Holy bananas, you guys. I’m coming upon four weeks since getting Covid and I’m just now starting to feel like I have the energy and bandwidth to plan recipes and cook. It has been quite the rollercoaster. Some days I feel great, and some days I have no energy whatsoever and it’s a miracle I can get off the couch. I’ve always had a strong reaction to viruses, so this isn’t entirely surprising, but it hasn’t been fun and I look forward to the day I feel “normal” again (whatever that means). Covid keeps throwing surprises at me. For instance, last night I developed a full body of hives out of nowhere. Upon doing some Googling, I found out this is not unusual in the recovery stage of Covid. Seems my immune system is still pretty revved up. That’s fun. As someone who got all the vaccine doses possible, and who took Paxlovid (as recommended by one of my doctors who knows my history), I’m certainly glad I didn’t go through this without those added protections. And now on to more fun things!

Firstly, did you know how easy it is to make a green salad? I used to shy away from salads because it felt like a lot of work and/or I didn’t feel super great about the dressing choices I was making. I finally took a note from some of the yummiest Italian restaurants I’ve been to, who serve some of the simplest but most delicious salads. My go to is a a few big handfuls of arugula, a handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half, several slices of cucumber cut in quarters, a drizzle of olive oil, a drizzle of any type of vinegar you have (or lemon juice), some large flake salt and a few dashes of pepper. It’s so good, so easy, and completely homemade. No emulsifying of ingredients, no fussiness. If you want to add some shaved parmesan or pine nuts or mozzarella pearls, or canned garbanzo beans, go for it! A lot of times for a side to my lunch, I will just have the arugula with the dressing, and it’s still delicious.

Secondly, I bought a big bag of pre-washed kale, and today I am going to be making some kale chips. The whole family likes them, but honestly there might not be any left by the time they come home. They are best when fresh out of the oven, but I keep them in a bowl on the counter and every time I walk by during the day I grab a few.

And finally, I’m a big fan of sheet pan meals. They make cleaning up easy, and I haven’t met one that wasn’t easy and delicious. I’m planning this salmon, asparagus and potato recipe for tonight.

Hope you have a nourishing week.