Organic Gift Guide For Health and Fitness

Photo: Etsy , AmykeDesign, green teal.

We found these great offerings on Etsy, to improve your health and fitness. Since the holidays are here, nothing like making your New Years Resolutions NOW!

Energize Yourself Naturally

Caffeinated organic green tea infused with B vitamins and Amino Acids.delicious green tea! Available at AmykeDesign for $12.95 it makes up to 24 cups. She says, "This handcrafted recipe is naturally caffeinated, helps increase your metabolism, which encourages an active healthy lifestyle and is packed full of great necessities that your body craves."

Pic: Etsy, SugarBakers Bakery, Healthy Weight Loss Bars, See Below

 Feed Your Sweets Craving With Something Good


SugarBakersBakery on Etsy  offers a once a day weight loss bar, shipped to you  priority mail and individually wrapped. This costs you $75 for a month's supply, but their bars offer Papaya. Brindle and Acai Berries, and are Freshly Baked !  Said to crave and cut hunger, the components are associated with health and weight loss.

Photo: Etsy's HippieMom333, read why you need this below

Get Plenty of Sleep and Stay Stress Free

It's a proven fact lack of sleep and stress helps you maintain your fat, get rid of it by eliminating the "I can't sleep" or "I'm stressed out" syndrome. HippieMom333 creates great tinctures, and the best part is they are alcohol free!  This stress and relaxation one is only $11. She says, "Take 20-40 drops (depending on body weight) about 30 minutes before bed. You can mix into water, tea, juice, or take under your tongue.  All organic ingredients including: Vegetable Glycerine, Valerian, Hops, Hibiscus Flowers, Chamomile & Mugwort ".  She has plenty of other natural remedies, too.

Organic cotton wraps at MommyBellyWrap on Etsy, see below

Tone Muscles With an Organic Cotton Wrap

Although the store above is geared towards postpartum and new moms, the sheer idea of the organic cotton wrap is a miraculous one. First of all, this is all natural cotton so your skin can BREATHE. In ancient days the ladies wrapped their tummies with fibers to melt away excess fat and re-tone the skin by firmly holding the muscles in place. Now it appears you can do the same.  For $38.99 at MommyBellyWrap  this is must have for someone trying to lose weight. Unlike other wraps this is ORGANIC COTTON and would be  great to wear while you are walking, working, or running to the store.  The store has 100% positive reviews. This is a best kept secret!

Etsy shop: Phalon Marie read more below

Incorporate More Exercise Per Day

If you exercise now, even just a little, or maybe not at all, you still have room to improve your health and fitness goals for 2013. If you can't afford to hire a personal trainer, or even join the gym, why not do exercises in the comfort of your own home? PhalonMarie makes it super easy with five prinatable exercise routinest that target your abs, arms and butt for just $7.50. You have to start somewhere and this is a great investment. What are you waiting for?

Vegan Wildcrafted Hydrilla Verticillata Superfood Powder

This natural powder can be added to your favorite drink in small quantities to make you feel great!

Food for Thought: Wildcrafted Hydrilla Verticillata Superfood Powder

Say that ten times fast.   Let me explain.  Hydrilla Verticillata is not a well known plant, however it's incredible. this seems to have immense health benefits for anyone, being loaded with Vitamins, Minerals, and Antioxidants.  Now available in a whole food, making it a highly absorbable form.  It actually obtains it's natural minerals from the lakebed soils in which is grows.

Mood Enhancer

This green superfood is proven to give energy and improved mood (due to high levels of B12).  In fact, it has more B12 than any other food on the planet!  Imagine that, bumping up your mood with B12 and not having to eat a million things to do so!   You will also see strengthened immunity,  improved digestion and better elimination. 

A green Superfood!

Vegans Will Be Happy 

This Raw and Vegan powder is something you can take without worrying about what you are putting in your body, making it a green alternative to your diet. 

Source of Vitamins and Minerals

Truth be told, Wildcrafted Hydrilla Verticillata is a huge source of hard to get vitamins and minerals. As I've already told you it's loaded with B12 but also Calcium, Antioxidants, other B-Vitamins and Silica.  Here is more information, because I really couldn't believe what is in this green superfood. 

You can find it at the Healer Store, here. 

Slique : Whole Foods Using Scent Weight Loss

Slique has found a way to use natural botanical oils to "fulfill" the senses into weight loss!

Here's a green idea.   All Natural Weight Loss with the Slique™ System indicates that you can attain beautiful body wellness when you combine the best of Nature with whole foods and the power of scent.  According to D. Gary Young, founder of Young Living Essential Oils, there seems to be a direct correlation with the senses and appetite.

Enhancing the senses with a special botanical blend, (using natural products), he's found a way to come out with oils and teas which are said to:

• Lower excess daily calories by helping control appetite and cravings.
• Motivate your metabolism.
• Improve breakdown, absorption of fats and complex foods, digestion.
• Energizes without stimulants.
• Replenishes key nutrients missing from many diets.
• Cleanse and detoxifies.

Upon doing my own research it appears that studies have indicated there are learned associations between a food's taste (or smell) and its post-ingestive effects which may indeed produce weight loss (Schiffman, 1983, 1997). In fact previous weight loss products on the market have made such claims, but this uses GREEN and NATURAL products instead of harmful stimulants.

Go check out Slique website now and see what you think...

The Healing Benefits of Sunshine

The breathtakingly beautiful image above is an original sculpture made of recycled stoneware clay titled "Arising" and is created by Etsy Recycler's Guild member Adrien Art.

Our radiant sun provides wonderful healing benefits that we need throughout the year, even in this chilly month of February. I love the warm and comforting feeling of the sun's rays on my resting eyelids...it is so peaceful and soothing. Research shows that the sun's vitamin D is well absorbed through the face and eyes.

Below I have listed some of the amazing, healing properties of the sun.

Benefits of Sunlight:
• It increases the circulation of the blood.
• It stimulates the production of more red blood cells, increasing the oxygen content of the blood, and thus increasing muscular endurance.
• It increases liver function and stimulates the liver to produce a drug-metabolizing enzyme. This increases one's ability to withstand pollutants in the environment.
• It stabilizes blood sugar levels.
• It lowers cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. Sunlight may decrease cholesterol by more than 30%.
• The ultraviolet rays are antiseptic, a short morning sunbath (before 9am) several times a day will kill germs and promote wound healing. Even reflected light from windows can destroy bacteria in the dust on window sills and floors.
• The heat of the sun is useful in the treatment of neuralgia, neuritis, arthritis and other pain.
• It increases gamma globulin - a protein that helps the body fight infection.
• It is a good treatment for jaundice in the newborn baby.
• It increases muscle tone, persons who exercise in the sunlight build muscle faster than those who exercise indoors.
• It increases body metabolism.
• Sunlight has been shown to increase to relieve depression and to improve sleep.
• Resting heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rates are all decreased after a sunbath.

The illuminating image above is an Upcycled Wooden Box Sunshine Night Light created by Etsy Recycler's Guild member Cher's Passion.

Also did you know that…SUN EXPOSURE REDUCES THE RISK OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS; a disease that has paralyzed my mother and has harmed my sister (although my sister is a strong fighter and will overcome any challenges). ;-)

Our kitty cat, Nozomi, loves the sunshine too! Even though she is an indoor cat, she still gets an adequate amount of vitamin D through our windows. As long as your windows don't have a super UV protection, it is possible to soak up the sun's Vitamin D and even get a little tan through your window! You can actually soak up all of the healing properties our precious sun has to offer through the windows in your home. A little indoor sunbathing might just be the cure for your winter blues...our pets and house plants sure love it!

This post was contributed by Jessica of Eco-Friendly Freckles

See all posts created by Jessica under the tag *Eco Friendly Freckles Column!
Visit her shop, or her blog

Meet Le Petit Reve

Henrietta The Owl. Hootie Plush Toy / Pillow. Eco Friendly. $81.14


Shop name: Le Petit Reve

Location: Toronto, Canada

Le Petit Reve says, "With attention to detail and whimsy; herein you'll discover some of what one needs for swaddling, wearing, soothing, playing, biting/chewing/goobering on, home & nursery decor. Created as much as possible from reused/recycled and/or organic/non-synthetic materials. Each item is almost as unique and beautiful as the babes and mama's they are created for.

Specializing in custom orders, this is the place to stock up on layette for new babies, salves and teas for both mama's and babes. Gift-giving from le petit rêve truly says 'I love you'. You are special. You rock my world. YOU - are the bomb diggs.

Baby Cheeky Bum Salve - All Natural, Organic Ingredients - 4oz. $10.40


I believe that toys/pillows for babies and children should be bright, colorful, high in contrast, safe and environmentally responsible. That dreamcatchers make THE BEST mobiles. I believe that the that First Nations languages, ceremonies, traditions and teachings from our elders should be passed on to our children and shared with other cultures.

catch their dreams and let them snuggle in close...
upcycled, handmade treasures for mama and babe!"

Bear / Beaver Baby Mobile. 3D Dreamcatcher Ball. $130


You can find Le Petit Reve at the following places:
Blog
Etsy
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Facebook

This post was contributed by Heather of
Texas Vintage Things