The following post is sponsored by Dandy®. 
If there’s something that every single health professional and enthusiast in the world can agree on, I think it’s that being healthy is not a destination, it’s a lifestyle. It’s something you have to put in the effort for each and every day.
Consistently making healthy decisions makes me feel strong, capable, and confident, and it transcends into every other area of my life. Today I wanted to share some of the healthy habits that are part of my everyday routine. They’re ways of life for me that make me feel vibrant and energized, and help me to be the healthiest, happiest person I can be. Let’s get to it!
Stretch. Stretching is something that I not only do before and after my workouts, but also on my rest days too. I think it feels great to stretch my muscles, and I’m always working on my flexibility in my yoga practice. I also keep a foam roller, tiger tail, and trigger point bar in my living room so that I remember to use them while I’m watching TV.
Walk. I go on long walks with my dog every day. What started off as something I did to just get her puppy energy out has turned into a daily practice that we both enjoy. We typically go for at least a half-hour walk around my neighborhood, at the beach or a nearby park, and I usually take her hiking with me on a longer excursion once a week. The time in nature is calming and energizing, and we both come home happy!
Eat a healthy dose of fruits & veggies. Scanning through my social media feed on Instagram and Twitter, you can easily see that I enjoy lots of real foods. I’m all about nourishing my body with food made by nature!
With having such a sweet tooth, I could easily eat a ton of fruit and not eat quite as many veggies. I never go a day without eating veggies, but there are times when I don’t eat them until dinnertime. That’s where my new favorite healthy munchies comes in: Dandy® portable snacks.
In business for 90 years, Dandy® produces produce from their family farms in Florida and California. One thing I love about the company is that they’re committed to non-GMO farming practices. Another thing I love? Their new peanut butter + celery snack on-the-go snack packs!
Dandy® has partnered with one of my favorite nut butter brands in the world for their snack packs, Peanut Butter & Co. I’m a huge fan of their Smooth Operator peanut butter paired with Dandy® celery.
Their new snack pack options also include pre-cut celery with ranch dipping cups – including a sriracha ranch flavor for all of you sriracha lovers! My fellow Californians, Dandy®’s portable snack cups are now available at your local Save Mart, Lucky, Food Maxx and Stater Bros stores. I’m finding them to be healthy, pre-portioned snacks that are a perfect way for me to fit more veggies into my diet during the day!
Hydrate. I pretty much always have one of my recyclable water bottles or a glass of H20 nearby, because I can feel such a difference when I’m well hydrated versus when my body’s needing water.
Check out my tips to drink more water here.
Breathe. It’s easy to get caught up with being busy and feel the stress, but it’s amazing how concentrating on taking a few deep breaths can make you feel more calm and relaxed. Whether I’m driving, working on a writing assignment, or making dinner, I make sure to pause whatever I’m doing a few times a day to focus on taking deep inhales and long exhales.
Breathing is the most basic necessity in life, yet most people don’t ever think about, nor do they efficiently use their breath. A quick breathing exercise reminds me that no matter what’s going on, in the scheme of things I’m grateful to be alive and well.
Sweat. When it’s not a rest day, I’m committed to breaking a sweat and getting my heart rate pumping. Whether it’s yoga, hiking, biking, boxing, HIIT, barre, swimming, or something else, I love how accomplished I feel after a great workout. It’s good for the body and great for the mind!
Connect. I talk with loved ones every single day. I live far away from where I grew up, so my mom and I are always chatting on the phone about our days, and I often catch up with my girlfriends through texts, phone calls and Skype. I also like to have frequent get togethers with friends and eat dinner with my husband every night that we’re both home, because it gives us a chance to reconnect and relax together.
Strong relationships are immeasurably important for mental health, and I always make time to connect with the people I love!
Banana protein pancakes topped with lots of fruity, chocolatey goodness!
Eat enough protein. I lead such an active lifestyle, so I make sure to fuel my muscles right with enough protein. On a daily basis, I’m conscious of the amount of protein that I’m taking in and make sure to eat enough of it. Some of my go-to protein sources are beans, wraps, nut butters, protein powders and bars, pasta and yogurt.
Tell me… What are some of your everyday healthy habits?
This post is sponsored by Dandy®. As always, all opinions expressed are genuinely my own. Thanks for reading & supporting the brands that support me! Check out the Summer Snacking Sweepstakes that Dandy® and other fresh produce brands have going on, including a free ebook with 10 summer-inspired recipes!
I really need to get into the habit of stretching everyday! And those celery cups sound perfect for bringing to work for a mid afternoon snack.
You totally should, I think that stretching feels great! It has a subtle way of alleviating stress in the body.
And they are! I love snacking on them in my office in the afternoon.
Breathing is so important! I often find myself feeling really anxious and getting stomach aches because I haven’t spent enough time breathing and just taking a minute to relax. I find myself really tense even when I’m not particularly stressed and I need to just breathe!
That’s SO true, Britt! Taking a few deep breaths can do wonders.
Great post, Nicole! I like that you including things like connecting with friends here. Everything is all tied together, so if you’re happy with social life then that will help with other areas, too. We finally committed to getting some exercise equipment here in the house as we’ve realized the gym is just not an option for us with the little guy here. So hopefully we’ll start feeling better soon…as soon as that equipment shows up! Thanks for sharing the snack packs, too. I love a good celery + PB snack! (I bet Maximus would, too…haha!)
It couldn’t be more true that everything is all connected to our health!
Oh that’s so smart that you’ve gotten some exercise equipment in the house. That should make it easier to squeeze in workouts with the little guy!
I try to do some kind of stretching every morning when I wake up too. Even if I don’t manage to do another workout, at least I know I have done this.
Absolutely, Dannii! I’m with you on that.
I love this post Nicole!! I totally agree that it’s a lifestyle and making good choices (even little ones) every day! I’ve only recently started to think more about breathing and I still can’t believe how big of a difference it makes. I am one of those people who get stressed easily and breathing / yoga has helped me so much!!
Thanks, Ashley! Totally, I’m happy to hear that you are working more on breathing and yoga. It really helps for relaxation and stress reduction!