Sanctuary Day Spa and Wellness

Get variety and make your meals colorful. You know that eating more fruits and vegetables can provide your body with vitamins and minerals that are essential for good health. But more than that, you need variety! Meaning, everything does not have to be “green.” Color pigments in various vegetables and fruits represent powerful antioxidants as well as vitamins that can help fuel our bodies and our fitness regimen. When we add variety, we supply our bodies with other vitamins that we may not be getting if we stick to our staple veggies like spinach, broccoli and asparagus.

These guilt free brownies are a hit! Packed with potassium, fiber, protein and healthy fats- anyone and everyone is able to enjoy these bad boys.

BROWNIE BATTER

500g of sweet potatoes (about 2 medium)
12 medjool dates
6 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
100g of ground almonds
2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
a pinch of pink Himalayan salt
100g of ground oats
6 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla extract

ICING

2 tablespoons of coconut oil
2 tablespoons of almond butter
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
2 tablespoons of cacao powder

DIRECTIONS

Start by pre-heating the oven to 375(F), then peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them into chunks and place into a steamer for about twenty minutes, until they become really soft.

Once they are perfectly soft and beginning to fall apart remove them and add them to a food processor with the pitted dates.

Put the remaining ingredients into a bowl, before mixing in the sweet potato date combination. Stir well.

Place into a lined baking dish and cook for about forty-five to fifty minutes, until you can pierce the brownie with a fork and bring it out dry. Remove the tray and allow it to cool for about ten minutes – this is really important as it needs this time to stick together!

While the brownies are cooking make the icing by simply melting all the ingredients together and stirring well, then place in the freezer for 15 minutes and then the fridge for 15 to firm up a bit.

Remove the brownies from the tray and leave to cool completely before icing otherwise your icing will melt! Spread the icing on top, cut into squares, dig in and enjoy!

Pro tip on hydration! ~60% of the human body is water. It is therefore crucial to stay hydrated, especially during these hot summer months! Be sure that you are slowly sipping your water throughout the day, to fully nourish and hydrate, rather than chugging, which leads to increased urination and not necessarily hydration. Add fun flavors to your water to make sipping more enjoyable, like fresh mint, lemon, lime or berries! Cheers!

Do you feel you are taking a supplement for everything? Overwhelmed? Don’t know where to turn to understand what supplements are best for you? Sometimes, when our gut health isn’t up to par, we unfortunately are just making expensive urine and throwing precious dollars down the drain. Meet with one of our licensed, credentialed practitioners for a supplement clean up and to understand what options are best for you. Remember, you can’t out supplement a diet! Always focus on wholesome and unprocessed foods. Our goal at the Sanctuary Wellness Center is to educate and empower and get to the root cause. We simply cannot mask our symptoms by throwing supplements at them, so let’s get back to the basics!

What is the holistic approach?

Consider a tree for a moment. As beautiful as trees are to look at, we don’t see what goes on underground - as they grow roots.

Trees must develop deep roots in order to grow strong and product their beauty. But we don’t see the roots. We just see and enjoy the beauty.

In much the same way, what goes on inside of us is like the roots of a tree.

We must nourish ourselves from within and learn from the past.

Looking for a guilt free, nutrient dense treat? Look no further! This is one of our favorite desserts to make, great for summertime cookouts and a kids favorite!

Ingredients:

•2½ cups loosely packed pitted medjool dates
•1½ cups walnuts
•6 tbsp. cacao or cocoa powder
•1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
•2tsp water
•¼ tsp + ¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt
•¼ cup cacao or cocoa powder
•¼ cup pure maple syrup
•2 tbsp. melted coconut oil
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

1.Soak the dates in hot water for 15 minutes.

2. Combine the dates, walnuts, 6 tbsp. raw cacao, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, water, and ¼ tsp pink salt in a food processor. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down as needed. Do not add any extra water, as it may seem dry at first.

3. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan with coconut oil. Transfer dough to pan and press very firmly until dough is evenly distributed in the pan.

4. In a separate mixing bowl, combine remaining cacao, pink salt and vanilla extract with maple syrup and coconut oil. Stir until mixture forms a paste (this is the frosting).

5. Spread evenly over dough in the baking pan.

6. Refrigerate brownies for at least 2 hours to set. Leftovers can stay covered at room temperature for a day, up to 2 weeks in the fridge, or 1-2 months in the freezer.

Enjoy and share!

Summer is a time of lots of family fun and traveling! Traveling can often times to lead to jet lag, a temporary sleep disorder. It occurs when the body's internal clock is out of sync with cues from a new time zone. Cues can include light exposure and eating times. How can we combat this? While staying hydrated, being in natural sunlight and keeping our bodies moving can help, the BIOMAT is by far the best way to get you feeling your best. The biomat does so by utilizing 3 crucial components: negative ion generation, far infrared light generation, and amethyst crystals. Negative ions help alkalize and purify the blood, charges the immune system, and supplies antioxidants that neutralize free radicals. Infrared light helps the nervous seems relax, while increasing circulating, assisting in detoxification and reducing pain and stress. Lastly, the beautiful amethyst cryostats is great for emotional rebalancing to strengthen the core vibration. If you’re feeling off after your travels, be sure to book your BIOMAT appointment ASAP!

Holidays are for CELEBRATING and are meant to be enjoyed, but you don’t have to sacrifice your health, goals, or beach body every time you attend a BBQ. The 4th of July can be an especially tricky time, but do not fret! Follow these tips and tricks and you’ll be sure to stay right on track.

Eat slowly and mindfully. Engage in conversations and socialize! BBQ are a great time to mix and mingle, so make sure when you do grab a plate you are sitting down and enjoying.

Start with high fiber foods first! This means load up on veggies, salad, fruit, corn on the cob and watermelon. High fiber slows down digestion and fills you up.

Next, focus on quality proteins and fats. Enjoy your burger or brat, but make sure you pair it with a good source of fat, like avocado, healthy oils, nuts, seeds or cheese. This will help keep you satiated and ensure digestion.

Skip the snacky stuff. Why load up on chips, crackers and pretzels when you have a whole BBQ to enjoy?!

Focus on quality and less processed foods. Keep your portions in check when it comes to sweets. More sugar, means more insulin spike, which will affect your mood and energy and leave you wanting more.

Lastly, be mindful on your alcohol consumption. One margarita for example typically contains ~800 calories. Stick to wine, beer, or mixed drinks made with soda water.

Have a happy and healthy 4th everyone!

Gut health. We’ve heard so much buzz around this phrase but what does it really mean? Our gut dictates so much about our health. From our metabolism, to sleep, to weight loss and even our mood- our gut truly is our second brain. Don’t miss out on this FREE lecture on gut health from our certified holistic nutritionists this Wednesday from 1-2 pm in the Cherry Creek Athletic Club Conference room. Bring your friends and family, the more the merrier! We can’t wait to blow your mind on gut health!

The biotmat is an amazing add on for all your health needs! The biomat is a FDA approved medical device that utilizes infrared light, negative ions and 24lbs of crushed amethyst crystals to increase detoxification, reduce stress, promote healthier sleep, treat inflammation, ease joint pain and stiffness, relieves pains, increases immunity, improves skin and so much more! This technology was developed by NASA space engineers and is the most complementary add on to reach your health goals. Book today at $1 per minute and rejuvenate your senses.

Did you know that most common vegetables can provide you the same (if not more) vitamin C than orange juice, however they don’t contain the sugary carbohydrate nature that orange juice has? Bell peppers, dark leafy greens, broccoli, tomatoes and green peas are a few tasty alternatives.

A single 12-ounce glass of O.J. contains 9 teaspoons of sugar, about the same as a 12 ounce can of Coke. This equates to 36 grams of carbs (empty carbs might we add), about half of what you should consume in a day.

Consuming Orange juice also creates a large spike in blood sugar, because the soluble fiber (the cellulose of the orange) has been removed to make juice. Soluble fiber increases the amount of time it takes for your stomach to empty after eating and prevents spikes in blood sugar. So next time your at breakfast, skip the OJ and choose a healthy alternative, like water, herbal tea or coffee.