The summer weekends are winding down and I’m glad to be starting another one here with you. Not much going on this weekend but the usual baseball, farm stand visits, early morning dog walks, a gym sesh, and some meal prep for the week ahead. In an effort to fix my sleep, I’m trying a different work schedule next week and avoiding mindless scrolling at all costs. Wish me luck with that last one lol. Thank you to everyone that emailed me their sleep tips. You’re all too good to me :)

Hope that you’re taking care of yourself out there, and those you love too. Cheers to soft landings and total presence this weekend. Love YOU!

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. A new report shows how local climate activism leads to ‘remarkable’ gains via Grist
2. 99 Simple Ways to Spark Your Creativity via The Good Trade
3. What A.I. Really Means for Learning via The New York Times (gift link)
4. How to Trick Your Brain into Making Life Feel Longer and Richer via The Walrus
5. The zone zero secret: how ultra-low-stress exercise can change your life via The Guardian

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. We WILL have a good day!
2. Dr. Jessica Knurick on Rich Roll’s podcast
3. From NYT Audio: 11 Women, 9 Dogs, Not Much Drama (and No Guys)
4. Snack zone: Prana’s Bean Me Up mixes and Joey’s Nordic Seed Crisps with hummus
5. Suntegrity’s Impeccable Skin tinted SPF has such a great texture and isn’t greasy. I wear it over my regular facial sunscreen.

5 Questions:

1. I was wondering if you had any tips or recommendations for good cookware for induction stove tops?
   I have been using my All-Clad stainless cookware about 95% of the time lately. All of my nonstick stuff just started suddenly sticking at the same time, which is expected because nonstick loses its coating after about 4 or 5 years. Still a bit annoying though! Stainless steel cookware is induction compliant and so easy to work with once you get the hang of it. The most important thing is letting your pans adequately preheat before adding oil/butter (and then food). Plus it lasts forever! If you look after your stainless pans, they will look after you for life. I have the All-Clad D5 set and love it. Meyer Cookware makes great stainless steel sets and I’ve also heard good things about Made In.
2. Are there any nonstick cookware options that you feel comfortable recommending?
   The Guardian published an article about the legitimacy of “ceramic” coatings used by popular cookware lines and found that a lot of the brands were doing some spin when it came to their nontoxic claims. A brand that they mention in the article, Xtrema, creates true 100% ceramic cookware that is admittedly a bit intriguing to me. But apparently they’ve failed some lead testing as well. My true honest take!: Well-seasoned cast iron is probably the “cleanest” and most affordable nonstick option available, but I still occasionally use conventional nonstick pans sometimes. I just never bring them higher than medium heat, I only use silicone tools when cooking with them, and I don’t plunge them into dishwater when they’re still ripping hot.
3. Do you have cookbook suggestions for “healthier” baking?
   For whole grain baking, I like Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain and Mother Grains by Roxana Jullapat. Amy Chaplin’s cookbooks have excellent whole food-based, vegan, and gluten-free bakes/desserts. The Sweet Laurel cookbooks are excellent for grain-free desserts. Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille fame is an outstanding gluten-free baker that favors wholesome ingredients as well (can’t wait for her bread book this fall).
4. Struggling with motivation to cook in the intense summer heat. Any advice?
   I am struggling with this too! This summer’s been a real heater. I find myself leaning on meal/ingredient prep quite a bit for getting dinner on the table. Every week I set aside 1-2 hours to make the following: a bean/lentil salad (I change it up every week), a batch of chia pudding, one dip, and one salad dressing. On top of that, I try to clean and prep all my veggies and fruit so that I can just use it straight from the fridge. Every day I have a smoothie for breakfast, bean salad scooped up with seedy crackers and veggies/dip, and chia pudding plus granola/fruit for a snack. Dinner is usually lentil-based pasta with veggies, a rice bowl with veggies/protein of choice, grilled veggies and protein of choice plus potatoes/other starch, a big dinner salad with roasted sweet potatoes and other veg/protein of choice, noodle stir fry with (you guessed it) veggies and protein of choice, and then in the cooler months I’ll do curry or soups. Once you have the “categories” of dinner down and your veggies prepped, it’s just plug and play for the most part. I also love extremely low effort dinners this time of year–I do this mix of cooked rice noodles, thinly sliced cucumber, thawed edamame and a basic sauce of tahini, chili crisp, lime juice, and water to drizzle over top. Ready in 10 minutes and it gets the job done!
5. Maybe it’s early but what are you excited to cook in the fall?
   Every single thing actually. I love fall here because the summer goods are still going strong into October–best of both worlds! Corn chowder (linked my recipe below–it’s the best!), butternut squash everything but especially risotto (except it’s honey nut squash because that’s a top 5 vegetable for me and I have a bunch in the garden), braises with fennel, radicchio salads aplenty, roasted celery root aka the most underrated vegetable ever, perfectly charred air fried Brussels sprouts, any soup/stew in general, apple crisp, apple pancakes, apple cake, apple SAUCE, apple everything!!! I am an apple cinnamon freak to the core!

6 Seasonal Recipes:

1. Smoky Vegan Corn Chowder with Potatoes
2. Saucy Butter Bean Skillet with Cherry Tomatoes & Gremolata
3. Grilled Eggplant with Peanut Ginger Sauce
4. Blackberry Glazed Tofu with Black Pepper & Chili
5. Charred Corn Quinoa Salad with Avocado & BBQ Tahini Ranch Dressing
6. Soft & Fluffy Vegan Blueberry Muffins with A Bit of Whole Wheat Flour