2021-02-06

For a better life : Morning routine part 2, the home/work routine

 

After my morning bathroom routine, I take care of our home/my work routine :

- Is there need for a laundry ? Or is the previous laundry dry and need to be folded and put in their place ? I don't iron, I shake the wet washing until there's no crease then carefully hang it out - it saves buying a clothes-dryer, saves electricity, saves time, spares my back !

- Then the cats : I add dry food for the day, wet food because they're hungry in the morning, then the atomic night litter has to be taken care of (in the compost bin). I change their drinking water and use the old one for watering plants or anything else that might need water (toilets/restroom). If I didn't do all this first thing in the morning, I would trip on cats all day long - they spread on the ground, in your way, wrap around your ankles to make you trip, just to make sure they have your attention...




 

 

 
 
- Then the kitchen : is there anything to wash, put away ? (Normally, my kitchen is squeaky clean when I go to bed, but you never know when you have a family). I prepare my morning drinks and things to be taken away to work - when I worked at my work place, before Covid... :
  • a big glass (think pint sized glass) of room temperature water with lemon juice and tablets of iron - lemon helps the iron penetrate into our system, water is good after hours of sleep without drinking. I have a lifetime deficiency in iron - it started long before being vegan, so I supplement. I have seen and felt the difference that a supplement makes, so I stick faithfully to it ! Any woman during her periods (and all the time) should supplement and eat food that contains iron (lentils, soya, red peas, chick peas, lima peas, tofu, spinach, seaweed, parsley, brewer's yeast, whole grain cereals, leguminous plants, oleaginous seeds, dried fruits...). It's good for men too, my partner agrees, he's vegan too and has no deficiency (aren't they lucky ?).
  • I also prepare my "golden milk" without milk : it's inspired from ayurveda, good for the immune system, anti-inflammatory, antioxydant, allows a better digestion and is good for the skin. It's also an acquired taste and I've acquired it ! I started with making a paste that would last me the week and mixing it with vegetable milk (you can easily find recipes on the net) every morning, but it has now turned into this - easier and less expensive, no preparation, so it's more likely to stick for the long run - habit : I take a mug, pour down organic lemon juice (1 tea spoon or more, I love lemon ?), take a knife, use the tip of a knife to gather organic curcuma powder, put it in the mug, organic ginger powder (or cut some ginger root), put it in the mug, then grind 3 grains of organic pepper into it and cover the whole thing with hot water. As I said, it's an acquired taste but I really like it. I tried it for some time and now I'm so used to it, I drink it every morning, so does my partner who works in health. I miss it when I'm in a place where I can only have coffee - something I never would have believed when I started ! When the weather's cold, I appreciate it very much, it warms you up from the inside. Even if you don't drink/eat organic, you might want to try that even with non-organic ingredients, it will better for you than nothing.
  • The morning breakfast that I prepare every evening and keep in the fridge overnight (overnight porridge), it's easier, to eat if I'm hungry after the sport of to take away to the library if I'm not hungry yet : 2 tbsp of chia seed, 2 tbsp of oat flakes (or vegetable milk okara, made with almonds, nuts or oat), 1 small banana cut into small pieces, 1 seasonal fruit (in January, grapefruit for me) or any fruit you like. You can also add frozen fruits of your choice, knowing that red/dark berries are most recommended for health. You top the whole thing with vegetable milk of your choice (I do my own milk, I'll post the recipes later). I love this breakfast, because I only have to change the fruits to change my breakfast. We eat organic - better for the planet, better for us.
  • I prepare my bag for work : breakfast in a box with a spoon (I used to eat in the train before Covid - 1h30, I had the time for that - and read, and sleep !). Sometimes I'm hungry in the early morning, but most of the time, my appetite wakes up later, I don't eat when I'm not hungry because it means that my body doesn't need to and I listen to it. Mostly. 
  • I have a thermos bottle of water, just in case the train breaks down, or it's late (again) or it's too hot in the summer, whatever. I also have a fan for summer.
  • My lunch, that I take away in a bento, prepared the evening before, it's easier to put whatever I want into it and I have utensils at work in a box and B12 vitamin  too. On Tuesdays, I bring a napkin and dishcloth to work, I bring them back on Saturdays to wash them. I wash the bento and utensils at work or wash them back home, depends. Did I mention I love bentos ? It's hard to stick to just one because there is such a beautiful choice online but mine is practical. I'll talk about it when I get to my evening routine.
  • I bring an afternoon snack : seeds, almonds, mulberries, cashew nuts, walnut, sunflower seeds, in a locked box. It's better than eating cakes or whatever your coworkers bring to tempt you (one of my coworker calls herself the "supplier of diabetes"). I also bring fruits if I feel the need - but I eat fruits with my morning breakfast, and they might get crushed in my bag (ever bring a pear to work without putting it in a box ?... Don't).
  • Books !! Of course I put books in my bag ! How could I live without books ? It's good for my mental health ! I have books on my Kindle, because it's practical and easier to fit in the bag, but also a paperback I'm currently reading. When I'm not sleepy, I read. Especially in the evening as my evening train is *not* comfortable at all. I put my books in a book sleeve (see here, I bought the one with the foxes)
  • An umbrella and other stuff you might think of - just in case. Better safe than sorry.
And when I've finished all this, it's time for sports and yoga ! Next time ;)


6 comments:

  1. I think my life might be a bit better if I have a more organized morning routine. If my husband is at home, he takes care of breakfast for us and the dogs. I feed the cats and try to get away in time for school...

    Hope you are doing good. It sure seems as if you are getting your ducks nicely in a row! Keep it up!

    Lots of love,

    Elza Reads

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm doing my best :) When the "Miracle morning" book came out, I thought I had lost a nice opportunity to make a lot of money because I do a lot of what he says, have been doing it for years ! Except shouting in the shower, I have my dignity ^^

      Delete
  2. I love getting your healthy day details. I am a water lover so I nodded agreement about downing several ounces after first waking up and I've always been low in iron, but I get what I need from food since the supplements didn't do so well for me. Haha, yes and the cats need my attention first because you're right about the tripping hazard if you don't. I have oatmeal a few times a week as well as my fiber cereal and whole-grain pancakes. Fruit is big with me and my fresh one is oranges right now since those are cheapest this time of the year for me. I eat walnuts and seeds in my oatmeal, too.
    I like that you have healthy snacks for work. My co-workers used to tempt me and it was hard to eat my banana or apple when they were having candy bars and cakes. :) I still need to to better so I am encouraged to read how you're doing healthy choices through your day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sophia :) I see we have a lot of common practices, I love reading yours too ! Next part of the morning routine will be less funny (sports) but helpful too - and the endorphines are worth the effort ^^

      Delete
  3. It's amazing how much goes on in the morning right? It may just be a 30 minute routine or an hour and a half but we do so much in that time! I love your golden milk - I have not been able to build a taste for it but know many who have something similar but with some differences.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, we can do a lot during this time ! And it brings so much progress in my life... It's easier to adapt recipes to your possibilities - the simpler it is, the more it's going to last and do you good. My golden "milk" keeps me warm these days when it's freezing outside :D

      Delete