What is self-care anyway?

Sounds woo woo.

I don’t think I ever heard that term until I was in my mid-20s. How could that be? Until it hit me, we as women are constantly putting ourselves LAST.

But after everything I’ve learned since becoming a Certified Health Coach (CHC), I now know that,

SELF-CARE IS ESSENTIAL.

Speaking of essential, it’s 2020 and everything is essential.

What is self-care?

For me it means doing something totally and completely for me to please me. Not anyone else.

Candle, music, shopping, a walk in nature, favorite movie. I’ll take them all.

Perhaps figure this out into a morning or nighttime routine.

Whatever is your favorite thing, make it yours.

Instead of putting ourselves last, we need to put ourselves first. When we give ourselves time to be our best selves, then we are our best to everyone else around us.

I know I wish to give my husband and future kids, even the cat, my full energetic happy self because it is true, energy is felt and I know I don’t want those around me to feel like I drain them. Eek!

Need more ideas? Check out this blog post too!

So I mentioned things I love and things I hear but what about food?!

Food, in my opinion, should be our number 1 form of self-care.

Food gives us nutrients that give us energy. Food helps prevent disease. Food helps provide better sleep. It really does a lot.

That being said, I thought I’d share with you my 4-Step guide to making this easy.

• Step 1: Do an inventory of the food you have. It helps if you have a bulk section

• Step 2: Based on what you have, create a menu of what you want and build your grocery list from there of what you need to complete those meals. (ok maybe step 2 is actually two steps)

• Step 3: Go shopping

• Step 4: Batch cook and prep.

• Is there something you can cook a big batch of and use in multiple meals? This could be beans, cashew cheese, rice, quinoa, oats, etc.  

Prep what you want fully cooked in advance so all you have to do is grab and go.

Prep what you want to have ready to make cooking the day of easy.

Remember, food can do a world of difference for our mind and body so take the time to prioritize it and view it as art.

-Demi