I am Not Feeling It this week, Internet. Seems problematic when it is only MONDAY MORNING and already I’m folding. January is wearing me down.
It’s not even as if anything is specifically WRONG, except for the fact that the world seems ever on the edge of imploding and also that I am a waste of space wasting my life. I’m pretty sure it’s just the January Doldrums. So I am banking pretty hard on there being an immediate and mood altering shift that happens at the stroke of midnight on February first.
Reaching for something positive: I made some high-protein blueberry muffins yesterday that I like. At least, I HOPE they are high protein. They have a cup of cottage cheese, three-quarters of a cup of milk, two eggs, and some flaxseed meal in them, so that seems higher protein than the typical muffin. But I haven’t yet input the exact recipe into one of those (questionable) online nutrition calculators to find out the (questionable) breakdown per muffin.
Of course, no one in my family likes them except me. Which I understand. They taste Healthful. But they are also nice and fluffy and not unpleasant in flavor and have occasional bursts of blueberry. I should probably write down the recipe I Frankensteined before I forget it.
Oh right. Dinners. I am experiencing a stronger than usual bout of Do I Have To? but it’s good to at least go through the motions, in case I want to have specific things to buy when I go to the grocery store. Probably we will do a lot of ham sandwich this week, and a lot of leftover butternut squash soup (which I made as per usual, although I added two cans of cannellini beans and an extra twelve ounces of butternut squash and an extra carton of chicken stock), but who knows – I could experience a burst of culinary energy at some point that leads to making A Real Dinner.
Dinners for the Week of January 29-February 3
- Sheet Pan Shrimp and Veggies: Sarah posted about this sheet pan meal last week and I immediately slotted it into my “I think I could make that happen” file of potential meals. I would do it without the tomatoes, and maybe throw in some cauliflower or broccoli or sweet potatoes instead.
- Beef and Mushroom Stir Fry: This sounds good, but do I really want to wash and cut a bunch of mushrooms? Also, I would want to add something green to the mix. Sugar snap peas, maybe.
- Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma: We haven’t had this for a long time and I don’t know why. I almost always pair this with couscous and steamed broccoli.
How are you doing, this final week of January?
How are you doing, this final week of January?
Yes, well, this has been the longest January of my life. It has dragged by and been dreary gray outside, and instead of feeling good new year vibes, I’ve felt defeated. I cannot wait to turn the page on this dismal month. Just waiting for February.
I have to admit to wondering how long January actually is. Christmas seems like a distant memory. My doldrums mean I have been curling up with my favorite author and rereading her books for hours and hours at a time and not getting anything else done like I should be.
FOR SURE January Doldrums, and I join you there. The last 2 days I’ve just felt blahhhhhhh. And grey weather isn’t helping – we haven’t seen the sun in six days. But on the positive side, since it rained all day Saturday, I was able to start and then finish a whole book! Daisy Jones & the Six. 4.5 stars, I really liked it.
I’m making shrimp fried rice for dinner tonight, I think… as little thinking/planning as possible.
January is a tough month–after the holidays, gray and icky weather (mostly) and not much to look forward to unless you’re a big Valentine lover. (I’m not)
I kind of love that the muffins are just for you. YOU DESERVE HIGH PROTEIN MUFFINS!! I am deep in the January doldrums, barely remembering what the sun or feeling progress is, sigh. Here’s to the February in a few (and hopefully some weather pattern changes, haha)!
Oh no, I’m so sorry you’re having the doldrums. I’m making your fall salad for dinner tonight! With chickpeas! I don’t know why I’m using exclamation points! But I am! It’s the first meal I’ve made since last Saturday, so I have had a great week in Mexico! More exclamations! Also I bought a nice crusty baguette today and the guys are having chicken thighs that I just pop in the air fryer so I don’t have to deal with meat.
This month has felt long for me, too! It has rained a lot here…and we’re expecting more days of rain. Arghh! I won’t mind so much, I think, if we didn’t have a dog who has to go out in the rain…extra work to towel him off when he comes back in — and he’s not cooperative. But it’s only a few more days and January will be behind us! Yay!!
Your high-protein muffins sound good! I was talking with a friend who’s also trying to eat more protein — and she told me that a serving of cottage cheese (1/4 cup, I believe) has more protein than 2 eggs! I was surprised…and glad that I have recently developed a taste for cottage cheese (I still can’t eat it unless topped with pineapple or other sweet-ish fruit).
I’m sorry you’re feeling blah. January can be tough. Dark and cold, not busy like November and December. And it doesn’t take the doldrums to make me lose interest in cooking. Today I went to lunch (pasta!) with friends, so it was a ham sandwich night for the family. I have tomorrow figured out, but other than that, I’m clueless. Thanks for the ideas.
Those muffins sound amazing! I’d love the recipe. In my house, I also would probably be the only one who would eat them but sometimes it’s worth it anyway.
We had a singular sunny afternoon a few days ago and both my husband and I remarked on how we sort of forgot how the world looked when it was sunny. The next morning, back to rain and dreariness. I grew up near Seattle so I’m very used to it but it really does take a toll.
I was fine with January until I saw on the weather page that it might snow again tomorrow and after last week, I am OVER it. I wouldn’t mind if it didn’t snow again until next winter.
We have some high-protein waffles (store-bought) in the freezer no one but me likes and even I don’t like them that much. (They are very crumbly so it’s hard to spread anything one them.) I’ve had good ones, but some brands are better than others.
Come to think of it, I guess the mostly cancelled week was week before last. Still feels recent.
I HEAR YOU! January is just hard. Yes, I think we’ll all snap out of it at the stroke of midnight on February 1st.
My mind is just a blank when it comes to dinner for the week (last night we ate leftovers from Sunday.) It seems odd because I know I’ve cooked many, many dinners in my life, but I just can’t think of a single thing. Ugh.
We went to Florida earlier this month and it seems vastly unfair that a couple of weeks ago I was standing in the (warmish) Atlantic Ocean, and now the air is hurting my face.
But we soldier on. We have a guest for dinner nearly every night this week, but he’s been here before and generally likes everything I make, mostly because it is not Restaurant Food.
We had very simple baked chicken thighs, steamed rice, roasted broccoli and a salad bar yesterday. The guest said it was the Best Broccoli he’d ever had, and wanted to know how I cooked it. He was surprised it wasn’t boiled.
Tonight is Red Lentil Power Soup, and burgers. The soup is from here: https://www.peanutbutterrunner.com/lentil-cauliflower-and-kale-vegan-power-soup/ And it is delicious. Red lentils are my favorite now. I’m not sure I can go back to the boring gross brown ones.
I know those recipes that I make that only I like and no family member likes because they think they taste bland. I don’t mind, more for me.
January has been good so far, busy, stress mixed with fun. It’s flying by faster than usual though, so trying to stay present as much as I can. When I look at my kids, their smile, their funny faces, I usually stop and be present to absorb it all.
A blog friend recently said her pastor referred to January as the Monday of the year and, like, RIGHT?
I’ve been trying new instant pot recipes lately because otherwise I’m in such a cooking rut. Or just eating jalapeno-cream-cheese wontons and an apple for dinner because I’m alone for like three weeks and I’m getting weird.
Aw man Feedly is playing dirty because this post just showed up in my feed tonight. So hey this week is already half gone and January is on its way out the door.
What I like about the protein muffins is that they don’t have any protein powder so I bet they taste pretty good.
I know the answer to the question if you want to spend time washing and chopping mushrooms! Don’t get me wrong, I would absolutely love that stir fry and maybe I’ll make it for a Sunday dinner some time but yes grrr on all of the prep.
Ditto what Birchie said; your post didn’t show up for me until tonight. Waaa.
This January was not my favourite, but it was okay. I’m happy to move on to February and more sunshine!
P.S. I would GLADLY eat those muffins – they sound delish!
I am with Birchie; I just got this last night! Anyway, I am sorry Jan was not good for you and hopefully today you are waking up refreshed and happy and ready to tackle the world! It is raining here, which is hard as it makes me not want to go outside, and definitely makes me not want to exercise, which is how I normally blow off steam/get into a better headspace. So I hope that the sun comes out soon!
Yeah, I’m with Birchie and Kyria. I didn’t get this in my Feedly until last night/this morning.
“I am a waste of space wasting my life.” Oh, Suzanne. Big hugs. You are NOT wasting your life. You are a source of great joy on the interwebz. You are a working member of society. You are a wife, a mother, a daughter, and a human being of great importance. You are NOT a waste! Winter shall pass and we can become humans who enjoy life again, but in the meantime, just remember that you are loved and cherished!
January was LONG. Being in charge of dinners is hard work, and I admire that you plan it out and make it healthy for your family. I have been known to say, “We’re having cereal for dinner.” Having your own muffins is awesome!
I hope that February is looking better for you! We all have those times when we wonder what we are doing with our lives, feel like a waste of space. I hope you are no longer feeling that way. You are very worthwhile and wonderful, and one of the first blogs I check (since I don’t use feedly).
Hope that stroke at midnight happened. It seems like many of us struggled this particular January. It just didn’t really flow, right? So here is to February – one of my self proclaimed favorite month. Let’s hope it delivers.
I’ve been loosely getting back to meal planning because I just don’t want to waste time discussing. Also I am leaning into cooking more vegan meals so I need to experiment more.
Hooray, January is over! And now it’s our birthday month, which I think you like more than I do? Even my birthday can’t make me love this month although it’s starting off with very mild weather so it has that going for it.
I didn’t cook at all this week since I was traveling for work but tonight I’m making chicken tikka masala with cauliflower and peas. Whee! We love that recipe so it’s a good way to close the week. And then tomorrow, hopefully, we are going on an actual date to one of my fave restaurants!
Muffins always help, IMHO and I don’t mind them to be healthy. It sounds like they have a lot of protein (I made protein waffles last week, but I used protein powder to add to the oat waffle recipe).
The beef and mushroom stir fry sounds delicious!
I feel this so much. This was a hard week. Add winter and some symptoms I’m experiencing (most likely because I am having anxiety), and I just want to burst into tears at any moment. I hate to say this, but reading about you feeling this way made me feel less alone. Thank you for sharing. I’m sending you so much love. We can do February. 😘
January can be such a tough month! It’s been a pretty good one for me – it helps that the weather has been very mild and downright WARM (in the 80s!) some days so I at least have that going for me. Here’s to a much better February!
“I’m a waste of space and a wasting my life.’
I felt like that a few days last week; not sure why. I hope it passed already and you’re back to your regular Suzanne Self.
How are you doing, this final week of January?
Late with my comment but January seemed LONG. That fresh and exciting energy that people talk about – didn’t have it. Or, rather, I had it for about three days and then wump wump. Also had the doldrums. But did feel better in February. The sun finally came out in NJ so that helped a little.