Michelle Zink's Blog, page 15

The Sunday Experiment – Figuring It Out

For those of you who are wondering, the Sunday Experiment is still on. I logged out of email late Saturday night after staying up until 2am to finish a project — the only way I could justify giving myself the next day off.

And it was so worth it!

I’m finding that I don’t always want to lounge around on Sunday, and that’s okay. I’m trying to remember that it’s a technology free day to do what I want, whatever that may be. Funny how even time “off” can make us feel like we “should” be doing certain things. But yesterday I was in the mood to get some stuff done on our property, so the kids and I pruned our pear and crab apple trees and marked the place where we’re going to build a patio around our makeshift fire pit. Then I watched Supernatural with Caroline while we had lunch (It’s kind of a tradition), took a good long nap, made homemade pizzas, and watched a documentary with the kids.

It was a great day, and as usual after some time off, I hit the ground running today, ready to work. I’m on deadline for an important project, but having time off next Sunday is a big motivator to get a lot done during the week. I’m working four hours a day on Freedom to keep myself off the internet (and typing this blog post with five minutes to go before my nightly two hour writing block). Fingers crossed that will do the trick!

Hope you are all getting some R&R when you need it, too.

Little Things – Sleep

Today’s little thing is free and accessible to everyone.

Sleep!

As someone who routinely gets 5 and 1/2 hours of sleep a night, I’ve ignored the health warnings about sleep deprivation for years. I’d try to get a nap in during the afternoon, but I was able to function and unwilling to give up my late nights, which since I get up at six am every school morning, didn’t leave me many Zzzzs.

But as I’ve become more diligent about taking care of myself, I’ve read a lot about how sleep affects health, stress, concentration, weight gain… everything! So the last few nights I experimented with not allowing myself on the computer after 9:30 when I go downstairs to watch something with the kids before bed for an hour.

It wasn’t easy at first. I was used to going up to my office before bed and getting some work done, answering emails, etc. It felt weird to go upstairs, read, and go to bed. Decadent even!

But I have to say, I’m feeling really, really good. And I’m sure part of it is that I’m back to juicing, but I just know the extra sleep I’m getting (now more like seven hours a night) is a big factor. The bonus? I actually work more effectively the next day, too, so anything I’m not doing during a late night work session is getting done during the day.

All in all, I call this sleep experiment a success. Which is why it’s this week’s Little Thing!

The Sunday Experiment – Extended Cut

Whew! It’s been awhile! I haven’t done an official Sunday Experiment the past two weeks, mostly because Rebekah was home from college for Spring Break, and I ended up taking a FEW days off over the past ten days. So really, I guess I did a Sunday Experiment — just on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

 

Even though it’s put me behind a bit, I’m learning to embrace opportunities to take time off. I really do feel energized after stepping away from work — and technology — which makes it easier to view it as a necessity rather than a luxury. After some time off, even if it’s only a Sunday, I just work better and more efficiently.

As part of my mission to be more mindful, I’m slowly learning not to think about work when I’m not doing it. There are some exceptions; during transitional periods, i.e. driving home last night after dropping Rebekah off at school, I might choose to use that time to ease mentally back into work, pondering a plot point on which I’m stuck or a problem I need to solve in my current WIP. But it’s okay, because I’m CHOOSING to use that time rather than feeling like a slave to my unruly mind.

Most of the time, though, I just accept the times I can’t work. In the past, I would obsess about that time I was losing, the work I NEEDED to do. But being mindful is training me to live in the moment. As a result, I enjoy my time off more and come back from it ready to work.

Now we have about seven weeks until Rebekah is home for the summer. I plan to bust it during that time, finishing my current WIP as well as two big edits. Hopefully by then I’ll be ready to handle the challenge of balancing work with the slower, more relaxed pace of summer and the temptation to spend every second with Rebekah while she’s home.

How are you guys doing? Anyone else still with me in taking regular time off and away from technology?

 

Little Things – Tiny Buddha

This week’s little thing is my Tiny Buddha, for no other reason than that he makes me happy and reminds me to stay grounded.

Plus, he keeps me company while I write!

 

What’s your little thing this week?

Recipe of the Week – Go To Vegetable Soup

I know I promised you this recipe a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve been so busy I just haven’t been able to get to it.

This soup is my go-to vegetable soup recipe. I usually make a big pot of this on Mondays in the winter. It only takes about 45 minutes start to finish, and most of that is simmer time. Packed with vitamins, it’s a really “clean” soup. And the leftovers are great for mid-week snacks.

I found the original recipe at Life’s Ambrosia, and while I sometimes make a few changes, they’re so small that I figured it would be easiest to post the original recipe and just list my changes.

Rather than using vegetable broth, I use ten cups of water and eight teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon vegetable paste. Sometimes I’ll use sweet potato rather than white potato, just to boost the nutritional content, and I’ll often throw in extra vegetables if I have them in the fridge. At the same time, if you’re out of something (I don’t always have mushrooms), it’s no big deal to leave out one or two ingredients in favor of others. Ditto the chick-peas. If you prefer another kind of bean (or even more than one variety), feel free to throw it in there! I like to add some crushed red pepper for a little bite, too. The recipe says it serves four, but in my experience, ten cups of water/broth yields about six main course servings with some leftover.

Anyway, here is the original recipe from Life’s Ambrosia. And you should totally check out the site. They have lots of great recipes!

You will need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, diced (white parts only)
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 russet potatoes, diced
1 zucchini, diced
5 – 10 crimini mushrooms, quartered
5 cups vegetable broth
2 rosemary stems, chopped
3 sage leaves, chopped
1 (15 ounce can) garbanzo beans, drained
2 cups baby spinach
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper


Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add in leeks and garlic. Cook 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in celery, carrots, potatoes, zucchini and mushrooms. Cook 5 more minutes.
Pour in vegetable broth. Add rosemary and sage. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes or until veggies are softened. Stir in garbanzo beans. Cook 5 more minutes until beans are warmed through. Stir in spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve hot.

The Sunday Experiment – Going with the Flow

Sorry for the radio silence last week, you guys. I spent all week working around my house, doing much needed maintenance and repair. I’m rarely in the mood to deal with that kind of stuff, so I figure I should take advantage of it!

This week’s Sunday Experiment was a little different as I had several of Rebekah’s college friends home for the weekend. I knew in advance that I wouldn’t get any writing done, so I decided it was a good opportunity to practice being mindful and just enjoy the deviation from our usual routine. With that in mind, I happily cleaned, cooked, and generally tried to be hospitable without giving too much thought to the work I could be doing. And while it wasn’t textbook time off, it was lovely to be around other people, visit with a friend who came by to chat Saturday night, drink wine, and make good food.

I didn’t text at all because Rebekah was home, I didn’t write, and I didn’t answer emails or check Facebook more than a couple of times. Sometimes rest doesn’t mean sleep, but time away from the obligations that make us feel stressed or pressured. This past weekend was good practice for the next two weekends, which coincide with Spring Break. I know I’ll want to spend some time with Rebekah while she’s home, so I’ll have to find a way to make that my time off.

And speaking of being mindful, I know I said I was going to focus on something new each month to bring my life back into balance, but the truth is, mindfulness just hasn’t become enough of a habit for me to move on from it yet. My goal is to get to a place where it’s the exception for me not to be mindful. Right now, it’s still the rule, so I’ve continued to work on it this month and will do so in April, too, if I still don’t have a handle on it.

Someone asked me on Facebook if focusing on certain components of balance had the opposite effect of my goal in taking time off. That is, instead of being able to relax and just BE, if having something to focus on — like mindfulness — became just another obligation. The answer (for me, at least), is no.

A year ago, I made it a goal to do yoga nearly every day. I made it part of my daily routine, right up there with taking a shower and brushing my teeth in the morning. In the beginning, it was a hassle. But after awhile, it became so much of a habit that now I don’t even think about it. I know I don’t need thirty minutes to get ready even though that’s how long it takes me to shower and get dressed. I need an hour so I can do yoga before showering. And making yoga part of my daily life has made a HUGE difference in how I feel.

I guess that’s my goal with mindfulness, too. So while right now, I still have to remind myself to be in the moment, to look around, to really listen to the people taking to me, I’m hoping that it eventually becomes a habit like yoga.

How about you? Anybody else still with me on the Sunday Experiment? If so, how is it going?

River Walk

Today I took advantage of the 50 degree weather by taking a walk with my son to our favorite river.

It was awesome. I don’t think I need to say more.

 

Little Things – El Greco

This week’s little thing is a big thing to me. Although, I guess that’s kind of the point of this feature; taking note of all the little things in life that make us happy.

This painting was one of the first antique pieces I bought after purchasing my first home. I found it in an antique store in Manhattan Beach, CA when I still lived there. I fell in love with it immediately. It’s a painting of El Greco, after a self-portrait of his. On the back is marked “Musee de Seville”. I suspect it was done by an art student, in part because when you look at it a certain way, it’s obvious there is at least one other painting lurking under El Greco’s surface (if you look closely, you can see the faint outline here of what looks like an upside down figure, so the canvas was probably turned), and art students are well-known for reusing their canvases.

As I’ve gotten older and come to see more of my possessions as just “stuff”, El Greco remains one of the very few things that I treasure. Something about the darkness of it, the fact that you can’t see his clothes but only his brooding face and those pale, elegant hands, speaks to me. I continue to be intrigued by what’s under the surface. It hangs in my kitchen, and I never stop feeling a little rush of pure appreciation when I look at it.

And art is so easy to come by. It’s everywhere you look; in nature, in books and magazines, in antique stores and thrift shops. Our home is filled with artwork we’ve picked up for less than $30 at local auctions and estate sales, and every single piece brings me enjoyment every single day (although admittedly, none so much as my beloved El Greco). Each one comes with a story of how we acquired it and each one moves me in a different way. I like to think we’ve given them a good home. In return, they’ve brought me hours upon hours of enjoyment.

What about you? What are the little things in your home – collected or bought – that bring you simple enjoyment? Share here or using the #littlethings on Twitter!

Recipe of the Week – Quick Vegetarian Meals

Last week I gave you guys a list of pantry staples for vegetarians. Of course, after I posted it I thought of a million little things that I like to have in the pantry, but I forced myself not to edit the post because  the idea of a “staple” is that it’s something you really must have, not an “extra.”

In that blog post, I promised you a list of quick, easy meals you can make with said staples, as well as the recipe for my own quick vegetable soup. But after writing down some of my favorite throw-together meals, I decided to hold off on the soup recipe. I’ll give it to you next week instead because there’s already a lot to work with here.

Here I go! Vegetarian meals you can make with pantry staples;

Saute veggies with olive oil and garlic, toss with pasta, and throw in some Parmesan (or not)

Toss pasta with canned or fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil

Think outside the traditionally-Italian pasta dish by mixing up the ingredients and spices, i.e. toss penne with corn, black beans and tomatoes and toss with olive oil, chili powder, and cumin for a Mexican-based dish. Toss linguini with peanut butter and a little chili oil or red pepper flakes for an Asian or Thai flavor (you can also use a little sesame or peanut oil).

Brown rice is overlooked as a base for meals, but it can be used much the same as pasta. In the colder months, you can saute it in olive oil or butter and then add stuff to it in the water for a kind of homemade Rice-a-Roni/healthier risotto. This works great with a little vegetable based Better Than Bouillon added to the water and some spices (use something that works with your ingredients, as with the pasta above) or even something like coconut milk, which will give it a more exotic flavor (I toss rice or quinoa cooked with coconut milk with pineapple and cilantro and it’s amazing).

In the hot summer months, cold rice can be tossed with virtually anything. Add flavor with rice vinegars, fruit-based vinegars, flavored olive oils, and spices or fresh herbs. In vegetarian cooking, especially, herbs and spices are king. A rice-based dish with curry powder will taste completely different than one with oregano or one with chili powder. Vary other ingredients accordingly.

Quinoa is a miracle ingredient for vegetarians. Packed with fiber and high in protein, you can use it almost interchangeably with rice. Use the above ideas with quinoa to mix up the texture and vitamin/mineral content of your meals or just to boost your intake of protein.

Eggs are another overlooked ingredient. You can make a quick easy frittata with the vegetables you have in your refrigerator. Just saute them a bit and pour beaten egg over the mixture in the pan. Use a rubber spatula to separate the egg from the edge of the pan every couple of minutes until the eggs mixture is almost set in the center. Sprinkle with cheese (any kind will do, goat cheese is a favorite in our house) and put under the broiler for a few minutes and voila! Perfect with a salad and it takes about 20 minutes to make. You can also add chunks of wheat bread to the veggie saute to boost the fiber content (this is a good way to use up the ends of a loaf of bread). As with the other dishes, vary ingredients and herbs and spices to mix up the flavor. A Mexican-based frittata is great with some warmed tortillas and a nice salad. Frittatas are a great way to use up odds and ends at the end of the week (or beginning of a new one). Almost anything works!

And speaking of tortillas, they come in handy! You can use the big ones as wrap holders by spreading them with hummus and layering anything and everything inside. Use goat cheese or feta with lettuce, olives, tomato, and pepperoncini for a Greek vibe. Mozzarella, basil, and roasted red peppers drizzled with a little olive oil are great if you want an Italian sandwich fix. And of course, they can still be used for burritos and tacos. I love the burritos from Chipotle Grill, but making them at home is so quick and easy, especially with leftover brown rice and canned black beans (I saute mine with minced onions). Slice up some avocado and/or make guacamole, add salsa, and you’re good to go. Small tortillas can be used for vegetarian tacos. It’s a little known secret that virtually anything seasoned with chili powder and cumin and placed in a taco shell will send “taco” messages to the brain. For example, a mixture of sauteed chopped zucchini, corn, and black beans with said seasonings are DELICIOUS as a taco. Even my teens don’t miss the meat AT ALL.

And as with frittatas, wraps are a good way to use leftovers. One night’s leftover rice dish can seem entirely different wrapped in a tortilla with hummus, salad dressing, salsa, etc.

Bread can be used to make panini or cold sandwiches. I make a great vegan sub with avocado, shredded lettuce, red onion, tomato, olives, pepperoncini, oil and vinegar and salt and pepper. We started out making them with cheese to replace meat, but honestly, I don’t miss the cheese with the avocado in there. Think outside the box with grilled sandwiches. Grilled cheese can be modified to include any kind of cheese and fruit like pears and apples, etc. Use mozzarella and layer with roasted red pepper and basil for an Italian panini or spread sun-dried tomato paste (not in staples but readily available) on bread and layer with thinly sliced veggies for a cold sandwich.

Soups are my go-to meal in the winter. I make at least one giant pot of soup every week and sometimes two or three. It makes for a comforting snack and is a cheap, nutritious between-meal boost for my busy, active teenagers. And you can make anything with vegetable based Better Than Bouillon. Saute veggies for vegetable soup. Throw in some leftover rice, corn, black beans, and tomatoes with chili peppers (or Rotel) and add some lime, chili powder, and cumin for a Mexican soup. Saute potatoes with leek and puree with beans to make my famous Potato Leek soup. Add elbow macaroni, two kinds of bean, canned tomatoes, and chopped fresh parsley for a vegetarian pasta fagioli.Serve with bread and/or a salad for a meal and store the rest in the refrigerator for snacks.

In the summer, salads take over for soup. We throw everything in them and vary the kind of vinegar for different flavors.You can make salads without lettuce, using rice or quinoa ad/or canned beans as the basis for a hot-weather salad that’s super nutritious AND tasty. No need to be fancy! Just throw in some other ingredients and toss with olive oil and/or flavored or rice vinegar.

There are tons of ways to mix up basic vegetarian staples for easy meals. Most of the meals above can be made in thirty minute or less. The soups, which take more like 45 minutes, allow for some simmer time, so you can do other things while its cooking. And one of the unexpected bonuses of vegetarian meals is that I don’t feel like I have to make side dishes. In the past, I’d have to add a grain and vegetable to meat to feel like my family was getting a well-rounded meal. But with vegetarian dishes, the meal itself is generally packed with nutrition, rendering side dishes almost obsolete. Nutrition-packed vegetarian dishes are also surprisingly filling. Because your body is getting what it needs in terms of vitamins and minerals – and because vegetarian meals are often packed with fiber – everyone needs a lot less food to feel satisfied. It’s an amazing phenomena!

The biggest thing it to have staples in your pantry and get cooking. It’s not hard once you’ve logged some time in the kitchen. Make it a goal to make one or two new recipes a week (Pinterest and Epicurious are my favorite sources for new recipes), and before you know it, you’ll find that being in the kitchen is second-nature. Then you’ll begin to get your own ideas, i.e. “You know what would probably be good? THIS with THAT!” Enlist the help of your spouse and kids, too. It is good for kids to learn to prepare healthful meals fro themselves, and time spent in the kitchen totally counts as quality time. At a loss for what to make at the last minute? Ask THEM to look in the pantry and refrigerator and see what they can come up with.

You might be surprised – in a GOOD way.

Plus, you can use the money save not eating out to do something fun!

 

 

Little Things – Eucalyptus Spearmint Pillow Mist

This week’s Little Thing has been one of my favorites for years. Just the thing to give you that last little push into dreamland (after the Bedtime Tea lotion, of course!), this pillow mist from Bath and Body Works uses aromatherapy to deliver a light but heady dose of eucalyptus and spearmint straight to your sheets.

B&BW makes pillow mist in several scents, including Lavender Vanilla, but this is by far my favorite. Clean and calming, it’s just the thing to tell your brain, “Nighty-night, Brain…” without being overwhelming.

Because then it would be, “Night, night, Brain!!!”

And know one has time for that at midnight. Am I right?

Best of all, this bottle is only $10 and lasts 6-12 months, even the way I use it, which is, well… liberally. Every night when I sink into my pillow, I feel like, “Ahhhhhh….”

And I call that a very good investment.

What about you? What are your favorite bedtime little things?