Essential Oils

My mom started using essential oils about a year ago, but I wasn't sold right away. Honesty, I though it was another one of Mom's 'things'! :)But, after using them a few times, I had more faith in them, and now I love to use them!

What are Essential Oils?
Each essential oil company has it's own standards in regards to the way them make their oils. We use a brand called, Young Living , and we love their Seed-to-Seal standards! Essential oils are simply the oils from botanicals. They can be use in so many ways, to promote healthier living in all aspects of life!

Oils I love!
Lavender: I love this one, and it's probably the oil I use the most! Here are a few ways you can use lavender to promote healthier living!

Burns: Appling a few drops to a burned area of skin can help relieve some of the discomfort.

 

Bug Bites and Stings: A few drops on a bug bite or sting can help to relieve some of the pain or itching.

 

Sleep: Smelling the oil or applying some to your sheets and/or pillows can help to calm you and help you sleep!

 

Thieves: This one is probably my Mom's favorite oil, for good reason too! Here are a few ways we love to use this oil!

 

Disinfectant: Thieves can be used to clean anything from the countertop to you hands, and it can help to disinfect the area.

Bug Repellant: Applying a few drops, or spraying it on your skin and clothing can help repel the bugs!

Cold/Canker Sores: My sister has used a few drops of this oil on her canker sores to help relieve the discomfort.

 

 

Purification: This is another one of my favorite oils to use, and I use it quite a bit too!

 

Acne: This is how I use this oil the most- Applying a drop of oil to a skin blemish or acne spot can help to relieve discomfort and some redness.

 

Insect Bites: Much like lavender, purification may used to soothe bug bites.

 

Stinking Shoes: A few drops into your shoes can help to, well, purify them and make them smell nice!

 

 

Lemon: This one smells so nice, I love to use it whenever I can!

 

Energize: A few sniffs of this oil can help to energize you and can be uplifting!

 

Cleaning: Adding a few drops to your cloth to clean, or diluting it in a spray bottle can be a wonderful way to get your house clean, without using harsh ingredients.

 

Essence Water: Add a few drops to your water for a nice, refreshing drink!

 

 

 

Please Note!

I am not making any health claims, but I am sharing with you the  ways some essential oils can be used. They don't work the same for everyone, so some things might work for a certain thing for me, but not for you!

 

 

Obviously there are a ton more essential oils out there, so I encourage you to try a few out and learn as much as you can about them and the way you can use them! Going to a website like, Young Living, can give you some more info!

 

Please share this blog with a friend and family member! You can follow the blog via email, Google, Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett and on Twitter @ SpinachisGood.

 

I'm going to change my post schedule from every Monday and Friday to just every Friday! Hopefully this will give me more time to put more into each post!

 

Keep Healthy and Safe!

H.Banana



 

 

 



FitBit

  On Black Friday I got a FitBit Flex . Its a fitness tracker that tracks your steps, calorie burn, active minutes, your sleep and you can log your food, workouts and water intake. I had been wanting one for a while and I am so excited that I finally have one!

Why I wanted a FitBit
 I wanted a FitBit because I wanted to be able to track my activity and calorie burn more accurately. My Dad had owned a Jawbone in the past but he hadn't had too much luck with them working well for a long time. And, since I don't own an Apple device I needed a fitness tracker that had an app for the Samsung devices. FitBit fulfilled all those requirements!

What do I think so far?
I love my FitBit! I wear it all the time, except for in the shower. It is waterproof but I don't want to take any chances! I love getting up in the morning and seeing how well I slept that night and during the day I can check my calorie burn and number of steps! I am much more aware of the need to move more now because I want to reach by daily goals!  I also love the fact that I can set silent alarms to go off to wake me up! The FiBit on my wrist just vibrates enough to wake me up! Its much nicer than an annoying alarm clock!

What does a FitBit do?
Well, for starters, its a fitness tracker. It tracks your movement, calorie burn and activity level as well as your sleep and number of steps. You can program it to wake you up in the morning, remind you during the day to get moving and you can check it with a tap of the finger to the device to see how close you are to reaching your goal! It so motivating to check it during the day and see your progress. It also tell you how many calories to eat based on your needs. As you log your food during the day it tells you how many more calories you need to eat! There are also challenges you can try to compete against other FitBit owners.

  I didn't do any research into other brands of fitness trackers, besides the Jawbone because I knew which one I wanted for my needs. My Dad has ordered a fitness tracker from WiThings and I am excited to see how this one is different from my FitBit.

Let me know if you have a FitBit or other fitness tracker and how you like it, what all it does and how long  you've had it!

Please share my blog with a friend if you have enjoyed my posts! Also, follow be on Pinterest under Hannah Plunkett!

Keep it Healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana

The 'Wear Yourself Out and Feel Good About it' Workout

A few days ago I wrote down a workout which combined a few parts from several workouts that I have been doing. I was wore out at the end of it, but proud too because when I read over it I was amazed that I was able to do all of this in a short amount of time! Before I go on, I want to say that this workout may not work for every one. Please be careful and stay with in your means to avoid injury. Make sure you can do these exercises without harming yourself.

Here is the workout, get ready!
*
40 Jumping Jacks
30 Crunches
20 Squats
10 Push-Up
*                                (Repeat from * to * 5 times)

15 Super-mans
20 Donkey Kicks per leg
20 Lunges per leg
15 Dips ( I call then Bridges dips....)
10 Squat Jumps
30 Kettle Bell Swings

#
40 Jumping Jacks
30 Sit-Ups
20 Plie Squats
10 Push-Ups
#                           (Repeat from # to # 2 times)

50 Flutter Kicks
20 Burpees
15 Bicycle Crunches
10 Plank Knee to Elbow per leg
10 Single leg dips per leg
10 Shoulder (Or V) push-ups

*
12 Lunges per leg
15 Squats
12 Step-ups per leg
5o second plank
*                                   (Repeat from * to * 2 times)

Garb you ankles and hold for 20 seconds.
Bring knees to chest and hold for 20 seconds per leg.
Take 10 really deep breaths.

Well that it! I was sweating up a storm when I finished this, but I also have new workout to add to my collection! Let me know if you try and it and what you think! If you have any questions, leave it in the comments or email the blog at healthypinner@gmail.com . Please be careful and stay within your abilities.
If you liked this post, let me know and share it with a friend.

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

Your Body On: Coffee

I love coffee is almost every way and I was glad to find that its actually helpful to our health! Coffee isn't just great at giving us caffeine, but it can help us in other ways, (Info from prevention.com )

So here are a few of the benefits of coffee!!

#1
A study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that the risk of depression was 20% lowerin women who drank 4, 8oz cups of coffee daily. The caffeine in coffee may affect brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.

#2
A recent study found that drinking 200 mg (which is about 2 8oz cups) of coffee improves long term memory.

#3
Drinking 200 to 300 mg of caffeine daily may make your heart preform better by improving blood flow while you are resting.

#4
A study in 2012 found that women who consumed more that 3 cups of coffee a day had a lower risk of basal carcinoma.

#5
Drinking more than 2 cups of coffee a day appears to protect against liver diseases such as cirrhosis.

#6
A PLoS One study finds that drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee a hour prior to a workout and you'll go for longer.

#7
According to a Harvard review of 28 different studies, drinking six 8oz cups daily was linked to a 33% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

#8
6 cups of coffee daily reduces the risk of gout for men by 59%. Coffee lowers the levels of uric acid in the blood.

I personally was super excited to know that my morning coffee could do more for me than just get me awake! Do you drink coffee? Since reading this, are you going to start drinking coffee? How do you like to have your coffee? Let me know in the comments! Some of my favorites are, hot with 1/2 and 1/2, iced with a little Truvia and cream, and hot mixed in with a little cocoa.

Thank you for visiting my blog and be sure to check back for more post!
Keep it healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana