Happy Friday Bethany,

Valentine’s Day is next week, which is a holiday that seems to not only revolve around love but also candy and chocolate. While I am by no means anti-treat, I do think some better alternatives are out there that are lower in sugar and don’t use artificial dyes & ingredients.

Why do I opt for the alternatives? Well, I’m not going to sugarcoat it 😏, sugar is problematic. It’s highly inflammatory, alters our microbiome, impacts our sleep, causes sugar crashes & moodiness, increases our insulin levels (which over time can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes), and more. And artificial sweeteners are even worse, as they’re full of chemicals that disrupt our microbiome and can even lead to weight gain & insulin resistance.

I don’t want to totally deprive my kids (or myself) of a sweet indulgence now and again, so this Valentine’s Day I’ll include something from my Better-for-You Valentine’s Day Swaps list, along with something non-food related to show my kids a little extra love ❤️.

Stay well,
Bethany

BETHANY’S PICKS

I recently purchased this glass water bottle and I love it. Now that I’m officially in my third trimester, it’s time to get things ready for my hospital stay, postpartum, newborn life, etc. I plan on bringing it to the hospital to avoid using their plastic water bottle, and, I’ve needed to increase my water intake this pregnancy and this has made it easier to accomplish that. I also swapped the straws for these glass straws.