ZLT?!?

Breakfast for the second day of school was eaten!!  The key?  Wait until she up to decide what to make.  Once again the night before she wanted eggs but upon waking she wanted cereal.  So cereal it was...A combination of Multi-Grain Cheerios and Kix (if you can eat cereal with just one type in the bowl then kudos to you - I can't do it!).  I on the other hand don't find cereal nearly filling enough for breakfast.  A midnight Snack? Sure.  But enough energy for the day? No Way.


So I had....Oatmeal.  I know, shocker!

Today I topped it with some frozen plums, coconut, chia seeds, & pumpkin seeds.  YUM!


Lunch was leftovers again.   And again I don't have a picture.  It was just the chickpea & sweet potato mix.  It was still delicious.  And don't worry, I don't have any left overs from last night's dinner so our next lunch WILL be something new. :)


Then for dinner I wanted to make BLTs.  Of course I'm not a fan of bacon and the Hubs isn't a fan of Tomatoes.  What to do???


Change the abbreviations of course!


So the hubs got BLC:  Bacon, Lettuce & Cheese on whole grain bread.  
Pretty simple (and a little boring in my opinion).  
Oh, and some Jalapeno Sun Chips (his newest favorite).


Now mine was much more interesting...

much better than a sad little sandwich!

I made myself a ZBLTSKSAWB:  Zucchini Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Spinach, Kale, Sprouts, Avocado, Wheat Berries

Wow, I need an abbreviation for the abbreviation!  We'll just call it a ZLT  :)

The key to this was the "Zucchini Bacon".

Kai and the Hubs wouldn't even try it (shocker!) but that just meant more for me.

Zucchini Bacon

1 Zucchini

drizzling of Tamari (soy sauce)

drizzling of Liquid Smoke

Slice your zucchini into strips.  You want it pretty thin.

Heat some oil in a pan and add your zucchini strips

Cook up both sides then add your Tamari & Liquid Smoke

Smokey & Salty.  Just the trick to get that bacony-flavor. :)

See all those strips in that pan?  

Remember how I said Kai and the hubs wouldn't go near it?

Remember how I said we didn't have left overs?

Yep, I ate it all.  By myself.  If there had been more I'd have eaten it too.  And I'm ok with that.

Then I just piled everything into a bowl:

Greens: Spinach, Kale & Lettuce

Sprouts: Mung bean, alfalfa, radish, and something else (I can't remember the mix)

Grain:  Wheat Berries (just simmer them for an hour - I make up a large batch & then throw them into my meals for a couple days)

Toppings:  Avocado & Tomatoes...And the Zucchini Bacon!

I knew Kai was much more likely to eat a sandwich than a bowl of salad so hers looked a bit more traditional:

1 slice of whole grain bread with bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, Zucchini Bacon & American Cheese.

With a side of wheat berries (she likes them, I swear.)

The sandwich was eaten in pieces and I helped her with the zucchini, but her plate was pretty clean when she was done.

Which meant we got a special dessert....

Chocolate-Almond-Banana Ice-Cream-Smoothie

It was really too thick for a straw.

But hey, we have stronger cheeks for it now. :)

1.5 frozen bananas

1 heaping spoonful Almond Butter

1 big spoonful Carob Powder

1 Handful of Spinach

1 small spoonful of Chia seeds

Approx 1/4C of Almond Milk to thin it out (Use your judgement on how much to use.  You want a soft serve consistency)

Puree in your blender & enjoy!!

Blackberry Lime-ade

It's around 1000 degrees outside and all Kai wants to do is run around out there.  Kids!! 

source

Give me a nice big cool pool and I'm ok with that, but all we have is a little kiddy pool and that water warms up super quick.  Plus there are hornets/wasps, aka "Scary Bugs", that also think the pool is the place to be.  AND we're really not supposed to be using the hose because there's been a water shortage so it puts stress on the system (or at least that's what I've been told).  So then I feel guilty for refilling the pool when the water gets too warm or has been splashed out.  Oh well, all that aside, it's better to be out playing with my daughter then sitting in front of the TV or computer. :)


So it's super hot in one corner and we need a super cool drink to combat it.  Entering the ring is our Blackberry Lime-Ade.  Better tasting than the powder mixes and better for you!!

Ingredients:
1 lime peel cut off
2 Handfuls of frozen blackberries (from my mom's blackberry plant - YUM!)
2 pkts of Truvia (or your sweetener of choice)
Ice & water to get your consistency.  I used more water this time because I was ready to down this drink.

Get ready to mix!

Then you just put it in your blender and puree until smooth.

Now that hits the spot!

Smoothies....again?

If you were to ask me what I eat for breakfast, I'd say oatmeal.  If I feel it's too hot for oatmeal I'll usually have yogurt topped with frozen fruit, cinn., chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc... 


I definitely wouldn't say a smoothie.  Smoothies tend to be a snack or a dessert, not my breakfast.


And yet for the last week that's been my breakfast of choice.  One day I was headed into work and in order to be on time I skipped the sit down meal for a traveling smoothie.  Yesterday I was going to Step Aerobics (for the first time in months - I am SO SORE today) and I wanted a light breakfast since I was going to be hopping around so much.  Today, well to be honest, I was still craving the chocolate smoothie I had planned to make last night.  But then I was out voted by the fools my family at the dinner table, so we had Strawberry Banana.


So smoothies it is:


Thursday & Saturday's smoothies were very similar - Served one (me!):
In my Ninja blender overnight I soaked:
1/4 C oatmeal
1/4 C Almond Milk
1/4 C water
Dash of Cinn
Big pinch of Chia Seeds


In the morning I added:
1/2 frozen banana
A handful of frozen peaches  (approx 1/2 C)
Big handful of spinach (I did this when I went to work since I knew I wasn't going to be eating greens at lunch)


Then I just blend until smooth...

...and of course I poured this into my cup over my open dishwasher so I HAD to spill a little on a perfectly clean plate.  Sigh

Yesterday's Strawberry Banana smoothie dessert (Supposed to serve 3 but my daughter, Kai, accidentally shared her's with our dog so it really wound up serving 4!):

This one had to be kept VERY simple - The hubs was in the room watching and if he had seen any seeds or spinach anywhere need the blender Kai and I would have been the only ones enjoying them.

2 extremely ripe bananas

6 strawberries

1 C Almond Milk

Lots of ice

Blend until smooth...

That's it - as simple as a smoothie can get.  :)

Today's Chocolate smoothie (AKA Heaven in a cup):

1/2 Frozen banana

1 HEAPING spoonful of Almond Butter (or any nut butter)

1 spoonful of cocoa powder

1 Cup of almond milk

I small squirt of Raw Honey (or sweetener of choice)

Big pinch of chia seeds

Couple pinches of Pumpkin seeds

Couple Ice Cubes

Blend until smooth....

Enjoy, then wish you had made a double batch because it really is that good. :)

So do you have a favorite smoothie you make at home?  I try and just use what fruits I have on hand.  Right now my freezer has frozen bananas, peaches and plums so those are my go-to ingredients.