Friday’s… ain’t what they used to be.

Friday’s have lost their luster in my world.. between quarantine, sobriety and geez, let’s call it celibacy… Friday is like Thursday or Tuesday. Just another day. Another hangover free day, thankfully. I was thinking though if I could relive any Friday night ever which would it be? Instantly I remembered when Friday’s started with my mom dropping me off at the roller skating rink with my best friend Gabe. Our hair always heavily teased. Friendship bracelets stacked up on our wrists. Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers liberally applied. We said “like” way too much and always got in trouble for chewing gum on the rink. We felt so rebellious. Gum! Can you imagine? We would skate in circles until we had blisters or they killed the lights and made us leave. Whichever came first. In remembrance of those innocent, stellar Friday nights.. I made a little Skate Nite mix. I will 100% be adding to this. Slow skate, fast skate, backwards and couples! Please send suggestions!

Day 188: Leftovers and scrambled eggs. A classic move. Potatoes, scallions, roasted poblano pepper, corn, & shishitos (aka shi-shi’s) with cilantro and sunflower sprouts. Fruit on the side.

Please allow me to introduce myself..

Lately I’ve been noticing a lot of new readers and I thought “Maybe I should re-introduce myself…” and then I realized that I had never formally done that to begin with. So, hey! I am Bonnie Rue and I really, truly appreciate you taking the time to visit this little virtual corner of the world. A little bit about me… I have been called woo-ey, empathic, bratty, sarcastic and challenging. All compliments, clearly but I would really like to be remembered as omnivorous, curious, perceptive, creative and kind. I work as a private chef and integrative nutrition coach in Austin, Tx (originally from Dallas, in case the big hair didn’t give it away). I am sober and loving it. It is what lead to me studying nutrition in the first place. I wanted to work with people in recovery. To teach them how to stabilize their mood, care for themselves and heal their systems through colorful, healthy and nutritious food. This new direction presented itself to me while I was working as a chef at a small recovery center. It became obvious that nearly everyone who changed the way they ate felt less anxious and were in turn less likely to relapse. I loved seeing them transform and commit to it. So I enrolled in school and now I get to support and cheer people on as they change their lives and become the fullest expression of themselves. I never imagined any of this for me but I could not be more thrilled! This is the first job I have ever had that gives me a true sense of purpose. I have found my path! Trust me, I looked everywhere. Over the years I have worked as a… Booking agent, fashion designer, head of marketing, phone psychic, bar tender, nanny, PA, stage manager and pizza slinger extraordinaire. To name a few. I did really love making pizza.. pizza makes people very happy but, not very healthy. Ergo, pie and purpose are two different things.

Beyond work and sobriety? I am crowding 40 and feeling 25. My hobbies include painting, drawing, talking to my plants, feeling awesome, solo dance parties, collecting vintage food themed jigsaw puzzles, yoga, foraging, thinking about minimalism, thinking about every-thing.. cruising around on my bike, befriending neighborhood cats and playing with my food.

So, that’s me. If you or someone you know could benefit from working with a health coach I will have room to take on 5 new clients at the end of August. Consultations are free. Email me to schedule yours today, bonnie@nakedandeggs.com.

Day 194: Arugula, avocado, beet kimchi (spicy!), sunflower sprouts, mango, bloobs, serrano peppers and pumpkin seeds, dressed in foraged lime and Udo’s 3*6*9.

XO, Sugar

Last night a friend hit me up, looking for some advice on battling the sugar cravings that come with sobriety. I was touched that he wanted my advice and I was pretty proud to not be cuddling with a bag of cookies when his text rolled in. Which was a completely normal way for me to spend my time when I first quit drinking. I can’t honestly think of a drug I have never tried (most of them repeatedly) and sugar is by far the hardest one to quit. One it is very hard to avoid if you eat anything processed. Which most of us do. Two we grow up being taught that it is THE reward. Birthdays, good report cards and victorious soccer games come with sugar on top. It tastes like winning. When I got sober I stocked up on all the sweet treats. To reward myself and stay sane. My peanut butter cereal intake was shameful. If you dug through my purse at that time you would have been shocked by the wide variety of gummy candies I was able to get my hands on.. peach flavored penguins, cherry-esk Cadillacs, tiny coke bottles, chewy rats and tiny pineapple flavored fried eggs.. I was obsessed. On top of that I took myself out for ice cream, a lot. I day dreamed of a world where pie was made out of cookies, piled in soft serve and sprinkled with pop rocks. It gave me a tremendous amount of guilt and acne.. which I tried to cure with seemingly healthy smoothies from JuiceLand. It’s true, we replace the behavior. Sugar, sex, shopping.. it’s easy enough to do. Eventually, while shamelessly making out with an ice cream sandwich I realized I still had a problem. I didn’t go cold turkey. I knew sugar was screwing up my circadian rhythm and trashing my skin but it had a hold on me! I started by replacing the Noah’s Ark of gummies that my purse had become with tiny oranges and dried mango. I quit going out for ice cream (saving it only for first dates and special occasions) and opted for wickedly dark chocolate and a cup of licorice peppermint tea as my post dinner snack instead. It was sweet enough to kill the cravings and quickly became one of my favorite rituals that I still enjoy today. Then there was water. When I found myself wanting to concoct some hulkingly sweet diabetic nightmare I made myself drink water. I had to pee A LOT back then. I never did cut out sugar completely but I changed my relationship with it. The gummies are still MIA and in their place is a large variety of fruit that I dig into, guilt free. Turns out you can scratch the itch and nourish yourself too. And without further ado..

Day 135: Texas Peaches with yogurt, basil, mint, crunchy quinoa and blueberries. Eating seasonal fruit can help re-regulate our systems and taste buds to a natural and nourishing sugar experience. On this plate, bite by bite I am boosting my immune system, taking care of my skin and lowering my risk of cancer. The peaches, mint and yogurt aid in my digestion and make me less farty. If you’re wondering where the protein is look no further than the yogurt and quinoa. P.S. When eating peaches don’t forget to suck the pit 🖤

Have a snack. Love what you do.

I get to work from home in my bikini.. taking juice breaks and eating dolled up toddler snacks. If heaven had a pregame routine this would be it. I get to talk to people about their health all day and find ways to support them in improving it… what blissed out existence is this?! If you want to make any changes to your lifestyle, livliness or hell, even your waistline hit me up. Consultations are free for a limited time.

Day 131: Toddler’s dream snack plate.. bananas, peanut butter with a lil honey, yogurt, coconut butter, bloobs chia seeds and cacao nibs. Green juice on the side. Cucumber, apple, kale and mint topped off with coconut water.