Nicole Hopkins, Author at Healthy Smart Living

3 Must-Try Recipes Involving Coffee

April 28, 2021

Anyone who knows me at all knows just how much I love coffee. I will try anything coffee-related at least once, and I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy my favorite drink. Over the years, I've found several delicious recipes that incorporate coffee in one way or another. Some are sweet; some are savory, but all are good enough to earn a place in my recipe folder. Today I'm going to share three of my favorites with you! Farm Flavor Coffee Glazed Pork Ribs Coffee is just as good in savory dishes as it is sipped straight from your favorite mug. A bold, flavorful coffee can add amazing depth and complexity to savory dishes, especially if you're using it on meat. This recipe combines strong coffee with brown...

recipes

New Season, New Skincare: Tweak Your Routine for the Warmer Weather

Nicole Hopkins

April 16, 2021

Body, Top Picks

When the weather has more mood swings than I do in a week, I know it's time for me to start changing up my beauty routine. I say goodbye to all of my heavy hand creams, thick moisturizers, and rich facial oils and start slowly rotating in my summer staples. It can be hard to figure out the right balance when it's time to transition your beauty routine, so I'm going to share a few of my favorite tips with you today. Switch from rich moisture to light hydration. As it becomes warmer (and usually more humid), even dry skin reaches a point where rich moisturizers are too much. If you notice that you're getting a little too shiny during the day, or your makeup starts breaking...

skincare

Guide to Tarot Reading for Mental Health

Nicole Hopkins

March 17, 2021

Wellness

As someone who has had her fair share of mental health struggles, I know how hard it can be to feel like you can't get in touch with your own emotions, thoughts, or intuition when you have a problem that needs solving. Feeling stuck and helpless in the face of a problem is so discouraging, and it can take an even greater toll on your life than the problem itself would otherwise. This mind-body disconnect can happen to anyone, so if it's happening to you, just know that you're not "weird," and you're not alone. For most people, it's something that ebbs and flows as we go through stages in life, and it's understandably most noticeable when we're facing stressful situations or serious life choices. One unconventional...

mental wellness tarot

Welcome to the World of Tarot: Tarot Cards for Beginners

Nicole Hopkins

March 3, 2021

Wellness

If you had told me five years ago that I would love tarot, I would have laughed. I've always been a practical, data-driven person, and to me, tarot was a bit too esoteric and "out there" to be useful. Tarot can indeed be an intensely spiritual and even mystical ritual for some people, but it can be so much more than that! In this article, you will discover the world of tarot. Moreover, you will find an answer to the question of "how to read tarot cards for beginners?". Without further ado, let's jump into tarot cards. Tarot Cards for Beginners For me, tarot is a wonderful tool that I can use to better understand myself, just like taking the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Enneagram test. Our minds...

tarot cards

Reframing Your New Year’s Resolutions

Nicole Hopkins

February 3, 2021

Wellness

By now, we've made it safely through the 2022. We still may not be totally sure what our new normal will look like moving forward, but we're all trying our hardest to be our best selves. For many, that effort to do better and be better often comes in the form of New Year's resolutions. Unfortunately, it can be incredibly difficult to stick with your resolutions, no matter how much you want to. This means that, if you've already broken one (or maybe all!) of your resolutions, you're far from alone. In fact, researchers have noted that at least 85 percent of people who made New Year's resolutions have broken them by now. Personally, I've never been a fan of making specific resolutions for New Year's. This...

resolutions

Sleep Hygiene: Tips For a Better Night’s Rest

Nicole Hopkins

January 6, 2021

Top Picks, Wellness

Sleep hygiene is a term that doctors and wellness experts use to refer to a collection of good nighttime habits that typically lead to better, more restful sleep. If you suffer from insomnia or other sleep troubles, you've likely read all of the more popular tricks like, "no screens after 9 p.m.," or "only use your bedroom for sleep." I've read dozens of "sleep hygiene" articles, and almost all of them rehash the same tips with one or two new things thrown in. My goal is always to offer you the best, most useful information possible, so I won't be putting a new spin on old tricks. While my tips aren't totally novel, I don't see them talked about very often, so I think they're worth sharing! I...

sleep tips

Teas for Mental and Physical Health

Nicole Hopkins

December 15, 2020

Wellness

Did you know that certain teas offer additional benefits beyond the comfort of a warm, relaxing drink? While tea alone isn't a replacement for medicine, therapy or a generally healthy lifestyle, choosing the right tea to sip can boost your mental health and improve your overall sense of well-being. Matcha Green Tea Most of us have enjoyed a cup of green tea at some point in our lives, but matcha is not as well-known despite its rich flavor and long list of health benefits. Matcha is a powdered form of green tea leaves, and it is packed with an important compound known as theanine. Theanine, which may also be referred to as "l-theanine," is an amino acid that helps to boost your natural levels of calming neurotransmitters. It's...

teas