Is It Magic?

Happy 2022! Vanessa here. Karen will be discussing Habit Loops with you in the lesson this week, which generally focuses on tips and strategies for breaking down habits you'd like to change. But of course, there can be habits that you want to create or keep as well! And health and wellness should be about both, right?

For me, a lot of my habits reside in the kitchen. Keeping in mind that these are the things that bring ME joy, my habits include prepping Greg's lunch for the week (since he is on campus every day), cutting up veggies for my lunch during the week, making our weekly batch of yogurt, and making our "special house blend" of granola - one batch usually lasts us about 3 weeks.

I've included the base recipe that I use in this week's "From Our Kitchens" feature on this website. Tweak it as you like: sometimes I use different nuts, different cereals, extra spices and added dried fruit (always after baking).

Now, homemade yogurt, granola, and weekly lunch prep might sound like some sort of kitchen wizardry. But I promise it is not. The hands-on time for all of these combined takes less than an hour. And again, these are habits that *I* find joy in and feel comfortable in including into my regular routine - your joy will probably come from something different! But if my routine gets you thinking that you are interested in adding to your list of helpful habits, start with one new thing: what would you most like to do? What would reflect your values? What can you see doing for the long term? Is there something where the payoff is greater than the input? Start there.

Or maybe just try that granola - it's really delicious.