Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, and the Sunday Post. Read, Watch, Play is a round-up of bookish and non-bookish entertainment going on in my home this week. Feel free to join in and let me know what fun you have had recently!
It has been ages since I have done a Read, Watch, Play post! Life just gets in the way sometimes. Now that the holidays have passed, the snow days are gone (hopefully for a while), life is starting to get back to normal in our house, and I actually have a little more free time!
What I’m Reading
Hillbilly Elegy is my book club’s pick for February. I have to admit I had misplaced expectations going into this book. I thought it was more of a research-based analysis than a memoir, but it is actually the opposite; a memoir with a tiny bit of research thrown in.
What I’m Watching
I just read The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie’s very first novel. Of course, I then had to watch the corresponding episode from the Poirot TV series!
We also watched Room last night. Usually I don’t like to watch the movie before reading the book, but I have been intrigued by this one ever since Brie Larson won an Oscar last year. Word of advice: don’t watch without a box of tissues nearby!
What I’m Playing
Not quite a game, but I bought this Ultimate Dot-to-Dot book by Gareth Moore last week as a relaxing activity to do with M, once I saw that there was a good chance of snow days in the near future. This is a great dot-to-dot book! The dots are color coded, and I’m using the Staedtler 36 Colors, Triplus Fineliner Pen Set to complete the pages.
What I’m Cooking
We’re doing the Whole 30 this month! In some ways, it hasn’t been as challenging as I thought it would be. In other ways, I am getting thoroughly tired of some of the food that we usually eat that has been cut out this month! And I miss cheese. And wine. And chocolate. And bread products.
If you haven’t heard of the Whole 30 by now (although I am sure most of you have!), it is 30 day “diet” meant to help reset your body on a path back towards healthy eating. We’ve been eating out a lot more than we usually do, and it seemed like a great time to give it a try, as a kick-start back to our normal, healthy way of life.
A month of Whole 30 is similar to Paleo, and means a whole lot of fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, and seafood. What it does not include: alcohol, dairy, grains, legumes, corn, soy, and sugar.
Here’s a sampling of some of the meals I have made over the past 9 days:
Breakfast:
- Breakfast tacos with homemade sausage, butterleaf lettuce, scrambled eggs and hot sauce (pictured)
- Sausage patties with sautéed apples and cinnamon
- Egg casserole with tomatoes, spinach, and Aidell’s Chicken and Apple Sausage
- Scrambled eggs with lox and sautéed butternut squash, seasoned with Ras el Hanout (pictured)
Lunch:
- Israeli Salad, pistachios, melon with prosciutto (pictured)
- “Nachos” – plantain chips, mango, rainbow carrots, leftover pulled pork, and guacamole (pictured)
- Leftovers
- An assortment of salads with smoked turkey, prosciutto, dates, slivered almonds, and vinaigrette dressing.
- Trader Joe’s Lime Chili Chicken Burgers with guacamole, and a side of fruit or veggie.
Dinners:
- Coconut Curry chicken with riced cauliflower and sautéed kale (pictured)
- Pork Postole with Tostones and roasted potatoes (pictured)
- Turkey curry meatballs with lemongrass coconut cream sauce and roasted veggies
- Hamburger (all of the meat we buy is grassfed) with lettuce bun, guacamole, green beans, and Alexia Smart Classics french fries. And a pickle, once I realized that the dill pickles in our fridge had no sugar! (pictured)
4thhouseontheleft 