How Atomic Habits Inspire Ayurvedic Habits (Part 2)

My first career job was in hotel catering. Those were the days where I learned the hardest management lessons. And as a young adult who was free to make choices, I could develop habits. These eventually evolved into the modern ayurvedic-inspired atomic habits I do today (that I share below).

You see… back then, it became obvious to me that I didn’t have a work-life balance as I missed all the new Friends (and my friends’) episodes, weddings, and any other current events happening other than the ones I was booking.

I didn’t have body balance (I was lucky I was young 😉). And I didn’t think about anti-inflammatory spices as they weren’t existing headlines in western world, metro-city area living.

Instead, I was surrounded by high-calorie, buttery-tempting, sweet foods from a daily chef-prepared food spread and kitchen where I spent most of my day.

I had a dilemma because part of me liked the rich foodie foods, and part of me just wanted to eat healthy every day. I knew I had to find a middle ground.

So when I left that job and decadent eating world and lifestyle, I entered another dilemma… Yup… fresh Doubletree chocolate chip cookies 🍪 that sat inches away from my office desk (how dare they!). They made for a good snack I thought back then, and was a filling breakfast, high-calorie meal.

Life back then was a blur.

My good habits were going to work, surviving, and trying to do better tomorrow. Little did I know that I was creating space for better work-life habits.

And life improved when I started getting a work-life balance after switching careers. I was able to have a normal work life more like my friends. Working on me, personal growth, the life I wanted, and getting better habits became real.

The previous work must’ve been a test and as far as I’m concerned, all that matters is I passed 😊

But that didn’t come without consequences. I had to replace bad habits I accrued working in a sometimes dysfunctional work environment and from my past.

And I didn’t become serious about better habits until I learned ayurvedic best practices and yoga (about 7 years after I went to a “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” workshop that Stephen Covey taught).

I think the habit stacking idea that James Clear introduced in Atomic Habits (I mentioned in last week’s post) is perfectly timed for what we need now in our complicated society and lives just so we can keep up with all of our habits.

Habit Stacking

Today, in a lot of ways, it’s much easier to develop and stick with healthy habits like eating healthier as we have better resources and tools (digital calorie counters), researched information at our fingertips, and better food options. It’s also easier to get distracted.

But if you focus and lean into the homecourt advantages in your daily surroundings, you don’t have to compete with your possible two critics sitting on your shoulder, and your digital devices staring at you.

Technology and conveniences help us develop automatic and consistent habits, that can eventually become a part of who we are.

Like: I have a writing habit, so now I’m a writer (and a blogger at heart ❤️).

Or, if you can prepare at least 1-2 healthy meals every day, you’re a health-conscious person. In his book, Clear describes these identity shifts as helpful for your atomic habits to take solid root.

For me in my story, I could’ve started a healthy way in my long, hotel workdays, starting each day with a homemade, healthy breakfast (not a cookie) and a light dinner if I had made the decision to create a process or system for healthy eating habits. (Not an excuse, but it’s extra hard for a Vata, as variety is our middle name).

That wasn’t my story though. That would’ve required body-mind agreement in the stressful life I had back then. And I wouldn’t have known how to begin in my life’s busyness.

And that’s how many of us are:

We delay our best life… We can fall into the trap of thinking, “I’ll get healthy (or happy) when… (fill in the blank with the perfect situation… retirement, kids grow up, I have kids, etc..). We don’t know we can do a little here and there to influence a lot.

To make changes, doing the small stuff regularly makes big differences (atomic habits).

James Clear makes clear (his name works for him!) 4 traits to creating habits that stick.

They are: make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.

Your description of each of these will be different than mine but here is an example for creating a healthy snacking habit:

I purposefully set up a nice snack table (… festive decorating is part of the territory of someone who has worked in event planning 🎉). But you can set out a tablecloth and that would be just as good!

On the table, I set out a bowl of almonds or healthy nuts and other seasonal healthy snacks and fruits like baked apples and whole apples.

You won’t see a disguised trail mix, a bowl of M&M’s, or potato chips. That would defeat the purpose.

For the habit creation, I leave out healthy food items that can stay out (obvious food props) on a pleasing presentation (attractive display) that is convenient for a snack hankering (easy) and is enjoyable (satisfying).

And when it’s an afternoon snack or break time I can pull out any refrigerated items like this.

Atomic Habits — Healthy sweet snack: Sweet potato casserole with apple crisps, oatmeal, and lightly sprinkled toasted marshmallows.

You can take this same idea to other places or find a better way that works for you. In most cases, it’s up to you to create the work-life balance and lifestyle you want. Ideally, I try to make a short break, a small party. Life is short and I’m an Enneagram 7, so I lean into the enjoyable as a motivator and as often as I can.

…I have a smiling photo of me (on my about page) where I’m holding a Strawberry Twizzler, one of my favorite non-fussy sweet treats I can just pull out. You don’t see me holding a healthy baby carrot because that’s not a happy reward unless you’re a rabbit.

Carrots and almonds are the healthy snacks I default to the majority of the time. Because we all want a healthier body as an end goal, so beginning with the end in mind, I have a process (eating healthier most of the time) that supports that.

I keep the end goal in my mind as the compass pointing north.

If you want to be healthy and happy, and ultimately both, then maybe these unwritten rules can help you.

Let me start with… You can cheat along the way with unhealthy foods, but be mind-body aware that you are doing so, so you’re the one in control of your decisions. Make sense?

…Happy is happy (healthy or not), and most of us healthy-minded also want to be happy.

With my healthy identity, I’m no longer fully happy if I’m not overall healthy and I’m not happy if all I’m eating are bean sprouts and edamame pods. So having this happy-healthy (working with each other) attitude helps with daily micro-decisions that become overall atomic habits.

This mix of healthy and happy I believe is sustainable, balanced living and the right environment for creating healthy habits. Because if you diet or go to the extremes or deny yourself, then you can end up yo-yo dieting, quitting, or reverting backward. It starts out good and then is worse than when you started.

I use moderation as the measuring stick. So my internal dialogue can be something like this, where I ask myself, “is it satisfying enough?” or…”will a piece of fruit satisfy me now as much as a biscuit or cookie?”

And if you think you’re missing that gene or self-discipline, you’re not alone. But then you accept the consequences that instant gratification brings.

I know this isn’t new news, and if it’s a struggle for you, then it’s probably a touchy subject and especially if you’re trying to lose weight. But the less aspiration and more awareness you can apply to your situation, the more it can help to break down disconnects from getting you what you ultimately want in your life and what ends up happening.

Some may think who know me…”OK, that’s easy for you to say because you’re naturally trim.”

That btw, is a natural Vata body trait. But that’s not the complete picture… because back in my hotel catering days before I discovered my ideal weight, I fluctuated in my dress size.

Back then my daily dress size was at least a size or two larger, and I couldn’t fit into the clothes I wear today. There shouldn’t be comparisons because it’s all relative to your body because you only get one in your life marathon.

But, that’s how I know in my experience, that it is a healthy habit that makes the difference or at least gives you that edge to what you want, body and all. The body is important because without good health you can’t live your optimum life. And ideal weight is one of the medically accepted measurements to determine this. And low blood pressure is another.

So to me what our hearts look like is more important than how we look in jeans. So cardio is the ultimate for all. But to stay the same jeans size, here’s what I do:

I think of the small, regular daily habits as healthy ones that will make a difference (atomic habits principle)… and the rewarding, happy habits like having a weekly treat, as special celebratory ones.

You are better off when you stay sustainably moderate and don’t deny or go overboard either way. Staying consistent year-round is the ultimate test to seeing if a healthy-happy attitude (like I described above) is stacking into habits.

If you apply the 80/20 rule, then 5-6 days of the week you are eating healthy, and 1-2 days you can be roughly taking off. Like a yo-yo, you resiliently let your string out and pull it back in, and you say no thank you to any yo-yo fad diets that come your way.

I think it’s much easier to do this without keeping score. Your body is always keeping score, but you don’t know what the exact rules are or what the magic number is.

It’s a guess as to what your calorie balance or deficit goal is. …If only your body could give you those exact formulas at any moment?

So, in my opinion, artificial calorie counters or counting sugar grams take the enjoyment out of life when you could use that same useful time and energy to create natural atomic habits.

You can more or less feel the middle balance (and that becomes a worthwhile habit). It’s like training your brain to do quick math without a calculator, but much easier as you’re just using binary numbers 1=yes (eat) or 0=no (don’t eat).

In my world, that’s cutting down the sweets, cookies, and cakes (like those that used to be in open sight in my catering sales days). And now, not indulging in The Great British Bake Off recipes no matter how much I’m a fan of the show! The Jammie Dodgers will have to wait 😉

But I digress.

Healthy and Happy Atomic Habits

If we evaluate our current habits and see which ones are replaceable, tweakable, and what we want to happen, then we can have a balanced (healthy and happy) outcome in life. …And nowww we’re getting somewhere!

Here are 5 atomic habits you can also do if you want (that started small for me and made a big difference):

1.Daily Morning Atomic Habits:

Last time I talked about my morning yoga habit I created from habit stacking that took a lot of tweaking for my Vata self.

For you, maybe you just need to reframe and substitute “yoga” to “a stretching habit,” and then it’s doable and not a formal or intimidating practice that you’re not ready for.

When you get up, you’ve already stretched at least once or twice (so why not give a new name called “habit?”).

And from there, you can keep habit stacking, like doing a few situps or pushups, etc… your mantra here can be: a few adds up!

-Create a habit to be intentional for the day. Getting intentionally grateful for something or everything changed everything for me.

I used to have a weekly gratitude journal so I could really take in appreciation for the small stuff… and I mean small relative to my part of the world where people are blessed! (We all start somewhere as it keeps us humble, hungry, thirsty, and wisdom-seeking).

You can journal or simply look at a joyful image like a framed artwork, photo, or outside your picture window for inspiration.

In this place of gratitude, you find peace and contentment. There’s no room to complain. Or to put up with gossip. That changes your joyful outlook and what happens in your day as you create your next forward step. Don’t just look at what happens to you. See how you react and what your attitude and beliefs are, that will shape your habits.

-Check-in with yourself. Take at least 5 minutes in the quiet morning and scan your mind for any ideas and anything that isn’t in a place of appreciation for your day (or sitting as neutral thoughts)… remember, we all start somewhere.

Get up a little earlier if you have to, in order to claim your quiet minutes.

If you didn’t sleep well, shake off any negative energy, thoughts, and nightmares. You will be okay if you don’t hold onto those thoughts. Let your mind know that your skull is protecting your brain and your thoughts, so it doesn’t have to. I’m serious.

Forcibly if needed, let unforgiveness go. Let the world just be as is in your brand new day – no judgment or comparison to other days. That’s where peace is and you can save yourself the time from eye-shutting transcendental meditation (that I don’t do).

Decide to rise above your insecurities and let go of your worries. Shift to a loving higher road lens that ends fear. (I know because I started out in life afraid of just about anything and everything).

Reset to a day full of abundant possibilities that rely on your hopeful beliefs.

Then check if you feel something physically off in your body? Maybe your stomach needs food. Get to the bottom of what’s not feeling right, and stack onto your other healthy body habits like drinking water first thing.

And notice your bathroom habits in the morning. Are they regular? How can you healthily make them more regular? Depending on if you have a pronounced body imbalance, there are different fixes for each Ayurvedic body type.

Some interesting differences I can point out…

Vata, Pitta, and Kapha

Vatas are naturally alert, light sleepers, so having a lot of worrying thoughts is common. Not all worry is bad, but worry as a habit is.

As a Vata, we like a lot of variety. I think I could be a Vata poster child. Loving variety is my favorite Vata feature if I had to pick just one. But then there are times when this can go awry. Like if you’re in a relationship and your partner is a Pitta (a lot of men are).

They may not understand why there are so many different choices and cups of beverages around, and for different drinking desires.

For a pure Pitta, they like to drink their drink and move on.

A Kapha will leave things be and to what makes another happy (unless they’re not).

But that can be too stereotypical. …what was that movie line where the actor mentioned pigeon-holing or generalizing saves time, lol?

…ok where was I anyway?

Oh right.. we’re not just one type or the other and we can get imbalanced and change at any time. And that helps us build better habits.

As Vatas, we too have experienced impatience, being critical or more judgmental than usual, which are more Pitta traits. And have accumulated in every sense of the word (that’s more of a Kapha trait).

No one is 100% all Vata, Pitta or Kapha, ever. We can have our Vata, Pitta, and Kapha days and strengths or weaknesses (imbalances) happening all at the same time. But usually, it’s just one or two.

These human nuances I think are part of the fun in learning to read in Ayurveda 😊 (and not having to learn Sanskrit).

So then continuing on with habits… You (and I) can…

-Check in with breathing. After you’re fully awake, get in the habit of focusing on your breath so you can be more aware of this moment.

I often find I wake up with a slightly stuffy nose. If that’s you, practice breathing in and out of your mouth so you can get full breaths. See if that improves your mental clarity and from being slightly forgetful. Our brains (not just our lungs) need oxygen to optimally function.

You can also add a plant (adds oxygen), humidifier, and steaming (from the shower or in a pot on the stove). Watering can be part of the atomic habits you adopt for a more whole life.

2. Afternoon Atomic Habits:

Sandwich the news in the afternoon and early evening when you’re in the swing of things or eating lunch. I don’t recommend news in the early morning or late night (to start and end your day with other worries and gloomy thoughts).

Eating a heavier lunch will help carry you through at least part of the afternoon. I don’t combine breakfast and lunch (brunch). I actually eat breakfast, brunch, and lunch. And the afternoon snack already mentioned. And I add spices.

My body runs efficiently that way as I’ve taught it to work and burn calories when I feed it regularly, and it’s hungry for more.

Call it healthy snacking or what you want, but if you try small bites, that could be an atomic habit that works as it has for me.

I also turn music on in the afternoon and you may find that enhances your mood if you select the right genre.

3. Evening Atomic Habits:

Eat a light dinner. This works better for most body types because naturally, your body is winding down, getting ready for night and sleep that are just hours away. This is where I like to keep a light protein or plant-based meal based on the season. So that could be a homemade soup (low sodium) or a salad.

I reserve the lasagnas and similar heavier meals for leftovers. They taste better the next day anyway. I don’t eat the way I did growing up where we ate our heartiest meal at dinner.

And if you watch nightly media shows or television, end on neutral or warm and fuzzy thoughts. Watch a light-hearted comedy, cooking show, HGTV, or Friends.

4. Weekly Atomic Habits:

I moisturize A LOT. If you’re a Kapha, you don’t need to as much.

While I’m sitting down, I also make a list of revelations and progress that I made in the past week. They help me feel good and keep me focused on what I need to grow or start (that can become a good habit).

And I feed my mind-spirit with a weekly church where I hear stories and messages I can relate to (like podcast messages). I know I’m not alone. But I know a lot of people out there who feel they are.

So, frequently throughout the week in my quiet mornings and minutes I include outward prayer, higher intellect self-talk, and meditation as absorbing thoughts I get from the Universe while my eyes are open and I’m fully receiving and present.

I started this habit and process of attending church throughout the week, and spiritual identity around when my healthy identity changed. The practice makes everything else work and come alive.

5. Check Your Process (Are you missing anything?)

And FINALLY… homestretch here! For all of us, once you start a process you can recalibrate from that standpoint.

Like, when I restored my mind-body imbalances from Ayurvedic practical habits after I first learned what to do… and then I noticed sometime later, a new set of imbalances settled in.

It was like: Ok, you got this one down, now it’s time to learn and be tested with another.

…Isn’t that how most of Life feels?

I found sometimes the imbalance combinations overlapped like feeling tired in the morning and anxious heart palpitations in the afternoon, and sometimes lingering irritation thoughts from a previous season.

So I started paying attention more from the lens of healthy Ayurvedic habits I formed that complemented my spiritual-faith-based ones. Daily and seasonal restoration work is now natural to me and doesn’t feel like work, but they too have become atomic habits, when needed.

…but I am ALWAYS checking to see (and aware) if I’m missing anything in life (similar to checking if a jean zipper is pulled up).

A balanced mind-body-spirit supports a healthy, whole lifestyle, where you’re open, but not unsure of the most important things about you and your life.

It’s never too late (or too soon) to find what completes you. And, I hope I inspired you to never give up on your healthy life and the small, atomic habits you can start that can grow wings especially if you believe the Universe has your back.

You just never know how a split-second and tiny action can help lead you to what you’re wanting most, and even when you don’t know what that might be right now.

How Ayurvedic Habits Are Useful (Part 1)

Ayurvedic habits was introduced to me 13- years ago to date when I embarked on a new healthy way of doing life. Yoga was still a new concept to the western world. And I was about to start my first blog.

ayurvedic habits

Those were the days before personal awareness, #metoo movements, and before western Ayurveda ways caught on with some (like me and maybe you?).

I’d been striving for balance ever since the day I realized I didn’t have any, and in my memory as far back as when the popular Friends sitcom show first came on.

Those were pre-internet days where you never saw a laptop at the Central Perk television set or anywhere for that matter ☕️

You and I can laugh at the wired phone cord that would be fun to untangle now. Phones back then weren’t wireless or smart. And watches were used to just tell time.

Technology and life are interesting in how it’s constantly evolving, and never going backward. Along the way, your tastes and wants can also change as you grow up.

I’m not a traditionalist, so I lean towards growth and doing things differently.

…but I started out on a traditional college to the corporate work-life path (with no work-life balance). And through life’s swerves, hidden turns, and purposeful career switching, I gradually turned around the tide.

You know when you don’t have the life you want when you run into dead ends, and that makes you search for the unknown. You know there has to be better if you use the right optimistic attitude. That btw, teaches you to steer away from sarcasm and Murphy’s Law thinking that was common during the Friends and Seinfeld show era.

Starting out in my career in hotel catering management taught me that not filling hotel rooms with guests was the biggest (opportunity) cost to the bottom line. I carried that way of thinking into my life even back then when I wasn’t aware. I realized not doing my highest and best use (that was taught in college) was my biggest loss.

That concept became my motivator to leave jobs I was unhappy or miserable with that had no rewarding path I could see for personal growth or in their business improvement.

In my late 20’s I wanted work-life balance, and to end the 50-60 hour workweek rut I was in walking around like a zombie in my downtime, that I started out with.

I kept the mantra running in my mind that I would not get my time back…and when I saw no way out, I found a way out.

And that’s how I switched industries into corporate tech office work. There I experienced newfound balance, and after I got a taste of that, I wanted more.

I went from not-so-healthy to balance, healing, and eventually wholeness. It was an overnight change that took over a decade.

And somewhere in that mix, the economic downturn hit where I went back to where I began in hospitality work. I had changed but the industry had not, so I moved on yet again.

…And that’s why I believe for everyone, Life is meant to get better despite the curve balls thrown at you.

Yes, you age, but you grow wiser and smarter. And you can adopt the right attitude if you help yourself to get there. I would never want to go backward in time.

…and I know now time can be underrated, and that it’s our most valuable asset (especially as you enter your 30’s and beyond).

I also now know that time is well spent when all 365 days of the year, I practice healthy and happy balance (that means green smoothies, food variety, and never changing Strawberry Twizzlers!). Plus, daily reset and renewal, and Ayurveda prevention and restoring ways.

….And that last one is what I’m most proud of for taking care of my body and mind.

Learning Ayurvedic habits was a new concept for me as a mid-adult who had lived around suburban malls and eating prepared foods in popular restaurants (and some that I couldn’t resist as I marketed their foods).

So then when I switched to Ayurveda I had choices (it’s not a diet, as I don’t believe in those). It encourages you to lean into your body’s natural desires, and often those are against the popular culture desires or what you think you want, like restaurant food (where you have no control over the cooking and ingredients).

I like to think of modern, western Ayurveda as a flexible lifestyle where you choose balance. You have a healthy plan and you enjoy what you like that you don’t regret.

For example, you won’t see me ordering or drinking a coffee drink with 53 grams of sugar. If it starts out that way, I will order most of the fat and sugar off, or just choose a black cold brew. That’s how I roll.

And that’s an ingrained habit.

But someone may say, “that’s no fun.” And I would say, “it is for me. I want to feel and look good, and for a long time. Then I can have more fun!”

We’re a much more health-conscious society now, but you still have critics and that can be the one sitting on your shoulder giving you internal debates on choices.

These days, I prepare at least 80% of my meals (and 100% in the past year). And Ayurvedic habits have helped me with balance, prevention, and restoration. And they can help you too!

Western Ayurvedic Habits

The Ayurvedic habits I do are not new to our western culture like they would have been a few decades ago. Like: the neti pot works for preventing sinus infections and doing regular yoga helps with balance, flexibility, and strength building.

Sanskrit is not my native or secondary tongue, so some rituals I’ve walked into that I wish I didn’t. Like: incense (…you might as well smoke a pack of cigarettes.. thankfully you rarely run into either and if it’s a certain church occasion where incense is, you know to expect it).

Another less than desirable one is chanting, like in a new yoga class that gives me an eerie feeling. I don’t participate. The mystical woo stuff doesn’t woo me.

I like to have my feet planted on the western ground unless I’m doing fun acrobatics (photo up top and here). Just kidding.

ayurvedic habits

So some Ayurvedic habits and ways stuck with me and some didn’t, and from the beginning so I knew that they were meant (or not meant) for me.

And if you’re trying to figure out what Ayurveda or healthy lifestyle works or would work for you, then you can use your preferences as a natural guide if you don’t have a coach or someone helping you.

Essentially, Ayurveda is what’s healthy and natural to you, your body, and mind-body, so you can’t go wrong if it’s a healthy choice you like.

And when creating Ayurvedic habits, some habits need more practice to fully adopt than others.

In his NY Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, habit advice expert, James Clear, describes that habit stacking is an easier way to have a habit stick.

An example of this is: I conveniently have a yoga mat rolled out near my bathroom with a side door, so that I can do a few yoga stretches before I start my day and after brushing my teeth (habit stacking). For some people, that’s enough of a reminder to create a habit.

But for a heavy Vata mind-body where routine (and sticking to the same way) is not a natural friend, I tweaked this idea to work for me…

A few days later after the novelty of the yoga morning activity wore off (and the habit broke), I rolled up half the mat, which triggered me to see the mat change when I had to look down so I didn’t trip over it.

That reminded me to do yoga. And then slowly but surely I didn’t need to look down anymore because I knew where the roll ended. So I then took the half-rolled-up mat, and rolled it back down, and then rolled it in a different way several days later. I mixed it up. And now I have a mat under the mat to keep things interesting… and to keep me interested. That forced the habit to start, so it had a chance to stick.

I then reinforced the habit further with a set alarm. ...Phew! That was a lot for just one habit. But it’s worth it.

And you know what’s worth it for you, what works, and what it takes for you to create a habit! The harder part I think is figuring and finding out what habit to even start. And, knowing why you’re creating a habit.

Overall in the long run, when you do better habits, this keeps the healthy balance. You also improve and run your best marathon.

This is also how you keep growing. Keep trying new things (a Vata’s motto) until it becomes unhealthy or non-serving. Then in awareness of what you previously tried and want to improve, tweak again.

A good goal is to find what makes you happy, healthy, and whole, because without good physical and mental health, you can’t really optimally grow and contribute in your highest and best use way (maybe this is important to you too).

In the beginning, when I was forming Ayurvedic habits and concepts, I still felt stress or anxious even though I knew how to restore those feelings. I just hadn’t practiced enough.

And then I learned what worked for those symptoms and that became old hat like learning to ride a bicycle. And then I would feel other emotional symptoms like feeling irritated or judgmental. So then I fixed those.

While the symptoms were obvious, the changes were subtle (going in and out of moods). In those cases, I could’ve chosen to do nothing. And that’s what I think most people choose.

But that my friend (if I can call you that)… is not the highest-quality life, and maybe even semi-existence. I know because I lived that way in my no work-life balance-joy-robbing time that I will never go back to…

Feeling down, self-(fill in the blank ____), or negative thoughts and other big mood swings taking up mind real estate during prime leisure time and at night. But, I guess I was aware enough to do something about it. There’s always a silver lining.

For me, it would start with getting internally upset, angry, or irritated about something… and on and on it would spiral out of control spewing in my day and mood.

And I know that’s how a lot of people operate some of the time. And, that’s too much time!

There’s a much better way. 🎉

Transforming these ways has been worth going through the trials (to not lose any more valuable time), so that some of the time, becomes rarely or never when we learn better habits and ways.

These days, I choose peace. It’s a habit. Like most people, I have emotions running all the time and even more thoughts. And you can’t control how others behave towards you and some situations that happen to you. But you can control how you respond and react. So that’s what I do (and I encourage everyone to do that, so we can live our best lives now).

Ayurvedic habits allowed me to tap into daily peace, joy, and love that I already knew was there. That sounds so cliché and Hallmark card-ish, but that’s the nitty-gritty truth and what good habits can do for you.

You can get happiness (joy). Because if you find those things in you, your wants and feelings change. So the secret ingredient is getting healthy control over your thoughts and feelings. Letting go of the negative, and holding on to the good. And you can more easily get there if you’re healthy and balanced.

When you can remove (and nip in the bud) non-productive or toxic feelings and moods as soon as possible, you can avoid mental stress and stress on the body that can lead to inflammation.

And maybe that’s why I’m passionate about a balanced life. Because I know it’s in the palm of each of our hands and the ticket to true life’s success and happiness.

It took me not having it to discover it in a much deeper way.

So when I tested out new habits from the better information I gathered, I found it worked like a magic wand over the imbalances I had. It was like a magic pill without any pills or drugs. I didn’t know I had so much power to control.

Thirteen years in, it’s very easy for me to tell what’s happening in or out of balance for the mind by actions, and for the body by symptoms. And since my 20’s I’ve always been discerning and aligned with living balanced as my compass pointing north.

But I know not everyone is like this and many do better with boundaries and strict rules. And some do better with something they can relate to, like this car and body analogy…

Car and Body Analogy

Your Body is Like a Car (except it’s so much more valuable and you only get one in your life).

When you’re getting your car regularly maintained, the car shop can ask a few questions, and they can tell what’s wrong based on the slight off-ness.

All cars are not exactly the same as no one body is alike, even though you and I could both be Vata.

And all cars have wheels and need energy to run. And all our bodies alike have the same running parts like a heart, brain, and skin, with different product needs. Like, we all need moisturizers but in varying degrees to our dry vs. oily skin, and the ingredients that our specific skin likes.

And certain things happen as we travel around, like our bodies age and a car gets out of alignment with mileage and wear and tear. But the symptoms can appear the same. That’s why a doctor or a mechanic can diagnose ailments from inflammations or problems down the road.

And we humans living in our bodies can diagnose and restore our non-serious body irregularities.

When you have Ayurveda habits, you are intentionally preventing stress or letting your body get aggravated.

Next week, I’ll share my specific ayurvedic habits and routines and talk about the Ayurvedic body type habit nuances. If you want to be notified when that and future blog posts come out, you can sign up in the upper right-hand corner of the main/home website page.

And, if you want to get information about how to restore your current body imbalances, take my What is Your Imbalance Type? 2-minute body balance quiz.

ayurvedic habits

Emotional Wheel: 3 Case Studies

Emotional wheel is something you’ve probably heard about. Daily, we are bombarded with triggered emotions. If we process them when they happen or within the week, that’s healthy for us so we don’t assume trauma that hurts our happiness. I learned the hard way, but lessons learned gave me wisdom to end the madness even if it was delayed by years.

And these healthy black and white chocolate dipped biscotti (recipe below) ⬇️ represent the refining process of going through (the oven) again to get to the optimal finish line bake. You can make these when you’re working on your emotional wheel feelings, and not sure if you’re feeling up or down or all around that life can serve up.

Jump to Recipe

I was on a recent webinar presentation watching a respected leader and expert I have been listening to for years. She’s usually always on point except for this one display of being on an emotional wheel.

Consequently, her mind jumped all around, from one thought back to another. I felt for her. Like a trouper, she just went on like the professional she is.

Halfway through, she mentioned her forgetful mood was because she didn’t have anything to eat as a result of a hectic morning. But I could see and feel through the screen that the turmoil she was having was from a temporary Vata and Pitta imbalance, simultaneously going on at the same time.

I know that because I’ve been there and I’m sensitive to those imbalances.

We often try and associate our off-ness with a routine missed, or else we just let the moments pass and resolve themselves.

But what if it doesn’t? …and those moody feelings go from a day into days or weeks?

In this webinar I was on, this expert was also more impatient than usual. She didn’t usually point out when she had answered a question already. She typically just graciously found a new way to answer with additional ideas and value. She’s usually very calm and in control in mind-body connection ways.

I’m using this as a case study, as this can happen to any of us in our human-ness, no matter how put together or skilled we are. We’re not robots, thank goodness!

And this helps explain tennis pro, Naomi Osaka’s performance this week in the U.S. Open tennis match (and previous matches) where she has shown signs of frustration, throwing her racquet to the hardcourt. She was up and winning in the first set and then her mind-body turned on her, and she ended up going on a losing streak to a younger underdog player.

This is why they play in professional sports, because mostly if they can contain their emotions and control with a focused, coordinated mind-body, then they shine. But no matter how pro they are, they can lose it if they get inside their heads, and their bodies don’t perform in the tip-top way they want.

Anxiety is one of those emotions that can be crippling. And anger (or irritation as a subtler form) is another. You can go from one undesirable emotion to the next in the spectrum of the emotional wheel.

In my wholeness journey (as a 3^rd study case), I’ve learned how to remove and calm those emotions that used to play a regular or seasonal role in my life. I just thought that was the way I was. I didn’t know back then I could do something about it that would change my life.

Then on top of those emotions, I used to think SADD (seasonal affective disorder) was what I would experience all my life from a teenager on, when every February I would feel hormonally imbalanced or slightly depressed. Do they even talk about this anymore as there are so many other known disorders in our more open, aware society?

I knew once March rolled around I was good and chipper again. But not everyone bounces back that way.

As I grew up, I learned to get the right vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements, and that helped along with all the other healthy and daily practices I implemented to enjoy every day.

In this similar way of seeking knowledge, I learned how to restore anxious-irritated feelings. We all have some feelings we have running on the surface or as undercurrents in our life, and are sometimes stronger based on our life situations.

In my desires and awareness, I learned how to faster restore those symptoms from the body-mind perspective, so that even the inward expression and feelings disappear. That’s a big transformation. And I realized it’s possible to improve your life with better wisdom and practice.

Emotional Wheel: Anxious Vata vs Angry Pitta Imbalances

There’s a varying spectrum of symptoms or descriptions you can use for Vata vs. Pitta imbalances on the emotional wheel.

An anxious Vata imbalance can show signs of being worried, scared or fearful (like if you will lose something valuable or if you feel uncertain about an outcome).

An angry Pitta imbalance can feel hot-tempered, irritated, annoyed, critical, or impatient (or feel a need to be more right about everything than usual).

In both cases, you want to get back to your calmest self as soon as possible. We all know stress causes havoc on our bodies and minds. And when you’re calm, you make better decisions when you can think and act clearly.

But each specific imbalance needs a different remedy.

If you have a Vata imbalance, you can first more notice your symptoms in your heartbeat, stomach, and sweaty hands (before it impacts your mind). You want to control those with your thoughts. You want to change that, to feel fearless and confident.

In a high-pressure situation like in a world-is-watching-your tennis court performance, that’s not easy to do and to revert back right away. At home or in your life, that’s what you want to do.

If you have a Pitta imbalance, your mind can often be impacted first. Triggers can set off your mind, and then your actions create your behaviors that lead to body stressors.

We all are born with a split mind that I won’t get into here, but this can be part of a personal growth journey you take to have one productive, loving mind in your higher self-space.

It’s the stuff I breathe, share, teach (and stand for). I believe your health and happiness are dependent on your growth and based on your choice and decision to take a better path than how you started or were given.

And in either case of Vata or Pitta imbalances, if you’re not calm then you’re stunted momentarily until you can restore and get back to your balance. You’re frozen from being creative and fully productive as your mind is distracted and can be racing, and that can impact your physical health like getting enough sleep and functioning optimally in the waking hours.

…Such as sitting still can be a Vata challenge and getting motivated to do calming yoga can be something you need to convince your body to do if it will cooperate. And a Pitta challenge can be to not express knee-jerk reactions, opinions, or interrupt. These subtle occurrences are emotional wheel signs that can be balance restored. Just like you get your tire wheels balanced (in alignment) on a car, your body-mind needs addressing, tune-ups and check-ins, so it runs optimally for life.

If you have a Vata imbalance you can witness your jumping from task to task more than usual.

When you have a Pitta imbalance you can also be jumpy, but you may want to interject more often.

You can go from one imbalance to another quickly, the same day, or as often as the weather changes (along with the storms in your body), and naturally can go away.

But, a better goal is you don’t want to be jumpy at all. You want to get off the emotional hamster wheel. There’s no good benefit being on it. You want to be cool, calm and collected. Or happy, and your excitement is contagious so you can be your BEST YOU.

If you let go of the unwanted feelings, then that’s victory. But if these hindering feelings spin out of control in your thought life, then you can end up lashing out at others, being angry, or running away. And these can in a usually-delayed way show up on your body in some form.

When your balance is restored, you know because the feelings of calm and peace wash over, and you can find the joyful moments to keep you productive and happy at the moment. You are free and own the most important thing you have, Your Life. You feel on top of the world and your emotional wheel is balanced.

So now you know about the Vata-Pitta differences (or are getting a little more aware). What do you do about restoring your emotional wheel of undesired feelings?

It’s not exactly one size fits all as we have different bodies and minds (biodiversity), but since we’re all born with a body and mind, there are similar specific remedies that work for these imbalances.

For a Vata, ginger, and cinnamon in black teas can be your magic tea. Orange is one of your magical scents.

If you’re a Vata or have a Vata imbalance, you won’t want grassy tasting green teas (green smoothies are okay all the time 😊) or to do the creative activities, as your mind will still want to protect you like you’re being chased by a tiger.

If you’re a Pitta or have a Pitta imbalance, you won’t want sweets. You’ll prefer a plummy-sour fruit flavor or green tea, and you’ll want to get active. You can want the grassy cologne scents that you won’t normally be attracted to if you’re not a naturally dominant Pitta.

From anxiety to anger, you can easily go into a distracted fight-flight-frozen mode.

You get to know which imbalances you have when you like certain scented lotions and perfumes you like sometimes but not others. All that information is connected to your body-mind intelligence and imbalances.

Your body naturally knows what it wants and needs. It’s fascinating. That’s why I’m passionate about restoring imbalances that lead to better daily happiness and long-term health.

You can learn how to do this for yourself and others. As a first step you could take the body balance quiz to get some quick tips on how to restore your dominant imbalance and get advice for deeper insight on your body-mind imbalances. I love this mantra:

“When you know better, you do better.”
-Oprah and Maya Angelou

Break your patterns, stay curious, and with a growth mindset, you can make tweaks and improvements that affect your health and happiness. Let your emotional wheel of feelings help guide you. Be well.

Print Recipe

Healthy Biscotti (No Butter or Sugar) - Black and White Chocolate Biscotti

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

2-1/2 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp aniseed, crushed
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil
1-1/4 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 cups blanched almonds
2 tsp milk
finely choped dates, orange zest, dried fruits as sweet

Instructions

Make your dough with the ingredients. It should be cohesive and sticky enough to become a dough. You may need to add more oil or can substitute with yogurt or apple sauce.
Roll our two rectangular loafs flattened at the top in 350°F oven for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely. Then use a serated knife to make even-cut biscotti pieces.
Then flip over and bake for 10 more minutes for twice baked.
Let cool and dip in melted chocolate.
Refrigerate and then dip in white chocolate for duo-chocolate.

Organic Cold Brew Coffee – Benefits and How to Make

Organic cold brew coffee is the coffee you can drink regularly if you’re a cuppa joe in the morning type of person and want to be more healthy.

Organic cold brew coffee looks like regular coffee. — You can use the information below s to make your organic cold brew coffee and routine. ☕️

Let’s break this down into two parts.

Brewed coffee (or the regular coffee process) yields a more acidic coffee than cold brew in the process.

So if you want a lighter feeling coffee with a medium taste, then cold brew has its body health benefits.

…And why I do organic coffee cold brew daily.

Then, the organic coffee part is important because the bulk of coffee is sprayed with pesticides that we’re ingesting.

And if you’re noticing brain fog or blips in short-term memory has got you these days and you don’t know why, if you do drink regular coffee (cold brew or regular brewed) then the coffee could be the offender.

Switching to organic coffee for a month is a good idea to see if you feel a difference.

Organic coffee to buy can be more expensive and slightly harder to source, but you get to ask yourself what your health is worth and if you want to make the additional search effort.

These are just a few organic cold brew coffee benefits:

☕️ You can make and drink cold brew coffee faster than you can wait for hot coffee to brew (and wait for it to cool some).

I describe below 👇 how you can make your own below if you’ve never made before.

☕️ Cold brew also has health benefits. It’s less acidic through the cold brew process than regular hot coffee or espresso. This is good especially if you have a sensitive stomach or gut lining, and feel heartburn effects from coffee.

☕️ With cold brew, you may not need to eat your first meal first before your first cup as it’s more gentle and doesn’t need the food buffer.

…Many of us wake up groggy and tired, and we want our coffee first thing. But first we need a soft pillow of food in our stomach, that’s not the preference when you’re not quite awake and ready yet for eating.

So that’s where cold brew ROCKS… and is ready for you as you can make the day before or batches days or a week in advance and refrigerate!

☕️ If you gave up on coffee because it tears up your stomach or gives you heartburn, then cold brew coffee could be a good option so you can bring the healthy drink back. This point can’t be emphasized enough. ‼️

Or if you want a lighter cup of coffee during your day that won’t affect your sleep at night, cold brew coffee could be the way to go!

☕️ Cold brew coffee is great for hot weather days as your coffee is served cold. You make at room temperature and then refrigerate.

Making cold brew at home is also a mindful, relaxing activity. And it doesn’t have to end there…

If you know me, you know I like to zhugh up any food or beverages (probably from my catering background), so I’ll share how I do that too below!

What you will need for basic cold brew coffee:

-Ground coffee

-Mesh catcher (with a lip or rim)

-Coffee filters

-Spoon

-Water

-Deep bowl at least 6” high/deep OR pitcher with a large opening almost or just slightly larger than the mesh catcher diameter is ideal (but as long as most the mesh catcher sits inside the pitcher, it’ll work).

If you use a pitcher, you won’t need another pitcher to pour your finished coffee into as your cold brew coffee can go straight into the pitcher and fridge.

Cold Brew Setup:

Bowl: Find or buy a right-size mesh catcher that works comfortably for your cold brew coffee prep setup, where the coffee filter fits in easily.

Rest the mesh catcher to then rest on top of the bowl.

Set the coffee filter to sit in the catcher as flat or parallel to the table surface as best it can, so you don’t have coffee and water in the filter dripping or tipping over. Then you have your bowl setup.

home cold brew coffee setup.

Or…

Pitcher: You can put your filter/catcher ontop of a wider-opening pitcher. If you use a pitcher, you want most of the bottom half of the catcher to sit inside the pitcher so your coffee brewing doesn’t spill over in the sides.

organic cold brew coffee strained into and stored in a large jar.

So then you have your setup from one of the options above.

Good job!

Next, you can bring on the ground coffee grinds. See what I did there… ground grinds. 😊

I like to make cold brew coffee in the morning to get a good whiff of the coffee grounds, and as a sensory experience and relaxing mindful activity. 🧡

You can even pull out your setup the day or night before if you just want to make a cup in the morning or a batch for a couple days.

Mind you, the fresh-made coffee will be room temps warmer than when you refrigerate, but that’s actually better for your stomach in the morning when you’re getting your day started.

The stomach prefers room temperature liquids, and preferrably a big glass of plain water first.

And then in choosing coffee types, use ground coffee types. It’s easy to get enamored by coffee flavors, packaging, and brands, but be sure it’s “ground” otherwise they’ll be “whole” and you’ll need to make the grounds.

It’s better to use a mix of superfine ground coffee and a coarser ground coffee so the grounds don’t fall through the filter. Or find one that is just perfect for you and stick with it.

They stay grounded 😉

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

To start making cold brew coffee, pour your ground coffee mix (about 1/2 cup to ¾ cup coffee grounds total for a large batch) in the filter. Every coffee grind is different. You can use less if you just want to make a cup.

You can start with 1/4 cup coffee grounds to make a cup or two of coffee. These will be the strongest cups from the grounds.

With a spoon, mix the ground coffees up a little in your catcher-filter setup before you pour in water to possibly prevent fine ground coffee from falling through the filter.

Pour cool water over the coffee grounds. Filtered water is good. The cold water is the process secret to keeping the coffee from becoming more acidic (healthy benefit). You can use room temperature water and it will be fine.

After you refrigerate it will be served “cold brew.”

In the beginning, the water will go through the filter fast and you will get a light brown/caramel trail of coffee water in your pitcher or bowl.

That won’t be the final coffee you’ll be drinking.

When you keep pouring into the catcher-filter, then the darker coffee color comes out that you were probably expecting.

Troubleshooting: If your ground coffee mix sends some of the grounds through the filter or you accidentally spill some grounds in your ready-made coffee, then you can simply start over with a new coffee filter in a second bowl.

The second bowl can catch the second round of coffee being made that sometimes can turn out better. Pour your first setup coffee and coffee grounds into the filter of the second.

So back on track… from time to time, take a spoon and stir the coffee ground and water in your filter, trying not to have coffee water overflow.

Keep pouring water as it filters down. And if you pour into a cup, watch it drip darker coffee after the first half of a cup or so.

More Coffee… thinking ahead for tomorrow

Then if you want to add more ground coffee, you can make a bigger coffee batch or a pitcher with your current setup.

This less potent coffee is good for lighter coffees.

…I like to make cappuccinos with after the first two cups of cold brew coffee.

You can make foam or froth milk (I find unsweetened coconut milk the easiest to get a good froth with a frother), or you can use a little whipped cream.

Then I add a dash of cocoa, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or cardamom.

Oh, and one final cold brew coffee benefit: If you make cold brew coffee at home, you’ll never again be without coffee if the machine doesn’t work! You can always make your own instant coffee without a machine.

You can also pair your plant-based coffee habit to some great plant-based breakfast ideas to break away from the sugar breakfast habits or adding sugar to coffee. Sugar we know accumulates and works to destroy the biome.

So organic cold brew coffee and healthy eating together can be a better habit.

Easy Cold Brew Coffee

Equipment

regular paper coffee filters
strainer for filters
pitcher or large deep set bowl

Ingredients

¼ cup ground coffee for 2 cups stronger coffee
water

Instructions

After you have your cold brew coffee setup, pour water through. The first 30 seconds of water pours will go right through. Examine if you're getting the medium to dark brown coffee color (if not, pour the watered down coffee into a temporary glass and then pour through again). If the coffee is too finely ground or too coarse, this can happen. If too fine, add/blend about a tablespoon of a slightly coarser ground coffee to the filter. This should even out the coffee grinds.
Keep pouring water and pour your first cup of coffee (will be the strongest). You can keep going until the cold brew coffee is weaker strength or turning lighter color.

Easy Homemade Pizza Recipe (Step-by-Step)

Homemade Pizza is easy and fun to make as homemade pizza dough. Pizza can be a healthy meal… and I have a homemade pizza recipe you can try along with all the detailed steps from scratch.

You can learn techniques from me, a once-upon-a-time pizza maker who worked at the busiest Domino’s Pizza store franchise in the world 😊

We would crank out over 200 pizzas an hour on any given Friday or Game Day Sunday. This was when the 30 minute guarantee still existed and then became a well-known business case study.

Homemade wheat pizza crust creatively decorated with veggies.

Thick crusts like pan-pizza style with the toasty bake.

Which btw you can make your own special pizza masterpiece from start to finish, faster than you can order a pizza and have it delivered.

We called the pizza with everything the Extravanganza that had all the toppings.

So let’s begin…

First, you don’t need a pizza kit. To make homemade pizza, you just need two simple ingredients you already have in your house (or can easily get) to make the dough.

Plus 4 ingredients if you want a bigger crust rise.

Homemade pizza needs no long prep time like pulling out ingredients in advance, like in other baking recipes. So it can be making and baking EASY.

It also has an advantage over breadmaking: you don’t need to wait for hours for the pizza dough to proof.

Making homemade pizza dough needs only a few minutes. You can simply prepare, bake, and enjoy in less than an hour.

If you’re not a planner this can be a winner.

But then again, you’d probably buy store-bought or order delivery. …but then that would be no fun, and you wouldn’t get the healthy, homemade pizza.

So I’ll assume you’ll give it a try at least at some point. You’ll be glad you did! 🎉

Here’s how to make homemade pizza…

Before you do anything, there is one area to plan. You should consider what you’ll add on top of your pizza crust.

If you load with gobs of cheese, then you’ve added fat and dairy (…that isn’t always a bad thing as cheese has vitamins, calcium, other minerals, and satisfies cheesy craving…).

For a healthy recipe, use fresh shredded mozzarella cheese or sliced buffalo mozzarella like on a Margherita pizza. It’s one of the healthier (less greasy) cheeses if your stomach is sensitive and end up sopping up the cheese grease.

Now you’re ready to start and pull out all your homemade pizza dough ingredients.

Instant yeast. I buy the small Red Star packets. The yeast balls look like microscope-tiny, perfectly round khaki brown color beads.

Water. 1 cup warm or room temperature tap water is fine. You may want to experiment as you know what they say about the famously delicious New York pizza crust (the rumor is that it comes from the water).

I’ve used seltzer and filtered water for pizza crust, and I find tap is still the best all-around.

Flour. You have options. Bread flour is the one for Neapolitan-style airy pizza. You don’t need special “00” flour even though you’ll find many recipes with this.

With bread flour you can use for other breads and it’s generally less expensive.

And if you aren’t doing an airy crust, other options are:

You can use a mix of regular or all purpose flour with whole wheat flour (that has a higher bread protein content). Whole wheat flour dough will be less sticky.

And if you use semolina flour for your bench flour, then that will help your dough from sticking to the metal pizza pan you use.

Another reason to choose whole wheat flour is the slightly higher, healthy fiber content. There are also gluten-free options.

In total, use about 2-1/2 flour total, but you will need more when you’re working with the dough.

You get better with practice and experience. You may be able to later eyeball how much you need.

Salt. 2 teaspoon table salt. You can use a little more salt if you use sea salt or if you plan to use fresh mozzarella (or buffalo mozzarella) that doesn’t have as much salt as some other cheeses. Kosher salt or a coarser salt will work well.

Optional: 1 tablespoon EVOO (helps with adding taste and less sticky dough).

Here are the 5 easy homemade pizza steps (broken down in detail):

Step 1: Make the pizza dough.

homemade wood-fired pizza with mushrooms recipe.

Homemade Pizza Made Fun and Easy (But Looks Like a Pro!)

Course lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

Flour of choice (bread flour, 00, and/or whole wheat, etc.)
instant yeast
salt
water
Optional: cheese, mushrooms, and toppings of choice.

Instructions

After proofing dough, add bench flour and shape crust. Tip: use silicone Silpat so the crust doesn't stick to pan.
Bake pizze on 350°F/180°C for 15 minutes and then pull out of the oven. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings and bake for another 5 minutes.
Remove pizza pan and add pizza to the top oven shelf. Turn on oven "broil" setting for 2-4 minutes maximum, watching the "wood-fired-style toasting" the entire time as burning can happen quickly. You can turn off oven as soon as you see your first brown toasty spots on the crust.

Add the yeast to water and let it settle/dissolve for about 5-10 minutes. The mixture will have a milky color and consistency. Set aside.

Separately, add the flour or mixed flours of choice to your mixing bowl (I like half and half whole wheat and regular or all-purpose flour). Add 1 teaspoon salt or you can use 1-½ teaspoon sea salt (if you want to use non-iodized salt as I use). Then add EVOO if you’re using, and the water-yeast mixture.

Dough by hand method: You can make the dough by hand, and if you do it that way, I’d recommend creating a neat flour mountain on a shallow baking pan where the flour won’t stick to everything.

Using semolina flour as a lightly floured surface is a preference.

Then add a dip in the middle of the mountain where you would add the liquids, like you may have seen or done at home making pasta the old-fashioned way (except there are no eggs needed in pizza making).

Dough with machine (recommended): It’s easier to use a mixing machine with the dough hook, like the Kitchen Aid mixer (I have a pink Cadillac color one… Paris Hilton and I have something in common, lol).

With a machine, in a few quick minutes, the dough should be ready. You’ll know when it’s done when it’s not too dry, and not too wet, and has some good elasticity. Pizza dough is forgiving and is only part of the pizza pizzazz (say that 10 times).

Remember to scrape down the flour from the sides of the mixer. As you’re waiting for the dough to finish mixing, generously flour your pan.

I recommend a mix of coarser semolina flour and regular all-purpose flour for the bench flour.

When it’s ready, pull the dough out of the bowl. You’ll be able to form a small ball with the dough, and you may need to add more regular flour on the outside if it’s too sticky.

Form a dough ball and let it rest on the pan you’ve floured. Leave it sitting or resting at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Note, you don’t even need a plastic wrap or another container you’d have to clean like in bread making!

Step 2: Prep the toppings and the sauce.

While the dough is still resting, I get the topping ingredients ready.

I open the tomato sauce can (many restaurants use San Marzano tomatoes that I recommend), and I add finely chop anchovies with a serrated knife to the sauce as my secret ingredient (that’s not a secret anymore).

It adds salt and another flavor dimension (or you can just add a teaspoon of salt to the sauce if you prefer a saltier-tasting pizza).

Tomato sauce will add sweetness back. You can make your own tomato sauce but since it’s not the star of the dish, canned will work just great.

If you want a chunky style, Marzano tomatoes are plum tomatoes which are the kind commonly used in Italian restaurants. Or else use any tomato sauce or paste.

If you are using fresh cheeses like buffalo mozzarella, slice the cheese into smaller bits.

And if you use basil leaves, wet them a little like with a wet paper towel as they will settle a little better on the pizza. Alternatively, you can use spinach leaves like I use as healthy-alternative inspiration.

For any other wet ingredients like black olives, drain any excess liquid and dry them with a paper towel if you need to (as that would be a damper to your pizza… sorry, I couldn’t resist. Today is a fun day.).

By the time you finish this step, your pizza dough should be ready to work with.

A quick back story: I used to be a pizza maker (or pie maker as they referred to) as a teen before I could drive, and for the busiest Domino’s Pizza… not in the country, but in the world (yes the world! that is becoming smaller every day).

I stuck around for 4 years until I took on other food-related jobs in college.

So, I still make the dough the way I learned from the modern pros!

We used to crank out 300 or so pizzas in an hour as a team during the busy football nights, and during the 30-minute guarantee years (you probably don’t remember!).

Our heads were down but it was fun energy in the shop![OK back to the business of making your homemade pizza]…

Equipment you need:

-Pizza pan. Any metal pan will work.

-Pizza cutter or pizza wheel (optional)

You don’t need a pizza peel.

Step 3: Flatten the dough into the pizza pan, to get it ready for the oven.

You can turn the oven on to pre-heat or you can wait if it’s your first time or so baking pizza.

Regarding temps, if you want to use 425 degrees (Fahrenheit, just to clarify for my Brit friends), that will give you a crispier bake like a pizza oven would.

If you prefer to cook under 400 degrees because it’s a hot summer day or your fire alarm can go off in apartment living, then you can bake with standard 350 degrees/180°C.

So anything in between 350/180°F and 425/218°C degrees will work. Remember pizza crust is forgiving (and I dare say easy).

OK, so here’s how to make the crust…

Fancy hand way: Take your dominant eating hand and place ontop of your weaker hand. Put your dominant index finger and middle finger below your weaker hand index finger and middle finger (crossing your thumbs).

Or…

Simple hand way: Place your hands side-by-side, index fingers touching.

Either way, using your fingers, put pressure into the dough as you’re making hand imprints. Use enough pressure to make a dent, but make sure you’re not making holes in the dough, and it’s thick enough to hold the amount of sauce you plan to use.

If you get a hole in your dough, simply start over like you would with Play-doh. Roll the dough back into a ball and then flatten the ball with the palm of your hand (that you can coat with a little more flour as needed).

Push down on the dough and make handprints on every part of the dough.

Keep turning the dough 90 degrees while you move along and your hand is at a 90-degree angle (or at 3 o’clock clockwise or 9 o’clock counter-clockwise if you like clock descriptions).

For a right-handed person, you can turn the dough clockwise (and counterclockwise for a left-handed person).

Then flatten down the middle of the dough with your fingers and palm of your hand to get out all the trapped air bubbles.

Do this once and then flip the dough to the other side (back side), and do the same process. Add more bench flour underneath the dough as needed.

Keep working with it until it’s the right crust size for your pan or toppings.

If you want a super smooth dough crust without your handprints or blemishes, turn the dough with your gentle palms while lightly kneading, smoothing, and stretching the dough with palms (like you’re sanding it down).

I skip that part as a handmade-looking pie to me is part of the fun.

For basic round or irregular shapes, making the dough can take one minute or less with practice.

I know my instructions are descriptively long, but once you get the hang of it, it can be fast and easy!

In the beginning, take your time learning. It can be fun and maybe even a ‘lil therapeutic especially if you have some good music going on!

And, then here’s another important step/option that I recommend:

When you’re satisfied with your pizza dough that will be your topping base and crust, pre-bake the pizza crust first (without toppings) especially if you are using lower baking temps.

This is necessary if you are using lower 350-degree temperatures, but you can skip this step if you want if you use much higher temperatures.

I use the prep-baking crust waiting time to clean off my dough hook, mixing bowl, and other supplies I’m finished with, so I have minimal cleanup later.

After 10 minutes (a magic number for pizza step waiting times), pull the slightly toasted pizza crust out of the oven.

Let it cool for a few minutes, but you don’t have to wait until it’s room temperature again.

Then you can add your sauce with a spoon or ladle and spread evenly starting in the middle and applying less and less pressure towards the crust.

That’s the way we use to do it in the pie shop 😉

Btw, you can make other sauces like pesto, barbecue, or balsamic (that are other personal favorites of mine)! Maybe you too as you get to be a pizza pro?

…But here I’ll keep it super simple with the tomato sauce.

Step 4: Then lay your toppings on.

The secret for better baking through is to put the quickest to cook items on the bottom. So any thin, flat veggies (like black olives and mushrooms) and flat meats like anchovies, and then add the lumpier foods on the very top layer.

If you use buffalo mozzarella (the white ball kind), treat it like a topping instead of cheese. For shredded cheeses like regular mozzarella cheese, add as the first layer over the sauce.

If you want to use tomatoes that aren’t finely diced (tomato concasse in fancy Italian restaurants), bake them on the side in another pan as they could be too wet and create a mess on your pizza in the oven or prolong your baking time (sundried tomatoes are ok on the pizza).

For any meats, cook them through in advance especially if you’re baking your pizza on 350 degrees.

Now you’re in the home stretch! You just have one more step.

Step 5: Bake your pizza (or cook your pie 😉).

When you’re happy with your fully loaded Picasso-pizza art, put it back in the oven on your lowest or medium rack, and if you’ve pre-baked the dough then you don’t need the pizza pan anymore if you want.

You can just set your pizza right on the baking rack. Sometimes I leave the pan baking just depending on the crust I want. Try it both ways.

And then bake for another 20 minutes to your crispy done liking (all ovens are different and depend on your dough thickness, ingredients, etc.).

Check the crust bottom to determine doneness and if it’s not yet done, but toppings are done or shriveling/drying up, then add a piece of aluminum foil on top and keep baking until the crust is done.

Don’t leave the pizza in there after you’ve turned off the oven, like you could in baking other goods, as this can dry out the toppings and the fiery heat will be gone from the crust which usually takes the longest to bake.

When done, pull out of the oven. Presto! Let it cool and then cut and enjoy.

If you want to add individual flavors, like if you’re feeding a larger group, you can have side parmesan-reggiano cheese, oregano spice, red pepper flakes, garlic, drizzle or olive oil, or caper ingredients (just to name a few ideas)!

…And then you will have 100% impressed your friends with your rock star homemade pizza baking skills ⭐️

The sky’s the limit! And while you’re waiting on your baking oven, you can do a few baking yoga moves, if you’re so inclined.

shittake mushrooms homemade pizza. — Shiitake mushrooms and apple cider vinegar pizza crust.