🌱 My Rooted Kitchen Friends: Here’s What’s Coming in April: How to Make Small Changes 🐾

When I first took on my health journey in 2023, the one gift I gave myself for the first time was time.

I did not seek to have overnight results. I repeated to myself over and over, “small steady steps is how we meet our goals and sustain them”.

Now, nearly 3 years later I can honestly say some of the same healthy habits I built so many years ago (meal planning, prepping, tracking my steps, seeing my Doctor routinely, reflecting in my journal) are still alive and well today in my life. I am a work in progress, but I can also see the progress.

According to an article written by University of Chicago Medicine, Making small healthy changes is often much more attainable and realistic. Not only that, these small changes turn into health habits over time.

Once you begin noticing the health benefits, you’ll likely find more motivation and start implementing even more simple lifestyle improvements.

Here’s a list of potential healthy habits.

Let’s choose 1 this month we will make a habit!

Add More Movement to Your Day

Prioritize Hydration

Make Sure You’re Getting Enough ZZZs

Eat More Fruits and Veggies

Practice Mindful Eating

Limit Screen Time Before Bed

Take Short Breaks to Stretch

Swap Processed Snacks for Whole Foods

Practice Daily Gratitude

Schedule Preventive Health Checkups

We can do hard things. You got this!

I will be right here each week with some motivation to keep you on track!

Tool of The Month: Whispers Tool!!

Here’s your reminder, to give yourself a bit of time to check-in. I created the Whispers tool in 2024 to help myself and others check-in and prioritize what is meaningful to me. This world is full of external messaging constantly seeking our attention elsewhere. Take a moment to use this tool for yourself… Listen to your internal Whispers.

This tool can jumpstart your journey; connecting current status to future desires. Personally, I fill out this tool every 2 months. Here’s how to fill it in:

1. Current Rank a. Use a number scale of 1-10 to determine how rank in each dimension of health.

i. 1= very poor

ii. 10 = Perfect for YOUR journey

2. Future Rank a. This is where you want to be within the next 2 months

i. Remember we want quick incremental progress, not long-term goals

3. Steps to Improve a. Here I want you to list 2-3 bullets of immediate small steps you can take it your current rank is lower than your future rank.

This exercise should take 15-20 min

Let yourself have this time….

Whispers Start Here Tool (3).pdf Download

What Am I Reading?

I resurrected my kindle! It’s been a MILION years since I used it. Thankfully, it fired right up! I love transferring my free library checkouts to kindle so I can carry it on the go. Getting ready for an on the go summer!

For reference I have a Kindle Oasis I purchased in 2020 😅. It’s still running fine! I don’t thnk they even make that version anymore, I personally appreciate the portability of a reading device during a busy season.

Although I’m not a big fan of Amazon, I am a fan of saving money. Here is a link to an article how to read library books on your kindle.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GUWACXF9HENBXTQP

It is my desire to get better at inter-personal communication. Public speaking I’m super good at, but the more intimate level convos often have me uncomfortable. I realize to build and intensify my relationships, it’s really important I improve this skill. Let’s gooooo!

This one is a repeat. I didn’t finish it, but I’m so fascinated by “community-building” and the concept loneliness and it’s impact on health I want to finish this one.

Spice/Oil of the Month:

In preparing for this month’s post, I will be making a trip to my go-to oil shop for some new goodies! I adore their delicious infused oils. It makes great salad dressings, dips for veggies, and great to add more flavor to pastas. With summer around the corner, cold pasta salads are going to make great sides for family meals.

Basil Infused Olive Oil

Flavor: Garden-fresh basil Complements: Meat, salad, vegetables, bread, pasta Vinegar Pairings: Apricot, Blackberry, Black Currant, Wild Blueberry, Chocolate, Cranberry Pear, Honey Ginger, Grapefruit, Lemongrass Mint, Maple, Oregano, Peach,…

Here’s the link to where this item is located at The Spicy Olive 👇🏾

https://www.thespicyolive.com/product/basil-infused-olive-oil/

Posts This Month:

🐓 Farm to Table Restaurant+ Video

In August 2025 my husband and I visited Napa Valley for a concert. While there, we delighted in some of the freshest ingredients I’ve ever tasted. We soon learned the majority of dishes were made from produce and herbs grown right in their backyard! If you’ve ever wanted to know what farm to table looks like, stained for this post.

👟 Exercise Snacks + My Gym Bag Video

Watching “what’s in my bag” videos are literally my guilty pleasure! Indulge me while I talk about how to incorporate exercise snacks in your day to day, and a fun what’s in my gym bag. It’s well packed… 😂

🫒 How to Choose Olive Oil for Health

I attend a Food is Medicine Conference in 2025 which included fun workshops.

I was fortunate to learn at that time how to choose olive oil from an Oleologist: An expert in the science of olive oil production and quality. I took notes, and will share research on how to choose high quality olive oil.

Spoiler– it’s not by price!?! 😮

Should be a fun writing ✍🏾 month!

Happy Eating!