Crustless Spinach Quiche

March 22nd, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (3 Comments)

Taco salad for breakfast yesterday, eggs for dinner today.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Dinner for breakfast, breakfast for dinner.  Someone must have set the clocks ahead 12 hours.

Tonight was a crustless quiche with spinach, mushrooms, red pepper and onions.  Crustless quiche means no grains or refined carbohydrates, it saves you on calories too.  I was pretty strict with my grain intake for a while after reading Deep Nutrition at the end of last year (i.e., eating very little grain) but I am eating more grains from time to time now.

All of this has very little to do with why this quiche was crustless tonight – a grain free meal was nice, but it was not my primary motivation for skipping the crust.  Crustless quiche is just plain old easier.

(Crustless quiche is basically just an omelet in a pie pan.)

Crust or no crust, I’m still calling this quiche.  Quiche is defined as eggs and cream.  This is eggs and cream!

(Well, eggs and half and half and whole milk.  Close enough.)

Crustless Spinach (and Mushroom and Red Pepper and Onion) Quiche

serves 4 – 6

print this recipe!

2 Tbsp butter
1/3 c diced red pepper
1/3 c diced onion
3 – 4 mushrooms, chopped
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach

5 eggs
2 oz shredded asiago cheese
1/2 c half and half
1/2 c whole milk
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Saute vegetables in butter until soft, adding spinach last.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, stir in milk, half and half and spices.

Egg and Cream for Quiche

Grease a 9 inch glass pie pan with butter (or olive oil). Transfer cooked vegetables to pan and spread evenly.

Sauteed Vegetables for Quiche

Top veggies with shredded cheese,

Cheese, Eggs and Sauteed Vegetables Sauteed Vegetables and Asiago Cheese

and slowly pour in egg and cream mixture.  Carefully move unbaked quiche to the middle of the center rack of oven.

Unbaked Quiche

and then start picking up the mess any busy babies might have made while you were making dinner.

The Cost of Making Dinner

Bake for 30- 35 minutes or until eggs are set in center. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Dinner is served!

Quiche and Salad

Crustless vegetable quiche and a simple tossed salad, Leafy Green Win!  Asiago cheese is also A Salad Win, for the record.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Set the clocks ahead 12 hours, we’ll probably be having breakfast for dinner for breakfast tomorrow.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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Taco Salad

March 21st, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Vegetable Lovin' - (1 Comments)

I made beef chili this morning.  It smelled so good that I decided to throw together an impromptu taco salad for breakfast.

Yes, taco salad for breakfast.  Stop looking at me like that.  You don’t have to eat this for breakfast if non-standard breakfast foods aren’t your thing.  We can still be friends.

Taco Salad

I made chili with grass-fed ground beef, carrots, onions and that leftover jar of Garlic Roasted Garlic sauce in my fridge from Naan pizza night.  Piled this morning on to a bed of mixed greens, some shredded colby jack cheese and avocado with a few tortilla chips on the side.  It’s likely (OK, a certainty) that a few more tortilla chips were snagged from the bag before I put it away.

There is no need for any salad dressing with this set up, the chili IS the dressing!  And by the time you get to the end, any tortilla chips you have left on your plate will be delightfully soggy.  You don’t have to eat the soggy tortilla chips if soggy tortilla chips aren’t your thing.  We can still be friends.

Lentil tacos are a great way to make a vegetarian version of this, vegetarian chili works great over greens too.  I always underestimate how good this sort of meal will be.  As I was finishing it up I found myself wondering if it would be so bad to have the same thing again for dinner tonight.

Day 21 of The Greener March Challenge saw yet another glass of green lemonade too.

Green Juice Day 21

Today’s green was dinosaur kale. This makes three or four days in a row of green juice, I’m still feeling inspired from Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

We’ve only got 10 days to go in March!  Has your green consumption increased at all over these last three weeks?  I hope you’re feeling good and lookin’ fine!  And I also hope you know it’s A-OK if you haven’t hit the greens every single day for this month.  We can still be friends.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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First Day of Spring Greenery

March 20th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Breakfast - (2 Comments)

It doesn’t look like spring outside, but for now it can look like spring in my kitchen.

My forsythia exclamation mark was dotted with today’s green juice breakfast.

Forsythia

Good morning Greener March Challenge Day 20! Here in the northeast we’re all reeaaally ready for some greenery outside too.

Bright Green Juice

Today’s juice was so bright green it almost looked like kool-aid.

(Rest easy, it was NOT kool-aid.)

Today’s noteworthy green lemonade ingredient was fresh parsley.

Parsley in Juice

I used about half of this bunch of parsley with a head of romaine, 1/2 of a large cucumber, 2 apples, 2 lemons, a couple inches of ginger root and 3 stalks of celery. I worried that the parsley might be overpowering or really strong – but the taste was subtle and enjoyable too.

I rarely use fresh herbs for cooking – I could probably use a little improvement here, I’m sure that using fresh herbs is better for a number of reasons. I guess I’m so afraid that whatever fresh herb I buy will end up going bad before I’m able to use it all – it doesn’t feel like it’s worth the money. I end up using dried herbs and spices 99% of the time. It was easy shoving parsley through the juicer though. Maybe this is my answer for what to do with fresh herbs that are about to go bad? Into the fresh juice or a smoothie you go!

I originally bought this parsley to chop up and add to salads as a “new” green, but juicing it is as far as I’ve gotten with it so far.  Parsley has all sorts of groovy, unpronounceable things going for it. (How do you say myristicin? limonene? eugenol? alpha-thujene?)

I always get a kick of reading the nutritional profile of a vegetable I’ve just eaten. I usually find myself pumping my fist in the and air shouting YEAH! Antioxidants rule! Alpha-thujene IN YO FACE!

It’s late. Clearly I am delirious. Maybe I have spring fever. Or maybe I drank too much parsley today. Or maybe that really was green kool-aid in my glass this morning.

Antioxidants rule!


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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What a Salad Mess Can Teach Us

March 19th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Life - (8 Comments)

I love eating salad out of this big blue bowl.

Blue Salad Bowl

It was a GO! GO! GO! kind of day, one of those days that I was very appreciative of the stock pile of greens prepped and ready to go because it made a green lunch really easy.

My salad might not be very pretty, and it certainly wasn’t anything new or exciting.  So let’s dig for a deeper message in the bottom of that salad bowl today. Like a fortune cook or one of those thought provoking messages on a Yogi tea bag.  Except we’re going to read lettuce leaves instead of tea leaves.

Here’s what my spinach leaves said today:

All those people you’re afraid to offend spend a lot of time feeling offended already.

I didn’t come up with that, and I didn’t read it in a fortune cookie either. It was some random comment on a random website that I was lucky enough to read. “Lucky” because I think about that line a lot (and I easily could have missed it.)

I think about this sentence every time I find myself feeling overly concerned with what other people might be thinking about me – it’s my reminder to NOT worry about it, and is why you shouldn’t worry about what other people think about you either.

The people that are annoyed at, offended by or judge the things that you do?  Well, they probably spend a lot of time feeling that way about all sorts of things and people. Suddenly it’s easier to see that the problem is less about YOU and more about THEM.

I’m sort of flying without a net here with these Greener March Challenge posts this month. Sometimes I have time to put a lot of thought into a post or plan something out, and some days (like today) I don’t.

I want to post every day during the month March because I want to show what eating greens (or just eating better in general) might look like – some days it’s pretty, some days it’s not. I could get down on myself and worry that not every post is perfect or funny or clever.  What will people think?  Or, I could NOT worry about it and just keep going. I’m learning along the way here, about planning ahead, about managing my time, what works and what doesn’t – but these lessons will be lost if I don’t keep going.

And that’s exactly the point. Eating well, taking care of yourself and making better choices isn’t always perfect or sunny, but you just keep going anyway.  Or even if “eating greens” isn’t the thing that you’re working on right now – WHATEVER it might be that you’re trying to do for yourself – if you worry about what other people think and let that fear hold you back from doing the important work you need to do – you could miss out on some great opportunities for learning and personal growth.

Be yourself, do your thang.  All those people you’re afraid to offend probably spend a lot of time feeling offended already.  Don’t let it hold you back.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

March 18th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Vegetable Lovin' - (12 Comments)

Have you seen Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead?  It was released in 2011, but I just watched it over the weekend.

Holy Mother of Green Goodness this was an inspiring film!  If you’ve never seen it or haven’t heard about it – Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is about Joe Cross, an overweight Australian man with an autoimmune disorder.  It’s a documentary about Joe’s 60 Day juice fast which lead to his losing 82 pounds and completely turning around his unhealthy lifestyle.

During his 60 day juice fast, Joe spends 30 days in New York City and then the next 30 days traveling across the US talking to people about juicing, juice fasting, our health as a nation and the Standard American Diet.

(I’ve made a small edit to this post at the suggestion of a friend, to keep the ending a surprise for those of you haven’t seen it!)

Nothing in this documentary was news to me and probably won’t be news to you either – Joe lost weight because he significantly cut his calorie intake by consuming only juice.  His health improved because he dramatically improved the quality of his diet.

But still, to watch his transformations, both physically and mentally? It was very moving to say the least.

And every time I watched this dude walk around sucking on a big glass of fresh juice, all I could think was,

“I want. juice. right. now.”

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead was the reason I made green juice for breakfast today – my greens for Day 18 of The Greener March Challenge!

Green Juice Sick Fat and Nearly Dead

(Joe has my exact juicer!)

Just my classic green lemonade today – romaine, cucumber, apple, lemon and ginger. A few stalks of celery was among the ingredients today too.

Green Lemonade

Juice for me, plus a glass for Zak that I put a lid on and stuck in the fridge for him until he got home from work.

This film is the reason why there was juicing over the weekend as well.  As a part of my plan to expand my leafy green horizons for the second half of this month, I juiced some dandelion greens on Sunday.

Dandelion Greens

Even Kaz tried it. (And gave me the side eye…)

Green Juice Baby

Maybe putting green juice in a sippy cup would save him from the green mustache?  Maybe a sippy cup would save me from a green mustache too.

Green Juice Baby

If you decide to watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, be warned: you’re going to want a juicer by the time it’s over.  You don’t need a juicer to eat better, to lose weight or to improve your health – but I won’t deny that it sure is a fun, tasty way to get started!

Have you seen this movie?  What did you think?  Did it make you run out and buy a juicer?  Do you think you could drink only fresh fruit and vegetable juice for 60 days straight?

(Know that Joe was under medical supervision during his fast – just in case you get any crazy ideas!)


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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The Swiss Chard Challenge

March 17th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Vegetable Lovin' - (6 Comments)

If the month March is about eating leafy green vegetables every day, and we’re now more than half way through the month – I guess it’s about time I stretch my wings a bit and eat some greens besides the ones I always eat.

Spinach, kale, lettuce. There are other leafy greens you know, lady.

Yeah, I know. Like Swiss chard.

Swiss Chard

Man that is one big and scary looking green leaf.  The leaves were really thick and sort of leathery.  And those blood red veins running through the middle of it? Creepy.

(I’m really selling this, aren’t I?)

I’ve made Swiss chard before – but this stuff was different!  In the past I made it fresh from the garden – and those other times it was younger and the leaves were smaller when it came from the CSA share.  It.  Was.  DIFFERENT! Then!

And so it’s possible that I was cursing myself this afternoon when I was laying out those giant, giant creepy leathery leaves, wondering why I thought it was time to expand our green horizons. Kale, lettuce and spinach are plenty.  Never mind, my horizons are wide enough.

But I knew I was being a baby (more like a toddler, really) and so with Swiss chard in the fridge and fear in my heart, I started searching the web for some Swiss chard recipes to see if I could find a sure-fire way to prepare it.

I have no doubt that it’s good for us – that fact alone is what kept me going.  I want to eat things that are good for us, and I know that it may take a few tries to find a way to make it that is enjoyable.  Suck it up lady and get to work.

This Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese recipe had 291 reviews and 4 1/2 stars (out of 5). Fine.  It’s time to take the plunge.

Leaves torn from the stems, everything was rinsed and divided.

Swiss Chard Leaves and Stems

Get out the butter. (Irish butter! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Erin Go CLA’s!)

Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter

Let’s not be shy with the yellow stuff.

Big Pat of Kerrygold

That’s easily 2 Tbsp.  Butter will make anything taste good.  Butter allowed me to keep the faith that everything would be OK.

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese

(adapted from this Allrecipes Swiss Chard recipe)

print this recipe!

Serves 2 – 4

2 – 3 Tbsp of butter
1 bunch of Swiss chard, leaves removed and rinsed, stems sliced
1/2 large white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
Juice from 1 lemon (about a 1/4 c)
1/4 c of Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

In a large pot, melt butter, saute onions, garlic and Swiss chard stem pieces until soft.

Swiss Chard Stems with Onions, Garlic and Butter Add Swiss Chard Leaves

Add leaves and cover, stirring occasionally. When the leaves have wilted, add lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and spices, stirring to coat all vegetables well.

And you know what?

Swiss Chard Bowl

I liked it.  I really did.

Sauteed Swiss chard with a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, provolone and Dijon mustard.

Swiss Chard and Chicken Sandwich

Zak liked it a lot too – this was definitely easy to eat, especially with a generous amount of butter and the Parmesan cheese.  This wasn’t scary at all, it was good – I ate every last bite and by the time I was done, I decided that I will definitely make this again.

Swiss Chard and a Sandwich

(I was never really scared you know.)

So tell me! Are you a Swiss chard fan or a Swiss chard baby? Got a favorite way to prepare it? I’d like to try to add chard into the green rotation on a regular basis. Please tell me your Swiss chard tried and true methods!


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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A Healthy Shamrock Shake

March 16th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Morning Craziness - (2 Comments)

A few days ago my dad (who is also a runner) asked if I was going to run the “Johnny’s Runnin’ of the Green” on Saturday, the annual St. Patrick’s Day race here in Rochester.

I said no, I was too busy with half marathon training – and besides, I’d rather be Eatin’ of the Green.

(I didn’t really say that last part.)

Fast forward to this morning, in the car and less than 2 minutes away from my yoga class, I discovered the road I was about to turn onto was closed – blockaded by cop cars with flashing lights and caution tape. It was then that I noticed all the runners dressed in green costumes, green shirts, hats and sparkly shamrock antennae.

(No running Gumby though.)

It was the Runnin’ of the Green!  Or more accurately, The Runnin’ Over The Bridge That I Need to Take to Get to Yoga Class On Time.  A yoga class that was about to start in 5 minutes.

The yoga studio is less than a half mile from the bridge that was closed. I was SO close to the studio, but still so far away if I couldn’t cross that bridge!  Any other bridge I might have used as a detour would have taken me 10 minutes out of my way, I didn’t have that kind of time.  I finally concluded that I might not be able drive over that bridge with green clad runners, but I could run over it.

And so I parked the car where I was and as turns out, I did run the Johnny’s Runnin’ of the Green today!  Except I was not wearing green.   I was wearing a purple down coat.  And carrying my yoga mat.  And running in the opposite direction as everybody else.

But I got to class on time!  It was a Day Before St. Patrick’s Day miracle.

So that’s my St. Patrick’s Day story for you. Now it’s time for a St. Patrick’s Day smoothie.

NOT ANOTHER GREEN SMOOTHIE – I can already hear you. YES, of course it’s another GREEN SMOOTHIE!  It’s The Greener March Challenge for crying out loud!  But don’t go just yet, this is a really good one.

Today’s green smoothie impersonated a certain St. Patrick’s Day green dessert drink from a certain fast food restaurant chain.  I’m certain you know what I’m talking about.

Healthy Shamrock Shake

The Shamrock Shake! You got it!  (The title of this post gave it away.  Dammit.)

You know, I’ve never even had a Shamrock Shake – but I can venture a guess how they taste.

Cold, green, minty – amiright?

Well we can definitely do cold and green.

Avocado and Frozen Banana

We’ll need some frozen bananas and avocado. Spinach too of course.

So now we just need to do something about that “minty” part.

Minty Green Smoothie

How about we stop at the Co-op after yoga and snag a little bottle of peppermint extract?

(That says Peppermint “flavor”, but the only two ingredients are Peppermint Extract and Sunflower Oil – works for me.)

A cold, minty green smoothie made today after an (unplanned) half mile run and a (planned) hour of heated Vinyasa flow.  The frozen bananas (a la banana whip) made it cold, creamy and sweet.  The avocado helped with the creaminess and the greeniness.  The spinach helped with the green too.  The peppermint made it minty.  A couple glugs of milk made it a drinky.

A Minty Green Smoothie

To make a Healthy Shamrock Shake for two you’ll need two frozen bananas (slicing them before freezing will make it easier on your blender) half an avocado, one handful of spinach, 1/2 c or so of milk (dairy or non-dairy is fine) and 5 – 6 drops of peppermint.  I recommend adding the peppermint two drops at a time, blending and tasting before carefully adding more peppermint – it’s strong!

I loved this, Zak did too – I’m still amazed at the way a little peppermint can make such a yummy, dramatic difference in a smoothie that’s basically the same avocado, spinach, banana smoothie I made a couple of times this week already.  It was like a completely different drink!

You could easily leave the avocado out of this drink if you aren’t an avocado fan. You could even leave out the spinach if you’re strongly opposed to greenery in smoothies (GASP!) and just go with frozen bananas, milk and peppermint extract.

A cold, minty, (and optionally) green treat that’s good for you too?  It it’s a Day Before St. Patrick’s Day miracle!


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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Pizza Night

March 15th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (5 Comments)

It’s homemade pizza night!

Wait, scratch that.  It’s EASY homemade pizza night.

Nann Pizza Fixing Overview

A couple packages of Naan (Indian flat bread) for some fast, deliciously soft pizza crusts, veggie toppings, tomato sauce, shredded mozzerella cheese, and a glass of Cabernet in the corner up there. (For me, not for the pizza.)

Muir Glen Pasta Sauce

Pasta sauce, pizza sauce. Tomato, tomato. Garlic roasted garlic sauce? That sounds like it belongs on pizza to me.

Diced peppers and mushrooms for a couple of grown up veggie pizzas.

Veggie Prep Sauteed Peppers and Mushrooms

Plus a handful of spinach ’cause it’s The Greener March Challenge after all! Saute peppers and mushrooms in a little butter or olive oil, add the spinach last, after your other veggies are soft. Once you’ve added the spinach put the lid on top for a minute or two to let your greens cook down, stirring occasionally.

Sautee Spinach

Preheat oven to 500. Naan pizza is awesome because it cooks really quickly – and it’s incredibly GOOD. I put the naan in the oven for 2 minutes (set the timer!) to let it crisp up, and then I added the tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and sauteed veggies to two of the naans. I remembered to sprinkle a little Parmesan on all of them at the last minute.

Pizza Construction Phase: Complete!

Pizza Construction Complete

At 500 degrees, they only need to bake for 5 – 6 minutes, so be sure to set the timer!

If you need your veggies or cheese to brown up a little more after they’ve baked for 6 minutes, put them under the broiler at 550 for an additional 1 – 2 minutes. (For the love of all that is Italian food on Indian bread, SET THE TIMER!)

Am I the only one who has burned things under the broiler because I didn’t set the timer? Oh it’s only 1 minute, I won’t forget…

Yeah, right. SET THE TIMER!

Allow pizzas to sit and cool for about 10 minutes, then cut, serve and dig in!

Cut Naan Pizza

Spinach on pizza? Yes please.

Veggie Pizza

Veggie pizza tonight with a small side salad.

Pizza with Salad

Mixed greens with olive oil and balsamic, a little carrot and the leftover green pepper.

Small Side Salad with Veggie Pizza

An easy dinner on a Friday night in with the family. A dinner I did not ruin because I set the timer.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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Oh, Kale.

March 14th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Vegetable Lovin' - (Comments Off on Oh, Kale.)

Day 14 of The Greener March Challenge has been a particularly green day – mostly thanks to this almost-past-its-prime kale that I’m trying to work through before I have to surrender it to the compost bucket.

NO, this glass is NOT my compost bucket, thankyouverymuch.

Late Green Breakfast

(I think those tulips are going to take a trip to the compost bucket sooner than my Best By March 12th baby kale is…)

As planned, this morning brought the exact same smoothie as yesterday.  I am loving this peach, banana and kale drink! I think it’s the kefir that makes it so good.  Frozen peaches, one banana, peach kefir, a big handful of kale and a pour of milk and then into the compost bucket that I call My Mouth.

I wasn’t ready for breakfast today until well after 10 AM, which meant that I was barely hungry for lunch by 12:30 when it was time for us to leave for the entire afternoon.  Green Sighting #2 came when I finished off the last of the Brussels sprouts with some hemp seeds.  We had a full afternoon in front of us at that point, and I knew that even though I wasn’t really hungry now, I definitely would be later – and so these Brussels sprouts were eaten in an attempt to hold off hunger until snack time around 3 PM.

Brussels Sprout Snack

Even with a light snack with little friends in the afternoon, I was positively starving when we got home.  Half marathon training combined with breastfeeding an 8 month old means that hunger has a tendency to come on fast and strong!  (This is one of the reasons I try to head off hunger at the pass!)

Greens Part III began with me hauling out that bottomless container of baby kale yet again (while snacking on more than one handful of tortilla chips…) topped with some diced apple, sliced almonds, all tossed in a dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, S&P.

Dinner

If you let your kale hang out in the salad dressing for about 15 minutes before eating, it will soften up nicely.  I was able to wait that long today thanks to the aforementioned tortilla chips.  And a little chicken snacking too.  The roasted chicken breast on the side was thanks to the chicken I made early this morning, as a part of my chicken bone broth routine.

And now I’m waiting for Zak to get home so I can sneak off to a restorative yoga class tonight, but not before make him a kale salad as big as his head first.


Please know that links to Amazon are affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price you pay, but if you buy something from Amazon after following one of the links in my posts, I earn a percentage based commission from Amazon as a part of their affiliate program. This is one of the ways I generate revenue from the posts that I write here. I promise that I only link to items that I truly endorse. You don’t ever have to buy anything, but if you do, thank you for supporting the site and the work I do here.


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50 Shades of Green

March 13th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Breakfast - (1 Comments)

Today’s green smoothie was sponsored by a bunch of baby kale that’s been hanging out in my fridge and was “Best By” – uhhh, yesterday.

Kale Best By March 12

Time to get a move on here with this thrice washed kale! I found some frozen peaches in the freezer and grabbed the container of peach kefir from the fridge – a peachy green smoothie was coming together in my mind.

Peach Kefir Kale and Peaches in Blender

And then it was coming together in my blender.

Some frozen sliced peaches, a banana, maybe a 1/2 c of peach kefir and plus a little milk too – and oh yeah, that better-yesterday baby kale.

Kale does make a smoothie taste a little more “green” than spinach does, but once you’re making green smoothies regularly, moving to kale is no big deal.  It’s not a bad taste, but it’s easier to tell you added something leafy when you use kale.

A much lighter shade of green than usual this morning. I think it’s possible I held back on the kale fearing it was going to be too kale-y.

Kale and Peach Kefir Smootie

But it wasn’t too kaleish – it was great!  Foamy and lighter in texture today too, the peach was a nice change from the other green smoothies I’ve been making over the course of the last week and a half here.

Frothy Kale and Peach Smoothie

I recently read an article from Women’s Health about the 10 Eating Habits of the Highly Successful and Fit which lists “eating the same meal day after day” among those habits.  Well, good!  I’m definitely in the green smoothie groove here. But I’ve heard other places that most people eat the same meals again and again – with no mention of fitness or “success” – don’t most of us have a tendency to eat the same 4 or 5 meals for a period of time?

This little nugget of awareness could come in handy if you’re trying to make better food choices and you know you typically eat the same X number of meals over the course of a week – maybe it could just be as simple as finding healthier default meals that you enjoy – even replacing just one of your typical meals with something better could get you one step closer to eating better more consistently.

Whatever the case, I loved today’s peachy green breakfast and I already know I’m making this exact smoothie again tomorrow!  That baby kale isn’t getting any younger.


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