Four Ways For Couples To Be Healthy Together

Pete and I live in North Carolina and all our family and friends live in New York. That means we spend a lot of time doing things as just us. But, honestly, being newlyweds, that's nice. It really gives us time to hang out together and just grow our relationship. We do everything from going to the beach to grocery shopping to getting healthy together. That last one, health, it's arguably the most important. We do our best to be as healthy as possible for each other and our life. That doesn't mean we worry about numbers on a scale (the battery in our scale died months ago and we actually haven't fixed it because that number doesn't matter). It's about non-scale victories: feeling good and making choices that keep us that way. There are so many of these choices that we make daily and together. I listed them below, in order of how they happen in our day, not order of importance.

Four Ways For Couples To Be Healthy Together

1. Drink smoothies for breakfast.

Smoothies seem to be the latest buzzword, but we've been having them for a while (ever since Pete watched a video where Alton Brown suggested your breakfast should be purple). Each night, Pete will put together a smoothie for each of us in blender cups (which we got from our wedding registry). What's so cute is that his smoothie recipe calls for half of two fruits, which means the best way to use a whole fruit is if we each have half. Just like marriage: two parts of a whole.

Berry Smoothie Recipe
1/2 mango
1/2 banana
1/4 cup frozen mixed berries
1/4 cup orange juice

• Add all the ingredients to a single-serve blender cup. Blend. Enjoy.

Pete will make these at night, before bed, and we'll both have them in the morning. It's a great way to get a few servings of fruit in our diet right as our day starts. Plus, making them the night before means they are easy to grab in the morning -- just as easy as a bowl of sugary cereal, but a lot better for you.

2. Be active together.

I work at home (for myself) and Pete works outside of home. After work, when he's done for the day, I build a break into my schedule. We use that time to walk to the local park and walk a few miles together before heading home. It's good for us physically (because of the activity) but for us as a couple too. Our walk is a phone-free zone. Neither of us spend time texting or on social media or playing mobile games. We use that time to converse with each other about our day (and to vent about anything frustrating that happened that day too). It's nice to carve out that time o really be present for each other.

But that's not the only way couples can be active together. Go hiking, take runs on the beach, go to the gym together, put on a P90x DVD. All these activities are a lot more fun with a partner -- and marriage gives you that workout buddy. If you can't work out together every day, that's fine. Just try your best to find time to do something together (even if it's just yoga between the commercials while you're watching a TV show).

3. Cook dinner at home -- together.

Pete and I cook nearly every meal at home. We run our dishwasher more often than anyone else I know, but that's something that makes me happy. It reminds me that we used our bowls and pots and pans to create something delicious rather than calling for take out. When we cook at home, we do it from scratch. We know exactly what is going into our bodies. I laugh at us sometimes because we do really make most everything from scratch. Pete makes homemade chicken stock when we buy a whole chicken for dinner; I make ricotta cheese; we make bread. If it's possible to make it, we do.

You don't have to make everything from scratch, but you should make meals at home. It's cheaper and healthier, plus it gives you more time to spend together as a couple. Go on Pinterest and find a new recipe, then make it together. It's so much fun. Plus, if you split up responsibilities, you'll both be involved and no spouse will resent the other (and that makes for a happy marriage).

If you're looking for healthy and delicious recipes ideas, I have a couple really easy ones that anyone can make. Try our Cauliflower Soup (my new favorite) or our Chicken Chili.

4. Relax together. And apart.

Some of the best conversations had are the ones where no words are said. When you can just sit with someone without saying anything, that's a comfort people yearn for. At the end of the day, just try and relax with your significant other. Maybe you'll watch the news, maybe you'll snuggle, or maybe you'll stream something on Netflix (We would suggest House of Cards, but you can pick whatever you like). When we're hanging out at night, Pete actually puts his phone on airplane mode. He's really popular and his phone is constantly going off. And that's fine because having friends is important. But when we are unwinding together at night, he makes sure that it's just us.

But relaxing apart is nice too. Pete goes to bed before me, so he will go to the bedroom with a magazine and just read, then he'll listen to meditation before bed. And me? I love Candy Crush. It shuts down my entire system and just causes me to unwind. Spending time together is important, but it's also healthy to have some alone time and foster your own interests.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What other ways you can think of for couples to be healthy together?