7 Spring Resolutions That Are Better Than New Year’s Resolutions

It’s Spring!

The Spring Equinox began on March 19, 2024. Spring is all about new beginnings, so if you like making resolutions now is the time to do it. In the northern hemisphere, the beginning of the calendar year is the middle of winter. A time for rest, not renewal. The earth is asleep, so you should rest too. As we still have to pay for things, most of us cannot completely take a break during winter. But we can avoid adding to our workload by not starting anything new. So, if you made a New Year’s resolution in January and you’ve already “failed” perhaps you need a new Spring resolution that is more aligned with the rhythm of nature.

Living in Canada, it can be a little disheartening to celebrate the beginning of Spring because we know there is more snow to come.  In fact, we got a fairly big snowstorm days after the Spring equinox. As a gardener, I know that the last average frost date in my area is around the second week of May and the first long weekend in May (Victoria Day in Canada) is often when the summer garden gets planted. This is two months after the equinox, but Spring is still here whether we have snow or not. The days are now longer than the nights. The robins are out looking for worms in patches of grass peeking out from the snow. The trees are just starting to form buds. There are still subtle signs of spring. It just doesn’t happen overnight. If nature doesn’t change overnight, why do expect yourself to?

Part of making a Spring resolution is not about making a big immediate change. Its about planting a seed, nurturing it and then eventually, reaping the rewards. Healthy changes are all about cultivating new habits. Health is not just about the well-being of our physical body, but also our mental and emotional health.

Here are some Spring Resolution ideas that will not only improve nutrition intake but also your overall well-being.  They are also meant to be fun!

1. Spend More Time Outside

Getting sunlight, especially in the morning, will help your circadian rhythm. A well-balanced circadian rhythm means you have more energy in the day, and it is easier to sleep at night. It’s also easier to get exercise when you’re outside; whether you are walking, running, cycling, or just doing yard work. The simple goal of spending more time outside can be easier than trying to commit to a certain activity.

Don’t always feel like you need to be doing something; sitting outside is also good for you. A 2019 study published in Scientific Reports found that spending 2-5 hours a week outside reduced anxiety, increased creativity, and improved heart health.  The study found that it did not matter how the subjects spent that time outside, or whether it was time outside every day, or one 2–5-hour period over the weekends. If you’ve been feeling cooped up all winter, this is the perfect Spring resolution for you.

2. Start a Vegetable Garden

Nothing will make you appreciate healthy food more than growing it yourself!

The obvious benefit of gardening is fresh organically grown produce, but you can get benefits from your garden even before you harvest your first vegetable. Gardening is excellent exercise; it works our cardiovascular system as well as improves muscle strength and balance. Studies have shown it can reduce anxiety and increase overall satisfaction and happiness. Digging in the dirt may even benefit our microbiome! If you’re new to gardening, I highly recommend you start small, even just one tomato plant or lettuce in a windowsill.

I love having herbs in pots that I keep indoors in the winter and then move onto my porch in the Spring. Also, don’t be afraid to just plant some flowers that you think are pretty. Not all gardening needs to functional, although many beautiful flowers like lavender, chamomile, purple cone flower (echinacea) are also medicinal herbs. 

3. Do An Easy “Spring Cleanse”

Healthy eating is all about balance. No one is going to eat only “healthy” foods all the time. Also, what is “healthy” can be subject to interpretation and vary from person to person.

A healthy diet is going to consist of lots of whole fresh foods with a small smattering of the more processed foods such as refined sugars, desserts etc. The issue is processed foods are hyperpalatable, meaning they have more intense flavours.  They are also more convenient. Fresh foods take more time to plan and prepare. It is easy to find ourselves more attached to these convenient foods and slowly shift out of balance.

A cleanse can be a good way to reset this balance. You do not have to do a juice cleanse or only drink cayenne lemon water.

A cleanse can just be about removing foods that you have become too attached to. We can develop a slight addiction to certain foods and convince ourselves that we can’t live without them.  Going through this process can show your brain and body that you can in fact live without sugar, or chips, or wine etc.

You can also observe any changes to your body when you do. Are you sleeping better? Do you get fewer headaches? Do you have more energy? Less bloating? Etc.

Whenever I do a “cleanse”, I find myself getting inspired in the kitchen again. I try new foods and new recipes. It helps me get back into the habit of reaching for something more nutritious, instead of something convenient.

Here’s my suggestion for a simple DIY cleanse:

• Pick some things you need to cut back on such as sugar, alcohol, caffeine, or processed foods. You can just pick sugar, or choose 1-2 items.
• Then pick a set amount of time, eg 2 weeks or 30 days. In addition to removing food, make sure you are adding lots of fresh vegetables and fruits.
• Spring is the time when leafy greens are in season, so eat lots of salads and cooked greens. Don’t restrict the amount of food you eat, just what you eat.
• Track and observe any cravings, changes to symptoms and just general thoughts and feelings over this process.
• At the end of your cleanse, you will have a new-found appreciation for whole foods and feel less attached to sugar and other packaged foods.

4. Cook or Bake Something

A fun project that can also benefit your health! It’s no secret that when you make food from scratch, it will be healthier and often taste better. This goal can vary depending on where you are at.  If you often eat take-out or prepared meals, you can commit to making one extra home cooked meal a week. If you already do cook most of your own meals, you can choose to swap out something you buy for something homemade. Making more food from scratch can also help save money. Here is my favorite from scratch items to make:

• Baked goods & Breads – cookies, muffins, and granola bars.
• Fruit gummies and fruit roll ups
• Soup stock and bone broth.
• Ketchup, salsa, salad dressings, mayonnaise
• Desserts – chocolates, cakes, ice cream

You don’t have to start making everything from scratch immediately; pick something you like and eat often and then try to make a homemade version. Also, choose something that you think you will enjoy as homemade.

I like to focus on making granola bars and other school snacks for my kids from scratch. Store bought school snacks can be quite expensive (especially the way my kids go through them) and they contain a lot of sugar. I usually set some time aside on Sundays to prepare snacks for the week and then portion them out. It’s become such a part of my routine now, I can usually get it done in about an hour and it’s well worth it! I also make sure I make some extra snacks for me too.

5. Ferment Something

Similar to cooking and baking, fermenting is a fun activity that gets you in the kitchen. This also improves your gut health. Fermentation helps to increase gut flora and feed your existing healthy bacteria in the gut. Here are some ideas for fermented foods that you can make:

• Fermented veggies – sauerkraut, kimchi
• Ginger soda – my favorite! made with a fermented ginger bug.
• Sour dough – combines fermentation and baking.
• Pickles – yes, there are fermented pickles.
• Yoghurt & Kefir
• Kombucha

If you want extra bonus points, you can ferment some of the food that you grow yourself. This was a project of mine last year when I planted enough cabbage to make my sauerkraut, kimchi and cordito for the year. Cordito is a Spanish fermented cabbage, and it is delicious!

6. Move Your Body

Whether it’s walking, running, hiking, or cycling, calculate the number of steps, kilometers, or miles you wish to travel from now until winter. I find this easier than committing to running or walking a certain amount each day. There are loads of apps or programs you can use to track your progress and challenge yourself.

Research has shown that even gentle movement has health benefits. It does not need to be rigorous cardiovascular exercise or weightlifting all the time. Although that has its own benefits as well. Just focus on movement and you will see improvements in both your physical and mental health.

7. Declutter and Organize Your Home

Your first thought is probably “what does this have to do with my health?”

There have been multiple scientific studies to show that clutter in the home can greatly affect one’s mental health and their eating habits. A 2016 study done by New Mexico University showed that excess clutter increased stress levels and decreased overall satisfaction of life. A 2017 U.S and Australia study showed that subjects were more likely to reach for sweets when they were in a chaotic environment. The study concluded that the increased stress levels caused by the chaotic environment increased sugar cravings.

Of course, it’s well known that it is a lot easier to prepare a nutritious meal if your kitchen is well organized. Cleaning also removes dust, mold and any indoor allergens that can affect our health, especially if you open the windows.  Let’s not forget we’re also moving our body. 

We are very tied to our environment and the health of our home affects our health as well. So next time you do some spring cleaning don’t think of it as just a boring chore, think of it as an investment in your health!

If you don’t like cleaning I highly recommend listening to a podcast or music while you clean, it will help pass the time. Singing out loud will also help to keep pets and children out of your way while you clean.

In Summary

Spring is a natural time for action. This is why many of these ideas are centered around projects and activities. There have been many studies conducted on “blue zones” these are areas of the world that have the oldest and healthiest population. These places include Sardina, Italy and Okinawa, Japan. Some commonalities between these communities are they spend a lot of time doing simple activities like walking, gardening, and chores. They spend a lot of time outside. Their diet is mainly composed of simple home-made plant-based meals often from locally grown foods. Another common factor among these communities is close familial relationships and a tight knit community.

So, if Spring is a time for renewal perhaps what we need is a new health paradigm. It seems that the secret to health and happiness is not extreme diets, gym memberships and supplements, but rather lots of nutrient dense foods, simple activities and time spent in nature and together.

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Kirsten Colella, CNP, a Holistic Nutritionist who graduated from the Institute of Holistic Nutrition with high honours, is also a certified yoga teacher. Living on a farm with her family, Kirsten prepares a wide variety of farm-to-table meals. As a homesteader and nutritionist, she shares her delicious recipes, colourful food pics and health-promoting food ideas on our Instagram page @essentialbalanceholistic             

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Sources quoted for the blog:    

• White, M.P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J. et al. Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Sci Rep 9, 7730 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44097
• Soga M, Gaston KJ, Yamaura Y. Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis. Prev Med Rep. 2016 Nov 14;5:92-99. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.007. PMID: 27981022; PMCID: PMC5153451.
• https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/gardening-may-bring-a-harvest-of-health-benefits#:~:text=A%202023%20study%20involving%20300%20people%20suggested%20that,day%20than%20people%20who%20didn%27t%20do%20any%20gardening.
• https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/why-you-should-move-even-just-a-little-throughout-the-day
• https://www.healthline.com/health-news/5-health-benefits-of-spring-cleaning#5.-Reduce-risk-of-injury