MOMS…CELEBRATE YOURSELF THIS MOTHER’S DAY!

Happy Mother’s Day, beautiful! This day was established over 100 years ago to honor mothers everywhere. And that’s exactly what my four daughters did for me last Mother’s Day! They surprised me with an Arabian Nights-themed party, complete with a tent set up on the beach, beautiful pillows on the sand, Mediterranean finger food, lemonade, and champagne. I was so touched, and it was a special day I will hold in my heart for a lifetime.

My own mom used to tell me that she loved every stage of our lives... and it's wonderful for me to be at a point when I have this perspective now as well (She clearly must've blocked out my teenage years!). When I was a little girl, I wrote a book to my mom that she saved and I had saved it as well, all these years however it didn’t make it through the 2016 hurricane and subsequent 5 moves.  I treasure it in my memory and attach a couple images of it that I saved below.

How beautiful and meaningful it is when we share what we love about someone with them…. And they treasure it too! 

My mom passed away at age 67 during heart surgery. This was 22 years ago. Her life and her death taught me so much. As a result my medical practice focused on prevention and making the second half of our lives as healthy as possible so we can enjoy the children, grandchildren and everything that we work so hard for. After countless years of putting your loved ones first, it’s time to make YOUR health a priority.

You’ll likely see a lot of articles suggesting traditional ways to celebrate Mother’s Day, whether it be with cards, gifts or a special dinner at a favorite restaurant. But I’d like to take a different approach, and speak to moms directly, especially since Mother’s Day also kicks off National Women’s Health Week - a perfect time to empower women to make their health a priority.  

Given the demands of modern life, it is not uncommon that mothers are stressed, exhausted and forget to prioritize their own self-care.

Can you relate? I bet you often feel too busy getting kids’ lunches made, driving to after-school and evening activities, balancing work with motherhood, or staying up late to clean your house. Parenting is both the toughest and most rewarding job in the world. With four daughters of my own, though, I’ve sometimes felt that the driven nature of this kind of motherhood can choke out any joy and satisfaction from daily life.

So,  during this Mother’s Day and throughout National Women’s Health Week, let’s do something different and infinitely empowering: Schedule and prioritize some self-care. Remember the example given on airplanes that you must put on your own oxygen mask before  helping others?

Put yourself first using some of my suggestions:

• Honor your body with Keto-Green nutrition.  Outlined in my new book The Hormone Fix, my Keto-Green Diet  harnesses the power of ketogenic, fat-burning nutrition with health-building alkaline eating. This balances your hormones and keeps you feeling happy and energetic, all while shedding pounds naturally. Try it during National Women’s Health Week – and then challenge yourself to keep it going all month long.
• Honor yourself with a feast on Mother’s Day.  Do you love chocolate? How about a glass of wine? Or a favorite dinner or dessert? One of the things I promote in my Keto-Green Diet and lifestyle program is to cut yourself some slack and feast every now and then. And don’t stress out about it! Stress works against us in so many ways (burns out our adrenals, causes hormone imbalances and inflammation). So – truly enjoy yourself on Mother’s Day!
• Honor yourself with proper hydration.  This Mother’s Day, start the habit of drinking 60 to 70 ounces of pure water daily. Proper hydration will leave you looking and feeling your best.
• Honor yourself by connecting.  Your body churns out the feel-good, bonding hormone oxytocin when you’re in a social gathering. This happens naturally to help achieve more harmony and oneness among the group. Researchers have found that your brain releases more oxytocin during social contact and social bonding, and this can actually speed up healing from disease. Do you know what one of the most oxytocin-rich environments is? You guessed it—a lovely Mother’s Day celebration with your family.
• Honor yourself by nurturing your friendships.  Your body will also release oxytocin when you bond with other women. Whatever the reason, women need other women—we guide each other, console each other, and celebrate with each other. And sharing emotions with good pals also soothes frazzled nerves. The long-running Harvard-based Nurses’ Health Study found that the more close friends a woman has, the less likely she is to suffer illnesses as she ages. In fact, not having at least one true confidant can ultimately be as detrimental to your health as being a heavy smoker! What better time to nurture and strengthen our friendships than during National Women’s Health Week.
• Honor yourself with self-compassion. This means being good and kind to yourself and not beating yourself up when you suffer, fail, or feel inadequate. In short, it means treating yourself the way you would your best friend. Self-compassion is healing at many levels. It can bring you out of a depression should Mother’s Day be painful if you’ve lost your mother or a child. It can change your entire body chemistry by flooding your system with feel-good hormones.

A simple exercise to try this Mother’s Day is to look at yourself in the mirror, make eye contact, and speak loving truths to your precious self and do some positive coaching. Try saying: “You are so beautiful and just wonderfully created. You have the potential to do anything you really want to do. You are healthy, loving, kind, and good,” and continue from there. You may feel self-conscious, but you’ll also find that speaking kind and encouraging words to yourself feels good; this is a powerful practice.

So let’s cheers to having the best Mother’s Day ever … and thank you for all the little things you do each day to raise our future.

Before we wrap up, I must share the one dish your Mother’s Day dinner won’t be complete without: my delicious Oven Roasted Ratatouille recipe from The Hormone Fix. It’s the perfect blend of fresh vegetables, herbs and spices, and it’s Keto-Green approved. Dinner party tip- it’s an ideal make-ahead dish too!

Oven-Roasted Ratatouille

Ingredients

• 1 medium-large red onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 medium-large zucchini, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 medium-large yellow squash, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 4 plum tomatoes, quartered
• 8 ounces crimini mushrooms, quartered
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
• 1/2 cup canned or jarred artichoke hearts, quartered
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Toss everything together in a large mixing bowl except the parsley.
3. Evenly coat the vegetables with the oil and seasonings.
4. Roast the coated vegetables in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet dish for 35–40 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.
5. Toss with parsley.
6. Serve with sliced avocado and/or top with an over-easy fried egg, if desired.

P.S. My Keto-Alkaline Protein Shake powder is a great way to help harmonize your hormones....

As well as fight brain fog and other cognitive issues.  My Keto-Alkaline Protein Shake is a perfect way to incorporate more protein into your diet!