Challenge Tips

So I always make sure I leave reusable bags in the trunk of my car! That way, I'm always prepared to use them again and again when I go grocery shopping. One tip I want to share is once you unload groceries, make sure you put those bags back to the trunk! :)

Over the past 9 days, you’ve used a large portion of your pantry staples. Now it’s time to stock up again. Let’s end this 10-day challenge by re-filling your pantry with healthy, long-lasting options that allow you to continue upcycling your food. When shopping for groceries, consider these tips to continue to reduce food waste, refresh your dishes, ...

Grains like rice, quinoa, and oats, are a crucial part of a balanced diet, providing energy and supporting overall health. Each person’s recommended daily intake of grains varies, but it’s generally around 6 ounces , with at least half of them being whole grains. What kinds of grains are in your pantry right now? See if you have any of these: Brown rice ...

Rice, one of the world's most consumed staples, is a fantastic source of carbohydrates, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals. This beloved food has been cultivated for more than 8,000 years , playing a vital role in countless cultures and cuisines. Today, let's elevate your rice game by mixing it with other common pantry ingredients. Whether ...

Pasta is a beloved staple and often the foundation of a hearty meal. But did you know you can transform your leftover, cooked pasta into a tasty and healthy snack? Today we’re bringing you a twist — pasta chippies! Pasta chippies are delicious, crispy bites that can replace snacks like potato chips, which are usually loaded with salt, fat, and other ...

Ah, the one-dish wonder. Did you know that casseroles have a rich history dating back to the 18th century ? They gained popularity in the United States because of their convenience and versatility. Many casserole recipes use ingredients often found stored away in the pantry. For example, the classic tuna noodle casserole is made with canned tuna, ...

Beans are a pantry staple for many people, and for good reason. They're versatile and loaded with nutrition. For example, black beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas all have plenty of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. And when you make them the star of your meal, they’ll give you sustained energy and improved digestive health. Today’s upcycle ...

Besides being delicious, tomato sauce is packed with nutrients. It’s rich in vitamins like A, C, and K, as well as essential minerals like potassium and folate. It’s also a great source of antioxidants, particularly lycopene, which evidence shows can potentially lower your risk of chronic diseases . Today, upcycle ingredients you already have on ...

Do you want to use your pantry ingredients for something quick, convenient, and nutritionally balanced? Look no further than a stir-fry. These popular dishes usually have the perfect combo of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables, making them a wholesome (and mouth-watering) choice. They’re also quick and simple to prepare — perfect for anyone ...

It's day 2 of  the  Upcycle Your Pantry challenge, powered by Compass One Healthcare . We’re in the thick of the fall season, and no matter where you live, the days are getting cooler. This time of year, there's nothing like a warm bowl of soup. This comfort food is the perfect way to harness the power of your pantry staples. Let’s create a versatile soup base ...

Welcome to day 1 of the  Upcycle Your Pantry challenge, powered by Compass One Healthcare . Before you can leverage the nutritious food in your pantry, you need to know what you have. Once you know what hidden treasures lie within your pantry, you can make the most of what you already have. Follow these steps: Clear the shelves: Begin by clearing off your ...

It’s the final day of the Level Up Challenge , sponsored by Humana ! Today, let’s grow your optimism so you can build a future filled with health, wellness, and success. Research reveals that thinking positively about your future is a powerful motivator. By imagining your best possible future self, you're increasing your present happiness. You’re ...

Today we are focusing on recognizing and amplifying what's already bringing positive results into your health journey.  When you know what's working well for your health and well-being, you're tapping into a winning formula. Prioritize your successful strategies to maximize your efforts and boost your confidence and motivation. It's like ...

How often do you step outside your comfort zone? Getting uncomfortable is a good way to make progress toward your goals. Research shows that sometimes, we need to put ourselves in circumstances that seem intimidating to improve in life and at work. Introducing novelty into your routine is like a breath of fresh air. Novel experiences trigger a ...

How often do you exceed your expectations? It may be worth it to go the extra mile. For example, the American Heart Association says that those who exercise beyond the recommended guidelines — engaging in 300 to 600 minutes of moderate exercise per week instead of the standard 150 minutes — had a lower risk of death from any cause compared with those who ...

How inventive can you get when it comes to your health goals? Today, let’s weave innovation into your well-trodden health journey. Get creative and think of some unique ways to elevate your health game. Here are a few examples to inspire those creative juices: Recipe revamp: If you already eat healthy, how about giving it a twist? Experiment with ...

Yesterday, you figured out how to adjust your current routine to level up your healthy habit. For example, if you want to get more sleep, you’ll probably have to go to bed earlier, which means you must also finish your other tasks earlier. This requires a slight shift in your routine. You only have so much time and energy in one day. To stretch a healthy ...

Welcome to day 4 of the Level Up Challenge , sponsored by Humana ! Now you know what healthy habit you want to improve and are motivated to do it. Let’s practice goal visualization. How will you get from where you are to where you want to be? What steps will get you to the next level? Follow this goal visualization practice from the Greater Good Science Center ...

Welcome to day 3 of the Level Up Challenge , sponsored by Humana ! Today’s strategy for leveling up your health: Harnessing your unique strengths to propel your wellness journey forward. Studies show that focusing on our strengths can boost happiness and reduce depression. Additional research found that it increases well-being and ...

Welcome to day 2 of the Level Up Challenge , sponsored by Humana ! Motivation propels us toward our goals. What fuels your determination? Is it physical rewards, like how healthy behaviors make your body feel? Or is it an intrinsic pull, like feeling good about investing in your well-being? Today, your mission is to identify what keeps you moving toward a ...

Welcome to the Level Up Challenge, sponsored by Humana! Before you can take your healthy habits to the next level, let’s take inventory. Think of today’s task as examining the roots before the tree grows taller. What are you currently doing that’s improving your mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual well-being? Knowing where you stand now ...

Congratulations on making it to the last day of the Build Your Self-Care Routine Challenge powered by CeraVe! We hope your simple self-care task is becoming a natural and necessary part of your day. If you’ve successfully turned your self-care habit into a ritual, congrats! We encourage you to keep performing your ritual as long as it serves you. For ...

As nurses, we face serious issues, so it’s even more important to be gentle and forgiving with ourselves” -  health coach Camille Adair, RN The golden rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated. As a nurse, you have great empathy and compassion for other people. What would happen if you treated yourself the same way? Your self-care goal might not ...

When you have a ritual, you’re more focused on the experience of the task than simply getting it done. It’s like being mindful of the journey, rather than just honing in on the destination. But you’re human, and there will be times when your focus and concentration are fleeting. Applying mindfulness during your ritual can help. Mindfulness means ...

Is your self-care goal becoming more of a habit, now? If so, that’s good. If not, maybe you need to make your self-care into more of a ritual. Ritualizing a task takes focus and makes it more meaningful. You are very mindful of what you’re doing and why. It becomes something you practice regularly.  And rituals lay the groundwork for remarkable ...

Is your self-care reward worth the effort? Pleasure or disappointment are the feedback your brain uses to decide if a task is worthwhile. If you’re not experiencing a “reward” from your self-care habit, you’re less likely to keep doing it. We’re at a point in the challenge when you might want to step back and examine the outcome of your new habit. Do you ...

We’re halfway through the challenge, and you should now have some self-care in your routine. How’s it going? As you complete your self-care activity, you should feel some type of “reward.” The reward for any habit is the end result. For example, if exercising for 30 minutes is your self-care habit, the reward is how you feel when you’re done — increased ...

Have you heard of a habit loop ? It’s a concept originally described by Charles Duhigg in his book The Power of Habit . Today, there are many variations of the loop. Regardless, the cue is always the first part of the habit loop. It acts as a catalyst for an automatic behavior to start. To create a habit, you must have a cue that encourages a change in behavior. ...

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”  – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Now that you have your self-care SMART goal , let’s create a plan for accomplishing it. For example, if your goal is to exercise for 30 minutes at least 3 times a week, how will you carve out time in your schedule? What time of day will you exercise? And what types of exercise will you do? ...

“If we don't know how we're feeling, what drives us, and what our needs are, we can't set appropriate goals” - #healthynurse &  health coach Camille Adair, RN . No matter what self-care activity you incorporate into your day, it’s going to take some focus and dedication. Setting goals can help you keep your eyes on the prize. Think about what you need ...

Take a moment to think about what kind of self-care you're lacking right now. Check in with yourself by asking, “How am I feeling? What do I need in this moment?” Before you decide on what you will do as self-care, it’s important to take time for self-awareness. When you want to add healthy self-care habits into your routine, it's easy to set your sights on ...

“Sometimes in life, we just need someone who will be there for us. Someone who will listen. Someone who will understand.”    – Anonymous Your social network, or "social blanket," is one of the greatest indicators of your well-being. This includes friends, coworkers, neighbors, and relatives. Everyone needs someone they can talk to, get advice from, ...

You know that feeling you get when you step outside and take a deep breath of fresh air? It’s almost like a weight is lifted from your chest and you can finally breathe. Research shows that people often feel positive emotions like connectedness and hope when they’re outside. And when you’re in the throes of burnout, you need to generate as many positive ...

Silence has restorative powers — even more so than listening to calming music. Don’t believe us? Researchers discovered that sitting in silence can lower blood pressure and heart rate better than spending the same amount of time listening to relaxing music. And in a study of mice , 2 hours of silence each day encouraged the mice’s brains to develop new ...

Can learning mindfulness reduce burnout? Research varies, but one study’s results are promising. Following their participation in an 18-hour mindfulness program, the study participants (who were all health care providers) showed a marked improvement in their levels of burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress compared to how they felt before ...

“Rest is more than a good night’s sleep,” says Udaya Thomas, PhD, MSN, MPH, APRN. “Taking ‘rest stops’ throughout the day can improve your mood, reduce anxiety, boost mental clarity and energy, and increase your ability to give and receive compassion.” What does a “rest stop” look like? Resting for whole-body health can be: Pausing to take a few deep ...

"Gratitude is more of a compliment to yourself than someone else."      – Raheel Farooq If you’ve done any of our past gratitude challenges, you understand the impact being grateful has on mental health . It can help us cope with stressful situations, including those times when we’re feeling burnt out. In fact, one study examined the positive effects ...

Think about your professional identity and your personal identity. Are they separate and unique? Or do they overlap so much, they’re practically the same? There’s no denying that your career is important. You’ve spent years in nursing school training to get where you are today. You dedicate your days to helping other people get well. You make a ...

Feeling burnt out at work is your body’s way of telling you that you’re stressed. But it doesn’t mean you’re failing. If you’re feeling burnt out, you’re dealing with emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. That probably means you’re doing way too much because you feel like you have no choice. One of the ways we do too much is to try to do it all once, to ...

  “Outer order contributes to inner calm.”   – Gretchen Rubin Are you surrounded by constant noise and a cluttered environment? Do you go home after a chaotic workday to a messy house full of stuff? Are you overwhelmed by the never-ending-ness of it all? If you’re feeling stressed, anxious, and overstimulated by your environment, you might be dealing ...

Today is day 1 of our #healthynurse Busting Burnout challenge . Thank you for joining us! You give and give almost every second of the day. But how often do you focus on yourself?   When you constantly pour from your cup without filling it back up, you’re going to get drained. But do you feel guilty when you do something for you? Do you beat yourself up during ...

Rewards work as motivation for many people because they physically change the brain. Science shows that rewards release dopamine, a “feel-good” hormone linked with feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. And after accomplishing a major feat, you deserve to feel good about yourself! Every person should reap the rewards of their hard ...

You know that feel-good emotion you get when your favorite song comes on the radio? Music has the power to lift our spirits in a matter of seconds. Research proves that music has a positive effect on brain health as well as our emotional well-being by: Boosting the immune system Evoking memories Improving cognitive skills Lowering stress Reducing ...

There’s no doubt that walking benefits your body, but did you know it also improves your cognitive health ? Let’s cross 2 hurdles with 1 leap by hydrating ourselves during a short, brisk walk. Not only are you marching toward your hydration goal for the day, but you’re also giving your body the movement it needs — and boosting your brain power. Fill up your ...

You may be wondering, what is exercise doing in a hydration challenge? Certain workouts, like strength training, help to build muscle mass. And as your amount of lean muscle increases, the amount of water stored in your body also increases. Give your body the ability to store more water. Start building more lean muscle through strength conditioning. ...

You already know how hydration impacts brain health. To double the benefits for your brain today, let’s combine hydration with meditation. Research shows that meditation can lower everyday anxiety by as much as 39%. In the study, brain scans showed meditation reduced perception of pain and experiences of anxiety. To reap these rewards, fill up your ...

Tired of drinking plain water all day, every day? Swap out a few cups of water with tea. Not only is it mostly made of water; it comes in a variety of flavors. Whether you prefer the delicate taste of green tea, the robustness of black tea, or the soothing qualities of herbal infusions, all are welcome. Tea is a great option for hydration, but it provides other ...

Competition is a huge motivator for many people. If you know you’re going up against a friend or colleague, you’re more inclined to reach your goal. Competition = accountability. Today, invite a friend, coworker, or family member to participate in the rest of this hydration challenge with you. Once you’ve found someone to compete against, follow ...

Motivation influences behavior. Increasing your hydration is a major change that might require a little motivation. So, what motivates you? Is it something physical, like the way proper hydration makes your clothes fit or how being hydrated provides mental clarity? Or is it something intrinsic, like knowing you’re doing something good for ...

Did you know that having a schedule is good for you ? Having a routine makes you more efficient and helps lower stress, which in turn improves your mental health and lowers your anxiety. Once something becomes part of your routine, it requires no extra thought, which means your brain can focus on other things. That’s what we want to do with hydration — make ...