Transitioning
I'm back, baby!
It's always a bit of a bummer to leave a place you love, especially if you were on vacay, or in my case, living a vacay life. But I have to say... it's good to be home! And I've missed my blog!! I've reached for my laptop on more than one occasion, but found it difficult to happily document my adventures with the carefree ease that fueled all of my other posts. Thankfully that goes away more and more every day. It's hard to dwell on anything negative when I feel so grateful for my adventure down unda. My little feet carried me to breathtaking views both above and below sea level, I met people who carved a permanent place in my heart, experienced so much love, befriended a new culture, and nearly satisfied my heart's love for travel. I came home one Aussie short, which wasn't exactly the plan, but I'm choosing to believe in plan B, no matter how certain I was of Plan A! :)
So here we are! Quite happy to be stateside and thankful for its abundance of tacos ;)
I've been spending a lot of time with this one...
And this one!!!!
Helping Sister get through finals...
Made a quick trip to San Francisco...
...Where I FROZE!
Speaking of freezing... resurfacing from below the equator requires a fair bit of transitioning. Primarily when it comes to temperature. Jet lag? Why does no one talk about temperature lag? Because it's obviously a thing, right?? I have been positively frozen since I landed a few weeks ago. It's safe to say that if it's anywhere below 80 degrees, you can find me huddled up by the fire.
I've been dealing with the new reality of being cold by ingesting almost exclusively hot liquids: Tea and soup. And not only does it keep me warm, but also slim! Convenient when you decide to chase summer around the globe! But a committed relationship to veggie soup can only last so long before you begin to look to greener (aka carb-y) pastures... So I added in two meals that really spiced things up. They are both as easy as soup, yet yielded adoring praise from my family so I felt compelled to share...
Spaghetti Squash + Turkey Meatballs
Literally all you need is a spaghetti squash, turkey meatballs (I get the ones from Trader Joe's), and a bomb red sauce (I use RAO's Arrabbiata because it's spicy and has ZERO added sugar)
The hardest part is cutting the squash in half. Easiest way to do it is prick it with a fork in a long line lengthwise (like how you slice an avocado), then microwave for a few minutes. After that you should be able to cut along the perforations. Scoop all the seeds out, lay the two halves cut side down on a baking tray, and add a little water. Pop into 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. Pour the RAO's into a sauce pan and throw in the frozen meatballs, cover and keep them on a low heat while the squash is in the oven. When the squash is done, use a fork to scrape all the "spaghetti" out right into your bowls. The meatballs and sauce should be heated through, so just throw that on top and eat!
Skinny Chicken Curry
Ok, so maybe this one is not as easy to make as soup... It's a little more of a production. But worth it!
I cut up chicken breast into small cubes and marinate it with a ton of fresh lime juice, fresh ginger, garlic, and curry powder. After it's been chillin for an hour or two, it's ready to go. Chop up an onion and sautée it in some coconut oil with a chili or any spicy little pepper. Then add in all the chicken and brown on both sides. Depending on how much chicken you have, add half to a whole tin of coconut milk. Add more fresh lime, curry powder, turmeric, and a tiny scoop of peanut butter! (peanut butter = peanuts, salt, NOTHING else). Stir and bring to a boil so the chicken cooks through and it thickens up a bit. I threw in broccoli at the last second, served over zoodles (brown rice for my dad), and added a heap of cilantro and chives on top.
