365 Fresh Starts

A Blog About Life

We've been conditioned to expect things to be all or nothing. We make dramatic resolutions on December 31st that we break by January 2, and then feel terrible about ourselves. We think that we can't change at all because our annual, dramatic attempts at change just don't work.

We get 365 fresh starts each year.

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What Would Betty Do Logo Training: Two Weeks With My Fitbit

Written on March 10, 2013 by Alisa.

Fitbit Product Review At Christmas, my in-laws gave me an Amazon gift card. This is surprisingly hard to spend. I buy lots of stuff from Amazon — books, office supplies, kitchen gear — but I wanted to use my Christmas gift on something cool, something that I probably wouldn’t have bought for myself otherwise. Hello, […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo Brazilian Chicken Soup

Written on March 8, 2013 by Alisa.

Coconut Chicken Soup My friend Lori sent me the link for the Brazilian shrimp soup from Food & Wine. I’m sure that it’s lovely with shrimp, but as no one in my household really enjoys the crustaceans, I substituted chicken with great results. Ingredients 2 Tbsp grapeseed or olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 bell […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo Tales of Two Color Runners

Written on March 2, 2013 by Alisa.

Color Run San Francisco Last year, while perusing the Internet for races, I stumbled across a video for the Color Run. The Tiny Coaching Assistant practically pushed me out of my chair so he could get a better look. “What IS this?” he asked. “When is it? When can we do it?” Now, the Assistant […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo Steel Cut Oats in the Rice Cooker

Written on March 1, 2013 by Alisa.

Easy Steel Cut Oats Those of us who make steel cut oats know that they take a bit of time and some stovetop management: boil, simmer, stir. And then one day, it dawned on me: the rice cooker can do all of this for me! I’ve already tried to convince you that you need a […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo Betty Says: There’s No Wrong Way To Make a Smoothie

Written on February 27, 2013 by Alisa.

How Do I Make a Good Smoothie? Dear Betty, I like smoothies. A lot. I’ve thought about making my own at home, but I see all of these recipes that use things like whey protein powder and ingredients that I’ve never heard of. How do I make a good smoothie? – Baffled by the Blender […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo How to Grow Tomatoes: Part 2

Written on February 25, 2013 by Alisa.

Preparing Tomato Containers Now that your tomato seeds have been ordered and are sprouting on your kitchen window sill, it’s time to move on to Phase 2: what to plant them in. You will need the following: The largest plastic storage tubs that you can get your hands on. We used the 54 gallon Roughneck […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo Grandma Pizza

Written on February 22, 2013 by Alisa.

Homemade Pizza I like to make homemade pizza, but let’s face it: the process of prepping individual pizzas is very labor-intensive, and can be a challenge on a school night. So imagine my interest when I saw the recipe for Grandma Pizza pop up in an email from America’s Test Kitchen. The homemade dough proofs […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo Training: The Road to San Francisco

Written on February 17, 2013 by Alisa.

A Short Workout is Better Than No Workout Several of us committed to the Rock and Roll San Francisco half marathon on a whim, sight unseen. No, really unseen: I registered in 2012 and the course map was only released earlier this month. And when I met with my group of Team in Training alumni […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo Black Bean Chili with Dark Ale

Written on February 15, 2013 by Alisa.

Meatless Black Bean Chili I based this recipe on the Black Bean Chili with Dark Ale recipe that came from Vegetarian Times magazine. The first time I made it, it happened to be a particularly brutal night of homework battling with the Tiny Kitchen Assistant. I didn’t taste it before serving and… oh, the regret! […] Read More

What Would Betty Do Logo You Need a Rice Cooker

Written on February 8, 2013 by Alisa.

Why Buy a Rice Cooker? As a kid, I didn’t even know that rice cookers existed. Actually, I don’t think I’d ever even heard of them until I moved to California. (Cut me some slack; I lived a sheltered culinary existence in Campbell’s and Kraft-land.) But in California, everyone has a rice cooker. Everyone. I […] Read More