Waking Up Refreshed with No Caffeine

4 Easy Steps to Include in Your Morning Routine

Getting back in the early morning routine can be difficult where in the Pacific Northwest, at least, the winter months are beautiful but brutal. Getting up and staying motivated to start my day can get challenging. Here is how I set aside the caffeine and wake up naturally and feeling refreshed. Include these 4 steps into your morning routine and make morning the best part of your day!

1. Drink a glass of warm water

Add this into your morning routine, you won't regret it! Drinking water right when you get up in the morning will re-hydrate your body, which has become dehydrated from sleeping for (hopefully) 8 hours. Make sure you use warm water so that it is not such a shock to your body. I love adding fresh lemon to mine for flavor and to help kick start my digestive system for the coming meals through the day.

2. Move!

Stretching, yoga, running, pilates... anything helps after you've been lying in bed all night! Getting active in the morning not only helps you wake up but has shown to keep you energized all day long (Forbes). Here's a 5 minute stretching routine to wake up those muscles when you're running behind schedule. Grabbing your running shoes and listening to an upbeat playlist will be sure to help you wake up on those early mornings too!

3. Plan your day

If your life is as busy as mine, I need to be able to maximize every hour during the day that I get, writing down my priorities and goals for the day helps me to keep on track without things falling through the cracks. If writing out your daily agenda seems to be too overwhelming, start with your top 3 most important things to get done for the day. Chances are, the small stuff will either get finished without even making it on the list, or it will fade away as you realize it's unimportance to begin with.

4. Eat Breakfast

It's no wonder I founded my company on making the most important meal of the day, healthy and hassle-free. Breakfast continually gets sacrificed for an extra 10 minutes of sleep, taking the dog out for a walk or a drive thru coffee as I rush to work. Today, over half of Americans take longer thinking about their outfit then on what they are eating for breakfast (Kelton Research). Eating breakfast not only give you the energy to start your day but jump starts your metabolism too!

Here's a solution to your breakfast woes, an easy and inexpensive breakfast recipe you can take on the road. These whole grain granola bars have 3 ingredients (that you probably already have in your kitchen), taste delicious and are easily made the night before.

DIY Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Ingredients for making Granola Bars

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter Granola prepped in dish

Instructions:

  1. Combine peanut butter and honey, then microwave for 60 seconds
  2. Mix well with a fork while warm
  3. Add the granola to the warm peanut butter and honey, mix well so that all the granola is coated
  4. Transfer to a baking dish, I lined mine with parchment paper
  5. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
  6. Remove from oven and let the dish cool completely (this is very important, because if you cut too early your bars will turn back into granola)
  7. Cut to your preferred size
  8. To keep your granola bars crunchy, store in a glass container rather than in plastic

 

What is your early morning routine? Leave a comment or tag us in a picture on social media using #erinbakers - we love it when we've inspired you!

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