Nourishing Flourishing

To say, “It’s been a while!” would be kind of an understatement, eh? I have literally hundreds of comments and emails I am behind on responding to, and my blog in general needs a great deal of spring cleaning! Firstly, I sincerely hope that my absence was not interpreted to be a dismissal of your readership; I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the kind emails and messages I received during my blogging break. I am so grateful to be connected (albeit it in a virtual format for now) with so many wonderful people (that’s you). I had hoped to be posting on a semi-regular basis during grad school, but ultimately, I just needed to step back for a while. I’d like to give you a (rather lengthy, visually unappealing) explanation of what led to to this, if you’d like one. (And if not, that’s ok! Recipes will come in time.) This might give you a sense of what to expect in the year to come.

As some of you noticed, after I began the blog last year around this time, I went from blogging daily to every-other-day, to a couple times a week, and this trend continued until I finally pulled the plug for a few months. I know some of you have asked if there is something more than just grad school/work/life events that influenced this, and I want to be frank and say yes, most definitely. I’ve had this blog up for about a year now (maybe even exactly a year, actually!), and I’m really thankful to have had the past couple months to reflect on how it’s grown and changed over that span, and how I’d like to see it continue to evolve.

When I first started blogging, I was trying to put this site “out there” as much as possible. I quickly learned that leaving comments on more popular blogs’ posts would pique interest in that blog’s readers, who would then click the link to my blog and see who I was. I also went from having no social media, to a Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. I noticed how my readership skyrocketed (at least, comparatively) the more active I was in all these areas. It added many more little facets to my life and schedule!

And I kind of hated it.

I had to be on the computer constantly. And much of what I spent my time doing didn’t really matter to me. Important things were neglected. Instead of being outside hiking or doing the other activities that nourish flourishing in my life, I was in front of a screen, trying to do what a “good blogger” does — networking, reading lots of other blogs, leaving comments on them, tweeting frequently, etc. (Note that interacting with you all through email and such is absolutely not included in this category — it is very fulfilling to connect with you!)

All that busyness and frequently superficial interaction was draining — it takes a lot of effort for my type of personality. I am a very simple person; I thrive on minimalism, and focus. I love close-knit community, and interacting with people in personal ways. I like depth, not breadth. I’m also not a fan of being in front of a screen of any kind much. As a result, social media and much of the blog-world generally overwhelms and overstimulates me – everything happens quickly, with a lot of enthusiasm, and on a mass level. This makes my life feel crowded, chaotic, and complicated.

Honesty is at the top of my list of values, so I’m going to be transparent, especially for the many of you who have emailed me about what it’s like to operate a blog. “Putting the blog out there” by zealously commenting on some blogs I didn’t really care about, or tweeting constantly without much purpose, etc., was a very uncomfortable experience for me. That lifestyle does not jive at all with the above-mentioned characteristics that make me who I am. I felt like I wasn’t being genuine, because let’s get real — I often wasn’t. Who really cares about another picture of oatmeal? And yet I was leaving comments on others’ blog posts that were pretty much just a picture of oatmeal. I kept trying to fit a mold that didn’t reflect my vision for this blog. I was forcing it, because I didn’t want a blog I’d worked really hard on to just fall into the anonymous sector of the internet, without much significance. I assumed the more people who read my blog, the better it must be.

After the second blogging conference I went to, I accepted a very unsettling realization that had been dawning on my for a while: most of the blogging world is… ridiculous. Some of the most popular blogs are without significance. And some of the best blogs, by contrast, are under the radar. The factors which determine whether a blog is read by many or few consists of a lot of name-dropping, link-dropping, snuggling up to “bigger” bloggers, technodrama, being constantly connected to social media, and luck. There are millions of blogs out there, and often the ones that are viewed as successful (i.e., have a huge readership and probably serve as a primary source of income for the blogger) do so merely because they showed up at the right time, not because they are continuously relevant. (Of course, I don’t mean to imply that there are no blogs, etc., that are meaningful or useful — just some!)

I have never had the intention or desire that my blog will blossom into something “big”. But somehow I got caught up in trying to make sure my blog simply stayed on the radar, and I burnt out. I must confess that I really don’t want to be in front of a screen more than I have to. I just want to put my recipes and experiences out there in the hopes that someone finds them helpful — that was actually why I started the blog in the first place — thanks to requests for recipes and (non-medical) advice on healthy living from relatives and friends.

This is but a humble blog with a humble purpose. To achieve that purpose, I really had to stop being a hypocrite and nourish flourishing in my life by prioritizing real, non-virtual activities and relationships. Honestly, I don’t read blogs consistently anymore; I visit two or maybe three to get recipe ideas on occasion, but that’s about it. I have been detoxing my time and brain space from all the superflua out there (and goodness knows, in this tech era, superflua abounds), and it feels awesome.

So… I shan’t be as present online as I was when I began this blog. I will be trying to post as much as I can, but I am also realistic enough to admit that grad school + work + relationships/family does not = a ton of time for blogging.  I’ll try to be consistent by posting a couple times a month at least, and always on a Sunday.

Part of the reason I’m sharing all this is because I know some of you are feeling overwhelmed.  Maybe it’s not blogs as much as it is some other internet/TV/smartphone/etc. habit that eats up a lot of your time. I can only say that I have benefited so much from taking a step back and reevaluating the economy of my time, if you will — how I spend and invest my time, and whether it’s beneficial or detrimental to my personhood and goals. I have cut out the stuff that doesn’t produce good things in my life, and continue to ask myself what activities are really helping shape me into the person I want to become, and what’s distracting me and eating up my time and energy without good reason. So, if you are thinking about a technology detox — go for it. And that includes Nourishing Flourishing! Unplug from all, or some, and see how (or if) it changes you. Then assess next steps.

Finally, here’s to another year of blogging, hopefully one that is better than the last, and filled with even more lessons and recipes!

Much love to you. Thanks for reading.

<3

Do you feel like your philosophy on technology has changed over the past year?

P.S. If you emailed me and haven’t received a response, please let me know!

P.P.S. I do not plan to respond to all the comments that have built up over the past few months; for that, I sincerely apologize. If you asked a question, I will try to get to it as soon as I’m able. I will continue to do my best to respond to comments from henceforward, I just won’t be backtracking on everything from November ’til January. Thanks for understanding!

(Psst: This post is a day late. Sorry! Internet issues at the hotel.)

Sooo. I’m heading to the city of brotherly (sisterly?) love for the Healthy Living Summit! I am actually writing this in the Denver International Airport after catching a bus at 6:30 this morning. And there are definitely a ton of birds flying around inside Gate A. Um… I guess it’s just our Colorado nature-lovin’ ways? Anyway, I wanted to take this opportunity to 1) give you a better idea of who I really am, because you might only get a quick glimpse from my blog and 2) Get real and confess something. Honesty is one of my all-time highest values, and I love the response to all the other Think This, Not That posts. So let me be legit transparent here and over-share. Again.

Last night, I was doing my usual last-minute-everything before travel. This meant:
- I washed two shirts I probably won’t even wear. In the bathtub. While in my underwear.
- I chose to make a batch of all three kinds of GF (vegan) doughballs to give out at the conference instead of packing or sleeping.
- I was totally confused that people were planning outfits. Clearly, I have no fashion sensibilities.
- I ended up just doing most of the things I needed to at 6am anyway. While in my underwear.

1 Batch Double Dark Chocolate

1 Batch Cinnamon Raisin Coconut

1 Batch Dark Chocolate Chip

Surprisingly, none of these things are the confession I had in mind. I know, right? What must I have in mind if not everything ending with, “and I apparently I never wear clothing”? But I have a feeling some of you might relate to this. Despite being a reasonably confident person who likes her identity, certain things can set me off. Traveling to conferences filled with strangers is one of them. As I got ready for the HLS…

I started to question if there were other things I should have done (in or out of my underwear):
- Lose weight
- Get a haircut
- Wax my arms (my family calls me Chewbaca, just to give you a point of reference…)
- Buy trendy clothes (I shop Goodwill. Yep.)
- Change my laugh (read: have surgery to prevent snorting)
- Cancel my trip altogether

These are the kind of anxious and insecure moments that take me back. Way back. To my ED history and The Crazies that sometimes resurface. I usually respond to these hiccups pretty well (see here and here), but I knew I needed to be uber-intentional about dealing with these irrational ideas last night. Travel + The Crazies = Stressball of Foolishness. This sudden stream of negative self-talk was rooted in my fears that I won’t measure up to what a healthy living blogger is “supposed” to be. Welp, good thing I get to define that for myself : )

So. Here’s what I did to realign my thinking with reality:
- You are healthy. If you are not confident about how you look, it’s a problem with your self-perception, not your body. You are strong, fit, and just how you need to be.
- People will probably be able to handle your split ends. You’re growing your hair out for a reason. Stop being vain.
- Meh. Didn’t have time, and while you might be physically more comfortable, it’s really not a big deal. If someone isn’t ready for this jelly…*shrug* So be it. It’s just part of being Spanish.
- Be yourself. That’s how you want new friends to know you. Goodwill and all.
- See above.
- Um…no. You’ll miss fun moment like this one from the Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference with friends like Anne and Alisa:

Ultimately, I got my head in the right place and stopped worrying about what sort of judgments and comparisons might arise. This community is based on mutual support and a shared mission to help people live healthier, flourishing lives anyway — why would I expect the opposite from anyone? Regardless, even if I did encounter this, I can’t control how people perceive me; I can only be myself.

(Warming my butt over a campfire and drinking coffee out of a Klean Kanteen cap. Ghetto fab.)

And myself is… well, (why lie?) a big doofus. A doofus who is going to be weighed down with doughballs, wearing outdated (ahem) “vintage” clothes that are wrinkled from my failed attempt to “roll” pack, snorting freely, and not hiding my hirsute, Mediterranean arms. So. Yep. Another Think This, Not That Real Life snapshot. Be yourself.

Just be sure to wear underwear. (Don’t worry, roomies — I packed clothes in addition to doughballs.)

Do you have to process through Crazies right before an event like this, or am I the only one?

If you’re at the Summit, please say HI! : )

So, you got an idea of what we did last week with my folks, but here is (finally!) an update on just the husband and I’s pseudo-anniversary trip. Our actual anniversary is in December… but when we were driving around in our rental car a few days ago, we heard Christmas music on the radio. Confused, we eventually put together that it was a “Christmas in July” theme, and we also got a really good laugh that it was our “half-anniversary.” This trip was partially planned under the guise of a very, very, very belated honeymoon, as our actual honeymoon was (intentionally) short and simple. (But that’s a story for another time.)

We were able to take this trip thanks to the generosity of my mother and father-in-law, who were so kind as to let us stay for free in their condo the entire time. You can imagine how grateful we are to them! Thank you Mom and Dad S! Here’s a glimpse of what we’ve been up to. (Also, if you would like a recommendation of where to stay in that area, shoot me an email or leave a comment. The place we stayed was AWESOME.)

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At the resort, I didn’t catch photos of the wildlife, but did try to savor getting to see such diversity up close. Everywhere we looked there were ducklings (have you ever seen a Muscovy duck? So unique!), turtles, lizards, egrets, ibises, and even giant iguanas. Such beauty! We lounged on the beach (couldn’t you tell from my 8000 photos of sunsets?), read books for fun (not academic works), and took lots of walks. Generally, we spent a lot of time away from technology, just basking in the wonder of nature and each moment we shared.

Things should be nearing normalcy this week; no more big trips anytime soon : )

Thank you for all your sweet encouragements to just enjoy the vacation; it can be hard for me to take a break from anything, including blogging, but with such support I took your advice to heart. <3

xo

Thanks for understanding that I needed a day to regain my balance, friends. I’m sorry to unexpectedly not show up yesterday, but…life happens. I stayed up the night before last until around 1am hammering out a (very long) post, but when the time came to push “Publish” for Saturday’s (intended) post, it just didn’t feel right. There are some times that I need to write, just to vomit all my thoughts up in a tangible way (sorry for that image…), so that I can revisit and edit them later into something more useful. So it’s not that I just flaked on you, if that makes a difference. I want my posts to be worth reading!

But, to be transparent, I also felt that it would have been disingenuous to post – to say I’m striving to live a holistically healthy life, yet all the while I’m sick, totally depleted, can barely get off the couch, and am still forcing myself to spend hours and a good deal of energy blogging. Is that health — to push myself to the limits of exhaustion, denying myself the rest that I need? No, and I think I would have been a hypocrite if I would have posted yesterday. I often discuss the significance of being good to ourselves, listening to our bodies (and minds) to better understand our individual needs. Stressing out about putting together a new post and other blog-related responsibilities would have been destructive for me, and diametrically opposed to the mission of this website. It would not have nourished a flourishing life for me. Sometimes, “pushing through the pain” is the worst possible option. Sure, canceling plans on (blog-reading) friends sucks. But in the end, it’s what’s best for everyone.

However, I think I can make my “calling in sick” day up by having awesome posts this week. Right? That will be my goal. In the meantime, I have a wonderful recipe for Memorial Day. Or any day. You know, whatever. You’ll notice that this is, admittedly, nearly the same recipe as my Dark Chocolate Chip Biscotti. But, the great news is, it’s also just as delicious! This new method actually saves a few steps. And…it’s a giant cookie. Any objections? Good.  Just think of it as recycling : )

Ingredients:
2 1/2 C blanched almond flour (you can easily make your own — yay!)
2 Tb arrowroot powder (you can probably sub a little coconut flour or extra almond flour if you don’t have it)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/3 C agave or honey
1 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 Tb vanilla
~1/4 C dark chocolate chips

Recipe:
1) Mix all dry ingredients except chocolate chips.
2) Add wet ingredients and stir to combine (it may seem too dry — just trust and keep stirring, or wet hands and mix that way). Add chocolate chips.
3) Lightly oil an 8×8 glass baking dish (I rubbed some coconut oil on mine).
4) With wet hands, press dough into the dish.
5) Place in a preheated 350* oven. Remove when it begins to brown on top, and a fork comes out clean in the middle. Cut into bars.

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This is essentially a gluten-free, vegan (if made with agave and vegan chocolate) version of a cookie bar or pizookie. It’s surprisingly healthy, and insanely delicious. Imagine a hint of crunch on the outside, and soft chewy yum-ness with burst of dark melted chocolate on the inside. I would suggest doubling the recipe if you plan to bring this to a Memorial Day cookout, because it is addictive!

What are you doing for Memorial Day?

Or, just tell me what you’re doing to nourish your flourishing life right now : )

xoxo

So.

Allergies.

We meet again.

I am not pleased to see you. There, I said it. I get that you are just hypersensitive and want to be all up in my biznass, but seriously, Immune System – I’m a big girl now and I can take care of myself! You are way too overprotective. It’s embarrassing. I walk around with swollen eyes all day long, totally drained, with these powerful headaches, just because you apparently didn’t get the memo that lilacs are not poison. They just smell nice. Chill out, antibodies.

As a result of this autoimmune fun (and by “fun” I mean “horror”), I was in a daze yesterday. Occasionally, my allergies get debilitating — seriously. I’ll spare you the details, but imagine the worst headcold you can, and then throw some Satan into the picture for interesting twists. Yep, that’s about accurate. It can drag me down to just laying on a couch, mumbling incoherently about how I want BFF Manfriend to “pull the plug.”

He is a patient, saintly man. I know this. (And yes, I did drama in high school — why do you ask?)

Anyway. I suspect there may be an actual cold in the background of the allergies as well right now. It’s hard to distinguish the two sometimes, because they tend to go hand in hand, egging each other on in their torturous ways. So I finally went ahead and tried to make something that would kind of “clean out the attic” – if the attic is my head, and my sinuses are the forgotten corners. (Can you tell I’m still delirious? Good metaphor. Not.) There is one type of soup I crave when I feel unwell – whether it be a flu, a cold, a life disappointment, or a paranoid immune system that hates lilacs (WHO HATES LILACS?!?! Come on, I.S.!) It has to include a tomato base, cabbage, garlic, and some heat. Everything else is take-it-or-leave-it. I made do with what I had, and it was amazing. So, for all my fellow allergy and/or cold sufferers, know that while this won’t cure you, it definitely takes the edge off. And the congestion out.

This is yet another free-and-easy, loosey-goosey, do-what-you-will-and-hyphenate-extravagantly kind of recipe. There’s nothing all that creative going on here; it’s really just vegetables. I’m sure there are a bazillion (roughly) other similar recipes out there. And with good reason. It’s utterly simple – the only added spices are salt, pepper, and cayenne (well, and enough garlic to keep the Twilighters away. Joke.). Yep. It’s easy, crazy healthy (I mean – CRAZY), and comes together in probably 15 minutes. Chop chop, stir, pour, stir, shake, stir, eat. It’s even pleasant to make – rhythmic chopping and a comforting smell wafting through your kitchen. What’s not to love?

The fact that I’m allergic to the best smell in the world – lilacs. Ah. Touché. That’s not to love.

This soup can be eaten cold, like gazpacho, warm/room temperature, or hot. Because things are sort of, kind of, maybe, but not for sure yet, starting to warm up around here (it’s Colorado. We have 4 seasons in every single day so…we have to be noncommittal about our assessments.). I devoured this after I got home from working out – two big bowlfuls. It was spicy enough to keep me downing the H20 to rehydrate, but not to the point that I couldn’t taste and enjoy my meal. It was the perfect ending to my day! And it definitely made a difference in my…uh…overcapacitated sinus cavities, and itchy throat.

It a happily-ever-after soup.

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
½ head or 1 very small cabbage
½ small red onion
2 medium-sized carrots
2-3 stalks celery
6-8 cloves garlic (I used 7, varying in size)
1 28 oz can chunky tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
~ ½ C water (optional)
salt + pepper
cayenne (or hot sauce, or both)

Recipe(ish):
1) Chop cabbage by first slicing the head into ribbons, and then slicing in the other direction.
2) Chop onion, carrots, celery, and garlic as well. I like mine diced quite small in this recipe, but do what you like.
3) Drizzle enough olive oil into a large pot so that when heated to medium, it covers the bottom in a thin layer.
4) Add vegetables, salt generously (to make them sweat a little), and stir.
5) Once veggies are starting to soften, add tomato sauce/diced tomatoes. and stir. You may want to add some water to thin it out to your desired consistency — I used about ¾ C or so.
6) Add salt, coarse ground pepper, and cayenne and/or hot sauce to taste. Stir, reduce to a lower heat, and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Serve.

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I like it with some crunch still in the carrots, so my times reflect this. Feel free to cook longer if you wish. It’s even better the next day! I feel so much better after eating this. It’s not a panacea, but it is delicious, healthy, and quick.

Take that, Sinuses.

Do you have allergies? Any special cures?

My doctor relative swears by drinking a teaspoon of your urine in a glass of water every morning. Something about the amount of antibodies… I mentioned this on Twitter once to some hilarious reactions… Thoughts?

(Do you hear the desperation in my voice?)

Remember how one of the things I was working on this summer was reconnecting with my creativity, and reading more for personal edification (rather than academic)? Well, this is a multifaceted adventure, with a variety of paths I plan to take. But I did end up in the library yesterday. Accidentally. And as I stumbled into a non-history-and-philology-related section (hm, had nearly forgotten those exist…), my whole world fell down, cracked, and opened to me once again.

We went on a walk without an intended destination. But the intrigue drew me to veer left; I simply couldn’t fight it any longer. The pull of old, worn books could ruin me one day — I lose all focus, wandering for literally hours at a time, sitting down in the middle of an aisle to peruse my latest treasure, running my fingers over the cold, musty pages with a deep and strange reverence. I feel like I am on sacred ground each time I enter a library; I step lightly, wide-eyed, touching every shelf’s hardcover spines with affection and wonder… All the while smiling like a fool.

Words and tales – and I am not ashamed to say it — have always been my dearest friends. Poems, prose, novels, dictionaries, even — these are my best teachers, empathizers, and enemies. Literature, very often, confronts and opposes us. It demands that we not look away, that we see the world from a different experience, that we become uncomfortable with the “us” we see traced throughout the story. It paints an accurate portrait of our worst (and best) selves. It highlights the disparity between these two identities we hold. It cultivates growth.

Certainly, then, you can understand why I am so eager to very purposefully set aside time each day to nourish myself through reading (and not a purely academic work, for once). When I look back on the poets, artists, and other distanced mentors who have shaped me, and how profound these changes have been, I set my excuses aside. I realize that there is no time like the present to prioritize this — this need to explore again the art that can sink into my being, and bring to fruition good things I never knew were sown within as seedlings. Literature gives me hope for myself, and humanity. It opens me to the hurt of those otherwise unknown to me. It sloughs off the callus of my jaded negativity and presumption. It points me toward the person I so achingly long to be. It calls me to keep working for that dream, with the weight of understanding with humility that I am incapable of fulfilling this ambition on my own. It is both inspiring, and humbling.

And don’t we need both in our life? Don’t we need to be keenly aware of our potential, and our error, to become more flourishing persons? I know that I do. So here is my first step. Consistency. Picking up a text at random is all fine and well, but I have found that for myself, some etching out of my day for only this endeavor is the most beneficial. Imagination is, interestingly enough, what grounds us in an acute awareness of reality. And I need that awakening.

I’m off to go fall madly in love with some ink, and all the humanity behind it. Here’s a selection from “Poetry,” by Marianne Moore, to get things rolling…

I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond
all this fiddle.
Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one
discovers in
it after all, a place for the genuine.
Hands that can grasp, eyes
that can dilate, hair that can rise
if it must, these things are important not because a

high-sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because
they are
useful.

How has literature changed you? Do you wish you read more often?

What are you reading now?

I was reflecting on how many people often remark to me that they can’t fathom my zeal for vegetables. A fair question; not everyone is madly enamored with cruciferous verdure. Even so, I think sometimes we have to learn to love the things that are best for us, that nourish our flourishing. That doesn’t mean begrudgingly shoving those brussels sprouts into your mouth, holding back your gag. Learning always necessitates allowing yourself to become open to something somewhat foreign, uncomfortable, and usually intimidating. Openness, of course, is liberating, whereas forcefulness and narrowness cause anxiety, frustration, and bitterness.

Confession: I used to hate running. I resented it. Why did I have to pound the pavement to be “healthy”? Why did I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to do something I didn’t enjoy? Something that made me feel sick and exhausted? What was fun and nourishing about this?! But then, I stepped back. I realized that part of the reason it was no longer fun was because I felt obligated to do it. I may have wanted to run, yes — but I didn’t want to run simply because I felt I had no other options. When I had a brief one year stint in college on the cross country team (for the scholarship money, not because I was a good runner. Trust me, they were desperate.) I started to crumble physically and emotionally. I felt utterly depleted. I wasn’t running for the right reasons, I wasn’t paying attention to my body’s messages (“Hey, Katie, yeah…could you maybe, like, stop ingesting poison [gluten] constantly? Thanks, that would be super! xoxo, Yourself”), and frankly, I felt trapped. That is never, ever a way to live. Not only will you be frustrated, but you will never truly accomplish your goal in an enduring and fulfilling way.

Feeling Stuck.

I finally gave up running for a few months. I reflected on how I had come to despise something that had such potential to be fun. I recalled  the times and emotions from when I was out on the trail, focusing on nothing except my two feet and the beauty around me. iPod off. No coaches. No worries about my tempo, or calories, or anything. Just the dirt and my soles. I was fully alive. I was deeply grateful, sensing my breath, and my heart — the most fragile, but vital, parts of me. I felt simultaneously strong, empowered, free, and delicate, humbled, dependent… I was an active element of the unfathomably huge and complex reality around me, and also fully reliant upon it, and all its volatility. What a difficult and beautiful experience to articulate! Why did I only feel like that after I walked away from a promising career in Olympic running cross country and training plans?

I promise this relates to cruciferous vegetation. Promise. Relevance does not = obviousness.

Especially not with me. You know this.

I think this illustration works surprisingly well as an analogy for vegetable-loving, or any healthy change. If you try to demand something of your body, it probably is going to either 1) ignore you, or 2) get defensive, and make your life one of Dante’s Inferno circles because it’s angry. It doesn’t work. Of course, this is not an excuse to give up, and resign oneself to forever hating vegetables/exercise/whatever else you need for a flourishing life. Instead, it’s an impetus for creativity, experimentation, and growth. You can encourage yourself, rather than oppressing yourself. Your possibilities are boundless; there is no one definitive way that you must strictly follow to achieve your goal.

I no longer run much. And I am good with that. Once I allowed myself to not “need” to run in order to feel I was healthy (or perceived as healthy), all exercise became insanely enjoyable. Occasionally that included a jog, but more often it was one of the other activities I explored: strength training, yogaing, hiking, ellipticalling, stairclimbing, biking, etc. Getting the “OK” from myself to not have to run made me appreciate it so much more. Now I look at it as time to simply be, as I described above. But I wouldn’t feel that way unless I had changed my approach and opened myself to the possibility that running might not have to be what I assumed — competitive, draining, only worthwhile if done exactly like other runners. A few changes of perception were all I needed (oh, that and stopping the whole “eating poison constantly” thing…).

My parents told us that broccoli were dinosaur trees.

Um…

DINOSAUR TREES!!!

Guess who loved dinosaurs (like any little…girl….would)?! Guess who wanted to show how bad A she was even as a toddler?! Guess who is so excited even now at the mere thought of broccoli and devouring these small trees with her enormous herbivore mouth that she is throwing in a shameful but festive amount of exclamation marks?!?!!!! <— (It’s me, guys.  It’s me!!!)

Moral of the winding, long story: If you want to learn to love something, change your perspective! Approach it differently. Look at eating vegetables as an opportunity to explore something new. Don’t assume you will hate things you despised as a child. You have matured. Give yourself some credit! You don’t have to overcook your veggies to mush, like a parent might have. You don’t have to eat your greens only by eating salad after salad. You don’t have to eat what everyone else says you should (read: brussels sprouts). If you still hate them, go try something else! Why punish yourself? You can play. You can make mistakes. You can even now add wine to your food to play or cover up mistakes! So try something new. Maybe not even a new vegetable, but a new preparation method.

A great place to begin if you are trying to fall in love with vegetables is to roast them. Simply turn on your broiler, place cut up pieces of broccoli, or stalks of asparagus, or — gasp! — brussels sprouts, and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on them, salt, and pop it in the oven. Watch closely — it will cook quickly. Give it a stir once, maybe (or not), and once you see the brown/char that you desire, chow down.

And if you hate it, no worries. There are lots of other things to try. Stay open. Stay fun. Adventure.

Tell me. What have you learned to love lately? Or what are you encouraging (not forcing) yourself to love?

*** Check out below for the (in)famous Ghetto Fridge! ***

I don’t know about you, but I am dreaming of a tropical vacation right about…now. And surprisingly, we actually get one this summer!  (We don’t often justify trips like that, but this is a unique situation.) As I’m reflecting on our recent trip to San Diego, I know I need to begin mentally preparing myself for our special adventure in July. Yes. Already. Because I really, really, really don’t want to deal with another epic fail like last time! (<– My bad, body. My bad.) In line with the other Traveling Healthy post, here are some of the techniques that I usually employ, and always work for me when I actually make use of them… Ah, life. Always learning from you.

Prepare and bring what you can.

The first things I pack when we head out on a trip are: nuts, dried fruit, whole grain crackers, and hummus, along with crudités (<– classy way of saying, “finger-food vegetables”) for dipping and munching, like carrot sticks, celery sticks, sliced bell peppers (organic please), and grape or cherry tomatoes (aka nature’s candy). We also bring airport-friendly options like prepackaged, small servings of nut butters, whole apples, pears, bananas, Larabars, sandwiches, simple and healthy trail mix, and sunflower seeds.

One of the hardest things about travel for me is not getting the amount of greens I need/want/am used to. If you are worried you might not be able to access vegetables as easily, bring a dry packet like Amazing Grass. Same goes for protein – if you think you might not be able to get enough, bring a baggie of powder. These keep well and can be adapted easily to whatever you have access to, even if it’s just adding straight-up H20.

I hope you see potential here.

Take advantage of “opportunities”…

I’m just going to be honest with you guys: I am a terrible, terrible, notorious mooch. If I stay at a hotel and they have fruit in the lobby – guess what? At least a serving of it is going to be gone in about 5 minutes (or as long as it takes me to stuff some in my purse/hands). I am shameless. Sorry. I blame my grandmother. She would go to buffets and fill her purse with muffins, napkins…even salt and pepper shakers. When we tried to encourage some deceny, she would wave us off and in her thick Spanish accent pronounce, “Ey, we paid for it!” True that, Grandma. True that.

Random related story:
When my dad helped me move during college, we stayed at a nearby hotel until the dorms opened. I should note, my dad and I have wayyy too much fun together. We love coffee. We love treats. We love laughing. We love laughing, drinking coffee, and eating treats together. And when they had such a nice lobby, and endless free coffee…and then set out a plate of fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies… Well, what did they expect us to do?! We were there for about 3 hours. Literally. Coffee. Refill. Laughing. Cookie. Refill. Laughing. Laughing. Cookie refill. Laughing. Scowl from front desk employee. (His name was Luke. We remember these things.)

My dad went back and stayed a few times when he came to visit me.

They don’t put cookies out anymore…

Find a grocery store or market nearby

Does the city you are staying in have a farmer’s market? An easy google search should tell you. You might be surprised at what foods you can find, and what a treat this local experience can be. Bonus: you get exercise at farmers’ markets! This is a fantastic option if you can’t find a grocery store nearby.

As you already know, this was (supposed to be) the highlight of our trip to San Diego: TRADER JOE’S! Once you find one, go and stock up on healthy snacks, and less perishable items. Or, even perishable ones — I have never had a problem with keeping vegetables and fruits cool in a hotel room. Which leads me to…

Be creative

Let me tell you about my system. I can’t make any promises about its safety… but I can promise that it is ghetto and works. And by works I mean…”saves me a ton of money.”

You know that ice bucket that’s so fun to fill? (Just me? Always my favorite part of traveling as a child.) Go fill the plastic bags inside of it. Tie the ends. Place leftover food from dining out on top. Bam. Instant refrigerator! Or, if you go out, and buy almost more food than you can carry (despite being super strong, obviously), and need to live off it without a fridge for several days… Think big. And improvise:

The Shamelessly Cheap Hobo Hotel Fridge:

1) Use plastic bags (you can recycle them later) to carry some of your groceries.
2) Sneakily creep out of your room, and nonchalantly fill bags using the ice maker.
3) Act like nothing weird is happening.
4) Keep filling bags…
5) Say, “Oh, yes, thank you!” to the kind woman doing the hotel’s housekeeping, when she offers you a GIANT plastic trash bag.
6) Transfer all ice to said bag.
7) Strategically cover food with ice in bag.
8 ) Loosely tie ends and place in bathtub (which, lets be honest, you hardly use anyway…).
9) Relish your genius. And (now refrigerated) hummus.
10) Replace ice as needed.
11) WIN.

Just take it out when you need to shower, and make sure things stay cold. We changed the ice during the morning and evening. And you know what? We ate like kings queens royalty of some variety.

Any tips you have to share? Are you awkward and moochy too?

There are occasionally moments when I just verge on falling apart. In our family, we call this The Breaking Point.

We all have different “triggers,” if you will, which set a Breaking Point off. Mine tend to be over-exhaustion, sickness, hunger or eating the wrong foods, and bitter cold. (Oh, and not being in control of everything — that too…) I have gotten so, so, so much better at dealing with this. But ultimately, TBP is just a part of the human experience. Sometimes we lose our cool. Sometimes it really is a perfect storm of unfortunate events. Sometimes, we just need to have a few minutes to process that. And sometimes, processing = a Breaking Point.

In such a case, I used to let myself spiral into a crazyhole of victimization and catastrophizing, but now I see that it gets me absolutely n o w h e r e . I have learned to empathize with the part of myself that wants to have a freakout session whenever my hour/day/life might not go as I desire. I validate my emotions by first acknowledging, “This really is not fun. It’s disappointing. I can be upset — it’s ok to be upset.”

Then after validating myself, I ask: “So. What are you going to do about it?” In a conversation with two people, when Person 1 recognizes and affirms Person 2′s (perhaps unreasonable) emotions, Person 2 usually calms down because their reaction is empathized with. Understanding can go a long way. Person 2 and Person 1 can join (more reasonable) forces to reassess the situation and move forward.

Replace “Person” with “Self.” Do you pick up what I’m throwin’ down?

After I sensed the beginnings of a BP on the trip, I empathized with and validated the part of myself that was feeling guilty about not packing and preparing better for my dietary needs, resentful that I didn’t have more options, exhausted, sick, and stressed. “Yes, this is definitely not ideal, is it Self?” No. It’s not. “Ok. Welp. Shall we keep wallowing or…?”

I opted out of wallowing. It would have been boring. So… I grabbed my day and trip and sanity back. I can make the best of things. I can face challenges. I can be an adventurer. This could be an opportunity, if I have the right attitude. I needed to make my turn-around decision concrete. So. I did.

In case you can’t read my frantic writing, it says,
“I choose to have a good day — regardless of my mistakes
regardless of others’ mistakes
regardless of frustrations
regardless of exhaustion
regardless of health
regardless of how I ‘feel’ –
I choose to have a good day.
Not a perfect or delusional day — but a day with goodness nonetheless.”

I don’t mean to imply that every day is good and it’s simply a matter of our perception, or that we’re supposed to fake it as if we’re having the best day ever. When I lost two of the most important people in my life this year, it wasn’t a good day. But — each day has some little seed of goodness in it, which sprouts through even the darkest dirt. It doesn’t negate the difficulty or pain of a hard day; it simply gives us hope and guides us toward a broader perspective. Goodness is at work, springing flowers from manure… It finds a way to pierce through.

I keep returning to this little note, even now that I’m home. I need to constantly remind myself that I do, indeed, have a choice about how I approach my day, and life; I can make the best of it. Stay tuned for more on that… ; )

Do you ever write yourself notes to turn your thinking around?

How do you find goodness in hard situations?

So, firstly, don’t worry — I plan to break up the Healthy Traveling posts, so it’s not going to be a full week of that. But it’s at the forefront of my brain right now, so I’m going to go ahead and post one today. Here is the foundation:

HAVE A PLAN.

I know; you’re not in the least bit surprised I said this, are you? But it’s simply the root of a successfully healthy trip (or, um…life). As with anything, if you’re not prepared, it is exceedingly difficult and frustrating to try and meet your goal. Take a few minutes to reflect and make a strategy. This takes so much stress out of traveling.

1. Know your area.
A week before our trip I did some research on what the 10 mile radius of our hotel had to offer. I started within our immediate vicinity: does the hotel have a fitness room? Check. A pool? Check. Is it near healthy food options? Can I walk instead of using other transportation? Is it easy to use public transportation if I need to?

–> I looked at a google map to gauge how far health food stores were, if there was a Chipotle nearby for less glamorous, last-minute emergency meals, and also to check on what kinds of sightseeing I could do. Exploring is just fun walking/exercise for me!

2. Know your schedule and situation.
–> If you are going to have back-to-back events, and no time to grab essentials at a market, it might be best to look up restaurants nearby that are easily accessible. Give yourself some time to look at the menus ahead of time via their websites and make sure that each place will be able to accommodate your needs (especially important for those trying to get to/maintain a healthy weight, and those of us who have food allergies and sensitivities.) If you’re uncertain, just send the restaurant an email.

–> If you’re traveling with kids, you already know what I’m about to suggest: bring snacks! Lots and lots and lots of healthy snacks. (More on that later.)

–> If you have an itinerary that’s vague, go ahead and have an emergency pack of food. Always better to be safe than sorry!

3. Know your needs
–> This is fairly self-evident: if you are celiac, make sure you have a plan, a back-up plan, and an emergency pack of food. If you are vegetarian or vegan, same thing. Make sure to assess your needs cautiously; if you are not in the majority of the population for dietary or health reasons, you will surely need to have several safety nets in place. It is never worth getting sick! I wish I would have remembered this when I was running around San Diego desperately searching for a GF restaurant I could trust… (The first time in my life I have wanted a smartphone, for sure.) If you don’t have several back-up plans in place, you might end up eating a handful of plain steamed vegetables for dinner like I did. Not exactly filling…

4. Set a budget
–> Some people will question my sanity here, but one thing I recommend is getting cold, hard cash (reconsider this if traveling internationally, of course). Store it safely, avoid muggers…. and pay close attention to your tangible loss of green. It always helps me stay on track when I see material money leaving my hands – not just some abstract experience of numbers on a screen, a swipe of a card, and a signature. Either way, set a reasonable dollar amount beforehand (price menus and groceries in the area for accuracy), and don’t go over it.

–> If you are strapping down on your spending, be sure to make this workable. You might have to give up some top-notch restaurants or other local experiences; it’s not the end of the world! Find ways to deal with temptation by planning on a less expensive but unique hole-in-the-wall place that you can look forward to. Try visualizing why you’re saving in the first place (trying to buy a house? planning a wedding? paying off medical bills?), and remind yourself that in the grand scheme of things, it’s simply not a crisis – it’s a choice.

Welp, hope at least some of these were good reminders of how we can stay on track even in challenging situations. I know I definitely needed to recall why I’m usually successful at this (rather than epically failing this weekend). ; )

Which of these helps the most for you? Do you find staying healthy while traveling to be difficult?