Sunshiney Thoughts in December
Hello Strong and Beautifuls,
I hope this finds you well and happy as we move into December. This week's newsletter is all about taking care of yourself, and a couple nutrition/good mood tips to help you stay shiny in the darkest days of the year.
As always, I love to hear from you, so don't hesitate to reach out with your own life & nutrition hacks, favorite things, and songs you'd love to work out to :) It takes a village, am I right?
when it gets gloomy, my go-to remedy is a sweaty, fun dance class. it never fails to turn my mood around! in addition, here's a couple other tidbits to keep you sunny without actually bailing to Mexico or hiding in a tanning bed in the dead of winter.
vegetables rule. and chances are you could be eating more of them. try them as a snack: replace chips or crackers with sliced zucchini, carrots, celery sticks, cut up red peppers, etc. i'm a sucker for pre-sliced vegetables myself, being both busy and a little lazy. current favorites: pretending zucchini rounds are chips and dipping them in guacamole, or eating baby carrots and celery sticks in herbed cheese like Boursin. I drink green juice or smoothies with/for breakfast and keep a big container of kale chiffonade (sounds fancy, but it just means "sliced up into ribbons") in a little lemon juice and olive oil with various available toppings (shredded carrots, dried cranberries, grape tomatoes) so my pre-class snack can be salad. vegetables in soup form also count - zucchini, broccoli, and butternut squash are my faves to turn into pureed awesomeness, albeit not at the same time - although veggies in bagged chip form do not (too may weird oils).
question: does tomato sauce count as a vegetable? (would it be more apt to consider it fruit sauce?) can pizza be vegetables if there's vegetables on it? heavy thinking to be done.fat is a friend. depending on the source, of course. i am a committed eater of quality fat and have most definitely not become fatter because of it. quite the contrary, really. now, everyone is different, and i am not your nutritionist, but i do know that consumption of low fat dairy products has been linked to the rising incidence of diabetes in this country and that replacing real, quality fats with fake sprays/oils/chemicals does no one any favors. fat helps with energy, satiety (feeling full and satisfied) and even nutrient absorption (which is why cooked vegetables go so well with butter). eat your avocados, coconut and olive oils, grassfed butter, cheese and yogurt, and enjoy pretty hair and skin to go with your more manageable appetite and increased energy. it helps me stay sunny, at any rate.
take a nap. or meditate. rest your eyes. put your feet up. go easy on yourself and use sleep to press the reset button on a rough day rather than a sweet/caffeinated/alcoholic/retail treat. although sometimes all those treats have their place, 20 minutes of peace and quiet can make all the difference.
go outside. most of us New Yorkers don't have a problem with this one out of necessity, but still - get all the sunlight and fresh air you can. get off the train a stop early. cut through the park if you can. walk on the sunny side of the street. it all helps.
relax. drink tea. take a walk. have a dance party in your socks. allow yourself to do whatever sometimes, be unproductive, communicate with no one who isn't in the same room as you for a little while. whatever is on your list can probably wait 30 minutes. let yourself live. i sometimes like to "play summer" to spend a chilly afternoon or evening listening to reggae and making margaritas. in a bikini. wearing suntan lotion. (i'm kidding, but i wouldn't put it past me one day...)
and when all of that fails, eat a grapefruit. i swear, those things have magical powers.
music
Treats for your ears :) Follow me, annieforeal, on Spotify. And send me the songs you love to work out to! I'm a professional music listener and love to know what your ears are craving.
Into the Groove - Barre
BodyRhythm 10
Be Rad,
Annie
