Health and Wellness - Food-Wine-Travel

The Power of a Memory

Memories. What exactly are they? They are intangible – they have no matter, yet they hold the power to instantly transform your state of mind and affect the chemicals in your body. This power is only over you – your memories have no impact on anyone else. Some can be your best support system – others a horrible curse. It’s fascinating to me how powerful these can be when they are basically … nothing!

These non-existent “things” are triggered by something as simple as an aroma. For me – it’s the smell of cinnamon and cloves. Specifically, oatmeal cookies baking. One of my best memories is “Grandma Mary” baking oatmeal cookies. When my parents were young they rented a house from Mary Bradford. My mom had lost her own mother when she was a child, and Mary Bradford took her under her wing – became a MOM to my mom – and Grandma Mary to all of us kids.

Home was … chaotic. That’s a good word for it.

My father suffered PTSD from the Korean War, but in the 60’s this wasn’t well understood. In fact, PTSD wasn’t officially recognized and treated until the 70’s.

Without the help he needed, like so many others, he self-medicated with alcohol.

He tried his best – I know he did. And he really loved us all – I know that too. But life in our house was … chaotic.

Except when Grandma Mary visited.

Grandma had a calming effect. I don’t know if it was because of her life experience, her wisdom, or her deep love for Jesus. But she had gained respect from everyone in our family. There was something special about Grandma Mary. When she was there, everyone was safe. The world was good. There was no chaos. She would invite me into the kitchen and let me “help” her make oatmeal cookies. I loved those moments.

I love those memories!

This seed she planted in me grew into my love of cooking. To this day, I feel safe in the kitchen. Whether I’m putting together a meal to share with friends and family or whipping up a batch of cookies – the world is good. Life is good.

These memories – so incredibly versatile and so incredibly strong. The Korean war is over, yet the memories still invoked anxiety and panic in my father until his death.

My Grandma Mary is gone too – yet her memories invoke joy and a sense of well being in me.

This is the power of memories, and this is why I am intentional about creating good memories with my grandkids. Simple but powerful – like “helping” me cook or making a special trip to the ice cream shop for root beer floats in the middle of winter.

They will remember these moments. These grandkids are not at war – I am thankful for that. But they ARE growing up in a pandemic. And that can also be very….chaotic. So we make good memories.

The kind with cinnamon and cloves.

It is my hope that when they are all grown up – when they need to feel safe in a chaotic world – these #memories will rush in and instantly know that the world is good. #LifeIsGood

Shout-out to Debby Hudson for the title photo https://unsplash.com/@hudsoncrafted

My experiment with gratitude

Do a quick google search on gratitude and you will find an abundance of articles all promoting its power. Entire libraries of books have been written on the effects that gratitude can have on one’s life, and the research studies to back it up seem endless.

With all this supporting evidence why is it that I had not been making this a priority for my daily routines? I suspect it is a combination of several things, but three stand out to me as the basis for my procrastination. First, Like most everyone else, I’m busy! You know the drill – career, family, chores. Second, we humans have a tendency to focus on the negative. It is called Negative Bias – we’re hard-wired that way. And Last, honestly, I am generally skeptical of any “magic fix” that doesn’t require a ton of hard work.

Then I heard something from Tony Robbins during an interview that changed my mind. He was sharing his morning routine, how he spends 10 minutes to be grateful and prepared for the day, and he said…

“If you don’t have 10 f—ing minutes for your life, you don’t have a life,”

WOW!!! Ok – that actually made a TON of sense to me. I decided to commit a few minutes each morning and try this out as an experiment.

All I needed was a timer – a quiet spot – and a commitment to do it. My practice was this:

The first 3 minutes: I think of all the things I have to be grateful for. Once this ball starts rolling it is amazing how much we really have that we take for granted. A hot shower, food in the fridge, freedom.
The next 3 minutes: A prayer to God/the Universe/Your higher-self asking for help with one thing that day. This can be a prayer for yourself or a prayer for someone else.
The final 3 minutes: Set your intention for the day. What one thing do you want to accomplish.

I started this practice 2 years ago and found it to be life-changing. Starting the day off with a focus on gratitude sets my mind in a positive state. And spending a few minutes to set my intention for the day helps me to clear out the “noise” and focus on what matters most at the moment.

You can try my routine, try the Tony Robbins 10 minute morning routine, or make up your own. What is important is to follow through with the commitment – set aside the time – and focus on the things you are grateful for. Try it for 30 days and I am certain you will also see the difference in your life.

_{Featured photo by unsplash.com/@aloragriffiths}

Color Me Healthy – Mango Salsa

Did you know that with a few colorful additions to your menu you can add an abundance of healthful benefits? Phytonutrients, the compounds that give fruits and vegetables their colors, are also key to keeping our bodies healthy. And eating a rainbow of colors provides the best protection against numerous diseases from cancer to heart disease.

Beyond the health benefits, there is an aspect of joy that comes from sitting down in front of a beautiful array of colors. Additionally, research done at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that we tend to eat MORE if the serving includes a variety of colors – this is a good thing when it comes to fruits and vegetables!

To that end – I’m sharing with you my simple but tasty recipe for mango salsa. This salsa has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy and pairs best with a dish that also has a bit of heat to it.

Mango Salsa Recipe

1 Red Pepper (seeds removed)
1/4 Mango
1/2 Avocado (very soft and ripe)
1 Jalapeno (seeds removed)
1/4 Lemon (cut into two lengthwise pieces)

Slice the red pepper, avocado, and mango and then cut each slice into small pieces. Do the same for the avocado, handling with care as it will be more fragile.

Add everything into a bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Then squeeze both pieces of lemon over the top. Mix together carefully – the avocado is fragile and will become mush if you mix too strenuously.

My “go to” dish is to pair this with a blackened mild white fish, like the Walleye in the photo above. Place the fish on a bed of couscous, arrange the salsa on top, and add a side of baby spinach tossed in a fruit-infused olive oil (my favorite is the Kiwi infused oil from The Oil and Vinegar Cellar in Leavenworth, WA.)

Add a chilled bottle of Sashay Rosé from Frichette Winery and you are set with a perfect meal to wow your friends and family.

I would love to hear from those readers who tried this recipe – what did you pair it with?

Decisions can be exhausting

Did you know that there may be a reason you exhausted at the end of the day which has nothing to do with your sleep patterns, exercise, or nutrition. It may simply be a matter of how many decisions you are making!

It’s called Decision Fatigue…and yes…it’s a real thing. Why did Steve Jobs wear the iconic black turtleneck? Turns out he wasn’t necessarily trying to make a fashion statement. He recognized that he had a determinate capacity for making decisions each day. And he’s not the only one to take this approach. Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama have been known to do the exact same thing.

We want options. But the paradox is that, when presented with too many, we are stressed and driven to make less optimal decisions.

Photo by Victoriano Izquierdo on Unsplash

Here are a few ways you can combat decision fatigue:

(1) Plan out your work wardrobe for the week on Sunday night – or follow in the footsteps of Jobs and Zuckerberg by simplifying your wardrobe to just a few key pieces.

(2) Pre-make or purchase pre-made breakfasts and lunches to reduce decisions around meals.

(3) Make daily routine to follow such as exercising at the same time each day.

(4) Make the big important decisions in the morning.

These are just a few ideas to start with. Then, look for more ways to reduce the number of decisions you need to make each day – there are probably hundreds of decisions you could eliminate. For example, I am a project manager – the definition of a decision maker! I literally spend my entire day making decisions, which explains why I was feeling exhausted at the end of each day. So I delegated some of these to a junior project manager that I trusted. This gave her more responsibility which will help her grow her career AND helped me combat decision fatigue, leaving more energy and focus to tackle the tougher more critical decisions.

Did this article resonate with you? Leave a comment – I want to hear your thoughts on tackling decision fatigue!

Finding Joy at the Farmer’s Market

Happiness, or rather the pursuit of it, is at the height of popularity for topics of books, documentaries, and research. And for good reason. According to the World Happiness Report of 2019 the United States of America is nowhere close to the top of the list. In fact, we continue to decline in happiness ranking – landing in 19th place.

The reasons for this are many, and complicated. But there are small things that you can do every day to bring joy back into your life. One way is by reconnecting with nature. Research confirms that even short interactions with nature can boost your mood. And with summer in full swing, your local Farmer’s Market provides a great opportunity to do exactly that.

Research also supports that changing your routine contributes to the boost in happiness. I decided to combine these both into an exercise that you could try this week.

Take a break and visit your local Farmer’s Market – pick up a few Roma and Heirloom tomatoes to try using the bruschetta recipe below. While you are there, savor the moments – enjoy the bright colors and the smell of the fresh fruits and vegetables. This is your chance to connect with nature and change up your routine a bit.

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on this. Did you give it a try? Did you find a boost in your happiness?

Bruschetta (4 pieces)

1 Roma tomato
1 heirloom tomato
1 tsp olive oil
salt
balsamic glaze
5 basil leaves
4 slices of sour dough baquette

Preheat oven to 415 degrees.

Core the Roma and the heirloom, then dice into small pieces. Spread the tomatoes evenly over the sour dough bread. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and 1 tsp olive oil.

Put aluminum foil on a cookie sheet and place pieces of bruschetta on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

While the bread is baking, thinly slice the basil leaves.

Remove bruschetta from the oven. Top with the basil leaves and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.