How to Read More With Less Time

This morning I posted a picture on my Instagram stories of a book I was reading on my Kindle in bed. A friend responded with “How do you read so many books?! I miss reading so much!”

It made me realize that reading is actually a habit I’ve slowly integrated into my lifestyle over the last year, to the point where I read almost 40 books in 2020!

Now it should be mentioned that I LOVE to read, am already a fast reader, and have STRONG “five wing” according to my Ennegram which means I am extremely curious and love to research things. But anyone can become a reader.

In my opinion, reading is a habit that should be fuelled by DELIGHT instead of duty. If you’re coming into this with the attitude that you “really should read more,” then I promise none of this will work.

But if you want to read because you love it… stick around.

Pick Something You Actually Want to Read

I picked reading back up off the “Things I Stopped Doing Once I Had A Baby” shelf last year when I decided I wanted to trade my scrolling time for something that left me feeling relaxed instead of frazzled.

So I found a captivating book. For me that meant it couldn’t be: a nerdy science one (those I do love those), a history book (even though Russian history is my JAM), it couldn’t be a self-help book (who wants to trade online shopping for a lecture on how you could be better?!), it also couldn’t be high-brow (move over classic literature!)

It MUST be a book that you look forward to reading. While the book you choose could be one of the things I listed above, I think it’s best if you pick books that feel like they take as much effort as watching a Netflix show does. For me that was a mystery novel.

Perhaps for you that’s a thriller or a cook book. Maybe it’s Fifty Shades of Grey or a magazine. It just needs to be something else that makes you WANT to pick it up even when you have other things you should be doing.

This is how I started training myself to pick up something to read when I had moments in my day that I’d normally spend scrolling on my phone.

I keep a book by my bed, in my car, on my phone in the form of an audiobook. Slowly over time you realize that you’re reading a LOT. Eventually I picked up other books— books on habit stacking, on prayer, on current events, literary fiction. But I started with something that felt fun.

Read When You Can

I think the other thing I had to let go of was this idea that reading requires a few hours in a comfy chair. It doesn’t (although that’s still my favorite way to do it!) But you can read while you wait for your dinner to cook, or while your kid is playing or my favorite— before bed.

Stop Reading Books You Don’t Like

Finally, if you’re hating a book or just not enjoying it— STOP READING IT. Who cares if you don’t finish it? Life’s too short to read bad books. Even if you feel like you’ve got the gist of a book after reading a few chapters and want to move on to something else, just go for it. This isn’t high school. There are no book reports. Just you reading what you love.

If you want my suggestions for what to read, I’m the kind of nerd that has a Goodreads account that lists alllll the books I’ve read recently and what I thought of them. So you can check them out.

Any other tips I should have included or forgot? Let me know in the comments below.

My H&M Autumn Shop

Okay so it’s been a few years since I’ve been really into what H&M is doing. For some reason the last few years I’ve walked into stores, only to walk right back out because it just didn’t feel “me”. This year’s autumn collection however has me all starry-eyed.

While I know H&M is fast fashion, I feel the items I’ve bought recently will last me a long time. Not only quality-wise, but because the pieces I selected feel timeless. I hope you enjoy this mini-capsule I’ve put together of pieces I’ve either bought myself or are on my wish-list. :)

ps. It’s mostly sweaters.

Cooking In Isolation

No lengthy preamble here except to say that this post isn’t meant to shame anyone into cooking more during self-isolation. I just genuinely enjoy making things in the kitchen, but if you want to order take out, I’m here to to support that decision. This is just a list of things we’ve enjoyed making ordered from simple/quick to make, to a bit more involved. You choose your own adventure!

Quick-n-Easy

• Baked Potato Bar — I always just give 4-5 Russet potatoes a good scrub, pack them in coarse sea salt and whack ‘em in the oven at 425 F for about 45mins. While those cook you can start prepping your “fixins’” (or toppings for anymore outside the US). I like to cook some Turkey bacon, get Kerrygold butter and shredded cheddar involved. But you could do any number of things that sound good. My Northern Irish husband likes a can of Heinz beans heated up and poured on top with cheddar. Serve with a side of roasted frozen broccoli from Costco, or just on their own.

• Breakfast for dinner — obviously there are a million ways you could take this concept, but I’ll just leave you with my favorite blender pancake recipe.

  • Blend 1 cup of rolled oats in your blender until they become a powder-like consistency.

  • Then add one egg, about a half cup of almond milk (regular works great too!), 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, a banana (the riper the better!) and a pink of salt. Sometimes I throw a dash of cinnamon in there too!

  • Let the mixture set in the blender for 3-5 mins while the oats absorb the liquid ingredients and heat your pan.

  • Then just pour onto the hot pan and enjoy. Best part? Only one dish to clean after and it’s your blender (I never rinse my cast iron pan after pancakes!)

  • In my experience this feeds 2-3 people, but you can easily double the recipe.

• Cauliflower “Fried Rice” — Everything in this recipe can be made from frozen veggies and pantry items.

  • Heat a pan with some kind of high-heat oil, I use avocado, and add a drop or two of sesame seed oil for flavor if available.

  • Once at a med-high heat toss in a bag of frozen cauliflower rice and desired frozen veggies, I tend to use frozen peas and corn, pretty basic.

  • After the veggies have defrosted on the pan (about 3-5 mins) I add: a dash of garlic powder, ground ginger, onion powder and coconut aminos/tamari/soy sauce. Would it taste better if you minced garlic and added fresh ginger? Certainly. If you wanna elevate it I’m not here to stop you!

  • Mix it all in, and turn heat up and let sit until the cauliflower rice starts to brown and get the tiniest bit “crispy”.

  • Then turn down the heat and crack and egg directly in the pan and scramble it in until it is cooked and coats the veggies. Take off the pan immediately and start eating.

  • Optional fancy steps: 1) sometimes if I have kale or bok choy that’s on it’s last legs I’ll chop it up and throw it in before the egg at the end. 2) Have any kimchi sitting around? Chop some of that in and you’ll have kimchi fried rice. Thanks Gwyneth Paltrow for that tip! 3) I like to shake a few sesame seeds on my bowl at the end, if you have a few extra spring onions kicking about they are great on here too.

• The Sesame Crusted Salmon You Didn’t Know You Needed by Rachael Good Eats — Okay I know not everyone loves salmon or fish in general. But if you do, this is a SUPER easy recipe and it’s fool proof for those of us slightly wary of cooking fish. Costco sells big bags of frozen, wild caught salmon filets. The hardest part of this recipe is just remembering to defrost them in the fridge the day before.

• Whole Roast Chicken — Okay it took me AGES to have the guts to roast a whole chicken and now I just look back with regret because I could have been having delicious chicken at home instead of peeling back a sweaty bag from a rotisserie chicken.

  • Get a 3-pound chicken, rub it all over with 1 tablespoon of salt (no oil necessary—the natural fat in the skin will render and keep the meat moist). Roast it in a 425°F oven for 1 to 1½ hours, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the juices run clear.

  • Serve with whatever sides you want!

Turkey, Kale and Tahini Bowl, photo by Rachael Good Eats

A Minute in the Kitchen

So unlike the dishes above, these ones will require some chopping, but not a ton. They’re still super easy and delicious.

• Turmeric Cashew Rice — Okay this is really more of a side, but I make a big pan of this and then save half of it for later for bowls or an easy toddler meal. It’s my take on an Alison Roman recipe (she would hate it if she knew I had changed the recipe, but it’s my kitchen so I think that means my rules! :P )

  • Measure out two cups of jasmine rice and set aside.

  • Then in a pot bring four cups (or one quart) of chicken bone broth and a good pinch of salt to boil.

  • Throw the rice in once boiling and let it cook for about 10 mins. You’re looking to make the rice “al dente” so to have a bit of a bite to it, there will still be bone broth left when the 10 mins is up, so drain the rice.

  • In a deeper pan (I use a cast iron one with 2.5 inch sides) heat a good glug of oil (I use olive or avocado)

  • While that heats, finely chop 2 shallots and sauté until translucent. Watch these though! They can get burnt really quickly!

  • While those are cooking crush up raw cashews and toss them in to the pan with 1 tsp of ground turmeric, a couple twists of ground black pepper and salt. Let everything “toast” for a minute and become fragrant.

  • Finally throw the drained rice in and combine everything until all the rice is bright yellow from the turmeric.

  • Make sure the heat is at medium-high and let it sit in the pan until the rice forms a crispy crust at the bottom.

  • Enjoy. It’s dreamy.

• Turkey, Kale and Tahini Dinner Bowl by Rachael Good Eats — big fan of this recipe that’s dead-easy and goes well over rice. Her website in general is a GREAT place to find delicious, healthier meals.

• Paleo White Chicken Chilli — Chances are nearly two weeks deep into self-isolation you’ve already made regular chilli. But what about white chilli?? After Danny was born our friend Audrey brought over a pot of this and we were sold for life.

  • Saute a finely chopped onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic and green bell pepper (poblano peppers are awesome here too if you’re feeling fancy! They lose their heat as they cook but add a smokiness that’s amazing!)

  • Add a tsp of cumin, chilli powder and oregano and stir into the veggies letting them get fragrant

  • Then add shredded chicken that you can achieve a variety of ways: from the roasted chicken you may have made earlier, or made in an instant pot.

  • Coat shredded chicken with flour (or arrowroot if you’re GF!) before adding in 1 cup of coconut milk and 3-4 cups of chicken bone broth/stock

  • Let the whole pot simmer and reduce down for about 20 mins before serving over rice (I love pairing this with yet MORE coconut rice)

• Jamie Oliver’s Cracking Burger — this burger recipe is a staple in our household. Whenever we go to friend’s houses for BBQ we’re always asked to bring these to grill, but work just as easily on a pan at home (which is how we make them 98% of the time.) We bought a ton of frozen ground beef from Costco and as soon as the weather gets warmer we’re doing these ASAP.

Feeling Fancy

Red lentil dal

• Preheat over to 425 F

• rinse 1 cup of red lentil and put off to the side

• Wash 2-3 sweet potatoes and chop into small cubes before roasting in the oven with a little bit of oil (I use coconut) S+ P, and fennel seed. Roast until cooked.

• In a deeper pan (again, my 2.5 cast iron makes an appearance!) sauté 2 minced shallots in coconut oil. Once shimmery throw in a tsp of turmeric, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cumin, 1 tsp if coriander seeds and cracked pepper, let the spices toast.

• Then throw in red lentils and let them start roasting on the pan too for about 3-5 mins on medium high heat.

• Add 1 cup of coconut milk

• Add 1 cup of stock (I like to use chicken bone broth but any will do!)

• Cover and turn heat down to let simmer for about 25 mins, adding coconut milk if extra moisture needed, until the consistency of the dal is stewy.

• Towards the end throw about a cup of frozen chopped spinach in the dal and let that heat up. If you have fresh stuff you want to use up, so that too!

• Put into bowls and top with roasted sweet potato cubes.

• Fancy bonus points: before you start this recipe take 1/2 of shedded coconut and soak in warm water. While the dal is cooking, drain the water and toast in a small pan with mustard seeds and salt. This will toast up quickly so keep an eye on it and put off to the side until ready to serve. Then top your bowl with it. It’ll make the dish and add some texture.

Farro Risotto, photo credit Laura Lea

Laura Lea’s Sweet Potato and Farro Risotto — love love LOVE this recipe. You absolutely do NOT need to soak your farro overnight to make this. I should know because I never do. Do however follow the rinsing instructions, otherwise your farro will get really gooey and not have that piece-y pasta like texture.

Healthy Crockpot Butter Chicken - This actually isn’t a hard one, it just requires some slow cooking which means thinking about making dinner 6 hours before dinner…which I RARELY do. But when I’m on the ball, this is a family favorite. I think you’ll love it.

Healthy Mongolian Beef - Again, it’s misleading to put this guy in “fancy” because actually it’s a super easy recipe, but I put it here because technically it’s not really pantry/frozen food dish. It’s just a really good one, so if you make an essential grocery run and want something fresh, I recommend this.

Okay that’s all for now. This actually took me a long time to put together haha, so I hope it’s helpful and at least gets the ball rolling for ideas to make on these endless days at home. Hope everyone is hanging in there!

"It's Complicated" -- Redefining My Relationship with Social Media (PART I)

I came into this year thinking a lot about my relationship with social media— mostly out of a need for it to look different. As a social media manager, the lines of work and play are constantly blurred. As a work-from-home mom, with her husband often out on the road, I used it as a way to fill the silences. To feel less lonely. To feel more connected to civilization. For me the draw to social media has never been “growing a following” or checking my likes. It’s been a vice I’ve used to keep from feeling lonely.

But as 2018 drew to an end I didn’t feel any more connected, or less alone. Instead I felt vaguely anxious, short-tempered, consumeristic and shallow. I hated it, but if I’m honest I also felt scared to turn down the noise. I actively filled the empty moments of my day— moments while Danny was sleeping in the car, waiting for my coffee to brew, in between folding laundry or sending an email— just scrolling. At the end of the day when Danny was in bed, I would “recharge” by turning on Netflix and scroll until I fell asleep, never feeling any fuller or more connected than when I started.

Maybe those conclusions seem obvious to you. But I didn’t really know how to quit. I’d roll my eyes and keep on because quitting social media altogether didn’t seem like a realistic option for someone in my line of work, or even as someone in our world today.

But one day, while I was making dinner in the kitchen, I heard the Holy Spirit say “You don’t need to feel lonely without social media. I will be your friend.”

I’ll admit, I was skeptical, it sounded too Jesus-y even for me, but I also decided I had nothing to lose. So I took a break from social media and everything began to change. I’ve taken breaks before and nothing has ever changed. This time I wanted to take a break to reevaluate my relationship with social media. I didn’t want to “endure” the silences social media created, I wanted to fill them with something else— namely, Jesus.

Jesus began to speak loudly into the open spaces I made for him. I’m not being dramatic when I say He started healing things in me that I forgot even needed healing. The first morning of my social media sabbatical I got up early before Danny and prayed, and he answered. For the first time in a long time, I got out of bed feeling full, peaceful and less anxious. A week went by and I stopped starting my days by feeling like I was behind some nebulous deadline I couldn’t define.

I began to change too. My short-temper got better. My marriage got better. I got better. I felt creative and less judgmental. I felt energized and more connected to life. I felt more connected to Jesus, always leaning in to try and hear if he had something to say.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken breaks from social media before. But I’ve never structured them like this last one. I’d usually take a break, check it off my list, and move on. This time, I set out to rebuild the internal life I could sense dwindling slowly by the glow of my blue screen. The truth is, we can never build an internal life on an external platform. It’s just not the environment needed for a rich internal peace to grow. A private life should be just that, private.

Social media grows more invasive and corrosive of our private selves on an almost daily basis. We are literally encouraged to share every waking moment of our lives. To document it. To display it. And I don’t think the act in and of itself isn’t evil or anything, I just think we give into it out of a fear of feeling lonely. Here’s some truth:

- You WILL feel better if you keep some of the best parts of yourself a secret. This feels so counter intuitive, especially to an external processor like me. But the best parts of who we are, the things that make us grounded, whole, happy, thriving humans, are sometimes the part of us that require the most privacy to grow. These days before I pick up my phone I find myself asking myself and the Holy Spirit, “Will this be better or make me happier if I keep it a secret?” Sometimes the answer is no, but other times I click my phone off with a smile and sink my soul into the preciousness of that moment. Do this enough times with the things that matter and you will be happier. You can take that to the bank.

- Every healthy relationship has boundaries. So why shouldn’t your relationship with the universe? My current routine looks like getting up an hour and half before Danny, making coffee and only allowing myself to do things that bring me joy. For me that looks like spending time reading the Bible, praying and writing. If you aren’t a Christian it might look different for you. But drawing definite boundaries around that time has been a game changer— no emails, no work, doing nothing that would appear on a to-do list. For me that even includes working out. I need to tend my soul before I even care for my body. I’m not here to tell you what that should look like for you, just that I think we all need space like that in our days.

- Real friendships happen intentionally. Don’t get me wrong, I love keeping tabs on my friends via social media. I love watching their kids grow up, their annoying days at work, I even genuinely love seeing what they’ve had for breakfast. Maybe it’s the extrovert in me, but I love it. However, during this social media break I decided I would pray for them and intentionally reach out if they came to mind. I felt more connected to my friends through prayer than I ever have through social media.

These are just some of the things this break has taught me and it’s been so good I had to share. I know a lot of you have been starting the year off with an intentional break from social media, I would love to hear what you’ve learned too! I’ve got another half of this post coming too, so stay tuned!