keeping normalcy

When you're pregnant people love to tell you how much your life is going to change. They can't exactly tell you how its going to change but they want you to know that it will, and the implication is often that its not for the better.  This was one of the most difficult parts of pregnancy for me.  I love to plan, to be in control, to asses a situation and handle it, but this unknown threat of change - as it often felt - was a struggle.  There was no way to plan for that unknown completely out of my control.

Fast forward to month 5 with Max and I can say, without a doubt, that my life has changed.  A lot.

Unlike the prophesy hinted at by others, however, the change has been beautiful. Instead of just my husband to love I now have a tiny best friend to love.  Rather than wondering how I'm going to spend a lazy Saturday I know now that it will be filled with baby giggles (and sometimes tears).  Of course the change isn't all magic, some of it is hard and exhausting and frustrating...but it's always better on this side and I'd never go back.

One big thing I was told is that I would no longer have time for anything once the baby arrived.  Say goodbye to quiet nights the two of you, they said.  No more reading!  They said.  Good luck cooking the way you used to, the voices rang in my head.  Well, guess what?  I'm still reading, we're still cooking and some nights, at least, we sit quietly outside eating dinner and chatting.  Life is still wonderful, it's just more full.

So, in honor of this, I post one of my favorite go-to quick recipes that I loved before Max and certainly love now that my life is filled with Max.  It's adapted every so slightly from a Food52 recipe so I can't take all of the credit, but I'm reposting it with slight modifications in the hopes that it becomes a favorite for you all as well.  No matter what your life is like or what change you might be going through, try to keep a little normalcy.

Seared Salmon with Coconut Cauliflower and Kale
Serves 4 (with leftovers)

• 1 head of cauliflower, grated*
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• 2 bunches of lacinato kale, roughly chopped 
• 1 1/2 lbs of Salmon
• 4 large sweet potatoes or yams, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 4 tablespoons Bragg's or liquid aminos
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1 teaspoon paprika 

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss cubed sweet potatoes in 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil, a few pinches of salt and paprika.  Spread on a baking sheet and bake until roasted and easily pierced with a sharp knife, about 25 minutes.


Combine remaining melted coconut oil, sesame oil, Bragg's, and Sriracha (to heat preference level) in a lidded jar and shake to combine.  Put kale on an additional baking sheet and toss with 1/3 cup of the dressing until coated.  Prep salmon by placing on top of kale and drizzling a few tablespoons of dressing over top to coat.  Massage with your hands until entirely coated.  Bake salmon and kale mixture during the last half of the sweet potato roasting time, until kale is crispy and salmon is cooked to the desired level of doneness.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a large nonstick pan.  When hot, add grated cauliflower and stir.  Once hot, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk and a teaspoon of salt.  Continue stirring frequently until cauliflower is cooked to desired consistency.  

Layer the cauliflower "rice", sweet potatoes, kale and salmon in a shallow bowl and serve with an extra drizzle of dressing or Bragg's over top.

*This is cauliflower "rice".  A box grater works best for "ricing" the cauliflower but a food processor can work as well.  You can also substitute white rice but I think the cauliflower adds an additional dimension of flavor.

feeding ourselves as we would feed others

Much has changed since my last published post on this blog.  I got a new job and so did my husband. We got married, traveled Spain and Portugal on our honeymoon ridiculously free and happy.  We worked our butts off at said new jobs.  I got pregnant and successfully grew and sustained life inside me (still wowed by this one.) And I have since now kept the little one alive, solely from my body, for 4 months.  His name is Max and I'd love to avoid the cliches but honestly, he's our world.  Who knew having a baby could actually be as amazing as they say it is?  Spain and Portugal were pretty amazing too...

So much has changed since my last blog post that it's almost worth not considering this the same blog.  But, it's still me, and I still love to eat and cook and most of the items we cook with still have 'just a little dirt' on them so I think I'll keep it and continue on.

The big difference these days is that I'm eating for two, still.  I know, I know, it's a term that gets thrown around a lot and typically we think it signifies that someone is justified in eating twice as much as they usually would.  I'm not here to tell anyone to eat more or less, that's a personal decision and I've most definitely indulged in twice the amount of ice cream any human should during my pregnancy...but really, eating for two means that anytime I choose something to put in my body I'm also choosing it for my son.  Its a lot of responsibility and it's especially challenging for someone who is hungry all...the...time.  Seriously, always.  Breastfeeding burns more calories than almost any workout I've ever done and on top of that I'm working full time, raising and enjoying Max, cooking, keeping some semblance of a "clean" house and trying to enjoy a little time in between.  What this means is that eating often has to be quick, nutritious and hearty and, because I hate to waste a meal, delicious.

And for those in between times, there's healthy(ish) banana bread.

Healthy-ish banana bread
(But quite honestly the most delicious I've ever had...)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold*
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup spelt whole wheat flour**
• 4 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
• 1/4 whole fat plain greek yogurt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 eggs
• handful of toasted pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x5" bread pan with butter (old rusted pans from grandparents are the best if you can find them).  Beat butter, honey and sugar together until blended but not emulsified in a large bowl, add eggs and blend again.  Add mashed bananas, yogurt and vanilla and mix well.  In another bowl combine all dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients with a few combining strokes.  Mix in nuts, either chopped or whole.  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a knife comes out almost clean.  

*Cold butter is key to making delicious sweet breads.  All recipes call for room temperature butter that emulsifies beautifully into your batter.  But guess what?  If you use cold butter it will slowly melt while it cooks, caramelize, and create pockets of buttery goodness in your finished bread, much like pie crust.  It tastes like you have triple the amount of butter you actually have!

**There's no reason to use any flour other than white unless you want to make the bread healthy-ish and you have spelt or whole wheat flour on hand.  Your discretion, it won't affect the recipe one way or the other.