Minimalist Approach to Health
March Monthly Digest: Medicinal Mushrooms, Sober-curiosity & The Noma Guide to Fermentation
We’ve all heard of minimalism…it’s a social movement and aesthetic trend that keeps popping up decade after decade. Influencing the world of art, fashion, architecture and health—just to name a few.
Many industries (including the health sector) have applied minimalism to their marketing and branding with simple labels and muted tones to highlight their products’ quality and elitism.
This approach is shallow and misleading as it doesn’t align with the true values of minimalism…much the same way that green washing tricks people into thinking a product is more environmentally friendly than it actually is.
The true values of minimalism don’t come in an aesthetic bottle of pills…they come as thoughts and actions that enhance your life in simple and authentic ways.
Five Minimalist Values To Improve Your Health
Intentionality is the act of being deliberate and purposeful with our life and decisions. Your health doesn’t just look after itself; you need to stop and think about how you are going to nurture your body and mind. This may look like setting wellness goals and putting strategies in place to help you reach success.
You can’t do everything at once, therefore you need to set priorities. What wellness goals do you wish to achieve? Lose weight? Reduce your anxiety? Conceive a baby? You may have a long list of wants and desires, unfortunately you don’t have enough energy, time or mental space to achieve them all at once. Choose the most important and work your way down to list from there.
It’s easy to get caught up in all the supplements, exercise routines and wellness practices prescribed on the internet. As hard as it may be, it’s important to choose quality over quantity. Instead of buying a dozen supplements of average quality and half-heartedly racing through several exercises, you’re better off choosing fewer strategies of higher quality and really making it count. Remember “less is more”.
Speaking of the internet; miracle workouts and magic pills come and go like the wind. We can get caught up in the latest wellness trend only for it to be debunked moments later. On the other hand, there are tried and true strategies that have stood the test of time. Make an intentional decision to choose timelessness over trends.
Attitude is the key to success. The mind and the body are intimately linked. How you manage your thoughts will ultimately affect how you progress with your healthy eating, regular exercise, sleep quality and mental health. Choose to have a positive attitude.
To embrace minimalism on your health journey remember to be intentional, set priorities, choose quality over quantity and timelessness over trends, whilst fostering a positive attitude.
March Menu
Book Club: Foundations of Flavour: The Noma Guide to Fermentation by Redzepi & Zilber
With all the hype and controversy surrounding Noma closing their doors for good, it’s only befitting that we read and review their highly acclaimed cookbook to see what all the fuss is about.
Google “best fermentation books” and you’ll find this book consistently sitting in the top three. However, peruse the reviews and you’ll discover an equally passionate group of Noma haters.
Curious at to why? So am I! Let’s crack the cover and find out.
Healthy Habits: Sober-curiosity and the Damp Lifestyle
“Responsible Drinking? Now that’s an oxymoron.” ― Aaron Howard
You used to have to pick a side…alcohol lover or hater, wet or dry, fun or boring. Choose anything in-between and people give you the stink eye—it’s too much for their tiny brains to comprehend.
Not anymore! “Damp” is the newest drinking lingo hitting the bars. Sober-curious tipplers are joining the social wellness movement of mindful drinking. They’re questioning why we drink? when we drink? and what we drink?
Maturing beyond the alcohol is good or evil argument, and instead assessing their personal relationship with booze and drinking culture as a whole.
Wondering if alcohol is unhealthy? What a “damp” lifestyle is? What alternative beverages are available (other than sickly sweet mocktails)?
Grab a drink and join us for the Healthy Habits Newsletter.
Kitchen Community: Mushrooms as Medicine
Mushrooms are trending hard this year…we’re talking about the medicinal kind (not the magic ones; although…). Lion’s Mane, Turkey Tails and Oyster mushrooms (sounds more like a zoo) are just the tip of the fungus. There’s a bunch of deliciously exotic options to savour.
Whether you salivate or gag at the thought of mushies, you’ll want to consider incorporating them into your health regime. They’re a powerhouse of important vitamins and have shown to support the immune system, improve brain function, have anti-cancer properties and—you’ll have to read the Kitchen Community to find out more!
Recommendations
Stop chasing purpose and focus on wellness
Miraculous moulds
How to make easy vegetable soups without a recipe
How Americans are tricked into buying fake food
K.I.S.S
Have you heard of the K.I.S.S method? It stands for Keep It Simple Sweetheart/Stupid. This is what minimalism boils down to…keeping it simple.
Simple diets, simple exercise, simple sleep, simple relationships, simple environments, simple strategies, simple solutions….
Choose one area of your life and make the conscious decision to K.I.S.S.
Question: What facet of your health do you need to K.I.S.S?