Wholehearted Healthy Living

11/17/2021

OMG! This is so good. Just made it up today and honestly think it could be on menu 🤪. This is your typical avocado toast with Braggs Organic Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning, arugula, sliced tomato, caramelized onion and a dot of balsamic reduction. I had it with a small piece of meatloaf ((93% lean grass fed/pasture raised) so it gave me my protein, healthy fat, some veggies and a little homemade carb (sourdough) Satisfying and delicious 😋 Swap a plant based protein if you are vegan or vegetarian and use a gluten free option for those who need/wish to do so. Really yummy!

03/08/2021

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMKXLZupLCT/?igshid=1xsach5b7bx2x

11/05/2020

04/07/2020

❤ Love this (see below). It falls along the same lines of the ‘Silver Lining I See’ piece that I wrote early on. This brings it even further and I love it. Of course I wish this epidemic was not upon us, but it is, and so what can we learn from it? What do we have control over? We can control how we react to this each day. We can control how we are as an example to our families. We are challenged for sure, but how do we rise? Below is even more to think about. And we are all in this together.

Copied and pasted:
Schools have been out for weeks and if they go back May 4, they would be out for over seven weeks. If they cancel the rest of the school year, students would miss 2.5 months of regular education. Many people are concerned about students falling behind because of this. Yes, they may fall behind when it comes to classroom education...

But what if...

What if instead of falling “behind", this group of kids are ADVANCED because of this?

What if they have more empathy, they enjoy family connection, they can be more creative and entertain themselves, they love to read, they love to express themselves in writing.

What if they enjoy the simple things, like their own backyard and sitting near a window in the quiet.

What if they notice the birds and the dates the different flowers emerge, and the calming renewal of a gentle rain shower?

What if this generation are the ones to learn to cook, organize their space, do their laundry, and keep a well run home?

What if they learn to stretch a dollar and to live with less?

What if they learn to plan shopping trips and meals at home.

What if they learn the value of eating together as a family and finding the good to share in the small delights of the everyday?

What if they are the ones to place great value on our teachers and educational professionals, librarians, public servants and the previously invisible essential support workers like truck drivers, grocers, cashiers, custodians, logistics, and health care workers and their supporting staff, just to name a few of the millions taking care of us right now while we are sheltered in place?

What if among these children, a great leader emerges who had the benefit of a slower pace and a simpler life to truly learn what really matters in this life?

What if they are AHEAD?

03/17/2020

The Silver Lining I See

As I wake up this morning my mind and heart are filled with so many things I wish I could share with everyone. In these days, weeks to follow, when we are told all the things we cannot do, I challenge you to think about all the things you CAN do. From my experience just being a mother, wife, sister, PTA and Health Coach, I very often hear the same things. “I don’t have time”. Here is a list of all the struggles (that are very real in our busy lives) that many feel they encounter:
-We can’t sit down as a family for meals as we are all too busy and have different schedules
-I don’t have time to make or prep healthy meals
-I don’t have time or energy for self-care/healthy movement
-I wish I had time to read a book
-I am too busy to take even 10 mins to breathe or meditate
-My kids are so busy they rarely have time to be outside or be creative -I can’t get 8 hours of sleep
The list goes on and on. We all experience these things or at least hear about them on a regular basis. I am in NO WAY undermining the situation and the very real concerns, stress and fears/anxiety that many feel. Some things are and will be out of our control. My feeling here is that HOW we handle this situation will be so important for our own well-being and for our children and families. MANY of us will end up home. If you are lucky enough to have a job where you can work from home, BE GRATEFUL. If you are all healthy and well, BE grateful. The silver lining I see here is that, in this difficult time, we are also given a few gifts. The first here is TIME. I hope and pray we can all use the extra time we have for the best. For those of us with children now at home, who are not racing off to sports, rehearsals, lessons, etc, we can prepare a meal TOGETHER and then sit down and enjoy it. Maybe life has been so busy that things like “life learning” skills have been pushed aside. Okay, truth bomb here, I have done way too much for my kids as they grew up out of love, busyness and convenience, yet now see I was not giving them some very essential skills needed for real life. I plan to use this extra time to have my kids take on more things around the house as they are home and include them in little tasks they normally do not see or are a part of. There is a lot they can learn in this time. Knowing that children do thrive with structure we can help them by creating things they need to continue to do each day. They will have their remote learning and several will have on line classes for things like music and karate etc. There will be more TIME however and how we assist them in using this time is important. Below are some ideas:
-Work TOGETHER to create a schedule for their on-line learning and practice (SO much is out of their control right now so think best to work with them and help them learn the skill of time management and block scheduling)
-Encourage outdoor time daily (walk/run/bike/explore the woods etc) -Include children in meal prep and household chores more than normal -Find out the things they normally wish they had time for and encourage them to use any extra time for these things. Challenge them (my kids have been challenged to come up with a song for us in a couple of weeks)
-Challenge them to CREATE something with their time in their area of interest
-Have kids reach out to friends through technology and share ideas and feelings or create something together
-Is there room a disaster? It will feel better with being home now to create a space that feels less crazy 😜
As we all know (and being a health coach has reinforced this big time) STRESS is the worst. If nothing else I hope we can all find some time to do something to help with any stress related to this each day. We all know there are so many ways to help our immune system. I encourage everyone to see the time for a little extra sleep and rest as ok and in many cases needed. I feel this could be a huge opportunity for individuals or families who wish for a healthier lifestyle to have the time to create new healthy habits. We all know cooking at home is healthier and now that this will be necessary in the weeks that follow we can take a little more control about what we eat. We can try to use the extra 20 mins that maybe was our commute to work to do something healthy for our mind/body or spirit. Maybe you always wanted to try yoga or take a morning walk to start your day, do it! Say yes to yourself in a way you normally can’t in these next few weeks. Know the importance of how your thinking affects your health and well-being.
We all certainly need to validate how we and our kids are feeling (as there will be challenges and struggles for sure) but also try to focus on all the good around you. I often try to start my day with a positive intention, thought or quote and feel this will be more important now. Let’s share all the good things we can with our kids and families. Try to celebrate the mere gift of life right now. I hope you and your loved ones can smile and laugh and find some peace and comfort TOGETHER in this crazy time.

01/31/2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7_c7qOJIua/?igshid=1n9xtjpuadus7

01/21/2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7llm8ZJ9KK/?igshid=1vaaoz7oc06pe

01/19/2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7giXb0JlNV/?igshid=4lv1z029t228

12/30/2019

What’s one little positive thing you can do for your health today? For me it was getting to bed at a decent hour last night and making sure to fit in my greens and dark fruits this am. This time of year can be challenging to stick to your usual routine and eating habits so NO stress...just enjoy, grab an extra glass of water and know that even just one small thing each day helps. Happy almost New Years and get ready for an amazing 2020!

12/23/2019

Happy holidays to all!

12/16/2019

A friend posted this this morning and it speaks volumes. Fill up your happiness account today and focus on what you have and can do versus what you don’t have and can’t do. We have all heard about an “attitude of gratitude” and it’s results are truly magical. Give it a shot!

This 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home yesterday. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice;

I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”

She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.”

And with a smile, she said: “Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less, & enjoy every moment.

Photograph by Karsten Thormaehlen

12/08/2019

It seems this time of year especially that we are all counting the days rather than making the days count. It is a time of year that we can add stress when in fact it is suppose to be about sharing more joy Make sure you make today count👍❤️