Nourish Together - Weekly Newsletter - 2/17/22

Hi, Sweet Friends!

Welcome back to Nourish Together, a compilation of wellness products, practices, tips, and inspiration I'm loving right now. Plus, any updates that I feel are awesome and worth sharing.

I hope you find value in the content.

Recipe of the Week

I first found a version of this delicious Orange Sesame Chicken Salad recipe in a Costco cookbook. It’s super flavorful, filling, and delicious.

Salad Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
3-4 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken)
½ cup chopped green onions
2 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Dressing Ingredients:

¼ cup soy sauce or coconut aminos
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon avocado oil (or olive oil)

Put romaine in a large salad bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add sesame oil and avocado oil in a slow stream, whisking until the sugar is dissolved and the dressing is well blended. In a third bowl, combine chicken, green onions, orange segments, almonds, and sesame seeds. And ⅓ cup of dressing and toss to coat. Toss romaine with enough dressing to lightly coat. Add the chicken mixture and toss lightly. Makes 4 servings.

Inspiration

For nearly the past four years, I’ve held tightly to these two mantras:

You find what you’re looking for.
Look for the good.

In repeating these mantras over and over again, I’ve been able to rewire my brain and open myself to opportunities, especially during challenging times.

When a customer tells me about her clogged spray top, I look at it as an opportunity to deliver phenomenal customer service in making the situation right.

When we experience supply chain shortages, we find even more beautiful packaging than what we were originally using.

While I recognize that there are absolutely crappy things that happen in life, for the most part, I’ve been able to step back and challenge myself to get creative, look for the good, and find the opportunity.

This philosophy, in essence, is the Law of Attraction: You attract what you focus on. Following are my favorite books on the Law of Attraction. It’s in these pages that I learned powerful tools to rewire my brain.

Product Recommendations

If you know me, you know I love yoga. Following are some of my favorite products associated with my practice.

Manduka Pro Yoga Mat - I ADORE my yoga mat. It’s 85” of cushioned goodness. It has a textured top layer that allows me to flow between poses without slipping or sticking. The dot pattern on the bottom of the mat holds it in place. And, it’s ultra comfortable. It’s pretty pricey at $129 on the Manduka website, but guess what?! I found mine at Marshall’s for $50!!!

Gaiam Yoga Blocks - I use my blocks during every practice, especially in poses like Half-Moon, Lizard, Half-Split, Pyramid, Hero, and many more. Blocks help me stabilize and go deeper into the pose. These Gaiam blocks are super light, yet ultra sturdy.

Valeo Resistance Band - Instead of a typical strap, I use a resistance band during poses to achieve a wider range of motion. I ordered this three-pack and use the red medium resistance band for yoga. When traveling, I pack all three for an easy way to strength train in my hotel room.

Yoga Mat Spray - Obviously, our lavender-lemon-peppermint infused spray is one of my favorite yoga essentials. It both cleans and refreshes.

Namaste.