Heart Healthy for Valentine’s Day!

I hope you are having a fabulous Valentine’s Day! No better time to think about your heart than today!

Do you need to boost your heart health or your immune system? I’d like to tell you about a food that has earned the spot as one of the top 50 healthiest foods of all times and is super heart healthy. This amazing miracle food is part of the peach family. Don’t cheat and read ahead! Can you guess which food I’m talking about?! Think hard!

This little super food is the almond! Did you know that almonds literally may be the best single food you can eat? Almonds have taken over peanuts as the most eaten nut in the world. California grows more than 82% of the world’s almonds. Crazy right? How about this fact…eating nuts can decrease your mortality rate by 20%. We all need to be chowing down on some nuts!

Almonds help with weight loss and satiety, they help prevent diabetes, and they inhibit cancer cells from growing. They boost your magnesium and B-12 levels. They even decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s too! Wow! In those little nuts, there’s a lot going on.

If anything, we all need to add a handful as a snack each day. New Year, New you! Right? Think ahead and add a baggie of nuts to your lunch box. Instead of reaching for those greasy potato chips and other such foods, eat the nuts that you pre-packed!

Many people are switching to alternative milk products because milk is a natural inflammatory. There are tons of folks out there with lactose intolerance. Did you know that if you add 2 drops of Lemongrass oil into a veggie capsule about 45 minutes before you ingest milk that this can possibly help to relieve the digestion discomfort associated with dairy products? It could be a game changer for some of you dairy lovers out there!

Do you ever drink almond milk? There has been a lot of controversy about almond milk lately. You never know who or what to believe.

The information out there says to be aware of the ingredients in some of the selections you can get at the grocery store. There is a product called carageenan that is an additive made from seaweed. That doesn’t sound so bad right? It is used as a stabilizer and thickener. The scary thing is that it is not digestible. Many times it will be in your “organic or natural” products such as yogurt, butter, milk, almond milk, etc. Check your labels!

So you know me…… trying to be all natural and stuff haha! I decided to make my own almond milk. Let me tell you, it was really easy!! You can do it too!

All you need is a blender, some water, sweetener of choice, and raw almonds of course!

Take 1 cup of raw almonds, soak them in enough water to cover them in a bowl of water 24-48 hours. (The longer you soak them, the creamier the milk.)
Drain, rinse and place almonds in your blender. Add 2 cups fresh water and mix for 2 minutes.
I strained the milk out with a nut bag, (yes there is such thing as a nut bag and it’s not a little speedo bathing suit ha ha!) You can use a cheesecloth too. Squeeze all the milk out into a bowl. Makes about 4-6 servings.

I poured the milk in a glass jar and added maple syrup to taste and a little vanilla extract. You can also use Stevia or your choice of sweetener.

I then put the almond milk in the refrigerator. I use it in place of regular milk for eating cereal or making oatmeal.

You can use it to cook with too. I made muffins with the almond milk and they were great!

The best part is that I know exactly what was in it the milk. No funky ingredients!! And it tastes to fresh and like real almonds! Go figure!

Check out Dr. Axe’s article entitled “9 Amazing Benefits of Almond Nutrition” and his video below:

I told you there was nothing to it! I hope you try to make some too!

If you are interested in ordering any essential oils from my favorite company at wholesale click HERE.

Make sure to follow me on Instagram @earthygirlliving. I’ll be giving away a fun prize to one of my followers on Instagram! Don’t miss it!!

Talk to you next week,

Naturally, Lisa