Guys, I have question for you: you know at the end of the day when you change out of clothes that you know you’ll wear again almost immediately? Things like jeans that don’t need to be washed all that often.
What do you do with that stuff?
My current protocol is to put my “in progress” clothes in a pile on the floor, and then in the morning I “tidy” the pile by picking it up and putting it on my bed. I may pick an item or two from the pile for the next day’s use, and then the cycle repeats.
But it’s got me wondering what other people do with their “in progress” clothes. Do you wash them after every use? Fold them and put them away? Have a special basket?
Tell me, what do the grown-ups do?!
I have spent the past few weeks studying for the theory exam for my Swedish driver’s license, and a couple of days ago I FINALLY passed a practice test for the first time.
Let me tell you, this thing is a beast. I got my driver’s license for the first time in 1996, and I’m fairly certain that the extent of the “studying” I did was leafing through a flimsy brochure.
This, on the other hand, is serious studying. I need to know things like at what RPM the catalytic converter is most effective, how changing the position of load you are towing in a trailer will impact the friction on the car’s wheels, how many tons of CO2 is generated annually in Sweden as a result of speeding, and actual algebraic equations calculating stopping distances at different speeds.
When you take the test, which consists of 70 questions, they randomly delete five of them and you have no idea which ones. So the score is out of 65 and you need a minimum of 52 correct answers to pass. But what if the five they delete were all correct?! It seems so unfair.
It is bonkers, and goes without saying, I will be very, very happy to have this process behind me. Right now the studying is eating up a lot of time that I could be spending on other things... like making Pinterest graphics or editing photos.
Speaking of things that are eating up my time, I'm thinking that I it might be time to delete the Instagram app from my phone. Other than Stories, I haven't posted in my own feed for six-ish weeks now (just one too many things at the moment) but man am I sinking a lot of time into watching other stories, scrolling through the feed, and even getting sucked into the discover feed.
This is the exact reason I deleted the Facebook app from my phone several years ago. I found that my alarm would go off in the morning and then an hour would have gone by and I'd still be in bed scrolling through utter nonsense or reading articles that people had linked to.
This was pre-kids, of course, when I still had the luxury of doing things like lying in bed for an hour after my alarm went off.
Now days I only use Facebook on my desktop. Still probably more time than I should, but it's hard when you're a food blogger and having a social presence is part of the job.
So, I dunno. Is it time to restrict Instagram only to desktop? That would way cut back on being able to participate in things like Stories, but would probably buy me at least an hour each day for productivity.
ON HEY NUTRITION LADY THIS WEEK
Not one, but TWO shiny new posts on the blog this week! First up was this super easy recipe for veggie-loaded Air Fryer Nachos. And if you don't have an Air Fryer, don't worry, you can totally make them in the oven too.
Next up, Instant Pot Chickpeas! I tested out the perfect cooking times for NO SOAK chickpeas in the Instant Pot, and am spilling the beans (haha) in this comprehensive guide. Be sure to check it out!
WHAT’S TRENDING ON HNL
Yeah, yeah, we all know that Mung Bean and Coconut Curry is in number one. So let’s look at what else is trending.
1. How to Cook Mung Beans. Holding strong in the top spot.
2. Peanut Butter Oat Bars. Woah, these guys had a good week. It must be back to school time!
3. Chia Fresca. Gotta stay hydrated!
4. Turmeric Latte Mix. Mmm, so cozy and good.
5. Indonesian Black Rice Pudding. Well hello, friend. We haven't seen you up here in a while.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
Claire left the following comment and 5-star review on my Warm Zucchini Noodles with Tomatoes and Halloumi recipe.
I finally had to try this since you’re always talking about halloumi. I’d never had it and finally made a special trip to Trader Joe’s to see what all the buzz is about. Well, I must say this was delicious and exceeded my expectations given how few ingredients there are. I don’t have a spiralizer so I used my mandoline. The thin slice works a LOT better than thick. The way the tomatoes and cheese make a little sauce…yum! I had a little cheese left over and pan fried it just so I could put it in the remaining sauce.
This is hands down one of my favourite recipes to make (and eat!) when I'm cooking for one. So glad you enjoyed it too, Claire!
This week's menu
I've been sharing a lot of what I've been making for dinner lately on Instagram Stories, and it seems like you guys are loving it! I ate in a really routine way for a really long time, and now that I'm no longer having a salad every Monday and Wednesday and an omelet every Thursday, I'm trying to cook meals that the kids and I can eat together. I also found that since we were eating a set menu, we tended to serve the kids a lot of "kid food" which never really sit well with me.
Also, I'm trying to drastically cut down my grocery bill (our grocery spending was Out. Of. Con. Trol. at the old place. And no, it wasn't food for the blog, because that comes from a separate budget. So now I'm making a meal plan for the week, based around which nights the kids are with me (I tend to eat leftovers on the other nights) and trying to do just ONE grocery shop per week.
This week is a bit different because the kids are with me for a full week due to a trip Paul is taking, so there's a bit more cooking than usual. Here's what's on the menu:
Monday - Veggie Stir Fry with Tofu. This is a recipe from our grocery delivery, so we'll see how it goes over.
Tuesday - Instant Pot Mac and Cheese from Sustainable Cooks. Trying the recipe again with the proper ingredients this time 😂
Wednesday - Fried Rice. Planning to use up leftover rice from Monday's stir fry and use up some veggies in the fridge.
Thursday - Hotdog day in the park. The kids love this. I'll have leftovers.
Friday - Probably takeout. The kids go back to Paul on Friday and I'm sure I'll be wiped!
WHAT’S GOOD AROUND THE WEB
1. Am I a potato chip addict or a victim of food science?
2. Will the real "whole grain" please stand up?
3. Lifesaving ripple effects amid devastating loss.
4. Is the vegan movement ready to reckon with racism?
5. Productivity guilt is very real right now. Here's how to avoid it.
Roos
That app that Lolly recommends sounds great! Otherwise I'd say use the Marie Kondo approach for your activities: what sparks joy? Does Instagramming spark joy and doesn't clutter your day? Then go ahead! Otherwise, tidy your time. I also saw a great video from a blogger with ADHD who talked about her 'activity menu'. She makes an actual menu with appetizers, main meals, deserts, snacks, etc and organizes her activities that way. E.g. Scrolling mindlessly through stories and Facebook could be a snack. Physical activity can be an appetizer or a main meal. Work is a main meal. Kids time a main meal. Like with food, you don't want to spoil your appetite with snacks. So this menu can help you think about what you need right now and what fits your day (sort of in the sense of: finish your veggies, then you can have desert), and what 'snacks' you really want to go to. Perhaps reading a book is a better snack than phone scrolling?
On the 'in progress' clothes pile: they either linger on our ever full laundry rack or get sniffed and, if they don't smell or have stains, get folded up and back into the closet until they do smell and get thrown into the laundry basket. Maybe not the best or most elegant routine, but so far it works for us.
Lolly
For Instagram, you could get an app that limits how long you can spend on different apps. That way you could still pop on to add to stories, but if you started mindless browsing too long it would kick you off.