The Holidays are upon us!  Hopefully you are feeling prepared and ready, and haven’t lost too much of your sanity in the meantime!   Between figuring out what to get whom, where to get it at, party and food planning, dealing with family dynamics, it can really be stressful.

Here are some tips and ways to bring some calm into your days ahead:


1.  Drink chamomile tea which can relax you, or green tea high in healthy antioxidants.

2.  Take deep diaphragmatic breaths. D
eep breathing oxygenates your blood, helps center your body, and clears your mind. 

3.  Get a full body relaxation massage! If you normally opt for the deep tissue, this will be a special treat!  It will release special hormones to help induce calm and even better sleep.

4.  Get some exercise.  Even if it’s just for a minute! It will also release hormones for rest and plus you just will feel better about yourself.

5.  Listen to music. Choose classical, or even massage type music.  It will take you to remembering your zen-like place at your last massage.

6.  Call a friend.  A reassuring voice and ear to listen to can often make the stress seem so much less.

7.  Eat healthily.  Poor diet and high stress levels are closely related.  Stay away from execcisve sugars and fats.  Instead reach for more fruits, veggies and good fats rich in Omega-3 such as flax seed oil and fish.

8.  Laugh!  Laughing tricks our nervous system into making us happy.  So pick a good comedy movie, and laugh a little!


9.  Rest well. Lack of sleep can cause stress.  Get the doctor’s recommended 7-8 hours of sleep for your body and mind to renew and restore itself.

10. Be in the moment.  Rather than worrying about what is ahead or what has already happened, by staying present and in the moment will keep you grounded and at peace with yourself.  Yoga and meditation are great ways to practice this. 


 
 
I came upon this quote recently, and it really struck a chord. How many times do you find yourself saying things like "my diet starts tomorrow, so I'll pig out tonight" or "I'll start working out again after the holidays"? I catch myself doing this kind of thing constantly. It's so easy to put things off until we're ready. Whether it's taking better care of ourselves or working on things like patience or forgiveness, we all have a tendency to put things off, which essentially means they're low on our priority list. Why not make changes starting today, right this very minute? This can also apply to treating ourselves. If we wait until we have more time or money to get that much-needed massage or take that weekend getaway, it'll never happen. This is a wonderful time of year to focus inward and start doing the things on our "tomorrow" list today!  -  Jennifer is a new massage therapist a Jennifer@therapeuticconnections.com
 
 
About a year or so ago Julie and I were doing a trade and she was talking about this banana bread she made the day before to take to a family party. Me being the sweet tooth I am, and my love of banana bread, I demanded the recipe. And now, it has become a staple in my house of desert and yummy treats in lunchboxes. I hide it from my kids. Hoard it from my husband. And love every last bite of it. 

I love the peanut butter the most in in this recipe. The addition of it makes the bread super moist and chewy. I guarantee it will turn out like nothing you have baked before. The only problem with it is that you might want to eat the whole loaf! 

I also add some chocolate chips to the batter and then sprinkle some more on top once I remove it from the pan. What can beat bananas and chocolate? 

We’ll have plenty of this yummy banana bread to sample at our holiday open house on December 10 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. We will be collecting toys for Toys for Tots and we'll have some yummy healthy snacks (banana are healthy!) and beverages. Come on by and say hi! Toys should be unwrapped, no stuffed animals or violent toys (play guns, swords, etc)

Here is the recipe if you just can’t wait until the 10th to try it: 

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

3 ripe smashed bananas

1/3 cup melted butter

3 Tbl (+) softened peanut butter (sorry to say I haven’t had much luck with the natural peanut butters in baking. Skippy or a similar scary peanut butter works best)

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

optional - some chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix bananas, PB, melted butter by hand or a hand mixer on low. 

Mix in sugars, egg, vanilla. Sprinkle baking soda, salt and spices. Then mix. 

Fold in flour about 1/2 cup at a time. 

Pour batter into buttered loaf pan and bake for about an hour. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then remove from pan. Allow to cool completely on cooling rack.