I have been remiss in my #freedomnomnom postings, as some friends recently reminded me!
This isn’t because I’m not cooking, but rather, because I am in the process of kicking my real estate career into gear, and frankly, I’m a bit overwhelmed.
Add winter to the mix, starting the year with the cooties, and you’ve got a recipe for potential backsliding…
It’s true, I did, for a hot second, stop doing some of the good habits I’ve adopted, and then I remembered what I’ve learned over the past few years, which is: leverage your good base habits, NO BACKSLIDING!
BUILD! BUILD ON YOUR BASES!
Good habits are actions so deeply ingrained, they make your life better automatically.
Which means, knowing and reminding yourself you MUST TAKE TIME to:
- Get into Nature daily
- Hydrate
- Nourish with whole foods cooked from scratch (I regard this as “medicine”, which is why I cook)
- Meditate/journal/reflect
- Exercise & lift heavy things
- Play!
A growth mindset is vital to success in life. But perfectionists–or maybe it’s just me?–struggle when they’re not great at something from the onset.
But here’s the reality: you can’t get better if you don’t try.
Every small failure is a step on the path of greater achievements, but you’ve got to keep trucking!
I only learned to cook in my late 20s. As a high school student, I actually got banned from my Home Ec class for burning my brownies so badly the class had to be evacuated.
I decided cooking was not a skill a future professional like me needed to know. I took pride in only being able to subsist on Marmite toast and popcorn during law school. (And two packs a day.)
Both my parents were decent cooks, but I learned to cook from a Dotcom era “chef box” delivered twice a week to my doorstep in San Francisco.
“Flaky halibut with lemon sauce and crisp asparagus.” The magic was in the box: Self-contained meals with easy instructions on the proper cooking techniques.
Someone recently told me most 20-somethings don’t know how to cook.
Is this true?
If YOU don’t know how to cook, do you want to learn to make food like this?
Are there steps you can start to take so long? Have you checked out my “Freedomnomnom” Playlist on YouTube?
Much like I resisted learning to cook when I was younger, I’ve resisted focusing on my cooking beyond trying to inspire you through my own actions.
But if there’s interest and demand for more, let me know in the comments and maybe, maaaaybe we can get a cooking class… cooking?!?!
It’s been yonks since I made a FREEDOMNOMNOM post… but not because I haven’t been cooking!
Last 5 meals in my kitchen: low & slow Bardo Farm beef short rib stew on bed of arugula, which gave me the broth for soup after I batch cooked ground beef & pork meatballs, which gave me today’s leftover meatballs w/sheep/goat’s cheese salad with blackberries & pumpkin seeds, plus some roasted marrow bones w/cucumber, and lettuce wrapped burgers with garden salsa from earlier in the week.
Choosing to nourish yourself to improve and/or maintain your health doesn’t have to be hard or a huge time suck.
Meals in my kitchen either go long enough so I can forget about it for hours, or they take under 30 minutes.
Try this hack:
Make a healthy salad for lunch every day with this formula: prewashed leaves (arugula/mixed), some kind of berry (blue/straw/rasp/black), some kind of cheese (blue/feta/goat’s), some kind of protein (leftover steak, diced ham, canned tuna, boiled eggs, etc.), some kind of nut or seed (pumpkin, sesame, sliced almonds) add equal measures olive oil & vinegar to dress the leaves, and voila!: A healthy delicious meal in under 10 minutes!
Your life choices ARE your life, and what you choose to fuel yourself with matters.
Fuel well; feel well. Feel well? Live free and thrive!
Butternut soup flavored with turmeric, ginger, and Kashmiri chili topped with bacon and fennel fronds. I added cream and a 16 oz ball jar of homemade lamb broth in the Vitamix after roasting the whole butternut in the oven at 375F for an hour.
Had an incredible experience last night at the Indigenous Dinner at Independence Inn. The five course meal, set at community tables in the inn’s charming front Tea Room, was delicious from the first bite to the last crumb.
We kicked off the evening with a light salad, followed by fish cakes, mussels in an earthy mushroom broth, a turkey leg–yes, half of mine needed to come home because, as you know, I was coming off a 5 day fast, and I was definitely getting stuffed–but somehow I managed to save room for the fluffy British scone-like blueberry fritter topped with clotted cream. Ended the meal with a house-blended herbal tea, Live Free and Chai, honeybush tea with notes of cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, and more.
What a wonderful evening! Saw old friends, and made new ones! (Click on the photos to see the full menu.)
YOU can get the same experience on 2/4. (Sadly, this conflicts with Porcupine Day–get YOUR tix today!)
Even if you can’t make a special night like this, check out the Eatery anytime they’re open–everything I’ve eaten there has been delish! Chef Stephen Nass is an important addition to the New Hampshire food scene, and I can’t wait to see what he does next!
Quick Freedomnomnom post: Cauliflower fried rice! Great quick weekday meal.
You need: leftover meat (I used steak), packet of frozen cauli-rice, 2 eggs, some veg (I used shallot, leek, fennel, minced garlic/ginger & jalapeño), coconut fat, tamari, and a wok.
Heat oil in wok & add veg, starting w/minced garlic & ginger, stirring occasionally until lightly brown. In small bowl, whisk together eggs w/fork. Add cauli-rice to wok & stir 2 mins. Add eggs & scramble mix for 1-2 mins. Lastly add meat and stir. Add splash of tamari, season with salt & pepper, make sure everything is heated through, i.e. taste test, and serve. Enjoy!
I’m starting to reflect on the past year, and plan my goals for 2023.
One area I neglected this year was highlighting the food I cook daily as part of my lifestyle choices to stay healthy.
In part, I stopped because… I got in my own head. THE VOICE started up again: Who cares what you made for dinner, Carla?
Actually, turns out, some people do care!
Fans write to let me know they are inspired by my healthy living journey and enjoy seeing someone they know work at establishing and keeping good habits. I know I am inspired by my friends trying their best.
In return, I want to help YOU stay on track.
So in 2023, I’m here for you with all the #freedomnomnom posts focused on low carb, whole foods made with good fats (animal, avo, coconut, olive; AVOID SEED OILS).
Food is medicine, and garbage in, garbage out.
If I can inspire YOU to reevaluate how you are caring for yourself, how you are nourishing yourself, and help you to see making and sticking to positive changes IS POSSIBLE, then we can help each other be better!
Follow me everywhere on social media (see pinned post for links) and check out CarlaGericke.com: The Art of Independence for daily fresh content, blogs, vlogs, guest appearances, and more!
Let me know in the comments below if there are specific areas, tips, or things you’d like me to focus on more! Remember, together, we can Live Free and Thrive!
PS: That yolk is from my first egg. Mama’s never been prouder, sniff!
This crime scene was delicious! Bardo Farm pork chop and parmesan caulimash with a “tomato butter sauce”(ish).
This time of year, I start catching up on cooking shows, and this motivates me to try new things… this time, with some leftover ripe tomatoes from last night’s casual dinner with friends.
Driving back from our hike this morning, I told Louis Calitz if I was ever on a cooking show, I’d nail the proteins–my fish is always *glistening*–but I have almost zero experience in sauces, so I’d get eliminated for not being able to “elevate a dish”.
So I came home, ordered a sauce cookbook, then made this random tomato crime scene, and we’ll see how it goes in the future!
Have you caught the first season of my rustic cooking show Freedomnomnom, where I make easy, low carb dishes in under 30 minutes (mostly)? Visit the FREEDOMNOMNOM playlist on CarlaGerickeTV and remember to SUBSCRIBE!
This was today’s lunch, with brown butter sage mushrooms, Bardo Farm pork chops, sweet potato, and roasted broccoli with red onions.I only have one #freedomnomnom meal to present because I was traveling.
While in Miami, I enjoyed ceviche, a raw bar with oysters and shrimp, Argentinian rare steak, halibut, and more! The “more” includes GOOSEBERRIES, something I have never encountered at a breakfast buffet before. #fancy
I was confronted with so many (MANY!!!) tempting delights, and am proud of myself for sticking to healthy choices. Other than a bite of a handmade empanada and a slice of bread under my breakfast avo toast with poached eggs & Hollandaise, I did good.
Over the years, I have learned it is better to stick to my bright lines than to have regrets. This is when you know it’s a lifestyle, not a diet.
Since I didn’t realize how much I missed avo toast until I had it again, I’m going to start making my own bread-free version called “Avo Most.” 
If YOU want to change your life and become metabolically healthy, follow me on social and check out #freedomnomnom for years of meals to help inspire YOU! Change is possible, you just have to choose YOU.
#ketokitchen #ketolife #keto #paleo #ancestral #ancestralliving
Grease a regular microwave safe coffee mug. I used avo spray. Break and lightly beat the egg in a separate bowl, then add all the ingredients in to the mug and mix until smooth. Put in microwave on high for 3 minutes. Remove and tip mug upside down. Should slide right out! Serve with butter while still hot.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
- 2