I’ve been talking a lot to my friends recently about energy levels. It seems that everyone is feeling tired, and wondering where the start of the year has gone. Ailments have been cropping up, people have just generally not been feeling their best.

It can be really hard to find that balance of doing enough, and not too much. There is a certain delicious energy that comes from doing things, being productive and handling it all. I have been having times of doing heaps and feeling bulletproof, having momentum propel me to keep going, and thinking I can keep this level of energy up forever.

But alas, it is not so. Just when you think that you’ve got this, you’ve found the secret to boundless energy and hyper-productivity, removed any blocks just by deciding to get things done instead of putting them on hold, that seems to be the moment that your body decides to tell you… maybe living in this way isn’t sustainable.

What is sustainable in life is surely different for everyone. It definitely depends on the demands placed upon on you, and of course changes over time. The trick is figuring out what is sustainable for you, now.

As women and mothers, we so often take on the burden of having to do everything; the things that need to be done each day just to keep everyone and everything going, not to mention work commitments or obligations we have for others, then somehow we seek to find the time and energy to stay balanced and find some kind of fulfilment. It seems like there aren’t enough pieces of ourselves to get all the different things done. Pulling ourselves in a million different directions is often just the reality – how to cope with this and not lose ourselves or wear ourselves ragged is the challenge.

So, how to figure it all out. We can journal, or do yoga, or spend an hour writing down our long term goals and breaking them down into ‘achievable’ pieces. We can drink matcha every morning, or look at what everybody else is doing and maybe this will help us find the answer?! But maybe none of these things feel right, or do anything for you; or maybe everything just feels like too much effort and the last thing we need on our plates is another thing demanding energy and attention, and making us feel bad if we haven’t reached that goal yet.

What about we just allow ourselves to feel good about doing one single thing.

Small victories. That, surely, is a good place to start.

Just a tiny change in perspective can be so helpful, and by noticing just one thing we might feel less stuck, less overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of it all. Not striving for perfection, but just being happy with something.

Take comfort from the fact that every day provides an opportunity, and even if your day hasn’t gone as planned, there was still movement.

As a family, we have been aiming to walk to school as much as we can, with the goal being everyday, but understanding that sometimes it’s not the thing that serves us best that day. We decided that if we walked everyday for two weeks we should celebrate that, and go out for a special treat. And, we did it. And we enjoyed that treat, which was something that we most probably would have done anyway, but because it was our reward we viewed it through new eyes as something special.

Now we walk most of the time, and while we’re walking we talk a lot more (and yes, a lot of the talk is about what the next treat will be, but that in itself is a joyous thing) and we get the day going with clearer energy. Yes, it has repercussions for how my day flows; but what I lose in the physical time it takes to walk back from school, I gain in thinking time and time moving my body. I notice the world around me, the changes in the air, the ripening figs as they grow. I listen to music and feel a spring in my step. I’m much less likely to feel stuck, and more likely to keep the ball rolling with whatever it is that needs to happen that day.

This is just one thing to feel good about in the day.

So, whatever it is for you, I hope that you can find one thing to feel really good about in your day today. I doesn’t matter what it is, just feel great about one thing. Drinking water, feeling the sun on your skin, ticking one thing off your list, or doing that heaving pile of laundry. Going to work, and coming home again, you can feel a real sense of accomplishment in doing just that. Sitting down to eat a meal, or cooking something for yourself. There is beauty in just noticing something in your life to feel good about.

Mango + Turmeric Chia Pudding with cherries

If you can make yourself a really good breakfast, then that is one thing to feel good about before you’ve even begun your day. If it’s one that makes breakfast for a few days, even better. And better still, if it’s portable it can become morning tea for the kids at school, or feed you well on your way to work.

I love to use frozen fruit when making chia puddings – I find that by blending the fruit with coconut milk and coconut water into a smoothie first, and then stirring the chia seeds through helps prevent the chia seeds clumping together, which means you don’t have to stir the chia pudding as it gels to get an even consistency. It’s more hands off which takes another thing off your list, plus frozen fruit is available all year round which means you can enjoy something exotic even if it’s out of season. Two more things to feel good about.

Mango Turmeric Chia Pudding with frozen cherries

Not everyone might think of chia pudding as a snack, but in our house it’s right up there on the list of favourites. I’m a fan because it only takes a minute to make and keeps for a couple of days, so I make a big batch and keep it in the fridge ready to go for an instant breakfast or super fast snack. It’s really easy to change up the flavours to make it feel a little different, so get creative! One of our current favourites is this mango and turmeric version, topped with frozen sour cherries. Using frozen mango chunks and frozen cherries means we can enjoy something tropical tasting even in the middle of winter, with the turmeric adding a little extra boost of sunshine.

I often make this pudding in the blender just before I do the washing up after dinner, then I can wash up the blender too and pop the pudding into the fridge ready to go for the next morning.

••• Serves 4 – 6 as a light breakfast or snack •••

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup coconut water
1 1/2 cups mango chunks (fresh or frozen, around 250g)
a thumb sized chunk of fresh turmeric, peeled
5 tablespoons chia seeds (around 65g)
6 drops of liquid stevia, or to taste
1 heaped teaspoon vanilla powder, or to taste

2 cups frozen sweet or sour cherries

Place the coconut milk, coconut water, mango chunks, turmeric, stevia and vanilla into a blender and blend on high speed until the mixture is completely smooth.

Stir through the chia seeds, then place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or until the chia seeds have swelled.

Spoon the chia pudding into a bowl or jar and top with the sour cherries, or your favourite topping.

* Of course you can fancy up your chia pudding with any number of toppings, or none at all. If I’m having some for breakfast, I like it with a small handful of coconut flakes, a sprinkling of bee pollen and some chopped toasted almonds on top (I must have crunch), or a few pieces of juicy red dragon fruit (pitaya). Frozen sour cherries are a hit with my kids, and are great to add to a jar if you’re putting it in their lunchbox – by the time recess comes around the cherries have thawed and gone all juicy, but will have done a great job of keeping the pudding cool all morning.

If you’re a chia pudding fan (like we are) you might also like these Strawberry Milk Chia Puddings… a great introduction for kids if they are new to chia pudding. And for everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Turmeric or Curcumin this article is very comprehensive!