Defining oneself. Who have I been in the past decade? When tasked with this question, I found many answers. Holistic health counselor, wife, mother, part-time worker, creative card architect, hand lettering artist, fledgling web design student, foodie…..it is all there, the makeup of me. What does this accumulation of experiences lead me to do next? Now that my son is school age, I have a modest amount of kid-free time available and more of my brain back for different uses, I keep trying to impress upon myself this concept/belief that I am supposed to be something, to use these narratives of my life to make a career of sorts.

I find that I am overwhelmed, the world is your oyster sort of thing. How do I create work that encompasses my skills and experiences? Oh, and be flexible for child care needs? School vacations? Summer vacations? Yikes!

Just breathe, right?

I am so very grateful for the continued space and support that I receive while I get to figuring it all out. The mothership, full of experiences and desires, is now ready to go launch. There will be so much more to happen on this journey and I will be happy to share as I wander onwards.

It begins with allium family, onions and garlic or the lovely shortcut – shallots. Sometimes a little olive oil is first heated in the pan, sometimes it’s a broth or wine. What this amounts to is the start of creating a nourishing meal for my family, a base of opportunity. The vegetables come next – kale, broccoli rabe, squash – all delicious options. Then there’s the consideration of a protein, like chicken sausage or salmon (or what is still fresh in the fridge). Sometimes a grain will be added, or potato, to round out the meal. It’s so basic and it’s how I have created whole meals for many years now.

The joke is that I start by piquing the senses with delicious smells and visual delights, then the rest falls into place. My husband refers to my style as hobo cooking as I can just toss the ingredients together and they are usually tasty (yes, there are the occasional flops). One of our favorite accidental meal concoctions is mashed red bliss potatoes with sauteed onions, garlic, and kale – topped off with baked beans. It is really tasty and belly satisfying on a cold night!

I truly love experimenting with food. Around ten years old, my grandmother would allow me to make what she called, “messy stuff.” I could raid her kitchen pantry for spices, flours and other goodies, add them to a bowl with liquid and see what came of it. Such joy! I could go on for hours with my creations. They were usually goopy brown combinations that were not for eating. It was about the journey of experimentation, not the outcome! Sauteeing onions is the grown up version of  “messy stuff,” just refined and edible!

I came upon what some consider a big number this year, forty. My maturing mindset is this – I am wiser, decisive, and more forgiving as I go up in years. I do not look down upon it, rather embrace it with possibility!  With this has come a nudge for change, a new path to pursue. Just how big does that feel? HUGE! It can feel a bit overwhelming and times and fear of failure kicks in. Like why haven’t I figured it all out by forty, been doing said thing for years by this time, being highly seasoned with experience? Realistically, I think that in this day and age, we go through a number of career changes at many different stages in our lives. Luckily, I fall back on my convictions that I am wiser and powerfully decisive. By this point in life, I can hone in on what makes me energized (what could I do for hours on end) and crowd out what no longer serves me. It isn’t a fast process and I relish in having the opportunity right now to digest my ideas and try them out. My inherent optimism fuels my endeavor to figure it out and run with it.

I eat well and consider myself an active person, I rarely sit still. I don’t have any banned foods, but I also eat reasonable portions.  I like vegetables! I like chocolate! Okay, maybe my dinners could be a little smaller at times. I inhabit a petite, curvy body which I appreciate. I have a round belly and wider hips; I weigh about twenty pounds more than I did before becoming a mom, and like many women, haven’t easily lost the weight. A number of factors are at play here, like stress, having not been consistent in exercising in the past, and some genetics.      

I have had some health concerns pop up recently and am trying to get a handle on them before they become larger issues. I need more cardio workouts in my world. Let’s be real here, it is taking a while for me to warm up to the idea. I like my yoga and walks, but I need more of a kick and cardio programs are the next step. I hope to like them as I like veggies and chocolate, do you think it’s possible?

I figured that if I put these intentions into concrete words that I may be more likely to hold myself accountable. The truth is, I am the happiest and most content that I have been in my adult life. I’ve been creating my world in a genuine way, really listening, speaking, and acting from the heart. I see the results of these choices all around me, everyday. I walk with joy because I know I have a choice. Like now, I have a choice to improve my health and age well. I’ll get there!

Oh hi. There’s a lot to be said or expressed about food. What we eat and how we approach food conversations says quite a bit. We often justify what we’re about to ingest, putting verbal disclaimers on the contents.

When you are someone like myself who promotes the education of healthy eating, you tend to get an earful. Foods are made acceptable, foods are made bad by the individual. Assigning foods positives and negatives like this doesn’t make the diet any easier, friends (more on diets in a later post). Try approaching foods as neutral goods; healthy eating is very broad in its description. We need it to fuel our bodies and what is energizing and nutritive to one person can be drastically different for the next.

I am going to use myself as an example to elaborate on this matter. I generally eat a wide spectrum of foods (think eating a rainbow here) and experiment tons with recipes and meal concepts. You will most likely not hear the following words from me – I never eat that. That just doesn’t work in my world. Could you imagine the ramifications of me telling my 87 year old Grandmother that I am not going to eat her delicious butter, milk, cheese and white pasta homemade mac and cheese??

Dear folks reading this….please, please be kinder to yourselves and those offering to nourish you. If you crave that small wedge of Brie, enjoy it! Put it on top of a kale salad with a simple dressing. Really feel like a hot fudge sundae would make your day? Go for it, I give you permission!