My Best Tips for Back to School

It’s that time of year again! Back to school and back to work. This summer has been a whirlwind of trips and indulgences for me. I was fortunate enough to go to Turkey to celebrate my anniversary with my husband, as well as participate in a yoga retreat and a lot of insane delish eating. Then, it was off to Colorado for some more amazing fun times with friends and a wedding celebration. While I’ve been traveling a lot this summer and may have fallen out of my groove a tiny bit, I know that getting back on track is necessary for me to start feeling like myself again. You might think that you need to do a juice cleanse to get back on track, but know that just crowding out the processed foods you may have enjoyed with clean, whole foods will help your body get back into it’s fully energized and blissful state. Here are some simple ways to add in more whole foods to your everyday meals and get back on track this month:

Seasonal Recipes

Fall is right around the corner and there are so many incredibly delicious natural foods that come with the season change. Parsnips are one of my favs (check out my recipe for a cauliflower & parsnip mash as well as apples. If you’re looking for a detox recipe for the last days of summer, try the summer detox salad to add some more power and punch into your day while getting back on track. You can also try an incredible apple and celery salad now that apples are in season.

Dinnertime Routine

Get back to your dinnertime routine. Over the summer, we tend to go out to later dinners with friends and enjoy the longer sunlight hours with happy hour and eating too close to bedtime. Getting back to your earlier dinner time schedule ensures that you are eating 2-3 hours before you go to sleep and therefore allowing your body to fully digest and absorb the nutrients from your meal (leaving you feeling better and more energized in the morning). If your head hits the pillow around 10pm, try not to eat past 7pm to give your body the complete rest it needs (and that includes rest from digestion!).

Cutting Back on Sugar and Gluten

With summer comes BBQs and lots of side pasta salads and buns for the tasty treats you’re cooking up on the grill. We tend to eat more than our fair share of processed carbs and gluten and it can take a toll on our system. Try cutting back on (or eliminating altogether) the sweets, breads, and pastas. You’ll be amazed at how you instantly start to feel better. This will also help decrease any inflammation you have in your body since these foods are hard on our digestive systems and can create that uncomfortable blah feeling we get after we eat them.

Planning Ahead

As the kids are going back to school, days start to get crazy and dinner choices may become a frantic race to the fridge to see what leftovers you can pull together. Try planning ahead and cut up those veggies that you’ve been meaning to eat but haven’t had time to prepare when dinner time rolls around. Planning ahead will ensure that you get those whole foods your body needs to help detox from some of the sugary processed foods you may have indulged in over the summer. Just take the pre-cut veggies and throw them into a skillet for a delicious stir fry or roast them as an amazing side dish.

I hope these tips will help you ease into the back to school rush and will help you welcome fall with open arms. What are some of your tips and tricks for getting back into the routine that comes with “back to school”? Let me know in the comments below!