Hey there! I’m so glad that you’ve decided to take control of your health and join the R+R community. We’ve got hundreds of helpful articles on natural living and holistic health, plus TONS of healthy and delicious recipes…but I know it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start. So I’ve created a little guide here for you to help you navigate Root + Revel if it’s your first time here.
I always think it’s helpful to start at the beginning. So be sure to check out the Story Behind Root + Revel and How I Healed My Body with Food. We’re all about living naturally, without sacrifice here, with a particular focus on hormone balance and digestion. If you struggle with either (or both!), don’t miss this Step-by-Step Guide: How I Reversed my PCOS, Leaky Gut + Insulin Resistance. I wrote that story back in 2016, but for a health update, you can read about How To Manage PCOS + Live Symptom Free Naturally here. And if you just can’t get enough of my story, head on over to this post where I share My Daily Routine.
It seems like every day, I get an email from a reader asking me for product recommendations. And while I absolutely LOVE hearing from y’all (seriously, nothing brings me more joy than connecting with you so keep the questions coming!), I thought I’d help a sistah (or brother) out and create a resource page with everything all in one spot. Click here for my favorite healthy and natural products.
Another one of my healing secrets: natural supplements. When used correctly, they can SUPERCHARGE YOUR HEALING and, quite honestly, work some serious miracles! After I tossed all my prescriptions in the trash, found a new doctor who focused on holistic remedies, and began taking safe and natural supplements, what do you know? Within a week, my chronic constipation (the same one that plagued me for nearly five years!) was completely gone. You can read all about how probiotics helped me achieve optimal digestion quickly here. And a few months later, my other symptoms (think hormonal imbalances, fatigue, acne and irregular blood sugar) began to improve and, ultimately, completely disappear. I am now 100% prescription free and I’ve never felt better! So what supplements do I take? Click here to find out what’s in my all-natural medicine cabinet.
Ok enough about me. Let’s talk about food! I follow the anti-inflammatory diet, which absolutely changed my life. But mostly, we focus on just eating real food. Not sure what that means? What is Real Food, and what to avoid is a really helpful post. I also talk about what Eating Healthy Really Means here. Lest you think R+R is about restrictive diets, make sure you read this story: Why Counting Calories Doesn’t Work + What to do Instead, and this one: the 80-20 Rule, a practical approach to following a clean eating diet that will help you create a healthier relationship with food. And don’t fall into the trap of thinking that eating healthy means spending lots of money. Here are 30 Ways to Save Money + Eat Healthy on a Budget. After that, it’s time to prep your kitchen for healthy eating. Check out these guides: How to Stock a Real Food Fridge and How to Stock a Healthy Pantry (yes, that’s really my pantry pictured above!).
After seeing massive changes in just a few short weeks based solely on what I put in my body, I started paying attention to what I put on my body. And I quickly found that coupled with the food I ate, the natural products I used (and the toxic products I tossed!) helped me live MY HEALTHIEST LIFE EVER! Not sure what I mean? Start with this post: the top 10 most toxic ingredients to avoid. If there’s one ingredient I could caution you the most about, it’s fragrance. Learn all about the Dangers of Fragrance and Perfume here, and then head over to this post to discover How to Make Your Home Smell Good Naturally. There’s another myth that natural, non-toxic products are more expensive, but don’t worry. I’ve rounded up some of my favorite natural + AFFORDABLE beauty brands, which you can find here. I also highly recommend making your own products to save money and reduce your toxic load. Make Your Own Skincare Products with these Easy + Affordable DIY Recipes. The same goes for cleaning products, which are incredibly harmful and unsafe. Here are some of my favorite DIY Natural Cleaning recipes to get you started. I promise you, once you start, you’ll never want to go back to store-bought products. But just in case you do… I’ve got you covered there, too. Here are my favorite non-toxic, store-bought cleaning products. Baby steps, right? We celebrate progress, not perfection over here 😉
If you want to up your eco-friendly game, I also recommend checking out some of our green home posts, like Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Plastic Wrap (get yours for just $3) and Why You Should Swap Plastic Straws for Stainless Steel (get yours for just $1).
Listen, I know it can be overwhelming to read all of this info about eating healthy, taking supplements, living the all-natural lifestyle. But it doesn’t have to be. Being healthy is as simple as making a few savvy swaps, which is why we created an awesome series on R+R of the same name. In Savvy Swaps, we analyze popular store-bought products with known toxins and harmful chemicals and offer up healthier alternatives, without any of the negative additives. Clicking this link will take you to the series and you can see the best non-toxic swaps for everything from condiments and packaged food to makeup and toiletries. Likewise, our Test Drive series, gives you some other great natural options. In this series, we try a handful of brands in a category of natural products and compare the real-life results, like natural deodorant, non-toxic perfume and safe sunscreen.
Have you had a chance to check out our In Her Shoes series yet? It is one of my all-time favorite stories to write every month and I always leave feeling SO inspired. That’s because the country’s leading health experts (think Melissa Hartwig of Whole30, Diane Sanfilippo of Practical Paleo, Ivy Larson of Clean Cuisine and even my holistic doctor, Dr. Taz!) sit down with us and share their best healthy eating and living tips. Whenever I meet healthy, beautiful, successful women, I’m always dying to know what it’s like to walk in their shoes. What do they eat? What products do they use? What’s their routine? I’m obsessed with other peoples’ stories and love sharing uplifting women with y’all! So be sure to check our In Her Shoes series out and see which inspiring woman resonates with you.
And, of course, we’ve got dozens of healing recipes on Root + Revel to help you get started. Remember, I’m a food writer (and food lover!) first, so even though these recipes are all healthy, packed with nutrition and super good for you, they are also DELICIOUS and chockfull of FLAVOR. That is my promise to you–I will never suggest you just bake a boneless, skinless chicken breast, steam some broccoli and call it dinner. Blech! Flavor is paramount at Root + Revel, and all of our recipes look and taste as good as they will make you feel.
Cheers to that!
xo, Kate
P.S. Did you know I wrote an eBook for my beloved Root + Revel readers? Superfood Green Smoothies was truly a labor of love, a project I created and launched in January 2017 because I felt like I couldn’t keep the healing, magical powers of green smoothies a secret any longer! You can also join the FREE 7-Day Challenge here.