Sleepy Time Tea and Tincture Recipe
Sleepy Time Tea and Tincture
Author: Tonye
Roasted Chicken Stew With Root Vegetables
A delicious fall and winter recipe Nothing says holidays like a delicious rosemary roasted chicken stew with root vegetables! It’s a perfect way to beat those cold fall and winter days when, you’re looking for warm and hearty meal. Not only will it warm you …
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Sweet Potato Bread Recipe
Sweet Potato bread: A Delicious Fall Craving
It’s the season for spiced lattes and buttery baked goods! but as always, I love to add some healing and nutrition to my seasonal edible joy. My sweet potato bread with dates, is one such yummy creation! This fall delight is packed with deliciousness, nutrients, and healing.
Sweet Potato love
My yummy treat is a healthy spin on a spicy pumpkin bread recipe favorite. For this dish, I switched out the pumpkin for sweet potatoes and added a few dates with a little banana! I know, what a combination but, it’s so decadent and still a far more healthy alternative to traditional pumpkin or sweet potato bread. By using sweet potatoes, dates, and banana, I also cut out a lot of refined sugar. Plus, this recipe is also vegan and full of fiber.
okay, you got me! I’ve never been obsessed with
pumpkin bread, rather, I have a sweet potato obsession from childhood. More recently though, I’ve incorporated sweet potatoes in a lot of recipes because of their nutritional benefits.
Health benefits of sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are jam-packed with fiber, complex carbs, antioxidants and vitamins. While naturally sweet, their sugars are unrefined and won’t spike your blood sugar like synthetic and processed varieties! Sweet potatoes are a nutrient-dense root vegetables. Not only that, they are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and, anti-oxidants.
The other ingredients
As for the other ingredients in this recipe, dates, bananas, walnuts and flax meal, also pack a nutritional punch! Dates are a great source of fiber, vitamins and minerals too. The same is true for flax meal, which is both heart healthy and an excellent source of fiber too. Walnuts contain healthy fats, anti-oxidants, omega-fatty acids, etc. They’re also anti-inflammatory and promote healthy gut bacteria.
Why this sweet potato bread recipe rocks
My family and I are picky eaters and when we all can agree on a yummy recipe that works for all, that’s a big deal! Adding ingredients that are naturally sweet helps you cut down on added sugars and sweeteners. Not only that, the combination of sweet potatoes, dates, and banana, add more depth of flavor and complexity.
Did I mention this recipe is perfect with a cozy cup of spiced herbal or black tea? Try it with a soothing cup of my immune boosting tea right here!
what you’ll need for this recipe
- 1/2 cup of sweet potatoes (cubed)
- 1/4 cup of dried unsweetened dates (well diced)
- 1/2 medium banana
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon of ginger powder
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup of flaxseed meal (flour)
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 cup finely chopped walnuts (unsalted)
- 1/4 cup water (room temperature)
About the ingredients
1. Sweet potatoes are actually a root veggie and not actual potatoes. They are high in fiber, B vitamins, vitamins C, D, antioxidants as well as iron and magnesium.
2. Dates are high in fiber, antioxidants and promote brain health.
3. Bananas are rich in potassium, fibber and are great for gut health. They also contain a good amount of vitamins A, B6, C, and magnesium.
4. Flax seed is great for heart health, omega-3 fatty acids, is a source of fiber and anti inflammatories. They’re are also a good source of plant protein.
5. Allspice is anti inflammatory, antiviral, great for digestion, blood and blood sugar.
6. Nutmeg is great for soothing the stomach, bloating, gas, detoxification, boost the immune system and so much more.
6. Ginger boosts the immune system, anti inflammatory, great for gut health, lowers blood sugar, an antiviral and antibacterial.
7. Cinnamon is also loaded with antioxidants, is ant inflammatory, improves gut health, reduces blood sugar and blood pressure.
8. Walnuts are high in antioxidants, omega 3, promotes gut health, fight cancer, and helps lower blood sugar.
How to prepare this yummy dish
First add the flax meal to the water until it’s well mixed and then add the olive oil to the mixture. Next, combine the dry ingredients together and gradually incorporate until slightly lumpy. Also, keep in mind that you don’t want to over work your sweet potato bread!
Next, put your batter into a greased and lined loaf pan. I usually use an 9 x 5 loaf pan but you can use whatever is available. Then, bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about an hour. You can use a tooth pick to check for doneness by sticking it into the center of your loaf. If the toothpick is sticky with the mixture when you remove the toothpick, leave it to bake for a little longer. This recipe is yummy for a cold fall of winter morning with a cup of tea or coffee!
Since this is perfect weather for breads and soups, check out my channel for some recipe ideas too!
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Sustainable and eco-friendly tea bags
More tea please! For my household, tea is a 365 day a year affair! It’s also an opportunity to look for sustainable and eco-friendly tea bags, teas, accessories, etc. when it comes to tea and blending your own recipes, you’re only limited by your imagination! …
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Top Wellness Tea For The Summer Season
It’s the of summer but let’s not forget we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic! That means, no scrimping on selfcare in order to stay health and aligned. For me, a summertime wellness tea is an excellent way to help my body continue …
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DIY Outdoor Meditation Space
Creating your happy place
There’s nothing that screams relaxation when it comes to summer, more than my own DIY Outdoor meditation space. Having another place to unwind just adds more options. Not only is it a reflection of my own tastes, creating this DIY space is a great opportunity to get some light exercise! In case you’re wondering, it’s easy to customize such a space to both your wallet and your taste. Your only limitation is your imagination.
Note: This post may contain some Amazon links and as an affiliate, I do receive a small percentage from any sales generated
What you need to get started
For my outdoor nature spot, I used a combination of recycled household items, goodwill finds, and some cheap outdoor pillows and throws from amazon and Walmart. For the outdoors, I like to use items that will hold up to the elements. Since I’m somewhat lazy, I also like to use materials that are low maintenance too!
These days, everyone is looking for ways to add style and pazazz without breaking the bank! So for my space, I found an adorable storage bench from my local goodwill store. I also found some boho outdoor cushion covers on amazon and stuffed them. When I pulled it all together, my DIY outdoor meditation space had just the right atmosphere for a relaxing retreat.
Items I found on Amazon
- Bohemian outdoor cushion covers from amazon ($18.99 for a set of 4)
- Light-weight summer throw
- Outdoor mini fountain
Items I found at Walmart
- Pillow stuffing (I got the firm stuffing from the craft section at Walmart: $20.00 total)
- Assorted low maintenance plants and herbs (I got the herbs for my container garden section)
- Assorted all-weather small planters
- Citronella tea lights ($0.97)
You don’t have to be an interior designer in order to get that “Pinterest” look. All you need is a little creativity, intention, and some focal elements. I use a combination of seasonal plants and herbs to create a garden balcony that’s both serene and colorful. For all of this, I spent less than $200 dollars total and, that includes the faux grass, seating, cushions, etc.
What’s your style?
So how do you pull all of this together and how do you avoid feeling overwhelmed? I always say, start with what you like! For colors, I use earth tones and pull in some tropical elements because that reminds me of home. Also, I love an eclectic mix of boho, tropical, and a dash of North African influences to really set the atmosphere and vibe.
So, start with the elements of color that you’re drawn to, select some “anchor” pieces (i.e. furniture, etc) to frame your space. Next, add your touches of nature, water features, potted plants, cushions, etc, to create an awesome relaxation zone.
Here’s one outdoor garden mood board I created to help me set the mood and atmosphere of what I wanted my meditation space to feel like:
As you can see, I didn’t make my space an exact copy of my inspiration board. Instead, I pulled in some of the elements and incorporated them into my final design. I still haven’t found a small outdoor fountain that really fits my space but I’ll update this post when I do! Check out some of my other posts for more selfcare tips and hacks!
Final thoughts
I can’t say enough about how important it is to have a separate place to just relax and release the stress of the day and or week. Stress reduction is one of those aspects of selfcare, that gets overlooked. But the truth is, stress makes a huge impact on our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Stress is one of the leading contributors to poor health and chronic illness. So, when you find creative ways to reduce stress, you’re doing delivering a huge punch in the face of bad health! Something as simple and cheap as a DIY meditation space can save you a lot of money in the long run by keeping you out of the hospital or paying for expensive medications! Let me know your ideas for creating your very own DIY meditation space and I’ll share them in another post!
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selfcare mother’s day gifts
All about selfcare mother’s day gifts that make sense! Regardless of whether or not you’ve actually given birth to a child, every woman who stands in that role deserves a break. That’s why I think a selfcare Mother’s Day gift or treat needs to be …
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Pink Clay Face Mask
Time for that Pink clay mask once again! In my opinion, an anti aging face mask is always in season, regardless of the time of year. If you follow me on Instagram @tonyetariahhealth you’ll know that I love skincare, especially clean beauty, and skincare DIY. …
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Toxic work environment: Do you work here too?
The reality many of us face in the workplace
Let’s face it. We’ve all experienced the less than ideal workplace setup. This is what I call a toxic work environment. From disjointed and inconsistent leadership messaging, micro-managing, and unrealistic goal setting to outright incompetence, we’ve seen it all! There is nothing normal about it and quite honestly, it’s in every organization’s best interest, to eradicate these types of unhealthy leadership styles (or at least reduce it to the bare minimum).
How can you tell you’re in a toxic work environment?
While it differs across the board depending on your field, regardless of which one you’re in, they all share similar characteristics.
- Unmotivated employees and coworkers (i.e. apathy)
- Poor (leadership) communication
- Excessive employee turnover (i.e. employee burnout, understaffing, etc)
- Inequity (unequal treatment, favoritism, etc)
- Low employee engagement
My observations
It’s not always overt and I would argue, that the more stressful the profession, the more obvious this toxicity becomes. For instance, If you’re a frontline worker, emergency responder, or any other profession that requires frequent engagement with other people in heightened situations, a healthy work environment is crucial. Take it from someone who works in a healthcare field, when you’re dealing with “people” in crisis or life-changing situations, the last thing you need is to be in a workplace where you don’t feel valued, safe, or supported.
Unfortunately, the toxic workplace is something that has become normalized across many fields. With the added stress and challenges of a global pandemic, “everything” is more visible-problems become more visible and the status quo is no longer acceptable. In short, Covid-19 has demonstrated that organizations do in fact, prioritize those “things” that they deem important and relegate the rest to the wayside. When employee health, wellness, etc is not a priority this often shows up as a toxic work environment!
We live in an age where for the most part, profit is prioritized over the health and wellness of employees as well as the general public. Short-sighted/ finite thinking and a general culture of inequity, all feed into this pervasive toxic soup. So how can you really know? Let’s take a look.
So what are the signs of a toxic work environment?
Trust me, it won’t take you long to figure these out! an unhealthy workplace affects your overall health and wellness (especially your mental health), so it’s important to know what a toxic workplace looks like. Here are just a few signs that you’re working in a toxic work environment.
1. Unmotivated employees
Probably the most obvious sign of a toxic work environment is one where there’s an air of apathy and lack of motivation among colleagues. There’s a difference between the odd “lazy” co-worker and one who is unmotivated in an environment where employees feel undervalued, unheard, etc.
2. Poor (leadership) communication
Most people understand, that there are many layers to communication; from body language, tone, to actual spoken words. This is a huge weakness of poor leadership and as a consequence, another indicator of toxicity in the workplace. Communication is the mode of informing and setting the “rules of engagement” in the workplace, between the organization and its employees. If you can not, as a leadership team, effectively communicate with your employees, you’ve already got issues with toxicity. Communication is how we relate and connect with one another, and if that conduit is full of confusing messages, hostilities, etc, there’s no trust being built.
3. Excessive employee turnover
There can be multiple reasons for why your workplace has a revolving door, but either way, it’s still a huge red flag. If you work in such a place, it won’t take much for you to figure it. Sometimes it’s due to boredom, and or burnout. But more often than not, it’s due to poor management. Your coworkers may feel undervalued, underutilized, and or unheard. All of these make for a toxic work environment.
How do you counteract the effects?
One of the most effective ways to combat this is literally selfcare! When you prioritize your health and wellbeing, that helps you set boundaries for your protective space. Here, you can develop and or set boundaries as well as adopt strategies to fight the negative effects of a toxic work environment. To see what that looks like, read up on an earlier post entitled women’s fitness and selfcare tips!
Next, try going the official route where you document and report workplace toxicity to your human resources department. Here’s the thing; I personally don’t have a lot of faith in HR departments these days. Outside of building a legal case to be reported to an outside agency (i.e. EEOC, etc)I’ve found few HR departments that actually advocate for employees! Your other option is to quit but if that’s not financially realistic, get outside support (i.e. online support groups, mental health professional, etc).
Setting firm boundaries, between home and work life is another great strategy for navigating and servicing a toxic workplace. Finally, if meeting / discussing this issue with your supervisor doesn’t work, you’ll either have to adopt some or all of these strategies or separate yourself from your current employer.
Bottom line
At the end of the day, you can always find another job, but you can’t find another life, as a result of your health suffering because of an unhealthy workplace. For more on selfcare, read an earlier post right here
About the author
Tonye Barango-Tariah is a women’s empowered selfcare and health coach as well as the founder of Freedom at The Crossroads Blog. She helps free women from inaction and unhealthy habits so they can get fit, healthy, and live free. Her belief is that “the cookie-cutter method only works for cookies”. For her, every woman can “look better, feel, better, without the pressure”! ™️ This means that she helps each woman achieve her goals in a way that is uniquely tailored to her needs. By doing this, she’s better able to help them transform their lives from the inside out. Ultimately, her goal is to help women become healthy and empowered through the transformative selfcare journey!
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Weight loss Selfcare Strategies: New Year
All about that New Year resolution Nothing says New Year like a gym run, right? But knowing how unlikely that is right now, why not make your selfcare that much more powerful? By incorporating your weight goals with selfcare, you can seriously up your game! …
