food to glow

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These tea-infused sour cherry energy bites make a brilliant protein-rich and whole food snack. Perfect for those peckish moments, lunchboxes and after exercise. Even for an on-the-go breakfast. A no-sugar-added, paleo recipe.I don’t know about you but November is shaping up to be an incredibly busy month. Nearly every day in my diary is filled with multiple tasks, appointments and meet-ups.

The only consistent self-nurture time I get is the hour or so shortly after I awaken at 5-ish. I fill this quiet time with reading, sketching out recipe ideas, catching up on one of the “Real Housewives of” shows (guilty pleasure), doing my physio. If it is warm enough, and the moon is full and bright or the sun is rising, I will walk around the garden with a cup of steaming tea, deadheading and planning the day in my head. The latter is very rare, but it is a wonderfully meditative thing to do.

I am not complaining though. I don’t measure success or happiness in being and keeping busy, but I do enjoy having a structure to the day and filling it with purposeful, creative pursuits and cups of tea wherever possible. Doctors’ and physio appointments – not so much.

However, as someone who thrives on “doing” I am not always so good at “being”.

So when Yogi Tea® asked me what I could do to nurture myself in their #7minuteschallenge, I was actually challenged. I eventually decided that I could both “do” and “be” by making this quick recipe for No-Bake Sour Cherry & Nut Energy Bites. I’m not that great at sitting still (stressful!). But I do find making healthy food for myself and others very nurturing and calming. The kitchen is my happy place.

While I whirled all of the ingredients in my food processor and shaped them into squishy balls, I steeped my tea for the suggested 7 minutes on average for the best taste. Then I sat down with my fragrant cuppa to enjoy the fruits (sour cherry, to be precise) of my minimal labour.

I’ve long been a fan of Yogi Teas®, a 40-year old company founded on Indian Ayurvedic teachings about the balance between body, mind and spirit. They produce delicious herb and spice teas based on unique Ayurvedic tea recipes. I’m a new fan of their aptly named Inner Harmony tea, with its soothing lemon balm, delicately fragrant lavender flowers and sweet cinnamon. The fragrance while it steeps actually helps me to slow down and breath deeply.

But my all-time favourite is the intriguing Choco, a combination of cocoa shells, sweet liquorice, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom – heavenly, and great for healthily replacing a craving for chocolate! I have also found with this tea that it is both calming and energizing. The uplifting warm spices and zero caffeine make that possible. I’m thinking of adapting the cashew frosting in this raw brownie recipe to include this rich and complex tea. I think I may like eating tea as much as I like drinking it!

Because I am really rather rubbish at self-nurturing I decided to make a list of things I occasionally do that uplift and restore me, and things I would like to do. I hope you find it useful, but I would love to know what you do to look after yourself.

{The recipe follows.}

22 Ideas For Self-Nurturing

1. Wake up early, bundle up well if needs be and watch the sunrise. If you live near a beach or hill, even better. Go barefoot and feel the leaves, sand, grass, stones or water if you can.

2. Go to a funny movie by yourself and laugh out loud. Take some homemade snacks like these energy bites, too.

3. Treat yourself to a relaxing massage from a qualified masseuse. Or try some of these self-acupressure points.

4. Buy yourself some fairly traded flowers that not only look good but smell good, too. Place them in a pretty vase where you can see them and sniff them often.

5. Play uplifting music while you cook: sing and dance around. If your kids walk in, dance with them!

6. Follow some new accounts on Instagram that extol positivity, self-empowerment and self-care. @femalecollective, @cleowade, @youareluminous, @levoleague, @yogiteaeurope and @happsters for starters.

7. Listen to a TED talk. Actually listen to it rather than bookmarking it. (*guilty face*)

8. On a day off, go for a walk or drive to a different part of town, planning in a cafe stop along the way. In Edinburgh, I love Polentoni (Easter Road, near-ish Holyrood Park), Water of Leith Cafe Bistro (Canonmills, by the bridge), Caffeine Drip (West End, on Melville Place/Queensferry Street), Earthy (Newington), Twelve Triangles (Brunswick Street, off Leith walk) and The Pantry (Stockbridge, on way into town).

9. Lie on a lounge chair or on a blanket and watch the clouds scud by. Have a flask of tea – hot or cold – to sip.

10. Put on ambient background music and do some yoga. If you don’t know how, try these easy but effective ones in this article on simple ways to integrate mindfulness into your daily life. Here is a list of ambient music stations if you want to try a few.

11. Go to a gallery or museum and immerse yourself in the details – read the descriptions, get close up, take time to register your own reaction to some of the paintings or displays.

12. Take the scenic route home whether on foot, car, bus or train.

13. Allow yourself time to re-read a favourite book.

14. If you have pets, groom them. It will make you both feel good.

15. Make a recipe you’ve always been meaning to make. Or check Pinterest and browse by your favourite type of recipe or ingredient.

16. Enroll in a class. I am going to sign up for Tai Chi and, in the spring, a sculpture class. Often UK local councils offer a wide programme of reasonably priced evening and weekend classes at high schools. I’ve taken a sewing class, willow weaving and an Indian head massage class in the past.

17. Spend time with a friend and tell them how much they mean to you. Don’t assume they already know this.

18. Notice the things that give you pleasure in your environment. There is always beauty if we just look.

19. Pay a compliment to someone, and really mean it. Or, if you are a bit shy, let someone go ahead of you in a long queue. You will make their day, and it won’t cost you a thing. It always makes me feel good to do this.

20. Take time to make yourself a cooked breakfast and eat it unhurried. You may need to get up a bit earlier for this but it will be worth ignoring the snooze button. Here are some of my breakfast recipes. Why not try this weekend-make recipe for Cloud Eggs with Buttery Dal?21. The restorative effect of being close to a natural body of water or stand of trees can be profound. Try and find time to experience this occasionally.

22. Read up on foraging or go on a foraging course to bring nature’s bounty into your kitchen. I have been on wild foods courses run by Monica Wilde and John Wright. Highly enjoyable and exceedingly useful. Very self-nurturing, too.

What ways do you look after yourself? Can you think of a 7-minute activity to do while you brew a cup of tea?

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To join in, share your #7minuteschallenge activity on social media to help others with their own self-care, and use the #yogitea hashtag and tag @yogiteaeurope in your posts. You can follow the challenge on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter:  their Instagram account is especially beautiful. I’ll check in on these accounts and see what you all are doing and suggesting. I’m always looking for more ideas!

Thank you to Yogi Tea® for sponsoring this post. Partnered posts such as this help me to keep bringing you my recipes and content – for free. Thanks to you as well, for supporting not only Food To Glow but also the quality brands with which I work. I only partner with brands I actually use and like. All opinions are strictly my own.

RIPE FOR PINNING!