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Brooklyn brunch in my dear friend Sasha Nelson’s kitchen is becoming a series. It started with upgrading your toast with tahini, turmeric avocado and buckwheat almond butter. Time for part II–this time with a sweet giveaway from friends at Hyde Yoga, Brooklyn-based organic cotton apparel brand.
[Giveaway closed]
I have a challenge for you. Instead of giving in and doing Valentine’s Day the traditional way, I invite you to think about how you practice self-love. The thing is, we all know deep inside the things that make us full happy, fuzzy, loved and cared for. It’s just that within our packed daily routines, we don’t always make the time to do them. They just don’t seem as much of a priority as brushing teeth, having breakfast, and dry brushing (anyone else hooked on it?).
Yet self-care is essential for well-being: spiritual, physical and emotional.
In the spirit of the Breakfast Criminals of starting every day with love and a superfood breakfast, I’m sharing two delicious breakfast recipes (sweet and savory–because they go so well together!), and a chance to win a heart bowl + a full outfit (top + pants) from Hyde Yoga HERE.
Self-love is not something you acquire once and for all. It’s a process and a daily practice that takes time. Here’s something that has helped me tremendously on my self-love journey.
I’ve been journaling on things that bring me pleasure. A force that’s direct manifestation of self-love, it keeps me alive and expansive. I took a nice bath, lit my Organic Bath Stress Less candle, smothered my body in Midnight Honey Body Oil, grabbed my journal, and started writing down every single thing that makes me feel happy, from gluten free avocado toast to crisp bedding and long bear hugs.
When I looked at my list, I realized that there’s a lot of clarity about what exactly makes me satisfied, yet I still don’t always CHOOSE to make those things a priority. For example, this evening/morning ritual makes me feel like an upgraded version of myself is going to bed early (with my phone on “don’t disturb”), meditating, reading, then waking up early, and moving my body in a way that feels good (yoga, gentle dance or the class).
Yet in reality on most days, I catch myself spending hour on Instagram before bed, and then wake up too late to have a mindful morning. Eek. It always seems like next week I’m gonna have more time and more space for discipline. That’s not the case.
This week, I committed to doing more things from my JOY list. Not on a special occasion, but infused into every ordinary day. I upgraded my day plan by infusing it with things that bring me joy. It’s been a game-changer! Here are some things from my self-love menu.
- 10-minute meditation (“Love Wave” meditation on Insight Timer app is my go-to)
- Mindful 15-minute walk to get lunch during workday
- Indulgent piece of dark chocolate with a cup of herbal tea and three deep breaths
- Choosing to do yoga on days when I feel too busy to do yoga
- Getting 8 hours of sleep (making it a priority to be in bed early!)
- Tidy, organized home (heavily inspired by The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up)
- More salt baths with no technology
- When I’m with someone, giving them my 100% presence
- Occasional massage and sauna (In New York, love Russian & Turkish Baths, Great Jones Spa & The Setai Spa)
- Candles and journaling before bed
What’s on your self-love menu?
Enter Hyde x Breakfast Criminals Self-Love Valentine Giveaway
[scroll down to the bottom of the page]
As a token of appreciation, every email entry will get 15% off your Hyde Yoga purchase!
Cacao Self-Love Smoothie
free of gluten, dairy, soy, refined-sugar
serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 serving Sprout Living Epic Protein powder in Chocolate Maca
- ¼ cup strawberries, sliced + extra to top
- 1 TBSP nut butter and/or hemp seeds
- 1 TBSP chia seeds
- 1 TBSP unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
- ½ avocado
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or nut/seed milk of choice)
- ground cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric to taste
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 handful of ice [for desired consistency]
- fresh mint to top
- Optional sweetener: 1-2 dates to taste
Directions:
Blend all ingredients until creamy, serve with fresh mint, raw cacao nibs, strawberries and mint.
Open Face Egg Sandwich
free of gluten, dairy [optional], soy, refined-sugar
serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2 slices Free Bread MOXY loaf [or bread of choice], toasted
- 1-2 TBSP ghee or coconut oil for toast + cooking eggs
- 2 farm fresh eggs, pan-fried in 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
To top on toast/under egg:
- 1-2 tbsp tahini [optional, but recommended]
- 1 handful fresh or steamed greens of choice
- ½ avocado, sliced [¼ for each piece of toast]
- sea salt + pepper to taste
- pumpkin seeds to top
