How to Keep Your Family Healthy & Happy in Quarantine

Nourishing food, restful sleep, and time spent outdoors: for Ashley Seely, who runs the popular YouTube channel The Dashleys alongside her husband Dallin, these are the ingredients for a peaceful home life in quarantine. And while it might sound like a lot to juggle in a household that also also includes two youngsters and two dogs, for Ashley, health consciousness is a necessity for body and soul. “I see healthy living as a type of self love,” she says. “I eat healthy not because I feel guilty if I don’t, but because I feel happy when I do.”

Like many families, the Seelys have had to adjust their lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic. But instead of ditching their more mindful routines in favor of what’s quick and easy, they’ve leaned into them. “I used to stay up until 10 p.m. or midnight, but now I’m really trying to sleep during that time, wake up earlier, and have mornings to myself,” Ashley says. “I’m rested and refreshed and find myself doing more productive things in my early morning time rather than late at night. Then when the kids wake up, I’ve already worked out and gotten ready for the day.”

Along with an earlier bedtime, another habit Ashley has embraced is meal prep. Once an optional task, weekly meal planning is now a must—one made easier by her Thrive Market membership. “I try to sit down at the end of every week and plan out food for the next week,” she says. “I’ll see what we need from Thrive Market and get that ordered, think about meals and what we want, who we have coming over, date night, and have it all laid out.” Not only does this thoughtful approach streamline her busy schedule, but it also helps Ashley avoid the temptation to snack on junk. “If it has found its way into our house, I have a hard time saying ‘no’ to it,” she says, adding that Thrive Market makes it easy to stay stocked up on the good stuff.

Perhaps one of the Seelys’ most important secrets to happiness in quarantine is finding small moments of joy in the everyday. Ashley shares that one happy side effect of the recent change of pace has been spending more time outside. “We’ve discovered new hiking trails and parks near our home,” she says, adding that tending to the garden or simply taking a neighborhood stroll are daily highlights.

Read on for a glimpse at the family’s typical daily menu, including a few of the recipes that help them keep their family dynamic in balance.

What The Dashleys Eat In A Day

8:30 a.m.: Breakfast time! We enjoy healthy green smoothies or green waffles. For the smoothie it is usually frozen bananas, almond milk, protein powder, and some Amazing Grass Powder.

1:00 p.m.: A favorite lunch staple is a turkey avocado wrap. It’s a whole wheat tortilla with turkey, spinach, avocado, and BBQ sauce. It’s really simple and really good.

4:00 p.m.: We usually go for quick mid-afternoon pick-me-ups like fresh fruit (strawberries, raspberries, peaches), chips and guacamole, or toast dipped in marinara sauce.

6:00 p.m.: One of our go-to dinners has been a grilled chicken salad. If we’re lucky, Dallin will smoke some chicken on the smoker. Then we add it to romaine lettuce, black beans, corn, guacamole, tortilla chips, and cilantro vinaigrette.

My favorite simple recipe for new parents lately is one-pot stroganoff. We have perfected the recipe!

The Dashleys’ Green Waffles

Ingredients

1 cup Thrive Market Rolled Oats
1 cup Kodiak Cake mix
1 scoop protein powder
½ cup cottage cheese
1 cup Thrive Market Almond Milk
2 large eggs
1½ cups spinach
3-4 tablespoons Thrive Market Ground Flax Seed
3-4 tablespoons shelled hemp seeds
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Instructions

Heat the waffle iron. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into your waffle iron. Cook until done. Serve hot with toppings of your choice

For more family-friendly recipes, visit thedashleyskitchen.com.