Holidays can challenge our healthy lifestyles. From Halloween to New Years Day, there are expectations of ourselves, our family, and others.  There's more to do too, such as shopping and cooking traditional foods, shopping for, wrapping, and sending gifts, creating holiday cards, writing and mailing cards, attending events, traveling and visiting friends and family, cookie swaps, holiday lunches with friends and co-workers, school concerts, holiday parties, etc. It goes on and on!  Many of these additional holiday events are of our own choosing, and some we may feel are obligatory, or must do because it is tradition.  Sometimes we just go into automatic pilot at holiday time, instead of being intentional.  Remember it's okay to create new traditions, or do things differently if it is no longer serving you. 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. When I was growing up, my family always celebrated Thanksgiving with lots of relatives coming for a big turkey dinner with all the traditional fixings. I loved having everyone together, and still do.  Most Thanksgiving holidays, we ordered pizza for lunch so we didn’t have to prepare another meal while cooking the “big” meal. Relatives usually started arriving around 1:00 pm with pies and bakery cookies. I loved helping with the cooking and getting the house ready for company.  The best part was when we all finally sat down at the table together. I’d look around at everyone and smile with genuine love, happiness, and gratitude.  After our relatives left, we’d take out the leftovers around 10:00 pm and have a second dinner!  Not the healthiest way to go – but I didn’t know better then.  So food and love and family all went together. 

Maybe this sounds familiar?  Everyone has their own unique journey, but for many of us, perhaps you can relate to my story.  Now that I have my own family, we still like to have relatives come for Thanksgiving. For me, it just doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving without family around, but over the years and situations with relatives – illness, mobility, relatives being out of state, it’s harder to get together. 

Feelings of confusion and disappointment have crept in over the years, and now finally acceptance. We had to find another ways to enjoy the holiday, and each year continues to be different based on family circumstances.  

What comes to mind when you hear the words “Help yourself?”  

Back in the day, the only thing that meant to me was – help myself to the food. Maybe help yourself refers to a buffet of food, or maybe it has new meaning to take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and doing what you need to be healthy and happy. Like the flight attendant on the airplane says "Put on your own oxygen mask before you help others."

A few years ago, I did what I thought was the unthinkable and had a restaurant cater some of our Thanksgiving meal.  Last year, I did something similar and had Wegmans do all of the cooking. After all, I still have to polish the silver, iron the tablecloths, clean the house, and the list goes on. I love to do it, but at what cost to my health. I'm going to enjoy my family and not be stuck in the kitchen.

There are many ways of coping and making things easier on ourselves during the holidays. Here are 5 simple strategies for managing your health through the holidays.

1. Eat a Healthy Breakfast
Continue to eat a healthy breakfast every day. Just because you know you are going to have a big holiday dinner with dessert, doesn’t mean you should skip breakfast – you might overindulge later. AI like to prepare my morning smoothie or overnight oats the night before so I don't have to take time out in the morning when I am busy running errands or taking care of out of town visitors. When I do have visitors an egg bake prepared the night before means that breakfast just needs to be heated in the oven in the morning. Add a bowl of fruit salad, or a warm apple and pear crisp, and breakfast is served.

2. Keep up Your Activity
Continue your usual exercise routine, or if it needs an upgrade, use the holidays as an opportunity for some new activity with the family. Perhaps take a walk or a hike before or after the big meal, or join a local Turkey Trot. If you don’t have a usual exercise routine, start slowly now by asking yourself what you could start doing. What kinds of activities do you enjoy? This time of year you could start with some functional activities like apple picking, raking leaves, and parking further at the mall when shopping.

3. Lighten Up Your Food
Plan your holiday meals with traditional foods but think about adding in a new vegetable dish, or substitute a vegetable dish for a healthier version. Think color when planning your meals to ensure getting a variety of vitamins, minerals and health benefits as well as a beautiful plate.

Here are a few suggestions.  

Cauliflower mashed “potatoes” instead of mashed potatoes

Green beans almandine instead of green bean casserole

Baked sweet potatoes instead of mashed potatoes, or candied sweet potatoes

Here are a few other recipe ideas.  You can find many of these under the recipe section of my website.

Green Harvest Salad with Walnuts and Pears

Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots

Poached Pears

Butternut & Kobacha Squash Soup

Pumpkin & Apple Soup

Apple & Pear Crisp

4. Plan to Feel Good
Plan to feel good after the Holiday Party by visualizing and mentally rehearsing your party plan. What will you eat and drink? What will you plan not to eat or drink? I like to let a friend or my husband know my intention, because if I say it out loud, I can hold myself accountable. Who do you want to catch up with? Who do you want to get to know better? Focus on the people and the celebration, and the food will take second priority.  Visualize taking one plate and moving away from the table in order to prevent mindless munching. Then at the party, follow through on your plan. You can also plan to bring a healthy delicious dish.

Here are some things I like to bring to a party.

Bottle of Sparkling Water with lemon slices

Guacamole Deviled Eggs

Harvest Salad with Walnuts and Pears

Fresh Fruit Platter or Salad with Pomegranate Anvils – sprinkle in coconut, add mint leaves

Homemade Dark Chocolate Bark

5. Don't Miss Your Sleep

Stick to a good sleep routine. If you are tired, you will get run down and may get sick, and then you will not enjoy have fun during what could be a wonderful holiday season.  When you are tired you don't make the best decisions either about your healthy food and planned activity. So get rest, even if the laundry isn't done, or the cards get out late.  

There are a lot more items on our “to do” lists during the holidays. Getting enough sleep will help keep you healthy, balanced, and in control to make decisions to support your health. You might need to ask for help.  I know you can do it better than anyone else, but at what cost!  Get comfortable with having it done, and it's okay if it is not exactly the way you would have done it.  Let it go for your own health.  Delegate appropriate tasks to others, and decide what can fall away based on what is important.  And you might have to redefine what you or others think is important.

What will you do for a healthy holiday season?  What else you do to stay healthy during the holidays?  I'd love to hear from you.

I was fortunate enough to recently participate in an edible and medicinal plant nature walk with the staff naturalist at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz NY.  We didn’t have to walk that far, and in fact every few feet, the naturalist was pointing out another edible or medicinal plant.  Any other day, I might have just walked past these plants, enjoying the greenery, the variety of plant shapes, and the delicate flowers here and there, oblivious to their food and medicinal uses, and toxic properties too.

Here’s what we saw on our short walk.

Plantains – I never knew about this important plant – no not the yellow fruit that is fried and part of many Latin cuisines - this is an entirely different vital wild edible good for overall health.  It can be used to treat chronic diarrhea as well as digestive tract disorders.  Fresh ground up leaves can be applied to the skin to treat minor burns, insect bites, or open wounds. 

Sweet Fern – Can be dried and used as a tea for soothing your belly, headache, fevers, and even ringworm. The plant also helps keeps insects away.

Jack in the Pulpit is a powerful astringent.  A medicinal poultice of the root can be used for headache and various skin diseases.

Burdock – This was the first time I’ve ever been shown burdock growing in the ground.  I sometimes, but rarely see the root in the health food store or farmers market in the fall and it is for sure on my list to try.  The root can be roasted, stir-fried, or peeled and sliced to eat raw in a salad. The leaves are edible as well, and can be used in place of spinach or other leafy greens. Among the many burdock plant uses is the treatment of scalp and skin problems.  It is also known to be a liver treatment and stimulates the digestive system.  It is a detoxifying herb and diuretic. 

White Snakeroot is one you do not want to consume as it contains a toxin tremetol, which can be poisonous if consumed directly or second-hand. This plant can poison animals who graze on white snakeroot, and it human’s eat their meet or drink their milk, can also be poisoned.  It is reported that Abraham Lincoln’s mother diet of “milk sickness” after injecting contaminated milk from a cow that had grazed on while snakeroot.  Stay away!

Coltsfoot (naturalist is standing in it) has traditionally been used as a food source, a sweetener, and in herbal medicine for the treatment of respiratory tract, skin, viral infections, colds, fever, rheumatism, and gout.  However, coltsfoot does contain a toxin, which can harm the liver. Manufacturers of coltsfoot for medicinal purposes have found ways to remove the toxin.  Buyer beware!

Solomon’s Seal – can be usedto treat lung disorders, reduce swelling and inflammation, and as an astringent.  Some people apply Solomon’s seal directly to the skin for bruises, ulcers, or boils on the fingers, hemorrhoids, skin redness, and water retention.  You can buy a tincture or tea. The root is delicious to eat. 

White Baneberry – Both the berries and the entire plant are considered poisonous to humans.

Black Cohosh – Many women know about this as it helps with PMS, can help reduce the frequency of hot flashes, and can help the induction of labor.  It can also help with migraine headache, osteoarthritis, and pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis.  There are some warnings with this herb, and it should not be taken when pregnant.

Queens Anne’s Lace– We see Queen Anne’s lace on the side of highways and the country roads.  The flower head, leaves, and the root are all edible.  The root smells like carrots because it is the wild ancestor of all cultivated carrots.  Be careful not to confuse this plant with other poisonous look-alikes, such as poison hemlock.

Mulberry Tree – The fruit from the tree can be found in tarts, jams, wines, and teas.  But be careful as the unripe berries and the white sap from the tree are toxic and can cause hallucinations and stomach upset.

Thistle - While there are many varieties of thistle, milk thistle is used medicinally for liver and gallbladder health.

May Apple – is the last plant we saw on our nature walk and again, the fruit is edible, but only when ripe, and I wouldn’t eat it off the tree. The unripen fruit and the seeds and rind are poisonous!  The resin of may apple, which is obtained from the root, is used in the treatment of warts.  

While the walk was educational, the best part was being together with my sister.  Love you Kath! 

It’s tough when traveling to find gluten free, dairy free, sugar free options, so I always travel with snacks or food I could have for meals if necessary, but this time, I didn’t take enough. 

The night before my trip this past week, I packed some left over roasted turkey and a hardboiled egg to put in my bag to have in the morning before boarding a 9:00 flight.  I also packed about a ½ cup of raw unsalted almonds, thinking that would be plenty to get me through as a snack for the two days I’d be away. I drank about 18 ounces of water before leaving the house at 5:30 am and chose not to bring my glass water bottle because it would be heavy and could leak if not upright. Note to self, invest in a lighter Swell bottle. 

While waiting to board around 8:30 am, I started getting hungry, so munched on the roasted turkey slices.  Feeling good.  Boarded, sat, mechanical difficulty, deplane, wait for information for an hour, plane cancelled, stand on line to find another flight, ate the hard boiled egg on line.  Found a flight with two legs.  First leg will leave at 5:00 pm.  Went to the “diner” in the airport and had a veggie omelet.  Transferred terminals to prepare for the first leg, sat, waited, walked around, went to another diner for Greek salad and lots of water.  Sat, waited, bought a big bottle of water.  First leg delayed.  Finally boarded the plane for the first leg. Flight attendant passed out pretzels, skipped that, (not gluten free). Landed.  Walk to gate for next leg.  Sat. Starting to get hungry for dinner.  Walked around but nothing appealing. Flight delayed.  Sat, waited.  Boarded plane for second leg. Ordered bloody Mary mix on the plane for dinner with a side of water.  High in sodium, but filled my belly. Snacked on a few more almonds.  Uber to hotel.  Head on pillow at 1:00 am.

Next day, looking forward to breakfast at the training – fruit – only option.  Ate some fruit.  Lunch at training was actually good.  Leafy greens, chicken, and grilled veggies.  Had two plates, just in case there was no more food around later.  Slow Uber to airport.  No time for dinner before boarding, and honestly no choices except a chicken sandwich (not gluten free) or a chicken Caesar salad loaded with cheese, croutons, and Caesar dressing.  $1.12 for a banana at Dunkin Donuts. Bloody Mary Mix on the plane again for dinner.  Out of almonds.  Home by 10:30 pm.  Yeah!

I’ve written about healthy living while traveling on vacation, or for business, but this last trip I went on threw me, and I decided to investigate healthy processed food – yes processed and packaged – that I will take ICE – In Case of Emergency – next time I travel.  It’s tough finding healthy snacks that travel well.  Certainly apples and almonds, but now I have some other options as well.

Here are a few options to add to my travel bag for next time.

Bob’s Red Mill Organic Oatmeal –no sugar added; just add water. There are several varieties including Classic with Flax & Chia, Fruit & Seed with Flax & Chia, Pineapple Coconut with Flax & Chia, and Cranberry Orange with Flax & Chia.

Enjoy Life Crispy Grain & Seed Bars – Non GMO, allergen free, plant-based protein (4 g), palm oil free, again with several varieties including maple sweet potato, banana caramel, chocolate marshmallow, and cranberry orange.

Made In Nature brand Figgy Pops Supersnacks – These little energy balls are all organic and non GMO.  They come in several varieties such as Mocha Almond, Nutter & Jelly, Tart Cherry Pie, Banana Rama, Apricot Cashew, Mangoberry, Cranberry Pistachio, Apple Cinnamon, Ch-Ch-Cherry, and Choco Crunch with cocoa, cherries, dates, figs, seeds, coconut, cacao nibs.

HiFiBar Crunchy snack bar – vegan and gluten free with no added sugar.  It’s low sugar, low glycemic index, high fiber. These come in a variety of flavors too, such as pumpkin spice orange,  matcha tea ginger, coconut cranberry, lemon zest blueberry, and smoked paprika.

Wild Planet Skip Jack Wild Tuna – sustainably pole & line caught, 100% pure tuna and sea salt all in a pouch.  It doesn’t need refrigeration and has 21 g protein, with lots of EPA and DHA Omega 3’s.

Seabear Ready to eat Wild Sockeye Salmon – again fully cooked, boneless, and skinless seafood in a pouch.

While these might not be your go-to’s while at home, they can certainly sustain you while on a trip.  Delays are inevitable when traveling by air.  And even if you are on the road, packing food from home will keep you on track with your quality nutrition goals.  Be prepared for good health.  I also got lots of steps in the airport.  Keep moving and enjoy your travels!

To celebrate Earth Day, I decided to take an inventory of my environmental efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and think about what I could do better.  Here are those things that my family and I do already, and some thoughts on a few next steps to work on.  It might be small, but if everyone could take a few steps, we'd be in a better place taking care of our Mother Earth.

Already do...

Recycle all household plastic, cardboard, newspaper, magazines, paper, glass

Reduce.  We have reduced the number of magazine and newspaper subscriptions and instead use online subscriptions to reduce paper.

Reduce. We pay most bills on-line to reduce paper.

Reduce. Try not to buy products in glass jars as a way to reduce.  (Salsa, mustard, tomato sauce, salad dressing, apple sauce) Reuse glass jars for storage of food and other items.

Reuse any plastic bags we do accumulate.

Reduce plastic bags by using reusable cloth bags for shopping.

Reuse. Use a napkin or paper towel more than once. Don’t buy bleached napkins. Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins. Use reusable paper towels.

Reuse. Live in a 120 year old house.

Reduce.  We live in a town where we can walk to many shops, restaurants, library, and post office.  This way we can reduce the use of the car by walking or biking.  We also batch our errands so we are not going out and back more than once.

Reuse. Keep house clean and repair items when broken or torn instead of discarding them.

Reduce the need for plastic wrap and aluminum foil by using glass food storage containers with a lid.  Use a reusable beeswax sealer for food storage.

Reduce.  My husband used mass transportation for work for 20 years, and my son for school for 6 years.  When we go into the city we like to use the train or bus which of course cuts down on gasoline use.

Reuse. Sell or donate old clothes, shoes, electronics, books, and toys.

Reduce. Only buy new clothes a few times per year.

Reduce. Try to buy fresh produce not already in packages and don’t take a fresh bag to hold them.

Reduce. Don’t buy canned or boxed processed food.  Buy whole food and cook it myself.

Reduce. Don’t buy bottled water, soda, other drinks.  Carry a stainless steel bottle with filtered tap water from home.

Reduce. Don’t order take out food because of all of the packaging waste.  Also, the meal kit companies have a lot of packaging, although most of them say you can recycle the packaging, it is still not necessary if you go to the grocery store and cook for yourself.

Reduce. Reuse.  When I go to the bagel shop to pick up bagels for the boys on the weekend on my way home from the gym, I bring a paper bag with me.  I don’t buy coffee out, but if you are someone who does, bring your own cup.

Reduce. Don’t use paper or plastic straws.  Use stainless steel straw for smoothies and water. At restaurants I say “no straw please” and if they bring some to the table I hand it back unopened.

Reduce. Reuse. We don’t buy paper plates or plastic cups.  When we have a party we use real plates, cups, glasses, and cutlery. Occasionally we take a shortcut with a large crowd. Have a big stock of washable heavy plastic plates.
 

Reuse. We have a rain barrel and I use trapped rainwater for the garden.

Reduce. We try not to buy conventionally raised animal food and go for organic, pasture raised, grass fed, or less animal products and more plants.

Reuse printed material on copy paper for scrap paper.  I use scrap paper for shopping lists or to do lists.

Reduce. Keep the thermometer down in the winter and wear a sweater and use more blankets to sleep. Most people do this because of the cost incentive.

Reduce. Turn off the lights when you are not in a room.  Use the sunlight for light when working, cooking, reading, etc. Use shades to block out hot sun to keep the house cool in the summer.

Reduce.  We don’t run the water constantly when washing dishes or brushing your teeth.

Reuse. I use a reusable lunch bag or cooler bag to bring lunch and snacks to work.  

Reuse.  Buy a few reusable sandwich bags for sandwiches and snacks, thus avoiding single use sandwich bags.  Before I bought these, I taught my son to put everything back in his lunchbox instead of in the trash.  I washed out the single use sandwich bag and used it a few more times.

Next steps I can take...

Leave cloth shopping bags in the car at all times and remember to bring them into not only grocery stores but others as well.

I was once in the habit of riding my bike to the gym and other errands to reduce the use of the car and gas.  I could do this again!  Get the bike dusted off, find my lock, and don't be lazy.

Look at the household cleaning products more closely and use natural cleansers.  Little by little, transfer over to cleaner products.

Purchase and use a net reusable bag for produce.

I go to the health food store once a week and get lunch, which is in a plastic container.  Bring my own plate next time.  They can tare it out on the scale.

Since we have the plastic plates, we can just use them and wash them.  Don’t buy any more because we have enough for the amount of people we generally have over.

I could learn to compost.

Hubby likes the rib eye.  What do I do!?  But this is the thing.  We like what we like – food, fashion, new clothes, new homes, the latest appliance or gadget.  Our consumer mindset is butting up against a mindful mindset.

Happy Earth Day!

Try this visualization.

Start with breath and awareness.

Visualize yourself outside in a grassy field.

Look around. Notice the colors,

The feel of the breeze,

Any smells.

Look out toward the horizon—what does it look like?

Now, notice that there is a fence in front of you.

Go up to it.

Notice what it's made of.

What color is it?

How high is it?

Look around you and find a ladder lying in the grass.

What is it made of?

What color is it?

Is it old, new?

How long is it?

Is there anything attached to it?

Take your ladder and put it up against your fence.

Climb up to the top.

What can you see from here?

What can you see out toward the horizon?

Now, jump onto the other side.

After you land, take some time and look around.

What is it like?

Run around and play and have some fun if you want to.

Take a deep breath.

Feel the chair under you supporting you. Feel the air on your skin.

Hear the sounds around you in the room.

Put your hands over your eyes.

Slowly open your eyes and then slowly lower your hands.

Slowly notice color and shape around you and come back to the room.

The fence represents your barriers.

The ladder is your support system.

The other side of the fence is your future.

Quickly write down what happened/what did you see/what did you learn?

The average person has an estimated 70,000 thoughts per day! Take a moment to think about the thoughts that run through your mind. Are they positive and uplifting? “Today is going to be an amazing day!” Or negative and self-defeating? “I don’t have the energy to get through today.”

Spring is right around the corner and soon it will be time for cleaning and repairing all of the physical things in our lives such as the house, changing over clothes in our closets, and cleaning up the yard and perhaps getting ready to plant new seeds. But what about the mental and emotional spring-cleaning we also need? When does that happen? Does it happen at all? And how do you do it?

What does a mental and emotional cleaning even mean?

We’re talking about our truths. What is true to us might not really be true at all. It’s just what we have learned to tell ourselves from all of our experiences up until now. The ones that really need a scrubbing are those negative thoughts and emotions that do not serve us. We might not even be aware that we harbor these thoughts because they have been in there for so long, that they have just become who we are. So it’s your truth, but it may not be true, or doesn’t have to be true .

What do you say to yourself about yourself? Your thoughts become your words, and your words become your actions. Negative thoughts sound like “never”, “don’t”, and “have to”, “can’t”, as in “I can’t lose weight”, and even “should”, as in “I should go to the gym”. When these thoughts drive your actions, then that is your truth, but that doesn’t make them true!

Change your thoughts, and change your truth.

Positive thoughts boost your mood, spirit, and generate even more positivity and happiness in your life. Conversely, pessimistic thoughts create a domino effect of negativity. Your thoughts tremendously affect how you live your life and how others perceive you. Thankfully, you don’t have to live with negative mental chatter. Choose to change the channel and have a positive outlook. It takes practice, but soon enough, your mind will naturally gravitate toward positive thoughts.

Try this meditative visualization activity to choose positivity and amplify what IS working to help things go better in any situation.

1.   Recall a time when you gave yourself permission to fully experience positive emotions.  Close your eyes and remember this moment.  Notice what these positive emotions feel like in your body.

2.   Notice what you are sensing inside your body.  These are the emotions you feel inside.  Then remembering, imagine seeing how others are reacting to your emotions, and the impact your emotions, and others reactions are having on the space around you.  What is happening?

3.   Now, put your hands on your heart and feel the positive emotions growing and expanding inside.  Consider what about this scene and feeling could be a positivity anchor for you.  It may be a word, symbol, place, color, or a person, or something else.

4.   Once you determine your anchor, take a moment to think about what amplifies your positivity and what takes away or blocks your positivity.  Open your eyes and write down your positivity anchor and what forces you will say “yes” to and what you will say “no” to when amplifying your positivity.  Notice what this feels like for you.

5.   Now act.  Continue through your day, week, and month continuing to say “yes” to those forces that amplify your positivity, and “no” to those that block your positivity.

Over time, you will naturally be more positive and your negative thoughts will diminish. 

We all know that our habits over time determine how we physically feel and the overall condition or our health. Environmental toxins, stress, poor nutrition, processed food, alcohol intake, second hand smoke, pollutants in our air and water, and even prescription and over-the counter medications are all things that can tax our bodies and affect our health. Our main detoxing organ, the liver, helps clean our bodies of wastes, toxins, and excess substances that the body does not need and could harm the body. But with constant bombardment of these toxic stressors, our liver needs a break.  

We want our liver to work efficiently and effectively for optimum health. Not only does the liver filter toxins, but take a look at all that the liver is responsible for.

·      Fights infection by removing bacteria from the blood.

·      Converts inactive thyroid hormone (T4) to active T3 that the cells can use.

·      Metabolizes nutrients from food to produce energy, when needed.

·      Creates ketone bodies for cellular energy production.

·      Produces most of the substances that regulate blood clotting.

·      Prevents shortages of nutrients by storing vitamins, minerals and sugar.

·      Produces most proteins needed by the body.

·      Creates cholesterol for hormone production and tissue healing.

·      Produces bile, a compound needed to digest fat and to absorb Vitamins A, D, E and K.

·      Removes potentially toxic substances we consume from the environment such as xenoestrogens, pesticides/ herbicides and medication byproducts

 Source: Dr. Jockers

Our liver also plays a vital role in blood sugar and insulin balance, hormone balance and the use of hormones.  And we know that healthy body weight has much to do with efficient hormone balance.

So how can we help our liver?  We can lessen the burden on our liver by first being aware our environmental toxins, and then making changes to minimize them. For example, we can reduce or eliminate processed foods, alcohol, and refined sugar in our diet, eliminate any allergens or food sensitivities by finding satisfying whole food substitutions, choose organic foods and liver supporting foods such as berries, citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables, beets, avocados, nuts, and more.

In my free live webinar “What The Detox!” you’ll learn more about foods that can support the liver, why and how to detox, and what my Metamorphosis 5-Day Spring Detox Program is all about.  Come join us and learn how to show your body some love!

It seems like I run into lots of people who are busy working, taking care of everyone, and struggling.  So, if that sounds like you, you are not alone, and you can find a way to better health and happiness.  I know, because this was my case years ago.  “No time” to take care of myself with my busy life, or so I thought.  Once I started prioritizing my own health and happiness, everything changed.  It took time - years, but I persisted. 

Here are 5 ways to start making small changes now that will cause a ripple effect for the rest of your days.

1. Negative thinking

What excuses are you hearing yourself say out loud or internally?  Stop. Challenge it.  “I don’t have time to exercise.”  I love this one.  Really?  Is it that you don’t have time, or that you are not prioritizing your health and wellbeing over taking care of others, your family, boss, community.  There is no one in the world that can take care of this piece for you, only you. Challenge this thought and figure out how you can fit something into your day or week.  Maybe a 20-minute walk on Saturday morning before everyone in the house wakes up, for example. Figure out what CAN work for you, and try it out.  Then adjust and do it again.

2. Clean Up Your Kitchen & Pantry

Get organized with a kitchen and pantry that supports your health. If I don’t buy the junk, we won’t eat. If my family really wants something, they can get it somewhere else, at work, at school, when out with friends, etc.  You might make excuses about this too, “but he loves cookies, and I want to make him happy”.  It is possible to change! We quit ice cream, not by declaring, “we are quitting ice cream today”, but just by me not buying it any more.  Then after a few weeks they would ask for ice cream and I’d buy some.  Then it ran out, and I didn’t buy it anymore, until they asked for it again, but this time months later, and so I bought it again.  Over time they realized that they didn’t “need” it or want it, and it wasn’t such a good habit, and stopped asking for it. We have not bought ice cream and had it in the house for at least the last five years.  Guess what – no one misses it.  In the summer time, ice cream is a real treat when vacationing, or out on a weekend.  But it is no longer a nightly occurrence.

Over the years I’ve learned more about cooking healthy meals and eliminating certain foods that were triggers or didn’t make me feel great.  I also started substituting healthier ingredients in meals, which helped change our tastes over time. I no longer have these unhelpful foods in the kitchen, refrigerator, freezer, or pantry.

3. Meal Plan

When you are busy working full time all day, dinner can be frozen dinners (loaded with sodium and preservatives), or take out pizza or Chinese food. When I was really busy with working full time, kid’s sports after school, PTA meetings, etc. we ended up ordering out all the time.  I realized this was not healthy for any of us.  Chinese one night, then leftovers the next night, and then pizza on Friday nights.  Once I started taking a few minutes to do some meal planning for the following week by looking at the calendar, then making a list and shopping just for those ingredients, our meals got healthier.  On Saturday I’d shop and then do some meal prep on the weekend. I learned how to batch cook once, freeze half, and have that at the ready for another time.  Meals could be simple, and we became okay with soup and salad and not gourmet, which saves lots of time and energy.  With a few minutes of meal planning for the following week, meal prep on the weekend and having a few things ready to go, you are eating healthier and supporting your health.

4. Cooking at Home

Research has shown that those who cook real whole food at home are less likely to have conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, overweight, diabetes, and greater risk for certain cancers.  Years ago, I started cooking with simple fresh ingredients and spices, not just salt and pepper, to enhance our meals.  I also lowered the fat content in traditional recipes by using using chicken or vegetable broth. I also used other substitutions like applesauce instead of oil in baking, and transitioned away from highly processed vegetable oils and now use EVOO and grape seed oil.  Cooking at home doesn’t have to be difficult, and it can be a family activity too.  With some meal planning (#3 above), cooking is easy.

5. Putting Yourself First

I had to learn this first by recognizing my feelings of resentment that I was over worked, stressed and exhausted.  Once I recognized this, then I had to decide what to do.  I started by taking some time to walk by myself and leave the baby with my husband.  I got used to the feeling and tried something else like joining the gym and going to a class on Saturday morning.  I started walking around the soccer field during practice instead of sitting in a chair with the other parents.  Then I started walking around the parking lot during my son’s tae kwon do practice. Since the lesson was for an hour, I’d walk for 30 minutes and watch for 30 minutes.  I didn’t miss anything, and I felt more energetic and happier that I was meeting my own needs for movement and stress relief. At first felt guilty, but I was still there for my family and it turned out, I was there for them in a better mood. 

What can you do today to take care of yourself?

On December 31, 2017 I took my usual Sunday morning yoga class with the same yoga community I’ve been with all year.  Our yoga teacher likes to read from Melody Beattie’s Journey To The Heart from time to time and this day she read about destiny.  After the class, my friend Mary and I both agreed we enjoyed the reading and I told her I have the book on my Amazon wish list and I don’t know why I haven’t just gotten it for myself.  I guess I’m not really in the practice of buying whatever I want when I want, like some people do.  I just wasn’t raised that way.  You got gifts on your birthday, or at Christmas, and you didn’t buy yourself things. She commented that perhaps I could get it and start 2018 out with something new.  I went home and pushed the “buy” button.  That night, friends, including Mary, came to celebrate New Year’s Eve.  At the end of the night I saw a wrapped gift, “to Mary Ellen, from Santa”, it read.  I opened the wrapping and there it was, the book my friend and I had talked about earlier that day. Of course she was “Santa”.  It was late, so at a reasonable time in the morning, I sent her a text to tell her that I received the book from Santa, and thank you.  I also told her that I ordered the very same book for myself one day earlier when we discussed it.  I asked if she had bought herself a copy and she told me that when she went to the bookstore, they only had one copy.  She bought the only copy for me, and so didn’t have a copy for herself.  Well, I told her, another copy is on its’ way, and it would be for her.  It was destiny.