Summer Steak and Grilled Vegetable Panzanella

and what it means to be "Time Poor"

I came across a theory this week and it struck a chord with me, it was the theory of being “time poor”. Maybe I don’t go on social media enough, as some of my friends encourage me to do, but I had never heard of this line, and I immediately clicked for more info because clearly whoever wrote it was speaking to me. Travel has been nonstop, and the mom guilt has been elevating at serious levels for me. I’ve been living out of my little AWAY roller bag, keeping it stocked and only changing out dirty clothes for clean ones. My vegetable garden is being kept alive by my dear husband who is trying his best to manifest a green thumb.

Time poverty is a real thing. It’s essentially the state of having too much to do and not enough time to do it. It’s that feeling when your to-do list looks like a CVS receipt, and you’re playing a never-ending game of catch-up. We’ve all been there. Meetings, chores, work, social obligations—it's like a never-ending dance recital with no intermission.

I held up a mirror to myself and started to question why I was so time poor. For one, overcommitment is where I’m most guilty. I mean, of course I can travel all over the country, teach and choreograph and then come home and be mom and wife of the year, keep my skin care routine going and write a thoughtful weekly newsletter. This made me chuckle just writing it. At some point somethings gotta give.

Another huge one is having distractions coming from every direction. Netflix, emails, DM’s, text messages, pings on my apple watch (I’m not letting go of this one) all make life seem so damn urgent! One of my students schooled me on how to change the “DO NOT DISTURB” settings in my phone and it has been quite beneficial to my mental health to say the least. When everything feels urgent and important, we lose sight of what’s truly essential. We end up spinning our wheels and getting nowhere fast. Let this be your reminder to change some of your phone settings around today.

Time is something we don’t get back and the older I get, the faster it’s happening. Embracing the power of no or at least not right now gives us a little of our power back. Along with that, mini doses of self-care have been quite helpful for me. Scheduling a regular massage, along with what I like to call “do-nothing” time where I’m off devices and reading a book or something of that sort, balances my mental health in busy times. Most people wouldn’t consider cooking a great homemade meal self-care but for me, it’s self-care at its highest form.

This week’s recipe is a full meal that can be done on the grill or indoors (like I did it, thank you summer rainstorms!) on a cast iron pan. The rub alone is something you can carry in your back pocket as a go to and the whole meal just screams peak summer. The Panzanella is basically a salad where you use torn pieces of bread and toss it with the veggies and a simple vinaigrette so they soak up all the goodness. Quite tasty. A perfect recipe for an evening where you want to feel nourished but don’t feel like cooking.  A very “Time Rich Recipe”….

Summer Steak and Grilled Vegetable Panzanella

Serves 2-4

For the Steak: