This week I thought I’d try something different and join up with the Running with Spoons Thinking Out Loud link party, where stream-of-consciousness is the name of the game.

1.) I went to NYC Lean In‘s anniversary party the other night and had a great time chatting it up with some new and familiar faces. Sweet Generation provided the cutest cupcakes, and there were some adult beverages to sip, courtesy of Wine For the World. Girl power seems to be an unofficial theme this week. I’m totally okay with that. Cheers to women supporting each other!

Sweet Treats provided by Sweet Generation

2.) Mark Bittman has no idea who I am, but he changed my life this weekend by teaching me the best way to peel a hard-boiled egg—why have I been making this so tough for myself all these years? And by all these years, I really just mean this past year since I realized what a great snack they are and started eating hard-boiled eggs on the regular.

3.) Speaking of hard-boiled eggs, after receiving a text the other night that said, basically, “You’re a great girl but I found something shiny with tits,” I made myself my current favorite salad for dinner: 

Greens with roasted chickpeas, grape/cherry tomato, avocado, roasted pepper, and hard-boiled egg, tossed with a little olive oil & vinegar. Sometimes I add langostino tails and micro-greens.

4.) At least this Dinner for One thing is working out for me. Lately, my frustration with the male of the species has upped my motivation to prepare dishes that involve a little more therapeutic slicing & dicing. I’ve also been craving garlic like crazy, especially roasted. Either my body is trying to keep the vampires away or it’s trying to tell me it needs a little immune system boost. I hope this hankering for an anti-cancer food doesn’t mean I have cancer. My hypochondriasis button of the moment is my thyroid, even though I don’t have an actual reason to think anything is up.

Either way, nourishing meals are important—even more so when we’re going through a busy time where lots of transitions are taking place or we have a lot going on. I like my dinners to include plenty of veggies, a source of protein, and some kind of complex carbohydrate (ex: beans, potato, quinoa, pasta, etc). I’ll often make sure there’s some sort of healthy fat involved as well. Recently I’ve been challenging myself to use more spices.

Pan-searing scallops always makes me feel like some kind of bad-ass, even though it’s super-easy.

5.) I finally finished the April Cookbook Challenge. I kind of didn’t think I’d be able to stick with it, but I did! 

6.) Lastly, Birchbox. So awesome. Best $10 treat ever! 

What have you been up to this week? Any favorite dinners for one?