A Tasty Seasonal Salad

One of my favorite salads to make is an arugula salad with warm beets, goat cheese, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Last night, I made a delicious mushroom soup and planned to make this tasty arugula salad to accompany the soup, only to find out that I didn’t have goat cheese. So I improvised and came up with a beautiful red and green salad, perfect for the Christmas season!

Here’s the recipe!

Shannon’s Christmas Salad
Serves:2

Ingredients:
1 large beet, peeled, chopped into small cubes
4 cups of arugula rinsed
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup chopped pistachios
¼ cup pear-infused balsamic vinegar (or use regular balsamic vinegar)
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Dash of sea salt

Directions: Boil chopped beets for 8 minutes. Toss beets, arugula, cherries, and pistachios. With a fork, mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, and salt. Pour dressing into salad and mix well. So tasty!

Lost luggage can be a good thing

I went out to Colorado last week and it was AMAZING!!! Brent and I ran a half marathon and were totally awed by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. We heard horror stories about Denver Airport's skill of losing people's luggage, but we retrieved ours without a problem. Funnily enough, Denver Airport displays maps of the United States with points of interest (like Graceland and various odd museums) and wouldn't you know they admit to their claim t fame. On the map, there is an arrow pointing to Denver and it says "You are here but your luggage is in Pittsburgh."

We returned to Philadelphia on Thursday, but guess what? Our luggage somehow missed the plane. Initially I was bummed: "Oh man, all of my running clothes are in there...and my favorite essential oil (green tea)." But then, I thought about it more and I didn't really care. Hey, how nice it is not to have to lug that stuff around.

I was reminded of my move earlier this summer, when I got rid of tons of materials that I did not use regularly. I used freecycle.org to get rid of several appliances, furniture items, and bookshelves. I gave books away to Housing Works and also posted some on paperbackswap.com. Perhaps the biggest relief was FINALLY getting rid of bins of journal articles from graduate school. Years ago, I had a professional organizer tell me to get rid of them. She told me that keeping stuff like that around would prevent me from succeeding in my nutritional counseling business.... the fact that I held onto them meant that I was fearing that I would need them again. Well, this summer I got rid of all of them...and I also got rid of my statistics books. You probably never knew that I am a stats wiz. I am so thankful that Bethlehem has an absolutely phenomenal recycling center.

Getting rid of stuff I rarely use brought me immense relief. I tell my clients that external clutter can no doubt make you feel anxious and cluttered internally. I recommend THE SIMPLE LIVING GUIDE by Janet Luhrs or Karen Kingston's CLEAR YOUR CLUTTER WITH FENG SHUI.

So, as soon as I felt okay with my absent luggage, it arrived on my porch. I admit to feeling pretty excited about having my favorite bathing suit back, and my organic lavender sunscreen, and my running shorts, and sports bras. But the good thing is the reminder that life is so much more than the things you own.

I missed blueberry season; Did you?

One of the aspects of the Lehigh Valley that lured me to move here was the fact that there are hundreds of organic farms, and tons of places to pick blueberries, strawberries, peaches, and later this fall, apples and pears.

This summer has been extremely eventful for me. I moved here at the beginning of June. Brent and I have been away almost every week traveling for business and occasionally for pleasure.

One of our trips was down to the Carolinas – was it beautiful! I was inspired by the community of Carrboro, North Carolina. This town borders Chapel Hill. There is a phenomenal food co-op there called the Weaver Street Market, and I swear that more people travel by bicycle here than by car. Several artists and writers resided there – convincing me that maybe I can continue to do this entrepreneurial thing and maybe I can publish a book someday soon.

So the idea of beginning a blog started creeping up on me this summer – I needed something to motivate me to write more frequently. So here we go!

In case you do not know me, I’ll tell you this: I am a holistic nutrition coach, living in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I work with clients via phone, email, and in-person. Most of my in-person sessions are conducted in New York City every week. I also offer retreats a couple of times each year. I work with a wide array of individuals including: competitive athletes, people desiring to lose weight, recover from eating disorders, recover from various digestive disorders, balance their hormones, treat or prevent diabetes, or to simply learn how to adapt to a healthy lifestyle without going crazy! In addition to nutrition coaching, I’m also a competitive runner and I write for various organizations including New York Road Runners. So, you see, my careers(s) keep me very busy!

I don’t like being busy, believe me. Like many of you, I often have to remind myself to relax, to breathe, and to prioritize fun! This brings me to the point of my first entry. In my busyness, I missed blueberry season. It is very important to me to eat seasonally; I feel that it helps us to achieve balance and it also gives us the nutrients our bodies need for each season. So, while I have been buying local corn at the grocery store (DELICIOUS); I completely missed out on blueberry picking! This minor mishap reminds me to slow down (even more), and to spend time outdoors every day, maybe doing a walking meditation, so that I do not forget the “now.” And perhaps I will go apple picking this fall...after my wedding!