It’s currently Wednesday afternoon, and I’m just starting to type up the Tuesday scheduled post on self care with kids. Yikes! I am a bad mommy blogger right now. But my reason for being so late to post relates pretty directly to what I want to talk about today – taking care of yourself! After an extended weekend visiting family and spending 5 hours behind the wheel during a torrential downpour, I needed to do something to take care of myself. So with the contents of our vehicle scattered around the kitchen and the living room filled with new toys from family members, I peace’d out and drove my butt over to Pure Barre Madison. If a year ago, you would have told me that the best thing to do when you’re tired, stressed, and overwhelmed is go for a workout, I would have thought you were crazy. But 55 minutes later after a very intensive class with the owner Meredith, my legs were shaking, but my confidence was rock solid. I was motivated and ready for a grocery run, dinner, and lots of cleaning. And now that I’m finally sitting down to write this post, I’m thinking “I probably could have written at least half a post during the time I spent at barre”. But I would have gone into the evening feeling completely frazzled. And there wouldn’t be a lot of truth behind the lessons I want to share with my readers. If I’m telling y’all to step away from the computer screen and go for walk, but I’m glued to my phone, you’d be a lot less likely to listen to me. Or at least that’s what I tell myself as I bang out this Tuesday morning-scheduled post on a Wednesday.
Category Archives: nutrition
A Week in Our Pantry – Receipts + Meal Plan
As I mentioned in my past two monthly budget recaps, our grocery expenses are a little out of control. Our average monthly grocery expense since moving to Alabama has been way too high for 2 adults and 2 toddlers. Yes, there’s the Celiac’s disease which attributes to why EVERYTHING has to be gluten-free. And I’m all about about supporting local businesses and buying organic. But I felt that it has to be possible to eat gluten-free, organic, healthy, hearty foods without spending over $1000/month. So this past week I decided to be very conscious of our food spending, eliminately anything that seemed wasteful or unnecessary. I was going to put a limit on our spending for the week, but I’m more interested in what GF + organic really costs when you’re living comfortably, not subsisting off of paltry meals. I NEVER want to not look forward to things I’m eating. Food is sustainance, but food is also fun!
August Favorites
1. Beautycounter Hydrate Body Lotion – First off, the citrus mimosa scent is everything. When I purchased this product, I knew it was scented, but I wasn’t overly concerned with the smell because everything from Beautycounter smells pleasant to me. But this scent is so completely on point. It’s like Sunday Brunch in a bottle minus the dehydration (and eventual headache) that comes with daydrinking. There aren’t many body lotions in my life that I have repurchased. I normally move from brand to brand because nothing sticks out to me. But I was really blown away by how quickly this sinks in. Summer months normally call for lighter moisturizers so I’m not sure yet how well this will do with very dry skin, but I can tell you this soothes irritation really well. I recently used a new bath soak sample that was fragranced with eucalyptus and lavender. After I got out of the tub, my skin felt super dry and itchy. I slathered this from head to toe and my skin immediately felt better. I can imagine this is a great after sun lotion as well. This now has a permanent spot in my shower.
Creating an Energizing Morning Routine
One of the tasks in my 30 Step Minimal Challenge is creating an energizing morning routine. I fully believe that if you don’t start your morning right, you’re not going to have a successful day. Since moving up to Alabama, I have crafted the perfect routine for helping me make the most of my mornings. My mornings normally go like this:
HUM Nutrition – Supplements for a Better, Healthier You
I’ve waffled between vitamin devotee and absentminded vitamin taker for years. Like since I was a “Flintstones kid”. I love routines and schedules, but I just never seemed to remember to take my vitamins. Or I subconsciously avoided them because the experience of swallowing a giant pill or two was not fun. Of course, that changed during my pregnancy when my daily prenatal + DHA supplement was taken every morning come hell or high water. Or the crippling nausea that occurs during the 1st trimester. But after a couple months of sticking to the same daily vitamin routine, it not only came easy to me, but I looked foward to it. I would take my 4 pills with a big glass of lemon water, basking in the happiness of knowing I was taking good care of my self and my growing little ones. Postpatrum, I stuck with my prenatal regime for awhile, then switched over to a delicious gummy version. If you are someone who loathes the idea of taking a daily vitamin, try the gummy version; it is so delightful, you will try to convince yourself that you “forgot” to take it in the AM just to sneak another gummy in the PM. I don’t recommend double-dosing, but you get the sentiment.
Beauty Food Salad
Salad is my go-to option for summer lunches. Salads are refreshing, light, and satisfying without being too filling. There is nothing worse than eating a huge meal and feeling sluggish afterwards. This holds especially true in the summer heat. I try to mix up my salad options each week whether its veggie-focused with cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes or fruit & cheese-focused like a winter Waldorf salad. I stumbled upon this salad chock full of beauty superfoods** on Into the Gloss, and I couldn’t wait to try it.
Healthy Snacks for a Happy Mom (and Baby!)
When it was time for the babies to start solids, I was still working full-time so trying to find the time to puree foods was impossible. So I headed straight for the baby food aisle at Publix to see what my options were. Actually I first headed straight to my laptop to research every baby food brand to determine the healthiest options available because that is what I do before I purchase ANYTHING. But after that I headed to the grocery store to buy a couple different brands to try out with the babies. As I stared at the various blends and snacks meant for older babies and tots, I thought about how delicous (and healthy) they all seemed. So I purchased a couple packs for myself!
Lauren, Etc. 