30 days of self care
One of my clients informed me a little while ago that she was undertaking a project, a brilliant project based on self care. She was planning on doing something every single day for a whole month to improve her self care. This ranged from seeing friends, to getting outdoors, napping when you felt like you needed, pushing yourself to work out more.
I couldn't help but be inspired and think "why don't I do that" but hell lets take it one step further, why don't we all do that? I think every single person I know could benefit of doing at least one thing a day for their own self care and well being. The best part? You can make it fit your schedule, there just has to be something every damn day. I think this is such a great undertaking and will lead to more calm, less anxiety and more self love, which we could all use.
Step 1: Grab a notebook! Don't all good journeys start here? You are going to track your self care item everyday to make sure you're on track
Step 2: Grab a lifeline, enlist a friend/lover/coworker you can count on to check in with or do the challenge together.
Step 3: Decide what self care means for you, for myself I tend to not socialize as much as I would like to because I have a very people heavy job, so scheduling time to see my ladies will be an item of self care. Since I'm up hella early most days of the week ensuring I'm sleeping enough is self care. Meal prep? That's self care! See, it's easy to find things to do that will make you feel better and more relaxed. Turning my phone off and going for a walk this afternoon with the pupper? Totally self care.
Step 4: Get on the sochmeds (social media, for those unfamiliar) and #selfcarechallenge2018 if you are so inclined to share your progress via instagram!
Some ideas!!
Hello Yellow
So I've personally decided I'm done with winter. Boy, BYE. Other than maybe 1 week it's been below 20 since before Christmas. It's almost march! The temperatures finally started to creep up over the weekend and I couldn't be happier. I'm busting out the brightest coat I own in hopes that this helps coax Spring out of hiding.
This coat is what I refer to as an investment piece (but try telling that to Darcy...) I purchased it 2 years ago now, and it's still one of my favourite pieces to brighten my mood. It's got a classic shape and the punchy colour will always make me happy, this baby is going to be here a long time methinks.
Outfit: Coat/jeans-Zara, Sweater-Gap, Shoes-Aldo, Purse-Winners, Rings-Saraswati designs, Sunnies-Prive Revaux
Recipe: Taco Salad with Turkey
It would appear that in preparing to go to Mexico in march all of my recipes as of late include Mexican flavours. This taco salad is such a great dinner salad, super filling and delicious!
Ingredients:
2 head romaine
1 lb ground turkey
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 avocado
1 can fresh salsa
1 container grape tomatoes halved
for sauce:
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup cilantro
2 T lime juice
1/2 Jalapeno
1 clove of garlic
1. Cook ground turkey over medium heat with 1 T of olive oil, 1 T cumin and 1 T chili pepper
2. Blend ingredients for sauce
3. Cut up one head of romaine lettuce, top with slice 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, 1/2 cup black beans, 1/2 corn, half an avocado, 2 T salsa, 1/2 cup turkey, 2 T sauce
1. Cook ground turkey over medium heat with 1 T of olive oil, 1 T cumin and 1 T chili pepper
2. Blend ingredients for sauce
3. Cut up one head of romaine lettuce, top with slice 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, 1/2 cup black beans, 1/2 corn, half an avocado, 2 T salsa, 1/2 cup turkey, 2 T sauce
Tabata Workout
Each movement pattern will be performed for 40s each with 20s rest in between, performed one after another with a longer period of rest at the end.
1. Squat to chest pass with a burpee and push.
Okay so right out of the gate with a complicated one. Sink into your hips for the squat toss it at the wall when you come to the top of the squat. Plant your hands on the ball, jump back into a plank position and perform a pushup, and jump back up to start the movement pattern again. Ensure the hips aren't sagging in the plank position, core should be engaged.
2. Reverse lunge to press
Grab a kettle bell, start on one side perform a reverse lunge and when you come back up to standing press the kettle bell overhead keeping the core tight.
3. Kettle Bell swings
Squeeze the glutes and snap the hips up to perform the swing, this one I want you using the power from the lower body to bring the bell overhead. It is imperative that you keep your core very tight and not let momentum take you backwards here.
4. High Plank shift
With your shins on the stability ball, use your arms to shift the weight back into the ball, keeping the core tight and come back to starting position. Small movement and range of motion, but this is killer for your core/shoulders
5. Stability ball pike
Feet on stability ball, high plank, push your hips up into the air as your toes drive into the ball, bring hips back down controlled, never letting the hips fall.
6. Burpee to Single arm snatch
You need to have good shoulder stability for this one! Pop back from standing into a high plank with one arm extended on the kettle bell, jump back up to start position, then pull the kettle bell up and extend the arm straight with control but quickly.
All Neutral, Naturally
This outfit is basically what I'm living in these days, I got this striped top in a recent swap and it's sooo cozy. I wore it the next day with high waisted jeans and again later that week just with leggings. This makes me sound gross, right? I promise I wash my clothes (maybe more often than my hair...jk) There has been a hole in my wardrobe for a striped shirt and I am so glad that void has been filled.
Over Training Syndrome
Do you ever feel after cruising social media that everyone is working out more than you are? It seems to me that the saying "pictures or it didn't happen" is now being applied to individuals workouts. Scrolling through FB or Instagram, you'll be bombarded with individuals flex fridays, or daily workout routine, once, twice or even three different workouts in one day. It's enough to make you feel like your own workout routine is subpar or that you're not doing enough, right? Finding the right balance of workouts and rest is based on your training history and how your body handles it. If you're new to exercise, you're probably going to be sore for a lot longer than someone who's been training for a long time.
What we want to avoid is over training syndrome, this can have serious side affects on your body:
-Depression
-Anxiety
-Weight gain/weight loss
-Muscle wasting (Loss of muscle)
-Longer lasting soreness
-Fatigue/trouble sleeping
All of this sounds like stuff we want to avoid, right? These conditions and symptoms are the things we try to avoid by working out, but pushing yourself too hard can cause them. Exercise and working out is good for you, but it's about finding the balance that works for you.
1. Set goals based on strength, performance, endurance, etc not based on appearance
2. Take adequate rest days, if you're feeling too stiff go for a walk, foam roll, do gentle yoga instead of a strenuous workout if you want to still be active.
3. Work different muscle groups if you're doing consecutive days, back one day, legs the next etc. Train smart!
4. Don't compare yourself to others! What works for their bodies might not work for yours, there are some people who can work out a lot and feel really good, and for others 3x a week weight training is more than enough for their body.
5. Listen to your body, being overly fatigued is your body telling you to slow down, take a rest. There is legit nothing wrong with taking a day off from the gym. If you have anxiety around not training everyday, you might want to re-asses how healthy your relationship with exercise is.
Recipe: Jambalaya
This is Darcy's favourite recipe, he makes it allll the time. He got it from Chelsea's Messy Kitchen and we switched it a teeny bit, he can't eat shrimp so we skipped them, added in a couple different spices and went for it!
Ingredients:
2 packages spicy organic pork or turkey sausages
2 packages precooked jasmine rice (or use already cooked brown rice)
3 green onions
3 peppers
2 white onions
1 container grape tomatoes
1 small container mushrooms
2 T smoked paprika
2 T chili flakes
2 T creole seasoning
2 T italian seasoning
1. Slice onion, peppers, lengthwise into long slim pieces, cut sausages into small coins. Preheat oven to 425 F, toss the onion, peppers, sausages with olive oil, 1/2 T of creole seasoning and 1/2 italian seasonings. Cook for 8 minutes
2. Add in the halved tomatoes mix around, cook for another 8 minutes
3. Add in the rice and mix in the rest of the spices and chopped green onions, cook for 2 minutes
Closet Revamp
I've loved fashion and style since I was a kid playing dress up in my moms clothes & watching Fashion files (anyone else?). I love seeing whats trending for fall, spring, and adding new pieces to my wardrobe. However, I have, in the past fallen victim to buying too many trendy pieces and not enough staples. Or just getting things I love and realizing there is no place for a floor length gown in my wardrobe (I wear workout clothes 6 days a week for work).
I've created a few shopping/wardrobe rules for myself in the past few years that seem to help:
1. Get rid of anything you haven't worn in over a year & donate it to goodwill.
2. Only buy pieces that will go with at least 3 other things
3. Buy better quality and try to buy locally made clothes. This especially for staples, a plain white tee, good jeans, a good blazer, cozy sweater etc are things that will always be in style and therefore if they're good quality you won't have to replace them all the time. Pact has amazing quality staples, and the girls at Poppy Barley make an excellent, quality shoe!
4. Sprinkle in trendy items through accessories. You won't spend as much on them and won't end up with a mish mash of stuff in your closet.
5. Try clothing swaps, I've gone to a few, it's a good way to get rid of old stuff and find new things without spending any money and thrifting/recycling is always better for the environment. I found this super cozy gap sweater at my last swap!
6. Go through your closet and purge at least 2x a year.
Mexican Marinade for whole bowls
I love a good marinade or rub, it adds so much flavour to whatever you put it on. This is one of our favourites, a little spicy, mexican flavour. I really like this one in a big ol' tasty bowl with rice, veggies and avocados.
Ingredients for marinade:
1 bunch cilantro
1 chopped jalepeno
3 cloves minced garlic
2 T lime juice
1 T olive oil
1. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor, add in more olive oil/water if it doesn't blend smoothly.
2. Marinade steak/shrimp/chicken for 1 hour before grilling. Save some of the marinade to grill veggies with.
3. Slice up 2 peppers, 1 onion and sautee them with the marinade. Grill meat at the same time.
4. Cook brown rice, sautee corn with sriracha
5. 1 scoop brown rice, 2 T corn, 1 scoop peppers/onions, top with meat, half an avocado, and 2 T salsa.
Stretches for Tight Hips & Hamstrings
Hamstring Stretch:
Cross one foot in front of the other, hinge forward until you feel a pull in the back of your leg. Ensure you're keeping a flat back like pictured though, doesn't do you any good to round the back to get into a deeper stretch.
30s per side
Glute med/Piriformis Stretch:
Find something at about hip height (or lower just bend the back knee then) place leg onto plateform bent with your foot in front of your hip. If you need to get a deeper stretch bring torso over the knee
30s per side
Supported Hamstring Stretch:
Find a platform again about hip height or lower, straighten the leg out toes flexed towards face, hinge with a flat back as far as you can go forward.
30s per leg
Hip flexor stretch:
Foot flat on same platform, foot flat in the back as well, squeeze glute pushing hips forward slightly, should feel it in the front of your hip.
30s per side
Supported Quad stretch (hip flexor as well):
Using platform, place toes of one foot on top. Ensure hips are level, knee bent, not rounding the low back to stretch that quad.
30s per side
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