As winter comes to a close, wake up and smell the roses! The best way to do this is create a balance that may have come off-centered in the cold, dark winter months. Moving Forward, PLC is here to help you bounce into a bold new season!
Get Back to Work! Work out that is.
As you rang in the New Year you, no doubt, promised to return to the gym and replace your couch with an elliptical. By now many have fallen off the bandwagon, don’t fall into the trap! Keep yourself on schedule by pre-paying for classes or a gym-membership. Hold yourself accountable and get a responsible gym partner. If the idea of just going to the gym doesn’t appeal to you, try yoga, pilates, spin class or just a great bike ride!
It is so important that you not only take care of your mind but also your body. If you are sweating for at least 30 minutes
everyday you will find that the little things don’t bug you as much. Your friends and family will thank you when they start to see that stress slipping away. Just remember, working out should be focused on you and making you feel good not about how you look, necessarily. If you are obsessing over results (smaller waist etc.) you may discourage yourself when you don’t see it happening immediately.
Instead, focus on how working out makes you feel and smile every time you walk through those gym doors after a job well done! You can do it!
When you eat well, you feel well
It’s amazing what a good meal will do! Keep it simple. Keep it clean. If you are ordering pizza every night you likely don’t have the energy to get all the things on your busy schedule! Instead, go towards the lean meats like turkey and chicken and always make sure to include a vegetable or two with your meal! Try some smart carbs as well, like sweet potatoes. If you are every out of ideas for a delicious and easy meal check out Pinterest.com for some delicious recipes.
If you find this a bit too much to handle, I recommend planning out meals on Sunday and get all the ingredients you’ll need when you go to the grocery store at the beginning of the week. It’s amazing what pre-planned healthy meals will do for a family, especially if they are eating it together and getting to share their days. Healthy food, healthy meal-time, healthy family.
Here is a recipe I recently made for my family and they LOVED it. Try it out!
(I added chicken to make this hearty for my on-the-move teens)
Caramelized Sweet Potato and Kale Fried Wild Rice
serves 4 as a side dish
Ingredients
3/4 cups wild rice blend + chicken broth to cook it in
1 Tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups 1/2 in. cubed sweet potato (about 1 medium-sized sweet potato)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
4 cups packed chopped curly kale (about 1/2 bunch)
1/4 cup roasted and salted pepitas
For the Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette:
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, microplaned or finely minced
salt and pepper
Directions
Prepare rice according to package instructions using chicken or vegetable broth in place of water. Set aside. (Can be made ahead of time.)
Add ingredients for Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette in a jar with a tight fitting lid then shake to combine and set aside.
Fill a wok or large skillet with water then bring to a boil. Add a heavy dash of salt and kale then boil until tender, 4-5 minutes. Drain, then when kale is cool enough to handle, squeeze out excess water with hands, crumble, and then set aside.
Turn heat down to medium-high then melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and sweet potatoes, season with salt, then saute until tender and caramelized, 8-10 minutes.
Add kale, cooked rice and Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette to the wok then toss to combine. Serve topped with pepitas (pumpkin seeds). (found via Pinterest.com at http://iowagirleats.com)
Talk it out
Once you’ve taken care of your physical needs, make sure you focus in on your mental health. While the little things can be fixed with a good workout and meal, some worries go deeper. Talk about mental health with your family, your kids, your friends. The stigma is real in our society, don’t let it seep into your household. If something is wrong, encourage your children to talk about it with you (the big and little). The more you talk about it, the easier it is to start to work towards a solution. If the problem goes further then light stress and seems to be taking over your life, seek outside help.
