With summer in full swing, the days are getting longer, and my family is taking full advantage of the beautiful weather. Whether that means taking long walks, kayaking on the lake, or just hanging out on the patio, we love spending as much time as possible outdoors.

I hope you and your family are also planning on staying active and playing outdoors whenever you have the chance... it can do wonders for the mind, body, and spirit!

I hope your summer plans include plenty of outdoor eating as well. Grilling is a great way to add a new twist to your favorite healthy meals, and there are so many delicious sides to enjoy.

Not sure what to serve at your next cookout? These recipes will help you keep it healthy without sacrificing any flavor! (And if you have kids, they may even enjoy helping you make the last recipe.)

The post Healthy Recipes for a Cookout appeared first on New Life Promise.

For those of you who are not fans of breakfast – whether because of a lack of time in the morning or because you don't see the value in eating in the morning (although I'm hopeful your opinion on that has changed since starting the New Life Promise program) – I highly recommend starting with a smoothie.

Nutrient-dense smoothies can be whipped up in just a couple minutes and require only a few ingredients, all of which can be customized or changed to suit your mood, what's available in your fridge, or what you feel you may be lacking in the rest of your day.

We provide many, many delicious smoothie recipes in your Total Trifecta and LiveSmart meal plans, but if you'd like to create your own, here are the basic ingredients needed to create a smoothie:

• A liquid base like coconut milk or almond milk
• 1 serving of fruit such as a small apple, 1 cup of berries, or ½ banana
• 1 serving of leafy greens like a handful of spinach or kale
• 1 serving of high-quality protein and healthy fat such as ½-1 ounce of nuts or seeds, 1-2 tablespoons of nut butter, or ¼-½ cup of Greek yogurt
• Optional ingredients to add include ice, a high-quality collagen supplement, or a nutrient-dense greens powder

Zap everything in a blender for a minute or two and you’re ready to start your day with a nutritious, balanced breakfast!

Many blenders today even come with cups that adapt to the blender so once you’ve blended the smoothie, you just remove the blades, twist on a lid, and you’re ready to walk out the door with a healthy smoothie to sip on.

I love adding a scoop of SkinREJUV Collagen Complex to my smoothies. I just throw it in with all the other ingredients and blend. So easy and gives me all of these amazing benefits...

• Supports a healthy gut
• Enhances hair, skin, and nails
• Relieves joint pain
• Prevents bone loss
• Supports healthy digestion
• Improves heart health

This is the collagen powder I use every day -> Click HERE to get yours today

The post Smoothie Making 101 appeared first on New Life Promise.

Is it just me, or does it feel like everyone is sick right now? From the flu, to nasty colds, to sinus infections, it feels like nasty germs are lurking everywhere.

As much as I do my best to keep my and my family's immune systems high, sometimes the nasty bugs do hit our home.

Over Christmas, my husband was taken down by a nasty virus... fever, chills, body aches, headache, nasty cough... ugh, the poor guy was just miserable. Thankfully, it was short lived, and I do believe that is because of his strong immune system and some of the healing strategies we use in our home.

Often, when people get sick, they ask me, "Isabel, what should I eat during this time? What foods will really help?"

The truth is, the best foods are going to be the ones that give your body a bit of rest from digesting and allow it to work on fighting off those pesky bugs instead.

When anyone in our home gets sick, I put them on a simple regimen of herbal tea, coconut water, and healing chicken soup.

If you're already drinking Energize each day, that is also a great addition to help keep your immune system strong during this time.

Antioxidants and Superfoods in Energize - Read HERE

Here's what a typical day looks like (and yes, I do this for my kids as well):

Morning

Energize Essential Daily Greens. This is a great way to get a good dose of antioxidants, superfoods, vitamins, and minerals first thing in the morning.

A little while later in the morning...

Any variety of herbal tea (we almost always do chamomile when sick) with 1 tablespoon of raw honey and 1 scoop of collagen powder. Since we're keeping the food light, the collagen powder will provide healing protein, and the raw honey will provide some carbohydrates and the natural healing power of honey (remember, always get honey in its raw form).

Typically, we don't have much more than that in the morning and just focus on resting.

Early Afternoon

Chicken soup and more tea or some coconut water to drink. Coconut water is a great form of potassium (even more so than bananas), which may be depleted during times of illness.

As for the chicken soup, I absolutely love this Chicken Soup with Cauliflower Rice recipe I've shared with you before. It's perfect to help build up your immune system because it contains chicken broth, garlic, turmeric, and ginger... all wonderful for healing your body and bringing down any inflammation that may be present.

When you make this soup, be sure to use a high-quality bone broth, which is not just great for immunity, but wonderful for digestive health, joint health, and can promote better sleep.

I love to make my own homemade bone broth, but if you're pressed for time, I also have several cartons of Kettle & Fire bone broth in my pantry.

Because bone broth has so many wonderful benefits and can help me ward off any potential illnesses, I drink ½ - 1 cup every single day, even when I'm not sick. I heat it up and sip on it as I'm getting dinner ready (I even do this in the summer months).

Chicken Soup with Cauliflower Rice
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3 cups water
1 lb chicken breast
2 cups chicken bone broth
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp turmeric
2 cups cauliflower
2 tsp basil
2 tsp parsley
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
½ tsp sea salt
Black pepper, to taste

Directions
Fill a large pot with water. Add the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside – DO NOT DUMP WATER.

Add the broth and 3 cups of the water used to cook the chicken into a large stock pot. Add the ginger, carrots, celery, garlic, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.

While the broth and vegetables are cooking, cut up the cauliflower and pulse several times in a food processor until it resembles grains of rice. If you don't have a food processor, you can just cut it up into small pieces.

Shred the chicken and add the chicken and diced cauliflower to the pot, along with the remaining ingredients: basil, parsley, coconut aminos, sea salt, and pepper.

Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Adjust the sea salt and pepper to taste.

Energize is a great way to keep your immune system strong all year long. Take a look at all the amazing antioxidants and superfoods it contains here...

Energize - What's in it? Read HERE



The post What to Eat When You’re Sick appeared first on New Life Promise.

If you love your church as much as I love mine, you love to spend time there. Between my husband singing and playing on the worship team, my kids' evening activities, and my own Bible studies and women's events, the time we spend in fellowship and with our church family is often and a huge part of our lives.

Along with that fellowship time usually comes eating, and sometimes the choices are... let's just say... not the very best when it comes to our health.

I don't think anyone is trying to derail your or my healthy goals on purpose. I just think many churches have become used to whatever the "typical" meal is in that particular location.

For example, I live in South Carolina, where the fried food is frequent and the desserts are abundant (hahaha). But I know that's not necessarily just isolated to the southeast. You'd be hard pressed to go to any fun church event without some cookies, brownies, or other sugary dessert being served.

Since I would never want you to miss a wonderful church event just because of the food, I want to share some helpful strategies with you that I've used to keep my family healthy while also having a great time in fellowship with our church friends.

#1 - Volunteer

When it comes to church gatherings, many events are dependent on a wonderful group of volunteers. I like to volunteer to bring a dish or a meal whenever possible. I will usually sign up to bring dessert and I'll make Gluten-Free Banana Muffins and Fruit Kabobs (recipes below). Both have been a huge hit at every event I've taken them to. I even remember when we had baptisms at the lake one summer... the only dessert that was completely gone were my fruit kabobs!

#2 - Salads can be exciting

A few months ago, a few women and I organized a "Salad Supper" at our church. Everyone who came brought a different type of salad, and the variety was incredible! We all proved that salad has come a long way since the days of iceberg lettuce and tomato slices. My absolute favorites are Summer Time Salad, Cauliflower "Potato" Salad, and Strawberry Mint Salad (recipes below). All these salads can be made for a large group, and you can add protein like chicken or salmon to make it a full meal.

#3 - Strength in numbers

There is a fantastic trend going on in my church right now... so many of us are doing our best to exercise and eat healthy. Because there are several of us who want better choices, we all do our best to encourage each other along the way and bring healthier options to church events. Even at the youth events, there is always a salad and some other healthy options for the adults who are attending (not that our youth shouldn't be eating healthy too!). There really is "strength in numbers" and the more friends you can recruit to jump on the health train with you, the more encouragement and support you'll have at social events.

Here are some of the delicious recipes I've tested and found to be real crowd-pleasers:

The post Take These Meals to Church appeared first on New Life Promise.