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Take These 5 Small Steps to Build Better Health.

by Stephanie

Take These 5 Small Steps to Build Better Health.

It can seem overwhelming for many people to get healthy especially if they feel they need to do everything at once, but we can take small steps to help us build better health.

1. Before You Get Out of Bed, Stretch!

Take one to two minutes to stretch before you get out of bed. It will help you tremendously with starting your day on the right foot.

I was having problems with my back so I started doing these stretches before I get out of bed and it’s made a world of difference in my mobility.

Again, not everyone has time to do a big long stretch (hello, kids!), but if you can stretch a little every morning it will help you move better throughout the day.

2. Drink Water Before Coffee.

Another small step to build better health is to take is to drink water before coffee or tea. Drink a cup of water with lemon juice to wake up your body and get it moving from the inside out.

I drink a litre of lemon water before breakfast which helps me reach my goal of two litres a day.

Start with a small glass of water and take it from there.

3. Eat a Hearty Breakfast.

Personally I believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it’s one that many people either forget about or don’t make time for because they’re rushed in the morning.

When we eat a breakfast that contains fat, fibre, protein (and greens if you can!), our bodies will stay full for longer and we won’t crave sugary foods mid-way through the morning.

Great options for a hearty breakfast include:

  • Oats with nuts, seeds and berries
  • Eggs with greens, avocado and a slice of sourdough toast
  • Leftovers from dinner

4. Add More Veggies to Your Plate.

When it comes to building health, just adding a few more vegetables to our plates can help.

I like to eat my salad with my main meal because it forces me to eat more greens and veggies.

I do this with the kids too.

One night we had pasta and kale salad for dinner. I put a bit of pasta and a bit of kale salad in each bowl and both kids ate the salad.

If I had just filled the bowl with pasta, they may not have had room for the salad or wouldn’t have necessarily felt like eating it.

Adding more veggies to our plates is also a great way to edge-out other foods that may not be serving our bodies well.

Instead of telling yourself that you can’t have a particular food, add more veggies to the plate first.

Eventually, you may lose the craving for the other foods, while at the same time gaining more cravings for vegetables.

5. Stretch While You’re Watching TV.

This is a weird one right? But it’s so important! So many of us plunk down and watch Netflix after dinner, or after putting the kids to bed.

This comes after sitting all day at work, sitting on the train or in the car on the way home and then sitting at the dinner table.

We definitely don’t need more sitting!

The next time you turn on the TV to watch your favourite show, get down onto the floor to stretch while you watch TV.

Start with these back stretches!

•••

I don’t want you to read this post and think: “Great more things I ‘have to do‘ while trying to do everything else.”

Look at it as taking small steps to build better health. 

Consider splitting the small steps into weekly challenges for yourself that build over time. So for example:

  • Week 1: Stretch every morning before getting out of bed.
  • Week 2: Stretch + drink water before coffee
  • Week 3: Stretch + drink water before coffee + make baked oatmeal for breakfast and eat it all week.
  • Week 4: Stretch + drink water before coffee + eat breakfast + add more veggies to your plate all week.
  • Week 5: Stretch + drink water before coffee + eat breakfast + add more veggies to your plate all week + stretch while watching TV.

I’ve found that adding alerts to my phone helps. For example, I get a ding every day at 8:15 a.m. to take my Vitamin D drops.

Start slow and do what works for you.

I guarantee that by doing these five small steps you’ll begin to build better health and feel great over the longer term.


P.S.: Follow me on Instagram to get weekly tips and tricks!
P.P.S. Get more recipe ideas here.

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: health

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Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

On Mother’s Day weekend, we hosted my family for On Mother’s Day weekend, we hosted my family for brunch. I bought a few quiches to eat for brunch mixed with bacon, croissants, and fruit.⁠
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No need to make everything from scratch friends!⁠
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According to the quiche reheat instructions, the internal temperature was to be 165° so after I baked it for about 18 minutes I checked the temp with my digital meat thermometre.⁠
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My mom’s husband looked over at me and said to her: “Look honey, she uses a thermometre too!” My mom laughed and said that her husband uses one for everything and uses a timer for all of his cooking.⁠
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When we were growing up my mom simply smelled and looked at the food to tell if it was done. ⁠
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“Mom, how do you know the turkey’s done?"⁠
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“Oh, I just know.”⁠
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My mom would smell it first in the kitchen and then she would peek at the food in the oven and decide it was done by how it looked.⁠
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It’s interesting how those experiences help us to establish what we do in our own kitchens when we start to cook for ourselves.⁠
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I use a thermometre and timer for many things, but I still use the smell and look method to help me decide if it’s done.⁠
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A balance of both of these approaches while cooking is important.⁠
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If you’re new to cooking, you might simply use a timer for a recipe, but once the timer is done, it might not be cooked all the way through. ⁠
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A more experienced cook would observe that the dish is not quite browned enough and that it needs more time in the oven.⁠
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Every oven has a different temperature, so it’s important to balance that with the time. This is why I find using a thermometre really helpful. It can also prevent overcooking and drying out the food.⁠
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Chicken is notoriously overcooked because people are afraid to undercook it. ⁠
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A thermometre will tell you exactly when the chicken is finished at 165°. It stays somewhat moist and juicy at that temperature.⁠
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If you wait until it’s browned on the outside, it might be too dry to eat. Alternatively, just using a timer could result in either a dry or under-cooked chicken breast.⁠
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I made this nifty graphic you can keep handy the next time you’re cooking. Use it to cook moist meat, not dry!⁠
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xo
Happy Friday 13th!⁠ ⁠ Do you find eating salad Happy Friday 13th!⁠
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Do you find eating salads scary??? 😱⁠
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According to my highly unscientific research, there are two types of people who don’t like to eat salad:⁠
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1️⃣Those who think eating salad is boring.⁠
2️⃣Those who think that salad isn’t filling enough to be a full meal.⁠
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Ok, one more… those who don’t like eating vegetables!⁠
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If you fall into one of the first two categories, I’m here to tell you that maybe… just maybe… you’ve been making salads wrong.⁠
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I know... People don’t like to be told that what they’ve been doing is wrong (I don’t like to be told that either) but I can guarantee you that salads can be fun and filling and it’s all in how we put them together.⁠
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On the blog, I have all the tips on how to make the perfect salad just for you: ⁠
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>>https://lealoucooks.com/howtobuildasalad/⁠
>>or get the link in my profile here: @lealoucooks
I love the idea of looking into the cupboard and c I love the idea of looking into the cupboard and creating something from what seems like nothing.⁠
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I do this to use up the food I have before bringing more food into the house.⁠
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I'm not sure about you, but when I don't use up the food I have, it gets pushed to the back of the fridge and then lands right into the compost bin. ⁠
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This is one of the ways groceries can get expensive.⁠
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So before you make your next grocery list, look in the cupboards and fridge first. What do you have in there that can be used up?⁠
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Then search for a recipe that uses those ingredients.⁠
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Shop your kitchen first, then make a list.⁠
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If you have food in your house you're not sure what to do with, comment below and I'll think of what to make with it!⁠
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#mealplanning #mealplanningtips #mealhelp #dinnertime #supper #eatleftovers #fridgefood #recipes #savemoney #foodwaste⁠
This weekend is a bit of a doozy - a fun doozy!!⁠
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💛My street is hosting a giant street sale (if you're in Etobicoke you can DM me for the address).⁠
💛It's my anniversary (14 years!)⁠
💛AND it's Mother's Day (on the same day as my anniversary! Sorry hunny).⁠
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I'm hosting my sisters and mom for a brunch and I asked them what their most favourite brunch meal is to eat... I'll make the menu a combination of everything for them!⁠
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My sister asked me the question back and I, of course, thought of eggs.🥚⁠
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(Why are all of my posts about eggs??)⁠
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This photo is of a breakfast I had last week and it was so good!⁠
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💛Sourdough GF bread from @thebreadessentials⁠
💛Topped with hummus⁠
💛Topped with a yellow heirloom tomato (fun!)⁠
💛Topped with eggs (duh)⁠
💛Topped with jalapeno sheep cheese from @blythfarmcheese⁠
💛Topped with Broccoli sprouts from @livingearthtoronto⁠
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That brekky was a favourite hands-down.⁠
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Eat what you love friends! 🌱⁠

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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