 Here’s the deal: every Friday evening through the beginning of May, I have to drop a kid off at rehearsal on Mill Street in Vienna. I will then go for a walk on the W&OD trail. If you’d like to join me, meet me at the Vienna caboose at 5:15 on Fridays. You do not have to be a Member or client, and your fitness level doesn’t matter. You just show up, come as you are, even if you’re not in workout clothes. We will walk until someone’s ready to turn around, and then we will end our walk either at Caboose Brewing Co. or Whole Foods in Vienna for a coffee, tea or beverage ~ your choice. This is a place for moving, connecting and winding down the week, NOT competition, feelings of “I can’t” or judgment. If no one shows up, I’ll be walking anyway, but any or every Friday, feel free to join me! Text me at (917) 531-4409 if you’re coming that week so I know to watch for you. Let’s get moving! Release stress! Reduce cancer risk! Increase those telomeres! Connect! We might even see a gorgeous sunset or a bee that fell asleep in a flower with pollen on its butt! (I look at those pictures whenever I need a smile.) See you there!
 Remember those awesome pumpkin doughnuts on Fox 5 Good Day DC? Okay, not exactly a superfood, but certainly a seasonal treat (which I believe in) and inclusive for people with food allergies (which I really believe in).
Believe it or not, the foods that pack the maximum nutrient punch can also be delicious ~ thanks to my husband. We recently had the privilege of sharing my love of anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense foods and his love of cooking ~ at a private event showcasing leafy greens and organic wines. (Oh, did I forget to mention he's in the wine industry?) We have a million more tricks up our sleeves for helping you love what's good for you. If you're interested in setting up a private workshop and cooking demo (and even a wine tasting) for you friends, organization or workplace wellness initiative, contact me for more information and pricing. As you know, one of my core beliefs is that we must serve our communities and help the undernourished. Many of you were part of our 5K team back in January that raised money for Food for Others. I've also had the privilege this year of serving as a coach for Girls On The Run of Northern Virginia, an organization dedicated to guiding and mentoring pre-adolescent and adolescent girls through an interactive curriculum centered on confidence, strength, connection, community and other important life skills . . . all while training for a 5K. This morning I had the privilege of kicking off GOTR NOVA's 20th anniversary on NBC 4 with some of my girls. I'm looking forward to another season with this incredible organization.
 I posted these pictures yesterday for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Now I don't mean to leave my male clients out, because this applies to you too. Inactivity is a killer. Literally. Our bodies were meant to move, and it's not just for maintaining weight and heart health. You need it for hormone balance, stress management, controlling inflammation, brain health, cancer risk reduction and more. Listen, it's a well-known fact by now that I personally dislike the gym. So I find other ways to move - with girlfriends on walks on the W&OD trail, on my bike with my husband, on horses with my daughter, on skis with my family, with my Girls On the Run team (and I'm a Coach On A Walk at those practices and races, so no excuses!). Get moving, y'all! ESPECIALLY if you're a woman of certain fabulous age . . . menopause throws a real wrench into your metabolism, and the best way to fight back is to move your body and do weight-bearing exercise to increase muscle mass and preserve bone density. So bundle up . . . I'll see you out there!
 I'll turn 50 at the end of May, and I want you to be a part of it. Make sure you're following Wellness Feast on Instagram, because I intend to celebrate this milestone all year long. Until recently, I didn't exactly love the idea of turning 50. But lately I've experienced a shift, and now I'm truly excited about it. Might I suggest we spend the rest of 2020 celebrating all the beauty, growth and opportunity coming our way in this new stage? Join me on Instagram and tag Wellness Feast and #50andfabulous with all the ways you are thriving in your 50s ~ growing, stretching, being true to yourself, serving your community, experiencing love, overcoming obstacles, celebrating your friendships, nurturing your spirit . . . I want to hear it all!
I'm a few weeks late in posting the promised review of the eMeals app, because I had a heavenly little ski vacation in the middle. So first let's bottom line this: eMeals is a great resource as long as you remember to use it. It's like the rule of making lists: they're great as long as you remember to go back and actually read them.
Here's the skinny: I downloaded the app and set it up. Very straightforward. My only complaint is that I wanted something that was a hybrid of the "vegan" plan and the "clean eating" plan. I eat mostly plant-based, but I found the vegan plan had a lot of meals that were trying to mimic meals that usually have meat - like casseroles or nachos with chili - so many of them called for fake cheese and fake meat. I don't eat either of those ~ I feel like they are so full of chemicals, you'd be better off eating high quality meat and high quality cheese. REAL FOOD, people. The clean eating plan had a lot of meat-based recipes, but what's nice about eMeals is that you're not locked in. You can pop over to another plan and download recipes, so that allowed me to pick and choose recipes from other plans, such as the Mediterranean plan or the Quick and Healthy plan. The app gives you a set of recipes for each week. You choose which ones you want, and then it puts the ingredients into your shopping list. This is the part that took me a few minutes to figure out. (I can hear my kids saying, "Okay, Boomer" right now, which is when I always remind them that their GRANDPARENTS are in fact the baby boomers, they should be saying "Okay, Gen-Xer" to me when they roll their eyes). The shopping list allows you to check off anything you already have in your fridge and pantry, then you send the rest to your shopping app of choice ~ I chose Amazon Fresh in hopes of getting mostly Whole Foods items, but you can also use Instacart, Walmart, etc. The downside here is the universal downside of letting someone else shop for you: they're not going to pick the best produce. But I figured I owed it to y'all to try every step of this, plus I'm not going to lie, grocery shopping is not my favorite. I sent everything over to Amazon Fresh. I was pleased to see that for each item, you get a choice of what brand or quantity you want to buy before it goes into your shopping cart. Once that was set, I picked a delivery window and done! Of course I forgot that one of the ingredients was wine, so I had to scramble to make sure someone over 21 was at my house to sign for the groceries. Again, not eMeals' fault. (On the bright side, I had just finished taking a lot of y'all through the 14-Day Reset Cleanse, so I poured myself a little of that wine while making the farro recipe, and thought lovingly of my spirit animal, Julia Child: "I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.") That week, I made farro with spinach and mushrooms and an orzo dish with lemon, spinach and crispy broccoi. They were both delicious, and I'll likely make them again. Then I got off track. Because we went out of town for a few days, and my husband dipped into my "eMeals supply" to make other things, I found myself with some random ingredients, like gnocchi, sundried tomatoes, tamari, and lots of peppers and beans, because I ended up not making some of the other recipes like Chickpea Quesadillas and Southwest Chili Pot Pie. But it worked out well because I made a quick dinner of the gnocchi one night with organic marinara sauce and steamed spinach, and as I type this, my husband is whipping up some vegetarian chili for the Super Bowl. All in all, I think eMeals is a great concept and a useful resource as long as you stay with it, otherwise you end up paying $60 a year for nothing. If you're like me, you have to pop into your AMEX or VISA account periodically to see what recurring charges you forgot about. But the real value here is that it eliminates the dreaded "What should we have for dinner?" The most important thing to keep in mind ~ if you don't have buy-in from your roommates/spouse/kids, it's really not worth it. You're basically doubling your grocery bill and your work. This is a tool that is supposed to make life easier, not more complicated. |
Photo: Lynn Cates
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