What's Good This Week

Friends, hello!

Am I doing a good job of writing this post once a month? No I am not! Am I doing a good job of posting one recipe per week? No I am not!

What I find bonkers is that a recipe post is taking me around two weeks to write, per post. I mean, there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than just the writing of the post.

There's resizing photos and uploading them and making sure the alt text is filled in for screen readers. There's adding the coloured blocks and all the details of the post. There's all the details in the recipe card. And a million other little details. All this stuff takes time.

But I swear it did not used to take me two weeks per post. What is even happening right now.

It has been a relief to not be stressing about cranking out this post each Sunday, but I also feel kind of disconnected from it. It's harder to know what to talk about when I'm not writing every week there isn't an ongoing stream of consciousness. How did I used to do this on such a regular basis? I do not know.

Big news though! Odin has started wiping his own butt. After nearly seven consecutive years of butt wiping, I am retired. Or, as Sarah pointed out, retired until it's time to start with the adult butt wiping... but I quickly informed her that I have a youngest sister for that (love you Auntie P!!!).

Anyways, the end of butt wiping feels like another one of those parenting milestones that I'm ticking off. Like when they start pumping their own damn legs and you don't have to push them on the swing anymore. Or sleeping through the night on a regular basis. I dare say I might actually be starting to enjoy my children.

Better soak that up before they turn into moody teenagers and start to hate me!

I turned 44 at the end of January - or forty formidable, as I like to say. I woke up at around 4am on the morning of my birthday, looked at my phone to check the time, and thought holy crap I am 44 years old. How did that even happen?!

All the hip young people I work with asked me how my birthday was and I was like, lol, Paul was in Paris for work, Odin was home from school with the dregs of a stomach bug, and I had back-to-back meetings all day long. So, fine? Just another Thursday, really.

Since Paul was travelling, I had made plans to take the boys out for dinner so I didn't have to cook. Taking my kids out for dinner is one of those things that always seems terribly romantic but rarely actually turns out like I hoped.

I had a reservation at a funky local joint that has a good selection of natural wine and had pizza as well as small plates, so, at least on paper, it seemed like a good place to keep everyone happy. The boys got dressed up in their fancy shirts, but as we headed out the door Odin started complaining about his stomach again and I thought to myself, I should just cancel this reservation, order pizza, and open some nice wine at home.

But no. I pushed on.

Just as we arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes ahead of schedule, I got a message from my friend who was joining us letting me know she was stuck in a meeting but would be there as soon as possible. I ordered snacks and drinks for the kids and studied the wine list for myself, but they were out of the first bottle I tried to order. And the second. And the third.

The space was cramped and not at all kid friendly, and since my friend was late the kids kept wanting to get out of their seats and wander around the restaurant to see if they could find her. Either that or go outside. The snacks took forever to arrive, as did my friend, (at one point Odin said, "Is Anna not good at going to restaurants?") and by the time she finally turned up we'd been playing "what's missing" for nearly an hour.

We ordered pizzas, which were also not fast to come, and when they arrived even the margherita pizza was too "fancy" for the boys. At that moment Odin went well and truly into meltdown mode, so I just got the pizzas packed up and paid the bill. It ended up being a very expensive exercise in frustration, but oh well. You gotta try, right?

I've been thinking for a while now that it's probably time for me to start working with a VA (virtual assistant) to help me tackle the neverending list of blog tasks I never get to. Recently I joined a Slack workspace for seasoned food bloggers, and in that group one of the women put herself out there offering VA services, and I thought, ok, now it's time.

Beth is joining the HNL team this month, and first things first she's tackling the mess that is my email subscription program. It's something that should be automated, but isn't, should have a subscription page, but doesn't, and should drive a lot more traffic, but doesn't. I have the know-how but not the time, so am thrilled to have her help me out with this.

I've also long dreamed of launching a meal plan shop to replace the custom nutrition services and meal planning I used to offer. She immediately saw this as an opportunity area for me, and is going to help me get it off the ground once and for all!

I'm curious about how many of you would be interested in meal plans, and if so, what types of meal plans you'd be after. Seasonal? Weekly? Monthly? Lunch packing? Something else? Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email, if you please.

Lately on Hey Nutrition Lady

Some really fun recipes lately that I hope you'll have a chance to try.

First up, these Italian Rice Balls. This is the perfect thing to use up leftover risotto (and frankly, it's worth making a double batch just so you can make these. Both Air Fryer and oven baking instructions are provided.

You know we're big bean lovers here at HNL HQ, so we gave this recipe for Instant Pot Chickpeas some love. Skip the can, and cook your own perfectly creamy chickpeas in no time at all!

And last but not least, these deliciously spicy Chickpea Fritters. This recipe was first published in 2010 and was in dire need of a glow-up after nearly 13 years!

Featured Comment

Becks left the following comment and 5-star review of our Vegetarian Ravioli Bake recipe:

This meal was the tops! So healthy, homely, and just really enjoyable to cook. It made a cold, meh Monday feel a bit warmer and eventful without much effort. Definitely making this again.

Yes! One of my favourites and a good reminder that I need to make this one again sometime soon. Thanks Becks!

This Week's Menu

I've been trying to get back into menu planning lately as we've been trying to find our groove all living under one roof again. Paul and I are mostly in the habit of eating big salads for dinner during the week or taking down a pile of leftovers, so most of this is for the kids.

Monday: My go-to quick and easy dinner of fresh tortellini, halloumi and / or meatballs, and steamed broccoli.

Tuesday: Weekend leftovers. We had baked potatoes with ribs for the boys and tempeh ribs for me. Excited for leftovers already!

Wednesday: Big salads for the grownups. Leftover pasta for the kids.

Thursday: Making this Savory Dutch Baby with peas and a kale salad.

Friday: Gonna be taco night in our house. I've been craving Emmeline's Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos like crazy, so will make those for myself and "normie" tacos for the kids.

Saturday: Fancy dinner. Menu TBD, but I've been eyeing up a ricotta gnocchi recipe for a while now, so maybe that.

Sunday: Pizza. Always pizza. Will be making my Spelt Pizza Dough as usual.