Clarity Wellness

Nature's perfect food Ah, avocado! Just about the most perfect food, if you ask me. Creamy, delicious, versatile, and oh so good for you. In just half an avocado you have 15 grams of healthy fat, 2 grams of protein, 9 grams of total carbohydrate with 7 grams of fiber (that's 2 grams of net carbs for those of you counting), 14% of your RDI of potassium, as well as vitamin C, B6, B5, E, folate, and magnesium. Find out more here:   DietDoctor.com . I recently asked the ladies in my  Clarity Wellness Facebook Group  about their favorite ways to eat avocado.  I'm kind of a minimalist who likes to keep things simple, so I expected more of the same.  Boy, was I blown away by the responses! If you're not hungry after you read this, you must not be feeling well.  I personally am planning to bake some avocados with eggs tomorrow for our "Breakfast for Dinner" night.  I know avocado toast is a big thing right now, but unless you can find a good grain-fre...

In an effort to keep the Christmas spirit alive and well this year, I baked all the usual cookies and treats:  buckeyes, fudge, caramels, snowball cookies, chocolate crinkles, ginger snaps... Everyone has a different favorite, of course, so I had to make them all, despite making proclamations that we would not go overboard this year and I was going to narrow down the list of things we would make.  I could try and make gluten-free, sugar-free versions, but what would be the point, really?  My kids wouldn't eat them, I would be stuck looking at them and feeling guilty that I wasted the time and money on them, and would feel obligated to eat them all myself.  Usually we make cookies and keep them in the freezer, doling them out little by little as we make our rounds of holiday parties.  This year, however, there are no parties to go to, and home baked treats are not as well-received as in years past. So...guess who's eating the cookies this year?  Yep, I fell ...

I read something this week about the feeling of living from vacation to vacation and I could totally relate. I used to spend a large portion of my year planning for the next trip--picking out a wardrobe, learning a few phrases in another language, booking interesting places to stay. In this time of COVID one of the things I mourn the most is that many of our vacation plans have been canceled. I try to be grateful for what I have--we are so lucky that our kids are doing well online, we're all healthy, and we're financially stable when so many around us are struggling. It doesn't mean I'm not sad about missing out on my trip to Greece, though.  We hear a lot about how important gratitude is in making us happier. In her latest book, Didn't See  That Coming , Rachel Hollis addresses that topic, but goes one step further—figure out what gives you joy and schedule it into your day. My cup of coffee before anyone else is awake, my morning run, my evening walk with my husb...

My nut cup I have a problem with nuts. (Go ahead and giggle now 😂) I will eat the whole bag in one sitting if I’m not paying attention. Granted, they do have a lot of health benefits, but they also have a lot of calories, and can upset my stomach if I eat too many. Solution? I package them in 1/4 cup containers and store them in the freezer. That way I only eat one small serving per day. Plus, they are really good when they're cold--must be the crunch factor that is so satisfying! I’m also working on eating more mindfully and adding rituals around eating into my day. Voila—the nut bowl! (Go ahead and giggle again.) I bought this little bowl in France, so it reminds me of my travels and a culture in which people tend to slow down and savor the eating experience instead of eating over the sink, in the car, or while scrolling Facebook.  Another ritual I've been implementing is eating more slowly . I have always been one of the first at the table to finish eating. Maybe it’s the ...

 This year has been hard. Hurricanes, wildfires, politics, racism, and, oh yeah, a pandemic. This week, especially, made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. Although we are making forward progress in many areas,  we still have a long way to go.  At these times I have to remind myself to focus on the things I can control (like healthy habits) and let go of the things I can’t. Being proactive keeps me from being so reactive.  Things I can control: What goes into my mouth. How much I exercise. How much water I drink. What time I go to bed. How much I meditate.  How much time I spend connecting with friends and family.  What I watch and read in the media. Whether I wear a a mask or not.  (Remember, I can’t control what anyone else does.) How much I am out in public   How much time I spend on my phone/laptop. How clean and organized my house is  (I had to add this one, because I remembered this weekend just how empowering it feels to clean up yo...

The universe was trying to tell me something this week.  First, I got a bouquet of beautiful pink roses from my daughter’s boyfriend for no particular reason (who does that? He’s a keeper!) The next day I read about the Heart of the Rose meditation in The Monk who Sold his Ferrari . In this form of meditation you gaze into the heart of a rose for several minutes, soaking in the beauty and clearing your mind of all other distractions. I tried it briefly, but honestly, I wasn't really into it. Later that day, since I apparently didn’t get the message, my coworker gave me a beautiful rose from her garden. So now I had a rose on my desk at work, roses on my table at home, and a book on my counter reminding me to take more time to meditate. I had been on a great streak of meditating ten minutes a day while I was at home all day this summer, but since I went back to work, that was one of the first habits to quietly slip away. The stress of the pandemic sneaks up on you. You think ...

  I've been doing a little too much online shopping, Pinteresting, and endless scrolling this week, and my mood, anxiety levels, and sleep have suffered for it.  I know that the blue light emitted from my screens messes with my circadian rhythms, but I also notice that it makes it harder to shut my brain off when it's time to sleep, and when I post more on social media I feel the need to check my feed for comments, likes, etc.  All of this doesn't do my brain and body any good, and I've learned from experience that when I don't sleep well, nothing else goes well--my exercise, nutrition, mood--nothing! Here are some things I'm working on to control my digital exposure and give my eyes and brain a break: 1.  Block all notifications on my phone except for texts. 2.  Leave my phone and laptop in the kitchen after 8:00 pm. 3.  Make a list of things I need to do online before I open my laptop. 4.  Set downtime on my iPhone to block out all apps except textin...