Day on a Plate: Teresa Palmer

Australian actress, writer, producer and all round goddess, Teresa Palmer, embodies health, warmth and joy in everything she does. We are so thrilled to feature this Aussie golden girl and founder of Your Zen Life on the blog today.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself – who you are and what you do.

I am a mama, actress and founder / co-founder of Your Zen Life and Your Zen Mama. I am married to my sweet husband Mark and together we have two boys: Bodhi (3) and Forest (8 months). And I am step mum to Mark’s son, Isaac.

My passions outside of acting are babies and parenting, health and overall wellbeing.  I grew up in Adelaide, Australia and split my time between there and Los Angeles, California. I cherish spending time with my boys, love being outside in nature and always strive to be the best version of me.

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Bodhi love and I in this months @vogueaustralia Have you picked up your copy? Also check out the vid I shot to accompany the shoot.. it really captures my "authentic self" dir by @likemark LINK IN BIO

A post shared by Teresa Palmer (@teresapalmer) on May 17, 2017 at 4:34am PDT

2. What was the ‘uh ha’ moment that inspired you to get in to health and wellbeing?

To be honest, I think it is more attributed to a period in my life rather than a single ‘uh ha’ moment. When I moved from Adelaide to Los Angeles, a whole new world opened up to me. LA is rife with health, wellness and a large community of like-minded folk which triggered my interest in all things wellness. I started to learn more about food, fitness and mindfulness and there was no real turning back. That was also the catalyst for creating Your Zen Life, a community of conscious minded people striving to be their best selves.

 
3. Talk us through a typical day in your life…

There aren’t usually two days the same in our household due to work schedules and activities we have planned but generally I would say a typical day is as follows:

In the morning I wake up and have snuggles with my boys. I’ll get them dressed and ready for school. I make Bodhi his lunch which is typically fruit of some kind, a vegemite sandwich, organic pretzels, popcorn or crackers. Then it’s backpack packed, the boys loaded in the car and we drop Bodhi off at pre-school.

I then head to my favourite restaurant: Cafe Gratitude and sit with Forest and use the time to do work, blog, catch up on emails etc. This is where I usually have my favourite: smashed avocado with wasabi cream, a vegan cacao banana bread and a green juice. Then it’s time to pick up Bodhi and head home.

We have lunch which could be anything from vegetarian sushi to a sea veggie salad, a veggie quesadilla or an heirloom tomato and avocado salad. Bodhi will usually nap after lunch and I use the time to spend time with Forest. Once Bodhi is awake, chances are I have planned a playdate, or we catch up with friends, visit a kids play area or head to one of his after school activities like Soccer.

For dinner, Mark will make us a vegan stir-fry consisting of broccoli cauliflower, crispy onions, red pepper, rice noodles and a lemon soy sauce, or I’ll make a Mediterranean veggie pasta with olives, sundried tomatoes and vegan garlic bread. After dinner it’s bath, books and bedtime for the boys. After I’ve nursed Forest to sleep, Mark and I have about two hours to Netflix and Chill. We have recently made a new rule about no phones between 8.30 – 10.30pm and we use that time to chat, relax and watch a show, read etc.

By then Forest has usually woken for another feed, so I feed him down to sleep, before crashing out myself.
 

4. Coffee or tea?

To be honest, I’m actually more of a juice / smoothie kinda girl! I’m not a coffee drinker at all! Tea is always my go-to out of the two, especially in the cooler months. I also really love boba tea.
 

5. What is your indulgence of choice?

Anything salted caramel!
 

6. Three foods you can’t live without?

Ooooh this is a hard one! I guess just avocado in general, I love smashed avo on toast for breakfast!

• I am a huge Mexican fiend and love chips with guac!
• I also can’t live without broccoli, it’s my favourite vegetable and I sneak it into a load of dishes.
• I know it’s not a food, but can I include a drink? Kombucha!! I seriously would have at least one a day. I love it and notice a change in my gut health when I go without.

7. What’s your go-to snack for those days on the run?

I find preparation is key and so because of that, I always have snacks packed! My go-to’s are usually rice cakes with almond butter and honey, square bars (a vegan protein bar) or some fruit.
 

8. … And any last words of advice or tips for those starting out on their health journey?

Just start and go easy on the pressure! Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed with the bigger picture of our overall health goals, that it is easy to feel like it is all too hard and give up. That’s why if you take baby steps, ease into it by making smaller changes along the way, you will make progress, start seeing results and it will motivate you to keep going. My other piece of advice is read, watch, listen and immerse yourself in as much information as possible. There are so many wonderful resources on health, wellness, mindfulness and conscious living that provide a wealth of information. Take what you need and create what works best for you; your mind, body and lifestyle.