Last week would have been a great one for cold weather dishes because it was unusually cold for this time of year. I have always loved fall, and one of my favorite things about it was always the transition to putting warmer, heartier dishes on the menu, things like soups and stews. We’re experiencing what passes for fall, and we’re seeing pumpkins, gourds, and other autumn motifs out in the stores (along with everything Halloween), but we’re mostly still wearing shorts and slippers, so it’s sort of hard to get excited about making or eating soups or other cool-weather dishes, vegetarian or otherwise.
One of the things I’ve realized recently is how little I use my InstantPot since we gave up meat. I would probably have it out at least a couple of times a week if we weren’t eating meatless, but I may only use it once a month or so these days, maybe to make risotto. It would probably be the same now with a slow cooker. The Instant Pot will get a workout when the girls are here at Christmas, but I’ll probably sell it shortly after as Brett and I return to a meatless diet. Funny to realize that something I wanted for so long doesn’t really work for me any more.
We had some tasty meals (and leftovers) last week. Everything was pretty easy to fix which made me happy too.
Sunday: Cheesy tomato, spinach, and white bean bake with baguette slices
Monday: Roasted vegetable ravioli with pesto; steamed broccoli
Tuesday: Tofu patties; steamed rice; namasu
Wednesday: Panzanella with feta cheese & chickpeas
Thursday: Mini pizzas with tomato, pepper, and onion
Friday: Cheese board
Saturday: Mini corn dogs; onion rings; apple slices; namasu
One the menu next week:
- Chicken tenders; onion rings
- Spicy black bean bake with corn chips
- Vegetable yakisoba
- Chick’n pot pie
- Mini pizzas
- Cheese board
- Ina Garten’s summer garden pasta
We finished off the mochi ice cream early in the week, and are now in the middle of a 10-day Costco pumpkin pie marathon. One-twentieth of the pie is less than 200 calories, and very affordable – the entire pie costs just $5.99, so our servings are just 30 cents a slice. I can barely buy a can of pumpkin on Kaua’i for less than $5! By having one pie now, we’ll be ready for another around Thanksgiving!
We always take one day off every week from walking (usually Sunday) to let our bodies rest, but this week we ended up with three days off due to rain and wind. In spite of some cold and unpredictable weather (walkers were wearing windbreakers and other jackets on Wednesday), we walked the perimeter Monday through Thursday. Friday’s weather was horrid but cleared right when it was time for our walk. However, it was still very windy and we decided a walk on the golf course would be a soggy mess and we’d end up wet and miserable. Saturday the rain was gone but wind was even worse (and louder) if that was possible, and we just didn’t feel like spending nearly an hour being out in it so we stayed home again. We still found 53 lost golf balls though in the four days we walked, an average of 13 balls per day.
The other day I climbed on the scale to weigh a package I was shipping, and was surprised by the weight of everything (me and the package) – it was much lower than I imagined, but very happy when I weighed solo as it was also much, much less than I imagined, especially for the middle of the afternoon and being fully clothed. Things are apparently still changing! I’ve been feeling more sore in new places following our walks recently and am not sure what’s going on with that – maybe more of a workout these days? – but getting two extra days off last week helped things repair and feel better again.
The Occasional Nomads 
Eating and exercise to staying healthy is the best advice that you can give. Thank you, Laura and Brett 😊
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Thank you! The changes we have made in our lifestyle have brought real results in our health – we will be more careful this time when we’re traveling to maintain them.
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You are welcome, Laura and Brett. 😊
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Love your menus! Our granddaughters are “almost” vegan so I get some good ideas on meals. But they’ll still want to eat at Burgerville😂 Remember them in Portland?
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Thanks, Pat! I am slowly moving toward easier to fix vegan or vegetarian options. Last night we had a vegan “chick’n” pot pie – it was delicious! There are so many good options out there now as well, and for the two of us, not too expensive.
We LOVED Burgerville! It was the only fast food restaurant we would eat at. Do they do a vegetarian burger? Worth it for the milkshakes and onion rings.
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I like how you plan different dinners. Mr S and I like food and while we have favourites that repeatedly come on the menu, we try different things. Last week I made a Japanese curry. It was really good.
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We have been having fun discovering all sorts of vegan things. The trouble though with living on an island is that stores run out of things and then it takes ages, if ever, for them to be replaced. I like easy-to-prepare things these days though. The cool weather this week has been lovely and makes me want to cook.
And thank you for mentioning Japanese curry! We haven’t had it in a while, so it’s gone on the shopping list. We’ll also tuck a couple of boxes into the girls’ packages for Christmas!
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