Dare You To...

This dare is just as the title suggests: I dare you to write down three good things in your life, every day.



The end!

Just kidding, I'll explain:

When I studied positive psychology(the scientific study of happiness) in college, many lessons stuck with me.  For example, money increases happiness only up until a certain threshold, at which point basic needs are satisfied.  Having children decreases momentary happiness, but dramatically improves long-term life satisfaction.  A lengthy commute significantly diminishes happiness--far more than people may predict.  ... SO many interested findings!

Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, tested various interventions to measure effects on human happiness.  One of the simplest was called Three Good Things in Life: "Participants were asked to write down three things that went well each day and their causes every night for one week. In addition they were asked to provide a causal explanation for each good thing" (Seligma…

Today, instead of daring you to cook a new food (although that's coming up, don't you worry!), I'm just going to dare you to eat a new food:


This is a food that I had nothing to do with growing up.  Never ate it.  Never wanted to.  Didn't quite know what it was.  Didn't care to look past its slimy appearance and pungent smell to give it a try.  No interest whatsoever.

In my paleo and general nutrition readings, podcasts, books, etc., I repeatedly find suggestions that Sauerkraut is one of the absolute healthiest things we should all be eating.
At Paleo FX (March 2012), a "Whole Foods vs. Supplements Mastermind Panel" of nutritional and digestive gurus (Chris Kresser, Amy Kubal, Diana Rodgers,Liz Wolf, Diane Sanfilippo, Dr. Dan Kalish, Joe Johnson) were all asked toname 3 foods or supplements they recommend.  Guess which food was essentially unanimously agreed upon?  (Hear discussion on that discussion in this Balanced Bites podcast episode.)Presenters at th…

Here's a dare I've taken on that people have noticed.  I've gotten compliments on my glowing skin, and some have asked me what I'm up to.  If you want to stop worrying about what's on your face and finally have glowing, balanced skin, then this post is for you.

Just as I got rid of the unpronounceable ingredients in my body lotion, I wanted to avoid the artificial cleansers in my face wash, too.  What good does it do to use coconut oil to moisturize my face, if I'm still washing it with strange chemicals twice a day?

Well, I'd heard of "oil cleansing" before, and you may have, too.  There's a website dedicated to it (The Oil Cleansing Method.com, and it's outlined extensively with various options in The Skintervention Guide by Liz Wolfe.  THere's also a helpful tutorial on Mommypotamous.

It may seem counterintuitive, but using oil topically actually helps balance your skin.  It's nourishing, cleansing, and moisturizing.  It helps …