Monday, May 3, 2010

The road to recovery

A ridiculously crazy and demanding couple of weeks at work have thrown me off balance and I've been feeling more anxious than usual.
Working(and hard) until 8,9,or 10:00 every night left me feeling restless, iritable, exhausted, and stressed. What I want in life and what we all want in life is to feel relaxed, well rested, happy, and light. The work week ahead appears to be much lighter than the last, so I can hopefully take the necessary steps to get on the road to recovery.

For starters, I was able to come home at a normal hour tonight and make myself dinner. Similar to my green smoothie morning mantra, I look forward to the nights when I'm alone in the apartment and can whip up a tasty concoction while also preparing my lunch for the following day at work. So therapeutic!

Tonight I made a Salmon Burger (cooked in coconut oil) with avocado on an ezekial english muffin. Delish! Simultaneously I had the back burner going with tomorrow's lunch which consists of a quinoa and broccoli concoction. All I had to do was simmer 1 cup quinoa with two cups water in a pot, throw in pinch of sea salt, black pepper, garlic, and a dash of rosemary. A few minutes before the quinoa was done, I threw in organic frozen broccoli floretts with a little bit of olive oil. I let the broccoli steam in the pot for a minute or two while the quinoa was still cooking and wallah...Lunch for tomorrow is done! A delicious dinner and lunch took just 15 minutes to prep and I only used two pots.

For those of you who may not be familiar with quinoa, it is a water soluble whole grain that is a great protein source, containing all essential amino acids. It is also a great source for manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous, making it beneficial for those who may suffer from migraines, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore it is rich in fiber, which can help prevent many cancers, gallstones and diabetes.

For dessert, I find that drinking decaffeinated green tea with honey satiates my sweet tooth. It is also very calming. There's nothing like curling up on the couch with a steaming cup of sweet herbal tea and the remote control or a good book!
When coming off a week long bender of late nights at work, or whatever else might be throwing us off balance, it's important to take time to get back to doing the things that "feed" us both physically and mentally. Often times when the bustle of our routines leaves us feeling heavy and stressed, we tend to engage in extreme activities that lead to an even greater imbalance such as binge eating and drinking, unproductive vent sessions, or frivolous shopping sprees. Instead, we need to take a deep breath, congratulate ourselves for surviving the chaos and get back to where we feel best.

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