I love cooking steel cut oats for breakfast, especially as the weather gets colder. I will often cook up a couple servings at once so I have a hearty breakfast ready for several days. I like to top my oatmeal with fruits in season or use frozen berries. I also love to add various nuts and seeds for a salty-sweet combo. Incorporating nuts and seeds can have numerous health benefits including regulating the menstrual cycle.

Try these additions during the different phases of your cycle*:
Follicular: brazil, cashew, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds
Ovulation: almond, flaxseeds, pecan, pistachio, pumpkin seeds
Luteal: walnut, hickory, pine nut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
Menstruation: chestnut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds

Click here for another hearty breakfast that can be made in advance.

Feel free to comment below on your favorite things to add to oatmeal :)

*Based off of The Cycle Syncing Method by Alisa Vitti

Ingredients: makes 3 servings
1 cup old fashioned oats 
1/3 cup raisins or chopped unsulfured dried apricots
2 dates, pitted and chopped 
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed 
1 cup unsweetened soy hemp or almond milk 
2/3 cup water 
1 tsp alcohol free vanilla extract 
1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice 
1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen blueberries or other fruit

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the oats, dried fruit, dates, flax seeds, non-dairy milk, water, vanilla and spices in a mixing bowl. Place mixture in a small baking dish. For a 3x6-inch baking dish, bake 20 to 25 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the oats are golden brown. If using a larger baking dish, reduce the baking time. After baking, top with blueberries. Serve hot or cold 

Per serving: Protein 11 grams!

Photo credit and original recipe: Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

Click here for more quick, delicious & nutritious recipes!

I'm always looking for meatless dishes to add to our family favorites list, especially as the weather gets colder. This one got two thumbs up from my tween.

Lentils can be very filling so you might want to consider freezing a portion. One serving provides 23 grams of protein!!

Carrot & Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients: makes 6 servings
3-4 large sweet onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups carrot juice
4 cups low-sodium or no salt added vegetable broth
1 pound red lentils
5 ounces baby kale or spinach  (more if serving soup on a bed of wilted greens)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/4 cup parsley, chopped (optional)
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat 2-3 Tablespoons of water (or olive oil) in a soup pot and saute onions and garlic until tender*. Add carrot juice, vegetable broth and lentils. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer covered until the lentils are soft (about 50-60 min). 

Stir in baby kale or spinach and heat until wilted. Add lemon juice, chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Optional: I like serving the lentil soup over a bed of wilted spinach or sauteed kale.

*Tips: I find sauteing the onions until almost translucent and then adding in the garlic to saute helps decrease the probability of burning the garlic. If you use brown lentils instead of red you may need to add some cooking time. Wait until the lentils are cooked before adding salt. Salt can slow the process of breaking down the lentils, therefore increasing the cooking time.

Bear in mind that while lentils are a great protein source they can be very colon cleansing. A little can go a long way!

Photo credit and original recipe: Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

Click here for more quick, delicious & nutritious recipes!

Do you hear people complaining about mercury retrograde and wonder what it really means? While there may be resistance and complications in certain areas of life during Mercury (and other planetary retrogrades), there are activities that are supported. The next couple of days (until Sept 15) with Mercury retrograde (MR) and the waning lunar phase overlapping, it is actually a prime time to more easily get some tasks done that people often loathe. In fact, there are certain tasks that I intentionally hold off doing until MR and the waning lunar phase overlap because they go much more smoothly!!

Mercury is the planet of communication, cognitive function, travel, technical connections and social exchanges so when it is retrograde there are certain tasks that are advisable to avoid, if possible, such as: starting new projects, signing legal documents, and making major purchases and life changing decisions. Technical difficulties can be common during MR. Websites not working or loading weird? Emails and documents disappearing? Appliances or vehicle not working properly? Feeling tension in your relationships? MR could be involved. Remember to breathe and that these energetics are temporary and will pass. Sometimes I use technical glitches as an invitation to take a break from screens and focus on something else.
 
So what is the task, people often loathe, that I only do a few times a year typically during the overlap of Mercury Retrograde (MR) and the waning lunar phase??? Filing!

The waning lunar phase is a great time to wrap up projects! Coupled with MR there is a lot of cosmic support for completing tasks! It is also a great time to declutter and organize! Our internal and external worlds reflect one another. Using this time to bring more order to your physical space can also help bring more spaciousness and clarity to your inner world. Clutter can cause distraction and stress. Using this time to tidy your environment can help decrease potential distractions so you can more easily move forward on new projects, once MR is over. You may even notice as you focus on decluttering your environment that other people in your household naturally start doing the same!

So now I hope you know that while MR can bring different challenges it can also be a really powerful time. Who knows you may even come to enjoy MR...or at least not cringe during this time ;)

Feel free to comment below on how you like to harness MR energy.

Looking for more balance in your life? Contact me or click here to learn more about my customized Body Decoding rebalancing sessions.

This wild rice recipe quickly became a family favorite. I love making it as a gluten-free stuffing substitute during the holidays. As an extra bonus, it can be made in advance!

If you try it, I'd love to hear what you think of it. Enjoy!

Ingredients  (makes 6-8 servings)
1 32-ounce container low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup wild rice
1 1/4 cup brown rice
1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh sage, finely chopped
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup dried apricots or cranberries, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oven to 350° F. In a pot, over medium-high heat, bring the broth and 2 cups water to a boil. Add the wild rice and brown rice, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cooked rice, parsley, sage, pecans, apricots or cranberries, salt, and pepper and toss. Transfer to a buttered casserole. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.

If make in advance: Assemble the ingredients but do not bake it. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bake as directed, adding 10 minutes to the baking time.

Cooking tip: Instead of using a skillet and casserole dish, I like to saute the onion and celery in a dutch oven, add in the other ingredients and put it in the oven. Fewer dishes to wash ;)

Original recipe from: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/wild-rice-dressing
Photo credit: Sang An

Click here for more recipes :)

Happy October and last day of Mercury Retrograde! The energy has been interesting with so many planets in retrograde these past couple of weeks. I hope you have been gentle with yourselves and others. We leveraged the retrograde energy as much as possible and de-cluttered our basement. The space is cleared and ready for remodeling, which we have been dreaming of for YEARS. Some things got reorganized into other areas of the house but the majority of the stuff is gone - sold, donated, recycled - gone! Clearing the bulk of it actually only took hubby and me a few hours! I think this is a great example of how you can align with the energy of the Universe to support your life. Not only did we de-clutter the basement but once we got going we tackled many other rooms :) It feels SO good to have this excess stuff out of our house and lives!

This de-cluttering project was also a good reminder to just start. Commit to doing something for 15 minutes and you might be surprised how quickly your momentum builds and the task you have been dreading is done.

What are you celebrating from last month?

Contact me if you want to learn more about harnessing the energies of the Universe to have a life of less stress and more ease & joy!

Last week I posted about the self high-five practice I started. I'm happy to report it's still going really well. My kiddo also loves our new high-five ritual at school drop off...it puts a HUGE smile on both of our faces 😃 Thank you to all of you that joined me in this exploration and for your PMs.

Recently I decided to hang this image on my wall as part of my self-love and celebration exploration. In the book "The High 5 Habit" Mel Robbins suggests putting notes in your bathroom or near the mirror where you high-five yourself. I have had an empty space on the wall next to my bedroom dresser for an annoyingly long time so I decided to hang this image there. I might also add something in the bathroom. It inspires me so I thought I would share it with you.

On another exciting note, the post shadow phase of Mercury Retrograde is ending and ALL the planets are direct until the end of April!

What does this mean?!? It means manifestation time!! It's like a BIG green "go" light from the Universe. Now is the time to take inspired action. You may have already noticed a shift in this month's energy after Mercury went direct at the beginning of February. Perhaps you have been gaining traction towards what you want to create and experience.

We are in the waning lunar phase until the new moon on March 3rd. I recommend using the next couple of days to wrap up projects, clean house, declutter, etc. so you are ready to utilize this slingshot energy...especially during the waxing lunar phase of March.

If you are wanting clarity about the next steps to take to bring your life into greater alignment, please contact me! I would love to support you ☺️

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday!

#wellnesswednesday, #returntobalance

Happy Wednesday! You might be wondering what I am doing in this photo. As odd as it might sound, I'm giving myself a high five (while making eye contact in the mirror). I recently started reading the book "The High 5 Habit" by Mel Robbins and decided to give it a try yesterday. Not only did I have a great morning but also a joyful and productive day....yeah me!! I ended up giving myself a high five throughout the day each time I looked in the bathroom mirror.

I also sent my kiddo off to school not only with a hug but also a high five, which left a big smile on her face (and mine). She ended up having a great day too!!

I look forward to finishing the book and reading more about the neuroscience behind this practice of presence, self-love and celebration. Today I'm rocking day 2 of a 7-day self high five experiment. I'm quickly becoming a fan of this addition to my morning routine.

I'd love to have you join me in this exploration. Post a pic in the comments below of you high-fiving yourself in the mirror! Feel free to also share how you felt doing it and how your morning/day went :)

Wishing you a wonderful day!!  Happy Full Moon!