Over the past two years, I’ve gotten pretty good at learning what a healthy, balanced, delicious, and filling diet looks like for me. It’s got a hefty dose of roasted vegetables, green smoothies, seeds and nuts, rice and beans, a little bit of high quality meat and cheese, and of course- chocolate.

There are times I scoop up more ice cream than I do flax seeds, but I know how to get myself back on track and feeling good again within a couple weeks.

With my passion for food, though,  I sometimes forget about allllll the other important aspects of a healthy life. As a result, stress has recently snuck up on me like a pup nosing her way up to the appetizer table. You never see it coming until half the good cheese is gone and you’re freaking out.

 

Call it the holiday craze, call it too long of a commute, call it saying ‘yes’ to one too many commitments- there’s no one root cause of my stress. The real issue is that I gave it permission to make a home inside my head.

I’ve been gifted with a brain reboot over the past 2 days, though. Far away from my meticulously scheduled routine, in a land where the only rules are “No Whining” and take your turn at the dishes and give extra hugs and eat one more gingerbread cookie- please? Stress has become a foreign feeling.

I’m not 100% sure how I’ll bring this clarity back home with me in 2 more short days- but I do know that it’s as crucial (if not more so) to my health than chia seeds and hydration. I’ll keep fighting for that ever elusive balance that can be found somewhere between 10 hour work days and a hot mug of tea at night, in between hot yoga and brown butter cookies.

Merry Christmas. No whining.