You can’t beat a warm and gooey baked banana. This super simple recipe is a perfect dessert for quenching your sweet-tooth without the guilt. Plus, these delicious morsels will make your house smell divine!

Baking bananas bring out the fruit's natural sweetness and turn them golden with a soft, gooey texture. They taste amazing all on their own, or you can dress them up with a range of toppings. I like mine with toasted pecans, walnuts, or coconut.

Here's a little background on this probiotic delight. I think you'll find that it be your new go-to gut-loving drink. They're super easy to make, and once you have the hang it, you can experiment with a flavor of the season. 

Kvass is a traditional fermented Slavic and Baltic beverage commonly made from rye bread. The bread-based Kvass tastes a bit like a sweet, non-alcoholic beer. From my research, Kvass only has up to 1% alcohol content (usually less). My first experience of this bubbly beverage was a somewhat traditional Beet Kvass. Since then, I've experimented with gluten-free recipes like the sweet and rooty Orange, Ginger, and Carrot Kvass. Now that peaches are in season, it's time for a different brew. 

A few weeks ago, I went on a relatively short and easy hike in the woods, a trail I had been on before. It led to a beautiful watering hole where a stream became a waterfall, ultimately flowing into a large pool for swimming before continuing onward. The trail was quite wide and did not have many obstructions to deal with; it was also relatively flat.

Along I plodded, anxious to reach the water to cool off as it was an exceptionally hot and muggy day. Halfway there and my feet and back were already tiring. By the time I reached all the action, which was only a mile in, my feet had moved past tiring to aching.

I love the simplicity of this recipe. A shortlist of ingredients makes prep a breeze. Plus, these pancakes keep well for 2-3 days and reheat quickly in a toaster oven. So I always double or triple the recipe so that my efforts can continue to nourish me over the course of a few days.

You’ll get the best results with this recipe if you use ripe bananas: go for the ones that already have brown spots. You'll also find that making smaller pancakes will give you the best results. The larger ones tend to break apart when they’re flipped. Pile up a big stack of pancakes on your plate, top it all off with some coconut yogurt, berries, and drizzle maple syrup (or honey, if you like), and enjoy!

What is this one single thing that profoundly impacts your brain and body, both in the short- and long-term?

It's simple: sleep.

Would you be shocked to know some researchers say that "good sleep guarantees well-being and mental health"?(1) 

Why is sleep so crucial? What is sleep, and how do we do it? How much is "enough quality sleep"? How does it do these incredible things for health and wellness? And, most importantly, how can you get better sleep?

This recipe is one of my favorite summer Polish dishes! Traditionally, Chłodnik is served with warm mashed potatoes. Together they create a combination that is rich with flavors, varying textures, and contrasting temperatures. Every bite is a sensorial delight. 

Chłodnik (pronounced h-wo-d-neek, meaning cooler) is perfect for those hot summer days. Plus, this lacto-fortified bowl of flavor will nourish your gut with each bite. Thanks to those wee microbes, the soup is in a lacto-fremented kefir or buttermilk base, it keeps well for nearly a week as the live probiotic bacteria feed on the sugary starches in the veggies. It's one of those great dishes that can nourish your palate for days on end. 

A few weeks ago, I went on a relatively short and easy hike in the woods, a trail I had been on before. It led to a beautiful watering hole where a stream became a waterfall, ultimately flowing into a large pool for swimming before continuing onward. The trail was quite wide and did not have many obstructions to deal with; it was also relatively flat.

Along I plodded, anxious to reach the water to cool off as it was an exceptionally hot and muggy day. Halfway there and my feet and back were already tiring. By the time I reached all the action, which was only a mile in, my feet had moved past tiring to aching.

This dreamy recipe will tantalize your tastebuds and nourish your dream-state.

Tart cherry juice is one of the powerhouse ingredients that live up to the ‘food as medicine’ hype. Research has shown that it can help to improve sleep, reduce muscle soreness & inflammation, and may even reduce belly fat. That’s a lot of goodness packed into these little antioxidant nuggets of juicy joy.

Sleep is an active process. Your body might be still, but your biology is bustling with activity. All of that internal nocturnal activity is crucial for living well.

Sleep also plays a massive role in detoxification. Your body has been using sleep to recharge and repair itself since before you were born. It’s no surprise that many sleep disorders are now linked to chronic pain, decreased cognitive function, depression, chronic pain, and neurological diseases, like Alzheimer’s.

Kvass is a newcomer in my life — a very welcome newcomer! As you probably know, consuming a variety of fermented foods helps you get all the health benefits of bacteria and keeps your colonies refreshed and varied. This is why I always embrace any new fermented food I learn about, and kvass is a must-try.

When you think of meditation, you probably don’t associate it with better digestion and gut health. I know I didn’t until I learned just how much unresolved stress influences our gut health and just how powerful meditation is for decreasing stress and improving our ability to digest.

This is a wonderful recipe for a quick and nourishing breakfast! It's even fancy enough to serve at your next Sunday Brunch, and it's guaranteed to rock your taste buds. 

Kale is a super-duper nourishing and low oxalate food. You can cook, blend it, massage it, and serve it in a stew. It's packed with antioxidants, and it's a cruciferous vegetable, which means it can block an enzyme that causes swelling in the joints. Just one cup of kale contains 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. That's some serious nourishment.

Did you know that the most abundant tissue in the body, is none other than “connective” tissue?

Your lifestyle can drastically impact your fascia. But for this post, we’ll focus on nourishing our tissues with our fork because we all want to be continually supplying our joints (and the rest of our bodies) with ample nutrition to make them as robust as possible!

Golden Turmeric paste is a combination of ground turmeric, oil (this could be coconut oil or ghee), water, ground black pepper, and other spices heated until melted and turned into a paste for the purpose of using it in turmeric milk, smoothies, curries, etc.

I’m a BIG fan of any recipe that simplifies daily life. But the super wizardry of this recipe is that it increases the nourishing value by pre-activate the turmeric by mixing it with pepper and simmering on the stove for a while. Once it’s made, my favorite way to use the turmeric paste is to add it to a little warmed homemade coconut with a bit of honey for a soothing golden milk.

The movements of Feldenkrais® can serve as a conduit to a deeper connection to yourself and is one of the ways in which it’s similar to yoga. The difference, however, is how we go about those movements. But those differences can vary from person-to-person and from teacher-to-teacher (lineage or style).

Tea is often the drink associated with bedtime, adding in a bit of tart cherry juice might elevate your bedtime ritual to a whole new restful level. This delightful elixir combines one of my favorite sleepy-time teas with the tangy taste of tart cherries.

Tart cherries are high in melatonin, the hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle, and a few small studies have shown that they have promising effects on sleep.

Do you find yourself holding on to tension? If you suffer from complex pain, then you know what it's like to feel tense. Maybe it feels like you're muscles are gripping and aching nearly all of the time. Everyday activities like cooking or tending to your home can feel like a strenuous process. For some, everything feels like it takes excessive physical effort.

Pesto is one of my favorite things to make and have on hand. Always! I keep a jar in the refrigerator and frozen pesto cubes in the freezer! It is one of my secret weapons for sneaking in a little extra dose of green goodness. I put spoonfuls of it on just about everything. I tell you, it makes any meal feel gourmet.

And the best part... this recipe takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish.

In this video, Kelly McGonigal does a beautiful job of covering some of the research looking at how our beliefs about stress change our physiological reactions to stress and how the stress response has a built-in social aspect. She discusses three studies that shed new light on the stress response, and how our beliefs and relationships to stress may improve our health.

Humans have made strong brews with natural ingredients to combat illness for generations. The actual term "fire cider" is widely attributed to herbalist Rosemary Gladstar. Rosemary has been touting the health benefits of fire cider for more than 30 years. In her 1999 book, Rosemary Gladstar's Herbs for the Home Medicine Chest, she recommends making a batch of fire cider as soon as cold and flu season hits.