Tidying Up: It may be a craze right now but it’s definitely worth it

If you’ve been on social media in the last few weeks you have surely seen the craze surrounding Marie Kondo’s new Netflix series, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.” I have to say, I definitely binge watched all the episodes while folding laundry this past week. I also have her book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,” that I need to revisit. You can get that here:

I’m not always one to jump on to the proverbial bandwagon but in this situation it’s really a good premise. Cleaning out my closet and donating things I no longer use or need is a great idea. If I’m not using it someone else certainly can. Not to mention the simple act of decluttering can cause a great relief from anxiety. However, it can also cause some as well. I know I find it frustrating when the act of sorting cause a bigger mess before it gets better. Many of the people on the show reached points of contention when forced to make a decision on where certain things should go or if they should hold on to other items. I do have to say that I appreciated the fact that Marie stressed that the point was not to force people to get rid of things that they liked. It wasn’t a free-for-all to dump everything and you only get to keep two pieces of clothing. Rather it was an act or ritual to go through the things you own and see if you truly need those pieces going forward. If I have a closet full of clothes and none of those items bring me joy, do I really need those items? Isn’t the point of fashion to enjoy it? I don’t know about you but I have things in my closet that still have tags on them. I know that I go through my closet periodically, often with the season, and discard a few items here and there. I know did quite a bit after I finally started to lose the baby weight and stopped breast-feeding.
 The big difference I noticed in Marie’s KonMari Method is that the she has her clients go through all their clothes at once. It was incredibly daunting to take out every piece of clothing I owned at once and place it all on my bed. But by doing this I was really able to see the amount of things I owned. So instead of thinking that I might need another blue Henley I can see that I already have two and a third that is really similar. In fact, I had three at one point. I think that this method, though a lot or work up front, is really a great way to go through my clothes and other items. I know for myself I have a tendency to hold on to things just for the sake of not wanting to throw them away even if they are damaged. For example, I decided to start going through my closet this week. And instead of going through a few things at a time I decided to actually empty out my closet as well as the two storage totes I had of off season items to get a better picture of what I actually own. Another aspect of Marie’s method is to look at each item you own and to ask yourself if that item brings you joy.  When discussing her former clients she mentions how they continue her method and it works as you learn to keep and buy only the things you truly like.
As I mentioned, I decided to go through my closet this week and in doing so I discovered a few things. I don’t own as many clothes as I thought I did and I don’t own that many things I truly love. My closet over the past five years has transformed greatly from only owning what could fit in a suitcase from when I lived abroad to having a bunch of times in different sizes simply because I needed something that fit my current size at the time. My wardrobe really changed a lot as I had two babies in two years which created a need for lots of maternity wear and shirts that worked well for breast-feeding. However, post-pregnancy and post weight-losss I didnt’t quite know where to go with my closest. This in turn correlates to my fitness journey as after having been pregnant for two years in a row I finally began to lose the weight that I had packed on while pregnant. My body has also changed a lot in its composition, as although I am not at my pre-pregnancy weight, I am able to wear some pre-pregnancy pieces. Muscle mass and body composition play a larger role in how things fit than my actual body weight. Which is probably why I have running shorts and tights that I love as well as sports bras and athletic socks. This portion of the tidying was really easy for me. As not only do I look at whether or not I like something for how it looks but also for how it functions. For example a pair of cotton leggings can be super cute but their functionality when it comes to working out is actually quite slim. Cotton traps moisture and not only will look bad when you wear it exercising by showing all your sweat but it also won’t feel good. Especially, when running in the winter as you will get cold really quickly. So I found it really easy to go through my workout clothes and look at each item and say, “I like how this fits. These tights keep me dry and warm, etc.” Following these guidelines I was able to go through all my workout clothes and organize them by type into some cute baskets that I can easily store on my closet shelves.

The problem I am finding now when trying to apply this same principle to my everyday clothes as well as dress clothes is that due to my mishmash of sizes, hand-me-downs and pieces from different life periods is that everything isn’t coming together quite as well as I would like. I have found that I am currently at a bit of an impasse. Even though I have many items that I do not love and would be happy to donate them now, I feel can’t dontate them at this time because I have nothing to replace them with. For instance, I don’t have a pair of dress pants that I love or really even like that much that I can use for interviews or other dressy functions. I could just get rid of the pairs that I do own but that would leave me without a single pair of dress pants, hence my dilemma. What would Marie do? What would you do? As I reread, her book I am reminded that she has her clients do all the discarding first so that would mean that I should get rid of all the pants now. “Do not even think of putting your things away until you have finished the process of discarding” (Kondo 2014, Chapter 2, Section 1, para. 4). She reminds you also to not think about what you are throwing out but to rather focus on what you are keeping. Why am I keeping things that I don’t really like? She asks that you go through each item or article of clothing and ask yourself if it sparks joy for you (Kondo 2014, Chapter 2, Section 3, para. 9).

For in the end, what is the point in keeping things that I don’t actually like. When I  keep everything and anything, I end up with all the clutter that I am trying so hard to get rid of. Back to my dilemma and the pants: I think that it makes the most sense to discard all those that I do not like but that it would be ok to keep the pair that fits but later replace it with a pair that I love and works better for me. I think that this is a better plan as it not only will allow me to finish sorting and discarding my clothes all at once but will also give me a clear and desired purpose for my closet. I want all my clothing to not only bring me joy but to also fit well and serve a specific purpose. I am ultimately a big fan of minimalist wardrobes with a neutral pallete where you can mix and match many of the items to create several different outfits. For myself, a pallete of grey and white white with a few other colors mixed in would be ideal. Once, I finish all the discarding my plan is to slowly bring in a few pieces to create this ideal wardrobe and continue to discard as needed. I will add a new blog post once I reach this point as I think it will be fun to watch the process unfold. Until then, happy discarding.

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Zucchini Pizza Bites

I’m like many people out there and I love pizza. I mean who doesn’t like melted cheese, sauce and delicious fluffy crust. Hard to find someone out there that is going to turn down pizza. So you can imagine my disappointment when I no longer could tolerate eating dairy and gluten laden pizza. Sad day for sure. Most of the time I make homemade pizza and it’s really easy to make a gluten-free simple crust but today I wanted something quicker. My husband had gotten a store-bought pizza for a treat and I had gotten the kids flatbread to use for their crust. Not be left out of the pizza fun I decided to grab a few more large zucchini’s while we were at Aldi’s so I could create zucchini pizza bites for myself.

This is super simple to make and delicious. All you need are five simple ingredients. All of which you can get at Aldi or any local grocery store. You will need one large zucchini, two large baby Bella mushrooms, a jar of pizza sauce, Italian seasoning and vegan cheese. First, you will want to preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Slice the zucchini in fairly thick slices, about 1/4 inch. Lay zucchini out on tinfoil lined baking sheet. You don’t have to use tinfoil but it will save you from getting cheese stuck on your pan.  Spoon out the pizza sauce onto each zucchini round in little dollops to avoid getting sauce everywhere. Leave the sauce in the center of the zucchini and do not spread. The sauce will spread out while it bakes. Now slice your mushrooms in large slices and place one slice on each zucchini slice. Once each slice has a mushroom sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Now add a little cheese on each slice. Place in pan in the pre-heated oven and bake for ten minutes or until the cheese is melted. Allow the bites to sit for a few minutes before serving.

ZUCCHINI PIZZA BITES
Printable Recipe
DIFFICULTY: EASY

YIELDS: 18-20 BITES (2 servings)

INGREDIENTS:
- one large zucchini (approx. 8 oz)
- two - three large baby Bella mushrooms ( 68g)
- 1 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup vegan cheese shreds

DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch slices and place on tinfoil lined baking sheet. Place teaspoon of sauce on the center of each zucchini slice. Do not spread. Slice mushrooms into large slices and place one slice on each zucchini. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Place small amount of cheese on each slice and bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Allow cheese to set for a minute or two before serving.

NUTRITION:
1 serving has 152 calories
16g carbs
8g fat
5g protein

Chickenless Noodle Soup

There is something about winter and and comfort food that just seems to go so well together. I am always especially excited for comfort food after a hard workout. It reminds me of coming in from the cold as a child at ski lodges and getting steaming cups of cocoa and chili or curry to scarf down. I was definitely in the mood for something warm and tasty after my last bike workout. I’m currently not running as I have a possible stress fracture in my shin. I’m not about to let this completely sideline me so I have gotten back on the bike to keep up my cardiovascular fitness without the stress on my shin. The unfortunate side effect of biking in the winter is that you feel way colder on your workouts versus how warm you get while running. I’m learning I need to dress way warmer for biking but I haven’t figured out what to do about my freezing feet. I’m going to have to invest in some really warm socks. If you have any recommendations please drop them below in the comment section.

With the warm and tasty components my only parameters, I decided to come up with a new recipe to make for dinner. My kids are always a fan of soup and my husband really likes chicken noodle soup so I decided to make homemade noodle soup minus the chicken. And the Chickenless Noodle Soup was born. This recipe came at a perfect time as the whole family was out sick this week with strep throat. And when your throat is sore the best things are easy to swallow like soup and ice cream. And I haven’t come up with a homemade nondairy ice cream. Yet. Anyway, back to the soup.

I have recently started making veggie broth from vegetable scraps, which I thought would be a perfect base for the Chickenless Noodle Soup. It’s super simple and such a great way to use all the bits and pieces of vegetables that you would otherwise throw away. You can pretty much use anything from onion ends, tops of celery and even the botttom stem of broccoli. I knew we were going to be out for the day heading to the doctor’s office to get tested for strep so I went ahead and started the broth in the crockpot. The amount you can make will vary on the size of crockpot you are using. Mine is large enough to hold an entire gallon freezer bag of veggie scraps and 9 cups of water. Once you’ve added all the water you can just add the spices, cover and walk away. I’ve made the broth both with using an extra onion along with garlic and sautéing it and then adding it to the veggie scraps but I was just as happy with the broth by skipping the extra onion and just adding spices to the water and letting it cook for several hours.

Once your water begins to turn a deep amber color you can shut off your crockpot and begin straining your broth. Don’t worry if you end up leaving a lot of the actual herbs in the strainer as they have already flavored the broth through the whole cooking process. I ended up with just under 11 cups of actual broth, six of which I used to make the soup. Add six cups of the strained broth along with two cups of water and one cup of dried beans. I used great northern beans though I think chickpeas would also work well.  You can choose to cook the dried beans on low or high depending on how quickly you  are wanting them done. The cooking time will also vary on the crockpot. My smaller crockpot often finishes beans in under four hours on high whereas my larger crockpot, which I used this time takes a much longer time. I cooked them on low overnight, anywhere from six to eight hours should do the trick. Since I cooked my beans overnight I turned my crockpot to warm in the morning so the beans wouldn’t turn to complete mush before I even added the vegetables. In a large pan, I used my cast iron skillet, add one tablespoon of olive oil and begin letting the pan warm up. While your pan warms up begin chopping the onion. Add one cup chopped onion (any color onion will be fine) to the warm pan and begin to cook on medium heat. Add one tablespoon of chopped garlic to the onions and continue to cook. While these cook chop the celery and carrots add those to the pan as well. Once all the veggies are in the pan you can add the spices. I  used parsley, ground mustard, thyme, sage, allspice and turmeric. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften. Once veggies are soft go ahead and add to the warm crockpot. Turn the crockpot back to low and add two tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Allow everything to mix together and cook for a short time. In a separate pot boil water for the nooodles. I used gluten-free spaghetti nooodles that I broke into tiny pieces. Add six ounces of broken spaghetti pieces to the boiling water. While the noodles cook, check your soup in the crockpot. Once the carrots are soft your soup is done and you simply need to add salt and pepper to taste as well as the cooked noodles. This recipe would also work well with actual chicken if you eat chicken or with vegan chicken if you want it to be more similar to the classic soup. Serve immediately to avoid getting gummy noodles.

It’s easy to tell when a recipe I have created goes over well with my family as that is when they ask for seconds or thirds. Especially, with my kids as they are often just about finishing dinner in order to get to dessert. More so this week as we had leftover birthday cake. So when my daughter asked for seconds and my son gobbled up his I knew I had a winner. I love when they truly enjoy a healthy recipe that I have made. I hope you enjoy it as well!

VEGGIE BROTH
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS: 
- 1gallon freezer bag
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp parsley flakes
- 2 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard
- 1 tsp salt 
-1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp thyme
- 9 cups of water

DIRECTIONS:
Add all ingredients (veggie scraps, spices and water) to crockpot and cook on height for 3-4 hours. Once liquid turns a deep amber color strain the broth with a colander to remove all large pieces of vegetables. If you want a clearer broth you can strain again with a mesh strainer. Store broth in glass jars in fridge for later use. You could also freeze broth if you won’t be using it right away.

CHICKENLESS NOODLE SOUP 
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS: 
- 6 cups homemade veggie broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 cups dry Great Northern Beans
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic chopped
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 2 cups carrots chopped
- 1 1/2 cups celery chopped
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp sage
- 1/4 tsp allspice
-1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 oz gluten-free pasta

DIRECTIONS:
Add broth, water and dried beans to the crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours or until beans are soft. Turn your crockpot off or to the warm feature. In a skillet on the stove sauté the veggies in the olive oil and add all the spices except for the nutrional yeast, salt and pepper. Once veggies are begin to soften add to the crockpot with the broth and beans and turn crockpot back to low. In a separate pot boil water and cook the 6 oz of pasta per package instructions. Drain pasta. Salt and pepper to taste and turn crockpot back to the warm feature once the carrots are soft. Add the pasta to the soup and serve immediately to avoid the noodles becoming gummy. 

NUTRIONAL INFORMATION: 

142 calories per 1 cup serving
Total Fat: 2.2g 
Total Carbohydrates: 30.4g
Protein: 6.2g 
* I used a Kroger’s Veggie Broth for the nutritional info for the homemade broth as it will be a close comparison except for the sodium.