Morning Rituals And Why You Should Have One (Especially When You Are Planning A Wedding!)

I'm obsessed with having a morning ritual. Ever since I heard Tim Ferriss talk about them on his podcast I have been intrigued with getting mine right. It's a super important part of my day as an entrepreneur who works from home. It helps get my head right and start the day on the right foot. However, the more chaotic your life is, the more you could benefit from a strong morning ritual.  If you start your day off rushing through your shower and running to catch the train- you may need a morning ritual even more! When you are planning a wedding you essentially have taken on a second job. Having a morning ritual adds a bit of peace to your day - it's a win from the very first moments of the day. I think we all need that!

There are so many benefits to having a morning ritual, but of course it varies depending on what you include in it. What I love about my morning ritual is that I know I'm starting my day off doing something to take care of myself before the madness begins!

It is always a work in progress and it has evolved over time. I'm going to give you a couple examples so you can craft your own perf version! One that I used for a while is referred to as the "Miracle 6". It takes 6 minutes of your morning.

• 1 minute of silence.
• 1 minute of affirmations. 
• 1 minute of visualizations
• 1 minute of scribing (journaling)
• 1 minute reading
• 1 minute of exercise 

To break it down: 

The minute of silence is without your phone, eyes open or closed, just sitting for a moment int peace.

The affirmations are just a list of positive things to remind yourself of daily. They help keep your mind positive. Example of one: "Today I am surrounded by love and abundance in my life." I think about what I am struggling with overcoming mentally and then write some out, or google positive affirmations until I find what I need. :)  

The visualization is a form of goal setting, and it may take some time to write before your review it daily. You want to think about what you are hoping to achieve in your life. It could be long term or just a few months away. Think about what you are hoping to see in your life and write it down. Get as descriptive as possible, so when you read it, it evokes emotion and gets you excited! You should really see the vision clearly. 

Scribing is essentially journaling. There are many forms you could do. Some people do morning pages - a practice where you practice writing 3 pages of long form stream of conscious journaling (I tried it, it wasn't my cup of tea - but many, many people swear by it!). It also is hard to do in one minute. I preferred gratitude journalling, where I write 3 unique things I'm thankful for each day. 

I read this when I was practicing the Miracle 6 morning ritual- it was perfect in small snippets. 

Reading- pretty self explanatory. If you are doing the Miracle 6 I think it's best to read something with small insights, like my favorite, Tao Te Ching. Or a personal development book (see right) where you can get something out of just reading a page or two. 

Exercise- again this is just one minute, so something like jumping jacks, crunches or push ups are good to get the blood flowing! Or you could take the yoga approach and do a sun salutation or two!

There were aspects of this routine I really liked, and it worked for me for awhile. But as I evolved, so did the ritual. When I added true meditation into my routine (not just a minute of silence), it changed the dynamic of the morning. I found it really hard to just read for one minute, and it kinda felt cruel to stop at one minute. Then I would read more, and then the routine would last much longer. I've taken some things I really liked from that ritual and incorporated it into my current routine. 

I've included my morning ritual is below. It is not my every day- right now I am at about 3 days/week. And sometimes I don't do all of the components, but if I get one of them done, it is an accomplishment!  

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My morning ritual

• I go downstairs and start the coffee. If I'm feeling really on it, I will use the frother and make a superfood latte (I froth almond milk, cacao powder, and brain octane oil). 
• I then write in my gratitude journal. I write three things that I am grateful for.
• Sometimes I will do a visualization and/or affirmations.
• I pray for a few minutes. 
• I meditate for 20-30 minutes. 
• Then I get up, get dressed, and make my bed.
• Boom! Ready to start the day!

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a simple day with my gratitude journal and coffee. 

This process takes me about 60 - 75 minutes when I do all of the components. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. 

If you have been following along, you probably understand how important coffee is to me. The smell tells me its time to start the day. When I have the superfood latte, I'm starting my day with nutrients that are fueling my body. Just one small step to start the day right. 

I love my gratitude journal because it really helps me cultivate an abundance mindset. I have so much to be grateful for every day.

Praying helps me focus on what truly matters and gives me perspective.  

Meditation deserves its own post. It helps me focus on the present moment. It helps me to be still in my world that is moving so fast. It helps me to just be. I will do a follow up post on meditation soon. 

I used to not make my bed. But now, I realize that making the bed (and keeping my space clean) helps my mind focused and clear. Besides that, it starts my day with accomplishing a task. There are so many things are out of my control, this is one small thing that is definitely within my domain. 

So in sum, having a morning ritual helps me to start the day: 

• with good nutrition
• in a positive mindset
• at peace with what I can and cannot do
• goal oriented
• and accomplished

Pretty powerful stuff, right? All of those things are pretty critical during wedding planning! I encourage you to start your own morning ritual! The "miracle 6" is a great place to start.

Do you have a morning ritual already? I would love to hear about how you start your day! Leave me a comment below or on social! If you haven't seen I finally launched the Shed FB page. Go on and give it a like for me! xx, AHS

Superfood Profile: Bee Pollen

In honor of allergy season being in full swing,  I thought it would be helpful to provide some insight on Bee Pollen and why it is so extraordinary. 

I had my first experience with bee pollen a few years ago. I was working at a local juice and smoothie shop- and we offered bee pollen as an added superfood boost. I would put it in my smoothie every day, and I swear I never had a spring so unaffected by allergies. Knowing this information and how it affected my own system inspired me to learn more, especially as future years sans bee pollen were quite miserable. 

 

what is Bee pollen? 

Bee pollen comes into existence when honey bees harvest pollen from a variety of plant sources. The bees add their own goodness (nectar) into it, and store it in honeycomb. Through this process it becomes a bonafide complete superfood. It has amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and more! It's pretty incredible. It is not considered vegan because bees create it- however, no bees are harmed in the harvesting of the pollen. 

 

You've probably heard of pollen as an allergen itself, so why would eating it be good for you?

Essentially the thought is that it helps your body build its immune response to pollens. If your immune system is prepared, you will experience less symptoms once allergies are in full swing. This is also why buying local bee pollen is the best if you would like it to help with your seasonal allergies. When you use local bee pollen, the bees are harvesting pollen from plants that likely will be your triggers later. 

 

If I want to prevent allergies, when should i start taking it?

It's best to start a few months in advance to build up an immune response. So probably too late to save you this spring. You can start next month to prepare for autumn allergens, though! That being said, I've noticed a difference with one dose (probably placebo effect but hey, I'll take it!) - so I will still be taking it this spring, even though it's late in the game! 

I don't have seasonal allergies, why would I want to add this to my routine?

Key word: SUPERFOOD. This stuff is amazing. I mentioned its a complete food, so it essentially is a natural vitamin supplement. Here are some of the many reported benefits: 

• Reduces inflammation
• Protects against liver toxicity
• Improved energy levels 
• Improved gut health 
• Acts as an anti-oxidant
• Natural stress reliever
• And many more! (Want to learn more? Check out "Further Reading" at the bottom of the page)

What to look for when buying 

As mentioned before- first and foremost- try to get it locally. I live in Chicago- but farms in other areas of the state or in southern Wisconsin, Michigan, and northern Indiana all would probably be fine because we all share similar Midwest weeds and plants. Check with your local farmers market or try Whole Foods, they often will try to use local vendors. 

Next, it's great to find kernels with a variety of color. They range from yellow to black - depending on what plants the bees took the pollen from. It you have a diversified mix it will help cover you to a variety of plant allergens. 

It comes in a variety of forms (capsules, liquids, etc.) but get the whole kernels. Less processing is always best! 

Side note: there are a lot of similar benefits to eating raw organic honey, however, it is really hard to find unpasteurized honey. The pasteurization process kills off a lot of the beneficial nutrients. Bee pollen on the other hand, not being a liquid, does not get pasteurized, so it retains it's nutritional integrity better. 

How to best eat it? 

My preferred method of ingesting :) 

I prefer using kernels on top of my smoothie bowls or mixed in to a smoothie (post blend). Always eat it with other food. If added to fruit it is supposed to activate quickly in the gut!

If you have any serious allergies (I'm talking anaphylaxis) ESPECIALLY to pollen, talk to your doctor about ingesting bee pollen. If you are worried you may have an allergic reaction, you can test by putting one granule on your tongue until it dissolves. If there is no reaction, add another. Repeat until you feel confident you will not have a reaction. 

 

Further Reading

Want to learn more? Check out these resources!

How Bee Pollen Could Cure Your Allergies - Mind Body Green

Top 8 Bee Pollen Benefits - Dr. Axe

Top 10 benefits of bee pollen - Be Healthy

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What do you think? Will you give bee pollen a try? I am definitely going to add it back into my routine! Happy June! - AHS

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Wellness

I have used stock photography of "wellness" or "meditation" throughout this post to demonstrate how unattainable wellness can feel. Wellness is achieved by doing yoga in a fjord, clearly.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by wellness? Like, you couldn't be taking good care of yourself if you aren't adding reishi ashwaghandha adaptogenic blends to your coffee (wait, excuse me, MATCHA) every morning. Or you drink alcohol (GASP!).  Or you just can't get yourself up for a 6am cardio class before work and then you end up skipping the gym that day and all is lost? Do you eat cheese? Like what is Keto? Why is everyone doing it? What is bio-hacking and should I call my IT guy to help me with it? Where does all of this fit into one's daily existence? 

It is hard to keep up y'all. 

I truly enjoy trying out all the new trends. I like seeing how each new superfood/ supplement/ vitamin/ way of eating/ workout / etc.  affects my body and mind. It's fun, it's interesting. And it is not what actually matters. 

First, let me define wellness. 

ˈwelnəs/ noun 

1. the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal.

Meditation is swimming in the ocean at sunset surrounded by mountains. 

Okay so great - pursuing good health. Yep, all about it! It’s great that all of these superfoods and supplements can help us feel awesome. It really is. More things that fuel the body, and help us kick some a- every day – hey all good. But sometimes it feels like the wellness industry chooses to be confusing. Really, to be well, you need to eat lots of vegetables, sleep, drink water, move your body.  The trends that require you to eat a certain way, those are just diets. Diets are fine, but diets are not sustainable. Diets are not wellness. You can add superfoods to your daily morning beverage, and that can aid in wellness- but you don’t need to spend excessive amounts of money on supplements and superfoods to be well. Being thin is not wellness. Sometimes it’s a byproduct of wellness, but not always. It can also be the byproduct of very unhealthy behavior. 

The second you begin to obsess over your food choices, your fitness level, etc- it is no longer wellness. That means “wellness,” “eating healthy,” or “fitness” is no longer serving you. That means it has become a distraction from the things that really matter. 

Now that we cleared up what wellness actually is and what it is not…why do we pursue it? 

Quite simply, good health is a means to help fulfill our work on Earth. Our soul's purpose... This is not about feeling 22 forever.  

....Woah, Alexandra. That just got intense! Soul's purpose? I don't know what that is?! 

I know, I know. That's not an easy question to answer. 

You too, can be well if you manage to meditate on the beach with your arms up in the air. 

If you already know the answer. Fantastic. Now go and be well, and have food fuel you and movement inspire you! You are done here. 

If you don’t have the answer to this, you may not have an answer for awhile. I encourage you to dig deeper. Start to meditate. Pray (yes, I said pray). Go to yoga or for a run - whatever gets you in your zone. Think about what lights you up. What gets you out of bed in the morning? How do you help others in your day to day life? Your purpose could be related to your career, or not. It could be related to your family, or not. I unfortunately don’t have a guide book for this (although I bet one exists). I don’t have the answers, only you have the answer inside of you.

Balanced rocks in water - clearly you have reached the pinnacle of enlightenment if you sit near these bad boys. 

My action steps for you: 

1. Reflect on what has sparked your interest in nutrition and wellness. We are human, having a booty like Eva Mendes is a fine answer- no judgement. 

2. Keep it simple. If you enjoy wellness trends, feel free to jump on board - but you don’t need to eat like Amanda Chantal Bacon to be well (see links here and here). Remember at the end of the day, the wise Michael Pollan deduced healthy nutrition to: “eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants.”

3. I want you to stop sometime in the next day or 3- put down your phone. Turn it off. Spend some time alone and reflect. Reflect on what matters most to you. If you were to be gone tomorrow, what would you have wished you had done?

4. Use that beautiful body and soul of yours to thrive!

Yeah, I went deep on you guys. I hope if nothing else, this gave you some food for thought on this chilly winter day. I hope that this helps inspire the divine light within you. 

Be well, 

AHS

Superfood Soup

This is my first recipe post. I can’t help think that there is not a better day to start than today. I woke up feeling, empowered, motivated, and dedicated. It’s been a great day. I fit in an hour workout, brainstormed group class ideas and now am making up a soup from what was in my kitchen. Fantastic.

Cooking is not something that used to come naturally to me. I pretty much never know what I am doing, but every day I’m in the kitchen is one more day that I am getting experience under my belt. Typically, I find my recipes on Pinterest or other bloggers. Occasionally, I use a good cookbook.  Today, I just made this up!

I haven’t been to the grocery store in over a week; we are desperately overdue. I have been cooking a lot, and had quite a few odds and ends in the fridge. So instead of going to the store, I decided to be resourceful and work with what I had. The cupboard had:

• White quinoa
• 1 frozen chicken breast
• 1 qt vegetable broth (unopened)
• ¼ bag leftover carrot cabbage slaw (shredded, not prepared)
• Kale (for my morning smoothies)
• Spinach (also for morning smoothie)
• Garlic (ALWAYS in the house)
• Celery (3 stalks)
• Green onions (3 stalks)
• 1/2 red onion
• Olive oil (ALWAYS in the house)
• Some spices

My fiancé and I moved into our new apartment a month ago, and we are seriously lacking in kitchen essentials. We have 1 pot, 2 small pans, a few brand new sharp knives, and a grill tool I use as everything (spatula, wooden spoon, knife, etc- it is actually pretty embarrassing- we desperately need to go shopping), and very few spices.

So in my lacking kitchen environment, I began my quest to make something healthy, hearty, and delicious. What I came up with was a fabulous superfood soup. I decided it should be called "Superfood Soup" because it is loaded with delicious greens, lots of veggies, and packed with lean protein. It is a perfectly balanced, nutrient packed meal! 

The soup was so warming, nourishing, and flavorful. It was just perfect on a cold winter night. Conor loved it. I loved it. Overall, it was a love fest. My take-away is to not be intimidated by a mishmash of ingredients, and have fun getting creative! I encourage you to see what healthy foods you have in your kitchen and have some fun!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white quinoa
• 1 frozen chicken breast
• 1 qt vegetable broth (unopened)
• ¼ bag carrot cabbage slaw (shredded, not prepared)
• 1 large handful of kale, chopped 
• 1 large handful of spinach 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 green onions stalks, chopped 
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (ALWAYS in the house)
• 1/4 tablespoon garlic salt 
• 1 teaspoon(ish) thyme
• Sea salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Cayenne pepper (to taste) 
• parmesan, shredded (to taste) (used as garnish- w/o is dairy-free)

Instructions

Cook 1 cup of quinoa in pot with 2 cups of water. Boil, then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes (or until water is absorbed).  When water is absorbed add enough vegetable broth to cover quinoa. Add thyme.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add garlic, once simmering add in green and red onion. Cook until onions soften and look a little translucent. Add carrot/cabbage slaw mixture . Stir often. Cook until carrots are soft. Add salt, garlic salt, and pepper.

Add sautéed veggies to quinoa. Fill the pot with the rest of the vegetable broth. Add 2 handfuls of kale and spinach. Return to boil, and then simmer for 30 minutes.

In the veggie pan, add 1 tbsp(ish) of olive oil. Add chicken breast. (Because I hate wasting dishes and have a small space, I always spice in the pan.)  Add cayenne pepper, salt, garlic salt. Flip the breast, do the other side. Fry in pan until cooked through about 7 minutes. Chop up the breast into smaller pieces and place in soup. Heat through.

Serve warm, topped with a bit of Parmesan. Enjoy!