Hey guys!
Wow, it feels so good to know I’m not the only one with days where I could chew my own arm off every few hours. Hmm, I would almost go as far as to say I’m normal. Well, in the best food blogger sense of the term anyways…we can only be so “normal”…I mean, c’mon, we take pictures of our food! 😉
There’s been a lot of things lately that I’ve been loving…and a few things I would rather do without, so I thought I’d share a few!
First of all, I have to start with KALE!
I bought some at the farmer’s market in Nashville when I was down there a couple of weeks ago and #1, it was still perfectly green and crisp when I pulled it out of the fridge the other day and #2, it’s been making for some dangerously delicious dinners (whew, say that three times fast!)
Above is the dinner I made for myself on Tuesday night: baked sweet potato with coconut oil and pom arils with steamed kale drizzled with peanut flour nooch sauce (2:1 peanut flour to nutritional yeast, water to thin, and just a drop of maple syrup to sweetened up the party)
And then this was last night’s meal: BBQ tempeh (pan-fried in olive oil) with more steamed kale, but this time topped with roasted parsnips and carrots and covered in sunflower seed butter sauce (SSB thinned with water)
And yes, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, about 85% of my meals involve some sort of sauce or dip…there’s just no other way to eat!
Am I right? Or am I right?
The kale even found it’s way into two of my breakfasts this week (I made one gigantic smoothie yesterday morning and ended up saving half of it for today…just added some cooked oatmeal to today’s half)
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Kale & Blueberry Protein Smoothie: (serves 1 pig or 2 humans)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 cups steamed kale*
- 1 scoop protein powder
- 1/2 banana
- 3/4 cup frozen blueberries
- 6-7 ice cubes
- 1/8 teaspoon each guar gum and xanthan gum
*From my experience, it’s better to steam the kale first so that it breaks down better in the smoothie…unless you like getting green leaves stuck in your teeth…I hear that’s really sexy in some countries! 😉
Combine all ingredients in a blender (or food processor) and liquify…best served in a near empty peanut butter jar….
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And eaten with a mixing spoon or spatula…
Leave no green bit behind!
None food related, I’ve been loving the progress that I can see I’m making in my FLEXIBILITY!
Not only can I almost get both my palms on the floor in a standing hamstring stretch, but I CAN get my thighs to touch the floor in a seated inner thigh stretch! I’ve been trying to get to the yoga classes that my gym offers more often and I can definitely tell a difference!
And to think, a little over a year ago, I couldn’t even touch my toes!!
What I’m not loving?
New Year’s resolutions!
The gym has been IN-SANE since the first of the year! I wish the ones who know they’re not gonna make it last would just go ahead and give up before March and give me back my frickin’ treadmill!*
*Let me just say that I am a strong advocate in changing your lifestyle for the better, but c’mon, you know all these people aren’t gonna be here in a couple of months!
I was just thinking this morning how lucky we Tennesseans have been lately for all the fantastic weather we’ve been having lately. I went for a fantastic run last Friday and it was…wait for it…63 DEGREES! In January!
Amazing, right?
Well, this morning when I got to work, it was a bit on the chilly and rather gloomy side:
But I thought, “Hey, it’s still not bad for the middle of winter.”
Well, that was NOT the case when I left work this afternoon:
WTH?!
But get this, with the wind chill, the weather report stated, “Feels like 19!!!!”
I don’t think I’ve said it this year, but I’ll remind you…I hate, loathe, abhor winter!
Annnnd just because I always like to end on a happy note, I wanted to show you guys a little gift that one of our receptionists received from a friend today:
The flowers are made out of shoelaces!
Is that not the cutest thing ever? I can’t wait to search for it on Pinterest! 😉
What have you been lovin’ lately? What have you not?
ahh kale heaven! i am loving that combo too. But then again, i always love your combos.
Stay warm out there, crazy weather eh?
I had kale tonight too! I layered a salad for dinner at work. It was millet, lentils, kale, fresh orange peppers (for the crunch), nutritional yeast and apple cider vinegar. It was so good! I’m not loving the lack of time I have these days. I need more time!
Oh, don’t we all! I swear there needs to be one extra day each week where we don’t have to work…just have time to enjoy ourselves and do the things that we love!
Love the crunch of fresh bell peppers! Your salad sounds yummy!
omg, how awesome does that nooch and peanut flour with a bit o sweetness sound!?! defo copying that dressing. mmm.
i HATE the gym scene in jan. i always used to joke that i was the reverse from the public (back when i was in nyc and belonged to a gym). i do not miss fighting for a machine AT ALL.
Copy away dearie! It was delicious!
I want peanut flour. Wonder if I can DIY something?
Shoelace flowers, mega cute! I need new shoelaces too 🙂
i am a sauce queen too! those meals look fantasticcccccc
Love your eats, that smoothie is especially up my street, I’ve had smoothies in bowls, glasses and even mugs but not yet a nut butter jar, this must be rectified!
Oh, you haven’t lived till you have a smoothie (or overnight oats) in a nut butter jar! I’m not a huge fan of hot OIAJ, but there’s just something about the thicker consistency of a cold smoothie or overnight oats that makes scraping down the sides of the jar so much better!
I love kale! I even make a similar SSB sauce to eat with mine – except I use SSB, lime juice, and soy sauce. I’ll have to give your sauce a try because it sounds great!
I hate how crowded the gym is lately too. It’s not even that I mind the extra bodies so much… but I hate the HEAT that the extra bodies generate. My gym has been hotter than a sauna this week! 😛
Well, you try mine and I’ll try yours! Lime juice and soy sauce? Yum!
I think the gym should have a special area for long time members where we don’t have to wait in January and don’t have to adhere to the 20 minute time limit when it’s crowded! I’ve been paying them for 9 years!
Brilliance! Where do I sign up??
it’s so wonderful when you start noticing the changes in your body, isn’t it? similar to you, before I started yoga I was as flexible as a toothpick! Our bodies are so incredible!
as of late I’ve been loving seafood and kind of hating oatmeal ( ahh! ) I think I ODed in 2011.
Haha! I’ve actually been craving oats like crazy lately (I don’t think I ate enough in 2011)! Hope you’re doing well my sweet friend! I need to get caught up on your posts ASAP!
LOVING the idea of the peanut flour/nooch sauce! Consider that stolen! 🙂 Those shoelace flowers are pretty much the cutest thing ever… and I have a ton of extra shoelaces laying around (so many shoes I’ve ordered in the past have come with two sets of laces in different colors)… I too will be looking on Pinterest!
love those shoelace flowers – that’s adorable.
i’m not with you on this one – i LOVE that we got snow yesterday!!! finally feels like winter. 🙂 also, i love that it’s friday. bring on the weekend.
not going to lie: currently obbssesseddd with kale chips 🙂
Well, of all things to be addicted to…can’t say kale chips are a bad one to go with! 😉
Your two dishes look sooo good!! I used to make pb2+nooch sauce too!