Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more on Fridays — right now I’m doing a 30-minute budget meal series! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

I started the week off feeling extremely overwhelmed, but I’m happy to report that I’ve calmed down and am finding my way back to equilibrium. I keep thinking about how nice it would be if we could could control the pace of life and space out eventful moments so had room to breathe. Unfortunately, that’s rarely a reality, but that’s okay.

I had to take a moment to check in with myself and get centered, which sounds woo-woo, but I didn’t realize how much I was letting everyone else’s commentary around postpartum affect how I was feeling. I’ve been going into this journey with a positive attitude, but I started to get inundated with do’s and dont’s and all sorts of stories that made my head spin and threw me off track.

Now, I’m going back into things with a new attitude, the same sort of approach I took in the first trimester — don’t go down rabbit holes online, don’t ruminate, don’t let other people’s negative stories scare me, and stay focused on what is happening in this moment. Obviously, there is a great deal of prep that I can’t just ignore, and I’m not going to plug my ears to any potential hardship, but there’s no need to take in too much outside opinion and let it affect me so much — especially when I’m the type of person who isn’t typically swayed by others anyway!

This quilted vest from Sézane is so stunning, I had to get it. It’s 100% cotton and comes in this beautiful floral pattern that’s perfect for spring! I love how it looks just over a white tee, but I also love how they styled it over a more boho blouse! The pattern is so beautiful, and it comes in a different color as well!

I tried a new-to-me snack bar called Thunderbird the other day that reminded me a bit of Lara Bars with some more adventurous flavors, and I really liked them! I had the Cashew Fig Carrot and Peanut Banana Walnut, but now I’m eyeing their Hazelnut Coffee Maca and Snickerdoodle Cashew Tahini. The ingredients are simple and wholesome, and the bars taste good!

Do I have a white tee addiction? Certainly. But I wear them multiple times a week, and I like to have a variety in my closet depending on if I want something more cropped, loose, etc. My recent favorite is this American Eagle Cropped T-Shirt. I actually don’t feel like it’s that cropped, which is nice, but it hangs just above the waistline. It’s extremely soft and a little loose — and it’s on sale right now for just $18. I actually own two now so I can wear them more often haha.

I saw a TikTok making fun of online recipes and how they’re always bowls, and it made me laugh even though I could have taken it as a direct attack. I do have an obsession with bowls, and you know what, I’m going to embrace it, damn it. Bowls help me get in different food groups. Bowls help me feel full. And bowls help me have fun!

Now, I know it’s only April, but I’ve clearly started cooking like it’s the dead of summer. I’ve been craving fresh fruit and vegetables, and I’m just giving myself what I want.

In this bowl, we have a base of coconut rice, which is topped with shrimp drizzled in spicy mayo, mango salsa, cucumber and avocado with mint, and pickled onions. So fresh, so healthy. Lots of little components, but each is easy, and the end result is worth it (always).

• ¼ cup mayo

• 2 tbsp sriracha

1. Prepare the rice using your preferred method. I cooked mine in an Instant Pot on high for 15 minutes, and then let natural release for 10. If you use a different method, be sure to check the amount of liquid you use. If you need to adjust the amounts, stick to around a ratio of 1:1 coconut milk and water.

2. Prepare mango salsa by adding ingredients to a medium bowl and mixing together. Do the same for the cucumber mixture, in a separate bowl.

3. Prepare the spicy mayo by adding mayo and sriracha to a small bowl and whisking together until smooth.

4. To prepare the shrimp, heat up olive oil in a medium/large pan on medium heat. Add the shrimp and a few dashes of chili powder and cumin. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for around 5 minutes until shrimp is pink and opaque.

5. Divide the rice into four bowls, and top with shrimp, mango salsa, cucumber avocado mixture, and pickled onions. Spoon some spicy mayo over the shrimp, and top the bowl with sesame seeds. Eat and enjoy immediately — and add more spicy mayo as you eat, if desired!

Last week, paid subscribers received another 30-minute meal recipe: a Three-Bean Salad with Yogurt Ranch Dressing and Salt and Vinegar Chips! Love this one because you don’t really have to chop very — most the ingredients come from a can, which makes prep super fast.

Just a reminder that anytime you become a paid subscriber, you get access to ALL of the past recipes in the archive. You can always do a free 7-day trial as well!