It's my birthday and...
I'll have cake if I want to!
Actually, I never liked birthday cake... but brownies...OMG.
Birthdays are such an odd human experience, right?
When you're a kid, you're excited to have all your friends come over to play and get presents...
OH THE PRESENTS!
And then you really put "party" into 'birthday party' by going out drinking (at least that was my experience in my 20s!) until your liver gives out and you drink less and dinner more...
Am I right?? ;)
But then somewhere along the way, birthdays become dreaded.
There are so many jokes on TV about this – turning 27 for the 7th time!!
Age is just a number... isn't it about how you FEEL???
One thing my parents often say to me, is that they don't feel their age. That at almost 70, they feel better than they did in their 40s... that going plant-based made them feel younger. More virile, more healthy.
I'm about a million times more active now in my 30s than I was in my 20s.
I got healthier as I got older, and I think that's true for a lot of us.
THE BEST HAS YET TO COME.
Maybe we finally realized we aren't invincible, or maybe poor choices in our youth start catching up... or maybe we see pictures of ourselves from the past and think "oh dear God I have to do something."
But whatever that is, your glory days are NOT behind you
IF you make the right choices now... fostering life inside you.
Older and wiser, and all that!
When people tell me I don't look my age, I know they mean that as a compliment...
but the reality is, I don't want to be 16 or 26 again. I was not healthy. I didn't feel well.
I had all kinds of stomach pains and migraines, acne and other bodily things that were so embarrassing I almost didn't want to leave home.
That was no way to live.
I was also around some of teenagers and college kids recently, and most of them were winded and out-of-breath on the hike.
A few were even complaining about how lousy they felt.
I'm glad I've stopped treating my body like a garbage disposal and graveyard.
Another year... another year to improve.
I want to live to be a 100... and LIVING when I reach it... not just existing.
Your future self depends on the choices you make today.
As I saw with my parents, it's NEVER too late...
Because if tomorrow really your last day...
Wouldn't you want to spend it feeling your BEST?
Really getting the most out of life?
FEELING awesome is my modus operandi.
You can't enjoy anything in life – not the joy of children or grandchildren, the new house or new car, the promotion at work, the dream vacation or Paris, or the rock concert or the whatever, if you're feeling like poop or not here.
A serious health scare made me rethink all my priorities – and my dreams.
I stopped "waiting until Monday" to start things. I stopped waiting until I had time or money, or whatever colorful reason or justification I came up with.
They were all repackaged excuses.
Feeling awesome – being healthy... THAT gave me wings.
And apparently, the fountain of youth ;)
Goodbye 33, hello 34.
My birthday wish is that you find your healthy happy.
Stop the blah blah blah and grab life by the kale.
Now excuse me while I go stuff my face with Meal Mentor Birthday Cake Oatmeal.
6 tbsp dry rolled oats
1 tbsp oat flour
¼ tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp baking soda
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp applesauce
3-4 tbsp soy or almond milk
3 oz vegan yogurt
sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl, combine oats, oat flour, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Add in the maple syrup, vanilla, applesauce, and 2 tbsp milk.
4. Stir & add more milk until batter forms. The mixture should be wet, not sopping.
5. Transfer mixture to an oven-safe dish.
6. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the top is set and golden.
7. Top with yogurt “icing” and sprinkles.
