Mariana's BLOG page with her best health tips & recipes
Balance with Mariana's blog page, The Balance Journal, provides unique and useful tips on healthy living and holistic nutrition, delving into topics of digestive health, hormonal balance, weight loss, making healthier choices, improving body image and more!
Mariana also emphasizes eating healthier (yet delicious), more balanced, plant-based meals, and provides easy and delicious recipes.
After your Thanksgiving meal (or any large dinner) you will likely feel lower in energy, heavy, bloated and a bit guilty. I urge you to let go of the guilt, be thankful for your delicious meal, and instead, just focus on getting your body back on (a healthy) track.
The day after your big meal, follow these 9 tips to boost your metabolism, aid your digestion, and get yourself feeling light again!
Read MoreWhile I am a big believer in an inclusive, varied and balanced diet, there are times when we are unknowingly consuming foods that are taxing our beautiful bodies and causing us to gain weight or just not feel our best.
For this reason, I am also a big believer in doing a periodic cleanse (like my 10 day detox) as a mini RESET, and an opportunity to check in with our bodies and see what might be affecting us.
The thing is, many of the foods we eat every day contain a ton of pesticides, and/or have an acidifying effect on the body, and/or are mucus-forming, and/or are simply difficult to digest. By avoiding these foods for 10+ days, you give your digestion a pause from these potentially inflammatory foods (while nourishing your body with an extra dose of superfoods, vitamins, minerals and proteins that help your body detox), and will be in a good place to re-introduce potentially triggering foods and see how they affect you.
LEARN MORE about what we eliminate and WHY (it’s useful info so don’t miss out!) in today’s blog…
Read MoreHappy Halloween!! This is such a fun time especially for the kids, but candies and sugary treats are floating around everywhere, and the sugar temptation is huge! It's once a year, so enjoy this funky spooky holiday... but make this year a HEALTHIER one - for both you and your family.
It CAN be done with just a bit more AWARENESS. Today I’m sharing TIPS on keeping your body healthy this Halloween, plus better alternatives to traditional Halloween candy (and more). Check out all my links, and please share with your family and friends so they can stay healthy, too!
Carbs can be found in SO many foods, ranging from highly processed foods (with NO meaningful nutrition!), to vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains that are rich in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals.
Some carbs are definitely more beneficial than others - though many factors play a role in determining this, including portion sizes, presentation, preparation, and even your own gut. To keep it simple, generally, the less refined the food, the better.
It’s important to remember that in moderate amounts, whole food carbs like fruits, vegetables, beans/legumes and whole grains can be excellent for our overall health, especially if we eat them right.
Read my blog to learn the different categories of carbs in terms of how often to eat them (ranging from always, often, less often to avoid) and TIPS for eating them to better support our metabolic health.
Read MoreThe gut-brain connection is extremely powerful, which means that a huge part of having a healthy mind is having a healthy “gut”.
If you’ve ever felt butterflies in your stomach when nervous, or nauseous when scared, you KNOW your gut is sensitive to your emotions and stress. And the reverse is also true. The health of our gut has a direct effect on our brain and mood. Poor digestion from too much processed foods, bad food combinations, or poor elimination (ex. not pooping properly) can have a huge negative impact on your mood, energy levels, mental clarity (and more!).
SO if you want to have a healthy, happy brain, you need to start by having a healthy GUT! Here are 5 steps to get you started…
Read MoreHow you start off your morning HUGELY impacts how you feel the rest of the day - in terms of digestion, energy, motivation and your metabolism/weight.
Today I’m sharing a delicious smoothe bowl recipe that helps STABILIZE BLOOD SUGAR, BOOST ENERGY, BALANCE HORMONES, IMPROVE IMMUNITY and can support WEIGHT LOSS.
Read MoreI’m a huge fan of smoothies for breakfast, but only because I’ve found how to make them delicious yet still super healthy, low-glycemic and most importantly: FILLING. What’s my trick?
I always add these 4 ingredients (in good quantities)… Read my blog for the 4 important elements to a healthy, delicious, metabolism-boosting, hormone-balancing, satisfying and FILLING smoothie.
Read MoreI'm sharing my experience with testing out a LEVELS Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to help me learn what caused increases in my blood sugar, and what helped me keep it stable. Based on my experience and research, I'm sharing 8 tips for balancing your blood sugar, to help with weight loss, balanced hormones and better overall health.
Read MoreSustaining balanced blood sugar levels (aka blood glucose levels) and minimizing swings in blood sugar is absolutely paramount to weight loss, and moreover, to a healthy lifestyle and avoiding disease.
The good news is that there is so much we can do through small DIET and LIFESTYLE changes to support our blood sugar levels and simultaneously boost our overall health.
Today in my bog I share 11 tips to keep stable, healthy glucose levels (which simultaneously support healthy weight loss).
Read MoreWeight loss is – like most things – a completely personal journey. Every body is different. Our digestions are different, our metabolisms are different, our lifestyles are different…so what works for me, may not work for you. That being said, there are some health principles that help the majority of people with weight loss, and it’s just about customizing it for your unique, beautiful body.
In my experience, these 8 health principles can help boost your weight loss. Check them out below - and observe what you’re already doing, what you could be doing a bit better, what you maybe haven’t tried…. And just remember, if you’ve been trying to lose weight for a while and it hasn’t worked, then the only way it’s going to work is TRYING SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING DIFFERENT. So be open-minded and explore new things. And let me know how it goes!
Read MoreOne of my main goals in life is to show you and everyone that HEALTHY EATING CAN BE (AND SHOULD BE) DELICIOUS). So i’m making it a goal to share more of my awesome, nutritious and super yummy (yet easy) recipes for you to enjoy.
Today I’m sharing my Meatballs and Veggie Noodles recipe - which is allowed on most detoxes (like my signature 10 day detox) and is both PALEO and KETO “approved”. (I always share this recipe in my Summer & Fall 10 day detox and my clients LOVE it, and for my Winter version where we omit nightshades, I offer it with a vegan cashew cream instead of tomato sauce).
Read MoreIf you’re suffering from low-thyroid (and the commonly related symptoms including slow metabolism and low energy), you’re not alone. It’s more common than you may think, especially with women.
Whether or not you’re already taking medication, your diet plays a large role in your thyroid function and it’s important to use your meals to help you in your healing process.
START BY TAKING BABY STEPS. Start by incorporating these 5 superfoods into your everyday diet to help you in your journey to balancing your thyroid hormones and therefore improving your overall health.
Read MoreBy popular demand, and as a follow-up to my Beginners Smoothie Guide, today I'm sharing my go-to favorite green smoothie recipe that I make for myself almost every morning.
All my green smoothies are PACKED with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, fiber, vegan protein and deliciousness. They make a filling and delicious breakfast that will keep your blood sugar stable, rev up your metabolism, and serve as a great tool for weight loss.
Read more for my delicious EVERYDAY GREEN CHIA SMOOTHIE BOWL recipe (+ 2 more of my favorite smoothie bowl recipes).
Read MoreWe ALL poop but are often afraid to talk about it. We’re often unsure if our poop is healthy or not, and what we can do to make it better. So I address all of this - what is “normal” poop supposed to be like - shape, consistency, color, how often should we poop, and most importantly, what we can do to improve our poop (and particularly, relieve constipation).
Why does this matter? Because the health of our poop says a lot about the health of our gut, which says a lot about our overall health. So i believe we should all be making the effort to incorporate those healthy habits that help boost our gut health.
Read more for my poop 101 and 9 tips for improving your poop!
Read MoreBy now you probably know of my obsession with: smoothie bowls, sweet potato, dark chocolate/cacao and superfoods in general. So it’s probably no surprise that this recipe, which combines all of the above, is one of my favorites (that I make at least once a week).
See my delicious, vegan, protein and superfood-packed CACAO SMOOTHIE BOWL recipe below.
Read MoreToday I’m sharing my newest recipe - a result of playing around with my organic dark leafy greens, attempting to find the best added sweet flavors to neutralize the slight bitterness of the greens, and I came up with this amazingly flavorful, nutritious dish.
Kale and Sweet Potato are two of my favorite SUPERFOODS, and they pair perfectly together.
This recipe is:
Extremely healthy and gut-friendly, packed with fiber and wide variety of nutrients
Vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free
Ideal to prevent cravings as it contains all the different flavors to satisfy your palate
Comforting, warming, and filling (even without the optional protein addition)
Super easy to make – can be done in 3o minutes and all in one pot
Great for meal prep lunches and dinners; leftovers taste even better (keeps well in fridge for 3 days, tops 4)
Check out my recipe and give it a shot!
Read MoreBy now you’ve probably heard of probiotics and are hopefully taking a supplement or making the conscious effort to eat more unsweetened yogurt, raw fermented sauerkraut and other fresh fermented probiotic-rich foods.
Maybe you’ve even heard of prebiotics – those healthy FIBERS that help to grow the healthy probiotics in our gut.
But maybe you haven’t yet heard of postbiotics. And/or maybe you’re unsure about the differences between these “biotics” and WHY it’s important to understand them.
So today I’m breaking it down in simple terms to help get you started on a path towards better GUT HEALTH. AND I’m sharing my #1 TIP to boost your digestion and overall health, something anyone can (and should) do which doesn’t require supplements.
Read MoreA macro bowl (aka buddha bowl) is my daily go-to dinner, which I make using leftovers (or things I “batch cooked” earlier including grains/beans/veggies), some fresh greens, seeds and/or avocado, a healthy sauce, and I’m good to go.
I love these bowls because they are BALANCED, EASY TO MAKE, ADJUSTABLE/VARIABLE, FILLING and usually, totally Instagram worthy.
While there are tons of variations, I wanted to offer an easy GUIDE to help you make your own macro bowl for a quick, easy, healthy meal. Plus, I’ll share one of my favorite go-to recipes.
Read MoreHaving easy pre-made healthy options for a quick dinner (such as pre-cooked frozen healthy foods that I can heat up in a minute and serve with a salad) are key for me to stay healthy. Especially now, during these new stay-at-home times when we’re limiting our supermarket runs, batch-cooking and freezing healthy staples IS A LIFESAVER.
So i wanted to share one of the recipes that i commonly make in big batches and freeze. This recipe is:
Dairy-free
Gluten-free
Oil-free
Soy-free
Packed with fiber, protein, B-vitamins, iron and more
Super flavorful
EASY TO MAKE and freezes well
Check out my blog for my recipe - both in english and spanish.
Read MoreDuring the holiday season, we get jammed with (usually fun) events, but that also means less time for relaxing, for exercise, for healthy cooking, and always implies lots of food (usually not so healthy) and booze (for most of us).
So what can we do to maintain a balance, to avoid gaining weight and feeling heavy, and to keep up our wellness game?
Read MoreBalance With Mariana is a holistic Health Coaching practice that works with individuals looking to lose weight, overcome their food addictions and improve their digestive issues, by teaching them new healthy lifestyle habits that help them reach their specific personal goals. Clients of Balance With Mariana develop not only a better relationship with food, but also an overall more balanced and happy life.
Balance With Mariana | , Miami, FL
