I have nothing prolific to say today (I’ve just been madly testing recipes for this project I’ll be announcing soon) except that today was the first day in my life that I actually enjoyed sliced tomatoes on a sandwich. 🍅 🍞⁣
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I’m not a fan of raw tomatoes, except in something subtle like a pico de gallo or if they’re a tiny part of a meal, like a garnish. but today, I made this chickpea tuna salad melt with tomatoes and spinach and LOVED it. 👍🏼⁣
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it got me thinking… I can’t be the only one. do you like raw tomatoes? 🤔 ...

luca made a friend today! 👦🏼 🚴‍♂️⁣
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one of the things that has made me sad during COVID has been that Luca hasn't spent much time with other kids his age. this summer, we had a little pod of a few kids, but slowly but surely, as the year went on, kids moved to the suburbs, enrolled in school (we didn't feel comfortable), and then as the temperature dropped, the rest of the kids stopped braving the cold and since we felt uncomfortable with indoor playdates, it was really just our little family hanging out. and Luca wasn't hanging out with anyone his age much. ⁣
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I have so many thoughts on this. will this change his personality and social skills forever? will he be socially awkward? will he lose out on so many developmental milestones? will this affect his emotional awareness? the list goes on. I know it's only a year or so, but that's over 1/3 of his entire life!⁣
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and now that we're in Florida, we just keep to ourselves at my parents' house and don't see any other kids. it's so nice to be together as a family, and I know so many families can't be together right now, so I'm so grateful for that. the other day, Luca saw a 7-year-old boy on a bike in my parents' neighborhood and he asked us if he could be his friend. I almost broke down in tears.⁣
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so by chance, we were out on his bike this afternoon and sure enough, we saw the little boy again, riding his bike, with his mother. in that moment, I knew I had to make a move - so I called out to the mother and asked her, "I know this is going to sound weird, but my son would love to hang out with your son! I'd love to get your number so they can ride bikes together sometime!" I was so nervous, haha! ⁣
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and just like that, Luca made a friend! they immediately started riding their bikes together (it was so cute I couldn't handle it!!!) and Roma even came a little bit later and literally slipped her hand into the little boy's hand, it was like she was starving for that connection. it was so adorable, and I'm so happy for Luca to have someone to safely play outside with and so I can shed some of this mama worry.⁣
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as for these chocolate donuts, search the blog, they’re an oldie but a goodie! 🍩🍫 ...

it's a mouthful, but it's mouth-watering. 👅 my TERIYAKI SALMON with RICED BUTTERNUT SQUASH and SESAME BROCCOLI 🥦  is live on the blog, and it's another must-add to your weekly meal plan. okay I say that all the time, but seriously - I'm only sharing recipes I make for our family, and these have all been slam dunks 🏀⁣
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and last week I started the #inspiralizedmealplanideas hashtag so we'd have a running list of weekly meal ideas from this community, and it's a Monday thing, so tell me - what's ONE meal you're making this week? 🍴 leave it in the comments below and be sure to check back to see what other people are making and even SAVE this post for future reference! 📌⁣
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#teriyaki #easydinners #healthydinners #salmondinner #salmonrecipes #feedfeed #f52grams #huffposttaste #thewayweeat #makemewhole #eatingwelleats #foods4thought #thekitchn #eatmoreveggies ...