What’s your post-wake up routine? Do you make your bed immediately? Maybe throw the comforter up and call it good? Perhaps you go the other direction, dedicating yourself to tightly tucked sheets and perfectly fluffed pillows? And what about the timing of this exercise? Do you do it soon after waking up? Or do you wait a while? I recently heard Michael Cazayoux discussing his morning routine on a Girls Gone Wod podcast episode and it got me to thinking about my own habits (ps. LOVE their podcast). Making my bed each morning is important to me. By why? The answer is simple; making the bed sets the tone for…
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Protect Your Heart
While many women know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in our sex, we still can be guilty of reserving our most dogged concern for other areas. Over the past 20 years, breast cancer awareness – and the push toward regular mammograms and early detection – has done wonders to support female longevity. Yet at the same time, heart disease has struggled to gain similar traction in the women’s public health conversation. Why? Is it simply a question of prioritizing the present over the future; in other words, breast cancer detection requires my attention now, while worry over heart disease can come later? As someone in her…
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Fight Cavities & Boost Heart Health
According to Ann Bolger, M.D., the William Watt Kerr Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco “the mouth can be a good warning signpost, people with periodontitis (inflammation of the tissue around the teeth, often causing shrinkage of the gums and loosening of the teeth) often have risk factors that not only put their mouth at risk, but their heart and blood vessels, too. But whether one causes the other has not actually been shown.” Regardless of whether there is a direct correlation/causation between periodontitis and heart disease, we do know that oral hygiene is extremely important when it comes to overall health. Bad bugs (aka.…
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Stress…It’s a B!$@#
Stress sucks. But, it’s inevitable. We all experience it, some times more than others. It’s how you handle stress that effects your health in the long run. Fingernail-chewing, sleep deprivation, and more coffee – these are less than ideal forms of compensating. More traditionally, proper stress relief has involved coping mechanisms, unwinding, and downloading. Whether it is sipping on a glass of wine, taking a bubble bath, watching a favorite tv show, going for a run or getting a massage, it is important to identify what works for you once stress rears its ugly head. But what about mitigating stress’s impact before it starts? In other words, how do we…
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Sleep Hygiene
In order for me to start getting ready for rest, the first objective is getting the babe(KMJ) to bed; this usually happens between 6:30-7 pm. KMJ has his own pre-bedtime routine: first dinner, then a game of chase (get all the last minute friskies out), followed by wind-down of quiet play in his room. Finally, we conclude with a bath, supplements, reading, nursing. Then it’s mom (and dad) time. While we aim to go to bed around 9 pm (I know I’m an early bird – always have been and I presume always will be), my sleep routine starts around 7 pm. It entails everything I need to do to…
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Make a List & Check it Twice, Hospital Bag Recommendations
Giving birth is magical, emotional, and incredible. In fact, insert just about any glowing adjective you’re bound to aptly describe the experience. But it’s also stressful, uncomfortable and draining so controlling the controllable is an important part of making sure that you look back on your child’s birth with only the fondest of memories. You’ve probably already heard that most women will not experience their water breaking in one fell movie star swoop as it did for Charlotte in Sex and the City. Regardless of how much time you have in early labor, no one is logically thinking through what they will and will not need for the big event. …
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Baby J’s Birth Story
As the end of my pregnancy got near, and I realized that I was in fact going to birth this baby, I started imagining how it was going to go. Of course, many individuals will warn you against doing precisely this, as it will inevitably never occur as you expect. But such thoughts are unavoidable. As for my own narrative, I envisioned myself moving through the early labor contractions at home, sometimes in the shower, other times walking up and down our short hallway or doing yoga. In fact, that’s how I pictured most of my labor going; as I’d done throughout my pregnancy, I would be active. My due…
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Anna’s Top 10 Therapeutic Foods
One of the top questions people ask me is, ‘What do YOU have for breakfast, lunch and dinner?’ It’s an easy enough question but I always hesitate a bit in answering. For starters, the way I eat is not perfect by any means, and for some reason people tend to think as a nutritionist your diet must be absent of all things indulgent. Secondly, people can get stuck on ONE particular dietary option and replicate over, and over, and over, and….well, you get the idea 😉 Nevertheless, I thought I’d shed some light on a few of the foods and ingredients that I try to have on a daily basis…
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Lactation Cookies! chocolate pumpkin oat
NO these are not made with breastmilk and no you don’t have to be nursing to enjoy these! However, if you are nursing a babe and trying to boost your milk supply or simply ensure that your milk doesn’t drop, give these a try! What it’s gonna take: (50 bite size cookies) 3 Cup Oats (Gluten Free) 2 Cup Flour (Gluten Free All Purpose) 1 Cup Butter 1 Cup Pumpkin (Puree) ½ Cup Syrup (100% Maple) ¼ Cup Flax Seeds 2 Tablespoons Molasses 2 Teaspoon Vanilla 2 Teaspoon Pumpkin Spice 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda ½ Teaspoon Salt ¼ Bag Chocolate Chip How to proceed: Preheat oven to 350 degrees…
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Mmm…Bone Broth
Broth isn’t for everyone – but it’s definitely my jam. And while it may take time to brew – it’s not labor intensive. It’s packed full of nutrient dense minerals and collagen which is great for our insides and outsides (yay for better hair, skin and nails)!! What it’s gonna take: 1 lb. bones (grass fed beef, chicken, etc.) 1 Cup carrots 1 Cup celery 8 Cups water Cheese cloth Crock Pot How to proceed: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Roast bones for 60 minutes (flipping half way through) Chop carrots and celery (large chunks are fine) Cover the bottom of your crockpot with carrots and celery Add roasted bones…
