As a mom we find ourselves on the floor A LOT! Whether it's playing a puzzle or reading a book with them, cleaning up after them, finding something that fell under the couch, or just getting down to their level more we are sitting on the floor quite often and we may start to feel the aches and pains of this. So I wanted to share a few tips with you on how you can sit on the floor more comfortably, how to know when to move, and what is the best way to sit on the floor.
 Are you struggling to create healthy habits? If so, what do you feel like your number one excuse is? For most people it has a lot to do with TIME! You don't have the time to eat right, do an hour long workout, can't find time to meditate or work on personal development, or stretch at the end of the day. I get it! Time is your most important asset so I'm happy to hear that you are protecting it and hopefully you are using all of that time currently for all the things that are important in your life, not mindlessly scrolling social media and things like that. So since you don't have time, I want to help you with creating healthy habits in your life with something I call Habit Stacking! Habit stacking is adding a new habit to a habit you already have. We have many, many habits that we practice every day without even thinking about it. Things like brushing our teeth, watching TV, going to the bathroom, getting the mail, driving to work and making dinner. So, I'm going to provide you with some ideas of how you can stack a new Healthy Habit with a habit you are already practicing. WOOHOO!!! Are you excited? So watch the video below for some of the ideas I share on how to stack your habits and then let me know in the comments below what you have chosen to do. Drinking more water is imperative to our health. It helps our skin look more like a plum and less like a raisin, it allows our organs to run more efficiently, it helps our fascia to glide across the muscles and not get sticky which is huge for you pregnant momma's as you are less likely to tear during delivery when you are more hydrated.
It also has an affect on leaky gut. The cells in your GI Tract should be plump which helps to protect it, when you are dehydrated the cells shrive up and make space for food to get through and enter the bloodstream. So these are a few reasons why you need to make sure you are getting enough water into your diet daily. Here are 5 tips to help you drink more water
Sleep is imperative for those wanting to live a healthier life. It has been proven that if you are not getting enough sleep you will have increased stress, anxiety, and depression; you will want to snack more through the day; and will hold onto stubborn belly fat due to hormone levels being all over the place.
Therefore it is important for you to practice healthier sleep habits. The 5 that I am recommending are ones that I live by to help me and have helped others as well get a better night sleep just by practicing these as well. 1. Put down your cell phone not only because of the blue light but also because it creates stress and anxiety when you are scrolling "mindlessly" through social media. 2. Create a routine-practice the same routine nightly to help your body and mind know when it is time to start getting ready for sleep. 3. Breathing techniques-boxed breathing to help calm the nervous system. 4. Ashwaganda-this is medicinal herb to helps to relieve depression, anxiety, and stress. 5. Go to sleep earlier in the night, around 10:00pm would be ideal as your skin is able to process light so it is best to work on waking and sleeping with natural light to help your own circadian rhythm.  One of my families favorite dinners is when I make bowls. I will usually make quinoa or rice to place in the bottom of the bowl and then some form of protein and then from their it is left up to the kids what else they place in the bowl. I cut up some vegetables and then each person picks whatever they want, but there is always some yummy offerings which allows them to try just a bit and keeps my children from complaining. This one was our buffalo chicken quinoa bowl with spinach, celery, carrots, red onion, and microgreens. And don't forget some sort of sauce to have on top, this can make or break the bowl so definitely don't forget it. Take a look at some of my favorite recipes for sauces here. I will post a video below of how this was made. When making your own bowls make sure to:
Need more ideas for picky eaters? Here are some of my other favorite dinnertime meals.
 I understand that times are truly tough right now, but I also know that it is important to look for the positive things in life that are occurring as well to help stay uplifted and positive. One of the biggest silver linings is that since families aren't running around with hectic schedules and so many restaurants were closed for a period of time, there was a resurgence of family meal time.
It has been proven that when families eat meals together they:
and thanks to COVID 40% more families are cooking meals at home. Which, I'm not sure about you, but I truly believe that is something we can all feel good about. I know that life will begin to pick up again for everyone as things start to find a new rhythm and I understand that it may be difficult to eat dinner together every night, but I do hope that you will practice eating more with your family. It is the #1 best healthy practice you can have as a family, it keeps you and your family connected, and it is the foundation for a healthy nation. We must start making our own personal health and our families health OUR priority! We must research, gather, learn, and determine what is best for our own family in regards to health and wellness. It is imperative for us to become an ACTIVE member in the health and medical decisions that we are being faced with. I know that for my family I am focusing on supporting their immune system with exercise, plant based nutrition (we do eat everything, but focusing on plants), drinking plenty of water, getting enough sleep, practicing breathing and meditation techniques to decrease stress and practicing positive thoughts. Have you found a silver lining during this time of social distancing?  It can be hard getting our families to eat healthier but there are definitely things we as mom's can be doing to help provide our families a healthier lifestyle and it begins the moment you head into the grocery store.
Make sure that you have eaten prior to heading to the store so you aren't tempted by all of the different unhealthy foods, go with a plan (usually following a meal plan will help), and make sure you are purchasing mostly around the perimeter of the grocery store. I do keep some junky snack foods on hand for my family such as pretzels, goldfish, and cereals but if you try to keep mostly healthy food that will help. You can't expect to have your child make the decision to eat an apple if a pop tart is the other option. Now once you are home you will need to help your family to make smart choices by reminding them the importance of eating fruits and vegetables to help them get faster and stronger. Here are some things that I require for my children to practice eating healthier:
Some other things that I try to do are:
And lastly, spend at least 30 minutes at the dinner table. Practice slowing down as it's important to take time to chew your food so that you get all of the nutritional value out of your foods. We love to play fun question games at the dinner table to get us talking and having fun.  When we think of smoothies, most of us think about packing them with lots of fruits to help us get our 7-13 in but if you are drinking this first thing in the morning this can cause your blood sugar levels to rise wreaking havoc on the rest of your day trying to get it to stabilize so that your cravings stay at bay.
So I recommend working on adding vegetables into your smoothies along with some healthy fats and protein to help keep your blood sugar more stable. If you are new to adding vegetables than you will want to start with some mild flavors such as spinach, zucchini, and cauliflower so that you get the added nutrients without changing the flavor profile of the smoothie. I also love to add avocado to mine which creates a thicker consistency and provides me with some healthy fat to help keep me more satiated. Once you start adding more vegetables you can get more adventurous and start adding celery, carrots, romaine lettuce, swiss chard, and herbs as well. Start with you favorite smoothie and test one additional flavor to see how it works. If you love a strawberry smoothie, maybe add some spinach and basil to it. Blueberry a favorite, try adding some fresh thyme and cauliflower. You won't always get a winning combination, but once you begin to practice you will find some favorites to enjoy. One last tip, go through your veggie drawer each week and whatever vegetables are becoming a little sad that you won't use in a quiche or a soup; chop and freeze for your future smoothies. You can also chop up greens and filtered water in a blender and make ice cubes to save for future smoothies as well.  This month we are focusing on making more smoothies as they are one of the 4 things I recommend you eat daily to build your immune system and to live a healthier life; and when you are making smoothies every day you are going to need a good blender to help you accomplish this.
The difference between a really good blender and an ok blender are:
When you have a good blender this will make the difference when adding greens as it will fully break them apart and provide a smoother taste (which turns a yucky spinach smoothie into a strong and healthy Hulk smoothie for the kids!) I have and love the Vitamix but understand that you might not want to make that kind of financial commitment. Prior to the Vitamix, I always loved my Cuisinart blender and it held up really well. The Nutribullet is an affordable option which does a great job for blending heartier ingredients and also has a nice 1 serving option. These are not required if you already have a blender, but if you are interested in a new one, these are my 3 favorites. Let me know what your favorite blender is and feel free to ask me any smoothie/blender questions you might have.  Practice the 4 S'sBuild your Immune System with these foods everyday. Smoothies-make sure to fill them with colorful fruits, veggies, seeds, and healthy fats like nuts, or avocado. Salads-eat one for lunch or dinner everyday. Make sure to add some crunch for texture, and again the more colorful you can make it the more antioxidants you are getting. Spices-play around with spices and herbs for different flavors. I l ove adding herbs into my salad and cinammon into my coffee. Get creative! Salmon-eat wild caught fish at least once a week for those healthy Omegas. Eating more foods like this every day and less processed foods will allow you to build your Immune system, decrease inflammation in your body and live healthier. For more ways to build your immunity, read this. |
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