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Vitality Pillar: Nourish — Eat to Thrive

Sunday night in our house often means something on the Traeger.

This is a meal we come back to regularly — pork tenderloin with a five spice rub, smoked low and slow and finished with a homemade apricot glaze. I always cook two tenderloins at once. The three of us eat one the first night. The second gets cut up and goes into the freezer for pork fried rice later in the week. Come back next week for that post.

The rub is a blend I make myself — five spice combining anise powder, ground cloves, black pepper, sea salt, ground cinnamon, and ground fennel — rubbed generously over both tenderloins before they go on the Traeger at 225ºF. After about an hour I spread the apricot glaze over the meat and continue smoking until the internal temperature reaches 145ºF.

The glaze is simple: shallots, apricot fruit spread, ground ginger, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes, cooked down in a small saucepan until it thickens slightly. The combination of sweet, smoky, and a little heat is what makes this meal memorable. I like St Dalfour fruit spreads because they use 100% fruit…no cane sugar and nothing artificial.

The sides this time were baked sweet potato wedges seasoned with paprika and roasted until the edges get a little crisp, sautéed broccoli finished in the oven with a splash of coconut aminos, and sliced fresh mango. The mango alongside the apricot glaze was a nice touch — a little brightness that balanced everything else in the bowl.

Roughly speaking, this meal comes in around 28–30g of protein per serving and 7–9g of fiber from the sweet potato, broccoli, and mango. Real food, real flavor, and a second meal already waiting in the freezer.

What do you do with intentional leftovers — meal prep on purpose, or does it just happen when you cook too much?

Grounded. Strong. Resilient. Nourished. Vitality in Focus.

🌼 Wildflower Wednesday | Spring Week 10

This week took me somewhere I’ve never been.

My husband and I drove seven hours southwest to Redwood National Park in California — where we met my nephew and his family at the trailhead and spent three days backpacking along Redwood Creek.

No cell service. No creature comforts. Just the forest, the river, and the people we love.

The scale of this place is hard to put into words. Ancient trees that have been standing for thousands of years. A canopy so tall it changes the quality of light beneath it. Sword ferns taller than I am. Everything layered and lush and deeply alive.

Can you find the old man of the forest hiding in one of these photos? Let me know if you spot him.

Flowers I know from decades of hiking throughout the Pacific Northwest — rhododendron, starflower, wood sorrel — but rarely see anymore living in the high desert. Old friends in a new light.

On the second day we hiked down to the river and into the Tall Trees Grove. I found a heart-shaped rock on the pebble beach. It didn’t make it home with me — But I keep thinking about it.

Coming home has been harder than I expected.

I’m tired in a way that isn’t just miles. There’s a low-grade sadness that comes with stepping back into screens and schedules and the ordinary pull of daily life.

I think it’s because I feel most alive out there. Most like myself.

Maybe that’s something worth paying attention to.

Still noticing. Still finding my way back.

When did you last feel most fully yourself — and what were you doing?