by Sam Tackeff | Jan 11, 2017 | Books, Uncategorized
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I am a voracious reader. One of my favorite ways to transition to a new season is to making myself a list of great books to read. I see it as a personal syllabus – you are what you read (and subsequently act upon). The syllabus in itself is a great art – What do I want to learn? Who is the best person to teach it to me? Whose words will inspire me to act? I usually sit down with a list of topics that I’d like to delve into, and take great pleasure in searching for the perfect book to add. I’ll take a second look over my list to make sure that I have representation by women and POC’s.
Here’s what is on my list in the coming months. A few are re-reads related to projects I’m working on, another note is that I don’t typically list out my cookbooks, and I read dozens of them a season. I typically use this as a starting point for requesting books from the library, and usually manage to squeeze in a handful of last minute un-planned reads as well. After each read, I spend just a little bit of time debriefing: writing out my takeaways, and acknowledging the things that resonated and piqued my curiosity.
We Should All Be Feminists
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
When Breath Becomes Air
by Paul Kalanithi
Couple Skills: Making Your Relationship Work
by Matthew McKay
The School of Greatness: A Real-World Guide to Living Bigger, Loving Deeper, and Leaving a Legacy
by Lewis Howes
Personal Kanban: Mapping Work Navigating Life
by Jim Benson and Tonianne Berry
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
by Oliver Sacks
H is for Hawk
by Helen Macdonald
Finding Yourself in the Kitchen: Kitchen Meditations and Inspired Recipes from a Mindful Cook
by Dana Velden
Yes, Chef
by Marcus Samuelsson
Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa
by Haruki Murakami
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
by Simon Sinek
The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success
by Darren Hardy
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations for Clarity, Effectiveness, and Serenity
by Ryan Holiday
Designing Your Life: Build a Life that Works for You
by William Burnett
Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley
by Antonio Garcia Martinez
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by Gabriel García Márquez
Grit: Passion, Perseverance, and the Science of Success
by Angela Duckworth
A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life
by Brian Grazer
Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want
by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
Shaping Success (dog training)
by Susan Garrett
What are you reading this winter?
Is there anything brilliant that I should add to my list?
by Sam Tackeff | Jan 1, 2017 | Meal Planning
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
While 2016 will be marked in almost everyone’s books as a doozy of a year, I’m truly looking forward to what 2017 has to bring for me, my friends, my community, and the world. I’m riding a good amount of momentum for the new year – I spent the last few weeks setting concrete goals for my business and my life, and I did quite a bit of clean sweeping. It feels good to have the year off on a good foot.
I don’t typically make resolutions, but I use the season to double down on my goal setting and reinforcing good habits. I’ve been working my way through my own winter self-care bingo board, and got extra points for starting off the year with a 5k race this morning. I’m using it as a benchmark for some running goals this year: I’m hoping to run a 26 minute 5k (and not die in my A race triathlon – the Patriot half). This month I’ll be doing a mile a day running streak, and for strength work, I’ve signed up for a women’s lifting class that meets on Monday and Wednesday night each week.
I DO however set some kitchen resolutions, and I’m diligently working on my updated list this week. It includes more cookbooks, more home cooking, and some food related adventure (100 new fruits and vegetables!) In years past I’ve done a January Whole 30 to reset, I’ve actually been really enjoying my home cooking the past few months, and am just looking to continue on with the good practice! (If you are doing a Whole 30 and want some tips and resources, I wrote a long post last year to help you out).
:: The Weekly Meal Plan: Week of January 1st, 2017 ::
This week’s prep: none! After a week of parties, I’m starting fresh by going shopping on Tuesday for the rest of the week’s meals. One notable change these past few months has been my refrigerator. After a lifetime of operating a refrigerator by stuffing it to the gills with options, I decided that I really wanted my fridge to look more like those sparkling clean specimens in those “fridge sneak peek” articles about famous people. Years old condiments were tossed (don’t worry, I still have full side door shelves), and I know keep food in there primarily for the week and no more than that. I can actually SEE what there is to eat, and it really helps to curb snacking.Sunday: skirt steak with latkes and kale salad. This is truly an amazing kale salad. The recipe is from Epicurious, and I’ve made it a handful of times at home now. We had it again this week at a party, and I remembered how much I love it and made it again.
Monday: seafood medley cioppino. I have a bag of mixed frozen seafood from Trader Joe’s which is going in a pot with a jar of Rao’s marinara and possibly a little bit of wine.
Tuesday: beef bottom roast in the InstantPot. I’m still looking for good recipe inspiration for this. It may end up being ropa vieja style, or possibly Irish beef stew.
Wednesday: roast chicken, potatoes, and a Hungry Root spiralized side – a few weeks ago I tried my first Hungry Root box – it’s spiralized veggies which come with sauces that you toss and cook. The price is insane ($9 at Whole Foods), but they are so good that I’ve been buying one a week and loving them.
Thursday: yellow lentil soup – I think I’m going to go with some South Asian flavors here, and make some Dal.
Friday: turkey, refried beans, and egg. I’ve been cooking this almost every Friday. It’s a 100% winner for the household, and always makes us happy.
Saturday: Out!
What’s cooking on your table this week?
by Sam Tackeff | Dec 31, 2016 | Wellness
Ah, New England winter. The season of slipping on the ice, freezing through your boots, getting trapped in 12 feet of snow, and braving horrific public transportation. Oh and that feeling that becoming a complete shut-in is a good alternative to braving the bitter cold outdoors and the general societal grumpiness. It’s no joke. At the onset of every winter here I feel like throwing up a big SOS flag and jetting to the nearest warm place to hibernate for the season.
But because I’ve committed myself to living here (at least until I figure out a better idea) I make it a habit to roundup ideas big and small to get me through the seasonal shift and help me actually enjoy myself through the holidays, new year, and the big freeze. I’m a strong advocate of self care (and teach an e-course on it) and am my best self when I actually plan and visualize ideas before being threatened by the winter blues. Here’s this year’s list:
Food and Drinks to Ease the Chill
Weekly chilis, stews, and braises. Chili is a staple in my household – it’s holds high on the family favorites list. Tori Ritchie’s Braises and Stews, and Molly Stevens’ All About Braising are two seasonal favorite cookbooks.
Winter citrus. While you can pick up citrus all year long in the supermarkets, it’s my favorite time of year for it, and I make time to celebrate the season. A box of clementines or grapefruit overload take the edge off of the weather and always make me cheerful. I love Jamie Oliver’s clementine curd, and Jennie’s clementine, honey, and olive oil cake do the trick.
The Warm Boozy beverage. Mulled wine, hot nog, hot toddies, or my favorite: a shot of baileys in a mug of boiling water. On my to-cook list this month is my own homemade Irish Cream inspired by the brilliant Smitten Kitchen.
Revisiting Habits and Routines that Keep Me Healthy
Up the self-care routines; revisit old routines, habits, and streaks to see if there are ones that I’ve dropped that I’d like to go back on. Re-committing to a weekly number of sweaty workouts, upping the yoga classes, and planning out fun fitness activities help. I also try to make more time for meditation, embrace some “Woo”, and surround myself with green plants. I made my own self care bingo printable to encourage myself to keep up with the small self-care activities that make a big impact.
Simplify where you can! Fall back on some simpler routines – for me that’s shopping once a week instead of several, and re-committing to the “home court habits” that Darya Pino talks about in Foodist. Not just for nutrition but for overall health.
Take advantage of the new year’s momentum. Just because the majority of people fail their seasonal resolutions, doesn’t me that we all have to! Take advantage of the momentum and set some smart health and fitness goals for the year. Mine include training for a longer triathlon, consistent weight lifting and strength training, a faster 5k, and beating this year’s gym trip record.
Winter Tips for House and Home
Hot hands winter warmers. I acquired an entire case of them (before someone pointed out that actually you can get reusable ones). On the plus side, these are great for grab and go, and stashing a few in my car.
Seasonal housekeeping – I like to do some basic seasonal house care tasks as a way to usher in the change in weather. I’m not Martha Stewart, so you won’t see me going overboard with the winter homekeeping, but some basics are a great start. For me, this included doing some Marie Kondo wardrobe assessments, and taking on some household projects. This month it’s making a good 72 hour emergency kit for our home.
Candle season. I pick up a bunch of plain candles (unscented preferably, as I prefer not to inhale chemical fragrance) at Ikea and Trader Joe’s. I light a bunch of them in an area where they won’t burn the house down. These are also a useful part of our emergency stash incase the power goes out in winter.
Need more ideas for self-care this winter?
Download my handy dandy Winter Self Care Bingo printable:
