Ramblings

Seven Year Bloggiversary.

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Each year, on the anniversary of the date I started this blog (the bloggiversary, if you will), I post a recap about all the cool things that have happened in the past year.  There were years when I did several food segments on the morning news and years where I traveled across the country for the blog, but this past year was sorely lacking in these types of exciting life events.  It was instead a year of stress and challenge, a year that frankly isn’t much fun to reflect on.

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(Check out my 5th-year and 6th year anniversary posts!)

I did go on a press trip to Hocking Hills in January, during the Whole30, at which I was served brownies for breakfast, to which I was forced to politely decline.  OH THE HUMANITY.  Honestly, I focused more on fitness than food this year, which I believe helped me from completely going off the deep end.  Well, that and my new obsession with Trader Joe’s plantain chips.  Soooo crunchy.

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This year I thought about changing the name of this blog, as I have done off and on over the past seven years.  I picked the name “fervent foodie” on a whim, and it’s never seemed to fully capture what I hope for this space.  I guess that’s probably how my parents feel about naming me Mary, when clearly I’m more of a Zoe.  I mean, that’s what that online quiz I took said.

My most popular post over the last 365 days was my Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe (originally posted in 2010, most popular blog post, SEVEN years running).  Come on people.  This is followed closely by my Charlotte Foodie Guide and this HIGHLY informative post on how to make leftover pizza taste like it was just delivered.

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I’m still not eating meat, and sure as heck don’t miss it.  Except sometimes when I see a turkey sandwich with avocado and sprouts or a big fat meatball.  Or smell some North Carolina pulled pork.  Other than that, I totally don’t miss it.  This year I also learned that despite all the exercise and healthy eating I cram into my days, my cholesterol is high.  This makes absolutely no sense.  I’ve temporarily omitted eggs and shrimp from my diet.  The verdict is still out on whether this unscientific experiment will make a difference.

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When I started blogging back in 2010, I posted about 3 times a day.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner every dang day.  This past year?  I posted about once every three months.  That’s grad school for you.  The truth is, blogging takes a lot of freaking time.  More time than most people have, actually.  And I believe that’s why so many people are shifting to micro-blogging platforms (like Instagram, for example).

My lack of blogging this year freed up some time which I ironically used to start the Columbus Food Bloggers group.  With the help of Erin (the Spiffy Cookie), Jordan (Midwest Foodfest), and Stacy (Eat Pretty 614), we’ve connected nearly fifty Columbus foodies and planned more events than I can recall.  Our definition of the word “blogger” includes Instagram-only foodies (those micro-bloggers I talked about earlier), which is wonderful, otherwise I’d be kicked out of my own group for lack of posting.

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Last month, I spent a weekend in Charlotte (the city I moved away from last year), and as I headed south on 77 and the skyline finally creeped into view, I was hit with a sharp wave of sadness.  I guess it’s sort of like when a relationship ends for valid reasons, but you still love and care about that other person.  It’s easy to push it from your mind when you’re keeping busy, but there’s no avoiding that punch-in-the-gut feeling that hits when your paths do happen to cross.

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Ramblings

Good enough.

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Though I picked the name “fervent foodie” for this blog, those of you who’ve stuck with me over the last 7 years of intermittent blogging know that healthy living is a huge part of my life, and is a theme that trickles into the posts on this site.  This is one of those posts.  [Looking for something to cook?  I recommend Potato Pie.  Because potatoes are always the answer.]

I am writing to you from my desk on campus.  It’s the last month of the first year of my PhD program.  I have just four weeks to go.  And man.  WHAT A YEAR this has been.

As I talk to more and more people who have successfully navigated PhD programs, I’m learning that it’s completely normal to feel like you’re not good enough.  And that this feeling won’t go away.  EVER.  They call it the Imposter Syndrome.  We all feel like we’re not smart enough to be here, that we were accepted by mistake, and we’re all worried that eventually everyone else will find out how dumb we actually are.  These feelings are not unique to PhD programs, of course.  When you surround yourself with exceptional people, the bar is often too high to touch, no matter how much effort you give it.

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When I started the PhD program, I knew it would be the hardest thing I’d ever attempted.  More challenging than finishing my undergraduate degree in three years or kicking the CPA Exam’s booty.  Or studying for the GMAT til midnight each night for months on end.  More challenging than working in Big Four Accounting or pursuing my Masters while working full-time.  I knew all of this, yet I had no benchmark to prepare myself.  I went into this year as I do all of life’s greatest tasks — with my head down and my eyes locked in on success.  The problem here is that unlike other obstacles I’d tackled, there is no tangible, well-defined measure of success in a PhD program.  And that, my friends, was nearly crippling for me.

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Ohio, Travel

Hocking Hills: Winter Getaway + Comfort Food Cruise Giveaway

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I don’t know about you guys, but once January rolls into town, I don’t want to do a dang freaking thing.  It’s hard to find any sort of motivation; even getting out of bed is a struggle.  I wake up, feeling half drunk, confused why it’s still dark even though I slept in.

Thankfully, I broke this January rut last weekend and headed down to Hocking Hills.  Did you know winter hiking is a thing?

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Hocking Hills in the winter is stunning.  Who knew snow could look so good?

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The purpose of my trip was to learn all about Hocking’s fourth annual Comfort Food Cruise, a fun January-only foodie event focused on a whole lot of country cooking (more details PLUS A GIVEAWAY below!).

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Food Talk, Resources

Vegetarian Whole30: Week Two Menu

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I just keep rambling on and on about how easy the Whole30 is, and I get the sense some of you are virtually rolling your eyes at me.  So let me be honest here.  I ate a slice of bread with butter this weekend.  It happened, and I’m not proud.  But when you get invited to a retreat in Hocking Hills and you’re too embarrassed to BYO vegetables, the Whole30 becomes significantly more challenging.  Especially when dinner on night #1 is pasta and bread.  It wasn’t even special.  Just a small hunk of cold french bread with a bit of butter to quiet my growling belly.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt angry.  It took me a bit to put my finger on it, but I realized that I was angry I’d lost control.  And that perhaps the reason I like Whole30 so much is that it appeals to my strong desire to be in control.  (Verdicts still out on whether this is a good or bad thing. . . )

Kale & Onion Potato Pie #whole30 {ferventfoodie.com}

On day #2 of the retreat, I got back on the wagon.  While my comrades indulged in biscuits and gravy, french fries, all-you-can-eat pie buffets, and 13-variety wine tastings, I ate eggs and potatoes, SALAD BAR x 100, and maybe a little too much coffee.  And I felt really good, actually.  Even when I turned down a cheese-loaded potato skin.  Even after passing on the gooey candied apple.  Even when declining the wine slushy.  Even when offered a hot gooey brownie FOR BREAKFAST. (Full disclosure:  I brought the brownie home and popped it in the freezer for post-Whole30 enjoyment.) I felt so good, I decided to start my Whole30 over again, to make up for that lousy slice of bread and butter.

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Food Talk, Resources

Vegetarian Whole30: Week One Menu

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The idea of cutting dairy, sugar, grains, beans, alcohol, and processed goods from your diet can feel a bit… suffocating.  Granted, this a big change from how most of us regularly eat, but I’m often surprised to find how freeing the Whole30 process feels.  Anyone who has struggled to come up with a weekly meal plan or who has stressed over what the heck to cook for dinner tonight will likely appreciate these feelings of relief.  When you drastically limit the number of options, it makes the decision process simpler.  It’s like trying to select an outfit from a closet packed to the brim with hundreds of pieces versus picking an outfit from one of those cool, minimalist capsule wardrobes.  When you keep a closet stocked with only versatile pieces you love and that actually fit, picking an outfit is a cinch.

I spent the NYE weekend eating my weight in bagels and cheese and talking to friends about Whole30, and I realized one of the biggest Whole30 concerns was WHAT to cook.  To return to my wardrobe analogy, it’s as if everyone really wants a capsule wardrobe (I do, I do!), but they’re just not sure what pieces (recipes) make the the cut.

Good news.  This January I’ll be sharing some ideas for weekly menus, in an effort to get those Whole30 juices flowing.  Rather than a restrictive, all-inclusive 7-day meal plan, these menu ideas are meant to serve as a jumping off point.

First time doing a Veg Whole30?  Check out this post.  Snag the Week Two menu here.

Frittata with Simple Arugula Salad {ferventfoodie.com]

My Whole30.  

In my last post, I laid out some of the differences between regular Whole30 and Vegetarian Whole30, including all the good stuff Vegetarians get to swap in place of meat.  No matter what type of Whole30 you do, planning is crucial, and batch cooking over the weekends will make life much easier.  Things get a little more complicated when you have a variety of eaters in one house.  Say, for example, you’ve got a meat-eater and a vegetarian.  Vegetables and fats can be shared by all, but some things that are OK for Veg Whole30 (beans, tofu, tempeh, etc.) are not allowed for regular Whole30.

In my house, we have a meat-eater who likes to regularly eat meat-free and a part-time pescetarian who prefers a veg-based diet with occasional seafood (1-3 meals per week).  So, our version of Whole30 is  a blended one:  Veg Whole30 plus occasional seafood (meat for the carnivore).

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