Do you use the New Year as an annual health seminar with yourself? In the past, I would host my own personal white board session, creating resolutions and brainstorming all the ways I wanted to better myself in the coming year. These included exercising daily, losing weight, dining out less, reading more high-brow literature, analyzing business trade publications weekly and drinking less soda. I loved the idea of a new and improved me, but seldom made it past week two. According to Forbes, only 8% of people actually achieve their New Year’s resolutions. I clearly was in the 92%. So now, after ten-plus years of living clean, embracing a plant-based diet, power-walking and using green products, I’ve comprised a list of 24 simple wellness tips to jump start your 2024 New Year and beyond.
24 Wellness Tips for Attainable New Year’s Resolutions
20 Healthy Holiday Substitutions
Do you notice your clothes tighter during the holiday season? While statistics show that people gain on average less than two-pounds, the psychological toll of the stress and chaos of the season can cause us to overeat and feel blah. Making simple healthy substitutions to your holiday traditions can improve how you feel, both mind and body, throughout the season and beyond. So, enjoy the festivities whether they are at home or not…and try out our 20 healthy holiday substitutions that can easily fit into your busy life.
50 Clean Eating Tips – If You Don’t Know Where to Begin
Can you imagine eliminating your morning “pretty coffee” filled with sugar and creamed toppings? What about cheese, desserts or fried everything? So many times people tell me they can’t stop their favorite foods, so they don’t even think about committing to a newish lifestyle. I get it. That was me. I obsessed over cheese plates, craved creamy frostings and longed for bulky pastas. I had been drinking tons of diet soda for almost two decades, so only remembered life being bloated. But that all changed when I started eating clean. And trust me, you can take small steps and get there, too.
Five Healthy Substitutions for the Sweet Tooth
I love to be loved. I enjoy the positive attention, outpouring of notes and thoughtful acts of kindness dedicated to me especially on my birthday. In my 20’s, I started a new tradition: I’d be calorie conscious most days of the year, but my birthday marked the one day to eat gluttonously without guilt. Now that I’m super focused on overall wellness, I’d rather not go that route, so I’ve found substitutions. Since I’m a sweet tooth, here are my five new favorite go-to-dessert-like treats. Syrups, agave, coconut sugar, honey, stevia, white flours and all the other various sugar words are still a “sometimes food,” as we say in our house.
Simple Foods to Eat Healthy With Less
A child of the 1980s and 1990s, I was a huge Laura Ingalls Wilder fan. I read all the “Little House” books and caught every episode of the simple life of living on the prairie in the late 1800’s. The idea of working in the kitchen or fields during the day and singing by the fireplace at night warmed my heart. By no means, can I now compare a pioneer life without electricity to our techno-centric world with “social distancing” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, somehow I’ve found a calm in preparing simple foods in the kitchen, like the Ingalls’, for our family dinner around the table. We don’t have a garden and we’re hibernating due to my compromised immunity, so our grocery deliveries are minimal. I’ve had to focus on a few simple foods and ingredients that I have in bulk and here is how I’m doing it.
Healthy Holiday Treats: Pretty Wellness TV, Episode 11
I love the holiday season and all the festivities. However, it’s easy to over indulge and feel sluggish because of it. So, what better way to keep your eating in check (and impress the hosts) by bringing your own creations to share. Whether you love to cook or would rather pick a treat up at the store, here’s our holiday episode on healthy Hanukkah and Christmas inspired side dishes and desserts. Please comment and share your favorite holiday recipes or Pinterest inspired creations.