I’m someone who tries.

I try to eat well, try to move my body, try to keep it together at work, and try to be a super mom. Frankly, there isn’t a day when all of it lines up. Some days a small piece falls into place; many days I’m scrambling to keep up with any of it. And some days my life goal is simply to lie under a table with a large block of chocolate and no follow-up questions.

You might be surprised that a chronic scrambler like me also has a passion for optimization. I’ve built detailed meal plans that survived until about Tuesday, designed routines that looked impressive on paper, and scheduled my days with bizarrely precise line items - seven minutes to do this, nine minutes to do that - like I was at NASA managing a rocket launch.

My intention has been to really feel accomplished in my own way but I heavily underestimated how much I was asking of one ordinary human.

And here’s the hypocrisy: I still do it. I fail every single day, and yet every Sunday morning I’m at the table with my old-school notebook and another unnecessary pen, preparing to redesign a life I will ignore by Wednesday.

What’s changed is how I meet the days when I fall short. I used to pretend it didn’t bother me while quietly keeping score. Now I’m a little gentler with myself. I know I’m never going to be perfect, and I’m also never going to stop trying and somehow those two truths have learned to live together.

I’ve realized something important: not every part of a day needs to be good for the day to be good. I don’t judge a day by one thing that went sideways. If I made it through without tears, that’s a win. If nothing truly rattled me, that’s a win. If nothing dramatic happened at all, honestly, that’s a win too.

At night I look at the day as a whole, jot down how I feel, and let it be enough.

To tilt the scale toward “hey, this isn’t half bad,” I need one solid anchor at the start. For me, that anchor is breakfast. Whenever I begin with a simple, high-protein, no-drama meal, I’ve already claimed a tiny piece of the day and the rest tends to follow a little more easily.

Do I eat perfectly clean? Rarely.
But I can handle one thing that’s boring, predictable, and nourishing. When I remove that first decision, life gets simpler - and simple is where habits actually grow.

So here’s my go-to breakfast and I hope it simplifies your day too.

High-Protein, All-Natural Smoothie

Blitz the following in a blender:

Shamefully, that’s it. Everything else is optional: a splash of almond milk, a drizzle of honey, chia or hemp seeds, maybe a little coconut.

I make variations depending on the day, but the core never changes. Two generous scoops of Greek yogurt give me about 18-20 grams of protein, which is enough to get my brain and body online. I don’t count the calories in this because I know it’s definitely lower than whatever else I tried to eat to keep me full.

If I need more protein, I might add peanut butter powder or a spoon of chia or hemp seeds. But most mornings, it’s honestly just those two ingredients.

When I first started making smoothies, I loaded them with protein powders or extra honey for that sweet hit. Over time my taste buds adjusted, and now I prefer it simple - clean, quick, and not trying too hard.

If you have a go-to breakfast that saves your mornings, I’d love to hear it - hit reply and tell me your version. I’m always collecting low-effort, high-reward ideas.