Recipes

Green Smoothie!

| cheriarmour

I make a lot of smoothies.  A ton.  There are definitely a few reasons for this – one HUGE reason is that a few years ago, when I was job hunting, I took a job in the bakery at Whole Foods (hence, why I’m such a Whole Foods fan).  The job was actually incredibly hard work, and very physically demanding, but the coolest thing for me was that I started to take a liking to working in the coffee bar, which allowed me to play around and make loads of smoothies for people.  I moved on from working at the store, but never really lost my love for smoothies, and I’ve continued to make them at least a few mornings a week.

Point of Smoothies?

So, just because something comes in smoothie form doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthy, and a lot of times, at smoothie places, you can really get yourself in trouble with the sugar/portions.  And the smoothies at fast food places?  Seriously, don’t bother.  You’re doing yourself no favors.

For me, the point of a smoothie is that I can get a few servings of fruits/veggies in there (something that can get a little hard if you’re go-go-go), and it’s convenient – I can make them really quickly and slurp them down on the way to work/in a meeting if I need to.

So the last few I’ve made, I’ve snapped and stuck on Snapchat or Facebook, and some folks have asked about recipes, and they probably think I’m weird about my recipes, but the truth is that I never got around to posting them :/ my bad.

Avocolada Smoothie

Full disclosure, this recipe is a copycat of a smoothie I got from a smoothie place, however, I looked up the nutrition of this smoothie, and the sugar was way, way too high for anyone to be drinking will-nilly, so I set off to make my own.  I DO believe that you can ask for theirs without the added sugar, so if you’re really in a pinch, that’s always an option, so make sure to comment if you want me to tell you where you can get this.

You will need…

A better blender than I have.  I really need to go ahead and bite it and get a Vitamix, but I just haven’t droppped the $500 yet.  I will.  If you have a crappy one, just make it work.

Some kale.  For today, you’re making two servings (one for you, and one for a friend), so grab like 4-5 stalks of that sucker.  De-spine it so you just have the kale part, and rinse, since kale can get a little gritty.

A squirt of lime juice.

Frozen tropical fruit.  I like mango/pineapple/peach/bananas, and I measure it out literally by taking a red solo cup, filling it with fruit, and that’s enough for one person.  Do it twice since you and your friend are going to be drinking this.

An avocado.  You can chill it if you want, but the frozen fruit should keep it from being like hot green pudding.  De-seed, obviously, and you can get it into your blender without screwing up your mani just by squeezing the guts out of the skin.

So stick all of that in your blender.  Then you’ll need.

Trop 50.  Not really more than a cup necessary.

Coconut milk.  Do some unsweetened if you went with sweeter tropical fruits, or sweetened if you’re feeling like you went with some fruit that may not have been super-ripe when you froze it/when it was frozen.

Blend.  For you Vitamix folks, it really shouldn’t be a long blend job, but if you have a cheap thing like I do, blend it for a good while, until you see that that kale has calmed down.  It comes out super green, but don’t let that run you off because it tastes super refreshing.  And between the kale, avocado AND the fruit, you’re knocking out a really good bit of your fruit/veggie intake for the day.  Which I feel like we all could use some help on!

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Voila, or viola as some of our favorite instagram models would say!

 

 

 

Sick Day

| cheriarmour

I took my first sick day from my job with the Y in almost a year yesterday.

I came home yesterday from work early with an extremely sore throat, but still made it out to a cycling class before I realized I was actually sick and also a huge asshole for going to class where I could have gotten someone else sick.

I’m actually really sorry about that, I like to think of myself as a somewhat responsible adult, and I didn’t realize how sick I was.  But after I was done, the right side of my throat was killing, and when I took a peek back there, it just wasn’t good.

I was prescribed some amoxicillin, and started it immediately yesterday, and then I decided to make a batch of super super spicy soup, which I’ll share on here really quick.

Sick Day Black Bean Soup

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You’ll need:

  • 3 cans of black beans (we like the low sodium kind)
  • 1 Tablespoon of cayenne pepper (chill out on this if you can’t)
  • Southwestern seasoning (a little flick should do)
  • A thing of vegetable broth (low sodium kind)
  • 2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed into 2 tablespoons of cold water (this part is important!)
  • 1/2 cup of quinoa

Dump the beans into a large pot.  Dump cayenne and spices on top, and add the vegetable broth.  Stir, and bring the soup to a boil.  Add the cornstarch mixture to thicken the soup.  Stir, and add quinoa.  Lower heat and allow the soup mixture to summer for 20 minutes, or until the quinoa has softened and gets sprouty-looking.  Enjoy on it’s own, or with some chips, avocado, or a dollop of sour cream if the soup is too spicy.

* * * *

So for my sick day, I woke up, and immediately realized all that my fabulous plans for the day, which included a meeting with my supervisor and closing the building, just weren’t going to happen, no matter how badly I wanted them to.  I texted my boss (my throat was too sore to call), and let him know what was going on.  I texted some others to help me get coverage for the building, and made myself a cup of Thera-Flu tea before I took a nap on the couch for a few minutes.  As the day wore on, and I started getting more bored, I started to get really irritated because middle of the day television sucks, and my throat was killing me, and it was looking like I was going to be too sick to even walk, let alone run or cycle.  I chugged seltzer, laid around, and finally, Austin came home a little early, and it was nice to talk to a real person.

So I’m finally starting to feel better now, a full 24 hours from when I started the antibiotics, and I think I’ll be working tomorrow as well.  I’m glad I got the rest, but was horribly grumpy and bored all day.

QOTD

What do you usually do on a sick day?

My baby brother graduated yesterday + healthy nachos.

| cheriarmour

As you’re reading this, my ass has been out on the trail, to work, and is currently dashing to Charlotte to see my little brother graduate.

I’m not sure what to say, cause I remember when he was born and now he’s graduating high school, and I cannot even.

I drove down to Charlotte on Thursday, but not after first noticing that I was sunburnet from a trail run early this week.

photo 1If you ever have awkwardly asked a black person why they wear sunblock, or if they can tan, here is your answer.  A resounding hell yes!

So I made it down to Charlotte just in the nick of time,  but not before my dad sent me this to take us down memory lane..

photo 2This, folks, would be my brother on his first day of kindergarten.  I can barely stand it!

photo 3This is the bro, getting ready to graduate!

photo 4And this is us, after the ceremony.

He did great, and we were all so proud of him.  And we followed the big day with a visit to the local Ihop to celebrate his big achievement.  My brother’s favorite spot is Ihop, and he we had to give the man what he wants.

After such a huge accomplishment, once we got back to my parent’s house, we were all in a very nostalgic mood, and it all summed up to us looking at a bunch of old family pictures.  For your viewing pleasure, I will share with you this…

photo 5No idea.  No idea.  Thank you god for my adult face coming in.

Let’s switch gears for a minute.

Who likes nachos?

So a food that I’ve sort of struggled with is nachos.  I love nachos like a ton, but they’re not particularly easy to fit into your plan, especially when you’ve suffered from gastritis.  Nachos + an inflamed stomach lining don’t get along particularly well.

So, The Hungry Runner Girl posted a recipe for healthier nachos, and they weren’t particularly terrible.  Actually, they were pretty good, so I’m gonna share with you!  If you’re looking for a better way to do nachos….

photo 1 (2)Start with two baked potatoes.  Slice em up, and layer a teensy bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper on top.  Stick them in the oven for 30 minutes (my oven was a little overzelous, so make sure you keep tabs on how the potatoes are smelling).  Pull them out, and add 1/4th of a cup of low-fat mexican cheese blend, and pop the potatoes back into the oven.

Melt them for about 4 minutes at the same temp.  Once they’re done, add avocado, some beans and some corn, and a few jalapenos.  You’ll end up with these…

photo 2 (2)It’s kinda like nachos, but less fried.  A solid, solid recipe, without the terrible stomachache after.

What are your plans for this weekend?

 

Recipe

| cheriarmour

So, twice this “fall” (it’s been warm as a mother frick, so that’s accounts for the “) I’ve had this incredible soup from Panera, their squash soup.  Squash is happy.  Squash is a really pretty color.  And it screams fall.  However, not for no $7.00 like I was paying for it.  I’m a social worker who’s getting married in less than a year, I really don’t need to be spending that kind of money on a bowl of soup, how delish it is.

Panera's Version
Panera’s Version

So I grabbed 4 small bags of frozen squash from the Super Target, and got started on a Crock Pot Creation that would mimic the soup I’d paid nearly ten bucks a few days earlier. Here’s how it turned out.

My Version!
My Version!

So here’s the recipe, especially if you’re in one of those places that actually gets a fall.

If you don’t have anything in your kitchen but Lean Cuisines (tsk, tsk, sodium watch!) head to the store and grab a few things.

  • Curry Powder
  • Rosemary
  • Some decent black pepper.  Cracked is cool.
  • Some salt.  I like big fat kosher salt.  Thank you, summer camp. 
  • Veggie Stock (low sodium!) Like two of those cartons should be good. 
  • A few bags of frozen squash OR if you have some extra chop time, some butternut squashes (can you make squash plural like that?)
  • Heavy Cream (it’s next to the milk)
  • A medium onion.

Now, you’re ready to crock.

  • Chop, then sauté a medium onion in an oil.  I used butter, but you can make it a little lighter with some olive oil, or a light butter, if you’re watching the saturated fat.
  • Throw a few bags of frozen squash into your crock pot.  If you have fresh, chop it, then throw it in.
  • Throw those onions with oil into the crock pot.
  • Thow in a tsp of rosemary
  • For a little warmth, throw in a spoonful of curry powder
  • Throw in a cup and a half of heavy cream.  Cut it with some water if the cream seems a little fatty to you.
  • Pour your veggie stock over the mixture, til your crock is pretty full, but leave a little room for it to simmer toward the end.  There’s nothing worse than cleaning burnt mixture out of your crock pot.
  • Add a tad bit of pepper, and only a teeny bit of salt.  You can add more to taste, but you don’t want to oversalt, especially in the crock pot.  It’s really annoying to fix.
  • Crock it for 10 hours.
  • This is the only weird part of the recipe.  When you get ready, spoon however much you want into a bowl.  Pour the entire mixture into the blender, and purée it so all the chunky squash is like, creamy and stuff. 
  • Most important part.  Eat it.  Make sure to casually bring up in conversation how you made this in the crock pot and you’re so domestical and stuff.  Very key.

Random and disturbing observation.

I think Panera must put food coloring in their version of this soup, because it’s always been slightly more orange than what I’m comfortable with.  Also, mine was not so orange.  For the love of God, why color a SOUP?!

Anyhoo,

Let me know how yours turns out, folks!