Thursday, June 7, 2012

Salads Galore

I'll be the first one to admit that I really like routines.  It's pretty easy for me to get set on something and stick with it.  That is definitely the case with a lot of my meals lately, but I'm okay with that.  For the most part, I've been having yogurt + fresh fruit for breakfast and big salads for lunch.

I've stuck with Angela's salad-a-day challenge so far... but I haven't been as good with Amanda Russell's 4-minute morning workout routine.  I did it for 4 days, but didn't do it yesterday or today :/  Gotta get back on that!  I've found that knowing I have to do push-ups immediately doesn't make me want to hop right out of bed and get the day started, so I linger and push snooze, and then run out of time before I have to start getting dressed and ready for the day.  But I did feel awesome on the days when I did it, so I've got to focus on that feeling instead of the imminent push-ups!

Anywho, back to my meals.  Let's start with my lunches.  Sunday I took a break from helping my Dad wash 4 cars (inside and out - mine was one of them, yay for clean cars!) to re-fuel.  I had a salad with spinach, sugar snap peas, carrots, lentils, white bean and basil hummus, balsamic vinegar, and walnuts.


With an apple + almond butter on the side, and a medjool date for dessert.  My dad was really excited when he saw my medjool date and asked where I'd been hiding them (in the fridge!).  Then he said my mom never buys food he likes (not true, haha) so next time we were at the store she picked up a container for him to have all to himself... which is almost gone :)


One night my mom was making white rice as a side for our dinner, and I decided I wanted something a little more nutritious to go with my meal, so I made some sweet potato fries for myself.  My mom had one and said she thought they were better than some she had a restaurant recently - yay!


I made them again the next night and my dad said he'd like some, too, so I made enough for everyone to share.  I think I baked them a little too long the second time I made them, but it's still fun to share some healthier alternatives with my family.


Packed lunches up next.  Monday I had a salad with spinach, grape tomatoes, orange bell pepper, carrots, sugar snap peas, walnuts, lentils, white bean and basil hummus, and red wine vinegar (I meant to grab balsamic but accidentally took red wine vinegar with me instead - it was still tasty, though).




Apple on the side and a medjool date to satisfy my ever-present sweet tooth.


I had a pretty similar lunch on Tuesday - the same salad as the day before, but with balsamic vinegar this time, plus some marinated artichoke hearts from Trader Joe's - SO good!


Apple + almond butter on the side, and another medjool date.  All crammed in to that Lululemon bag (along with a travel mug for my morning coffee plus a water bottle - I don't exactly travel light.  Ever).


Yesterday I was out of spinach, so I stopped by Earth Fare (a local health food store) to put together a salad for myself.  That baby had mixed greens, spinach, shredded carrots, sliced kalamata olives, red/ green/ yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, black-eyed peas (must remember to pick some up to add to my homemade salads!), chickpea salad, artichoke hearts, olive oil, Italian white wine vinegar, and sunflower seeds.


And the stars of the show:  3 stuffed grape leaves.  So unbelievably delicious.  I'm pretty sure I could eat these every day and not get sick of them.


While I was at the store, I picked up this new-to-me bar which was on sale.  It was pretty good, but I still prefer Larabars and their extremely short ingredient list.

I only remembered to take a picture after I had already torn into it - oops!
I also picked up lots of fresh fruit yesterday and had a very summer-y breakfast this morning:  a bowl of plain yogurt with a sliced banana, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  So delicious and decadent, and filled with antioxidants.


And for lunch I packed a salad with mixed spinach greens, grape tomatoes, orange bell pepper, artichoke hearts, and a last-minute addition of grapes.  I topped it with hummus and lentils (and brought a bottle of balsamic to work with me to add right before eating), but I took the picture before adding the last couple of things to showcase all of the colorful ingredients!  I don't usually add fruit to my salads, but I figured I could use a little variety so I took a chance with those grapes.  I love sweet + savory, so this was right up my alley.


Nature shot of the day:


I found some forget-me-nots growing in the woods so I picked a few to make myself a little bouquet.  I photographed them downstairs, but in reality they're sitting on my very messy childhood dresser, haha.

PS That trophy is for a contest my friends and I entered and DIDN'T win, haha.  So proud.
Hope you're having a great week so far.  Until next time!

Song of the day:

"Ho Hey" by The Lumineers.  Obsessed with this song lately.  It's so sweet and fun to sing along with (fun for me, not for anyone else who might happen to hear me, haha).



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