Every day is a new start, here are simple healthy changes that you can make at any time of the day. Don’t feel the need to make them all at once, just see if there are one or two that would fit easily into your schedule for this season of time.
You will be surprised at how much these little tweaks can add up and support your overall good health!
5:00 am If you’re a morning person, go ahead and eat your frog now. What does that mean? Accomplish the one task that you don’t want to do right away, and the rest of the day will be smooth sailing. I know not everyone is a morning person, but if you are, try to get up at least an hour before everyone else in your family so that you have a calm start to your day and feeling of accomplishment.
7:00 am Drink some filtered water, pull out a healthy meal from the freezer if it’s going to be a busy day.
7:30 Taking a multivitamin? Vitamins aren’t all created equal. Check to make sure your is actually helping you, and isn’t providing inferior quality vitamins that interfere with your body’s metabolic processes. (read more)
8:00 Consider skipping, or delaying, breakfast to activate the (free!) benefits of being in a fasted state. (read more)
8:01 Black coffee is generally accepted to not interfere with the benefits of fasting, but if you are struggling with adrenal issues consider skipping it anyway. Need to give up coffee? Pop an amino acid instead (really! read more here).
8:10 If you struggle getting breakfast for the kids, make-ahead slow cooker oatmeal, make-ahead homemade yogurt cups, or smoothies are all fast breakfasts with nutrition needed for growing bodies.
8:15 Packing a lunch will save you time, money, and improve your health considerably. I like leftovers for lunch, and I pack my kids’ lunches a few days at a time (see here).
9:00 Work some form of physical activity and fresh air into your commute, whether it’s parking a couple blocks away from work, walking the kids to school, or swinging kettle bells for 10 minutes if you’re staying home.
10:00 Gratitude focus. List mentally or write in a journal 5 things you are thankful for. What you focus on is what will increase, so take a moment to focus on the good in life.
11:00 If you skipped breakfast, you may be hungry now and ready for your packed lunch or a meal at home. Go ahead and include apple cider vinegar (a packet of stevia helps the taste considerably!), a multivitamin, and probiotic with your meal.
12:00 Stop drinking caffeine now to help improve sleep quality (source). If you didn’t get a chance to get some exercise this morning, now is a good time for a brisk walk. Exercise on your lunch break is documented to increase productivity, health, and general well being in office workers (source).
2:30 Tempted to grab a candy bar to get through the afternoon slump? Take a 20-minute power nap, take a few minutes to stretch, meditate, or do some belly breaths, or have some lemon water, herbal tea, or kombucha instead.
3:30 Kids are home from school and onto outside activities. Unplug and connect with the kids after a day apart.
3:45 Do you have trouble getting your kids to eat the home-cooked meal that you prepared from health-giving ingredients? Consider only offering veggies as an after-school snack so that they have time to be truly hungry and then fill up on supper.
4:00 What’s for dinner? Try to include a protein, fat, veggie, and probiotic in every meal. Read through your recipe, make sure you have your ingredients, and start cooking if you eat earlier. If you pulled a freezer meal out to thaw this morning, it might be time to pop that in the oven or Instant Pot. Need something fast and easy? Skillet meals are prefect for busy nights.
5:00 Cocktail hour! Make healthy swaps for your favorite beverages to eliminate artificial flavors, colors, and corn syrup while still enjoying. Or you can indulge in a mocktail, bubbly water, or kombucha while you cook dinner as another treat.
5:15 Kid are looking to connect at the end of the day. Teaching your little ones to cook alongside you will not only help you get dinner on the table faster and more efficiently, it also will provide life skills for your children, provide a distraction for them during the pre-dinner crankies, and will help them to be more receptive to new foods.
5:30 Proactively create a calm dinner table. Our emotions dictate how well we digest our food, so creating a happy atmosphere at the dinner can be just as important as the quality of food we are serving. A happy home is a healthy home. See tips for a happy dinner hour here.
6:00 As you clean up dinner, pack leftovers right into lunch containers. Here’s your healthy lunch for tomorrow. Even if you stay home, sometimes having a packed lunch for you and young children helps from feeling like you’re always cooking and cleaning up.
6:10 Rather than a dessert or ‘junk food treat’ every evening, get in the habit of serving fresh fruit at the end of the meal. We want to enjoy food, but not get in the habit of equating junk food as treats. Fruit is delicious, beautiful, and health giving. Save baked goods for celebrations and special occasions; when they are rare they are even more special and better enjoyed.
6:30 Do you have trouble winding down for the night?
- Tart cherry juice naturally increases melatonin in the body.
- Sulfur and magnesium deficiencies often result in sleeplessness, these bath bombs contain both and are a fun addition to the bath.
- Blue-blocking glasses can be worn starting when the sun goes down to help with sleep as well.
7:00 Brush your teeth and check your toothpaste. Yes to charcoal, no to fluoride!
7:30 Set kids up for success by providing consistent bedtimes and allowing them to get their needed amounts of sleep. It’s important for parents to have some time to wind down as well.
10:00 Set tomorrow up to have a good start. Remove makeup and do some skin care for the night. Doing a quick sweep through the house now and tidying up the kitchen will make a much nicer day to wake up to. If you’re a night owl, go ahead and eat your frog right now (see the explanation at 5:00 am at the top of the page) so that you wake up tomorrow with one major accomplishment completed.
11:00 pm Lights out (if you got up earlier this morning, you may be asleep by now!)
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Cara, I love this! You are so full of wisdom and great advice! Not to mention, your recipes are awesome!