Sunday SELF - C. ☕ A. 📅 R. 📚 E. 🫧

Chai Tea

Ingredients:

- 2 ½ cups boiling water

- 10 chai tea bags / 10-12 oz loose leaf chai (I use either these tea bags or this loose leaf chai)

- ½ cup honey

- ¼ cup maple syrup

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 1 tsp cream of tartar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tsp ginger, clove, cardamom, white pepper

- 1 tbsp cinnamon 

Directions:

1. Steep 2 ½ cups of tea in a glass bowl until cooled to room temperature.

2. Squeeze tea bags / strain and squeeze loose leaf tea to get a dark brewed chai.

3. Add brewed chai to a saucepan with sugar.

4. Gradually bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

5. Add maple syrup, honey, and whisk in cream of tartar. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring frequently.

6. Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the spices.

7. Store in a glass jar or bottle in the fridge.

To make your chai:

- Combine ¼ part chai mix, ¼ part water, and ½ part milk.

- For a stronger, deeper flavor: Combine ⅓ part chai mixture and ⅔ part milk.

- Froth your milk and pour over chai for the perfect hot chai latte or combine all ingredients into a glass full of crushed ice and stir.

- Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon on top and enjoy!

🍪 Chai Cookies

Ingredients:

- 3 cups organic all purpose flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 100 grams sourdough starter

- 2 sticks salted butter

- ¾ cup sugar

- ¼ cup maple syrup

- 2 tbsp honey

- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tbsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp ginger, clove, and cardamom

- ½ tsp salt & white pepper

Chai Icing:

- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar

- 3 tbsp chai concentrate

- ½ tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Prepare cookie sheets with coconut oil to prevent sticking.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and all spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom, salt and white pepper). Remove 4 tbsp from the bowl to use later.

3. Beat butter and sugar mixture on high for 3 minutes.

4. Add sourdough starter, then beat eggs, vanilla, syrup, and honey into the bowl.

5. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until dough is formed.

6. Form small dough balls. Then roll in the sugar mixture you had set aside.

7. Once rolled in sugar and spices, place on baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes.

8. Start on your frosting by mixing powdered sugar, chai concentrate, and nutmeg in a small bowl.

9. Once the cookies are done and have cooled for 5 minutes, spoon icing onto each cookie.

10. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy! Best served warm.

“For too long we have been taught to fear, critique, and tuck away life’s chaos, yet in doing so, we forget its immense power to transform us, our health, our lives, as well as the world we live in.”

JANUARY: Bite the bullet and PURGE.

Every product that you have not used once in the past 6 weeks, toss it. 

I’m talking makeup, perfume, lotions, skincare, soaps, cleaning supplies, medicine/ supplements, packaged foods in your pantry, sauces and foods in your fridge, old kitchen utensils and storage containers, and old synthetic clothing, blankets, and towels.

I know you feel like it’s wasteful to throw out that expensive perfume that you bought five years ago and only wear on special occasions… but I promise, you won’t miss it when you feel the clarity and cleanliness of going fragrance-free.

Also, half the stuff in your cabinets is probably expired, so just think of that if you’re having a hard time with this part.

It’s not a waste of money if not having it in your home makes you live healthier longer.

You live and you learn. It’s okay.

I was surprised to learn this year that even just hanging onto these old toxic products and not even using them — the whole idea of keeping “just in case” — is not harmless.

Even sealed products are off-gassing chemicals into your home causing you to breathe in micro amounts of toxins from even the things you keep shoved deep in the back of your closet.

With our toxin buckets already pretty high just due to modern living, why would you want to add more to it just from something going unused and creating clutter?

Week 1: Kitchen clean out.

Week 2: Bathroom, medicine cabinet, and personal care product clean out.

Week 3: Cleaning supplies clean out.

Week 4: Closet clean out.

It’s okay if you don’t yet have replacements for the things you actually use day to day. Keep what you do use and love for now, just declutter the rest to make it an easier swap down the line.

FEBRUARY: As you run out the the products you use, replace them with nontoxic alternatives. 

You don’t have to buy all new products in one month, but familiarize yourself with the ingredients in the brands mentioned below so that you feel more confident knowing that you’ll make a healthier purchase next time you’re squeezing out the last few drops from your toothpaste tube.

- Deodorant: Primally Pure

- Toothpaste: Wellnesse or Revitin

- Makeup: Toups & Co

- Skincare, Haircare, & Shower Products: Primally Pure or Toups & Co

- Cleaning Supplies: Branch Basics

- Hand and Dish Soap: Dr. Bronner’s

- Body Lotion: Coconut Oil

And what else do you need? 

This process of nontoxic living is truly a stripping down process. 

I do share other brands and more specifics on products in my ebook (linked at the bottom), so that’ll be a great source to reference when you’re running out of something and looking for a healthier option.

If there are specific products or household items that you love and just can’t see how you’d live without that I didn’t mention above, reply and let me know what it is and I can offer you an alternative if I know of one!

MARCH: Cook at home more often than you do now.

Start buying whole food ingredients rather than packed foods and scour Pinterest to start learning how to make all your favorite meals from scratch.

Instead of ordering a meal to have it delivered to your door, plan date nights in where you buy whole foods and cook it yourself.

Once you start to taste the difference in ingredient quality, you’ll start to gradually crave your own cooking over anything you can order or pick up.

Follow accounts like glowwithella on Instagram and join her newsletter for recipes.

Use the recipes from all our Sunday Self-C.A.R.E. newsletters to get you started!

APRIL: Swap the things you use / consume daily.

If you drink coffee often, make it at home using mold-free, nontoxic coffee. I recommend Danger Coffee. Kion and Purity are also mold-free and third-party tested for toxins.

I know it’s an extra step to not be able to pick these up at the grocery store while you’re already there, but it’s important to swap the items that you are taking in every single day, sometimes multiple times a day, because those small amounts of toxins are the ones that will add up and overwhelm your system. Just set up a subscription on one of the sites and then you don’t even have to think about buying coffee ever again. 

Then, clean up your creamer and opt for whole foods rather than the more convenient options that are filled with poor quality and harmful additives. Use pure maple syrup or raw honey to sweeten. Then choose your preference of cream — raw milk, coconut milk, or for nut mylk you can buy organic nuts and blend them with filtered water and strain them yourself.

If you want convenience, understand it comes with a higher price tag — at least it should if you’re looking for high-quality whole food ingredients. You can buy the creamer from Cymbiotika.

I also recommend consuming more herbal teas and more herbs when cooking. Make sure you aren’t drinking tea from bleached or plastic tea bags, choose loose leaf instead, and get all your herbs from a great source where they don’t add any anti-caking agents or spray the herbs before harvest.

If you’re taking daily supplements, do some research on the sourcing of ingredients because, again, the things you take daily will compound to make a huge difference in your health. If there are any questionable ingredients, those consumed daily can create big problems.

If you eat whole foods and feel generally healthy, I don’t think supplements are necessary. 

MAY: Clothing.

Toss any old clothing that you have lingering from the January cleanout, then make a plan to only buy new clothes that are made of natural fibers.

Start with underwear. Then pajamas and loungewear. Then workout clothes.

Those are most important to start with.

The best brand for all organic, natural materials is Pact.

Once you experience what organic cotton underwear feels like compared to your polyester ones… You’ll immediately throw out your entire underwear drawer. It’s that simple.

JUNE: Check-in. 

What swaps have you made so far? Do you miss your old products? If so, you might need to look for a different nontoxic brand to buy from or try making it yourself!

Check and make note of the personal care products you still rely on that aren’t nontoxic and celebrate yourself for making the swaps that you have made!

Listen to podcasts that discuss nontoxic living and optimal health. Search by topic on The Pursuit of Wellness or The Skinny Confidential to learn all about detoxing your home, alternative medicine, naturopathic dentistry, diet, fitness, parasites, mold, and other environmental toxins.

JULY: Buy less from grocery stores and more from farms.

Now that you’ve been cooking more than you used to, you can level up your ingredient quality. 

Instead of unripe, questionable produce that traveled far and wide to make it to your kitchen, find your local farms to limit food miles and multiply the bioavailable nutrients on your plate.

It’ll take a short Google or social media search to find your local farmer’s markets and farm stands for your produce. You can use this resource to find another local farm for meat, eggs, and dairy.

Then for your few pantry staples, buy organic, regenerative, or biodynamically grown rice, beans, flour, and other shelf-stable whole foods. I use Thrive Market to have my pantry items delivered because they have all the healthy and trusted brands I love and don’t always find at conventional grocery stores at far cheaper prices than health food stores.

AUGUST: Get the plastic out of your kitchen.

Swap plastic cutting boards for wood or stone, Tupperware for glass, and cooking utensils for wood or stainless steel.

SEPTEMBER: Look into your air and water quality.

Get into the practice of opening your windows to improve the air quality in your home. Depending on where you live, look into better air filtration methods for your home.

Look at the water reports from your city and look into a better water filter.

If all you can focus on is your drinking water, start with that. You can go to Whole Foods and fill up a 5-gallon jug of clean drinking water using their water station or you can invest in a reverse osmosis system.

Remember you don’t have to do it all now, just educate yourself on these topics so you know how to do the best you can now and what to buy to improve your situation in the future.

You can listen to this podcast on air quality and this one on water quality.

OCTOBER: Natural hormone health & Toilet Paper

Now’s the time to swap your toilet paper and period products for organic natural material! I buy toilet paper and paper towels from Reel.

These are nontoxic and made of 100% bamboo.

Next, make sure your period products are 100% organic cotton like Cora or Garnuu. And try to free-bleed on black organic cotton underwear while you’re at home.

If you are a woman pre-menopause, take this month to check in on your hormone health, learn about your cycle, and decide what birth control method will work for you once you’ve been informed.

I never knew the dangers of birth control and I also never knew that you can prevent pregnancy by simply tracking your cycle. 

If you don’t have a consistent period, which I didn’t for years, getting that back will be your starting point. Follow cyclewithkylah on Instagram for resources on hormone health and look into short-term diets like Real Food for Fertility.

Even if you are not looking to get pregnant anytime soon, or ever, fertility is an important marker for physical health so your consistent, easy period is a sign of health.

Learning how to track your cycle lets you know whether you can get pregnant or not on a given day and it helps you understand your energy levels to take care of yourself better.

Listen to this podcast for a crash course in cycle tracking and fertility awareness. I got off birth control and track my cycle with Natural Cycles which you don’t need, but I like it to make sure that I don’t mess it up since this is all still fairly new to me.

NOVEMBER: Swap bath towels & sheets

Buy organic cotton bath towels and bath mats so you aren’t soaking in chemicals when you want to feel your cleanest.

And sleep in natural fibers so you aren’t soaking in chemicals for 8+ hours straight.

This time of year you can find a lot of Black Friday discounts to help you out!

I have bath towels and mats bedding and bedding from Pact. I think their products are the most affordable high-quality options. Coyuchi is a more expensive option & Quince is more affordable but not all their products are organic natural materials so check their collections and material list before you buy.

DECEMBER: Nontoxic cookware.

Ask for or buy yourself the gift of nontoxic cooking by replacing your nonstick pans with stainless steel or cast iron.

✨ Reflect on all you’ve accomplished this year!

How do you feel? Are the changes showing up for you as more thriving health? Are you noticing more clarity and no more cravings for the products and meals you used to rely on?

It’s all been so worth it and now, you can’t imagine living any other way 🩷