WIAW--Fall into Good Habits

    
     While I'm not super excited to see summer dwindling away, I am excited for the return to school and routine. Yup, you read that right. Routine. I thrive on it. I do have a rebellious laid back side to me that relishes the freedom of summer, time to relax, create, take on household projects, read for hours...you get it. BUT, truth be told, to be a healthy, functioning, really happy person...I need routine, it's good for me...ultimately (grumble grumble.)

Good Habit #1

Eat Breakfast...in a reasonable amount of time after waking

    
     Tomorrow is the first day of school for my kids, and for me too (I'm going back to college...again!) and so the routine begins--you know what one of the best things about that is? I will eat breakfast first thing in the morning, instead of getting side-tracked by emails, blog reading, or trips to the playground...and this is what my body truly likes, eating first thing in the morning tells my body that I care enough to send the very best (which usually means a green veggie filled smoothie!)

Good Habit #2

Snack Right and Often

These were all in my purse...hmmm, which should I choose? I ove having options!

This one was new to me, Luna Bar Vanilla Almond flavor, tasty!

On another day I had this one.

Mmmmm...like PB Fudge, but better for you!

     I will also be packing a lot more healthy to-go type snacks...my body likes this because it keeps my blood sugar from getting too low when I am in between classes, or errands, or blog writing, or sporting events for the kids. My daughter started cheer practice four nights out of the week in August, this meant lots of on-the-go snacking to hold me off until dinner. I've taken to trying new varieties of protein or other whole foods "snack" bars as I refer to them.

Good Habit #3

Take the Time

(to sit down and eat your lunch, 

instead of standing in my kitchen and rushing through each bite.)

I love me a tomato sandwich! Italian dressing, s&p, thinly sliced garden tomatoes, on whole grain bread (I often like it toasted!)

      Last year I formed this good habit, I learned to take advantage of the fact that my kids were at school and the house was pretty quiet...okay, really quiet. I learned to take the time to prepare myself something healthy and enjoyable. I learned to take the time to sit down with my food, in my quiet house, with the TV off, with my phone off the table (it's usually with me constantly and I am at it's beck and call...my phone and I are sort of having a love affair. Darn you technology! You've got me in your clutches!!) I learned to chew more slowly, taste more fully, and feel happy that I was enjoying such a wonderful uninterrupted meal. I look forward to getting back on track with this habit.

Good Habit #4

Make Dinner Ahead of Time

So I don't have to rush...or make something crummy because there's not time, or the kids need me, or I'm just too darned tired by that time of day!

Olive oil, thinly sliced turnips, and balsamic vinegar

Topped with a couple of Turkey thighs

And some yellow squash and onions

Some tomatoes, a little water, a smidge of brown sugar, and crushed red pepper

Set it for 8 hours and waltz away to enjoy your day!

Um...YUM!

      This will be a new habit. I actually started it in August when the evening cheer practices started which required us to be at the field from 5:30-7:30 nearly every night. I began to make good use of my crock pot, that way I'd have dinner ready to eat either before (at 4:30) or after (with a snack to hold us over before hand.) It's been grrrreat! On days when I'm not using the slow cooker, I often put some rice in the rice cooker after I make my lunch (it sets to warm after it cooks and can stay like that for days) set out a can of organic black beans for use that night and chop veggies ahead of time to either eat fresh alongside beans and rice or quickly saute up to mix in. This means that most if not all of my dinner prep is done before 4pm. During the school year this will mean that I have one less thing to worry about during those "witching hours" between 3:30pm and the kid's bedtime, which means (I hope) I'll be more patient and able to devote more attention to homework help and "heart help" with my kids. By Heart Help, I mean soothing broken hearts and wounded feelings from any number of minor to major (from a child's perspective) woes of the day. This will be a very good thing for all.

Good Habit #5

Have a "Treat" by the End of Each Day

(especially if it was a tough one!)

Oooh! I've been seeing those commercials, I've wanted to try this!

Blueberry goodness...

Alright, dude, admittedly: delicious! And yeah, this is yogurt. BUT when my yogurt has 20 something grams of sugar in one tiny serving? I'm sorry, that's gonna have to count as a treat for me.

      Without any judgement (just love!) for myself or anyone else's choices, which may be very different from my own, I remind you that I have been on a Clean Eating Adventure in an effort to break habits that were harming my body and making me feel unwell...basically, my addiction to salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats was keeping me from truly thriving in my life and doing all that wonderful things that I am meant to do! So when I say I'll "treat" myself, I use quotes to remind me that I need to be sensible and not overdo it...but that I can find lots of good treats that won't make me crash, or make my body hurt. Treats are good. Enjoying what you eat is GREAT...and IMPORTANT to a happy, healthy life (that's what I think anyway!) :)

And that's all she wrote!

What healthy habits are you falling into?

Happy hopping and...

Bon Appetit!

Tamar