Over the hump...not the hill.

Thoughts on aging and a recipe for a Sausage, Potato and Cabbage sheet pan dinner that leaves no dirty dishes behind.

Welp…. Since the last time you heard from me, I turned 46 and I’ve had a lot of thoughts dance around in my head since it happened last week. The day of my actual birthday I went for a massage to treat myself with some relaxation and instead got treated with some truth serum. My therapist wished me a happy birthday and then proceeded to let me know that I’m over the hump (not yet the hill) and that I’ve made it on my way to 50.

My gut reaction was, “Damn… I’m trying to relax here and now this lady has me thinking about my AARP card”. I then decided to sit with it for a bit more, and really listen to what she said versus what I heard and what my ego made it mean….

As I laid there naked and vulnerable on my birthday, I tried to reframe my perspective on her words. Yes, I am 46! I’m here, thriving, and healthy… not to mention still getting compliments on my skin from time to time (thank you snail mucin) so dammit, I feel good. I can still drop it like it’s hot if need be and most importantly, I can say that I’m finally living life on my own terms.

What does that even mean you ask? In a nutshell, it’s waking up with intention most days, nourishing my mind, body and spirit with things that make them feel good and spending time looking inward and constantly taking inventory of how things make me feel. I can definitely say for so many years of my life I could define myself as a people pleaser. Where that stemmed from is an entirely different newsletter topic, but let’s just say, I was always available, always a yes and always there to pick up the slack.

At 46 I think I finally landed in the sweet spot of being a yes person that only says yes with good reason to. I’m sure people that have gotten used to me being the go-to that always made the things happen are a bit confused and rightfully so. I’ve given everyone around me reason to think that I could handle any and everything and make it look easy. This is the mask of the quintessential people pleaser.

Now, people get more of me the true me and I’m here to tell you, it feels amazing. It took 46 years to get to a point in my life where I can understand that NO is a complete sentence and leave it at that without explanation or residual guilt. I’ve also learned to put my well-being on top of the totem pole so that my effectiveness and mood are in a good spot. In my thirties, I didn’t do any of that. Do I wish I could go back and make different decisions or change things? Maybe…maybe not… Because all those moments brought me to this moment here. So, I’m glad for them.

Things for sure have shifted, my hormones, my collagen production, and my threshold for bullshit. I’m not as crazy about some of those changes but the qualities that have made me stronger, wiser, and more self-generative, make me lean in to 46 a lot more. Your 40’s can be a very confronting time where you don’t feel quite that young, but you don’t feel old. It’s the limbo land of life where your 20’s feel like another lifetime but you still aspire to do much more , but you just have less energy. I have a lot of friends grappling with what’s next in their life and career in their 40’s and I’m right there with them. Suddenly a mid-life crisis seems to make more sense.

With all off the changes, bottom line I’m grateful. I have my health, my family, an incredible group of friends and I get to continue to be a creative. As my best friend told me last week, you’re 46…. You’re a 10! I thought yes… yes, I am.

What are we eating this week???

Sheet Pan Sausage, Potatoes and Frizzled Cabbage

This past week was busy with a lot of restaurant visits, which was such a birthday treat. I ended up making Slow Cooked Oven Ribs with Cornbread and Caesar salad for my actual birthday and will be sharing my birthday menu next week because it was utterly delicious. I had a few close friends come over, we ate, we laughed and we enjoyed a Baskin Robbins Mint N Chip Ice Cream cake for dessert…pretty perfect. The rest of the week, I was making easy things that were still impressive and satisfying, like this week’s sheet pan supper. Sausage, Potatoes and Frizzled Cabbage could be made for 1 or 8. It is super simple, cheap, nourishing, and tasty…. Best part? The only dirty dishes you’ll have is a knife, cutting board and a sheet pan.

Cooked cabbage is one of my secret weapons and let me share why. A head of cabbage costs about 2 bucks if that. It lives forever in your fridge and won’t go bad in a few days. It can become a slaw, can be braised, grilled, or roasted like I’ve done here, and it takes on beautiful flavor profiles along with being high in fiber.

We are using precooked sausage for ease, some potatoes because they will roast up nicely here and who doesn’t love the marriage of sausage and potatoes and it all gets roasted together to create a meal you could serve as a centerpiece.

we LOVE this sausage currently at Trader Joe’s, if you see it, buy it!!! Delish!

This one goes out to all my busy people who love my weekly recipes but don’t have the bandwidth for a lot of steps. It’s also for my peeps that hate dirty dishes but want to feel like they made a full dinner with all the components. If you are not even wanting to chop anything, I’ve given you options below. It couldn’t be easier.

Just grab some nice grainy mustard of your choice and have at it!

Sheet pan Sausage, Potatoes and Frizzled Cabbage

Serves 2-4

• ½ head of green cabbage