I grew up on homemade mayonnaise - or at least, on the rare occasions when we had mayonnaise, it was homemade...

I remember standing beside my mother, watching as she slowly poured oil into the blender with the brilliantly orange eggs I had collected that morning, along with salt, mustard, and vinegar, forming a creamy yellow spread.

Ours never looked anything like the thick, gelatinous, almost bleached-white stuff in the jars that my grandmother and grandfather sometimes brought along when they visited.

Of course, that meant theirs was much more special to us kids!  Consequently, I never realized just how tasty homemade mayo really was until I grew up. Now I am surprised how few people actually make their own - especially since it's so easy.

All you need are 5 simple ingredients and a blender or food processor to make your own homemade mayonnaise from scratch in just 5 minutes!

If you have any interest in natural health, you've probably been hearing about the importance of "gut bacteria" everywhere. Healthy gut bacteria and the "microbiome" have become commonplace terms in the natural health lexicon in recent years. But supporting the good bacteria in your body goes beyond just your gut health.

In fact, your total microbiome is made up of bacteria in every area of your body - from your sinuses, to your mouth, your gut, and even your vaginal canal (if you have one of those). Supporting the healthy bacteria in these areas helps to not only prevent unhealthy pathogens from taking over, but it boosts your immune system and improves your overall health in general.

Many commonsense health practices that are good for your body in general also support your microbiome, such as eating a varied diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, and fiber, getting plenty of sleep and exercise, and avoiding alcohol and tobacco. But there are also specific things you can do to support your healthy colonies of bacteria in each area of your body.

Today, we are discussing a few things you can do to help support your oral microbiome - an important but often-overlooked area of health - as your mouth is one of the most common ways that pathogens enter your body.

As you've probably heard by now, the Keto (or Ketosis) Diet is all the rage right now. While I'm not normally a fan of extreme fad diets, I do admit that they can be useful on a short-term basis, or to help manage certain diseases or conditions. For example, the Keto Diet has been found to be very helpful for many people with diabetes. It can also help to jump-start a weight loss plan and release stubborn fat stores if you have hit a plateau.

While I wouldn't suggest trying to eat keto forever, doing it for 30 days or a couple of months can be helpful in some cases for some people. However, as with most diets, getting started and learning to stick to the new eating habits is the hardest part. Most people in America have sugar addictions, which can make it very difficult for them to stick with the Keto Diet, which includes very low levels of carbs and sugars. However, it is possible to satisfy your sweet tooth on the Keto Diet, so if you love desserts and you want to eat keto, you'll love this month's "freebie"!

Check it out below to find out how you can get your hands on this awesome Keto recipe book filled with 80 delicious Keto dessert recipes for free!

Happy New Year! I'm back after our trip to Arkansas, though unfortunately I ended up with the bad cold that everyone else had once we got back... Christmas was fun and relaxing, and it was wonderful to see the nieces and nephews growing and becoming little people, which always amazes me. It's so interesting to watch their personalities develop as they become their own unique individual selves - so different from each other, even the twins!

I'm a little late with the "New Year's Resolutions" post as we got back late last weekend and I was too tired to put something together at the last minute, so your monthly "freebie" will be posted next weekend. I'm doing things a little differently this year, and instead of sharing my own resolutions, I decided to share some tips for creating your own healthy resolutions - ones you can actually stick to!  Take these 5 ideas as a good place to start in your own health and fitness journey, but feel free to put your own spin on them to make them work for you.

One of the main problems with typical New Year's Resolutions is that they are set to achieve a specific result - and one that is often overly ambitious. If your goal is to lose 30 lbs this year, this may seem like an insurmountable goal so it may be difficult even to make progress without giving up. Breaking the goal down into smaller ones (i.e. lose 5 lbs by March 1) may help. But beyond that, this goal is not necessarily a sustainable one to start with. What happens if/when you achieve the goal? Do you then go right back to your unhealthy habits and put all the weight back on?

This is why my New Year's Resolutions are rarely concrete, one-time goals. I certainly set many goals for myself, but they are on more of a short-term timeline and not in a "resolution"-type format. Instead, I look at resolutions as a way to make improvements in my life on an ongoing basis. For example, "Do yoga at least twice a week," or "Call one friend or family member every week." Not only are these very achievable, they are also measurable (did I do yoga twice this week or not?), and they lead me to form long-term healthy habits.

If you would like to improve your health, your fitness, or your relationships, making resolutions like these is a great way to create lasting change in your life.

What healthy resolutions can you make (and keep) this year? How about making a resolution to cook at least 4 meals per week at home? Or eat at least 2 different vegetables every day? To work out at least 3 days per week? To only eat natural forms of sugar? Or to stop eating factory-farmed meats?

Below are 5 more ideas for healthy resolutions that you can keep this year, which will change your life (and health) for the better: