April Means … Vibrant Cooking!

Because I believe all of life should be lived vibrantly 💐🎉

Apr 02, 2024

Spring has sprung all around me. I think that’s what I appreciate about now living in a more moderate climate like the Pacific Northwest.

I may be ready for warm weather, but it’s not quite here yet. Still, it’s hard not to be excited by flowers everywhere. Trees are bursting into color - reds, pinks, yellows, and whites. Daffodils, hyacinths, and hellebores, with tulips just starting to peak their heads.

I’ve already scheduled trips to various farms to take in the sites - irises, tulips, and peonies top my list for April. Just looking for a couple days of nice (not raining) weather, and we’ll be off to check out the explosions of colors all over Washington and Oregon. And I might have to buy a plant or two for my ever-expanding garden. 🥰

What does April mean to me? It’s a time to start buying plants. It’s a time to clean up the outside beds, and start preparing them for the coming summer season. And it’s a time to move past winter foods and start digging into spring delicacies.

Just yesterday, I was shopping at my favorite market, and right there tucked in between the grapes and berries was a small display of rhubarb! Oh, I love rhubarb!

Years ago, I started playing with it for savory meals instead of desserts. I LOVE my rhubarb mint cornbread recipe and make it every chance I get. I’ve also blended it into sauces … yum!

I’ll be keeping my eye out every time I enter the store for something new to start cooking with. And I’ll be counting down the days until our farmer’s market returns. (Five weeks and counting!)

It’s April. This is what I’m focusing on as April ushers in nicer weather. And if you need a boost to continue on your plant-based journey, here’s a few ideas for you.

This month’s April Motivation will cover …

Cookbook Time!

As I was walking with friends this weekend, we were talking about our favorite seasons. For me, it will always be summer. I love warm weather, lazy days reading books in the shade of a tree, and time spent in my garden watching how everything grows.

But close behind is spring. Color, bursting into life. I simply can’t get enough of the delicate blooms that are everywhere.

My husband has “threatened” to grocery shop without me - I shop two or three times a week, and I buy new plants every time I enter. I simply can’t leave without one.

I think that’s what first attracted me to this month’s cookbook, Vibrant Food. On the cover is a photo of a Nasturtium Salad. The first sentence of the recipe is: This is the salad for the frustrated gardener whose plants are being choked to death by aggressive nasturtium vines.

That was me my very first year at our community garden. Those little vines weaved all over our plot, and the only thing I knew how to do is to pull them out. Now I have a better choice - turn them into a salad!

Vibrant Food
By Kimberely Hasselbrink

I love how this cookbook is organized. Instead of appetizers, mains, and desserts, she categorizes them based on seasons. That’s doesn’t mean you can’t jump around. It means you can focus on eating local depending on what you find in the store.

Like rhubarb.

Underneath the Spring category, she has a section that quickly attracted my attention: Rhubarb.

Her Rhubarb Compote with Cacao Nibs and Rhubarb Ginger Fizz are on my list for this week. Mmm. I can’t wait. 😋

Tempeh for your Protein

Let’s talk about tempeh - I love it! But I’ve found a lot of plant-based newbies are a little hesitant to put it into their diet.

Tempeh is a fermented bean patty or block (depending on where you buy it). It’s made by partially cooking beans (usually soybeans) and then fermenting them. Other beans are occasionally used.

Why is tempeh good for you - better than many of the other plant-based “meats?” It’s because of the fermentation. It combines two of the healthiest foods on the planet - soy and fermented foods - and gives you 33 grams of plant-based protein per one cup serving.

Fermentation is the new superfood. It has the ability to fight disease, support a healthy gut, boost immunity, and strengthen bones. Tempeh also offers a ton of minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese - fermentation makes these even better!

Where most people become hesitant is with soybeans. This is where it’s once again important to pay attention to the source. Over 94 percent of all soybeans grown in the US are genetically engineered, treated with glyphosate. That can wreak havoc on gut health and the immune system, causing a variety of diseases. This is why it’s super important to source only organic, non-GMO tempeh.

[Yes, you can make it yourself. I have a cookbook showing me how. It’s a complicated process, so for now, I find mine in stores I can trust.]

Tempeh is easy to use in all of your cooking. Slice it thin to use it for tempeh bacon. Use thicker slices or chunks to replace traditional meat. Shred it and you can put it in stews or sauces. You can pan-fry it, grill it, or roast it in the oven. Because it is thicker and denser than tofu, you can steam it for 15 to 20 minutes to make it better adapted for marinating.

I believe it’s one of the most versatile foods you can use as you cook. I often make a little extra, and keep it in the fridge to add to salads or sandwiches.

And if you’re wanting to try one of the meat-based recipes in the Vibrant Food cookbook from above and vegan it like I do, I highly suggest substituting tempeh instead. The Salmon Banh Mi easily becomes Tempeh Banh Mi … and it’s really good!

It’s time to romanticize life …

I’ve noticed a trend …

With myself …

With many I read …

It’s the struggle of getting stuff done. Or carrying on, doing what I did before, motivating myself for large goals and accomplishments.

I’m on autopilot. The process of letting everything become a little mundane. Of doing just for the sake of doing, without a lot of feeling behind it.

It started in 2020, continued forward into 2021, 2022, 2023, and now 2024. I look at that timeline, and it feels even more overwhelming. How - HOW could this be me? The go-go-go woman I was in my 20s and 30s?

A lot has happened these past four years …

I get it. I have stories. Things that have influenced me, affected me month after month, year after year. Like many women … Just like me.

I’m a “life is short” kind of person. Cup half full - yep, that’s me. Why do one thing when I can do three?

I savor every moment. I enjoy what I do. I do.

And yet, there’s this underlying tone that I just can’t shake. Why?

I ask that at my monthly lunch with friends. We all feel it.

Why?

I’ve backed away from audacious goals. Instead, I’m focusing on building enjoyment in my life again. Or romanticizing my life .. I’ve been seeing that pop up more and more.

What does romanticizing life mean?

My take on this is that it means to embrace and enjoy every moment. Be present. Make even the most mundane tasks special.

To make the ordinary extraordinary.

To make living itself an art, that is the goal. ~Henry Miller

Maybe that is the goal. Maybe that’s what we all need to do.

We’ve fallen into negative bias

This has been so easy to do. With so much happening in the world, how do you NOT focus on the negative? I know just how harmful this can be. Because focusing on negative leads us to:

Avoid risk because of what it can bring. It’s not that bad - what if it gets worse? And we avoid making it a lot better because we get stuck not trying.
Dwell in the mundane, the negativity, because it’s so easy to find. We perceive our life as how it might be, even if it’s not true.
Be afraid of losing what we’ve already achieved. This is huge for me. With so much right, what if I move forward and determine new isn’t as good as what I’d already built?

Even when I know, quite honestly, that GOOD can be anywhere. It’s what you make of it. It’s what you appreciate being present in your life.

That’s where romanticizing comes into play. It improves daily mood. It improves the quality of life. And it makes life that much more fun.

What it takes to romanticize your life

There isn’t a right way to do this. (Or a wrong way either.)

I think what matters most is stepping back into being present.

I recently read an article on flourishing.

Flourishing is “feeling good combined with functioning well.” Six domains contribute to overall flourishing: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, and financial and material stability.

Yet our well-being is not wholly dependent on our circumstances. Despite life’s challenges, people are resilient.

People who flourish help others.
People who flourish embrace learning.
People who flourish are spiritual.
People who flourish play.
People who flourish connect with others.

When you’re ready to romanticize your life

I believe change is good.

I believe being present means being where I am today.

That means stop comparing myself to who I was a year ago, five years ago, or when I was thirty. It’s easier in my 50s. I strive for it every day.

I’ve also done a lot of research, and have discovered some ways I romanticize life each day that really helps me. Maybe they’ll work for you …

Create a daily routine

Nope, this isn’t about getting my business goals done or creating a spreadsheet to maximize my to-do list. Nope, this is about self-care. Giving myself permission to do little things.

This is where you build time for you. For you and a partner. For you and a daughter, friend, or sister. (And not feel guilty about it.)

Watch the clock - but don’t pay attention to it. I know approximately when to start certain tasks, and let everything flow for how much I spend there. Like walking with my daughter at 8 am when we’re both available. We walk and talk … and stop to watch an eagle soar. Or listen to the sea lions play with their food in the river.

Journal

I can’t stress how important this ritual has become. I have three journals that allow me to play in various ways.

I’ve fallen in love with my gratitude journal. Even on days when I have to stretch, it still helps pull me back to the things I truly adore. A mug of tea can be just as appealing as a day at the beach. It’s finding the romance in everything I do … and making it better.

Start by downloading my free journaling guide.

Then watch my video and journal along with me. You’ll be glad you did - I hope it’ll give you inspiration to romanticize your life, too.

Kitchen Joy!

Years ago, when we first were moving into a vegetarian diet, there was a local burger cafe that did portabella mushroom burgers right.

I’m finicky with portabella burgers. I’ve had so many “wrong” versions where the portabella is tough and chewy. But this burger place knew how to do it right. Cooked to perfection. Just the right amount of seasoning and topping to make it delicious.

And served alongside was a big basket of truffle fries.

I’d never had truffles before. But I quickly learned that the flavor is out of this world …

I believe joy and inspiration comes from choosing one thing new to do.

When I ran into a bottle of black truffle oil a while back, I knew it was something I wanted to experiment with. I’ve been putting it into everything - truffle fries, in pastas, and how about risottos! I already LOVE my mushroom risotto, I wonder how it will taste with truffle oil?

Or for a little inspiration, maybe you’ll want to go on a truffle hunt yourself.

I believe that cooking should be fun. If something is intriguing, use it. If something sounds delicious, enjoy it.

Plant-based living isn’t about giving things up. Instead, it’s about bringing MORE into your life.

Whatever you choose to do in April, I hope you thoroughly enjoy it.
Here’s to Gorgeous Living!

Lori

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