Mother’s Day Health: 5 Healthy Activities To Help You Celebrate Mother’s Day

Your mom wants you to be healthy, so planning some healthy activities for Mother’s Day could be an ingenious way to celebrate. Whether you cook a nutritious brunch or plan to give your mom some healthy gifts, she’ll probably appreciate your sentiment. Below, find a few ideas that can help you plan a unique and healthy Mother’s Day this year.

Cook A Healthy Brunch

Perhaps one of the most obvious things to do on Mother’s Day is to have brunch, lunch, or dinner with the family. But this year, take control of the menu and do some home-cooking yourself using healthy recipes — make a kale frittata, for example — an easy way to make eggs combined with antioxidant-filled veggies. Use egg whites, a bit of Gruyere or Parmesan cheese, and throw in some kale, tomatoes, spinach, or even broccoli. Add some salt and pepper, and you have a delicious and utterly healthy meal. With a side salad, strawberries, some freshly-squeezed juice, and some whole-wheat toast with jam, you’ll have a simple yet delicious brunch.

Set Mom Up — With Health Appointments

Keep track of your mom’s doctor and check-up appointments by making sure she’s on top of all her necessary screenings. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mother’s Day is a good time to remember all the important preventive services for your mom: breast cancer screenings (mammographies), Pap tests, and osteoporosis screenings.

Another way to help your mom take the right health steps is to set her up with a nutritionist. Having a nutritionist can be a luxury, and may also be one of the most valuable Mother’s Day gifts — she’ll certainly appreciate the chance to have someone guide her with her day-to-day eating habits. Having a nutritionist can help her lose weight or simply feel healthier and better about herself, and it can have a long-lasting impact on her energy, weight, and happiness.

Give Mom A Chance To Relax: Spa Day

Though there may not be too much scientific evidence behind whether a spa treatment has long-term health benefits, giving your mom a mental health day can go a long way. After spending most of her days working, taking care of the family, and running errands, she’ll be sure to appreciate the chance to get a massage, a facial, or a manicure. Mental health is important for mothers, especially since it’s often overlooked in their hectic lives.

Have A Picnic

There’s no better way to spend a Sunday in May than being outside, especially when it involves a picnic. Whether in your backyard or in the park, setting up a sweet little breakfast or lunch for your mom outside is a nice way to give her a chance to relax and enjoy nature. Being outside has been shown to improve mental health, so the more you let your mom get some fresh air, the better. Research has also shown that taking walks in the park improves both mental and physical health.

Eat Some Dark Chocolate

Instead of buying your mom a lot of regular, sugary, sweet chocolates or candy, turn instead to the benefits of dark chocolate, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory antioxidants. Cocoa and chocolate (especially the bitterer, dark chocolate, which isn’t as processed) are filled with a healthy type of flavonoid called flavanols — they’re good for heart health, according to the Cleveland Clinic. “In addition to having antioxidant qualities, research shows that flavanols have other potential influences on vascular health,” the Cleveland Clinic states on its website, “such as lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow to the brain and heart, and making blood platelets less sticky and able to clot.” Other flavonoid-rich foods you can add to your mother’s snack basket include apples, red wine, tea, and cranberries. But stick to dark chocolate, and you can’t go wrong.