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We’re always looking for ways to lighten up our meals, especially when it comes to Thanksgiving. We want to enjoy all the delicious flavors and traditional foods without that food coma and hangover that immediately follows. Oh, and let’s not talk about those extra pounds that tend to creep up around this time of year.📷
That’s why I’ve created this Healthy Thanksgiving Recipe Book for you Click Here to Download – complete with many simple, yet beautifully displayed dishes to complement your holiday table. Lighten things up a bit this Thanksgiving and still enjoy the delicious foods and smells that Thanksgiving brings.
But, did you know that there is another way to be healthier besides eating healthier foods? It’s the REAL theme of Thanksgiving and that is about being grateful and showing gratitude. The food is just the cherry on top of the appreciation of the people in our lives and how G-d has blessed us.
Taking the attitude of gratitude approach in life is great for your physical and emotional well being. There is a lot of research that suggests that people who find a way to express what they are thankful for, sleep better, live longer and make better lifestyle choices.
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Does your mind often race with thoughts at night to the point you struggle falling asleep? Get a Gratitude Journal and before you lay your head on the pillow, write down 3-5 things that you are grateful for. Letting your mind reflect on the good in your life before heading to bed will reduce those restless nights. So, the grateful mind leads to a peaceful sleep.
Our family dinner table with 6 boys used to be pretty loud and slightly chaotic. Most nights I would sit at the table regretting returning those Bose headphones that my husband bought me when our twins were born. I guess he had insight into what a household with 6 boys would sound like. To give our dinner time more structure and to allow everyone an opportunity to share about their day we instituted our family dinner tradition. We go around the table and everyone can share something happy, sad and/or surprising about their day, along with one gratitude. I knew it really clicked when I was listening to a CD in the car one day and my little one excitedly shouted from the back seat, “Mommy, Mommy, he said gratitude!”
Also, showing gratitude through generosity can reduce stress. It’s hard to stay focused on the stressors in your own life if you are pouring into others. Finding ways to show love to others during this season and beyond is not for others but it can bring you great joy in the process. Could that be the reason why people seem to be so happy around this time of year? Being around those you love or caring for those less fortunate spreads a contagious feeling of jubilation.
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Man was created by G-d for a reason, for a purpose. Each one of us has a specific mission and assignment that we were created for. When we remember this, we focus on what we are here to do for others We focus on how we can help others and tend to other people’s needs, instead of focusing on ourselves. This to an overwhelming feeling of happiness and fulfillment, which leads to gratitude. Life isn’t about what is owed to me, what I need, but rather what I can give, what I can do and then everything in life is a gift, not something that is owed to me.
Of course, we all know we have so much to be grateful for and truthfully, most of us think we are pretty grateful. The problem is that we don’t always express it. When you acknowledge your gratitude by sharing it with others, writing it down or sharing it, it becomes part of your consciousness. That becomes what is in your thoughts and what you focus on. When you focus on what you have, what you have accomplished and all the blessings around you, it not only makes you feel good, but you start to notice more and more things to be grateful for. Which in turn brings more reasons for you to be thankful and grateful for your life. It’s like the magic switch.
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Gratitude experiment!!! For the next 7 days, I invite you to join me in the Busy and Healthy Moms Facebook Group to share something you are grateful for each day. It’s the little things. The little things that make us feel whole, grateful and full of energy, which is what really allows one to feel healthy!
Be grateful for the little things!
xxx
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