Sequestration Meal #391

 

If you're following along on the journey of avoiding buying groceries, this meal came a little less than three weeks in, and you'd never know it, would you? Pandemic skills. They serve me well.

Another of my pandemic skills, given how much time I spend with myself, is knowing when to push myself and when not to push, and when to compromise. So this came within a compromise between pushing and not pushing, as a means to address the sadness that was chasing me but without overextending beyond what I could accomplish (which is also depressing). Basically: How can I honor my need for rest while also honoring my need to avoid sinking into the pit of despair? The answer, very often, is cheese.

First, we have Beyond Chicken tenders. They are not the Beyond Chicken of our memories; they are something else entirely. It lives in the uncanny valley and I'm not sure how I feel about it. But if you're just giving up meat, you might find these really amazing, just as I did with a Beyond Burger, long ago. They are well-seasoned and the breading is really nice, and also they're pretty easy to cook--8 minutes in a toaster oven, flipping once, and you're golden.

Next, we have some mini farfalle in leftover vegan cheddar sauce (from my cheesesteaks), with some dried parsley to fancify it. This was delicious and I am glad I had the mini farfalle--tiny bow ties are so much more fun than plain macaroni or shells, sometimes. (Another pandemic development: I tend to explore pasta shapes as cheap entertainment.) I think I like this sweet potato cashew cheese more than I have liked potato-and-carrot cashew cheese, but I'm also wondering if that's the mustard talking.

Finally, we have some broccoli and bell pepper sauté. This is a recipe on the Land O'Lakes website, but I used Earth Balance. I chose this because basically every meal now has to have peppers somewhere, since my neighbor's restaurant supply delivery, and although it's pretty good I would advise you that it needs salt. A recipe that includes no salt should always be suspect. Maybe Land O'Lakes is salty, and therefore does not need it? In any case: Add salt. Or soy sauce. Or something.

A good meal always seems to help matters. I am not up to peak productivity but I am not swirling into a spiral of despair, so that's a win for me.

Do you have "compromise" meals--not the bottom of the barrel, but pretty low effort? Let me know what you do when you don't feel like much but are avoiding going down the plain ramen path.