In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we have decided to offer up a few lists this month of tools/resources/things that just make your favorite RBDers’ hearts go pitter patter and their lives easier each day. This week’s post comes from Kara Marsee where we learn what helps keep her feeling healthy and invigorated every month of the year.

It’s Feburary, the month of hearts, and thinking about hearts also makes me think about health. Health = exercise and eating well, right? Here are two healthy things that I love to do.

I spend most of my time mothering two small children or working on my laptop, so it seems like I’m always hunching over someone … or something. That’s why I absolutely love Nia, a wellness practice that leads to better health and fitness through movement.

When I come out of a Nia class I feel recharged and uplifted, and my body feels like I’ve had a massage! During my Nia class I am reminded to breathe deeply and stretch, which really helps relieve tension and loosen up my constantly hunched shoulders. And  because the Nia program incorporates martial arts movements, I also get to take out aggressions through punches, kicks and even yells (if I feel like it).

I own some home workout videos, and I feel good about doing them, but with Nia, it is more than exercise. Nia helps me clear out of the static in my brain, connecting my spirit to music and giving way to movement – like becoming a part of an urban tribal dance. Check it out, you won’t be sorry!

As for the eating part of staying healthy, I turn to my other favorite health tool: a top-of-the-line blender called Vitamix. I feel very privileged to own a machine like the Vitamix because I can make my own salad dressings, smoothies, ice creams, soups, hummus, almond milk, applesauce … there’s nothing this baby can’t pulverize.

My favorite things to make are green smoothies, pesto and salad dressing. If you’ve never had a green smoothie before, I highly recommend them. We all know how good dark green leafy vegetables are for us, but what if you could eat them and have them taste like fruit? With a 40% greens, 60% fruit blend, a green smoothie is super delicious. My favorite green smoothie ingredients are fresh spinach and/or kale, mango, pineapple, a banana, a carrot and even a touch of fresh ginger or freshly picked mint from my garden. I’ve even made green smoothie popsicles! Eating healthy and using fresh ingredients to make drinks and food makes me feel incredibly good, especially when most purchased foods are overprocessed, full of additives and made of artificial ingredients I can’t even pronounce. The best part is that my kids love green smoothies too. What  could be better?

Salad dressing recipe:

1/2 red pepper

2 tomatoes (vine ripe)

2 T olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

3 dates, soaked in water for 20 min.

Dried basil, to taste