5 Ways to Kick Off the Fall Season Stress-Free!

As the fall seasons starts to arrive and temperatures drop, many of us are facing busy schedules, whether it be work or school, and then soon to be holiday-related tasks. As the stressors build up, the harder it is to deal with it all. The best way to handle stress is to settle into daily habits that manage your stress and wellness without worrying about it too much. So, here are 5 Ways to Kick Off the Fall Season Stress-Free:

1. Cut Out Things That Add To Your Stress

Sometimes the best way to get rid of your stress is to cut what is causing the stress out of your life. Take steps to get rid of the things that are adding to your stress so you can stress less.

Stress over homework or work, always being on social media or technology, drinking, or even just eating unhealthily are just a few of the things that may add more stress to your life. Making changes to your daily habits or schedule could make a big difference in helping you feel better and reduce stress.

2. Eat a Balanced Diet & Drink Water!

Doesn’t everyone want to just sit on the couch, do nothing, and eat junk food when they’re stressed? No? Just me? You may not even think of food and water when it comes to stress, but actually, having an unhealthy diet can add to stress.

Emotional eating and reaching for high-fat, high-sugar foods only provides a temporary sense of stress relief that just adds to long-term stress. Refined carbs, such as pastries or potato chips, can cause a spike in blood sugar. So then, when your blood sugar crashes, you might experience more stress and anxiety. Having a healthy diet can help you defeat stress over the long term. Foods such as eggs, avocado, and almonds support mood regulation and provide energy balance! Not to mention making sure you drink enough water! To find the amount you need, divide your body weight in half, there’s the amount of water you should be drinking a day. Crazy right?? When your body alerts your body you need water, it’s already dehydrated, and when your body becomes even slightly dehydrated, your stress response begins. So, just make things easier on your body and to reduce stress, drink more water!

Not that we all don’t need a bit of junk food every now and then, cuz I love me some chips, ice cream, and cookies, but think about how it could affect your stress levels or why you are consuming it. Eat better, feel better!

3. Get Active Regularly

Exercise is a FANTASTIC stress reliever that can work instantly. Your body was made to move, and when it doesn’t get that opportunity, it’s hard to stay healthy. If you think about it, physical activity itself is kind of a form of stress (a physical challenge to your body) but it also aids in releasing emotional stress from your body. A number of studies have even shown that regular exercise is associated with a decrease in anxiety and depression, as well as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. But don’t overdo it!

Even just taking a walk allows you to enjoy a change of scenery, take in nature, and clear your mind. Or trying yoga. Yoga combines tons of stress relievers such as, physical movement, meditation, and controlled breathing – all of which provide great stress relief!

4. Invest In What Makes You Happy

Studies have shown that your mindset can have a huge impact on the way your body handles stress or difficult decisions. So, think about what makes you happy, and find ways to implement it more into your daily life. After all, if you’re doing more things you enjoy more often, you’re going to be a lot more happy. Should be common sense right?

Learn to get the “necessary” stuff done quicker and don’t focus too much on the list of “to dos”. Prioritize what really matters to you and schedule out time during your weekends or evenings to do things you love instead. Maybe it is spending time with your family and friends, painting, writing, taking photos or reading. Whatever it is that you love to do, make sure you set off some time for it regularly. Because few things will reduce stress and energize you like doing the things that you love most!

5. Take Time To Relax

With everything we have going on in our lives whether it be work, family, friends, school, etc., it’s sometimes hard to set it all aside to take time for ourselves and just RELAX. Some things I like to do to help with stress and just slow down are:

  • Disconnect every once and awhile – Sometimes you just have to remove yourself from the world for a while to relax and not stress about the little things. Slow down and stop for a while every now and then.
  • Eliminate – Do you even have to do everything that’s on your schedule? Maybe your heart isn’t into something as much as it used to be. Could you say no to one or more of those things to have more time and energy for what matters most in your life?
  • Zoom out – When you’re the most stressed or when life is really getting to you, stop and think, “Is there anyone on the planet having it worse than me right now?” When you think about that, sometimes life isn’t so rough and it’s easier to calm down.
  • Just breathe – Sometimes you just have to take the time to stop and just take a breath. Release the stress, calm your mind and body down and reconnect with the moment again by focusing on your breathing.
  • And be here – Live in the moment! Sometimes we just get so caught up in life we forget to live in the present. Choose to spend more of your day and time in the present moment.

I really hope these tips and tricks help you to remove (or at least reduce) all of the stressors in your life to minimize stress and improve your overall wellness! Thanks for readying!!

5 Healthy Soup Recipes to Try This Fall

“Good & Good For Ya!”

Fall is here everyone and I couldn’t be more EXCITED! Not only is fall great for chunky sweaters, fuzzy socks, and flannels…its prime time for some amazing food, specifically some warm, delicious soup!!! Soup is my absolute favorite food to eat in the cold months, not to mention its super easy to make! Squash, pumpkin, kale, apples, broccoli, and eggplant are all in season during the fall and I am SO ready for it. I have 5 seasonal soup recipes for you all to try today that’ll make you wanna put on a cozy sweater and fuzzy socks and turn on Halloweentown. Let’s get cooking!

1. CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP

Fall is the perfect time to cozy up and eat some delicious soup. Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup is a great fall soup recipe! It’s creamy, it has that perfect amount of spice and its like a taco in a bowl!

2. WHITE CHICKEN CHILI 

Let’s be honest, chili is one of the best soups to eat when its ‘chilly’ outside. (wink, wink). White Chicken Chili is the best kind of chili and this recipe is SO easy and delicious, you have to keep it in mind for the next gloomy, rainy day. Its the best kind of comfort food, you won’t be disappointed!

3. CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

This Chicken Noodle Soup is loaded with tons of healthy ingredients and full of flavor! Comfort food at its finest, this soup is perfect to cozy up with this autumn.

4. AUTUMN SQUASH SOUP

This Autumn Squash Soup recipe is sure to be a fall favorite! Squash in a soup?? What’s more fall than that? This creamy, flavorful soup is delicious, nutritious, and will definitely give you a heaping helping of fall in a bowl.

5. Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

You’ll be sure to enjoy this creamy, full of flavor Roasted Tomato Basil Soup! With no cream, sugar, or any unnecessary additives, this is a healthy, wonderful bowl of deliciousness. This tomato basil soup is not only perfect alone, but is even more delicious with a grilled cheese to dunk in it!

Well, that’s all I have for you today! Thanks for reading everyone. I hope you enjoy these yummy, cozy soup recipes this fall! Until next time, see ya!

5 Healthy Reasons to Get Excited for Fall!

Happy Fall Y’all! Because it is October 1st, I think it’s definitely necessary to talk about fall and all of the great things about this fabulous season! The fall colors, pumpkin patches, scary movies, Halloween, apples, flannels, sweaters, fall candles, apple cider donuts… I could go on and on! But, the transition to shorter and busier days of fall can be a challenge on not just your schedule, but your health. To help ease the change of seasons, I’m here to give you some tips to get you ready for the colder months to come and keep your mental and physical health in check. Here are 5 Healthy Reasons to Get Excited for Fall!

1. An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

That old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” has a lot of truth to it. Apples are truly one of nature’s best diet foods and they have a ton of nutritional benefits to them as well. They fill you up for only around 100 calories, and they’re packed with cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber, antioxidants, and vitamin C. There are TONS of different types to choose from to find the perfect flavor for your taste, not to mention they’re absolutely delicious! A food that tastes great and is great for you? Can’t pass that up!

Visit an apple orchard this fall and spend an afternoon picking your own supply. You’ll have fun while seeing where your food comes from and supporting a local orchard.

2. Early to Bed Early to Rise…

You know what they say..”early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!” This is kind of, in a way, true! Sleep is one of the most important things for our body. With the changes in when the sun rises and sets, it can sometimes mess with our schedules. But, when you get the recommended 8-9 hours of sleep, your body functions so much better and you can get a ton more done with your day when you’re fully rested, not to mention you’ll feel so much better!

Getting enough sleep is one best things you can do for your health, so take this opportunity to stick with a bedtime schedule that’s right for your body’s needs. For a good night’s rest, try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (even on weekends) and skipping snacks and exercise at least one hour before bedtime. With a full nights rest you’ll feel great and have a ton more energy to enjoy everything the fall season has to offer!

3. Cooler (But Not Too Cold) Temps!

Cooler fall temperatures means it’s time to break out the sweaters, boots, and jackets! But, it’s also a great time to enjoy the outdoors without getting really hot. Researchers suggest doing physical activity outdoors like hiking some trails, biking, going for a run, or even just raking some leaves, relieves more stress and boosts energy levels better than sweating inside the gym. Fall is the perfect time to attempt activities that may have been too taxing in the hot conditions of summer. It’s a lot more pretty outside than inside a gym anyways, so you might as well enjoy the fall colors while they last!

4. Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

The fall season is prime time for some amazing fruits and veggies. Foods like broccoli, apples, cabbage, eggplant, kale, pumpkin, squash, and dark leafy greens are all in season during the fall and are packed full of tons of nutritional benefits. Incorporating these foods into your meals and trying new recipes during this season is a great way to eat healthy all while giving your body the nutrients it needs.

Not only fruits and veggies, but spices too! Fall is the season for some great spices, such as cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves and of course pumpkin spice! These spices and scents are all staple scents of fall, and they offer plenty of health benefits to add to your diet this fall. So, sprinkle some cinnamon or nutmeg on your coffee or bake some into your next meal to make the most of these seasonal spices.

5. Take Care of Yourself

The short days, sicknesses everywhere, and colder weather of fall can sometimes make it hard to keep your health in check. SO here’s a short list of things to keep in mind to make your health a top priority this season:

  • Take some time for yourself – Shorter days in the fall and winter is Earth’s way of telling us to slow down and take a breather.
  • Get your flu shot and yearly check-up – Self explanatory! No one likes getting sick.
  • Stay active – It can be easy to just sit around all the time when the weather gets colder, but it’s important to get in some physical activity in throughout the day. Even raking some leaves counts!
  • Boost your immune system – ‘Tis the season for getting sick! Boosting your immune system can help with this by drinking plenty of water, washing your hands a lot, and eating mostly nutritious foods.
  • As I mentioned before – Gets lots of sleep!
  • Stay warm! – Dress for the weather and always make sure to wear (or at least always bring along) layers to protect your body from the changing temperatures.
  • (And last) Take care of yourself!!! – The holiday season is full of eating too much yummy food, shorter days that sometimes cause low motivation, and the flu season. Listen to your body and give it what it needs.

Thanks for reading and hopefully some of these tips and tricks help you make the most of the season! Happy fall!