BUMP IN MY HEALTH ROAD
This is my life right now...I am living out of boxes. We are in the process of selling our farm in Tennessee and moving to St. Augustine, FL. I have survived my share of stresses in 43 years. I've braved divorce, an eating disorder, birth of my daughter, leaving my corporate career and was almost kidnapped in South America on a mission trip. BUT, none of this has really compared to the year long stress I've felt of trying to sell this farm. Maybe it's because it's gone on longer...I'm not really sure, but it has taken a toll on my life the past few months. Also, with any real estate closing there are no guarantees until you are signing the papers. I live with the fear that all this will fall apart at any moment.
We've been crazy busy! Traveling to find a home, making life changing decisions, hiccups in the selling process with banks and title insurance companies. At times, I've put my health routine on hold to handle what was right in front of me. Because I've learned to be really in tune with my body these past few years, when you are out of balance you can really pin point what the causes are. Here's what I've noticed in that process as I have not been 100% with my normal cleaner eating lifestyle:
1. Inflammation- my trigger finger is stiff again and locking up, my neck and shoulders are stiffer than normal
2. Bloat- My hands feel swollen and I have uncomfortable belly bloat
3. Brain Fog- brain fog is a symptom of my Hashimoto's diagnosis and with perimenopause, but it seems to be worse this past month
4. Irritability- stress and poor diet has brought on depression and anxiety
5. Lack of Energy- the depression and eating meals containing gluten, dairy and processed ingredients have zapped me of energy, not to mention I have not made my exercise a priority like I normally do
6. Cravings- some "old" cravings have started to surface that were non-existent before
So, here's some tips I can share that are keeping me from totally just going back to square one during this BUMP IN MY HEALTH ROAD...
Eating Healthy When You Are Crazy Busy
Smoothies.
So fast, just pour some coconut water, rice milk or hemp milk into the blender, then throw in your fruits AND some veggies (spinach, cucumber, romaine lettuce, just to name a few).
Add some protein if you like (hemp seed or chia seed, or maybe a scoop of hemp protein powder) and some healthy fats (avocado, coconut milk. or the proteins I mentioned before which also have you covered on the healthy-fat front!).
For extra flavor, add some vanilla extract or dash of cinnamon.
Salads.
Chop up a bunch of lettuce – romaine or red leaf – and add some spinach. Pile on some other veggies – tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, sliced beets, bell peppers, onions…whatever you like.
Add some protein. Choose pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, cooked organic chicken breast, kidney beans, sprouts, a hard-boiled egg, or salmon or tuna.
Make a quick dressing with stone-ground mustard, olive oil, and a couple sprays of Bragg’s Amino Acids (or just a bit of sea salt if you don’t have Bragg’s or can’t find it). Toss it all together and eat.
If you chop the veggies in bulk you can make a couple salads at a time, don’t add the dressing to them yet, and they usually last a couple days.
Know where you can get healthy take-out. Tip from Rachel Feldman
This could be from a nearby restaurant (I love my local Vietnamese restaurant and it’s really close and inexpensive) or you could find a place like Panera, which I recently explored and am now in love with. Their portions will keep you on track but you can also get a medium or large size meal if you want to have extra leftovers.
No, it’s not quite as cheap as buying and preparing it yourself, but if you are a busy person (OR you just don’t enjoy cooking) and would just spend the money on junky fast food or pizza delivery, then it’s a much better value.
It’s always the small habits that add up. Don’t let yourself fall back into old habits that cause you to not feel so great! I’d love to hear from you, too: what do you like to eat when you are really busy?
