Lauren B. Lentini

January 2019 will go down in history as the month of illness. Everyone in our house was sick at least twice. Jordan went to the pediatrician three times, the last for a double ear infection. He’s finishing up a course of antibiotics and feeling much better, and Jerald and I are both recovering from our second bout of a stomach bug, so hopefully we’re looking at a healthy February. Despite all that, I managed to achieve my weeknight cooking goal! (Within a reasonable margin of error, at least.) I just didn’t write about it as much as I had hoped to. Here’s a quick (“quick”) rundown:

Thu 10: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I found this to be kind of dry, but I did eat it cold, with a baby in my lap. Jerald liked it, and I’ll probably try it again.

Fri 11: Potato Soup

Using frozen hash browns really cut down on the prep time for this soup, and it turned out tasty. Since we’re not in Old Bay country, though, I used a cajun spice that just didn’t taste that great. I’ll definitely make this again, but I’ll use other random spices instead.

Mon 14: Mexican Quinoa

This was fine, but a little bit forgettable. I made it as a side dish for “fish” tacos, and those were tasty.

Tue 15: Portobella Pizza

Also fine and not all that memorable. Except that the pizza dough rose to comical levels. And my garlic sauce didn’t work great. But I made a pizza! That was fun.

Wed 16: Vegetable Fried Rice

This was so easy I made it again later in the month. Most importantly, I got over my fear of the wok.

Thu 17: Pizza Porridge

This is as weird as it sounds, but we gave it a try. It was slightly better than expected. It was also the last thing we ate before we both came down with the aforementioned stomach bug, so our memories of it are not that fond.

Fri 18: Black Beans and Rice

Simple and inoffensive for an evening when we weren’t sure we’d be able to eat anything at all.

Mon 21: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

I made a shepherd’s pie! Holy cow! This recipe was not from the five-ingredient article, and it’s not online except in PDF form, but that’s OK. I mashed potatoes, I shredded carrots, I used tempeh, and I broiled. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough spinach and I used too much carrot, so I wasn’t crazy about the flavor. Cooked carrots are not my favorite veggie. I might try it again, though, with proper proportions.

Tue 22: Kale “Chorizo” Soup

Another meal without a recipe, but this time a recipe Jerald invented. He had to pinch-hit at the end to fix my broth, but it turned out fine.

Wed 23: Pizza Delivery

After dealing with a sick baby all day, I decided to play a get-out-of-jail-free card and we ordered pizza. No regrets.

Thu 24: Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti Squash

We never made it to the grocery store when we were sick (the other reason I didn’t cook on Wednesday), so I had to go off-book again. I liked cooking spaghetti squash a lot better this time! I also didn’t need nearly as much butter as this recipe called for. The second time this month a recipe has taken an ingredient I love to an unnecessary extreme. I cooked this as a side dish with a Tofurky “ham,” an amazing new discovery.

Fri 25: Vegetable Fried Rice again

I cut up some “chicken” nuggets to make it chicken fried rice this time–getting creative instead of going to the grocery store.

Mon 28: Jerald cooked

Round two of the stomach flu! I thought I might be able to avoid passing it back to Jerald by not cooking for him (I was wrong), so I stayed out of the kitchen. We had a nice, bland rice and white beans dish.

Tue 29: Coconut Curry

I made Thai food! This was another exciting recipe, not least because I actually found the red curry paste called for at the grocery store. This was really delicious and super easy, so I will definitely make it again.

Wed 30: Cilantro Tofu Soup

The weather called for soup, so I went off-book again and found a new recipe with what we had in the house. It was so easy that it might as well have come from the five-ingredient article, though. And Jerald loved it.

Thu 31: Sweet and Sour Cucumber Noodles with Soba

Jerald’s turn to need a bland recipe, and this was blander than it sounds. Not bad, though. I don’t have a spiralizer, though I have wanted one for a while, and this might be a good excuse to get one.

This wasn’t a perfect experiment, and even though I didn’t perform at 100%, I’m buying myself a reward. Help me decide: Should it be a spiralizer or the Pandemic board game app?

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For February, cooking dinner is upgraded from “experiment” to “status quo,” and my new experiment is working out for just FIVE MINUTES a day. Every day, or at least every weekday. Just like cooking dinner, this is primarily about proving to myself that I can do it and forming a habit. I’ve picked some easy workout routines that are the equivalent of five-ingredient recipes, and I’m not allowed to get intimidated and give up. I can spare five minutes after I put Jordan to bed and before I put myself to bed, and still have plenty of time to play on the iPad.

My brain is resisting this super-slow approach to making lifestyle changes. It wants to do something transformational that will make the pounds come melting off in the next week or so. I’m sticking with the tortoise approach, however, because I want the changes to stick. This fight is about depth, not speed. I intend to build on a sturdy foundation of positive eating and moving habits. Once I have those established, then I can escalate. There’s a pun in there — something about the scale.

I’ve got some more interesting content planned for this blog, too. It won’t all be obsessing about my personal fitness. There will also be more baby pictures. I promise. Thanks for reading! Stick with me.