Ignoring the signs that our body is giving us is all too easy.

Our body gives us teeny tiny hints numerous times throughout the day but most of the time we’re too busy to recognize what’s really going on. Thirst, hunger, bowel movements, dry skin, sleepiness, headaches, low energy – these are all signs that something is probably missing from our daily diet or life in some way.

Before I really checked in with my body, I suffered from a number of different health issues, the biggest one being urinary tract infections. They were the ‘go to’ signal for me that something was off balance. At the time though, I didn’t really have the knowledge or understanding of what was going on – I felt it coming on, I drank a ton of water, I went to see the doctor, they prescribed antibiotics and off I went. No one, most importantly me, dove further into it until I was seriously hospitalized for a kidney infection many years later.

I am not a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, I’m just seriously passionate about what I choose to put in my body. After focusing on it for a few years I can now recognize what makes my body feel good and what doesn’t.  There is an interesting article on Aviva Romm’s blog that talks a lot about our mind body connection and how some of us aren’t really in tune with what our bodies are telling us. In her article she mentioned a few reasons why we might ‘ignore’ ourselves:

–       Not recognizing that our body is telling us something important

–       Not trusting what our body is telling us

–       Being too busy to listen or respond to the messages

–       Not wanting to hear the truth about what our body is telling us

Do any of you ignore what your body ( or head/heart ) is telling you? It’s a totally normal thing to do, because most of the time, when we’ve felt like this and recognized that something might be wrong, we go into the doctor’s office and we’re told that nothing is going on or it might just be a ‘bug’ that’s going around.

Aviva makes an amazing point – “What if our doctor’s asked us – so what do you think this symptom is telling you right now?” Because let’s be honest. Most of us know what things are stressing us out, most of us know what’s really going on in our heads but sometimes, we just choose to ignore those things because it’s easier and less complicated and we don’t have to dive into it all.

I’m of the belief that most of the time it isn’t a ‘bug’ or a ‘virus’ ( although, of course there are a lot of instances where this is exactly the case ) but that maybe you’re run down, that you’re doing too much, that you’re not taking enough time just take the time to go to the bathroom, to drink enough water throughout the day, or to simply eat nourishing meals that will keep you feeling strong and healthy.

Or what about the old plain and simple idea of just sitting down. Or going for a walk. The most basic of adventures can infuse us with so much life and energy.

This morning Aggie and I got up and visited a local apple orchard – the kind with that delicious fresh donut smell (so hard to hold back!!) and loads of red wagons perfect for toting apples and a tiny human. On the drive out there I honestly just felt my whole body relax. It was as if I just needed to physically see the open space to feel the spaces open in my body.

Before we had cars and phones (just wait – I’m not knocking all the technologies I promise) we had long walks to get food, we had to wait for the fire to get hot enough to cook, we had to go slowly in order to get the basic things we needed to thrive. Now – we can push ourselves all too easily. How often do you tell yourself that you can just tag on an extra errand or swing by and see someone because it’s “on the way”? I do it all the time. But what if we just left it at one task, one simple journey and didn’t push ourselves to do so much more. Think about all the extra time you’d have just for you.

We as humans are incredible multitaskers and although I think there is a place for that – right now – for 21 days, try to do just one thing at a time. Sometimes I think we’re fearful of “empty time” – like if we have a space open in our day we need to fill the slot with something that feels productive or efficient. Embrace the lulls and find a way to start to get comfortable with those wide open spaces.

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This is an ode to Green Kitchen Stories and of course my very good friend Trish who shared their goodness with me almost a year ago now. I love their recipes so much, so simple, so budget friendly for the most part and very easy to make with local seasonal foods. I love them as a family, and the way they adventure and cook – it’s pretty magical. Over time as a family, we have moved towards a more vegetarian way of eating (although I still love animal goodness) so with that in mind, here are 3 of my favorites right now. The easiest crackers ever (get creative and add salt/sesame seeds/spices) that Aggie loves. This warming soup ( I added 2 tsp Garam Masala, 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper + freshly chopped Cilantro). And these Beet Burgers ( Instead of grilling these we baked them at 410 C for 15 minutes and then broiled them for 3 minutes on high. And we smeared avocado on some home made bread and they were so delicious!)

I am always on the lookout for new easy recipes to try so if you have one, share in the comments! I’ll be posting some apple inspired recipes once I get cooking this week!