Smoothie Bowl Recipe, Purple Lips + How to Combat Stress
It's a packed post, y'all.
Me on Monday Morning:
Wake up, happily at 7 am. Think to myself: “oh, great! I have so much time.”
Leisurely make breakfast and kids’ lunches while listening to “100 greatest Disney songs”
Sing along to The Little Mermaid.
Crap, it’s 8:00.
Need to make a smoothie bowl for the blog. Mom and sister say it’s the newest smoothie crave. Gotta get on it.
8:15 – Eating said smoothie bowl. Still in pajamas. Mouth turning purple. Think to myself: “Great, now everyone at my meeting will think I was binge drinking red wine all night.”
Run upstairs and scrub my mouth. For real.
8:25 – Still in pajamas. Kids too.
8:40- “GET IN THE CAR!” Kids still in pajamas. Think to myself, "how are we ever going to get on the bus at 7 next year?" Start worrying.
8:45 – One kid in car. Go inside to make coffee. Horn blaring from garage. Husband bolts down the stairs – assuming that surely this is me signaling some emergency to him. Son locked himself in car. Smiling hugely and blaring the horn. He thinks this is hilarious.
Find spare key. Unlock car and strap son to car seat to prevent escape. Arm him with a snack. Buys me a couple of minutes.
Come inside and find daughter in a dress 3 times too big for her. Re-start the getting dressed game.
8:53: Leave for school, coffee in cup. Think to self, “I really should’ve put this in a coffee container.” Silent prayer I’m not covered in coffee in three minutes.
Didn’t spill the coffee. Finally breathe during the car-ride. “I vow to be more organized on Mondays.” Ha.
A crazy Monday morning. I must say, I haven’t totally mastered the whole, ‘get two kids out of the door in time’ thing. It’s one of my grace points. I love leisurely mornings. Unfortunately, I can’t have leisurely until 10 am. Oh well.
Stress Rebound
The point of sharing my craziness is to discuss the subject of rebound. Stress rebound. The key to overcoming stress and working more towards balance is the art of coming out of stress quickly. The longer we sit in it, the more it compounds and creates a ripple effect. Have you ever had one of these crazy days, and weren’t able to get out of it? Maybe you stayed in the stress and found yourself in traffic. Getting more frustrated, you brought that to work. Then you got in a fight with your co-worker, struggled through the day only to come home to a messy house and hungry kids. I get it. I’ve been there.
Compounding Stress Effect
The secret to overcoming stress and moving toward balance is to notice the stress and to cut it with something to help you move out of it quickly. You can begin to notice stress in your body (heart racing, sweaty palms, tension headache, etc), in your mind (negative or racing thoughts) or spirit (turning stress inward). No matter how you identify it, notice it and then work to get out of it. Practice positive coping to move beyond the stress and stop the compounding stress effect.
Some of my favorite and most effective ways to cope:
Taking deep breaths
Repeating a positive mantra
Listening to my favorite music. Loudly
Calling a friend
Going for a walk.
Drinking or eating something very cold.
Next time you are faced with stress, or a crazy morning, take steps to notice it and prevent the compounding stress effect. Do your best to move away from it so it doesn’t take over your day, as it can commonly do.
How do you cope best and prevent the compounding stress effect?
Oh, and here’s the purple smoothie bowl recipe. Warning: May cause lips to turn purple. Don’t eat before a big meeting J
Xo, Meghan
Blueberry Banana Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients:
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 handful of leafy greens like spinach or a green blend
1 ¼ cup non-dairy milk (can add a bit more until desired consistency is achieved)
Toppings:
Flax meal
Walnuts
Directions:
In a high speed blender, add the frozen banana, frozen blueberries and greens and begin to blend very low. Add the non-dairy milk slowly, until the consistency is similar to ice-cream. It should be a bit thicker and icier than a typical smoothie. It will look much thicker. Pour in two bowls.
Add toppings. I added a tbsp. of flax seed and a tbsp. of walnuts. Other options may include fresh fruit, chia seeds, shredded coconut, or other nuts. Enjoy!