A Winter ‘Thrive’ Revival

Look, if you are anything like me winter isn’t exactly the season that you feel the thriviest. The morning workout routine has well and truly been benched for a longer sleep in. Skin texture is giving crusty croissant rather than glazed donut, and feelings of cutting your own bangs start creeping in. Yeah, some real dark days!

To skip the dip of seasonal depression we have some winter warming tips to revive your THRIVE!

Thrive Tip 1: Give em ‘THAT Girl Energy

For those of you who are a fellow slave to Tik Tok, you’ll be well acquainted with the ’THAT Girl’ trend. The ‘THAT Girl’ trend is complication/mini vlog style videos that encourage girls/women to become the best versions of themselves. Videos usually consist of practising self love, exercise, learning and routine, with the perfect filter of aesthetic and inspo. Yes, houseplants and quirky mugs tend to feature.

As corny as it sounds channeling your inner ‘THAT Girl’ can be a great motivator to get you out of the winter solstice slump. My only recommendation would be to cater your ‘THAT Girl’ to YOU. A lot of the ‘THAT Girl’  Tik Toks have a Eurocentric and gentrified feel, from preparing overnight oats, grocery shopping only at trendy farmers markets and doing another hybrid form of yoga as a workout routine.

My take on ‘THAT Girl’ looks a little different, from a 30 minute morning walk on some days to a hard HIIT class on others. You’ll find my prepping a nourishing bowl of dhal for breakfast on a Tuesday and then switching it with to a nutritious bibimbap on a Wednesday. As for groceries, catch me in the Desi ends, where it is chaotic, colourful and fragrant. The idea of ‘THAT Girl’ is to simply be consistent and show up for yourself mentally and physically.

Thrive Tip 2: Dress for the Female Gaze

We’ve all had that moment when another girl compliments you on your outfit, its like a universal heart squeeze that has you feeling like that bitch! The best part is that fellow females get the vision and understand the nuances when it comes to styling a great and unique outfit, that is why I say dress for the female gaze, cause us gals get it!

If you are feeling a little closet shy and don’t want to break the bank on new fits that seem a little out of character and risky, then embrace the world of thrift shopping. Thrift shopping allows you to get as experimental as you like on a budget! And if you want to go into it with a game plan then get to pinning on Pinterest. Simply search your favourite celebrity or aesthetics and see what inspo pops up.

My personal ‘female gaze’ fits are all about 60's and 70’s fashion, find me in flared trousers, oversized jackets with large lapels and anything with fringe, frills and feathers. Topped with a block or pop of colour and you have me LOVESTRUCK!

Thrive Tip 3: Home Remedy Teas 

I think we can all agree, that the only positive thing about a sore throat is the fact that we can live out our Macy Grey raspy vocals at karaoke. The flip side is less impressive. To avoid the sniffles and husky throat this winter season, here are our MUST HAVE pantry ingredients to make the BEST home remedy teas that are guaranteed to work! 

Fresh ginger - is potent in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties which helps to relieve pain and soothe the digestive system.

Fresh Lemon - is packed with vitamin c which helps to restore collagen and elastin to the skin.

Honey - is a natural antibacterial which helps with tissue regeneration and repairing damaged tissue.

Turmeric - is a root which revives the skin and brings out its natural glow. It also helps with digestion and inflammation.

Pepper - is an amazing addition to teas with turmeric as it has the active property piperine that helps absorb more of the rich antioxidants in turmeric.

Home remedy tea combos I can’t get enough of:

Morning booster - Lemon and hot water, is a great way to kick start the digestive system and cleanse the body.

Sore throat soother - Ginger, lemon, honey and hot water, helps to soothe, revitalise and repair the body from within.

Glow-getter - Turmeric, honey, pepper and hot water will have your skin beaming and looking refreshed and youthful.

Thrive Tip 4: Gorgeous, gorgeous girls eat…

Another Tik Tok reference…I know, i’m too old for this BUT I have to say I’ve been loving the food compilation/mini vlog Tik Tok videos that samples the audio ‘gorgeous, gorgeous girls eat carbs’ over a series of clips that showcase delicious, nourishing and healthy meals containing carbs. The idea behind these videos is to promote healthy eating patterns and to take stigma away from food stereotypes and assumptions.

For the longest time I had the misconception that carbs where the devil and that I had to constantly feel faint and hungry to maintain an acceptable body shape, and don’t get me wrong, this is still very much a state of mind I have to work on daily. However through the years of listening to my body and educating myself on food, I’ve come to realise that ‘gorgeous, gorgeous girls’ really do eat carbs!

With winter being the perfect time to tuck into a hearty meal, here are some of my favourite mid-week nourishing carb inclusive meals.

Poke Bowls - Poke is a Hawaiian dish which is made up of raw fish (commonly tuna or salmon) and various veggies such as: shredded carrot, edamame, sliced radish and cucumber. The fish and the vegetables are all artfully laid on top of a bed of white rice, and then drizzled with a soy sauce and toasted sesame oil dressing. For a carb alternative I like to substitute the white rice with buckwheat, which is high in fibre and is great for gut health.

Dhal & Quinoa - Dhal is a South Asian dish, which comes in many variations, however the common factor is that a type of lentil is cooked with various South Asian spices and stewed together until all the spices are infused in the the lentils. The spices in dhal are amazing for health and when paired with fluffy quinoa makes for a scrumptious and easy mid week meal.

Shakshuka & Chickpeas - Shakshuka is a one pot North African dish which consists of poaching eggs in a brothy spiced tomato sauce with spices cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. As an extra addition I like to toast up chickpeas in the oven with garlic, pepper and salt (drizzled with olive oil). Once crispy and golden brown I add the chickpeas which creates a crunch and soaks up the scrumptious sauce.

So there you have it our top ’Thrive Tips’ to get you thriving rather than surviving this winter!

xoxo

TASNEEM

[Mood board images sourced via pinterest]