On the Menu: Pot of Veggies at the End of the Rainbow

Posted on by stilllearning2b

It’s been quite some time since I’ve done one of these posts. This whole fall has been a whirlwind of activity between The Jeff Probst Show and other spin-offs from the book, activities with friends, and marathon training. This weekend has been a chance to catch my breath before the next round of craziness begins next weekend.

It’s funny – I never used to cook much. But now that I’m used to it, I’ve missed the extended time in the kitchen on Sunday trying out new (or at least not tried and true) recipes. I’ve been cooking my lunches the last several weeks (I have to, or I don’t eat) but I have been relying on quick and simple dishes. Today I passed on my usual yoga class to give myself the gift of time in the kitchen.

My sweet potato, oat, and protein powder concoction that fueled my marathon.

I am still on my sweet potato ban after marathon training. Don’t get me wrong, those little suckers are a perfect (and cheap!) carb source for gluten free endurance athletes but they do get old after a couple months of daily consumption. Besides, I’m ready to go back to my normal, lower carb diet. I definitely feel stronger and leaner when I limit the carbs a bit more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started off early this morning prepping for one of my favorite winter soups: Eat the Rainbow Black Bean Soup from Fat Free Vegan. This soup literally swallows veggies. It is so filling and hearty despite being low calorie.

These are just some of the veggies that go into this soup. When I kept chopping, I swear my slow cooker looked at me incredulously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to add some tofu this time to up the protein factor a bit more.

I’m hoping the vegetable content of this soup alone will scare off any rhinovirus that happen to be lurking around. I like to pretend that the common cold is uncommonly afraid of spinach.

The soup about halfway through its five hours in the slow cooker…yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I had the time this weekend, I ventured to Trader Joe’s – one of my favorite places to get groceries that unfortunately is an extra 20 minutes out of my way. I squealed in delight when I saw that they had in their seasonal shipment of brussels sprouts on the stalk. Yes, I got some strange looks. They are more labor intensive to prepare when they are sold this way but they are much cheaper and way cooler.

I just love the alien look of sprouts on the stalk!

I decided to keep it simple. After de-stalking (reminds me of defrocking and makes me giggle!) the little cabbages, I cut them in half and tossed them with balsamic, olive oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. I then roasted them at 400 degrees for just over 20 minutes until the leaves were perfectly crispy-black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to admit. I have a strange addiction to these things. As I was attempting to pack them into five containers for my lunch, I kept sneaking bites. I ended up eating almost 1/2 pound of sprouts. Between those and my usual kale and spinach breakfast smoothie, I had more cruciferous veggies before 10:00 a.m. than most people probably eat in a week!

Here’s my addiction – roasted brussels sprouts. I love the sweet and salty crunch of the blackened leaves.

What’s for dessert, you ask? I usually just have an apple or some (gack!) sweet potato, but I decided to make something a bit more special this week. I like to that especially around the holidays as it keeps me from feeling deprived around all of the sweets that invade the school.

I decided to make the Grain-Free Carrot Cake from Ask Georgie. It. Is. Amazing. Stupendous. Unbelievable. Not only will I not feel deprived this week, but I bet others will be envious of my sweets!

Gluten and grain free carrot cake. Nuff said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The craziness of the last few weeks has been wonderful and exciting but it feels amazing to be home and enjoying the restorative simplicity of preparing food that nourishes my body.

And now for some not-so-healthy veggie nachos and some NFL. Go Ravens and Falcons! Let those birds fly:)

On the Menu: Low Carb Pasta and Baked Zucchini Fries

Posted on by stilllearning2b

I made a mistake last week.  We are in the midst of testing season at school which means the daily schedule is put in blender and spit back out.  As a result, I ended up with 3 days last week with no lunch period, meaning I had to attempt to eat (two hours past my normal lunch time) while speed-teaching 22 minute classes.  The mistake?  I packed a high-fiber, voluminous lunch with lots of beans, greens, and cauliflower that my body didn’t like ingesting rapidly and my palate did not enjoy cold.

I’m learning.  We have another round of testing this week and I am packing a lower-fiber spread that will be fine if I do not have access to the microwave.  My stomach is breathing a sigh of relief.

Black Bean Pasta With Raw Marinara

As a gluten-free gal, I had pretty much given up on ever being able to eat pasta again that wasn’t loaded with simple carbs and entirely devoid of protein.  Then I found this hiding on the bottom shelf in a local health food store.  I brought it home, a bit dubious that the texture and flavor would be as good as the nutritional profile (17 g carbs and 20 g protein!!!).  I mixed up a quick pesto sauce in my food processor, cooked the pasta, and tossed it together.  It. Was. Amazing.  It felt right in the mouth, tasted great, and filled me up like only protein can.

A few days later, I went back to the store to buy more of the mung bean fettuccine and to pick up the black bean spaghetti.  The shelves were empty:(  Panicked (I NEEDED this stuff now), I visited my Amazon site. Placed an order.  Several days later, I received an email that they were sold out.  Not one to give up easily, I found another site that carries the pastas.  I received my first order of the black bean spaghetti last week and I am excited to try it in this week’s recipe.

I needed a sauce that would be good cold and I wanted something different than the pesto I used earlier.  I decided to try the marinara recipe from here, but I added onion, garlic, and mushrooms.  What?  I said I had to be able to eat quickly; I never said anything about my breath having to smell nice:)  I topped the spaghetti with a vegan “cheese” made of walnuts and nutritional yeast for a little extra yum and a little extra protein.

Pasta.  $6  Tomatoes.  $3  The look of utter horror on my students’ faces when they see me eating black pasta with red sauce.  Priceless.

Baked Zucchini Fries

This is another recipe from Lean, Luscious, and Meatless, my favorite book from childhood that has disappeared from print.

4 zucchini, end cut off and sliced longwise into 1/8″ slices

dip these into a mixture of flax seed (the cookbook uses wheatgerm, but that whole gluten thing gets in the way), garlic powder, paprika, and oregano

Arrange cut side up on a cookie sheet and bake at 450° for 15 minutes.  Extra yummy served with tomato sauce.

 

A bonus of this week’s meal?  It’s quick to prepare, leaving me with plenty of time to read Fifty Shades of Grey, a reading assignment from a coworker.

I’ll top this off with some strawberries and a protein shake that can be quickly downed discretely.  Here’s to a happier tummy and the last week of testing!

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