How to make easy coconut cookies below (that are so easy that NO recipe is needed!)
Our necks vary in length even though we have the same number of neck vertebrae as giraffes. 🦒And our neck sizes vary as do our Adam’s apples that are larger in males than females.
Our necks serve us to not just help support us in eating apples. 🍎Without our neck, we couldn’t use our brains. And we wouldn’t be connected to our body.
So regularly doing neck yoga exercises protect this vital body part and can work out some of the kinks from our bad computer postures and pillow sleeping habits.
Restoring your neck is a gentle way to get your groove back. And if you haven’t been in your yoga routine recently, this could be a good way to start again. Plus you can do it anywhere and everywhere. That can’t be said for many yoga poses.
And yoga is a great way to get your relaxation and breathing space back. 🧘🏻♀️
Sometimes all you need is just 5-10 minutes of yoga to reset your day and how you feel. So let’s begin… ⏲️
Take baby steps, Child’s pose is a great way to begin if you have floor space and a mat. It’s a calming move to set your relax neck intentions.
For neck yoga benefits, instead of tucking your neck down, try an Active Child’s pose where your neck is upward and out forward like the neck of a plane at take off ✈️
You can look at your pointed hands and fingers stretched forward on the mat. The intention can be to focus.
FYI, beginner poses like this are healthy good for anyone Advanced or Beginner.
You can use balancing (Hatha) poses. And go with a flow (Vinyasa) where you insert a Downward Dog in between the face down mat and face up poses… or anything you like if that’s too much or intimidating.
Yoga is flexible and hopefully when you do any yoga, you’ll become more joint-muscle flexible as one of the main benefits.
You’ll feel less soreness all around if any, and hear less joint cracking when you bend a certain way. Usually you’re benefitting more than one area at a time.
And the neck is no different.
But if you want to isolate the neck yoga exercise, moving your head side to side and from shoulder to shoulder like sunrise to sunset is a good regular practice. 🌅
It’s a healthy mantra to get you loose and let go of the unhealthy or tricky areas of your life situations. And yoga is great to manifest new habits and old thought patterns that don’t serve you any longer.
Making a tradition a habit is not a good idea if it keeps you stuck. And making a good habit a tradition is!
So now that you’re warmed up for neck yoga, here we go:
Front facing down mat:
1.Active Child’s pose
As mentioned start with the Active Child’s pose. If your tendency is looking down most the day, then this will carry a good stretch in your neck. Look as far up to the ceiling or sky as you can.
2. Table pose
This is a neutral pose that you can take into standing or front down poses. In Table pose, look up to the ceiling. Feel the back of the neck yoga stretch.
Besides yoga habits, another habit you can do is when you’re waiting in neutral, look up.
I do this when I’m waiting for the warm water to brew for tea making. Or when I’m filling the water filter with water.
Habit stacking neck yoga with waiting is a good idea. Even when you’re looking at your phone, try to get in the habit of holding your device up.
3. Mountain Pose 🏔️
You can ease into a Downward Dog and then stand up in Mountain Pose with hands in the air or prayer hands, and look up to your hands or ceiling.
3. Bow pose
Torso body facing down on the mat, bend your knees. With legs up in the air that you can move around, send your arms to your back and grab your ankles.
You’ll feel a nice stretch along your torso and back, and if you look up you really get to take advantage of the neck yoga bend.
Then transition to a seated position with Downward Dog if you like.
Bottom on the mat:
4. Boat Pose
Look up and legs up in the air so you’re in “V” shape with your bottom as your anchor. Your neck gets a nice stretch.
Instead of counting breaths, when you hold the pose, you could think of something today that you’re grateful for that you otherwise would’ve missed in a busier moment. That’ll add stress-drop points to your day. 🌻
5. Fish pose
This is a fun water animal pose. On your back, arch your back and let your head dangle downward so you’re looking at the wall behind you and upside down.
This is something you can do on your beach towel in case you’re on vacation 😉 And you can roll up your towel to use as a temporary pillow so your head drapes over the rollup (mimicking your neck yoga pose in Fish) that takes the pressure off your neck.
6. Seated Leg stretch
And finally to finish off, while seated you can stretch forward to touch your toes in front of you or as far as you can stretch.
Look up (and out as far as the eye can see) and you’ll feel the effects.
And after doing these 6 look up neck yoga poses, you’ll feel lighter.
And you could be ready for a treat like these summer light delights that are suprisingly healthy with superfood coconut goodness.
Coconut Cookies 🥥
Coconut lover? Move over macaroons (and macarons!). You’ll love these healthy, lower-fat cookies that need NO recipe or butter…
These healthy coconut toasted cookies are so easy to make with 4 ingredients and even less steps 👣: coconut flour (plus about a TBSP of AP flour), coconut oil, an egg, and shredded coconut.
Mix these ingredients together by hand and make a loose cookie dough that will have falling crumbs.
Shape into small circles, and bake on a no-stick baking sheet. Bake until sides are lightly toasted brown.
For the toasted coconut, if you want to be sure they don’t over toast while your cookie is still toasting 🥠, you can use this ‘lil trick:
Add shredded coconut to cookie tops about 5 minutes before the cookies are done. Then flip the cookies upside down on the baking sheet.
They look like crab cakes as an illusion. They’re coconut cookies.
And after you’ve been looking down on your baking tray, habit stack back to your look up neck yoga 🙆🏻♀️
Uncertainty can be made certain when you cook dishes you can’t mess up like shakshuka that always tastes great.
Start your day with a healthy morning breakfast like this Shakshuka egg-tomato dish 🍳 And balancing Ayurvedic spices that you can use to help restore your imbalance. Recipe below. ⬇️
Most of life is uncertain. Some days we have some certainty over planned future events and in yesterday’s events.
But we have uncertainty about tomorrow and sometimes what will happen today.
And uncertainty can come with all sorts of flavors and emotions.
Some uncertain days are filled with excitement, so those are double bonus… and are often few and far between over routine days. But that gives us a buffer so we feel the good effects compared to the previous nothing-special happening days.
And on uneventful days, it’s good to be grateful for our own contentment good.
That will get rattled up eventually with the sudden news that changes the direction of our day and possible season.
The way to best handle every situation is to find your joy. And if there is none that a sad or stressful situation can bring, then shed the cleansing tears and find peace. No matter what.
…Because the situation will happen regardless of your misery or staying calm and happy. So why not lean into the healthy positive expressing feelings that your body will reward you for?
Plus, you make more sound decisions that way.
A decision can be as simple as whether to react or not react. Because whatever our actions are, especially when others are involved, there are consequences.
And my best advice for you in uncertainty is if you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything you could regret until you know what to do.
Then bringing this to your awareness, an answer follows at some point. It’s not an automatic response like a knowing that comes with practice and habits and then builds confidence the next time.
Trained professionals know what to do in their specialties, and you know what to do in yours, but not necessarily in theirs.
And when you take an action or make a reaction from a place of peace of wanting to give, then you know you’ve done your best.
So often we take action because someone else has projected the situation onto us and put the burden on our shoulders. It’s our modern protective job (since we’re not running from tigers) to evaluate objectively.
And not always jump on what is asked if the hoops are the wrong ones where we don’t set boundaries. And we end up resentful or bitter about what could have been handled differently.
Give yourself first the chance to think: What are the facts? What do you know about the entire situation that may have a history?
And if we can sleep on the idea over a night or two, then we see how we feel after we think or pray about the idea in peace and meditation which can be starkly different than the knee-jerk reaction. Time and rest allow for wisdom to enter instead of our worry-fear actions.
…Which BTW, this is a great life skill habit to learn and practice.
We’ve all had examples and some practice over the past few years. Our worlds were shaken by the disruptions of the global crises we all experienced on our planet from climate to pandemic.
This led to the greatest uncertainty that may end up being the most in our lifetime.
The toughest unique situations we each had to individually go through may still feel like open wounds. And those are maybe ones we don’t want to think about since we just went through them and are still processing.
BUT, the healthiest thing we can do is to not delay and think about the effects on us this year. We each had trauma of sorts and we want to prevent post-trauma effects that our mind-bodies will cling onto.
The trauma could have been the change in jobs, relationships, losses, lifestyle habits, and where you live, or all of the above. Or that you’re still in those situations. And the bottom line is: there was and is uncertainty.
And on top, there could be fresh wounds mounding on top of older ones.
All of that is part of the adult life. And when you’re super tested during difficult times to take on additional stressors, you can choose to feel like throwing in the towel… or you can look at the upside!
Your tough trials, situations, and setbacks get you ready for what’s on the other side. 🌈
So in the mud, find the hope vision. That could be as simple as recalling the thoughts that when you’re down, there’s nowhere to go but up.
And when you’re feeling Kapha tired, you plow through anyway… not because you feel like doing the work or task, but because you know you’ll feel better after you do. And you’re looking for that victorious after-burn feeling! 😎
It always gets better… and that’s not cliche if you’ve already lived to mid-life.
In the down, you become the resilient person that is needed to appreciate the pot of gold if you fight for your own victory that’s inevitable in your beliefs and if you don’t give up.
So today and every day, find a ray of hope and glimmer. ✨Borrow from nature that hums and runs 24-7 without pause on any part of the globe.
Where I was the year before the pandemic started, was working in close-knit quarters. I was at large-scale annual events where as many as 100,000 global members were invited. And I traveled internationally more frequently than non-existently.
Working in my local offices, I recall appreciating the time I had working remote for years prior in my early 30s. That also made adapting to 2020 life easier.
…Similarly, leaning into your positives in your situations can be your saving grace. Recalling your past that helped you in the tough times and today can make you feel that all will be well. And it will!
…It’s that same knowing from experience, that if you have a bad day, the next ones will be great.
Focus on those optimistic thoughts and look forward to your next steps.
Find your blessings amid uncertainty. Staying in joy is going to help you not lose precious years of productivity.
Maybe look at life as a learning opportunity?
Each year comes with different situations and dreams. And you want to keep your head high and ride the cloud through the stormy and silver linings as though every opportunity is a joy to learn something.
And when you look down, you notice that the ground below you offers a chance to jump on a new landed opportunity and experience.
Make this year a triumph in how you see life and learning… and maybe someone you know needed to hear this that you can pass this on to, especially since we just passed Mental Health Awareness month that’s now part of our every month.
You’re never alone. And life is on your side. 🎉
And one thing you can control is keeping your joy and restoring your balance preferences with your spices.
You can restore your Vata, Pitta, and Kapha balance with Shakshuka
Course Breakfast
Cuisine lebanese
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
eggs
tomato sauce
coriander or cumin (cooling)- Pitta restoring
red pepper (heating) - Kapha restoring
oregano and tarragon - Vata restoring
olive oil
Instructions
Add your tomato sauce and EVOO and leave 3 dips to add your eggs. Cook until sauce is thickened about 10 minutes. Add the spices you want using your nose as to which you want to add. Your preferences will change because your nose knows to balance your Ayurvedic dosha that needs balancing related to your moods (e.g. tired, anger, anxious).
Bake dish at 350°F/180° C with spices about another 10 minutes.
Healthy habits matter today big time for results tomorrow. And we can get a good dose of influence from the Blue Zones (discovered by Dan Buettner), where their habits feel like worlds apart from our modern, Western world.
But we can adopt their healthy ways. And I share a few of mine below along my journey including a healthy potato habit I have. 🥔
As for healthy habits, I’ve been eating whole-wheat bread and foods since I was young. I don’t think I ever had a slice of white sandwich bread. It was wheat, rye, or pumpernickel… but never white.
Whole wheat cherry glace pancakes with frozen Greek yogurt for Sunday brunch! 🥞
I’m so glad I didn’t let those past years of dissatisfied field trip bag lunches hold me back. Those and other healthy habits are happy keepers.
Below you’ll learn about some Sunday brunch inspo that came from healthy habits and endings too.
And what you create as eating healthy habits today becomes your tomorrow’s habits. And can be part of happy memories.
Some of them stick around from when you were younger, and still work. They need no replacement.
When I was younger, working smart was en vogue. Why?… je ne sais quoi.
…Maybe we were trying to learn how to cut corners? But working hard never went outta-style. Work was (and is) what made the world go round but talking about grunt work especially would be like going rogue.
And today, in a sharing society, we learned that there are no shortcuts. The good stuff is in the work and comes from the working hard process. So glad we kept the healthy habits. 🌱
And even the tough work proved useful for growth and experience.
Especially when we’re young, we need all the experience we can get…
In those years, I walked everywhere. I had no wheels. I walked to the bus, to the dentist, to school, on the paper route, and to my friends’ houses.
And when my high school friend got a new set of wheels, a brand spanking new red Cabriolet convertible for her 16th birthday, she offered to pick me up in the mornings to take me to school. It surprised me when I turned down that exciting offer.
My young mind told me that I shouldn’t count on that routine. Our young intellects were at work even when we weren’t fully conscious. 😉
And in a higher gear, I knew I made the right choice.
At that moment I solidified the habit of counting on myself… and not taking shortcuts that breed laziness.
No lazy (Kapha) mind is a better mantra…
And a good way to break out of that mold is to exercise even when we don’t feel like doing it. You always feel better after the burn.
An easier way is to step outside. Because there you don’t feel the sting. You don’t count calories burned. Your wristband does it automatically for you.
And you breathe in new air and let your senses do the rest.
And when you naturally go up and down steps, you’re doing exercise without having to convince your brain to work. It’s automatic to your mind and legs.
Simply, if you want to get to where you’re going, you need to take steps… or even better, the stairs. Fair, right?
Too often we automatically think of exercise as cardio and keeping up our heart rates. That’s just one type.
And the kind that makes a difference will be the exercises and moves you do.
Another habit area is consistently showing up.
Your presence becomes known. And you’re seen as someone who’s accountable and takes the time to be available. We all like to know people like this.
It’s a form of welcomed dependability.
And there are ways we all can be consistent whether it’s online or in-person. And where we can be part of our community.
For some years, I was part of organizing a regular brunch group. It fit what I was doing. I was helping others plan their hosted events, so why not host my own? It was volunteer mixed with fun healthy habits.
What made the group special was that we (I had a co-lead with me) opened the event to everyone. There were always newcomers to the group and the DC metro area. And the restaurant of choice had to set up several tables.
It was fun to try out new local restaurants including swanky Michelin Blue Duck Tavern places, historic National Press Room restaurants, and mod-deco fare ones on the Potomac River. Many celebrated Cherry Blossoms 🌸 like this one (speaking of en vogue):
And we met restaurateurs like this distinguished chef who put foodie restaurants on the maps in the 90s before Jose Andres.
Restaurant lunch time for brunch isn’t usually busy like dinner so that was a good fit for all. And being plugged in that way became part of healthy habits that season.
And during those years, as a theme, I was also inviting my own bunch to the restaurants where I ran the group events.
Similarly, if you take a look at your healthy habits, you’ll notice some repeats. Your regular habits that stick become what sticks out in your life tomorrow and years later.
Taking inventory of your healthy habits will help show you the gaps so you can have a fulfilling life.
You can consider:
Where are you spending most of your time?
What do you wish you were doing more of?
Are you plugged into your local community in some way?
How are you helping the world?
Just some food for thought as you go about your week.
This used to be one of my favorite lunch meals when they had a loaded potato fixins' bar at my work. The skins are often tossed out and are loaded with fiber and vitamins that can be cooked, baked and enjoyed in our daily meal healthy habits!
This isn’t what it looks like (or doesn’t look like!). It’s actually a honey-saffron-pistachio-dates-sea salt whole wheat dessert inspired by baklava and the layers are filled with a wintery nut trio mix (walnuts, pistachio, and pecans). Healthy and happy!
Intermittent Fasting has become a popular way for those of us who want to be healthier and improve mental clarity (and is not just for losing weight).
It’s something I’m embracing in 2023. And I’m sharing my points with you in this jam-packed post that also includes 15 great spices I love… for good food inspo you can appreciate on feasting days if you’re on a sustainable healthy fasting lifestyle.
But first, let me back up two points as you may not be familiar with Intermittent Fasting.
#1. Fasting or Intermittent Fasting (within time windows) is becoming uber popular these days as a way to lose weight sustainably. It’s the opposite of a fad diet that I’m opposed to because the long-term effects can backfire.
#2. Weight loss for a healthy body mass index or waist circumference is one great benefit that shouldn’t be downplayed… and has side benefits that are even greater. Losing weight also reduces the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic breakdowns and developing adult-onset type-2 Diabetes that’s soaring in our modern world. T2D oftentimes can be better managed, prevented, and restored with healthy lifestyle choices.
And another point… is if you know me, you know I’m not doing IF for weight loss. It’s the sustainable, healthy lifestyle and side health benefits that I’m super excited about on my end!
…So I hope the information here gives you some insight and can help you decide if IF is right for you. There’s no shame or awkward feelings like “being on a diet” can have because Intermittent Fasting (IF) is a sustainable lifestyle.
…And actually, no one during your day will be able to note when you’re IF fasting or feasting if you want to keep it to yourself (as your choice). Drinking water and coffee is pretty normal stuff for most of us. 😊
And I use sleep time for almost half of the 16 hours I’m fasting these days. But the schedule you decide is completely flexible and changeable from season to season… and actually is better when you mix it up if you get stuck e.g. not losing more weight or you’re on your cycle for women (that’s different than 🚴♀️).
There are so many health benefits from switching in and out of glucose and ketones. I list a few below, but I can’t get into all of them here as the list is long (and this article is already pretty long)… but, if you want to seriously learn more about this, just fill out the 2-minute body balance quiz and mention your IF interest in the optional notes area, and I’ll pass on some good resources.
And in case this is your first time visiting my weekly blog, I’ve been into preventative health my entire adult life that started when I was marketing high-end nutritional supplements in my early 20s. Lowering fat calories (where even “nuts are bad”) was part of the zeitgeist I grew up in. …and, well, these days that macro-talk has switched to carbs.
Personally, I like to focus on the macro positives like increasing healthy proteins and veggie-forward carbs.
But today, we’re on the brink of health research that’ll help us live longer optimally by biohacking our bodies. I think we need this to offset the toxins and global warming effects that we daily intake (and didn’t experience decades ago).
And I believe Intermittent Fasting will help our individual healthy e-missions as our world advances. More women and men are looking at IF as a healthy lifestyle choice. Here is a good reason why:
Because IF is good for chronic cardiovascular-related prevention (heart disease is still the leading cause of death, along with certain cancers, and now cognitive decline and T2D)…
So this is why IF is good for all of us (Vatas, Pittas, and Kaphas). All our bodies perform autophagy cell clean up, and efficiently better with IF. And that helps us to reduce oxidative stress that leads to the chronic stresses that lead to chronic diseases. And if you get into a 24-hour fast, you can optimize this one benefit.
You can also look up autophagy: a new kind of recycling we can do, but with our bodies. 😊
…that benefit alone should raise an eyebrow! And is good news.
As a health and wellness freelance writer having spent countless hours consuming IF facts, benefits, and science-backed expert advice, Intermittent Fasting is aligned with my current healthy ways.
So, I’ve added this to my 2023 health and wellness plans.
And in my weekly Intermittent Fasting, what I eat and drink complements my anti-inflammatory diet and balancing Ayurvedic-lifestyle (from yoga to spices)… below, I share some of my fave Ayurvedic spices-and-everything-nice list that helps to enhance self-awareness by appreciating the foods put in the body.
On my “fasting days,” I eat from 8-4. I know that sounds like an “on the clock” job, but that’s hardly the way it feels. It’s so easy and actually makes my daily life easier.
…In my case, it keeps me from snacking all day and night, like so many of us. And even though my snacks are usually simple and healthy, like carrots, nuts, popcorn, and dark chocolate, my body rewards me for not snacking at all.
That includes giving up the habit of chewing gum that I stopped a few years ago.
All gum, sweet mints, cough drops, creamers, and flavored drinks all count as part of the calories that can unintentionally swing the “napping” fasting body back into work mode, and easily break a fast.
Breaking a Fast
The snack elephant in the room (on feasting days) for me is a few soft Twizzlers (strawberry, cherry, and black licorice). I was so going to say fresh Twizzlers, but you’d laugh at me because there are few if any fresh foods coming from a packaging manufacturing plant. 😉
…And just so we’re clear, that’s not a Twizzler endorsement for any of my weekly healthy food lists and plans (anti-inflam, Ayurvedic, or IF). I’m not trying to steer you down a Twizzler diet path (…lol).
Licorice is the happy food in my life. And you have your non-negotiable faves. Hopefully, they’re worth it!
…So, swinging the needle back to the healthy (and happy) body, here are some ways I use spices.
I like to go into my spice cabinet regularly and open up the small containers to cook and bake with. It’s an Ayurvedic balancing practice (not usually practiced when fasting).
Spices heighten the senses. And are a good way to develop recipes and come up with spiced-up! new meals. I’m a free-pour type of gal so rarely do I use teaspoons to measure spices. And sometimes being heavy-handed makes for a better dish or bake anyway.
Balancing the Body with Spices
And not only are spices a good way to appreciate your sense of taste and smell, they’re also a good indicator of where you’re balanced and off-balance. I mentioned the Body Balance Quiz earlier which uses this same concept.
This is body-mind self-awareness from the mind-body’s perspective.
Here’s how it works: whether you’re anxious/worried, irritated/angry, feeling critical, or feeling lazy, these emotions and moods all show up in your spice preferences!
This is one of the fun experiences I had when I learned Ayurveda in 2008. And then years later hadn’t forgotten, so I thought would be fun to give “the spice test” to my office-mate catering colleagues. It made for a nice break when we were all swamped and I had up to 7 events going on in a day.
…And somehow I found time to help out and work at one of The WeddingWire HQ catered events in those imbalanced hour days.
…So when I gave my officemates their personalized results, I think they felt like I magically 🪄knew them better than themselves that season (…and just with a few everyday seasonings I brought in!). Of course, I provided the counterbalancing solutions they specifically needed.
And these ordinary ones are some of the faves that can make an EXTRAORDINARY dish.
Sweet Spice:
✅Star anise. A spice blend with star anise as the star is Ras el hanout. You also get some punchy notes with cloves, balancing fennel, and mild-spicy black pepper.
✅Curry. Surprisingly I used to think this exotic spice smelled like an old shop full of food knick-knacks. And then grew into this sweet spice. It goes really well with chicken or potato dishes.
Bitter:
✅Sumac. This is not as common a spice. You would know if it was in your cabinet because it stands out with a dark purple color. It has the quintessential bitter taste along the same lines as dry mustard.
📝And bitter spices would probably not spike insulin on a fast (aka Intermittent Fasting), but the foods that went with it definitely would!
✅Pungent:
Ginger. Freshly grated ginger is great for everything. It has a calming effect even though it has a distinctive spice kick at the end. And of course, ginger spice is great for gingerbread in the gingerbread house in the winter holiday seasons.
✅Cardamom. This takes a sophisticated taste. You either like it, are neutral, or detest. Most younger tastes go for the latter perspective. Maybe that’s why it has “mom” at the end because it’s meant for more mature tastes.
✅Black pepper. And there are studies that indicate if black pepper is added to cardamom, there are synergistic anti-inflammatory benefits. It’s not just good with salt. And you can take that for what it’s worth. I personally like waving black pepper around for opening up nasal congestion. 😊
✅Cloves. This is a versatile pungent spice. Unlike ginger which gets spicier, clove is a subtle spice. And maybe why a dark brown color to blend in. And cloves are off the charts when it comes to anti-inflammatory, meaning it’s super good for you.
It’s one of those hidden spices in the cabinet that should be brought out. And it’s often in the middle of the list of ingredients in a spice blend. It doesn’t get the glory recognition it deserves like bright orange turmeric news headlines these days.
And just a few more spice notes 🎶, and then we’re done. Btw, thanks for sticking with me!… Your dishes will thank me.
Herby/Fragrant:
✅Garlic – good for adding a 3rd dimension and a good prebiotic we can always use more of.
✅Thyme – similar to oregano that’s generally more common.
✅Oregano – good for any Italian dishes, pizza, pasta, and red sauce.
Distinct/Pleasant:
✅Tarragon – for any savory dish you want to add a sweet herb and create a French bistro in-the-mouth vibe. This is great for savory breakfast foods like potatoes and eggs. They can also be part of your break the fast foods if you’re Intermittent Fasting.
✅Saffron – great for any seafood dishes and stews. And even sweets paired with honey, like baklava. Saffron is a Vata favorite because it has a very balanced, sweet, and distinct scent and taste. You can’t miss it in a paella seafood dish.
✅Dill – is lovely with any cold appetizers that need a ‘lil fresh pep. It also has a distinct green pine needle look, so it makes for a great last-minute dish dash (or final touch to top off).
Unlike rosemary which also has a needle-like appearance, dill is easy to chew. Dried rosemary… not so much, and since it’s prickly is better as an exterior skin flavoring or on a roast.
✅Mint – Not the candy mint no-no I mentioned earlier when I was talking about fasting, but the plant that’s actually an herb. Peppermint leaves are great for tea and baking extracts. Tea leaves are great for garnishes and also pair well with fruits.
✅Spearmint – always reminds me of Wrigley’s spearmint gum (another fasting faux pas) from my childhood years and is good in a tea blend. Also, good with dishes such as mint peas.
So, that’s what I have for spicy news this week until next week!
I record all my blog posts, so you can fold laundry or take a break from staring at a screen 📱
…And if you want to learn more about starting an Intermittent Fasting anti-inflammatory lifestyle habit you can stick to (and maintain a consistent weight), check out my FREE 27-page Intermittent Fasting Guide. 👙
Sleep is the revolution we’re in. Previously the ambitious mantra was to forego sleep to get more done.
A healthy avocado breakfast to break the sleep fast! 🥑
Whether getting more sleep is on your list of resolutions or wellness intentions this year (or not), you’ll get a new side of sleep… not just back, left, or right but a whole NEW angle (in this week’s blog post article)…
Below, I share about Ayurvedic energy patterns that affect your sleep, and why it matters to your daily energy.
…And a NEW change this year I’ve made that’s revolutionized my sleep. 🎉
And sleep is everything to your body… and to you and me!
Even when it was endorsed and en vogue to sleep less to get more done just a decade ago from what I remember, I never bought into that belief.
I always thought sleep was the best thing ever. Better than sliced bread (which I’ve replaced with homemade bread loaves and airy pizza crust with anti-inflam Brussels sprouts 🥬…that’s not a healthy fad.)🥖
…And sleep isn’t a trendy fad.
Amazing sleep is on my daily bucket list. We never know when will be our last day, and sleep is wellness time spent well.
When you look like a Sleeping Beauty sound asleep, you’re at peace.
…Your conscious mind isn’t running where you have to act or make any decisions.
And even if you don’t love sleep… we HAVE to sleep as part of survival, so our bodies can restore and reset. With all the functions our bodies do second by second, it needs a rest.
And after a good night’s sleep, you naturally have more energy to be productive during the day. You run more efficiently as you gain minutes because you get more done in fewer hours.
And that leaves you less stressed. And to your body, less accumulated stress cuts down on oxidative stress (one of the reasons why we work so hard to eat healthy).
We also know we prevent diseases when we prevent chronic inflammation. And long before I became an advocate for anti-inflammation, I was uneasy with the idea of running on lack of sleep.
Sleeping in occasionally was a weekend luxury (that cost nothing!). It’s a happy feeling not having to look at the clock or having a blaring alarm to artificially wake up to. It’s freedom from a duty activity you have to do, like work or school.
But artificial alarm wake-up time is not the time your body wants to get up. If it’s super early or you had a rough night of sleep, that often shows up as bags and lines under the eyes.
And if giving a presentation was part of the new day, adding a few “get the red eyes” drops always came in handy.
We never wanted to show that we weren’t well rested. And I learned this as a child when school started way before it should be legal for a child to have to get up, LOL.
Before the sun rises is way too early, especially for our growing bodies (and adult bodies) that run best along sunshine/sundown circadian rhythms.
Night-time is nature’s way of preparing us for sleep…. and why in my youthful adult years I always felt tired out at social clubs. But the environment and friends kept me buzzing.
And even way back before those times, when waking up, I learned from teen magazines to take an ice cube and soothingly apply under each eye for a few seconds. Instantly that made you look well-rested even though your mind was still half-asleep…
This is how it felt eyes opened until the time my mind and mind-body caught up.
I wasn’t one of those kids whose parents introduced caffeine or coffee to them. My 90-year-old immigrant parents have still never had coffee or a soda EVER as far as I’m aware.
They didn’t grow up with it. And I didn’t either. I only started enjoying daily cuppa joes well into my adult years.
And this is my joyful daily routine over alarms.
…So as a schoolgirl, like many American kids in public schools, I had a bowl of cereal with milk and some juice for breakfast. That was supposed to tie me over until lunch.
By 8 am when I was at school, I plowed through the tiredness. There wasn’t another choice. From what I remember, putting your head down on your desk was only done when we had a classroom survey where we raised our hands anonymously.🙋🏻♀️ Or maybe used as a timeout tool that I never experienced. I was an obedient kid. 😁
And then after 11 am, my full day’s energy kicked in. 🤸🏻
But I noticed I was still alert for morning tests as you don’t need high energy to take tests. You need the answers from the mind. And sometimes our teachers gave us a Jolly Rancher candy for our veins so we stayed awake.
Then by the afternoon school lunch, the food that finally entered my stomach sunk like lead and I felt like crashing in the afternoon. (Now as an adult I know it was the heavy, processed carb meals from school lunches that caused the blood sugar rush).
And the change in pace from class and lunch socializing with friends didn’t help either to swing back into learning. Post-lunch, my mind was ready to shut down. (Today, we know it’s part of the gut-mind connection).
…It’s like going to a social event or a game where you’ve eaten party food and then trying to study. That doesn’t work too well if at all.😏
But that was the school’s schedule, and so that was my daily agenda. Priorities misaligned, they put school-age-kid bus schedules in front of the kids they serve.
…And if school started later in the day, school-age kids would have a better chance of getting enough sleep. We need a new sleep revolution in our society starting from a young age.
But that’s a whole ‘nother topic… and this isn’t a rant or discussion about revolutionizing schools.
Outside of school and those years, today we have better food and meal choices. And food is still one of the 4 basic needs along with water, shelter, and clothing.
And sleep should be on that list as a #5.
If you’re a naturally inconsistent sleeper, then likely you’re a natural Vata body where you wake up earlier one day over the next. Each night of sleep is an adventure as it varies.
We can’t change the way we naturally feel. So this stacks against us to be daytime productive unless we learn to use our natural bodies to our advantage.
These are some natural (circadian rhythm) times when we want to lean into each of our Ayurveda dosha “personalities”:
From 6 am – 10 am, if you’re up, that’s Kapha time. And from 10 am to 2 pm is Pitta time. (And as a child, a mind-productive time in the late morning thanks partially to the mind-body connection).
From 2 – 6 pm, Vata time kicks in. Naturally, Kapha-heavy bodies can want to take a nap while the Vata is still alert.
Example: I’m a dominant Vata body, so I enjoy working during those energy-filled afternoon hours (after I’m done with a Kapha coffee morning ☕️). But occasionally if my Kapha is imbalanced and high, then I can feel tired the whole day.
…Not revelationary, but an interesting perspective, huh?
And unless you feel imbalanced, daily tired, or low on energy, then don’t lose sleep over the Ayurveda time concept and idea that’s probably newer to you.
But if you do want to make changes as I do as life-healthy prevention and daily productivity, then you can try something new or a bio-hack that works…
Especially since winter and age are not on our side. We can be more sluggish to make changes. And our bodies want to sleep in but we want consistent sleep year-round to fit our schedules and lives.
…So what I did this month was I started fasting (time-restricted eating) a couple of days of the week on certain weeks of the month.
I sleep peacefully well on fasting nights ( like Sleeping Beauty described earlier). And my body needs less winter sleep (and the same 7, maybe 8 hours amount of sleep I prefer consistent year-round that’s also experienced in fall, spring, and summer).
And the day after fasting I feel naturally more energetic and more alert. Look forward to my fast day tomorrow! …and I’d love to know if that’s something you’ve tried or are doing (…maybe for the same reasons I’m doing or as part of a new year weight loss plan).
I’ll share more of my journey in the weeks to come. Until then, have a peaceful and blessed week! 🙏
