Thanks to everyone who participated in my webinar The Secrets to High-Energy Living! We had a great group who offered very insightful questions and comments.
For those of you who weren’t able to make it, I have a recording up at SoundCloud. The webinar is about 30 minutes long. You can download it or listen to it right on the website.
I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!
Linda
Okay, I’m always telling clients who ask for healthy breakfast ideas about my Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie. So here’s the recipe! The protein in the peanut butter and fiber in the fruit and flax seeds will keep you full for a while. This is the perfect breakfast for people who can’t handle solid food first thing in the morning.
Linda’s Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie
(Makes a generous 2 servings, or 3 smaller servings.)
* 2 ripe bananas — the riper the bananas, the sweeter the smoothie
* Mixed frozen berries — we like cherries and blueberries (You can also use raspberries or blackberries, but I can’t stand the seeds.)
* 2 heaping Tablespoons natural peanut butter
* 1 1/2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
* About 2 cups lowfat milk
Put the bananas, milk, flaxseed, and peanut butter in a blender and blend until, well, blended. Add frozen berries a little at a time and blend until you get the desired consistency. (You can make the smoothie thick or thin depending on how many berries you put in.) Pour into tall glasses and enjoy!
I was recently reading an article about meditation — I think it was in Yoga Journal — and the writer kept instructing the reader to “Drop your eyes back into their sockets and soften your nose.”
This cracked me up. Soften your nose? What the hell does that mean? It sounded like some new-agey nonsense.
But as I was meditating a few days later, I decided to give it a try. I concentrated on letting my eyes fall back into my head and, well, softening my nose.
Whoa!
First of all, it really did feel like my eyes were sinking into their sockets, and it almost put me into a state of sleep, while at the same time I was still awake and aware. And I never realized until then now much tension I hold in the bridge of my nose and my nostrils. When I relaxed them, my breathing suddenly became deeper and easier.
So I challenge you to try it. Get into a comfortable position, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and then follow these sill-sounding instructions: Drop your eyes back into their sockets and soften your nose.
How did it feel?
We recently got back from a two-week roadtrip from Raleigh to Dallas, which took 40 hours of driving total. (Are we crazy for driving 40 hours with a 3-year-old? You decide.)
One thing we had to worry about every day we were on the road was what to eat. We didn’t want to stop at fast food drive-thrus or rely on gas station snacks. (Ew.) We did some careful planning, and we also learned a lot while we were on the road — and I’m proud to say that we ate well and went to exactly zero fast-food joints.
Here’s what we did, and what you can do the next time you’re on the road, whether you’re on a road trip or you’re on your way to work when hunger strikes:
Go shopping.
I don’t mean to go shopping beforehand, though that’s also important — I mean that instead of stopping at gas stations for an infusion of Cheez Doodles when you get hungry on the road, hit a supermarket to restock your healthy snacks. Our GPS let us search for grocery stores near where we were driving, which was extremely helpful. Most supermarkets were just a few minutes from an exit, which made it just as easy as hitting the gas station. As a bonus, you can stretch your legs while walking around in search of raisins, deli sandwiches, yogurt, nuts, and whole grain crackers and hummus.
And as an extra bonus, many large supermarkets have a Starbucks inside, so you can get good coffee instead of the gas station sludge.
Pack a cooler.
Since we have a 3-year-old who drinks mainly milk, we have a cooler and some freezer packs so we can always carry his sippy cups with us instead of having to search for milk whenever we go out. But we discovered that the cooler can also hold food for the grownups. The freezer packs keep food cold for up to 10 hours.
I like individual servings of cottage cheese, and you can also tote mozzarella cheese sticks, containers of yogurt (don’t forget a spoon!), fruit, sandwiches, baby carrots and hummus, and bottles of water. Check out my blog post on healthy snacks for more portable ideas.
Order right.
If you find yourself starving and with only fast food restaurants nearby, go ahead and hit the McDonald’s or KFC — but think before you order. At many fast food places, the least calorific thing you can get, believe it or not, is a plain hamburger. Some restaurants offer salads, baked potatoes, and grilled chicken sandwiches as well. While fast food fare in general is not the healthiest option, a plain hamburger, salad, and unsweetened iced tea is a lot better for you than a bacon-cheeseburger, large fries, and bucket-o-cola.
How do you eat healthfully while you’re on the road? Do you have any tips or anecdotes you can share?
