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April 24, 2025

Healthy Popsicles That Make Summer Sweeter

Consider the humble popsicle. A nostalgic symbol of sticky fingers, grass-stained knees, and that sweet relief on a blazing summer day. But here’s t

April 16, 2025

Time to Reflect, Release, Move Forward

Whether you celebrate Easter, Passover, or simply welcome the longer, brighter days of spring, this time of year invites reflection. It’s a season o

April 10, 2025

How to Stop “Night Worrying”

Ever find yourself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling while your mind races through tomorrow’s to-do list, replaying conversations, or wondering i

April 2, 2025

Four Cheers for Angelos and a Birthday Recipe to Reel You In

If you’ve been following my blog for several years, you may recall my weekly posts that were written comparing the size of my friend’s baby in ute

March 27, 2025

Springtime Tips for Home and Health

Spring is here, bringing longer days, warmer sunshine, and the perfect opportunity to refresh our spaces and our diets. Just as nature renews itself,

March 20, 2025

Spring into Spring

The spring (vernal) equinox happens on Thursday, March 20 at 5:01 A.M. EDT, marking the moment when the sun crosses directly over the Earth’s eq

March 12, 2025

Natural Ways to Tackle Seasonal Allergies

Seasonal allergies occur when your immune system mistakenly identifies harmless substances—like pollen from trees, grasses, or weeds—as dangerous

March 6, 2025

Why Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the Kitchen MVP

When it comes to cooking oils, not all are created equal. While seed and vegetable oils like soybean, corn, safflower, and canola are common in proces

February 27, 2025

Are You Stuck in the “I’ll Start Tomorrow” Loop?

Ever told yourself, “That’s it! Tomorrow, I’m eating healthy!” And then tomorrow shows up, and you think, “Eh, maybe next week.” Guess wha

February 20, 2025

Simplifying Dinner with HelloFresh

I recently stayed with a friend and when I offered to cook dinner, she presented me with a brown paper bag that said “HelloFresh” on the outside.

3 Reasons Why Losing Weight is Hard

It seems like such a simple concept.

Expend more calories than you eat, and BOOM. Off go the pounds.

Not so fast.

There are lots of reasons why it’s more complicated. Here are a few of the big ones from some really smart scientists who study this stuff for a living.   

Reason #1. Once you’ve lost some weight, you burn fewer calories. Think about it, in case you haven’t. A person weighing 100 pounds needs to consume less calories than someone who weighs 150 pounds. Even a 5-pound decrease in weight means you need fewer calories. Bummer.

Reason #2. Your metabolism shifts in a way that is not helpful. For instance, let’s say you have been the same 100 pounds most of your adult life, and your friend lost 20 pounds and now weighs 100 pounds. Your friend has to eat less in order to stay at that 100 pounds than if she’d been that weight most of her life. SO not fair for your friend!

Reason #3. As you lose weight, your appetite increases. This increase in appetite can last for up to a year. WHAT? I know, it’s crazy!

If you’ve struggled to lose those same pesky pounds for years, now you know why.

 It’s not that you don’t have enough willpower or discipline. If you’ve been saying that to yourself, STOP IT!

Weight loss isn’t only about what you eat (or don’t eat) and how much you exercise. Although this is a big part of it, there’s much more.

The scientists who have done these studies say that “promoting a holistic approach to achieve a healthier lifestyle is necessary to maximize quality of life.”

It’s not just about a number on the scale.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the concept of Deep Health: relational, existential, mental, physical, emotional, environmental. 

These are all connected, which also explains why sustained weight loss can be hard. There are no quick fixes.

Needing guidance and help along the way is the norm, not the exception.

I’m here for you.

Connect with me by email. We’ll look at what’s getting in the way of maximizing your quality of life—and losing those pesky pounds.

Much love,
Carol

“We do life. We do it abundantly. And we have a good time.”—Carol Slager  

He’s Here, and He’s Adorable

This is week #39 of baby, and guess what? He arrived!

Little Angelos is perfect and looks like a little angel—well-dressed in monogrammed attire with a bit of hair gel, perhaps?

He is the size of a mini watermelon, which is the produce of the week. Right on schedule, he weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces and is a whopping 20 ¾ inches long.   

Mom is doing well and could use some rest. She’s a trooper!

And for fun, a few tidbits of watermelon trivia.

As you may suspect, watermelon is great for hydration since it is 92% WATER. Between the water and fiber, it will fill you up without loading you up on calories. Sweet!

Watermelon delivers many vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that enhance health.

Benefits include enhanced heart and eye health, decreased inflammation linked to many chronic diseases, and improved digestion.

We began the baby countdown back in October at week #17 with the turnip and have certainly covered the produce section.

May you continue to enjoy a variety of fruits and vegetables and challenge yourself to try something unusual from time to time.

How fitting that little Angelos has shown up in time for Easter as we celebrate new life and the resurrection of Jesus.

To the parents of Angelos, I wish you many blessings, lots of love, and an occasional good night’s sleep.

Thanks for giving me fun blog material for the last 5 months.

Wishing you a most joyful Easter,
Carol

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
― Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła)

Leek, Potato and Zucchini Hot Cakes

Ingredients:

1 medium potato
2 cups sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only)                                                 
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup flour or gluten-free flour
1 egg, slightly beaten
1-2 tsp dried red chili flakes (according to your “heat” preference)
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the potato until it’s tender enough to pierce through with a fork, about 40-45 minutes.

Boil a saucepan of salted water and add the sliced leeks and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and wrap in a tea towel; wring out any extra moisture. Set aside.

Drain the shredded zucchini of its moisture. Wrap in a tea towel and wring it as well. Set aside.

Once the potato is cooked, peel it and roughly mash it.

Mix all the ingredients together and season to taste.

Make patties from the mixture. Heat about 2 Tbsp. oil in a skillet. When hot, gently drop the patties into the oil (medium heat), flatten with a spatula and let cook until nicely browned on both sides. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream with dill makes a nice dipping sauce to accompany these.

For the Love of Leeks, and Hot Cakes

It’s the week of the leek. From the looks of the leek I have in my fridge, it’s a good thing that at week #38, baby is about to make his grand worldly entrance.

Pictured, is me holding a typical leek. Yes, it resembles a giant green onion. 

Leeks belong to the same family as onions, chives, scallions, garlic, and shallots.

They have a mild, somewhat sweet flavor, and acquire a creamy texture when cooked.

The first time I took notice of the leek, I was in San Francisco trying to dine at Postrio, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. There was no way to get in for dinner, so we sat at the bar and ordered a leek and shrimp pizza.

It was AMAZING!

I immediately worked to recreate it when I returned to my kitchen. I came up with a Chèvre (goat cheese), Leek and Shrimp Pizza that was pretty tasty. That was about 30+ years ago. Postrio closed in 2009.

As luck would have it, I found a fairly simple “comfort food” leek recipe to share. I’m planning to make it Friday to accompany my fish.

Of course, leeks are very nutritious, extremely low in calories, and very versatile, like onions.

The greatest adventure in working with leeks is cleaning the mud out between the layers. This step is critical so that you don’t find dirt or grit in your dish.

To clean them, cut off the hair-like end and most of the tough green parts from the other end. Then slice them in half, from top to bottom. Fan out the layers and rinse under running water to remove any dirt or grit.

Another way I’ve done it is to cut off both ends as above, then chop so that I have rings of the leek, the same way I’d cut a green onion. I then separate those leek ringlets in a colander and rinse well.Choose whichever way is best for your recipe. 

There are many ways to use leeks: in tarts; potato and leek soup (a classic from Julia Child); sauté and top your pizza or burger; roast with other veggies; add to pasta; any way you’d use an onion.

Leek, Potato and Zucchini Hot Cakes

1 medium potato
2 cups sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only)
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup flour or gluten-free flour
1 egg, slightly beaten
1-2 tsp dried red chili flakes (according to your “heat” preference)
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the potato until it’s tender enough to pierce through with a fork, about 40-45 minutes.

Boil a saucepan of salted water and add the sliced leeks and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and wrap in a tea towel; wring out any extra moisture. Set aside.

Drain the shredded zucchini of its moisture. Wrap in a tea towel and wring it as well. Set aside.

Once the potato is cooked, peel it and roughly mash it.

Mix all the ingredients together and season to taste.

Make patties from the mixture. Heat about 2 Tbsp. oil in a skillet. When hot, gently drop the patties into the oil (medium heat), flatten with a spatula and let cook until nicely browned on both sides. Remove and drain on paper towels. (Recipe derived from nodesserts blog)

Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream with dill makes a nice dipping sauce to accompany these.

Bon appétit!

Much love,
Carol

 “Labor is the only blind date where you know you will meet the love of your life.”–babycenter