What's Good This Week

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Hey contact lens wearers, I need your help!

I mean, hello! How are you? Happy Sunday! But seriously, let's talk lenses.

I've been using monthly lenses for many years now, but I keep wondering whether I should switch to dailies because a) I have a bad habit of stretching a pair of monthly lenses for several months (one time an optometrist told me that it's not 30 days, it's 30 uses...) and b) I'm never really certain whether I've got the correct lens in the correct eye except for on the first day of the month. 

Last week I accidentally dropped my last pair of monthlies into the sink while I was getting ready one morning, and based on the splitting headache I got a few hours later I'm pretty sure I did indeed accidentally switch the lenses. So I made a quick appointment to have my eyes checked since I'm long overdue anyways, and when I asked the optometrist about dailies she said yeah, good idea since you're getting a fresh pair of lenses in your eyes each day. 

She sent me away with a sample pack (after also recommending bifocals and reading glasses... wtf lady, I'm 41 not 101!) so I could try them out and make a decision. 

I feel like for the overall health of my eyeballs, dailies is probably a better choice, especially because I have the aforementioned habit of using monthlies for way longer than I probably should. Dailies are way more expensive, which I can deal with, but oh my gosh I did not consider all the packaging! 

I don't know why it didn't occur to me that each and every set of lenses comes individually packaged in a little plastic bubble pack. It's like a Keurig for your eyeballs, and I'm fundamentally against k-cups to begin with. (Seriously, how are those things even legal?!)

So talk to me about your eyeballs? Do you use dailies? Are they really so much better? What's more important? Eyeball health or the health of the planet? Should I just do a better job of switching out my monthlies and stick with less packaging?

A couple of weeks go Niko got moved into a new group at his preschool and is now part of the "big kid" section of the school. I was worried about the transition as he's a sensitive lad, but they did a great job (one of the teachers from his previous group went with him for the first four days) and he seems to be thriving in his new section.

Last week he was chosen for "book of the week" where they send home a fancy bag and we send it back to school with one of his favourite books. He chose The Gruffalo, which, if you have kids and you haven't read, you definitely should. Also the Whale and the Snail, which is probably my favourite.

Since we speak English at home, most of our books are in English and we warned them that he was sending an English book to a Swedish school, but they were cool about it. Niko got up in front of his class and presented the book, and then they read part of it to the class each day. The teachers did a pretty good job of translating each passage, and they liked it so much that they were trying to get their hands on a copy of the book in Swedish. 

After a few days I happened to remember that I had a copy of the book in (Gruffalon, in Swedish) stuffed in the back of my closet waiting to be re-gifted (I am a relentless and unapologetic re-gifter of things) so I sent the copy to his school.

Odie started going to his own preschool by himself this week and it's been a bit of a tough one. We went with him for the first three days and on the fourth day we dropped him off and waved goodbye and high-tailed it out of there. They said they'd only call us if the kids were absolutely losing their minds and they wouldn't stop crying, and sure enough, we got a call within an hour of the first day saying that we should probably come back. 

In the end they said he cried for about an hour before accepting his situation, and then was fine for the rest of the day. Generally the mornings have been tough but the afternoons have been fine, and he's one of only two or three kids who has actually been napping.

It's been a pain to have him in a different school from Niko, but our Thule bike chariot arrived late last week which we hope will make things easier. We're going to assemble it later today and put it in action tomorrow! 

In general, we're testing new routines to figure out what works with us both working again.

For example, since I was working from home and then we were on parental leave, whoever was home would do the grocery shopping. We order the bulk of our groceries online since we don't have a car and I don't care to schlep heavy stuff, but prefer to choose produce ourselves so do a big produce shop once a week. 

Paul suggested that on Fridays whoever doesn't pick up the kids should be responsible for grocery shopping. So on Friday I left the office and biked straight to the store, but quickly realized we'd forgotten that the grocery store is a gong show after work on Fridays. I ended up missing family dinner time and bath time and got home just in time for bedtime, tired, cranky, and hungry. 

Next week we'll test out Saturday mornings instead, which I think is a lot mellower. I wouldn't have thought that finding time to go grocery shopping would be so complicated, but that's just the stage of life we're in right now. I'm guessing that in a couple of years our kids will do activities that don't require constant supervision and we'll be able to figure this stuff out a bit more easily, but for now it's a whole lot of juggling.

You guys, I tested out my Air Fryer and I must say I am in love. 

To be honest, I didn't expect to like it this much. When I first heard of air fryers I thought it was some gimmicky fat-phobic cooking device that nobody really needed. And to be fair, "frying" food without all the fat is one of their selling points. 

We tried out homemade french fries as our first test, and they weren't mind-blowing, but they were good. And done super fast. But! The second thing I made is this Air Fryer Broccoli Parmesan from Happy Veggie Kitchen, and ohhhhhhhh my god was that broccoli ever good. 

Never mind how cheesy, garlicky, and delicious that broccoli was, but roasted broccoli done in FIVE MINUTES? Sign. Me. Up. 

You'll definitely be seeing some air fryer recipes popping up on HNL in the near future, but if you don't have one of these magical machines, worry not. I'll always test out conventional cooking methods at the same time, so that every recipe can be made by each and every one of you. 

ON HEY NUTRITION LADY THIS WEEK

This week I re-booted my Vegan Poké Bowl recipe with new photos, updated instructions, and the addition of a super tasty vegan Sriracha "mayo" for drizzling on them bowls. So good.

Since V-Day is just around the corner, I freshened up this collection of 15 Healthy(ish) Chocolate Recipes. There's something for absolutely everyone in there, with many recipes that are vegan, gluten-free, paleo, and even keto-friendly. You get a chocolate, and you get a chocolate, and YOU get a chocolate. 

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 topping the charts:

1. Peanut Butter Oat Bars. Say whaaaaaat??? This recipe flew up the charts out of nowhere this week. 

2. Black Bean and Quinoa Freezer Burritos. Always and forever. 

3. Turmeric Latte Mix. I threw half a teaspoon of this mix into one of my smoothies this week and it was delish!

4. Indonesian Black Rice Pudding. PSA: Mangos are in season right now, and this pudding is DIVINE topped with fresh mango. 

5. No Sugar Banana Bran Muffins. A HNL classic. 

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

Barbara left the following comment and 5-star review on my Vegan Sheet Pan Fajita Bowls recipe:

Just made these for the first time and they are deliiicccciiioooouuussss! The only change I made to the recipe, since I had a bit of extra time and the ingredients on hand, was to make the salsa. Such a great balance of fresh, spicy and filling. This recipe is definitely a keeper and will go into the regular rotation. Thanks Katie!

Thank YOU Barbara, for reminding me how delicious these bowls are!

WHAT’S GOOD AROUND THE WEB

1. Why people seem to care more about the Coronavirus than the flu.

2. What parents should know about the new peanut allergy treatment. 

3. Bored with carrots and potatoes? Consider the turnip. (and this turnip & kale gratin recipe from Bon Appetit!) 

4. Tips for composting from your home kitchen (even if you live in an apartment!).

5. Interesting to learn more about: Equity At The Table (EATT) is an awesome digital directory connecting women and non-binary chefs and food experts to combat the sexism and racism that has long plagued the culinary industry.