We like to think we’re pretty healthy people. We buy organic, avoid added sugar and occasionally indulge in pizza because life is all about balance. Then we caught up with celebrity nutritionist and New York Times best-selling author Kimberly Snyder (she works with the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington) at Glow Bio in Los Angeles, and she blew our minds with her morning routine.
“What I love about the morning is that every day we are reborn in a sense; we come from a different place of consciousness and it’s a new chance to nurture ourselves and to grow and to feel our best that day,” she says.
Here are the four things she thinks everyone should start their day with—get ready to say, “Oh, hi there” to glowier skin, better digestion and more energy.
Glow On
When you wake up in the morning, what's the first thing you do? If you answered "Reach for my phone," you're definitely in the majority. That's why Kimberly wants everyone to practice mindfulness in the morning.
Meditating helps relax the body, which relaxes the mind, she says. This can greatly improve our attitude by helping us become more in tune with ourselves. "When we try to conform, it diminishes our energy. We live in a world where, if we're not centered, it's so easy to get swept up ... when you free up all that energy and just start to live in your own 'beingness' ... when we get back to the center and tap into ourselves, it makes a difference in food cravings and how we think about our bodies."
Even if it’s just for a minute in the morning to practice mindful breathing, it'll help you become more aware and in tune with your body.
The next step in your new healthy routine: Pop some probiotics. Kimberly recommends her Beauty Detox SBO Probiotics. "Because this is soil-based, they're so hearty they don't have to be refrigerated and can be taken with or without food," she explains. Probiotics promote the good gut bacteria that create a healthy gut, which is crucial to digestion, nutrient absorption, reducing stress and even glowy skin.
Hot water with lemon is a staple of many a glowy-skinned woman, including Kimberly. She calls lemon one of the best beauty foods ever, because it nourishes your liver, is packed with vitamin C and is full of enzymes. Vitamin C is crucial in helping your body absorb nonheme iron (iron that doesn't come from animal products), which Kimberly says helps make your skin glow.
Hot water with lemon also helps your digestive system. "There’s so much energy that gets freed up when we eat in a way where we improve our digestion. Suddenly we have energy to grow healthy hair and get through the morning without that second cup of coffee," she says.
Kimberly says the first food you should put in your stomach is a green smoothie—specifically, her recipe for the Glowing Green Smoothie (listed below). "The reason this is the first food in our body is because it's nature in its whole, pure form," she explains. "It's fiber and it's the juice. The reason that they work together is that fiber is cleansing. Fiber balances our blood sugar levels and it's also a way of natural portion control without obsessing over calories. It's what keeps us full and gives us long sustaining energy. The fiber is what binds to toxins and escorts them out of your body." In other words, it helps clean out and recalibrate your system.
"Digestion is one of the most energy-intensive processes in our body. When we blend, we're better able to absorb the nutrition," she adds. Keep in mind it's a smoothie, not a juice—while Kimberly says green juice can have a place in a healthy diet, in the morning you need the fiber from the whole fruits and veggies to jump-start your digestion and remove toxins.
Glowing Green Smoothie
Serves 4
Ingredients: 7 cups chopped spinach (about a medium bunch) 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce (about 1 small head) 2 cups cold filtered water 1½ cups chopped celery (about 2 medium stalks 1 medium apple, cored and coarsely chopped 1 medium pear, cored and coarsely chopped 1 medium banana, peeled and cut in thirds 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1⁄2 cup minced fresh cilantro (optional) 1⁄2 cup minced fresh parsley (optional)
Kimberly recommends making a big batch and storing it in the fridge. Blend the greens first, then add in the fruit, as the greens need to be broken up more.
