A morning in her shoes…
It’s been said time and time again that attaining a morning ritual or taking solo time before the pressures of the day begin, can truly help success, productivity and happiness.
Call me nosy, but i’ve always been curious about how other people spend their mornings before they arrive in the public eye polished for their day.
I wonder, how did their day start…have they eaten breakfast yet? Did they meditate? Did they already run 8km? Find out…
We will be asking a range of successful ladies from all over to find out what habits put the spring in their morning step.
This week, we have the glowing holistic nutritionist Jessica from ‘Wellness By Jessica’
Jess is a busy holistic nutritionist who works from The Tonic Room and The Exercise Room, both in Auckland City. Jess uses evidence-based science to offer education and guidance on how to heal your body through food, nutritional medicine and positive lifestyle changes. She’s also a well-known contributor and writer for various wellness publications, including her own blog – Wellness By Jessica.

Tell us, what does your morning look like as you roll out of bed…what habits or rituals do you have that keep you on top and in the game?
I usually wake up naturally between 6am-6.30am, and the first thing I do is put on some music and open the curtains. The exposure to natural light in the morning really helps to clear the sleep hormones from your brain and help you to feel much more awake.
What do you Drink?
Throughout the morning I normally drink about a litre of water with lemon juice and 2-3 table spoons of chia seeds in it. The water and chia seeds are great for digestion and efficient elimination. Chia seeds are also rich in omega 3 fatty acids, protein, fibre and calcium — I try to include them every day. Rehydrating in the morning is something I think it really important, as some mornings it can be 12 hours since I last ate or drank anything, and I wake up quite dehydrated. If I forget to rehydrate in the morning I find that I have a headache come 10am, lots of my clients experience this too and often think that it is a signal that they need a coffee, but for most people it is their body signally that it needs some water.
What do you Eat?
I never skip breakfast, because if I do I find myself craving carbohydrate rich food all day and can never seem to get on top of my appetite.
How do you Move?
Do you have a practice of stillness or quiet?
Another thing I do each morning when I wake up is write done everything that I need to remember for the day or the morning.
Can you share you fave go-to morning breakfast recipe?
My favourite go-to breakfast recipe is my home made Crunchy Granola. I normally make a double batch so that I have enough for two weeks. I have roughly ½ a cup with yoghurt or almond milk and top it with smashed berries, some passionfruit or some sliced banana.
Homemade Crunchy Granola
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole grain oats
- 1 cup of coconut threads
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
- 3tbs coconut oil
- 2 tbs maple syrup
- Pinch of saltOptional Extras
- 1/2 cup of puffed or normal buckwheat
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 goji berries
- 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (apricots, cranberries, raisins)
- 1/2 pistachio nuts
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts
Flavoring Options
Plain and simple: You can make the recipe as suggested with no additional flavors, it will still be really tasty!
Zesty Orange: Add 3 tbs of orange juice and the zest of one orange. Add this into the wet ingredients and follow instructions.
Chocolate: Add 2 tbs of cacao to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add 2 tbs of vanilla paste to the wet mixture.
Sweet and Spicy: Add 1 tsp of ground ginger powder and 1 tsp of cinnamon to the dry ingredients, mix well.
Method
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Melt the coconut oil and then whisk in the maple syrup and vanilla paste.
- Pour the coconut oil mixture over the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Spread mixture out over a lined baking tray.
- Place tray in the oven and leave for 20-30 minutes, be sure to keep an eye on it and turn it often.
- Remove tray from oven and leave to cool, store in an air-tight jar when cold.YUM!Find more delicious and nutritious recipes like this from Jessica on her website, www.wellnessbyjessica.com