The "Big C"

Well, again, I've been absentee.  I hate being so inconsistent, but when faced with sleep or updating this page...well, you know which one wins!  There's been a lot going on during waking hours and I've been working hard to keep up with personal and professional needs.  Unfortunately, a beloved family member has been managing the possibility of a cancer diagnosis.  Diagnosis is still uncertain and we're praying for the best, trusting God with tomorrow, and leaning on each other for encouragement.

As a registered dietitian nutritionist (and well before I was an RDN) I've always been a firm believer that nutrition and a healthy lifestyle can play a big part in helping keep us healthy and avoid many diseases.  Cancer is one of those diseases.  While some people will get cancer regardless of their healthy habits, because of genetics and influences out of their control, many types of cancer may be prevented.  Here are six ways to reduce your risk:

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1. Get screened.  If found early, most cancers are highly treatable and even curable.  Mammograms, pap smears, colonoscopies, prostate exams, and the like may not be pleasant, but they're quick and they're reliable.  Many of these screenings should be part of an annual check up, but some are every few years - some people may need screening more often than average.  Your specific health history will determine your risk.  Regardless and most importantly, screening saves lives.
2. Exercise.  Keeping your body fit may help protect you from cancer.  At least 30 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous exercise can help reduce your risk for colon, prostate, or breast cancer.  According to Cancer.net, "Physical activity may lower the risk of cancer by preventing obesity, reducing inflammation and hormone levels, and improving insulin resistance and immune system function."  Get moving!
3. Eat a primarily (or all) vegetarian diet.  Filled with free radical scavenging antioxidants, fruits and vegetables are powerhouse of protective compounds.  Nuts and seeds are a great source of minerals and healthy fats too.  Beans, peas, and lentils are full of fiber and antioxidants.  These foods serve as the basis of a cancer fighting diet, replenishing your body's ability to repair itself and fight off pathogens that could contribute to the development of some types of cancer. **Today's a great day to eat GREEN!
4. Maintain a healthy weight.  This is an emerging issue, but it appears that obesity may actually contribute to the development of some cancers.  Being overweight increases your risk of esophageal, bladder, kidney, colorectal, post-menopausal breast, pancreatic, ovarian and endometrial cancers according to the American Institute for Cancer Research.
5. Protect your skin.  According to the American Academy of Dermatology, one in five

   

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   Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer during their lifetime.  Protecting your skin by wearing sunscreen, hats, protective clothing, and avoiding over-exposure and sunburn are essential.  Add to this regular skin screenings (especially if you were a tanner or had frequent sunburns) and you can significantly reduce your risk.
6. Watch your alcohol consumption.  Drinking more than 1 drink/day for women or 2 drinks/day for men (or binge drinking) increases your risk for a variety of cancers from pancreatic to liver to breast cancer.  In small amounts, alcohol has health benefits, but when we drink too much, it quickly becomes a toxin.  If you are unable to moderate your intake, it's healthier not to drink.

No one wants to hear the words, "you have cancer."  But if you do, having healthy habits like these in place already will help give you the best chance at recovery and cure.  Be healthy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  I <3 You!  Seriously, if you're reading this it's probably because you're a friend or a family member and I really do love you.  If you are neither, then I bet I would love you if I got to know you.

Today is a wonderful day to practice loving others.  Jesus said that others would know us by the way we love others (John 13:34-35).  I hope that most of the time I do that.  Today, I'm going to try extra hard to be loving.  I love John Wesley's admonition to us:

It's also a good day to love on someone with a good meal.  Hopefully you have something special planned for yourself today, maybe it even includes someone else.   Make it a healthy one.  Today is also a good day to think about your heart and the heart of the ones you love.  Whatever you're putting into your mouth is impacting your heart too.  Choose wisely.  

While we were snowed in this week, I made a version of these delicious Snickerdoodle Pancakes.  I couldn't actually bring myself to making them just as the recipe is...too indulgent, too much sugar, not really breakfast material.  Instead, I tweaked the recipe like this - replace the AP flour with 1/2 cup buckwheat flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour; omit sugar (you'll add syrup and they'll be sweet enough); trim the butter to 3 Tbs; replace sour cream with plain yogurt and use buttermilk instead of milk.  They were delicious, cinnamony, light, and slightly sour from the buttermilk, slightly sweet from a drizzle or real maple syrup (not the fake stuff!).  And...no guilt for me.  Enjoy! Be healthy!

To Raise an Adventurous Eater

One of my primary goals as a registered dietitian nutritionist mamma is to raise an adventurous eater.  I want my son to enjoy food - to share my own fascination with colors, textures, flavors of food from around the world.  Spices, vegetables, exotic fruits, sauces, and soups...there are so many delicious dishes to try!  My little guy just hit the 6 months mark and I couldn't be prouder.

He's growing beautifully and enjoying new foods and flavors all the time. I started introducing little tastes of this and that at just over 4 months and his interest in food has continued to grow.  Early on, he still had a little but of tongue thrust and he would push anything put in his mouth out, but that's gradually disappeared.  Now he eagerly lunges toward the spoon lapping up whatever is on it.  Here are three ideas on feeding the adventurer in him...

1. He gets to taste whatever mommy is eating...the key is a TASTE.  I don't feed him very salty or sweet foods, although he did get a little taste of hot cocoa and a lick of a tortilla chip recently.  Not at the same time mind you.  Seriously, if I'm eating spaghetti, he gets a taste of the sauce, same for everything from scrambled eggs to tikka masala to oatmeal with molasses to peanut butter and banana sandwich (which he totally just gums at and can't eat, of course).  As the result, he will taste pretty much anything.
2. I add spices to his food.  For instance, G's "dinner" tonight was a bit of infant oatmeal made with breastmilk with curry spiced pureed pumpkin.  He ate it up.  He also really likes the flavor of cinnamon.  I'm not afraid to try these foods with him, since he's been tasting them through my diet since before he was born. He only eats a couple of tablespoons at a time and that's fine - I try to make that little bit extra interesting!
3. He gets to decide if and how much he eats.  If I make him something and he doesn't want it, that's fine.  He can refuse and I just toss it out.  He can take one bite and decide he doesn't like it yet - or today, if it's something he liked in the past.  Since he can't tell me how he's feeling, it's just trial and error.  I'm mindful to allow him to have some control, since he doesn't get to decide what or when he gets to eat.  If he doesn't open his mouth to receive the food or if he turns his head away, I don't stick the spoon in his mouth.

 That's an update on developing an adventurous eater.  Be healthy!

Braised Kale and Apples

Kale is such a delicious leafy green vegetable.  I'm a huge fan.  Not everyone, however, loves kale.  In particular my green-vegetable-averse husband isn't a lover.  Kale tends to be bitter and it's tougher than some other greens, requiring either a little more cooking or the desire to eat rougher roughage.  He is a trooper though and is willing to try almost everything I make. This one seems to have been a winner.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!  I served it with lemony Parmesan wheat berries and baked salmon.

Braised Kale and Apples
Serves 2 large servings

Mise en plas for the kale and the wheat berries.

2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced
6 cups chopped kale (sounds like a lot, but wilts down a ton)
2 Tbs water
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat.  Add onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, until translucent.  Add the apple slices and cook 2 more minutes.  Toss in the kale and mix thoroughly, then add water and cover for 5 minutes.  Uncover and stir, season with salt and pepper and cook until kale is done to your liking (just a couple of more minutes for me. 

This would also be great with dried cranberries tossed in, or with some chopped turkey bacon.  Kale is high in fiber, vitamins K, A and C.  Plus it's just plain yummy!  Enjoy.  Be healthy!

A Dietary Confession - My Kryptonite

This is a serious confession that I have to tell you...something about me; my kryptonite...I love fried potatoes.  Really.  Love.  Love.  Them.  I love the crispy outside and the saltiness.  If I could, I would eat them at every meal.  I don't think I'd ever get tired of them.  How do I handle this forbidden love? 

You see, I really could eat fried potatoes at every meal.  Hashbrowns for breakfast, tater tots at lunch, and fries with supper...yum!  Oh, and potato chips and cast-iron-skillet fried potatoes. But (for obvious reasons) it's not a good idea for me to eat them often.  While potatoes in and of themselves are not bad - in fact, they're high in vitamin C and fiber - when they're fried, most of the nutrition is fried up with them!  Yet, I want to eat them.  See, told you it was a serious confession.

Here's my secret to managing this temptation...I don't allow it to be forbidden.  But I do set ground rules as follows:

1. I don't fry potatoes at home.
2. I rarely buy potato chips for home.
3. I do eat them when I got out, if I want them.

By setting rules I can live with and not making this favorite food completely off limits, I manage my temptation without feeling deprived.  The main thing is keeping them a "special" treat.  How do you manage your favorite "treat" foods?  Be healthy!

It's Monday...Be Encouraged

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Whatever's going on in your life, do not despair.  Don't give up.  Put your faith in Jesus.  He's got a plan for your life.  Hold on.  He knows what He's doing.  Trust Him.  Be healthy!

The Power of Connections

I believe that we are meant to live in community with others.  We are social creatures, designed to have relationships with other people.  Healthy, positive relationships can be life-enriching (sometimes life-saving!).  This is so true when it comes to developing and maintaining healthy habits.  Research has shown that when we partner with a friend or group we are more likely to:

• eat healthy if our partner or friends do too (and eat worse if your friends do!);
• stick to a physical activity regimen (or skip it if our spouse does);
• push ourselves harder and farther toward our physical activity goals;
• and have happier, more satisfying lives.

There's power in connections.  Life has currents - they will carry you along.  We are never truly standing still.  We are moving toward or farther from our goals, aspirations, and health.  Are you connected to one or more people who are moving with you toward a healthy more satisfying life?  If not, it's time to get connected!  Find a buddy, ask a friend, recruit a mentor or coach.  Life is better when we're together.  Be healthy!

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Compared to...

Do you find yourself comparing to see how you rank against the people around you?  Are you constantly trying to be more like him or her?  Have you spent an inappropriate amount of time and energy - maybe money too - to keep up with the "Joness"? 

When it comes to weight and fitness, this happens all the time, right?  But it also happens at work, in the neighborhood, within families, among friends.  It happens between new mothers, newlyweds, and new college students.  Everyone trying to fit in, but also to measure up. 

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The truth is that you are great.  And there will always be someone who is richer, skinnier, more beautiful, smarter, better at _____.  And it doesn't matter.  Your race doesn't need to be against someone else.  Whatever your battle, calling, purpose...your in a one woman, one man race against yourself.  Your job is to be the best you that you can be...To use the gifts, talents, and treasures that God has entrusted to your care to the best of your ability to serve him and bless others.  

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If you're struggling with comparison, Northpoint Community Church's The Comparison Trap is a great resource for you.  Take time to consider how wonderfully made you are and let go of the expectation that you will be like someone else.  You are good enough.  Be patient with yourself.  Be healthy!

Eating My Veggies (and Fruit)

Time for a check in!  How are you doing with those goals you set at the beginning of the year?  Yeah, those...from just a couple of weeks ago!  Are you still doing it?  According to StatisticBrain.com, by this time more than 25% of people have given up on their resolution.  I'm sticking with my goals and doing okay...still struggling to get in the physical activity and drink enough water.  But I do have a win!  Where I'm really excelling is in eating my veggies and fruits.  Being more aware of the need to eat more of them has had me bumping up servings at all of my meals.  Each of the following pictures features a delicious combo of fruits and vegetables worked into or served on the side of each meal. 

Chicken and Israeli couscous salad with dried fruit, roasted beets and watermelon.

Turkey mini-meatloaf with baked apples, mashed cauliflower and braised kale.

Vegetarian chili served over a sweet potato and topped with avocado, side of watermelon and pineapple.

Vegetable "quiche" with mashed potato crust - made from the previous night's leftovers!

What do you think?  Does it give you some ideas for making the most of your produce?  Eat your veggies, friends!  Be healthy!

The Magic of a Checklist

I'm a bit of a "type A" personality, what with my recovering perfectionism and all.  I love a list and a list that I can check off is even better.  Make that list an app that strikes through each task as I check it off and I'm in heaven! 

I make lists for my daily and ongoing to do, groceries, Target (do you love Target like I do?), cleaning, 2014 Christmas gifts, bucket list, and the list goes on (see what I did there?). 

Recently, I was looking for an app to help me with getting organized about cleaning my house.  I don't have a great big house with lots of rooms, but I have a 5 month old baby.  Anything outside his nursery is too much to clean some days.  I like a clean space, but I don't have time to spend hours cleaning all at once.  I also like to check things off my list.  I found such a helpful app!  Motivated Moms is an app for organizing chores and so much more. 

The Motivated Moms app has a simple interface that allows for organizing by
daily (everyday tasks), today's specific tasks only, or all tasks.

Some of the other great reminders include:

• exercise
• quite time
• take your vitamins
• read to children
• clip children's nails
• a daily Bible reading suggestion that will walk me through the Bible in a year (I think)
• pamper yourself (yes, I need a reminder for this)
• spend time on a hobby or craft

You can also add items to the lists and customize it somewhat - although I haven't gotten into that yet - hhhmmm...maybe it will help me consolidate some of my lists.  After a week of using it, the app seems pretty "no-frills" overall.  Still, I love the great reminders to take time for self-care and to slow down - and the Bible reading plan.  I need to be reminded to take care of myself, not just to dust the bathroom light fixtures (which by the way was a very helpful reminder, since I don't think I've done that since we moved in).  If you're like me and an overachiever with the need to check things off, who is also a little scattered and disorganized, you should check out this app.  Be healthy!

Soup, Glorious Soup

Not much will warm you up quicker and better than a steaming bowl of soup.  That's not all...soup is the perfect vehicle for veggies.  And lots of them!  One of the fantastic things about veggie soups is that since the veggies cook in the broth, any nutrients leached out by the liquid are also eaten, so you lose less vitamins and minerals in the end dish.  I love all kinds of vegetable soups and you're only limited by your imagination.  This week's featured soup at my house is a play off this Savory Kale, Cannellini Bean and Potato Soup.  As I've mentioned before, recipes are just guides (and this totally reminded me that I still owe you 3 more from my top 5 cookbooks!), so you can doctor and adjust them to your taste or to what you happen to have on hand.  Here's what I made...give it a try or tweak it for your preference. 

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, scraped and chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 small/medium potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons herbs de Provence
• pinch red pepper flakes 
• 5 cups chopped kale
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute onions for 5 minutes.  Add carrots and garlic and stir, cooking for about 3 more minutes.  Add potatoes and cook, stirring so they don't stick, for about 3 minutes more.  Pour in the chicken stock and water and add the herbs and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook partially covered for 20 minutes.  Add kale and garbanzo beans and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with salad, and a grilled cheese on homemade bread like I did. Yum! Be healthy!

A Warm Breakfast for You

 

Good morning!  I hope you're keeping warm where you are.  Quick and easy and full of nutrition, steel cut oats are the perfect breakfast for a cold, cold morning - like it is here...and probably is where you are too!  Here's my favorite simple recipe for creamy steel cut oats.  You can use water instead of milk and frozen berries instead of fresh, as well as honey instead of brown sugar. It'll make 4 servings - or two if you're really hungry.

• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 2 cups milk
• 2 Tbs chia seeds
• 2 Tbs brown sugar
• 4 Tbs peanut butter
• 1/2 pint fresh blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries

Bring milk to simmer over medium heat.  Add steel cut oats and stir.  Allow to simmer until most of the milk has been absorbed and the oats are beginning to get soft.  Stir in chia seeds and brown sugar, then turn off heat, cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.    Serves 4, each topped with 1 Tbs peanut butter and fresh berries.

Hope this little breakfast warms you up.  Plus, it'll provide fiber, B vitamins, delicious antioxidants, protein and good fat!  Be healthy!

This and That Diet

I get a lot of questions from friends and acquaintances asking me to give my opinion on this diet and that diet.  I don't mind.  It makes for interesting conversation and they often tell me about fads that I haven't yet heard of...making me look smart later when someone else asks and I can say, "oh, yeah...that."

Here are a few thoughts to consider about diets:

• If your goal is simply weight loss, almost any diet can work...at least for a while.  Since virtually all diets involve calorie restriction in some form or fashion, you will lose weight on almost every diet.
• Few diets are dangerous, per se.  As long as the calories aren't TOO restricted (not <1200/day) and it doesn't involve something like colonics (which can lead to intestinal perforation) or long-term fasting (which can cause electrolyte imbalances, among other things), most diets aren't unsafe.
• There's someone who will sell you whatever diet you are willing to pay for and someone who will swear that it works for them.

With this in mind, when I meet someone and they want to try this diet or that, I usually don't try to talk them out of it. That's not my job.  My job is to support my clients in whatever way they determine is best to reach their goals.  I will always share my suggestions and my input without reservation (after all they are paying for my expertise), but I will also help them find a way to work within whatever framework they've adopted - even if I don't agree with it - again, as long as it's not unsafe.

So, what is an optimal diet in my opinion?  Here goes:

• It's not a diet.  It's a lifestyle.  Health isn't dependent on nutrition alone.  A healthy lifestyle comes from specific habits that support physical, emotional and spiritual health.  Separating eating from other healthy habits is not optimal and does not lead to success long-term.
• It focuses on what it includes (not what is forbidden):

• Mostly whole, minimally processed foods that are full of fiber, water, vitamins and minerals, and sometimes good for you bacteria
• Lots of fruits and vegetables and variety (read: color) among them
• Whole, unrefined grains - preferentially intact as often as possible (rather than ground into flour)
• Healthy beverages including plenty of fresh water, modest amounts of tea and/or coffee and a small amount of wine or alcohol of your choices, if desired
• Beans, legumes, and peas
• Cultured foods like yogurt and kefir
• Good fats from foods like avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds, and dark chocolate
• Unprocessed (or minimally processed) high quality protein that is used to support the other foods, not as the "main attraction"
• A mindful approach to food must be part of an optimal diet.  That means, thinking in advance about what you will eat, when, where and with whom.  Paying attention.  Planning meals, shopping and choosing foods thoughtfully, eating regularly throughout the day, and sharing food with others.  Mindfulness is not waiting until you're famished and diving into the drive through.  It is not skipping meals.  It is not eating in front of the TV, computer screen, iPad, etc.  It IS eating with thanksgiving - gratitude makes every bite taste better.

It may not sound sexy, but trust me - it's sensational.  With so many fad diets out there, you can take your pick.  I'm going to stick with this here optimal diet.  A similar approach is found in the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate - check it out.  Be healthy!

Three Easy Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

If you read my recent post about setting goals, you know one of my goals is to eat 5 servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit each day.  For some people this sounds like a ridiculous amount of produce, however it's actually about what's recommended for most people each day.  I'm close.  Most days I eat at least one serving of fruit and 3 or more servings of vegetables...but that's not my goal.  Since setting the goal, I've done well.  Here are three tips for eating more fruits and vegetables:

1. Eat salad.  Obvious, I know, but you can pack in a lot of vegetables by eating salads at least once a day.  A small side salad with dinner or a big salad at lunch.  Just 1 cup of leafy greens counts and who's only eating 1 cup of salad?!
   
2. Smoothies.  Love them! You can get so much goodness into a smoothie.  Fruit, vegetables, greek yogurt, peanut butter, and the list goes on.  You can sweeten with honey or add fiber and omega-3 fats with chia or flax seeds.  Yum!
   
3. Sneak them into casseroles, pasta, and eggs.  Adding vegetables to these kinds of dishes makes them simply disappear, but they still count!  Shred some spinach, carrots or zucchini and toss them into any of these dishes for more nutrition without changing the flavor at all.  Or add salsa and spinach to your egg sandwich.
   
    
   
   
   Try these ideas and let me know how they work for you!  Or you can do what my sweetheart advises...marry a dietitian.  Be healthy!

First Things First

As it is the 2nd (3rd when you read this), my mind is still on the beginning of a new year.  Things I want to accomplish professionally and personally, anticipation for wonderful milestones with my baby boy, and hopes for expanding our family.  I'll get back to all of that on the next post.  Today is about priorities.

As I was working through my day - feed the baby, play, rock the baby to sleep, write/email/laundry, repeat - I read a post on Facebook that a friend's son is being moved to hospice following a battle with cancer.  The post stopped me in my tracks.  My friend is the same age as me, we went to high-school together.  She started her family earlier, so her son is nearly grown.  Still, my heart knows that he remains her baby boy and it breaks with hers at the thought of what she's facing.  I can hardly force myself to think about it.  As a new mom, my heart is too tender still, hormones too ripe - no, that wouldn't matter.  Mothers aren't supposed to bury their children.  I prayed for her right away.  I've prayed for her over and over today.

After reading her post, my perspective shifted.  My priorities got right.  I cried for her.  I found myself on my hands and knees scrubbing the shower praying for her.  Crying for her and at the same time thanking God that my greatest inconvenience of the day is fighting the mold in my shower grout.  Grateful that I have the opportunity to be exhausted from lack of sleep and days that run into each other as I change diapers, wake up at night to calm tears, feed and rock my son, clean our house (even the floors and the bathrooms), and work for my clients, without the heartbreak my friend suffers.  But for the grace of God...

Yet I know the grace of God is with her too.  It is with her son.  Though they may not always know, His grace is with all those who suffer loss, injustice, the unfairness of cancer, "random" accidents, heartbreaks that we cannot, do not understand.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ~Psalm 34:18

I do not understand why.  I won't pretend to understand.  I have borne witness to the losses of friends and loved ones - holding the hands and sharing my heart with others as they've lost in ways I do not fully understand.  Felt completely helpless, useless, because I didn't understand why then either.  In the midst of loss, I have known what I know still.  God does not leave us alone in our pain.  We may not always feel His presence or hear his voice, but He does not leave us.  Whatever comes, my deepest desire is that my heart be tethered to Him, to the One who knows, who sees all of history past and future together and knows the whole story. And to be able to share that with others in their suffering - and in their joy.

Abide in me and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. ~John 15:4

I want to abide in Jesus.  [Verb: Abide - live; dwell.]  I want to live, to dwell with Jesus. To find rest in Jesus. How do I do that in a crazy world? with so many competing "priorities"? with pain and suffering and sorrow?  The simple phrase "keep first things first" fits.  If Jesus is to be first, it must be how I start each day.  Scripture.  Prayer.  To prioritize means to make first, more important than other things.  First thing each day I need to seek His face, His will, His word.  First thing when worry, fear, calamity strike.  First thing when I see needs, feel the heartache of someone else.  To paraphrase Ann Graham Lotz...Jesus.  Just give me Jesus.  Not Jesus and ___.  Jesus is enough.  He is first.  Abide in Him today.

Compounding Interest

I love the start of a new year.  It's like a blank sheet of paper.  An unpainted canvas.  Clean sheets.  Okay, you get my drift.  Starting fresh each year is a beautiful thing.  Of course, we could start each day like this if we wanted...living one day at a time, leaving yesterday there and not reaching too far ahead into tomorrow - we could actually enjoy each day in and of itself.  Love that thought and it's part of my plan for this year.

For many years, I've worked to live one day at a time.  We only have this one day after all.  Once the day is closed, we cannot undo what has been done.  There is no returning to yesterday to relive a moment, change an outcome, or keep from sticking our foot into our mouths (or at least I can't).  Likewise, we can plan for tomorrow, but there is only the illusion of control.  The truth is that we cannot truly control tomorrow's happenings.  There are always unknowns that will impact what happens tomorrow.  We won't know about those things until we get there.  Better to stay fully present in today, making good choices, and breathing in the smell of this flower before it wilts and is gone.

Of course, there is the compounding interest effect.  While we can't control tomorrow...we can influence it.  Making consistent healthy choices day after day, year after year, is like saving pennies per day and their compounding interest that leads to a comfortable tomorrow.  Little daily inputs lead to much reward.  There's no way to avert illness, challenges, or unfortunate circumstances completely, but by making small positive deposits into your "health bank account" each day, you can be better prepared for tomorrow - while at the same time enjoying them today!  Wow...profound, I know. 

Seriously, small daily habits can make all the difference.  Here are a few to consider incorporating every day of 2014 (one day at a time, of course):

• Start your day by reading scripture or inspiration - just 5 minutes.  You have 5 minutes.
• Take time to breathe deeply, meditating and praying with thanksgiving.  Give yourself the gift of 5 minutes for this in the middle of the day.
• Eat a nutritious breakfast.  Need not be elaborate.  Boiled egg, sliced orange, yogurt, and piece of whole grain toast with PB.
• Make a conscious effort to call or visit in person with a loved one; you will both benefit.
• Stretch for 5-10 minutes at the end of the day.

Try incorporating these into your day today, tomorrow, each day.  The impact may not feel huge today, but it will add up.  Imagine if you did these five things each day for a year!  More peace.  Lower blood pressure.  Healthier body weight.  Deeper connections.  Improved flexibility and balance.  What would you add to this list?  Be healthy!

Resolving to Set (and Keep) Goals

Are you a resolution setter?  I have set and broken so many resolutions that I don't make them anymore.  But I'm hardly immune to the effects of the New Year.  I know that for some it's just a flip of the calendar, but for me it's always an emotional time.  The ending of a year and start of a new one is a great opportunity to take stock of where I am - and how near (or far) I am from where I want to be.  If you're like me, you rehash the year in your mind, think about what's to come and make lists.  Lots of lists.  In the past, I've made lists for health related goals, for home, one for finances, relationship lists, etc, etc.  This year, I'm keeping it simple.  I'm keeping it SMART. I'll still probably add a goal or two for home and relationship, but this year I'm doing just three health related goals. If you're setting goals, I encourage you to keep them smart too!

What's a SMART goal?

• Specific - not vague or lofty, but really specific things you can actually DO.  I will eat less fast food vs. I will eat home-cooked meals 6 days of the week and eat out one day of the week.
• Measurable - how do you know if you met your goal?  You must make them measurable for them to count.
• Attainable - choose goals that you can really meet.  If you need to lose 200 pounds, maybe just start with 20.
• Realistic - you might want to work out 6 days per week, but what's really doable for you is 3.  Start there and work up if/when you can!  Three days per week is better than none.
• Time sensitive - set a deadline.  When do you want to meet this goal.  Or how frequently are you going to do whatever it is you're going to do.  For instance, each day, I will eat five servings of vegetables.  Or by June 1, 2014, I will pay off 50% of my debt.

SMART, right?   Now, what are my goals you ask?  Here you go:

1. Each day, I will eat at least 2 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables. (I'm close on this one, but not as consistent as I would like.)
2. I will drink 56 oz water every day.  (This one is a stretch for me, since I'm like a camel - who drinks a lot of coffee.)
3. Three days per week, I will engage in at least 30 minutes of physical activity. (Seeking out a yoga class one day per week to help me get 1/3 of the way there!  Plus I bought a super cute running skirt today to help me be motivated - cute workout clothes does that.)

Source

Just three health related goals this year.  I started today.  I'm off to a good start!  What are your goals? Share them here.  Be healthy!

Keeping It Simple

Can I do this?  Can you?  Want to try?  A simple life sounds good to me today.  How about you? Be healthy!

Wonderful Wednesday

Wednesdays are wonderful because they are the passing of the 1/2 way point to the weekend.  I know that I am not alone in this because so many people call it hump day and celebrate this day with long sighs...inaudible to some, but I hear them. 

Seriously, Wednesday is wonderful.  If you don't think Wednesday is wonderful, you should practice saying that it is.  Your brain will be tricked very quickly into thinking that Wednesday is wonderful.  That's how affirmations work.  We reprogram our brains to think what we want them to think.  It will work with other things too.  For instance, say "I love my job" every morning.  Even if you don't, it will help.  Smiling in the mirror, likewise, will help you feel happier.  It sounds ridiculous, yet it works.  When we do the action or say the words, our emotions follow.  In that way, we are in charge of our emotions, not the other way around.  In fact, this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Charles Swindoll (you may have heard it before):

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company... a church... a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes”

If you've been a slave to your emotions, today is a good day to do something different.  Choose your attitude.  Have a wonderful Wednesday!