Recipe for Living a Healthy and Stress-Reduced Life

Staying healthy is like baking a perfect cookie. All you need are the right ingredients. What tends to happen with health, though, is, all too often, people tackle getting healthy by doing too much at once. That never works!

What does work is making small changes slowly over time. Those are the changes that have the best staying power. Those are the changes that help us unlearn not so healthy ways, and reinforce better, healthier ways. A few years ago, I called this approach "small changes, big results" because I've learned from my own experience and that of others I've worked with that this mentality is what works and sticks.

Following this "recipe" is simple. You can read all the ingredients and incorporate the ones that resonate with you all at once. Or, you can buy college research papers and add one new one each week, or each month, depending on how quickly you want to make some changes in your life. You can do these by yourself or make them part of your family's health plan.

Get Unplugged

Did you know that all our digital devices have "do not disturb" features? Our phone answering machines typically have a button to activate this feature. Emails can be put on "away." And, even our cell phones have "do not disturb" features now. Using these features daily, gives our brains a brain from that constant "on" of our digital lives. Schedule in unplugged time each day and each weekend and you'll find yourself feeling more refreshed than you've felt in a long time.

Schedule a Health Tune Up

It may seem like a waste of time, but that annual check up is so important. It's the only way to make sure that everything is working as it should in your body. This is the time for your doctor to ask questions about things you may not realize need checking, and double check that the usual stuff, like shots, are up to date. Has everyone had a yearly checkup? Is everyone's shots up to date? For every family member, adults and kids, there's a list of health maintenance issues a doctor knows to check. So, even though our kids may look and feel great, and we may feel great, too, don't skip that annual check up. Better to go and have a clean bill of health for another year then skip it and realize something was brewing that could have been caught early.

Eat for Fun and Health

It's so easy to get into a food rut in our homes. If you are in such a rut, shake things up by cooking more and eating out less. Start by asking each member of your family to come up with a new dish or food to add to a list your family can create. Each week, sit down as a group and create the menu for the week for dinners. If you get everyone involved, you'll find the rut quickly replaced with creativity and a desire to turn your kitchen into a Food Network annex.

Be Creative with Family Time

With everyone so busy, family time is usually the first to go. So, find fun ways to get everyone together, whether it's a new family game night or movie night. Ask everyone how they want to spend time together and give everyone a chance to pick the activity.

Family Fitness Time

Just like with family time, family fitness time is high on the list of activities to drop out when time is limited. But, fitness is one of the best ways to add fun and bust stress with everyone. Keep in mind, you don't need a huge amount of time to have a significant impact. If you can find 15-20 minutes a day to get everyone outside kicking around a ball or walking around the block, that's a great start!

Don't Forget "Me" Time

With our busy lives and hectic schedules, stress can build with adults and kids. One of the best "cures" for the wear and tear of daily stress, as well as the stress of tough times, is making sure everyone has a few minutes of "me" time. So, help everyone carve out time to be alone and have that all important chill time. Like with fitness, you don't need a huge amount of time to reap the benefits. But, find ways to fit it in.

Schedule a Playdate

Socializing is important for happiness and well-being, so make it a priority. Call a friend you haven't seen in a while for lunch. Reconnect with old and new friends on Facebook.

Give Back

Any donation to any charity and any involvement in your community is all good. A spare change collection for a cause important to your family is a wonderful way to teach kids to get involved and care about something beyond themselves and their homes.

Try Something New

What have you always wanted to do? I recently stunned my kids by learning guitar. What floats your boat is the name of the game for all of you, young and "old."

Not all of these ingredients will be necessary for everyone and the proper mix will be different for everyone and every family. You'll know you've found the right mix when everyone in your family feels good, in body and in soul.