what I meal prepped this week for us & our 1-year-old

& a brief reflection on one year of motherhood

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 week! Paid subscribers get even more weekly — 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 have been a mom for one whole year! I think I still qualify as very new compared to the many experienced women who have come before me, but I am in awe that we are here, for so many reasons! I made it through a year of exclusively breastfeeding! I made it through a year of waking up every single night (minus a few recently, shhh). Most nights, it was multiple times a night, to feed, soothe, and cuddle. I made it through a year of arranging and rearranging my life, brand new routines that in the beginning felt jarring and now feel comforting. So many moments were challenging, but I can honestly say I wake up happier than ever.

When I was pregnant, people would give me all sorts of advice and commentary on what it was like to be a parent. Much of it is true, much of it was not, but most falls somewhere in the middle. A lot of the advice just landed differently before I actually went through the experience myself. I think I’ll write more about this later as I gather my thoughts fully. I don’t want to bombard everyone with TOO much motherhood talk today.

In other news, I decided this week that I have to swim in the ocean ASAP. I haven’t gone for a dip since Sagan was born, and I need that salty water to wash over me immediately. It’s my happy place. Hoping to make that happen this weekend, and can’t wait to show him the water, too!

THINGS I’M LOVING

Find all my favorite things from past weeks in my ShopMy storefront!

We are in the peak of summer right now, and I refuse to even think about pumpkin spice lattes. Instead, I’m blending cherries with watermelon juice to make a hydrating refresher. You can also muddle some fresh mint or basil to take it to the next level. Just don’t forget your cherry pitter!

Although people know Sézane for their sweaters, I actually love their summer collections more. They have lots of incredible natural fiber dresses, and this Sunflower Salya dress that I was wearing in this week’s video is highly underrated. It’s 100% silk, and when I wear it, the floral pattern makes me feel like a 90’s mom. Considering 100% polyester dresses go for the same price, it’s definitely worth the money. It’s light and easy breezy! I sized up because of the chest area, but it’s a little loose on me because of that, so I would say it fits true to size.

I have not bought a strapless bra in years, because I don’t trust them. I’ve discussed my woes with bras and dresses as a person with a large chest, but in my search for a bra-friendly formal dress, I came across this strapless bra, and I was absolutely FLOORED about how supportive it actually is. FLOORED! I’ve been wearing it with my summer dresses, and I can tell you, it is the best strapless bra I have found. It almost feels like a corset the way it wraps around your torso, but it keeps everything up.

RECIPES!

I mentioned this earlier this week, but I was never a meal prepper until this year. I’ve also enjoyed cooking a fresh meal, but with an added mouth to feed and a big cookbook project under my belt, time is limited. So, I now understand why so many people love it. It really does make life easier to have food ready and waiting.

This week, I made Pecorino Zucchini Pancakes, Lemony Dill Chicken Meatballs, and Creamy Carrot Cake Buckwheat. I actually made a Mississippi Roast that I accidentally burnt, so I’m going to have to revamp that recipe and share it with you next time.

These were designed to be enjoyed by adults and little ones alike, but I’ve included some notes below if you’re just cooking for adults and don’t have to pay attention to things like salt.

Pecorino Zucchini Pancakes

This is the perfect way to use up lots of zucchini. You can eat them plain, top them with a dollop of yogurt or labneh and some herbs, or even pair them with eggs. I give them to Sagan plain, and he loves them!

Ingredients (makes about 12 pancakes)

• 4 medium zucchini, grated

• 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano

• 4 large eggs

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon onion salt

• Pinch of black pepper

• Olive oil

• Optional toppings: labneh/Greek yogurt, dill, parsley

1. Using a cheesecloth, nutmilk bag, or colander, squeeze as much of the water out of the zucchini as you can. Keep going until you can’t possibly get any more water out. Discard the water.

2. In a large bowl, add the zucchini, and mix in the Pecorino, eggs, flour, onion salt, and a pinch of black pepper.

3. Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a non-stick skillet or griddle on medium heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, spoon about 1/4 cup of the zucchini batter per pancake into the pan, and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until it’s crisp and golden.

Lemony Dill Chicken Meatballs

I would double the salt if you’re not cooking for a little one! I also think these would taste great with 1 cup of Parmesan mixed in, but since I was making Pecorino Zucchini pancakes, I didn’t want to do a cheese overload. These are really lemony, so you could just use 1 lemon if you want the flavor to be more subtle.

I mixed these into a creamy sundried tomato pasta that I made using some ditalini butter, heavy cream, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and Calabrian chilis. For Sagan, I just cut them up into small pieces and added them to his plate, but he ended up wanting some pasta too. If you type “meatballs” into the search bar on my homepage, you’ll find some other recipe ideas.

Ingredients (makes about 36 small meatballs)

• 2 lbs ground chicken

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

• Zest and juice of 1-2 lemons (see note above)

• 6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped dill

• 1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley

• 1 teaspoon salt (double if not cooking for babies)

• Pinch of black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, eggs, breadcrumbs, lemon juice and zest, garlic, dill, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Mix ingredients together using your hands until just combined, taking care not to over-mix.

2. Using a cookie scoop, portion out your meatballs and add them to the baking sheet. I scoop a heaping portion with the cookie scoop, and then roll them out with my hands. You should have about 36 meatballs (they will be on the smaller side).

3. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until meatballs are fully cooked and reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

Creamy Carrot Buckwheat

This recipe is part of my 30-minute budget meal series, and I love how fast it is! It’s a great way to sneak in some vegetables at breakfast, and the mascarpone adds a nice creaminess (and healthy fat for bb). I LOVED this one, but Sagan loved it even more!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

Over the past couple weeks, paid subscribers received two new 30-minute budget meals! The first was the Carrot Cake Creamy Buckwheat, above! The second was a Lemon Ricotta Zucchini Toast with Garlicky Beans.

As a reminder, anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive. You can always do a free 7-day trial as well!