Newlywed, Newly Veg!

Hey guys!  Another MIA lunch post, right?  I guess it’s kind of easier to drop the ball on the weekends. 

This morning, I did some writing for a few hours, and then hopped on the treadmill for a run.  I was not feeling it, so I told myself to just do a mile, and then I could do some strength training.  BUT, once I got going, I felt great, and I ended up pounding out 6 miles in 55 minutes!  Don’t you just love runs like that?  Sometimes you don’t know what you have in you until you just suck it up and do it, and then you surprise yourself! 

After my run, I cleaned up and we headed out to pick up some groceries for the week.  Once we got in the car, I looked at the clock and said, “Is that RIGHT?!?”  It was already 1:00—where did noon go?  For some reason, I thought it was like, 11:30.  No wonder I was starving!

Luckily, I had a bar to snack on in the car:

And I picked up a kombucha to drink as we shopped.  The bar + Kombucha held me over until we got home at 2:30 and finally made some lunch.  BUT, we’re having dinner tonight with Ashley from Fashionably Fit (yay!), so I didn’t want to eat a big lunch and spoil my appetite.  I ended up snacking on…

Honey Chobani + wheatberries + trail mix

and Kashi crackers + this new raw goat cheese I got at our local health food store.

Natalia Rose recommends this cheese in her Raw Foods Detox Diet book, and it is AWESOME!  So good. 

I also had a few bites of a double-chocolate vegan cookie that Ryan managed to sneak into our grocery cart while I wasn’t looking.

After lunch, I got cooking for our meal tonight.  After hearing so many people rave about it, I decided to make Dreena Burton’s Cocoa Coconut Chili from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan.  It was really easy to make, and it already smells heavenly…and who doesn’t love chili on a cold, winter day?

I also cooked up some brownies (from a box…sorry, Ashley!), and I’ll be making some guac to have with chips and some cornbread to have with dinner.  I’m so excited to see Ashley—I’ll get to hear all about her engagement from last weekend!!! 

Now I’m done cooking…but I’ll be cleaning and singing for the rest of the afternoon!  I’ve discovered that listening to my i-pod while mopping and vacuuming makes it go by SO much faster!  I have my Pandora set to “Glee,” “Avenue Q,” and “Rent.”  Musical lover, much? 

I’ll be back with a post later tonight with some chili pics…hope you’re having a great Saturday! 

Wow—you guys rocked that discussion!  Fifty-two comments is definitely a new record high…which is hilarious, because some bloggers get more than that about their daily bowl of oatmeal, but whatever…

I really enjoyed reading each of your comments, and thought that everyone made excellent points.  I wish I could show your comments to my students…but I don’t want them to know that I have a blog! Lol.

Sorry for the lack of a lunch post today, but A.) my lunch was boring, and B.) I didn’t want to mess up the great flow of discussion y’all were having in the current post!

Today has been SO ugly outside—the house has just been shaking and quaking with winds of over 45 mph!  The snow that still hadn’t melted has been drifting around in the winds, and new snow has fallen too.  I am SO ready for spring…and next year, I’m going to kill that stupid little groundhog if he predicts six more weeks of winter!

I worked in bed all morning, writing and grading.  Around 11, I grabbed a Kind bar from my stash.  I wasn’t too crazy about the previous Kind bar I tried a while back, but the one I had today was AWESOME!  It was macadamia nut and apricot, and it was really soft! 

It held me over until about 1, when I finally sat down for a quick lunch:

Amy’s Brown Rice and Vegetable Bowl.  I think this might be my favorite of all the Amy’s microwave meals.  It never lets me down!

This afternoon was…well, lazy!  I lounged around in bed, reading and napping on and off for THREE hours, until I finally got out of bed to do a little laundry.  What a lazy bones!  I won’t be surprised if I have trouble getting to sleep tonight, after my afternoon of lounging. 

At four, I got on the treadmill for what started as a walk but ended up as a walk/run.  I ended up doing 5 miles in about an hour, with a steady back-and-forth between walking and running. 

For dinner tonight, pasta was on the menu!  This recipe turned out really well.  I’m happy to share it with y’all!

Artichoke and Walnut Fettuccini With Toasted Breadcrumbs

Ingredients

1 10 oz. jar of artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 cup walnuts

1 cup loosely packed parsley

1 tbsp. lemon zest

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Fettuccini, or pasta of your choice

Directions

Bring a pot of water to boil for cooking the pasta.  When water boils, add and cook pasta. 

In a food processor, combine artichokes, walnuts, parsley, lemon zest, and salt and pepper.  Pulse 2 to 3 times for a chunky consistency, or 5-6 times for a smoother consistency.

In a small pan, heat olive oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add breadcrumbs and stir rapidly until breadcrumbs have absorbed the oil and toasted.  This happens very quickly; the breadcrumbs only need cook for about 30 seconds to a minute, or they will burn. 

Drain pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water.  Combine the fettuccini with the breadcrumbs, adding a bit of the pasta water if the breadcrumbs are too dry. 

Top pasta with artichoke mixture and serve!

We enjoyed our pasta with huge, spiralized salads!  I’m telling you, if you aren’t a salad person, buy a spiralizer and see if it changes your mind!

Playing with food…

Hope your Friday night is going well!  See you tomorrow, kiddos!