Morning Rituals – The Crowdsourced Edition
We love hearing from people — whether it’s constructive feedback or life tips or stories about you, or even questions about plants— we love them all!
Thank you for responding to our call out on Instagram (@superfarmers) for your morning rituals. We were ecstatic to hear about how you spend your sacred mornings. We believe your morning ritual sets the tone for the rest of the day.
In this post, we have consolidated some responses you have sent in, and included our responses and tips for a more productive morning!
@jaxlam11 ‘s comment caught our eyes — “Make husband breakfast, gym/boxing, grocery shopping, smoothie, shower, work by 10am.”
You’re a superwoman for accomplishing a whole list of activities before 10am! If we emulate her routine, it would look something like this —
This is our simplified plan of how her morning would work. But that’s not enough because we thought it might be helpful to also include a 10-minute breakfast recipe, an hour workout, and a smoothie recipe, all to get your morning pumping!
Breakfast recipe
If you are concerned about time in the morning, overnight oats will be your favourite go-to breakfast dish. You can prepare it the night before, and it takes no more than 10 minutes to get everything together, in the fridge, and ready to serve in the morning!
Prep time– 5 mins | Serves– 1
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup of oats
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon almond butter or peanut butter
- ½ cup milk for thicker consistency, or ⅔ cup for lighter consistency
- ½ cup fruit (frozen and sliced strawberries, banana or whole blueberries
- Drizzle of maple syrup or honey, if desired
Methods:
- Combine oats, chia seeds, and peanut/almond butter in a jar or bowl. Add milk and stir.
- If you want the fruit to stay on top, or if the fruit doesn’t keep well, add fruits right before serving the dish.
- Refrigerate oats overnight and drizzle maple syrup or honey if desired.
5 minutes of preparation time gives you ample time to boil some water and make a pot of tea!
Time to workout
If you are not already an exercise enthusiast, you might not be very excited about getting up for a workout. If you live near a yoga studio, head for a yoga flow classes that can be a good introduction to exercise for you. Otherwise, you can put on your running shoes and go for a slow 30-minutes brisk walk, followed by a long and slow stretching session.
Morning exercise is a good day-starter and has the ability to keep us energized throughout the day. What’s more, if you have friends who are trying to keep up with their own exercise regimes as well, you can bond with morning walks together! Keep the endorphins running for happiness and a healthy metabolism.
Alternatively, if you simply abhor the idea of running, hop on one of those shared bikes (Ofo, Mobike or Obike) and cycle away!
Smoothie time
Post workout, prime your body for the day with good nutrition and the optimal timing is 30-minutes after the end of your activity to replenish whatever was lost during the exercise, and also to allow your body to recover. Therefore, taking a smoothie after your workout is ideal.
This 5-minute citrus berry smoothie is packed with antioxidants, especially helpful for post-workout because our bodies produce free radicals when we’re actively processing oxygen.
Cook time– 5 minutes | Serves– 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups fresh berries (recommended strawberries and blueberries)
- ¾ cup low-fat plain yogurt
- ½ cup orange juice, or freshly-squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk, or unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ, or flaxseed and chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, or vanilla flavoured protein powder
Methods:
- Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.
This recipe serves 2, so you have the option of either sharing it, or pack your smoothie for a post-lunch energy boost! As you can see from the recipe, you can replace some of the ingredients with others for a different flavour or nutritional value, so mix it up and have fun with it!
Time for work
It’s finally time for work after a productive morning. Remember to give yourself some down time to relax while you’re commuting—stay off your phone, read a book instead and relax your mind in preparation for a day of work ahead.
We hope that you have enjoyed this morning ritual recommendation as much as we did coming up with it. Thanks a lot of @jaxlam11 for inspiring this blog post! Keep those morning ritual comments coming in! In the meantime, check out what other people are doing in their mornings —
@cynthealam - The sound of boiling water in the kettle brings me so much joy! That always leads to a cup of hot tea and then packing breakfast for the kids before they wake up. Then, the mad rush to work and school ensues...
@bbcreme - Wholemeal bread with slices of golden kiwi as my jam plus home made kopi by my papa, the traditional way with coffee sock
@wforwanderland - Sit down for a proper breakfast at home! And coffee is a must!
@rummitummi - A cup of Earl Grey! It’s a must!
@angeeeeeec - A 15 minutes long morning stretch, then a pot of tea and breakfast!
Keep those comments coming!
Written by Ange Chua
Edited by Cynthea Lam
Ange Chua is an aspiring bird-watcher trying to fix her black thumbs. When she is not writing, you'd find her drinking tea out of teacups or reading in bed with her dog. She thinks her spirit animal is an alpaca.