The Healthyish Guide to Sunday
Sunday in dreamland: A restorative day that’s both productive and peaceful, where we cross everything off our to-do list (laundry! cleaning! socializing! exercising! cooking! the great outdoors! a brief trip to the moon!) and end the day feeling rejuvenated and ready to take the week by storm.
Sunday in reality: Simultaneous pressure to get everything done and do nothing at all means that we neither achieve anything nor fully relax. The day blurs by, with Monday looming just ‘round the bend, and we’re left wondering: Is this what Sunday’s supposed to feel like?
So this time, we’re seeking that relaxing-working-recharging-indulging equilibrium by following the smart advice of those who, as you’ll see, seem to have the day on lock. We’ll queue up a playlist, pull on some comfy pants, tackle one (just one!) cleaning project, and crawl back into bed with a book (not a phone). We’ll make ourselves breakfast (since we asked lots of chefs—find their answers below—to tell us why they close their restaurants on Sundays and most agreed: brunch out just isn’t worth it). We'll meander to the market, then invite a handful of friends over for a low-key early dinner (some might call it supper), the leftovers of which will stock the fridge for the week.
And if nothing else, we'll get to bed early. Since, in the end, that’s what makes Monday morning just a little less painful.
Illustrations by Igor Bastidas1/20Use Saturday to Get Sh*t Done
When I was a kid, Sunday was the very best day of the week. My sister and I would eat pancakes and bask in the double spread of newspaper comics—in color, no less. So when I grew up, I felt cheated when a new emotion appeared on Sunday evenings: anxiety. I’m not alone here—the term “Sunday Scaries” is used so frequently to describe the end-of-the-weekend blues that there’s even a CBD company named after it.
Then last year, I had a revelation. If Sunday—the day, the concept, the activities—made me feel anxious, why not get rid of it all together? The solution was simple: Treat Saturday like Sunday, and Sunday like Saturday. I’ve spent the better part of a year front-loading my errands and obligations onto Saturday (grocery shopping, laundry, house chores), where they’re mellowed by the promise of a full weekend ahead. Then I pack Sunday full of fun activities: I’ll go to a flea market, invite friends over for a low-key dinner party, or dance out my jitters at Mister Sunday, an all-ages party that proves Sundays are meant for disco balls and BBQ.
There’s still one Sunday ritual that I’ll always follow: waiting in line for bagels. Some things are sacred.
—Aliza Abarbanel, Healthyish editorial assistant
Photo by Horst P. Horst2/20Have a Lounge-About Morning in Bed
Sunday is the one day of the week when I get to do what I call “Having a Morning.” Usually my husband gets up first, and when he makes his coffee, he makes my tea, which is loose-leaf Assam with milk. It’s delightful and hot and perfect during the narrowest sliver of time, which I inevitably miss on weekdays (when 27 things have to happen before I leave the house) and on Saturdays (when it’s farmer’s market day and, thanks to my OCD and intensely competitive nature, I can’t relax until after I’ve shopped).
But on Sundays, if I’m really lucky (or if I just bide my time waiting patiently and not leaving our room), my husband will actually bring me the tea. In bed. He’s good like that. On this morning, there are no children needing to go places, no adults who are supposed to be somewhere. I get all propped up on my three pillows and then—with the cup of tea perched on my sternum—there’s nothing to do but wait until it drops to the ideal drinking temperature, the same temperature it hits every other day while I’m doing something else.
It doesn’t take that long to drink a cup of tea once it is at peak condition for consumption, but considering it will be another seven days before I get this opportunity again, I really indulge in the process. There’s no talking, no phone calls, no list-making, no clock-watching. This is Queen of the House Drinks Her Tea Time, and even if a mere 18 minutes go by before I get antsy again and want to plan the day, it’s always good to give myself the thing I wish I could have all week. Do a little less. Stay in bed. Today’s the day. —Carla Lalli Music, food director
Illustrations by Igor Bastidas3/20Or Wake Up Extra Early and Get Moving
About a year ago, I started waking up between 7 and 7:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings, which is an hour earlier than I get up every other day of the week. My logic was simple: Waking up early was a way to magically extend the weekend and give myself the gift of MORE TIME! Like some kind of witch!
I’m no Hermione and waking up an hour earlier in the day is no time-turner, but it’s magic all the same. Getting up early on Sunday allows me to feel accomplished without technically having done, uh, anything. But starting the day with this newfound sense of achievement is all the push I need to knock out a Sunday project, whether that’s going for a long bike ride or making a batch of my favorite Spicy Chicken Stock.
If there’s a greater high than pulling a pot of bubbling, golden broth off the stove and checking the clock to see that it’s barely 9 a.m., I don’t know it. —Christina Chaey, associate editor
Photo by Chelsea Kyle4/20Make the Breakfast of Champions
Most Sunday mornings, before I lose any motivation, I head out the door and run for one to three hours. When I come home, my mind is clear and my body is ready to nap the day away, but before I do, I make myself a decadent breakfast to replace what I've lost and refuel for the week ahead. My body is primed to crave baked goods on the weekend, but I need something with a little more substance than a blueberry muffin. The non-negotiables? Protein in the form of nut butter, lots and lots of bready carbs, a touch of something sweet, and enough to yield leftovers for Monday and beyond. —Elaheh Nozari, commerce editor
Get the recipe for Almond Butter and Jam Quick Bread Recipe, here.
Illustration by Bryan Fountain5/20
Photo by Chelsea Kyle6/20Dress the Part
According to “professional lounger” and “senior staff writer” Alex Beggs, you’re only as comfortable on the inside as the fabrics with which you swathe yourself on the outside. From robes to slippers to seemingly pointless bralettes, see her full list of comfy clothing items you “need” to laze about for hours on Sunday.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle7/20Pamper Your Skin
There are mornings when we splash our faces with cold water and hightail it out the door, and then there are Sundays. The week is new and there’s time to pretend our lives are extended face wash commercials. We scrub and lather and apply all of the creamy lotions and good-smelling oils we’ve saved for this very moment. It’s an opportunity to clean up from the week past and approach Monday fresh-faced and bright-eyed. Peep all of our staffers’ favorite luxurious-feeling skin care products, from masks to balms, here.
Photo by Alex Lau8/20Go on a (Mini) Adventure
Six years ago, I kicked off a habit of “Spontaneous Sundays,” my attempt to make my low-budget urban explorations sound more glamorous and laissez-faire to my sophisticated coworkers (who I now know were probably doing the same thing). These were rare, wide-open days that I spent doling out some of my hard-earned, first-job-in-New-York-City income (but never more than $20!) on lunches in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
Then, it was SoHo, Chinatown, Bay Ridge, Harlem. Now, I’m more likely to invest on a mid-morning Metro North train ticket to Peekskill or Cold Spring. The act of Spontaneous Sunday isn’t about one-upping your activity during the week; it’s all about treating yourself to lunch in a new neighborhood. (Hey, getting yourself dressed, on a train, and in public is a weekend success if I’ve ever heard of one.)
The one rule of Spontaneous Sunday: Plan nothing, aside from your lunch stop. From there, hop into whichever storefronts or parks are calling your name. —Erika Owen, associate director of audience development
Illustration by Bryan Fountain9/20
Illustrations by Igor Bastidas10/20Turn Off Your Electronic Devices
The simple, magical, almost obvious way to make Sunday feel a whole lot longer: Step away from the phone and steer clear of that Instagram black hole. Phone-addicted, Twitter-fueled writer Rachel Sugar forswore technology for one day each week and lived to tell the tale (and respond to stray emails). Read her full account, here.
Illustrations by Igor Bastidas11/20Clean for Impact (and for the Future!)
Vacuuming, dusting, and scrubbing offer immediate satisfaction, but a quick organizing project makes your space neater and more manageable for weeks to come. So follow the lead of associate editor and card-carrying Messy Person Hilary Cadigan, who stared down the most cluttered parts of her apartment (the Tupperware drawer cringe) and won. Find five speed-cleaning projects that guarantee future Sunday serenity, here.
Illustration by Bryan Fountain12/20
Photo by Chelsea Kyle13/20Block Out the Noise of the World
The humble white noise machine soothes babies to sleep and blunts sharp sounds from the street (and hungry howling cats). And in the waking hours, it can make a regular Sunday feel like a hushed snow day or a sojourn inside a cocoon. Read contributing editor Sarah Jampel’s love letter to the white noise machine, here.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle14/20If You Only Do One Meal Prep Task, Make a Super Sauce
You tried the thing where you boil a pot of quinoa and a dozen hard-boiled eggs on Sunday afternoon and, come Wednesday, you’re left with… quinoa and hard-boiled eggs that you probably could’ve made that night, anyway. Instead of doing the snoozy meal prep tasks on Sunday, senior food editor Chris Morocco advocates using the day to drag out the blender and make a vibrant, versatile sauce (creamy, green, spicy, citrusy, or pickle-y) that you’ll be grateful to see on a later date. See all six of our essential Healthyish super sauces, here.
Illustration by Bryan Fountain15/20
Photo by Alex Lau16/20Or Throw a Laid Back Dinner Party That'll Fill Your Fridge for the Week
Meal prep always seems like a math problem that doesn’t add up. You carve out a good chunk of a precious Sunday to do some serious cooking—and then proceed to make the most basic, boring, box-checking food possible. You make enough for a crowd, but that crowd is just… you, over and over again, for the next few days. And, when all is said and done, you’re staring down the same sink full of dishes that you would post-dinner party, except without anyone else to help you clean (or keep you company while you do).
And that’s why, if I want to set myself up for a week of leftover lunches and what’s-in-the-fridge dinners that I actually can look forward to (and yes, I do), I just—hold onto your hats—throw a MF dinner party.
Before you freak, hear me out. A Sunday dinner party is not a Saturday dinner party—I’m not having a dozen people over, nor am I doling out on scallops and rib eyes for the squad. Once again, it’s about math. I find an easy, economical, delicious-sounding recipe that serves about 10—like, say, this cider-braised pork shoulder, or a double batch of vinegar-y braised chicken. I make a few simple, appropriately-scaled sides with staying power, like a crunchy raw broccoli salad, or a rice pilaf, or a big pot polenta. Then I invite four people over for an early evening, BYO, casual Sunday kickback. We bask in the glory of one another’s company, break bread together, keep The Scaries at bay for a few more hours.
So, if that math holds, what am I left with after my friends have helped tidy the kitchen and have all shuffled on home? That’s right: Enough leftover food for five people. A lunchtime dinner party every day of the next week for me, me, me, and me.
Good deal, non? —Amiel Stanek, senior editor
Photo by Chelsea Kyle17/20Open the Bottle You’ve Been Saving
It’s hard to dread the close of the weekend when you’ve set aside something to look forward to—like an incredibly special beer you’ve waited all week to open (or a really great face mask, or that last piece of frozen yogurt pie. Read more about how associate editor Alex Delany tricked himself into anticipating the oft-dreaded Sunday evening, here.
Illustration by Bryan Fountain18/20
Photo by Chelsea Kyle19/20Simmer a Slow-Going, Great-for-Leftovers Sunday Sauce
The Healthyish Sunday sauce has all the best qualities of your favorite meaty red sauce—it makes your house smell unearthly good, it feeds a crowd (or, if you squirrel away the leftovers, fuels you for the rest of your week), and it gives Sunday evenings that cozy, romantic aura—but with a few important exceptions: It takes 30 minutes (not several hours) to make and cauliflower replaces meat for an affordable, veg-friendly option. Get senior food editor Andy Baraghani’s recipe for Cauliflower Bolognese, here.
Photo by Alex Lau20/20Drink, Be Merry, But Set a Hard End Time
I make it through Sunday by reminding myself that it is, in fact, still the weekend. And for me that means I’m fixing myself a cocktail or two. But with Monday morning coming on fast (6:47 a.m. alarm, make lunch, take the kid to school), I’m getting to bed early and clear headed. So maybe we’ll have friends over for a late-afternoon Sunday supper, and I’ll make Carla Music’s famous Faux-Tisserie Chicken, while sipping on a bright-and-easy Gamay. Or this time of year, I’ll head to my friend Gabe’s to watch a 4 p.m. Patriots game while he fires up Joe Beddia’s transformative homemade pizza. I know, I know—neither of these menus is particularly Healthyish. But in either case, I’m full, tipsy, and done by 7:30pm—just when I’d be sitting down for dinner on most any other night of the week. And that’s healthyish enough for me. —Adam Rapoport, Bon Appetit editor in chief
