Happy Wednesday!

How is your start to 2024 going??

Personally, I am happy 2023 is behind us, but who knows what 2024 will hold!

Glad to be here posting after a couple of weeks! We were in Phoenix about a week and a half ago with Alec’s side of the family… it was so nice to get some sun for a few days! We returned back to the frigid temps in Michigan and a couple of cars covered in snow/ice. We forgot to put the car I usually drive in the garage before we left and it was the hardest time I think I’ve ever had getting the ice scraped off! 2 inches of solid ice on the back windshield… I was heading out to get groceries/run errands during which the almond milk I got from Costco froze/expanded/leaked onto my trunk and underneath the top flooring… and then all froze again making it much more of a hassle to try and clean up… let’s just say it was an interesting time getting back into the swing of things that day! Thankfully Alec, as the resident car expert, offered to clean up the almond milk debacle…

While it’s nice that it’s a bit warmer this week, I’m also not a huge fan of the constant colder/warmer cycles our winters seem to be composed of nowadays! I’d rather just take snow for 3 straight months compared to all this melting/back-and-forth/ice and cold rain…

In other news, how about Michigan Football??? More on that below.

Some recent eats from the holidays / into January! 

I am all about creativity and being inspired in the kitchen… I hope these posts encourage you towards that end!

We are all unique as far as our nutrition needs and preferences go… something that I think it can be especially important to remember at the start of a new year!

Backing up to the holidays… I made these chewy ginger molasses cookies on a whim and I was obsessed! Absolutely loved the texture and flavor. Could not be improved upon in my opinion! Definitely will be making these each year at Christmastime going forward!

Any favorite holiday cookies or treats that you enjoyed??

While I encourage enjoying tasty foods as a stand-alone principle, it’s also important to note that when we overly try to have a “perfect diet,” this tends to backfire!

A delicious winter salad combo of arugula, sliced orange + grapefruit, pomegranate, cucumber, toasted walnuts, + feta (or was it goat cheese?? – either would be good). Drizzled w/ homemade dark balsamic. Loving all the citrus lately!

For Christmas Eve I made my favorite roasted garlic + cauliflower soup, rosemary sourdough focaccia, and a salad w/ pomegranate + goat cheese + toasted pecans. Very satisfying indeed!

My planned Christmas morning breakfast was a bit of a flop as I intended to make gingerbread pancakes that did not turn out as intended! I have made these before as written (which turn out great) but this time tried subbing oat flour as I have been moving towards not eating gluten (for specific health purposes). Sometimes I find that subbing oat/almond/other flours works perfectly fine, but this case was a struggle! We ate our “pancakes” with almond butter + maple syrup, all while wishing we had our usual overnight oats after all the extra effort. Oh well. Not every eating experience is going to be great, and we can still enjoy the conversation/time with others/opportunity to pause and take a break!

One of the many reasons I recommend eating regularly throughout the day is that each eating experience doesn’t have to feel like the “be-all-end-all”!

Our anniversary is a few days before Christmas and we had an excellent meal at The Chop House in Ann Arbor. We went there last year for Alec’s 30th birthday and this time was even better since we had “refined” our menu choices and knew just what to get.

The best salmon for me, filet mignon for Alec, split au gratin potatoes + broccoli w/ spicy miso butter for sides, and some house gelato and chocolate truffles for dessert. Also some fabulous white wine + decaf coffee w/ dessert!

Given that we don’t eat out often, we “splurged” the next morning by going to Stray Hen for breakfast. I love the granola parfait w/ honey and fresh fruit!

Lots of end-of-year festivities! My dad’s bday is a few days after Christmas and we had a tasty dinner of beef tenderloin followed by flourless chocolate cake w/ my dad’s homemade whipped cream. We had a TON of whipped cream to go around as you can maybe tell by the photo. Lol. I would say I like the fudgyness and flavor in flourless chocolate cake even better than traditional chocolate cakes!

NYE I made my favorite beef + lentil soup w/ grated parmesan and fresh sourdough. I love this soup so much! It also makes quite a bit so I froze leftovers — had some the day after getting back from our PHX trip and still have another dinner’s worth for use on another busy day.

We also had the leftover soup/bread during halftime of the Rose Bowl on New Years’ Day. Our stress levels may have been rather elevated as the game came down to the wire!

Lately when my avocados have been too ripe for my usual smoothie I have been getting back to peppermint cacao smoothies (which use frozen cauliflower rice for creaminess). I forgot how much I like these! They taste like a milkshake. I also like to add a scoop of vanilla protein powder for extra flavor. Maybe I will do an updated recipe post soon as far as what my “usual smoothie” is now entailing!

Breakfasts on our trip were full-fat yogurt bowls w/ plenty of creamy peanut butter, granola, blueberries, + coffee. I like to keep my vacation breakfasts simple and easy to assemble given that I don’t love operating in a kitchen that isn’t my own!

Other vacation eats included Indian (I had a ginger chicken kebab dish), salad + gluten-free pizza (for me & Alec — was super tasty), plenty of hummus + cheese + crackers/veggies, and some typical snacks packed from home (including Aloha bars, usual dark chocolate, energy bites, etc.). You can read about some of my intuitive eating + travel tips here!

A couple of weeks ago I met my friend Jaclyn for lunch at District 12 in Dearborn (halfway between where the two of us live). We actually intended to go somewhere else nearby but the line was extremely long (they didn’t take reservations). At any rate, this ended up working out really well! The Greek salad w/ chicken that I had was excellent!!

I was randomly flipping through The Happy Hormone Guide which I got a while back and was looking through some of the recipes. (Disclaimer: as far as nutrition/medical advice goes, I actually don’t agree with a lot of what is in here, but the recipes can still be fun to try!). I happened to come across a recipe for pistachio apricot bars which sounded good to me and I wanted to give them a try since I had a whole bag of dried apricots on hand from a previous recipe. I loved these as a tasty alternative to some of our usual bars! Will definitely add them to the mix to make once in a while.

I have been super into kiwi lately!! I have been buying the packs of organic kiwis from Costco. So good when they are nice and ripe! I highly recommend buying organic kiwi and simply washing, cutting, and eating with the skin! By eating the skin, you will consume significantly more folate, fiber, polyphenols, and vitamin E. I also find this method of eating kiwi much easier than peeling or scooping out the flesh!

Rounding things out w/ a couple of recent dinners…

Lately on Thursdays I have been needing a prep-ahead dinner that I can prep in multiple parts… enter veggie/grain/sauce bowls. Guacasaca sauce (featuring avocado, cilantro, bell pepper, etc.), quinoa, and a roasted veggie blend of sweet potato, broccoli, tri-color bell pepper, + white onion. So good!! I have been prepping the quinoa/grain on Sundays, roasting the veggies on Tuesdays, and making whatever sauce on Thursdays. Then it is all ready to go and assemble for Thursday dinners (Fridays = leftovers). Might also top with leftover chicken or whatever protein we may have on hand. This idea has been working well for our busy weeknights! I also want to make future sauces x2 so I can easily freeze and thaw when wanting to use.

New frittata combo that I tried — roasted broccoli, sun-dried tomato, onion, parmesan + cheddar. Sometimes I forget how much I love sun-dried tomatoes and I want to be intentional to use them more often! Roasted sweets on the side (seasoned w/ salt, pepper, garlic powder, + paprika).

Everyday Enjoyment:

Some current reads, including two outstanding memoirs!: Lately I have been trying to read more memoirs. I recently finished The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert which I found fascinating and would highly recommend! I also am almost done reading Jewel’s memoir, Never Broken. This read has also been outstanding!! I love reading about how people think about and navigate their various life challenges. In the Jewel memoir, it has been amazing reading about how she went from living in rural Alaska and experiencing a lot of family turmoil/abuse to working her way to Interlochen to being homeless and then finally gaining more traction with her music after an incredible amount of hard work. I also appreciate her emphasis throughout the book on personal responsibility for your own life, even with difficult circumstances, and maintaining her genuineness and authenticity whether famous or not. The first concert I ever went to was a Jewel concert back in something like 2004 for two of my friends’ birthdays, and being so young I barely knew who she was at the time! This book is getting me into listening to a lot more Jewel and I have to say I am now quite the fan!

Other books currently reading: The Highly Sensitive Person, Understanding the Wounded Heart, Heaven, Soul-Deep Beauty

Making some changes to my work schedule: I was starting to feel like my work schedule was a bit unsustainable as far as my energy levels go, and after coming across this blog for highly sensitive therapists (or *nutrition* therapists in my case) I made some significant changes at the start of 2024 which are helping tremendously!! Learning even more about my nervous system sensitivities / how I am wired (#ExtremeIntrovert) is helping a lot as I pour a decent amount of energy/time into running my business and meeting with clients throughout the week.

Michigan Football: While I may have been alive the last time Michigan won a National Championship back in 1997, I have essentially been waiting my whole life to witness/remember a championship! (See below for my first game at The Big House). Let’s Go!!!! The championship win (and entire season) was/has been meaningful to me as I consider how much Michigan Football has been a part of my life over the years… and amazing to think of where the program has come back from over the past ~15 years or so given the Appalachian State loss (which I was at), Rich Rod years, drought of losing to Ohio State… all the stupidity of the suspensions/media this year that the team had to overcome… needless to say, Alec and I have had fun soaking up the win and festivities and we are very proud of the team/everyone involved!

What are your go-to dinners for busier nights?
Any book or TV show recommendations?? 

Have a great rest of the week!