Category Archives: All blog posts

Organically Organized

I was leafing through an issue of O magazine while drying my hair this morning (because really, when ELSE does one leaf through magazines?) and came across this quote from Peter Walsh, better known as Oprah’s Organization Guru. You’d recognize him as the guy who helps hoarders unearth their homes from years of accumulated clutter. That Peter Walsh.

His quote was “The words organic and organize have the same root. Organic makes me think of things that are fresh, natural, whole, and healthy—and organization brings the same mood into a space.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself! I often find that when people decide to get healthy, they simultaneously decide to get organized. It’s as if the two go hand in hand. When you begin to bring order to one aspect of your life, you’ll start to seek it in others. This natural gravitation to organization can be a catalyst to complete projects that have been languishing on your to-do list for quite some time.

Closet overhauled? Check.

Junk drawer emptied? Check.

Fridge shelves cleaned? Check.

Spice rack alphabetized? Check.

It’s hard to be healthy amid a pile of clutter. Have you ever seen a messy yoga studio? No, right? And don’t you feel healthier just by walking in the door? Yes! So, make that spa environment your inspiration for getting your surroundings in order to support the healthy habits you are trying to maintain.

Step back and assess your home environment. Look for messy places that drain your energy just by looking at them. Where can you eliminate some clutter and get organized in support of your organic lifestyle? You’ll be grateful for the space to sip that glass of fruit-infused water in your newly zen surroundings.

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Be a Healthy Living Superhero – No Cape Required

Note: This article first appeared in Cincy Chic, an online publication for which I am the monthly Healthy Living columnist.

When it comes to healthy living, sometimes we think we have to be super-heroes or heroines to make the magic happen. Able to work out daily at 5AM without an alarm clock! Able to resist the donuts and birthday cake on every floor of the office! Able to whip up healthy gourmet meals in the blink of an eye! It’s daunting to think that we may be missing some rare gene or bionic chip that is required to live well.

Yet, in my experience, being a superhero is simply not required. Instead, healthy living is all about stringing together small, intuitive, simple practices that together create a rhythm of vibrancy and vitality that will only make you FEEL like you have super powers.

Healthy living is not about extremes – there’s no need for ironclad willpower or a superhuman metabolism. There is no secret formula. It’s not about no carb or no fat or no red meat. It’s not about marathons and triathalons and insane workouts from infomercials. You don’t have to meditate for an hour a day.

Healthy living is far simpler than that. It’s about knowing yourself. It’s about having clear-minded intention and staying focused on how you want to feel and what you want from life. It’s about eating well, and moving your body. It’s about getting adequate rest and making ongoing adjustments to your lifestyle that continually raise your energy level. It’s about learning to be gentle with yourself as you make changes to the way you live.

I am fortunate to spend my days helping people figure out how to integrate healthy living practices into their lives. I’m no superhero and neither are my clients, but together we are able to transform lives, one small step at a time.

If you’re reading this and wondering where to begin, I would suggest you start by choosing one practice you think you can implement with consistency beginning today. Just one.

  • Eat breakfast.
  • Or spend 10 minutes stretching in the morning.
  • Or upgrade your donut to a bowl of oatmeal.
  • Or get 8 hours of sleep.
  • Or drink one fewer soda each day.
  • Or go for a walk at lunchtime.

You probably have a list much longer than this in mind of healthy habits you could do or should do. But remind yourself that you don’t have to do them all at once. Just pick one thing that you believe with all your heart you can do…and see how doing it makes you feel. When you connect your chosen action with the inevitable result of feeling better, you’ll be far more apt to repeat it, and to find the next action, and then the next. On and on you’ll go until before you know it, your life has been transformed. Choose one thing and commit.

You can do it, Wonder Woman.

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The best spring pasta ever

I’m one of those people who subscribes to cooking magazines, zealously cuts out a jillion things that look good, and then waits for-ev-er before actually making any of them. Usually. But this cover recipe from the April issue of Cooking Light broke me right out of that rut. It kept calling my name from its perch on the coffee table until I gave in and made it a few weeks ago.

It.   Was.   Amazing.

Easy, creamy, healthy, fresh – reminiscent of a pesto sauce but even better. I could have eaten the entire recipe myself. But my husband and those three little people who live with me were pretty enamored with it as well and so I had to share. Sigh.

I made a few substitutions to suit our taste which I’ve included below. If you’d rather try it as written, by all means have at it! But make this. Please. And will you invite me over for dinner when you do?

 

Pappardelle with Swiss Chard, Herbs & Ricotta

with some significant adaptations,  from Cooking Light April 2011

serves 4 (unless you are dining with me!)

 

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta) (I used extra wide Amish noodles – no pappardelle at Kroger)
1 tsp. kosher salt (original called for 1 Tbsp – yikes!)
1/3 cup  part-skim ricotta cheese
3 cups Swiss chard leaves, cut to 2″ pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (original called for dill- not my favorite)
3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmigiana Reggiano (original specified Romano)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain in a colander,  reserving 1 c. of cooking liquid.

2. In a nonstick skillet, saute Swiss chard in 1 Tbsp. olive oil until tender.

3. Combine 1/2 cup reserved hot cooking liquid, chard, and ricotta cheese in a food processor or blender, and process until well blended. (I did this so my kids wouldn’t flip out about big pieces of chard in their pasta – you could leave the chard out to stir in later.)

4. Combine hot pasta, cheese/chard mixture, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Add additional cooking liquid if needed. Serve.

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