My friends and family who knew me most growing up would say that I am not the outdoorsy type. First of all I hate bugs and second of all I just love the comfort of my own home. However, if you get me out there in the woods – I secretly love it. So when I hiked part of the AT with my husband and a great group of friends – it felt amazing. There is just something about the woods that renews your soul and makes you feel so alive!
Hello! I am so excited to be writing here every Wednesday for you all! Most of you know that playing in nature is one of Lucy’s favorite things to do and that it is a very important part of the Well-Balanced Nutrition brand. It’s something we both encourage because we know the benefits firsthand.
For my first contribution to Wellness Wednesday, I bring you the Well-Balanced Nutrition Manifesto. It exemplifies our philosophies and how we tie together nature, food and well-balanced living. As you read this I want you to picture yourself in the most beautiful forest you can imagine. The sun in shining, the trees are tall, the path ahead is inviting and a cool, gentle breeze is at your back. Here we go…
Little By Little We Travel Far
One small step in the right direction is all it takes, and it doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop.
Go Out on a Limb
Try something new once in a while, even if it is challenging.
Have Fun (Seriously)
Play with your food, play in nature, just play more.
Watch out for Bears
They are out there but don’t let other people sabotage your hard work and happiness.
Ride the Waves
Healthy eating means sometimes over eating and sometimes under eating. Healthy living means having ups and downs. It’s how well you ride the waves that counts.
Stop and smell the Roses
Savor the beauty, eat mindfully and live in the moment.
Bloom where you are planted
Eat local and connect with your community.
Map it Out but be Flexible
Failing to plan is planning to fail, but being too rigid won’t get you far either.
Life is a Hike but the View is Great
Nothing great comes easily but with effort and perseverance comes great rewards.
Let’s go and be adventurers!
Take our hand and let’s start a wonderful, well-balanced journey together! The more the merrier!
There you have it! That pretty much sums up our mission and our message. This. is. our. manifesto.
Food for Thought: What stood out to you in this manifesto? Grab a pen and paper and write down your favorite part. Perhaps revisit it a few times this week.
Thanks for stopping by! See you next week!
“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.”
― Robert Frost
Do you ever finish a meal and think “that was good, but I could go for a little more?”
This happens to me regularly. I pack my lunch most days of the week, including the hiking adventures on Saturday. I typically make a salad because I find them versatile, convenient and delicious. The salad includes some sort of green leafy vegetable, tomato, avocado or leftover veggies, a protein such as tuna salad, hard-boiled egg or chicken. Always with fruit on the side or included on top! As well as, some sort of dressing – typically a homemade honey mustard or balsamic vinaigrette.
I typically feel about 80 to 90% full when I’m done with my lunch. The salads are filling and appropriately portioned but sometimes I want that last little nibble at the end of the meal. Almost without fail, I’ll have an appointment or some other activity to go do after lunch and within 20 to 30 minutes I notice that I’m actually 100% full and satisfied.
In Okinawa, Japan they have one of the highest population of centenarians – people over 100 – at about 50 per 100,000 people [1]. The population practices a self-imposed calorie-restriction, which some researchers believe contributes to their longevity. The Okinawan elders ask their bodies to stop them from eating after they become 80% full, which is called hara hachi bun me.
At first, I thought this sounded odd, but upon further observation, it actually makes a lot of sense. It takes, on average, approximately 20 minutes for your stomach to tell the brain that it’s had enough to eat.
This is where the 20% white space rule was born as depicted in the Well-Balanced Plate. In our American food culture, it’s pretty easy to overeat. The portions are oversized and the restaurants aren’t shy with the added fats, sugars, and salt to keep us coming back for more.
Food for thought:
There are many ways to put the 20% white space idea into practice:
- Order an appetizer for your meal
- Choose a salad plate to serve dinner on
- Put the fork or spoon down between each bite
- Share an entree with a friend or family member
- Wait 15-20 minutes after finishing the first plate before getting seconds
Which works best for you?
Recipe of the Week: Banana Pancakes the Easy Way
It’s almost back-to-school time! In honor of this fun and transitional time of year, I’m including my most favorite breakfast from my childhood – banana pancakes!
This week’s recipe, Banana Pancakes the Easy Way* is brought to you by the allrecipes.com.
*Note: I suggest nut butter instead of syrup to add protein and reduce sugar. I use 1/2 whole wheat or oat flour and 1/2 all-purpose.
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. -Napoleon Hill
To catch you up, I went on a 21-day elimination diet to figure out my IBS issues, which you can read more about in Lucy’s PB Story.
What story are you telling yourself?
I told myself, “I could never live without peanut butter!” As it turns out, that’s not true. I really enjoy eating peanut butter, but what I really like is the creamy, sweet & salty combo that peanut butter provides.
Maybe you’ve said, “I could never drink black coffee!” Or “I wish I could slow down while I eat, but I always ate fast growing up and this is just how I am.” Perhaps you’re telling people “I want to work out, but I just don’t have time for it.”
We all have stories that are keeping us from achieving our goals. We justify a lot of our actions or inactions by the stories.
A few lessons I’ve learned:
It comes down to mind over matter. The first three weeks were difficult; however, it got progressively easier day by day. Every time I was tempted to eat something that might knock me off course I remembered why I started this elimination in the first place. My mantra became “I am healing myself from the inside out and I feel much better now.”
A bit of creative thinking and self-compassion can go a long way. When/if you decide to make lifestyle changes remember that it’s going to require your time, energy and attention. Give yourself creative freedom to enjoy the journey and lots of self-love and compassion to stay the course.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been to the pool at least 2-3 times a week and I am not ashamed! I deserved a treat for my efforts and lounging by the pool with Harry Potter is my happiness.
Failing to plan is a plan for failure. This has never been truer for me. One day, in the first week, I did not pack enough food for snacks and on the way to a client appointment my blood sugars crashed. I was driving down Weaver Dairy Rd and I knew if I didn’t go find food hangry Lucy would present herself. Luckily, Food Lion was just a mile away and I went and got myself a Lara bar (energy dense but delicious whole-food option!).
Food for thought:
For any new changes you are considering, don’t be afraid to consult a trusted online resource (one of my favorites!), your best friend, family or your friendly local dietitian – *wink*wink – for some strategies and guidance to set you up for success.
Last Friday I was thinking about how I ought to start drafting Motivational Monday, but I just couldn’t get inspired. Sure, I have a few ideas and stories I want to share with y’all – it’s just finding the time, motivation and energy that’s the problem.
According to Darren Hardy, we are up to 30% less productive during the summer months than any other time of year. As far as I can tell, this seems pretty accurate, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Of course, the boss lady is still going to expect you to show up for meetings and answer emails, but why not play hooky a few Friday afternoons just because?
Kristen and I were discussing “summer vacation brain” (as I keep calling it) and she made a good point… Isn’t nice to have a season that is all about playing with friends, cooking outside on the grill and getting rest & relaxation?
I’m thankful this concept is starting to sink in for me! Below I thought it would be fun to share a few pics of how your WBN team enjoys R&R in the summer.
Whether it’s a simple Saturday morning trip to the Durham Farmer’s Market, enjoying indoor s’mores (easy to make on a gas stove top!), or taking a northern Michigan road trip adventure, Well-Balanced Nutrition loves summertime!
For those of you not on Snapchat with me, you may not know about my obsession with picnics. I find great joy in eating outside – plus it’s way easier to be mindful! This photo above is from a particularly delightful lunch at Atlantic beach with my old friend Harry Potter.
Food for thought:
•Food adventures at the Farmer’s Market
•Long weekends at the beach
•Field trips to the library
•Stopping by a lemonade stand
•A froyo date (topped w/ fresh berries, of course!)
•Reading a good book with a cool drink by the pool
How are you enjoying summer vacation?
Speaking of summertime food adventures, what’s a summer vacation without delicious corn-on-the-cob?!
This week’s recipe, Perfectly Grilled Corn on the Cob is brought to you by Bobby Flay with FoodNetwork.com.
The best way to get something done is to begin.
If you’ve missed the past couple weeks, we are currently in a series about changing habits… You can thank Gretchen Rubin the author of Better Than Before :-).
I have a friend who decided to put off a work project until September and I couldn’t understand why. This project is going to benefit her job and help her clients; however, she decided to wait 4 months to get started. After a few conversations, I finally asked her “why wait?” She explained that this project includes learning a new computer system that she’s unfamiliar with and she didn’t know who to ask for help.
This got me thinking, there are a lot of reasons why we don’t get started on projects – even the ones we know are beneficial to us.
Typically we are putting things off for one of the following reasons.
We need:
More education. Maybe it’s a matter of finding a book or dependable online resources to supply the knowledge and know-how you need to get that seemingly insurmountable task accomplished.
More support. If you want to stop drinking alcohol for a month it’s hard to ask your regular happy hour pals to give you support for that goal. Instead, you need to surround yourself with people that will support you by finding non-drinking entertainment alternatives.
Less to-dos. This is in reference to the “full-plate syndrome.” If your life is already full of responsibilities with a new job, aging parents to care for, doing the prescribed bedtime routine by your doctor and buying a house… This may not be the time to try and add a new healthy habit to your plate.
More fun. In a 1-on-1 with my lovely business partner, Kristen, I was reminded that in order to make a change it helps to make it fun! I don’t see my 21-day challenge as a deprivation experience but instead a fun challenge to get really creative (and a great excuse to eat more sunflower seed butter!).
Food for thought:
Perhaps it’s a creative project or new healthy habit you’ve been putting off?
Now you can identify the reason and get the education, support, time/energy or creativity to make it happen!
Recipe of the Week: Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Here’s a fresh and delicious summer salad that is great to take on a picnic, to a barbecue or on a camping trip.
This week’s recipe, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad, is brought to you by Epicurious.com.
