I spent three days last week in Scottsdale, Arizona with eighteen other bloggers for a food blogging retreat, sponsored by a kitchen appliance company.  During our time together, the lot of us had several opportunities to sit and shoot the breeze, and I was amazed to hear the conversations often turning toward the balance–or, rather–the lack of balance we all seemed to be keeping.   We were all working so hard to make a living, cook healthy food, keep our children and families healthy, lose weight, shop within our grocery budget, stay on top of everyday demands, and we overwhelmingly felt like we were failing miserably at it all.  “I need a personal assistant, and a sous chef” one mother cried, with a hearty “Hear! Hear!” resounding from the rest of us.

While I’ve yet to find myself an affordable sous chef, I have discovered a beautiful website, dedicated to helping parents achieve a healthy balance in the kitchen, workplace, and daily life.  Mindbloom offers a peaceful, online home for women seeking balance and a renewed commitment to their own inner growth.   

Mindbloom was created in 2008 by Chris Hewett, a former award-winning 3D game producer.  While working in the gaming industry, Chris was constantly, obsessively afraid that he would fail at his roles as a professional and as a parent.  It was time, he felt, to find a way to acheive a healthy, balanced, meaningful life in a realistic, successful way.  Mindbloom brings these worthy goals together in an incredible format, combining breathtaking graphic design with easy-to-use organization.

When I first heard about  Mindbloom, I hesistated about signing up for my own free account.   Would it just become one more thing to do?  Could a website actually help me stay on top of my goals for nutrition, health, and a happy family?  To get started, I had to click on a button inviting me to “Play Now.”  I click on buttons like that all the time for my kids favorite websites, but this was the first time I’d found myself signing up for a mommy “game.”  What fun, I thought.  I was then prompted to select three categories that matter to me from eight offered suggestions:  Health, Lifestyle, Finances, Career, Creativity, Leisure, Relationships, Spirituality.  Once I’d placed my selections, Mindbloom grew a “Life Tree” for me, a tree with branches that represented the most important areas of my life. 

Now, for the fun part.  The website prompted me to click a “leaf” and select an action that would help me strengthen that specific category.  For instance, when I clicked on my “Health” leaf, I was able to schedule the following tasks to be added to my Mindbloom reminder list:  Drink 8 glasses of Water Daily, Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup, Keep a Daily Food Dairy, Walk Around the Block Everyday.  When I scheduled any of these actions to add to my daily life, Mindbloom automatically added it to my daily reminder email–a friendly message arriving every morning in my email box which encourages me to stay strong in my commitment to achieve balance in my chosen areas.

So, is Mindbloom just another site to take my attention away from everything else I’m trying to accomplish life?  So far, it’s been a gentle, peaceful place where I can remember what matters the most to me, and keep careful track of my slow-but-steady progress. 

Now, that is a website I might just have to tell my fellow foodies about.

PLEASE NOTE: Mindbloom has not compensated me for writing positive comments about their website.  All opinions expressed are purely my own.

Tweet

0

Pin It

Go Back To Family Kitchen

0 Comments

Add your take:

Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.