January 31, 2018 - Off to the slopes in Park City and Wellness Tips and Elisa's Long Island January Re-Cap

Tanya's Daily Scoop
Covering the West Coast & the World
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: SALT LAKE CITY

Time to ski baby!

GREETINGS from Salt Lake City!

We made it and although I have more to tell, we are eager to hit the slopes of the Canyons!

So for now I'll post a few pics and then I'll jump by on later today to fill in the blanks...

The kids fell asleep (c)travelincousins.com

Well, yesterday started just a bit later than I had originally planned. But really no big deal - it's not like we had a plane to catch! 

Dave had over-slept and we were eagerly awaiting our fresh squeezed juices (which serves as my breakfast each day that I'm home).

Then off we went. With our next planned stop being lunch and shopping in Las Vegas. 

Aside from a potty break somewhere out in the middle of nowhere...

Out in the middle of nowhere!

The road to Salt Lake City

We be bopped along to music that ranged from The Killers to Meghan Trainor and Imagine Dragons to Florence and the Machine.

The kids had napped for most of the ride, but of course you know that they were wide awake to order their lunch!

​We stopped at Vegeway - a vegan drive thru.

Vegeway drive-thru menu (c)travelincousins.com

Each of us ordering a burger combo that we upgraded to curly fries (who doesn't love curly fries?!) and a milkshake. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm 

Double Burger - so good (c)travelincousins.com

Lunch was so yummy that I'm pretty sure we'll be making the extra stop to have it again on our drive back!!

Eating and driving (c)travelincousins.com

The Beyond Burger (c)travelincousins.com

But then right before we hit the Arizona border little 'ol me began to feel sleepy and needed to pull over to a wee little shut eye.

25 minutes later and we were back on the road and back en-route to Salt Lake City.

Pink and blue skies

Gorgeous Sunset

We arrived at my friend Manny's apartment for a visit and got to meet his new rescue - Boomer!

Sweet little fella.

It's BOOMER!

Then exhaustion hit me hard. I barely got on half of my jammies, before opting to be too lazy to put on the other half. 

I needed to zonk out and I did!

​Time to go break in my new skis,
-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs
​CURRENTLY ON LONG ISLAND

Wellness Tips and Elisa's Long Island January Re-Cap

Hello and happy Hump Day!
Can you believe January is over!  Wow, this month went by in a flash!

Well, today marks another day (3 in all) that I'm home with my sick girls.  I was up and out early this morning to stock up on more health supplies.

I need to take a moment to share a few of my wellness regimens.  The last thing I want to do when these kids get sick, is to make a trip to the doctor. My first line of defense is to give them five days or so to see where things go.

Well, in Kelsey's case, her fever broke last night and now she is just left with some nasal congestion and upper respiratory congestion and a slight cough.

Gianna never developed a fever, but, she is quite full in her sinuses.  Her poor nose from blowing it!

So, here is my plan for today and tomorrow.  I am going to focus on four main things:

1) Lots of hot water with lemon, honey and cinnamon.
2) Steam pots with Vicks and eucalyptus oil.
3) Regular doses of Sambucus Immune Edlerberry Syrup.
4) Oil of Oregano 

I'm a firm believer that all we need to heal us is provided naturally here on our planet.  If the pharmaceutical companies took the time to market wellness and preventative products, we'd have a very vibrant and healthy populous.  But, there just isn't as much money in health as there is in illness.  Sad.

Elderberry Syrup - can be used as a daily supplement as well as when sick. Benefits of Elderberry include aiding in naturally improving colds, the flu, sinus issues, nerve pain, inflammation, chronic fatigue, allergies, constipation and even cancer.

Anyway, enough of my soap box.  
Sambucus Immune (which, by the way, I purchased at The Vitamin Shoppe) contains a unique cultivar of black elderberries with a higher level of flavonoids.  What does that mean in English?

Elderberry is used for “the flu” (influenza), H1N1 "swine" flu, HIV/AIDS, and boosting the immune system.  According to Dr. Axe Food is Medicine's article Elderberry: Natural Medicine for Colds, Flus, Allergies & More, "There’s evidence that the elderberry may have been cultivated by prehistoric man. There are also recipes for elderberry-based medications dating back to Ancient Egypt. However, most historians typically trace its healing abilities back to Hippocrates, the ancient Greek known as the “father of medicine,” who described the plant as his “medicine chest” because of the wide array of health concerns it seemed to cure. "

As a result, it is recognized as one of the top antiviral herbs on the planet.  But, it gets better - benefits of the elder plant include naturally improving colds, the flu, sinus issues, nerve pain, inflammation, chronic fatigue, allergies, constipation and even cancer.

​When used within the first 48 hours of onset of symptoms, the extract has actually been found to reduce the duration of the flu with symptoms being relieved on an average of four days earlier!!

When it comes to antioxidant power, elderberry is higher in flavonoids than blueberries, cranberries, goji berries and blackberries. 
Nothing to sneeze at!!

The Elderberry syrup I am using (pictured above) also contains echinacea, zinc, propolis and Vitamin C.  
It can be used as a daily dietary supplement as well to prevent the onset of getting sick. 

If you are not familiar with Propolis, it is made by bees and it is a compound from the sap on needle-leaved trees or evergreens. When they combine the sap with their own discharges and beeswax, they create a sticky, greenish-brown product used as a coating to build their hives.

According to Healthline's article The Benefits and Uses of Propolis, "ancient civilizations used propolis for its medicinal properties. Greeks used it to treat abscesses. Assyrians put it on wounds and tumors to fight infection and help the healing process. Egyptians used it to embalm mummies...propolis contains the polyphenols called flavonoids. Flavonoids are produced in plants as a form of protection."

It is believed that this compound possesses antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. 

Oil of Oregano - attributed to its properties as an antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, digestive, emmenagogue, and an anti-allergenic substance.(c) travelincousins.com

Do we need to take pharmaceutical antibiotics?  I'm not a doctor or a researcher, so I don't know the answer to this question. Of course, I am grateful that they are available and save our lives.  

But, I like to also know that there are natural ways of healing myself and my family for the less life-threatening illnesses that are part of everyday life. 

Oil of Oregano is one of those natural remedies that many believe to be nature's antibiotic.  

According to Organic Facts article 11 Amazing Benefits Of Oregano Essential Oil​, "The health benefits of oregano essential oil can be attributed to its properties as an antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, digestive, emmenagogue, and an anti-allergenic substance.​"

For my household this week, oil of oregano is important as it can act as an expectorant,   and thereby loosen up and help eliminate the uncomfortable buildups of mucus and phlegm in the respiratory tracts and sinuses, from which, both kids are suffering.

​It is also a soothing balm for inflamed lungs and throat, which may often stimulate coughing fits" as stated in the article.  

Of course, Kelsey gives me a hard time about everything!  So, I'm battling with her to take these natural supplements.  At least she does the steam pots and drinks lemon water.  Ugh!  Gianna is my model patient!  She does everything I tell her, which makes me feel like I'm doing my job as Dr. Mom!

You may be wondering what an entire day's blog about wellness has to do with travel.  Well, you cannot enjoy your life if you are not maintaining your health.  And travel can stress your body, so taking immune boosting supplements as part of your daily life, will protect you against getting sick while traveling!  So there! :-)


Goodbye January!!
With January coming to an end today, I thought I would do a re-cap of the five features I brought to you this month on our site:

(photo credit: wiki.com)

January 8, 2018 - Long Island Towns -Spotlight: Garden City: A.T. Stewart's Vision Realized

​

(c) travelincousins.com

January 15, 2018 - 22 Must-See Queens Museums

​

January 22, 2018 - 22 Performing Arts Centers in Queens and Long Island

​

(c) travelincousins.com

Long Island's Newest Franchise Brings The Power of Clean and Healthy Eating

​

Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay (c) travelincousins.com

January 29, 2018 - 25 Reasons to Visit Long Island in Winter 


The good thing about being home with the kids is that I did get to catch up on cleaning, laundry and dishes.  ​

See you tomorrow for the start of a new month!!!

-E
xoxo