This One Girl — life as a thirtysomething in love with everything

Whole30 – Day 01: Making a Change

by april on April 1, 2014

I’ve made the somewhat insane decision to do a Whole30. For those of you who do not know, a Whole30 is a “nutritional reset” – 30 days of clean eating. During these 30 days, I will abstain from grains, alcohol, dairy, legumes, white potatoes, and added sugar. Not to mention the million additives and preservatives that are found in processed foods. In a nutshell: animal protein, vegetables, and good fats. Three meals a day, thirty days.

Preparation is key.

In preparation, I used Melissa’s two cookbooks: Well Fed and Well Fed 2. I put a meal plan together for the next week and came up with a grocery plan. One (very expensive) trip to the grocery store late, and I’m set (I hope!). Good news is, next week I won’t need to buy most of the spices, oils, nut flours that I bought this week. Should be cheaper.

I am trying a balance of foods I know I will like/love and experimenting with new foods, combinations, or methods to find new things I enjoy!

Day 01

Morning Meal: Today, I was a bit thrown off my meal plan right off the bat because the grocery store I visited yesterday had ZERO zucchini’s in stock. I was planning to make Melissa’s Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup to try as a morning meal. With that plan dashed temporarily, I opted for a spinach, onion, and egg skillet scramble.

Midday Meal: Being fortunate to work at home several days a week, I was able to cook up a fresh meal for Meal 2. I diced some chicken breast and rubbed it with the spices from the Grilled Chicken recipe in Well Fed. Then I cooked them in some olive oil in a skillet. I paired that with some broccoli and snap peas steamed with paprika, garlic powder, and a dash of red pepper flakes. The combination was so delicious. I could absolutely eat the chicken every day this month (probably will!).

Evening Meal: For dinner, I went pretty simple. My main task for the evening was to cook up all of the chicken and pork chops I bought using the Grilled Chicken (WF) recipe I referenced earlier. By the time that was finished, it was late and everyone was hungry. I went with a Hot Plate mix from Well Fed: Red bell peppers, onions, and green beans in some red wine vinegar and fragrant spices. The result was not my favorite, but it was probably because the green beans weren’t cooked all the way through and the red wine vinegar isn’t my favorite flavor. The chicken was, of course, delicious. I wrapped up the meal with some whole almonds and a few raisins.

So far.

Feeling pretty motivated to keep going. I am looking forward to some variety in the next few days.

{ 0 comments }

Perfectionism and the Problem of Launching

by april on April 13, 2012

Confession: I’ve been “starting this blog” for almost two years.

It should be fairly evident from that statement alone that I’m a bit of a perfectionist. Perfectionism is not always a bad thing. It pushes me to always strive to be better at whatever it is I am doing. It motivates me to dream up that next great idea. It’s led me to do some really amazing things in my lifetime.

But perfectionism isn’t always my friend. Sometimes (maybe even most of the time?), it stands, like a endless wall, between me and that thing I want to do, create, be. It’s that not-so-soft voice that keeps suggesting there’s one more thing I should add, one more thing to correct, or one more reason why [this project] isn’t ready to meet the world.

Case in Point: This blog and the past two years.

There has been one thing after the next convincing me to put off starting a blog – starting this blog.

The Name! How many brilliant ideas get set aside or pushed to the back burner for lack of a “Good Name”? What if the name I pick is already taken? What if it doesn’t make sense? What if people hate it? The Design! Especially for a web designer/creative person. Web design plays right into those perfectionist tendencies. The First Post! What do I write about? The Content! What should my blog even be about?

It’s these same things (and many more) that plagued the launch (and slow start) of my social media and web design company. And the launch of my freelance copyediting service.

But it’s not really perfectionism’s fault. We can blame it on fear.

Fear of failing for a million reasons. Fear of it not working out. Fear of a mistake. Fear of it not being worth it.

But the catch is . . . I’ll never have the answer to those fears before launching a new project. I won’t know if it won’t work out until it doesn’t work out. I won’t know if the new project isn’t worth it until after it’s launched. I won’t know something is a mistake until I’ve made that mistake.

And furthermore, all of the things that I’m afraid of make it even more important to actually take that chance and make that leap! Some of my best lessons have been what I learned from a project or adventure that didn’t work out. I learned a lot about myself when I joined ROTC in college and learned even more when I realized it wasn’t for me and made the decision to withdraw. If I launch a project that ultimately does not enrich my life or help me be my authentic self, good for me! I’ve learned something about myself and found something that I should not do if I want to be me. If a project or decision is a mistake – I know what not to do in the future.

It’s a lot easier to type that realization out in words than it is to live that as truth. (Thus, the two-year Blog Launch.) But it’s something to work toward. And definitely something to remember each time I get panicked about doing something new that might not work out. My new affirmation:

Embrace fear. Make it a part of the toolkit you approach the world with. Take a chance and be excited to fail.

{ 0 comments }