Well that was a week.
On Monday mornings I have an early meeting and am at the office by 7:30, but don't usually have time to change out of my bike clothes and put on my "work face" until after 9. On this, a particularly busy Monday, no sooner had I finished applying my mascara and joined my next meeting, I got a call from Odin's school saying that his nose was running and I needed to pick him up.
They've recently changed their sickness protocol for kids, and the new rules state that for sicknesses that clear up within 24 hours, kids can come back to school 48 hours after the last symptom. If the symptoms last more than 24 hours, they have to be home for a full seven days, but can then come back with lingering symptoms (runny nose, coughing, etc).
Well on day two the boogie tap was still flowing so we settled in for a long week of working from home with Odes on hand. I still got two days in the office in the middle of the week when we switched over, but had three of working with my little assistant around. There's nothing quite like being on a client call when someone walks up and says, "Mom, I pooped!"
On Tuesday night he had one of his signature parties from 1-3am for no apparent reason (I am referring to it as his "election anxiety" so between that and having woken up and checked election results myself probably 15 times in the night, I was pretty bleary-eyed by Wednesday. When I got to work my boss asked me how I was doing and I said, "Tired, and disappointed in humanity." Waking up to that red, red map had just been too much.
I don't normally drink during the week, but I felt like this one should be an exception. On Wednesday evening I cracked open a bottle of wine and ordered a pizza and spent a couple of hours on debriefing on Zoom with a dear friend.
On Thursday I met a colleague who is about to return from parental leave for beers (we sat outside; it was totally safe) so we could have an informal catch up, and then went home and ate leftover pizza from the night before. And on Friday I had already planned to outsource dinner, so ordered Thai once the kids were in bed (they got french fries and chicken nuggets from the freezer).
We're all just doing our best, and this was a tough week in a tough year. Some weeks it's all kale salads and tempeh around here, and other weeks it's takeout three nights in a row and a judicious amount of potato chips.
And let me tell you, I sure did pop a bottle of Champagne on Saturday when the news rolled in, and made a toast to Kamala freaking Harris and the great glass ceiling that badass just crushed. What a relief that decency prevailed.
Next week will hopefully have a bit more kale and tempeh in it.
I often do an online yoga class while Odin is napping on the weekends. I used to only do it on days that I don't have the kids, but it occurred to me recently that I could just throw down my mat and do yoga in the kitchen while Niko watches his nonsense unboxing videos on YouTube.
He's been curious about it, and always asks if I'm going to get my mat out, so this week I asked if he wanted to try a kids class with me and he was super excited about it. I'd heard good things about Cosmic Kids Yoga, so we tried out a 15 minute class and Niko started asking me when it was going to finish at around the 14 minute mark, so it was just the right amount.
The class moved a bit too fast for my taste (we're standing! we're sitting! now we're lying down! nope, standing again!) but that was since the "yoga" was actions to go along with an adventure story. But in any case, Niko enjoyed it and was very excited to tell his dad about all the moves he did when we all had dinner together later that night.
ON HEY NUTRITION LADY THIS WEEK
This week I gave one of the most popular recipes on HNL a much needed makeover. This Turmeric Latte Mix is so easy to make, so delicious, and makes a great gift. I'm glad that now it has photos I'm actually proud of.
And then next, a re-boot of a seasonal favourite: Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Maple Walnuts. Those maple walnuts, I tell ya. You don't want to miss that.
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. Homemade Pumpkin Purée. Yes! Right up at the top this week.
2. How to Cook Mung Beans. Yeppers.
3. How to Cook a Jack o' Lantern. This one was (unsurprisingly) on fire this week!
4. Cinnamon Roasted Apples. Like the inside of an apple pie.
5. 10-minute Vegetable Ramen Noodles. Aka, dinner tonight.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
Dominique left the following comment on my list of Vegetarian Freezer Meals for New Moms:
This is just what I have been looking for 
I’m the only vego in our household and have been trying to find meal ideas to prep for myself before #3 arrives. We have offered of help for the rest of the family to be fed but didn’t want to burden anyone with catering to my diet. Cannot wait to get meal prepping!
Good luck, Dominique! Glad you found this list useful 🙂
THIS WEEK’S MENU
Last week's menu was clearly out the window with all the takeout that got added into the week. The one thing I did make that was hugely successful was a big tray of roasted veggies and frozen falafels. The kids both rejected the Brussels sprouts, but ate up roasted potatoes, carrots, and falafel.
I also made a spontaneous dinner one night of tortellini, pan-fried halloumi, and broccoli that I threw in with the pasta at the last minute. Took me five minutes to make and everyone cleared their plates.
This weekend I photographed a bunch of holiday side dishes for the blog, so we're going to be eating a lot of stuffing and vegetables. Here's what else I've got planned:
Sunday: Leftover Thai food.
Monday: Big ass salad for me with some tempeh for protein.
Tuesday: Sarah's Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with BBQ tofu.
Wednesday: Stuffing, roasted veggies, and beans.
Thursday: Making a frittata for myself.
Friday: Girl's night! Planning to make semolina gnocchi and a Vegetarian Cheese Board.
Saturday: Thinking about a risotto.
WHAT’S GOOD AROUND THE WEB
Unsurprisingly, it has been extremely difficult to find any nutrition articles to share this week. The election pretty much dominated the news, and covid dominates health articles. So please enjoy these recipes from some of my blog squad instead:
1. One-Pot Gnocchi Caprese from Happy Veggie Kitchen.
2. Creamy Vegetarian Lasagna Soup from Midwest Foodie.
3. Crunchy Roasted Peas from Cook it Real Good.
4. Celeriac and Apple Tartar from Food to Glow.
5. Butternut Squash Stuffing from Lemons and Zest.
Allison
I'm with you on the tough week. Ours involved a close exposure to a positive covid case, isolation, full family covid tests, and a lot of waiting. Combined with daylight savings and the US election I don't know how much more I could have handled! Luckily all turned out well with negative results and the election ending the right way!! Still 5 more days of kids at home in isolation however so wish me luck with work this week....
Christine
I’m oddly relived to hear that other people had a rough week as well, I was easily upset, borderline depressed, and disappointed with the world as well... even though I ignored all the news, I still have to interact with people, and it’s all they wanted to talk about. Thank fuck is all I have to say and cheers to Kamala for smashing the hell out of the glass ceiling. That fucker deserves it.
I look forward to these weekly roundups all week. Thanks for continuing to be so awesome, so real, and someone I wish I was friends with in real life 😉
Erin
It's so amazing to see the reaction around the globe to our election. Your experience is a lot like mine. I definitely drank more than usual and experienced debilitating back and neck pain, which is not normal for me. It seems to be totally gone as of last night! I'm disgusted by how close the race was, but relieved it's finally (almost) over.
It's so adorable that your son was interested and participated in your yoga day! I love to see kids get curious and involved in things.
Stay well <3