Well, it’s been a week since I began juicing daily. For those of you who read my post on habits, I mentioned my painful eye condition (Recurrent Corneal Erosion Syndrome) and how it’s incurable. I also wrote about how if I juice every day, I don’t wake up to eye pain, tearing, swelling and a migraine–I actually wake up like I should, with no eye pain. This week I missed juicing one day and that was the only night my cornea tore once, but it was still minor compared to what I’ve been dealing with.

So, although I’m no medical expert, I’m also no idiot: juicing helps my eyes, folks, and most likely is benefiting other parts of me as well. (I’m hoping to see the rosacea-red skin on my face calm down eventually). If you have a juicer at home, why not dust it off and put it to work boosting your health, especially with all the cold and flu flying around.

Here are two easy-peasy recipes I’ve made a few times this week. I do make a lot of juice at once and drink it throughout the day–and I give a glass to Alan too. Feel free to cut the recipes in half if it’s too much for you or come up with your own combos. Obviously, mine are carrot-heavy because…my eyes.

Kim’s Favorite Winter Juice #1

• 10 carrots, rinsed, ends trimmed and cut in half
• 5 celery stalks, rinsed and cut in half
• 2 oranges, rinsed and sliced into fourths
• 2 limes, rinsed and cut in half
• 4 apples, rinsed, peeled, seeds removed, in fourths or large pieces
• 1 yam, rinsed, peeled, cut into large pieces

Kim’s Favorite Winter Juice # 2

• 7 carrots, rinsed, ends trimmed, cut in half
• 3 celery stalks, rinsed and cut in half
• 3 oranges, rinsed and cut in half
• 3 apples, rinsed and cut in half
• 2 yams, rinsed peeled, cut in large pieces
• 1 bunch of parsley, rinsed

Cheers! Please share your own favorite recipes in the comments.

It’s February and I am still getting my act together…with habit forming, that is. We all know that habits, once formed, require little brain power–we just do what we’ve programmed ourselves to do. (By the way, if you’ve never read Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, then add that to your TBR list for this year. It’s on my to re-read list.)

And like most humans, some of my habits have become derailed from either constant changes in my schedule, chronic health conditions (I have Recurrent Corneal Erosion Syndrome which causes severe eye pain, migraines, and light sensitivity) work, etc. But I started 2018 with a focus on being nurturing and kind to myself, and I’m easing into a self-care routine that reflects this. So here is my list:

Juicing–I have a Breville Juice Fountain Plus  that is a cinch to use, yet it sat on the counter untouched for most of the past year. Since I do have this incurable chronic eye condition (see above), it is up to me to find a way to stop waking up to horrible eye pain, swelling, migraines, blurry vision, light sensitivity, and basically, a quality of life that needs to improve.

When I juiced regularly back in 2013, I had little to no corneal erosion. Somehow, I forgot about this and then gave myself excuses about juicing taking too much time out of my day, the juicer being too annoying to clean, etc. This past Saturday, after a string of bad eye nights and days, I pulled out my juicer and made carrot-apple-celery-orange juice. I timed the whole process–from gathering the produce, to rinsing and trimming it, to juicing and cleaning up the machine. It only took twelve minutes! That’s all! I CAN do this and am hoping to see an improvement in my eyes as I continue to juice daily.

Yoga–I signed up for DailyOm’s Fit and Fierce Over 40 21-day yoga course with Sadie Nardini. DailyOm offers a sliding scale fee for their courses, and as I am currently in the low-income bracket, I only paid $10. What a generous company! For twenty one days, there are daily journal exercises, meditations, recipes and the actual yoga workout. I expected to work super hard and perhaps give up because it would be too tough. Actually, Sadie is very much into safe and nurturing thoughts, intentions and movements  so I’ve found the yoga to be super doable and a positive way to exercise.

After injuring my back, elbow, wrists and hands multiple times during work and exercise last year, I think it’s starting to sink in that I need to move more slowly and thoughtfully and Sadie is helping me with this. Since January 2, I’ve done yoga with her about half the days and done a few yoga poses on my own the rest of the days. I’m confident eventually yoga will become a habit.

Green Tea in the Afternoon–Not much to say here, because most of us ought to know by now that green tea is purported to have many health benefits.  I’m a coffee drinker, but have been making room for a cup of green tea every afternoon.

Writing–As I love writing, whether I’m blogging, writing poetry, songs or working on a story, I just need to do it. And I have been. Songwriting, mostly, as we have less than three weeks to write another 10 or so songs. I feel like myself when I write, even if it can be maddening and anxiety-causing and exhilarating and joyful all at once.

Poetry–If I read poetry every day, it changes how I approach words, how I read and write and just gets into my soul like a part of me I was missing and found again. I’m not sure that makes sense, but some days poetry is all I read and it is perfect. Right now, I’m reading The House of Belonging by David Whyte and Delphi Complete Works of the Bronte Sisters: Charlotte, Emily, Anne Brontë .

Essential Oils–Although I’ve used essential oils in my homemade body care products and household cleaning products for years, I recently became a Young Living Member and began taking a few of the oils internally, as well as diffusing and adding them into my facial skincare. I will blog about oils more in upcoming posts.

Internally: I take a drop of Thieves Vitality Oil in a veg capsule one to three times a day. I also take DiGize Vitality Oil to aid digestion (Please follow the website’s directions for usage.)

Diffusing: Lavender or Stress Away blend at bedtime and Thieves, En-R-Gee, Purification or M-Grain during the day, depending on my needs and which rooms the diffusers are in.

Pain Relief: On Friday, I had a headache and rubbed diluted M-Grain into my temples; within an hour my headache had subsided. For backaches, I rub diluted PanAway into the painful areas for a quick cooling relief. These are wonderfully effective products!

Skincare: I put a drop each of Helichrysum and Copaiba into my fragrance free face lotion every morning and evening to help sooth my rosacea. After a few days of use, my skin was noticeably softer and smoother–no more dry, rough patches on my cheeks.

Learn how you can become a Young Living Member and get your own starter kit with diffuser: Become a Member  If you decide to become a member, please enter my member number (13684396) in the Sponsor ID and Enroller ID sections. Thank you!

So, that’s the list of my current habits-in-the-making. I’d love to hear about yours!

*There are affiliate links in this post. If you purchase items through an Amazon link or with my Young Living member number, I will receive a monetary compensation at no extra cost to you. My opinions are, as always, completely my own. 

** Medical disclaimer. The contents of this blog post are not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical disease. Statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the FDA. The health and wellness information shared is part of my personal story and meant for educational purposes to help you think about/make decisions for your own wellness journey.