Summer is coming to an end, I can feel it in the air.
The mornings are crisper. The evenings are shorter. There’s a little less urgency to stay outside until the sun goes down.
Usually, this is the time of year when I start grieving summer before it’s even gone.
I linger + romanticize.
I look backward and miss some imagined version of myself who was happier, more carefree, more present, more something.
But this year, instead of mourning the season that’s leaving, I’m trying to stay in the present moment and welcome what’s next.
The beautiful thing about life is that we get to experience so many versions of ourselves.
Every season ends.
Every version is temporary.
And they’re all still me.
The recent version of Niknack is eating in and cooking Sunday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday are usually for eating out.
I think that’s balance.
Although, admittedly, my house-buying-and-saving-money brain is starting to question whether five nights of cooking and two nights of eating out is the right financial balance.
But that’s a budget conversation for another SubSnack.
For now, I’m going to keep calling it balance. Because the goal isn’t to execute Snackagories perfectly.
The goal is to have a relationship with food that makes my life easier.
And this week, while making dinner, I was reminded of two very simple cooking lessons that took me embarrassingly long to learn.
#1 Dirty Dishes Are a Blessing
I used to stress about dirty dishes.
Specifically, I used to stress about making rice because somehow making rice in a stainless steel pot felt like an invitation to spend the next twenty minutes scrubbing it.
But now — I welcome the dirty pot.
Because what does a dirty pot mean?
I made rice. It means I had the ingredients, the time, the kitchen, and the ability to make myself something to eat.
It means I’m cooking.
There is something deeply backwards about resenting the evidence of the thing you’re lucky enough to have.
And I’ve started challenging myself on another little kitchen habit, too.
I usually clean as I cook.
But lately, I’ve been trying to let the kitchen be messy while we eat dinner.
I’ll cook, plate the food, sit down and eat.
Then i’ll come back to the kitchen, clean up, and prep my lunch for the next day.
Because who really cares if the kitchen’s clean? Especially during those 20 minutes it takes me to eat with my husband?
Dinner is happening. Life is happening. The dishes will still be there.
#2 Prep Before You Cook
The second lesson is much less philosophical and much more practical:
Take out everything you need before you start cooking.
That’s it.
Get out the ingredients. Chop the vegetables. Organize the spices.
Then start cooking.
It sounds ridiculously obvious.
But there is something about having everything in front of you that changes the entire experience.
Instead of: Chop something → realize you need something → open the fridge → wash something → go back to the stove → forget what you’re doing → panic
It’s: Prep → cook → eat.
And honestly, that’s what Snackagories is supposed to do.
Remove a little friction.
Make the thing you’re already going to do feel easier.
This Week’s Snackagories
This week is a little different. I’m home Sunday through Wednesday, and Thursday I’m off to a bachelorette weekend.
The bride was recently diagnosed with thyroid disease, so I wanted to bring along a few snacks that feel nourishing, easy to pack, and still fun enough for a bachelorette weekend.
So some of this week’s snacks are coming with me. The rest of the week is intentionally simple.
🥣 Savory Dip / Spread
Salt & Vinegar Chip Dip
A healthy-ish dip + actual chips = the perfect balance in my book.
Think french onion dip meets salt-and-vinegar chips.
Ingredients
Plain Greek yogurt
Blended cottage cheese
Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Dried dill
Chives
Salt + pepper
Tiny splash of pickle juice, optional
Niknack Tip: Serve with kettle-style chips, pita chips, cucumbers, celery, or carrots.
🍞 Grab + Go Pantry Snack
Zucchini Banana Bread
I have spotty bananas so this was a quick-win decision that I’ll double batch — one for home, one for the bachelorette.
Ingredients
Spotty bananas
Shredded zucchini
Eggs
Flour
Cinnamon
Baking soda
Salt
Vanilla
Honey or maple syrup
Coconut oil or melted butter
Optional: walnuts, chocolate chips, or coconut
Niknack Tip: Don’t overthink the moisture. Squeeze some of the water out of the zucchini, but you don’t need to wring it completely dry.
🥕 Fresh Produce
Eggplant for Pasta all Norma
Pulled this inspo from scrolling the NYT cooking app, a perfect late-August recipe.
Ingredients
Eggplant
Cherry or plum tomatoes
Garlic
Onion
Olive oil
Pasta
Crushed tomatoes/passata
Basil
Parmesan or ricotta salata
Niknack Tip: Prep the eggplant and sauce separately so you can build the pasta fresh rather than eating one giant container of leftovers all week.
🍫 Sweet Tooth Snack
Brown Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown butter + chocolate + salty pretzel = bachelorette snack table coded.
Ingredients
Unsalted butter
Brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Vanilla
Flour
Baking soda
Salt
Chocolate chips
Crushed pretzels
Seasonal Tip: Make the dough ahead and freeze individual cookie dough balls. Bake only what you want/ need and keep the rest for future-you.
🍗 Bulk Protein Source
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
Put it in Sunday morning and suddenly dinner is basically handled.
Ingredients
Chicken breasts or thighs
Chicken broth
Garlic
Onion
Paprika
Italian seasoning
Salt + pepper
Lemon juice
Optional: Parmesan rind / fresh herbs
Then you’ve got a protein that can become:
Sunday: Chicken + eggplant pasta / side salad
Monday: Chicken grain bowl
Tuesday: Chicken tacos or quesadillas
Wednesday: Chicken + whatever needs to be used up
The Mess Is the Point
Maybe I’m finally starting to understand why I linger so much.
I want to hold onto things.
Summer.
The version of myself I was last year.
The clean kitchen.
The perfectly planned meal.
The friend I used to be.
The life I think I should be living.
But everything is temporary.
The kitchen will get dirty.
Summer will end, dinner will be eaten.
And i’ll become another version of myself.
And maybe instead of trying to hard to preserve every version, I can just let myself live it while it’s here.
A dirty kitchen means I cooked.
An empty plate means I ate.
A changing season means I got to have a summer.
And a changing version of me means I’m still growing.
So this week, I’m going to try to worry a little less about keeping everything clean.
And spend a little more time eating.
Thanks for reading this weeks SubSnack <3
Until next time,
Niknack
