Welcome to 2016. In late February. So I'm a little behind. But that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about this year. I'm currently participating in a mentorship program at my work and as part of that program, recently had to complete a self-assessment. Not surprisingly, one of the outcomes of my assessment was that I am strongly goal-oriented. And I am. Call them goals or resolutions, they help keep me on track and keep me moving towards what I hope, is being a better person.
So as I would be inclined to do, last month I sat down and made a list of my 2016 goals. These include:
*Simplify.
*Improve my mountain bike skills to prepare for longer distance racing.
*Do a race that the thought of makes me very uncomfortable.
*Continue my evolution with a plant-based diet and give up dairy and eggs.
*Post here once a month.
Simplify. So there are several ways I'm attacking this one. I'm going to make it a monthly goal to clean something out and thereby simplify my not so worldly possessions. This month it's the travel coffee mug/bottle/Sound probiotic cupboard.
Yee-wow. (And speaking of which, have you checked out Sound yet? If not, you should...http://www.soundprobiotics.com/ ).
I have given up both the pool and gym memberships in an effort to simplify my extracurricular activities. I have become very spoiled in terms of being able to train from home...I can run and ride out my front door. And JMac and I invested in a small home gym this past Christmas as our gift to each other. So rather than having to pack up and drive somewhere to train, I'm just staying home. It also gives JMac and I more time to see each other and spend some bonus time with the pets.
(Mack looking very satisfied with himself after his one plyo box jump).
I'm also trying to streamline my cooking routine by switching to a major cooking session every other week. I have already shared my penchant for cooking for the week on the weekend and freezing meals so that we always have awesome lunches and dinners at our fingertips. Well, I got the idea from Kelli at Apex Nutrition to evolve this schedule into every other week. Right now I coincide my cooking with my Fresh Fork weeks. But I basically cook double batches of 5-6 meals and freeze what can't be ate in the very near future. We then pull out meals on a rotating basis over the course of two weeks. Each meal works out to be enough for one dinner and one lunch for each of us so over the course of a two week period, we're eating the same thing four times. It's working out pretty well. (I had the chance to work with Kelli last fall and what a great, eye-opening experience. I'm sure I'll talk more about that in a future post. But in the meantime, here is a podcast where she outlines the two-week cooking schedule, among other great ideas http://mountainbikeradio.com/apex-nutrition-podcast/nutrition-hacks/) .
I'll expound on the other goals in the coming months. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a link to one of my new, most favorite recipes, PF Chang's Inspired Lettuce Wraps http://www.apexnutritionllc.com/fuelrightblog/2013/02/19/tuesdays-healthy-fuel-recipe-light-at-night-with-delicious-asian-lettuce-wraps-pf-chang-knock-off/ . A couple of weeks ago, I made a double batch of them with tofu and froze half, which worked out super well. My only word of caution is to make sure you're using a quality hoisin sauce with good ingredients. If you have the motivation/time, you can make your own http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-hoisin-sauce-312992. Thanks for reading!