March Favorites

top 10 favorite things from March

There has been a big theme coming up for me this month and it’s along the lines of, don’t let your fears hold you back from truly living. There are a few quotes I have came across that have reflected this sentiment:

“May your choices reflect your hopes, instead of your fears.” -Nelson Mandela

“It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” -Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I have said this before but one of the biggest shifts that I made in my life was making decisions out of love and excitement vs. out of fear and anxiety. & it is easier said than done. I used to live in a chronic fight or flight state and it’s natural to revert back to that state, because unfortunately that is my “familiar hell”.

always looking for the color :)

With the constant negative overstimulation in the world it’s easy to develop a fear mindset and constantly live in that fear, making choices because we fear certain outcomes. I see this a lot in the world of health and wellness especially, with all of the fear mongering out there. That fear manifests into physical pain and illness.

& I see the same in interpersonal relationships, we are so fearful of being vulnerable, being let down, being hurt, being betrayed, that we’ve stopped living and expressing our true love and emotions. What’s the point of language if you don’t say what you feel? -Cherub. Queue up that song.

So many doors open, we are rewarded with so many opportunities, when we take the leap. Every rejection, every failure, is redirection and a learning experience. & this is my energy going into this spring season.

I can’t wait for the month of April, the trees are slowly starting to bloom and I am so excited!!!! But first, let’s get into my top 10 favorites for March…

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1. Warm & Savory Breakfast

breakfast congee

There is really no such thing as a “breakfast” food or a “lunch” food. Once you realize those invisible barriers don’t really exist in adulthood a whole new world of opportunities opens up lol. I have realized that I love a warm and savory breakfast in the morning, and that is coming from someone who used to eat smoothies and fruity oatmeal and yogurt bowls every day. Now I find myself craving more warming, nourishing, meals like soups, porridge, congee, stew. I have been loving a traditional Japanese breakfast as well—some rice, miso soup, salmon, pickled veggies. So delicious and makes me feel so good going about my day.

2. Cooking in the Donabe

I am in love with my donabe!!!! If you don’t know what a donabe is it’s a traditional Japanese clay pot and it can be used to cook soso many delicious meals. Plus it is just beautiful and I love it sitting out on my counter. I’ve been using it to cook a lot of rice, congee, and one pot meals.

3. Neck Fascia Release

Every morning I like to do a sternoleidomastoid release. We have these muscles on the right & left side of our neck. I have TMJ and also just stiff neck/trap/jaw muscles. A couple of years ago my acupuncturist taught me this neck release massage and it’s truly life changing. She actually taught me it when I was dealing with hormonal acne on my jawline because it helps to stimulate the lymphatic system.

For the left side I gently lean my head down to the right, and starting at the top very gently pinch and knead in downward strokes down the muscle with both hands, using my thumb, pointer & middle finger. & repeat for the other side.

This helps with posture, muscle tightness, jaw tightness, tension headaches, posture & more!

4. Acupuncture

& speaaakinggg of acupuncture. It is truly just the best. If you have the resources, I highly recommend you find an acupuncturist you love and trust and make it a part of your routine. A lot of insurances actually cover acupuncture nowadays.

Literally for any ailment I have, there is an acupuncture point that helps with it. Digestion, PMS, allergies, tightness, pain, headaches, sickness, etc!!! It is so incredibly healing every time I go to acupuncture I leave feeling a million times better. I have recently been going again for a knee injury.

If you can’t do acupuncture, I also love an acupressure mat. Whenever I use this consistently in my routine it helps immensely with pain, tension, stress and sleep.

5. Milk Frother

I have been on the hunt for a good electronic milk frother that makes the perfect microfoam for latte art and is made of less plastic materials & I have founddd itttt. I decided I wanted to invest in a good one because I have been dealing with bad ones that break after a few months or are super inconsistent.

This milk frother definitely is a heftier price (like why are so many milk frothers out there so expensive??) but it works. It creates the most gorgeous microfoam for lattes at home, plus you can customize it to work for plant based milks as well, just takes a little tuning in. Been loving it for my lattes.

6. Everything-Smoothie

I know that above I said I have been loving a warm and savory breakfast but I don’t always wake up in the mornings super hungry so this is my go to when I am in that phase. I feel so much more clear headed and energetic in the mornings and throughout the day when I get good protein and nourishment within an hour of waking up (and pre-caffeine) so this smoothies is my go to when I don’t have a lot of time. I call it my everything-smoothie. Or cement-smoothie lol because it kind of just looks like cement. It’s a little wild but I love it and it makes me feel good. Basically just a way to load up and fuel as much as possible in one shake. I usually don’t add ice or frozen fruit because I like warmer beverages for my digestion in the morning.

Ingredients (measure with your heart):

• A2 Whole Milk (I use family farmstead)

• A2 Kefir or Skyr

• Egg Yolk

• Chocolate ABC Protein Powder (discount is ELLA10) OR Grass-Fed Beef Protein Isolate Powder (discount is ELLA10)

• Collagen Powder

• IGG Powder (& sometimes leaky gut revive)

• Grass-fed Beef Gelatin (discount is glowwithella)

• Scoop of Black Sesame Butter

• Cacao Nibs

• Pinch of Salt

• Sometimes a lil raw honey

& just blend everything together!

7. Glow Sunscreen

I keep getting asked what that bronzy glow base is underneath my makeup & it’s this glow mineral sunscreen! I used to be obsessed with bronzing drops and so that is like this but in sunscreen form. It puts the best bronze glow on and I love it I know I am going to be using it alll the time come summer too! I don’t wear sunscreen every day but I like to wear it in long-periods of sun and especially in sunshine post-winter as my skin is not used to the sun at this point. I’m super picky about the sunscreen I use on my face so it always has to be mineral & non-comedogenic and this one is!

8. Night-time Routine

A couple of weeks ago I sent out a substack about my wind-down routine, how I wind down to get the best nights sleep, and this month I have added onto it.

I am definitely a warmer sleeper, I prefer to sleep in a colder room and I don’t sleep with clothes on. So this may sound counterintuitive, but somehow it works. When I am winding down and getting in bed, I fill up my hot water bottle and lay it on my stomach while reading, and then I also put on wool socks. Keeping our feet warm is wonderful for regulating overall body temperature, and it increases blood flow and circulation, so doing this actually helps me fall asleep faster, stay asleep, and stay cooler throughout the night.

It’s so soothing & it just works, try it and let me know.

9. Matcha Whisk & Set

I have found a new love for matcha chasens & whisk holder sets. I got a lot of questions about the pink one I have been using so I wanted to share it here. I love the contrast of the green & the pink I think it is so beautiful.

I also get a lot of questions about the whisk I use, I use this premium one (discount is ELLA10), and I feel it makes such a huge difference in the texture, smoothness and making of microfoam in my matcha (tutorial for how I make my matcha here).

10. Stainless Steel Masher

I have been making banana bread like 2-3x a week it is a little bit insane the quantity I have been making it. It started out as an obsession with creating the perfect recipe and recipe testing and now I have turned into a monster. Truly. But I can’t stop.

With that being said I found the perfect masher for the bananas—this stainless steel masher, it’s become one of my favorite kitchen tools this year. It’s just great quality, non-toxic and I know I will have it forever & ever. Works for ground beef, avocados, and I can’t wait to use it on all of the gorgeous spring and summer fruit!

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Let me know if you have any questions! I linked everything I talked about here in my ShopMy page, some are affiliate links some are not.

Stay tuned this weekend for APRIL’S SEASONAL MENU!! YAY!!! XO - Ella