Breakfast Chats: Happy New Year!
Casual chit chat about habits, snacks, and so on
“Breakfast Chats” is a lighter series, where I share short musings and conversational tidbits about life things. It’s a regular, monthly feature that I’ve made open for access to all subscribers, both free and paid.
Welcome back to Breakfast Chats. A very happy new year to all of you! ☼
I’m sitting in my office right now, with the windows open and a really sweet bird chirping away right outside. And with some chai next to me (but, of course) I’m just getting started on the very first issue of the year for A Slow Afternoon ☼
Those of you who are new here, a very warm welcome to you. My newsletter is a bestseller on Substack, very graciously loved by thousands of readers, most of whom have been here since the very beginning. I really hope you love being here too.
Let’s get started.
1. HELLO 2025
I’m back after two very delicious weeks of rest at home. We would sleep in most days, and then every morning we’d wake up, and then just talk about what the day looked like for each of us. We did things separately, and together. We took trips to the store every few days to pick up fresh summer fruit. Did small home projects. I read…a lot. Nabeel painted…a lot. We had friends over a couple of times, napped at very random hours, went on coffee drives. Not all end-of-year breaks are this slow and relaxed and I really feel so grateful to be able to do that.
I’ve spent this past week easing back into work and general life, and to be honest, it’s been pretty good. I’ve always loved the start of a new year. And as we begin this one, I’m excited to try new things, enjoy the luxury of a healthy routine, fall more in love, and just see where things go. Our lives are possibly the most interesting stories we get to see unfold in real time and I’m curious to see what this year’s chapters bring us.
2. NATURAL TIMEKEEPING
Speaking of the new year, one thing that I’m so happy to get back into my life is basic Circadian Living. I’m sure you guys know what it is, but just in case there’s someone who doesn’t, the circadian rhythm is basically your body’s internal clock that tells you when to wake up, sleep, and impacts things like your hormones, digestion. There’s a lot there, but I mainly try to do the basics - like waking up with the day as it breaks naturally, dimming the lights at night.
And one of the things that I stopped doing a few months ago was not eating 3-4 hours before sleeping. Towards the end of last year, I’d just started late snacking so much and that doesn’t really give your stomach enough time to rest or for your body to repair itself well as you sleep. I’m not too strict about it, I don’t follow it on the weekends, as an example, but just restarting it last week has already made me feel so much better.
3. SMALL EXCITEMENTS OF LIFE
Something that I’ve realised has been bringing a lot of excitement for me is creating the list of books I want to read each month. I started noticing that, as much as the actual act of reading, I’ve also been really enjoying the process of finding new books for myself, particularly after I decided to read from authors around the world. Exploring new authors, different options, checking reviews, planning for what’s available at the library, all of it. And I’ve been observing that a couple of days each month, after we’re done with dinner, and I’ve slipped into bed ready to chill, this has become one of my ‘chill’ activities.
It’s so true that when you start filling your day with wholesome things, things that are good for your holistic health, you automatically start losing space for things that injure it – like endless scrolling or wasting time on meaningless threads. We all have to do things during our day that seem hard or tedious - we all have responsibilities, commitments - and so I think it becomes even more important to add these little, random excitements to life.
4. CURRENT FAVORITE SNACK
This past break, I would get grapes from the store and then put a bunch of them in the freezer. This is a very old snack hack, but I’ve loved it for years and I keep going back to it. Once frozen, the grapes feel like candy (of course, not like the hyper sugary ones but once you pick up the taste, they’re so sweet).
I realise it’s winter for a lot of you in the world, so you may not enjoy this right now, but it’s been my current favorite snack and on a hot summer day, it’s the most refreshing and healthy treat.
Try some if you haven’t already. Just pop some in the freezer, leave them for a couple of hours (or more), and then take them out, and you’re ready to snack.
5. WEEKEND PLANS
Nabeel’s had a busy & tiring week back to work and I feel like doing something for him so that he feels a little rested and loved. And so, I’m thinking to make him a nice breakfast on Saturday morning and let him fully laze away. He loves shakshuka and we haven’t had it in a while, so I think I’ll do that. Other than that, we’ll probably go see a couple of friends over the weekend, that we haven’t seen in a while.
I think that’s it. I hope you have a good weekend. I will see you back here in two weeks :)
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Music Credit: The music in my voiceover background is ‘Milky’ by Ninn Tendo.