A New Start
Wow guys, we’ve made it through the historical year of 2020. There are countless memes and comedians reviewing the year in good spirits, but in all seriousness I know it was a really tough year for many many people. People lost their jobs, their loved ones, their sense of normal living. Life got weird, and still is weird. But we are getting through it together, we just need to keep moving forward.
For me, 2020 was a year of change. I transitioned to quarantined life mid March (boy I had no idea what I was in for the day they told us to ‘go home for a few weeks’…aka indefinitely), then during summer I lost my job of 6 years, did freelancing on the side, and got a new job (at a pretty rad company). I adopted a old blind stray cat named Smokey, we raised money for his care, but then he passed away a few months later. 🙁 We had to cancel all of our travel plans, and instead we visited our best friends out of state. I did some new photoshoots, made a new website (www.weddingsbynina.com). Learned some more in CGI…
And I made an entire One Second a Day video of 2020, you can see me commuting to NYC, to working from home with a lot of zoom calls for the remainder of the year.
But enough about me! I want to hear what you guys experienced this year. Was it the worst? Was it life changing? For some of my friends, 2020 was their best year yet, with job promotions, getting married, accomplishing their goals, etc. There was still some good that came out of it!
Better Habits
Seeing as how this is officially one week into the NEW YEAR of 2021, I bet you’ve made some sort of resolution for yourself. And I bet it might have something to do with bettering your health. I know I want to. I haven’t felt productive to do personal work lately. So I allowed myself to have some fun recently (I’m usually all work, no play), playing video games and crocheting in front of the TV. All of that is fine in moderation, but when I’m constantly sitting to do everything, then it’s not.
So this year I want to do better at being active – going outside more when it’s nice out, and hopping on the treadmill a few times a week or doing yoga on days that I don’t.
This year I want to eat less sweets. I usually am not a sweets person, but since winter I re-discovered my childhood love of sugar cookies. I’m not ready to totally give them up just yet haha, but I AM ready to get way more veggies and greens into my life!
Smoothies are an excellent way to pack in some superfoods in the form of a green powder, covering the taste with honey or dates. We should eat more fun salads – pack full of flavor with olives, hemp seeds, tomatoes, cashew cheese, etc. Let’s have more cooked veggies like roasted peppers, cooked eggplant, steamed broccoli, etc. These foods give us the most fullness with the least amount of calories, and the more we eat the rainbow, the healthier we will be.
Let’s eat the Rainbow!
The first recipe of 2021 that I want to share with you is a delicious way of making homemade ramen noodles that are packed with vibrant colors and full of flavor!! The broth will last in the fridge for a few days, which makes for quick and easy leftovers. Warm it up on the stove, pop in your noodles to cook, and add the chopped ingredients of your choice. If you are really short on time you can choose the microwave instead, but just make sure the broth is hot enough to soften the noodles!
I chose glass noodles for this recipe because they are 1. cheap, 2. super easy to use, and 3. take on the flavor of the broth. And they are filling without your typical ‘pasta’ calories. Here we can sneak in some healthy veggies like sliced beets, mushrooms of your choice, carrots, chives, bok choy, peppers even, whatever you want! Plus, how much fun is it to eat with friends using chopsticks on a pillow in your Livingroom floor while watching New Girl together? I just love it!
Ingredients
- 1 Packet of Glass Noodles
- -
- BROTH:
- 2 Cups - Filtered Water
- 3 Tbsp - Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp - Better than Bullion (or other vegetable broth)
- 1 tsp - Garlic Powder (or a clove of Garlic)
- 1 tsp - Onion Powder (or 1/4 of an Onion)
- 1 tsp - Ginger Powder - (or a few slices of Ginger)
- 1 bunch - Green Onion (chopped)
- 1 Tbsp - Vegan Butter
- -
- OPTIONAL:
- Carrots (chopped)
- Mushrooms (the kind of your choice)
- Bok Choy (one bunch)
- Snap Peas (a dozen or so)
- Jalapeño (a few slices)
- Dried Kombu (or seaweed - cut into bite sized pieces)
Instructions
- Start by boiling your water on the stove with all of the broth ingredients (minus your chives and butter). While this is warming up, start chopping up your veggies and set aside.
- Once your broth comes to a boil, add in your choice of vegetables to soften them (if you want to eat them raw, then add them in at the end).
- After a few minutes of cooking your veggies, you can turn off the stove and if you are doubling the recipe for leftovers, pour the amount of broth you want to use later into a container to put in the fridge (be careful - it's hot!). Then with the remaining broth still in your pot, add the amount of noodles you want to eat now and let them soften for 3-5 minutes.
- Once the noodles have reached your desired consistency, you can add your chives, butter, and optional seaweed. Stir well and enjoy your warm hearty meal 🙂
Notes
You can keep your broth refrigerated for a few days. When you are ready to make more, you can warm it up on the stove again or in a microwave, and add in your chopped veggies and the fresh noodles (just grab the amount that you think you will eat in one sitting). Wait about 5 minutes or so for the noodles to soften, and enjoy!