It has been a cozy weekend for me and my little family. I am writing to you from the comfort of our living room in West Virginia, in front of the fire, outside it’s 23 degrees (F, -5C), and the ground is covered in snow. I would love to tell you that my dog and cat are sleeping angelically, but Billy (my cat) has the zoomies and is poking Cleo (my dog) to play.

Here are my recommendations for the week:

1. I’ll be making this NYT recipe for dinner tonight, its a hearty tomato and white bean stew that has a 5 star rating, with over 10k reviews! White beans are one of the best foods for mineral intake (something I wrote about in my blog post linked below).

2. I’ve been working night shift lately and having to adjust my sleeping patterns. Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) has been so helpful for me when I’m exhausted but can’t fall asleep, or need to take a nap at a time when I’m usually awake. NSDR helps with stress reduction, memory retention, and improved sleep quality. My favorite NSDR practice is yoga Nidra. Insight Timer has sooo many yoga Nidra tracks, my favorite is this one.

3. Reading fiction books for pleasure. This is a habit I got back into in 2023 and something I now look forward to daily. Reading fiction is shown to enhance emotional intelligence (EQ), creativity, and open mindedness. Here are a few books I’ve read recently that I didn’t want to put down.

   1. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women: A Novel, by Lisa See

   2. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver

   3. Outlawed, by Anna North

4. And my final recommendation is to read my blog post about four health and wellness trends that I think are worth your time in 2024.