Health & Wellness Vol. II

Monday, March 27, 2017

On my current to-read list...

My first Health & Wellness update was on January 9th...yikes. Needless to say, I've slipped in that department, fallen off the wagon and rolled down hill a few miles. Time to rectify that immediately.

There were ~~reasons~~ excuses why I gave up- my knees started bothering me from tennis, a busy season in our Etsy shop we were not expecting, stressful weeks at work...I could go on, but these are all issues of life, and issues I need to overcome and not let affect my eating and activity plans.

I'll start off with my meal plan for the week, then follow with activity and wellness goals. I use a notebook that I received in a you-guessed-it PopSugar box a few years back, which I have since scoured eBay for and repurchased. I list out the meals by day, but it's just to get a food shopping list prepared, these meals and their order are always subject to change.

HF= Hello Fresh. When we're in the middle of a busy season for the shop, we find ourselves eating out more which adds up, not to mention is detrimental to our energy and health. I've blogged about my love for Hello Fresh in this post, and plan on a more comprehensive post comparing and contrasting multiple boxes in the coming future. Hello Fresh is definitely my favorite- for $69/week we get 3 meals for the two of us that are simple, healthy, and overall delicious. I will admit there are a few recipes I get skeptical about, but I trust the recipe and 99% of the time they turn out amazing.

Use THIS LINK for $40 off your first box- if you get the box we do, it's $30 for 3 meals, definitely worth the try! We receive our 3 meals on Wednesday, but Monday's meal will be a leftover from the previous week. This is way cheaper and healthier than eating out, and only requires me to cook 1-2 meals a week depending on our schedule.

I'm trying a new recipe for oatmeal this week- it serves four, so I may quarter it in the event I hate it. It's from Cooking Light, and it's called Blackberry-Citrus Granola Bowl. It involves soaking steel oats overnight in almond milk, adding blackberries, oranges, grapefruit, and granola to the top. I'm skeptical, but I'm always looking to spice up my oatmeal. My favorite oatmeal of choice is below, varying the flavors and usually adding almonds, raisins, or an apple to it. Very good, and very convenient. I'm in need of some good oatmeal recipes, so if you have one- pass it along!

Lunches are pretty standard- half turkey sandwich with a slice of Swiss, lettuce, tomato, and a smidge of mayonnaise with veggies cut up on the side, sometimes with popcorn. Another regular in the rotation is a bowl of veggies, pita, feta, and hummus. I have cut it down to half a pita since this photo:

I already drink on average 64oz of water a day- it's easy for me, I prefer it over soda or any sugary drinks, plus I need to drink a substantial amount with a current prescription I am on. My goal is to get that up to 80- I work from home, so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to get that in- there's a bathroom across the hall from my office for crying out loud.

Activity

I wish this was me on the daily- this pic is from Emerald Isle last summer and I look at it all the time wishing I lived in a neighborhood that was bicycle friendly! Of course that's a ridiculous reason not to ride- I could take my March work commission, buy us 2 bikes and a bike rack, and drive somewhere to bike. I think this summer this will happen.

It's going to remain pleasant here in VA for a hot minute, so we need to get back out walking before it becomes unbearably hot. Working from home affords us a bit more time to walk before work, over lunch, or even afterwards. I work a pretty stressful job, so mentally afterward I am usually tired and not able to do the usual 3 miles, so we try to walk before work or over my lunch break.

Goal is 4-5 days a week. Raining? We have a universal gym membership with one of the gyms 2 minutes from the house. No excuses.

Wellness

This is just as important as diet and exercise, so this will continue to be a routine for me. This includes face masks, manicures, reading, and daily cups of tea.

Oh and maybe self care this week will include picking up new Stella & Dot summer pieces on Tuesday. And by maybe I mean definitely.

What are your health and wellness goals for the week?