The recipe calls for chickpeas, avocado, fresh cilantro (I subbed in basil), green onion, lime juice (I used 1 T bottled instead of fresh), salt and pepper.
Woops, forgot the green onion in this picture.
I opted not to rub the skins off the chickpeas (I didn't want to take the time). You just smash everything together and mix it up, and voila:
I put plastic wrap right on top of the leftover mixture before I put the lid on the container and stored it in the fridge - this should somewhat help to prevent the avocado from oxidizing and turning brown.
That's it! Pretty easy and straightforward, but a good way to switch up lunch. I've never liked mayonnaise so I kind of felt left out of the egg salad-type options for lunch. But I think this is a great alternative, and I also plan to try making egg salad with Greek yogurt.
I spread some of the avocado-chickpea mixture on whole grain oat bread and added some lettuce for a delicious sandwich. Baby carrots and hummus on the side.
So remember when I started growing some herbs?
I planted basil, lavender, rosemary, strawberry, chives, and forget-me-nots.
Well, I used some of the basil that I grew in my chickpea and avocado spread!
You can probably tell there aren't quite as many pots in the "after" picture as the "before" pictures. My BFF said I have a dark green thumb - not quite black, but not green :) I have two pots of rosemary, two pots of basil, two pots of chives, and a pot of forget-me-nots growing. The lavender petered out, and the strawberries never grew. But that's okay! I especially hope that my rosemary keeps growing - between rosemary and basil, I'd pretty much be set.
This morning I took one of my recent favorite exercise classes with my mom - TurboKick!
It's basically kickboxing, as far as I can tell. I think it's a lot of fun, and very challenging - it's great cardio.
After the class, I tried out coconut water for the first time.
I picked it up the other day, but unfortunately I'm not a fan. I've read so many things about how hydrating coconut water is because of all of the natural electrolytes, but I don't like coconut... so I think that has something to do with it :)
In other news...
Yep, that happened. And it was glorious. Two dollar bills up.
I stopped at the grocery store before the movie to pick up movie snacks. I tried out this new drink:
It was pretty good, but I prefer Synergy kombucha. And I had some unpictured Reese's Pieces :)
Lastly, I had to share this audio clip (discovered via Mama Pea).
Hey guys, how's it going? Once again, it's been awhile since I've blogged, so I've got a few things to catch up on here. First a delicious new discovery:
My mom picked up this huge container of cocoa-roasted almonds at Sam's Club this past week, and they're SO delicious. Except...
...we realized there's sucralose in them, which is basically Splenda. Boo. I've really tried to eliminate fake sweeteners from my diet. But that doesn't mean I haven't still enjoyed a small handful of these here and there.
When I've got the time, I really enjoy putting some extra effort into brunch for myself on the weekend. This past weekend was no exception.
Scrambled eggs with spinach and topped with Trader Joe's salsa, an amazing bowl of berries, and a frothy cup of coffee. Perfection. Do you like my Peter Rabbit bowl? Haha.
I've been able to start working out again since my feet have pretty much healed (thank goodness), so after a workout this past week I brought back the long-lost protein smoothie.
It had 1 cup skim milk, 1 T ground flax seed, 1 T natural peanut butter, 1 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior protein powder, organic spinach from the farmers' market, and 1 frozen banana. Yum!
Along with my summer-y drink, I've been able to enjoy some summer-y activities lately, too. I love having a break from school!
I went to a wine festival at a local winery with some friends last week, and it was so fun to spend time and catch up with them, and to taste some local wines.
And I got to go to a concert at my favorite concert venue!
Even though it wasn't a very sunny day, we spent some time boating this past weekend, too.
This is the crib, which is the main intake for the Cleveland water supply.
Other than that, I've started on a little project. Well, a not-so-little project, actually. I'm going to paint my kitchen table and chairs black, but it's quite a long process! I'm documenting it and will share the steps after I'm finished, assuming it all turns out okay. Here's the before shot!
So that's what I've been up to. What about you guys?
Oh, and I refuse to accept that I don't live in a tropical area - I'm trying to grow some avocado trees. I actually grew an avocado tree for a few years but it recently withered away, so I'm determined to try again.
Song of the day:
"Free Energy" by Free Energy. This is the band I saw last week - so much fun live!
I haven't done a whole lot of cooking recently, but here are a few recent eats:
My lunch today was a sandwich made with whole wheat sandwich thins topped with hummus, shredded carrots, black beans, and a hard-boiled egg (random but tasty!), a green pepper and more hummus, and a pear.
Followed by a medjool date for dessert. I love having something sweet after a meal - my mom used to pack me a dessert with every lunch when I was in school, and I would have dessert after dinner... and probably a dessert for an afternoon snack, too... oh adolescent metabolism! Now I try to limit my desserts to once a day, ideally, so instead of grabbing a piece of candy or something after lunch, I find that having a medjool date is just as sweet and satisfying. If you haven't eaten them before, try one out - they're deeeeee-licious!!
My afternoon snack was a piece of toasted whole wheat bread topped with almond butter (yummm), cinnamon. strawberries, grapes, and raisins. Bread + nut butter is always a winner in my book. I find that taking a little extra time to make a snack, rather than just grabbing a bag/ box of something, helps me to stick to a good portion rather than mindlessly snacking and eating past the point of being full.
My herbs are still growing (yay!), but some are doing better than others. I hope they all hang in there!
I just watched this preview for a 4-part series on PBS about urban farming:
I'm so fascinated by urban farming and would love to be a part of something like that (despite barely being able to grow herbs, haha). Baby steps, right? I'm going to see if I can find PBS on my TV - I only have basic TV, no cable or anything, and it tends to be very finnicky - because I'd love to see the whole series. Even that short clip was so inspiring - seeing a vibrant, lush garden in the middle of a decrepit cityscape is amazing. And the message is really important: in a nutshell, local over global, organic over chemical, and grassroots over industrial.
After the snow last night, I was afraid that I would have to scrape my car off on my way to the gym this morning (cardio day - elliptical and stationary bike). Luckily the snow had already melted, but I am SO ready for some warmer weather. Hopefully soon! I really want to check out the farmer's market this weekend, but I'd rather not go in the snow, ya know?
Hope you're having a good week so far!
Song of the day:
"Brokenhearted" by Karmin. This song is SO addicting - I keep listening to it over and over again. It's on my workout playlist, too - lots of energy!
Hey guys! How's your week going so far? I can't believe it's almost mid-April - time is flying by for me.
My other contribution to our family Easter dinner was broccolini. I was excited to do a vegetable because a lot of times my mom makes a vegetable casserole for big family dinners, and I'm not usually a fan (they tend to contain cheese and cream sauces, which I don't like). She did in fact make a carrot casserole on Sunday, so I was glad to have an alternative veggie to eat with my meal.
I followed this Martha Stewart recipe but used broccolini instead of broccoli rabe, and also increased the amount of ingredients to make sure we had plenty for everyone. I made this once before when I had my parents and grandparents over to my apartment for my mom's birthday in February, and it went over really well, so I was excited to serve it again. I think it was actually more flavorful the first time I made it, probably because I made a smaller batch that time. But it was still good and I would make it again! I especially love the almonds added in.
Since I was at my parents' house over the weekend, I didn't really have time to prep food for this week. Last night I had an evening class, and I was really hungry when I got home and wanted something quick and easy to throw together. I just thought about what sounded good and mixed everything together. I had some cooked couscous in the fridge, so I used that as my base and mixed in broccoli (frozen, which I had steamed in the microwave), frozen spinach, frozen shelled edamame, and some canned black beans (which I had rinsed). I stirred everything up (except for the broccoli), and heated it in the microwave for a few minutes. Then I stirred in the broccoli and sprinkled on some nutritional yeast (adding extra protein and B vitamins, plus great flavor). It came together very quickly and was filled with nutritious ingredients. This is completely customizable depending on what you have on hand - any kind of grain, veggies, and beans could be mixed together.
Sorry for the blurry picture - Hart of Dixie was starting and I was in a rush!
I overdid it on the Easter candy after my lunch yesterday, so I wanted to have a lighter treat last night. While I was putting my dinner together, I popped a bunch of grapes into the freezer. When I was ready for dessert, I took the grapes out, and I dipped them into a mixture of Greek yogurt, honey, and granola - it satisfied my sweet tooth while being pretty healthy!
My workout today was another repeat of my most recent strength and treadmill routines, with 7 minutes of warm-up on the elliptical and stretching after. I'm definitely a fan of routines and not at all a fan of change, in most aspects of my life. I know it's very important to switch things up while working out (and in other areas, too!), but sometimes I just want to stick with what I know and like. That's one of the reasons I like group exercise classes so much - even if you go to the same classes, the instructors vary the workouts and you do different things all the time. Unfortunately the rec center where I belong does not have unlimited group exercise classes (they're pay-as-you-go), so I do my own thing. It's a little harder for me to change things on my own accord, but I think it's amazing that there are so many great resources online for finding ready-made workout plans. Hopefully by the end of this week I'll have picked out a new workout to try!
Post-gym protein smoothie: 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 T chia seeds, 1 T natural peanut butter, 1 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior protein powder, 1 frozen banana, 6 frozen strawberries, 2 ice cubes.
Slurp!
Well, it's snowing outside :( I knew 80* weather in March meant snow in April. At least these tulips that my mom gave me brought some spring into my apartment.
Hope you're having a great day! Let me know if you have any tips for switching up your workout routine.
As I mentioned before, planning and being organized are two huge things that help me eat healthy throughout the week. When I have classes and am busy with reading and assignments, my time is very limited when it comes to preparing meals. It can be tempting to eat a lot of junk food or buy lunch somewhere because it's convenient, so to avoid that I try to do some prep work ahead of time, and always have healthy snacks with me.
Sundays seem to be a good day for me to spend some time in the kitchen prepping food for the week. Yesterday I made a few things to have on hand.
I cooked a pot of couscous which I'll put on salads. I love adding grains to salads to make them more filling, and I think the texture adds a great dynamic.
Sidenote - I'm so in love with this trivet from Le Creuset that I got as a Christmas present! My dream is to have a kitchen filled with Le Creuset cookware one day, but until then, I'll get my fix where I can :)
I also hard-boiled a few eggs. They're a great source of protein and also very filling. I'll add one to a salad or a sandwich, or just eat one plain for a snack.
The couscous and hard-boiled eggs will be perfect for some salad beasts like this:
I already had a salad beast for lunch today!
I made some seed and raisin balls to have for snacks on-the-go; they are really so addicting, I can't get enough of them!
While I had my food processor out, I figured I'd make some amazeballz, too. This time I made the blueberry-lemon flavor, but I just used bottled lemon juice instead of lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.
I've been wanting to drink more green tea lately, but I tend to only drink hot tea right before I go to bed, and most of the green tea that I have contains caffeine. So as the weather is (slightly) warming up, I figured it was a good time to make iced tea, which I'm more likely to drink earlier in the day. I added 9 tea bags (6 lemon green tea, 3 mint green tea) to 6 cups of cold water, and put it in the fridge overnight.
And it turned into iced tea! Magical. Couldn't be much easier than that. I read that you can let the tea bags steep in the fridge for 24 - 36 hours, so I'll remove them tonight.
All of that prep work will make it much easier for me to make healthy meals and snacks throughout the week - definitely worth the effort (and dirty dishes), in my opinion.
I've been absolutely craving mushrooms and spinach lately (I guess my body needs antioxidants?!) so I decided to incorporate them into my brunch yesterday.
I sauteed some mushrooms and spinach and then added two scrambled eggs to the skillet. On the side: sliced strawberries and banana, and a cup of coffee (with a splash of almond milk and cinnamon added - so good!).
My dad has one of those single-serve coffee makers which automatically makes some froth on top (without any milk or anything!). Love it.
As if I'm not already obsessed with cinnamon enough, I've found that it's delicious added to coffee. Awhile ago, my aunt told me to add cinnamon right to the grounds when you're brewing coffee, and then recently one of my friends added cinnamon to his cup of coffee at Starbucks (so that's why they have those little shakers of cinnamon by the milk pitchers...). I finally decided to give it a shot - and it's amazing!! I've never liked to add sweetener to my coffee (unless it's iced), but cinnamon is a wonderful and healthy way to switch it up a bit.
Book review:
This month I participated in Peanut Butter Fingers' book club and read The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain. I wasn't sure if I would actually have time to read the book, but it was definitely a page-turner and ended up not taking very long to read (plus was WAY more enjoyable than reading casebooks for school).
Description from the back of the book: "In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child.
CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she knows what happened to her missing infant, because two decade ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and she has another choice to make. Tell the truth and destroy her family. Or let an innocent man die in order to protect a lifetime of lies."
I was a little taken aback by the first line of the book: "She couldn't concentrate on making love." Now I've read a few romance novels in my time, but I had the idea that this was more of a mystery book than a lurid romance novel. However, I think the opening line is misleading - it really is more of a suspense book than anything else.
The story spans a period of many years - from 1977 to 2004. The first few pages are set in 2004, then the story really starts in 1977. Personally, having an ending ruined is one of my biggest pet peeves ever. (I cried a little when someone ruined part of the 7th Harry Potter book for me.) So I actually wish the first few pages weren't in the book - they don't give away the entire ending, but they foreshadow a lot and allow you to "crack" part of the mystery pretty early on.
One of the characters, Corinne, really got under my skin near the end of the book. I was getting a little frustrated because I just could not relate to or empathize with her. But in the end, the character began to evolve and I found her to be a lot less annoying and much more sympathetic.
What I loved about the book: it really drew me in and held my attention. It's been a long time since I've read a book that I could not put down - I even took an entire Saturday morning (and a little of the afternoon) to finish reading it. Luxury! There's nothing quite like losing yourself in a good book. I also really liked the many different family dynamics in the book. There are tons of different types of families, relationships, and bonds formed throughout the novel, and many tear-jerker moments for me. (But I'm also a sap.)
Overall, I thought it was a great story and really enjoyed reading it. I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for an intriguing story that 'll suck you in. It's a fairly easy and quick read, but as a heads up, I would say that it's not a light-hearted, feel-good kind of story.
Okay, I think that's long enough for today :) I hope everyone had an awesome weekend!
Oh yeah, one last thing - grow, plants, grow!!
Song of the day:
"Skyscrapers" by OK Go. I've already featured an OK Go song on here before, but since they're one of my favorite bands, I figured I would go ahead and share another one. I think that "Skyscrapers" is one of the best songs from this album (Of the Blue Colour of the Sky) and OK Go just released a music video for it. Although I wish it featured Damian (the lead singer), the music video is still pretty sweet, even without him. The woman in the video is Trish Sie, Damian's sister, who has helped to choreograph a lot of their other music videos. Hope you like it!
A few days ago I noticed teeny tiny stems starting to emerge in some of my pots (okay, yogurt containers). Yay!
Aren't they bee-yoo-tee-ful? All right, they don't really look like anything yet, and there's no guarantee I won't kill them off soon (accidentally, of course), but at least something is growing!
And here's something that's also a "miracle" of nature, but completely terrifying:
AHHH. Do you see the size of that thing?? It's practically a tarantula. I drove down to stay with my parents for a night because we had some relatives from out of town visiting with their new baby (so adorable!) and I naturally brought my laundry with me to do free-of-cost. I turned around to grab some clothes to throw in the washer, and found this scary spider staring me down.
Normally I'm not too freaked out by bugs (other than cockroaches, ick!!) and can take care of a rogue spider without a problem, but this one called for reinforcements. Aka my mom. Yes, that's right, I called to my mom that she needed to come downstairs immediately and save me. Phew, close call.
I'll stick with nature's miracles of the pretty variety, thankyouverymuch.
As much as I love sweet potato fries, I saw some sweet potato wedges on Kath's blog the other day that inspired me to try a slightly different way of preparing them.
I cut a sweet potato into wedges, put them in a bowl with olive oil and cinnamon and made sure they were coated well, then put them on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. I put them in the oven at 350* for 20 minutes, then flipped them over and baked them for another 20 minutes at 400*.
I'm glad I tried this because they were SO good. Really tender and flavorful.
This morning I went to the gym with my mom for a special group exercise program. It was a neat concept - there were 7 stations with different forms of exercise at each one: spinning, exercise balls, dumbbells/ total body strength, body bars/ lower body work/ TRX, zumba, TurboKick, and tabata. There was also belly-dancing for a warm-up and chi gong for cool-down. We were split up into groups and we changed stations about every 12 minutes. The time flew by! I didn't look at the clock once.
I think it was a great concept and a really good idea to be able to try out a bunch of different forms of exercise. However, I did not like certain stations at all (the ones with equipment, basically) because it was way too rushed and there was no time to figure out proper form and focus on executing the moves well. I really loved the cardio stations, though - zumba, TurboKick, and tabata were all great, and kicked my butt!
The tabata was especially challenging - we did multiple sets of 20 seconds as hard as we could go, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for high knees/ jump squats, then quick feet/ in and out feet on the step. I've been reading about tabata a lot recently and have done it some on my own, but I find it to be a lot more motivating to have an instructor telling you what to do, and feeding off the energy from/ "competing" with the other participants. This one really left me drenched.
I had a great protein smoothie the other day - 1 cup almond milk, 1 T natural peanut butter, 1/2 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior protein powder, lots of spinach, about 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, heaping 1/2 cup frozen pineapple, 1/2 a frozen banana, water to thin it out, and 2 ice cubes added after everything else was blended up. This turned out to be a great combination of flavors! I would definitely recommend it.
Adding nut butter to a smoothie really makes the biggest difference - it's so much tastier that way!
I hope you're all enjoying the weekend so far!
PS If you want to enter a giveaway for lemon and orange NuNaturals stevia, go here!
Song of the day:
"Blue Skies Again" by Jessica Lea Mayfield. She has a very pretty, quiet voice and I like listening to her album Tell Me when I'm in more of a mellow mood. And she's from Kent, Ohio which is pretty close to where I grew up!
