10 Minute Lentil Taco Bowl

After weighing in at my Weight Watchers meeting, I made the decision to reset the scale. Resetting the scale means a fresh start. All of my previous weight records - the gaining, the losing, the gaining, the losing - is erased.

I had made the same decision in February of last year, hoping it would kick start something in me.

It didn't.

To be honest, as much as I was frustrated and wanted to change, I just wasn't willing to put in the effort to make the change. I'd put in the effort a few days out of the week and then not the rest. I wanted to lose weight doing what I was doing - not being 100% committed. I ended up gaining an additional six pounds on top of ten that made me reset the scale the first time around. Sixteen pounds. Yikes. It just felt like that number kept hanging over my head. Even though I was losing weight, I never saw the negative number because the booklet kept showing me that I was still up pounds. That number was slowly being chipped away, but I didn't really see the progress. So I decided to erase the whole thing and start fresh again. I can now see the progress - down .4lbs this week. I need to keep chipping away at my ultimate goal, but it feels good to see that minus sign and not that plus sign.

In the spirit of new and fresh starts, I decided to try Simple Start for a week. Actually, I've decided to combine tracking with Simple Start. The point of Simple Start is to eat Power Foods since they are the most filling - and eat until you are satisfied. Not full, but satisfied. No measuring, no tracking, just keep it simple by focusing on the Power Foods. To help me keep a handle on what I'm eating, I'm going to track/measure as I go along. It's been a really great challenge to see what meals I can create based on Power Foods.

Here's something I came up with using lentils. It really took me all of ten minutes to make - thanks to a package of Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils. The longest part is just waiting for the lentils to simmer with the taco spice. Build the bowl however you want. I used brown rice, but feel free to use quinoa or even polenta. Whatever floats your boat!

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10 Minute Lentil Taco Bowl

1 package of Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils  - or - 2 1/2 cups cooked lentils
2 Tbls homemade taco seasoning or 1 taco seasoning packet
1 cup of water
1/2 cup brown rice per person/serving
Lettuce
Pico de gallo
cilantro
green onions
2 Tbls fat free Greek yogurt per serving

Place the lentils in a medium sized saucepan with taco seasoning and water over medium high heat. Bring the mixture up to a hard simmer and then turn down to simmer. Stir occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes until the lentils are heated through and spices are absorbed. Serve 1/2 cup of lentil mixture over 1/2 cup brown rice. Top with veggies and fat free greek yogurt. Enjoy!

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5 servings | 5 Weight Watchers PointsPlus 

Pumpkin Spice Rice Pudding

Know what my sweet downfall is?

Creamy. Anything creamy.

I love puddings and cheesecakes and desserts made out of whipped cream. Remember Dirt? Did your mom ever make it for you? My mom made it on special occasions. It's ground Oreos, chocolate pudding, and Cool Whip mixed together with gummy worms hidden inside. I could eat a whole bowl of it.

We never had rice pudding growing up. Not sure why...probably because we didn't eat rice too often and when we did, we'd eat it all up. I had my bestie over for dinner the other night and made rice to go along with a dish. There was plenty left over and I didn't feel like eating it "as is." I hunted through the fridge and found a leftover can of pumpkin puree, and figured...let's go for it. Pumpkin Rice Pudding was born. It's a warm, comforting, autumn dessert. You could also eat it for breakfast - not like I did that or anything.

Quick note to my friends doing Weight Watchers: I made this recipe with 1 PointsPlus homemade coconut milk. I ran other milks through the recipe builder including skim, 1%, 2%, and unsweetened almond milk, and the PointsPlus values did not change. If half of a cup doesn't sound like enough to you, try bulking it up by stirring in a diced pear - so good!

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Pumpkin Rice Pudding

2 1/2 cups cooked rice
3 cups unsweetened coconut milk (like this)
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2/3 cup agave (maple syrup or honey will work, too)
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 Tlbs vanilla extract
1 Tbls cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice

In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, place the pumpkin. Slowly whisk in the coconut milk and agave. Add spices, rice, dried cranberries, and stir. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice has soaked up most of the liquid, around 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

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Makes 12, 1/2 cup servings   |   4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus 

...or... 

Makes 6, 1 cup servings   |   7 Weight Watchers PointsPlus

Shockingly Good Pumpkin Chili

Seriously. Yes. There's pumpkin in this chili recipe. Why "shockingly good?" Because...who actually expects pumpkin in chili to be good, right?

This is exactly what my family considers "weird" cooking, so I made it and took it into work. They were a little leery about pumpkin in the chili, but it got nothing but big thumbs up. The pumpkin is very subtle and makes the chili very creamy. Plus, it's a nice nutrient boost. It's very hearty, meaty, and filling, and a 1-cup serving is only 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus. I was ravenous at lunch, so I ate two cups for 9 PointsPlus and it totally hit the spot.

The chipotle peppers in adobo sauce add a nice, smokey heat. If you've never tried them before, try 'em for this recipe. Just package the rest of the peppers and sauce up in a sandwich baggy and freeze for your next recipe...or for when you make this again.

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Shockingly Good Pumpkin Chili

2lbs of lean ground beef (93/7)
1 large onion, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
8oz sliced baby Bella mushrooms
14.5 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes
15oz can tomato sauce
15oz canned pumpkin
1 cup water or broth
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped, plus one heaping tsp of sauce
2 Tbls chili powder
1 Tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbls cumin
1 Tbls coriander
2 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cook the ground beef in a large skillet on the stove until it's cooked through. Drain and transfer to a big slow cooker.

Add in remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Alternatively, mix in a big pot and cook over medium heat on the stove for a couple of hours.

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11 servings | 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus per serving

Asian Peanut Penne

Branching out this morning and deciding to try something different for lunch!

I picked up a box of gluten free brown rice pasta. I haven't had too much success with gluten free pastas. It seems like the noodles turn to mush fast. I discovered cooking them one minute below the instructions on the box seems to be curing that issue.


Asian Peanut Penne

...Mix...
2 cups cooked, cooled penne (4oz dry)
2 cups broccoli slaw mix (with red cabbage and shredded carrots)
4 scallions sliced diagonal

...In a separate bowl whisk...
1 1/2 Tbls natural peanut butter
1 1/2 Tbls Tamari (soy sauce)
1 1/2 Tbls sesame oil
1 1/2 Tbls lime juice
2 Tbls water
1 tsp agave
1 small clove garlic, minced

Stir all together and enjoy! Makes four 1-cup servings - 5 Weight Watchers Points Plus per serving.

Pineapple Pepper Chicken | 8 WW P+

As my kid bro would say, "Just call me butter, 'cause I'm on a roll!"

Seriously, I'm hitting some cooking home runs here with my experiments. I'm working on recipes that are simple to make, freeze well, and tastes as good reheated as it did coming out of the pan. If you have any recipes like this, feel free to share! I've been spending too much money on the pre-made frozen meals. Purchasing the organic, gluten free, dairy free meals - which run an extra $2-$3 over the "standard" frozen meals - is delightfully convenient, but really puts a dent in the budget. I'm mystified how a frozen meal, which uses fresh ingredients, no weird unrecognizable preservatives, could cost so much more. I'm not the only one who thinks that's backwards, right? I appreciate the convenience though, so I'm glad it's there for when I need it. But... I need to really kick my laziness in the backside and just start making my own meals again. Sigh.

This recipe got a thumbs up from my dad. In case you don't know, my family thinks I make "weird food," so to have an endorsement from my day... that's big stuff.

Quick recipe notes: if you don't like quinoa, you could use cooked rice, cous cous, or another grain - whatever floats your boat. Not keen on frozen peppers and frozen pineapple? Use fresh by all means. Frozen is what I had on hand. Want to make this completely gluten free? Use Tamari or coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce.


Pineapple Pepper Chicken 
Serves 4 | 8 Weight Watchers Points+ per serving (1 cup of Pepper Pineapple Chicken over 1/2 cup of prepared quinoa)

2 tsp coconut oil
1lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into bite sized pieces
16oz frozen red, green, yellow pepper strips (like Trader Joe's Melange a Trois)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple bits (like Trader Joe's Frozen Pineapple Tidbits)
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 scallions, thinly sliced


Sauce
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 lime, zest and juice of
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbls water


Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium/high heat. Add chicken and cook until almost cooked through, approximately 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook another 3-4 minutes or until you start to smell the onions cooking. Turn the heat up to high and add the frozen peppers and pineapple tidbits. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the frozen items thaw and the liquid evaporates.

While the chicken, peppers, and pineapple cook, combine all the sauce ingredients from chicken broth to the soy sauce in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Add cornstarch mixture to the rest of the sauce ingredients. Pour over the chicken mixture and stir until thickened and the sauce forms.

Spoon 1 cup of Pepper Pineapple Chicken over 1/2 cup of prepared quinoa. Top with some scallions, and enjoy!

Easy Slow Cooker Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup

I have been in a total food rut lately. Looking back over my grocery bills, I can see that at least one meal each day has consisted of a pre-packaged frozen meal. While they've been organic, healthy meals like Amy's Kitchen and Evol, to do them every single day really puts a dent in the budget. So, I've been kicking myself in the rear and trying to get myself back in the habit of making actual meals again. Cooking for one is hard, but I'm making sure I have plenty of containers on hand so I can take the leftovers and create my own frozen meals. This recipe saved me massive dollars in the pre-packaged food department - even using all organic ingredients.

BTW - I made this and took it in for my coworkers to try. It got total rave reviews. It's one of the finest soups I've ever made!

Beef and Tomato Macaroni Soup
5 Weight Watchers Points+ for a 1 cup serving

8 cups beef broth, divided
1lb ground beef (I used 85/15)
28oz diced tomatoes in tomato juice
6oz tomato paste
1 cup frozen chopped onions (or one large onion, chopped)
10oz sliced mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 cup uncooked macaroni noodles

Directions
Place all ingredients in large slow cooker, except for 1 cup of beef broth and the uncooked macaroni noodles. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Thirty minutes before serving, stir in uncooked macaroni noodles and reserved beef broth. Stir, cover, and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

* No need to cook the beef ahead of time - it cooks in the soup

* Make it gluten free by using gluten free beef broth and gluten free macaroni noodles, like Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta. 

* Fresh is always better, but you can use 2 Tbls dried basil in place of fresh basil.

The Purple One Smoothie

There's no way on earth I would start my day off with spinach.

Or swiss chard.

Or kale.

Or any other dark, leafy green.

No way.

But here I am today, eating a minimum of two cups of dark leafy greens for breakfast.

If the idea of eating greens for breakfast seems completely ridiculous to you - like it once was to me, try The Purple One Smoothie. I've found the biggest hurdle to eating a green smoothie for most folks is the color - they can't get past the green. Personally, I love a bright green smoothie. It reminds me of being a kid in the 90's and wishing I would get slimed by the bright green goo on Double Dare.

However, all you see in this smoothie is PURPLE from the blackberries, but you get the added nutritional benefits from the green swiss chard. I admit The Purple One Smoothie is a bit high in fructose, but if you need a sweet treat that's filling and good for you, then give it a try. It's easy to make because it's one of everything - no measuring unless you want to measure your almond milk.

Enjoy :-)

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

You need to have an adventure-seeking, iron will to make this.

Why?

Because peeling a pumpkin isn't for weenies.

If you've never tried peeling a pumpkin, you really should try it. Frankly, I think everyone should try it at some point in their life. The satisfaction one receives after peeling a pumpkin is akin to the feeling of finishing every single item on the to do list: accomplishment, pride, and then the general feeling of wanting to wear a sign that says, "I AM AWESOME. RAWR."

Peeling a pumpkin also drastically improves one's prayer life. Here's how my prayer went, "God, please don't let me cut myself, please, please, please, oh, please don't let me cut myself."

Peeling a pumpkin also increases one's gratitude quotient. I became grateful for the muscles in my forearm, grateful for band-aids in case I needed them, grateful for whomever invented the canned form of pumpkin...

If, at this point, you've decided to make this smoothie, you are clearly Type A and more than likely an aggressive first born or middle child. I would be the Type A, first born daughter, and middle child combination. And I would peel a pumpkin again because of the satisfaction it gives me. Call me crazy.

Honestly, this smoothie IS delicious. When I took my first sip, I thought, "Starbucks... you can't touch this."

Make sure you're using an organic pie pumpkin, since those pumpkins are made for eating. You don't want to use the ginormous ones you use to carve. Muscle up and peel that bad boy, and if you have a food processor, shred it up. Otherwise, consider yourself a true champion when you grate the pumpkin by hand. I am not a true champion. I busted out that food processor.

My little pumpkin gave me 4 cups of grated pumpkin. I bagged them up in 1 cup portions. Some I've used to make more smoothies; the rest I've frozen to pull out later to incorporate into a bread or cake instead of using shredded carrots.

Questions you might have about this recipe...

Can I use canned pumpkin? I'm sure you can, but I haven't tried it so I don't know how it works. Let me know if you try it!

Homemade coconut milk. You've got to be kidding me. Can I use something else? Sure! It's what I had on hand, so use your milk preference - dairy, almond, pecan, hempseed, etc.

Cashew butter? Can't I use something else? Sure. I'd go with almond butter or a mild tasting nut butter. You don't want a peanut butter pumpkin pie smoothie. Or maybe you do. But if you don't, you could leave it out altogether. I'm including it for good fat and satiety since I'm having it for breakfast.

I don't have dates. What else can I use? Use whatever sweetener you'd like. I just like dates since they are a naturally sweet fruit. Try using 1 Tbls of a liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup.

Any idea on what to use in place of pumpkin pie spice? Yup! Click here for recipe to make your own.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1 cup shredded pumpkin
1 ripe banana
1 cup homemade coconut milk
3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp cloves
1 date
1 Tbls cashew butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Drink it up!

Do What You Gotta Do

This morning's smoothie was a whole banana, 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries, two generous handfuls of spinach, 2 Tbls of coconut butter, and 1 cup of almond milk.

After making a whole bunch of dishes while preparing some meals for the week, I didn't feel like making another dish. I was *this close* to drinking straight out of the pitcher.

Fine.

I tried drinking out of the pitcher but the straw was too short.

So I found the next best thing: a measuring glass that was already "dirty" from making almond milk.

I choose to think of drinking out of the measuring glass as resourceful, not lazy.

If I was truly lazy, I wouldn't have taken the time to add a straw.

Clearly, adding a neon green straw takes the classiness up a notch.

Mark my words: drinking out of the measuring cup will soon be the new mason jar.

No Cook Tomato Soup

I'm one of those people whose work schedules mean that I eat lunch and dinner at work. Trying to think of meals that are easy and portable had been challenging up until recently. I used to live on Lean Cuisine or Weight Watcher's meals because they took the guesswork and messwork (I made that word up) out of one meal of the day. I could eat one meal with a piece of fruit and maybe a side salad if I was feeling up to it. Or hungry.

"Wow - those Lean Cuisines make me feel stuffed. Said no one. Ever."

Seriously. Am I the only one to eat one of those things who afterwards felt like driving to get a cheeseburger because they felt shorted in the lunch department?

One of things I love about the raw food lifestyle is there's no cooking, no reheating, the food is easy to pack, it's fresh and colorful, and my hunger is always satiated. There's minimal mess in making food too, which is exactly what I need right now. I need easy. I need uncomplicated. I need fast. I'm just in one of those moods where I don't feel like using my brain cells to make dinner.

Know what I mean?

This tomato soup has become one my new favorite meals because there's minimal prep work, everything goes into the blender, and it's done. I pack it up into a mason jar, and that's dinner. It's also very inexpensive to make right now since tomatoes are in season and gardens are overflowing with herbs - I know mine sure is! If you have an abundance of tomatoes from the garden, this is an easy way to use them up.

I've written out a basic recipe but consider it to be freeform. The only thing I measure when I make this is the olive oil, just to be sure that I'm not going too crazy with it since I'm still working on reducing my body weight. Not all fat is created equal, so keep in mind that olive oil is one of the "good guys" - a healthy, monounsaturated fat that has polyphenols, which are natural antioxidants. In addition to the antioxidants in the extra virgin olive oil, you'll be receiving lycopene from the tomatoes, which protects the cells from free radicals. Tomatoes are also very high in Vitamin C and potassium.

Make sure you are using the best ingredients you can get your hands on, preferably organic. The quality really comes through in this soup. You may even want to make a really big batch to freeze and reheat on a chilly winter day.

No Cook Tomato Soup
2 large tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped (around 4 cups chopped)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/4 of a medium red onion
1/2 - 1 garlic clove
5 large basil leaves
3 stems oregano, leaves removed and stems discarded
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes, optional


Directions:
Put everything in a blender and blend for at least one minute or until smooth.

Serves: 2

6 Weight Watchers Points+ counting veggies

4 Weight Watchers Points+ not counting veggies

Cantaloupe, Fig & Olive Salad

As I was making this salad, a thought occurred to me.

It cost $6.99 for the figs you see in this picture. There's no way the old me would have have dropped that for some figs.

The old me, however, wouldn't have balked at dropping that same amount on a Whopper with cheese, fries, and a Diet Coke. As a matter of fact, I might dine at Burger King one day and Wendy's later in the week. And then I would have dinner out with family or friends.

I wouldn't have spent $6.99 for some fresh, organic Brown Turkey figs because they were too expensive, but I would have easily dropped nearly $30 on fast food meals.

Crazy logic, huh?

After eating the fast food - and I enjoyed the taste of every bite - my stomach would feel heavy and full, yet I'd crave something else...something sweet. How could I possibly fit anything else in? But I could. Then I'd get upset with myself for hiding in a parking lot to eat my meal because I didn't want anyone to see me or say anything to me. Physically and mentally I was doing myself zero favors.

This lunch is a stark difference. After eating this salad, I felt good. No guilt for eating it. No need to eat anything else. No mid-afternoon slump. No need to hide what I was eating. I loved the colors; I loved the way it looked; and it made me feel happy. I also loved the added benefit that had for my body.

• Cantaloupe has one of the highest sources of Vitamin A of any fruit. It's also rich with beta-carotene, potassium, Viatmin C, and B vitamins.
  
• Figs have the highest level of calcium of any fruit, plus they are rich with fiber, potassium, iron, B vitamins, and magnesium.

I like to imagine the nutrients working as band-aids to help heal my body. I'm letting the Lupron do its thing, but I'd like to give it as much support as possible. And it feels good to do something positive for myself.

This salad is very free form. If the idea of olives with fruit scares you, feel free to leave them out. I used Black Beldi Olives - a brine cured olive - that is quite salty. I love the burst of salt with the juicy sweetness of the cantaloupe and fig. The basil adds a bit of bright licorice flavor. If you're not a fan of basil, try rosemary or mint. If you want to be extra decadent, drizzle the slightest bit of honey over the fruit. Delicious!

Local to the Baltimore area? I picked the organic cantaloupe, organic figs, and olives up at MOM's Organic Market in Jessup.

Cantaloupe, Fig & Olive Salad 

1/4 cantaloupe, sliced thinly
3 figs, quartered
4 olives, quartered
1 Tablespoon sliced almonds
2 fresh basil leaves, torn
pinch of black pepper 

On a plate or to go container (like me), lay the thinly sliced cantaloupe down first. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste. Arrange the fig quarters next. Sprinkle the olives, almond slices, and basil leaves on top. 

Eat in freedom and enjoy!

Cheesy Kale Chips...In My Car

You know, for a girl without central air in her house, you'd think I'd dread the hot and hazy Baltimore days. I don't enjoy sweating. I don't enjoy seeing my hair frizz. And I definitely don't enjoy the feeling of sweat beads rolling down the side of my face. EWWW.

But I love it when the temp goes above 95 degrees because it's actually hot enough to bake something in my car. If you're going to get scorched, you might as well get a tasty treat out of it, right?

I've made cookies and fruit roll ups in my car, but I decided to go the healthy route: kale chips. I know, I know. Kale is ridiculously anti-climactic compared to cookies and fruit roll ups, but trust me...these things are addicting. Jack, my co-worker, rolled his eyes, crinkled his nose, and lamented the kale and eggs his wife "makes" him eat for breakfast. He was most decidedly not excited about me making kale chips. But after he ate one, he kept reaching for more and said they taste like cheese popcorn. Everyone in the office liked them, with the exception of one party pooper. But there always has to be one party pooper, doesn't there?

Here's the thing - the ingredients to make the Cheesy Kale Chips are a bit untraditional. The really "weird" ingredient is nutritional yeast (not to be confused with Brewer's Yeast). I picked everything up at my local health food store, and if I were you, I'd walk in the door of the health food store, march myself up to a one of the clerks, show them the list of ingredients and say, "Let's go on a scavenger hunt!" Seriously, don't stress yourself out trying to find it. They'll know exactly where to look. Nutritional yeast is worth finding because it gives the kale the "cheesy" flavor. Per tablespoon, nutritional yeast has 130% of your daily vitamin B-12, 4 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein, and 60% of your daily folic acid! All in ONE TABLESPOON! It's seriously delicious stuff that you'd never know is super healthy for you too.

If these feels too ambitious for you, DON'T give up. Take a bunch of kale, make sure to wash and dry it (must be dry or else the water will steam the kale and you don't want that), tear it up, and drizzle it with olive oil (2-3 Tbls) and sprinkle it with some salt. Massage the oil and salt into the kale pieces, lay the coated kale pieces on parchment paper lined trays, and "bake" in your car for 2-3 hours. Seriously...you will be amazed at how addicting they are.

Jack is hoarding the cheesy kale chips!

Cheesy Kale Chips
Recipe lightly adapted from Pride & Vegudice

1 bunch curly kale
1 cup cashews (raw, not roasted or salted)
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt

Place the cashews in a medium sized bowl and cover with water. Let the cashews soak for a minimum of 3 hours. This will soften the cashews and make them easier to blend. You can even do this step the night before, if you'd like, and let the cashews soak while you sleep.

Remove the tough, woody stems from the kale leaves and tear them into bite-sized pieces. Thoroughly wash and dry the kale (a salad spinner is great for this) and drop the pieces into the biggest bowl you have. Kale seems to expand.

In a food processor, drop the garlic cloves through the shoot while the food processor is running. When the garlic is chopped, stop the food processor, add everything but the kale, and process until everything is smooth. It should look like a really thick salad dressing.

In a large bowl, toss the "cheese sauce" and kale until the kale is thoroughly coated. Try not eat it straight from the bowl like I did. Seriously...I could have eaten the whole bowl just like that.

Line two large cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper (I only brought one with me to work). Arrange the kale pieces on the cookie sheets so there's still a little space in between them. At this point, you can either pop these in an oven at 200 degrees for around 45 minutes... or you can bake them in your car.

Make sure it's 95 degrees or hotter outside and your car is parked in full sun. Drape a bath towel over the dashboard so you don't accidentally melt it. Place the cookie sheets on the dashboard, make sure you don't need anything from your car for the next few hours, shut the door, admire your kale chips, and then walk away. The heat from sun will turn your car into an oven and the kale chips will dry out. They should be completely dried in 2-3 hours. Try not to eat them all... like Jack and me.

The Green Smoothie

"Blech," my mother said as she looked at me with her nose scrunched up. "Guess that's what you're having breakfast, hmmm?"

"Aaaaahhh," I said as I took a swig of my green smoothie. "It's so creamy and sweet. I can feel the vitamins and nutrients making the cells in my body spring to life!"

She rolled her eyes, grabbed her high fiber cereal topped with strawberries and left me to my mess.

I didn't used to be a smoothie girl, but since I've decided to make organic vegetables and fruits my primary source of food, I've jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon.

I like to use 2 cups of spinach as the base. Spinach is high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, manganese, iron, zinc, and so much more. Occasionally I'll use a combination of spinach and kale or just kale, but I really prefer spinach because the kale can taste bitter. To me, the spinach has no flavor in the smoothie.

Once I've got my spinach set, I'll add half a banana or avocado to make it creamy; 1/2 cup of frozen fruit to make it cold; some water, coconut milk, or almond milk to thin it out; and then I might add in some flax seeds for additional omega 3's and fiber. I will sometimes add in a tablespoon of a nut butter to make it extra satiating if I know I'm not going to be able to eat lunch at my usual time.

I know it looks weird. It's so...so... green. But I promise - all you will taste is the fruit and their sweetness.

Do you have smoothies for breakfast? What do you typically put in your smoothie? I'm looking to try something new - non-dairy - and would love to hear your suggestions.

Homemade Cinnamon Almond Butter

Seriously? I don't know why I've waited so long to do this.

Maybe because it means hauling out the food processor. Maybe it means that it could somehow turn out potentially disastrous, and I don't want to waste an expensive ingredient.

Whatever my fears, I was proven wrong.

And now I'm fearless.

Homemade almond butter is beyond easy and it tastes better than what you can buy in a jar. For reals.

I Made Fruit Roll Ups In My Car

This morning, I got up and checked to see how hot it was going to be today.

No, it wasn't to see if it might be slightly cooler than the triple digit heat Baltimore has been experiencing the past few days.

I was checking to make sure it was going to be hot...hot enough for me to bake something in my car.

I've done the dashboard cookies and decided it's time to try something new and exciting.