Summer is here, and while our okra is still a ways off (I got a late start planting it this year), I ran across this recipe and it looks so delicious I can't wait to try it!

Many people are turned off by okra's "slimy" texture, but if you know how to prepare it properly, it doesn't have to be slimy. Breaded and fried, roasted or grilled, or pickled are just a few ways to enjoy okra without much of that sliminess. I enjoy them all, though grilled and pickled are my two favorites. (I happen to be fine with a bit of slime as well, so I also enjoy it simply steamed with butter and salt!)

I have pickled okra with vinegar and spices a number of times before, and it is always crisp and delicious, but I have never tried fermenting it. I absolutely love homemade kimchi, so I'm excited to try this recipe later this summer. In the meantime, I thought I would share it with you today, in case your okra is coming on earlier than mine. (If not, be sure to bookmark it for later!) Not only does this one look really tasty, but you'll also get to enjoy all the many health benefits of fermented foods.

Being a fair-skinned redhead, I was taught from an early age to fear the sun. Sunburns were my nemesis (along with hives, fuzzy or prickly plants, bug bites, and anything else that could possibly irritate my skin - which was just about everything), and though I suffered many of them during my childhood, as I grew older, I learned to cover up, slather on the sunscreen, and pretty much avoid the sun whenever possible.

It wasn't until I got into my 30's and began to read and learn more about health that I started to become suspicious of the anti-sun propaganda that seemed to be cropping up everywhere.

How could the sun be so bad for us? The sun gives life and energy to just about everything on earth, so why were we all being told to avoid it at all costs? Are the sun's rays really "rays of death," as some media coverage would suggest, or is there something we are missing?

The truth, as with most truths when it comes to real health, is more complicated...

Toxins are almost literally everywhere these days. From your food, to your water, and even the air you breathe, from the sunscreen and lotions you put on your skin, to the mattress you sleep on, the toys your kids play with, and even your shower curtain.

How in the world can you keep yourself and your family safe from such an onslaught of chemicals?

While it may seem impossible, there are things you can do to reduce your exposure, and to protect your body (and your loved ones) from the ill effects of these toxins. The first step is to reduce your exposure in the first place by choosing healthier alternatives to skincare products (ones made with natural ingredients, rather than synthetic chemicals), organically grown foods, and safer alternatives to things like paint and household cleaners.

While these changes may involve a bit of  planning and thought to make the switch, it's well worth the effort. Reducing your toxic load reduces your odds of asthma, cancer, Alzheimer's and infertility. Plus, it can also help you lose weight, restore your energy levels and balance your hormones.

This free step-by-step guide can help you to remove harmful toxins from your body and restore your energy levels in just 5 days.

Summer weather has arrived, and with it, the season for outdoor activities, sunburns, and, of course bug bites! With all the rain that many parts of the country are experiencing this spring, mosquitoes are particularly pesky.

Personally, I seem to have grown more sensitive to mosquito bites as I have gotten older, although I suspect it is a particular type of mosquito that leaves the worst bites. The bad ones cause huge red welts that last for an entire week of itching and burning misery. Due to my sensitivity, I admit I have resorted to DEET products a few times over the past few years (notably on our visit to Minnesota last summer, where the mosquito is - only half-jokingly - referred to as "the state bird").

However, I am always on the lookout for natural products with safer ingredients that actually work. The recipe below is easy to make with just a few simple and natural ingredients, and you can customize it to your preferences, or experiment to find out which oils are most effective. I love the smell of citronella, but there are a number of other essential oils which have bug-repelling properties, which are listed below.

Exercise is a fundamental human requirement for health and longevity, so why does it seems so hard to do sometimes? You would think that exercising would be as universally enjoyed as eating, since it is nearly as essential to life!

Yet for some reason, many people dread exercise and sometimes even go out of their way to avoid it. Many people think of exercise as difficult, painful, or just unenjoyable (by the way, I'm not one of those people, but there are certainly times when I can relate!), and we can see the result of this mindset all around us in the epidemic of obesity and sedentary-lifestyle-related diseases facing our society today.

So why don't we all love to exercise?

I do think some of it has to do with the messages we see in the media about exercise being "hard," as well as the portrayal of thin, fit bodies as an ideal that we just don't feel we can live up to. However, I think an even greater cause of our dislike of exercise is the unnatural separation of movement from our livelihoods and daily routine.

Humans originally evolved as creatures of nearly constant movement. When we weren't sleeping or eating, we were moving - climbing, walking, running, jumping, chasing prey (or being chased), digging, stooping, reaching, and generally incorporating movement into just about every aspect of our day.

As we became more settled and adopted an agrarian lifestyle, our lives were similarly intertwined with motion as we cultivated and harvested crops, erected homes, built furniture, killed and cooked and processed our food, scrubbed laundry, tended to animals, and went about all the tasks of daily living in a world where we had to provide most of our physical needs for ourselves.

The industrial revolution began to change all of this, as factories automated so many aspects of production, moving us further and further from the processing of our food, the making of our textiles, and the creation of most of our worldly goods - namely, everything we used to do for ourselves that involved exercise.

Now we find ourselves in what can rightfully be called a "knowledge economy," where the jobs that are considered the highest "value" are also usually the ones that require the least physical labor, and our health as a society is suffering for it.

So what is the solution?

It is neither practical nor advisable for everyone to go back to growing, harvesting, and processing 100% of our own food (although I heartily support anyone who tries!), or making all of our own clothing, furniture, and other goods, and generally spending all of our time just trying to physically survive. But clearly we need to find a way to get more exercise into our daily routine. Our health depends on it!

There are many ways to do this (and you can browse our archives for some of them), but in my mind the easiest way lies in finding ways to incorporate more natural movement into our daily lives, beyond just "working out" at the gym for an hour every so often. Not only does this method involve less effort and planning than more structured workout routines, but it is also more attractive to those who "hate to exercise."

Below are 7 easy and fun ways to get more exercise - without working out:

We've all either experienced or heard of someone who had the experience of going on a diet to lose weight, and promptly gaining all the weight back once the "diet" was over.

In fact, studies show that 95% of dieters gain their weight back after going off the diet. While the reason for this seems simple (if you go back to eating the same way that made you gain all the weight in the first place, it makes sense that you would gain it back again in a matter of time), in fact, there are some sneakier reasons why diets don't generally work. 

The truth is, most diets actually set you up for failure... 

During this month's special event, the Reclaim Your Body Summit, you will learn why most diets don't work, as well as what does work, and how you can achieve lasting results even if you have tried numerous diets and failed in the past. You will learn from a number of renowned health experts who will teach you how to stop yo-yo dieting, discover your answers and create healthy habits that work for your body.

Register to watch for free here, or read more below...

As we have learned in recent years, gut health is closely linked to overall health. The trillions of microbes that reside in your digestive tract make up a substantial portion of your immune system, and poor gut health has been linked to everything from depression and Alzheimer's, to inflammatory diseases and even some heart conditions.

Taking care of the health of your gut is not only extremely important, but it's also something that you can do rather easily. However, certain conditions that may be negatively impacting your gut health are not all that easy to identify in a medical setting.

One example is leaky gut syndrome, a chronic digestive disorder that can cause an imbalance in your gut, as well as a number of other health issues from allergies to auto-immune diseases. In the guest article below, written by two nutritionists, you will learn about some of the common problems that leaky gut syndrome can cause, what triggers it, and what you can do about it if you suspect you may have leaky gut syndrome.

Garden season is upon us! With birds and spring peepers filling the air with music, daffodils blooming brilliantly on every corner, and balmy days staying lighter and lighter for longer and longer, springtime has definitely arrived, and we are reveling in it!

Along with springtime comes the seemingly endless list of outdoor and garden tasks to be done. This weekend I cut down some shrubs near the house to make room for our new gooseberry bushes, planted potatoes, set up a pea trellis, planted peas, and moved our herbs out to the deck for some fresh air and sunshine. Next weekend we will be erecting our raspberry trellis and (hopefully) planting raspberries - if they arrive on schedule - as well as planting out spring salad greens, onions, and possibly our broccoli and cabbage seedlings.

Although growing your own food does take some time and effort, it is well-worth it when you reap the bountiful harvest! There are also plenty of gardening methods that require less work, especially if you are working with a smaller amount of space.

For most people, growing all your own food may seem a daunting prospect. However, it can be a much more realistic achievement to grow approximately half of your own food - even if you don't have a huge piece of property.

In fact, this can be a lot easier than you think - and not as much work as you might expect - as long as you are using an appropriate growing system for your location - and you have the right knowledge for success.

Want to know how to do it for yourself? Read on...

You probably don't think of milkshakes as being a health food, but this Keto treat will prove you wrong! This creamy and delicious shake is packed with healthy fats, protein, and delicious nutty flavor.

As delicious as classic pecan pie may be, it's also chock full of sugar, which more and more experts are declaring positively toxic to your health. The good news is, you can still indulge and be healthy - you just need to make sure you choose healthy, whole food ingredients that taste good!

This quick and easy milkshake has healthy fats from several different kinds of nuts, including delicious pecans, which contain numerous healthy components, including magnesium, B-vitamins, manganese, zinc, copper, Omega-3 fatty acids, oleic acid, vitamin E, phosphorus, and polyphenols. Together, these components show evidence of helping with weight loss, fighting cancer, boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation, and improving nerve and brain function, among others.

Other ingredients include flax seeds - high in Omega-3 fatty acids, nut butter, containing healthy fats and protein, and coconut milk and MCTs, great sources of healthy monounsaturated fats.

Just throw everything in the blender, and voila! A healthy, delicious guilt-free indulgence...  :-)

Obesity has become an epidemic in America, leading many to an ongoing search for that "magic pill" that will help them lose weight. Fad diets, diet pills, and exercise trends abound, but the truth is that unfortunately, there is no magic pill... Only a healthy lifestyle - eating right, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, caring for your microbiome - and balancing your caloric intake with your caloric burn - will do the trick.

However, that doesn't mean that there aren't certain dietary habits or certain forms of exercise that are more effective than others when it comes to shedding extra pounds.

Today's guest post is about the latter. If you are looking to lose weight, the article below by leading fitness and wellness expert Yuri Elkaim will explain why certain forms of exercise can be more effective at burning calories faster. He also includes a sample exercise set that you can do at the gym that will burn approximately twice as many calories as a typical cardio workout in the same amount of time.