In New Orleans, I find that we pivot about Mardi Gras as the rest of the country pivots about New Years. The week after, we reset. I’ve gone back to yoga, to eating salads more days a week than not. I recommitted to self care.
My friend Lucy and I completed the National Women’s Half Marathon for international women’s day. We stayed hydrated with Bolero added to our water. And then we got ready for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade the following weekend.
In my professional opinion, food is fantastic medicine. Our diets are the first places to dial into when looking to look, feel, or think better. Good Mood Food by Charlotte Watts and Natalie Savona is a fantastic tour through general principles of how foods can augment our efforts to improve health.
This carrot soup recipe was in the chapter on Sleep Support, which I definitely needed more of in the days after Mardi Gras, and after the race.
Good Mood Carrot Soup
Adapted from Good Mood Food by Charlotte Watts and Natalie Savona
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
A few sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp mustard powder
½ tsp wild onion seeds
1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, grated
2 pinches of salt
Sprinkle of cayenne (or a diced red chili pepper, I like dedo de moca)
Fresh ground black pepper, a few turns
1 liter chicken or vegetable stock
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
Soften the onion and garlic in a cast iron pan with olive oil and herbs and spices. Add a tablespoon of stock to get the flavors to blend. After 4-5 minutes, add carrots and celery. Add the rest of the stock and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for 40 minutes. Then transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. If you want it a little creamier, add plain Greek yogurt to the desired level of creaminess. Eat, and rest well. Doting hound not included.
In the next section of the book, they recommend also for sleep a turmeric and chamomile hot milk tea. Personally, I have a hard time with the metallic taste of turmeric and can’t do doses greater than ½-1 tsp in my cooking. Boscumin has a turmeric supplement, if you are like me and need to swallow turmeric in a capsule to benefit from it’s anti-inflammatory properties.
Brussel Sprouts with Apricot Ginger Teriyaki Glaze
1 lb brussel sprouts, halved
2 TB Salute Sante grapeseed oil, garlic flavored
2-4 TB Terrapin Apricot Ginger Teriyaki Glaze
Toss brussel sprouts in oil in a bowl and saute in cast iron pan for 10-15 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally (but not too much so as to avoid disturbing the formation of fond!) Heat oven to 400 and when the sprouts are browned, transfer to the oven to cook for another 10-15 minutes until soft. Put onto serving plate, and drizzle with the apricot ginger glaze.
And now let’s talk about how to bring a salad to work with you every day. Meal prep real talk. Pick lettuce, or spinach, or kale. Anything you want. Wash it, dry it and tear it up and put in tupperwares the minute you bring it home, and stick in the fridge. Then, on the morning you go to work, throw some walnuts (or whatever kind of nut you like, Fiddyment Farms pistachios!, cashew, almond, pecan) into the salad, and mix up a quick dressing to put into a small 3-4 oz container that can be popped right inside the salad container for easy transport.
Here are my absolute favorites of late:
O olive oils and balsalmics. High quality California Mission olives cold pressed on a family farm with real ingredients. Delicious and fragrant. They claim it tastes great on ice cream. Perhaps I’ll give that a try on my birthday…
3 TB O Basil-infused olive oil
1 tsp Penzey’s Tuscan Sun seasoning
3 TB O Extra Virgin Premium olive oil
1 TB O oak-aged balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Lusty Monk brown mustard
Foods Alive Asian Ginger dressing
KP and I try to bring one tupperware salad to work with us each day of the week. Add enough nuts and sometimes that’s all we need to push through a busy working lunch!
