I am so happy to have back guest blogger Kiley from One Healthy Hamptons to share with us her picks for healthier alternatives for holiday cocktails.
There’s LOTS to celebrate this time of year! With holiday parties left and right, it’s important to be aware of what you’re sipping on. Good old champagne and wine are great options, but who can resist a tasty holiday cocktail?! Unfortunately, these festive bevs can pack more calories than Christmas cookies. Here’s a few delicious recipes for holiday cocktails you can enjoy. Your guests will love them too! “Clink” to that!
Red & Green Sangria:
2 apples
1 pear
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary, extra for garnish
1 bottle white wine
1/2 cup of white grape juice
1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup, stevia, agave, sweetener of choice)
1/2 cup sweetener (light brown sugar, honey or maple syrup)
1 orange, sliced
1 1/2 cups gin
Put all ingredients in crock-pot and cook for about an hour. Strain solids and serve warm in mugs. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
One Healthy Breakdown: cheers to a healthy, happy holiday season and a happy new year!
Kiley DeMarco, MSW, NLC, is the founder of One Healthy Hamptons website, community, and e-magazine for all things healthy in the Hamptons, and co-founder of Hamptons Wellness Week. Kiley is Nutritious Life Certified in Nutrition and has a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. She lives in Sag Harbor with her husband and their Swiss Mountain Dog, Sammy.
The holidays are officially upon us! Time for cozy fires, warm sweaters, and spending time with family. It’s also time for parties, shopping and copious amounts of food. While I love this time of year for all its good cheer, I also find it a difficult time to focus on self care and feeling my best. So let’s talk balancing health and cheer this holiday season.
There’s no need to deprive ourselves, as it goes against the feelings of abundance and gratitude that the season brings. But for some of us, all it takes is a few extra cookies or glasses of wine to knock us down and remind us how important our health care routines are. Staying present and aware of your trigger areas are key in maneuvering those tricky situations.
Here are ideas for maintaining your happiest, healthiest self this holiday season. These tips help me navigate through the gatherings, and holiday meals with grace and ease. But seriously, if I follow only a few of these tips I’ll be happy.
1. Set your intention for the upcoming holiday season. Seems kind of silly, but we often forget the importance of staying present and what the season is really about. Before getting swept up in the holiday rush, decide for yourself what is important to you this season. Maybe it’s sticking to your self-care routines, meditating daily to stay present, or maintaining healthy eating habits. It could be as simple as giving back more, or starting a gratitude journal. Whatever matters to you, hold that intention for the season, to help you remain mindful of that it’s all about.
2. Make a food plan and stick to it: When you have a holiday party, plan ahead what you are willing to eat, and what you’re not willing to eat. Ask yourself: Where do I draw the line? It’s no fun to completely restrict yourself, and you’ll just end up wanting more. By planning ahead you can have what you like without going overboard. Maybe it’s no fried food, minimal sweets, or limited carbs. Or make a compromise with yourself, have the dessert but skip the appetizers. Bringing your own healthy dish to a party will also ensure that if there’s nothing at a party you feel comfortable eating, you will at least have something. Also, plan how much alcohol you are confortable drinking. I prefer to stick to just one, but I pick my absolute favorite, and slowly sip on it throughout the night to thoroughly enjoy it. If you don’t want to drink at all, a nice wine glass with sparkling water and a lime looks festive, and gives you something to sip on, but won’t give you a headache. Whatever your game plan is, deciding ahead of time, and knowing you are sticking to it will ease those difficult in-the-moment decisions.
3. Avoid over eating: Hors d’oeuvres, pass arounds, and appetizers are especially tricky because you don’t know how much you’ve had, and it’s so easy to reach out for “just one more.” If you’re at a party where there are pass arounds, set a number you’re comfortable with and stick to it. If there’s a table of appetizers in front of you, sit near the veggie plate, that way you can snack while you chat and not end up consuming 15 pigs in a blanket. With a buffet, fill your plate just once, that way you know exactly what you’ve eaten. Also, eating a light healthy meal at home before you go to a party will ensure that you don’t mindlessly snack on whatever is in front of you.
4. Take care of your immne system. With the hectic pace and over indulging, the immune system can take a beating this time of year. Take your probiotics, vitamin C, use your essential oils, get good sleep and don’t overdo it on sugar and alcohol. Simple as that.
5. Prioritize your self care routines. If you’ve already developed morning and night time self care rituals, the holidays are a time where you should stick to them the most. This time of year can be stressful, with the running around, cooking, hosting parties, shopping for presents, and going to events. Take the time every day to do what keeps you grounded and feeling your best. These routines help to begin and end the day, on a relaxed and positive note. Self care can be physical or spiritual, so decide what works for you and don’t neglect yourself.
6. Move. Yes, this goes without saying, but our workout routines tend to be the first thing to go during the holidays when we have a million other things to do. But with all of the extra food and alcohol consumed, and the stressing that inevitably happens, it’s more important than ever to exercise; not only to burn off the eggnogg, but it’s also great for the mind, and managing anxiety. I find that a regular yoga practice is a grounding and relaxing way to balance all of the movement that goes on during the rest of the day.
Whether it’s spending time with family, enjoying good food, or giving back, however you choose to celebrate this holiday season, be mindful of what matters most to you, be present to the meaning of the season, take care of yourself, and enjoy it all!
If you’re anything like me you score the internet for the best healthy living and food blogs, so I’ve simplified the process for you!. I want to share with you my top health food blogs. Enjoy!
Deliciously Ella– Deliciously Ella is a site that I truly go to on a regular basis for recipes that I actually cook, in real life. I love going to aspirational sites that show beautiful pictures of perfectly crafted culinary art, but there’s nothing better than a real site you use evey day, like your mom’s favorite stained cookbook with the pages ripped and stuck together from the years of use. Well, to me, this site is both. Not only is Ella adorable and unintimidating but she feels like a girlfriend I would call up to borrow a recipe from. And her recipes manage to be healthy while looking scrumptious and satisfying. Aside from the amazing food, Deliciously Ella has posts on happiness (one of my favorite topics), advice for living a healthy life, inspiration, fitness and beauty. She also has two cookbooks and an app. Ok, I kinda just want to be Ella, or be her best friend.
Image via www.delicouslyella.com
Sprouted Kitchen- The husband-wife team behind the Sprouted Kitchen bring a focus to healthy, seasonal foods, while maintaining a sophisticated yet rustic flare to their images and recipes. One of the things that Sprouted Kitchen does that sets them apart from other health food blogs is their food photography. It’s hard not to get inspired while poring over the images of their recipes. The vast recipe collection includes just about everything you’d want to find when trying to be the hostest-with-the-mostest, or just making a relaxing dinner at home. Looking through their recipe archive makes me feel like I’m at an elegant yet cozy farm-to-table restaurant and I want to order everything! It’s websites like this that make me say to myself, “I love food so much!!!”
Image via www.sproutedkitchen.com
Peachy Palate-Peachy Palate, run by Michelle, a nutritional health coach, has recipes as well as nutritional information and workouts (pretty much a one-stop-shop for everything healthy). The workout page is great for finding any workout you may be looking for. The recipe page is extremely well organized! You can search by cooking method, course, dietary needs, or key ingredient. I love this because if you don’t know what you want to make but are looking for something specific like grain-free, vegetarian, or paleo, everything is sorted for you. My favorite is the section on nutrition. She has posts on pretty much everything you might want to know about nutrition. Definitely a great site for finding well-rounded health information and inspiration.
Image via www.peachypalate.com
Cookie and Kate- Cookie and Kate has a whole slew of healthy plant-based recipes, many of which are gluten-free. But don’t get the idea that you’ll be eating twigs and berries. The recipes are all extremely diverse and appealing, you’ll want to become vegetarian just looking at this food. I’ve made several recipes from Cookie and Kate in the past, and they’ve always turned out to be major successes in my house. The recipes are creative, yet flexible so if you don’t have every single ingredient you can wing it and it will turn out great!
Image via www.cookieandkate.com
Lexi’s Clean Kitchen- Accessable clean eating is the goal in Lexi’s Clean Kitchen. Lexi, a passionate recipe creator, develops creative, tasty, and nutritious recipes using healthy ingredients. Her recipes encompass all needs and tastes from dairy-free, to gluten-free, sugar-free, and paleo; so everyone can find something that works for them. I can totally relate to Lexi’s story because she decided to make major liestyle changes to live a happier and healthier life, just like I did, and has found major success with eating a cleaner diet and leading a more balanced life. To that I say, right on girl!
Image via www.lexiscleankitchen.com
From The Land We Live On- Rustic charm perfectly describes the feel of this blog. Sophia, the brains and heart behind the recipes, shares her experiences in urban gardening, foraging, and food preservation, and focuses on the importance of eating food that is found close to home. Recipes include gluten-free, vegan and paleo options, and they all look beyond appetizing. I pretty much want to make everything I see here. Even if you don’t plan on making any of these delicious meals, just browsing the site will be a delightful experience because the visual component is so appealing.
Image via www.fromthelandweliveon.com
I hope that you find some wonderful ideas and inspiration from these sites. I have found them to be the tried and true sites that I keep going back to again and again.
Leave a comment with your favorite healthy recipe sites!
I find that the easiest way to consistently eat healthy is to have a well stocked pantry. Having the staples on hand will always simplify meal prep, as well as spontaneous whip-it-up meals. Here are my must-have healthy pantry staples to always keep in my kitchen, no matter what I’m making that week.
Healthy Pantry Staples
Almonds
Almond Butter
Cashews
Walnuts
Dates
Sunflower or Pumpkin Seeds
Coconut Flour
Almond Flour
Coco or Cacao Powder
Coconut Oil
Chia Seeds
Lentils
Canned beans
Canned crushed tomatoes
These ingredients are so important to have because they can be used in so many different ways. Many of these are used every day in my kitchen, whether it’s for smoothies, snacks, main dishes, or desserts.
Spices
Hymalayan Sea Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Turmeric
Cinnamon
Thyme
Rosemary
Oregano
Cayanne Pepper
These spices are versatile and most commonly used in recipes. I’ve found that in making many different recipes over the years, the spice rack has seemed to grow…a lot. Random spices that have been used once, unfortunately fade to the back of the cabinet. These basic spices end up being the only ones I really use, and the only ones worth having.
Produce
apples
avocados
bananas
lemons
oranges
No matter what I’m planning on making each week, I always get these produce items. Mainly becuase they are portable, don’t need refrigeration, and don’t go bad that fast. I like to call them low-maintenance fruit.
Of course there are many others that I didn’t include here. I haven’t even begun to talk about my love for goji berries! But this is a great place to start if you want to incorporate more clean foods into your pantry.
I hope this helps simplify your healthy lifestyle!
One of the best ways to stay in a high-vibing mindset to achieve your goals is by surrounding yourself with others who share the same values as you, inspire you, and who may be further along a similar path as you.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet such powerful and inspiring women through masterminds, facebook groups and group coaching programs. One of whom is soulful business coach Celia Ward-Wallace. I’m so thrilled to continue my “Inspiring Women Series” with my interview with her.
In our conversation we discuss how to find your purpose, what “soul care” means, daily health and wellness routines, and starting/running a soulful business.
Celia Ward-Wallace is a Lifestyle Entrepreneur and Soulful Business Coach who leads women to discover their purpose, identify their core values and create a soulfully aligned online business. She teaches female entrepreneurs how to launch their first online business, attract their first client and make their first dollar in her signature program: The Super Fly Soulful Business Program.
Celia’s forward-thinking methodology focuses on the intersection of: money + meaning; business + self-care; action + receiving; strategy + soul and community building + collaboration. Her focus is to lead her community to create a life and business by intentional design with lot’s of ease, grace and cash.
One of my favorite things that she does is“The Super Fly Society” Facebook group which is FREE (and free is awesome). I encourage you all to head over there and connect with Celia and other heart-centered, world-changers. I can honestly say that I visit the group multiple times a day. It’s amazing!
We all like to mindlessly browse the internet once in a while, right?
Any by once in a while I might mean hourly.
There was a time when I’d read through Perezhilton, HollywoodLife and People.com on a daily basis. I didn’t even particularly like it, but it was just ingrained into my routine. It’s a habit that wasn’t serving me, and I figured if I’m going to do something so habitual it might as well be enhancing my consciousness in some way.
Swapping out one bad habit with a good one is easy when you already have one habit in place because you don’t have to develop a whole new habit!
Now, one of my favorite ways to wisely spend time on the internet is by reading through some of my top inspiration and motivation websites. I want to share them with you in hopes that maybe you’ll find some inspiring and high quality content that will improve some aspect of your life.
*I get nothing for naming these sites here. These are all sites that I personally have bookmarked in my browser and read because I truly value them and want to share them with all of you.
Lewis Howes:I have been listening to Lewis Howes’ podcast “School of Greatness” for a while now, and can say that he is definitely one of my top favorite podcasters out there (I sense another blog post coming on soon). After becoming injured while playing professional football, he had to reimagine what the future held. Striving for greatness and constant hustle helped him create a multimillion dollar online media company in just a few short years. Now Lewis Howes is an online entrepreneur, author, speaker and champion of greatness. His blog and podcast discuss topics relating to finding success in life, being inspired, and reaching your greatest potential. Super inspiring and an all around relatable guy. His content is definitely worth reading or listening to on a regular basis.
Marie Forleo: All hail the queen! Well that’s how I feel anyway. Marie is the Queen of motivation, productivity and success in business and life. Her light hearted, yet high quality content takes you to the heights of your potential that you may not have known were there. I especially love Marie TV, where she creates videos of interviews with industry experts, or tips from the queen herself on how to take on every opportunity and make the most of your life and business. Just reading her bio you will know that this is the woman you want to learn from.
Zen Habits: The name really says it all. A simple, no-nonsense, clutter-free site with thought provoking articles on living with simplicity as well as motivation, inspiration, happiness, achieving goals, and being in the moment. A totally unique and refreshing website and a must read. Bookmark it now! You will be happy you did.
Pick The Brain: If you need a buzzfeed fix but want something with a little more substance, I highly recommend checking out the Pick The Brain blog. They provide quick, easy to digest articles with actionable steps to take right now to improve your health, productivity, motivation and personal development. It’s a great time waster if you feel like getting sucked into the internet for a while, especially if you don’t want to feel too guilty after spending an hour browsing through articles (because, let’s face it, we all do it).
I Want her Job: This website focuses on the two major aspects of every woman; her career and her life. Constantly striving for that delicate balance to have it all, I Want Her Job highlights pioneers, experts and visionaries in their fields, and provides inspiration and information for other women looking to succeed in their careers and personal lives. Yet another website in which you could easily lose track of time, in a good way!
She Takes On The World:Living on purpose with a clear mindset to help you build your empire and kick ass in your business. That’s basically the mission of She Takes On The World, founded by entrepreneur extraordinaire Natalie MacNeil. Full of terrific videos and content on how to succeed in whatever you are driven to do. Finding your purpose and putting heart and soul into making it happen. This is for all the women entrepreneurs out there who are sick of businessey sites and need some inspiration to kick it up a notch.
Danielle LaPorte: Danielle LaPorte, author of the best selling book The Desire Map, is a soulful entrepreneur passionate about helping other women find their divine purpose and create a life and career out of it. But unlike most entrepreneurs, Danielle is more focused on the holistic appropach to business, that is cultivating more conciousness and purpose in your work, finding what drives your heart and soul, and putting it into action. Many have said her book is a life-changer. I’ll let you know when I finish it!
Soul Pancake: An online community for people interested in digging into life’s big questions, exploring creativity and sharing deep thoughts and new ideas. It’s for all the people who say “There’s gotta be more to life than this.” It’s so easy to get lost in the content of this site, and it’s really like nothing else out there right now. I found out about Soul Pancake many years ago, before I was a blogger, before I was passionate about exploring the deeper meaning in life, and I am so happy to share it with all of you. Plus it’s created by Rainn Wilson, aka Dwight from The Office, so that’s kinda cool too.
Hi, I’m Caroline! Welcome to Bloom & Spark, an intuition led, wellness based lifestyle blog. With a focus on mindfulness and sustainability this space is for creating authentic engagement in what it means to live well. Here you will find insights and lifestyle tips for yoga & meditation, simple recipes, purposeful living, and realistic sustainability. Manifesting Generator, Gemini,
