Meal plan 09/02/19 - 09/06/19

School is back in session tomorrow morning and I’m happysad about the return of schedules and structure and more obligations and less lounging about enjoying the sunshine. Grady’s starting grade three which is bonkers to me. I can’t believe they let tiny baby infants into grade three.

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Monday: sous vide steak finished on the grill, green salad with lots of berries and avocado, garlic bread.

Tuesday: Carnitas served with corn on the cob, local tomatoes tossed with lime juice and cilantro, and guacamole if the avocados at the market are good.

Wednesday: Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream served with some sort of green responsibility vegetable.

Thursday: BLTs on sourdough (BLATs hopefully, depending on the avocado situation).

Friday: glorious leftovers

What’s on your meal plan this week?

September

September feels like January 2.0 to me. The new school year and the transition from summer to autumn bring a certain weight to the month. September 1st feels like New Year’s Day all over again, three quarters of the way through the year.

I’ve got a few resolutions to carry me through 2019. I want to have a “buy nothing September” where we only spend money on essentials. I’d like to start eating more vegetarian meals, and journey further into the world of vegan meals. I’m going to clean out the front hall closet and donate anything that hasn’t been touched in the last year (I suspect this will be 75+% of the items in the front hall closet). I’d like to read more and watch less Netflix. I’m planning to read one parenting book per month. I am going to make a sourdough starter and make my own sourdough bread. I am going to plan at least one date per month with Shawn - no babies, no friends, no distractions. I am going to take deeper breaths and not get stressy or shrill during our morning routine. I am going to grant myself a little grace when I do get stressy and shrill during our morning routine. I want to do yoga with the kids, at least once per week. I want to start reading Harry Potter before bed with Grady. I’m going to continue to take Poppy to the pool even after the rains come and it’s cold and dark every evening. I want to get the kids more involved with holiday prep, and figure out how to consume less (presents, plastics, dollars, butter) this holiday season.

Do you have any goals you want to accomplish in the last bit of 2019?

Have You Eaten?

My Auntie Ollie would greet everyone with a giant hug, a kiss on the lips, and always the same question: “have you eaten?” It didn’t matter if the answer was yes, you were about to get fed. Homemade baked goods, some form of roasted meat, cheese, nuts, her famous pickles and meatballs, she could pull together a gourmet plate in two minutes flat.

I know that food isn’t actually love, but sometimes it feels an awful lot like it.

I had a bit of an odd day. I woke up and finished reading Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved, which left me feeling discombobulated and a bit raw. It was a well-written book, and I enjoyed it, I just wasn’t expecting to connect so emotionally with the story.

My emotional hangover and the pouring rain set the tone for the day. I started with buttermilk pancakes shaped like Mickey Mouse and dotted with chocolate chips for Grady, followed by a shrimp omelette for Shawn. I spent hours stirring Poppy’s favourite pasta sauce as it simmered away on the stove. I hard-boiled eggs and layered them with bacon and local tomatoes and baby spinach for packed lunches. I washed peaches and blueberries and contemplated picking blackberries before the rain picked up and kept me inside.

Food isn’t love, exactly, but we all need to be fed and there’s something beautiful in the simple act of feeding others.