Today we’re excited to inject a bit of science into this ingredient series!
You may know this as the “Naked Egg Experiment”. You may have even done this experiment as a kid. In this post we take that basic experiment and add a few more fun steps.
Gratitude improves our existence. There is no argument there. Gratitude helps us sleep better at night, cope during difficult times, and leads to better overall health. Practicing gratitude and writing in a gratitude journal each day is one way to ensure we reap the benefits of gratitude. If you already have a gratitude habit, adding a writing element will fit seamlessly into your routine. If you aren’t in the habit of expressing gratitude, let’s learn how to do so through journaling and what better time to begin than Thanksgiving, a holiday built upon gratitude. We’ll cover techniques that will both fit into the busiest of schedules and those with a little more time to devote to gratitude journaling.
Journaling our gratitude is another way to solidify the gratitude habit loop we are trying to employ. Remember, a habit has three parts: the cue, the routine, and the reward. The cue for gratitude journaling should be something that happens every single day. Maybe you always wake up and drink a cup of coffee. You could use the coffee brewing aroma as your cue to open your gratitude journal and begin your day’s entry. The routine is the act of your journaling, which we will talk about a bit more, and the reward can be enjoying a freshly brewed cup of coffee or the feeling that washes over you after you internalize what it means to be grateful, even for the little things in this life. So long as you clearly define your cue, remember to employ your routine, and follow up with a reward, eventually your habit loop will begin to emerge on its own.
Let’s circle back to our routine: journaling. Journaling doesn’t imply that you need to sit down with a pen and a notebook every night and scrawl for hours, unloading everything that happened in your mind and in reality that day. There are many ways to journal and certainly a technique that can work for everyone, even the busiest among us. If you aren’t keen on the idea of journaling or you don’t think you have enough time, start by bullet journaling. Simply jot down a few bullet points of gratitude each day. It’s as simple as that. If you’re really pressed for time you could write down three words, that’s it, just three words! That alone would constitute as a gratitude journal and a gratitude habit so long as you are consistent and add an entry each day.
If you are intrigued by the idea of a gratitude journal and would like to make it an enjoyable piece of each day, you can choose a pretty journal, pick out a cozy seat, and set the mood for journaling. Light a candle, pour a glass of wine or brew a cup of tea. Play a favorite song. Even if you only plan to write a few sentences about each grateful moment of your day, setting the vibe for your routine acts as part of the cue. Soon enough, you will look forward to the moment in your day when you put on your slippers, curl up on the couch, and pull out your journal. It’s more than just the act of writing, it’s about the mood it evokes. In this case, setting the vibe of your journaling session is also partly acting as a reward.
When you consciously choose to craft special moments in your day, you will soon begin to crave those cues and then act on them. You will look forward to the reward of feeling grateful and blessed in your life. Starting a gratitude journal doesn’t have to take time out of your day if you don’t want it to. It can be as simple as a note in your phone where you type out a few points of gratitude each day. It can also be a new part of your daily routine that does take time, time for you to enjoy the present moment and soak in the goodness of your day. The choice is yours, but either way, you will be improving your overall existence by solidifying a gratitude habit.
Happy Earth Day! I just returned from eight days in the Himalayas with no wifi and it was absolutely wonderful. During that time I spent hours each day reading. If you find yourself out in the woods or simply wanting to dream about them, here are a few of my favorite wilderness reads. I linked to the paperback versions, so pull out your headlamp and start flippin’ pages.
Mycophilia: Revalations from the Weird World of Mushrooms – This is the type of book where you read a few pages and then run into the next room to tell someone else all the cool things you just learned. Mycophilia is a beautifully written first person narrative of the fungi world. Author Eugenia Bone meets masters of the mushroom sphere as she discovers and researches all type of uses from scientific to culinary. If you have any interest in mushrooms, I highly recommend this informative read.
John Muir – any of his essays or journals – I actually recommend Muir’s writings as a way to fall asleep and here I’m recommending it as inspiration for your own nature journals and writings. Reading about Muir’s adventures will have you sitting in your cozy camp chair in admiration as he details his romps in the wilderness with nothing more than a heel of bread and an army blanket.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail – Made famous because of the movie, Wild, is a first person account of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail completely unprepared. These types of accounts encourage me to just do it. Stop the research and prep, go for it and see what happens. I enjoyed both the movie and the book – in that order too.
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail – Bill Bryson’s account of the Appaliachian trail blends his witty walk in the woods with the history of the wilderness and suggestions for how we can conserve our wild lands. As someone who is itching to walk the AT, I love reading about others’ experiences with the trail.
Into the Wild – You probably know the story, but have you read the book? Into the Wild is one of those stories that has always stayed with me because I see so many similarities between myself and the main character, Chris McCandless. I also noticed the public’s split opinion, some feeling bad for Chris, while other’s did not and were almost angry with him because he was in the wilderness messing around. I find it interesting that any of us, even the most prepared, think that we’re capable of mastering mother nature. He did the best he could. RIP Chris.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values – This book. I need to come clean here.. by the time I finished this book, I absolutely hated it. I was treking at high altitude and ripping out pages and burning them when I was finished. I was so over it. Cut to today and I’ve realized many, many times that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has had an enormous impact on how I view quality (a term that pops up at least 3,000 times in this book) and work. Believe it or not, I just ordered it again so I can read it with appreciation this time.
That’s that! My very favorite books to read outdoors. A perfect mix of inspiration and admiration lie within these pages. Don’t have any camping plans coming up? No problem, I’m in the habbit of turning off all my lights, opening the windows (to let the sounds of insects in) and reading by headlamp. At my little hut here in Chapel Hill, I feel like I’m in a tent in the middle of the woods 🙂
Hi friends! I’m hosting a retreat in the blue ridge mountains on June 21 – 23 and I want to invite you to come along. The retreat is mainly focused on enjoying nature and decompressing from life’s stressors. No crazy hand stands or hour-long meditation sessions included, simply relaxing and reconnecting with yourself among the trees. Learn how to adopt small changes throughout your day to attend to each moment with new love and appreciation.
I’ll guide a few meditations, and introduce you to breathing techniques. These are mindfulness tools you can take home to create a deeper connection with your true self. We’ll also work on soaking in the present moment. Allow yourself to disconnect and focus on the now. Leave your phone turned off, gather around the fire, and just be. Make new friends or dive into a good book or craft. Enjoy ample free time in the forest. This is what a weekend in the blue mountains is all about.
We’ll be preparing meals as a group, but obviously, no pressure if you don’t feel like cutting or cooking. By making meals from fresh ingredients as a group, we can discover new ways to enrich our diet, improve our everyday wellness, and adopt a loving relationship with whole foods.
DAY 1 – FRIDAY JUNE 21
Arrive & settle in. Self-guided grounds wandering. Welcome dinner and sunset gazing. Fire circle and marshmallow roasting. Evening guided meditation under the stars.
DAY 2 – SATURDAY JUNE 22
Meditation and pranayama (breath work) on the deck. Big delicious breakfast. Rest time. Guided hiking to a nearby waterfall & outdoor exploration followed by a picnic lunch on the deck. More rest time. Dinner and discussion. Stargazing + Yoga Nidra meditation. Fireside hangs.
DAY 3 – SUNDAY JUNE 23
Tea + coffee ritual crafting. Meditation and pranayama. Big brunch followed by outdoor exploration and closing circle. Check out early afternoon.
So what do you say? Ready for a weekend in nature? Looking forward to relaxing while also moving about in the woods? Enjoy a guided day hike, a dip in the river, fire circles, star gazing, and sunshine lazing. Experience the positive and lasting effects of nature on your being. Retreat with me!
Find all the info about what is included and how to sign up right here.
There are many recipes for red beet eggs online. All of them involve more ingredients than ours, because this is the simplest cheat that we’ve ever suggested. Continue reading
Alright veggie-loving locavores, you know what time it is, right? It’s pick-your-farm-share time!
Read on to get some help with picking your share AND to hear about a new company that may make the whole farm-share experience more personal and easy to navigate. Continue reading
Last month, we had a bit of a friend-raising theme going. Katie shared how she started a Facebook group geared toward getting kids outside. She also did a feature on the freakin’ awesome cookbook club she is a part of. I was fortunate enough to attend two of those events and I can only aspire to be a part of that community. I also gave you the 411 on starting your very own Meetup group. Today I’m back with a post that’s maaaybe a couple of weeks late if I wanted it to fit into that monthly theme, but WTF how is it April already?
As someone who has moved to a new city a few times since graduating from college, I know that making friends as an adult is super hard. Like really tough. There’s no longer access to a pool of people with similar interests like when we were on sports teams or going to school. I feel like adults usually meet friends at work or through a partner or the parents of your kids’ friends, but guess what? I had none of that! I’ve been self-employed since college, kidless, and long-distance dating. That being said, I’ve had to make friends on my own time and I’ve been so fortunate to meet awesome people, but it all came with some legwork.
I geared this post towards meeting friends of a certain type, because a while back one of my girlfriends asked me how she could meet more people like me. More people that were chill AF instead of anxious and stressed. More friends that had a mindfulness tilt. Know that you can take the advice below and alter it to whatever activity you are into. Each time you see the word mindful simply change it to the activity or trait you’re looking for whether it’s mountain biking, oil painting, or marathon running, this post should help you make more friends 🙂 Good luck!
Ways to Meet Mindful Friends:
Join a Meetup group that focuses on meditation – There are dozens of groups in every major city that focus on meditation and mindfulness. Even if you are from a small town, with a quick google search, you can find a group that meets weekly or monthly. Join the group. Attend the meetings and begin to network. Once you feel comfortable in the group setting, you’ll start to make connections with other mindful people. If you sense a friendship blossoming, don’t be afraid to ask that person out on a friend date without the meditation group.
Go to a yoga class – Yoga and mindfulness go hand in hand. While a yoga class in itself is a solitary act, before and after class is a great time to connect. Arrive to class early and insert yourself into the group chatter. You never know, your new best bud may be in attendance. If you are not comfortable at one yoga studio, don’t let that deter you. There are many kinds of yoga and yoga studios, and there is indeed one that is right for you.
Seek out events that mindful people would attend – Mindfulness and meditation is probably not your only interest, and this is true for your future friend. Start perusing your town’s monthly calendar and highlight a few events that interest you. Look for activities focused on cultivating awareness whether it’s for the earth, the community itself, or a particular hobby. Community events draw a wonderful mix of people with similar interests and are a great first step in making new friends.
Find a yoga or meditation festival or retreat near you – Festivals are a great sphere to make friends. Many in attendance look forward to the event for months and are amped to smile and chat with new people. Sign up as an attendee or even a volunteer. While at the festival, try to seek out opportunities to interact in smaller groups as well. Maybe there is a workshop or class you can attend. These smaller groups give people the chance to connect on a deeper level. If you really want to make friends, attend a retreat. These small groups encourage attendees to really connect and many people stay in contact long after the retreat is over. I’m hosting a retreat in June in North Carolina if you are serious about this friend-finding mission!
Look for online forums conversing meditation and mindfulness – It seems we spend a lot of time connecting online these days. While we don’t want your mindfulness friendship to exist solely online, this is an excellent place to start. Google, Reddit, and Meetup act as good search engines and starter forums to find events and people to connect with who have a common interest.
Attend a mindfulness book reading or author signing – Keep your eye out for book readings and author signings near you. Pay specific attention to books that deal with mindfulness and meditation. Arrive early and don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with other attendees. If you have a chance to chat with the author afterward or during the Q&A session, go ahead and ask where he or she has met mindfulness friends in the past. This could open a door for you with other attendees who are also looking for a mindful community.
You may feel alone sometimes, but we all do. Know that other mindful folks are looking for a friend too. Start your friend-finding journey by attending mindfulness events and inserting yourself into spaces where you know meditative people will be hanging out.
As soon as we picked eggs as our ingredient of the season, I knew that I wanted to try out a few cocktails that include egg whites. These are recipes that I’ve seen all over the web, on fancy bar menus, and well-curated Instagram photos, but, there was no way that I could bring myself to taste one. Until now. Continue reading
Eggs are our ingredient of the season, look for some egg-citing and totally egg-cellent posts in the months ahead.
I like to have a few hard-boiled eggs on hand. They’re a super easy snack, can be added to salad for an extra protein boost, or can be turned into egg salad for a quick lunch. But I admit that my hard-boiled egg snacks can only last so long before I get tired of them.
Today, I’m sharing a recipe for soy sauce eggs. They’re just hard boiled eggs that have been lightly simmered in a soy sauce mixture, adding a touch of flavor and color to the whites of the egg.
If you think you’re getting tired of hard boiled eggs, this is such an easy way to change things up and add a bit of flavor to your eggs.
This recipe comes from the cookbook 101 Easy Asian Recipes. I found the cookbook after binging on Ugly Delicious on Netflix. Here’s another version of the eggs where instead of simmering them in the sauce, you just let them marinate in the fridge.
I stored my eggs in the simmering sauce, and even poured some of the sauce over the eggs for extra flavor before eating. Some recipes suggest that the eggs can get too salty if stored within the sauce, but I didn’t find that to be the case.
My title is a play on Sarah’s post. While I also used kitchen ingredients for my dyeing (purple cabbage, purple onion skins, turmeric), you’ll see that somehow the whole process ending up being a lot less pretty and a lot more crazy. BUT! I think I learned a few things that will improve the process next year and may help you too.
