I bet it’s no surprise that I couldn’t just share the results of trying new recipes for my New 60 Challenge. Of course not. I felt like the idea was very similar to getting dressed. Both ideas are those where you can easily fall into a rut. We find something that works, and we just… keep doing it. Over and over again.
Quote of the day: “The most effective form of learning is practice.” Unknown
When I was planning my 60th birthday, I decided to do 60 new things. For organizational purposes, I grouped them into 6 categories and decided to space them out over 10 months.
If you want to read more, here is the original idea, and here are my 10 new outfits (nothing purchased, but just created with inspiration from street-style photos).
And one of the categories was New Recipes.
Once we started trying new recipes, I was amazed at how the idea felt just like trying a new outfit combination. It seemed a little like work at first, but surprisingly, it became fun once we committed to it.
Some were hits immediately. Others we tweaked (because isn’t that always the case?). And a few? Already on repeat in our house.
Insider info: I’m not a food blogger, and my photos are nothing to celebrate. My biggest beef (punny, right) with food is that you spend a lot of time making it, and then it’s gone in minutes. At least outfits are worn all day, or at least for hours, and then you can rewear the clothing items.
Before I jump into the recipes, I want to share how I found them and why we chose them.
Trying these new recipes didn’t come from just one place. They were gathered from everywhere, like:
And I think that’s an important reminder, that inspiration is everywhere if you’re open to it.
The crux of the matter is that Rob and I focus on a nutrient-dense way of eating and have cut out at least 90% of sugar. (If you think you could never give up sugar, then let me tell you that I was once a sugar addict, and I’ve shared my story).
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Trust me when I say these tasted MUCH better than they looked.
We eat salmon a lot (our goal is to eat it at least once every other week), but it gets old to saute it with lemon over and over.
So I liked the idea of this recipe because it used canned salmon (which I always keep on hand to throw into salads)
Edit: Next time, I would cut up the sweet potatoes into smaller bites.
This recipe was from another Health-conscious friend, and she and her husband make it often. It’s a breaded chicken tender recipe, and you can create a couple of dipping sauces for it.
The nice thing is you can find gluten-free breadcrumbs relatively easily in the stores.
Edit: We enjoyed these, but even more so, we loved the idea of buying chicken tenders. For some reason, we NEVER buy them, and they are such an easy option to cook and use in many recipes.
Another friend’s suggestion recipe that may not seem life changing, but I was shocked to admit that we always cut up our zucchini into cubes or slices.
The idea to bake them this way was such an “aha” moment (hopefully like some of the fashion ideas I give you).
Edit: We baked these in the air-fryer and used the only cheese we had at the time (Parmesan). Next time, I would like to try a different cheese.
Brussels sprouts and blueberries? Not something I would’ve naturally paired, but that’s exactly the point of trying something new.
But it was delicious with a capital “D”.
In fact, we ended up using it as a base for lunch by adding protein (chicken).
Pizza tends to be our go-to when we don’t have anything planned. We buy the gluten-free plain crusts at Trader Joe’s and then add our own “stuff.”
But I never thought to add zucchini and olives.
We will definitely use this idea again.
Edit: We have learned that it helps to put the crust in the air-fryer for 3-5 minutes before adding the toppings to have a crispier crust.
I’m a fan of meatloaf, and the way this one is layered had me thinking it could be fabulous.
Obviously, we didn’t eat it by itself, but also had it with a side salad and some beets.
Edit: The tortilla wrap didn’t work for us, probably because we had to use 2 smaller gluten-free ones, but otherwise it was a great option. A lot of work, that I might not do again, though.
This idea started with a cookbook, but we ended up modifying it. The cookbook version was a vegetarian variety, and we wanted to make it more traditional. So I found this recipe (from a blogger I saw at a Food Blogging event over 7 years ago).
I’ve always loved Moussaka when we go to Greek restaurants, but I had never tried making it myself.
In all reality, I would call it a Greek lasagne, which is maybe why we loved it so much.
Edit: We made this twice because we loved it and will make it again…once the weather cools down and we are using the oven again.
Cheesecake has a story in our household. When Rob and I were first Dating, I would make him cheesecakes regularly (I have this Philadelphia Cheesecake recipe book where I’ve made over half of the recipes).
But since changing our Diet, we rarely indulge.
So when I saw this high protein cheesecake recipe, I was intrigued.
We loved it so much we made it twice.
BTW, chia jam is super easy to make and requires NO sugar.
Edit: I changed out the crust (from graham crackers to nuts), so it was a mixture of crushed pecans, crushed walnuts, and coconut oil…so much healthier and just as delicious.
Every week, Dr. Lyons (the author of this book that I read, loved, and have in my Amazon shopping “Books”) sends out a recipe that has 30 grams of protein.
These chocolate protein pancakes caught my attention, so we tried them.
BTW, this is the protein powder we use because it only has 6 ingredients.
You can see that we ate them with Greek yogurt on them and berries in addition to our egg and bell pepper (because the Glucose Goddess recommends eating fiber first to help reduce glucose spikes).
This was one of those “I need to recreate this at home” moments. It was a perfect side to our meal at a restaurant, and I knew I could recreate something similar.
We’ve made it twice already, and it’s like the Brussel Sprout and Blueberry salad, where it’s the perfect foundation for a main salad if you add protein (and we also added nuts).
Here’s the thing: trying new recipes isn’t really about the food. Well, a little, but it’s also about breaking patterns.
It’s about reminding yourself that just because you’ve always done something one way doesn’t mean it’s the only way.
Sound familiar? That’s exactly how I feel about getting dressed.
You don’t need a whole new wardrobe to feel inspired. Sometimes it’s just adding something unexpected or swapping out an item.
The same goes for cooking.
While this started out as just a fun challenge for my 60th birthday, I believe it can be a foundational issue for much of our lives.
We like something, and do the same thing over and over.
However, maybe it’s time to change it up.
We all have our “go-to meals” just like we have our “go-to outfits.”
But when you step just slightly outside that comfort zone, you might just find a new favorite.
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Jodie Filogomo is a retired cosmetic dentist and fashion blogger behind Jodie’s Touch of Style, where she has been helping women over 50 experiment with style in fun, creative ways for over 12 years.
Find out more about the crew, because we love to showcase all ages, body shapes and women who love different styles.
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