DR. ELIZA COLLINS - BLOG

Keep your Pumpkin Spice...

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 16:01:21 GMT

And give me chai.

I love autumn for a lot of reasons, one of which is my unbridled access to all things cozy and chai spiced.

As many of you know, I use Feast & Fettle to make sure that I get balanced, healthy meals in the midst of my busy schedule. One of my favorite recipes they've had is a chia pudding with chai spiced granola.

Since I could eat it every single day, I opted to create my own take on their granola, with a grain-free nut mix that I'm more than a little obsessed with. I've been popping it onto greek yogurt and it's the perfect compliment of fall flavors.

This recipe can be done one of two ways, baked or raw. I prefer the raw flavor of the nuts and seeds, but I also blend it into things like yogurt or chia pudding. The unbaked version can get a little sticky when eating with fingers, so baked is a nice alternative if you'll be carting it around for a stand alone snack. And the baked version gives the nuts and spices a lovely, warming toasted quality.

Spiced Honey Nut Mix (Makes about 2 cups)
Ingredients:

1 cup cashews
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions (No Bake):
1. Mix spices: In a small bowl, combine cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and allspice.

2. Prepare nuts and seeds: In a medium bowl, combine cashews, slivered almonds, and pumpkin seeds.

3. Warm honey: In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the honey until it is pourable (do not boil).

4. Combine: Pour the warm honey over the nuts and seeds. Sprinkle the spice mix over everything and stir well to coat evenly.

5. Cool and set: Spread the mixture on a lined plate or tray and allow it to cool and set, so the honey coating hardens.

6. Store: Transfer to an airtight container once cooled. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Instructions (Baked):
1. Preheat oven: to 325°F (160 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Follow steps 1-4 from the No Bake recipe

3. Bake: Spread the mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring halfway through until the nuts and seeds are toasted and fragrant. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

4. Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet (honey will harden as it cools)

6. Store: Transfer to an airtight container once cooled. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Here comes the sun...

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 15:49:23 GMT

I'm obsessed with the sun lately. Not in the “on my knees worshiping it” way (though I definitely did that when I was on mushrooms one time….)

I'm talking about those magical golden hours of dawn and dusk.

Between work, life, and my perennial battle with the snooze button (thanks, daylight savings), catching those first morning rays feels like mission impossible some days. But I've been making it happen, and I'm here to tell you—it's worth setting that alarm.

Morning sunshine kickstarts your circadian rhythm (fancy talk for your body's internal clock). When those rays hit your eyeballs first thing, your brain gets the memo that it's daytime and starts pumping out all the "let's do this" hormones. Am I actually—gasp—a morning person now?

Ew. But also…WOW. It helps, big time.

Evening sun has its own magic powers. That gentle, amber glow sends signals to your body to start winding down, prepping you for quality sleep. It's like nature's melatonin, without the weird dreams I get from those supplements (I’m looking at you, giant spider with a clown mask).

via GIPHY

The vitamin D situation is no joke, either. For those of us who live in New England, simply seeing the sun for the first time in 3 months has the same effect as popping molly. Needless to say, our vitamin D levels dip during those cloudy winter months.

Now that it’s warming up, just 10-15 minutes of direct morning or evening sunlight without SPF does wonders for those levels. Remember to keep the SPF for beach days and long stretches, though. Vitamin D = good. Resembling a distressed leather purse = no.

I'm not into non-negotiable habits—flexibility and grace are key to burnout prevention, so I never force myself to do something every day. But lately, tea on the porch in the morning (when the temps are decent) or short walk around the block before dinner is getting me the sun exposure I need. My sleep is better, my mood is up, and I swear my skin has a glow that no serum has ever given me (though you will have to pry my organic Argan oil from my cold, dead, moisturized hands).

Anyone else feeling the sunshine benefits? Drop me a comment below with your favorite ways to catch those golden rays without disrupting your day.

When you want a li'l treat...

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 16:44:18 GMT

I want the cookie.

I really shouldn't though....

Buuuuut I've been good.

Buuuuut I'm gluten sensitive and refined cane sugar is the devil.....

The struggle is real. I am in a perennial loop of avoiding sugar and wanting a li'l treat. With the holidays coming, it's hard to ignore the cravings, so I'm always on the hunt for a sweet treat recipe that doesn't make me feel like I'm doing major organ damage.

I recently found this recipe for "raw cookie dough". While the post touted it as healthy (I won't go that far, it does contain chocolate chips and maple syrup), I found it surprisingly delicious and it's since become a go to option to store in the fridge for those quick sweet-tooth fixes that aren't completely laden with ingredients I'd rather avoid.

5-Ingredient "Raw Cookie Dough" (links to ingredients in blue)

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or Skyr
1/2 cup Om Vanilla Protein Powder
1/2 cup Red Hill Super-Fine Almond Flour
1/4 cup Maple Syrup (the real stuff, NOT the corn syrup variety)
Sprinkle of Guittard 72% Dark Chocolate Coconut Sugar Baking Chips

Whisk together yogurt and maple syrup in a medium sized bowl. Add protein powder and almond flour and fold all ingredients together with a spatula. Once well mixed, add the chocolate chips and continue to fold until well combined. Place in a covered container in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then serve.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think in the comments.

Original source: 5 Ingredient "Cookie Dough"

via GIPHY

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The Magic of mineral water...

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 15:23:17 GMT

In an effort to be healthier, we often do well-intentioned dumb shit (I absolutely include myself in this category. It's often how we end up with blog posts like this one).

Exhibit A: Several months ago I ordered a Zero Water Filter because I'm endeavoring to remove as much toxic crap from my life as possible. It works a charm; my water now has zero contaminants!

Regrettably, it also now has zero trace minerals, which are essential to life, the universe, and everything. Symptoms of mineral deficiencies can include (but aren't limited to) headaches, fatigue, muscle or body aches, numbness and tingling, irregular heartbeat, constipation, anxiety, and generally just feeling like poo. For me, it showed up like ✨crushing✨ fatigue. Seriously, I needed to be scraped out of bed every morning with a spatula. I simply forgot to do the mineral replacement thing, because ADHD.

So if you plan to filter your water - and I recommend that you do - you will now need to replace your trace minerals. Luckily there are a few simple and tasty ways to do this. While you can purchase a variety of trace mineral supplements or alternatives (see the list at the bottom of the post), my favorite way to get my trace minerals is mineral water. Because I'm a geek, I prefer to make my own at home.

Mineral water is great for a variety of reasons:

This delightful elixir tends to have a natural balance and concentration of essential minerals, specifically in healthy proportions. It can be easy to overdo it when taking supplements in capsule or liquid form. Too much of any mineral or vitamin can be just as bad as not enough. In some cases, it's actually worse.

2. Mineral water usually has the right combination of trace minerals that we need. Our bodies require a variety of minerals, including things like sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and more. If we filter our water and rely on supplements to replace what we've pulled out, that can add up to a lot of pills, and subsequently a lot of money.

3. You can buy mineral water, OR you can make your own. The homemade option provides some nifty cost savings. It also allows you to tinker with the flavor based on which minerals you use. It reduces rubbish/waste because you're not constantly throwing away or recycling bottles. And it's fun, because science.

Making mineral water is incredibly easy and takes just a few ingredients and a little time. I use the following recipe, and because I'm obsessed with bubbles, I like to carbonate mine using my Soda Stream:

In a gallon jar/jug, add filtered water along with the following FOOD GRADE minerals:
1. 1/2 tsp Calcium Citrate
2. 1/2 tsp Food Grade Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate; this is NOT what you get off the shelf at a drug store or pharmacy)
3. 1/2 tsp Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate)
Shake the jug to distribute the minerals and allow to sit at room temperature for a few hours until the minerals have dissolved.
Place the jug into the refrigerator to chill if desired. If choosing to carbonate your water with an at-home system such as a Soda Stream, be sure to chill your water before carbonating. Cold water holds carbonation/bubbles better than warm water.
Sip and enjoy!

*Note: this recipe does not include potassium, but you can add a little Potassium Bicarbonate as well

Whatever minerals you add, they MUST be food grade, meaning that they're safe to eat. If you just go to the drug store and pick up Epsom salts, there are often additives that cannot be eaten, and can actually make you incredibly sick. Do your research ahead of time.

If you're not a do-it-yourself-er, there are other options to ensure that you're getting the right amount of minerals into your system. These include things like:

Mineral stones, which can be placed in the bottom of your filtration container. The filtered water will absorb the minerals as it sits there.
Trace mineral drops - I prefer the Trace Minerals brand
Store-bought mineral water, such as Gerolsteiner or San Pellegrino

In discussing my dip-shittery of failing to replace my minerals with one of my clients, he mentioned that he, too, filters his water and wasn't replacing his trace minerals. He went out that day, bought some mineral water, and drank 2 glasses every for 2 weeks. He discovered that the numbness in his legs that his doctors were struggling to diagnose simply disappeared. He had a mineral deficiency!

This doesn't mean that mineral water is a cure for all your ills. However, a healthy mineral intake is essential for a healthy body and life. So go forth and drink rocks (which sounds like an insult but totally isn't. Unless you fancy making it one. If you do, tag me on Instagram @theburnoutwitch #drinkrocks)

*Note: This article contains affiliate links. This article is not sponsored. All products listed are items Dr. Collins has personally vetted, sampled, or used herself. We do not promote products or companies that we have not personally vetted.

Mainstream Microdosing: How Psychedelic Mushrooms Can Change the Landscape of Everyday Wellness (Without the Hallucinations)

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:32:00 GMT

Psychedelics - psilocybin “magic” mushrooms, LSD, MDMA/Ecstasy, ketamine, ayahuasca, etc. - are having a renaissance right now. There is amazing research on treating everything from complex PTSD to treatment-resistant anxiety and depression. Psychedelics are being used to help terminal cancer patients come to terms with the end-of-life experience, and there’s a promising indication that they’re highly effective in addressing addiction.

But what about the rest of us?

At present, there isn’t clinical research for the huge majority of us that have day-to-day, “manageable” anxiety or depression, who experience burnout, or who have done a lot of personal development through things like therapy or coaching and are still feeling stuck. And still, that hasn’t stopped many individuals from exploring microdosing psilocybin mushrooms as an option to address these extremely common issues.

There are a variety of benefits to large-dose experiences, and on the flip side, there are also bigger risks. The reality is it’s not right for everyone. More importantly, there are many people who simply aren’t interested in going through the process of hallucinating their living room carpet coming to life in order to address their mental health.

So where does that leave us? Let’s take a quick look at what psilocybin mushrooms are, and then dig into how microdosing can help you

What is psilocybin?
Psilocybin is the psychedelic compound in “magic” mushrooms. When we eat these mushrooms (or mushroom-infused foods or teas), our body takes the psilocybin and breaks it down. Once it’s broken down, it then goes out into our body and finds our serotonin receptors.

You might be familiar with serotonin as a “happy” chemical. It’s a neurotransmitter that helps regulate everything from mood to gut function. Psilocybin looks an awful lot like serotonin, so when we have psilocybin in our system, it acts like serotonin. This is why people experiencing a large-dose trip often describe feelings of euphoria, bliss, and a sensation of being one with the universe.

One of the most interesting things about psilocybin is that it seems to act on all areas of our brain, not just one area. This is also why people on large-dose trips can experience synesthesia, the ability to “see music” or “taste colors”. Parts of our brain that don’t normally get to talk to one another can, for a short period of time, communicate directly. In this state, it’s easier for our brains to make new associations or break old habits. This is called neuroplasticity, and it's one of the reasons psilocybin is so effective at helping people make life-long changes to their mental health or day-to-day habits.

What the hell is microdosing and why should it matter to me?
Like all other substances, different amounts have different effects. One glass of wine might not affect you much, but a whole bottle may get you quite drunk.

Psychedelics are no different. While large doses start at around 1000 milligrams (aka - 1 gram), a microdose is much lower, usually between 100 to 300 milligrams. Some people might need less, some a little more, but the dose is meant to be low enough that you don’t feel effects like changes in vision and don’t experience hallucinations

So if I’m not riding a unicorn down a rainbow, is it even working?

There’s compelling evidence that psilocybin affects the brain in a similar way even at microdose levels. Microdosing allows us to experience the benefits of neuroplasticity without the hallucinations. It helps make your brain more flexible, and the mindful changes that you make while the psilocybin is in your system are where the real magic lies.

The important thing to be mindful of when we’re utilizing psychedelics at any dose is that if we truly want to get the most benefit out of the experience, we still need to do the work. This work is referred to as integration.

What is integration, and can I do it on my own?
Integration is the process of exploring habits, patterns, and insights during and after psilocybin exposure. The neuroplasticity that psilocybin induces can last for several days to several weeks depending on the dose. It’s in that time that we can make positive changes, whether it’s how we handle ourselves during an argument, how we talk to ourselves in moments of stress or anxiety, or even reducing/stopping drinking or smoking.

Integration is best done with a professional. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Similarly, we also have things we know about ourselves that are obvious and blind spots. Sometimes we’re aware of the area of our life that needs attention but lack the skills or resources to address it.

Additionally, psychedelics have this sneaky way of wiggling into the parts of our brain we most like to avoid and turning on a flashlight, illuminating our biggest areas of shame, fear, self-doubt, and more. Having a safe, caring individual to discuss these feelings with, whether that’s an integration coach or a therapist, will create a supportive environment free from judgment where you can do honest, meaningful work.

Will psychedelics help me if I don’t do the integration work?
Just taking mushrooms and going about your day may make you feel better temporarily, but as the psilocybin moves out of your system and you come out of the period of neuroplasticity, you’ll lose that effect. While they’re referred to as “magic” mushrooms, there’s nothing that can replace the effort needed to understand how your brain is wired and to consciously choose to function differently. However, psychedelics can lower the barrier to that process.

How do people who are interested in microdosing go about it?
I may sound like a broken record, but the best thing you can do is find a professional in the psychedelic space. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about their background and history. Taking psychedelics at any dose requires good support and it’s incredibly important you work with an individual that you can trust, who is familiar with harm reduction, and who puts your needs first.

Is it legal?

In most places in the United States, mushrooms and other psychedelics are still considered illegal. Some areas, including Oregon, Colorado, and various municipalities in Massachusetts and other states, have either decriminalized or legalized them for various types of use, both medical and recreational.

Some companies operating out of decriminalized areas in the US and Canada are able to ship them, though that also is often not legal and may present its own issues. If you do acquire ANY substance from a source other than a dispensary, there are in-home testing kits that can check the purity of various drugs to determine if they are pure or laced. If you’re interested in understanding more, it’s best to discuss it with a professional.

How can I learn more?
The internet is a great place to start. The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (https://maps.org/) has fantastic information, as does The Third Wave (https://thethirdwave.co/). If you’re interested having a supported microdosing experience with a solid foundation of education, I offer my signature course, Breaking Through: The Architecture of Conscious Microdosing, throughout the year (https://www.theburnoutwitch.com/breakingthrough.html). It provides a four-week educational series with the option for an additional four weeks of personal microdose coaching in both group and private settings.

Psychedelics don't have to be scary. You don’t have to have a bad trip or even a big trip. With the right support, you can find a way to utilize psychedelics gently while completely transforming your life.