I have found that in different seasons of my life, cooking can one day feel arduous and tedious and then suddenly flip to being fun, creative, and fulfilling.

Right now I’m in one of those seasons where I am really inspired to cook, and I am finding that being inspired to cook is pretty closely tied to my mental health. If I’m just skating by and in kind of a lower-vibration mental health state, I will often stick to simple recipes that I know I can cook with minimal effort, or resort to frozen options and takeout. But when I’m in a really good headspace, I tend to be more willing to try new things and be adventurous.

It’s an interesting phenomenon, because it’s kind of a self-perpetuating cycle: when I’m not feeling great mentally, I don’t have a drive to cook, so I eat worse, which then leads me to feeling crappy about my body image and general health, which leads me further down a bad mental health spiral. Whereas when I am cooking a lot and trying new recipes, I feel creative, inspired, and proud of myself for investing in whole foods, using my groceries each week, and creating a healthier lifestyle for me and my husband.

I have yet to crack the code on how I might break this cycle, becuase it’s tricky when I am too low to cook but I know that forcing myself to do so would be a way out of this rut. Though I definitely haven’t figured this out yet, I am trying to create the building blocks of sticking to new habits when I’m my ‘best self’ so that when I inevitably have a day when I am lower energy, I have some building blocks in place to make sticking to a healthier lifestyle eaiser.

For example, when I’m having a good week, that means the fridge is stocked, fruits and veg are washed and properly stored, there’s meals in the fridge / freezer. I usually do this all in the span of a day, capitalizing on my good mood, energy, and motivation to carry me through. Once this is in place, when I inevitably get to one of my lower energy days, I can just resort to the backup meals I’ve made for myself or throw together something with a little less effort because my past self did some things to help me along.

It’s not a foolproof plan, but I think that capitalizing on my momentum when it strikes is helping me build in some better patterns for me and my family long-term.

Though I love cooking for my husband and trying new recipes together, I will admit we can both be a little picky when it comes to certain flavors / textures so it often takes a special recipe that caters to both of our food preferences to really become a staple in our house. And let me tell you, this version of the internet’s latest obesssion, “Marry Me Chickpeas” is really hitting the spot for us. It’s one of those recipes that is an easy one-pot dish that involves mostly pantry staples (the fresh thyme is obviosuly a lovely addition, but subbing in dry ingredients is always a nice backup). It was a bit of a different take on the classic italian flavor profile and it was something that was just different enough to make us look forward to it, which in my house is always the key to a new staple reipce.

We have been following this recipe from Vegan Cocotte, but have added a little rice on the side to soak up all the delicious sauce. It is something we are definitely adding into our recipe roatation as a fun way to get some fiber, protein, and rich flavors into our dinners. Below is the recipe and instructions, I hope you give it a try and give Vegan Cocotte’s website a look for more inspired recipes!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning

• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes

• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• ½ cup (30 g) sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

• 2 cans (14 oz / 400 g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 cup (200 ml) vegetable stock

• 1 cup (200 ml) coconut milk

• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, roughly shredded

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn it.

2. Stir in the Italian seasoning, red chili flakes, and a pinch of ground black pepper. Cook for another minute.

3. Add the tomato paste to the skillet, stirring to combine it well with the spices and garlic.

4. Next, stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, fresh thyme, chickpeas and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Stir in the coconut milk, simmer for another minute, then add the fresh basil leaves.

6. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.