January 05, 2021

Charcuterie Showdown

January 05, 2021/ christine botthof

Happy new year my lovlies! I hope you have found yourself on the other side of 2020 with your health in tact, your family by your side and your love for one another and this earth renewed by the fact that, well, we had nothing else to do.

I, like many of you, spent the lockdown in a state of what can only be described as fearful bliss, with a side of weird vibes. No more rushing, no more here, there and everywhere all.the.friggin.time. I settled enough to catch up with old friends and mastered the art of the Zoom and the family facetimes. It was quiet and healthy for me and for my family, all of whom sometimes lament over “the good old days” of quarantine. As we opened up, and moved into our routines, slowly, I became full of worry. At every turn. Were we doing the right thing by going to our sports? Is it ok to grocery shop and not wipe everything down? What if we go out and get the virus simultaneously and my husband and I both end up in the hospital, what will happen to our kids? And so on and so forth. (P.S. I’m still in this space, just learning to manage it better).

Throughout this back and forth in my mind, something broke. I became so obsessed with staying healthy, I actually did everything BUT stay on track. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t write. So locked up, I even gave up reading (gasp!). I was so overcome with all the fear in the world, I didn’t think I had anything new to add to all of the negative sentiment that had been repeated ad nauseam by every other person on the planet. With that came hours and hours on the couch binge watching all the shows. Something I never had time to do before. Add to that, some cocktails and ooey gooey cake over the sink at midnight and well - you see where I’m headed.

Once things opened up, so excited to travel and see friends, I dove head first into unhealthy living. Despite the fact that we splurged on a Peloton bike during the lockdown and that I was on it almost every day, I could not out-ride my party girl habits. So here we are. Again. A new year, same old resolutions. This round comes with extreme disappointment in myself, something I am not sure I’ve actually felt before. Simply because I am always trying so dang hard to focus and stay on top of my health, if not for me, for my family. In my current state I am suffering severe bouts of flare-ups from Hashimoto’s. All the sugar and cocktails and unhealthy choices have almost (operative word) knocked me down. I think I may have caught myself before the fall and am now ready to starting reading, writing and wearing my “anti-inflammatory diet” badge proudly. Here we go again.

To celebrate, I took out my handy dandy food scale. The sight of this instrument sends my folks scurrying and soon they will be treading very lightly among the confines of this place of deprivation. It’s a “back away” from mommy tool and if you ever wanted your space, I highly suggest you implement one into your daily routines, food weighing et al. Not only will it assist you in portion size, but you will become so jumpy and flabbergasted at every.single.thing - no one will ever want to be around you. Total achievement. Call me if you have any doubt about this, I’ll walk you through it.

So let’s get down to business. The first thing we need to look at and shakedown is our love for the trusty charcuterie board. I suffer from it, just like you do. Mainly because it’s so darn easy, but mostly because it’s tasty and festive and someone, somewhere in a dark corner of keto hell, mid-hallucination, one day said all the meats and cheeses on these things are actually healthy. They are not. The are saddled with saturated fats, cholesterol and infested with way too much salt. Adding insult to injury, we eat them with crackers, which adds carbs and sugar and usually there is some form of adult beverage joining these wooden demons for the party. Again - don’t come at me - I am just stating facts here and I am just as guilty as the next gal for enjoying them.

So today I present to you a different take on the traditional charcuterie. It’s full of good eats folks. I won’t bore you with all the nutritional info you don’t want or need - but stay with me here. Instead of salami:

4 slices = 232 calories, 18.52grams of fat/7.44 saturated, 980 grams of sodium, 60grams of cholesterol and 12.8 grams of protien

Why not enjoy some smoked salmon:

The same 4 slices = 100 calories, 3.7grams of fat/.08saturated, 19.6 grams of omega three healthy cholesterols, 16 grams of protein and 650 grams of sodium.

Take out the cheese and replace it with shrimp. Make your own cocktail sauce using unsweetened ketchup, lime, worstercheshire, and horseradish. Use all the crunchy veggies and dip them into homemade ranch using an unsweetened flavor packet and fat-free, plain greek yogurt ( I really can’t taste a difference here). Put out some grilled chicken and serve the whole thing up with fun skewers. Think how relieved your girlfriends will be when you pull this baby out at your next dry January event! (we will get to that later).

And for dessert - put out all the berries - and the grapes and serve up one of several different types of garbanzo based hummus delights that incorporate healthy cacao and naturally sweet nut butters. It’s super easy. And after you enjoy every bit of that, take those pretty edible flowers off the boards, steep them in hot water to make a tea, and it will be like the whole thing never happened. No really - edible flowers are not only pretty additions to your festive 2021 charcuterie, but they side hussle as a diuretic! I learned this the hard way.

And there you have it friends. It’s a start. A small one, but here I am, with you again and that’s a great way to open up 2021. Much love and peace and health to you all. Stay tuned for some more healthy fun in the coming months! xoxo

“It’s all fun and games until I get “found out”. This is a sentiment shared by people who make a living doing what they absolutely love. When I was a journalist and winning awards I could be caught high fiving my team to this very tune. But those awards were mine. I earned them and executed the vision and the work necessary to win them. My ideas were paramount at the time and I was getting paid to have them. And so here we are. I’m no longer in the news business but I still have ideas. Lots of them. I love to write. I always have. Somewhere deep inside my psyche exists the gnawing and very basic need to tell you a story. To say things to you in a language that feels so much sexier in print than it does emulating from my vocal chords. Writers begin with a story and end with a feeling. The momentum of what we do carries us and you, into a journey that you either relate to, or you don’t. But it’s a journey nonetheless. When I’m writing I don’t feel like I’m working, I am instead, sharing. I’m sharing a thought, an idea, an inspiration, a goal and maybe a promise. Talking to you this way is a luxury to me and I’m so glad you’ve stopped by. Creating stories and spaces and moments just by breathing in is what I do. I’m excited to open the lens of my life to you and inspire you to live in a space that brings you joy. A wholesome place where your complete self is top priority. There you will find what’s Liveable for you. And I believe your life can and should be filled with an abundance of peace, grace and luxury. Here at The Liveable, you can turn on that lightbulb and illuminate your passions, whether those lie in writing, reading, wellness, home design or all of the above. It’s here. There’s room for it all. Your life is multi-faceted and your passions should display all your layers. I know mine do. So here we go. Check in often, I can’t wait to be with you again.

Best always,

Christine