The problem with traditional holiday meals if you are dining solo or with just a few people is that it's a lot of food to make for small numbers.  Brian and I encountered this issue when it was just the two of us this past Thanksgiving.  We wanted some of the traditional foods, but did not want to put in the effort for making a whole turkey dinner when we were setting a table for two people.  What to do?  The answer is to scale down and cook just what you need, which is why turkey thighs are ideal for a small holiday dinner.  Also, unlike a whole turkey, which can sometimes be dry and flavorless in my experience, thighs are moist and oh-so-flavorful!  We served them with wild rice, and the turkey pan drippings spooned over the rice was so good.

Where do you get turkey thighs?  This part may be a little bit tricky.  Sometimes they are readily available in your grocery store.  This was the case when we lived in New York's Hudson Valley.  However, now that we live in North Carolina, we have found that they have to be special ordered from the meat department of our grocery store or procured from a butcher.  And the size of turkey thighs can vary wildly.  One large thigh is usually sufficient for two or more meals.

Hey, before we get to the recipe, let me give you some of the holiday recipes I rely on year after year.

• This cranberry sauce.  Tip: cut the sugar in half.  You won't miss it.  Also, I've substituted honey with great results.  
• This butternut squash salad.  I usually serve this with balsamic vinaigrette, substitute pecans for walnuts because I am allergic to them, and skip the cheese.  
• These green beans in fig vinaigrette.  To be honest, I make this throughout the year.

Roasted Turkey Thighs
Serves 4 or more

2 to 2-1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on turkey thighs
3 tablespoons melted butter, ghee, or good quality olive oil
2 fresh sage leaves, torn into small pieces
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon + more poultry seasoning
​1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brush 9-inch x 13-inch pan with neutral oil such as grapeseed.  This is an insurance policy. 
3. Pat the turkey thighs dry and place in the pan skin side down.
4. Mix together the butter (or ghee or oil), sage, salt, black pepper, and one teaspoon of poultry seasoning in a shallow bowl.
5. Using a pastry brush or your hands, rub the sage mixture all over the turkey thighs, including under the skin.
6. Place the turkey thighs skin side up.  Take 1-2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning and sprinkle evenly over each thigh.
7. Pour ½ cup water in the bottom of the pan.  Cover the pan with foil.  Roast the turkey thighs for 30 minutes.  Baste.
8. Roast for 20 minutes.  Baste.  Remove foil carefully and set it aside..
9. Roast for another 20-25 minutes until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature measures 165 degrees.
10. Remove the turkey thighs from the over, cover with the foil, and let them rest for 10-15 minutes.
11. Carve into serving pieces or slice.  Spoon the pan drippings over the thighs.  Serve.

​

You may remember that some months ago I got on a kick of throwing a bunch of ingredients in a pan and calling the recipe a mishmash.  There was Spring Vegetable Mishmash and also Salmon Mishmash.  The last of the summer tomatoes brought on the End of Summer Chicken Mishmash.

Actually, no, that's not what brought about this particular mishmash recipe.  What happened was that Brian and I were house hunting across the country and staying in a rental apartment with a kitchen.  The kitchen had the basic necessities of a skillet, a knife, a cutting board, and spatula.  So resourcefulness kicked in as I thought about what we could make easily that would be deeply satisfying and also meet our nutritional needs.  The nearly last of summer cherry tomatoes plus my love of spinach and garlic plus some nice chicken breasts became a hearty dinner one night. 

And boy did we need something nourishing and hearty.  Brian got on the plane with a cold and two days later I had the cold, a doozy that knocked us out.    We still went house hunting and made an offer on a house while hopped up on cold medicine.  Please note, I do not recommend extremely large purchases while under the influence of Nyquil.

End of Summer Chicken Mishmash
(or Rental Apartment Chicken Mishmash)
Serves 4

1 to 1.25 pounds of chicken breast or chicken cutlets cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
pinch of red pepper flakes
4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2-4 cups of raw spinach, roughly chopped
1 to 1.5 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved (or if very large then quartered)
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Cooked brown or white rice to accompany.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a 12-inch skillet until it shimmers.  Add the chicken and cook until light brown on one side, about three to four minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Turn the chicken cubes over and cook two to three minutes longer.  Remove the chicken from the pan.  If it looks like the pan is dry, swirl in some more olive oil.  Add the onion and cook over medium heat until it starts to turn light brown, stirring often to avoid burning.  This step can take up to 10 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute.  Add the tomatoes, season with a pinch or two of salt and pepper, and cook until they are starting to break down, about five minutes.  Add the spinach and cook until it starts to wilt.  Add the chicken to reheat it.

To serve, spoon rice into four bowls and then divide the chicken mishmash between the four bowls.  Serve warm.

​

When I first had to give up gluten in order to save my health, I thought I would have stay away from Asian food forever.  Why?  Because I told myself a story that all Asian food, regardless of country of origin had soy sauce in it, and soy sauce has wheat in it.  In fact, there are a lot of Asian sauces that have wheat in them.  The upside is that I discovered gluten free tamari which is wheat-free soy sauce.  Also, I've learned to read food product labels really carefully.   Still, though, I never go out for Asian food for fear of being cross-contaminated, and we very rarely make it at home.  This past spring, though, I ate at a Vietnamese restaurant on a visit to see my mother in Arizona and was reminded how much I miss the flavors of various Asian cuisines.  

I was inspired to create something simple I could make at home as I am rediscovering how to take the dishes of various Asian countries, especially China and Vietnam, and make them gluten free and safe for me to eat.  With that, I present to you this very simple and delicious meal of grilled chicken with broccoli which you can easily make on a weeknight.  You'll need to do a little advance planning as the chicken needs to be marinated.  Also, if you are vegetarian or vegan, the broccoli is worth making because it's so easy and so flavorful that I eat straight out of the pan when I take it out of the oven.

Vietnamese Inspired Chicken with Broccoli
Serves 4

1.25 to 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce if you don't need to be gluten free)
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce, optional (I prefer Red Boat, which is gluten free)
pinch of red pepper flakes
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
Grapeseed oil for grilling chicken
~ 1 pound of broccoli, washed and cut into florets (I use the precut bagged broccoli from Trader Joe's)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
A couple of grinds of fresh black pepper

First, marinate the chicken, which can be done in as little as one hour before grilling to as long as overnight.  Place the chicken thighs in a pie plate or square glass baking dish.  In a bowl, whisk together the tamari, honey, coconut oil, fish sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic, and five spice powder.  Pour the marinade over the chicken, cover, and refrigerate.  If you are marinating the chicken longer than an hour, be sure to turn the chicken over halfway through the marinating time.

Second, get ready to cook the broccoli and the chicken.  For the broccoli, preheat the oven to 400.  In a bowl, toss the broccoli with the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread the broccoli on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly oiled.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

While the broccoli is baking, you have two choices for cooking the chicken: grilling or roasting.  To roast, place the chicken on a baking sheet, either lined with parchment paper or lightly oiled, and place it in the oven with the broccoli, 15 minutes before the broccoli is finished baking.  This way, the chicken and the broccoli will finish cooking at the same time.

To grill the chicken, light your gas grill on high and then turn it down to low or medium-low.  Take the chicken out of the marinade and brush it with grapeseed oil.  Grill the chicken for five and a half minutes on each side.  Serve with the broccoli.   
​

We've entered that part of summer when using the oven is off-limits and when our bodies are craving lighter foods.  This meal of grilled fish and coconut rice is one of our summer standards.   It's fairly easy and fairly quick.  You can do it on a Tuesday night when things are busy.  It can easily be scaled to feed more people should you wish to have folks over for dinner, as we did this past Sunday.  All the flavors play nicely together from the coconut in the rice to the mango in the salsa.  You want to pick a mild fish for this dinner so that the taste of it doesn't compete with the rice and salsa.  Choose a salsa with tropical fruit in it, such as mango and/or pineapple, so it will play nicely with the coconut rice.  And the coconut rice is delicious with grilled chicken or grilled shrimp, too.  Enjoy!

Grilled Fish with Coconut Rice and Tropical Salsa
Serves 4

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup brown basmati rice (we like the Trader Joe's brand)
2 cups unsweetened unflavored coconut water
1 pound of mahi mahi fillets, or other mild white firm-fleshed fish*
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Tropical salsa of your choice (we like the Island Salsa and the Pineapple Salsa from Trader Joe's)

*You want a firm fish so it doesn't fall apart on the grill or when being taken off the grill.  
​
In a 2-quart saucepan, melt the coconut oil over medium heat.  Add the rice and stir to coat with the coconut oil.  Just when the rice is starting to brown, add the coconut water.  It will make a loud hissing sound.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn down to low and cook covered for 40 minutes.

While the rice cooks, preheat your gas grill to medium.  Pat the fish fillets dry.  Brush the fish with oil so it does not stick to the grill.  Season the fish with salt and pepper.  When the grill is preheated, turn it to low, and grill the fish according to thickness.  For thin fillets, a couple of minutes per side should do it.  For thicker fillets, at least 1/2-inch thick, three to four minutes per side.

When the rice is finished, remove the pan cover and check for doneness.  Fluff with a fork.  Serve with the grilled fish and pass the salsa at the table.  

It is a privilege to be alive.  I'm celebrating my birthday this month.  This idea of being alive, of it being a privilege, has been driven home to me in recent weeks.  Every school shooting, every kid who will never reach the age of 40, their loss of life makes me keenly aware how lucky I am to be alive.

And I am glad that this feeling of gratitude for being alive is present right now because I also am battling a bit of depression.  If you've been depressed or you are depressed, I see you.  I see the way depression can pop out of nowhere and hold your head under water, zap your energy, and make you feel like you have nothing to look forward to.  Frankly, the way our culture is making hatred a norm these days, I've been feeling very sad lately.  So I am carrying both the gratitude of being alive and the sadness that comes with depression.  And that's OK.

I have written about and spoken about how gratitude is actually helpful in creating happiness and therefore is good for your health.  It turns out that celebrating is also good for your health.  I have come across many studies and articles about how celebrating enhances your happiness, improves your ability to live in the moment, and makes it easier to handle life's challenges.  That's just three of the many positive benefits.  I also have learned through my training to become a coach as well as during my time as a coaching client that what we celebrate expands.  It's one of the reasons that when I am coaching clients I always ask them what they are celebrating, remind them that no achievement is too small or too big to celebrate, and use it as a tool to reinforce that they are making positive progress in support of achieving their goals. 

It also turns out that celebrating is an antidote to depression.  When you consistently celebrate, you feel more optimistic.  One of the things I really love about my marriage is that Brian and I cheer each other on and celebrate one another's victories as if they were our own.  

In my experience, what prevents us from celebrating our achievements and experiences is the belief that we do not deserve to do this or that it is an act of ego.  Please let go of that false myth!  You are worth celebrating.  In fact, I'd love to hear in the comments below what you are celebrating these days!

Here is a celebration mantra for you from Erin Stutland, author of Mantras in Motion, "When I celebrate myself, I raise my value."  Please celebrate yourself and the people around you.  It's good for your health!

Sources:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/10_steps_to_savoring_the_good_things_in_life
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/imperfect-spirituality/201512/why-you-should-celebrate-everything
https://www.inc.com/bill-carmody/3-reasons-celebrating-your-many-accomplishments-is-critical-to-your-success.html

"What do you do to keep the riced cauliflower from tasting like a slightly solid form of boiled water?"  This is a message from my friend Marci after she read my recipe for Spring Vegetable Mishmash.  I've been swapping out cauliflower rice for regular rice recently as I have evidence that consuming rice too often has led to some recent autoimmune flare-ups.  Cauliflower rice is also popular with people who follow a Whole30 or a Paleo diet or an autoimmune protocol.   I definitely feel better after eating cauliflower rice versus eating traditional rice.  

However, Marci's question brought up a good point and that is cauliflower rice can sometimes taste like just a bunch of wet styrofoam pebbles.  Frankly, food should taste good, especially healthy food.  Through trial and error, I have found that roasting cauliflower rice produces the most flavor.  It's an easy cooking method and takes as much or less time to make as traditional rice.  

Here are the ingredients for it, if you are not starting with a whole head of cauliflower, plus what it looks like spread in the pan:

Can you have too many mishmashes?  I know I posted this salmon one last month, but I am finding a medley of ingredients both comforting and healthy.  The other night I made this using vegetables that are finally appearing in the market as we transition from winter to spring: fresh peas, arugula, and, here in southern California, even zucchini.  It has so much flavor, so much bang for the buck, so much green beauty in one meal!  Plus, it's easy.  If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know I am a big fan of ease.

The inspiration for this recipe came from this risotto recipe.  BUT risotto requires a lot of hands on attention, all that stirring and whatnot.  So I thought about how I could make something equally as delicious, equally as nutritious, and eliminate all the stirring.  That is how you have come to find yet another mishmash recipe on my blog.  It's worth it, though, so very worth it.  And if you drink wine, I can attest to the fact that a Sauvignon Blanc plays nicely with this mishmash.  


​Spring Vegetable Mishmash
Serves 4

Good quality olive oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 small yellow onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 to 1.5 pounds of zucchini, washed, ends trimmed, cut into a large 1-inch pieces
1 cup of fresh (or frozen peas)
3 to 4 cups of arugula or spinach, washed and chopped
2 cups of cooked white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Feta or Parmesan cheese, optional
Pine nuts, toasted, optional

In a 12-inch skillet or sauté pan, cook the onions and garlic in two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until the onion is translucent, about five minutes or so.  Add the zucchini and cook until nearly tender.  Stir infrequently so that the zucchini has a chance to become light golden brown on the outside.  Cooking the zucchini will take a good 10-15 minutes.  When the zucchini are crisp tender (in other words, not mushy), add the peas and the arugula or spinach.  Cook until the arugula is wilted and peas and just cooked through, another five minutes or so.

In the meantime, heat your cooked rice or cauliflower rice.  Once the veggies are done cooking, put 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of rice in the bottom of a shallow bowls, top with a spoonful of veggies, season with salt and pepper to taste, and add a sprinkle of any toppings you desire.  

Make it vegan: Eliminate the cheese.  

​Play with the veggies: Instead of 1.5 pounds of zucchini do 1/2 pound of asparagus cut into one-inch lengths and one-pound of zucchini.  Add the asparagus to the pan at the same time as the zucchini and continue to follow the directions. 

Nutritional awesomeness: Zucchini has a lot of nutritional benefits, which you can read about here.  It's a good source of Vitamin A and potassium (source).   Arugula is an excellent source of Vitamin K, which is essential for proper blood clotting. 

​

I'm really excited to share this recipe for three reasons.  One, it is damn delicious.  Two, it is healthy and nourishing.  Three, it is a method you can apply for using random ingredients in your fridge (leftover rice + that half an onion you forgot about + those three sprigs of parsley you were going to let turn black).  

This recipe was created because I had enough whole ingredients plus leftovers in my fridge that were in danger of going bad.  Food waste is a real problem, and I am trying to contribute less to that problem.  On average, "Americans waste about a pound of food per person each day."   That's insane, and it feels absolutely immoral to me given that people are going hungry in the U.S., especially children.  One in six children in the U.S. is hungry, which means at a time in their lives when they need food, especially nutritious food, for proper development, they are not getting it.  

Here is a formula for creating what I call the "From Meh to Marvelous Bowl of Leftovers."   Scroll down for the Salmon Mishmash recipe.

1. Sauté an onion over medium heat until it starts to brown.  Stir often.
2. Add some minced garlic, as much or as little as you would like.  If you have some ginger lying around, toss in some grated ginger.  Cook for one minute, stirring frequently.
3. Add any uncooked diced vegetables that need extra time in the pan, including potatoes, carrots, or zucchini.  Stir occasionally.  You want the veggies to get a nice toasted color, but you don't want the garlic to burn so you stir often enough to achieve these two objectives.
4. Toss in any already cooked protein, like cubed or shredded chicken or some salmon.  If you are going to add some spinach, toss that in now too.  What about leftover rice or beans?  If you're adding those, now is the time to do it.  Cook until the protein is heated through and the spinach has just started to wilt.  
5. Taste it.  Does it need salt and pepper? A dash of salt and a pinch of pepper can make a huge difference.  If it's tasting flat, one teaspoon of lemon juice will help brighten it.
6. Put it in a lovely bowl.  Pour yourself a beverage.  Enjoy!

Molly's Salmon Mishmash
Serves approximately 3-4

1/2 to a whole onion, peeled and diced
2 Tablespoons good quality olive oil
a shallot, finely chopped optional - only use if you have one randomly laying around
3-6 green onions, cleaned, thinly sliced white and green parts, optional - only use if you have it on hand
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced - if you really love garlic, use more.  If not, use less.
1-2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated or minced, optional - only use if you have it on hand.
2 cups or so of fresh zucchini, diced
1-2 cups of fresh peas, optional - only use if you have them on hand.  Frozen is fine, and they will need to cook a bit longer.
10-16 ounces leftover cooked salmon, flaked
2 cups leftover rice or cauliflower rice
a handful or two of spinach, optional

In a 12-inch pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion.  Cook the onion until it is starting to brown, stirring often.  This will likely take 7 to 10 minutes.  If you are using shallot, add it at the same time you add the onion.  If you are using green onions, add those when the onion has turned translucent but before it has started to brown.

Once the onion is brown around the edges, add the garlic, and, if you are using it, the ginger.  Cook for one minute, stirring frequently so the garlic does not burn.  Add the zucchini.  Cook, stirring every so often, until the zucchini has started to develop a golden color and is tender.

Add the salmon, the rice, and the peas (if you are using them).  Cook until the salmon is heated through and the peas are tender, about three to four minutes.  Add the spinach and stir until it wilts.  Serve immediately in shallow bowls.

There are some fun condiments you can add.  If the dish tastes flat, a squeeze of lemon juice will boost the flavor.  Another option is gluten free tamari or soy sauce.  Tahini plus a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts is a delicious addition.  One last option is a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.  

Nutritional awesomeness:​ Zucchini is an excellent source of Vitamin C.  Fresh peas are nutritional powerhouses.  Not only do they contain protein, they are loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Folate.  Folate is needed to make DNA and assists with cell division in the body.  
​

There it was above a shelf of featured books at the library, "New Year.  New You."  It was also the subject line of multiple emails from companies/people who purport to have my best interests in mind.  And every time I saw it, whether on a friend's social media feed or as part of a corporate marketing campaign, it made me angrier.  Why?

The underlying implication of "New Year, New You" is that you are broken, something to be fixed, and the time to do something about it is now at the beginning of the new year.  It's complete and utter baloney (can you tell I teach in a public school district?).  Don't buy it.  Don't believe it.  You are not broken.  You may feel broken, but you are not broken.  You are not something that needs to be fixed.  

You are a human being.  You will always be a human being.  There is no "new you" that you need to strive for or make your goal because you are already you.  Now, if you don't feel like you and you would like to feel more like yourself, then you need to come home to yourself.  Listening to the "New Year, New You" campaign will not help you come home to yourself because by its very nature it is telling you to look for answers outside of yourself.  It's saying that a corporate marketing department knows what you need better than you do.  That's baloney!  Coming home to yourself means looking inside yourself for answers.  

If you are sitting there wondering how you look inside yourself for ways to come home to yourself, who you are, what you value, and what brings you joy, then I have some ideas for you to consider.  Have you ever noticed that the "New Year, New You" slogan can feel like someone is shouting at you?  Guess what, your body doesn't shout at you.  Those answers you have inside you, they don't shout.  They sit quietly and invite you to notice them.  One way to get quiet is through meditation.  And there lots of different forms.  You can use the app Headspace.  You can take a meditation class.  You can set a timer for five minutes, sit still, and just notice every sound you hear.  

Did you know that I never talk to health coaching clients about weight or weight loss?  Why?  Focusing on your weight is a trap to keep you from being yourself.  It also is a drain on your valuable time.  And it feeds into the idea that you are not lovable just as you are in the same way that "New Year, New You" does.  Instead of focusing on a scale, on a number, ask yourself, "How do I want to feel?  Daily?  Consistently? In my body?"  The Desire Map is one book that helps people tap into creating your reality around how you want to feel. 

Another way to start leaning into how you want to feel is to create a vision board.   Every year I create a vision board as a compass for what I want to bring to fruition as well as how I want to feel.  I'll put a funny image on there as a reminder that I need humor and laughter in my life.  I'll also put what is important to me.  Here is a vision board I created a couple of months after one of my miscarriages.  I can remember feeling so foggy, which is why you see the word "clarity" and the phrase "move forward".  I wanted to feel clear again, and I was ready to move on.  And by the end of that year, I did feel much more clarity.  Also, notice that cruise ship?  I put it on the board as a placeholder for more travel and grander travel.  Be very intentional about what you put on your board.  Why?  Less than two years later I took a cruise on that very same ship to celebrate my 10-year wedding anniversary.  

​Please take back your power and don't give into the "New Year, New You" nonsense.  You are lovable just as you are.  And if you would like to shift from looking for answers outside of yourself to mining the treasures within, there's a number of ways to do that including meditating and creating a vision board.

Studies show that it is not that happy people are more grateful.  Rather, people who practice gratitude consistently are happier, and, it turns out, they may be healthier, too.  A study at the University of California San Diego found that keeping a gratitude journal is good for your heart by lowering cardiac inflammation.  Researchers at the University of California Davis Medical Center have found that being grateful and practicing gratitude can boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, and improve your sleep.  And, sleep is the most healing thing our bodies do every single day!

Practicing gratitude to improve your health does not require you to go to a gym or eat kale or give up anything.  It simply requires you to purposefully focus on what is going well in your life.  Through focusing on what is going well in your life, you then invite in more positive feelings.  And who doesn't want more positive feelings?!  So how do we get this gratitude party started?  Well, there are a couple of simple, easy, doesn't take too much time ways to do this.  

Ways to practice gratitude:

• Keep a gratitude journal.  Keep a notebook on your nightstand.  Every morning or evening, write down three or more things you are grateful for.  They do not have to be major things.  The other day, I wrote in my gratitude journal that I was grateful for broccoli rabe because it's nutritious and delicious!
• Keep a gratitude jar.  I know some families who keep a gratitude jar.  Get a jar and put in a place all family members can access.  Have a pen/markers and scrap pieces of paper next to it.  Anytime someone feels grateful, they write down what they are grateful for and stick it in the jar.  I know some families who do this year round and pick a day of the month to empty the jar and read all the notes of gratitude.  I know other people who do this just for the month of November and read the contents of the jar on Thanksgiving. 
• Commit to handwriting thank you notes.  The act of physically writing something down with a pen helps commit it to memory and wire the brain towards it, research shows.  If you are writing thank you notes, you are wiring your brain for gratitude.  
• Go for a walk and repeat to yourself the mantra, "I am grateful."  It will help wire your brain towards what you are grateful for.  

I am excited to share how gratitude improves your health and how you can easily incorporate it into your day because yes, I want you to be happy.  And I'd love to hear what you are grateful for in the comments below!