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Green Smoothies 101: Buying the Basics

One of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your diet and to start each day with a nutritional bang is to blend green smoothies. If you are ready to join the green smoothie bandwagon, you will need a few kitchen staples on hand to make this a simple, natural process each day.

Stock Your Kitchen

Surprisingly, you can create many different, delicious green smoothies with the same few base ingredients. Just mix and match the following items in your blender with a couple of new ingredients each day to change the flavor. If you are working with recipes rather than mixing up your own concoctions, don’t worry—many recipes will include a few of these ingredients. You might need to add one or two new items from the supermarket, but the staples listed here will be used repeatedly. Nothing listed here will be wasted.

-Greens

In order to make green smoothies, you will obviously need to keep green leafy vegetables on hand. If you are short on time, you can buy plastic containers full of pre-washed organic greens from the produce section of your supermarket. It’s as simple as grabbing a handful of leaves and throwing them into the blender with your other ingredients. If you happen to have an autoimmune illness that affects your joints, I recommend working with greens that are low in oxalic acid, such as kale or collard greens. Stay away from spinach and swiss chard, which are both high in oxalic acid and can aggravate your joint condition.

-Frozen berries

These days, you can find bags of frozen organic berries at most supermarkets. Buy a couple of bags of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. You can buy mixed bags of berries or bags of each individual type of berry. I recommend buying berries that you typically DO NOT eat often or do not enjoy. It’s a great way of adding variety and new nutrients to your diet. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but smoothies happen to be a great way of consuming foods that you’d rather not. Flavors and textures of any particular fruit or vegetable just disappear into blended goodness. Personally, I am not a huge fan of eating fresh blackberries. I happen to enjoy the flavor, but I can’t deal with all of the seeds. It drives me crazy, so now I consume all of my blackberries in pureed form. I just throw a nice big handful of frozen blackberries into my blender, and I get all of the benefits of eating them without actually having to deal with the unpleasant texture of the seeds.

-Frozen bananas

Buy a bunch of bananas, and allow them to ripen on your countertop for a few days. Brown bananas are not particularly appetizing to eat as a snack, but they are perfect for smoothies. Slice each banana, and freeze the slices. Frozen bananas slices blend much more easily than frozen bananas that haven’t been sliced.

-Liquid for your smoothies

I like to stock my pantry with organic, non-GMO soy milk, almond milk, and coconut water. If you prefer a smoothie with a juice base, keep your fridge stocked with orange juice, apple juice, or whatever it is that you prefer.

-Almond butter

If you are worried about getting hungry within an hour or so after consuming your smoothie, turn your drink into a stick-to-your-ribs meal by adding a tablespoon of almond butter to your blender. If you aren’t a huge fan of almond butter, try another type of nut butter, or maybe even a piece of non-GMO organic tofu.

-Fresh Ice

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve reached into my freezer to grab a handful of ice for my smoothie and realized that my ice smelled a little funky. Whether you have an automatic ice maker in your freezer like me or a few trays of ice that you fill with water and freeze yourself, check your ice before you actually need to use it! Once a month, I dump all of my ice out of the freezer bin that collects my ice cubes from the ice maker. I scrub the ice container with hot soapy water, and I collect all new ice cubes. There’s really no easier way to ruin a delicious smoothie than to fill your blender with old, stinky ice. Take the time to make sure you are using good ice. And don’t forget that you always have the option of skipping ice altogether and just adding more frozen berries instead!

-Lemons/limes

When you first start making green smoothies, you will most likely dapple with recipes that include lots of fruit. Once you become accustomed to these smoothies, you will probably start lowering the quantity of fruit and increasing the quantity of greens and other vegetables. If you move on to these more savory green smoothies, you will want to have fresh lemons and limes on hand. A good squeeze of lemon or lime really compliments any greens or herbs, like parsley, that you might add to your blender. Lemons and limes have quite a long shelf life in the refrigerator, so go ahead and buy a few. Even if you don’t use them today, you can use them in a few weeks, and they will be just as good.

January 26, 2014
The Sun Salutation: The Flow Every Yogi Should Know
Hello my sunshines!

Welcome to my first official blog post here on our TwoFitMoms website!

One question I get asked a lot is… “Where do I start?” or “What poses should I do first?” My answer is quite simple… LEARN THE BASICS! So I decided that the first thing I would break down is a Modified Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar A. The variations you can do with this simple flow are endless… but let’s break down a basic, beginner flow that I like to teach.
1. BREATHE! Each movement will happen on an inhalation or an exhalation through the nose… Ujjayi Pranayama. Ujjayi breathing is known for the soft “hissing” sound it makes as a person inhales and exhales over the back of their throat. The purpose of Ujjayi breathing is to slow the breath down, bring attention to the breath throughout the practice and prevent the mind from wandering. A simple way of learning this is to simply place the tip of the tongue on the roof of your mouth, take a deep breath through the nose and slowly exhale out of your nose. Did you hear the soft sound this makes?
1. Tadasana or Mountain Pose: Stand at the top of your mat… Feet together or hips-width distance apart. Feel your spine lengthen as you stand up tall with your chin parallel to your mat. Roll your shoulders away from your ears. Place your hands at heart center in Anjali Mudra or prayer position; or alongside your torso, palms facing outward. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths in and out through your nose… Ujjayi Breathing.
1. Urdhva Hastasana or Upward Salute: On an inhale, sweep the arms up overhead. Look up, watch the palms touch.
1. Uttanasana or Standing Forward Fold: Exhale. Leading with your heart, swan dive down bringing your hands to your mat, thighs, shins or blocks. Make sure to evenly distribute your weight into your feet. For most people, that means shifting your weight slightly towards your toes. Inner thighs spin back, spine remains long, shoulders continue to pull away from your ears. Don’t be a turtle!
1. Ardha Uttanasana or Half Standing Forward Fold: Inhale. Look up; come up onto fingertips, blocks or higher up onto your legs. Lengthen the spine, flat back.
1. Uttanasana or Standing Forward Fold: Exhale. Lower back down into Uttanasana.
1. Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana or Plank Pose: Inhale. Place your hands onto your mat and step back into Plank Pose or top of a push up. Shoulders will stack directly over your wrists. Keep your gaze on your mat. Spread your fingers wide. Your biceps roll forward so the creases of your elbows point toward the top of your mat. Shoulder blades broaden down your back. Core engages… think navel to spine while your tailbone tucks under. The goal is to make a straight line from head to heels. If this is too much for you, lower down onto your knees!
1. Chaturanga Dandasana or Four-Limbed Staff Pose: Exhale. Keeping your elbows pinned to your sides, shift slightly forward and slowly bend the elbows so they come to a 90 degree angle. Do not collapse onto our mat! If you struggle with keeping your elbows in, you have two options. 1 – Try the “caterpillar” instead! From plank pose, lower your knees, chest and chin to your mat as shown in the bottom pic. 2 – Do a modified Chaturanga by lowering onto your knees. In either modification, keep those elbows squeezing in.
1. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana or Upward Facing Dog: Inhale. Roll over the toes or flip one foot at a time so the tops of the feet press firmly into your mat. Press into your hands as you simultaneously start to straighten your arms and lift your torso up. Your hands and the tops of your feet are your only connection to your mat. Keep your gaze straight ahead or slightly back. Squeeze your shoulder blades against your back as you puff out the sides of your ribs. Relax your buttasana, try not to clench.
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward Facing Dog: Exhale. Roll back over the toes and lift the hips high. You should look like an upside down “V”. Fingers spread wide, biceps roll forward, shoulders melt down the back, lower ribs corset in towards one another… so do not dump into your chest… navel pulls in, tailbone lengthens, quadriceps lift as your inner thighs spin in, heels press actively towards your mat. It’s OK if your heels do not touch the mat but the intention should be down. Keep your gaze about halfway down your mat towards your toes without letting your head sag.
Some modifications? If you have tight hamstrings, bend your knees slightly to take any tension out of the lower back. You may feel tugging there when you try to straighten the legs out… So be mindful, and take the bend. You can also sit back onto your heels from Upward Facing Dog before going into Downward Facing Dog.

Take 5 deep breaths here.
1. Move on up… Inhale. Look forward and bend your legs. Exhale. Walk or jump to the top of your mat.
1. Ardha Uttanasana or Half Standing Forward Fold: Inhale. Look up, flat back.
1. Uttanasana or Standing Forward Fold: Exhale. Fold.
1. Urdhva Hastasana or Upward Salute: Inhale. Keeping the spine long, sweep the arms up towards the sky… Look up, palms press.
1. Tadasana or Mountain Pose: Exhale. Hands in prayer in front of your heart or down by your sides.
If you’re new to yoga, start out by doing 3-5 of these a day! Take them as slowly as you need to, and if something doesn’t feel good… MODIFY!

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

XOXO
January 23, 2014
SNOWGA! 10 Reasons Why You Can and Should Take your Snow Day to Another Level

If you have an Instagram account, you’ve probably seen plenty of “snowga” photos posted by yogis living in cold weather climates. What is “snowga”, you may ask? Well, it’s simply the act of getting into a yoga pose in the snow. It is NOT, by any means, a full practice in the snow. It’s usually just a beautiful moment captured in time, and it consists of running out into the snow for about a minute for the purpose of taking a photo, and then racing back into the house to warm up.

I’m sure you can easily rattle off many reasons why you shouldn’t and don’t want to do such a thing. My mind fills with these thoughts, too: It’s too cold; I might get sick; I might slip; My neighbors will think I’m crazy; “Real” yogis will claim that I am not a “real” yogi if I do this; My toes will freeze; My fingers will freeze; My mat will get all wet, etc.

Yesterday, I put all of these doubts aside and decided to take a snowga photo. I couldn’t withstand the cold for more than the time it took to take the one picture shown above, but now that I am looking at it, I am happy. It was worth it. Here are a few bullet points to inspire you to rile up your own spirit to be spontaneous and have your own fun snowga experience…And here is a gorgeous photo of Laura doing her own snowga at home.

1. You are stronger than you think. You CAN withstand 30-seconds of freezing temperatures.

2. You will seize the day.

3. You will feel a strange sense of accomplishment once it’s all over.

4. You will create your own absurd memories in the snow and laugh about it later.

5. You will have a recorded image of that absurd memory.

6. You will do something recreational in the snow for the first time in a very long time.

7. You will feel like you are a figurine in a magical snow globe.

8. You will feel exhilarated.

9. You can wear the brightest clothes you own and look stunning (rather than tacky) against a white backdrop.

10. You will be left with a photo of yourself that you will NOT pick apart. You will actually see the beauty within yourself, and smile—a priceless gift that makes the discomfort and cold all worthwhile.

January 22, 2014
Headstands 101: Your First Inversion

If you want to invert but don’t know where to begin, you’ve come to the right place. You CAN do a headstand safely and without fear—even if you have no prior experience in gymnastics, dance or yoga. When I began my headstand practice about 14 months ago, I had absolutely NO background in any of these areas. I only started practicing inversions at the age of 36! It is never too late to learn a new hobby or skill. Just be patient, and remember to practice. It may not happen for you today, and that’s ok! There is no timetable for success. I will equip you with the tools and knowledge, and you will work at your own pace until you feel comfortable in the pose.

The inversion I want to introduce today is the tripod egg headstand. The “tripod” refers to the triangle shape produced by the placement of your hands and the top of your head. The “egg” refers to the tight oval tuck shape of your body in the final pose. Please approach this pose with a can-do attitude. You CAN, and you WILL.

Before attempting this pose, warm up your body with a bit of movement and stretching. Hamstring flexibility is very important in this pose.

Let’s get started:

Step 1: Find a book (or yoga block), and place it on top of your head to find the balance point. Press the book firmly onto your head so that you can remember the feeling of that balance point. The balance point of the book will not necessarily be your balance point in a headstand, but it is a starting point, and you can adjust accordingly once you test that spot for comfort.

Step 2: Come onto your hands and knees into tabletop position. Check your form, and make sure that your shoulders are stacked directly above your wrists, and your hips are stacked above your knees.

Step 3: Bend your elbows to form 90-degree angles, and place the top of your head onto the floor in front of your hands. Make sure that you can see your fingertips at all times! Your hands should NOT be along side your ears. Your hands and head form a triangle rather than a straight line.

Step 4: Tuck your toes, and lift your knees from the floor. Walk your feet in towards your hands/head so that your hips are lifted high into the air. Assess how you feel. If your hamstrings are straining, stop and re-visit this pose after you feel more limber. If your neck feels strained, focus on lengthening your neck so that your shoulders are drawn away from your ears. If the top of your head hurts, adjust your balance point a few inches. Personally, my own balance point in a headstand is not the same as the balance point with the book on my head. I usually balance a few inches closer to my forehead. This is an exploration. Find the right spot for your own body.

Step 5: Make sure that your elbows do not splay to the sides. Your elbows should continue to point in the SAME direction that you are facing! If you feel comfortable, lift one knee onto one tricep.

Step 6: If you still feel comfortable, slowly lift your other foot from the floor and place it on the back of your other tricep. Remember to keep your neck long, and breathe! Congratulations on your very first headstand.

One important point to mention—if you lose your balance, tuck your chin to your chest, round your back, and somersault out of the pose. You might even want to practice your forward rolling skills PRIOR to starting this tutorial. It’s no fun to fall, but if you somersault out of the pose, you technically aren’t falling. It is a controlled and safe way to exit the tripod egg headstand.

Wherever you may be in your yoga practice today, I assure you that it is perfect. Honor yourself and your body. Namaste.

January 20, 2014
Apple-Pie-In-A-Cup Smoothie

This might be my favorite dessert smoothie ever. I call it a “dessert” smoothie because the apple-cinnamon flavor reminds me of apple pie. Turn to this drink instead of taking down a box of cookies and a half-gallon of ice cream. It has the perfect level of sweetness to satisfy your cravings.

Feel free to add a generous handful of baby kale leaves to this recipe. If you don’t mind the green hue, you will benefit from the added nutrition, and honestly, I don’t detect much of a difference in flavor.

Remember to honor yourself and the experience of consuming this delicious drink. It somehow tastes better when you sit down and sip it slowly out of a beautiful glass. I know you are busy. I’m tempted as much as anyone else to just pour my smoothie into a random old mug and drink it while multi-tasking around the house. Let’s change how we eat. Let’s make a real effort to eat mindfully.

Blend:

1 Fuji apple
1 frozen banana (sliced before freezing)
1 Tbsp almond butter
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 cup soy/rice/almond milk
2 handfuls of ice
1 handful baby kale (optional)

Makes about 20-ounces of smoothie.

January 19, 2014
Open Your Heart to Miracles

Do you have pain that just won’t go away? Pain that affects your sleeping hours as well as your waking ones? Chronic headaches? Lower back pain? Muscle injuries that just won’t heal? If not, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. For the rest of you—I’m with you, I get it, and I want to make a suggestion.

Broadly speaking, I want you to start living with your heart and mind open to possibilities—possibilities for healing that you might not believe in or understand at the moment. Possibilities that even Western medicine and science can’t explain. When the drugs aren’t working and the medical treatments seem ineffective, open your mind, open your heart, and head down the path to alternative healing methods. Not everything in the world is yet understood. Just because it’s not understood doesn’t mean that it’s not real. Open your heart and mind, and you just might find yourself a miracle.

Acupuncture

I had no intention to blog about this topic today, but I am very excited about my experience this morning. I just walked into my house from my very first acupuncture treatment. Yes, acupuncture, with all of those needles everywhere—a total nightmare for someone like me, who is afraid of needles. I decided last week that I would overcome my fear of needles (or at least tolerate the fear) for the possibility of reduced pain. I am so DONE with my back hurting and my leg hurting.

Over the past 6 months, I’ve seen doctors. I’ve had an MRI, and an EMG. I’ve been treated with traction, electric stim, heat, ice, exercise, manual therapy, ultrasound and various rocktaping techniques. Have I improved? Yes, but I am still in pain, and I am sick of hurting.

So this morning, after taking a complete medical history and asking a number of questions about my life, I got onto the table, face down, and the acupuncturist got to work. I know that many people say that you don’t even feel the needles in acupuncture, but that wasn’t the case for me. The needles themselves are quite thin, but I found the insertion of each needle to be quite uncomfortable. I felt a strange muscle cramping sensation under each needle, and I had to quiet my mind and relax my body. Given that I am afraid of needles, I kept my eyes closed the entire time to avoid seeing anything reminiscent of Hellraiser. Interestingly enough, the needles are not just placed at the site of the pain. In fact, I had more needles in my ears and arms than I did in my leg or back.

After a few minutes, the feeling of the needles disappeared into nothingness, and I managed to relax enough to dose off. After the acupuncturist roused me from my little nap, she removed all of the needles, which was a painless procedure, and told me to flip over onto my back. I had so many reservations about doing this. For almost 5 years now, I have been unable to lie on my back for more than a few minutes. The pain in my sacroiliac joint is just too severe. In yoga class, I rest in savasana on my side. At night, I sleep on my side. In physical therapy, all exercises have been modified so that I am never supine for more than a minute or two. I explained my reservations to the acupuncturist, and she tried to make me as comfortable as possible, but clearly, she needed me flat on my back. I crossed my fingers and hoped I wouldn’t be too crippled at the end of the treatment. Again, I closed my eyes, dealt with the muscle cramping as each needle was inserted into my skin, and tried to relax. I think I might have dosed off again because I was startled when the acupuncturist told me that the treatment was over and that I could get dressed.

My Little Miracle

I will never forget the moment when I sat up. I had NO back pain. I mean NONE!!! What the heck? How is that even possible? I’ve been unable to lie on my back for 5 years without terrible pain, and after just 1 acupuncture session, I am able to lie on my back and get up without a trace of pain? Insane. My mind is blown. The acupuncturist explained something about increasing blood flow to the SI joint and unblocking meridians, but it was all “blah blah blah” to me. I was too busy being shocked. I have no idea how long the effects of this treatment will last or if it will ultimately help my hamstring, too, but I am now a believer, and I have already booked my next appointment.

Keep your mind and heart open, folks. You never know where it will lead you.

January 16, 2014
Why I Ditched My Scale

Two years ago, I ditched my scale and never looked back.

Wait…that’s not entirely true… I didn’t actually ditch my scale because I can’t bring myself to throw things away. What I DID do is chuck the scale into the back of my closet, and that’s where it remains today. The relationship was no longer serving me, so I had to call it quits. I have no regrets about this break-up, and honestly, I think I am a happier person today because of it. I can’t sit here and tell you to go ahead and give up YOUR scale because it’s a decision that you must come to on your own. You need to really believe that you’re doing the right thing for your own life. What I can do is tell you my top 4 reasons for ditching my own scale.

1. Small day-to-day fluctuations in my weight determined my mood for the day. Each morning, I would wake up, use the bathroom, take off all of my clothes, and get on the scale. If I was just 1 measly pound lighter than the day before, I felt like a boss. Just 1 pound less, and I felt thin, beautiful, disciplined, happy, accomplished and energetic. If I was 1 pound heavier, my heart was heavy. My mind would start contemplating all of the possible reasons why I was heavier, even though the change in weight was probably just an inconsistency in the scale! I would wonder if I ate too much the day before, or if I consumed too much salt, or if the weight gain reflected my skipped workout session, or if I was ovulating. Can you believe this? One pound in either direction determined whether I was happy and on top of the world or if I was grumpy and questioning everything that I did the day before. A couple of pounds determined my self-worth and my level of happiness for the day. This was unacceptable.

2. I didn’t want my daughter to see me obsess about my weight. Ever. She is still at an age where it doesn’t even cross her mind that there might be something to NOT like on her own body. She struts around in her bathing suit confidently, even after eating a large meal. I want her to remember growing up in a house where we don’t focus on weight, but instead, we focus on wellness. I want her to always view food as fuel and to realize that she just needs to fill up on high quality fuel if she wants her body to perform at its best. I want her to always have a positive body image, and I think that is most easily accomplished without a scale in sight.

3. My health and fitness success could be measured in other ways. I realized that the scale just displayed a number. The scale cannot tell me if my clothes fit properly or if my energy level is high. It can’t tell me if my skin looks brighter or if my endurance has increased. It can’t assess my fitness gains by measuring my flexibility or strength. THESE are the measures that make sense to assess, and these are now the sorts of things that I consider.

4. I don’t need the scale to confirm what I already know. At the end of the day, I know when I’m doing the right thing. I know if I’ve eaten well or poorly, and I know if I’ve exercised or not. I know if I’ve overindulged for too many consecutive days, or if I’ve eaten just enough to be satisfied. If I’ve eaten pizza and ice cream every night for a week, do I really need to step on the scale to see a result that I already know? Of course not. I know and you know when the diet is clean and the exercise is consistent. We don’t need the scale. We know.

January 14, 2014
A Perfect Green Smoothie for Beginners

If you are looking for new ways to incorporate green vegetables into your diet, smoothies are the answer. Forget about waiting until lunch or dinner to eat your kale or collards—You can get started in the morning with a tall glass of green nutrition for breakfast.

If you are hesitant to throw a large handful of leaves into your blender, I can understand that. You’ve been trained for years to view green leafy vegetables as a wilted pile of bitterness on a plate. It’s now time to re-train your brain to understand that greens can be consumed in a way that feels fresh and bright and flavorful.

If you are ready to take the plunge into the world of green smoothies, let me introduce you to one of my favorite recipes—a non-alcoholic, delicious, green version of the mojito cocktail.

A Few Words of Advice for Beginners
Yes, you can make this mojito for breakfast, and one day you will, but if this is your first green smoothie, DO NOT make it for breakfast. There’s no point in overwhelming yourself before your taste buds are even awake and ready for a new experience.

Save this recipe to try as an afternoon snack. Snacks are enjoyable, and that’s a good mindset to have as you move into the world of green drinks.

Try a small serving. Keep in mind that this is not a meal, so there’s no pressure to consume a large volume on day 1.

Put your green smoothie into a beautiful glass. I don’t know why, but presentation actually matters. Maybe it’s me, but champagne is not appealing in a Styrofoam cup. Likewise, a green smoothie in a plastic mug does not sound appetizing. Serve yourself with the same respect and care that you would receive if you ordered this drink at a high-end spa.

When in doubt, add more ice. I’m actually not a big fan of icy cold drinks. I drink water at room temperature and prefer my iced tea without ice. However, when it comes to green smoothies, the colder the better. Once you blend your smoothie, give it a taste. If it doesn’t feel refreshing, grab another handful of ice and re-blend.

Enjoy…And stay tuned for more green smoothie options!

Mint-Mojito Madness Smoothie

Blend:

½ cup unsweeted organic soy/almond/rice milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large handful of kale
½ cup fresh spearmint leaves
1 frozen banana (chop it before you freeze it)
1 large handful of ice
Juice of ½ lime

Makes 1 serving.

January 12, 2014
Train Yourself to be an Early Riser

You can train yourself to be an early riser! Will you love the process? Probably not. Do I love it? Not really. Dragging my sleepy body out of bed is not my idea of a good time…but what I DO love is putting my best foot forward from the moment that I step out of bed. By waking up early, I control the direction and tone for my entire day. Waking early removes the rush and chaos of the morning, and it makes me feel centered and disciplined. I love knowing that I can use the extra time without guilt because there just isn’t anywhere else I need to be at the crack of dawn. I may not put myself first at any other time during the day, but my early mornings are for me. I want you to experience that same feeling—the feeling of doing something healthy, just for you.

So, how do you become an early riser without it being a painful experience? Training. You need to train your body to wake up early. It’s a process. Discipline must be cultivated. I do NOT suggest that you start out by shifting your wake-up time from 7 am to 5 am. That is beyond painful. Just as you wouldn’t train for a marathon by stepping outside and running 26 miles on your first day of exercise, you also shouldn’t expect yourself to wake up two hours earlier than usual on day 1.

Baby steps. That’s the answer to almost any new endeavor—and this is an endeavor that you definitely want to undertake. According to recent studies, early risers are more productive, optimistic, and they even experience better quality restorative sleep. You know you want a piece of that.

Take a baby step by waking up just 15 minutes earlier than usual. Taking this small step will not overwhelm you, and you will establish a new healthy habit. Nobody ever said that waking up early to improve your health must include an hour-long cardio session followed by weight training and a homemade breakfast.

Start off slow. If you have an extra 15-minutes in the morning, use this time to do something to improve your health—something that you normally could not fit into your morning routine. Once you feel comfortable waking up 15 minutes earlier, move on to the next baby step by adding another 15 minutes. If you feel like crap, don’t move on just yet. Fifteen minutes is still a positive change, and you should be proud of yourself for doing it daily.

Wake Up 15 Minutes Earlier

Obviously, you can do whatever you want with your extra 15 minutes in the morning, but here are a few options that I like:

-Prep for dinner.

If the thought of cooking at the end of a long day is exhausting, give yourself a head start in the morning. Wash and chop raw vegetables so you can quickly steam, oven-roast or stir fry after work. Store your vegetables in a bowl in the fridge so they are readily accessible later in the day.

-Steam your greens.

You know you should eat your greens, but who the heck can manage to get them in at every meal? YOU can. The easiest way is to wash, chop and steam your greens in the morning, and to cook enough for the entire day. It’s such a quick and easy way to improve the quality of every meal you eat. Have a side of steamed kale, collards, bok choy, cabbage, mustard greens or broccoli. I always have a serving with my breakfast, and I prepare enough for lunch and dinner, too. Even if you buy your lunch at work, you can always carry a little container from home. Throw your steamed greens into a cup of lentil soup if you like your vegetables warm. This is such an easy, quick solution to improve your eating habits at every meal…and it only requires 15 minutes.

-Prepare your own healthy beverages for the day.

Instead of buying a cup of coffee on the way to the office, a bottle of sweet tea to drink with lunch, and a post-workout sports drink later in the day, brew a quart of your own herbal tea in the morning and take it to work with you. If you don’t drink tea, make a quart of flavored water instead. Add slices of cucumbers and mint to your water or add slices of lemon and lime. The possibilities are endless. Treat yourself to a nice new thermos or jug to carry your drink, or just buy a large bottle of water from the supermarket and re-use that bottle daily.

-Do some stretching, and bang out a few sets of push-ups and crunches.

Even 10 or 15 minutes of movement makes a difference. You will build some heat in your body and feel great.

-Create a schedule.

Time management is your friend. Get the most out of your day by making to-do lists and filling out your daily calendar. Schedule your errands and appointments, make a grocery list, and create a meal plan for the day. Determine when you plan on exercising, and make sure that you actually schedule it. If you fail to schedule your exercise into your day, it can easily get pushed onto the back burner in favor of an interesting television show or an extra half hour of surfing the web. Use the extra 15 minutes in the morning to organize your day and to de-clutter your mind. Just a few minutes of planning can set you on the right path for success.

-Pray, meditate, give thanks.

This is such an obvious suggestion, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. Sometimes, all we need is a little gratitude, silence and perspective to change the course of our days. There is no better time than the early morning hours to find stillness and peace. Use this time to pray, meditate or write in a gratitude journal. Taking stock of your blessings is transformative and will naturally lead towards greater joy and contentment. Giving thanks brings awareness to your current state of being. I know that my own gratitude practice compels me to take even better care of my body, as I have become more grateful for the miraculous life that I am living. Over the years, I’ve come to really understand that good health is not guaranteed. You can take as many vitamins as you want, eat as healthy as humanly possible, get lots of sleep, maintain low stress levels, breathe unpolluted air, drink the cleanest water in the world, and you can still get sick. Some of this is just luck of the draw. Do the best you can, give thanks for all you have, and fiercely protect whatever good health you DO have.

Wake Up 30 Minutes Earlier

So you’re ready to move on? Go ahead and re-set your alarm clock to wake you a full half hour earlier than usual. Here are a few meaningful changes that you can make in your life with just an extra thirty minutes in the morning.

-Make breakfast.

I’m not talking about pouring yourself a bowl of cereal. I’m talking about a real, nutritious meal. Personally, I like to chop and steam a bunch of vegetables, heat up some miso soup that I cooked the day before, and cook some grains (like oats or brown rice). I know it’s unconventional, but it is healing food, and leaves me feeling nourished and healthy. You can make vegetable-filled omelettes instead, or blend a good smoothie—and if you’re already chopping up fruit for the smoothie, chop a little extra to take to work.

-Yoga.

Take a 20-minute yoga class online. I love the 20-minute yoga classes that I’ve taken. They are surprisingly effective at waking the body up and relieving morning stiffness. Yes, there are 30-minute classes available too, but if you’re waking up 30 minutes earlier than normal, you might want a 20-minute class so that you can have 10 minutes to freshen up afterward. If you don’t want to pay for online classes, do 15-minutes of sun salutations and spend another 10 or 15 minutes working on challenging poses. Take a photo or two of yourself to track progress, and post your photos to Instagram!

-Clean Your House, Pay Your Bills, Sort Your Mail. Basically, go ahead and get some of your chores out of the way. If you have no desire to exercise in the morning, use your extra thirty minutes in the morning to pave the way for a healthy evening.
One evening about a month ago, I found myself addressing 75 holiday cards instead of exercising. In hindsight, I see that this makes no sense. I could have addressed the holiday cards early in the morning, leaving me with no excuse to skip the gym at night. Today, try to think of every excuse that you’ve ever used to avoid exercising in the evening and if possible, tackle those items early in the morning.

-Wake up even earlier

Once you get the hang of waking up 30 minutes earlier, you can continue to add another 15 minutes to your early morning routine. The earlier you rise, the more options you have. Personally, I like having an extra 75-minutes in the morning. I know that once the clock strikes 7 am, I need to get in mom mode and start preparing lunch boxes, brushing knotty hair, cooking kids’ breakfasts, washing crusty faces, etc. If I set my alarm for 5:45 am, I have just the right amount of time to do everything that I need to do to start my day feeling healthy, happy and bright. I used to set my alarm for 5:30 am, but I came to the conclusion that I actually preferred the extra 15 minutes of sleep. I didn’t accomplish more in the morning by waking up at 5:30. Somehow, 5:45 am is just right. You might need to play around with your wake-up time a bit, too. Good luck finding that sweet spot. You won’t regret it.

January 8, 2014
6 Healthy Habits for the New Year

It’s a NEW YEAR… Time for new hopes, new dreams, and a clean slate for us all. Ideally, we would never have to make New Year’s resolutions because we would already be living our lives to their fullest potential. However, even those of us with the greatest motivation and the best intentions tend to lose focus and fall off the wagon. As much as we all want to improve our lives by eating healthier foods, exercising more, and creating better habits, we find ourselves bailing on our resolutions one by one, and making the same resolutions year after year.

If you are just beginning your new and improved healthy life, you are bound to be full of energy and enthusiasm. I know you are tempted to tackle every item on this list immediately, but I encourage you to fight that urge. Building new habits take time. Your body and mind need time to adjust to change.

Start out by just doing ONE thing, and continue doing that one thing every day until it feels like a natural part of your life. You have the greatest chance of success if you do not feel overwhelmed. Once you incorporate one healthy habit into your life, (and this may take a few weeks before it feels routine) feel free to take on a second healthy habit. Remember, this is not a sprint—you are in it for the long haul! You can create a healthy, vibrant life, one habit at a time.

Here are some of our favorite tips:

1. Get outside

Photo Credit

Did you know that exposure to sunlight results in increased production of the mood-lifting hormone, serotonin? That’s right—getting outside will put you in a better mood. Whether you’re gardening, swimming, jogging, walking your dog or shoveling snow, make an effort to get outside for at least 30-minutes every day. For those of you living in cold-weather climates, I know it’s hard. Bundle up. Get a good pair of gloves and a hat. You will feel energized, your mood will be boosted, and there’s a good chance that being outside will lead you to do some form of exercise.

2. Eat Your Greens at Breakfast

Every morning, I get up and eat my leafy greens. Some days, it’s kale. Other days, it’s collard greens. Sometimes it’s raw, and stuffed into my blender with a bunch of fruits and vegetables for a delicious green smoothie. Other days, my greens are steamed and thrown into soup, or eaten alongside a bowl of oatmeal. If you can’t stomach eating steamed greens in the morning, then start out by blending delicious smoothies. If you throw a handful of raw kale into any kind of banana-berry smoothie, I guarantee that you won’t even know it’s there. Kid-approved. Trust me! Waking up and doing something healthy sets the tone for the day. You are much more likely to make healthy choices throughout the day if you start out with a healthy, vegetable-filled breakfast.

3. Begin a Yoga Practice

Now you KNOW I couldn’t get through this post without discussing yoga. I love yoga for many reasons—the first reason being that it is an activity that is suitable for EVERYONE. My 60-year old mom can do it, my 4-year old son can do it, my own 36-year old body that sometimes cooperates and other times is too inflamed from an autoimmune flare-up can do it. Why is yoga suitable for everyone? It’s suitable because there are many different types of yoga—And one of them will suit you! Whether you turn to yoga for relaxation, meditation, healing, mind-body connection, improved flexibility, or simply for a muscle burning, sweat-inducing workout, you will reap the benefits. Yoga is a transformative experience, and your own personal yoga practice will transform as your needs change. My own practice began as a means of rehabilitation and healing. It then moved on to serve as a physical fitness challenge, as I learned to test the limits of my body’s ability to balance, invert and stretch. Today, it has become a journey of peace and a moving meditation. Begin your own yoga practice this year, and see where it leads you.

4. Avoid Foods with Labels

If you want to start a healthy eating plan this year, focus on eating REAL food, not weird processed food products. Don’t worry about dieting, and don’t worry about counting calories. Good food is fuel. If it requires a label and a list of ingredients, don’t buy it. An apple doesn’t require a label with a list of ingredients. Neither does a head of broccoli. Get it? Very simple. Eat real food, prepare it yourself (if possible), and lay off food that had to be processed by someone other than you. Be prepared to feel better than you’ve felt in a very long time.

5. Turn off the TV

Now let’s get one thing clear…. nothing makes me happier than a really good show. However, I am VERY disciplined with my TV time. I allow myself one or two shows a week, and for those couple of hours that I’m on the couch, I’m on the couch. I’m not exercising, I’m zoned out, and nothing productive is happening. I definitely understand the importance of relaxation, and I think we should all carve out some time to relax and to do something enjoyable. An hour at a time is reasonable, but you will not find me on my couch all night. When I’m up off the couch and the television is off, I get more done. I eat more mindfully. I move more. I exercise more. I write more. I read more. I cook more. I sleep more. Overall, I am more productive with my time, and my actions are more consistent with that of a healthy, happy individual.

6. Take Photos

Over the past year, I’ve discovered that photographs are a great tool for recording and tracking fitness gains. Are you trying to improve your flexibility? Track your progress with photos. Take a photo of yourself doing a backbend today, and in six months, take a photo of yourself doing the same backbend. You will see progress. Are you trying to bulk up and increase muscle mass? Take a photo of yourself today, and take one at the end of each week so you can monitor your progress over time and see the results of your hard work. Are you trying to lose weight? Ditch your scale, and take photos of yourself regularly instead. Photos don’t lie, and photos won’t drive you crazy by documenting the very small day-to-day fluctuations of your weight. Photography is a wonderful tool—take lots of photos this year, and let your collection of photos become a visual journal that inspires you to continue down the road to good health.

January 6, 2014