This post includes TWO delicious breakfast recipes! If you try them out, or anything else from the Spice Hut, upload a picture of it to Instagram and tag the Spice Hut! You could be featured on our page!
Did you know there are no such things as people being night owls? Every human is hard-wired to get sleepy when it gets dark, and wake up to the morning sun with energy! If you feel like that is just a bunch of hoopla, try starting a morning routine! It’ll give you something to look forward to, so you can get to bed and wake up to a day of motivation!
What’s a morning routine? A morning routine is your customized schedule of self-care tasks before you start your work for the day. It can be as long or as short as you want/have time for. If you want a longer routine, but have to leave the house by 8 o’clock, try waking up at 5 o’clock to get your body and mind where they need to be. I know that if I skip my morning routine, I feel off all day.
So, I have divided up the categories of self-care balance. It’s good to try and do at least one thing in every category. This assures your heart that you are comfortable enough to give everyone you meet your 100% best self that day. In this exercise, I will give you my morning routine as an example for every category.
Something to keep in mind: The night before, I pack everything I’m going to need to leave the house with and pick out my clothes. Sometimes I have my breakfast prepped ahead of time as well.
Pick your favorite activities or add your own! Use the suggested time allotments or add/subtract time as you think you need to. Decide the maximum amount of time you will need to complete a task. Change up the order in which you complete the categories. This is all up to you. Try out one morning routine versus another. Keep adjusting. Trust me. You won’t ever settle on one routine for very long. Your body and/or mind will be craving balance from other categories. Come back to this post as you please to keep tweaking your best morning routine. Have fun!
Exercise (30+ minutes)
My routine: Legs up the wall (10 minutes), yoga (10 minutes), cardio and strength- I use the PumpUp app (20 minutes).
You can try those and/or:
- Push-ups
- Sit-ups
- Running or jogging
- Pilates
- Squats
- Weights
- Add your own!
Getting Ready (20+ minutes)
My routine: Shower (10 minutes max.), hair and makeup (10 minutes), get dressed (5 minutes).
You can add on any extras you need:
- Facial or steam
- Nail care
- Exfoliation
- Shaving/ hair removal
- Ironing
- Add your own!
Hydration (5+ minutes)
My routine: Calm water, Emergen-C, 24-ounce water, tea- Right now, I love Creamy Caramel Rooibos and Spirit Tea (Prep time- 10 minutes. Drink time- 20 minutes (can multitask with other activities)).
You can try these drinks or some others:
- Coffee
- Fresh vegetable or fruit juice (I like to swap this in a lot)
- Morning elixir (when I need an extra boost that day- mood, immunity, etc.)
- Warm water with turmeric, ginger, honey, lemon, and cayenne
- Cocoa
- Golden milk
- Add your own!
Meditation (2+ minutes)
My routine: Headspace meditation (10 minutes).
Headspace is great, but so is:
- The Calm app
- Simple deep breathing
- Count your breaths, scan your body, or go to a happy place
- Breathe app for Apple Watch
- Sit outside and observe your senses (what do you hear, feel, smell, etc.?)
- Other meditation apps
- Add your own!
Breakfast (10+ minutes)
My routine: Overnight oats with a berry jam/fruit and nuts/seeds (Prep time- 10 minutes. Drink time- 15 minutes).
Try this recipe (see below), or look up some of these:
- Coconut yogurt with granola
- Bananas and almond butter wrapped in chard
- Chocolate avocado pudding
- Raw cheesecake
- Banana-oat pancakes
- Add your own!
Your “I wish I had more time to…” (15+ minutes)
My routine: Work on e-book (20 minutes), sketch (10 minutes)
You may not want to focus on these, but maybe you’ve always wanted to…:
- Learn a new language (Duolingo is great for this)
- Write to a friend
- Plan a trip
- Financial plan
- Write a book
- Add your own!
So, in total, my morning routine takes a little over 2 and a half hours if I count 10 minutes of what I like to call “doddle time.” Doddle time is a cushion to account for my slow still-sleepy walk. To be out the door at 8:30am for work, I make sure to wake up at 6:00am every single day. I like to get 8 hours of sleep, so I’m always in bed by 9:30pm. It seems like a lot of planning, but it’s not so bad. Once you get in the groove of things, you’ll feel better and be able to notice monumental changes in your life.
And now it's time to have your tea, and eat it too!
Chai Overnight Oats with Caramelized Bananas
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. coconut chai tea
- Cold water
- 3 cups rolled or steel cut oats
- Almond or other non-dairy milk
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ - ½ cup coconut sugar
Instructions:
- Bring 3 cups of cold water to a boil in a pot on high heat.
- Add 4 tbsp of the coconut chai tea into the boiling water.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl. Let cool to room temp.
- Add ¾ cup of oats to 4 separate jars or containers.
- Add ¾ cup of the tea into each jar.
- Place lids on the jars and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, make the caramelized bananas.
- Dice bananas in ½ inch pieces.
- Heat coconut oil on medium heat just until melted.
- Immediately add the bananas, and then the coconut sugar.
- Stir until bananas are well-coated in the sugar and are shiny (about 5 minutes).
- Evenly disperse the bananas amongst the four oat jars.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup of the walnuts into each jar.
- Add almond milk if you like your oats a little thinner like me!
- Place the lids on once again, and go! Now the whole family has a tasty, healthy, energizing breakfast to-go!
Got some extra morning routine time to stay in with your breakfast? Here you go!
Orange Cream French Toast
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf of a good whole wheat bread
- 3 tbsp Orange Cream Rooibos tea
- 3 cups almond milk or other non-dairy milk
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- Coconut oil
- Maple syrup
- Chopped pecans
Instructions:
- Bring the almond milk to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the Orange Cream Rooibos.
- Simmer for about 5 minutes. Strain into a large, shallow dish to cool.
- Add the flax, cinnamon, nutmeg, and turmeric to the dish and whisk until well incorporated. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Heat about 1 tsp of coconut oil in a pan or skillet on medium-high heat. Once melted, immediately dip your first toast.
- Give the bread just a couple seconds on each side in the mixture and place on the skillet. It should take about 3 minutes on each side. Adjust your heat as you see fit.
- Top your french toast with maple syrup, and chopped pecans for that nice country flavor. Enjoy!
