I was reminded of a very important lesson this past weekend. Our bodies need rest! With it getting closer to baby girl’s due date life is getting busier and busier with everything that needs to get down before she gets here and rest has been on the back burner of my mind. Well, over the weekend I was forced to rest. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning Saturday with pink eye! Who in their adult life gets pink eye? I almost screamed when I saw myself in the mirror because my eye was puffy, red and oozing with gunk. It was really gross. I spent the rest of the night with a warm washcloth on my eye and googling everything there is to know about pink eye. Going to the doctor just isn’t wasn’t an option because they’d just want to give me antibiotics. When the hubby woke up I sent him straight to the store to pick up a fee essentials for some home remedies. Pink eye is no joke and that first day sucked. Every two hours I had to drop a homemade solution into my eye (water, honey, sea salt) and then I would soak my eye with a chamomile tea bag plus my nose wouldn’t stop running. It was lovely. Saturday looked a lot like this: couch, bathroom for eye drops, kitchen for my tea bag, back to the couch and repeat. That routine did work like a charm, though and I am well on my way to recovery!
Long story short, if we don’t give our bodies the rest it needs it will give you a clear sign and force you to rest. Have you ever gotten a cold out of the blue? That’s your body telling you to slow down and that it needs rest. Have you ever gotten so sore from a workout that you have done multiple times? Your body needs rest.
I don’t shy away from rest, but when I have ish to do I make sure and get it done while also keeping up with my other daily to do’s like work (did you know I currently work three jobs?!) going to the gym, cooking, meal prepping, house chores, taking care of the pup, etc. It is easy to overload our plate when life gets busy and not take the adequate time to rest and recover. Rest and recovery are all part of living a healthy lifestyle and are essential parts of a long healthy life. Today’s world is a constant go go atmosphere and I am here to remind you to slow down and chill. Get a massage, take a nap, soak in the bath, read a book, skip a workout, watch your favorite movie. Set time aside each week to do a relaxing activity and better yet, set time aside each day to relax for at least a few minutes. If you have a crazy home life maybe you can sneak in a 5 minute nature walk at work, meditate before or after work, or find a quiet place to enjoy lunch. Whatever it is, make time for it just like anything else and be consistent with it! Otherwise, we will all be walking around with pink eye!
If you know me at all, you will know that I love a big loaded salad! The more fruits and vegetables, the better! My obsession this summer with salads inspired me to create this and I must say, it did not disappoint. The hubby, who never eats salads, even liked it! This salad is best when fresh, but we did have some leftover which I ate the next day and it was still good.
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast
- 4 pieces of bacon
- 5 ounces arugula
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 2 tbsp hemp hearts
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 2 tbsp goat cheese or cheese of choice
- For the dressing:
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 2 tsp honey
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¾ cup fresh raspberries
- Preheat or prep your grill for the chicken. Season the chicken breasts with your favorite seasonings. I used salt, pepper and garlic salt. Depending on your grill, cook the chicken for 10-15 minutes each side or until no longer pink inside.
- While the chicken is cooking, toss the arugula, berries, hemp hearts, green onions and goat cheese in a large bowl.
- Add a pan to the stove over high heat and cook the bacon. Remove the bacon from the pan and pat the grease. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add to the salad. Set the salad aside.
- To make the dressing, add all dressing ingredients to a high powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Once the chicken is done, chop into pieces and add to salad. Add 4-6 tbsp of the raspberry vinaigrette to the salad. Toss the salad with tongs until fully mixed and the dressing coats the entire salad.
- Enjoy!