From working at home to not taking vacations, everyone’s had to get a little more creative with how they spend their time. Here are a few of our favorite resources that we recommend to help you learn something new and provide enrichment during your hours spent at home.
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food is a great read for anyone who takes food seriously. In this book, author Michael Pollan attempts to answer the question: what should we be eating? This book resonated with me, as I have struggled with this question over the past 2 decades of work in nutrition education. Pollan gives a sobering critique of the American food industry and how we have evolved into an unhealthier society despite knowing more about nutrients than our ancestors could have ever imagined. I love Pollan’s common sense, simple advice: eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Eat food that you recognize as food. Better yet, eat food that your great grandmother would recognize as food! There may never have been a better time than now to rethink the food we are bringing into our homes and putting in our body.
Power Life Yoga YouTube Channel
I recommend Power Life Yoga’s YouTube channel for great yoga streaming!
I just did one of the workouts yesterday and loved it. My daughter is one of the instructors and that’s how I found out about it. Aside from the obvious health benefits of the yoga itself, the positivity from the instructors is uplifting. It reinforces self acceptance and compassion for others as we travel this road together.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
This book has been recommended to me countless times by my professors, mentors, and peers. It focuses on how adverse life events can affect not only our mental health but have lasting effects on the physiology of our brain and body. It provides great resources for addressing and relieving trauma stored in the body.
Zoom, Google Hangouts, Facetime, etc.
To keep connected to friends/family: I have done multiple virtual breakfasts, coffees and happy hours.
ID-ER
For teachers trying to now create online education, my friend (Ph.D. from Harvard and her specialty is learning and development management) created an online network called ID-ER that connects institutions and educators to online learning professionals willing to help convert face-to-face courses or course components to online offerings during times of crisis.
The Healing Kitchen: 175+ Quick & Easy Paleo Recipes to Help You Thrive
I love the Healing Kitchen Book. This is the moment we have been waiting for to actually have the time to make and plan nourishing and healthy meals for our families. This book is filled with Paleo, AIP compliant recipes that are delicious! It would be fun to have the kids learn to make some of these tasty treats. One of my favorites are the garlic rubbed tostones with chimichurri sauce for dipping. Yum!
Fed Up
I like the documentary Fed Up, from 2014, discussing processed food and the oftentimes excessive, hidden sugar content within those foods. It’s eye-opening and helps increase awareness, as well as motivation, to choose whole foods in an unprocessed or least-processed form for my family. It also helps to re-frame the mind that healthy fats are not evil!
Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose by Rebekah Lyons
I recently read this book and it was such a breath of fresh air! As a new mom, the days are long (and amazingly beautiful) and life is just stressful and anxiety-inducing at times, but this book gives practical and insightful support for coping with stress and anxiety by incorporating four healthy rhythms into your daily life: the rhythm of rest, the rhythm of restoration, the rhythm of connection, and the rhythm of creation to renew your mind, spirit, and ultimately your physical body as well. Such an easy, yet powerful read that has provided true joy for me in this season of life – pandemic and all.
Broken Brain Podcast
I like this podcast because they find some of the top experts to cover a broad range of topics. The topics vary from basic functional medicine concepts to the more advanced.
Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar—Your Brain’s Silent Killers by David Perlmutter
I recently read this book because I wanted to learn a little more about how gluten, carbs and sugar affects our bodies. This book focuses specifically on the effect on our brains and it was super interesting! Dr. Perlmutter uses evidence to highlight the correlation between gluten and neurological disorders like dementia, Alzheimer’s and more. He uses case studies from his own patients to prove that taking out gluten might be the change you need to start healing your gut and your brain!