Hiya! I’m back again for another Changing Seasons photo challenge, hosted by Su. How is everybody? I hope the month of love treated you right!

For most of February I wasn’t myself because I lost the momentum that I had in January. I’m also fairly certain I’m  pre-menopausal (fun!), so I can’t be sure how much my moods were effected by that.  The best I can explain is I feel like I’m constantly PMS-ing. [This party train is coming through! Woot! Woot!]

So I wavered between telling myself to relax and be patient, and feeling lost and lonely. But I’m fine now. I mean, my body is still doing its thing, but I feel like I’ve got my writing groove back. I found an editor to look at my memoir, and after a year of “giving up on it”, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves again. [Or so she thinks!]

Since I did have the doldrums though, I did a lot of cooking. (Ha!) Someone once told me that cooking is very grounding. Whatever it is, I’m grateful that I enjoy trying new recipes and even though the kitchen is tiny, that I have one.

I start off most mornings with a smoothie. Bananas are in abundance here, but I buy the berries frozen.

 

They’re usually banana and berries with soy milk and chia seeds thrown in for the Omega 3s and other good stuff.

Starting the day with a good breakfast is a relatively new habit (3 months?). I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to figure breakfast out. I used to eat cold cereal and coffee, and be starving an hour later. Or I would cook up a hearty breakfast, which looking back, was like a heart attack waiting to happen. Typical Western breakfasts seem to be an exercise in sugar, grease, and cholesterol. [I understand though, in the past, we did hard labor, burning off those calories, but now most of us are not.]

So, I’m feeling good about my black coffee (I know, I’m weird), smoothie, and oatmeal combo. Oatmeal is very good for you, and I like that I can add what I want to it (usually a splash of almond milk, dried cranberries or dates, and flax seeds). On days that I work early, I skip the smoothie. I’ve learned to stock up on bananas and I keep them in the fridge or freezer. Who knew?

 

The beginnings of a tofu scramble…it was really yummy, too. Recipe here.

 

Soups and stews are often whatever’s in the kitchen thrown together. That’s couscous, by the way…

 

We don’t eat out as much as we used to, but when we do it’s a treat. [Fuji Restaurant]
More tofu + veggies. I swear we don’t eat this much tofu…funny how a theme shows up.

 

Lastly, I started to upload videos to my YouTube channel! Let me tell you, it’s really scary! I haven’t shared it with anyone! But I decided to just go with audios and slides. This one’s from an old blog post about eating habits. It’s a bit of world tour of what I’ve noticed between cultures and how they eat.  I hope you give it a listen when you have the chance. 🙂

 

 

How was your February?

32 replies on “The Changing Seasons – February 2020”

  1. ooh your smoothie looks so good! do you have smoothie tips? i am just starting to make smoothies and trying to figure out how to balance out the flavors and creaminess and sweetness (without adding any additional sugar). =) glad you are still blogging lani!

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    1. Thanks!

      Well, I make smoothies for two, so I add what looks to be a cup or 3/4s of frozen fruit, and 2 bananas or 1 large one because bananas are what make it creamy and thick. Then I add enough soy milk to cover all the fruit.

      I eyeball amounts, even when I’m trying a new recipe. I think it comes from years of measuring and now ‘figuring it out’ by sight.

      I hope that helps!

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  2. I have not had a smoothie for some time, but I have had similar to what you have had.
    I find I tend to have a smoithie more in summer, than any other time of the year.

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  4. February has been a challenge for most in these parts but hopefully things are on the improve. Hey do you soak your chia for the smoothie…you probably do but if you don’t you’ll be shocked at how much liquid those they absorb, it’s crazy.

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    1. I don’t, but I’m keen to try chia pudding. Those buggers get stuck in my blender, so I know they are like sponges…

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      1. Alarmingly like sponges. The smoothies might make you thirsty depending on how many you put in. Very nutritious all the same. They were mentioned in that running book ‘Born to run’ as the magic food of the copper canyon native runners

        Liked by 1 person

      3. You should try the a pudding recipe too. Just add water to a few tablespoons of chia and come back in 20 minutes….there’s the pudding 95% done!

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      4. I will! Just all those pretty recipes online temp me with making it colorful with fruit and optimal lighting 😛

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Nothing wrong with tofu!! I use it a lot more these days and in lots of different dishes. I like the idea of smoothie breakfasts, but I love bread too much. One slice of sourdough with nut butter and an apple, or maybe an egg.

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      1. My former partner and I would make soup, buy bread, and then continue to devour the whole loaf…so much for healthy.

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      2. I totally understand that. On baking days I plan meals that included bread, otherwise I’d be snacking on sourdough AND trying to cook/eat a meal as well.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Pingback: The Changing Seasons, February 2020 | Zimmerbitch

  7. Well that looks good!
    Unfortunately, reading this at 10:40pm, means I am now really quite hungry..
    Haha. Dammit!
    As for menopause, well, at least you are eating well and giving yourself the best nutrition during this time.
    I am actually going through perimenopause (for about eight months or so now), so I sympathise.
    It will likely be several years of this, before menopause really hits. Oh joy!
    I’m wondering if it’s perimenopause for you at this time too, rather than menopause?
    You seem so young to be menopausal already, but that evil beast can strike unexpectedly eh..
    It seems to come in waves, so I wont try taking any kind of hormone, but not sure down the line.
    Best of luck with dealing with it.

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    1. I probably am perimenopausal. After months of not having my pd, I finally got it, so the spottiness sounds like the beginnings of it.

      Thanks for clarifying and giving it a name – I don’t have anyone to really talk about it. But I should read more extensively on it.

      Best of luck to the both of us! 😀

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  8. You just reminded me to put tofu on my shopping list.

    I make a smoothie every other day. You wouldn’t believe how many things I put in it: half a banana, a few frozen strawberries, celery, spinach, soy protein, flax seeds, and ginger. Then if I don’t feel like veggies for lunch, I’ve already had them.

    My February? A little bit boring. We had lots of rain.

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    1. I’ve been wanting to throw veggies in to experiment a little more…maybe I should…hmmm. Glad to hear from another smoothie fan! Such a good way to get more fruits (and vegs) in our diets 🙂

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  9. I make the same type of smoothies!! Love banana and berries! 😀 And what fun listening to you! I have English relatives but never saw them using the back of their forks to put the food in their mouths, maybe it’s different from county to county? But what they did was begging me to use the deeper and bigger spoon for soups which I thought awful because I simply couldn’t get my mouth to open this wide, and so insisted on using the ones that were more flat – it drove my aunt up the walls! 😉 LOL!
    Who knew there were so many different ways of tackling our food? Never knew that the Thai wouldn’t slurp out their bowls while the Japanese do – it seems I’m part Japanese. 😉
    And too bad about the Menopause – I’m already dreading mine and hope it will stay off as long as possible! 😀

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    1. Thanks for listening!

      You’re right, not every British person I’ve known has done the back of the fork thing. Maybe it’s economic class? Who knows? But I thought it was fascinating when I saw it!

      It seems I’m pre-menopausal. Oh, boy. I should probably make the correction in the post. Not that it matters – coming soon! Whaaaa.

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  11. My February has been spent at home. Gosh, we’ve been locked up for almost a month and a half now!
    I’ve also been cooking some things. The other day I did a squid and potato stew and yesterday I finally made a cheesecake, after my first attempt 2 years ago haha.

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  12. Your post inspired me to dig out the frozen bananas out of my freezer and start making smoothies again. Banana berry, banana pineapple (too much pineapple, too sweet), today was banana with soy milk and chocolate protein powder. I envy you your slow eating practice–I’ve started watching Adventure Time with my meals (I know I should leave the computer at meal times but I don’t have a table and I live alone and this is how 99% of us single dweller Seoulites eat) and I time my meal to at least last one episode. AT is only 15 minutes max.. so not great but it’s helping slow me down. Also ketchup on pizza…. oh my goodness. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

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    1. Hahahhaaha. It was so good and kind of you to leave a comment on YT.

      And great, I’m glad you’re getting your fruits and ur, chocolate protein. For some reason, I don’t eat fruit, so getting my fruit via smoothies is the way to go. I love veggies, but fruit? I don’t know what it is…I like bananas though.

      Hey, I may be coupled up, but I love eating by myself in front of the computer. Nothing like chowing down with a glowing screen. But yeah, I’m a slow eater. 😛 But no ketchup, belch. #standards

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