Sequestration Meal #334

 

I haven't eaten many dinner salads lately, but I do know greens are an important part of my diet. (I think I just prefer to cook some spinach.) So as I was planning the week's pantry clear-out priorities, I saw a can of mandarin oranges and decided this would probably be the basis for a salad.

After scouting the internet, I found one that would only require me to buy a bag of spring mix, because I already had everything else: Asian-Inspired Mandarin Orange Salad at Dianne's Vegan Kitchen. It consists of the spring mix, mandarin oranges, slivered almonds, edamame, and scallions in an almond butter-based dressing. It was good but in an unfamiliar way I can't articulate. It was pretty light, so I ended up having some toast with this.

I like making these more unusual creamy salad dressings, though; not everything with that creamy mouth feel has to involve dairy or obvious dairy substitutes. So I was happy. For those of you observing the pantry clear-out, this salad used:

• Canned mandarin oranges
• Slivered almonds
• Almond butter
• Sesame seeds

And so we live to fight another day.

In other news, although I've felt better about some things (and worse about others), I've been keeping myself so busy I'd not been taking the time I should have to tend to myself. So I have told myself I need to prioritize going for walks again. It's so soothing. I can't go when it's hot, or in a thunderstorm, which makes it a pretty limited opportunity this time of year, but I did manage to go recently and it really helped clear out my head. Plenty is still in bloom, too.

There are some parts of the future I dread, but for now, in this moment, I'm starting to win at life again a bit, I think. I'll keep my fingers crossed for what comes next.