The Move – Part 2

The Wait

Waiting is About Changing

Peach Crisp Ice Cream is creamy vanilla ice cream filled with chunks of peach crisp, a peach lover’s dream come true. With chunks of buttery brown sugar and oat crisp with syrupy peaches in every bite, this ice cream is irresistible.

Peach Crisp

You may have noticed that I’ve developed the habit of turning everything I possibly can into ice cream. I am a firm believer that ice cream can make almost any dessert even better.

This obsession began with this creamy and delicious apple crisp ice cream. It is the most amazing cinnamon-sweet baked apples with a crunchy, buttery streusel topping folded into homemade ice cream.

My love of ice creams with all the goodness combined in comes from those times, like right before bed when I want something sweet. But having a bowl of dessert with a scoop of ice cream on top is a bit much.

However, I feel way less guilt when I have a scoop of something like peach crisp ice cream. It is all the goodness of the fruit-filled dessert and ice cream combined and it satisfies that late-night craving.

That is, if my boys haven’t discovered it and polished off the ice cream before me. I have been known to change up which freezer and where I stash it. I can not share where that secret place is because they do occasionally read this blog now.

Ice Cream Making Tips

With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.

The important link between diet and good mental health is often overlooked. So here are six practical tips to help you put positivity back on your plate

Mental health has affected me in many ways over the years. I have watched close friends suffer and fail to manage illnesses, noticed mental health go uncared for, witnessed first-hand the stigma, and seen the personal struggles of people trying to get help, yet getting nowhere within an impersonal system.

Following my own mental health struggles, I have spent the past decade creating my own mental health handbook, that’s been my guide to life ever since.

This all started for me at the end of a five-year degree in fashion. I was at an all-time low, and just on the turning point of a period of intense depression and eating disorders, after losing someone I loved very much.

I had finally found the right combination of talking therapy and holistic treatments, and was opening up to the idea of getting better – but the missing link was finding some sort of passion again.

Portrait | Olivier Yoan for Gung Ho London

Fashion certainly wasn’t it, and neither was the food I had always previously adored. So, I set out to rewrite this story, and create a trend book ‘rebranding’ mental health with an emphasis towards wellness.

Exploring adaptogens (active ingredients in certain plants and mushrooms), rituals, and this new idea of wellbeing, was so exciting to me, and I jumped feet-first into a lifestyle that could feed my mind, too.

Many years, three restaurants, and hundreds of cookery classes later, Mind Food became a book earlier this year, and at a time where the world of mental health is changing, and our mental health as a nation is worse than ever. Here are my six practical ideas for positive mental health:

Mindset

This is all about prevention rather than cure, and sharing resources and foundations for good mental health, so that whatever you are going through, you have the tools to best support yourself and those around you.

We don’t always think about how food will make us feel, but understanding your personal recipe for feeling good is a very powerful tool. The idea of mind food is to include ingredients that can support you when you need to soothe, lift, balance,focus, or chill. This could be eating rosemary daily for better memory and focus, saffron tea for a natural lift each morning, or a cosy hemp hot chocolate for a moment of calm.

Whole foods

On the whole, mind food ingredients are eaten in their natural form – not only because unprocessed ingredients optimise taste and nutrition, but when you start any recipe with good ingredients, you can’t go wrong.

Leafy greens, rainbow vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans, healthy fats, herbs and spices, are all essential in a balanced diet. But the real key is biodiversity, which means eating a range of foods rather than always sticking to what you know. Try buying a different vegetable, or ordering s

Talking about mom burnout on the blog today.

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a wonderful morning so far. I’m meeting with a friend for coffee and then working on a Fit Team document for Self-care September to send out tomorrow. It’s not too late to join us here!

For today’s post, I wanted to talk a bit about mom burnout. While I’m in a positive space with motherhood, there have absolutely been times when I’ve felt overwhelmed and burned out. I wanted to share a bit about it in this post, along with some of the things I’ve learned, and always love hearing about your thoughts and perspectives, too. I also recognize that as a mom, I know I’m fortunate and privileged in many aspects of life and am grateful for all of them. There will always be those who have it better or worse than yourself; the best you can do is have gratitude for the blessings in your life, and compassion for those who are having a difficult time.

What is mom burnout exactly?

I think of it as a state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion that most moms are likely to experience at one point in their lives. I’ve learned over time that various factors can contribute to mom burnout. It can happen when you have maxed out your capacity to care for others, and it can also come from the invisible emotional and mental load mothers need to carry. Peer pressure, unrealistic expectations, and social media can play a part in causing mom burnout, and I think it’s SO important for moms to fill their own cups first.

Mom burnout should not be taken lightly, and if you feel like you are suffering, please reach out and get the help you deserve. Please keep in mind that I’m NOT a professional on this matter, just a mom sharing my story and things I’ve learned. You can absolutely love your kids like crazy and still experience mom burnout. It doesn’t mean you’re not a good mom; you just need a little extra TLC.

How to recover from mom burnout

Taking breaks and taking time to recharge

This can be so hard to do, especially if you have a tiny newborn. Take any opportunity you need to take a break and recharge, even if it’s for a short nap, a hot shower, or 10 minutes to blankly stare at the wall.

Talk it out

When you feel overwhelmed, whether you’re dealing with parenting exhaustion or life stuff, it can be so helpful to talk it out. It can be with a trusted friend, partner, or a professional, but often it can feel like a load has been lifted when you can speak your frustrations. Also, when you say things out loud, it’s easier to develop an action plan or objectively see the situation without so many emotions attached to it.

Prioritizing self care

This can be a tricky one, especially when you’re so devoted to caring for others, but I’m a big believer that you can’t pour from an empty cup. Take some time to do the self-care practices that you love in your routine, like your favorite weekly yoga class, a phone call with a friend, a hike or walk outside, time to read a book, whatever self care looks like for you. It also doesn’t have to be *all the things*; it could be one thing that you look forward to each week or each day.

Focus on the bare essentials

When you

Peach Crisp with fresh, sweet juicy peaches and a cinnamon, brown sugar topping served warm from the oven is a bowl of deliciousness.

Warm peach crisp is dessert perfection when topped with homemade vanilla ice cream. I am not sure there is a better combination.

Peach Crisp

Confession time – baking with peaches used to make me slightly crazy because of the way the peach flesh would attach to the pit. It was never easy to get out and I always felt like I was squishing the peach to do it.

Then I learned the difference between freestone and clingstone peaches. Now I always look for freestone whenever they’re available, which means the peach flesh is not attached to the pit and it pops out easier. I get it, it sounds silly but it was a game changer.

I have also learned that ripe peaches will smell, sweet and peachy. While that seems obvious, it wasn’t until I was able to find peaches at a local farmers’ market that were truly fresh from being picked that I really understood this difference.

Living in Ohio vs. Arizona I have really come to appreciate what we can get fresh from the farm here in Ohio. The freshness is like nothing I experienced in Arizona and I am definitely here for it!

When it comes to peeling peaches, it can be a pain if they aren’t perfectly ripe. Sometimes when baking I just don’t peel them.

If they are slightly difficult to peel and I don’t feel like letting them get a bit riper. I will go ahead and slice them skins and all and my dishes turn out just fine.

If I really want to peel them and the skins aren’t sliding off easily a quick blanch will do the trick. Just drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds and then immediately into an ice bath. The skins will literally slide right off.

Peach Crisp from Fresh Peaches

Fresh is my favorite way to make these but you can use frozen. If using frozen make sure they are thawed or adjust your cook