Becca's Fab Five- January Edition
I LOVE the Human Body with all of its mysteries and intricacies. New products and science are always coming down the pipe and it's hard to know what to read, where to spend your dollars, and when to focus your energy. I thought it would be helpful to show you just FIVE things I'm loving each month. Maybe a recipe, or a book, or an exercise or stretch..... Maybe a product, or a podcast, or a restaurant or venue. I'm giving you ONE THING in each of the areas of our Four Cornerstones or Health, plus a bonus. I hope you'll try them in your life and find a benefit for you!
NOURISHMENT:
Learning to cook is THE best thing you can do for yourself. Cooking is the epicenter of what it is to be human. It is what set us apart from every other species on the planet, and it is still what is (or is not) making the biggest imprint on the overall health of Humans. I talk the hard truth about this over on our Haka Fitness Blog. I get it that week nights are tough and it can be tough to throw something on the table. I am alllllll about doing things that make it easier and quicker! Meals don’t have to be elaborate or time consuming to be delicious. I promise. Simple grilled meats and roasted vegetables can be elevated with great seasoning. Using Smoked Sea Salts (like THIS ) and seasoning blends you’ve put together ahead of time keeps you from having to do lots of measuring. I have been loving this little blend for chicken, pork, roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes and more. Make it ahead and store it in easy to reach magnetic containers on your fridge. You can read more about Seasoning Hacks in a recent blog post.
All Around Meat and Veggie Rub
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C Smoked Salt
2 T Smoked Paprika (you can get this at the grocery but I linked my most favoritest one!)
2 T coarse Black Pepper
1/4 T Cumin
1/4 T Onion powder
1/4 T Roasted Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Combine everything and store til you’re ready to use.
MOVEMENT:
It’s January and many people have amazing goals in this coming year. A lot of those goals focus on diet, exercise, weight loss, consistency, and other health related things. This all seems to go pretty well for people until something happens to disrupt the absolutely perfect schedule that has to happen in order to do this. You know, things like work trips, vacations, or even a really busy week of commitments. You know the story… they miss workouts just because they are out of town or have to get a kid to a practice or whatever. Guess what? You don’t have to do that! You can squeeze in a half hour or so no matter where you are or what equipment you have available. Jacob, our lead coach at Haka Fitness, put together a great guide for the Away From The Tribe Workout! Bookmark the page and use this to devise quickie workouts you can squeeze in between coached sessions- on a busy evening, before you go to work, or on vacation. These workouts are great to compliment your strength work or as a “placeholder” to represent your workout when things are going perfectly. Keeping the habit means keeping the workout on the schedule, even when it looks a little different than usual.
ENJOYMENT:
If you don’t want a gut check today, go ahead and just skim right over this section. Come back on a day when you feel ready. I had this gut check about 3 months ago and I’ve been rolling it around in my head for quite some time not knowing how exactly to share it. I’m being a sissy and hiding it here in the Fab Five, but it really deserves its own post and possibly its own intervention program.
I have a terrible love/ hate arrangement with social media. I get sucked in so easily and when I do, it’s very hard to not “check” things, keep up with likes, and post more. Posting begets posting. Well a few months ago, I was discussing this with my good friend, Kristan. That’s when she dropped the hammer on me…. “I read an article recently and the author suggested that after you get a post all ready, you should stop to ask yourself ‘Why am I posting this?’ If you are ok, with the why, post away. It’s been pretty eye-opening, Becca.” And so, I’ve started that.
Picture of my not even 2 yr old blazing down the street on a scooter and my 3 yr old on his 2 wheel bike…. It’s a humble brag. Ouch. Delete
Post about the 8 mile run at a sub 8 minute pace. It’s just showing you how fit I am. Ouch. Delete
Picture of all my sauerkraut fermenting on the counter next to the beautiful cabbage from my garden. It’s affirmation that I’m doing good things. Ouch. Delete.
When I start to ask myself why I’m truly posting something, more often than not, I’m embarrassed by the motive. To be clear, I cannot get away from social media. My business relies on it and I think there is a valuable place for it. But if my purpose is not furthering my business, educating the masses, or encouraging others, then perhaps I need to explore my need for that validation. So, that’s what I’ve been doing and it’s been liberating. Give it a go and see what you find for yourself!
FULFILLMENT:
“Date your spouse.” That’s what they say. I’ve sort of always rolled me eyes at this advice. But last year, Mark and I fell into the Marriage Black Hole. We had a new baby, a ton of change at the gym, I was physically still, um, pudgy. The kids were sucking me dry, Mark was unhappy career-wise, and we were suffering financially. It sucked.
(When I feel like I can write about it without crying, I will)
The finances were so bad that dating each other just didn’t even seem an option. There was no wiggle room in the budget for a sitter plus a meal plus some drinks, etc. Did I mention how badly it sucked? (My eyes are getting watery, so enough about that…)
This Fall, we actively made the decision to reclaim our marriage. We refused to be roommates. There were a lot of parts to this reclamation. We had to make time to reclaim our sex life (Hiiiii Mom and Dad!!!), we had to evaluate how we did or didn’t deliver grace to each other, and we had to start dating each other, Money be damned! Thus, the day date was born. For the last 5 or 6 months we have gone on a day date every other Friday. We don’t miss! It’s just 2 hours (that’s $20 for the sitter) and it’s never complicated. We might go for a trail run, change clothes in the truck in the woods and hit a bougie place for just a glass of wine. Another favorite has been to take our Bows to the archery range and have some friendly competition for an hour, followed by a casual tailgate beer. Either way, we are home for dinner with the kids and totally rejuvenated.
Our marriage has totally turned around. The spark is there and we get so excited about our day dates. The day date is super fun, extra casual, and totally attainable for anyone. Plus, it feels a little scandalous to be dating while the rest of the world is working :-)
I love this guy ^ so much….. and that baby is extra cute, too (If I do say so myself)
BONUS:
The weather is cooler(ish) here in Florida and we recently built a most beautiful fire pit in our yard. The days are also shorter and Lord know I do NOT want to take my little wildebeasts inside for any longer than I have to before bedtime. Christ Lord, they drive me crazy inside!! To help elongate our time outside, we’ve been making fires in the fire pit which we (brilliantly I might point out) surrounded with a huge sand pit. A.K.A. a giant sand box. With just some shovels and bubbles, we can stay outside an easy hour longer. The problem was dinner. So we started making foil packets and cooking them right in the coals. Now, I don’t have to run inside to stir stuff or bring everyone in to eat way earlier than I want them inside. I read this great article with some awesome tips and then just started layering stuff in the foil. We’ve invited my brother’s family (three MORE boys) over for foil packets in the fire, too. The kids LOVE it. The adults love it. My house stays nice and clean :-) Give it a try with a group of friends or as a fun family adventure. I promise you’ll be hooked!