Simplicity

After this week’s groggy start, both B and I were pretty much zombie esque yesterday and I was definitely on my way to a cold.  My goal for yesterday was pretty simple.  Stock up on nourishing food and take it easy.  I’ve been reading a book on macriobiotics lately and the emphasis is on eating a lot of whole grains and green veggies.  So when it came time to make dinner – when nothing else sounded good, I thought I’d give it a shot. 

Sometimes when I’m putting together dinner, especially since I’ve been cooking more Vegan meals, I have a tendency to lean towards the more complicated the better.  Lots of flavors, lots of fancy ways to cook something and more more more.  What tends to happen then, is that I can overlook the benefits of simplicity. 

I try to stay pretty conscious of making sure there’s protein in our dinners.  We’re never worried about not having enough, we eat pretty healthy that its not an issue, but more often than not, I make protein the centerpiece of a meal (tofu, tempeh, a bean soup, etc).  But like I mentioned before, that usually ends up with a few more steps, a few more flavors and a lot less simple.  So last night, I threw together this simple meal of steamed veggies drizzled with some lemon tahini sauce, barley and kidney beans (sweetened up just a touch with brown rice syrup) and cooked up some mushrooms and leftover acorn squash with some ume plum vinegar (seriously delicious). 

Not only was dinner exactly what I wanted, it was delicious, it was nourishing and it was well rounded (bonus points if you clean out your fridge by using up a bunch of older veggies).  Even Brandon, ever the skeptic of whether dinner will make him full had to push his plate away.   Dinner was fulfilling without being heavy and maybe its just placebo effect, but I felt better after eating dinner than I had all day – lite and tons of smooth energy.  Is that weird?  Not a jolty energy, just an even keel energy buzz.  Not only that, but I LOVED the combo of barley, kidney beans and a little brown rice syrup.  I’m a total convert now that protein doesn’t always have to be the center of attention. 

Even distribuition, yum!

With a Dark Chocolate PB cup (dairy free and ridiculously good!), slippers and hot spiced cider to end the night, I have a feeling I’ll be back to tip top shape in no time!

xo