Breakfast "Cookies"

I have no pictures of them, but last night I made some breakfast "cookies" to have for this week. Rob hated them and said they weren't cookies at all, which is true. They're just shaped like cookies. Here's the recipe, but the amounts are just estimates since I threw everything into a bowl and crossed my fingers:

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 mashed banana

1/4 cup almond butter

1/3 cup almond flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 tsp vanilla

a couple shakes of cinnamon

a pinch of salt

The batter should be the same consistency as brownie batter. I baked them for about 20 minutest at 400 degrees - they were soft, not crunchy, and I thought they were pretty good! The girls at work disagreed...they're not for everyone, but if you're looking for an easy, healthy (vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free) option, I think they're pretty good. Next time, I'll probably add raisins and orange zest.

In other news, the juicing is still going very well. I've been making a double serving of juice in the morning so Rob and I both have something to take to work. The past few days, I've thrown in two oranges, two grapefruits, two apples, a bunch of kale, 3-4 carrots, a cucumber, and lemon. Surprisingly, Rob is very into the juices and even suggested that we go to Costco this weekend to stock up on fruit! 

Aaaand, I'm still obsessed with Coach's Oats (shown here topped with LoveGrown Granola - a sugar-free, gluten-free granola that is prettttty delish).

Juice Cleanse

After the holidays and a very delicious but decadent weekend in Atlanta, it's time for a bit of a reset. I dusted off my juicer when I got home and whipped up a carrot, apple, and arugula juice with a squeeze of lemon for dinner last night. It was good! I was surprised that the arugula worked so well.

This morning, I went to the gym early then made a juice for breakfast and one for lunch to take to work with me. I'm hoping the lunch juice will stay fine in the fridge (I put it in a tinted plastic water bottle, although stainless steel is best). 

Breakfast:

4 Carrots

1 Grapefruit

1 Orange

Small piece of ginger

1 Apple

Squeeze of lemon

Lunch:

1 Apple

2 Cucumbers

3 Bunches of kale

2 Celery stalks

Squeeze of Lime & Lemon

(I ended up not putting the spinach in because there would have been too much volume)

Prepping food

I have busy nights this week (book club and gift shopping, yes my life is hard) so I spent most yesterday evening cooking for the rest of the week. I peeled 5 pounds of carrots (some for dinners and some for juicing), roasted two sweet potatoes and carrots, hardboiled six eggs, made bacon for salads and breakfast, and baked three chicken breasts - one with a spicy rub, one with a TJ's seasoning mix, and one with rosemary and lemon.

I gave Rob most of the leftover pork from Sunday's slow cooking adventure, but heated up part of my portion for dinner last night. I was craving something light to complement the pork and decided to make lettuce wraps with romaine from my CSA. I chopped up some tomatoes and cilantro, doused the pork in Cholula, and voila - a filling and healthy dinner.

This morning, juicing was super fast and easy because I had already peeled the carrots and cucumber last night. Today's juice: kale, romaine, spinach, cucumber, apple, carrots (nom). I also FINALLY opened my Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar for a cleansing drink. I've been nervous to try this because I've read about how awful the taste is. I mixed 2 tablespoons with a half a glass of water and a small squirt of honey. I wanted to love it...but it was pretty awful. I choked it down anyway though...we'll see how I feel next week (I'm aiming for two vinegar drinks a day, but mixed with more water in the future).

NASCAR

Oh, Monday! After the past 48 hours, I really wish that this was a three-day weekend...

Friday night, Rob and I went to dinner with his best bud and roommate Nick and Nick's girlfriend, Jamie. We wanted burgers but somehow ended up at Nolen Kitchen, which is one of our fave spots in CLT and has no corking fee - double win! The four of us split wings and calamari to start, then I had a burger with the Nolen Salad. Burger was...ehhh, but that salad is always so good. I think from now on, I'll just stick to what I love. After dinner, we met up with Nick's friend Cara at a bar near Montford for a couple beers on the patio.

The next morning, Rob and I were up early to drop Tucker off at doggy daycare and pick up bagels and sandwiches for later. At 11, we met up with Lindsay and headed to our friend Andrew's house to take the party bus to NASCAR. This was my first race and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect...

Let's just say it was a very, very long day. I had an absolute blast, but I definitely slept well on Saturday night.

Sunday morning, I tried to undo some of the damage from the day before by starting off the day with another juice (Day 6: Kale, carrots, apple, mint, ginger) and rye toast with avocado and cream cheese. Yeah, yeah, cream cheese isn't exactly a "clean eat" but it was delicious. 

We pretty much spent the rest of the day on the couch watching football. I worked on some grad school apps and Rob did a little accounting, but it was a very lazy day. I did a one-pot roast chicken for dinner since it was easy and comforting after such an exhausting weekend #whitegirlproblems

Another weekend bites the dust!

Spicy Spicy!

The best part of the work week is Family Dinner night. I love living by myself and not worrying about being a good roommate to anyone except Tucker, but that makes Family Dinner night so much more special. When I lived with Brett, we had dinner together every now and then but usually without any formality. Cooking for him, Joe, and the "Guest of Honor" every week is the perfect time to catch up on each other's lives. Last night, Rob came down from Winston Salem since he has no class on Fridays and no tests this week (yipppeeeee!). Meg also stopped by, but was more interested in snuggling with Tuck than socializing with humans:

For dinner, I wanted to make something easy and cozy given that the weather has been chilly this week. I decided on Cuban Black Bean Soup made in the crock pot and baked chicken taquitos.

I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe for the soup, but instead of chipotle chiles, I accidentally got chipotle chiles in adobo. This soup turned out crazy spicy. I love spicy foods and douse everything I eat in Cholula/Sriracha/Texas Pete, but man oh man this was like a deep, fiery, burning heat. We obviously ate it anyway (I mixed lime juice, cilantro, and cheese into mine) and it was delicious. The baked chicken taquitos were absurdly easy and really yummy. I also made an avocado crema (just avocado, Greek yogurt, and lime mixed together until smooth) in lieu of guacamole for something a little more sophisticated because we're such a classy bunch.

The orange tablecloth really brought the Mexican theme home, right?

As far as juicing goes, I had one every morning this week and there's no turning back.
Day 4: Kale, cucumber, mint, carrots, ginger, squeeze of lemon (this had no fruit, tasted the "greenest," but was still amazing)
Day 5: Romaine, cucumber, apple, ginger, squeeze of lime (I loved the lime juice - it tasted kind of like a margarita!)

I'm really looking forward to this weekend because...we're going to a NASCAR race! I've lived in North Carolina for five and a half years (what?!) and have never been. So excited to put on my camo and jorts.

In honor of Friday...thanks to Emily, the best big sis ever, for finding the GIF that truly embodies who I am:

WHEN I SEE THE WAITER WALKING WITH A TRAY OF FOOD & IT TURNS OUT TO BE MINE

Juicing

I know, I know - I've been slacking. No Toggy Tuesday post probably left you wondering what, if anything, I'm filling my time with these days. The answer, in a word, is juice. My brand new Breville juicer has found its new home on my kitchen counter, and even though it's only been three days, I already know it's love.

Day 1: Romaine, apple, spinach, grapes
Day 2: Kale, apple, carrot, mint, grapes, lemon squeeze at the end
Day 3: Kale, mint, carrot, cucumber, lemon squeeze at the end

I love starting my days with something so fresh. This morning's was a little intense without any fruit, but the mint and the lemon juice make it really tasty (and carrots are pretty sweet!). I'm excited to try juice with beets, celery, and oranges.

ANYWAY, last night, Meg came over (as usual) and we made some delicious hummus chicken. You just top the chicken breasts with a good amount of hummus (we used red pepper hummus), lemon, rosemary, and a dash of balsamic. Bake at 450 for 30 minutes and voila, dinner. Meg brought over asparagus and we roasted that with a tomato and parmesan. This was incredibly easy and very delicious. If we hadn't eaten half a loaf of pumpkin-chocolate chip bread beforehand  I were making this meal for Rob and me, I'd add some rice or garlic bread to make it a little heartier.