Beans.

I’ve been trying to write this post of gratitude and all I can come up with is that I am grateful for beans.

When Michael and I came home from Vancouver, he decided that he was going to eat a specific meal plan and this has turned us into a fend-for-yourself household. I kind of love it because I get to go back to eating all the meals I would fix for myself in my single days, the kind of meals that when I tried to put them on the weekly menu, Michael would screw up his fast in disgust. Sunday night, I made a pot of purple hulled peas with stewed tomatoes and kale, Monday was pan-fried gnocchi with zucchini and cannellini beans, and Tuesday was a southwestern bowl of sweet potatoes, black beans, spinach and avocado. Every meal this week has featured a bean.

You might be thinking “Cindy..that’s a lot of beans. You must be very gassy.” I am not. My guts are feeling great.

These are the kind of meals that make me feel whole and grounded, meals that require a bit of meditation while preparing and only have to please me. Making the weekly menu has become so much easier. I don’t think I can express just how difficult it has been to sit down every week and create a meal plan that Michael will agree on. He might say that he is not a picky eater, but his words do not match his actions. Most of the meals I have suggested over the years have been met with a frown and a heavy sigh, followed up with a passive aggressive “I guess…”. He is not an easy person to please. I didn’t realize how stressful making the meal plan had become until this week when I’ve been able to eat beans every single day and not hear any one complain about it.

So…yeah…beans. I’m taking a moment to be grateful for beans.