Oh, Halloween!

I would say it’s my favorite holiday, but it’s more a part of my favorite time of year.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s – they all wait on Halloween to kick off the holiday season.

Plus, who can resist costumes, scary movies, and ghost stories?

Not I.

Neither am I all that great at resisting some of the other things that come along with Halloween, like candy…

…aaaaaand pretty much any other Halloween-themed sweet treat.

Do you know the palm rule?

Whether you’re dieting because your weight prevents you from being physically active and healthy or you just want to become more mindful about the foods you use to nourish your body and mind, trying to eat a healthy diet can get stressful…

…and, sometimes when we get stressed, we eat more, exercise less, and, well, give up.

Which is entirely opposite of what you’re trying to achieve!

Below, I’ve listed three simple tips that can help you keep your diet simple, and therefore (I hope!) stay motivated and successful.

Feel free to chime in with your own tips in the comments, and remember: This isn’t a one-size-fits-all, prescription for diet, fitness, or weight loss as any of them relate to physical and mental health. These are merely tips, to be added or avoided as they work (or don’t) for the individual.

Continuing with my efforts to review gluten-free foods for folks who follow GF diets for various physical and mental health reasons (plus, GF foods I have to actually make – like the gluten-free brownies – and not just those I can warm in the microwave – like the gluten-free cinnamon rolls…even though they were delicious!), last week I tried gluten-free cornbread!

Now, I’ve tried a few different gluten-free breads before. I had luck with regular sliced bread (like the Schar Gluten-Free Classic White Bread), but not much luck with hot dog buns (specifically, Ener-G Tapioca Gluten-Free Hot Dog Buns).

Fortunately, my experience with this particular GF cornbread was more similar to that of the sliced bread than the hot dog buns!

Autumn is awesome, isn’t it?

I mean, really?

Crisp air, brightly colored leaves, carving jack-o’-lanterns, getting lost in corn mazes, finally digging out those layers (the girls know what I mean), and…

Oh, yeah!

Delicious foods!

Of course, we already know how good fall foods are, but do we know how they benefit us beyond our taste buds?

Here’s a list of 5 ways fall foods can improve your mood.

Happy Monday, Your Body, Your Mind readers!

Today (October 15, 2012) is Blog Action Day 2012!

(If you’re not familiar with Blog Action Day, it’s an event that “brings together bloggers from different countries, interests, and languages to blog about one important global topic on the same day.” You can learn more at www.blogactionday.org, as well as keep up with the Blog Action Day 2012 live coverage feed.)

Because this year’s Blog Action Day theme is “Power of We,” I thought Your Body, Your Mind had to get involved.

After all, when it comes to eating well, exercising, and all those other outside factors that help our insides, it’s easier when you have some help!

So, for Blog Action Day 2012, I decided to talk about how the Power of We applies to adopting a healthier lifestyle; namely, how getting other people involved helps!

I am absolutely loving my gluten-lite journey!

Sure, not everything I’ve reviewed has been delicious. There’ve definitely been some not-so-great products (like the gluten-free hot dog buns 9 yuck!).

But, there’ve been some great ones, too (like the gluten-free bread – I still buy this – gluten-free cinnamon rolls, and most recently, the gluten-free beer).

This week, I have a review of the first gluten-free baked good “recipe” (not exactly a recipe, per se, as it comes out of a box) I’ve tried: Arrowhead Mills Gluten-Free Brownie Mix.

Happy World Mental Health Day, readers! A day for celebrating mental health, advocating for safe and effective treatments, and banishing the stigma of mental illness!

I’m so honored you’ve chosen to add Your Body, Your Mind on your roster of reading today.

Given the nature of Your Body, Your Mind, I wanted to use today to highlight some tips to help you combine diet and exercise with balanced mental health.

After all, so many of us already know how important diet and exercise is to our mental health, but, combining it all can be pretty intimidating.

I subscribe to Dictionary.com’s “Word of the Day,” and a few weeks ago the word of the day was “ataraxia.”

English degree aside, I’d never heard the word (at least, that I can remember), but I instantly fell in love with it. It was around the time I started working out outside again (see Your Treadmill SUCKS! 7 Reasons You Should Get Outside), so I knew exactly what ataraxia meant…

…I’d been experiencing it firsthand every morning on the track.

I spent this past weekend in Asheville, North Carolina.

If you’ve never been, Asheville is an amazing city in North Carolina, part of a four-county metropolitan area and popular for its gorgeous mountains, live music, arts and crafts, locally grown and organic food, historical attractions like the Biltmore Estate and Thomas Wolfe House, and…

…beer.

Asheville is home to numerous breweries (such as Highland Brewing Company, French Broad Brewery, and Green Man Brewery – my favorite), and even more pubs.

So, when we arrived Friday night, having a drink or three was a given, as was having a delicious vegan meal, so the beau and I headed to Laughing Seed (conveniently located above my favorite pub, Jack of the Wood). We both (yes, both of us – I was so proud of him) ordered a vegan, gluten-free burger and a beer while we waited.

Imagine my delight when I saw Dogfish Head’s Tweason’ale Gluten-Free Beer on the menu.