Happy New Year Friends!
After the holiday hangover, we can all use a RESET. Luckily, the New Year 2023 offers us just that – a blank slate to set healthier intentions for the 12 months ahead. While grandiose resolutions can backfire, setting appropriate goals and taking active steps to achieve them can lead to success and greater wellness.
Here are some actionable ways to start 2023 off on a healthy note as we prepare for this NEW trip around the sun:
Drink less alcohol.
Try Dry January. Even though we are a couple days into the month – start TODAY and go until the end of January. Getting out of the routine of an evening drink, or forgoing a habitual cocktail or two when out to dinner – for a whole month – goes a long way to changing your boozing habits. It takes 3 weeks to change a habit – if your drinking is something you want to slow or reassess, this is a nice way to do it. Grab a friend to make it more fun and for support.
Drink more water.
First thing when you wake up, drink a large glass of lukewarm lemon water. It wakes your body up slowly and hydrates your adrenal system to fight the body’s stress response hormones; it boosts your immune system (vitamin C & potassium), relieves constipation, and even clears trouble skin and bad breath. Squeeze juice from half of a lemon into warm water and toast to the new day. Then fill a water bottle and tote it with you, refilling as needed.
Close the kitchen after dinner.
This is a pillar of our AaHa Restart cleanse and something we encourage team members to take with them when the AaHa week is over. Sunday through Thursday, after you eat a full dinner meal, grab a hot decaf tea and close your kitchen. This habit can be difficult at first but over time will eliminate your craving for sweet or snack later in the evening.
Try a NEW workout.
Get out of your rut. Use and tone different parts of your body. Try yoga, get a trainer, try a new online workout program, ask a friend to workout with you every week, find new places to hike and bike outside, splurge on a peloton, take up pickle ball like everyone else. Your options abound – just chose something that is easy enough to insert into your life and different.
Schedule your annual doctor’s appointments in one sitting.
Schedule a skin-check with a dermatologist, a colonoscopy if you are 45 OR having any IBS type symptoms, your annual OB appointment as well as a mammogram, and maybe an annual checkup with your general doctor for a routine blood panel and urinalysis. Get your baselines and move forward accordingly.
Focus on your sleep.
Adults need 7+ hours per night. Go to bed earlier if you have to, or you can make up for lack of sleep with a nap. DO NOT FEEL GUILTY FOR NEEDING AND WANTING SLEEP.
Sign up for an AaHa Restart Cleanse.
This is the best way to kick off the new year – to detox after the holidays and go into the winter months motivated to cook satiating and clean comfort food. My partner Hala and I have been running these clean eating weeks for over 10 years! We guide our AaHa Team on how best to get three full meals – each with some good fat, protein and fiber – on the table each day with minimal stress. We focus on new recipe ideas, extra hydration, and preplanning. As a team on WhatsApp chatting all week, we eliminate alcohol, dairy, gluten, sugar and most packaged foods. You will debloat, reenergize and glow from the inside out AND you won’t feel hungry. We are running two consecutive weeks in January – Monday January 9th through Friday January 13th, weekend off, and then again Monday January 16th through Friday January 20th. You can do one or both. Below is an AaHa dinner recipe for you to try. Sign up now at: www.AaHaRestart.com/sign-up
Setting a few practical New Year’s resolutions or goals is an inherently positive and hopeful thing to do and can set you up for increased health and happiness this year.
Hala’s Greeny–Greens: Lime-Cilantro Chicken (and/or Beans) & Veggies
A great AaHa Restart Recipe Example – always customizable – Chickpeas, Fava beans, or White Beans work well for vegetarian version or add to the chicken for double protein
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
- 1 Tsp Tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
- 1/2 Tsp salt/pepper or to taste
- 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, diced into about ¾ inch cubes AND/OR ½-1 cup of cooked beans (buy canned OR frozen OR boil fresh beans beforehand)
- 1 cup shredded Brussel sprouts
- 5-6 asparagus spears, cut into ½ inch pieces (about 1/3 cup)
- 2 small zucchini (or 1 large) cut into thin round circles
- 1/2 cup fresh green peas (frozen peas work well if fresh peas not in season)
- Optional add ins: any greens you like – baby spinach, green onions, broccoli etc
Method:
- Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to a small bowl
- Whisk in lime juice, cilantro, garlic, Tamari, and salt and pepper to make marinade
- Pour ½ of the marinade into either a ziplock bag or a bowl, and the other half into a second bag or bowl
- Marinate chicken and/or beans in 1 bowl or bag, and vegetables/beans in second for at least 1 hour in fridge
- When ready to cook, heat another Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet and add in the chicken or beans
- Cook chicken until cooked through, about 6-8 minutes over medium high heat, mixing every few minutes (beans only need about 2 minutes)
- Add in vegetables, mix well, and allow pan to heat up for about 3-4 more minutes
- Lower heat and cover pan and allow to cook another 2-4 minutes more or until vegetable are soft
- Season with extra lime, cilantro, and/or salt/pepper as desired
Enjoy!
