Celebration Time

It’s Healthy Nest founder Robin Hutchinson’s birthday!

I’m turning 56 this week. That number seems SO big to me. I’ve been busy for all of those years. My kids are big people and have pretty much flown the coop. One has graduated college, one is half way through and one is starting college in the fall.

My holistic nutrition practice turns 10 years old (literally my fourth child), my gardens are blooming, my friends are fantastic, my husband has been my teammate for more than 26 years. Things are humming along and I’m grateful. Just grateful. It has never been easy. I tend to be a perfectionist. But as I look back and forward, I’ve done my best and will continue to work hard and do my best. So I celebrate!

On my b-day, I’ll wake, meditate (newly obsessed and fully monkey-brained) and look to get outside. I’ll connect with the people that I love and I’ll eat chocolate cake (my fave!) with a cup of coffee in the a.m. (I prefer dessert in the early morning, because it impacts my sleep at night).

I’ll celebrate health, happiness and another exciting year. I pick my celebrations carefully. Although they happen often (there is always SOMETHING to celebrate), I choose them carefully, look forward to them and enjoy them. No need to stifle the happy in your life. And then, I get back to my fuel routine. Being confident in moving back and forth from fuel to celebration and back to fuel is GOLD in eating my best diet.

So, happy another healthy year around the sun for me. Join me, celebrate me, celebrate spring AND celebrate you. We celebrate all we have done and all we are planning to do to create health and wellness today, tomorrow and for the next year. I think it’s good to practice celebrating (so you don’t go on a month-long bender and are able to keep it in check). Our lives should not be in celebration mode all the time. But balanced, fueling our bodies with the occasional celebration (wine, chocolate cake, chips or other indulgences). Practice celebrating with me!

Recipe

Flourless Chocolate Cake
My fave birthday treat!

½ cup butter
2 full bars of Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate (8 ounces total)
¾ cup white sugar (sorry…sugar is not my norm, but it’s a celebration)
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and dust with cocoa powder. In the top of a double boiler over lightly simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat, stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Pour into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Delicious and rich on its own but can be topped with whipped cream or coconut whipped cream. Easy to make and a true celebration.