Humans are funny creatures – especially when it comes to celebrating a new year. There are different traditions around the world, but here in the USA, I think ours wins the prize for the strangest, if not most puzzling.
After a month of feasting and making merry we suddenly, at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, declare a swift end to all the joy and revelry and begin a new phase of punishment called “getting into shape.” Somehow, we believe we can undo the past month(s) of indulgences in the magical first weeks of a new year … but it rarely happens.
Self-help gurus, fitness trainers, gyms, supplement suppliers and exercise equipment companies gleefully anticipate this annual torment of self-improvement. The barrage of ads touting the effectiveness of this or that product or program fills American screens, both large and small, promising the moon and more, but rarely delivering. They do, however, empty our pocketbooks and up our stress level to the stratosphere when we don’t become the sylph-like bodies in the ads.
Most of this angst can be avoided with a peek into the not-too-distant future. By July or August, you can see the evidence of New Year disappointment in the sea of exer-cycles, treadmills and weight sets at your neighborhood garage sales.
The key to being healthy and happy in this New Year is simple: Keep moving and keep a positive attitude. My idea of the perfect workout routine is not only easily accessible, but cheap. If you work on a farm, you are already doing more than most to stay fit and healthy. My Aunt Babe who lived to be 93 did a workout with soup cans twice a day in addition to tending her plants in her greenhouse and taking care of chickens. My dad still tromps out to feed the calves carrying a five-gallon bucket of pellets and he’s 100!
Here are a few suggestions and my “magical estimate” of what the calorie expenditure feels like – have fun with your own calculations:
- Climbing on and off the tractor 20x daily – 10,000
- Toting 50-lb. feed sacks and buckets to animals in the snow/mud wearing heavy muck boots – 100,000
- Shoveling snow to clear paths to outbuildings – 250,000
- Chasing escaped livestock in deep snow/mud – 1,000,000
You get the idea.
This January, try to tune out all the ads and campaigns that promise to make you a new person and just enjoy the person you already are. We all know that by February most of those ads will disappear and be replaced by ads for decadent desserts, mounds of chocolate candy and flowers. We are a fickle bunch, we humans, determined to make radical changes for a few weeks, and then our resolve collapses like a snowbank in the sunshine when we inevitably revert to our normal daily routines.
There is no shame in trying something new, but why put yourself through the agony? Just look at what you’re already doing and reframing it – after all, it all boils down to perspective.
The next time you do chores around your place, enjoy thinking about how many calories you are expending and stop blasting yourself for that extra biscuit at breakfast.
Have a happy and less stressful new year!
Sausage Breakfast Casserole
This is a winter favorite at our house. You can make it the night before – just add an extra 15 to 20 minutes to the cooking time.
1 lb. sausage, browned, drained and crumbled
4 hard-boiled eggs
1 can corn, drained
1 small can of green chilies, drained
¼ stick butter, melted
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups breadcrumbs (or tear up two slices of bread) for topping
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix together butter, flour, salt and pepper. Add milk and stir till smooth. Cook over low heat until thickened. Slice two eggs into bottom of greased 1 qt. casserole dish. Add sausage, corn and peppers to milk mixture and stir. Pour this into casserole dish, over the sliced eggs. Slice remaining eggs over top and cover with breadcrumbs or bread bits.
Bake uncovered at 375º for about 30 minutes or until top is brown and mixture is bubbly.
