Happy for Now List #4
Hi! It’s time for this week’s edition of the Happy for Now list! If you’re new here, this is just a weekly list of the little things that are making me happy for now.
This week has a bit of a theme because I’ve been doing the January thing and focusing on health/wellness stuff. But, these things are bringing me little hits of happiness, so that’s why I’m sharing it with y’all. I hope you find something that could boost your happiness a little too!
One of the best things I can do for my own health and that of my family’s (not to mention the added benefit of it’s cheaper) is to cook at home. We don’t eat out a lot anyway because we don’t live near a lot of restaurants, but I can fall into a rut with what I cook.
When I get too busy, I don’t use my cookbook collection. I make the same things over and over. (Which, by the way, is absolutely fine. No judgment here. I just know for me cooking the same things over and over means I’m not taking the time for my hobby of cooking and that means I’m out of balance.)
So anyway, I came up with the cookbook randomization plan and so far, it’s actually working! This week, the random shelf selected led me to Seriously, So Good by Carissa Stanton (Amazon | Bookshop.org)
She is apparently a blogger/social media person, but I wasn’t a follower. I just had flipped through the cookbook and the recipes looked interesting. Well, I’m happy to report that I tried three recipes this week and all were super delicious.
I categorize cookbooks in a few different ways, but this is one that I’d call “healthy, slightly adventurous home cook” style. These recipes are doable for a weeknight (for a decently experienced home cook) and use accessible ingredients but aren’t run-of-the-mill. The recipes I tried were elevated spins on basics, which is a sweet spot for my weeknight cooking.
The recipes I tried:
Sun-Dried Tomato and Feta Turkey Burgers with Jalapeno Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce) - This was my fave of the week. I make turkey burgers weekly and this was a yummy way to dress them up. Also, the patties stayed juicy because of the added ingredients, which is always a challenge for turkey burgers.
Pork Chops with Apple Salsa - Yeah, sounds weird, but I’ve learned that homemade salsa of almost any sort makes everything better—even boring pork chops. The salsa was basically a pico de Gallo with chopped apple added. And since apples are in season and super delicious right now, it was a great combo. I ended up eating the leftover salsa with a spoon like it was a salad the next day.
Spicy Beef Bowls - Any recipe that uses ground meat is tempting for me because it’s so quick to cook and usually a family-pleaser. This was a simple rice bowl topped with spicy/sweet ground meat (flavored with soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, Thai sweet chili sauce, etc.), cucumbers and then topped with a fried egg. This ended up being my husband’s fave because he’s a fan of mix-up-everything-in-one-bowl meals.
I somehow managed not to take a photo of any of it. Too hungry! lol. But I’ll do better next time. But as you can see by the recipe titles, this probably isn’t the cookbook if you have a lot of picky eaters in your house, but if you’re looking for healthier fare that packs a lot of flavor, I’m giving this one two thumbs up.
Speaking of things that aren’t for picky eaters…I needed to use up produce from the farmbox share I get each week and decided to throw a bunch of stuff on sourdough toast for my lunch yesterday.
I had one avocado so I knew one slice would be avocado toast (avocado, lime juice, fresh jalapenos, and red onion), but then I was stumped for the second slice. I ended up slathering on some lemon hummus and topped it with onion, fresh jalapenos, and…mandarin oranges.
I had no idea if it was going to work or not, but I decided to try it because oranges are good in savory salads and offer both acid and sweetness. Turns out, it was fantastic! It helps that oranges are in season and yummy right now, but the combo totally worked. So, lesson being, don’t be afraid to try weird combos lol. Also proves that pretty much anything is good on toast.
I have worked out 20 of the last 21 days. Unless you know me personally, you may not realize how bizarre that is for me. I am generally exercise averse. But for 2025, I decided that my ONE BIG THING for the year was going to be my health, and the place I could make the most difference was with becoming a person who works out.
I have tried many different methods over the years trying to establish a habit. Nothing has worked. (I’m hesitant to even talk publicly about it now because habits are so fragile and I don’t want to spook this one.) But I’m finding that for me and my personality, doing something every day is turning out to be easier than doing something three days a week.
So, I’ve been alternating days of treadmill with yoga or pilates, and then on Sundays, I do a chill yin/restorative yoga session. (The Glo classes are still working well for me.)
I have noticed a significant boost in mood and energy, which is great, and it has spurred me to make other changes. I was already eating pretty healthfully, but I decided to add things like drinking more water.
Then I was listening to a podcast that mentioned the 75 Hard challenge, which apparently is something that went viral on TikTok. I looked it up and it sounded very bro-y and more extreme than I was interested in. (Like two 45 min workouts a day and one has to be outside.) Also, though I was happy to see that it included reading 10 pages a day, I was annoyed that “audiobooks didn’t count.” Um, yes, audiobooks count. That is still reading. Also, the reading had to be non-fiction for self-improvement. I love a self-help book, truly, but some of my deepest insights about life have come from well-told fiction, so…yeah, annoyed.
I joked with my husband that I needed a 75 Soft challenge. Well, of course, when I googled that, it already exists. And maybe everyone knows this and my non-Tik-Tok self is just out of the loop. But when I looked at the details of the challenge, turns out, I’d kind of accidentally fallen into it with what I was doing.
The basics:
Workout 45 min a day with one day of active recovery (I’m doing 30-45 min.)
Don’t drink except on social occasions (I already don’t drink)
Eat a healthy diet of your choice (got it)
Drink 3 liters of water a day (I’m doing half my body weight in ounces)
Read 10 pages of any book, audiobooks count (I’d already made a goal for the year to read 20 min a day)
And do this for 75 days. If you miss a day, just keep going (unlike Hard 75 which makes you start over)
So, oops, I guess I fell into a challenge without knowing it. But so far, this is working for me. I almost kind of hate that you hear “you’ll feel better if you workout!” everywhere all the time ad naseum…and then it’s actually turning out to be true for me. Ugh. Fine. They were right.
I’m not sharing this to try to get anyone else to do the challenge, but I thought I’d share it because if there’s a habit you’re trying to create, play around with the parameters. Maybe every day will actually be easier for you. Or maybe you can gamify it in some way to make it more fun. (The Gallup coach in me will also caveat that it can depend on your personality/Strengths. This challenge feeds my Achiever and Focus strengths.)
Alright, that’s all I have for you today. Take care of yourself this week!
I’d love to hear what’s making you happy for now! Leave a comment and let me know. :)
