Good Habit #3: Try a New Whole Grain

We all get into ruts. Or maybe they are not ruts so much as patterns. We stay in our comfort zone and inertia makes it that much harder to change. So I am proposing one small change this week in the kitchen, something to switch things up. Are you with me?

Let's Fall into Good Habits #3: Try a new whole grain. Maybe your go-to is brown rice, but why not try millet? Maybe quinoa is your thing. I love how quickly it cooks and how nutty it tastes, but what about trying bulgur wheat, or if you forgo gluten, buckwheat? There are so many options! Teff, farro, barley, and amaranth. You can eat it plain, alongside your favorite main, or try it as the star ingredient of a dish.

Whole grains are little powerhouses of nutrition. They are high in fiber, iron, and even provide a little protein. Many of them have nutrients that boost our immune system, and they help stabilize blood sugar compared to refined flours and breads.

Here are a few dishes from this site for some inspiration.

Bulgur: Cherry and Herb Bulgur Salad with Golden Halloumi
Sorghum (gluten-free): Chard, Delicata Squash, and Tahini Tofu Bowl with Sorghum
Millet (gluten-free): Poblano Peppers Stuffed with Millet and Black Beans or Roasted Carrots and Lemony Millet with Black Garlic and Herbed Yogurt
Einkorn: Winter Einkorn Bowls with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Squash, Tempeh, and Lemon Tahini Drizzle

Let me know what grain you try and what dish you make!

If you missed the other Good Habits, click Good Habit #1 and Good Habit #2 to find out more!

Good Habit #2: Develop an Evening Ritual

When I was a pre-teen, I hated getting ready for bed. I was usually too tired by the time I convinced myself to go bed to put in any real effort in the bathroom. I was not yet a flosser, and toothbrushing was over in the blink-of-eye. I nearly removed a whole layer washing my face each night with St. Ives apricot scrub and then slathered on the Clearasil acne cream- yes, the tinted version that made me look like an Oompa Loompa. Not even a lick of moisturizer on my face. My skin just crackles thinking about it. Since then, my night-time habits have improved and gotten a little more gentle, but the routine of getting ready for bed has always been a bit of a dread. Despite this, I have always been a stickler about having a bed-time routine and am pretty regimented in brushing my teeth and washing my face...Being a former dental student and having acne as a teen make those two things a must.

But now, I am just beginning to think that how I get ready for bed affects how well or how poorly I sleep. I still have a ways to go, but I am learning to use that time as personal time, a chance to unwind, a chance to connect with me, myself, and I.

I once read an article about how French women are quite adept at the art of pampering themselves. Of course this is probably not true for all French women, but the point is that their culture is more celebratory of the beautification and cleansing processes compared to the American culture. We rush through the process in pursuit of the outcome. For the French, the process of getting oneself ready for bed or even ready for the day, is as important as being ready.

This week, I will be working on s-l-o-w-i-n-g d-o-w-n in the bathroom, taking care of my skin, of my body. Our bodies work really hard for us during the day, and our skin is our largest organ! These things deserve a little pampering, a little TLC. We often skip the flossing, cut short our brushing (2 minutes, upper and lower, inside and out!), and barely give that face wash a chance to do any cleansing before scrubbing it off. The whole time, our mind wanders, thinking about our to-do list and conversations we have had rather than noticing how we are feeling during this whole process.

For many, the idea of pampering oneself can only come from a spa or from that once monthly bubble bath, but why not integrate a little more pampering into our every evening? So here I give you this week's good habit:

Let's Fall into Good Habits #2: Treat Your Getting-Ready-for-Bed Routine as an Evening Ritual. A ritual suggests mindfulness and intention whereas a routine infers mindlessness. Slow down. Stay present. Maybe light a favorite candle. Floss, and brush gently but mindfully. Notice where you are more sensitive, notice those hard to reach places. Wash your face in slow circles. Massage your moisturizer in with your fingertips, traveling all of the way down the neck, the area so often neglected and that often shows the first signs of aging. If you choose to take an evening shower, use body lotion or my personal favorite, body oil on the skin, allowing it to sink in and nourish.

I hope this extra little attention helps you sleep a little better and feel a little better.

The photo shows some of my favorite products I use for a little extra pampering. I discovered Province Apothecary after searching for a natural skin care line, and while some of the other products were not the best match for my finicky skin, I love this clay mask! I can really get behind the intentionality of this brand, and its well-sourced ingredients. Lavender and Chamomile scents are naturally calming, so the candle and body oil are the perfect night-time combo. It took me a while to get used to applying body oil instead of lotion, but the spritzer makes it fun and easy to apply. While I still use lotion on occasion, I appreciate that I recognize the ingredients on the back of this bottle (hint: only natural oils and flower extracts). Another favorite body oil is more local to me: Tandi's Naturals Body Oil. The hand cream was a gift from some wonderful friends and has essences of tulip and green apple. It is perfect for giving some relief to my hands after hours of cooking and dish-washing.

What are some of your favorite ways of winding down?

Cheers!

If you missed the first Falling into Good Habits, click here!

Let's Fall into Good Habits

With colder weather and shorter days, I find it a little easier to sink back into the couch, a little easier to say no rather than yes, and a little easier to say "it can wait." All the momentum from the summer slows. As much as I love the changing of the leaves and wearing cozy fall clothes, I tend to have this mental shift- almost a resignation that winter is coming and I should hunker down.

But why be so passive, why not seize the day, why not overcome this feeling?  Rather than allowing ourselves to fall into bad habits, let's CHOOSE to fall into good ones.

So each week, let's choose to do something small but meaningful. Something to bring a little light into our days as the days get shorter. Something to bring a little warmth to our days as the days get colder. This is not a challenge so much as it is an invitation. Challenging you implies that I do not think you can do it, but an invitation implies that I hope you can. So, each Monday for the next several autumn weeks, I will invite you to integrate a little something into your days for that week. Now if you choose to keep up with these little somethings into the next week, fabulous! If you choose to let that new little thing slip away the next week, that's fine too. It's about moving in a better direction and doing it with intention. Not just because I said to do this, that, or the other, but because you think this new little habit adds value to your life.

Are you with me? 

I have some ideas for these good habits, but you can always comment below or email me if you have your own suggestions for little changes we can make to bring some value into our lives. 

So without further ado...

Let's Fall into Good Habits #1: Show gratitude to those around you. Send a hand-written letter to someone you do not thank nearly enough. Send an email with the Subject: Thank you to someone you appreciate for just being who they are. Text a friend telling them how awesome they are. Phone a family member or friend just to tell them how much they mean to you. Thank your regular barista, your dry cleaner, your yoga instructor, the guy who always makes your deli sandwiches, or whoever you cross paths with nearly every and tell them just how much you appreciate the work they do.

The notes can be sweet, the conversations can be brief. Just getting the message out is the important part. We rarely take the time to show our appreciation to those who mean the most to us. I remember agonizing over "thank you" notes to graduate program interviewers during the application process. What type of "thank you" note, what color of paper, what tone of note, what color of envelope? How silly it seems in retrospect. I would give anything to take that time back and write my very own grandmother a thank you note for just being an amazingly awesome grandma.

So give this a try, see how it goes. You may feel awkward at first, but just think about how wonderful you will make those other people feel. Think about how you just may put a smile on their faces.

Cheers to fall and to falling into good habits.