If you, like me, have a tendency to get swept up in the changing seasons, you may be missing out on changes that can help you feel great as the months get colder. Check out these five ideas to see what you might benefit from this pumpkin season!

Your Look

The Biggest Street Style Trends of Fall 2018

Who doesn’t love getting a fresh new look? Seasonal changes inspire lots of people to cut and color their hair or update their wardrobe, and it definitely serves as a confidence booster when your kids are heading back to school and life just seems busier. And with new trends emerging each year with every season, it’s easy to find something new and fun to try.

Even simple changes like parting your hair on the other side of your head or investing in a warm jacket that will transition perfectly into winter weather will get you in the Fall spirit and ready to take on the challenges ahead.

Your Workout

How to Guarantee Your Workout is Always Working

If you like to get your sweat on at the gym, it’s easy to stick to the same workout you’ve been doing for the last six months, but the coming of a new season is the perfect excuse to make some alterations. New class schedules will start coming out, too, and it may be fun to add one or more of these into the rotation.

You should also think about how the change in weather will affect your preferred workouts and what you can substitute on those days. Does the road you love to run get icy early on? Transition to a new route or the treadmill. Will your regular gym hours be crowded now? Try a bodyweight workout at home or joining a Fall sports league.

Your Hygiene

The Definitive Guide to Dry Skin

As many women can attest, when the weather changes, it can make perfectly controlled skin suddenly dry up or breakout and hair brittle and dull. Anticipate how the Fall season will affect your skin and update your skincare routine accordingly.

You may switch out one product or all of them, but it’s worth it to keep your skin and hair looking beautiful. And if your last visit to the dentist was quite a while ago, replace your toothbrush so those pearly whites can keep impressing.

Your Food

Fall Weeknight Dinners

You’ve gotten into a great rotation when it comes to meal plans, but with the harvested fields come a slew of new delicious foods you don’t want to miss out on.

It’s time to take a quick hour and rehash your go-to recipes. You may choose to add squash to an already amazing meal or go full out with a different meal that compliments the new corn recipe you’ve found on Pinterest.

Your Schedule

12 Things Organized Moms Always Do Before School Starts Again

With the new season comes a change in commuter routines and the habits of the general population. Will your favorite coffee shop now be overrun with college students? Will it take 20 more minutes to drive by the elementary school along your normal drive to work?

Now is a good time to think about how you’ll need to adjust your own routine to avoid traffic buildup and busy crowds. But it’s also a good time to map out all your favorite seasonal activities so you can make the most of the corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and football games you love.

But don’t get weighed down by the stress of your current schedule; you can start looking at dates for your next vacation, too! Making your spring or summer plans now will help you and your best friends get through the never-ending winter months.

The post 5 Changes to Make When Summer Turns to Fall appeared first on InstantELLA.

It’s dinner time. You are starving, your family is starving, and they expect you to whip up something tasty and delicious, and quickly.

Chicken, beef, or another main entree is an easy given, but what else can you throw together with them?

Luckily there is something that will go easily with any meat, something that can be made several different ways that are bound to satisfy all members of your family. And that something is a potato.

Here are five reasons that potatoes are always going to be dinner’s delectable best friend and something you can always count on when it comes to preparing any meal.

1) They are healthy

30 Healthy Ways To Eat Potatoes

Not only are potatoes easy to make and taste really good, they are also very healthy.

There are so many simple healthy potatoes recipes out there that taste good but deliver the nutrients you want your family to get with every meal.

Depending on the type of potato you choose to make, each has its own nutritional value. Sweet potatoes, for example, are jam-packed with vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, Vitamin E, calcium, and Iron.

Red potatoes have a lot of the same nutrients, but their skin is especially nutritious with large amounts of fiber and B Vitamins.

2) The possibilities are endless

The 18 Best Ways To Cook Potatoes, In Order

As was mentioned before, one of the greatest parts of potatoes is their versatility.

You can make them into soup, mash them, bake them, dice them and cover them with cheese. Whatever your heart’s desire, there is probably a simple healthy potato recipe to satisfy it.

3) Solution for picky eaters

Julie’s Potato Salad is my go-to summer side dish! Ever the pickiest eaters love these simple, classic flavors!

Because potatoes are so versatile even your most picky eater will have a version of potatoes that they enjoy eating.

You could say the potatoes are a really great “safe” food because you know when you prepare it everyone is going to be happy and eat and enjoy the food you prepared.

They are the best foods to personalize to your own individual taste, because you can start them off plain but add all the flavors and toppings you want, ensuring it will taste good and be eaten.

4) Easy on the tummy

An Old Palestinian Potato Home Remedy for Tummy Troubles

If you or any of your family are having stomach problems potatoes are a great solution.

As mentioned before, potatoes are filled with many beneficial nutrients and are made up of mostly water, making them very easy to digest. So if there is a stomach bug plaguing your house or if someone always has a sensitive stomach, potatoes are the answer.

5) Easy on the wallet

11 Cheap Meals to Make with Potatoes

One reason that potatoes could be on the dinner menu pretty often is that they are a pretty inexpensive side dish.

It’s easy to buy potatoes in large quantities for a really affordable price. Also, most potatoes are available year round, although they are even cheaper during potato harvesting season, which is usually early fall.

This also means that potatoes are a great option if you have to feed a lot of people but don’t want to spend a ton of money, hence why you see so many potato dishes served around the holidays.

The post Why Potatoes Are Dinner’s Best Friend? appeared first on InstantELLA.

1. Oatmeal

Turn instant oats into a quick, easy, and deliciously healthy breakfast by adding berries and cream to it. If you have oatmeal lovers, this is a great meal to get your kids going in the morning. You can even lay out bowls of fruit on the table for your kids to put in their oatmeal.

2. Smoothie Bowls or Yogurt Parfaits

Smoothie bowls are great, especially if you want to hide some vegetables that your child wouldn’t get otherwise. Use your favorite smoothie recipe, pour it into a bowl, and add fruit and granola to it. Likewise, for an even simpler breakfast, add fruit and granola to yogurt. Lay out all of the fix-ins and let your kids make their own healthy parfait.

3. Grilled Cheese with Veggies

Are your kids grilled cheese lovers? Use whole grain bread, a favorite cheese, and add on veggies like tomatoes, peppers, spinach, and cucumbers. This meal only takes a few minutes to make and is perfect for quick lunches or dinners.

4. Chicken Salad

Grill up some chicken, throw it in a leafy green mix, add toppings like cheese and tomatoes, cover it in your favorite dressing (or your kids’ favorite dressing). For an extra simple meal, grill up some extra chicken on a night when you have chicken planned, and save if for lunch the next day. Any salad will be a great healthy and easy meal – you can use deli meats or leftover Christmas ham and turkey for the meat too.

5. Pesto Pasta

Cook up some bowtie pasta, mix it in with pesto or Italian dressing, and lay it over a bed of leafy greens for a perfect and simple healthy meal. If you have children old enough to do so, you can even instruct them to boil the pasta and mix it with the dressing.

The post Healthy Kid-Friendly Meals to Get You Through the Holidays appeared first on InstantELLA.