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Kylie Conway – “Cheers to 2015 and Gr8 Health!”

The following is a blog from Kylie Conway, anchor for 24-Hour News 8’s Daybreak.

Hello!  With the New Year comes a new lease on life.  I’ve never been one to make resolutions, but I do consider it a chance to start fresh and set some goals.

With 2015 in particular it’s an extra special New Year for me.  Not only am I celebrating another 12 months working in my home state, but I was given the opportunity to join our amazing Daybreak team.  This gives me an awesome crew to work with in the morning and finally a consistent schedule!

Before January 1st I was working Saturday through Wednesday with two different work shifts.  Saturday and Sunday I worked until about midnight, then had to be at work by 9:00 a.m. Monday.  This meant I was tired every Monday and finally got on track when my weekend hit (Thursday/Friday).

With my new schedule I have already joined NIFS because I now can go to some of the awesome classes they offer mid-day!  Body pump, Zumba (Yes, I admit it.  It’s not pretty), spin, etc.  Amazing!  Watching all the athletes in there kick butt is extra inspiration.  This is giving me a routine and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Along with working out, I’ve been a cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  I am taking full advantage of all the amazing fall gourds and winter root vegetables!  In the past week … this is no joke … I’ve made a chicken sausage spaghetti squash, lamb stew, potato croquettes, turnip and carrot stew and turnip and potato au gratin.

I don’t spend all my time in the kitchen though.  For those who know me, they’ll be the first to say how much I also love to go out to eat.  I love everything about it from the wine to conversation to chef creations. That being said, as I’ve written before, it’s about moderation.  I try to equalize my foodie adventures outside the kitchen by ones inside.

The big motivator for me to cook is buying local and planning out menus for the week.  I love shopping around on hoosierharvest.com to see what local farmers have.  Whatever seasonal fruit or vegetable is in stock I buy it and then plan seasonal meals around it.  I typically try to make things that I can freeze because if you’re just cooking for two you don’t want to waste anything!  As of this morning I’ve already looked up a pumpkin gnocchi recipe to make sure I use some left over sage and potatoes.

Behind my recent recipe picks there was one driving force:  Turnips.  I’d never cooked with them before but it led me on a culinary trip through winter roots.  I now have cooked turnips, parsnips and rutabaga for the first time ever.  And trust me, they’re all amazing.  Here is a list of the slam dunks:

I’m sure this streak of cooking will die off and I’ll have to find new inspiration wants the Spring harvest rolls around.  But, that makes me excited too!

The bottom line is, I’m not getting any younger so I’m trying to stay active, be good to my body, surround myself with people I love and live life to the fullest … all in moderation.  Hopefully that way I can enjoy all of these things for as long as possible.

Cheers to 2015 and Gr8 Health!

– Kylie