News — happiness

Bringing home a new baby can be overwhelming and without a doubt, exhausting. If it’s a couple’s first child or even fourth, the first few months following a new arrival are always hectic and tiring, yet somehow magical.

It can be difficult for new parents to think about food prep or recipes, let alone to prioritise healthy eating at all. While trying to recover from the most physically and emotionally exhausting event that is childbirth, they have their hands full (literally), they are tired and they are hungry. That’s why healthy, wholesome and delicious prepared meals can be an absolute lifesaver during that precious and all-consuming time.

We are absolutely certain that new parents will appreciate our lovingly prepared meals delivered to their doorstep, with no prep of any kind required – no chopping, no mixing, simply heat and eat. The perfect gift to cut out the stress of shopping, cooking and washing up.

Our hand-prepared frozen meals are packed full of nutritious fresh ingredients (locally sourced where possible) to support the postpartum healing period and allow more time for care and rest for the new parents. Each Wholesomeness meal comes labelled with nutritional information and microwave and oven heating instructions.

A Wholesomeness gift voucher would make the perfect gift for new parents. Alternatively, if you would prefer to just purchase and send the new parents a box once the little one has arrived, you can do that as well.

For a couple who have only just become parents, we would recommend our pack of 14 x one-portion meals. This would provide the new parents with 7 nights of dinners. For an extra treat, add on a pack of our yummy guilt-free vegan cakes (a huge customer favourite) for the couple to enjoy together once the baby is (finally!) asleep.

For families who already have children, our family meal pack would be perfect. Our family meal pack includes 5 x 1.2kg kid-friendly meals (each meal is designed to feed two adults + two children).

Purchase a gift voucher here.

Order and send meals to the new parents here. Delivery is every Tuesday.

“A new baby is like the beginning of all things…hope, a dream of possibilities.”

- Eda LaShan

Sometimes a quick boost of self-confidence and motivation can be found in a few positive words. In fact, research has found that positive thinking and positive thoughts can add great value to your overall health and wellbeing. Thinking positively can broaden your mind and open you up to more possibilities in life, a skill that is greatly beneficial when you are faced with challenges that are sometimes hard to overcome.

Sometimes, all it takes is one uplifting quote to help you gain a little more perspective on your life, boost your mood and give you a burst of inspiration.  

A few of our favourite “feel good” quotes include:

1. “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” – Willie Nelson
2. “Work hard, stay positive, and get up early. It’s the best part of the day.” – George Allen, Sr
3. “Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James
4. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift; that’s why it’s called The Present.” – Bil Keane
5. “Just when the caterpillar thought its world was over, it became a butterfly.”
6. “Sometimes, there is no harm in putting off a piece of work until another day.” – The Little Prince
7. "Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who you are." - Chinese Proverb
8. “A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” – Bruce Lee
9. “Each day provides its own gifts.” —Marcus Aurelius
10. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.” — Dr. Seuss

References:

Fredrickson, B., Cohn, M., & Finkel, S. (2008). Open hearts build lives: positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. J Pers Soc Psychol, 95(5): 1045-1062.

The number one reason that people workout is to lose weight or to look good, but the truth is that there are so many other benefits of moving your body and being physically active. Once you start to shift your mindset to one that’s more focussed on feeling good rather than looking good, you’ll start to see exercise as more fun and enjoyable which will help you get into a healthy cycle of motivation, energy and accomplishment.

 1. Improves your mental health

Exercise releases endorphins which are neurochemicals that affect our brain and our mood. Regular movement helps to regulate our moods, relieve anxiety and depression, boost our energy and improve our focus.

 2. Improves your sleep

Better sleep helps with stress management, boosts our mood and gives our brain quality time to reset, which helps with learning and memory.

 3. Self-esteem

Regular movement that you love doing helps to release all those happy chemicals. Getting stronger and fitter helps us to feel proud, accomplished and empowered.

 4. Improves your long term health

Regular physical activity gives us a healthier heart (reduces our risk of cardiovascular diseases), stronger lungs (reduces our risk of cardiorespiratory diseases), improves our posture (which improves our confidence), improves our bone health (reduces our risk of injury) and gives us a better quality of life.

 5. Boosts your lymphatic system

The lymphatic system is a network of tissues, vessels and organs that help to rid the body of toxins and unwanted materials. Movement and contractions of the muscles stimulate the lymphatic system to pump fluid around your body, which helps to cleanse, detox and boost your immune system. A healthier immune system means less colds and illnesses and a reduced risk of cancer and other diseases.

So find your groove with the type of movement that you love doing and you will see how wonderfully beneficial moving your body can be!

Author:
Lisa Cutforth
B.Sc Nutrition with Psychology (Dual Degree)
Consulting Clinical Nutritionist to The Banyans Wellness Retreat
Owner and Managing Director of Wholesomeness

It’s true, taking care of yourself is the kindest thing you can do. Nurturing your body, mind and soul with self-care activities helps to add a sense of calm to your life, recharges your mental batteries and helps to create joy within yourself.

There are four different types of self-care:

Physical: taking care of your physical body (e.g. physical movement, stretching, healthy food).

Emotional: activities that help you connect, process and reflect on your emotions (e.g. kindness, stress management, journaling).

Social: activities that nurture your relationships with the people you love (e.g. time together, having strong support systems)

Spiritual: activities that revolve around your values (doesn’t have to be religious, can also be activities that nurture your internal thinking or your sense of perspective). For example: time alone, meditation, time in nature).

You may find it easier to look after certain aspects of your self-care than others, but it is important to create a balance by working on them all.

Do you allow yourself “me” time each day? Indulging in just 15 minutes of self-care a day can make a huge difference. We’ve put together a list of different self-care activities you can do – for when you have 5, 15 or 30 minutes of spare time.

Self-care for when you only have 5 minutes:

• Take a few deep "self regulating" breaths...with a longer exhale than inhale..like a long slow sigh
• Self check in - check in with yourself - “how are you feeling?”  - label a feeling. 

• Listen to your favourite song
• Stretch your body
• Sit in the sun
• Smile!
• Compliment someone
• If you need to, have a good cry (and use the expensive tissues!)
• Give a loved one a hug
• Forgive yourself for what you couldn’t do today

Self-care for when you only have 15 minutes:

• Sit down, and have a tea, coffee, water and chillax

• Read a chapter of your book
• Organise your desk
• Pat a furry friend

• Pamper yourself (shower/bath with candles, give yourself a mani/pedi, wash and blow dry your hair) 

• Call someone you love
• Watch a funny YouTube clip
• Make your bed – fresh sheets!

Self-care for when you have 30 minutes:

• Take a walk outside - or a run or a swim
• Cook a new recipe - find one that can be prepared in a short time

• Take a nap
• Do a guided meditation
• Do a gentle yoga class
• Unplug from technology and do an activity that involves repetition to promote calm (e.g. folding laundry).
• Make something without caring if it’s “good” or not (e.g. knitting, baking, painting)

Author:
Lisa Cutforth
B.Sc Nutrition with Psychology (Dual Degree)
Consulting Clinical Nutritionist to The Banyans Wellness Retreat
Owner and Managing Director of Wholesomeness

Author:
Lisa Cutforth
B.Sc Nutrition with Psychology (Dual Degree)
Consulting Clinical Nutritionist to The Banyans Wellness Retreat
Owner and Managing Director of Wholesomeness