Most people wake up every morning, go to the bathroom, drink water, eat breakfast, go to work, eat lunch, work some more, come home, eat dinner, watch TV and go to bed. Some sprinkle exercise in there, others meditation, or partying, or maybe a full day of shopping.
 
The majority dress nicely for work, casually to go to the grocery store, sexy when they go out at night, and conservative around their parents.
 
People develop all sorts of routines and habits from meals to weekly TV shows to exercise classes and grocery shopping. Often, these same people become bored and depressed as they move through their typical patterns that too often become monotonous tasks.

Recently, I discovered that doing things out of context is incredibly refreshing and invigorating. What I’m talking about is wearing a fancy dress to the grocery store, or going all out for casual Friday at work.

If your office is more casual but you usually get really dressed up, give yourself permission to wear super comfy clothes one day, and notice how it lightens your mood and changes your entire perspective.

If you’re one of those people who tense up their face while juggling a million Google Chrome tabs every day, you’ll notice a significant positive change.
 
Bringing unexpected elements into my every day routine keeps me bright and upbeat. For me, this means changing up my routine daily, so I’m not doing the same things in the same way over and over.

That might mean shifting my work schedule so I can have a deeply relaxing morning of reading and breakfast, or taking a random personal day to get a massage and walk through the park. Even if you love job or other routine, most personalities become bored and manic after not too long. 
 
As a total wellness junkie, I have to remember to keep things fluid and stay away from rigid routines. Yes, I often wake up, meditate, oil pull, have hot water, exercise and make a great breakfast, but none of these things are mandates. 

The first thing I ask myself upon waking is how I’m feeling, and what would nourish me today. Every day is different.

One day I might want to lay in bed for an hour and read, another I might want to get up and dance around to Beyonce to get energized for work, or maybe I feel like making breakfast right away, and then settling into some meditation and movement.

The key here is intuition, and tenderness. It’s important to be gentle with yourself, especially if you tend to put lots of pressure on yourself to constantly achieve and “power through.”
 
Here are some ways you can develop your own intuition, and take things out of context to shift your mood and demeanor:

1. Wear a fancy dress to go grocery shopping. Or do your makeup really nice to go work out. Get gussied up for a solo weekday lunch trip. You get the gist – make the ordinary super luxurious and watch your entire outlook change.

2. Eat something different. If you mechanically eat cereal every day without thinking about it, are you really nourishing yourself, mind and body? Maybe not. Ask yourself what you really feel like, and trust your desires. When you begin to eat intuitively, restrictions lift and you feel real satisfaction, satiation and joy.

3. Meditate on the subway. Or any form of public transportation, or other unexpected setting – just hold on to your purse and be safe. All you have to do is close your eyes, turn your attention inward, and repeat a mantra like “so hum.”

   Just come back to that mantra, mentally saying “so” on the inhale and “hum” on the exhale, whenever thoughts creep in. This is a great way to ease transportation anxiety and utilize that time, but don’t make it militant! I also love to listen to music on the subway, read, or do some straight up people watching.

4. Try a different exercise routine. If you do yoga on autopilot four times a week, you’re less likely to really be engaging and exhausting your muscles – the goal of exercise.

   I recently fell in love with Physique 57’s ballet barre classes – totally new to me and completely invigorating. It’s worth stepping outside your comfort zone to really get the most out of your workout time.

5. Respond differently. The standard response to “How are you is?” is “Fine, how are you?” – so much so that you can almost be certain that’s what will come out of the responders mouth when you ask.

   What if you answered differently?
   
   I challenge you to reply uniquely every time someone asks you how you are this week. “Great!” is better than “Fine,” but go for authenticity and really tell people what’s up.

   Depending on your relationship with the person asking, you will give more or less detail, and you can tell when people are really interested. I did this experiment with a co-worker and saw major improvements in my mood and productivity. Get playful with it – make it into a game!

In the spirit of taking things out of context, I’m giving you a recipe this week that might seem a little weird, but you’ll be the judge of that. I’ve found multiple contexts for this delicious little dish, all in the spirit of doing things upside down and backwards.

You can pair these little cakes with a beautiful piece of seared fish, my fennel-rosemary chimichurri and sautéed greens, throw a couple eggs and sliced avocado on top of them for breakfast, or cube and sauté until crispy to use as salad “croutons.”

How will you switch things up this week?

Crispy White Bean Cakes
 
Ingredients

1 cup cooked white beans
1 small yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
3 sprigs parsley
1 cup regular or gluten-free bread crumbs
½ cup regular or gluten-free all purpose flour
1 egg
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
Olive oil
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
 
Method

Heat 2 T olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Dice onion and garlic and sauté until caramelized, but not too dark. Mash beans in large bowl, beat egg in separate bowl, add egg to large bowl. Add breadcrumbs, flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add onions and garlic to large bowl. Chop parsley and add to large bowl along with salt and pepper. Combine all ingredients with clean hands. Mixture should be quite dry. If it’s too wet to easily form cakes, add more breadcrumbs.

Form into small thin cakes. Heat 2 T olive oil in skillet and bring to high heat. Place cakes in single layer on pan, and sear on each side for 3-5 minutes, or until crispy. Reduce heat to finish cooking for 3-5 minutes. Watch to ensure cakes do not burn, but allow them to brown nicely.
 
Fennel-Rosemary Chimichurri
 
Ingredients
 
1 head fennel
5 sprigs rosemary
4 cloves garlic
2 T white wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup vegetable stock
1 t raw honey
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
 
Method
 
Dice fennel into small pieces and sauté on medium-high heat in 2 T olive oil for 5-7 minutes, or until golden-brown. Transfer to blender. Destem rosemary and add to blender. Mince garlic and add. Add vinegar, olive oil, vegetable stock, honey, salt and black pepper. Blend on high until smooth consistency is reached. Add more olive oil or vegetable stock if necessary. Taste for salt and add more if desired.

Photo: Tasty Yummies