by Sam Tackeff | Oct 31, 2015 | Challenge, Wellness
This week has been a vibrant whirlwind – which is sort of how I’ve come to expect my fall to be – life reflecting nature – the leaves changing colors, the winds picking up. Except I’m not gearing up to hibernate, but instead bolster myself for the holidays and the new year. It’s a little scary how fast it’s come this year. Wasn’t it summer yesterday? (Okay, so maybe it did hit 73 degrees here this week…)
Much of my free time has been spent building out my fall wellness program which starts on Monday! – the Secrets of Self Care, and I realize that I haven’t talked to you about it here on my corner of the internet, and YOU are who I’ve been writing this course for!
Secrets of Self Care is a 6 week program for those who have been focused on career, family, or business, and lost themselves a little in the process. (Okay, isn’t that all of us?) Six weeks leading up to the holidays to help you get back in touch with yourself.
Are you lacking inspiration to make simple, healthy, and seasonal meals?
Are you feeling tired with the change of seasons?
Do the holidays cause you anxiety?
Does your energy wane in the early afternoon?
Do you find yourself making sub-optimal food choices when you don’t have better options?
Do you feel like curling up on your couch with a cup of tea, and not leaving?
Join me for this adventure in which we’ll focus on being kinder to ourselves, supporting our needs and desires, and nourishing our bodies.
What you get:
– Daily weekday emails providing journaling and action prompts.
– Supportive online accountability
– A variety of printable handouts
– A personal coaching consultation with Sam (via Phone, Hangout, or Skype)
– Additional email support for the duration of the course
The cost of the course is $179 for the 6 weeks, including a 1-1 personal coaching session.
We start Monday – I’d love to have you join me – we’ll be thinking, writing, dreaming, and bringing good things to life, and I’ll be doing the work right along side of you!
If you want to hear more, email me at sam@thesecondlunch.com, and I’d happy to hop on the phone with you for a few minutes to talk about the work that I do, and how I can help!
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 25, 2015 | Meal Planning
The season is winding down at the farm, and I picked up my last regular season share on Friday. After the next one, I’ll have two winter pickups (mostly root vegetables) before Stearns closes up shop for the year.
It’s been a while since I’ve written out an actual meal plan – I go through phases where I’m completely sure about what I want to eat, and then ones where I’m finicky and can’t plan in advance. I still manage to feed myself wholesome meals (most of the time), but it really helps to have things organized.
When in doubt, I opt for a protein and two vegetables, and go from there. Sometimes it’s chicken, brussels sprouts, and a salad. Other times it’s eggs, tomatoes and potatoes. Occasionally, and very rarely, it’s no vegetables at all. But when that happens – you know, it’s okay! Because sometimes you just need Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese and lobster.
Vegetables I’l be eating from the farm share:
Acorn squash, cabbage, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, peppers, carrots, bok choi, broccoli, potatoes, kale, daikon, and mixed greens.
Things I’ll be cooking this week:
:: A big green salad with grilled chicken thighs, fennel fronds, roasted peppers, roasted acorn squash, feta, nuts, and whatever else needs to be used in my fridge.
:: Some tomato sauce to freeze, with the last of my summer tomatoes. I haven’t decided which recipe to use yet, but I want something relatively basic that will go well with different flavor profiles and cuisines.
:: I’m tweaking a Turkish red lentil soup recipe for my forthcoming quick weeknight meals e-book.
:: Some
pickled daikon and carrot salad from Elizabeth Andoh’s
Kansha cookbook. I made this for an event at Omnivore once, and it was a total hit.
:: Beets! Beets! Beets! I’m going to make a twist on the
Veselka Borscht , and
quick pickled beets with cumin and coriander.
Treats I want to try: I make my pumpkin chocolate chip cake at least once a season! This week is going to be the week.
What’s cooking in your kitchen this weekend?
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 13, 2015 | Holidays, Meal Planning
Tonight is the eve of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, so I celebrated with friends and family, and partook in some of my favorite foods: Tsimmes, a dish of braised beef, carrots, and sweet potatoes, my grandmother’s potato kugel, blueberry cheese pie (what we call cheesecake), and my mom’s carrot cake!
My aunt pulled out all the tricks. She always has a great wine selection (and hard liquor – clutch for any family situation.) And the evening starts with a well curated cheese board, and chopped liver for us traditionalists. Cooper, the lab, was sniffing around for crumbs, but feeling under the weather, so alas, I couldn’t share with him any of my generous cracker schmears. Not that I’d ever do something like that.
We also had salmon, beef tenderloin, a deconstructed cabbage roll casserole, green beans, and vegetarian lasagna. And then dessert: the aforementioned cheese pie and carrot cake, a Venezuelan layered dessert called Marquesa, lemon meringue pie, apple crumble, and fruit.
So it’s possible that I won’t need to eat for a few days, but I’m still on the hook for a healthy meal Monday through Thursday this week. On Friday, I’m running Reach the Beach (a 200 mile relay through my home state of New Hampshire, so my meal will likely be some American Chop Suey served to me in an elementary school cafeteria around midnight!
Here’s what’s on the docket this week. The weekly cook-up, which, in addition to my dinners make up my breakfasts, lunches and snacks for the week:
– cook a large batch of greens
– hardboil eggs
– braise green beans with tomato
– make fennel salad (this holds!)
– chop peppers for snacks
– make pesto
Monday: grilled jerk chicken with fennel salad
Tuesday: pork tenderloin with pesto and zucchini noodles
Wednesday: roasted fish with sticky roasted tomatoes and garlic
Thursday: steak and potatoes with green beans.
And here’s a closing note for you of my favorite evening ritual: a pot of herb tea. I’ve been alternating between fresh mint, and dried lemon verbena. I took a good portion of my mom’s plant, and have been supplementing my habit with the leaves from Stearns Farm.
What’s on your dinner table this week?
