“The works” 5 minute salad + an inspiring transformation

My friend Gena recently shared what she eats during a typical day.

I loved that everything she shared was fresh, colorful, & rather simple. Although one of the first comments made about the article was that the diet was “pretentious,” which, made me laugh out loud–Gena’s style is simple & straightforward, anything but pretentious.

And that’s the thing.

A plant-based diet can be as complicated, pretentious, & expensive, or as low-key, simple, & frugal as you want it to be. The possibilities are endless, & it’s really up to you.

Which brings me to the hard reality that, lately I’ve been lazy. With a capital L.

Or another way to look at, pregnant with a capital P.

It’s a good thing I did all my recipes for my ebooks in September & October when I had more energy. Now the apathy towards cooking that was so prevalent during my first trimester has returned. I don’t want to cook (any more than I have to) & often I don’t know what I want to eat so I sort of rove my kitchen thinking, opening the fridge, brainstorming, plotting. It’s a weirdly primal sort of experience, like this baby is saying: “feed me ____ or ____,” though problem is, I don’t always know what those ______ ‘s are.

You know necessity is the mother of invention, & being highly unmotivated to prepare food has made me focus on basic, throw-together meals. In my last email update (what?! you’re not a subscriber? sign up here), I shared a few of my current 5 ingredient, 5 minute dishes.

Lunch is my time to make a single serving meal, since everyone in my family (except for Salem) is gone, so I can eat whatever I want & often my go-to meal is often a salad in a bowl.

I’ve had this salad bowl for years–it holds about 12 cups, & is the perfect size for large, hearty salads that act as a complete meal.

{This recipe submitted to Ricki Heller’s Wellness Weekend–check it out for more yum recipe ideas!}

On a slightly different note, I received an inspiring comment from Danielle last week, on my nearly 5+ years of blogging anniversary post.

She writes:

Hi, Janae!

Truthfully, this comment is over due.

I stumbled upon your blog about two years ago (for which I am truly grateful), as I was beginning to research vegan diets and health. I found your blog to be insightful, informative, and approachable.

At that time, I told myself that I would never become vegan, that I was only curious. After all, I’m a classically trained chef! I had graduated from a small “farm to table” culinary school and worked in restaurants and fine dining for years.  I was a food network foodie and ate everything, though I had noticed I felt better when I didn’t eat dairy or gluten.

That was right before my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I moved back with her to be there as she went through chemo. It has been a long journey and I’ll spare you the details, but I wanted to express my profound gratitude for the work you have done with your blog and your decision to continue with it.

I am proud to say that I am completely vegan now, though it has taken me time, and I have learned so much and made mistakes along the way. In these past two years, I have read and reread particular posts of yours that inspired me and kept me motivated and that changed my way of thinking.

I started this journey with an interest in health, but I have grown to care deeply about compassion and sustainability; being vegan has changed who I am, or perhaps I’m becoming the kind of person I always knew I could be. And I am grateful to have had your blog along the way.

Keep it up! And thank you, again!

-Danielle

I have to be honest, emails like these are the reason I continue to blog.

I’ve had a slew of hard days (haven’t we all?) where sometimes the weight of my responsibilities as a mother/wife/ homemaker/friend/blogger/pregnant mama seems too great. Bills, budgeting, laundry, dishes, broken car doors, cleaning up peanut butter smears & cheerios, & hanging the bathroom hand towel back up on the rack for the upteeneth time sometimes seem like heavy burdens.

But then there are pockets of light, moments of grace, where I see the greater purpose of it all. And you, dear reader,  your comments & your willingness to share, are part of this great journey.

So thanks Danielle, and thanks to every reader out there who has taken the time to leave a comment, send an email, & share in the joy I call life.