Being Change

I recently heard this story and it really struck a chord with me...

During the 1930s, a young boy had become obsessed with eating sugar. His mother decided to travel take him to Gandhi who was highly revered across the country - perhaps his instruction could convince her son to cut back on sugar. 

“My son has horrible eating habits,” she said.  “Please, he will listen to you if you tell him to stop eating foods with so much sugar.”

Gandhi listened sympathetically.  “I ask that you come back next week and make the request again.”

The mother agreed and returned seven days later.  “My son’s problem continues,” she said.  “I am greatly concerned about his health.  He rarely eats vegetables or fruits.  Please, won’t you talk to him about the danger of eating too much sugar.”

“Please, come back and see me in a week,” he said simply.

Though the mother was disappointed, she left and returned one week later.  Once again she made her pleas. This time he agreed to talk with her son.

When the conversation was completed, the mother thanked Gandhi.  “I am grateful that you took the time to talk to my son, but I don’t understand why it took three requests for you to do so.”

He looked at the woman and said, “I didn’t realize how hard it would be for me to give up sugar.”

One of Gandhi's most famous quotations is 

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world." 

This story exemplifies that idea and it also reiterates one of the ---main reasons I am finally making this change. 

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Thanks to all the well wishes and inquiries into how I'm doing. Here's the latest update:

I started physical therapy on my leg this week. I am doing everything I can to get back up and running on a consistent basis ASAP. As hard as it is not to run (I did sneak in a "test" run last week and it didn't agree with my leg) I am now trying to do it the right way, so I don't injure myself more or have to deal with a sore leg every-time I run. I've been told this "is not a no pain no gain scenario." 

Excitingly I found out that I am now officially allowed to do yoga and try a little biking, so I am going to rotate those into my routine and get really active again this week. My goal is to get up and running as quickly as possible and stay injury-free for as long as possible! 

The good news in this is that I really really really know that I am going to stick with running, because I miss it so much!

SONG THAT KEPT ME (THINKING ABOUT) RUNNING THIS WEEK: "Born to Run" Bruce Springsteen

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE: Butternut Squash Risotto!

With the cooler weather, changing leaves, pumpkins, football and yummy squash in-season...I was really feeling like experimenting with a recipe that evoked fall. This risotto really fit the bill! It's delicious - slightly adapted from the original version from Clean Eating magazine (yes, you know I love their recipes by now!). 

Serves 4.

Hands-on time: 45 minutes. Total time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups peeled, diced fresh butternut squash
- Olive oil cooking spray
- Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 5 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (2 cups)
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh sage, minced
- ½ cup fresh or frozen peas (thawed if frozen)
- ¼ shredded fontina cheese or Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, toasted
INSTRUCTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss squash with a little mist of the cooking spray; season with salt and pepper. Spread squash in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 20-25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Set squash aside.

Meanwhile, bring broth to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat; keep warm.

While broth is heating, sauté onion in 1 tbsp oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until they start to soften, 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add rice and stir to coat with oil and vegetables.

Add ½ cup warm broth; simmer and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Stir in another ½ cup warm broth; simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is almost all evaporated. Continue adding broth in ½-cup increments, adding more only after previous addition has been absorbed. Taste rice after three-quarters of the broth has been added. Rice is done when it’s tender but still slightly firm and white in the very center (not chalky). Continue adding broth until only ½ cup remains.

Add thyme, sage, peas and cheese to pan with last ½ cup broth; stir until cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat before all liquid is absorbed. Gently fold in cooked squash and walnuts. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional thyme if desired. Serve warm.

I'm pretty tired tonight. I hope that there aren't typos and that this post is somewhat grammatically correct!