Remember the Basics for a Happy & Healthy Fourth of July Weekend

(Photo Credit: Rebecca Hemling)

Food Safety: This is super important when going to backyard cookouts and picnics.  One in six Americans get a foodborne illness each year (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, n.d.)  Don't be one of them...remember to keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot, store raw and prepared foods separately, and wash hands often. 

Fireworks:  Whether going to a community show or setting your own off in the backyard, fireworks have the potential to be extremely dangerous.  On average, 240 people a day go to the emergency room with fireworks-related injuries during the month of July (U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, n.d.).  Avoid being one of them....keep a safe distance at all times, watch children closely, and stay alert for falling debris and faulty detonations. 

Be Sun Safe:  Protect your skin and eyes when outdoors in the sun.  Each year more than 1.2 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer (Sun Safety Alliance, n.d.).  Reduce your risk...apply sunscreen before heading out and reapply often, find shade when possible, and wear sunglasses and/or a hat. 

Traveling:  Be mindful of excess traffic that will be on the roads over the holiday weekend.  Allow extra time to get to your destination and if possible avoid heavily traveled roadways.  *Psst*  This is a great opportunity to practice Mindful Driving!

Drink Responsibly: This one needs little explanation...please don't drink and drive.  The Fourth of July holiday weekend is marked as one of the "deadliest" of the year with over 40% of all traffic accident fatalities being caused by drunk drivers (U.S. Department of Transportation, n.d.).

Have Fun!  The long weekend spent with family and friends is a great opportunity to get outdoors and get active...gather everyone together for a hike, bicycle ride, swimming, a game of baseball, volleyball, tennis, or any other activity you enjoy.  Not only will you have fun but get some great exercise too!

And one last tip...take a moment to reflect on freedom and what living in America means to you.

Sun Safety Alliance. (n.d.). The facts about getting too much sun. Retrieved from  http://www.sunsafetyalliance.org/bare_facts.html

U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. (n.d.). Fireworks information center.  Retrieved from http://www.cpsc.gov/fireworks

U.S. Department of Transportation. (n.d.). 4th of July drunk driving prevention campaign.  Retrieved from  http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/july4th

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Picnic food safety [PDF File].  Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/UCM354231.pdf

DISCLAIMER: The content on this blog, www.mind-bodypursuit.blogspot.com, represents the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of its author and should be taken as such…with a grain of salt.  It is for entertainment purposes only and not intended to prevent, diagnose, or cure.  Before trying any new physical activity, dietary plan, supplementation, complementary and alternative therapy, or other wellness tip please seek the guidance of a qualified professional.

Freezing Fresh Herbs

     It seems like the growing season has hardly started, yet my herbs are going crazy...I can hardly keep up with them!  I just love having fresh herbs on hand and find that freezing them is the best way to enjoy their vibrant taste and color in recipes all year round, that is if they last that long!  

     Freezing herbs is really simple and takes just minutes of time.  I start out by picking the fresh herbs and washing the leaves well, leaving them on a paper towel to dry while I get everything else ready.  I use a mini food processor and ice cube trays.  Also, in order to chop and freeze the herbs some form of liquid is necessary.

     This is where it gets fun!  The herbs can be frozen just on their own with some water or broth OR all kinds of exciting combinations can be made using oils and other ingredients. I like to use olive oil for herbs that I know will not be used for cooking, but heat-stable oils like grape seed or safflower oil work great if the herbs will be used to saute veggies or proteins. 

Some of my favorite combinations are:

• Basil with garlic and olive oil to dress salads or as a dip for bread.  I have even added a bit of parmesan and made a quick faux-pesto (yummy!). 

• Cilantro with the juice and zest of a fresh lime for making pico de galo or adding to rice (awesome in burritos!).

• Mint with honey and lemon juice adds a refreshing twist to iced teas and cocktails.

      So once I have my combinations picked out I pack the herbs into my food processor along with any other ingredients.  I start out with just a tiny bit of liquid and drizzle in more as needed.  In order to not pulverize the herbs completely, just pulse them and check their consistency often.  I prefer mine to be slightly chopped.

    
     Then finally, just scoop the herb mixture into ice cube trays and place in the freezer.  I suggest labeling them cause they really all look the same at this point! Once the cubes are frozen solid I pop mine out and transfer them to labeled freezer bags for storage until I need them.

DISCLAIMER: The content on this blog, www.mind-bodypursuit.blogspot.com, represents the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of its author and should be taken as such…with a grain of salt.  It is for entertainment purposes only and not intended to prevent, diagnose, or cure.  Before trying any new physical activity, dietary plan, supplementation, complementary and alternative therapy, or other wellness tip please seek the guidance of a qualified professional.

Creating Your "Happy Place"

        

Quite often meditation and visualization exercises will ask you to call upon your "happy place".  This place could be something you conjure up in your imagination, some place you have been before or would like to go.  Once you establish your own personal "happy place" and become familiar with it you can temporarily escape to this oasis whether deep in meditation or any other time you need.  Visualizing this place should invoke relaxation and calmness.  It can also be great for a quick mood booster...which is when mine comes in most handy.  I can't even think about my happy place without smiling instantly!  

My happy place, which I'll share with you shortly, is from Topsail Island and the many memories that were made there during my short stay in North Carolina.  Click on the link below for a short slideshow or my happy place and then read on for tips on reaching your own.

My Happy Place (Topsail Island)

Happiness awaits with these simple steps:

• Close your eyes.
• Take a few deep breaths to center yourself.
• Begin by picturing the happy place in your mind. 
• Next imagine what other sensations you might notice there (scents, sounds, feelings, etc.)
• Spend as much time as you would like or have available. 

DISCLAIMER: The content on this blog, www.mind-bodypursuit.blogspot.com, represents the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of its author and should be taken as such…with a grain of salt.  It is for entertainment purposes only and not intended to prevent, diagnose, or cure.  Before trying any new physical activity, dietary plan, supplementation, complementary and alternative therapy, or other wellness tip please seek the guidance of a qualified professional.

 

Keeping Pregnant Feet Happy

Swelling of the feet and ankles is one of those notorious pregnancy symptoms right up there with morning sickness and back aches.  Needless to say I was not looking forward to this experience.  Twenty-eight weeks came and went...no swelling.  Then thirty, thirty-one, and thirty-two weeks...still no swelling.  At this point I was naive enough to think I might be lucky and skip this whole unpleasantness.  Well then week thirty-three hit, along with a few 96 degree days, and suddenly my ankles more closely resembled those of an elephant!  So the past week instead of writing I have been researching and experimenting with ways to relieve my puffy, hot, and otherwise irritable feet.  Here are some of the methods that I found to be most helpful.

Staying hydrated.  This one sounds funny...if swelling is caused by a retention of fluid then why would we want to drink more water!?  Well as my nurse explained it to me, drinking plenty of water helps to thin the fluid that is being held around the feet and ankles which makes it easier to dissipate.  Plus, staying well hydrated during pregnancy is just good for you anyways.

Drink lemon water.  Lemon is a very effective diuretic so it can help relieve swelling by removing excess water being retained in the feet, ankles, and anywhere else for that matter.  I love lemon to begin with so this was an easy one for me. I not only put a few slices in my water and iced tea, but squeezed it over salads as well. 

Put your feet up. There was never a better excuse to sit back and prop those babies up.  Elevating your feet so that they are above your heart is said to help increase blood flow and reduce the chance of it pooling around the lower extremities.  My nurse also suggested sleeping on my left side to help take pressure off of the main artery that circulates blood to these areas.

Stay active.  I found that swelling was just as bad on days that I laid around this way as it was when I was on my feet all day.  Moving around increases circulation in the body.  This along with stretching also helps to prevent joints from stiffening which I've noticed happens quite easily when sitting in one position for a while.  What worked best for me was a combination of both being up walking around and taking breaks to sit down off and on.


Try aromatherapy. Certain essential oils such as peppermint and citruses can be applied either during massage, as a lotion, or in a spray to refresh them.  I purchased a cooling foot spray from Bath & Body Works that contained peppermint.  It helped relieve the hot, tingly feeling I would get after being on my feet for a while.  I carried this stuff with me everywhere and used it often.

Put 'em on ice.  Some would argue that using ice for this kind of swelling is not actually beneficial.  More often my feet were not necessarily swollen, but just hot and achy.  The feeling of an ice pack wrapped in a soft towel under my toes was amazing.  Since I spend a lot of time at my computer I would place it on the floor under my desk and rest my feet on it.  So whether it truly helped or not I don't know, but it sure felt like it did.

DISCLAIMER: The content on this blog, www.mind-bodypursuit.blogspot.com, represents the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of its author and should be taken as such…with a grain of salt.  It is for entertainment purposes only and not intended to prevent, diagnose, or cure.  Before trying any new physical activity, dietary plan, supplementation, complementary and alternative therapy, or other wellness tip please seek the guidance of a qualified professional.

Caprese Pasta Salad

          Well today is my ten year high school reunion...where has the time gone!?!  I'm looking forward to catching up with old friends, classmates, and their families.  The forecast is showing it's supposed to be a beautiful day for our get together.  This picnic seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to break out one of my all-time favorite summer salad recipes.  I could seriously live off this stuff all summer long, it's that good!  It's even better when the tomatoes start to ripen in the garden and you can pair them with fresh-picked basil and spring onions too.  You can omit the pasta for a lighter dish, but I wouldn't skimp on the mozzarella...it really wouldn't be the same! 

Ingredients:
1 box of your favorite pasta (I used rotini here, but anything works)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2-3 spring onions
A handful of fresh basil
1 cup mozzarella pearls
1 bottle balsamic vinaigrette dressing (or make your own if you like)

Directions:

Cook the pasta, drain, and set aside in a large bowl.  Slice the cherry tomatoes in half, slice the spring onions, and roughly chop the basil.  Add all three to the bowl of pasta along with the mozzarella pearls.  Stir in the entire bottle of balsamic vinaigrette (this may look like a lot but trust me the pasta will really soak it up).  Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  The flavors really are best if you let it marinate in the fridge for at least a couple hours prior to enjoying!

DISCLAIMER: The content on this blog, www.mind-bodypursuit.blogspot.com, represents the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of its author and should be taken as such…with a grain of salt.  It is for entertainment purposes only and not intended to prevent, diagnose, or cure.  Before trying any new physical activity, dietary plan, supplementation, complementary and alternative therapy, or other wellness tip please seek the guidance of a qualified professional.