by Melanie Albert, Nutrition and food author, speaker, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition Group, LLC
Today’s message from my new “A New View of Healthy Eating, 55-Card Deck” for today is:
Go for a Nature Walk: Self care with Earth
A New View of Healthy Eating
This was the absolute perfect card for today, as I had the opportunity to spend a beautiful afternoon walking on the beach, Cocoa Beach, FL, to simply be with nature.
A New View of Healthy Eating: Go for a Nature Walk: Self care with Earth
Definitely self care with the Earth.
The rhythm of the waves reminds us to breathe in deeply and to exhale slowly.
The sand under our feet reminds us that we are connected to the Earth.
The bright blue sky reminds us that we are connected with the Universe.
The ebb and flow of the ocean reminds us that we are always changing.
The ocean itself reminds us that deep within ourselves we are always the same.
A New View of Healthy Eating: Breathe in and breathe out at the beach.
Self care with Earth: Ebb & flow with the waves.
I invite you to take time this week, to go out for a nature walk, wherever you are, and practice self care with nature.
Visit us on Facebook and share this week’s experiences with nature. Would love to see some photos!
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition Group, LLC, Phoenix, AZ. Nutrition and food expert, author and speaker. Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Holistic Nutrition and Whole Food Cooking Instructor at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.
I love self care! And, I’ve been practicing and advocating self care for decades. Self care is vital for life. Self care experiences are activities we enjoy for our own pleasure. My personal self care menu includes:
• Practicing yoga
• Receiving a massage
• Cooking with my niece
• Going to an NFL football game or the Super Bowl
• Walking on my golf course
Within the last few years, I’ve added Intuitive Cooking & Eating to my self care menu. As part of this self care experience within my life, I begin by going to local Arizona farmers markets and farms to shop. I intuitively browse the market and enjoy seeing the foods that are in season; their beauty, colors and textures. And, I purchase fresh, vibrant produce that I’m most attracted to and excited about. To me self care is eating whole foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Buying food from local farmers allows us to purchase fresh food that has not traveled across our country or from other parts of the world, which add to the carbon footprint of food.
In addition to local farmers market fresh produce, and whole foods, eating organic is vital to my self care. I intuitively started eating organic 20 years ago, way before organic was trendy and in the news. I intuitively “knew” that I did not want to eat food grown with pesticides or herbicides, or genetically modified (GMO) food. When I eat local, organic foods I feel as though I am putting the highest quality food into my body.
Singh Farms, Scottsdale, Arizona
Preparing and cooking meals has also become one of my favorite self care experiences. I enjoy choosing all of the ingredients for my culinary creations, again intuitively. By looking at the beauty of the food and mindfully paying attention to what I’m craving or desiring to eat, I begin meal preparation.
It could be a fresh fruit smoothie with coconut water, hemp seeds, raw cacao and goji berries for breakfast. Or it may be a simple avocado wrap for lunch with local Arizona tomatoes, cucumbers, rainbow carrots, fresh garlic, and just picked Meyer lemons and fresh basil. Often the self care experience extends to the aroma of produce, such as the zesty lemons and sweet basil.
Intuitive Super Food Smoothie
The mindful chopping of the veggies, as I prepare my beautiful meals is an enjoyable part of my self care experience. I love taking the time to mindfully enjoy the calming, rhythm of cutting the beautiful veggies. And, as many of my students know, I love the ritual of mise en place, getting all of my ingredients in place, for easy organization, as I prepare to cook.
For dinner, one of my very favorite self care cooking and eating experiences is a simple, beautiful veggie stir-fry with the fresh local Arizona produce from the farmers market. Will post this healthy organic recipe soon.
I invite you to practice Intuitive Cooking Experience as part of your own self care and share your experiences with us on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/experience.nutrition.now
Melanie Albert’s book, Enjoy Food & Life, is available as an e-book on www.EXPNutrition.com and you can join her on Twitter @NutritionAuthor She is available for speaking engagements, cooking workshops and retreats.
Experience Nutrition: Yoga Reflection: Full Cup, Empty Cup
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition Group, LLC. Nutrition and food expert, author and speaker. Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Holistic Nutrition and Whole Food Cooking Instructor at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts.
Yoga Reflection: Full Cup, Empty Cup
As part of my Yoga Teacher Training journey, this morning I gave myself a simple, reflective private yoga practice with my new Tibetan Bowl, Sun Salutations, a few standing poses (Mountain, Warrior II and Triangle), and the following message from “365 Yoga” by Julie Rappaport.
I invite you to sit quietly, center, perhaps, listening quietly to your own breath and then read this beautiful story.
A popular Zen story tells of a disciple who embarks on a long journey in search of a master teacher. When the teacher finally appears, the student becomes excited and begins asking many questions hoping to gain wisdom. Eager to have her questions answered, the student persists but the teacher refuses to answer directly. Instead she requests that the student pour a cup of tea. The teacher tells the student to keep pouring until instructed to stop. The student pours. The master says nothing. The cup begins to overflow, and still the master remains silent. Upset, the student exclaims:
“Master, look at this tea cup! It is full and overflowing!”
The master replies: “Yes. Just as your mind is already full. None of this teaching will be of benefit until you empty your cup.”
The disciple learned the first lesson of spiritual teaching: to be empty of preconceptions and receptive to new knowledge.
by Melanie Albert, Nutrition Expert, Author, Speaker, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition
Self care is essential. Take time every day to do something wonderful just for you to refresh, renew, relax and rejuvenate. Since we are all extremely busy with responsibilities, it’s important to take time for you. In addition to yourself, it’s vital to enjoy all your relationships.
9 Ways 90 Days Self Care Menu
What do you do just for you?
We are all so busy with life, work, family and responsibilities that sometimes we forget about ourselves. I love selfcare. I consciously added it to my life a few years ago. To me selfcare is doing something nice for me. Doing what I love to do. Sometimes it’s going to an NFL football game, getting a massage, working out in the middle of the day at the gym, experimenting with new recipes and new local produce, or it’s a special outing with my niece.
My Self Care Menu
Cooking new foods
Farmers markets in new cities
NFL football games
Art projects with my niece
Walking Bruno, my niece’s dog
Lunch at True Food Kitchen
Beach walks in Cocoa Beach
Sunset golf course walks in my backyard
Matcha tea ceremony with myself
Massage anytime
Practice flow and yin yoga
Read nutrition and cookbooks
International travel
Week at a spa
Breathe deeply
Action: Create your self care menu. Take a few minutes to write 15-20 different things you love to do just for you. What do you really enjoy doing that do not pertain to your responsibilities with family or work? Pick one item from your self care menu every day and do it.
