A Friendly Nudge - "Bird by Bird"
...because we all could use a little encouragement!
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Exercise has the power to change our lives, but getting started can be intimidating.
It’s easy to think about the enormity of a task and avoid getting started. It’s what I love about the brilliance of Anne Lamott’s title of her book, Bird by Bird, and the story behind it. Her brother had a huge project due on birds and he let the magnitude of the project paralyze him. While he was sitting there in tears, she says that her dad put an arm around his shoulder and told him to just take it bird by bird.
My bird by bird experience didn’t lead to a best selling book but I think it’s safe to say that it changed my approach to exercise and judging by the replies that I’ve gotten, it’s had an impact on quite a few other people’s exercise experience as well.
A push up challenge with my sons helped me gain an appreciation for the power of exercise snacks. I don’t do 1000 push ups in a week any more, but I do sprinkle brief bouts of strength, balance and mobility exercises throughout the week.
I know first hand how easy it is to talk yourself out of going to the gym, it’s harder to tell yourself that you don’t have 30 seconds to do some chair squats. And when you make balancing on one foot just something you do while the coffee is brewing, that takes your exercise snack routine to a whole other level.
I think planning and accountability are great, but I also think there’s value in sort of sneaking up on a habit. We don’t give our subconscious a chance to marshall its defenses with excuses about we don’t have time, etc. We just start with an exercise version of Bird by Bird, one exercise snack at a time.
Meanwhile, here is this week’s cooking idea–potato salad with gribiche sauce
If gribiche sounds familiar, we made the sauce a few months ago. It’s excellent on grilled veggies and fish, but it really elevates this potato salad.
Ingredients:
Gribiche sauce:
2 boiled eggs - chopped
1 shallot - chopped
2 tbsp tarragon - thick stems discarded - leaves chopped
3 tbsp Italian parsley - chopped
1 tbsp dill - thick stems discarded - leaves chopped
2 tbsp chives - chopped
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
½ lemon - zest and juice
1 tbsp capers - chopped
5-6 cornichons - chopped
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The rest of it:
5-6 new potatoes - boiled and cubed
3 stalks of celery - chopped
When I was researching gribiche sauce for an earlier Nudge, I remember seeing someone credit it for the best potato salad they had ever made. That convinced me that I needed to give it a try. It’s now my favorite way to make potato salad.
Just boil or steam the eggs. I use a steamer basket and steam them for 10 minutes and then put them in an ice bath.
Boil the new potatoes and cube them. I cubed them first and then boiled them. Pull them when they’re fork tender.
Just combine the ingredients for the sauce and add a portion or all of it to the potatoes and celery. If you have extra sauce leftover, it’s great on grilled fish or asparagus.
Enjoy!
Now let’s build a workout that helps you get stronger, and improves your balance and mobility.