KISS: Keep It Simple, Sweetie

Congratulations! You’ve decided to change up your diet and lifestyle to include healthier options for you. Excellent, awesome even. UNTIL – you realize that there are SO MANY options to consider, so many choices to be made. Then the dreaded paralysis sets in and you Can’t. Make. One. Decision.

No problem – just Keep It Simple, Sweetie.

Have a mindset reset. For this week only, focus on adding more plants to your diet via salads. This is how you do it. Before lunch and dinner, have a salad:

Include some greens – choose from kale, spinach, red leaf, arugula

Add on some crunch – bell peppers (yellow, orange, red, green), red cabbage, celery, cucumber (keep skin on if organic)

Keep those veggies coming – onion (yellow, red, green), grated carrot, tomatoes, corn

Roasted please – beets, sweet potato, carrots, Brussels sprouts

How about some beans and legumes– black, pinto, kidney, peas, chick peas, lentils

Try it out – broccoli sprouts, avocado (keep in mind that this is high in fat)

Herbs – parsley, dill, cilantro, mint

Skip the dressing – top your salad off with salsa, sauerkraut, ground flaxseed

Yes, this list could go on and on. And I think you get the picture. You can put whatever strikes your fancy into your salad. Bonus points when you have a rainbow of colors in the salad bowl. Soon enough, you just might find you’re eating a giant salad for your full lunch and/or dinner meal rather than having it as an intro.

Why salads? They

Provide you with a variety of food choices

Pack a powerful nutritional punch

Allow you to use up whatever you have on hand

Keep you from getting bored with your meals

Are versatile: you can put them together at home, or choose them at a restaurant

Give it a go and let me know how this suits you!

KISS: Keep It Simple, Sweetie was last modified: June 14th, 2021 by Deb Nelson

Hop to It and Put Some Play in Your Game

Today is Opening Day for Major League Baseball and a good reminder of the importance of taking time to play. After all, baseball is really nothing more than a game – a game played by adults. My fellow Red Sox fans and I look forward to the dance that the outfielders perform following every win. These players have added a new dimension to the fun of being a baseball spectator.

My advice: put a little more play in YOUR game and see if your productivity and happiness skyrocket. Set aside that project that’s sucking the life out of you, and get outside for a half hour. You don’t need to go to a baseball field and dance with your coworkers (although that could be really fun). Put on a pair of walking or running shoes and breathe in some fresh air on your walk or run , and look at the world through a new lens (out of doors v. the inside office setting).

If you just can’t seem to take a break during the work day, make play a priority when you leave work TODAY. Do the same thing tomorrow, and you’re on your way to establishing a healthy lifestyle habit.

The weather here in the Northeast has given me a serious case of Spring Fever, and I’m looking forward to getting back to running outside. I’ll be working with the staff of a nonprofit organization to train for a 5K walk / run in early June. I’ve also signed up to run a 10K this summer. I’ve now got a sense of urgency pushing me to train throughout the spring and summer.

Find a challenge for yourself: walk a few miles a day, swim a few times a week, hop on your bike a couple of times a week. Whatever you undertake, put some goals around your play. Yes, it’ll still be play and you’ll be able to track your progress easily if your goals SMART goals:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-Bound

Enjoy Major League Baseball’s Opening, and get out there and put some play YOUR game!! As always, let me know how your play goes.

Hop to It and Put Some Play in Your Game was last modified: March 29th, 2018 by Deb Nelson