Do you also find new starts difficult? I thought the Christmas limbo would only last for a week… but here we are, properly in January, staring into the fridge and it's a choice paralysis.
Naturally fermented cauliflower - a homemade probiotic that loves you back
Too many leftovers, too many “this sounded fun at the time” ingredients that never made it on the holiday table, do you relate 😀?
🕛You and I made it to the other side! YAY!🥳
Our son headed off before New Year, and we were still working through the festive extras. I swear I could not eat another cranberry sauce and cheese bite LOL! I also had big dreams of making mayo from scratch for my boeuf salad, but never even attempted it, I was exhausted 🥴!
Even though we had plenty of vegetables over the holidays, what I really wanted this week was simple, soothing, plant-forward food. Not in a strict “new year, new me” way. More like, “let’s get dinner on the table and feel good afterward.”
I also feel like many folks are a bit disenchanted with Veganuary. If that’s you, hit reply and tell me if I’m imagining it.
If you’ve been here a while (thank you so much), you know the Candyflosslife kitchen is all about flexitarian meals that taste like comfort food, just with more plants folded in. Less meat, more color, more fiber, and the kind of gut-friendly add-ons that actually fit real life.
So my first recipes this year are just that: using up any leftovers, but really layering them full of veg, beans or lentils, each meal packing at least 7️⃣plants!
If you want an easy January dinner, here are a few “plug and play” ideas:
Something cozy and carby Pesto pasta, but layer it up with sauteed mushrooms and leeks. And add whatever protein your household will actually eat (optional, but Dave-style meatballs are welcome).
Something warming I’ve been living in soup mode and I’ve got a few bright, comforting soups coming to the website this month. If you want the link when they go live, reply with “SOUP” and I’ll send it over. Meanwhile, Cavolo Nero is in season, and this soup has both greens and beans and it's soooo good on a frosty January night.
Something gut-friendly on the side Add a little ferment to your plate (even a couple of forkfuls). It’s the easiest way to make a simple meal feel more interesting.
☃️🥶The first week of January is frosty in the East of England, it really is soup and stew weather.
🍲Since I am literally planning to live on soups for the next few weeks, and I have a few good ones coming on the website soon, can you guess what flavor this gorgeously bright and smooth soup might be? You will not stop making it once you had it once😜!
Warming you up from inside out - this soup packs at least 7 plants
Hit reply to tell me if you have made any plans or resolutions for 2026, or are we doing the “gentle reset” thing? Or just tell me what you'd like to see me making! I READ EVERY EMAIL!
