Salad Days

Life takes it's toll on all the things around you, and one day you wake up to discover you need to replace office chairs, breakfast bowls ( because someone dropped them) and more. If it's a good day you also learn that yon need to buy more dental floss, new underwear ( because it is falling off) and other fancy stuff. When the going gets tough...the tough go shopping ! Which is exactly what we did after a morning of church services. But first, time to fuel the troops for the day

Breakfast was Overnight Oats with fresh fruit. To make the oats for 3 people, at bedtime bring 4 cups of water and 1 T raisins( or other dried fruit) to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 c steel cut oats and cover. In the morning , add a little water if it is too thick, and heat for about 5 minutes on a medium heat. Top with your choice - here it was 3/4 cup of homemade chopped fruit salad( no dressing because it does not need it)
When the guys got home from church , we had lunch before heading out. Sweet potato lentil spinach salad- my favorite !

Lentil sweet potato salad

1/2 cup green lentils -- rinsed
2 small or 1 large sweet potato
1/4 cup walnuts
5 dates
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 Pinches kosher salt + ground pepper
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Spinach to serve

Cook lentils in a pot until tender using a 4:1 water to lentils ratio. Bring to boil, reduce to
simmer and cook for about 30 minutes on low.Meanwhile, dice sweet potato, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with cinnamon, salt and pepper, and bake cubes at 400* for about 30 minutes.Chop dates and toast walnuts in the microwave (1 minute on high) or in a dry skillet.
When lentils and potato are done, toss everything together and serve over chopped baby spinach.

Then off to do some power shopping for things needed and things we remembered we needed once wandering around the stores. It was all fun till someone lost an eye ...err we hit the checkout line.I think price tags mate while in your cart and suddenly produce a creature that makes you cringe at the size !

Dinner was , oddly enough, another salad. I had originally planned on making a veggie lasagna, but when we had to spend the afternoon shopping I opted for something quicker- Very Veggie salad and Peanut Noodles

Very Veggie Salad

10 cups mixed greens or baby salad greens
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes ( or 2 plum tomatoes, chopped)
1 avocado -- cubed
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 red bell pepper -- thinly sliced
1 cup cooked lentils
2 medium carrots -- grated
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
dressing of choice

Distribute greens, vegetables (except carrots), and lentils on dinner plates. Then distribute
grated carrots. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and pour dressing over salads.


Peanut Noodles

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar -- or 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup natural peanut butter

Boil water for noodles and cook according to package directions.
Meanwhile, peel and coarsely chop the garlic. In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, oils,vinegar, soy sauce, peanut butter, and optional red pepper flakes. Process until smooth, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.Drain pasta and toss with peanut sauce.

After dinner and putting things away , we settled in for an evening of great TV ( Ruby, season 4 of The Tudors, Kirstie Ally, Big Life) and felt like something to munch on. This made a really good dessert

Plain nonfat yogurt with frozen blueberries and 1/3 cup granola. It gives the mouth feel and sweetness of ice cream , but a lot less fat , sugar and such. Any fruit would work in it's place, but the frozen fruit makes it the same chill as ice cream.

Other than walking around the store , it was a bust exercise wise. That is okay because we are all allowed rest days and life needs to carry on while we are trying to reshape it. I think it works better to be concerned about getting in exercise the 5 days of the work week than to save it all up for the weekend. Less risk of injury and all that jazz. Let's make it a great week !