If you were cooped up all winter and did not get much physical activity, it’s time to get back to being active again. It’s not just because spring is here but because our bodies need the movement. Perhaps you find yourself coming across barriers to getting more physically active. Whatever they may be, here’s a helpful article from Harvard Health to get you going again. 

Moving more: What's in it for all of us?
We're all supposed to strengthen our muscles at least twice a week and get a total of at least 150 minutes of weekly aerobic activity (the kind that gets your heart and lungs working). But fewer than 18% of U.S. adults meet those weekly recommendations, according to the CDC.

How can choosing to become more active help? A brighter mood is one benefit: physical activity helps ease depression and anxiety, for example. And being sufficiently active — whether in short or longer chunks of time — also lowers your risk for health problems like

• heart disease
• stroke
• diabetes
• cance...

Ingredients:

•  1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 small zucchini, grated
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
• 4 cups pulled leftover cooked chicken, skinless (pasture-raised if possible)
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 pasture-raised egg yolks*
• 3 large lemons, juiced (about ⅓ cup)
• 3 cups cauliflower rice
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Melt the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots, garlic, and salt. Cook until translucent, about 1 minute, stirring constantly to avoid burning.

2. Add the grated zucchini and cook for another minute until softened.

3. Add the thyme, chicken, and broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. While the soup is simmering, prepare the egg yolk in a bowl and the lemon juice in a separate bowl. Make sure that one of the bowls is large enough to add some liquid from the hot b...

Ingredients:

Brownies

• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 6 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
• 1 cup almond butter
• ⅓ cup coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup cassava flour
• ¼ cup 100% cacao powder, unsweetened
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of sea salt

Optional Topping

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 ounces 100% cacao chocolate bar, unsweetened
• Pinch of coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. Grease with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and set aside.Combine the flax seeds with water in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix almond butter and coconut sugar together, until incorporated, then add the vanilla extract, maple syrup, and flax/water mixture. Mix until combined.

3. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold it all together and stir until no lumps remain. The mix should be sticky.

4. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared oi...

Since the early 2000s, psychologists have been studying and learning the science of awe - an overwhelming, self-transcendent sense of wonder and reverence in which you feel a part of something that is vast, larger than you, and that transcends your understanding of the world. According to Psychology Today, your feelings of being diminished connect you to something larger. There’s a tremendous openness and freedom that comes when you consider yourself a speck of dust in the midst of the universe or a grain of sand on an expansive beach. You don’t stand in the way of anything, and you don’t overcrowd or obstruct anything. Instead of trying to be “all that,” you’re humbled by the spaciousness and your smallness, yet at the same time you feel bigger than life. Studies show that in an awe state, you feel the presence of something larger than you. You’re engaged with the expansiveness of the external world, less focused on yourself and more on others, which takes your mind off your burdens, ...

Quinoa and Black Bean Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
- In a skillet, sauté diced onions, garlic, and bell peppers until softened.
- Add cooked quinoa, black beans, diced tomatoes, corn, and your choice of protein (either plant-based proteins like tofu or cooked turkey/chicken).
- Season with cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Cut bell peppers in half, remove seeds, and stuff with the quinoa mixture.
- Bake in the oven at 375°F (190°C) for 20-25 minutes until peppers are tender.
- Serve topped with avocado slices and fresh cilantro.

Lentil and Turkey/Chicken Soup
- In a large pot, sauté diced onions, carrots, and celery until softened.
- Add vegetable or chicken broth, lentils, diced tomatoes, and your choice of protein (either cooked turkey/chicken or plant-based proteins like lentils or chickpeas).
- Season with thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
- Simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes until lentils are tender.
- Stir i...

All of us have probably at some point thought that if we could take back what we said or did, things would be different. Or perhaps we acted impulsively because we were carried by our emotions and we reacted without thinking. Being emotionally dysregulated might look like having abrupt changes in mood, binge eating, crying spells, emotional outbursts, persistent interpersonal conflict, aggression or violent outbursts, self-harm, substance use disorder, or poor tolerance for frustration.

Emotional self-regulation is something that we need to practice regularly so we don’t get to the point of blowing up or falling apart. Here’s an article from Healthline that talks about emotional self-regulation and includes tips and techniques we can apply. 

What is emotional self-regulation?
Emotional self-regulation is the ability to modify or control your thoughts, emotions, actions, and words, explains a 2022 research review. Self-regulating your emotional state can stop you from saying or doing...

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “We do not quit playing because we grow old; we grow old because we quit playing.” Age should not be a hindrance for us to keep playing. When we play we actively engage our minds and bodies. We become mindful of what we’re doing. When we play we are energized and our mood shifts to a lighter, more joyful one. We might have forgotten how to play but we can certainly bring back this nature that’s innate to us. This article by clinical psychologist Beth Kurland from Psychology Today teaches us how to bring back playfulness and therefore joy into our lives.

Play for grown-ups can come in many flavors, and we each need to listen to our own inner signals to find what brings out our playful spirit. While board games, adult recreational sports (e.g., tennis, pickleball, softball), puzzles, and online games can be a source of play and fun, there are so many other ways that adults can incorporate moments of play and playfulness into their daily lives.

To discover ho...

Ingredients:

• 6 oz whole almonds (about ½ cup)
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 ground flaxseed “eggs”
• 1 ¼ cups coconut milk
• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ cup unflavored collagen peptides
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1/16 – 1/18 teaspoon 100% stevia powder
• 1 cup berries 

Instructions

1. Soak the almonds in filtered water overnight.  
2. Drain and rinse then add to a food processor with the coconut.  Pulse until a crumb forms. 
3. Mix with the coconut milk, applesauce, flax eggs, collagen, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, stevia and berries. 
4. Bake, covered at 350F for 30 minutes then uncover and bake until the liquid has mostly evaporated.  

For more recipes by Danielle Walker visit her blog here.

One of the reasons why we don’t meet our goals is because we lack motivation. When we’re not motivated things don’t happen - the house doesn’t get cleaned, we don’t get to finish a project in time, we don't get to work out. There are ways to get out of the unmotivated rut and this list from Verywell Mind gives you some ideas.

Act as If You Feel Motivated
You may be able to trick yourself into feeling motivated by changing your behavior. Act as if you felt motivated, and your actions may change your emotions. For example, rather than sit on the couch in your pajamas all day waiting for motivation to strike, get dressed and get moving. You might find that taking action will increase your motivation, which makes it easier to keep going. So ask yourself, “What would I be doing right now if I felt motivated?” Consider what you’d be wearing, how you’d be thinking, and what actions you’d be taking. Then, do these things, and see if your motivation level increases.

Argue the Opposite
When yo...