up to your own schedule. The app also allows you to share your posts annonomously so you can give and reveive peer support.

Wildflower 

iOS, Android, free to download with in-app purchases

Wildflowers is a mindfulness meditation app that takes mindfulness to the next level.  The app uses your phone's camera to measure your heart rate, providing data which helps the app to learn more about you.  You can also use their meditation suggestion tool to find meditations for your mood, and track your progress in the journal.

 

Happify

iOS, Android, Free.

Happify is an app that focuses on, you guessed it, happiness! Based on science, the app provides a selection of activities that are designed to boost your mood, reduce negative thinking, and improve mindfulness and relaxation.

 

Calm Harm

iOS, Android, Free

Designed specifically to help manage urges to self-harm, Calm Harm has categories of tasks so you can choose what you need in that moment. Distract helps to develop self-control, comfort offers ways to care for yourself rather than harm, express helps to release emotions, and release provides safe alternatives to self-harm.

This box was designed to capture the ease and simplicity of summer nights, and included a collection of items to inspire you to take an evening or a few moments for self-care.  Let's take a look at what was inside!

 

Whimsy by Lindsay Cooling Menthol Foot Scrub

Refresh with this cooling foot scrub to soothe tired feet. Natural jojoba and raw turbinado sugar exfoliate skin while cacao butter, shea butter and sweet almond oil lock in moisture. Vegan and cruelty-free. 

I knew I right away that I wanted to include a cooling bath or body product, and this menthol-based, natural food scrub was perfect! Our feet take a beating, especially during the summer, and this is the prefect way to refresh them.

 

Mink Chocolates Mermaid's Choice Salted Caramel Sauce

Handcrafted in Vancouver, this delicious combination combines caramel with fleur de sel and a touch of rosemary. In addition to an ice cream topping, its also delicious on pancakes, french toast, or fresh fruit. 

I thought that sundae toppings would be such a fun treat for a summertime box!  I love that this caramel sauce is locally made (and award-winning!). 

Sweetapolita Chocolate Crunchy Sprinkles

Candy sweet, these chocolate sprinkles contain a touch of cocoa and are yummy on their own as well as on an ice cream sundae. Vegan and gluten-free. 

These vegan sprinkles complement the caramel sauce perfectly!  I love that they are chocolate flavoured to add a touch of cocoa.

Canvas Candle Co. Bug Be Gone

Enjoy your relaxing summer evening bug-free with this soy candle hand poured in Port Moody, BC. Citronella essential oil keeps bugs away naturally while the fresh lemongrass scent is super relaxing. 

A simple summer evening makes me instantly think of relaxing on the patio - which can be problematic with bugs.  I already love Canvas Candle Co., and love that this candle has lemongrass so get the relaxing benefits of burning a candle while also keeping bugs away.

 

Mes Amies Soaps Facial Mask Bar

This facial mask bar is made with a selection of ingredients to care for your skin: activated charcoal and kaolin clay to remove impurities, aloe vera and shea butter to soothe and moisturize, and frankincense to renew dry, and tired skin.

I discovered Mes Amies Soaps awhile back, and fell in love with their facial mask bars!  It's such a unique idea, and makes applying a facial mask less messy, which makes you want to take the time to treat yourself even more.  This bar has activated charcoal and clay to help cleanse your skin.

 

Reviews

"This was definitely a great way to relax after a stressful week!" - @ashleylaurenshea

"These were SO lovely to use on a balmy summer night: candlelight + beauty routines + topped off with a frothy vegan latte w/ chocolate sprinkles? yes please. I love that this box encourages you, in a gentle way, to indulge in the little things" - A Wildflower Spirit

"I absolutely LOVE the Summer Evenings theme this month. It couldn’t be more perfect. Caring Crate is lovely…….that’s the best word to describe it…..absolutely lovely." - A Year of Boxes

When you're feeling overwhelmed, confused, frustrated, scared, or sad about what's going on in the world, it can be difficult to find comfort.  If you're protesting, fighting, or feeling helpless, self-care is especially important during this time.  Music is a great place to turn to help release these emotions and settle your mind, if only for a moment.  Opt for this playlist whenever you need a dose of comfort.  Bonus points if you add in other acts of self-care while you listen, like colouring or a warm bath.

Freedom - Amos Lee

Freedom is seldom found/ By beating someone to the ground

We The People....- A Tribe Called Quest

Dreaming of a world that's equal for women with no division/ Boy, I tell you that's vision

Rise Up - Andra Day

And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe/ And I know you feel like dying/ But I promise we'll take the world to its feet/ And move mountains

 

Keep Your Head Up- Ben Howard

Oh my my darlin' keep your head up, keep your heart strong.
No no no no, keep your mind set in your ways, keep your heart strong.

 

Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall - Coldplay

Don't want to see another generation drop
I'd rather be a comma than a full stop

 

Roll Away Your Stone - Mumford and Sons

Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine
Together we can see what we will find

What's Going On - Marvin Gaye

You see, war is not the answer

For only love can conquer hate

 

Where is the Love? - Black Eyed Peas

There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive 'til love is found

Wake Up Everybody - John Legend & The Roots

The world won't get no better
If we just let it be, na, na, na
The world won't get no better
We gotta change it, yeah
Just you and me

Redemption Song - Bob Marley

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, 
None but ourselves can free our minds.

Brave - Sarah Bareilles

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out

One- U2

We're one, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other

 

We're All in this Together - Ben Lee

I'm made of atoms
You're made of atoms
And we're all in this together

A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

It's been a long time, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

 

 

Although Rosalee de la Forȇt has always loved natural health, it really changed her life when she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Still's in her early 20's. By using alternative medicine, she has been able to be symptom-free for 10 years, and has become a herbalist to help others feel their best.

 

In her new book "Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients into Foods and Remedies That Heal", Rosalee shares simple recipes for treating calming ailments like headaches, stress, and insomnia with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen cupboard.  In this post, Rosalee shares the benefits of chamomile as well as a recipe for Chamomile Tea with Roses and Vanilla you can make at home!

 

Chamomile is a gentle and powerful herb that is wonderful for children and adults. It seemingly does a thousand and one different things, from soothing the nervous system, relieving muscle tension, and addressing cold and flu symptoms, to promoting digestion and modulating inflammation.

Chamomile has been loved and revered by people for thousands of years…actually make that hundreds of thousands of years. Excavations at Jacob’s Bridge, an archeological site in Israel, reveal that Paleolithic humans were using chamomile as early as 800,000 years ago!1

Chamomile for Stress, Anxiety, Insomnia and Crankiness

Drinking a strong cup of chamomile tea is like getting a warm and reassuring embrace from a loved one. About halfway through a cup of chamomile tea, I notice my shoulders relaxing, my breath deepening, and my entire body unwinding. Move over apples; in today’s stress-filled world, a cup of chamomile tea a day could be what keeps the doctor away.

Researchers have taken an interest in chamomile and have conducted several human clinical trials to evaluate its ability to address both depression and anxiety. In an exploratory study, researchers found that chamomile, even at a relatively small dose (220 mg), was more effective than placebo in relieving both depression and anxiety.2 Another clinical study found that chamomile relieved mild to moderate anxiety in people diagnosed with general anxiety disorder.3

For Muscle Tension, Cramps and Pain

Chamomile is also relaxing to the musculature. I reach for it whenever there is muscle tension related to stress or simply muscle tension leading to pain. I’ve seen it relieve severe menstrual cramps, as well as headaches that are accompanied by excess tension in the upper back and neck. Since pain can often be accompanied by emotional distress, chamomile brings welcome relief on many levels.

In one clinical study, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were compared with chamomile in women with PMS. After two months, those using chamomile had a reduction in pain similar to that of the women using the NSAIDs, and those using the chamomile also had significantly fewer emotional symptoms.4 Another study looked at topical chamomile for carpal tunnel syndrome pain. In this pilot study the researchers concluded that “Chamomile oil improved symptomatic and functional status of patients with severe carpal tunnel syndrome.”5

 

 

Chamomile Tea Blend with Roses and Vanilla

This is a soothing chamomile tea blend that is a delicious after-meal beverage.

Yield: 11/2 cups

Ingredients

1 tablespoon dried chamomile

11/2 teaspoons oatstraw (Avena sativa)

11/2 teaspoons rose petals

1 inch of vanilla bean, minced

honey to taste (optional)

 

 

1. Bring 11/2 cups of water to a boil. Steep the herbs, covered, in the just-boiled water for 15 minutes. Strain.
2. Add honey if desired.

 

 

 

 

 

Citations

 

1.    Masé, Guido. "Science Update: Paleolithic Herbalism." Urban Moonshine. January 10, 2017. Accessed February 15, 2017. https://www.urbanmoonshine.com/blog/science-update-paleolithic-herbalism/.

2.    Amsterdam, Jay D, Justine Shults, Irene Soeller, Jun James Mao, Kenneth Rockwell, and Andrew B Newberg. "Chamomile (Matricaria Recutita) May Provide Antidepressant Activity in Anxious, Depressed Humans: An Exploratory Study." Alternative therapies in health and medicine 18, no. 5 (2012): 44-9.          

3.    Amsterdam, Jay D, Yimei Li, Irene Soeller, Kenneth Rockwell, Jun James Mao, and Justine Shults. "A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of Oral Matricaria Recutita (chamomile) Extract Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder." Journal of clinical psychopharmacology 29, no. 4 (2009): doi:10.1097/JCP.0b013e3181ac935c.    

4.    Sharifi, Farangis, Masoumeh Simbar, Faraz Mojab, and Hamid Alavi Majd. "Comparison of the Effects of Matricaria Chamomila (Chamomile) Extract and Mefenamic Acid on the Intensity of Premenstrual Syndrome." Complementary therapies in clinical practice 20, no. 1 (2014): doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.09.002.          

5.    Hashempur, Mohammad Hashem, Zeinab Nasiri Lari, Parissa Sadat Ghoreishi, Babak Daneshfard, Mohammad Sadegh Ghasemi, Kaynoosh Homayouni, and Arman Zargaran. "A Pilot Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial on Topical Chamomile (Matricaria Chamomilla L.) Oil for Severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome." Complementary therapies in clinical practice 21, no. 4 (2015): doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.08.001.