-
Happy Thanksgiving! The Many Benefits of Gratitude and A Fall Roasted Vegetable Side Dish
In regards to #trending, I usually prefer to be a bit on the early adopter edge and my appreciation for something can be, and has often been, lessened as it becomes incredibly mainstream or overdone. Many times a concept or idea which was originally quite powerful, transformative, or transcendent can become stale, diluted, or cheesy as it reaches a point of oversaturation. However, despite of the fact that messages of gratitude are ubiquitous this week in light of Thanksgiving over in the US of A, I find it a topic too important to skip over. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays – it involves copious amounts of fall foods,…
-
Whole30 Lemon Pepper Salmon and Lemon Thyme Roasted Cauliflower
In my recent reading, I have been made ever increasingly aware of how much we tend to stick with what’s familiar or what we know. Much of this is entirely subconscious and affects us in ways which are imperceptible even to ourselves. We tend to make sense of things and experience the world through our own lens based on what we have a basis of understanding or framework for and we often rely on heuristics or mental shortcuts in our daily judgments and decision making. However, more obviously, the tendency towards the familiar not only applies to our subconscious thought patterns and biases, but also to the overt choices and…
-
The Precious Resource of Time and a Whole30 Slow Cook Tuscan Chicken Dinner
Today is my turn to pose one of those infamous hypothetical questions: what do you value more highly – time or money? I generally tend to overanalyze this type of proposition with thoughts of all the many tradeoffs to consider. If I had more time without money, what would I do and would it bring as much satisfaction as other activities, events or hobbies which do require some type of financial investment (travel, theatre, shopping, dining out with friends, etc.)? Conversely, if I had more time, could I use it to find new or better ways to generate additional income? Of course I don’t want to end up with more…
-
Silly Questions and Whole30 Spaghetti Puttanesca
A few years ago, I remember going out for lunch with my sister and the youngest of my brothers, who at the time was probably about 10 or 11 years old. Sam has always been quite chatty and inquisitive by nature and LOVES to ask relatively random hypothetical questions. We might be folding laundry together and he decides he must know whether you would prefer to be blind or deaf. We could be packing our bags to head out for one of his soccer practices when he asks if I think it’d be better to know how to fly or to be invisible. Once he and I drove 6 hours…
-
Heuristics and Healthy Fish and Chips
When you think about “healthy food” what comes to mind? The thought might conjure up particular words like organic, raw, kale, superfood, or vegan, or perhaps images of bland steamed vegetables with boiled chicken or a #saddesksalad pop up in your head. Although there are nearly as many different definitions and opinions of what actually constitutes “healthy” as there are people out there, we all have some construct or idea what “healthy” looks like. The majority of people may not know how they learned or exactly why spinach is more healthy than a Boston Crème Doughnut, but somehow they know. This is possible because we have we have established what…
-
Magnifico Milano and Whole30 Paleo Lasagna
Buongiorno from Milan! I am currently traveling back from a fantastic and fashionable anniversary weekend. Both Jonathan and I love to travel and over the past two years of living abroad, we have taken advantage of the opportunity to do so quite frequently all throughout Europe. It is always fascinating to see the dramatic uniqueness of each place in juxtaposition with the many similarities both nearby and otherwise. This trip, like our tour through southern Germany this summer, was a good mix of city and smaller towns and villages with a boating excursion on the stunning Lake Como and stops in Como and Bellagio. We had full days of sightseeing,…
-
Clarity and Celebrating 2 Years of #mandjhappilyeverafter with Paleo Chocolate Wedding Cake
A long time struggle of my has been around clarity and prioritization. When I was very young, my dad posed a question to me, my sister and brother which illuminated this issue very clearly. He asked – “would you rather be good/very good at 10 different things or the best of the best at 1 thing?” (I have already mentioned I am not particularly good at these “would you rather” questions anyway…). Kyle, Caleb, and my dad all agreed unequivocally that it was better to be the top performer in one area. For me, it wasn’t that simple and I refused to accept that those were the only two options.…
-
Stress-Free Buffalo Egg Muffins
This week on the blog you’ll notice a special theme because I am celebrating my two year wedding anniversary! I can’t believe how time quickly time has flown by and what a unique experience it has been. Jon and I were happily dating and living in Boston when all of a sudden, he was presented with a career development opportunity which entailed an up to 18 month position in Cork, Ireland (now extended to 3 years). As we weighed the pros and cons of this major relocation, it became clear to us that that there was one thing that we still wanted to do while we were in Boston, which…
-
Surprise! A Drool-Worthy Vegan and Paleo Cheesecake
Last week, I received a very unexpected yet pleasant surprise in my mail – a check from my former car insurance provider for $700. Now to provide some context, I have not driven any vehicle even one time in over three years now. I have no desire to learn to drive on the opposite side of the road here on the windy and narrow roads of Ireland and living downtown Boston it was unnecessary, impractical and extremely expensive for both Jon and I to have a car. In almost any situation within the city of Boston, it takes roughly the same amount of time to walk, take the subway or…
-
Buy Experiences, Spend Time Connecting, and Avoid Flipping Failures with a Veggie Omelette Waffle
As I contemplate money this month, I have of course reflected on the truth that money does not buy happiness. But I have also considered more deeply how money can contribute to happiness when spent wisely or in a meaningful way. Being generous, for example, is often just as rewarding to the giver as it is to the receiver. Also, investing in the things you use often or the things that further hobbies and activities that you enjoy can be a key contributor. And as Ilya Pozin wrote for Forbes, although we think that we enjoying buying things, we may tend underestimate the pleasure that we get from spending money…
