Baked Feta Spanakopita Potatoes

& YouTube says I should divorce my husband

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

I’m in a much better mood this week now that my eye is healing and baby Sagan has begun sleeping in slightly longer stretches. More importantly, he is smiling and interacting a ton, which is quite rewarding!

I’m starting to become more confident mothering, and we’ve even started to think about future trips, travel, etc. which is another way I feel connected to my old self! It is still very hard to picture exactly what the coming months will look like for me, especially as I dive fully back into work, but I am trying to just live in the moment and embrace this time. I’ve enacted a “Sagan First” policy, where I focus on him, and any free time I have to create or work is just a bonus. This has really helped me enjoy our little bubble.

I’m also managing to fit in a smidge more cooking. I made this incredible granola from Tender Herbs and added some black sesame seeds. I did buy some yeast to make some homemade English muffins, which hasn’t happened yet (of course). I’ve also been using shortcuts to make our meals. For example, I made a makeshift bolognese by sauteeing some ground beef in the Aglio Olio Seasoning Blend from Trader Joe’s with a jarred creamy tomato sauce and arugula and served it over pasta. Nothing fancy, nothing special, but it always feels good to be able to make myself some food.

Speaking of… my postpartum freezer meal prep video went a little viral on YouTube, and the comments are so funny. Everyone is asking where my husband is, telling me to divorce him and stop being a tradwife, make him do work, etc. It’s funny because 1. Grant does soo much. I would call him a much more helpful person than I am. I literally do not clean lol. 2. I felt really good in my pregnancy to the very end, and I absolutely loved prepping meals for myself! It was really fun, and I was so happy to have them after I gave birth. Plus, it is my job, so I got to kill two birds with one stone. I hate the way people make snap judgments and assume the worst online. But I’m just laughing from afar as the comments roll in, knowing how far from reality their assumptions are. But it is still BIZARRE.

THINGS I’M LOVING!

Unpopular opinion, I’m not excited for cooler weather. However, I am excited to wear some new fall outfits, particularly my new brown Gingham Pants from Sezane! They’re called the Martin Crop Trousers, and they’re made with cotton and linen. They run a little small, so I sized up, but I can’t wait to wear them with cardigans and sweaters! They come in some other colors as well (mine are called Brown Gingham/ Ecru).

I’ve always been a sensitive sleeper, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become very particular about my sleep hygiene, which has helped me become a good sleeper. I’ve found that during nights when I’m struggling more than usual, I need an eye mask and noise-cancelling headphones with brown noise, and it knocks me right out. I had been using my AirPods, but Grant and I were getting concerned about sleeping with those in my ears, so he bought me these Soundcore Sleep Ear Buds. Since they’re made for sleeping, they sit more comfortably in your ears, and there are varying degrees of noise cancellation depending on your needs.

Since I’m newly postpartum and unable to do my usual workouts, I’ve been doing the Postpartum Program with Sculpt Society, and I’ve been loving it. It is extremely gentle and focuses on small pelvic floor movements and core strength, but it feels nice to stretch and move my body in any way. This isn’t sponsored, but I do know a lot of influencers have some discount codes, so I would keep an eye out! They also have a ton of different workouts completely unrelated to postpartum that I cannot wait to try once I get the go-ahead, especially the dance cardio!

DISCOUNT CODES!

Supplements

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RECIPE!

I know I have an addiction to “spanakopita-fiying” different types of food, but I love greens, and I love feta, so how could I not? Spanakopita is a savory spinach pie from Greece. I took what would be the filling of the pie and mixed it with roasted potatoes — essentially a carb swap.

This is a great side dish to serve that is both filling and hearty and loaded with a good serving of veggies. This dish tastes great warm, but it can also be served closer to room temperature, like a potato salad.

Baked Feta Spanakopita Potatoes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 5 cups chopped gold potatoes

• 3-4 tbsp olive oil, divided

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1/2 tsp thyme

• Pinch of salt & pepper

• 8 oz feta

• 1 head garlic, top cut off and excess paper removed

• 1/2 large white or yellow onion

• 10 oz baby spinach, roughly chopped

• 2 tbsp chopped dill

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Add potatoes to a large baking dish, and drizzle on 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the oregano, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper, and toss together.

2. Make space in the middle of the dish, and add your feta. Place the head of garlic wherever there is room, and transfer to the oven. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and bake for 40 minutes or until potatoes have softened and are just beginning to crisp on the edges.

3. While the potatoes and feta are baking, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onions, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the onions for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the spinach, and sauté until spinach cooks down, about 10 minutes or so. Stir frequently to make sure the spinach cooks evenly.

4. When potatoes and feta are ready, remove the garlic with some tongs, and set aside to let cool. Press down on the feta with the back of a spoon or spatula, and if needed, break it up into pieces. Add the spinach and onion mixture to the baking dish with the potatoes, and squeeze the garlic cloves into the dish once it’s cool enough to touch. Add juice of 1/2 lemon, and mix everything together.

5. Serve topped with fresh dill and more lemon, if desired.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for a Honey Mustard Chopped Kale Salad with Pretzel Crusted Chicken! This is part of my ongoing 30-minute budget meal series, and it’s a great dish to get you in the fall spirit!

As a reminder, anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive, plus one exclusive recipe a week. New subscribers also get a free 7-day trial!