The Self Care Series & A Recipe!

“if you want to live an authentic, meaningful life, you need to master the art of disappointing and upsetting others, hurting feelings, and living with the reality that some people just won’t like you. It may not be easy, but it’s essential if you want your life to reflect your deepest desires, values, and needs.”

                                                  ---The Art of Extreme Self-Care, Cheryl Richardson

The truth is I am still so far from it, beating myself up for errors both real and perceived and caring too much about what "everyone" thinks of my actions, words....here are a few examples just from this week

1. I sent my son PBJ for lunch...I am a bad mom
2. I missed my personal training (my arms were aching & I had a meeting), I am a loser who will gain weight
3. I said no I can't get this project complete this week given my workload, it will take another week...I am such a shirker...why not pull a few all-nighters.
4. Omigod...I just ate that dessert....now it's going to hit my hip real time
5. I ate my dinner at 6.30 pm instead of waiting for my husband and eating at 8.30 PM...ergo bad wife

In my 10's I looked to my parents for positive reinforcements, in my 20's I looked to my peers for positive reinforcements, in my 30's I looked for positive reinforcements from family, friends, co-workers and the world....in my 40's I have realized that to feel good about myself, the positive reinforcement needs to come from inside...so starts my self-care series. Follow my journey and if it helps you along the way - awesome! If not - I am sure you will find another blog, article or book that will point you in the right direction :-)

Here are some of the topics I will cover :

1. Managing Stress
2. Exercise
3. What in the world is "Me-Time"?
4. Peeling the Onion - Physical, Emotional, Spiritual Fitness
5. Eating Right
6. Work-Life Balance - is it a conundrum?
7. Losing Weight not your Mind
8. Detox - mind, body & spirit
9. Sleep

Here's how I took care of an important aspect of self-care this week. Food makes me happy and there is a feeling of contentment (in sanskrit : Santosha) in cooking something just right !!!

I had eaten this wonderful, homey subzi at my friend AB's house and I absolutely loved it and so did the two boys. So this week I tried to recreate AB's  UP-wala Aloo  and my son was asking for seconds and thirds of this dish.

Uttar PrADESH WALA ALOO MATAR BHAJi 

Servings: 4  Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 45  minutes

INGREDIENTS

1. Bhuna Masala ( see recipe here, I make this by the pint(s) and freeze it, makes my meal planning so much easier for desi khana). Skip the Habanero if you can live without the kick, my 10 yr old seems to be ok with the spice level
2. Frozen Peas
3. Cinnamon Powder, Turmeric Powder,  Dhania-Jeera Powder/Garam Masala
4.  4-5 medium Boiled Potatoes ( my method for making a batch in my instant pot) 
5. Hing (Asofetida) , Jeera (Cumin Seeds)
6. Coriander Leaves for garnish

Boiling Potatoes in your Instant Pot

Boil Potatoes in your instant pot for  3 minutes High Pressure ( I used medium potatoes and I usually keep a big lot, and keep them in the fridge and use them as needed)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add a tsp of oil to the pan, add the hing and jeera. When the jeera splutters add the turmeric and then the bhuna masala and the broken up pieces of aloo/potatoes (I break it up with my hand)
2. Fry for about 5 minutes...till the mixture becomes drier and there is a nice smell
3. Now add water (around 2 cups), turn the stove to slow and simmer for 10 minutes
4. Add the frozen peas. Cook for another 5 minutes (add some more water if the mixture is too thick)
5. Now add the dhania-jeera powder/Garam Masala and cinnamon powder, Salt to taste
6. Garnish with the Coriander leaves
7. The Curry is ready for Prime Time

I wanted to leave you with a thought that crossed my mind today - “Taking care of yourself doesn't mean me first, it means me too.”  To all you wonderful people out there who are burning the candle on both ends...take a deep breath, you are not alone!