As we transition into more unknown of what is next. It should be a time that kids are going back to school seeing their friends, back to normal routines, after school activities, and fall sports, but we just do not know what is going to happen no matter how many plans and backup plans we have. School online or homeschooling, working at home with littles, Grandparents – some of you are not getting to see family as much as you would love or whatever challenge you are going through this next year. There is just so much unknown everywhere we want to help you find a safe place or time to hold on to help you stay balanced through everything. Now more than ever is a time to take a look at our health and how we can help support it more.
Instead of focusing on we cannot change, lets focus on healthy habits and routines that we can! I have some ideas for you on the next page. These are all specific to where you are at in your health journey, work, and stage of life. My suggestion is to start with 1 to 3 and maybe 5 super simple habits that you want to work on incorporating into your daily routine. These changes will become your habits! I found some cool habit trackers to help you track and stay accountable. (email balanced health to get a pdf!)
For me I never realize how much I actually do during a week and tend to only focus on what I didn’t do. Give yourself some credit for even starting or see how far you made it and how you can keep going forward.
Good Luck! I would love to hear from you how it’s going!
“In a world where you can be anything BE KIND.” We do not know what each person is facing or why their opinion differs from our own.
How can we help support you more during all of this??
Dr. Casey’s Habit Tracker Ideas
- Staying Hydrated
- Nutrition
- Healthy Breakfast and Snacks
- No sugar
- No soda
- Bring lunch to work
- Eating lots of fruits and veggies
- Home cooked meals with the family for supper.
- Meal Planning
- Supplements
- Rest (This is different from sleep, you need time to just rest and do nothing sometimes too.)
- Sleep
- Morning Routine
- Daily Meditation
- Daily Affirmations
- Journaling
- Daily Movement
- Walking
- Running
- Workouts
- Stretching
- Yoga
- Quality Time – with family, spouse, kids, significant other etc.
- Time for Self Care
- Reading
- Daily to do list
And many more on the fun example I found!! ➡️
August is Dr. Casey’s Birthday Month!!!
Quick and Easy Snacks!
Granola Bar Recipe
Easy No Bake Granola Bars {Vegan & Gluten Free}
These No Bake Granola Bars are jam packed with goodness and couldn’t be easier to make. Totally portable, they make for a busy morning breakfast or afternoon snack. You’re going to love ‘em!
Ingredients
- 2 cups dates -pitted
- 3 tbsp almond butter -or peanut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup oats -gluten free
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1 cup almonds -roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries -unsweetened
Instructions
- In a food processor add dates, almond butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, salt and vanilla extract. Blend until combined and dates broken down, about 2 minutes.
- To dates, add remainder of ingredients and blend until combined, about 1-2 minutes.
- In a parchment lined dish (I used about 8″ x 11″ pan) add mixture and FIRMLY press down until packed into pan and level. Freeze until firm, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from freezer and cut into bars (I cut into 16 pieces, but you can do more or less, depending on the size you want). Store in fridge. Enjoy!
Notes
- Your food processor is your BFF here. Basically, you mix up your wet ingredients, add dry ingredients and pour the mixture into a parchment lined pan. The key here is to PRESS DOWN the mixture. Like, reaaaaaaally, pack that goodness into the pan. Just when you think you have it packed in enough, press again. Get it? Then, simply freeze for about 40-45 minutes, remove from pan and cut into bars. Easy, right?
- Don’t have almond butter on hand? Use peanut butter!
- Have walnuts on hand and no almonds? Use those!
- Rather use chocolate chips instead of dried cranberries? Go for it!
- These no bake granola bars are pretty versatile, which makes it easy to use what you have on hand.
Smoothie Recipe
Smoothies: When you know your kids will not eat a ton of fruits and vegetables at school this is a great way to get a lot of nutrients in one quick drink! Or this is a great morning breakfast on the go.
Ingredients:
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup or so of frozen blueberries (Any fruit – strawberries, peaches, kiwi, pears and blueberries are our favorites)
- Spinach (This is an easy thing to hide they will not even know its in there!)
- Almond milk fill to the top of the frozen ingredients – (any type you like for a liquid – even water is good but try not to add a sugary juice.)
- 1 big scoop peanut butter
- 1 big scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 scoop oats or chia seeds
- 2 dates to sweeten
Blend and Enjoy!