1. Drink 16 oz of water when you get up. Yes, BEFORE your coffee or tea. And don’t chug it all at once either. Make your bottle of water your little buddy during your morning routine, whatever it entails. Then drink another 30 oz in between breakfast and lunch. At your own pace. Just get it done. And 30 oz between lunch and dinner. You guessed it. BEFORE you even think about reaching for snacks or food.
It’s a habit that pays off in so many ways, but is a learned one. Having some “rules” like this makes it easier to start!
Extra challenge- do it for 7 days straight and leave a comment below about what happened (to your energy, your mood, your workouts and your digestion- it’s freaking crazy).
2. Get yo-self a slow cooker. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just something that you can easily make shredded ORGANIC meat in (because hello, who doesn’t enjoy that?) and awesome soups and stews. To keep yo bones warm and your body feeling good, without any hands on work. Dump ingredients and broth in, set the timer and come back in 4-6 hours. Congratulations. You’re done.
Extra challenge: learn 1 new slow cooker recipe a month. 
Pick them carefully- going organic when you have the option. And still drinking water too. Because only tea will leave you dehydrated. See my current favorites for every mood & time of day, here.
Fun tip: try brewing loose leaf tea in a cute french press! I love this yerba mate tea for a great little energy boost on chilly mornings.
Extra challenge: Replace one of your cups of coffee or wine with 1 cup of tea (morning or night). How do you feel the rest of the day or the next day? Leave a comment below with your own favorite brands to try!
[top row: calming+ soothing {and caffeine free}. bottom row: energizing & invigorating {and caffeine present}. I love mixing them with a splash of coconut water! My favorite kind is the C2O brand– such a great flavor!]
4. Speaking of tea, throw out the ones that have been sitting there for years. Spice drawer too. And freezer while you’re at it. Contrary to popular belief, all of those things, in fact, DO go bad. It’s like they say with clothes- it’s not the amount that you have, it’s the quality and how functional they are to real life. I wrote an entire cookbook using under 10 spices, so if I can do it, you can do it.
Extra challenge: Take a month and track the spices, teas and freezer items you actually use. Then pare down the rest. Leave a comment below on which ones are your favorites, and how much easier it is to cook with more mental AND physical space.
5. Invest in good rainboots, an umbrella and a jacket you love. Keep them by the door. Go on walks even when it’s raining and you don’t feel like it this fall. Fresh air can cure most things. 
7. Don’t underestimate the value of a great candle. Not those horrid scented pumpkin kinds (which are also terrible for your health), but the unscented kind in a beautiful container of some kind. Light and color can have a huge uplifting effect on your mood, especially as it naturally gets a bit darker outside.
Glassybaby’s are my favorite, but Target has some great, more inexpensive ones too. I’m currently got my eyes on this one…
8. Green smoothie’s feeling too chilly in the morning for you? Try a pureed soup instead [like my Best Butternut Squash Soup or Carrot Ginger Soup].
The concept of “breakfast foods” is weird, if you think about it. It’s warm, filling and will power you right up. Optional to puree spinach in there too.
Extra challenge: Try this. Tell me how it goes. Share your favorite recipe below.
9. Learn how to cook squash so that it tastes good. They are naturally sweet, can be used in so many ways, have great nutrients, are satisfying and cheap. Aka, worth it. My favorite is the delicata squash because I’m a lazy cook. [See all my favorite squash recipes on the blog here, including some hilarious old video posts here and here on how to cut and cook them]
10. Don’t you dare buy Halloween candy before it’s actually Halloween. If you have treaters, go the day before. And buy something you don’t actually like. Then, buy yourself something you LOVE- a new cider, really good dark chocolate to smear with natural peanut butter and sea salt, ingredients for a homemade treat (watch the blog, I’ve got some festive ones coming for you!), a candle, magazine, an hour on pinterest by yourself, etc.
Just because it’s what you’ve always done doesn’t mean that you always have to do it that way. Disconnect what’s expected of you, and give yourself the freedom to choose and see things differently. And if that choice is halloween candy, it better be your favorite.
And then it better be out of your house the next day.
Extra challenge: Share what you would buy as your treat, and come back here and tell us if you actually did it. And how you felt after.
Questions or comments about any of the above? Would love to hear from you. Leave a note below. And a happy & healthy Fall to you!
Love these ideas? You’d love the cookbook then too. And be sure to check out the brand new Food Academy, now open for enrollment!
These are great tips!!
I love the idea of butternut squash soup for breakfast. My mother used to make a Chinese Rice Porridge for us in winter (on a homemade fish stock with a handful of leftover rice) which was a wonderful start to the day.