https://carlisunshines.wixsite.com/website

Naturally Carli, Edmonton, AB (2025)

12/26/2021

Nothing to see here, other than Christmas Cheer 🎄♥️

I am filled to the brim full of gratitude, love, and hope 💕

Merry merry Christmas to you, wishing you many blessings in the new year✨

With joy,
Carli ☀️

09/08/2021

What can we do to shift our focus to a place of peace, empowerment, and love? 💕

We can start by focusing our attention away from the negative things we have no control over, and shift instead on the on the positive things we do ☺️✨

✨ What we do have control over: ✨

~ how we spend our time
~ how kind we treat other humans & beings
~ how kind we treat ourselves
~ how we spend our time
~ how hard we work on our dreams
~ what we spend our voting dollars on
~ what we consume
~ who we spend our time with
~ what we are actively
~ what industries we
~ what we are for
~ our
~ our
~ our
~ our
~ our
~ the we do
~ the people we listen to
~ the food we
~ the books we
~ the media we
~ the amount of we get
~ the products we put on our
~ the we listen to
~ the amount of we get

Shifting our focus to what we do have infinite power to better and change allows us to instantly rise our ✨

We have the power to participate in the bettering of ourselves. We get a new chance to every second of every day to live in 💯

Not all days are going to feel aligned. The air feels heavy right now. Be mindful of taking the time to feel & heal. Go easy on yourself.💕
This will help you your . 🔋

And always remember we can come back to our power and shift our daily actions at any point. 🥰

Practising habits will help us cope with the heaviness and feel better in our minds, bodies, and hearts ♥️

There is so much we can do to make our inner and outer world a more beautiful place🌅

Stay in your light ✨

09/07/2021

Grateful, for grounding. 🌳✨

So wild how a few moments in time of mindful, intentional breaths can make me instantly feel more conscious and positive ✨

When I open my eyes after a meditation sesh in nature I swear the world looks and feels more vibrant 🦋

The world seems bigger 💫🪐

The mountains seem more climbable 🧗‍♀️

I feel more connected to mind, my body, and my heart ♥️

Grateful, for grounding. 🌻

08/04/2021

What exactly is mindfulness? 🧐

To define anything that is felt using only language, is a challenge 🏔 But I’ll give it my best try💫:

Mindfulness to me, is the practise of focusing your full energy completely on the present moment consciously noticing your 5 senses and how you feel ✨

Otherwise defined by the word . . .

✨ Interoceptive awareness✨

Interoceptive awareness is the practise of becoming aware of the present moment so much so we attitude to what’s happening in our minds, surroundings, and body🧠🌍🧘‍♀️

This is mindfulness✨

The sensation of feeling what is in the current moment ✨

Being aware of your senses✨

- sight 👀
- sound 👂
- smell 👃
- taste 👅
- touch 🖐

Mindfulness is the opposite of living in the past or future and allowing ourselves to be reactive to our thoughts and emotions 💥

It is being conscious in the true present moment✨

A study was done in 2015 in Germany. It’s findings were that after 3 months of a meditation practise🧘‍♀️, participants reported improved interoceptive awareness is the following 5 areas:

~ attention regulation
~ emotional awareness
~ self-regulation
~ body listening
~ and trusting

Learning how to listen to our bodies cues help us become more aware of our mental, emotional, and physical needs. This can help us learn tools to get our needs met in a holistic, health benefiting way 🥰

However, if meditation is something you have tried and hasn’t worked out for you so far don’t fret. imo you do not need to meditate in the traditional sense to gain these benefits 💯

Tapping into mindfulness can be done by a number of activities like:

- walking outside in nature 🌳
- having a warm bath 🛁
- biking 🚴‍♂️
- gardening 👩‍🌾
- dancing 💃
- drinking a warm mug of tea and observing how the mug feels in your hand 🫖
- practising yoga 🧘‍♀️

Anything that disconnects you from the past and future, and puts your focus on the present moment you are in . . .

Is mindfulness ✨

08/01/2021

Statistically 80-90% of people are not consuming enough fibre 💯😳

Are you consuming enough fibre? 🤷‍♀️

It’s likely most of us could use some more ✨

How do we get more !? 🤷‍♀️

By consuming more complex carbohydrates ✨

How does one do that? 🤷‍♀️

By eating more whole plant foods 🥦🥬🥒🍎🫑

Complex carbohydrates come from whole plant foods 🍠

Whole plant foods like sweet potatoes for example, they are full of fibre meaning the glucose is slow releasing. 🐢

Fibre helps to steady the release of glucose making your blood sugar response more balanced and steady. So you are less likely to experience blood sugar crash. Cheers to sustainable, stable energy! 🥳

Food rich in fibre also create bulk in our stomach signalling our receptors to talk to our brain to let us know when we are full, this can help us become more mindful and aware of our cues when it comes to eating 🧠. Complex carbohydrates also contain a ton of vitamins and minerals to help nourish our cells. ☺️

Fibre rich ‘Mac & cheeze recipe’👩‍🍳

- 1 box of your fav lentil, chickpea, or brown rice pasta 🍝

- squash mac cubes 🧊

- nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt & pepper to taste 🧂

Cook & drain pasta add in the sauce and spices & enjoy! 😚

Pro tip : add about 1/4 cup of reserved starchy pasta water to the sauce before mixing in the noodles. Just trust me. It makes the sauce stick to the noodles and is a major pasta game changer 👏Learned this trick from .lambert & will never go back 🍝😍🙌

Bonus points for adding a veggies to the side, my fav is cauliflower 🥰

06/11/2021

🍌Fun fruit facts + reasons to consume more of nature’s candy :🍒🥭🍊

🍓

Fruits contain ANTIOXIDANTS, which potentially reduce risk of disease, & help keep our glowy✨. Antioxidants also protect the bod from damage from exposer, pollution, and normal body processes to name a few ❣️⁣the longest lived populations in the world consume a ton of from fruit 🫐

🍓⁣

FIBRE BABY : fibre is such a friend, it is a component of the bodies natural process. Fibre is the plant material we do not have the enzymes to break down, so it just floats along our system scrubbing the walls of our intestines 🧼⁣

🍓⁣

Fibre is also responsible for feeding the good bacteria in our guts also known as . is the that feeds them so they can thrive 🤟⁣

🍓⁣

All this fibre and water allows us to feel full, and actually slows the of the therefore the release of occurring fructose. Meaning that an apple in its whole form gives less of a blood sugar spike then a handful of gummy bears 🐻 ⁣

🍓⁣

Fruits are jam packed with like magnesium, , and beta carotene to name a few to fuel our cells with natural compounds they can utilize 💪 the more nourished our cells are, the more we feel ⚡️
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🍓⁣

Some fruits like can help improve memory and 🧠🫐

🍓

Lots of fruits like strawberries are rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is required for tissue repair ( 🙌) and can help reduce inflammation ♥️

Fruit contains a ton of , making it hydrating af 🌊

🍓

Too much of anything is not a good thing. It’s important to be self aware of what is too much for your body. It totally depends on your , your , and your taste buds 😛⁣

🍓⁣

Me, I’m a fan of fruit and I love including it into my days while balancing my intake with other yummy healthy foods 🥰🍎🍌🍒⁣
🎉

06/09/2021

Longevity life hacks to live longer!
🥰❣️

~ eat more rich foods like grapes, blueberries, & lemons 🍇🫐🍋

~ have a consistent source of 3 like eating walnuts, flaxseeds, or supplementing🎊

~ eat yo rich foods like fruits and vegetables because it can help reduce ⁣🥦🍉

~ eat more foods rich in ⁣like pumpkin seeds and oats🌰

~ enjoy more that are abundant in brightly coloured , herbs, and spices🍒🥭⁣

~ consume more ⁣ that can be found in 🟡

~ ensure you are getting adequate amounts of ⁣for your bod 😴

~ 🧘‍♀️

~ have healthy stress relief coping mechanisms⁣ like or 🤸‍♀️

“Okay , but . . . How do these things really help us live longer ? 🤨”

It’s because these positive lifestyle changes can reduce free radicles damage and support our telemeres!!! 🥰😍

“What are !? 🤷‍♀️”
⁣
Allow me to explain 🤓⁣
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The human body is a multi cellular organism with trillions of cells that are individually alive with their own eco system♻️⁣
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Every single time a cell divides, the DNA must be copied 🧬⁣
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Telemeres act as a cap at the end of the chromosome to protect the DNA strand ~ I like to think of telemeres as the aglet at the end of a shoelace👟 ⁣
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Every time the DNA is split and copied, the end of the stand know as the TELEMERE becomes shortened🔬⁣
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The cells that make up our bodies (other than our reproductive cells) are called somatic cells, these cells have a finite ability to replicate🦠⁣

Meaning they have limits to how many times they can divide before the cell dies which contributes to 👵🏻⁣
⁣
When DNA gets copied to many times, the telemere becomes to shortened to copy and the dies 🥴✌️ ⁣
⁣
So the list of can indeed help protect our precious telemeres to sustain healthy cells and possibly lengthen our life & health span 🥳

Live long & 🐝 well friends ♥️

05/28/2021

summer ahead! 🌳🐿☀️⛰ ⁣
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Of all the social media content I have been consuming the concept of ‘hot girl summer’ keeps poppin’ up 🍹💃 ⁣
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That’s cool ladies, we hot. & it is indeed going to be summer time soon enough ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️⁣
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However, babes I want to remind you . . . your beauty if the least interesting thing about you 💣 ⁣
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So instead of 💃⁣
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What if we called it something like . . . ⁣
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⁣
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⁣⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
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Or any combination of empowering adjectives and the word summer ☀️⁣
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Idk just a thought that’s been on my heart to share lately💭⁣
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Whatever word you choose to describe your intentions for the upcoming season 🌷⁣
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I wish you a happy, fun time all season long! 🥳⁣
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& keep in mind that your soul suit is the least interesting thing about you, and in fact your fascinating mind and loving soul are what makes you unique and BEAUTIFUL 🌻⁣
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04/19/2021

Grateful to spend a 23rd year twirling around this bright, blue, bulb 🌎🎂🎈

Here’s to many more trips around the sun ☀️🥰🥂

02/22/2021

ALL the colours of the 🌈

🫐 Eating a wide range of bright, colourful, fresh foods is so vital because

🥑 Different foods have different beneficial polyphenols

🍒 polyphenols is a fancy way to basically say ‘plant pigments’ or antioxidants

🥕 different plant pigment colours offer different benefits

💚 = chlorophyll

~ aids in the natural detoxification process
~ can help reduce inflammation
~ helps to improve red blood cell quality

Sources: Cucumbers, leafy greens, kewi, broccoli, green apples 🥬🥒🥦🫑🥝🍈

🧡/💛 = carotenoids

~ can help enhance the immune system
~ eye health
~ can help to protect against the sun

Sources: carrots, sweet potatoes, corn, sweet bell peppers, yellow squash

💙/💜 = resveratrol

~ antioxidant to help reduce oxidation
~ promotes longevity
~ helps reduce inflammation

Sources : blueberries, purple onion, purple cabbage, eggplant, red wine

❤️ = lypocene

~ can help protect DNA structure
~ can help reduce UV Ray damage
~ can help improve skin health

Sources: tomatoes, red grapefruit, red bell peppers, cherries

🌈

01/24/2021

Sunday morning + pancakes = 😁

Plus a side of fruit, and of course 1-2 Brazil nuts 😍

Brazil nuts contain A TON of the micronutrient selenium 🙌

Selenium is vital for body functions such as:

- thyroid health
- DNA synthesis
- our immune systems
- reproductive health
- protection from oxidative stress

Brazil nuts are one of the highest food sources of this important nutrient 🥳

Too little selenium in ones diet may potentially lead to health complications, same thing with too much selenium🙃

1-2 per serving is a good sweet spot 🥰

On top of being a high source of selenium, Brazil nuts also contain a substantial amount of:

- potassium
- calcium
- magnesium

So, I like to think of this little nut as kinda like a delicious multivitamin😋

Kindly,
🌿

01/05/2021

✨ S I M P L I C I T Y ✨⁣
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To be real, I have not felt inspired to focus my energy toward creating new intricate recipes 👩‍🍳 ⁣
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So I haven’t ⁣
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I have been craving calm, and simplicity✨⁣
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Honouring my needs how ever I see fit, helps me feel acknowledged and heard. By myself.💯⁣
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I am learning to fill my own cup with what I need, letting go of self imposed unrealistic expectations, ⁣
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and it’s a beautiful thing.🦋⁣
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Ultra Simple Greek Salad:⁣
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~ mixed greens + spinach 🥬⁣
~ brown rice 🍚 ⁣
~ toasted baby falafels 🥙⁣
~ hummus 🥄⁣
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Also, happy happy 2021 to all 🥂🥳 May this year be full to the brim with self-love, self-discovery, and FUN💛

12/20/2020

🧗‍♀️ looking forward to hiking toward bigger mountains this year - 2021 is going to be fun 💫🥳⁣
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So excited for what is to come this upcoming year 💛⁣
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Let’s b real, 2020 felt like a whole year full of disappointment 🙈 in 2019 I had pictured this 2020 to have turned out a whole lot different than it . . . . 🌵🌴🌞🐚 (didn’t we all 😅) ⁣
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I’ve decided to take my focus off of expectations this upcoming year and turn my focus toward learning & growing🤓🌻⁣
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I am SOOooo pumped to start a 200hr yoga teacher training mid-January 🧘‍♀️⁣
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After the holidays, I am so excited to share with you a ton of:⁣
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~ fun new recipe ideas 🫕⁣
~ fun yoga facts 🧘‍♀️⁣
~ fun yoga poses 🤸‍♀️⁣
~ fun nutrition facts 🥑⁣
~ fun other random healthy / happy things 😁⁣
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What is it about 2021 you are looking forward to!?🤷‍♀️🍾

12/17/2020

Looking for a recipe to a make delicious, satisfying, nourishing dish for Christmas dinner !?🎄🤷‍♀️

LOOK.NO.FURTHER!😍

This classic Mac & cheese with a twist is loaded with vegetables, carbs, and all the good stuff (plus it’s totally dairy free ✅)

For the cheese sauce: 🧀

Boil for 20 minutes:
~ 4 large peeled and chopped carrots
~ 2 peeled and chopped potatoes

Once soft, drain and save the cooking liquid - ❗️set aside❗️

Add to a blender: 🤩
~ the boiled potatoes & carrots
~ 2tbsp avocado oil
~ 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
~ juice from half a large lemon
~ 1/4 cup of unsweetened plant milk
~ 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
~ 1/2 tsp onion powder
~ 1 tsp garlic powder
~ 1/2 tsp turmeric
~ 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
~ salt and a tiny bit of pepper

Blend until smooth - adding reserved liquid until the sauce is smooth and creamy 😌

Boil 1 package of noodles according to the directions (minus 2 minutes)- I love using brown rice noodles for this recipe but feel free to use any noodles you want / got ☺️

While noodles are cooking, chop up 1 large head of broccoli 🥦

Once the noodles are cooked and drained - add cheese sauce, and raw broccoli to the pot with the noodles and combine 🥣

Pour into an oiled baking dish, spread out evenly ⚖️

(optional) In a bowl combine
~ 1/4 cup of avocado oil
~ 1/2 bread crumbs
~ salt
~ 1/4 cup of h**p seeds

Spread on top for a crust like texture on top 🤤

Bake at 400F for 25-35 minutes or until the crust is golden and bubbly 🤗

Top with diced tomatoes if that’s your jam 🍅 & enjoy 🥰

12/08/2020

🥦healthy eating can be easy🍠⁣
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We tend to think that eating healthy will be too expensive, time consuming, and overwhelming 😩⁣
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I promise - it really doesn’t have to be 🙌⁣
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keep . it . simple . ⁣
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One of my fav meals lately has been something I call 1 pan dinner 🍽⁣
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Where I just chop up a bunch of veggies, a sweet potato, and a protein source I’m feeling that day (today it’s tempeh😋)⁣
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Season with spices + some dijon mustard & maple syrup = the best combo 👌⁣
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Topped with a creamy delicious Greek dressing (not shown) 😛⁣
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I always make enough to have left over for the next day ~ less preparing to do for tomorrow 😎⁣
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I know Pinterest has us (me) thinking that a ‘healthy whole foods plant based diet’ means we need to come up with a bunch of creative, time consuming meals all the time 🍲⁣
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Simply ~ that is not the case 😇⁣
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Being a human in 2020 is hard enough, when you are feeling overwhelmed- Keep it simple 📣

12/03/2020

Do you need to stop eating your fav foods to live a healthy life style? 🤷‍♀️⁣⁣
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IMO : nah fam 🙅‍♀️⁣⁣
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You do not need to give up your favourite foods when going plant based or to reach your healthy wellness goals💯💯💯⁣⁣
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There is always room to enjoy the foods you love!🥰⁣⁣
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Butter chicken was a bi-weekly stable growing up in my house ~ my mom is the best cook I know and would make the most delicious recipes 🍲⁣⁣
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One of my life goals is to make food as good as her ~ with a plant based twist & ‘healthified’🥦🥗⁣⁣
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Some simple swaps I made to increase the nutritional value of this meal :⁣⁣
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~ cauliflower rice & brown rice⁣⁣
~ whole wheat naan⁣⁣
~ organic tofu⁣⁣
~ fresh herbs ⁣⁣
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Wether you make the ‘healthified’ version or the real thang - a healthy balanced lifestyle can have it all 😁⁣
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🌱😘

12/01/2020

ONE SINGLE THING you can implement RIGHT NOW to change your whole life :⁣
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Consciously observe negative thoughts, and change your thoughts to positive ones ✨⁣
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The heck . . . ? How can I do that!? ⁣
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1️⃣ when you feel a unnecessary negative thought creeping in . . . 👻 ⁣
Think of 3 things you can be grateful for in that moment 🙏⁣
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No need to over think it! It can be as simple as:⁣
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~ I am grateful the sun is out today ☀️ ⁣
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~ I am grateful for this pretty water bottle holding clean water for me to drink 💧⁣
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~ I am grateful to have a bed to sleep in 🛌 ⁣
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Sounds too simple . . . How would this change my life?! ⁣
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Neurobiologist 🧠 Dr. Candace Pert has extensively researched and concluded: ⁣
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Neuropeptides - the chemicals triggered by emotions- ⁣
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are thoughts converted into matter⁣
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This means, that what we think expresses itself physically by influencing our brain chemicals 🧪⁣
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Which has an effect on our emotions, actions, therefore our LIVES 😯 ⁣
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If there is anything I have learned in my early 20s, it’s that you can teach yourself how to think 💭⁣
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Our brains our malleable and influenced by what we expose them to 🧠 ⁣
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Get grateful, it WILL change your life. 💯

11/28/2020

Chocolate chia peanut butter protein smoothie recipe :🍫🥜⁣
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This ultra nourishing smoothie recipe will help keep ya’ full for hours 💯⁣
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Best part is ~ it tastes like a Reese’s pieces milk shake 😋⁣
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Feel free to mix up the ratios to your liking 😁😁 we are not about using measuring cups to measure your smoothie ingredients here 🙅‍♀️⁣
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How to re-create it:⁣
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~ cashew milk (or any milk you like)⁣
~ frozen banana 🍌⁣
~ frozen avocado 🥑 ⁣
~ ice 🧊 ⁣
~ vanilla protein powder 💪⁣
~ peanut butter 🥜⁣
~ cocoa powder 🍫⁣
~ chia seeds ⁣
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Blend until smooth 🧉⁣
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Enjoy and know you are getting a ton of benefits from the smoothie containing :⁣
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~ fibre ( digestion ) 🥑🍌🥜⁣
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~ magnesium (relaxation) 🍫⁣
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~ protein ( growth & maintenance + immune health ) 🥄⁣
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~ mono - poly - & omega 3 rich fats ( satiety + anti inflammatory ) 🥑⁣
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To name a few 😘⁣
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Give it a try and let me know what you think 💭⁣
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Xo 🌱

Naturally Carli