Author: Jill McCauslin (Page 9 of 23)

Achieving 2020 Fitbit Goals

January 5, 2021 / Jill McCauslin / 4 Comments

I ended up setting 2020 Fitbit goals when earlier this year I checked out my Fitbit stats to see what my annual numbers were. I discovered that I’d had a drop in everything in 2019. Even though I was more than half-way through 2020, I decided to set a goal of exceeding my 2019 numbers.

2020 Fitbit Goals

In this chart, you can see where I was at the end of August and then the new data for the balance of the year.

Year	Steps	Floors	Miles	Calories
2020 (Sept – Dec)	1,746,319	2260	777.75	292,848
2020 (Jan – Aug)	2,753,992	4030	1,227.36	561,806
2019	3,688,570	4274	1,649.06	812,909
2018	4,341,364	6801	1,913.71	896,669
2017	4,662,734	5635	2,118.93	910,336
2016	4,824,029	6836	2,182.38	868,856
2015	4,253,875	7124	1,971.57	810,115
2014	3,071,844	5713	1,365.49	778,890
2013 (Mar – Dec)	2,505,079	4481	1,101.9	731,658
Totals	31,847,806	47,154	14,308.15	6,664,090

I met my goal!

Here’s what the annual totals look like.

Year	Steps	Floors	Miles	Calories
2020	4,500,311	6290	2,005.11	854,654
2019	3,688,570	4274	1,649.06	812,909
2018	4,341,364	6801	1,913.71	896,669
2017	4,662,734	5635	2,118.93	910,336
2016	4,824,029	6836	2,182.38	868,856
2015	4,253,875	7124	1,971.57	810,115
2014	3,071,844	5713	1,365.49	778,890
2013 (Mar – Dec)	2,505,079	4481	1,101.9	731,658
Totals	31,847,806	47,154	14,308.15	6,664,090

I met my goal of beating my 2019 numbers but I also beat my 2018 numbers.

2016 remains my banner year so perhaps I should set a goal of making 2021 my highest year in steps. Looking at the numbers, perhaps I’ll aim for reaching 5 million steps for the year. I was going to say, “I don’t know if that’s doable or not but I’ll try” but then remembered that we’re supposed to say things in a more certain way. So, let’s go with, this year I am able to break the 5 million mark in steps.

2021 Goal: 5 million steps

Rediscovering Intervals on the Treadmill

December 28, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

Recently I ran intervals on the treadmill in my hotel’s fitness center. I forced myself to go down to the room and do something. When I got there, I decided I didn’t really have the energy to use the dumbbells and decided to just go with the treadmill. I remembered a recent conversation where I said I used to do a lot of interval training on the treadmill over the winter.

I’ve been staying in a hotel over the holidays dealing with some family problems so it’s been a stressful time. I know that taking care of myself is important. This hotel has a nice fitness center and it’s a shame not to take advantage of it.

I was the only person in the room for the whole time that I ran my intervals. It’s a relief not to have to worry about masks and having to talk to people or even just listen to them. Being an introvert means that part of taking care of myself is giving myself some lone time.

Running Intervals on the Treadmill

I haven’t used a treadmill in about a year so it required some mental adjustment. Running inside is certainly different than running outside.

I set the workout to intervals and then selected the pace for the fast and slow parts. Because I just wanted to get in a workout, I didn’t choose anything too strenuous. Instead, I went with something I knew I could do for the whole time without being too challenged.

I listened to music with my Aftershokz headphones. They never fail to make me happy. I decided to listen to music that I just like rather than worrying about a running playlist. The important thing was to make this half hour be as stress-free as possible.

I used my heart rate chest strap so I could see my heart rate reflecting the intervals.

I enjoyed my time running intervals on the treadmill. I’d forgotten that this can be a satisfying way to get in a workout.

Is there a workout that you’ve forgotten about and recently retried? Let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

The First Steps to Losing Weight

December 10, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

What are the first steps to losing weight? You’ve decided that you need to lose some weight and now you need to figure out what the first steps are. Sometimes the hardest thing to do when you’re trying to make any kind of change is to simply start.

Do You Need to Lose Weight?

The first step is probably to determine if you actually need to lose weight and why you want to do so. If your doctor has told you that you need to lose weight, then you probably need to do so. When you realize that your clothes have become tight or you need to buy larger sizes, you probably might consider losing some weight. If you just don’t like how you look, maybe you need to do some strength training instead of dieting.

Once you’ve decided that losing weight is appropriate, what do you do? If you’re like many of us, maybe you decide that you’re going to quit eating everything you like and only eat celery sticks because you remember being a teenager and someone saying that you burn more calories chewing celery than you intake from the celery. (I don’t know if that’s true but I still remember being told that.) If you end up with a diet of celery, sugar free jello, and some wilted lettuce, you need to rethink this.

Before You Start

If you’re going to do this, make sure you can determine how you’re doing. Before you start, do all of the following:

Weigh yourself. If your goal is to lose weight, make sure you know where you started.

Measure yourself. I suggest measuring your chest, waist, at your navel, and hips. You will be able to see results if you measure, even when the scale doesn’t seem to be moving.

Take photos. Use some judgment here because you might want to share some of these later in before and after photos. I suggest that you wear a bathing suit or sports wear. You want to be able to see your body but you want to be able to let others see as well. Don’t forget to take a full body shot and get a good picture of your face.

The First Steps to Losing Weight

Here are some things I’d suggest that you do first.

Track what you’re eating

Use an app like My Fitness Pal or LoseIt! to track your food for a few days. You can also log your food in the Fitbit app as well. The software will tell you how many calories you’re eating, how much fat, protein, and carbohydrates you’re ingesting, and some sense of what kind of nutrition you’re getting. Do that for a few days and then look at the numbers. Where are you overeating? When are you eating? Just get a sense of what you’re doing and what is the easiest to change.

Start Small

Look at what you’re doing and figure out something you can change. Maybe it’s to eat fewer potato chips and substitute in an extra vegetable at a meal. Maybe you see that you’re taking in a lot of calories at that late night snack. If you really want that snack, is there something you can eat that’s a bit lighter? Maybe you can just eliminate that snack.

Drink More Water

Drink some extra water. If you read enough or listen to people about losing weight, they’ll tell you to increase your water consumption. Before you begin drinking a gallon of water every day, just increase what you’re drinking moderately. Let your body adjust to a bit more water. If you’re drinking soft drinks, try to replace some of them with a glass of water.

Look for some support

Making changes in your life can be challenging and finding others who are doing the same definitely helps. Feel free to join the Becoming Elli Facebook group and post there. We’ll help you as best we can. You can pay for a community. For example, WW (formerly Weight Watchers) and Noom both offer communities of people who are doing the same program. This might be a good place to turn when you’re starting out. Remember that you’re not obligated to do the same thing forever so use what works for you now and worry about next year when it gets here. A free option is the LoseIt community on Reddit. There’s lots of free information there and lots of support. I bookmarked that subreddit years ago and still pop in to see how people are doing.

Be Willing to Make Changes

I think when you’re first starting to work on losing weight, you don’t need to decide you’re going to go Keto or vegan or paleo. Certainly, you may decide at some later point to try one of these ways of eating but when you’re first starting, I think you need to just give it a try. You can begin to learn more about healthy eating and different ways of eating and then begin to try them out. There is plenty of this kind of information in our podcast. Go through the old episodes and pick out some that you find interesting.

Here’s an important thing to remember. It’s better to make small changes that you can sustain than to totally revamp your life, do it for a few weeks, and then give it up because it’s too hard. You can make changes that help improve your health. Slowly figure out what works for you and don’t be afraid to change what you’re doing.

There you have what I think are probably the first steps to losing weight. Did I miss something? What would you suggest?

Walking the Dog Adds Lots of Steps

December 3, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

I just realized that walking the dog adds lots of steps to my daily totals. I knew that, of course, but when I looked at my Fitbit numbers, there was the proof.

Remember when I got my puppy, Penny? I wrote about her last summer when she was a baby. Now Penny is about six months old so still a puppy but she’s more like a pre-teen these days. She keeps me very busy with taking things out of her mouth and stopping her from chewing on things.

My expensive She Fits sports bra no longer zips because Penny chewed the zipper. She also got the back of my newest pair (and most expensive) pair of running shoes. Fortunately, I caught her with the shoe early enough to save the shoe.

Walking the Dog Adds Lots of Steps

As Penny has gotten older, her ability to walk has obviously increased so she requires longer walks. Besides chewing on things, she also requires more exercise. I’ve noticed that my daily steps increased once Penny came into the house. Penny became a member of the household in mid July of this year and you can see that my monthly steps have consistently increased as she’s gotten older.

The thing about having a dog is that she has to go out for a walk regardless of the weather. We had our first real snowfall recently and Penny was enchanted. She loved the snow and frolicked the whole time we were out walking. It actually made having to be out walking in the snow a lot more enjoyable. I would not have gone out first thing in the morning for a walk in the snow.

Walking in the cold is not great but I make a point to carry gloves and a hat so that if it’s colder than I expect, I’m prepared. This comes from not being prepared when it was cold and wet.

I’m hoping that Penny will eventually be able to run with me. I know that’s going to take some training but it would be fun to have a running companion.

Life with Penny is turning out to be a lot of fun and a lot of steps.

Making Coconut Yogurt in the Instant Pot

December 1, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

I figured out how to make coconut yogurt in the Instant Pot. It’s easy though it does take some time.

I’ve been trying to eat more fermented foods and when we talked with Christine Bailey on a recent podcast, she said yogurt was a great option. She also recommended coconut yogurt if you are not eating dairy.

I’ve been avoiding dairy for a few months because a doctor suggested that some of my skin problems might be related to dairy. Like most of us, I love certain dairy products. Cheese, sour cream, cream in my coffee. I love all of that. But eliminating all of that has helped me feel better.

I do like yogurt. For a long time my go-to breakfast was plain Greek yogurt with berries and some granola on top. It was a tasty breakfast.

Buying coconut yogurt in the grocery store is extremely expensive. And it all has some kind of sugar added to it period at least that seems to be what’s true at my local grocery store. No one seems to make plain coconut yogurt.

I suddenly remembered that my instant pot has a yogurt making option on it so I decided to try making my own coconut yogurt.

Making Coconut Yogurt in the Instant Pot

My first batch turned out pretty well but was rather runny. Coconut milk apparently is lacking some protein or something that causes milk yogurt to thicken. I ended up mixing it in my Vitamix with a little bit of vanilla extract and raspberries. It was a lot like the drinkable yogurts that you can buy in the grocery store. It tasted really good.

Second Batch

My second batch is a bit thicker because I added a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin to it.

As the starter for the yogurt I used plain Greek yogurt. I know it’s dairy but I figured the small amount that I added to the coconut milk is not going to hurt me. I’m not allergic to dairy. I’m just trying to avoid it to help my skin heal.

You can buy yogurt starter but buying a small container of yogurt at the store is a lot cheaper and easier. Now that I’ve made some yogurt, I can save a bit of it to use as a starter for the next batch. It’s like having a sour dough starter. Once you have some, just save it and keep using it as a starter.

Coconut Milk

I used a can of organic full fat coconut milk. I don’t know how light coconut milk would work. Definitely avoid the coconut milk that comes in a cardboard container. You want to use the canned milk.

I added the yogurt starter and a teaspoon of the unflavored gelatin and whisked it well. I then poured it into a mason jar, which I put in the Instant Pot. Then, I added some water to the bottom of the pot, put the lid on, and then set the yogurt time to 24 hours. I figured that would let it really ferment.

After the fermentation ended and I removed the jar from the Instant Pot, I put the yogurt in the refrigerator to let it set for several hours.

When the yogurt was set, I stirred the yogurt thoroughly.

The coconut yogurt does not have a strong taste of coconut. As a treat or for my breakfast, I add some berries and a little vanilla extract but I am not big on adding sweetener. You certainly could if you wanted. You could also sprinkle some granola or chopped nuts on top for crunch.

Recipe for Coconut Yogurt in the Instant Pot

This is so easy, you’ll love it.

Ingredients

1 can of full fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon of Greek Yogurt with active cultures

2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin (just use 1 teaspoon if you don’t want it too thick.)

Directions

Empty the coconut milk into a small mixing bow.

Add the Greek yogurt and the unflavored gelatin. Whisk well.

Pour the mixture into a mason jar or small bowl.

Place the jar in the Instant Pot.

Add one cup of water to the Instant Pot.

Select yogurt on the Instant Pot and then select time. I went with 24 hours to get a tangy flavor.

When it finishes, shake or whisk the yogurt well, cover, and put in the refrigerator. Wait several hours or even a day and then mix well again. Enjoy!

Notes

Make sure your mason jar or glass bowl are clean. I washed the jar in the dishwasher immediately before using.

Many yogurt instructions say to boil the milk first but because I was using canned coconut milk, I determined that was an unnecessary step. If you decide to do this, be sure to boil the coconut milk first and then let it cool before adding the Greek yogurt and gelatin.

If you make coconut yogurt or any kind of yogurt in your Instant Pot, let me know how it turns out.

Miso Ginger Noodle Soup

November 12, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

It’s fall here in Ohio and my heart has turned to soup. My Miso Ginger Noodle Soup is a great soup and very easy because I used convenience foods to make it. I know we’re always talking about not using prepared foods but I think this worked out well.

The miso-ginger stock that I used was something I bought at Trader Joe’s. It’s fantastic. I used to buy regular miso there but they no longer carry it. (At least right now. You never know what they’ll carry or discontinue.) I had intended to make my own miso stock but this was convenient and tasted great.

I had a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables so I decided to use that. Rummaging around in the refrigerator uncovered some cooked chicken that was ideal to add to the soup. Finally, I had some rice noodles in the pantry that I decided to include.

Miso Ginger Noodle Soup

This soup is fast and easy to make.

Ingredients

1 cartoon of miso Ginger broth ( I bought this at trader Joe’s but you could of course make your own broth.)
1 square Vietnamese brown rice noodles
3 cups Frozen stir fry veggies (whatever you have on hand works)
1 cooked boneless chicken breast, chopped or shredded
Dash Sesame oil (optional)

Directions

Pour the whole carton of miso ginger broth into a large saucepan and place on medium heat.

Add the frozen stir fry vegetables and kale and bring to a simmer.

Simmer for several minutes, until the vegetables are heated and the kale is wilted.

Add the cooked chicken and cook until heated through.

Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Stir the dash of sesame oil over them for a bit more flavor.

Put some noodles in the bottom of a bowl and ladle soup over them.

Enjoy!

Notes for Making Miso Ginger Noodle Soup:

You could use whatever vegetables you have on hand. The stir-fry vegetables worked great.

Adding some sauteed onions would be fantastic.

If you use spinach instead of the kale, add the spinach at the very end since it takes much less time to wilt.

I recommend cooking the noodles separately so that if you have leftovers, the noodles won’t turn into mush.

Let me know if you make this. Share a photo if you have one.

Race Recap of the 2020 Buckeye Half Marathon and 10K

November 5, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

I ran the 2020 Buckeye Half Marathon and 10K this past weekend. It made me remember why I like to run races.

Running the Buckeye Half Marathon and 10K is turning into a tradition of sorts. I ran the same race last year in 2019. Reading last year’s recap is bittersweet because I said I wanted to train over the winter for the 2020 race season and as we know, that didn’t happen.

I ran the 10K again. Two years ago I trained for the half marathon and somehow injured myself and missed the race. I’ve stuck with the shorter distance for now.

2020 Buckeye Half Marathon and 10K

This course for this race is a run through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It’s a large loop almost completely on roads. One of the roads was closed. The others had at least one lane open but fortunately there wasn’t much traffic.

The weather was pretty miserable. You can see in the photos what the sky looked like. It rained at the beginning of the race. The rain was hard enough that everything got soaked. I discovered that my right shoe leaks. Eventually my left shoe also leaked. Running on wet feet isn’t the best. Fortunately, the rain stopped and we ran under threatening skies but no more rain. Also, the temperature dropped later in the day but it stayed steady at close to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Wet and warm was bearable. Wet and cold would have been dreadful so I felt like this could have been a lot worse.

There were 120 participants in the 10K and two in my age group of women. Due to Covid 19 precautions, each race was limited this year to 150 participants, whereas in 2019 there were almost a total of 600 participants.

My results were 1:15:08 with a pace of 12:05. In 2019, my results were 1:17:29 with a pace of 24:57. So I was about a minute and a half faster this year. Interesting. There’s something wrong with last year’s results because my pace couldn’t have been that slow but I think the total time is correct.

This year I came in first in my age group (out of two) and last year I came in second (out of two.) We really need to get more women over 50 running!

Covid 19 Precautions

Last year there was lots of activity post-race with plenty of snacks and drinks. This year was limited to water and we were encouraged to move out of the area quickly. I know there were people I knew running but I didn’t see them because there was no socializing going on.

Results were provided later in the day so we wouldn’t hang about waiting for them.

We were told to run 6 feet apart from other runners and to ensure a 6 foot distance when passing someone. That worked about as well as you might expect. Some paid attention to that and others did not. We did not have to wear masks, even at the starting line.

Post Race

I felt great after running the race: I felt energized, though also very wet. Next time, I will make sure to bring dry shoes and socks to wear on my drive home. Peeling off the wet clothes and taking a warm shower felt great. No ice baths for this race recovery.

We got a nice medal and a performance sweat shirt for running the race. I can go pick up a mask as my prize for winning my age group. Given how many masks I go through, I’ll be happy to get a new one.

The race organizers did a great job with putting on this race. Given the circumstances, it was amazing we got to run it at all.

I sure hope there are races next year. It was fun to run this one!

The 30-Day Ketogenic Cleanse by Maria Emmerich

October 29, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

Maria Emmerich has written a lot of books about following a ketogenic diet so I checked out The 30-Day Ketogenic Cleanse. I wanted to call this a cookbook but the publisher calls it a guidebook. I suppose that is more accurate because it covers a lot of information.

We’ve often talked about the keto diet often on the Fit, Strong Women over 50 podcast. Most recently, we talked to Keto Woman.

Overview of The 30-Day Ketogenic Cleanse

The book is divided into five parts. Part 1 tells you how to heal your body. This section discusses why a ketogenic diet is good for you. She touches on cholesterol and Alzheimer’s and describes the problems with consuming carbohydrates. She also covers information about consuming fat and sugar and the effects on your body’s production of insulin.

Sections of The 30-Day Ketogenic Cleanse

Emmerich defines the ketogenic diet in Part 1. She explains how it affects your body and then provides the steps to “establishing a well-formulated ketogenic diet.” The point of this cleanse is to help you get into ketosis. This section also includes information about intermittent fasting and exercise.

Part 2 is the Ketogenic Kitchen which cover subjects such as ingredients and tools.

The meal plan and shopping list broken down by weeks is in Part 3.

Part 4 is the bulk of the book. Here are the recipes that make up the cleanse.

Finally, Part 5 is a list of resources, a listing of personal care products, testimonials and the indexes. Personally, I love indexes (that’s a discussion for another day). This one is split into a recipe index and a general index. I find that usually works well as long as you remember where you’ll find the recipes.

The book is well organized and is visually appealing. It has beautiful photographs. The book is laid out nicely with easy-to-read tables and graphs. Emmerich also does a good job of defining terms.

Recipes

This guidebook has 160 recipes and a meal plan for the first 30 days of a ketogenic diet. The recipes in this book are also dairy free. The first couple of chapters are devoted to explaining what a ketogenic diet is. It’s a high-fat moderate protein and low carb way of eating. The theory of that is that it causes the body to burn fat rather than sugar for energy.

The first 30 days described in this book are set up as a cleanse. The premise is that you follow her meal plan for 30 days and then you should feel great because you’re in ketosis. Once you complete the cleanse, she says that you will want to continue to eat this way.

The book includes a wide range of recipes. There are sections on sauces, breakfast, snacks, salads, soups, and main dishes including chicken, beef, pork, and seafood. The recipes end with what she calls Keto treats. These appear basically to be desserts.

Good Variety

What I like about this cookbook is that the recipes are a nice blend of foods. Many Keto cookbooks are a lot of bacon and cheese recipes. There is some bacon in this cookbook but not much. Certainly not on every page. Since it is a dairy-free cookbook, there’s no cheese at all which I find a welcome change. Don’t get me wrong. I like bacon and cheese but I’m not convinced that I should eat it every day.

Some of the recipes are a bit complicated. Because you’re supposed to eat this according to the 30-day cleanse schedule, she assumes that you have certain ingredients already prepared. For example, a recipe calls for cooked chicken so you need to have it on hand. This certainly isn’t a deal breaker but if you’re going to use the recipes without following the meal plan, make sure to plan ahead.

I don’t always do well with following a set meal plan but there’s lots of good recipes and ideas here that it’s worth checking out anyway.

A Good Place to Start

If you are curious about eating a Ketogenic diet, The 30-Day Ketogenic Cleanse is probably a good place to start. Emmerich provides lots of information about the diet and why you should eat this way. She includes a wide range of resources and information. Throughout this book, Emmerich mentions that she is a visual learner. It shows in her book design because it has lots of graphics and photos. I think overall this is a book I would recommend to others.

Are We Ever Happy with Ourselves?

October 22, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

Are we every happy with ourselves? This is the question I asked myself recently.

Dreaming

The other night I dreamt that I was going to attend someone’s wedding. I’m not sure who was getting married but I realized that this person was a former co-worker. In my dream, I realized that a different former co-worker who I did not get along with was also going to be at the wedding. In my sleep, I immediately thought, “What am I going to wear? I have to look my best if he’s going to be there.”

What? Even in my sleep, I’m worrying about how others perceive me and my appearance? Wow. That was amazing to me. Actually, it’s rather depressing.

Doctor Visit

Right around the same time as that dream, I had an appointment with my doctor. We were discussing different preventative tests I should have and in response to a question, she said, “well, you’re a woman of healthy weight so I don’t think that’s an issue.” I actually had a moment of shock when she said I was a healthy weight. I always expect to be told that I’m over weight.

I was pleased but surprised by her comment.

Are We Ever Happy with Ourselves?

That’s the question, isn’t it? What does it take to be satisfied with how we look? I don’t know why but I would think this should be something we outgrow but I guess it isn’t.

Chris and I talked about this quite a while ago in podcast episode 14, Getting Past Negative Voices Women Over 50 Podcast. I think that I should go listen to what I had to say then. Maybe it’s time for Chris and I to talk about this again in an upcoming episode.

What about you? Do thing pops up that surprise you? What makes those self-critical ideas come into your head? Let me know because I think it’s something many of us struggle with on a regular basis.

Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad

October 15, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

I came up with this Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad to help celebrate the fall season. Fall is a great time of year for the hardier vegetables like Brussels sprouts and kale. I went to make lunch the other day while my daughter-in-law was visiting and said, “I know. Let’s make this salad I’ve been thinking about.” We both enjoyed it and we both had some ideas on how to improve it.

It’s been quite a while since I posted about my cruciferous crunch salad. This is in the same vein but has a simpler dressing and fewer veggies. I bet you could use a bag of cruciferous crunch salad with this recipe.

This recipe uses sliced Brussels sprouts and chopped kale. You can buy both of these things at the grocery store but it’s easy enough to do at home. I had fresh Brussels sprouts in my refrigerator so I sliced off the ends and then used my food processor with the slicing blade. I quickly had sliced Brussels sprouts at less than the cost of already sliced ones from the store.

You can also chop your own kale or buy pre-chopped at the store. I happened to have a bag of pre-chopped kale so it was convenient.

I used a honey crisp apple because that’s what was in my refrigerator. The honey crisp apple tasted great but you could switch the apple to something a bit more tart, if you prefer.

Ingredients for Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad

2 cups of Brussels Sprouts, sliced

2 cups chopped kale

1 diced apple (remove skin if you prefer)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles

Dressing

8 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tsp of Dijon or Brown Mustard

Directions

Mix the sliced Brussels sprouts and kale in a large bowl.

Pour the dressing ingredients into a small jar and shake well and then pour the dressing over the Brussels sprouts and kale.

Stir well, coating the vegetables with the dressing.

Cover the vegetables and let sit for at least an hour. Longer would be better. The dressing helps soften the crunchy vegetables so you could actually let this sit for a day in the refrigerator.

When it’s close to time to serve, add the chopped apple, pecans, and blue cheese. Mix well and serve.

Notes for Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad

The quantities of kale and Brussels sprouts can be adjusted based on what you have on hand. You could probably omit the kale completely if you want.

The first time I made this salad, we ate it right away. It hadn’t soften from the dressing so we decided this would be better if it sat for a while.

You could omit the blue cheese or replace it with feta cheese.

I used pecans but you could also use walnuts or maybe pumpkin seeds. Experiment with what’s in your pantry.

My daughter-in-law doesn’t like cranberries so I didn’t use them but I think dried cranberries would be an excellent addition to this salad. If you’re going to serve it over the holidays, definitely consider using them just for that splash of color.