Backyard Bootcamp

It is beautiful here today, so I decided to get out of the gym and do my workout in the great outdoors. This workout requires some equipment, but household items can be used - like soup cans for hand weights! Great for any level, go at your own pace!

Repeat for FIVE rounds. 

Approx 200 yd run. 

Up and down one flight of stairs. 

10 push-ups

10 curls

10 supermans

10 back fly

10 sit-ups

20 second plank

10 goblet squats

10 lunges

Then repeat! 

Zucchini Corn Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

I love cold summer salads. This one is so yummy and can be eaten by itself as a side, with tortilla chips, or even on top of veggie tacos. Got this recipe from alldayidreamaboutfood.com This recipe makes a TON, so I usually half it. 

Salad- 

4 medium zucchini, diced into bite sized pieces

I bag frozen corn

2 avocado

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing-

1/2 C cilantro leaves

1/4 C olive oil

Juice of half a lime

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic

1/4 t chili powder

Sauté zucchini in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper until tender. (You can also grill your zucchini, but I don't have a grill.)

While that is cooking, toss all ingredients together in a larg bowl, folding gently as not to make the avocado mushy. Leave corn frozen as this will help cool down the salad before you put it in the fridge to chill. 

When zucchini is cooked add it to the mixture and gently fold until mixed. 

Chill for 20 min + and enjoy!

Assorted Crostinis

Sometimes making lunch is as easy as making toast. It's still a piece of bread with toppings, but somehow calling it crostini makes you feel fancy. Here are some of my all time favorites!

First choose a whole wheat, whole grain, or yummy seeded bread.  Then top with....

Spicy - top with a mashed avocado, hot sauce, and a sprinkle of black pepper.

Sweet - peanut butter(natural), strawberries, and sunflower seeds. 

Savory - garlic hummus, broccoli sprouts, sliced tomatoes and chia seeds.

The combinations are endless, so have fun with it!

Cherry Tomato, Chickpea, + Orange Pepper Salad

I found this yummy yummy salad in one of my favorite cookbooks - Mouthwatering Vegan, by Miriam Sorrell. I chose to eat it more like a bruschetta on toast with a dollup of hummus, but it would be great alone too, or over some greens! Garlicky, tangy, and crunchy. What more could you want?

Dressing -

Juice of 1 large lemon

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 t sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Salad - 

One package cherry tomatoes, halved

1 can cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 medium red onion, chopped finely

4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

1 orange bell pepper, chopped finely

12 basil leaves, chopped finely

Toss it all together! Ta-Da! You'll be the talk of the family picnic!

Cold, Crunchy Noodle Salad I with Basil and Tahini

If you have read any of my posts, you know that the theme is quick, cheap, and easy! So here is one that I halfway made up. I love myself cold and crunchy noodles and this fresh one is perfect for spring! Don't be afraid to leave out veggies you don't like, and add ones that you do!

1/3 box of whole wheat spaghetti

1 C frozen peas 

2 stalks of celery, thinly chopped

1/2 head green cabbage, thinly chopped

Clove of garlic

1 T sesame seeds

Salt + pepper

And this yummy sauce I got from Vegan Yum Yum by Lauren Ulm, that I added a few extras to

1/4 C tahini

2 T soy sauce

3 T water

1 T sugar

1 T rice vinegar

1 t garlic chili sauce

1 t Dijon mustard

1 t mustard seeds

1/4 C chopped basil

Cook pasta. 

In a colander in the sink add frozen peas. 

Dump pasta and water over frozen peas and then run cold water over pasta and peas to stop cooking and chill. 

Sauté celery, cabbage, garlic, and sesame seeds in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Sauté just a couple of minutes until veggies are no longer raw, but are still crunchy. 

In a large bowl combine noodles and peas, cabbage and celery, and sauce that you have mixed together. Toss with some tongs and let chill in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. You'll want it cold, not room temp. 

I serve this with my favorite Chung's spring rolls

This one really is easy PEAsy. (Had to.)

Lunches to Last All Week

I get asked a lot of questions about meal planning/prepping and how I do it. First and foremost if you plan and prepare to eat healthy, you WILL eat healthy. If you've already got a yummy and filling meal prepared, you are much less likely to want to grab fast food. After all, all you have to do is heat it up!

My meal prepping day is Monday. I spend an hour - sometimes two hours prepping, cooking, and packaging mine and Jason's meals for the week. That's ONE hour out of my whole week. So worth it. Especially if you're like me and get lazier as the week goes. 

So the idea is to cook a few batches of your favorite foods. Here's what I made this week:

One bunch asparagus, one onion- chopped, one carton mushrooms, salt, pepper, and olive oil. 

Rinse, chop and throw in a pan to sauté on medium for a little while. No measuring. SO easy!

While that was cooking I put some brown rice on the stove to cook - several servings. Again, so easy. 

While that is also on the stove I chop a couple heads of broccoli and steam that. 

Since all of that is just cooking away on the stove and all I need to do is stir every once in a while I have a few minutes to make up some salads - precut romaine, spinach, or whatever you like best, and your favorite veggies. Tomato, cucumber, carrots, cabbage, peppers - pick things you like because you're eating it! At this time I also wash and prepare some fruits to snack on during the week like apples/peanut butter and grapes. 

I line up all my Tupperware for the week and once all my food is cooked, I start to divvy it up!

A littl rice in each, some broccoli in a couple, asparagus and mushrooms in the others. Salads in separate containers, divided to last all week. 

So each day I grab my entree, heat it up, and add some hummus - My fav way to eat rice/veggies!

I throw some nuts or seeds and dressing on my salad and I'm ready to eat!

So there you have it. A week of yummy, healthy, and CHEAP meals!!

Easy Peasy Black Bean Burgers - from scratch!

So I'm a sucker for a bargain. Same goes for food. There is NO reason to break the bank to eat well! These burgers are delicious, filling, and cheap to make. Here goes!

Recipe from frugalfarmwife.com

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup brown rice (cooked as directed until just done)

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 T cumin

2 t chili powder or to taste

1/2 t oregano

Salt to taste

Olive oil

Cornstarch

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. 

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and squeeze mixture until beans are mashed and it becomes more paste like. 

Dust your hands with cornstarch and make patties out of mixture - mine made about 7.

Pat a little more cornstarch on the outside of the patties - this will help them brown. 

With the unwashed onion pan add a teensy more olive oil and fry the patties about 4 minutes on each side until browned and a little crisp. 

It really is that easy. 

I served on toasted whole wheat buns with spinach, raw onion, sliced tomatoes, pickles, mustard and ketchup. But it's your burger so add what you like. 

I served the burgers with a simple salad of spinach and romaine with tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, and an easy dressing made from olive oil, red wine vinegar, diced garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper. 

The burgers also freeze well! 

Happy eating. 

Xoxo