Tag: energy

It’s that time of year again – back to school time! As the Summer days drift away just as quickly as they came in, it’s time to focus on the new season and school year ahead. This can be a stressful time of year as we try to find our routines once again, as we often let them slide a bit during the carefree Summer months. One of the biggest stressors is meal time – or rather meal lack-of-time. Keeping your body health year round is a top priority, so we put together a list of Back to School Healthy Eating Tips to help make the transition a bit easier on you.

Back to School Healthy Eating Tips: Meal Prep

Our biggest tip when it comes to healthy eating and meal prep: Make once, eat twice (or many times). Eating healthy does not have to be time consuming. Cooking and prepping food in bulk saves a ton of time.

Here’s a great example that works well for us:

• Grilled chicken, brown rice, with roasted veggies served for dinner one night; making sure to cook extra of the chicken and rice. (approximately 30 minutes to prep and cook)
• The leftover chicken goes onto salads for the next day for lunch. Tip – using organic, pre-washed greens (often found in containers in the food store) saves tons of time for the salad base. (approximately 5 minutes to assemble) 
• The rice can be used in a rice, bean, and veggie rice burrito or wrap for dinner. (approximately 10 minutes to prep and assemble). Tip – make double for lunch for the next day.

That’s just 45 minutes for 3-4 meals!

Cooking in bulk on the weekends also saves a ton of time during the fast-paced week. Spending an hour or two cooking and prepping meals and snacks on a Sunday evening gives you more time to enjoy the weeknights with minimal stress.

Back to School Healthy Eating Tips: Dinner Recipes

• The Ultimate Veggie Stir Fry: Quick and easy way to get a ton of veggies in your body!
• Spicy & Smokey Sweet Potato Chili: A Fall and Winter staple!
• Chicken in a Crock Pot: Watch this short video on how to cook a whole chicken in the crock pot – it’s SO easy! Then, use the chicken for a variety of dishes like we outlined above.
• Kale & Quinoa Minestrone Soup: This soup stores really well in the fridge for a few days, so make a big batch and serve it all week long!
• Clean Eating Turkey Taco Salad:  Simple, balanced recipe that’s perfect to make when you’re short on time.

 

 

Back to School Healthy Eating Tips: Snack Recipes

• Magic 5 Snack Bites: 5 ingredients, 5 minutes to make – it’s the perfect healthy snack the whole family will love it!
• Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding: Chia seeds are a great source of protein, essential fatty acids, and give you an energy boost. Much better option than the pre-packaged puddings on the market!
• Pumpkin Granola: Perfect as a yogurt or smoothie topping, or just by itself.
• Cranberry Coconut Chocolate Chip Granola Bars: Skip the processed granola bars, that are often filled with sugar and not-so-great ingredients, and try these yummy bars instead.
• Creamy Basil Hummus: Pairs great with carrot, celery, and cucumber sticks for a healthy, balanced snack!

If you’re in the Wrightsville Beach area, we can also help you save time on healthy meals and snacks! Our superfood smoothies and acai bowls make for a great meal or snack anytime of day. Stop on by and visit us soon to try them out yourself!

Do you jump out of bed every morning full of energy and ready to start the day with excitement? If so, great! Keep doing whatever you are doing because it’s working beautifully for you. But if you’re like the majority of people, the answer is no. You may press the snooze button 10 times, or you may drag yourself out of bed and immediately go to the coffee pot to pour yourself a cup of joe (which you have on an automatic timer before your alarm goes off, of course.) If it’s a struggle for you to have enough energy to get up every morning, and keep it throughout the day, then keep reading to learn 3 ways to increase your energy so you don’t have to struggle anymore.

3 Ways to Increase Your Energy: Drink More Water

Keeping your body hydrated is the easiest thing you can do each day to increase your energy. Your body is comprised of millions of cells that are duplicating and replenishing themselves every second of every day. These cells need to be properly hydrated in order for you to feel your best and to have an abundance of energy. Tip: Aim to drink 1/2 of your body weight, in ounces, of purified water every day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, drinking 75 ounces of water every day will help keep you hydrated and energized.

 

 

 

3 Ways to Increase Your Energy: Eat Clean

Our definition of eating clean is a simple one: eat more whole foods and less processed junk. Whole foods are fresh vegetables and fruits, healthy fats like raw organic oils, nuts, and seeds, lean proteins, whole grains, and superfoods. The more you add fresh whole foods to your diet, the more energy you’ll have to help get you through the day. Tip: Eating leafy green vegetables with each meal gives you a huge energy boost! Try making a green smoothie, or stopping by and having one of our superfood smoothies, to give you the energy boost you need.

 

 

3 Ways to Increase Your Energy: Move Your Body

Moving you body every day helps circulate your blood and give you a fresh boost of oxygen, thereby increasing your energy. You don’t need to run a marathon or bike 50 miles, especially if you’re new to exercise. Simple movements like a 20 minute walk in the morning, or on your lunchtime break, will do wonders for your body. Tip: With the warm weather upon us, now is a great chance to get outdoors and move your body! Come on by and get your energy boost with one of our many activities like surfing, SUP’ing, and bike rentals.

 

 

We’d love to hear from you! Which one of these tips will you do this week to help increase you’re energy? Leave it in the comments below!