ordinary zest
written by kate parrish
I have always been a “stop and smell the roses” kind of person. There are lots of stories I have heard from my parents of times when I would be walking around completely oblivious to everything around me and quite literally stop to smell the roses. It makes sense that I would go on to make my career in photography…capturing beauty in the everyday parts of life. I love what I get to do because I feel like it fits so well with the way I am wired…well, the artsy part of it. The organizational skills I’ve needed along the way have not come so naturally. Any other enneagram 7’s out there?
Life moves fast most of the time, and one of the ways that I have discovered that I love to slow down is through cooking. It’s become a hobby of mine since getting married to my handsome hubby, Andrew, a little over 5 years ago. For me, when I think about home I always think about food and meals together. It adds so much warmth and comfort…and of course (unless you burn something) the best smells. Back in the thick of 2020-covid times, when toilet paper was scarce and we were all attempting to make sourdough bread, I started a little food blog/Instagram called “Ordinary Zest”. It was a place to take pictures and share what I was cooking so that I didn’t clog up my personal feed with all of my food posts. I wanted a place to be able to put all the recipes I tried as kind of a food “journal” that I can pass on to my family and friends.
“Ordinary zest” is a bit of an oxymoron, but that’s why I love it. I wanted to find the zest and spice and beauty in the ordinary. We all have to eat to live right? So might as well make it fun and enjoy the process of what we create! As I thought about what I wanted my little corner of this blog to be about I really wanted to share the joy in the ordinary that I find, and hopefully inspire you to do the same!
I love making healthy foods (although I am no stranger to making some comfort food from time to time…can you say BISCUITS and GRAVY!? Or pasta!?)...and I think I love making healthy foods because of the way they make me feel afterwards. There are so many fun ways to cook healthy options and mix it up!
One thing I have discovered this last year is the beauty of smoothies! I currently cannot have coffee (I know…pause for a moment of silence) because I am breastfeeding our sweet little 7 month old, Lucie, who has a heart condition that does not play nicely with caffeine. Smoothies have really become a place where I can pack in the energy and it’s actually been such a great thing to learn to not rely on coffee every morning. I thought for this first blog I would share with you my favorite smoothie recipe (shared with me by my lovely sister in law, Kelcy) by Reese Witherspoon. It is the ultimate green smoothie, packed full of fruits and veggies, sure to make you feel amazing. And if you couldn’t tell from my kitchen cabinets (more on that for my next post!) my favorite color is green, so it makes me love it even more! Here is the recipe:
Reese Witherspoon’s Green Smoothie
1/2 cup spinach
2 heads of romaine
1 pear
1 banana
1 apple
1/2 cup of coconut water
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup celery (optional)
Blend all the ingredients together. And voila! (Aren’t smoothies the best? Easy peasy!)
Pro tip: I would make sure at least the banana and pear are frozen to help it be a lot colder and smoother!
If you want to follow my cooking shenanigans you can follow me over on @ordinaryzest …would love for you to join me!
Remember, food is fuel. I am so thankful we have access to so many healthy options and creative ways to cook them and mix them together! There’s always balance though, too. Sometimes we need a little fuel that comes from a donut or chocolate chip cookie. Learning to listen to your body in what it needs is one of the best skills out there! I think you’ll find you will start to crave the healthy stuff too!
What fuels you?
My final thought for this Friday morning is that I would like to challenge all of us to think about not only what is fueling you physically, but what about spiritually? My parents would always tell us, “what goes in is what comes out”, and Matthew 15 talks about “the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart”.
I know when I am not filling myself with God’s Word, with positive influences, , serving others, healthy entertainment, etc., I start to feel what is coming out is not beautiful. Colossians 1:10 says, “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” It’s pretty obvious to me when I look around at my life and I realize that I am not producing good fruit. I need to change the environment in which I am in, evaluate what I am taking in, and may even need to prune out some things that are not life-giving.
So this morning, maybe as you are making a smoothie or drinking a cup of coffee (have one for me!), fill yourself up with God’s Word and with His presence. He really is the only thing that can sustain and bring life…way more than any green smoothie or protein bowl ever can.