self-care for moms

Happy Mother’s Day … the Nutritious Life Way

At Nutritious Life, we love moms. Our moms, your moms, all moms. Why? Because we know that moms work so very hard at taking care of everyone and everything. Moms raise kids and juggle demanding careers while making sure their homes and families are clean and fed and schooled (and so much more!). That’s a heavy load—mentally, physically and spiritually (yes, being a mom is a mind-body-spirit, all-encompassing role, but you don’t need us to tell you that!) That’s why this Mother’s Day, the staff of Nutritious Life salutes all moms and the incredible work you (and we) are doing. Here’s a few ways our team is celebrating Mother’s Day this year … the Nutritious Life way. Sharing the Simple Joys … in Nature and Together (Image: Shutterstock) I’ll be one happy mama on Mother’s Day because both of my kids will be home. (My son will be back from his first year away at college.) That’s a nice little gift in and of itself, but on top of that … What I’d like to do on Mother’s Day is pretty simple. I have said at least a million times that my absolute favorite thing in the world is being active outdoors with my kids. It could be hiking, biking, paddle boarding, anything. … This year, I’m hoping for a gorgeous spring day, a delicious breakfast with multiple cups of coffee and a very long walk on the beach with the whole family (and no complaining about how long it is!) That’s it. Pretty simple. Oh, and if gifts are involved, I wouldn’t turn away an LED face mask. 😉 – Keri Glassman, founder and CEO of Nutritious Life and The Nutritious Life Studio Cooking is Love In my family, cooking is our shared love language. As the youngest in the family, Mother’s Day is usually my time to take the reins and make a spread worthy of the two best moms I know: My Ima and my sister. The past two years in quarantine kicked off a tradition where I cook up a themed brunch: the Quarantine Cafe was my first idea, and Mama Mia (my Italian pizza concept) took place last year. This year, I’ll be enlisting the help of my 5-year-old nephew to make all of our mom’s favorites: Shakshuka, homemade pita bread and Israeli salads. After brunch at home, we’ll do a family walk around the neighborhood before we dig into our next yearly tradition: Nancy Meyers movies with a seasonal cocktail and homemade popcorn. – Ellie Erlich, the Nutritious Life Studio Community Manager No Brunch, Please! I can’t tell you what I will be doing on Mother’s Day, but I can tell you what I won’t be doing: Brunch. I know I’m probably alone here, but there is seriously nothing worse than brunch, a Mother’s Day ritual that I put the kibosh on years ago when I joined the Mom Club. I realize an entire brunch culture has just canceled me, but I hope they just see it as more bottomless mimosas for them, so score! Brunch for me is a day where you dress up in something that isn’t comfy, take photos where only 50% of the people are actually happy (because nobody under the age of 10 actually wants to brunch either), and then you eat this long, drawn-out meal and don’t feel awesome afterwards. This assures a mimosa/carb coma by 2 p.m. and spending the rest of the day in a bloated fog. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m totally on board with a Friday night fog that came from an extra glass (or three!) of champs, but not on a Sunday afternoon. It’s such a waste of an amazing opportunity to feel great. A bike ride, a beach day, a round of golf, a walk with a friend, a BBQ with neighbors, a book on the porch, or a fave Netflix binge with your person. To me, the perfect Mother’s Day starts with my kiddos doing something thoughtful for me and includes an afternoon toast with my girlfriends, who are also in the Mom Club and by default, my village. The day ends with some time with me and my very special husband who made me a mom. – Karen Rogers, VP of Marketing Operations for Nutritious Life and Empowered Education Modeling Adventure and Self-Care For Our Kids Matters (Image: Shutterstock) I’d love to gift myself an in-person yoga practice on Mother’s Day. There’s nothing wrong with at-home daily practice. In fact, I love it! It’s a perfect way to make a date with myself (Wink**). On the other hand, trying something out of my comfort zone has been calling me. A hot yoga class, maybe? Or possibly a Bikram yoga sesh. I might even try something totally different, like skateboarding or surf skating! This is on my 2022 adventure list and might be the best way to treat myself for Mother’s Day. Seeing myself grow and evolve as a person helps me become a better mom to my beautiful girls. I want them to see me taking care of myself. I want to fill my cup and let my kids watch and learn this from me as they grow. I want to try new things so they won’t be afraid to step out of the “mother role” (in case they want to become moms in the future. Yes, they have the freedom to choose!) and nurture themselves with the things that spark joy and make them feel alive. Not that motherhood doesn’t do that – as being a mom is all that and more. But motherhood is also a reminder to care for oneself and to lead by example because the love cultivated within yourself will shine through your children and significant others … guaranteed. – Marhielle Alfonso Galang, marketing admin for Nutritious Life and the Nutritious Life Studio Honoring Moms We’ve Loved and Lost This Mother’s Day, I’m practicing self-care in honor of the moms I’ve loved and

How the Moms of Nutritious Life Are Handling the Coronavirus Craziness

5 Healthy Meals to Make With Non-Perishable Pantry Staples

The coronavirus is affecting life everywhere, for everyone. But parents have unique challenges in that many need to balance their full-time jobs on top of now homeschooling their kids—it’s chaos! But here’s how the moms of Nutritious Life are managing. RELATED: Keri Opens Up About the Real Challenges and Rewards of Being a Mom Keri Glassman, Founder and CEO “I’m trying to keep my kids on the same schedule as they’d normally have on a school day. I make them the same breakfast—a smoothie with chocolate protein powder and pb for my son and eggs and salmon and fruit for my daughter—but I’m also trying to take advantage of the time we have together to make more ambitious lunches and dinners, so they can see what goes into a healthy meal.” Karen Rogers, Chief Operations Officer “My husband is working from home too, so we’re parenting/teaching in shifts. One of us is in charge of the kids in the morning, then we switch for the afternoon, and then opposite the next day. That way, we each get four to five hours of uninterrupted work each. It’s tough—my kids are five and seven, and they need lots of help with their work, they have short attention spans, need frequent breaks, and so on. It can be frustrating, but we’re trying to stick to a schedule: 7am – Wake up/coffee/oatmeal; parents work, kids play 8am – Breakfast for kids, get ready for the day, empty dishwasher, etc. 9am – Homeschool/work 11am – Kids play 12pm – Lunch 1pm – Homeschool/work 2pm – Kids play 3pm – Homeschool/work 4pm – Kids play 6pm – Everyone does chores, makes lunches for the next day, has dinner… 7pm-til – Work work work work work…” (Featured photo: Shutterstock)

“Running Helped Me Prioritize My Health and Happiness as a New Mom”

By Whitney Heins, founder of The Mother Runners, as told to Mara Santilli I’ve had a love-hate relationship with running for most of my life. When I was six years old, my dad saw me running across the front yard with our dog, thought I looked fast, and started entering me in races. I was running competitively by high school and felt the pressure that comes along with being an athlete. But running can be a beautiful thing, too. When I got to college, I found community through running and immediately felt part of something larger during a stressful time. I ran my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, in college too. RELATED: 4 of the Most Common Running Pains, Explained Running also helped me reclaim my sense of identity after pregnancy. I had my daughter, Eleanor, in 2014 and my son, Cal, in 2017. I was lucky in that I was able to run throughout both of my pregnancies but afterward was super challenging. I had other people depending on me, and I couldn’t exactly peace out when I wanted to run…unless I wanted to wake up before the sunrise, take the kids on a stroller run, or make sure my husband was around to watch the kids. I also felt guilty about making time for myself. Finding a New Community of Runners I ran some 5Ks after I had my son, and I started to run with another mother in the neighborhood who’s also a runner. She encouraged me to get a coach to train for the Knoxville Marathon, and eventually, the Olympic Trials. Shortly after my training began, I wasn’t hitting the paces I should have been hitting, so my coach recommended getting blood work. It turned out that my estrogen levels were sky-high, and I had vitamin deficiencies and an underactive thyroid. RELATED: Keri Opens Up About the Real Challenges and Rewards of Being a Mom Running was key in helping me realize that something was wrong with my health. If my coach didn’t bring it up, I would have just accepted feeling awful as a normal part of new-mom life, never prioritizing my wellness. Getting Back to Baseline I completely overhauled my diet due to new food sensitivities and started taking supplements. I stuck with my new regimen during training, got my blood rechecked, and my health and running improved. I ran the Knoxville Marathon in 2019 and placed behind my friend who was going to the 2020 Olympic Trials! But running isn’t just about achieving PRs for me. It helped me take control of my body after having a baby and introduced me to other women going through similar things. I mean, being a new mom can be so isolating—you’re so focused on your baby’s needs that it’s easy to neglect your own. That’s why I started The Mother Runners, an online resource and social media community for moms who run all over the globe. Running with other mom friends fulfills my need for both exercise and socialization. Unlike a coffee date or playdates with the kids, there are zero distractions when you’re running, so you can focus more on your conversation. At the moment, I’m injured with a torn hamstring, which prevented me from qualifying for this year’s Olympic Trials (hoping 2024 is my year!). So, I’m cross-training and getting stronger while I take a few months off from running. This would make a lot of runners feel low, but I have women from the community checking in on me multiple times a day, which is really amazing. These friendships are honest and genuine—when you run together, you lay it all out there. We’re all about inspiring not only each other but inspiring confidence in our kids (my daughter is a runner, too!), so we have a lot in common. That’s why I want to expand this sisterhood as far as it can reach. The Mother Runners is empowering women to move past the “mom guilt” and other obstacles that come with being a mom and take time out of their day for themselves, to push themselves, and to support other mothers who are runners. Because being a mom is just as much of a marathon, trust me. (Photos: The Mother Runners)