I had a day off recently and after cleaning the house and completing all the work I had set for myself, I found that I had a few hours to spare.

This rarely happens these days and I found myself wondering, then worrying, 'what am I going to do with my time?' I started to get overwhelmed by all the things I wanted to do but I only had 2 hours, 'how would I fit them all in?'

I realised that it has become easier to do things for my family and friends than it is for myself, and more alarmingly I had forgotten what it is that I enjoy!

After listening to a 'The Mindful Kind' podcast by Rachael Kable (http://www.rachaelkable.com/podcast/) I decided on doing two things with my time.

Number 1: I was going to cook something that I enjoy (not for family) and that would be nourishing but tasty.

Number 2: I was going to go for a walk with no set 'exercise' goal in mind, just for the pleasure of it.

I was feeling like some comfort food and wanting something simple to prepare, I decided on making an apple, blueberry and rhubarb crumble (I used the recipe from 'Whole by Natural Harry'). It was full of yummy fresh fruit, almond meal, coconut, oats, tahini and maple syrup.

I listened to some music as I prepared the crumble and without the pressure of children or 'time' I just enjoyed the experience. As I was doing so I realised that I hadn't felt like this about cooking for quite some time.

Being a Nutritionist I place a lot of emphasis on providing nutritionally balanced meals and use up a lot of energy thinking about things like 'has my daughter had enough vegetables today?'

I enjoyed my crumble after my walk with some creamy greek yoghurt and even managed to sit down while I ate it!

I know that I will not get another 2 hours like this for quite some time, but it got me thinking that perhaps I need to schedule some time for me, even just once a month if I can, nothing fancy.

Because after having these 2 hours I picked my daughter up, felt more energised and calm, and enjoyed playing with her without feeling guilty about having the list of 'all the things I need to do' pressing on my mind.

Some food for thought.

x