Author: Chris Brown (Page 14 of 41)

Zucchini Casserole Recipe from Marcia Allen

July 27, 2022 / Chris Brown / 3 Comments

Looking for a delicious zucchini casserole recipe? A few weeks ago I mentioned that my zucchini plants were doing well. Wow, the zukes are coming in strong now.

A special thank you to Marcia Allen who posted a couple of great recipes in the comment sections of that post yesterday.

I tried the casserole and am posting my step by step photos here. Immediately I realized I don’t have the right cheese (Shredded Parmesan or Asiago Cheese), but I did have just a bit of a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to add to it. When I make it again, I’m going to use the right cheese because I know it’d be even better!

First I cut the zucchini into round slices, The sprayed some olive oil onto the bottom of a glass round pie plate and added some marinara sauce and then laid in the slices.

Then I sliced very thin slices of a sweet onion and a green pepper to top the zukes.

Added more sauce to the Zucchini Casserole and repeated with more zucchini rounds, onions and peppers.

Topped with more sauce and then the sprinkle cheese.

Baked at 350 for 45 minutes.

Delish!! This is also a great veggie challenge recipe too, if you’re challenging yourself to add more vegetables into your meals.

Taking responsibility for your life with Renee Suzanne

Taking Responsibility for Your Life with Renée Suzanne

July 26, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 111 Taking Responsibility for Your Life with Renée Suzanne

In episode 111, Jill and Chris talk with Renée Suzanne, who is a special kind of coach. She helps women with self awareness and self confidence, persistence, positive mental attitude, self love and acceptance.

Renée Suzanne helps women over 40 start dating better men immediately so they can meet and marry the man of their dreams. She is the creator of the COURTED method, a process that helps women date in order to create the lasting connection they really want.

Renée is the author of “Beloved: How to go from relationship-challenged to relationship-ready” and “Ten things you can do to upgrade your love life”. When she’s not helping women find true love, she is out ballroom dancing with her husband or walking her dog on the trails near her home in Chicagoland.

Her coaching principles for improved dating reach into many areas of reaching goals.

Ways you can begin taking responsibility for your life:

Identify what you want
Articulate your desired goal – it’s a big step to admit you want something
Own it and commit to yourself
Do it – Take action
The more you get into it, the more you can stretch what is possible
Things become possible that you never would have considered.
The power of progression
Really love yourself and have your own back

Links:

Website Renée Suzanne Coaching
Kindle book on Amazon Beloved: How to go from relationship-challenged to relationship-ready
Kindle book on Amazon Ten things you can do to upgrade your love life

Daily Habit Change with Colette Harris

July 12, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 110

In episode 110. Jill and Chris talk with Colette Harris about how she transformed her health and body with nutrition and lifestyle changes.

After she was diagnosed with Lipoedema and Fibromyalgia, Colette searched for recovery beyond pain medications. She made a series of daily habit changes over the course of several years to eliminate refined carbohydrates and sugar.

She tells about her experience in reducing inflammation, eliminating pain and finding a healthy lifestyle.

“Making small habit changes each day add up to BIG change.”

Colette is a health coach who lives in Lochwinnoch, Scotland and helps others with sugar detox and lifestyle transformations. She was in the U.S. Navy Reserves and enjoys traveling the world.

We discuss Daily Habit Change:

Lipoedema is not rare, 11% (predominately women) have it.
Genetic, thick legs, stress and hormone changes (puberty, pregnancy or menopause generally) bring it out.
How CBD oil helped with fibromyalgia pain
How she was able to detox from sugar with a 90 day program in 2020
What she eats now to maintain her health
Why detoxing in a community is more successful than trying to white knuckle it alone
It’s not just what you put in your body but also on your body.
Infrared sauna
Brown fat versus white fat.
Wim Hof breathing method
Vibration plate
Habits, discipline, motivation – it all takes much longer than 21 days and how little rewards (non food) work
Jon Gabriel meditation 10 minutes a day transformation
Freeze/Fawn response vs Fight/Flight or Rest/Digest

Daily Habit Change website: https://www.dailyhabitchange.com/

Instant Pot – Cabbage and Onion

July 10, 2022 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

I should start by saying I love a cabbage and onion mixture!

It’s been a while since I pulled out the instant pot and used it to cook anything. The other day I noticed I still had a lot of little onions and a big cabbage that had been sitting in the refrigerator since the last grocery shop. I hate it when I spend good money on fresh produce and then let it get into old produce! The flavor is always compromised. I decided to saute the onions in a bit of olive oil. They were small onions, about golf ball size, so I just peeled and cut in half before lightly sauteing.

Then I rough cut the cabbage in both directions and thru it into the instant pot. I also found a green pepper that was just a little past its prime, so I cut that up and added it to the pot.

Pretty Mushy Cabbage and Onion in the Instant Pot

After I threw the onions into the mixture, I set the pot for 10 minutes on high. It took another 10 to 15 minutes to release the steam. So although it’s called an instant pot, it was more like 25 minutes total. The cabbage and onions were really cooked through. I think next time I’ll try only 8 minutes on high pressure to see if there is a little more crunch.

It’s been my experience with my instant pot that most everything is suitable for a soup after I get done with it. While that wasn’t my intention originally, the mixture of cabbage, onion and little bit of green pepper was great! Do you use your instant pot during the summer? Or are you more likely to use an air fryer? Let me know in the comments below.

Eating Zucchini from the Garden

July 5, 2022 / Chris Brown / 3 Comments

I love fresh vegetables from garden, especially zucchini from the garden!

It’s fun to watch them grow and I don’t think you can eat much more local than that.

This year three little zucchini plants have really done well and I anticipate I’ll be making zucchini quite a bit later this summer. I’ve asked some friends in the Becoming Elli group to share their recipes me with because it’s easy to get too repetitious with a recipe.

If you’ve ever grown zucchini, you probably know that it all ripens at once! Although some of the ends of my baby zucchini have been nibbled by a deer, I don’t think they liked it because it wasn’t gone. The deer have really feasted on the cucumbers, but I’m hoping the zucchini make it thru during the next few weeks. If they do, I will probably have between 15 and 20 zucchinis to make into something.

My usual way of eating zucchini when it comes in by the boat load:

zucchini bread (delicious, but of course, my recipe is with flour and sugar, so not the most healthy)
sliced rounds roasted in the oven with a little olive oil
zucchini spears diced in my favorite salad with vinegar, olive oil, dill and basil
shredded zucchini

I’ve heard of zucchini lasagna, but I’m not sure I’ve ever made it. It’s probably much like eggplant lasagna. Basically, you substitute sliced vegetables for the pasta noodles.

Please leave a comment below with a zucchini recipe that you enjoy. I appreciate it!

Rock Climbing and Yoga with Carol Simpson

June 28, 2022 / Chris Brown / 1 Comment

Episode 109 – Rock Climbing and Yoga with Carol Simpson

In Episode 109, Jill and Chris talk with Carol Simpson, an amazing member of the Becoming Elli private Facebook Group.

For over 20 years, Carol was a climbing guide, teaching beginners and providing climbing camps and retreats, primarily for women. Carol traveled the world, climbing with her life partner, John. Moving to Bend, Oregon, they started a rock climbing guide service and purchased the local climbing shop at Smith Rock near Bend, Oregon. She also began a regular 4 days a week yoga practice.

Although she developed some serious health issues beginning in 2012, she has persevered and is now back to climbing rocks, practicing yoga again and teaching at her studio in Lone Pine, California at the base of Mount Whitney.

She has been certified in Bikram yoga, Yin yoga, is an AMGA rock guide, and ACE personal training.

Carol says:

I want to be an inspiration to all women of all ages who want to keep pushing for their physical and mental health.

As your guests have proven time and again, your body will reward you with muscle tone, weight control, flexibility, a sense of empowerment and well being. How much is that worth??

Fit over 50 is the purpose for your wonderful podcast. My input is, you are so young when you’re 50, that you can do practically anything. Go for it! The same for over 60 and 70.
Just realize that it gets harder as you get older but don’t let that stop you!

I don’t know about over 80 yet but, I’m ready and excited to see how much I can accomplish. No limits!
~ Carol

Carol Simpson, doing what she loves, ROCK CLIMBING!

Rock Climbing and yoga with Carol Simpson

Carol Simpson and a few of her yoga poses!

In this episode, we discuss:

What is rock climbing and how is it different from mountain climbing
How a simple conversation on a ski lift changed her life at age 42
What she loves about rock climbing
Growing up as a “tom boy” and then having to become “ladylike” — then later finding the joys of exercise
Overcoming serious health issues: heart, hyperparathyroidism, and a concussion (not due to rock climbing!) as well as COVID
YouTube yoga links we mentioned: Yoga With Adriene – YouTube, Travis Eliot YouTube,
Tracking food on My Fitness Pal
A vegetarian since 1980, she is now a pescatarian (meaning she also eats fish)

Her Website: Yoga in the Courtyard
Instagram
Facebook

It was a Beautiful Day for a Walk in the Park

June 18, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Jill and I took a walk in a nearby park yesterday morning.

It was great opportunity to be able to spend some time together, catch up on things and discuss ideas for future topics and podcast guests for our Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast.

The weather was cooler than it had been lately, only around 78 degrees compared to over 90 degrees several times this past week. A nice breeze was blowing and the sun was shining!

Penny and Peanut, our dogs, also enjoyed getting out and smelling the fresh air.

A few weeks ago a wild windstorm came through and pushed down quite a few trees along the path in the park. We both were surprised how much damage there was and also how quickly the park crew had cleaned it up.

Kids were playing on the playground and lots of runners and other dog walkers were on the trail for a walk in the park as well. We saw lots of Canada geese in the water with their young hatchlings. We tried to get a photo of them in the background behind us, but I believe the water is too bright to actually see the geese.

It’s great to have a break in the weather and get some exercise. Good weather during our walk made catching up on our Becoming Elli plans a lot of fun.

Say Yes – The Amazing Adventures of Deirdre Hewitson

June 14, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 108 – Say Yes – The Amazing Adventures of Deirdre Hewitson

In episode 108, Jill and Chris talk with Deirdre Hewitson, who says ‘yes’ to pretty much any opportunity or adventure that comes her way.

Deirdre Hewitson is a freelance photographer, editor, and writer who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. We learned about her because one of our Becoming Elli members (who lives in Norway) posted that Deidre is her hero.

Over the years. Deirdre has taken up scuba diving, bicycle racing, water skiing, paragliding, white water rafting, and running. Now, at 61, and about ten marathons later, she has added trail running, climbing, hiking and yoga to the mix of regular activities.

“Say yes more often than you say no, and try pretty much everything at least once – ‘pretty much’ because some things – those that will harm you – aren’t worth trying.” These are the words Deirdre lives by.

We discussed:
How she started at age 53 by running at night so “on one could see me”
How she trains for races
Her most memorable race
Why she chose the 13 Peaks Challenge
Comparing road running to trail running pros and cons
How she handles food when she is on an adventure
Why she practices yoga
Her plant based meals (stopped eating meat 30 years ago)

Links:

Deirdre on Instagram at Running_Climbing_Laughing.Yogi.
Deidre’s blog – Journal of the Reluctant Runner.
More amazing details about her 13 Peaks Challenge – a year-long adventure

Outside my Comfort Zone

June 6, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

During vacation I like to change up my regular routines and challenge myself to go outside my comfort zone.

Last week I was on a family vacation to the beach and was enjoying all the fun of reconnecting with family, walking along the waves in the sand and swimming outside in a pool.

My sister suggested we do yoga on the beach. I’ve watched it from afar but never signed up. In fact in years past, I may have even done a little yoga on my own, but never with the full class.

It was delightful. There were definite advantages over a studio yoga class.

The ocean in the morning makes a very beautiful backdrop
The sand is very forgiving on the knees
An 8 am class is later than most of the yoga classes I take at home
The sun wasn’t too hot just yet
The sound of the waves makes a soothing and rhythmic ambiance

There are also challenges.

It is out in the open so “everyone” can see you
The sand moves and shifts making balance poses somewhat challenging
The sand also gets on the beach towel so by the end of class I felt a bit like a sand monster. A relaxed, happy sand monster!

We had a great instructor who took us through a variety of vinyasa flow style yoga moves. I guess that part really was not outside my comfort zone! It felt so good to do some sun salutations, warrior poses, pigeon and even happy baby. Although it was early morning, the sun started to get hot early and I’m so glad I brought my water bottle. All the sand everywhere actually added to the sensory experience… and sure felt good to get a shower afterwards!

Having my sister there with me doing yoga gave me the added push I needed to outside my head of feeling like “everyone” was watching and judging. When I think about it logically, most of the people, even on the beach front condos, are still inside either sleeping or enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee.

This will definitely become part of my vacation routine going forward. It really helped to get the kinks out of my back from sitting on the long drive from Ohio to the beach.

Bicycling All 50 States with Joyce Guenther

May 24, 2022 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Episode 107 – Bicycling All 50 States with Joyce Guenther

In Episode 107, Jill and Chris talk with Joyce Guenther who has ridden her bicycle in all 50 states of the USA. Jill met Joyce Guenther in high school and they ended up at the same college together. Years later they reconnected on Facebook.

Joyce has completed bike rides in all 50 states and has turned her attention to Europe. She is a member of our private Becoming Elli Facebook Group.

Her education was in the sciences. She worked in business for many years and then ran her husband’s medical office. She lives with her husband in central Ohio and has two adult daughters.

Joyce is also very active with the Red Cross and getting people to donate blood. She hosts blood drives and has been donating blood since she was in college.

We discuss:

How she got started
Training for the bike trips
Logistics of the rides
Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) ride from Pittsburgh to DC
Amtrak train routes and folding bikes
Empire Builder train from Chicago to Seattle
City of New Orleans Amtrak line to New Orleans
Advantages of organized tours
How she eats during the rides

Rides, Tours and Links mentioned:
Red Cross blood donation
An Interview with Joyce Guenther at the Buckeye Lake Women’s Triathlon
Mediterranean Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
5 Boro Bike Tour (New York City)
Chicago Bike The Drive on Lake Shore Drive on Memorial Day
Armed Forces Cycling Classic in the summer in Washington DC
Napa Valley Bike touring in California
Fall Foliage ride in Staunton VA
Shenandoah Valley Bike The Valley

More detail about her bicycling all 50 states from Joyce Guenther:

Probably in the mid to late 1990s my husband got this idea that a supported bike ride would be fun. I said, sure thing, thinking that would be the end of it. Well, he signed us up for a Vermont Bike Tours week. I was positive I could not do this. He rode a lot and I really didn’t. I biked around our hilly neighborhood and was freaking out. People, I CRIED getting on the plane to Vermont.

Supported bike tours are a great way to get started. You can rent your bike from them and if you do, they take care of it, fixing flats, swapping out another bike, etc. The bikes are excellent. These fancy tours (Like VBT Vermont Bike Tours, Backroads, etc) provide some awesome food along the way, group activities and a lot of knowledge. One of the guides rode next to me and described the gears/shifting ratios. After that week, I got a better bike and we rode more.

At some point we realized that just by riding a bike on vacations, at home, etc we had biked in 12 states and decided to do all 50. A great way to do this turned out to be Amtrak train routes. We got folding bikes (Montague) and could take the train with them as luggage. (now Amtrak has bike cars and you load your bike in a rack.) We took the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago and got off in all the states and biked, got back on the next train the day. This train goes through WA, ID, MT, ND (got a car and went to SD and WY), MN, WI, IL. Most train routes have rail trails nearby. This train goes right through Glacier National Park.

We did the same with the City of New Orleans Amtrak line which goes DC to New Orleans. (Editor’s note: it goes from Chicago to New Orleans now.)

“The best ride we did was the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) ride from Pittsburgh to DC. This is a 360 mile trail (100% trail, no streets!) If you ride east it’s pretty much flat/downhill. We did this end of June and got to DC on July 4th. We had a high school guy drive our truck with supplies and he met us at the trail head every day. We stayed at motels and B&Bs. You can also camp (and do a supported camp) but NO. That was our 25th anniversary trip. This trail connects to the C&O canal and you pass 76 locks on the way. It’s beautiful.”

There are lots of local bike trips/trails too. The Kentucky Redbud ride (they have pancakes!) was so great and one of the last ones we did which is funny since it’s close by. New York City has the 5 Boro Bike Tour ( in May which is a tour of all the Boros. They close down the bridges which is fun. Chicago has Bike The Drive on Lakeshore on Memorial Day. We do an Armed Forces ride every summer in DC and a Fall Foliage ride in Staunton VA every Oct. Fat Tire Tours were great. Backroads was how we did Napa.

After we finished the USA in 2013 or so we started looking at Europe. We did Versailles, Madrid and Barcelona a few years back. We have done a few Bike and Barge tours (Netherlands and Danube) We went to Japan in 2017 and my husband got a rental bike just to say he biked there!