What I Ate Wednesday #5: Easy and Healthy Green Foods

 

Today’s WIAW will be the last for Green Foods month; it's sad, but I can’t wait to see next month’s theme! This doesn’t mean I’ll start slacking on my green food intake though; I’m a salad fanatic and love Brussels sprouts too much to cut down on this color!

It’s been an exciting March, and I’m happy with the green-themed fun I had and viewed on WIAW posts from other foodie bloggers The onions I mentioned in last week’s post are still going strong, but I feel like it’s time to use them soon. I really enjoy being a part of the What I Ate Wednesday crew and don’t plan on stopping any time soon!

Still growing Green as of last Saturday....

For this week’s green food, I added Watercress to my menu as a mix-in for my nightly salad. Watercress has a hint of spice and touts many health benefits including its use as a digestive aid. This proved helpful to me since I tend to eat most of my food at night and it keeps my stomach from going crazy.

Rinsed and ready for the spinner!

I didn’t do anything fancy, just mixed it in with my nightly salad and that’s all I needed. Sometimes I just grab a handful of greens and eat them from my hand; there’s just something refreshing about crisp greens with nothing else. Do you ever eat salad greens by the handful or am I alone on this?

Now, on to today’s green eats……..

Breakfast – French press coffee with cinnamon and vanilla extract; small cup of leftover red quinoa with veggies, fresh jicama slices, and leftover Pumpkin Protein Crepes from this weekend

Ever get to a point where you don't want to spoon the last of the batter out of the bowl?
I did; this is what happens.  I didn't make Kelley eat this one....

Snack – Mug of unsweetened green and red tea and a few pieces of dried okra

Crispy, crunchy, and green!

Lunch – green split pea with mixed veggie puree (I had this last week and wanted it again) and I used Corn Thins for dipping; dehydrated Brussels and okra, celery sticks, an apple, and sliced jicama provided a means to my mindless eating attack afterward

After Lunch – more green tea mixed with decaf chai tea and stevia; late night at work, so my usual outdoor activity is shortened and I’ll only get to have a few rounds with the punching bag.

Dinner – Started with a big salad topped with mixed veggies, papaya seeds, and salsa; pureed zucchini, frozen berries, and spinach with vanilla protein; large helping of plain, non-fat Chobani Greek yogurt (Enter to win some here) mixed with Chocolate-Covered Katie’s Brownie Batter Dip (that stuff is awesome!); finished with a side of several Peanut Butter Overnight Oat Crisps

I will definitely make this dip again.......then probably another time after that!

Crunchy peanut butter goodness = happy me!

I have been planning to go to a yoga session with Kelley on Wednesday, my rest day from my current workout routine, but something seems to happen at work every time! Guess I’ll just keep hoping for a chance because I could use the flexibility.

Have you done anything special for National Nutrition Month? I think it’s kinda ridiculous since we should focus on nutrition every day. Do you agree or disagree?

To add to this; I read an article discussing a new study that found that frequent fast-food chain customers are less happy with their health than the average American. Go figure; I didn’t need a study for that!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

What I Ate Wednesday #4 – “Growing” Green

This week for WIAW Green Edition, I felt like going green by growing green! We did get a lot of rain Monday night through Tuesday morning, and now our grass is very green, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

Right after chopping; Day 0

I’m talking about growing green onions, or scallions, if you will. I read about a handy way to re-grow a bundle of green onions from the store by saving the bottom white portion. Simply chop, all the green stems and use as you like, but then save the white part and put in a glass of water to let sit several days.

After just one day; there was only the white before!

In our home, we love to use green onions on salads (I have one almost every night) and Kelley dumps them in her specialty dish of Annie’s Homegrown Organic Whole Wheat Mac and Goat Cheese. I just love the smell of goat cheese and onions permeating our home…..no, seriously, my stomach rumbles (in a good way) every time.

Another day; they're growing like kids!  Ha, get it? We say kids are growing like weeds and I just flipped it around.  Me? Try to hard? Never!

Needless to say, as you see in the pics, these onions sprouted right back within a few days and are ready to use. You could even say we’re going green by growing and saving green. But you don't have to. I’m not sure if we can keep doing this since this is the first week to try, but I’ll try again and keep you updated!

Kelley took a few after this picture and approved of their taste.

I’ve been seeing a lot of kale chip posts lately, and since I promised Kelley I’d make some…….I made some. Man are these things addicting! All I did was sprinkle sea salt and pepper over the leaves and roasted until crisp; delish! Kelley gave the “constant eating until they were almost gone” approval and I was happy to provide. As the saying goes, “Happy wife, happy life.”





On to my Wednesday eats…..


Breakfast – leftover black beans with brown rice and green beans; microwave scrambled eggs and a generous helping of dill; after that I had the usual French press coffee with nutmeg.

 

Snack – hardly noteworthy; just a mug o’green and red tea with stevia

Lunch – green split pea and mixed veggie puree (I love immersion blending!); dehydrated Brussels; celery sticks; waaaayyy too many Arrowhead Mills Corn Puffs

After Lunch – just a brew of green tea mixed with a decaf chai tea bag with stevia; went for a short run and heavy punching bag session after work

Dinner – long time since lunch, very hungry; started with a big salad topped with mixed veggies, kale chips, and salsa for salad dressing; no purees this week (I mentioned I wouldn’t on Monday), but I did have a nice mix of baked NuNaturals goodies from this post and plain Chobani Greek yogurt; I finished the Peanut Butter Dip N’Dots I made too.

I loved the microwave eggs; they’re so easy and so good! Just beat eggs in microwave bowl and add spices as desired (like CAYENNE!) and microwave for 50 seconds, stir, then another 40 – 50 seconds and you’re good. If they still look runny, just wait since they will keep cooking a little.

Have you ever made microwave scrambled eggs?

Meatless Monday: Green Smoothies and Black Beans with Brown Rice

 How was your weekend? Did you do anything “green” for St. Patrick’s Day?

I took a shot at making a green smoothie with frozen banana and spinach; first vanilla flavored, and then mint chocolate. I was hoping to replicate the green smoothie Katie made on her blog at Chocolate-Covered Katie, but it wasn’t quite the same.

What do you think?

Do these compare?

At least Kelley enjoyed her mint chocolate smoothie!

I topped mine with pistachios (more green!) and frozen chopped carrots for good contrast.



Kelley and I walked over to a neighbor’s house on Saturday night for a St. Patrick’s neighborhood party and we finally got to meet some neighbors. We just moved in a few months ago, so it was good to mingle with the people we usually just wave to as we pass by.

There was green food and beer throughout the host’s home, but nothing Kelley and I really cared to try. However, I did find myself wondering if any green food was made “green” by pureeing spinach or another green veggie instead of artificial coloring. Beer pureed with spinach…anyone? Didn’t think so.

I cooked more NuNaturals stevia sweetened protein snacks than usual this weekend and they all came out pretty good. Well, besides the microwave chocolate cake I tried to make without actually measuring ingredients; as you can see, that didn’t go so well….



Mug Overflow!



The remains....



Cooking and preparing food each day takes a lot of my time and always leaves Kelley waiting for me to finish. The extra snacks I cooked are meant to replace my daily purees of squash, fruit, and almond milk as well as chopping apples and carrots to use as a mock cereal. Basically, I’m trying not to eat so much with a spoon and a cup which is my most common manner of eating in the evening. We’ll see how it goes this week, but with some of the goods I cooked, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Yum! Who needs stuff in a cup with these Chocolate Protein Brownies?

Packed and ready for lunch!!

Today’s Meatless Monday lunch will be black beans and brown rice; I wasn’t lying about having beans and rice on Friday’s Post! This is no disappointment though; I snuck a taste (quality control!) and am very pleased with the outcome.

Want to make this for yourself? It’s easy, healthy, and inexpensive….a winning combo!

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

•3/4 cup brown rice
•3/4 cup dried black beans, soaked overnight (you can use canned too, just rinse and drain first)
•3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
•1 onion; I used a package of frozen and chopped onion

•1 package of frozen French style green beans

•1 package of frozen chopped broccoli
•1 cup preferred broth or stock
•1/2 cup of your favorite salsa

•2 tablespoons spicy brown or yellow mustard

•Mixture of several herbs and spices including: cumin, chili powder, basil, cilantro, turmeric, and cayenne

Directions:

1. Heat non-stick deep skillet or sauce pan on medium-high

2. Add garlic and onion. Cook for three minutes or until soft

3. Add rice and stir around to lightly toast it; about one minute

4. Add all remaining ingredients
5. Cook for about 45 minutes; the liquid should be mostly absorbed

Told you it was easy. If you don’t mind have things more than once a week, I’d suggest making a double batch for another meal throughout the week.

Have you ever made a large (to you) purchase and felt the need to cut back elsewhere?

I have (hence the recipe above), but I’m sure we’d be ok either way. Plus, this new camera takes some great pics! Enjoy your week!

WIAW #3 – Ode to Brussels Sprouts!

It’s week two of WIAW Green Theme Month and what better way to participate than with Brussels sprouts! I mentioned them several times before, and by now, any frequent reader knows how I love them. Forget a bowl of popcorn, I’d pick a bowl of these to sit down and watch a movie with. Apologies to anyone near me though…

This was supposed to be a cut back week for cooking, but I ended up cooking more than I planned. It’s not a surprise though; it’s just second nature to cook and feels weird not to start stove and oven first thing Saturday morning. I made a red quinoa dish as mentioned in Monday’s post and it got the empty dish of approval from our work friend. I’m glad he liked it since I’m not used to cooking for anyone else other than Kelley; plus, with the broccoli and avocado in there, he unknowingly celebrated WIAW: Green Food Month…..but on Monday.

Breakfast – Leftover red quinoa with veggies and dehydrated okra and Brussels sprouts; French Press coffee with a dab of organic skim milk and pure vanilla extract; I finished with a mix of Arrowhead Mills Corn Puffs, Kashi GoLean cereal, and dry roasted soy nuts 

Snack – Breakfast was pretty late and lunch was just around the corner, so I had a handful of soy nuts and black tea with NuNaturals stevia.

Tuesday's lunch before being pureed.

Lunch – Steamed Jersey sweet potato and broccoli with baked cod in a teriyaki sauce. Yesterday’s white bean and bell pepper puree had more green before being pureed, so I’ll count that too. I had a side snack of dehydrated Brussels sprouts and okra along with lunch, and double bagged green tea to drink.

Would you like some fish with that seasoning?

Liquid Snack – Green and red (rooibos) tea bags mixed and brewed

These are great on salad or by themselves.

Dinner and Beyond – Just like almost every night, a big salad topped with roasted mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts I made this past weekend. Then I moved on to part of my mini baked oatmeal cake with peanut butter Chobani Greek yogurt “icing”. Want to make this for yourself? Don’t worry; I’ll post the recipe soon! Patience is a …..aww who am I kidding, waiting sucks, but it won’t be long.

No guilt with this sugar-free baked oatmeal goodness!

Creamy Peanut Butter Squash Puree

My after dinner, dinner included the standard 2 cups of different purees I made ahead of time. One cup was filled with steamed carrots, yellow squash, frozen mixed berries, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, a splash of whiskey (like Eggnog…kinda), whey protein powder, NuNaturals liquid stevia and unsweetened almond milk. The next cup was acorn squash, peanut flour, cinnamon, NuNaturals vanilla liquid stevia, and unsweetened almond milk. Both were good, but the peanut flour was exquisite and tasted like eating a thinner version of peanut butter from the jar…mmmm.

As I mentioned in my meals above, I had dehydrated Brussels sprouts and okra as snacks that I made for my Green Foods. I love dehydrating foods and feel like I need another dehydrator to support this newfound healthy snack-maker. I’ve made okra before, but this was a first for the Brussels; next time I need to let them go longer or cut in half since these still had a little moisture in the center. Moisture or not, I loved the concentrated flavor and will make many more times. Plus, the dehydrated Brussels would be a lot easier to actually eat like popcorn….hmmm, just a thought.

Have you ever made your own dehydrated foods or want to try soon? What foods have you or would you dehydrate? 

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