From Hibernation to Rejuvenation
Hello spring! 🌷🪻
It seems like New England is actually having a spring this year—it’s not going right from winter into the dead heat of summer like we normally do (although I see we may hit 80 next week, so perhaps I am speaking too soon).
I’m glad for that because it means long afternoon walks and getting up from the desk, from which I am so often chained. We can also sit on our sun porch for dinner now, and Merlin especially loves it. We both have allergies, but it’s hard to resist such beauty and the smells of all the flowers.
It’s also a time for me to be excited about the bounty of fresh produce. I have always been more of a fall/winter lover for many reasons, but very much because I love the idea of cozy food: soups, holiday sweets, and cookies, eggnog, heavy pâtés, and meaty pasta dishes. All the things that my fun time with cancer last year made me realize are probably not the best for my overall longevity.
But in spring and summer, more healthy foods tend to be the highlight. It’s nearly berry season! Fava beans! Morels! Artichokes! Garlic scapes! Snap peas! Rhubarb! Radishes! And cherries and all the summer fruit are right around the corner. I have a weird, giddy excitement for this shift for the first time ever.
Changing the way I eat hasn’t been easy. It has especially affected the way I eat out at restaurants (which is an important part of my social life). I’m more likely to suggest not going to a restaurant if I can’t find something healthy on the menu. When I do go, I’ll choose a salad over arancini and chicken or shellfish over beef. On occasion, I’ll indulge, but for the most part, I have been pretty good at making better decisions (wanting not to die is an incredible motivator) regarding my health. But it’s often really hard to find healthy food on restaurant menus—at all price levels. Yet in the spring and summer, it’s much much easier. I’m already loving the menu shifts.
My husband does most of our cooking, but I’m looking forward to injecting some additional flavor into the mix by trying more recipes from Emily Nunn, the queen of salad, whom I’ve mentioned before. She reigns over at
.Those of you who know me already know that I’m an information junkie. And in the last year, I’ve been absorbing a lot of information about how to be healthier and prevent disease. One of the tools I use that has been really helpful to understand what nutrients I’m getting in the food I eat is Cronometer. I track everything I eat—to the best of my ability—to get a sense of how to adjust the food I’m eating to make sure my diet is well-rounded. I can track antioxidants and vitamins and determine if I need to eat more or less of certain foods. While one of my health goals has been to get to a healthy weight, I’m more concerned about eating as healthy as possible overall.
One book/site that I’ve found super helpful is from Doctor Peter Attia, who wrote Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity. The book is fantastic, but he also has a podcast, which is worth the subscription price. He interviews some of the best minds in preventative health today and while I don’t always have time to listen, I love that I can review the very meaty show notes.
Now that spring is around the corner, I can also look forward to hitting up the Island Creek Oyster Farm Raw Bar in Duxbury, MA. They’re open all year round now, but going to sit by the oceanside and down some fresh seafood is really the best.
What are you looking forward to this spring?
YOU STILL HAVE TIME for this Book Giveaway!
This book is Henriette Lazaridis’ love letter to Greece, an ode to youth and age, and a tribute to the power of forgiving—or deciding not to.
An immersive and multifaceted novel—The Talented Mr. Ripley by way of Elena Ferrante—that explores the lies at the heart of an old woman’s identity and the desperation of a young woman’s struggle to belong.
This giveaway is closed.
Important to Note: you must be 18+ and a United States resident (pesky international laws make it tricky to do giveaways worldwide). If you are someone who loves rules, you can find the obligatory info here.
What’s Bringing Me Joy This Week
This video makes me so happy. I used to work at Disney, and it’s magical enough on its own, but seeing these men having a great time (well, except for THAT ride) gives me great joy.
This is such a wild story…one that I hadn’t heard before.
This week's big news in the archaeology world is the unearthing of the villa where they believe Augustus may have died.
If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! 🍒🍗🍷 And now you can pre-order IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS!
You can also follow me in these places too: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Threads
Oysters! We don't get oysters here. We get bratwurst : (