Hello! 

I hope you’re all having a wonderful week! Today’s post comes from one of my lovely reader’s Michelle!

Michelle is a Spa Manager in Verona, NY. She has provided these tips in hopes to educate others on how to lead a more motivating and less stressful life.  Michelle believes more focused approach put on our health will result in more balanced life. Michelle is thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Jessica and together share their ideas on “­­­­­­­­­The Fit Spirit”.

Thank you Michelle!!! So pleased have you!  

Enjoy! 

A Naturally Healthy Life is Best

Many modern women struggle to feel healthy and look their best, mostly because of the over processed foods available in most grocery stores. In the distant past people raised most of their food in a garden that was fertilized organically. They also ate meat from organically raised animals because no artificial hormones were even available in those days. While there were some negative aspects to that lifestyle such as illness resulting from foods that were not preserved properly, overall it was a more healthy way to live.

Although modern society places a lot of attention on living a healthy lifestyle, most women find it hard to accomplish. This is likely because most women work outside their home during the day and find it necessary to use convenience foods to feed their family. With the stress and time required to achieve an income level that adequately provides for her family, most working mothers do not have the energy to prepare balanced and nutritious meals. Healthy exercise also takes a back seat due to time and energy constraints. The demands of a career, family and basic chores in the home leave most women feeling exhausted and frustrated.

There does not seem to be a simple answer for this dilemma, but there are a few basic changes that could help improve the situation. Rather than taking on all the responsibilities of the home, mothers should enlist the help of their husbands and children. Most modern husbands are willing to take care of the yard work and home maintenance, but they can also lighten the burden for their wife by supervising the children and keeping the home organized. Children benefit from the responsibility of doing a few simple chores assigned according to their age and ability. This new schedule gives a woman more time and energy to prepare healthy meals for her family, and she may even find time to enjoy outdoor activities with them.

Many families live in single-family homes with yard space, and this gives the option of growing some healthy vegetables to supplement their diet. The garden does not need to take a lot of space, and gardening is a great project for the whole family to enjoy. The money saved by supplementing the grocery costs in summer can contribute to purchasing organic fruits, vegetables and meats in winter. This results in a more nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle for the entire year.

It’s no secret that I am not an athlete, but I do want to learn how to live a more healthy balanced life. I don’t plan to run a marathon, or be able to lift my weight in dumbbells, but I do want to try new things, and spend more time outdoors.

Yoga Group – I love yoga. I love the mindset and that it can be a great workout for people of all fitness levels. For instance, as a beginner, I can access the many resources online to learn more and practice on my own before I join a yoga studio. The other great thing about an activity like yoga is that it can be done anywhere. I think it would be so fun to do a yoga class at the beach or the park.
Smoothie- A part of my personal goal live a more balanced, healthy life, I need to incorporate my nutritious snacks into my daily diet.
Bike- Since I am not very athletic, simple activities like bike riding are a fun way to stay active without doing anything too strenuous on the body. I love beach bikes with the big baskets!
Athleta Tank – An easy to way to stir up some motivation is to treat yourself to some new workout gear! Choose fun colors that will make you excited to show them off at the gym!
Golf Course- There is a popular Upstate New York golf course near my work, called Shenendoah, where I’ve started to take some lessons. I’m not very good at golf, but I love that I can be outside and all the walking. Also thinking about lessons here for a father’s day gift!

What are your favourite ways to stay healthy and live a healthy life?

xxx

Hello!

I hope you all had a really wonderful and happy weekend! Both my girls were a little under the weather with colds so we had a quiet weekend. I’m actually looking to get them outside a bit more today as they just wanted to hang around the house all weekend. It starts to make me feel a little crazy.

Anyway, as I was stuck inside I had time to review a few YouTube workout videos! Not as fun as getting out and going for a run or working out outdoors, but still sometimes you’ve got to make do!

I thought I’d share this one with you as it was decent- both in time and in making you feel as though you’ve “worked out.” I was really craving some cardio, I find it hard to find good cardio workouts that don’t make you feel like you’re going to cause an earthquake or take up loads of room that you don’t have.

30 minute cardio- The CafeMom Studios Workout was about 20 minutes of cardio and 10 minutes of stretching. Not the most hardcore workout you’ll ever do, but it definitely had you working hard for the 20 minutes. There was little to no repetition, they moved through the moves, so to speak and didn’t go back. I like that, as I get bored, especially if I go back and do the workout again anytime soon.

It was actually fairly advanced in lots of the moves and there was a lot of high impact jumping around. One of the assisting instructors did low impact versions of the workout the entire time, which would be really helpful if you were unable to complete the high impact versions.

The stretching at the end was really nice! Stretching just feels so good and I think so few of us actually take those ten minutes after every workout to really stretch. It feels so indulgent!

I think the workout would be a perfect “before work” workout, or quick “while your baby is asleep” workout. Sometime it is not practical to do 45 + minutes working out. But most of us can find a half hour to squeeze in some training.

Have you ever tried any of The CafeMom Studios Workouts? What did you think? Do you ever try workout videos DVDs? Or are you curious to try any current workout DVDs?

Jess xoxoxoxoxox

Hello!

How are you all going? It is getting cooler here and quickly! Winter is finally arriving. I’m enjoying every last minute of warm sunshine while it lasts. I’ve never been a huge fan of winter, but I’ve started to enjoy the seasons more as I get older.

Anyway, as the weather gets colder, I start craving warm, comfort dishes. One of my family’s favourites is Chilli! I love it too (not because it is my favourite to eat) but because it is sooooo easy to cook. I like cooking, but I feel like I do so much of it, it is really nice to have something simple to make on those busy days.

The other wonderful thing I like about Chilli, is that it is perfect for using up left-over vegetables and works well with whatever is in season. My kids are not really picky eaters, but they have their moments where they put up a fight. They always eat their vegetables when they are in the chilli. I don’t “hide” them, but I think they soak up a lot of the flavour.

 Ingredients:

500gm Minced Beef or Turkey or whatever meat you prefer (you can cut out the meat and make it vegetarian if you prefer, just add in an extra can of beans).

2 x cans of Red Kidney Beans

1/2 cup of tomato sauce (ketchup for US readers)

2 Tbs of paprika

1 tsp of hot chilli (or more if you like it HOT!)

2 Tbs of garlic

1 cup of corn off the cob

1 cup of cauliflower

1 cup of peas

Feel free to replace or add extra vegies. I throw in whatever we have, cauliflower is perfect because it really soaks in all of the flavours. My kids love peas and corn so they usually make an entrance too. 

Method:

Brown the meat and cook through thoroughly.

Add the herbs, spices and garlic as you are cooking the meat.

Once the meat is cooked stir through the tomato sauce, feel free to add extra depending on your taste preference or if you need extra moisture. 

Stir through beans and all of the vegetables. 

Leave to simmer.

Serve hot with cheese, sour cream, corn chips, tortillas or as is! 

You can also throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker (crockpot) to slowly simmer all day.

I apologise for the lack of photos, but I am not a stellar food photographer. Seriously it looks like mush in a bowl, but tastes great. One day I will get better and the photography side!

What are your favourite seasonal recipes? Do you like using the crockpot? What are your favourite quick- go – to recipes on hand?

Jess xoxox