The Fatigue Solution: How To Increase Your Energy In Eight Easy Steps

Fatigue is the No. 1 complaint I hear from all my coworkers and from myself almost daily, and I believe is most common in women than in men. Most of us are told that is because we are getting older, because we have too much work, because we are having kids, because we are managing the household or because we have horrible nutritional habits... but do we really know what is causing our fatigue?  Fatigue is an illness and there are things we can do to get our energy back.

Here are some steps to boost our energy :

1. Eat iron food.

2. Get enough sleep.

3. Cut back on caffeine ( I know this is not an easy one)

4. Eat fruits and vegetables.

5. Listen to music that promotes your happiness.

6. Be smart when you eat carbs.

7. Go outside... like babies we need to see the light.. the natural light.

8. Walk at least 45 mins everyday.

9. Laugh... smile..when you are happy your energy levels goes up!

10. Take vitamin B6 and B12.

11. Drink water.

12. Think positive.

13. Be grateful... look around you and see all you have and be thankful.

14. Meditate or if you don't believe in meditation do something that connects you with your soul.

15. Give love... giving love will fill you with happiness which intermediately gives you a boost of energy.

16. See some red. ( Seeing the fiery color makes your muscles move faster and work harder, giving you a burst of energy when you need it most, according to University of Rochester research)

17. Stretch your body.

18. Exercise.

Try to do everything that is natural to boost your energy... don't add things or chemicals to your body that will give you an instant boost and will create an addiction in your system. Be smart.. it might take more time but the natural way is always the right way.

SHAKE IT OFF!!!!

Cranberry and Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette

This salad is perfect for a quick lunch, a fancy brunch, a lovely side salad or a complete meal with chicken, shrimp or pork tenderloin piled on top. You can add goat cheese, blue cheese or any other fun cheese that strikes your fancy. It’s wonderful with spinach, Romaine, field greens, Bibb lettuce, arugula… did I miss your favorite? Well, it’s great with that too! Feel free to change out the nuts also – don’t have any almonds? Candied Spiced Pecans would be a fabulous switcheroo!

The recipe below is for my Cranberry-Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette, but feel free to have fun and adapt according to your tastes, whims, cravings, pantry and budget!

A delicious salad featuring cranberries, avocado and candied spiced almonds.

Author: Chris Scheuer

Recipe Type: Salad

Serves: 6 as main

Ingredients

Ingredients for the dressing:

• ½ cup (60g) sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried mustard
• 1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup (120 ml) white balsamic vinegar
• ⅓ cup (70 ml) vegetable oii
• ⅓ cup (70 ml) extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for the salad:

• 12 ounces (340g) baby spinach, arugula, field greens
• 1 small bunch cilantro, washed and dried, leaves removed whole from stems (discard the stems or use for another recipe)
• 2 medium avocados, peeled and halved
• 1½ cup (115g) dried cranberries
• 1½ cup (115g) Candied Spiced Almonds (see recipe)

Ingredients for the almonds:

• 5 cups (600g) sliced almonds, or a 1 pound package
• cup (100g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin*
• 1-1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika* – some smoked paprikas are quite hot, if you don’t like “hot”, just use 1 teaspoon and they will be mildly spiced.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• sea salt
• The cumin and the smoked paprika give just a hint of mysterious, delicious flavor – even though these are savory spices, these almonds are still wonderful served with sweets like ice cream or yogurt.

Instructions

For the dressing; combine all ingredients in a pint sized glass jar and shake well to dissolve sugar.

For the salad; place greens and cilantro leaves in a large bowl.

1. Add avocado and dried cranberries and about ¼ cup of the dressing and toss gently.
2. Scatter candied almonds over salad and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pass extra dressing at the table.

For the almonds:

1. place a large sheet of foil on a work surface. Spray with cooking spray or rub a teaspoon of oil over foil with a paper towel.
2. Place sugar in a large non-stick sauté pan and heat over medium heat, occasionally tipping and swirling the sugar until it’s all melted into a pale golden syrup.
3. Lower heat immediately and add butter, cinnamon, smoked paprika and vanilla. Stir until well combined and all butter is incorporated into the sugar syrup.
4. Add the nuts and stir gently to coat. Don’t worry if you have some clumps of caramelized sugar – they will melt as you continute to sauté the almonds. Cover and continue to cook on low, stirring every minute or so until almonds are a delicious golden brown. Watch very carefully as they can go from beautiful to burned very quickly! Turn out onto prepared foil and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Spread out on foil to cool.