Aside from the one time I used a tanning bed in high school (temporary insanity, otherwise known as peer pressure as a 15 year old girl), I’ve always been pretty aware of the importance of sun safety. My dad, a sun-worshipper, had a few cancerous moles removed, so I knew that sun safety was important.

But the problem was, I had (and still have) pretty temperamental skin with my hormonal acne. So it'd be pretty frustrating for me to wear sunscreen that made me break out or to reluctantly wear sunscreen without the cleanest ingredients in it. BUT before we dive into details about that, I wanted to share my tips on how to practice proper sun safety, and what to look for in a clean sunscreen:

Elderberry has become one of the cool kids on the block for its immunity-boosting benefits— but like many of the homeopathic health remedies that have become so popular in recent years, the European Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) has been used in syrups and juices for centuries for its powerful properties. Nowadays, you find them as syrups, in lozenges, gummies, and in foods.

For a product that is now commonplace in the aisle of grocery stores and all over social media, there is an extreme lack of in-depth knowledge or education about what CBD is and its uses. After a lot of personal research, I’ve been using CBD in my life for about 4 years now for reasons spanning from my inflammation from my autoimmune disease, menstrual cramps, to anxiety and sleep. I wanted to answer all the questions I’ve been asked about CBD, why I use CBD, and what the best CBD is, for once and for all.

I’ve been asked many times from followers, media outlets, and friends about what my thoughts are on certain diets of the moment (paleo, keto, IF, etc.) and trends (bulletproof coffee, adaptogens, and now the infamous celery juice). I decided to put this blog post together to hopefully clarify my perspective that really applies to ALL trends, no matter the year— a perspective of understanding based on my education and experience over the past nearly 7 years in this industry. I am always a proponent of providing tools to people for them to make the right decision for themselves, rather than encouraging them to do or not do something….

Why did I switch over to non-toxic, clean beauty? I got slammed with my autoimmune diagnosis and after desperately researching for anything that could help ease the massive load of stressors on and symptoms of my body, I dismayingly realized just how INSANELY toxic some of these ingredients in these products are. The BIGGEST thing is how it affects your endocrine system— aka your hormones. I wanted to make this super comprehensive guide of recommendations and helpful links to help you guys find the best non-toxic, clean beauty products (bodycare, haircare, oral care, everything!) for YOU.

Eating locally has become all the more important to me in the past few years. The more I've gotten educated about nutrition and food practices, the more I've learned what is actually important versus what is just a buzzword. Eating locally has become a bit of a trendy thing, and people lump it into a bunch of healthy buzz words alongside "organic" "all-natural" "plant-based" "non-GMO." Consumers see those words and associate whatever they're buying to be healthy... but that's not exactly true.

Today, I want to share with you guys some things I've learned over the years about eating locally grown produce, and how to navigate those labels so that your dollar actually goes towards what matters and not just marketing speak. My good friend and fellow blogger Jules, of Om and the City, and I teamed up with Gotham Greens to talk about the importance of this and more about their innovative urban farming practices that...

Healthy skincare has been having a MOMENT for the past two years. Women (and men) everywhere are trading in Saturday nights out for Saturday nights in, with sheet masks and green juices because they have to get up at 8am for their Sunday yoga class. Sound familiar?

Everyone is all about caring for their skin as much as possible these days, and that extends from skincare to makeup to internal well-being and care. So after struggling with so many skin issues, I wanted to share my favorite clean skincare and makeup favorites that have made the biggest difference for me, since I know my fellow sweat-tribe can also struggle with this! 

I transitioned over to all-natural clean beauty products awhile ago because some unique issues. After struggling with exhausting autoimmune issues for the past...

You hear it's good for you, that you should do it to take care of your joints, so you don't get stiff, etc etc etc. This seemingly simplistic thing is actually far more complex than a simple sit and reach, and it doesn't help matters that every other trainer, instructor, and physical therapist is saying something different.

At the end of the day, every person has different needs, restrictions, and abilities, so this post is not to tell all the best stretch poses-- it's more about giving you the information you need to be able to strive for your goals more efficiently and safely. 

Here are 5 important things you might not know about stretching:

I've switched over. I'm a convert. Even with my being so health-conscious with my food and exercise, I didn't really think I'd one day be using soap that has hemp in it. Or that I'd be parting from my failure-proof aluminum deodorant and delicious-smelling shampoos and hair masks, even though I knew there were things in there that probably weren't too great for me.

How big of a deal could it be, anyway? It just seemed too hard. Too hard to learn which of those unpronounceable ingredients were the bad ones because they all sounded too similar; too hard to dump out all my not-exactly cheap cosmetics and beauty products to replace them with things I didn't know would even work; too intimidating, basically. 

Have you guys felt this way before/now? Switching over to all-natural beauty products free of harmful toxins and chemicals can be really intimidating...

We have a serious problem on our hands. This happens incessantly around me, particularly amongst New Yorkers, and I am certainly guilty of falling into the trap sometimes. But the more I ruminate about why we do it, the further I am actively distancing myself from this. 

We love to play the victim. Millennials especially love to use exhaustion and 4 hours of sleep as a badge of honor of how...