Seize the Season: Week 4
We are so excited to be back after a two week break over the holidays. We know the holidays aren’t always easy for everyone, so here’s to hoping you were able to squeeze in some time do some things just for you.
The weather has been unseasonably warm, but it looks like we might be moving into a more winter-like forecast very soon. Who’s ready for some snow?! I know I am!
This week Jenn is recapping her wintry trip to Minnesota, and we have curated a winter-themed reading list just for you. Our giveaway this week complements reading perfectly. Two lucky recipients will win a Wander Women mug filled with some of my favorite teas and a jar of locally produced honey from Meadow Blazing Star. To enter to win, show us how you’re seizing the season by using #WanderWomenSeizetheSeason on your social media posts. As a reminder, if you’ve used the hashtag but haven’t won yet, you will continue to be entered in each week’s drawing.
Ice Climbing in Minnesota
A recap of Jenn’s snow and ice-filled weekend retreat in Sandstone, Minnesota
I had the opportunity to seize the season and head north to Minnesota for the weekend to spend time with a group of amazing women who are part of the Upper Midwest division of the Adventure Mamas Initiative. The Adventure Mamas Initiative is a nationwide nonprofit organization that supports maternal wellness. They provide educational resources, build community, and make nature and challenge-based experiences accessible to a diverse community of women throughout all phases of motherhood.
We spent the weekend in a beautiful log cabin at the Crooked Creek Retreat and went ice climbing at the Sandstone Ice Festival.
Prior to going on this trip I had never met any of the women I was staying with nor I had I ever been ice climbing. I was quite anxious about all of this on my way up there, and questioned my decision to do this more than once. Doing new things and meeting new people can be scary - it really helped me experience what women going on a Wander Women trip might feel like before they attend.
The weekend ended up being absolutely wonderful and soul-filling. I met new friends, learned something new, and I got to play in the snow and on the ice! One thing that stood out to me at the Ice Festival was the fact that we were outside all day in 25 degree weather with lots of other people. There was a big fire pit, food tents, a coffee truck, a chili fundraiser, and general merriment. A true embrace and celebration of winter and all of its beauty and outdoor recreational opportunities. MORE OF THIS!!!
Winter Reading Suggestions
Settle in with a good book, delicious tea, and cozy blankets
Reading is one of my favorite winter activities, especially when cuddled under the blankets with a warm cup of tea and a fire burning. I’m pretty sure I read more books in the winter than I do in any other season. For those of you that also love to read, I put together this list of some great winter-themed books. I encourage you to check the books out from your library or buy them from a locally owned independent bookstore, like my favorite, Beaverdale Books, in Des Moines.
Fiction
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Birchbark House series by Louise Erdich
The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
Non-Fiction
Woodswoman I: Living Alone in the Adirondack Wilderness by Anne LaBastille
Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North by Blair Braverman
Annapurna: A Woman’s Place by Arlene Blum
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakaeur
Unbound: A Story of Snow and Self-Discovery by Steph Jagger
Boundless: Tracing Land and Dream in a New Northwest Passage by Kathleen Winter
We Took to the Woods by Louise Dickinson Rich
Get Outside This Week
Local outdoor activities and ideas to get you outside!
Each week we’ll give you five ideas to get you outside and moving, even in the colder temperatures.
Join the 52 Hike Challenge as a way to encourage yourself to get outside for a hike at least once a week! Or the 365 Mile Challenge.
Find a bird blind near you and engage in some bird watching. A lot of county conservation parks have bird blinds. Here’s a list of the bird blinds in Polk County parks.
Go on a weekend getaway and stay in one of the many cabins in our state parks and county conservation parks.
Scavenger hunts aren’t just for kids! This will encourage you to slow down and really take in your surroundings while you’re out for a walk or a hike. Go on a winter nature scavenger hunt and look for the following things (feel free to add your own): pinecone, cardinal, red berries, animal tracks (bonus if you identify them!), fungus, moss, lichen, chickadee (hearing one counts too), thorns, bird of prey, icicle, bird nest.
Bundle up and head to a park with a book and read your book in the park.
WEEKLY EVENTS
We scoured the local events calendars to find some great outdoor, outdoor-themed, and winter wellness activities. If we missed something, send us an e-mail at hello@wanderwomeniowa.com and we’ll add it to the calendar!
Tuesday, January 7
Restorative Yoga & Sounds for the Soul
Johnston Commons Ice Rink Ribbon Cutting
Friday, January 10
Star Party at Science Center of Iowa
Full Moon Snow Shoe Hike at Grandview Park (Des Moines)
Women in the Woods with Wine - Newton
Saturday, January 11
Late Night at Seven Oaks Recreation
Explore Your Outdoors: Animal Tracks - Story County
Cross Country Ski & Snowshoe - Jasper County
Soul-Filling
Weekly Journal Prompt and Meditation
Every week we will provide you with a weekly meditation or reading and a journal prompt designed to help you slow down and get in touch with yourself during these colder winter months. Prepare a cup of tea, grab a cozy blanket, get your journal, and settle in for some soul-filling time. Take a moment to to take a few long, slow, and deep breaths before beginning. Release tension in your jaw, neck, and back. Give yourself permission to relax.
Thanks to a beautiful conversation over coffee with Michelle from Radiant Wellness, I bought a book titled Daring to Rest: Reclaim Your Power With Yoga Nidra Rest Meditation by Karen Brody, and I am now going through the 40-day program as laid out in the book.
If you’re not familiar with yoga nidra, it is a meditative practice that allows you to experience deep rest and relaxation. And, it has truly helped me embrace slowing down and resting up in a world where we are told to constantly go, go, go!
It’s been very liberating to take time for myself every day to allow myself to full relax and do nothing. I highly suggest trying it! Below is the phase one yoga nidra practice from Karen, so you can give it a try. If you want more yoga nidra meditations, I recommend using the Insight Timer app (it’s free!) and listening to one of the many they offer on the app. Give it a try, and let me know what you think!
Weekly Journal Prompts
Sleep and rest are incredibly important to our well being, yet they both seem so illusive to many of us. Getting good sleep and rest is an incredible way to practice self-care.
What currently stands in the way from allowing you to get good rest? What are some things you could adjust in your life to make room for more rest and down time?
After a yoga nidra session take some time to free write in your journal. Just start writing whatever comes to your mind.
What social constructs have kept you from allowing yourself to slow down, do less, and rest? What are some ways you can chip away at those constructs to grant yourself permission to do less and rest more?
Weekly Winter Wellness
Seasonal recipes & wellness tips
Beth from Nourished DSM will be providing us with weekly seasonal recipes that taste good and nourish our bodies. Beth is passionate about nourishing her community with beautiful food. You can find out more by emailing her at nourished.dsm@gmail.com or following her on IG at @nourished.dsm
Carrot Coconut Lime Slaw
This slaw is perfect for a day hike, picnic, potluck,etc! The slaw would also be AMAZING on seared Portabello Mushroom Tacos! This recipe is vegan.
4-6 large Carrots Coarsely Grated
1 1/2 TBSP White Sesame Seeds
1 TSP Black Sesame Seeds
1 TBSP Hemp Seeds
1/4 C Cranberries (or any dried on hand fruit Cherries, Currents, Raisins)
6 TBSP Toasted Coconut Flakes (quickly toast in pan or oven)
Salt/Pepper to Taste
Chopped Cilantro to Taste
Dressing:
1 TSP Olive Oil
1 Lime Zested and Juiced
1/4 TSP Berbere or Curry Powder (optional)
Start off by grating the Carrots into a large mixing bowl. Season with Salt & Pepper and massage into the Carrots. Taste to see if the seasoning is at preferred level. Next add Sesame Seeds, Hemp Seeds, Cranberries, Coconut Flakes. In a small bowl, mix Olive Oil, Lime, Berbere seasoning, and Zest. Drizzle over slaw, add Cilantro and toss to coat. Enjoy!! (If you are looking for Plant-Based, omit the Olive Oil and just use Lime Juice!)
Jess Schroeder from Expedition Wellness
This week we also have healthy eating tips from Jess Schroeder, a registered and licensed dietitian and owner of Expedition Wellness, a local business that strives to help women live their best life by providing weekly accountability, individualized meal plans and wellness coaching. Jess enjoys guiding her clients on an individualized journey to a life filled with health and happiness. She is passionate about vegetables and loves to educate her clients and followers on ways to incorporate vegetables in a tasty, fun way. She is also passionate about the outdoors and enjoys helping get others outdoors. She loves being a Wander Women co-guide!!! When not with her clients or co-guiding with Wander Women she is spending time with her family and friends, running marathons and planning the next big travel destination for her family.
Jess’s Five Tips for Staying Healthy During the Winter Months
Fight the urge to turn to unhealthy comfort foods like heavy casseroles, pasta dishes, etc. Instead fill up with lots of vegetables, in particular roasted hearty vegetables like rutabaga, turnips, celery root, parsnips, sweet potatoes, which are all plentiful in the winter months. Eating more vegetables all time of the year is good for health, but even more so over the Winter months to help keep your immune system strong. These vegetables are hearty and super satisfying this time of year.
Soups filled with a lean protein + vegetables makes the perfect warm meal to come home to with very little time to prep, which ends up being a win-win! Follow along on my Pinterest page for fun, healthy soup ideas.
Water! We hear it all the time, “Make sure you are drinking a minimum of 64oz. Of water daily.” We know we need it, but it seems so much harder during the cold months. Instead of focusing on drinking cold or room temperature water, try heating up your water, drinking from a coffee mug and adding a slice of fresh lemon. I guarantee you will find it so much easier to meet your daily water goal.
Eat your citrus! Along with vegetables, fruit is filled with Vitamin C to help keep your immune system strong to help you fight off illness during the Winter months. Citrus fruits in particular are in season AND super high in Vitamin C. Incorporate 1-2 servings/day to help keep your immune system strong.
Fill-up on protein! Make sure all meals and snacks include some kind of protein whether plant or animal based. Protein is essential for growth and maintenance of all cells in body and helps you stay full! Everyday we break down our cells and protein is needed to help build them back up! Wow that’s big! Find ways to incorporate protein into your day like through edamame, kale, broccoli, peas, beans, lentils, high protein waffles, and so much more! It doesn’t have to just be protein shakes and chicken.