4 Little Tips to Get Healthier

1. Replace your peanut butter with almond butter.  Almonds are one of those “superfoods” that nutritionists always recommend.  Personally, I don’t crave a handful of almonds very often.  My snacks are usually a peanut butter & banana sandwich, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter on a toasted bagel… you get the idea.  This little switch makes me feel good every time I snack!
2. Buy an organic dark chocolate bar.  Dark chocolate is significantly healthier than milk chocolate, and even provides some health benefits such as lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.  My chocolate addiction is so severe that I need it almost daily.  I buy myself one large organic chocolate bar each week, and break off one piece each night when the craving strikes.  Amazingly, the small amount of organic dark chocolate is more satisfying than a king size waxy milk chocolate bar. Try it- you’ll see!
3. Be an active TV viewer.  No, I don’t mean watch more TV; I mean get up off the couch! Make an effort to get on your feet during commercials.  Do a few dishes, put away some laundry, or just pace around the living room.  Just try to get up and move.  You’ll be amazed how fun this can be and how productive you will feel after your favorite shows.  Plus it feels like you are getting a reward for doing mundane chores!
4. Make muffins.  Take 30 minutes on Sunday to bake home-made muffins, and your life will be better! Pre-packed or drive-through breakfasts contain high amounts of sodium and calories.  But what’s easier than grabbing it on the go? Nothing… that’s why you make muffins on Sunday and have them ready to go all week.  Try healthy replacement ingredients, like using applesauce & yogurt instead of oil & butter.  For a real health kick, use flax seed instead of egg.

These little tips are easy to do and easy to stick to.  Of course, these alone won’t change your life, but I believe that every little change adds up.  Good luck!

Karma & Tacos

I’m a strong believer in the What-Goes-Around-Comes-Around lifestyle. That means when I think or do something negative, I expect some equivalent adversity to occur in my life.  So I try very hard to keep an open heart and practice compassion, although I still struggle to live this way daily.  I have to admit that it doesn’t come naturally to me yet.

Occasionally, I’m put in a position to make a clear choice about which path I want to take.  This is a lot easier than changing your everyday inner thoughts, which tend to just pop up.  Deciding on an action, however, requires a conscience process, a chance to weigh the options, followed by a decision.

Last night, my husband and I went out to our regular Taco Tuesday for dinner.  When we left it was dark in the parking lot, but I noticed something on the ground outside the door.

“Honey, look!  It’s money.”

I pointed down at a $5 and a $20 bill, because I wasn’t sure if I had the nerve to pick it up.  My husband scooped it up immediately, and as I looked away in shame, I noticed a $100 bill.  Well… we had already picked up the other money… no sense in letting $100 just fly away.  So I picked it up, with much less reserve than I had initially felt with a measly $25.

There was no one else around.  We could see people in the restaurant, but no one came running out to search for their lost money.  I suggested taking it inside, but my husband advised that one of the several college students inside was sure to lie and take the cash.

“What should we do?  I can’t make this decision.  You have to decide.”  I wasn’t about to steal $125. I really was trying to be better at managing my Karmic energy, and that would surely result in some catastrophe later in the week. Plus it was just wrong.

We stood outside, waiting for someone to come relieve us of this moral burden.  When no one came, we sat in the car and watch each person in the checkout counter.  Surely one of them would dig into their wallet, throw their hand up in the air, and come running out to the parking lot.  But no one did.

On the way home, we reviewed our recent good deeds, trying to justify the cash stuffed in my purse.  Ultimately, I decided that the safest thing to do was donate it to charity… at least most of it.