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Well Worth the Effort :: Developing Grit and Healthy Habits and a Whole30 Chicken Parmesan
One of my stocking stuffers from Christmas this year was one of my family’s all time most beloved movies – Matilda. I had read the book by Roald Dahl as a little girl and loved it so much that when I saw it was also produced as a movie insisted we rent it to watch as a family. And it was a HUGE hit. I hadn’t watched it in ages, but for over 15 years now my dad, mom, brothers, sister and I have continued to quote the absurdly hilarious lines, so much so that some of them have nearly become family mantras and we may have even forgotten their…
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A Love of Learning :: What I’ve Been Up to Lately and a Whole30 Strawberry Guacamole Swordfish with Coconut Cauliflower Rice
I love to learn. One of my greatest passions is continuous learning and improvement. I have a unquenchable thirst and desire for wanting to know more and gain deeper insight, to grow, to improve, and to change. In virtually every situation I find myself in whether it’s professionally, socially, or personally related I find joy in the pursuit of gaining deep subject matter expertise and an understanding of the underlying dynamics that are in play. On a typical day off (after I get my barre fix in of course), you are likely to find me curled up with a book or with my laptop researching and studying something. It’s what…
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What in the World is a Whole30 (and More Importantly – Why Would Anyone Choose to Do One)?
As you may have noticed, many if not most, of the entrée recipes that I post are tagged as Whole30 compliant and you may or may not know what exactly that means. In short, the Whole30 is an elimination diet which outlines specific rules and recommendations around foods which are commonly problematic for many people as they tend to violate at least one of the “Good Food Standards” outlined by Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Hartwig in their book, It Starts With Food. I recently reread this book, and was surprised by how much of the fine detail I had forgotten. The book is a robust review of research in the…
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Energy Boosters: Sunshine, Tackling Nagging Tasks, and Whole30 Swordfish with Pistachio Gremolata
As the winter **hopefully** approaches a turning point, I have been thrilled with the slightly longer days as opposed to pitch darkness starting around 4:00 PM. I find it amazing the extent to which exposure to light has been shown to impact our moods – something which certainly rings true for me. In a cross-cultural study of participants from four different countries at varying distances from the equator, Kuller et al., found that those subjects which were located furthest north experienced “significant variation in psychological mood over the year that did not occur in the countries closer to the equator… [and] the light and color of the workplace itself also…
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Happy Memories and Whole30 Broccoli Cheese Soup
Just as we tend to overestimate what we can do in the short term and underestimate what is possible over the long run, it can also be challenging to objectively measure or recognize our progress even when we are consistent. It’s like watching a plant grow every day or bringing water to boil. We can kind of tell things are headed in the right direction, but when we wake up each day with ourselves, it’s often hard to see the small and slow changes that are being accumulated. I recently realized that I am over halfway through my year long Happiness Project and therefore stopped to consider whether or not…
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Conducting a Personal Mid Year Review With a Side of Whole30 Southwest Stuffed Avocados
Broaden-and-Build, the Benefits of Positivity, and a Whole30 Chicken Chili
Push Yourself! Taking on a Challenge Builds Self-Efficacy :: Whole30 Burgers with Sundried Tomato and Basil Artichoke Sauce
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Be Consistent – Those Small Steps Add Up :: Whole30 Chicken Pesto Pasta
As always, the time that I spent back home with my family for Christmas was fabulous (although already becoming a faint memory) and went by MUCH too quickly. Especially whenever I am with my sister, it seems that we have a million and one things that we want to do and accomplish, but never have nearly enough time. Although we had a lot fun and I wouldn’t have changed a thing, we had wanted to meet up with more friends, visit a Christmas lightshow, check out a new restaurant, take a barre class together, and so on. I guess time does fly when you’re having fun. And in many ways,…
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Visualization and a Visually Appealing Whole30 Salmon Nicoise Salad
Something I always find interesting when I learn something new, hear about a particular concept or idea, or start a different activity, is the feeling that it seems to pop up everywhere, across a variety of settings. The Pacific Standard described it well: “your friend told you about that obscure blue-grass-electro-punk band yesterday morning. That afternoon, you ran across one of their albums at a garage sale. Wait a minute -that’s them in that Doritos commercial, too! Coincidence… or conspiracy? More likely, you’re experiencing ‘frequency illusion,’ somewhat better known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.” And although research has shown that this occurs due to the psychological processes of selective attention and…
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Conducting a Personal Mid Year Review With a Side of Whole30 Southwest Stuffed Avocados
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Distinguishing Between Resolutions and Goals :: Whole30 Hazelnut Crusted Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce
I know that at this time of year especially, there is no shortage of motivational quotes, inspirational advice, and “fitspo” photos flooding all media outlets. Conservative estimates say that at least 40% of people start their new year off by making some resolutions and goals. And although developing a new good habit or dropping an old bad one is something which can be done and beneficial at nearly anytime, there is something quite psychologically powerful about the start of a new year. I wrote previously about Katherine Milkman’s fascinating work related to fresh starts and how her research shows whenever we go through a change of season, literally or metaphorically…
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My One Word Theme for 2018 :: Prepare and a Whole30 Chili
I love words. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been passionate about learning, especially when it comes to reading and writing. Building a more expansive vocabulary continues to be a goal of mine and therefore I spend what I would consider a considerable amount of time consulting thesauruses and dictionaries to find the most impeccable, consummate, or quintessential means of conveying my message. Succinctness is not necessarily my strength, but I do actively strive to find the best fitting word to do the job. And in light of my affinity for words – it may not come as a shock that I am a big fan of…
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Act the Way We Want to Feel (and Whole30 Chicken with Almond Butter Satay Dipping Sauce and Coconut Cauliflower Rice)
Causality dilemmas (most famously, the question of which came first – the chicken or the egg), represent situations of potential infinite regress, in which it is not clear which of the two events, situations, or phenomena is the cause and which is the effect. And while it may seem to be a deeply philosophical or fruitless concept, we are actually faced with such scenarios quite regularly in our lives. When I first moved to Ireland, it was a struggle and long process to get everything in order – finalize visas and registration, lease an apartment, open a bank account, switch phone service providers, hire an accountant for taxes, etc. Everywhere…
