The Best Of Me

In my last post I talked about starting the new year with new focus and intention. One of the most important areas of my life that I feel needs this focus is Organically Optimistic. I started blogging to document our journey through the Whole30 program last March. Upon completing the program, my purpose was (and still is) to continue using the blog as a platform for sharing recipes, tutorials, tips and resources both for my own use and yours. My hope is that through this blog, others find the inspiration I was searching for when we began our journey toward a more green and conscience lifestyle. The past 5 years have been a journey for us; one that is ever evolving and always offering a learning opportunity. To read more about where we started at and where we were prior to and just after our Whole30 program, you can do so here, here and here.

This year I am excited to be blogging more regularly (average of 3 posts per week) - which will allow me to share more recipes than ever, as well as expand upon the resources, templates, and printables I am able to offer you. I also am excited to shed more light on the other topics I am passionate about, including how we organize, plan, budget, and maintain our home. The primary focus here at Organically Optimistic will always be healthful, easy and delicious food; however, the other topics I just mentioned all play a crucial roll in our lives. Through planning, organizing, and budgeting, I am able to be a better chef without breaking the bank. We also save a good chunk of money and better our health through eco-friendly and chemical free cleaning, and other homemaking practices I enjoy and will be sharing with you soon.

So what can you expect to see from me this year? LOTS more content. Including 1-2 new recipes per week (that I will actually remember to photograph!), more resources and tutorials to help make your time in the kitchen as fun and easy as possible, and more information and ideas to help you rock home and health in 2016!

Are you ready?

New Year, Fresh Start

2015 was a big year for us. I'm talking trips to Oklahoma, Ohio, and Cancun, bridal shower, bachelor/bachelorette party, record breaking number of visits from friends & family, wedding planning, marriage, adding two furry babies to the family, job changes and house hunting levels of big. I'm sure there are many more "oh yea, and that" things I am forgetting... It happens when your that busy, right?

As most people generally do, we spent the holidays celebrating another fabulous year with our friends and family. And as 2015 drew to a close, we reflected on life and talked about what we wanted to accomplish and focus on for the year ahead. Confession time: I really don't love the word "resolution" when it comes to goal setting for a new year. Sure, I love to resolve problems, dilemmas or conflicts, but that's a different story. The reason is because most resolutions simply don't stick. We get caught up in the mundane day to day responsibilities of life and forget to focus on what really matters to us. We set this "In 2016, I will..." mantra that most people loose steam for in a matter of weeks. Therefore, I'm not a fan of the word. So instead I am setting goals and areas of my life that I want to focus on this year. Whether it be areas that need improvement, need to disappear, or simply need to be appreciated. Ultimately I'm making a resolution. There, I said it.

photo credit:thyme-is-honey.com

So here they are. My five intentions and areas of focus for 2016:

- Regular Blog Updates -

- More Quality Time, Less Technology Time -

- Expanding Upon Self-Employment -

- Focusing on the Positives, Developing from the Negatives - 

- Letting Our Plans Play Out - 

Yes, these categories probably appear very vague to you. But to me, they are the exact amount of accountability and flexibility I need. Some categories have much more defined boundaries, which I will be sharing more on later. Others are umbrellas if you will for multiple areas I need to improve upon that all are falling short for the same underlying reason. Some of these are for me alone (such as blogging) while others are either shared with Jason or for our betterment as a whole. Over the course of the next month, I will be sharing more details and examples of how each of these will play a role in day to day life for us, and how they contribute to the bigger picture long term. But for now, I have two snuggly pups who deserve a share of my time and love also.

It's officially fall, ya'll!

How can it possibly be that the summer of 2015 has come and gone already. I am a lover of warm weather and absolutely despise the winter season. Fall - well, I'm okay with fall, but unfortunately I have come to realize that no matter how much I wish and pray that we could jump straight from fall to spring, it just isn't going to happen. Anyways, there are plenty of food related things I love about fall - pumpkin everything, pies, cobbler, stick-to-your-ribs home cooked meals, football & party food... see, lots to love.

I finally have gotten back in the swing of things when it comes to our meals for the week. I actually went a little overly Martha Stewart with both the cooking and baking as well as the home decorating, de-cluttering and organizing last week. I feel so much more productive when the space around me is free of visual chaos and distraction.

Last week's lunches consisted of:

Crockpot Chili

Pasta Salad with Veggies

Brown Rice

Roasted Cauliflower

Sauteed Zucchini 

Oven Baked Salmon

Blackened Chicken

Spaghetti Squash (not pictured)

Brown Butter Cookies

Pumpkin Bread

 

The chili I was able to cook on Monday while we ran errands, and it was ready just in time for a friend to join us for Monday Night Football. The rest of the above items I made on Tuesday in under 2 hours; from the time I stepped in the kitchen to the time all the dishes were done and the lights were out. If you are new to meal planning or bulk cooking, I'm here to say that it doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, it can be really, really simple. I'll share all these recipes with you soon, but for now, let me tell you how I manage my time.

First, I start by figuring out what temperatures anything going in the oven needs to be cooked/baked at. For instance, the salmon goes in a cold oven that you heat to 400 degrees, while the bread and cookies are in the 350-375 degree range. So the first thing I did was prep the salmon and get it in the oven. That gave me 25 minutes before the next items could go in. So in this time I mixed up the cookies and bread, and set them to the side. Then I washed and chopped all the veggies. I started a pan of cauliflower on the stove (I was making enough that this would need to be done twice), and started another pan with the two chicken breasts, and a pot of the brown rice.

When the salmon was done, I removed it from the oven and set it aside. I dropped the temp on the oven and placed the cookies inside, which only take about 10 minutes. In the meanwhile, I set out all my food storage containers and their corresponding lids. The first batch of cauliflower was done (takes about 10-12 minutes), so I split it between two containers and put the second batch on. I also started a pot of water for the pasta and chopped all the veggies (cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, bell pepper) and made the dressing.

The cookies were now done (we are about 40 minutes in at this point) and I removed them from the oven and placed the whole spaghetti squash and the pumpkin bread inside. I set the timer for 40 minutes. At this point, the chicken had finished (about 20 minutes of cook time), so I placed the two breasts to the side. The second batch of cauliflower was also done, so I placed it in another container and added the zucchini to the same pan to cook. The pasta was also finished, so drained it and added it to the veggie/dressing mix. Give this a shake and into the fridge it goes. I then transferred the cookies to a cooling rack and washed the pans.

At this point (about 55 minutes in) the brown rice is done as well as the zucchini, so I placed the zucchini in what would be the 4th container, added rice to all four, and topped each one with either a chicken breast or a salmon filet. Viola - into the fridge they go. At this time I washed all the pots and pans used on the stove top, as well as the cutting board and knife used for the veggies. I gave the counters and the stove top a good wipe down as well.

We are now about an hour and 35 minutes in, and the cookies are cool enough to transfer to a storage container. I have also checked on the squash and bread in the oven, which needed a little more time than the original 40 minutes, but are now finished. I remove both and turn off the oven. The bread needed to cool for about 10 minutes or so before removing from its pan, and then rests for another hour or so before going into a ziplock bag for storage. The squash needed to cool for about 15-20 minutes before it was cool enough for me to scrape out the insides. I place all the squash "noodles" in a large container in the fridge, this way we can add whatever sauce we like prior to reheating and serving. The pans get a quick wash and are left to dry.

So there you have it, just under two hours, and the only thing left for me to do is place one loaf of bread in a bag. I'd call that some time well spent! This gave us 4 full meals prepacked and ready to go, plus enough squash for 4 more meals (once we reheat and add sauce), enough pumpkin bread for 4 days of breakfast, and enough pasta salad for 3 more meals. We like pasta salad as a meal all it's own, but it could absolutely be paired with other items like grilled chicken or a burger as well.

Stay tuned for the above recipes!

Reality

Well, we are just shy of two whole months since my last post. That's semi-depressing, right? A lot has taken place in those last two months. For those of you who know me personally, you know Jason & I got married a month ago (there's the positivity I love, one whole month of marriage under our belt... whoo-hoo!) And with a wedding comes lots of running around, projects, traveling and just plain busyness.

I spent the first half of August in our hometown, which is the area we were married in. Lots of crafts, appointments for alterations, catering, and venue details, as well as a fair share of craft store trips, and figuring it out along the way. I have to say, our wedding day was everything I had dreamed of and then some. Having a great team of volunteers as well as hired help amongst our team made a huge difference. However, it was still a huge leap of faith knowing that many elements of our wedding were things I had dreamed up in my head. With this meant that I had to try to put into words what I was envisioning and make it come to life with all these helping hands. But boy did they deliver. The results were phenomenal and an absolute dream come true. Huge shout out to all the parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and bridal party who busted their butts to make our big day one for the record books.

The second half of August was spent soaking up the sun and sand in Cancun. We spent 10 days in paradise, and to be honest, I could've stayed forever. The views, the temps, the fact that the hardest decisions I had to make each day were Pool vs. Ocean and what type of cocktail I was ordering next.

After arriving back in Chicago and being greeted by temperatures more than 25 degrees lower than when we left Mexico that morning, the harsh reality that 24 hour room service food and beverage had expired was a swift wake up call. We had spent ten whole days (not counting all the hospitality of our families the days prior to the wedding) not thinking even once about meal planning, grocery shopping, or actual cooking. Everything from fine dining dinners to midnight sushi and cheese fries had been prepared for us and delivered at our beckoning call. But that luxury lifestyle is over now. Admittedly, we had been eating lots of desserts, drinking plenty of sugary cocktails and coffee beverages, and as mentioned above, processed items like cheese sauce as well as other less-than-stellar food choices. I don't recommend this as a long-term eating style, but you only live once. Our honeymoon was time to relax indulge and live carefree.

    

I'll get back to my overly organized, meal planning and bulk cooking self tomorrow. :) For now, I'm enjoying the reminiscing.

Slacking... Big Time...

So... The title on this one pretty much speaks for itself. I realized I haven't written a single post in close to a month. And while I'd like to say that's due to being super consumed by creating all kinds of new recipes and finding inspiration to keep our meals exciting, that would be a lie. In all actuality, I've been in a food rut the past few weeks, and have let my food choices be effected by this too. Please tell me I'm not the only one?.... right?

The start of this blog was based on the need for accountability. I told myself I would succeed in the Whole30 regardless, and I did, but knowing that others were reading and following along made me hold myself accountable. No one wants to fail at something that is important to them, but doing so and knowing others can see it... no thanks. I knew I had to push through the cravings and hard days both because it was the right thing to do, but also because I didn't want to let myself or you guys down. I need that push again... and so here's what I am doing about it.

We all have busy lives. Some more than others, and some in differing ways. But nonetheless, we all have times where we get caught up in the things we have to or need to get done and the other "want to" items on the list sit on the back burner. For me, I tend to let my work schedule and housework take priority over meal planning and workouts, as well as things like spending a day at lake or a walk through the neighborhood together. I talked with a co-worker about this the other day, and with Jason about it this morning. It's in my nature and personality to be a "doer". I put this self-inflicted pressure on myself to try to solve the problems around me, even if they aren't my problems. I have a hard time saying no (Jason thinks this only applies to everything else in my life and that telling him no is easy, which it's not, just for the record) and often forget to take some time to just relax for my own good. I often find this power struggle happening in my head - where one side of me wants to check off all the things on my to-do list because it makes me feel accomplished and then I can kick back & relax. And the other side wants nothing more than to just enjoy a lazy day or a few hours of blissful nothing, knowing that the "to-do list" and other tasks are never ending. Believe me, I am well aware that this struggle is one most every person, and even more so every parent, probably struggles with. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I believe in a life of balance. A life of both success and productivity, but never losing sight of the little things that need to be enjoyed along the way. So what am I doing about it? I'm taking the next few days to re-evaluate our calendar, pencil in some "us" time, and also make sure the big things are getting handled in a timely fashion. With summer in full swing and only less than 9 weeks before the big day, I'll be damned if I let myself get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget to actually embrace these moments in our lives.

So keep me accountable, will ya? I'll not only be making a better effort to post more often, but to balance things out. To show you the productive and efficient side of myself, but also the more relaxed and spontaneous side. It's for the better. My mind and body will both thank me. And Jason probably will too. Life's too short... so today I spent my afternoon on the deck, soaking in the beautiful sunshine and being grateful for this incredible life.