Tag: Monday

Morning Rise & Shine Ritual

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Snooze. Roll out of bed. More coffee. Scramble through your to-do list. Count down the minutes until you can leave the office… Sounds miserable, no? Here’s a super simple daily exercise anyone can (and should! ) use to rise, shine, and set yourself up for success, with a smile!

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  1. Write down three things that you’re grateful for today.
  2. Write down three things that you would like to get done today.

That’s it. Now, you’re centered, thankful, positive, and motivated, so go seize the day!

One Healthy Breakdown: nothin’ like a big cup of joe inspo in the morning!

All About Meal Prep

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Meal prep is a great way to set yourself up for success. With no time to make a healthy meal when we’re hungry, we’re likely to resort to processed food, take-out, fast food, mindless eating, and overeating. With a kitchen full of healthy snacks and balanced meals on hand, it’s a lot easier to eat healthier. With one simple change, healthy eating becomes a whole lot happier.

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  • Schedule one or two days a week to prep. While it doesn’t have to be the same day each week, plan to take some time to prepare some meals and snacks to last you throughout the week. Think about the times when you cave and come up with some good preventative strategies. For example, if you’re always starving mid-afternoon, pack an extra snack to tide you over until dinner. This will keep your energy, blood sugar, and mood in check and help you to slow down and enjoy dinner because you won’t be famished when you finally sit down. If you struggle with breakfast, prep something simple that will fuel your day, like yummy muffins, berry bars, a frittata, or healthy bread.
  • Have a plan, make a list, and stick to it. Whether you’re using a meal template (google what you’re looking for, like “family meal plan” or “paleo meal plan.”) or creating your own, be sure to map it out. You’re less likely to throw those impulse cookies in the cart when you shop with a clear grocery list. Start collecting recipes that you’d like to make; use Pinterest or collect magazine pages so that you remember them. Another fun tip is to use themes, like taco Tuesday or breakfast for dinner. Lastly, remember to check the weather because it often impacts our cravings (think soup on a chilly day and BBQ when it’s warm.)

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  • Get your nutrients. Be sure that your plan includes carbs, protein, and healthy fats. For example, your energizing carbs could be oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and quinoa. Protein may be a chicken, hard-boiled eggs, and/or tempeh. Maybe you make individual portions of trail mix and some guacamole for healthy fats. Cater to your personal preferences, but be sure to prep produce, lean protein, whole grains, and healthy fats in bulk.
  • Leftovers are your friend. There’s nothing wrong with a good ol’ L/O. Leftovers come in super handy, so double your recipe or make a little extra knowing that you can have it the following day or freeze it for another time. You can even make leftovers ‘like new’ by adding them to a fresh bed of greens for a big salad or reinventing the meal.
  • Have fun. Prepping is not miserable! Turn on music, get your fam involved, and have fun!

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One Healthy Breakdown: if you care, P R E P A R E !

*For more meal prep tips, check out the queen of food prep, theleangreenbean.com

Bounce Back to Balance

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: life’s about balance. That means indulgence, moderation, and wiggle room. For some of us, fun-filled weekends may mean a little too much indulging and not enough moderation. Instead of that all-or-nothing, detox-to-retox-plan, get back on track in a balanced way with these simple ‘bounce back’ strategies (juice cleanse not included):

Bounce-Rate1. Get over it. Don’t beat yourself up. You can’t change the past. So, move on and look forward.

2. Drink UP. Alcohol, salty foods, and the hot sun will cause some serious dehydration. Make it a point to drink water around the clock, carry a water bottle with you everywhere, and spice it up. Rise and shine with lemon water or start your day with a detox drink and just keep sippin’.

3. Eat a lot, too. Stick to whole foods – lots of leafy greens and veggies, fresh fruit, lean protein, and portioned healthy fats. Raw fruits and veggies reset the digestive system and provide the body with tons of nutrients and energy to keep you going. Season foods with herbs and spices; ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper, dill, cinnamon, and cumin naturally detox with flavor.

4. Move. Exercise will make you feel renewed from the inside out. Not only will you torch calories and burn off those indulgences, sweating also flushes toxins. Hit up a class, head out for a run, or do an at-home workout to get the heart pumping.

5. Rest. Get some R&R to rejuvenate the mind and body. Remember, ya snooze, ya lose!

One Healthy Breakdown: keep these tips in mind this week and you’ll be back on track in no time.

More Broccoli Please!

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Broccoli is a side-dish that just never gets old. This green cruciferous veggie is always in style because it’s rich in nutrients that aid inflammation, oxidative stress, digestion, detoxification, and even prevents diseases like cancer. When prepared right, even the kids will want more!

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Simple Broccoli with Lemon, Garlic, and Pine Nuts:

Ingredients:

  • 1 large head of fresh organic broccoli cut into pieces
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil (or another high-heat oil)
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper to taste

Sauté chopped garlic in coconut oil. Once browned, take off heat and combine in bowl with olive oil, lemon juice, and dijon mustard. Whisk until consistent. While toasting pine nuts, steam broccoli in a broiling pan or steamer until just cooked. Pour garlic dressing and toasted pine nuts over warm broccoli, salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy as a side dish or snack! For a whole meal, add chickpeas or tempeh before sautéing garlic!

One Healthy Breakdown: tasty and healthy means broccoli done right.

What’s a Spirit Junkie Sati?!

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Yesterday was one of those days. One of those life-altering days I’ll never forget. I spent the day with Gabby Bernstein and Patricia Moreno at The Surf Lodge for their second annual Spirit Junkie Sati (#spiritjunkiesati.) Amazingness. In the sun. On the bay. In Montauk. On a yoga mat. Making history.

photo 3Gabby kicked off the morning with Kundalini Kriyas – sets of exercises, with both physical and physiological meaning and purpose. Just hearing Gabby speak can put you at ease. Doing yoga with her, that’s a whole other story. Our first Kriya is meant to bust through blocks, to bust through what holds you back in life. Another Kriya strengthened the spine; as Gabby explained, a healthy spine is a healthy life.

photo 1Having been lucky enough to have gotten to know Gabby a bit and being halfway through May Cause Miracles, I was excited to learn what Kundalini Yoga is all about. As opposed to classic yoga, which is usually more individually up to interpretation, Kundalini yoga speaks to one purpose at a time. There is a Kriya for everything. I mean everything. Look it up. Try one. As Gabby says, expect miracles.

Then, Gabby had us do something amazingly effective. A tool I will definitely keep in my back pocket and use often. You should too. To wrap up our Kundalini hour, we “shook it out” and we shook it good. Sitting on our yoga mats, we shook our arms overhead for three + minutes. We shook all of the crap that holds us back, all of the negativity, all of the problems, the constant sadness on the news, the anger, the pain, the resentment…any of that heavy stuff that weighs us down…SHAKE IT OUT! Seriously, try it now. Standing or sitting cross legged, with your arms overhead, knowing you’re getting it all OUT. Shake all that stuff you don’t need right out the tips of your fingers. Shake furiously. Even yell a little if you want to or blast some really loud music if you want. Get it all out. And then breathe, regroup, and start fresh. Phew.

After about an hour of Kundalini, we broke for an amazing lunch thanks to Byron – The Surf Lodge’s Restaurant (which I must say has jumped to my top 10 list.) The food is fresher than fresh, simple, delicious, healthy, and even better, local! If you’re ever in or around Montauk, definitely stop in to Byron at The Surf Lodge for a meal. Just a heads up, if you’re there on a weekend, it’s packed…and I mean PACKED. Be prepared to relax on the bay and have a few drinks. If I were you, I’d make a day of it. In fact, I often do.

photo 5After a nice long lunch, Patricia (two words: ROCK STAR) graced the stage. From the moment she opened her mouth, the energy was astounding. Contagious. Mind-blowing. And pretty freaking awesome. She put us on the spot and I’m going to do the same to you: spend one minute (yes, 60 whole seconds) telling someone how great you are, the awesome things you do, how much you love your body and yourself, the obstacles you’ve overcome…Can you do it? Can you spend 60 seconds saying only good things about yourself? I couldn’t either. A minute of self-promotion is HARD. But, a minute of complaining would be easy as pie, right?! That’s her point, that’s what Patricia turns upside down: the fact that we’ve been trained to think and speak more negatively than positively, which often holds us back from pure bliss, greatness, and self-love. As Patricia said: “it’s inspiring to hear people thrive. Just like negative thought can make us negative people, positive thoughts can turn that right around. What thought has done, thought can undo.” Amen, sister. Think, say, and do better for yourself and better things will come. Really, they will. Gabby and Patricia said so.

Patricia invented IntenSati, an aerobic workout NEVER been done before. It’s dance, cardio, yoga, martial arts, intervals, oh and loud and proud affirmations all at the same time. No, you haven’t done something like this before. There is nothing like this workout. IntenSati is a workout for the mind just as much as the body. It’s a cleanse, a detox, an inspiration, an enlightening. There really are no words, just find a class and DO IT, trust me. And, if you come upon a future Spirit Junkie Sati lead by Patricia and Gabby, DO IT. Trust me. And if you stumble upon something that sounds cool that you kinda want to do, but aren’t sure what to expect, something the fearless version of you would do in a heartbeat, DO IT. Trust me.

photo 5One Healthy Breakdown: That’s Patricia’s awesome sweatshirt. Sunny and happy, just like our Spirit Junkie Sati. Oh, and I’m sore. Between Gabby’s 26 frog poses and Patricia’s powerful punches, my body hurts, I’m beyond exhausted, and I’m totally enlightened.photo 4

Beat The Mondays

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Ever have a serious case of “The Mondays?” The average person doesn’t smile once until after 11:16am on Monday due to those “Monday Blues,” that’s not cool! Here are some tips to get you smiling early, bust “The Mondays,” and make it through the week happy and healthy!

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  • Get enough sleep. Snooze an extra 10 minutes if you can, it’s Monday and you deserve it.
  • Take 10 deep breaths to relax your mind and body a little.
  • Think of how lucky you are to have a great job or beautiful family, whatever it is you do, feel good about it.
  • SMILE. And even laugh a little.
  • Get to the gym, the earlier the better. Working out boosts mood instantly.
  • Listen to good music on the way to work.
  • Eat an enjoyable, fueling breakfast and pack or make time for a satisfying lunch.
  • Do a good deed for a coworker or friend, and then feel good about it.
  • Wear something new or really comfy, something you love, on Mondays.
  • Get some fresh air.
  • Go for a walk outside – this will get you moving and get your vitamin D in!
  • Start a new book or DVR a show and save it for Monday evening to give you something to look forward to.
  • Call an old friend to catch up tonight.
  • Do something after work every Monday, like take a bath, get a pedicure, or take a class you love.

One Healthy Breakdown: Beat those Mondays all the way to Friday!

Reset Button: Getting Back on Track

I don’t think I’m the only one who went a little overboard this weekend. I had my family in town and we packed a week’s worth of fun into a couple days: dinners out, cocktails, new recipes, barbecues, frozen yogurt with all the fixins, Sunday brunch, and lots of chocolate. We stayed active, but definitely indulged. While I’m not one to preach a strict diet on the weekdays and fun on the weekends, (balance is key!) sometimes we’ve just got to press the reset button. Today, I’m hitting reset and getting back on track, feel free to join me!

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Drink LOTS of water, even more than normal. Start your day with at least one full glass of water. For a quick cleansing drink, add a squeeze of lemon juice and a few teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to your water. This clears out toxins and refreshes your system. Drink at least one full glass before every meal and carry a water bottle all day to stay hydrated. You can even spice up your water to make things more interesting…and lots of green tea is great too!

Eat whole foods. Your body is craving whole, real, nutrients, in their most natural form. Eat mostly fruits, veggies, and lean protein to replenish your body and refuel for the week ahead. Eat as many raw foods as you can and really try to stray away from sugar. My favorite way to get lots of raw greens in is my delicious green smoothie!

Work out HARD. Push yourself and dedicate a good hour to a great workout today. Whether you run, hit the yoga mat, strength-train, or take a class, make it count. Sweat out the bad and embrace the exercise, especially if you took a rest day yesterday like me. Your body will love you for it and come back twice as strong.

Get some sleep. A weekend packed with fun is exhausting and sleep is crucial in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Take time to rest and relax and make sure you get your eight hours tonight.

Move on. Don’t regret those indulgences, cocktails, brunches, late nights, or chocolate covered peanuts (just me?). Don’t beat yourself up. Cherish the good memories and move on. Always work towards a balanced lifestyle.

One Healthy Breakdown: Life’s a journey, enjoy the ride and get back on track.