Feature: Health, Fitness, Self Care, Favorite Dafi Products, AM/PM Health Routines

In the Flow is a well-being series on the Dafi blog, featuring monthly interviews with wellness, health and fitness professionals.

May is our month of renewal and getting into the kitchen to prepare up some fresh new recipes can be exactly what our immune systems and bodies need at the moment.

In this month’s In The Flow Series, we’re interviewing Dallas, Texas-based wellness enthusiast, recipe developer, and Dafi influencer, Rebecca Lilly Costa.

Rebecca is a healthy busy bee dedicated to sharing her wellness journey with readers and followers by creating inspiring recipes and sharing tips to simplify ‘healthy’ on both her blog and Instagram channel. Her passion for healthy living shines brightest in the kitchen, and loves creating easy and simple recipes that are realistic to actually make.

I’m excited to share with you some of Rebecca’s healthy lifestyle insights and tips to balance it all in the following interview:

What’s your trick to keeping hydrated?

Proximity. I keep my Dafi sports water bottle nearby at all times!

Can you share what a day in your life looks like, cooking and creating?
I start my day with a workout. This way, there’s no excuses of social agendas or work getting chaotic at the end of the day. Then I head home for breakfast and a shower. Breakfast is usually some of my big batch breakfast hash and fried eggs. I like to photograph my breakfast if lighting is good, I’ll share an Instagram post and head out the door to the office.

I work my desk job and head home to relax and have dinner with my husband. I rely a lot on meal prep. I’ll typically reach for some batch roasted vegetables and a fresh protein. We always end the night taking our pup for a walk together too (no phones allowed!).

The majority of my content creation and cooking occurs on the weekends, especially for the blog when I’m shooting process pictures and writing long form copy. It can be stressful to condense all of my content into two days, but I try to keep super organized. I plan out what I want to make and do a big grocery shop Friday night in preparation. Squeezing the majority of my cooking into the weekend allows for an easier week for me, content- and meal prep-wise.

How did you get into nutrition, food and recipe creation?
My interest in nutrition and wellness started in college when I was going through some health issues. I didn’t know what the root cause was at the time, but later learned I had a hormonal imbalance. Nevertheless, I decided that focusing on being my healthiest self would help fix whatever issue was occurring. I started sharing my recipes on my Instagram account (and Tumblr! Throwback!) for family and friends and was eventually encouraged to make my account public.

Food didn’t have a direct impact on solving my hormonal issues, but it did lead me to holistic medicine which did in fact solve my health issues! Fast forward five years or so and my Instagram and blog have really evolved into a place for me to inspire others and myself to live a healthier lifestyle, no matter what that means to you. I recognized a gap in the food blogger world, that there was a lack of creators who actually have the busy lifestyle their readers do.

Between a corporate job, buzzing social life, love for travel, fitness and family, I want to focus on recipes and tips to simplify healthy. It should be easy and attainable for even the busiest of bees!

Top healthy travel snack for frequent flyers?

Apples and oranges travel well and don’t have any issue with heat! When it comes to bars, I love raw bars with all-natural ingredients.

What’s your perfect Sunday look like, in life and in the kitchen?

Sleep in a bit, mosey out of bed for a cup of coffee and snuggles with my husband and puppy. Then, head to a workout class (dance classes are my favorite!), catch up with a girlfriend for brunch, head home for some meal prep/recipe creation for a few hours, maybe sneak in a bike ride around the lake with my husband and early to bed for a good night’s rest.

What are your top tips to plan ahead for a healthy week of recipes or cooking?

Plan and plan efficiently. I like to brainstorm multiple recipes using the same ingredients, that way I’m not making multiple trips to the store throughout the week. I also like to big batch roasted vegetables with just a bit of salt and pepper, that way I can use them as a base and mix up my dishes throughout the week with various sauces and dips.

Lastly, I’m a huge advocate of shopping seasonally! It’s a great way to expand your horizons, try new things and keep conscientious about your budget.

What’s your favorite way to restore, recover, chill or self-care?

Reading books. I’m a huge extrovert, but sometimes I need quiet time to just escape myself and a good book is always my favorite place to do that. Right now I’m reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

How do you get motivated every morning?

I’m motivated by accountability! As a super-extrovert, I love surrounding myself by uplifting people and positive energy. I always feel like the best place to find this is in a fitness studio.

If I sign up for a fitness class in the morning, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be dragging myself into the studio to hug my friends and get those endorphins flowing. If I say I’m going for a run by myself in the morning, I’m not.

Do you have an AM routine?

Yes! Typically I wake up and try to drink a glass of alkaline lemon water before I work out. I’ll head to the fitness studio for some exercise (I like to mix it up! Pilates, spin, HIIT, yoga, I’m in!).

After I’ll come home and take my vitamins, drink a glass of water and apple cider vinegar, and start the coffee machine while I shower. Then I take my pup out, get some snuggles in, sip my coffee, breakfast and out the door.

Do you have a bedtime routine?

Not as much. Usually after dinner we take the pup for a walk as a family, then sometimes my husband and I watch Netflix together before bed, other times he’ll play video games and I’ll read a book or work on blog content. I’m a big fan of bedtime tea too!

Local healthy find in your hometown of Dallas?

HG Sply Co- their menu is paleo and they have local kombucha on tap plus an awesome rooftop bar!

As far as local products go, my friend Sarah is the founder of Zubi’s Salsa & Dips. They make the most incredible plant based queso that I can and will eat by the spoonful.

What’s your favorite benefit of alkaline water? The amped up hydration!

What’s your favorite Dafi product? My Alkaline UP Crystal Glass Water Pitcher, makes drinking filtered quality water at home easy, and plastic-free!