My Go-to Winter Fruit Salad

I cannot take credit for the deliciousness that is this recipe, only for the pretty photos that I took of what is now my go-to potluck dish for winter parties. Sadly pomegranate season is of very short duration, otherwise this would be my go-to dish year-round. I found this recipe for a Winter Fruit Salad and it is just too good not to share. It is very simple and very healthy. It calls for the following:

2 Pink Lady Apples, cored and diced

2 Pears, cored and diced

4-6 Mandarin Oranges, peeled and separated (This is my modification and I think it tastes better this way, the original recipe called for 2 large oranges) 

Seeds from 1 Pomegranate 

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 T Honey

Mint (The original recipe calls for the mint as a garnish but I think the mint adds a nice kick to the salad and tastes great so I say why not add more and incorporate it, not just use it as a garnish.) 

Mix it all together and enjoy!

Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin

 

I just finished reading Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, and found it to be the perfect book to read at the beginning of a new year. Like all of Gretchen Rubin’s books, Better than Before is very well researched and fascinating from start to finish. She begins the book with the basic premise that habits make change possible by freeing us from decision making and from using self-control. We often use habits to comfort ourselves when we are worried or stressed. While everyone is unique, we all have four “foundation habits” 1. Sleep 2. Move 3. Eat and and drink right 4. Declutter. Each of these habits help to build self-control and subsequently should be the first habits we address when we are looking to improve because foundation habits tend to reinforce each other. 

When people are looking to change habits, generally the changes sought fall into seven essential categories. 1) Eat and drink more healthfully (give up sugar, eat more vegetables) 2) Exercise regularly 3) Save, spend, and earn wisely (save regularly, pay down debt, donate to worthy causes, stick to a budget) 4) Rest, relax, and enjoy (stop watching TV in bed, turn off a cell phone, spend time in nature, cultivate silence, get enough sleep, spend less time in the car) 5) Accomplish more, stop procrastinating (practice an instrument, work without interruption, learn a language, maintain a blog) 6) Simplify, clear, clean and organize (make the bed, file regularly, put keys away in the same place, recycle) 7) Engage more deeply in relationships with other people, with God, with the world (call friends, volunteer, spend more time with family). 

To successfully change our habits, we need to practice some introspection and find out more about ourselves. For example we need to ask ourselves whether we are “a lark or an owl?” Larks are early-risers, owls stay up late. According to Rubin, “research suggests that this attribute is hardwired. Genes play a big role, as does age…  Interestingly, research suggests that Larks are likely to be happier, healthier, and more satisfied with life than Owls, in part, because the world favors Larks.”

Other questions we need to ask ourselves include questions about the way we best complete projects, “marathoner, sprinter, or procrastinator?” When we work on a project are we slow and steady (marathon), do we work in quick bursts of intense effort and deliberately wait for the pressure of a deadline. Do we overbuy or underbuy? I consider myself an under-buyer and so I found the following advice quite helpful “Under-buyers should remember that spending money to support a good habit is worthwhile; over buyers should remember that mere acquisition isn't strong enough to establish a good habit.”

Do we seek simplicity or abundance?  “Simplicity lovers are attracted by the idea of "less," of emptiness, bare surfaces and shelves, few choices, a roomy closet. Abundance lovers are attracted by the idea of "more," of overflow, of addition, of ampleness, of a full pantry. They always want to have more than enough. They like a bit of bustle, and they enjoy collecting things and having a wide array of choices.”

Am I a finisher or an opener? “Finishers love the feeling of bringing a project to completion, and they're determined to use the last drop in the shampoo bottle; Openers thrill to the excitement of launching a new project, and find pleasure in opening a fresh tube of toothpaste. Because finishers focus on their ability to complete, they may be overly cautious about trying to form new habits; Openers may be overly optimistic about their ability to take on additional habits.”

Am I a familiarity lover or a novelty lover? “For familiarity lovers, a habit becomes easier as it becomes familiar. Novelty lovers may embrace habits more readily when they seem less . . . habit-like. Novelty lovers may do better with a series of short-term activities -- thirty day challenges, for instances --instead of trying to create an enduring automatic habit.” Am I promotion focused or prevention focused? “Promotion focused people concentrate on achievement and advancement, on making gains, on getting more love, praise, pleasure. They eagerly and optimistically pursue their goals. By contrast, prevention-focused people concentrate on fulfilling their duties, on avoiding losses, and on minimizing danger, pain, or censure. They're vigilant against possible drawbacks or problems.” What do I value and find satisfying? Saving time, money or effort? What are my current habits and when am I most likely to indulge in a bad habit? 

The second half of the book presents a number of strategies and suggestions for using the self-knowledge of your habits in changing your habits. She emphasizes several things, including the strategy of monitoring. We manage what we monitor. “ Self-measurement brings self awareness and self-awareness strengthens our self-control. 

Scheduling is another important strategy because if it is on the calendar, it happens. Scheduling forces us to confront the natural limits of the day. I loved this quote that “what I do everyday matters more than what I do once in awhile,” and that “Something that can be done at any time is often done at no time.” 

When trying to change a habit, is it easier for us to moderate or to abstain? “Abstainers do better when they follow all or nothing habits. Moderators by contrast are people who do better when they indulge moderately. Abstinence takes zero mental effort.”

Convenience (the amount of effort, time, or decision making required), If-then (pre-planning for various scenarios), distraction, paring habits, clarifying habits, and rewards (“The best reward of a thing well done is to have done it. - Ralph Waldo Emerson) are other strategies that she addresses. 

For me the most important thing I gained by reading this book was more self-knowledge. It was the perfect read for making New Year’s Resolutions, but would honestly be helpful at any point in the year. 

And now, here are a few of my goals for 2016. 
1) Go to bed by 10:30 - When I was in school and teaching I was pretty good about going to bed on time. However over the last few years I've gotten into the bad habit of staying up late and sleeping in. I can't really sleep in anymore now that my oldest has started school, and the combination of staying up late and waking up early has left me feeling pretty exhausted for the past few months. I also without fail get migraines when I stay up too late. One week into 2016 and I've been following this 10:30 bedtime very well and I am feeling a lot less exhausted.

2. Read 50 books - I want to model good habits for my girls and I love to read so I figure it is the perfect goal for the year since my oldest is in the process of learning how to read.

3. Improve my photography skills - I plan on doing this by taking some classes (I signed up for a course that starts in a few days), learning how to use my new camera (by using it a lot and by reading the manual), perhaps join Clickin' Moms or some sort of community forum, read more photography books.

4. Fitness / Healthy Eating - I need to do some more planning for this goal but for the month of January I am not eating dessert. I would like to join a gym so that I can exercise more regularly but I am a bit cautious about gym contracts due to some bad experiences in the past. So for now all I can say is eat way less sugar, eat more vegetables, and move more. I'd also like to throw in some strength training.

5. One date a month with my husband - We've been really bad about this over the last few years. For several years money was tight and or we didn't think the kids were old enough to leave but I'm confident that they would be fine now if we hired a babysitter.

6. Declutter / simplify - To the point where I am not constantly doing this! I read the Marie Kondo book last summer, but did so while I spent a week at a very minimalist and pristine condo and so I felt no urgency to try the method. 

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

My sister gave me this recipe a few years ago (she gives me a lot of great recipes) and it is so easy and yummy that I rarely look elsewhere when I am in the mood for Chicken Noodle Soup. It is the Chicken Noodle Soup recipe that her in-laws swear by. The recipe calls for homemade noodles and they are worth the effort when I make them, but when I am feeling lazy I just throw in a package of egg-noodles from the store and it still tastes great!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup 

(Recipe by Amy Watkins)

Makes 8-10 generous servings

Ingredients:
8 cups chicken broth or bouillon
1-2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup milk (Use whatever variety from skim to half-n-half, depends on how creamy you want it.)
1 cup quartered, thinly sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion (or onion soup mix)
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 dried Italian seasoning (and whatever else you want to taste - sometimes I use dill)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine everything in pot (except for the milk) over medium heat and cook until vegetables are tender crisp. Add noodles and cook until almost done. In a cup whisk together 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 cup flour and stir into the soup. Boil gently for 3 minutes. Stir in 2 T butter.

Homemade Noodles for Chicken Noodle Soup 

(Recipe by Amy Watkins)

Ingredients:
1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

3 eggs

1 T vegetable oil

2-4 T cold water

Place flour and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center and put eggs and oil in it. Gradually stir flour in from edges adding water 1 T at a time, until flour is moistened enough to form a ball; knead on floured surface until smooth. Let rest 10 minutes. Roll out very thin (they swell when cooked) let dry for about 2 hours. I roll the dough out very thin and put it on a cookie sheet then cut with a pizza cutter to desired width before I leave them to dry. They don't need to be covered or separated or anything to dry. When you're ready just take them off the cookie sheet with a spatula and throw them in the pot. In a pinch I don't even let them dry all the way, but they can stick together a little more.) This recipe makes tons of noodles. Add as many as you would like to the soup. 

Sound of Music Photo Shoot

We're in the thick of winter cold right now and although January barely started, I've already gotten the urge to look at "warmer" photos. These are from what I like to refer to as the Sound of Music (don't these photos just make you want to sing) photoshoot that I did at the end of last summer. I can't wait for things to warm up and to get back outside exploring! 

Homemade Peanut Butter Twix Bars

So I realize that January, the month of resolutions for healthy eating is hardly the time to post a recipe for peanut butter chocolaty goodness, especially considering I am doing a dessert free January, but several people requested this recipe from me a few days before Christmas and I am finally getting around to posting it.

The original Peanut Butter Twix Bars with the vanilla cookie inside are my husbands' favorite candy bar ever. Shortly after we started dating in 2007, the Mars Chocolate company stopped making them and replaced them with a chocolate cookie inside. While it was a sad day for my husband, it also proved to be a good thing because we were forced to make our own and in our opinion these taste even better. We found this recipe in a cookbook that I turn to whenever I feel like eating out but don't want to leave the house and/or pay to eat out, called A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur. I have made these Peanut Butter Twix Bars every Christmas since we first met and they are definitely a permanent holiday tradition in our house. Thankfully Mars brought the Peanut Butter Twix Bars with the vanilla cookie back a few years ago so we can enjoy Peanut Butter Twix Bars year-round (they are usually our treat of choice when stopping at the gas station on road trips) but this homemade version will stick around for years to come.

Homemade Peanut Butter Twix Bars

Recipe from A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur

1 box (40) Nabisco Lorna Doone shortbread cookies
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Two 12-ounce bags milk-chocolate chips (or milk-chocolate + semi-sweet, I have tried both ways and enjoy both)

1. Place the shortbread cookies side by side on an ungreased cookie sheet.
2. Mix 1 cup peanut butter with 1/2 cup powdered sugar until incorporated.
3. Spoon or spread a dab of the peanut-butter mixture onto the shortbread cookies. The mixture will be of a consistency that allows you to spread it with your fingers.
4. Place the cookies in the refrigerator until the peanut butter firms up.
5. Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe-bowl and heat them for 1 minute. Stir and heat for 20 second increments until melted thoroughly.
6. One at a time, rest each cookie on a fork and dip into the chocolate. Tap off the excess chocolate and then place on the tray and allow to cool to room temperature. The original recipe suggests placing them on waxed paper, I just put them back on the baking sheet and place the cookies in the freezer. If they don't remove easily, just use a spatula and carefully lift them off. We like to store ours in the freezer and eat them frozen.