Warming the Core

Well yesterday was my first day back at work after two long, very relaxing weeks off. It was so nice to have such a long break at home so I could really unplug my mind and come back in the new year completely relaxed and rested up. I'd gotten quite used to bumming around and doing whatever I felt like doing all day, so I'd be lying if I said I was excited to set an alarm for 5:30 am and go back to reality, but in all honesty it wasn't bad and felt good to get back into a normal eating routine.

Matt must've known I'd need a delicious hot meal after my first day back and coming home at 8:20 PM from the city in 5 degree weather, because I came home to the house smelling of insanely good Indian spices last night. Talk about a surprise feast!

He made yogurt curry marinated tofu kabobs, spiced veggie kabobs, whole grain basmati rice and masala chic peas and peppers. I was totally stuffed after eating this meal and left one of my tofu kabobs for the next day. So, so good! Tonight's dinner - after work day #2 - was a little less exciting and reminded me more of our usual weeknight dinners...Lightlife non-GMO veggie burgers with avocado and homemade pepper jam, and baked butternut squash fries. Yep, basically a healthified version of burgers and fries. It was still good though, and hit the spot after staring at the computer screen all day.

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It's been pretty frigid here the last few days, as it is pretty much everywhere, so our weekend was mostly spent indoors. Mostly. We had to get out and sled for a bit since we got all that snow last Friday, but we only lasted two runs down the hill before all three of us were frozen stiff.

After sufficiently freezing our inner cores, the rest of the weekend was spent warming them up. Homemade soups, board games, movies, yoga, puzzles. You know, things you do when you're 80. 

On Sunday we did venture out and over to Heather and Kevin's house to watch the playoff games. The weather warmed up that day and Heather and I were both feeling a little cabin fever so decided we should get together so the kids could play and we could hang out and watch football. 

We both made snacks for the bunch, and I came with a big pot of homemade veggie chili with fixings. I don't use a recipe for my chili and usually just throw in a bunch of veggies (onions, carrots, garlic, zucchini), beans (pinto, black, kidney, chic peas), tomatoes and spices, so it comes out a little different every time. This time I added some of the smoked paprika I got at Sur La Table last summer, and it added great aroma and flavor. Love that stuff!

I had some of the leftover chili for lunch yesterday and it was just as good - if not better - the next day. Yum.

We're back on the cold snap now so I'm wrapped up in sweats and about to prep another soup for tomorrow night's dinner - an Indian lentil soup from my Eat Clean cookbook. Cold weather and Indian food just seem to go hand-in-hand for me. All that spice warms ya up!

Stay warm, wherever you are!