Some thoughts for the day:

I’m learning it is ok to be vulnerable. Trying to keep it all in all the time is emotionally exhausting. Not to mention, when it does finally come out, it will be ridiculously dramatic at the perfectly wrong time in front of the worst possible person to see it. Who’s been there?

Find a way to communicate your feelings with the people you love. It’s unfair to them not to understand what you’re feeling and yet be held accountable for not being supportive. It’s unfair to you feel like you have to lock your pain inside to protect someone else. That pain comes out anyway, in some form or fashion, so you’re really not doing anyone a favor.

I feel like we create these scenarios in our head that things will be so horrible if we admit our feelings out loud. But, think back to the last time you had a hard conversation. Was it really as bad as you imagined it would be? And even if it was bad, guess what … you’re still here.

Trust in your ability to navigate hard situations and let yourself be vulnerable. Like I tell my kids, use your words.

Now, let’s talk this delicious casserole dish of yumminess…

I ate something similar to this at a party recently. It wasn’t dairy-free, but the person who held the party went out of there way to buy something vegetarian for my husband and me. It was absolutely delicious and I knew I would need to recreate a vegan version pronto. Last night I did just that, and I want to share it with you! You can easily use low-fat cream cheese and real cheese if you are not cutting dairy. I’m not gonna lie – it’s hard to give up cheese. The vegan kind only barely cuts it for us, if I’m being honest. But, wrapped up in this casserole, it was truly delicious and hit the spot!

Veggie Quinoa Lasagna (Vegan)

Ingredients:

One cup quinoa

2 cups Vegetable Broth

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 TBSP Oregano

1/2 TBSP Minced Onion

1 Jar Chunky Vegetable Marinara Sauce

4 Zucchini, coined

2 cups spinach, chopped

1/2 cup Vegan Cream Cheese (I used Go Veggie!)

1 1/2 cups Vegan Shredded Cheese (I used Aldi brand)

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Instructions:

If using Instant Pot, add quinoa, broth, tomato sauce, oregano, minced onion, and salt to liner pot. Stir, and replace lid. Set pot to 2 min manual high pressure. Allow a natural pressure release. Remove lid when timer reads 20 min.

Preheat over to 400.

Stir cream cheese into warm quinoa until it is well combined.

Time to build your lasagna! In a 9X13 casserole dish, spread a layer of marinara sauce. Line sauce with a layer of zucchini coins. Spread layer of quinoa (about 1/2 of it) across zucchini. Spread all of the chopped spinach over quinoa. Spread another layer of marinara sauce. Spread a layer of cheese. Add another layer of zucchini coins. (This should use up all your zucchini.) Add another layer of quinoa (using the rest of the quinoa), followed by a layer of sauce and then cheese. Finally, sprinkle the bread crumbs across the top of your casserole. (If your bread crumbs aren’t seasoned, add some salt, pepper, and oregano to them.)

Bake for 30 min. Then, raise the temp to 425 and bake for another ten minutes.

Serve with some crusty bread and salad. Enjoy!