What Would A Crested Butte Girl Do?

When I was in Crested Butte, CO sitting in my booth watching all the people walk by one thing kept going through my mind. "Where on earth do these ladies get their bodies?" Seriously! I told David that I would trade bodies with at least 90% of the women walking by. They look like they are all Yoga Models or something. True, I didn't see many of them with children (let alone 4), but clearly they live a lifestyle that is completely foreign to me.

So lately I've been asking myself "What Would A Crested Butte Girl Do" when I'm confronted with an issue with my diet/exercise. First of all, the CB Girl would never consider a day without exercise. She would get up in the morning, eat her egg white and grapefruit and go on a 20 mile hike. Okay, maybe not, but that's what I imagine she does. She certainly makes different choices than I've been making. I've been trying to do better with exercise.

But where I'm really making some huge changes are in my diet.

I've never been one to use the grill. I've been a pansy when it comes to that. But I've decided that I can face my fears and man-up. So one of the things that I've been loving is grilled vegetables. Here are some grilled zucchini and tomatoes with just a hint of olive oil and thrown on the grill. Along for the ride was a chicken burger from Costco that has portabello mushrooms and red peppers mixed in (Heaven!).

Another thing that I'm trying to do is to use fresh ingredients more. I have a basil plant that my father gave me for Mother's Day and recently it exploded with big, beautiful, fragrant leaves. I've never made a pesto sauce, but decided to try. I used just a small amount (maybe 1 Tablespoon) on some protein-enriched whole wheat pasta and sprinkled a bit of feta on at the last minute and let me tell you, I was extremely delighted with that. It was awesome.

And for tonight's dinner I was feeling extremely adventurous after a whole day of watching a Top Chef Masters marathon while Blake lay on me with a fever. I saw these chefs making the most incredibly beautiful meals and I wanted to lick the television set! I didn't even know what 1/2 of the stuff was they were using, but it all looked amazing.

So I got brave. I decided I'd be a top chef in my own kitchen. I wanted to have fish for dinner, but instead of doing it with lemon pepper and a bit of lemon juice like I normally do, I crushed some pine nuts, added a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes, and used 1 tsp. of mayo to keep it together and put that on top of the fish. Oh. My. Goodness. I'm Awesome! It was soo good. I wish I had green beans to go along with it instead of the spinach that I made, but oh well. I guess all chefs have to start somewhere (hee hee).

So while I might not be a Crested Butte, Colorado Girl.....I'm at least a bit closer than the "Detroit, Michigan Mama" that I have been.