Although I’m certainly not one to turn up my nose at store-bought protein bars (convenience, am I right?!), I always have a certain type of giddiness at snack time when I have these homemade oatmeal raisin protein balls on hand.

Loaded with jammy raisins, sweet and nutty old-fashioned oats, maple syrup, ground cinnamon, and vanilla, these hand-held snacks taste like cookie dough. But thanks to the almond butter and vanilla protein powder, they fuel you like a healthy, high-protein snack.

Each ball packs about 9 grams of protein, plus healthy fats and fiber, thanks to the almond butter, protein powder, and raisins. Pair them with a cup of yogurt or a few pieces of fruit, and snack time is sorted (for you and the small people in your life, who will happily help roll them; results may vary).

For more easy protein ball recipes, check out my Birthday Cake Protein Balls, Pumpkin Spice Protein Balls, and Almond Butter Protein Balls.

Recipe Card

Nutrition (per ball, based on 14 balls)

Approximately 148 calories, 8.9g protein, 15.7g carbohydrates, 2.1g fiber, 10.8g total sugars (7.9g added sugar), and 5.7g fat (0.5g saturated).

Important Recipe Pro-Tips

• Storage: Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Bring the balls to room temperature for 15–30 minutes before eating for a soft, cookie-dough-like consistency.

• Freezing: These freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, or enjoy them slightly frozen for a firmer bite.

• Almond butter: For the best flavor, use a high-quality natural almond butter. Room temperature is best — remove it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before starting. You’ll know it’s ready when it mixes easily and drips off the knife. Room temperature

• butter is easier to mix!

• Kneading + the squeeze test: Once a rough dough forms, switch to kneading with your hands to bring it together. To check if it has enough moisture, squeeze a small handful — if it holds together, it’s ready. If it crumbles, add more milk a teaspoon at a time and knead again.

• Variations: Make peanut butter oatmeal cookie balls by swapping natural peanut butter for the almond butter. Add a sweet-tart twist by using chopped dried cranberries or cherries in place of the raisins.

• Nut-free option: Swap the almond butter for sunflower seed butter or tahini.

• Protein powder: Use a good-quality whey protein powder

• . Clean Simple Eats (affiliate link) is my go-to. You can use vegan protein powder, but it tends to be more absorbent than whey, so you’ll likely need to add a few extra tablespoons of milk.

• Milk: Any milk works here — dairy or non-dairy.

• Ball size: This recipe makes 12–14 large (2-tablespoon) balls or 24–28 smaller (1-tablespoon) balls. Use a cookie scoop to keep them uniform.

• Oats: I recommend old-fashioned oats for the best consistency, though quick-cooking oats work if that’s what you have. Different oats absorb differently, so you may need to adjust the milk slightly.

• Gluten-free: Use certified gluten-free oats.

Thanks so much for visiting! If you tried this Protein Smoothie Bowl recipe, let me know what you thought — and what other recipes you’d like to see here.

Leave a comment

© 2026 Mae’s Menu. This recipe is for personal use only. Please do not reproduce, republish, or distribute this recipe (in part or in full) without written permission. If you’d like to share it, please link back to the original source rather than copying the content. Thank you for supporting small businesses!

This High Protein Smoothie Bowl is what I’ve been making on repeat after runs and workouts — thick, creamy, and packed with up to 50 grams of protein thanks to cottage cheese, hemp seeds, nut butter, and a scoop of protein powder. We even had it for a light dinner the other night when I didn’t feel like cooking (thank you very much, 95°F evening 🙄).

It blends up in about 5 minutes, tastes like soft-serve, and is gobbled up by the whole family —even the toddler! Load it up with whatever toppings you’ve got (the little guy chose 1/2 cup of chocolate chips 😂), and eat it with a spoon like the dessert it pretends to be.

For more high-protein smoothie recipes, check out my Pear Smoothie, Date Green Smoothie, Peach Smoothie, and Raspberry Smoothie.

Recipe Card

Important Recipe Notes

• Blend in stages: follow the ingredient order as written — adding everything at once is what costs you the smooth texture and scoopable consistency.

• Don’t overblend: the heat of the blender melts the frozen fruit and turns a scoopable bowl into a drinkable smoothie.

• Which cottage cheese: full-fat (4%) or 2% both blend up creamy. Small curd or large curd doesn’t matter since it’s all getting blended. Skip fat-free — it comes out thinner and more sour, and you lose the richness that makes this taste like soft-serve rather than a protein shake in a bowl.

• Protein powder options: vanilla whey is my preference, but collagen peptides or vegan protein powder both work. Vegan protein powder thickens the bowl further — add extra milk a tablespoon at a time if needed.

• Protein powder goes in last: blend it only until just combined. Overblending makes the bowl light, airy, and foamy.

• Choosing your fruit: any combination works as long as you land at 1½ cups total frozen fruit. Alongside the frozen banana, a few of my favorites:

  • Peaches and blueberries

  • Blueberries and strawberries

  • Mango, pineapple, and blueberries

  • Mango and strawberries

  • Peaches and raspberries

  • Blueberries, strawberries, and cherries

  • Blackberries and mango

• Using frozen fruit: cottage cheese adds a good amount of moisture, so use all frozen fruit to keep things scoopable. I almost always have frozen bananas on hand for this one.

• Optional add-ins: a handful of leafy greens, a scoop of creatine, a pitted Medjool date, greens powder, or ½ teaspoon spirulina.

• Toppings: sliced bananas, fresh berries, honey, chia, hemp, or pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, toasted coconut flakes, dried cranberries, granola, sliced almonds, and drippy nut butter.

• For a twist: swap plain or vanilla Greek yogurt for the cottage cheese — tangier, a little less thick, so use a full-fat, thick-style yogurt and keep all your fruit frozen.

• Storage: best eaten right away. If you need to hold it, keep it in the freezer for up to an hour and stir before serving. Longer than that and it freezes solid — let it sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes and stir vigorously before eating. It won't be quite as fluffy the second time around.

• No high-speed blender? Let the frozen fruit sit out for 5 minutes to soften slightly, and stop to scrape and stir more often. You may need a splash of milk to get things moving — add it a tablespoon at a time so you don't lose the scoopable texture.

• Freezing bananas: peel, slice into coins, and freeze flat on a sheet pan before transferring to a bag. Spotty, very ripe bananas make the sweetest bowls.

• If it's not sweet enough: A vanilla protein powder does a lot of this work on its own, but you can also blend in a pitted date, a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, or a splash of vanilla extract.

• Too thin? Add more frozen fruit and blend briefly. Too thick to blend? Add milk one tablespoon at a time — resist pouring, or you'll cross into drinkable smoothie territory fast.

• Make it nut-free: swap sunflower seed butter for the nut butter.

• Dairy-free: I don’t recommend it here. Cottage cheese is what makes this bowl thick and scoopable, and dairy-free substitutes won’t give you the same texture or protein.

• Make it kid-friendly: omit the protein powder, or use just 2 tablespoons of collagen peptides.

• For a single serving: halve all ingredient amounts and follow the instructions as written.

• Freeze the leftovers: pour extra into popsicle molds for a high-protein, handheld summer snack.

• Serving suggestions: best as a no-cook summer breakfast, a post-run recovery meal (protein and carbs together, plus it's cold when you're overheated), or a light dinner with extra greens blended in.

• Nutrition per half batch: Approximately 310 calories, 26 grams of protein, 35 grams of carbohydrates, and 9 grams of fat (double everything for the full batch).

Tools Used

• Measuring cups and spoons — measuring is important for the perfect, scoopable consistency!

• Silicone spatula — for scraping down the sides of the blender.

• High-speed blender — I got this set for Christmas last year and am loving it! The blender is fast and efficient; it doesn’t require a tamper, and it’s an incredible value for the money!

Thanks so much for visiting! If you tried this Protein Smoothie Bowl recipe, let me know what you thought — and what other recipes you’d like to see here.

For the time being, all new recipes are landing on The Tuesday Table and Perimenopause Plate (instead of maesmenu.com), and I’d love for them to be ones you actually want (Google no longer has a say in things). Please comment below to share with any recipe requests. I’ll do my best to work with them!

Leave a comment

© 2026 Mae’s Menu. This recipe is for personal use only. Please do not reproduce, republish, or distribute this recipe (in part or in full) without written permission. If you’d like to share it, please link back to the original source rather than copying the content. Thank you for supporting small businesses!

When it comes to easy weeknight meals, skillet dinners have my heart. They’re quick, generally easy to clean up (especially one-pot ones like this), and there’s something so cozy and rewarding about gathering around a steaming hot skillet as everyone dishes out their portion.

For this one, I took that favorite method and paired two of my favorite things — lean ground turkey and tender orzo — with canned and sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and plenty of melty cheese. The result is a scoopy, saucy, cheesy dinner that comes together in about 35 minutes and hits the table in one pan.

It’s the kind of meal I could put on repeat every week, and I have a feeling it’ll earn a spot in your rotation, too.

Important Recipe Notes:

• Stir the orzo frequently. This is the most important step for a great texture. Every 2–3 minutes, run your spatula across the bottom of the skillet to keep the pasta from sticking and scorching.

• Use a nonstick pan. A nonstick sauté pan or Dutch oven makes a big difference in keeping the orzo from catching on the bottom.

• Fresh vs. pre-grated Parmesan. I often reach for pre-grated Parmesan for convenience, but fresh-grated melts into an exceptionally creamy sauce — well worth it if you have a few extra minutes.

• A good Italian seasoning is key. It carries most of the flavor here. Fire & Smoke Society is my favorite, and it’s available at many major grocery stores.

• For a richer, creamier dish, stir in the half-and-half (or a splash of heavy cream) at the end.

• Meat swaps: Ground beef, ground chicken, or Italian sausage (chicken or pork, removed from its casings) all work well in place of the turkey.

• Optional stir-ins: Along with the Parmesan and spinach, try any of the following — 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed), 1 can artichoke hearts (drained and chopped), 1 (5-oz) can sliced black olives (drained), or a handful of fresh chopped basil.

• Add a veggie: Sauté a diced red bell pepper along with the onion for extra color and sweetness.

• Make it spicy: Add up to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or dried Calabrian chiles along with the Italian seasoning.

• To double the recipe: Use a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven and add a few extra minutes as needed when sautéing and simmering.

• Meal prep: Leftovers keep very well, making this a great make-ahead meal.

• Storage: Store covered in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating.

• Serving suggestions: Pair with air fryer garlic bread, roasted broccoli, kale slaw, or blistered green beans.

• Nutrition*: Approximately 405 calories, 28 grams of protein, 30 grams of carbohydrates, and 19 grams of fat

  (Note: this is just an estimate; always contact a nutrition professional for precise calculations)

Tools & Ingredients Used

• Carote utensils — great for this recipe + more!

• Caraway non-stick large skillet or Dutch oven

• Fire & Smoke Italian seasoning — available at many large grocery stores and Walmart

• Chef’s knife

• Cutting board

Thanks so much for visiting! If you tried this Ground Turkey Orzo Skillet recipe, let me know what you thought — and what other recipes you’d like to see here.

For the time being, all new recipes are landing on The Tuesday Table and Perimenopause Plate (instead of maesmenu.com), and I’d love for them to be ones you actually want (Google no longer has a say in things). Please comment below to share with any recipe requests. I’ll do my best to work with them!

Leave a comment

© 2026 Mae’s Menu. This recipe is for personal use only. Please do not reproduce, republish, or distribute this recipe (in part or in full) without written permission. If you’d like to share it, please link back to the original source rather than copying the content. Thank you for supporting small businesses!

Here’s everything I’ve been eating up and spitting out these days:

Spitting Out

1. Whole Foods continually changing where to find your card # — I’ve decided that the 5 minutes it takes is no longer worth the extra 10% savings

2. An inconsistent golf swing — need I say more?

3. Conservative media tycoons buying up media companies — the Ellisons buying up CNN and TikTok is extremely problematic, and we all need to speak up on this.

4. Chewing — who knew that loud masticating could cause such distress to a midlife woman?

5. Consistent 90-100 degree temperatures. Consider yourself warmed: a sports bra is now considered a shirt. Peri-menopause and global warming just. Don’t. Mix.

6. A toddler who takes an hour to go to bed — separation anxiety can be hard to be gracious with when you’ve been going non-stop since 6 AM, and all you want to do is read your book for 20 minutes and go to bed yourself.

7. People who treat stop signs like a suggestion — apparently, being in the crosswalk with your dog isn’t enough to give them pause

8. Irresponsible dog owners at dog parks — because now people bring dogs IN HEAT to the park.

9. Watery coffee — a non-negotiable always, but especially now.

10. Not being able to eat salads with impunity — it turns out that letting scientists do their job is good for us all.

11. Unregulated GLP-1s sales — As someone who struggled with an eating disorder for almost 10 years, the return of the glorification of extreme thinness is beyond troubling.

12. Not being “political” — with all that is going on, not taking a stance is a stance, especially for those with privilege.

Eating Up

1. Evening popsicle walks with the dog — Jonny pops are now a key component of my perimenopausal survival tool kit. Even if they cost $7.50 a box

2. Heavy lifting sessions — whatever I need to metabolize, lifting up some barbells (or running some sprints) almost always helps. As some say, movement is medicine.

3. Good books — whether they’re escapes from reality or commenting on it, the quiet time alone is good for the soul.

4. Midday coffee breaks — a strong brewed espresso or iced latte on the porch with a friend can turn the whole day around.

5. Sunday driving range mornings — even if my shots are inconsistent, I’ll clear the schedule every time to get quality time with the little guy.

6. Having shorter hair — Turns out that dead weight was emblematic — I feel lighter and freer in more ways than just physical.

7. Independent news sources and journalists who call it like it is — because listening to corporate news gaslighting makes me want to pull out any remaining hair.

8. Great friends — the kind who will just let you vent, not trying to fix you or lead you to believe you have totally lost your shit (even if maybe you are teetering on that brink)

9. Rotisserie chicken — is there a meal you can’t add it to? I’ll wait. Costco’s $4.99 makes the prospect even sweeter.

10. Finally decorating the house — It only took me 6 years to finally grab some plants, rework rooms, and make those minor stylistic improvements I’ve been toying with.

11. Bike rides home from school — Even if they are 95 degrees and asthma-inducing, I’ll take my inhaler and head out to ride with the little dude every time.

12. Speaking up— There’s a certain sweet freedom in getting older, knowing myself better, liking that person, and just not caring what other people think.

13. NYT Games App — Who knew I would love crossword puzzles, Wordle, and the Spelling Bee? As always, I’m late to the party. But I’m not looking back.

14. A good glass of sauvignon blanc — a lightly sweating, frosty glass enjoyed with a good book or friends has healing properties way beyond the ABV.

What about you? What are you loving (or raging) about these days?

Leave a comment

This morning I woke up from a full night’s sleep. I made my coffee. I thought clearly through the day ahead — the endless to-do list, the toddler tantrums I’d inevitably referee, the work waiting at my desk and in my kitchen. I felt steady. Capable. Like the person doing all of it was actually me.

That sounds like nothing. A normal morning. But it took me five years to get here — and for most of those five years, a morning such as this one felt permanently out of reach.

Here’s what happened.

Before I Knew What Perimenopause Was

Leading into 34 and 35, I didn’t even really know what perimenopause was.

I had one friend going through it who’d mention it occasionally, but I didn’t understand what it actually meant — what it was, when it happened, what it did to you. It was a word I hardly understood, one I attached to women I assumed were much older than me.

So I kept living my normal, relatively high-functioning life: working hard, running a lot, spending time with my husband and friends, getting ready to start a family.

And then the anxiety and the sleep issues started.

I didn’t think much of it. I’ve dealt with anxiety before, so I assumed it was that — some mix of genetics, training load, and the general weight of life. I did the things you’re supposed to do. Therapy, the tools that had worked before, the usual adjustments. And then I carried on.

Looking back, I can see it clearly: I was almost certainly already stepping into perimenopause. It can start as early as 35, after all. But nobody was looking for it then — least of all me.

“You’ll Get Yourself Back”

A few months after turning 35, I got pregnant. It knocked me on my ass.

I was thrilled to be starting a family — I loved knowing my little buddy was always right there with me. But the actual experience? I abhorred it. The exhaustion. The brain fog. Throwing my back out so badly I had to give up running. The carpal tunnel and sciatica that woke me in the middle of the night. The “morning” sickness that didn’t care what time it was. The non-stop hunger. The bloody gums.

I found real support — other mothers and pregnant women, the acupuncturist who’d become a fixture in my life, an amazing doula. But none of it changed the fundamental truth: pregnancy was so much harder than I’d expected.

I couldn’t live my normal high-functioning, independent, thriving life. I was vulnerable. Dependent. Tired in a way I didn’t have words for yet.

It was an identity shift I wasn’t prepared for. And I struggled with it.

But everyone told me the same thing: eventually, I’d get a new — but still authentic — sense of myself back. Postpartum might be rough for six months, maybe a year, what with the hormones and the body changes. But after that? I’d return to myself. Be patient. It just takes time.

So I sucked it up. I complained to my closest friends. I looked forward to snuggling my baby and coming out the other side.

The postpartum experience, I’d soon find out, was going to be another identity shift entirely — and the doorway into the most confusing years of my life.

“It’s Just Postpartum”

Like a lot of women, my birth was tough (I’ll spare you the nitty-gritty here), but I got through it.

Before we were released to bring our baby home, I spoke with a hospital social worker who walked me through what to expect from postpartum hormones. Her main advice: don’t fight it. Let it flow.

So that’s what I did. I rode the wild hormonal roller coaster and tried to process the monumental shift happening underneath it — because it wasn’t just me anymore. I had a helpless baby depending on me. I was getting up two, three times a night to nurse. I was somehow supposed to run my entire life on no sleep while learning to care for a person I loved more than life itself.

Any parent will tell you: it’s an identity shift like no other.

And because I knew I wasn’t alone in it, I told myself the same thing everyone else did — this is just what being a new mom feels like.

It’s normal to be so tired you can’t see straight. Normal to not eat lunch until 5 pm because you’ve been nursing or pumping every one to two hours. Normal to melt down mid-conversation with a friend, crying as you ask her whether you’ll ever sleep again. Normal to fight off panic attacks wondering if you even know how to take care of your baby — if you’re doing it right, or if you’re going to mess him up for life.

That’s what I told myself. This is normal. This is postpartum. It’ll pass.

And at the time, I was right. It was postpartum. I’d just had a baby. My body was doing exactly what everyone said it would do.

The problem came later.

Running Out of Excuses

It hit me on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon, a little over two years after having my son.

It was 2 pm. I was on my fifth cup of coffee — maybe sixth — and my brain was still running at twenty percent. The brain fog was so thick I could barely see the computer screen in front of me. I constantly found myself struggling to find words I used to come by naturally. Frequent mood swings and rage threw me off — and everyone around me, too.

I’d been living like this for so long I’d stopped questioning it. New moms are tired. New moms are foggy. This is just what it is.

Except, my son had been sleeping through the night for over a year.

I was the one waking up drenched in sweat at 3 am. I was the one who couldn’t string a thought together at 2 pm. The one constantly walking through life bleary-eyed and bone-tired. I was the one who’d been blaming a baby who, it turned out, was sleeping better than I was.

If I don’t have a newborn to blame anymore… then what is this?

Why the anxiety? Why the rage? Why the night sweats? Who am I, and what is happening to me?

“You’re Only 39”

So I started asking for help.

I went to my regular doctor and began naming what I was feeling. She listened — but she treated each symptom as its own separate problem, never connecting the dots between them. When I mentioned perimenopause directly, she told me she wouldn’t consider HRT until I was postmenopausal. So the sleep, the rage, the fog, the night sweats all stayed in their own little boxes, unrelated, each one waved off on its own.

I went to my acupuncturist. “You’re only 39,” she said. Too young for perimenopause. So we treated the symptoms one at a time, independently, the same way. Acupuncture would help — for a week, maybe two — and then I’d slide right back to where I started. Exhausted. Not sleeping. Ragey. Anxious.

I kept advocating for myself. I went to a DO who was actually studying menopause treatment — surely, I thought, she’d see it. “You’re likely too young,” she said.

Too young. Only 39. Too early.

Again and again, from every direction, the same dismissal — delivered kindly, delivered by women, delivered by professionals I trusted. And every time, I’d walk out with the symptoms treated in isolation and the actual question unanswered.

But beneath it all, one thing kept getting louder: I don’t feel like myself anymore.

I was done waiting for someone else to figure out why.

The Bloodwork

If no one was going to connect the dots for me, I’d get the dots myself.

I asked my acupuncturist to run bloodwork — a full hormonal and female health panel. Not to treat one more symptom in isolation, but to finally look at the whole picture. Something was wrong. I was more certain of it than I’d been of anything in years, even as everyone around me kept telling me I was too young to be right.

When the results came back, I finally had what I’d been missing for years: data. And it wasn’t subtle. All sorts of numbers were off — hormones and otherwise — some of them alarming enough to induce panic.

For the first time in this whole ordeal, I had something no one could wave away. Not a feeling. Not a complaint. Not “I just don’t feel like myself.” Hard evidence that something really was wrong.

“You’re In Peri!”

I took the bloodwork into my regular doctor’s office. She wasn’t available, so I saw one of her colleagues — a man, maybe 35, a few years younger than me.

By this point, I’d been playing amateur detective for months. So many of my symptoms — the fatigue, the fog, the mood swings, the hair falling out — overlapped with thyroid disorders that I’d started chasing that lead too, convinced the answer had to be something nameable.

When he assured me that, no, I did not have a thyroid disorder, I looked at him and asked the question I’d been carrying for years:

“Well, what the fuck is wrong with me?”

With the confidence of someone stating the obvious, he said:

“You’re in peri.”

Just like that. No hedging. No treating each symptom like an unrelated mystery. He said it the way you’d tell someone the sky was blue — like it was plainly true and always had been.

It’s significant that the first person to do it was a 35-or-so-year-old man, a handful of years younger than me, who took one look at the numbers and immediately saw what had been true all along. Newer to practicing medicine, and trained more recently in the latest research and not yet bogged down or burnt out by an overwhelming patient load, he saw the data for what it was.

He was right, and I was beyond grateful. I’m telling it because of what it revealed: the problem was never that perimenopause is impossible to spot at 39. The problem is that almost no one is trained to look.

I don’t hold any of this against any of the practitioners who missed my diagnosis earlier. I appreciate every single one of them. Once we had the bloodwork in hand, every one of them confirmed what this other doctor saw and supported me as I sought out further treatment.

All along, every one of them was a good, competent professional trying to help me with the information they’d been given.

But that’s the problem: the information they’d been given is terrible. Perimenopause is barely researched, barely funded, and barely taught. Most providers get a few hours on menopause in their entire medical training — and perimenopause, the years-long lead-up, even less. They weren’t being lazy, dismissive, or uncaring. They were working from a map with half the roads missing.

We were all failed by the same broken system.

Getting Myself Back

The doctor who finally named it also gave me a referral to an OBGYN. I brought my bloodwork in, told my story again, and — after years of none — got validated. She prescribed progesterone.

I started sleeping through the night immediately. As in, that night.

After years of waking up at 3 am drenched and wired, after years of dragging myself through days on a brain running at twenty percent, I went to bed, and I slept. It felt like a miracle. And it wasn’t just about being rested — sleep was the domino. Everything else had been falling because of it. The brain fog. The anxiety. The rage. Take away sleep for long enough, and you become a person you don’t recognize.

With sleep, the dominoes started standing back up.

Over the following weeks and months, the rest of it slowly followed. The night sweats began to abate — no more waking up in a pool of sweat. My emotional stability returned; the wild swings quieted down. My cycle came back to something close to normal.

None of it was dramatic. It was just small things, coming back. My body doing what it was supposed to do. My brain not at war with itself.

But when you’ve spent five years without any of it, small things feel like everything.

Stronger Than I’ve Ever Been

The medication wasn’t the only piece.

Over the past few years, in my ongoing campaign to treat every symptom I could get my hands on, I overhauled my diet and training. I started eating a gram of protein per pound of body weight. I front-load it now — a hearty dose first thing, to set the grounds for stable blood sugar throughout the day ahead.

The lifting changed too. I moved into powerlifting — heavier weights, lower reps — specifically to build and protect muscle mass against the decline of estrogen.

I’ve stuck with all of it, and I still do. Not as a replacement for the medical intervention, but as the foundation underneath it. And the result is that I’m physically stronger than I have ever been in my life.

It’s fucking empowering to lift heavy shit and have the highest muscle mass of my life as I look down the barrel at my 40th birthday.

Mentally, the work is slower. I’m still learning to accept the recalibration — to stop waiting for my old body to come back and start building a relationship with the one I have now. To integrate perimenopausal woman into my identity instead of treating it as a temporary detour I’ll eventually exit. To connect with other women going through a similar maze, get support, and have a safe place to vent.

Five Years Later

This newsletter is part of my re-grounding, too.

The Long Run exists in part because I couldn’t write about any of this on Mae’s Menu. Not really. The blog is built for recipes and search engines, and there’s no version of it where I pivot to “here’s what it’s like to be a perimenopausal athlete who’s spent three years trying to figure out why she can’t sleep.”

So I built this instead. A place to write about my actual life — the running, the food, the perimenopause, the motherhood, the ups and the downs and the things I’m still figuring out. Partly for me. But mostly so that some woman out there who’s been told she’s too young doesn’t have to feel as alone or as gaslit as I did.

That’s not a side project. That’s a key part of the rebuild.

So what does “feeling like myself again” actually look like?

It looks like sleeping through the night. It looks like a toddler tantrum landing at 5 pm and not detonating me. It looks like still losing my words sometimes, but being gracious with myself when it happens instead of spiraling about it.

It looks like squatting and deadlifting heavy barbells, celebrating what my body can do, instead of grieving what it used to.

What it doesn’t look like? The old me. That woman — the one from before pregnancy, before motherhood, before any of this — she’s not coming back.

The Chelsea writing this is different from the Chelsea of five years ago. But she’s someone I recognize. Someone I’m settling into. Someone who’s looking at midlife with expectation and excitement rather than dread.

A lot of things are different now. I’m learning to accept them — and to believe that change, rather than return or stagnation, is the goal.

For You

Outside of my small circle, I’m a pretty private person. So you might wonder — the way I wondered, before I decided to write any of this — why put it all out there like this?

Here’s my why.

When I was in the thick of it, I didn’t have stories to go off of. I didn’t have a map. I didn’t even know what perimenopause was, let alone that it could start in my thirties, let alone that it could arrive on the heels of pregnancy and motherhood and knock me completely off my axis. I was lucky enough to have a few friends who came alongside me while I figured it out. Not everyone has that.

So this is me, trying to be that for you.

If you’re a woman in your late thirties or early forties, and you’ve been lying awake wondering what the hell is happening to your body — why you can’t sleep, why you’re raging at nothing, why the fog won’t lift, why you don’t feel like yourself anymore — I want you to hear this from someone who’s been exactly where you are:

You’re not imagining it. You’re not being dramatic. You’re not too young. And you’re not crazy.

You might be in perimenopause. It might be starting earlier than anyone prepared you for. And you deserve to be taken seriously — the first time you ask, not the fifth.

So ask. And if they wave you off, ask again. Do the bloodwork. Find the person willing to look. Advocate for yourself in the exam room and everywhere else, because no one is going to do it for you — and because you are worth the effort it takes.

I’m only 39. And I’m in perimenopause. Both things are true.

If even one woman reads this and feels a little less alone, a little less gaslit, a little more ready to fight for herself — then putting it out here was worth every word.

You’re not losing your mind. You’re just not being told the truth yet.

Let me be the first to tell you.

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Salmon is one of my favorite proteins by a long shot — there are over five salmon recipes on Mae’s Menu at this point, and we eat it as a family at least once a week. It’s satisfying, juicy, high-protein, and loaded with anti-inflammatory omega-3s. Great for anyone, but especially someone in peri (looking at you, angry Achilles and hot flashes).

I’ll air-fry, roast, sauté, grill, or simmer it — the options are almost endless. Today’s preparation of choice: a quick sauté, laid on a bed of arugula with steamed edamame (for more protein), fresh-sliced peaches (’tis the season), slivered almonds (for crunch), and crumbled goat cheese (for creaminess and tang), all drizzled with a fresh lemon vinaigrette.

The result: 46g of protein, ready in under 30 minutes, and downright delicious. A perfect one-bowl meal for the frazzled peri ladies in desperate need of protein and omega-3s — and anyone else looking for a satisfying summer dinner that doesn’t require much thinking.

Salmon Peach Arugula Salad

Yield/Serves: 2 large dinner salads

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Total Time: 25 min

Ingredients:

Lemon Salad Dressing

• 1/4 cup lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey)

• 1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard

• 1 large pinch salt

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salmon

• 1 tablespoon avocado oil

• 2 8 oz salmon fillets

• salt

Peach Arugula Salad

• 5 oz baby arugula

• 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese, regular or honey

• 1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds

• 1 large yellow peach, sliced

• 2/3 cup steamed edamame

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, maple syrup, Dijon, and salt. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until smooth and emulsified. Set aside.

2. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add the avocado oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the salmon skin-side down (if using skin-on). Season with salt and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until the salmon flakes easily with a fork.

3. While the salmon rests, divide the arugula between two large bowls or plates. Top each with sliced peaches, edamame, goat cheese, and almonds.

4. Place the salmon on top, drizzle generously with the vinaigrette, and enjoy.

Notes:

• Salmon thickness: Thicker fillets may need extra cooking time, thinner ones less. Adjust as needed.

• Salmon swaps: Smoked salmon works for a no-cook version. You can also air-fry or roast the salmon instead of pan-searing.

• Stone fruit substitutions: Nectarines, white peaches, or purple plums are all delicious in place of yellow peaches.

• Dressing yield: The recipe makes more dressing than you need for 2 salads. If doubling the salad, don’t double the dressing. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

• Protein swap: Grilled or sautéed shrimp make a great substitute for salmon.Nutrition

Approximately: 670 calories, 46 grams of protein, 20.5 grams of carbohydrates, and 50 grams of fat

(Note: this is just an estimate; always contact a nutrition professional for precise calculations)

Thanks so much for visiting! If you tried this Salmon Peach Arugula Salad recipe, let me know what you thought — and what other recipes you’d like to see here.

For the time being, all new recipes are landing on The Tuesday Table and Perimenopause Plate (instead of maesmenu.com), and I’d love for them to be ones you actually want (Google no longer has a say in things). Please comment below with any recipe requests and I’ll do my best to work with them!

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© 2026 Mae’s Menu. This recipe is for personal use only. Please do not reproduce, republish, or distribute this recipe (in part or in full) without written permission. If you’d like to share it, please link back to the original source rather than copying the content. Thank you for supporting small businesses!

Ever since I started Mae’s Menu in 2019, I’ve wanted to write regular coffee chats to talk with you more personally. In the early days, I was too overwhelmed with the endless list of platforms and skills I needed to learn. Once I got more established, those kinds of posts no longer worked on Google — and in some cases, actively backfired.

Now that I’m on Substack, I’m finally getting to do them.

Consider these chats our monthly hangout — a casual update on what’s going on at Mae’s Menu and here on The Long Run. Hobbies, personal life, travel, reading, the dogs, business goings-on, running, whatever’s on my mind.

As always, I love hearing what’s going on for you — what you want more of in these chats, and any reactions you have along the way.

What I’ve Been Up To

The last month has been such a whirlwind that I had to look through my camera roll to trigger my memory of all that I’ve had going on. From toddler swim classes, golfing, taking up Wordle (why yes, I am 6 years late), showing my face more on TikTok, getting a new car, remembering to take all my sleep supplements, and staving off night sweats, it’s been a busy season of life.

I’m trying to learn to be present even when I’m tired — now that our little guy turned 3 1/2 (he’s a Christmas Eve baby so half birthdays are a big deal), I’m fully aware of how fast time goes.

He’s only this age now, and I know that someday, sooner than I will be able to believe it, I will miss these days of going non-stop from dawn to dusk, taking 20 minutes to do my NYT Mini Crossword puzzle and read 3 pages before passing out (as long as I remembered my supplements, that is).

In all the ways, becoming a parent has made my life that much crazier, but it’s also helped me worry less about my own BS (minus the night sweats) and given me so much more perspective on what really matters.

Where I’ve Been Going

One of the things I love best about my career is that I can work from almost anywhere, and my ability to travel this year has been no exception.

In April, I snuck away for my 40th birthday trip to Portugal with two of my best friends (more on that later!), and this summer, Chris, the little guy, and I are going on a few camping trips.

Our first trip was up to upstate New York — close to the Canadian border — and our second will be to spectate my cousins and uncle as they race boats in Illinois later this month.

We don’t have a camper, so we’ve experienced some of the ups and downs of renting (i.e., NEVER use Cruise America!), but I’m hopeful that we’ll have better success renting from a private owner on our next adventure.

We were mainly without cell signal on our first camping trip, which was ultimately good for me to disconnect, but also made it tricky to keep up with social media and other ongoing work tasks (no income is truly passive). Thankfully, I was able to hit it hard when we returned, catching back up on everything within a few days. The blessings and challenges of being a one-woman team!

What I’ve Been Learning

After 25+ years of ardently refusing to play golf (minus one hot, muggy round about 10 years ago that quickly confirmed my dislike of the sport), I’ve apparently decided to take it up.

Married to a former golf pro and with a toddler who would spend all day Sunday at the driving range if I’d let him, I realized it was time I stopped fighting the inevitable and pick up some clubs. If current trends are any indication of the future, the only way I will see my son regularly as he gets older is if I am out on the golf course with him.

What started as Sunday mornings at the driving range with the little guy turned into Chris and me going on golf date nights, Chris giving me instruction on the range, and all three of us (sometimes Grandpa and aunts and uncles, too) heading out as a family for evening rounds.

The least surprising part? Yes, I’m still a perfectionist. The most surprising part: I’m (usually) still having fun.

I’m currently in the phase where I am getting worse before I get better. From that, as many other golfers ahead of me have learned: I play better when I stop overthinking, focus on having fun, and am in the moment. Applicable to golf as well as life — thoughts and prayers as I learn to actually apply this. 😏

What I’ve Been Reading

For how wild of a year it’s been politically and busy of a year it's been personally, my reading list this year has been off the hook. One of my best in recent years by far.

Over the last few weeks, I read The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. Without reading any reviews, I picked it up on a recent trip to the bookstore simply because I loved The Help so much.

This book did not disappoint.

Whereas writing book reviews really isn’t my forte, I’ll highlight my experience so far because this book certainly is near (or at) the top of this year’s reading list—and that says a lot, given how many of them I’ve adored.

Unlike The Help, which explores race and class in the 1960s South, The Calamity Club follows its two main protagonists — a teenage girl and young woman — in 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, as they navigate the Great Depression, misogyny and sexism, class divides, and religion-informed societal expectations of the day.

It was an engrossing read—albeit at times teetering on the edge of the unrealistic (though not frustratingly so)—and, like The Help, it had incredible character development. Now that I’ve finished the 640+ page book, I find myself reflecting on it and missing Birdie, Charlie, and Meg. I’m also having a hard time getting into my next selection, though it seems promising.

What I’ve Been Running

Though I’ve been overall recovering, my Achilles has been an ongoing factor in this year’s training — thank you very much, peri menopause. 😫

My friend Brie has been super generous and thoughtful to let me borrow her infrared light, which (in conjunction with PT) has been accelerating healing. But I still have to play it smart by cross-training more than I have in the past and only selectively participating in speed and tempo workouts.

Between the Achilles drama, travel, work, and the summer busyness, my training has been very flexible, which means that my approach for racing has changed, too. Whereas I raced almost exclusively for time last year, setting a PR in my mile and coming within 30 seconds of another BQ qualifier at the Dallas marathon in December, this year has been all about rolling with it.

Dare I say, it’s been a welcome change for this type-A runner.

This past weekend, the little guy asked me to push him in Fort Collins’ FireKracker 5K, and given his near-blanket refusal to let me push him anymore, I gladly agreed.

As the toddler prerogative would have it, he dragged his feet on the way there, and we started 3 minutes late, leaving us smack dab in the middle of the walking wave, but we still had fun bobbing and weaving, listening to music, and running negative splits.

It was the slowest 5K I’ve run in years, but one I’m choosing to appreciate because it might be one of the last pushing the stroller.

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These taco bowls are what I make on the nights when I’m short on inspiration, energy, or both — and dinner still has to happen.

They’re fast, they’re forgiving, and they’re endlessly adaptable. Everyone (even the little guy) gets to build their own to their liking — which cuts down on the “I don’t want that“ negotiations that eat up more energy than actually cooking dinner. They’re also fantastic as leftovers and even better as meal prep. As a perimenopausal athlete, I love that they hit 26g of protein per serving and are on the table in under 20 minutes. I’ve also been known to whip them up for lunch on a busy work-from-home day.

They’re designed to be a weeknight repeat go-to — the kind of meal I can throw together fast or prep ahead so we’re covered for busy evenings full of work events, extracurriculars, or — god forbid — mom going out with her girlfriends for a drink and leaving dinner at home for the boys.

Everyday Taco Bowls Recipe

Yield/Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Taco Meat

• 1 tablespoon avocado oil

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 2 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning

• 1/2 cup water or low-sodium chicken broth

• 3/4 cup salsa

Taco Bowls

• 3–4 cups cooked white rice, brown rice, or quinoa

• Salsa

• Sour cream

• Shredded cheddar cheese

• Guacamole

• Other favorite taco toppings

Directions:

1. Heat the avocado oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the ground turkey. Cook, breaking it into crumbles with a wooden spoon, for 4–5 minutes, until browned and cooked through (165°F).

2. Add the taco seasoning and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until fragrant.

3. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the water (or broth) and salsa. Bring to a simmer and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the mixture is saucy and most of the liquid has reduced.

4. Divide the rice evenly among 4 bowls and top each with the taco meat. Finish with salsa, sour cream, shredded cheddar, guacamole, and any other favorite toppings. Serve warm.

Notes:

• Heat level: Taco seasoning and salsa both come in mild to spicy — use whichever matches your crowd. For a family-friendly bowl, go mild and let everyone spice up their own.

• Rice made easy: My preferred method is the Instant Pot — it’s convenient and easy to make ahead. Add 2 cups long-grain white rice and 3 cups water, cook on high pressure for 1 minute, then natural-release for 5 minutes and quick-release the rest. Frozen pre-cooked rice works great for ultra-convenient weeknights, too.

• Swap the meat: Ground chicken, beef, or venison all work in place of the turkey — just adjust the cook time slightly for fattier meats and drain if needed.

• Make it your own: Swap the ground turkey for chicken, beef, or venison. Cauliflower rice instead of rice for a lower-carb version. Add black beans or corn for extra fiber. Toppings are limited only by what's in your fridge.

• Make it ahead: The taco meat keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and reheats beautifully, making this an easy meal-prep base. Build the bowls to order so the toppings stay fresh. The cooked meat also freezes well for up to 3 months.

Nutrition*: Approximately 385 calories, 26 grams of protein, 40 grams of carbohydrates, and 13 grams of fat

(Note: this is just an estimate; always contact a nutrition professional for precise calculations)

Thanks so much for visiting! If you tried this Everyday Taco Bowl recipe, let me know what you thought — and what other recipes you’d like to see here.

For the time being, all new recipes are landing on The Tuesday Table and Perimenopause Plate (instead of maesmenu.com), and I’d love for them to be ones you actually want (Google no longer has a say in things). Please comment below with any recipe requests and I’ll do my best to work with them!

Leave a comment

© 2026 Mae’s Menu. This recipe is for personal use only. Please do not reproduce, republish, or distribute this recipe (in part or in full) without written permission. If you’d like to share it, please link back to the original source rather than copying the content. Thank you for supporting small businesses!

When I talk about race times with new runners, they often assume every run I take is at the same pace I run my races. It couldn’t be further from the truth.

My easy pace — the pace I run 70-80% of my weekly miles at — can be anywhere from 5-6 minutes slower than my workout or race paces. Sometimes I even walk-run them. The difference is significant, and it’s 100% intentional. I’ve been training this way for 9 years, across 8 marathons (including a Boston qualifier). It works.

This method of running your easy runs EASY and your hard runs HARD is called polarized training, and it’s the single simplest change you can make to your training to revolutionize your performance. It’s also the principle that most often gets overlooked.

It’s not sexy. It’s not amazing for the ego. But polarized training works.

Think about it: if every run is at high effort, not only will your body not have time to recover (causing burnout), but it won’t be able to make the physiological adaptations needed to become a stronger, fitter runner. For most runners, attempting to murder every workout produces the opposite result — performances stagnate (paces live in the dead, grey zone), they start feeling run down, and/or they get injured.

The middle effort zone is where running performance goes to die.

During slow runs, you build cardiovascular fitness, running economy, and muscular endurance. You also grow your mitochondria (your cellular energy powerhouses) and expand your capillary network (which pumps more oxygenated blood throughout your body). You teach your body to clear lactate more efficiently — meaning you’re less sore after runs — and you learn to actively recover, a crucial skill for endurance running. And along the way, you build the mental endurance that all of it depends on — the foundation you need to run hard efforts and races hard.

During hard runs, you build muscular power and cardiovascular strength, refine fast-twitch muscle fibers, develop the mental strength to push through hard effort, and strengthen your bones and joints with high-impact efforts.

How do you find your polarized paces?

There are three main ways to find it. The method that works for you depends on what type of runner you are:

For the running-watch obsessives: Use a trusted race-pace calculator to determine your easy-run pace. These calculators factor in the paces you need to run in each zone and will give you your easy paces plus your tempo, speed, and race paces. You can use them on your own, but it’s best to work with a certified running coach to first determine a realistic race time.

For the heart-rate devotees: Run your easy pace at a speed that keeps your heart rate in the easy aerobic zone (often yellow). If your heart rate creeps out of that zone, adjust your pace down until you’re back in the yellow. Try a few runs, watching your zones, and identify the pace range (usually with about a 1-minute deviation, e.g., 9-10 minutes per mile) where your heart rate consistently stays. That’s your easy pace. As you get fitter, your pace may naturally increase while still staying in the same zone.

For everyone else: Listen to your body. I know, I know — easier said than done. Does the run feel easy? Are you relaxed? Can you hold a full conversation or laugh at a podcast? Do you feel invigorated with some heavier breathing, without feeling gassed or needing to stop to let your heart rate come down?

To find your max paces, go the opposite direction — find the pace at which you’re breathing heavy and working hard for 100 meters, then work back from there for your hard short interval pace (the fastest pace you can maintain for 600 meters) and your hard long interval pace (the fastest pace you can maintain for 1200 meters).

For this method, it helps to learn about the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) so you can recognize how each of your paces feels. Note: this method can be tricky for those of us who are too into our watches, but it’s worth learning. It also teaches us to be more in our bodies as we run, which can turn running into a form of meditation, reduce injury rates, and (in my experience) even make running more enjoyable.

Common Questions

What if I’m not even running steady miles yet?
No problem. We all start somewhere — whether running for the first time or coming back from illness, injury, or pregnancy. Before worrying about polarized training, focus on building your running base. Start with a run-walk program that builds up slowly, ending with you able to run for 30-45 minutes steadily. Then start thinking about polarized training.

Can I do polarized training while building my base?
Yes and no. If you’re an experienced runner with a solid base (able to run at least 30-45 minutes, 4-5 days a week), you can slowly build volume while doing polarized training — but there are three rules you have to obey:

• Make volume changes slowly (around 5% a week)

• Give yourself cutback weeks (reduce your volume by 10-15% every 3 weeks)

• Change only one variable at a time — work in polarized training for a few weeks, take a cutback week, and then start increasing overall volume, keeping the hard portion of your training consistent

Outside of food, running is one of my favorite topics to talk about — and one where every runner has different questions depending on where they are in their training. Comment below with anything I didn't cover, any curveballs your training is throwing at you, or anything else you want me to write about. I read every comment.

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One of my biggest tips for hitting your daily protein goals is to start early and start strong. Aim for at least half your day’s target by lunchtime, and you’re nearly guaranteed to knock it out of the park by the end of the day.

For me, starting strong almost always means collagen coffee (20g protein) when I wake up, a protein shake (25-30g) after running or lifting, and a protein-packed breakfast (20-40g). Combined, that’s anywhere from 70-90g of protein by 10am — roughly half of what I’m shooting for each day.

I’ll be honest: I fall off the overnight oats bandwagon when I forget to prep them the night before (it happens to the best of us). But when I remember to get my act together, I’m giddy come breakfast time. My toddler is too — he asks me to make them when I tuck him in at night.

They’re high-protein (up to 40g per serving), creamy, gently sweet, comforting, and great for on-the-go breakfasts and snacks. They’re also incredibly versatile, allowing you to adjust them to dietary preferences, what you have on hand, and what you’re craving — that is, almost impossible to get sick of.

Below: my base protein overnight oats recipe, endless variations, and everything you need to know to make these your new favorite reason to get out of bed.

The Base Recipe

Below is everything you need for one perfect serving of high-protein overnight oats. The base hits roughly 30g of protein — and we'll get it higher in the variations section below.

Old-Fashioned Oats — The workhorse of the recipe. Old-fashioned (a.k.a. rolled) oats are the right call here: they soak up the liquid evenly, hold their shape, and end up with a satisfying chew rather than a soupy mush.

Chia Seeds — They thicken the oats as they soak, give you a fiber boost, and add a little extra protein and omega-3s. Half a tablespoon is all you need — go heavier and the texture turns gummy.

Maple Syrup — Real maple syrup (not pancake syrup) brings a clean, complex sweetness that pairs beautifully with the cinnamon and oats. A tablespoon is enough — these oats are gently sweet, not dessert-sweet.

Cinnamon — Adds warmth, supports blood sugar stability (a quiet win for us perimenopausal ladies), and pulls the whole bowl together. Half a teaspoon is the right amount — enough to taste, not enough to overwhelm.

Milk — Use whatever you’ve got — dairy or non-dairy both work. For a protein boost, reach for filtered milk like Fairlife, which packs nearly double the protein of standard.

Protein Powder — This is where the protein gets serious. Two tablespoons of protein powder OR collagen powder both work — pick based on what you’re going for:

• Protein powder (whey, plant, etc.) adds full-spectrum protein and flavor (vanilla and chocolate are the easiest pairings).

• Collagen powder is unflavored, dissolves seamlessly, and supports joint, skin, and gut health — all of which are real perimenopause concerns.

Greek Yogurt — The secret to extra-creamy oats AND extra protein. Two tablespoons does the trick. Vanilla yogurt adds a little sweetness; plain keeps things neutral. Full-fat is the most luxurious; low-fat is the highest-protein and leanest. All work.

(Nearly Endless) Variations to Make It Your Own

The base recipe is delicious as-is, but the real magic of overnight oats is that they're a template. Here are the variations I rotate through, depending on what I'm craving, the season, and what's in my pantry.

Jam or Preserves — Swap the maple syrup for a tablespoon of your favorite jam. Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, fig, apricot — all great.

Cocoa Powder — Use a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa for a chocolate fix that doesn’t feel like dessert for breakfast. For extra protein and chocolaty flavor, swap in Fairlife chocolate milk. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips before serving for a dessert-like touch.

Matcha — A teaspoon of ceremonial-grade matcha for a creamy, gently caffeinated bowl. Skip culinary-grade — it’s bitter and grassy.

Dried Fruit — Two tablespoons of dried fruit (raisins, dates, dried cherries, apricots) for chewy bursts of natural sweetness.

Nut Butter — Two teaspoons of any nut butter for richness, healthy fats, and a few more grams of protein.

Cottage Cheese — Swap the Greek yogurt for two tablespoons of cottage cheese.

High-Protein — Use protein oats, filtered milk, low-fat Greek yogurt, and an extra tablespoon of protein powder to push the bowl past 40g.

Blended — Blend everything except the chia seeds until smooth, then stir the chia in and soak as directed. Smooth, creamy, almost like Cream of Wheat.

Seasonal and Dietary Variations

A mix of standalone recipes and easy tweaks for different needs:

Peach — High-Protein Peach Overnight Oats. A summer must-make.

Apple Cinnamon — High-Protein Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats. Fall in a jar.

Gluten-Free — Use certified gluten-free oats. Everything else is naturally GF.

Vegan — Use plant-based protein powder (skip collagen) and swap Greek yogurt for a thick non-dairy yogurt like coconut or cashew.

High-Protein Overnight Oats Recipe

Servings: 1

Prep Time: 5 Min

Soak Time: 3-4 Hours

Total Time: 3 Hours & 5 Min

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

• 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds

• 2 tablespoons protein powder or collagen powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• pinch salt

• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

• 3/4 cup milk, non-dairy or dairy (use filtered milk for more protein)

• 2 tablespoons vanilla or plain Greek yogurt

• Optional add-ins and variations

  • 1 tablespoon fruit jam or preserves (instead of maple syrup)

  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

  • 1 teaspoon ceremonial-grade matcha

  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 2 tablespoons dried fruit

  • 2 teaspoons nut butter

  • 2 teaspoons mini chocolate chips

  • 2 tablespoons cottage cheese (instead of Greek yogurt)

Instructions

1. Add the oats, chia seeds, protein or collagen powder, cinnamon, and salt to a Mason jar. Stir or cover and shake until combined.

2. Pour in the maple syrup, milk, Greek yogurt, and stir to combine.

3. Stir in any add-ins until combined.

4. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight. Enjoy cold!

Notes:

• Do not use steel-cut oats. They are too tough and don’t work with this amount of liquid.

• For a quicker recipe, use instant oats. They only need to soak for 1-2 hours.

• Make it blended! For a smooth, creamy breakfast (almost like Cream of Wheat), blend everything except the chia seeds until smooth. Pour into a glass jar, stir in the chia seeds, and soak as directed.

• High-protein: For the highest protein count, use protein oats instead of standard oats, filtered milk, and low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt. You can also stir in an extra tablespoon of protein powder if desired.

• Using in-season fruit: For a summery variation, try making it with fresh peaches. For an autumnal twist, try apple cinnamon.

• High-protein chocolate oats: For an extra-rich, chocolaty variation with 29g of protein per serving, try my Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats.

Nutrition Facts — per base serving (made with filtered milk and vanilla whey protein powder:

• Calories: 460

• Protein: 40g

• Carbohydrates: 50g

• Fat: 12g

• Fiber: 9g

(Note: this is just an estimate; always contact a nutrition professional for precise calculations)

Thanks so much for visiting! If you tried this High-Protein Overnight Oats recipe, let me know what you thought — and what other recipes you’d like to see here.

For the time being, all new recipes are landing on The Tuesday Table and Perimenopause Plate (instead of maesmenu.com), and I’d love for them to be ones you actually want. Google no longer has a say in things.

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When people find out how much I eat, they’re usually shocked.

I’m a 39-year-old marathon runner and running coach in early perimenopause. I’m not eating less. I’m not “watching what I eat.” I’m not on a GLP-1, and I have no plans to be. I’m eating more food — more protein, more carbs, more real meals — than I have in my entire adult life. And I’ve never felt stronger, sharper, or more like myself.

This is not the story we’re being told right now.

Quick note before we go further: I’m not a doctor or a dietitian. I’m a marathon runner, a running coach, and a recipe developer who got tired of being told what perimenopausal women should eat and started figuring it out herself. Take what’s useful. Leave what isn’t.

The cultural moment

We are watching the return of a (horrifying) era. Shrinking is back in fashion. GLP-1 drugs have made being smaller easier than at any point in human history, and the cultural script that women should be smaller — quieter, less, contained — is being rewritten with pharmaceutical reinforcement.

I’m not interested in shrinking. I’m interested in more.

More muscle. More energy. More strength to lift my kid, run my races, work my brain, engage in politics, and fight back against a moment that wants women to take up less space. The patriarchal standards we thought were behind us are reappearing — sometimes in new packaging, sometimes in the same old packaging. In a time like this, eating well isn’t just self-care. It’s resistance.

When we’re fed, we’re strong. When we’re strong, we can push back. When we’re not obsessing over the size of our bodies, we can invest ourselves in the larger resistances that matter.

How I got here

I’d love to tell you I figured this out through some deep philosophical reckoning. The truth is more practical: a few years ago, coming out of the postpartum period, my physical therapist told me to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day to rebuild strength.

I thought she was kidding. It felt impossible. Overwhelming. I tracked it for a few weeks, got overwhelmed (see my earlier notes about being a new parent), and gave up temporarily.

Then, when a peri-induced Achilles injury showed up last winter, and building strength was initiative #1, I committed myself to figuring out how to make the high-protein life work.

Once I started actually hitting that target — through trial and error, a lot of Costco runs, and roughly three years of figuring out a system that fits my life — it didn’t just rebuild my postpartum strength. It changed everything else, too. My energy. My focus. My sleep. My moods. The way I felt in my own skin.

Then I learned why.

The science

Perimenopause is the time when our hormones start scrambling everything we thought we knew about how our bodies work. Progesterone and estrogen start declining. Insulin sensitivity is shifting. Muscle is harder to build and easier to lose. The “eat less, move more” script that may have worked at 25 actively backfires now.

What protein actually does

Every time you exercise — especially lifting or any kind of resistance work — you’re creating tiny tears in your muscle fibers. That’s the whole point of training: the breakdown triggers the body to rebuild stronger.

But that rebuild depends entirely on protein. It contains the raw materials your body uses to repair and grow muscle tissue. No protein, no rebuild. Some protein, partial rebuild. Adequate protein, full repair, plus a little extra — which is how you actually get stronger over time.

In midlife, this becomes urgent. Declining estrogen makes the rebuild less efficient than it used to be — meaning we need more protein than we did at 25 to get the same result.

Protein has a few other important roles:

• Keeps you full longer — Helping with satiation, mood stabilization, and more

• Stabilizes blood sugar — especially when you front-load it in the morning (the case for collagen coffee and high-protein breakfasts isn’t aesthetic — it’s metabolic)

• Supports bone health alongside muscle — bones and muscles function as a team, and they age together

• Helps preserve metabolism — muscle is what burns calories at rest, so losing muscle = a slower metabolism, which is one of the reasons “everything I used to do stopped working” hits in midlife

Carbs are the other half of the equation. They’re what fuels the training itself — your body needs them to push hard enough in workouts to create the muscle breakdown that protein then repairs. Without carbs, your workouts suffer, your recovery suffers, and your body starts breaking down muscle for fuel — the exact opposite of what we want.

Protein + carbs = the foundation of staying strong as you age. Cutting either one undercuts the other.

This isn’t the season to cut carbs. It isn’t the season to “watch your calories.” It’s the season to eat to be strong — and to keep doing it as the rest of the world tells you to shrink.

What 140g of protein looks like in real life

I aim for a minimum of 140g of protein a day. Most days, I land closer to 165g. Here’s a recent breakdown, with protein content in parentheses:

• Within 45 minutes of waking: Collagen coffee (20g)

• Before workout: A bowl of high-carb cereal (2g)

• During lifting: Protein shake with creatine (30g)

• Breakfast: High-protein overnight oats (up to 40g)

• Lunch: Spinach salad with edamame, salmon, parmesan, and garbanzo beans (45g)

• Snack: 3 Wishes protein cereal with strawberries (8g)

• Dinner: BBQ chicken bowls with baked sweet potato (25g)

• Dessert: Soft-serve ice cream (0g, but high satisfaction)

Total: ~170g of protein.

This isn’t a perfect day. It’s a real one. The breakdown changes — some days less protein, some days more carbs, some days an extra coffee or a glass of wine. The point isn’t precision. The point is that I’m fueled, and I get to eat the things I love (yes, including ice cream) without it derailing anything.

What changed

A few unsexy benefits that I’ve personally appreciated, and that particularly help during perimenopause:

• Steadier energy throughout the day

• Sharper focus at work

• Better sleep (especially after a high-protein bedtime snack)

• Muscle mass increasing in my late 30s, not decreasing

There are a lot of things I don’t think about anymore because of how I eat. How to stay “full” on fewer calories, how to distract myself when hungry, worrying about my body size, and thinking obsessively about food. Instead, I’m too busy lifting, running, working, and being a present mom to spend that brain space on shrinking.

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The point

The wellness industry wants you small. The pharmaceutical industry wants you to use its products. The cultural moment wants you quiet, contained, manageable.

I’m not telling you what to eat. I’m not telling you whether to take a GLP-1. I’m not in your body, your kitchen, or your medical history, and I don’t pretend to be. Those decisions are between you and your doctor.

But I am telling you this: you have permission to opt out of the story being sold to you.

You have permission to question why a culture that’s profited off your insecurities for your entire lifetime is now offering you a pharmaceutical solution for “the wellness problem” it created.

You have permission to ask whether the body you’re being told you should have is the one you actually want — or just the one you’ve been trained to think you should want.

You have permission to be fed. Strong. Visible. Loud.

You have permission to tell the whole industry to fuck off.

The most subversive thing a woman can do right now is not shrink.

— Chelsea

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There’s something about long runs that makes me crave frozen vegetables — you know, the kind we ate as kids and often try to hawk on our own children so they can actually eat some roughage.

I don’t know what it is about them — before having a kid, they weren’t usually in my rotation — but the mix of carbs (for recovery) and veggies (i.e., a change of pace after eating just GU gels for a few hours straight) just sounds so good after a long workout. I’ll often add them to post-run meals, stir them into mac and cheese, fold them into cheesy eggs, or simply sautéeing them with a bit of butter and finish with onion and garlic powder.

A Saturday many weeks back, after a long run and knee-deep in my usual craving for them, and looking at a rotisserie chicken I needed to use up before it went bad, I decided to play around with combining the two. Somehow we had also overbought BBQ sauce, so I added that to the equation, too.

What resulted is this BBQ chicken bowl recipe. Shredded rotisserie or cooked chicken is warmed in sweet, spicy barbecue sauce and served over sautéed mixed veggies seasoned with onion and garlic powder. Finish it all off with a sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese, and we now have a dish I enjoyed that Saturday and more times than I can count since… and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

It’s easy to make, high in protein, helps me get my veggies, and ready in 15 MINUTES. Perfect for family dinners and workday lunches. It’s also budget-friendly — I buy both the vegetables and the rotisserie chicken at Costco, so each serving costs me less than $1 (yes, even in this economy).

Ingredients and Swaps

Cooked or Rotisserie Chicken — I almost always have a rotisserie chicken on hand (such a simple way to add protein to meals in a pinch!), so that’s usually my go-to, but any type of cooked or leftover chicken — sautéed, baked, grilled — works great. The only type I wouldn’t do would be fried.

BBQ Sauce — This is the star of the show here, so use your favorite brand or make homemade. This summer, I plan to make this with Peach BBQ Sauce when the Palisade peaches come into season.

Frozen Mixed Vegetables — I love the classic mix because it’s a good combination of starchy (corn and peas) and less-starchy (carrots and green beans), and it goes very well with the BBQ chicken. Plus, they make the dish pretty family-friendly. If you’d rather, Normandy frozen vegetables, broccoli, or cauliflower (or a mix) can be substituted.

BBQ Chicken Bowl Recipe

Servings: 2

Prep Time: 5 Min

Cook Time: 10 Min

Total Time: 15 Min

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter or avocado oil

• 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables

• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder

• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 2 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie or cooked chicken

• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese, optional

Instructions

1. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the vegetables and sauté, stirring regularly, for 5-6 minutes or until the green beans are bright green.

2. Add the salt, onion powder, and garlic powder, and sauté for 1-2 minutes until golden and fragrant. Remove from the heat.

3. While the veggies cook, heat the shredded chicken with the BBQ sauce in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring regularly, for 5-6 minutes or until heated through.

4. Assemble the bowls: divide the vegetables between the bowls and top with the BBQ chicken. Top with shredded cheddar if desired. Enjoy hot!

Nutrition Facts (this is just an estimate; always contact a nutrition professional for precise calculations):

• Calories: 400

• Protein: 34g

• Carbohydrates: 25g

• Fat: 17g

• Fiber: 5g

• Sodium: 950mg

Recipe Pro-Tips

• Multiplying — Double or triple the recipe for the whole family or to have leftovers, adding a few extra minutes of cooking time for both the chicken and vegetables as needed.

• Storage Directions — Leftovers should be kept covered in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Though you can technically freeze them, I don’t recommend it, as the chicken texture can change upon defrosting.

• Meal Prepping — This recipe is fantastic for making ahead. Double or triple the recipe at the beginning of the week, portion into individual containers, and reheat before enjoying.

Thanks so much for visiting! If you tried this BBQ chicken bowl, let me know what you thought — and what other recipes you’d like to see here.

For the time being, all new recipes are landing on The Tuesday Table and Perimenopause Plate (instead of maesmenu.com), and I’d love for them to be ones you actually want. Google no longer has a say in things. 😉

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The Tuesday Table is a bi-weekly recipe series, published every other Tuesday. The recipes are designed with busy, hungry families in mind — but they’re for anyone, regardless of sex, gender, age, or lifestyle. Free for the foreseeable future. 🦁

Today I’m introducing my two new recipe columns — The Perimenopause Plate and Tuesday’s Table — what they’re for, when they drop, and how you can help shape them.

The Perimenopause Plate

What: Quick and easy meals. High-protein, low-inflammation.

Who: Built for perimenopausal women — because we’ve been kept out of the conversation for too long, and because our nutritional needs change during this phase of life. These recipes are designed for stable blood sugar, muscle preservation, and the realities of training and recovery in midlife.

But they’re not only for women in peri. They work for anyone who wants real, nutrient-dense food without fuss. Welcome whether you’re either, both, or neither.

Tuesday Table

What: Healthy, weeknight-doable meals. Family-friendly, fast, and made with real ingredients.

Who: Built for working parents (and anyone else) drowning in the after-school/after-work chaos. Tuesday is the night dinner falls apart — Sunday energy is gone, Monday’s leftovers are eaten, the weekend feels a million miles away. This is the column for it.

Designed by a working mom who knows firsthand how impossible feeding the family on a Tuesday can feel. The cook gets fueled too. That’s a feature, not an afterthought.

How They’ll Drop

Both columns are bi-weekly, published on Tuesday mornings, alternating:

• Week 1: The Perimenopause Plate

• Week 2: Tuesday’s Table

• Week 3: The Perimenopause Plate

• ...you get the idea.

That means one new recipe every Tuesday, no off weeks. Plan your meal prep accordingly.

Both Free, Both Shaped By You

Both columns are free for the foreseeable future — no paywall, no gatekeeping.

And here’s the part I’m most excited about: I’m building these in conversation with you. Comment on the posts. Reply to the emails. Tell me what you actually want to cook, what’s not working in your kitchen, what your family will eat, what your body needs right now.

Google’s limiting rules don’t apply here. I’m not chasing keywords or writing for search engines. I’m making recipes for the people who read them — so the more I hear from you, the better this gets.

See you tomorrow!

Today, I’m diving deeper into these questions, illuminating the changes happening in the blogging industry, what my plans are for Mae’s Menu the blog, and what you can expect from it as well as this Substack.

The Backstory

To best explain all these changes, it’s best to start with where the blogging industry started. Back when the industry began in the late 2000s, blogging was a lot like Substack is now: with people subscribed to RSS feeds, writing purely for the reader (not Google ranking), and not being at the mercy of Instagram, Facebook, or Google algorithms that could tank your business with one update. Bloggers shot recipes with their basic digital camera — no fancy DSLR’s required or hours of post-editing — and wrote a few quick paragraphs to introduce it and then called it a day.

Over time, advertisers entered the picture, offering to display ads on the website so bloggers could make money from traffic (i.e., user eyeballs) to their content or sponsorships for social media posts. What often started as a hobby could now become a business. Some of the bloggers were able to start hiring teams and expanding their production capabilities, allowing them to grow further.

While blogging evolved from a hobby to a business, other changes were happening on platforms and search engines through which readers discovered blogs. As more and more users adopted platforms and ways of discovering content, competition between platforms drove them to provide the “best” possible experience for users — delivering the most engaging, viral (on social) content.

The means through which these platforms made these changes were (and are) algorithmic changes: overnight, Google, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest would publish changes to the way content was discovered and found, sometimes tripling (or more) business exposure and traffic revenue, and other times destroying it in the same amount of time.

In order to protect their businesses from algorithmic decimation, bloggers refined their practices to stay the most competitive: hiring photographers or upgrading to fancy DSLRs and learning professional photography editing, learning SEO (the art and science of ranking in Google search results) and bringing on writers and writing teams, going to culinary school or outsourcing recipe development to trained chefs, and investing in social media managers. This was definitely no longer a hobby.

If you’re thinking: what she is describing is the free market and capitalism, you are correct. And, at its heart, I believe it is good. Competition inspires innovation. What once was rudimentary became sophisticated. Which is all good and great…. until the advent of AI.

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AI Enters the Chat

A bit of a disclaimer before I get more into AI: I want to express that it is admittedly tricky to educate about AI without sounding bitter. Granted, I have been bitter because it has had a decidedly negative effect on my business (more on that in a moment), but I don’t expect anyone who doesn’t know me or doesn't have a dog in this fight to feel bad for me, though I know that more and more people are expressing concern about the future of AI. I am writing this post to raise awareness, explain my move to Substack, educate on how AI is playing out in real-world industries, and make a statement about how regulation protects a free market.

Back to AI. Towards the end of 2023 and into early 2024, Google began preparing to roll out its AI mode and overviews to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic. What started with a “Helpful Content Update,” which was stated to reward “people first” content (i.e., content written for users, not search engines), evolved into the first AI overviews in May 2024. In short, bloggers had to be even better than before, because they were no longer competing against each other but also against robots.

As I said before, I believe in competition and think it is a good thing. But this competition is different: the robots bloggers are competing against are not only trained on the bloggers’ content but also offered no compensation to said bloggers for training on their content. Furthermore, as robots get better and AI overviews get more expansive, they take more and more traffic (i.e., the way bloggers monetize and keep their businesses afloat) from bloggers, stealing not only their content but also their livelihood.

As a concrete and transparent illustration: at the time of this publication (late June 2026), my net take-home income is 50% of what it was at the end of 2023. I work full-time now; I worked part-time then (as I was working my way back from maternity leave).

The Problem with AI

As you can see, it’d be a different story if bloggers were compensated for using their content for training and/or their subsequent traffic loss.

It’d be a different story if Google and AI companies could be held accountable for the information theft.

But alas, thanks to the rollback of regulations that could protect our industry, bloggers don’t have a leg to stand on. How are we to compete against a juggernaut like Google? Even in situations where Google has been held accountable, such as their federal antitrust lawsuit, the rulings take forever to move through the legal system.

Under an administration so tight with AI executives and rolling back regulation, bloggers certainly have the short end of the stick (if any stick at all).

(Lest you think I’m the only one who has issues with this, let me introduce you to a recent Google executive, René Mayrhofer, who just left the company, citing that leadership has lost its moral compass).

Where This Leaves the Blogging Industry

Because of all these changes, many bloggers are preparing for a “zero-click future”—that is, a future in which we keep our businesses afloat without any traffic to our blogs. A future that is the polar opposite of the businesses we once built.

Many bloggers are leaving the industry; others are turning to their email audiences or social media; and others are starting on other content platforms such as Substack.

I am one such blogger who has turned to Substack. Though I am getting more active on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, these platforms are not the most natural platforms for me and my personality, the brainy/nerdy contrarian. (Though I’m working on getting more natural showing my face, social media has never really been a place I shine.)

Instead, I am leaning into Substack for its more old-school blogging style: writing for the reader, without an algorithm in sight; focusing most on the quality of the recipes, with photography, more personal writing, and promotion to follow; and including more about the full picture of who I am (running, parenting, travel, perimenopause), not just the food.

With this change, I am hopeful that good things are coming. As I get more and more into this platform, I become increasingly excited about the future, a feeling I haven’t felt much in the past 3 years of intense change.

Am I a bit anxious about how I will eventually monetize it? Yes. Do I have imposter syndrome and wonder “who the hell wants to hear from me?” Certainly. Daily, in fact. Do I worry that eventually Substack will have an algorithm, too? Of course.

But, as I’ve learned from my blogging journey so far, I am going to keep on going. Fake it ‘til I make it. Trust in my resilience. Connect with my community. Focus on the recipes, be myself, and put myself out there. Use my voice, even when I doubt that anyone wants to hear it.

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Matcha has had quite the time in the limelight. Though it’s right to be there, it is often hotly debated; I place myself squarely in the “matcha or bust” camp.

Yes, my allegiance to coffee slightly overpowers it, but no one or no thing outside of friends or family can take up a bigger place in my heart. When not coffee (because I'm trying to sleep or decide that no, 5 cups of coffee in one day is not a good idea), matcha it always is. Its grassy notes are the best complement to caramelly sweet maple syrup or dates, making a mid-afternoon (or post-workout) sip I can seldom turn down.

Matcha gives me energy without making me buzzy or jittery. It’s also adaptable to many formats and amazing for perimenopause, thanks to its anti-inflammatory benefits. When I’m struggling with sleep, it can be a better option than coffee (though I still have to be aware of timing, of course).

So, without further ado, here’s my favorite matcha smoothie. Made with frozen bananas and pineapple, a dollop of Greek yogurt, hemp seeds, vanilla protein powder, dates, and (of course) matcha, it’s my feel-good, delicious sipper of the summer. Cheers!

Matcha Protein Smoothie

Makes: 1 smoothie

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, plain or vanilla

• 1 teaspoon matcha (preferably ceremonial grade)

• 1/2 frozen banana

• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple

• 2 tablespoons vanilla or plain Greek yogurt

• 1 pitted Medjool date

• 1 tablespoon hemp or chia seeds

• handful of ice cubes

• 1 25g scoop vanilla protein powder

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients except the protein powder to a high-speed blender in the listed order.

2. Blend on high for 1 minute or until smooth and creamy.

3. Add the protein powder and blend for 20-30 seconds or until combined and creamy.

4. Taste the smoothie. If desired, blend in more matcha (for grassiness and energy boost), banana (for sweet creaminess), or ice cubes for frostiness.

5. Enjoy!

Nutritional Estimates (please note these are just estimates; always consult a health professional for the most accurate measurement):

Calories: 360 Protein: 33g Carbs:42g Fat: 8g Fiber: 4g

Optional Variations: Blend in any of the following to make this recipe your own.

• Baby spinach or kale — a handful adds more nutrients and makes the color more vivid

• Blueberries — Up the antioxidants with a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries

• Almond Butter — 1 tablespoon adds protein, healthy fats, and staying power

If you tried this matcha smoothie, let me know what you thought — and what other recipes you’d like to see here.

For the time being, all new recipes are landing on The Tuesday Table and Perimenopause Plate (instead of maesmenu.com), and I’d love for them to be ones you actually want. Google no longer has a say in things. 😉

The Perimenopause Plate is a bi-weekly recipe series, published every other Tuesday. The recipes are designed with perimenopausal women and athletes in mind — but they're for anyone, regardless of sex, gender, age, or lifestyle. Free for the foreseeable future. 🦁

I’ve been running high-mileage training for over 9 years now. I’ve run 8+ marathons — one of them a Boston qualifier, and two others that came within 15 seconds. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time (outside of illness) that I haven’t raced an event. I love pushing myself in everything from mile races to marathons.

So, you’d think a 10K would be a shoo-in.

If you’re not familiar with it, the Bolder Boulder is one of the biggest road races in the country — 50,000+ runners, waves starting every five minutes for hours, the whole city of Boulder shutting down for the morning. For many runners living in or around Colorado, it’s a must-do. I’d never run it.

A group of my running friends decided to do it this year. Given that driving down, dealing with traffic, and parking are an endurance event in themselves, I decided this was my sign to finally sign up — with them.

I’ve been running with some of these women for up to seven years. Before the baby, it was 2-3 times a week — long runs and easy days. Now it’s once or twice a month if we’re lucky. They run for community and fitness. I run for those things too, but I also love racing, and I (usually) take training pretty seriously. We’ve always had different goals. That’s never been the point.

So when we realized that our starting waves were nearly an hour and a half apart on race day morning, we had a decision to make — would I start early and wait for them at the finish line, or would they get up early with me and wait for their wave?

I decided to split the difference: I’d start in their wave.

Between a training cycle compromised by a salty Achilles (thank you, perimenopause 🙄), the desire to have a chill, fun morning with friends I don’t get to see enough, and zero interest in bobbing and weaving through a crowded slower wave, I decided I was going to do something I haven’t done in a long time:

Run a race for fun.

The kind of fun that doesn’t fret about pace. The kind that takes in the decorated lawns and the front-yard partiers. The kind that actually smiles (not grimaces) for the course photos. The kind that allows you to walk (not hobble) after.

For some runners, this is common sense. For someone who’s been busy going full-throttle on her goals, it was revelatory.

The verdict? Incredible.

I had as much fun during the race as I did after — drinking a beer with my friends, watching the pros get in their own pain caves, getting the heck out of that overly crowded stadium.

Will I race again? Most certainly. Just maybe not this year. The Achilles is Achilles-ing, life as an American is a lot right now, and I’m quite enjoying getting into powerlifting. I’m still running — but like a lot of things during midlife and perimenopause, my relationship with it is shifting for a bit.

And I am, surprisingly, more than okay with it.

— Chelsea

It went out suddenly last Monday. Around 5 PM— less than 8 hours after crossing the Bolder Boulder finish line— my 4-year-old Garmin triggered an incident detection alarm while I was cooling off in the baby pool with my son. I dismissed the alert (preventing my mom’s panic), and then it left this world in an instant. Leaving with the fury it once ran my life with.

I didn’t race the Bolder Boulder that morning (more on that next week) — I ran it for fun, though the watch was still recording the run on my wrist. As many of us do even when running for fun, I occasionally glanced down at it to gauge my progress, pace, and heart rate. When I crossed the line, I cheered on my friends, drank a beer, and went home. By dinner, that sucker was dead.

It felt like the universe was telling me something.

Though it sure died dramatically, the stranger part was how little I missed it.

Sure, we all moan and groan about Garmin abuse — the ridiculous sleep scores, absolutely unhinged VO2 max and 5K race predictions, and insanely high step count goals. But I don’t think I realized how much that was wearing me down.

For the first few days, sure, I kept pausing a phantom watch at street crossings or when Charlie, my bordoodle, would stop to do his business. I also asked friends about watch recommendations, feeling like I needed to get back in action. But I never actually took that action. A week and a half later, I still haven’t purchased a new watch, even though I know which I will buy when the time comes.

What really stands out for me is how fun running has been this past week. Instead of speed workouts, I’ve done fartleks. I’ve tracked my effort instead of heart rate on tempo-based bike rides (my peri-induced Achilles injury isn’t allowing tempo runs — more on that later 😫). My easy runs are based on time and where I want to run, not overall mileage.

Not only am I enjoying my workouts more in the moment, but I’m enjoying myself more after the fact, too. Instead of analyzing my workout performance — checking my paces, heart rate, and total mileage — I’m reflecting on how good it felt to run fast with my dog, breathe heavy and get a good sweat on, and enjoy the moment of walk-jogging alongside my 3-year-old as he proudly rides his strider bike to daycare.

Though I’ve almost always worked hard to stay disciplined, running my easy runs easy and my hard runs hard (case in point: my easy-run paces can be over 4-5 min/mile slower than my speed paces), the temptation to invest too much in the analytics is so real. Possibly also a shadow side of the drive and passion that motivates us to run and push ourselves in the first place. When I’ve worked so hard during a workout, how do I avoid later reviewing the outcome of that effort?

I don’t know if it’s reaching midlife, being exhausted by the never-ending to-do list of motherhood, running a business, riding the emotional roller coaster of perimenopause, or the despair of reading the daily news, but I’m looking to add more joy and good to my life, and running in the moment is doing that for me right now.

Will I ever go back to a running watch? Most certainly. I’m not training hard for anything right now (see my earlier notes on my Achilles injury), and due to scheduled international trips and surgery, I don’t have a marathon planned for this year.

When I start marathon training again (and I will), I plan to bring the watch back intentionally: using it to run paces in speed work, while also working in regular fartlek workouts to keep things fun and fresh; using it in tempo runs to learn my pace, but also working in a few that I run off of effort and time so I can integrate with my body in the effort. Long runs may also be run solely by time. The rest of the time, I’ll run by time instead of pace.

X amount of time at an easy pace. That’s it. No zones. No splits. No data to tell me whether my effort —or I— cut the mustard.

Bottom line: the watch is a tool. It’s not the boss. And for someone who’s used one for so long, a little break is a refreshing reminder of this.

- Chelsea

P.S. What's recharging you lately? I'm collecting answers. Reply and tell me.

Hi, I’m Chelsea.

I’m a marathon runner, an RRCA-certified running coach, a mom to one small human with very strong opinions, and the recipe developer behind Mae’s Menu, my home base for the last seven years. I’m also nearing 40, deep in perimenopause — and figuring out how to fuel and live a full life through all of it.

This newsletter is the part of my work that never quite fit on the blog.

A little about me

I’ve run 8 marathons — including one with a Boston Marathon qualifying time and two others that came in less than 15 seconds off — somewhere between 20 and 30 half marathons (I’ve lost count), and more 5Ks and 10Ks than I can name.

Running is my first love, but I’m also a devoted Peloton junkie and a lifter. Strength training has become non-negotiable for me in perimenopause, and I’m all the way in on high protein (a position perimenopause has only made me more militant about).

I speak Italian, I’m slowly working on Spanish and Portuguese, and I’ll travel anywhere with good food — but my heart belongs to the Mediterranean. I’ve also been known to wander somewhere unexpected like Scandinavia or Amsterdam. Paris and the UK are next on the list (Covid canceled my 2020 plans and I’m still salty).

What you can expect

• Running, from 5K to marathon — training, race recaps, race fueling, the ongoing saga of my Achilles, and what coaching has taught me about my own running

• Perimenopause, unfiltered — perimenopause has been a nightmare I wasn’t prepared for, and I think open dialogue helps all of us. So we don’t feel alone, and so younger women know what’s coming and don’t feel as gaslit and confused as I did

• What I’m actually cooking — including exclusive recipes I’m not publishing on the blog, written like I’m texting them to you, with iPhone photos instead of fancy setups. Real food, real kitchen, real life

• Lifting + Peloton + the full picture of fueling an active body — because running isn’t the whole story anymore, and I love talking about all of it

• Parenting musings — the messy middle of raising a small human while running a business and a lot of miles

• Travel — Mediterranean obsession, language nerdery, and wherever I’m wandering next

How often, and why

Weekly to start. I’m still running Mae’s Menu, all the social, recipe development, and photography myself, so I’m being humble about pace. Quality over volume.

Free, for now. I’ll add a paid tier in a few months. Until then, everything I write lands in your inbox, no paywall.

Come Along for the Ride

Why I’m doing this

The blog gives you the recipe. This gives you me.

Mae’s Menu has been my home base for seven years, and I love it. But somewhere along the way, blogging became less about me and more about Google. The recipes are still there, still tested, still good. The personality just kept getting trimmed back to make room for what search engines want.

This is where I get her back.

I’m a natural introvert, which means publicly writing about perimenopause, motherhood, and the things I’m still figuring out makes me a little nervous. But I’m coming into midlife with a real desire to stop hiding behind the brand and show up more honestly. The more real I am, the better — for me, and (I hope) for you.

If you’re a runner, a lifter, a mom, somewhere in the perimenopause maze, or just hungry for recipes and real talk from someone fueling a strong life — pull up a chair. I’m so glad you’re here.

— Chelsea

P.S. Hit reply anytime. I read everything.