Tag: yearofenough

Plant-based progress and year of enough #4

If you recall, I set out this year to work on two “self-improvement” projects.  Not resolutions per se, but changes to my lifestyle and mindset that I thought would be valuable.  For the first six months, I’d say I was doing pretty well.  These last few months – July, August, and September – I’ll be honest, haven’t been as strong on both fronts.

In addition to all of the other uncertainties the external environment has presented, I’ve had some significant changes in my personal life. I know we are all dealing with a lot and I don’t think my load is any heavier or more difficult than another, but it’s my load so I’ve got to figure out how to carry it. That’s where the “year of enough” is more apropos than I could have ever anticipated. It’s a shift in mindset that runs counter to most of what has been drilled into me my entire life.  Achieve X, then feel happy/fulfilled/good.  But in reality, I need to start from a place of contentment and fulfillment in order to achieve the things that are meaningful.  It’s sort of a blend of mantra’s from Deepak Chopra (I am whole, I am loved, I am enough, I am worthy) and Neil Pasricha’s Happiness Equation.

And while I thought I was making good progress the first half of the year, nothing like a pressure cooker to test the strength and “stickiness” of my new habits. I hope I’m not the only one like this, but it seems like when one thing goes off track, and then another, and another, all the “good” habits I had like journaling and meditation and eating well and exercise go out the window and I’m a frazzled mess mumbling in a corner. What was the point of those healthy habits if they run out the door as soon as times get tough?  Well, I’m probably being a little harder on myself than I need to be because I usually only let myself wallow a day or two before I get back on the horse and that’s not too bad. So what is my point? We are all handling more than we probably want to right now. And some of it has to get done well and the rest can just get done. I’m giving myself the space to not get it all done perfectly and to let go of some things entirely. My expectations of myself and others are really high and that’s just asking to always be unsatisfied with the outcome.

Ironically, plant-based eating should have been easier than ever during the last few months with a great summer harvest and I just didn’t have the time or energy to focus on it. Lentils, salads, veggie burgers, and pasta are staples in my weekly lunches, but dinners are where I need to improve so that my whole family benefits from more colorful eating and I’ve really wanted comfort foods (read: fatty and salty foods). But soup season is upon us and throwing in tons of leafy greens, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and tomatoes is so easy.  Yay for soup! One pot meals are my FAV-O-RITE!!! 

Waves crashing on the beach with blue skies

Year of Enough #3

I don’t think I could have predicted what 2020 was going to consist of when it started, but the “year of enough” has certainly become more and more appropriate with each development. In the past 2 weeks I’ve been given information that has changed the rest of my life. I want to go back. I don’t want it to be true. I feel an emptiness in my whole body. A heaviness in my soul. I feel like I can’t take a deep breath.

It makes me wonder why there is so much heartache throughout life. What are we supposed to learn? I guess empathy. Probably to always handle one another gently because we don’t truly know what the other person is dealing with.

I know there is beauty and happiness but now I see it can all change in an instant. It’s all those clichés to live like you were dying and stop and smell the roses and not take anything for granted. I believe this will help me put a lot of things into perspective.

I’d rather set something aside and not get it done if it means I get to spend more quality time with the people I love. Very few things are as urgent as I make them out to be in my mind.

I’m learning that I can take care of someone in a warm, loving and tender way. I struggle with being so efficiency focused that I am guilty of brushing off human connection for productivity.

I’ve realized I don’t have to do it all and can lean on those around me. People want to help and lighten my load. I will let them because I know I would do the same.

I believe these experiences happen so that when I encounter someone else going through a rough patch, which will inevitably happen, I will know how to offer the help that I so badly need.

And I’m seeing that I need to take care of myself throughout this process. To be strong for anyone, I need to stay strong myself.

I don’t know how much time I have on this planet and I don’t want to spend it worrying about how much I need to get done tomorrow. This is the moment I have and I don’t want to waste it. 

Summer evening sunset with fence and field

P.S. I have not forgotten about plant-based eating but I will say the last 3-4 weeks have been less focused. Maybe I’ve been distracted and busy but I plan to get back on track. Eating healthy is one way I take care of myself and my family.

Plant-based Progress and YOE #2

How we all holding up out there?  Another day at home, another house project to start and lose interest in and motivation for halfway through, right? 😊  Kidding but not really.  It’s funny because under normal circumstances, don’t we all pine for days at home in our pajamas with nothing to do?  But clearly too much of anything gets old.

I’m trying to stay healthy by doing the things that I enjoy, mainly exercising and being outside. I’m so thankful this is happening during the Spring and not the Winter.  Lord help us if we were 100% confined to the indoors.  I’ve been going for walks, doing my kettle bells, hitting the punching bag, and gardening. Don’t want to jinx anything, but by being home this much, there is absolutely no reason why my garden shouldn’t be amazing this year.

Speaking of my garden, take a look at these little pieces of eye candy.  Last Fall, I planted a little bit of mint, a very sad sage plant, and a nearly dead parsley plant.  Lo and behold, look who is perky and vibrant.  I had read about kitchen gardens (or some call them ‘cottage gardens’) last year and it made a lot of sense to have some herbs right outside the kitchen for easy access.

  • Healthy and vibrant parsley plant in the sun
  • Robust mint plant growing next to lattice fence
  • Sage plant growing happily in clay dirt

Here’s my bimonthly update on my 2020 plant-based eating (aka eat less meat) goal.  For whatever reason, my appetite has disappeared during this shelter in place extravaganza.  Breakfast is pretty basic (cereal, yogurt, scrambled eggs, or waffles), lunch is usually a salad and/or sandwich, and by dinner I would love nothing more than an adult drink and some cheese and crackers but we are doing relatively well on making balanced, colorful dinners.

In March, here’s what I did –

  • Week 1: I love these lasagna roll-ups and usually make a double batch so that I can put the extra in the freezer and pull it out a few weeks later.
  • Week 2: I made Indian food and only did vegetarian dishes – chana masala, palak paneer, and curry.
  • Week 3: Similar to a previous meal, we had pasta with red sauce and I just swapped out regular meatballs with Pure Farmland’s plant-based meatballs instead.  These are really good!
  • Week 4: Whenever it’s rainy and cold, tomato soup and grilled cheese (with a few pickles and slices of avocado stuffed inside) hits the spot.

April went like this –

  • Week 1: Ziti with red sauce and sauteed spinach added to the sauce.
  • Week 2: Cheese paninis with roasted veggies.  A friend of mine told me about roasting veggies like zucchini, peppers and eggplant in the panini maker, just brushing with some olive oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper, and we love it.
  • Week 3: Black bean burgers are a family favorite in my house.  Add some avocado, tomato and lettuce, and some corn on the cob, and yum yum yum! 
  • Week 4: Quiche with spinach and peas and a nice salad.  You could do broccoli also or peppers.  Pretty much whatever strikes your fancy.  It’s essentially a breakfast for dinner situation.

Other progress has been eating more salads for lunch.  As the weather warms up (and that’s been pretty fickle) I’m much more inclined to eat a salad as a meal.  In the winter, heck no. I’ve also been having sliced peppers and cucumbers with lunch every day.

Learnings:
– Still going kind of heavy on cheese but I think I’m improving. 
– Pasta variations are limitless.  I think we eat pasta every week and it is super easy to throw beans or spinach into a sauce, or sauté some zucchini and add on top.

YOE – year of enough update

Well, nothing like not being able to leave the house to help me stop buying unnecessary stuff. I guess I could be going crazy with online shopping but if I had any downtime to be scrolling through my phone, shopping is not what I’d be doing. I’d probably be researching future vacation destinations but that seems highly premature. 

As I mentioned, been spending time almost every day out in the garden and that is super satisfying. All this family time too, though I might very well be losing my mind, has really reinforced what’s important. I think if there is one thing that I’m trying to learn during YOE is to enjoy today. Of course it’s important to plan for the future, but happiness and fun shouldn’t be put off for another day. Making contentment contingent upon ‘when my bank account has this much money’ or ‘when I finally get promoted to X’ or ‘when I eventually lose 5/10/XX pounds’ means I’m always looking down the road, not at what’s right in front of me. On a daily basis, it also shows up as ‘I’ll let myself relax or play once I get my to do list done’ which means it’s usually 10pm when I finally allow myself some ‘me time’ and by then I’m so exhausted I just want to pass out, so what’s the point.

I guess what I’m trying to learn could be summed up in all those cliché expressions about dancing in the rain instead of waiting for the storm to pass.  But it my life, it would more accurately be laughing and rolling around in the chaos instead of constantly trying to contain it.

Plant-based Progress and YOE

I’m very efficiency focused.  I like to be able to measure what I’ve done and tangibly see the results.  I like to achieve goals and give myself a little pat on the back upon doing so.  Man do I love checking something off my list that has been a work in progress for weeks or months (anyone struggling to get all their tax documents together??  Can I get an Amen!)

At the start of 2020 I said I wanted to make an effort to eat more plant-based meals.  Well, that is not a SMART goal – specific, measurable, attainable, yadi yada.  So I wanted to circle back to that and figure out how, at the end of the year, I can say I achieved it.  

I’m a menu planner so each Sunday I make my list of meals for the week.  As a first step, I wanted to ensure at least one dinner was plant-based, meaning heavy on vegetables and fruits and if I could swap out an animal-based protein for something plant-based I would.  An important note about my menu planning is that I aim to get two dinners out of every meal (again, I like efficiency and don’t want to spend 30-45 minutes cooking every night but also want to eat homemade, healthy meals).

In January, here’s what I did –

Week 1: I just swapped out regular meatballs, I usually buy turkey meatballs from Trader Joes, for this plant-based version.  They were truly tasty.

12 Plant-based meatballs by Pure Farmland

Week 2:  Made fajitas without the chicken and steak and instead did some yummy cuban black beans with rice, avocado, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and cheese.

Week 3:  Tried a new lentil soup recipe that was not amazing, but it was tasty with fresh bread and olive oil and spices for dipping (disclaimer: I can make myself eat anything that I believe to be healthy).

Week 4: I attempted Korean beef wraps and instead of using beef I used these Beyond Beef plant-based crumbles.

Plant-based ground beef crumbles used for Korean beef wraps

In February –

Week 1: I went crazy this week and went for two dinners (aka four!).  Ravioli soup and fresh bread, and butternut squash risotto with sauteed veggies.

Week 2: I did a broccoli mac and cheese with collard greens and white beans on the side.

Week 3: I am a huge fan of breakfast for dinner so made a green chile quiche that was deeelicious.

Week 4: This is the only week I’m slacking on. Will likely switch out shrimp for chicken in a fried rice. That’s kind of a cheat I think.

Learnings:

– Soup is a very easy way to increase plants and reduce animal products.  I can pretty much make any green leafy item, carrots, celery, beans, onion, and whatever else is in the fridge into a tasty soup.

– I have a tendency to use cheese as a substitute for meat, but that is still not the healthiest.  Step in the right direction though.

YOE Update – The Year of Enough

This has been an interesting mindset to examine within myself because I don’t consider myself a material girl (cuz we’re living in a material world…).  So far, I have largely been trying to check my knee jerk tendency to see something and then immediately go online and buy it.  Kind of a double-edged sword this “get it instantly” world we now live in.  There’s no longer the gratification of saving and working toward something, it seems to only be “I want it, I must have it NOW.”  Saw a hilarious comedy special on Netflix by XXX where he said the next phase is for Amazon to send us stuff before we even order it – they need to predict what we want before we even know.  Funny and sad.

Nothing majorly measurable with my YOE efforts except the pause I’ve been trying to insert before a purchase.  I figure if I wait a day or two and forget about it, I really didn’t need it.  If it keeps popping into my mind, I’m trying to be more creative with how I could get a used or recycled version.

Anybody else trying to enjoy what they have more?  It’s a freeing feeling to have all you need (and I understand the privilege baked into that statement).