Self care is more than a face mask and a tub of ice cream. There, I said it. Mental health has been a hot topic (for good reasons) throughout COVID. Everyone has suffered in some form or another. October 1st brings the start of a new month. It’s a good time to sit down and evaluate how the previous month went. Even if the month did not play out how you wanted it to, it’s helpful to see how it DID play out as you plan for the next one. As you look through your month, how did your self care look? Let’s be honest, things are stressful. Life is stressful. The world is stressful. Instead of waiting until we have a mental breakdown, self care needs to make its way up on the priority list. Why Is It Important? Self care is a piece of your overall health. You
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You may now proceed to drink your Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Just kidding, we need to have a quick conversation first. I know the PSL came out early (as usual) this year but I have refused to even think about Fall foods until today. While I’m not spending the day baking, I did round up a number of healthy pumpkin recipes we plan to dig into this Fall. Happy First Day of Fall! It’s Okay To Get On The Pumpkin Recipes Bandwagon There, I said it. I never thought that would come out of my mouth. Truth be told, I’m not a pumpkin fan. A few weeks ago @OneUponAPumpkin shared this graphic on Instagram highlighting the benefits of pumpkin in your diet. To break down the nutrition benefits she shared…pumpkin has: Pumpkin has anti-oxidant content that helps protect from disease High in vitamin C Also high in potassium AND high in
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As my husband said last week, Spring Break is finally over. Disclaimer, we completely acknowledge that eLearning last Spring was NOT Spring Break for teachers and kids. However, after being home for five months together right as Spring Break started, it felt like Spring Break never really ended. Getting ready for this change was big for me (and my anxiety) but most of all I needed to find a few ways for all of us to boost immunity as they headed back to school. Little Man is rocking second grade in person with all of his friends. My husband is in his seventh year of teaching remotely from his classroom. Both are in unique situations and have different levels of social distancing available. One thing I’ve had to accept is that I cannot control what happens once they leave the house. We’re always concerned about ways to boost immunity after
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Let’s talk injuries and running. It’s one of those dreaded situations that no one likes to think about, however is part of the sport (or in my case, life). A few weeks ago my 3-year-old left his duplo blocks out on the porch. This is a common occurrence and usually something I’m more mindful of. As I was chasing him out the door I forgot…and I rolled my ankle. Ultimately it was diagnosed as a sprain so I’ve been pretty quiet on any form of movement for just over a month. For the last few weeks I’ve taken this time to slow down (literally and figuratively) and try some different exercises. Injuries suck, there is no doubt about it. Luckily this week I have been able to ease my way back into running, slowly. If you’ve found yourself frustrated or injured lately, I have a few ideas for you! Other
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For the last 6 years, smoothies have become a staple in our household. It isn’t normal if you don’t hear the blender going as everyone is getting ready to get out the door. However, over the years I’ve had to cater our smoothies to different tastes (picky), diets (low fructose) and need (filling). One thing I noticed is that my personal green smoothie tastes were changing throughout the year. In the Summer I prefer a more tropical smoothie (vanilla with pineapple, peach, mango, etc) but in the Winter I like going down the chocolate strawberry route. Throughout many years of testing and trying I’ve come to find that everyone just has their own preference when it comes to smoothies. So instead of sharing with you my perfect smoothie recipe, I built out a guide of all of our different ingredients for making green smoothies. Why are there so many ingredients?
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Not long before my Sophomore year of high school my friend Nathalie showed up at my door and asked me to join the cross country team. For some reason, I said yes. For three years I fought injuries (mostly) from gymnastics and ongoing ankle problems. After a three year running career I said goodbye to running forever and transitioned to throwing shot-put and discus on the track team. Or so I thought that was the end of my running career. Fast forward a decade to early 2014. I was a new(ish) mom struggling to lose that pesky baby weight. We had joined a gym and I was ready to use that membership to become the healthiest mom ever. Okay, maybe I was a little too competitive back then. One snowy February day, I found myself face to face with a treadmill. The ellipticals were full and I didn’t have the patience
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As I’ve previously mentioned I’m spending a lot of time this Summer playing around with vegetables in the kitchen. This summer quesadilla has been a quick and easy lunch packed with lots of different veggies. When it comes to cheese goat cheese seems to be my go to right now. I tend to rotate between different ones but right now I find myself putting it on as many foods as possible…salads, eggs, pizza, quesadillas, etc. A few weeks ago I was making Little Man his plain old quesadilla for lunch and a quesadilla sounded so good. Except, I was determined to get as many vegetables packed into it as I could for my lunch. I managed to mix in kale, onion, avocado (I realize that’s not a vegetable) and sweet peppers. Not bad for just throwing something together. By taking the cooking low and slow the corn tortilla shells get
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With Summer on the horizon, fruits and vegetables are much easier (and cheaper) to get our hands on. I am always looking for new ways to incorporate them into every day meals. A few weeks ago I started making this Sweet Potato Egg Bowl and I cannot stop making it daily. I’ve tried a few variations but regardless of how you mix and match, it is delicious! My current version of the bowl is made with veggie sausage but I’ve made it with bacon, chicken, turkey sausage & regular sausage. Sometimes I add extra ingredients (last week kale was our veggie of the week) just to change it up. This spiralizer makes it so easy to get the sweet potatoes cut up and ready to go. It's easy to mix things around and change it up with what you have in your fridge. For starters the three main ingredients are
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One of the biggest objections I hear to running is “oh my gosh, it’s so boring.” You know what that means? It’s time to try something different. When you’re starting to experience running for the first time, it can take a bit to settle into your running entertainment. Through the years I’ve learned that everyone has their own way of entertaining themselves through a run. Whether it’s one mile or twenty-two miles, you have to figure out what works best for you. Our brains are all different! Some runners choose podcasts, others prefer to stream a tv show (if they’re on a treadmill), some like music, others like silence. Spotify Playlists Personally, I’m a pop on some music and let my brain wander type of runner. Spotify is my go to music solution, mainly because I’ve found so many other playlists I love on there. There is something for everyone
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Of all plants, kale somehow has developed the worst reputation. Chances are you’ve seen a meme about kale and how someone hopes it is not the way to solve their problem. While it has a bad reputation, kale is actually a plant you should consider adding into your weekly produce selection. It has a number of benefits and is actually pretty delicious if you learn to cook it the right way! Why Kale? Here’s the thing, Kale is a superfood and it has super powers. Okay not really super powers but it is packed full of vitamins, minerals and all of the good things we need to be consuming on a daily basis. Let’s take a look at one cup of raw Kale (thanks to WebMD for the facts): Calories: 33 Protein: 3g Fiber: 2.5g Vitamins: A, C, and K Additional Nutrients: Folate, Alpha-linolenic Acid, Lutein, and Zeaxanthin Minerals: Phosphorus,
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