[2022-04-23] Choose things that make you happy
Today, I made a new dish for lunch: Vegan Pasta Primavera with Creamy Garlic Cashew Sauce.
When I'm tempted by a new recipe, I usually run it by Melanie. If it sounds like something she would like, she'll say, "I'm down for that." But when it doesn't, she'll say, "Not feeling it, but you go ahead." Most of the time, I forego a recipe that only I might like, searching instead for a dish that works for everyone.
But I was sufficiently intrigued by the recipe for vegan pasta primavera that I made it anyway. As it turned out, neither Chris nor Mel liked the dish, but I loved it.
For supper, we made pizza three ways: thick-crust vegetarian with tomato sauce for me, thick-crust vegetarian with pesto sauce for Mel, and thin-crust pepperoni with tomato sauce and veggies for Chris. Homemade pizza is the ultimate crowd pleaser because it's so easy to customize it to each person's taste.
There are times when one option will please everyone, other times when a choose-your-own-adventure approach will suffice, and still other times when I have to go my own way. I have a tendency to focus on the first and second options, but rarely the third. It's the people pleaser in me. I always want to make everyone happy. Doing something just for me can feel a tad selfish.
But today's lunch was a good way for me to exercise a little independence. I'm glad that I made the vegan pasta primavera, even if it means I'll be eating it for lunch for the next few days.
It's OK to sometimes go beyond your tendency to settle for things that make everyone happy, and choose things that make you happy.
