Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and were able to spend it with family and good friends. I am in the midst of packing up my house to move to another one next weekend so my living space, and life, are an array of craziness right now! “Total chaos” as my Ma would say. I’ve been getting rid, donating and selling a ton of stuff I no longer use or need and what an amazing feeling it is! You would think we were downsizing when in fact we’re actually moving to a bigger and much better house. Less is more, and when there’s more, there’s just more to clean!
New Year’s Eve with Brooke!
All of my students and friends are in full New Year’s resolutions swing and I worry about them when I hear and see they are taking away everything they love in life instead of just trying to eat in moderation. Give up sugar, bread, wine, sugar and dairy all on the same day? I’ve got news for you… it ain’t gonna work. I’d rather be happy and a tad bit overweight than a raging bitch that’s for sure. I’m not saying you should have pizza and candy every night, but when you work hard all week long, there’s gotta be a little room for enjoyment.
So in 2016, my resolution is NOT to diet. I’m not even going to use that word this year unless I’m on a plane and want a Diet 7-UP! I maintain a vigorous workout routine 5 days a week in the morning, consisting of two and a half hours of yoga/boxing/TRX/walking etc. For my body and my mental sanity, exercise is the key to me keeping my weight and health in check. Also I rarely drink beer, I don’t eat entire pints of Ben and Jerry’s (although I’m tempted) and I don’t have carbs every night for dinner. Instead, I have a salad everyday, I limit myself to a glass of wine in the evening (on the weekdays NOT on the weekends) and I drink a TON of water each and everyday for hydration and good skin.
Once you find the balance between what you love to eat and what you know you should’t be eating too often, “eating in moderation” is born. It’s not easy but why wake up feeling like crap every morning when you can make some little tweaks to your diet. Oh no! I said it! Ahhhhh! Baby steps! The recipe I’m sharing with you today is one that had to be cleaned up a lot. It’s chili and everyone knows it can be heavy, cheesy, greasy and you know.. beans beans the magical fruit… I made this VEGAN with no cheese, dairy, sour cream etc, etc. And here is where I find my balance, with this nutritional chili versus the traditional calorie-packed dish!
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New Year’s Chili Slow-Cooked- serves up to six
Ingredients:
-1 15 oz can each of white cannellini beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans and black beans
-1 15 oz can of yellow corn
-2 small zucchini, chopped
-4 roma tomatoes, diced
-6 cloves garlic
-1 orange pepper, diced
-1 red onion, chopped
-2 cups vegetable broth
-dash each of cumin, cinnamon and turmeric
-avocado and cilantro to garnish
Directions:
1. Drain all the beans and rinse well.
2. Chop up the veggies and add everything into your crock pot.
3. Cook on high for 3 hours or until everything is soft.
4. Serve with some sliced avocado and cilantro! Clean, green and fresh!
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I’ve just finished my second book of 2016 Gillian Flynn’s The Grownup. It was a short little read but nonetheless thick in plot. If you’ve read Gone Girl or Sharp Objects or Dark Places, then you know Gillian’s work is well thought out, very haunting and at times, hard to read but even harder to put down. I enjoyed this book that you can absolutely read in a day!
