Hello, hello. It’s Saturday, obviously. And clearly not the day that I’ve been posting my On My Plate updates. But recently I’ve decided on a boundary I want to set for myself in terms of working and creating. Want to hear it?

A tiny little update & a commitment to myself.

I’ve decided to turn my Sundays into complete and total rest days. My reasoning behind it has to do with my faith. If God, the creator of the universe, decided to take a break on the seventh day, then why am I not doing the same thing? It’s something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time now, but I’ve been afraid to take the leap.

You see, I love creating for this platform. Quarantine has been an incredible time of creativity for me, and I find myself eager to build up this platform and create content that is really helpful for all of my readers. I have spent every single weekend in quarantine working my little toosh off trying to create content for the week, and while it has been an absolute blast, I’m craving moments of rest. And the last thing I want to do is get burnt out and just up-and-quit working on this blog.

The reason I’m afraid is honestly coming from a worldly standard. The standard that as a content creator, you should constantly be posting on your platforms in order to gain more followers and some day, make good money. I love that this blog is my little side hustle, but I do find myself falling into this trap that resting means failing, and we all know that’s just not true.

Here’s the commitment I’m making to myself. I will not be posting anywhere on Sundays. No blog posts. No newsletters. No social media time. I’ll be taking a step back and “going dark” for 24 hours simply so I can get a full refresh before starting a new week.

And no, this doesn’t mean I’ll force myself to not create if inspiration strikes. If I get an idea for a post, I’ll be writing it out in my journal. If I decide I want to try making a new recipe, I’ll take the photos, because food photography is a restful and fun activity for me. I’ll still live out a perfectly normal day—just without the constant buzz of social media.

From now on, I’ll be posting this weekly series on Saturdays. While I could schedule it to go out on Sundays, I want to honor my commitment and just take a complete day off. I’m already giddy thinking about having a full day of rest tomorrow. Maybe I’ll just sit on the couch and read all day! Who knows what the day will bring, but that’s the best part. I have nothing scheduled, nothing to do. Except for cooking a few yummy meals, of course.

Now that’s out of the way, here are a few things I loved this week.

Things I loved this week

• I absolutely loved this read about a butcher who wants you to eat less meat. With the effects of the meat shortage starting to show in our local grocery stores (I even wrote an article on it), I’ve been thinking a lot about my meat consumption.
  
• After doing an amazing Zoom workout with the Tone It Up ladies, I decided to join the six-week Summer Tone Up program. Between thinking a lot about my meat-eating habits and being taught how to eat cleaner through their nutrition program, I’ve really been rethinking my eating habits. And, most importantly, how food is making me feel. Pretty please don’t be mad if I’m posting a lot of green things on here over the next few weeks. I mean, you’re probably going to like this salmon patty salad I made, omg. Just you wait.
  
• It looks like playing with my food and taking pretty photos really does make a difference in my nutrition! I truly have been a fan of tactile eating all along.
  
• Are farmer’s markets the answer? It’s interesting to think about our global food supply chain and how such a huge system we’ve relied on is starting to break down. The New York Times had an opinion piece looking at the repercussions of this, and has me thinking: Does this mean people are really going to start paying attention to local farmers and markets?

Okay, that’s all for today. Have a lovely weekend everyone, and take some time to rest (away from your screens) for a while.