Tasty Tidbits

This sunrise was totally worth waking up for! It's been super hot lately, so when Wed. morning was a mere 70 degrees, I decided it was the perfect day to roller blade. I just got new wheels & they're super smooth, which makes it that much more fun of a work out. Six miles before 7am with gorgeous skies!

We were at a family picnic last weekend & W spent a lot of time playing horseshoes. I played for about half a game, but aside from some bizarre twist of the luck where I got a ringer, my other throws were pretty bad.

This is W's birthday weekend, so we're at the cabin to relax & celebrate. It's been waaaaay too long since we were up there!

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Blueberry yogurt with Cinnamon Spiced Granola 
• Ashley's Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Burgers topped with pb - For some reason, as soon as I saw this post, I knew I had to make them right away. They didn't disappoint! Sooooooo perfect for a nutritious & filling breakfast with lots of flavor.
• Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread from the Peas and Thank You Cookbook
• Bananas, blueberries, & wineberries

  

Lunches

• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Kale soup
• Mega salads - lettuce, beet greens, roasted sweet potato, beets, onion, almonds, & peaches dressed with peanut sauce
• Peaches, watermelon & plums

Dinners

Saturday:
Family picnic!

• Spaghetti salad with cucumbers & red peppers
• Orzo with almonds, feta, kalamata olives, & dill
• Easy Three Bean Salad (I brought this.)
• Italian pasta salad
• Guacamole & tortilla chips
• Watermelon, blueberries, & strawberries

Sunday:

• Zucchini & Eggplant Lasagna - We were obsessed with this last year & now we're obsessed with it again. Yum!

Monday:

• Corn on the cob
• Green salad

Tuesday:

• Pierogies sauteed with onions, zucchini, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, & fresh basil

Wednesday:

• Grilled tofu dogs
• Grilled green beans with lemon & seasoned sea salt
• Grilled hot peppers with Trader Joe's Merlot soaked cheese
• Green salad

Thursday:

• Cucumbers & carrots with dip
• Blueberries
• Oat pretzels with Top with Cinnamon's Healthy 3-ingredient Chocolate Fudge Sauce - This is SO good. I knew we would love it, so I doubled the recipe from the start. We've been putting it on rice cakes, graham crackers, & fruit. And our fingers & spoons...
• (So this wasn't much of a dinner...we both had a big lunch & weren't in the mood for a full-on dinner.)

Friday:

• Gnocchi with Roasted Broccoli & Garlic Vinaigrette

Treats

• Minimalist Baker's Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream - I used chocolate almond milk & put peanut butter swirl in this instead of the brownies the recipe called for. It turned out super chocolatey. Plus it was quick & easy to make. Yum!
• Brittany's Chia Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies - I could eat these as a dessert or a breakfast. They're very good! Not quite oatmeal raisin cookie type texture, but similar!
• Healthy blueberry crisp - blueberries topped with oats, cinnamon, & honey, baked until bubbly

Tasty Tidbits

It's been so hot, I had to pull out some pictures of cooler times. A few months ago, we had a campfire & had to wear hoodies! No fires lately...we tried one on July 4 & got so hot we let it die before we even had s'mores.

My phone's background is now a picture of skiing in Vermont. Just looking at that snow & remembering the fun we had cheers me up every time I see it!

Oh spring...I love seeing the crocuses come up. This was when I was wishing for warm weather...I'm never satisfied with the season we're in. Except maybe fall. Ever since I graduated college, I've embraced my love for fall. I always loved it, with the crisp weather, pretty leaves changing, & my birthday, but now that the back-to-school bit isn't involved, it's truly my favorite time of year.

We have some plans with family & friends this weekend, but nothing major. There's plenty to do around the house & maybe I'll venture out to work in the garden. I'm hoping for lots of rain!

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Blueberry yogurt with Coconut Granola 
• Mama Pea's Blueberry Muffins with peanut butter
• Oatmeal with peanut butter & coconut
• Puffed rice & millet cereal with sliced peaches, blueberries, & unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• Mango chocolate protein green smoothie
• Bananas & cherries

  

Lunches

• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Lentil veggie burgers
• Guacamole with salsa & blue corn chips
• Chipotle black bean dip with whole wheat crackers
• Carrots & cucumber slices
• Peaches, watermelon & cherries
  
  
  

Dinners

Saturday:

• Mega salads

Sunday:

• My Food Diary's Mushroom Marinara Sandwiches on Nourished Kitchen's No Knead Sourdough Bread - I used steak cut portobello mushrooms for this. It was seriously delicious! (see pic above)
• Green Salad

Monday:

• Food Doodles' Lightened Up Zucchini Alfredo (made with zucchini noodles) - We really liked the flavors in this, but the sauce was pretty runny. It might be because we didn't use any regular pasta, just zucchini noodles, so I would like to try it again with the combo. Next time, though, I'd start with less almond milk & then add more if needed.
• Cucumber slices & carrot sticks with dip

Tuesday:

• Corn on the cob - Super hot summer days just scream for simple, fresh food. Hence, corn on the cob for dinner!
• Green salad

Wednesday:

• Grilled Eggplant, Mushroom, & Kale Pitas

Thursday:

• Homemade sourdough tortillas filled with a black bean, zucchini, eggplant, onion, mushroom, & kale mixture, topped with mango avocado salsa

Friday:

• Grilled romaine Caesar salads

Treats
(apparently this was a week for frozen treats...couldn't have been because of the crazy heat or anything...)

• Oh Lady Cake's S'mores Ice Cream - This was one of the easier ice cream recipes I've tried lately. It was also one of the tastiest. And it was vegan! You'd never know. S'mores + ice cream = summer food love.
• Banana soft serve with raw cookie dough bites
• Summer's German Chocolate Cake (gluten free) - Mom made this for dessert with my grandparents. It was very good - you would never know it's gluten free & it was super chocolatey!
• Rainbow Snow (cone w/ pb ice cream for me, choc milkshake for W)

Grilled Eggplant, Mushroom, & Kale Pitas

I made dinner the other night with no intention of it being anything worth sharing. We had some eggplant from the farm market & I wanted to make sandwiches, so I started building with what we had on hand.

We ended up loving these! They were quick & easy, with lots of room for variations based on what you have on hand. Kale could easily be replaced with other hearty leafy greens (chard, collards, spinach), eggplant could be replaced with zucchini, feta replaced with gorgonzola, and so on. We loved this particular combo & would definitely make it again, but if you have similar ingredients on hand, save yourself a trip to the store.

If you're looking for a quick dinner that doesn't require the oven, this is it! Great for summer nights. Enjoy!

Grilled Eggplant, Mushroom, & Kale Pitas
Serves 2

1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/4" rounds
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into half moons
3-4 baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced (or use 1/2 tsp. garlic powder to save chopping time)
4 large leaves of kale, stems removed & leaves chopped into small pieces
1/2 c dry white wine
2 whole wheat pita rounds, sliced in half
1/2 an avocado, thinly sliced
4 T crumbled feta cheese

Sprinkle eggplant slices evenly with garlic powder, sea salt, & red pepper flakes. On a grill (or grill pan) lightly coated with olive oil spray, cook eggplant slices over medium heat. After about 6 minutes, flip slices & cook the other side about 6 minutes. Eggplant should be soft & lightly browned.

In the meantime, use a nonstick skillet to cook onions over medium heat until they start to soften. Add mushrooms, cook for 4 minutes, then add garlic & kale. Once kale starts to soften, add white wine. Increase heat & simmer until wine evaporates.

Once eggplant is done cooking, slice rounds into strips about 1/2" wide. Open pita pockets & stuff all 4 halves with equal amounts of eggplant. Divide mushroom & kale mixture between the 4 pita halves. Then add sliced avocado to each, plus 1 T feta cheese. Serve immediately.

Note:
Both the eggplant & the mushroom/kale mixture can be made ahead of time & stored for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Reheat both briefly before stuffing pitas and serving.