Hello and welcome to our weekly catchup! I am hastily throwing this together as we prepare for a family wedding this weekend. Beyond that, we are chilling as much as possible and really hoping that the rain holds off so that we can soak up that outdoor time.
I’m still going hard at the gym (enjoying it so much more than I thought I would), loving sunrise runs, eating so many peaches (my favourite fruit ever, so I have to get my fill in the summer), sipping sunset kombuchas/mocktails, and getting ready for the busiest season for food content. Late summer life is good, I can’t complain!
Be well and take care of yourself this weekend! ♥️
5 Things I’m Reading:
- Is it possible to be fully authentic?
- Tired of Influencers, TikTok Users Try ‘Underconsumption Core’ to Cut Costs
- Meet the Granfluencers
- 5 Practices for Nurturing Happiness
- On my nightstand: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity
5 Things I’m Enjoying:
- In an effort to spend less time scrolling Instagram, Reddit and TikTok, I am thoroughly enjoying Pinterest browsing again (I have a professional account and a personal one). Sure, there’s ads and a lot of weird AI-generated stuff, but the inspiration and depth of content for home and gardening is pretty much unmatched. And no voiceovers or unexpected loud music, just vibes.
- Two cuties (why did this video make me tear up 🥹)
- Finding a Spiritual Path
- I treated myself to Consonant’s HydrExtreme serum when well.ca had a sale a few weeks ago. It absolutely lives up to the hype and hundreds of 5 star reviews. So, so hydrating. I use just 2 drops under my usual serum, cream, sunscreen etc.
- I love following Babs and tried her cinnamon stick tip in my fruit bowl for keeping fruit flies away. Seems to be working!
5 Questions:
- As you mostly work at home, how do you set work/non-work boundaries? Do you have routines for getting you into/out of a work mindset?
I have a rough schedule that I follow every week, which really helps. Certain days are for recipe testing/photographing, certain days I’ll write blog posts or do SEO research. I also have a rule that I’m not using my computer after dinnertime (that I follow most of the time). Preparing dinner is usually my “shutdown” routine. Sometimes I’m not great about separating work and life though! Not posting to social media as much has helped, but there’s a tradeoff there that sometimes makes me feel like I’m missing out on something. - What would you recommend as some “new-to-vegan” cookbooks?
Veganomicon basically taught me how to cook vegan when I first started! Both of Amy Chaplin’s books opened up a new world of whole food plant-based cooking for me. The Complete Vegan Cookbook by Natural Gourmet Institute is one of my favourites and I’m kind of shocked how few people know about it. Lastly, these books are not out yet, but I have a feeling Big Vegan Flavor and Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking are going to be essential vegan cookbooks. - What is a good high protein breakfast option that fills in for eggs and isn’t tofu?
You gotta try scrambled chickpeas! So fun to make and perfectly savoury. I also still make the soccata from Gwyneth Paltrow’s The Clean Plate all the time, subbing in whatever veggies/herbs I have on hand. I think it’s supposed to be an omelette-like mashup of socca and farinata (both chickpea flour-based pancakes). ABC news has the recipe posted here. - What’s your favourite flour for baking?
I go for light spelt a lot because it performs similarly to all purpose flour plus you get a little nutty flavour edge. I use Flourist’s sifted spelt. - How about some F1 content? Who’s your favourite driver? How did you get into it? An underdog you cheer for?
I love this question! For driver, it’s a tie between Carlos Sainz and Lewis. Ferrari will always be my team (since the Schumacher dominance years!!). An underdog that I cheer for is Alex Albon–the Albon Pets account on Insta is so sweet. And since Carlos is going to Williams next year, I guess I’ll have an underdog team to cheer for as well. I also loved when they showed James Vowles constantly ordering superfood smoothies and avocado in the last season of DTS, so maybe Williams can be my team for real haha.
5 Seasonal Recipes
- Red Wine Lentils with Confit Cherry Tomatoes & Fennel
- One-Pan Harissa Eggplant, Pearl Couscous & Chickpeas
- Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Cauliflower Rice, Crispy Tofu Bits & Poblano Cream
- Vegan Stuffed Pepper Casserole with Spicy Sunflower “Cheese”
- Vegan Kale Cobb Salad
First Mess is my first success. With a degree in nutrition, I is was repared to cook for health for two growing boys but also with meat and dairy. Now at 83 years old, retired with time to spare, I’ve tried most of your recipes and gained one and a half sons as enjoyers. I feel better and am beginning to do inventive cooking using your combinations and tecniques with seasonal offerings. Thanks for contuing to serve our needs.
What a lovely read on Saturday morning. ☀️
Thank you for the protein breakfast suggestion and I only knew about one of the cookbooks ~isa
happy weekend ~*