As a wellness coach and personal trainer, I'm often asked for ideas on how to be healthier and more fit. My personal wellness journey has looked less like a path, and more like a roller coaster over the last 10 years, with me slowly figuring things out along the way with some good old fashioned trial and error. I've decided to compile a list of the things that currently make me sing, a la Julie Andrews, when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle.

1. Vegetable Spiralizer
One of the keys I've found to keeping vegetables exciting is variety, not just in which veggies I use, but also in how I prepare them. This spiralizer, with several different attachments, just recently entered my home and has been great for making twirlable zucchini noodles for zusketti, curly fries that I bake for a healthier treat, and for cucumber threads, which make a great base for a cold salad dish. There are endless possibilities. Check out this site for more ideas.

2. Doyogawithme.com
I've had a wonderful relationship with this website for almost three years now. With several teachers, in several different styles, designed for a range of experience levels, anyone can experience what it's like to fall in love with a mat for the beautiful cost of $0.

3. Whole30
As someone who grew up on TV dinners and nutty bars and was calling out fast food restaurants by name at the ripe age of two, old habits tend to die hard. I've established an overall healthy lifestyle, but occasionally, a couple bites here and there of those things I once loved can cause me to lose my focus and fall back into an unhealthy relationship with food. Enter Whole30, which I do every once in a while to remind myself why nutrition matters. This whole food based, 30 day diet is designed to be a springboard for a healthy lifestyle. Its strict rules allow your body to recover and learn what it's like to live without a lot of common food sensitivities. If you're not sure how it could possibly help you, check out their testimony page to see the amazing things its done for people with health issues ranging from autoimmune disorders to depression to infertility, and so much more.

4. Bodyspace
I've often heard strength training referred to as the "real fountain of youth," but there is a large population that is missing out on the numerous benefits because of the intimidation factor. If you're not sure how to start a strength training program, one useful tool I've found is Bodyspace, an app/online community run by Bodybuilding.com. Don't let the name fool you - you don't need to be a wannabe bodybuilder to use it. The app has strength training programs for every level, put together by top personal trainers.

5. Thrive Market
If you're a lover of online shopping and having gifts showered upon your doorstep, Thrive Market is a great way to find healthy products, including healthy packaged foods for everyone from babies to pets, supplements, cleaner beauty and hygiene products and housewares. Think of it as Costco without the bulk. You pay for an annual membership, and in return you get wholesale prices. Thrive offers a free trial period if you'd like to dip your toes in the water.

6. Tazo Wild Sweet Orange Tea
This tea has helped me both in my efforts to cut down on my caffeine consumption and to eliminate processed sugar from my diet. It still gives me the satisfaction of holding a warm drink in my hand in the morning and satisfies my afternoon sugar craving. It is zesty and delicious and wonderful.

7. Kettlebells
Using kettlebells in your exercise routine adds more dynamic, total body movements. To learn more about what kettlebells do, and to get tips on using them, visit this previous blog post.

8. Chipotle
I'm not sure Chipotle will ever fall off my list of favorite things. Rooted in whole foods prepared in-house, with responsibly sourced meet and no added sugar, Chipotle is one of the very few places I trust for a quick, healthy meal on the go. If you'd like to learn more about Chipotle's food practices, click here. And in case you're wondering, my favorite order is a veggie bowl with white rice, fajita veggies, pico de gallo, green salsa and a large helping of guacamole. Yum.

9. Tabata
Let's be real here - while I love Tabata, it could also easily fall on my list of least favorite things as well. The reason I hate Tabata is it is hard. To be done effectively, it requires an all-out effort for 20 seconds at a time, followed by a very short 10 second rest period. The reason I love Tabata (which outweighs the hate) is that it only takes up four minutes of your day, and according to a study by Dr. Izumi Tabata, is more effective than an hour of steady state cardio in burning fat and improving anaerobic and aerobic capacity. This is a great resource for understanding more about Tabata and how to incorporate it into an exercise program.

What are your favorite finds that help you in your wellness journey? I'd love to see you share in the comment section below. If you'd like more information on any of the above, please contact me at ext. 2137.