How to Eat Your Kale Without Hating It

   Yay! I'm blogging! I've missed it so much. Every day I think, "Tonight is the night I'm going to blog!" 

But the reality is, that I'm home alone with the girls 12 hour days, four days a week. So the sad truth is, by bed time, I'm stone dead on the couch. Plus my Macbook has pooped out on me, so my blogging days on the couch are over. Sit at a desk? What? No, I can't get in that position at night. 

   So where did my burst of blogging energy come from? Well, I happen to have the most gigantic 9 week old baby on the planet. Want to know something special about gigantic babies? They start to sleep through the night earlier. So for two nights in a row, this chick has slept for over 8 hours straight! I know! Gift from God. Now that she is sleeping through the night, I need to relearn. I haven't slept through the night since early in my pregnancy when there wasn't a baby squishing my bladder.

   A couple weeks ago I was really sluggish. I realized it was because I wasn't eating my greens! Eating my dark leafy veggies is super important because it replenishes my calcium and keeps me feeling Popeye status. The only way I can eat these hearty veggies is by dressing them up. When I was breast feeding Monique, I had Kale with Udon noodles every night. Ume plum vinegar literally change my life making it possible for me to eat these greens. If you don't have Ume vinaigrette, please try to get your hands on some! It's turns your greens into a party! I've shared my recipe for greens with Ume plum here. I love this dish with quinoa or udon noodles, which can be found down your international foods isle at specialty stores. To me, this is an elegant, delicious dish, and whenever I have company over, I share this dish with them and everyone loves it! Even my toddlers enjoy it.

  My husband gifted me this shirt. He was really excited to find a statement that embodied one of my major beliefs. I procrastinated wearing it because I don't like to call all kinds of attention to myself. Turns out to be a great conversation starter. Turns out I love to be able to actively promote veggies.

     We often get caught up in the "One Perfect Food" idea. All dark leafy greens are fantastic: bok choy, collard greens, even parsley, are filled with the stuff your body craves. However spinach and chards, greens that leave a sticky feeling in your mouth, don't need to be consumed as frequently. 

   Because kale with ume plum is so darn good, I rarely seek out other ways to consume it. I'm actually pretty apprehensive that I can enjoy it any other way. But when my in-laws shared this rice bowl with me, I knew I had to add it to my circulated recipes! You can find this Spicy Peanut Ginger Kale rice bowl recipe here. 

   When I made this dish for lunch a few days ago, I didn't have all the ingredients, like the ginger, I just threw in a dash of ginger spice, it was still delicious. This dish is super scrumptious. Put on top of brown rice, it feels like it's from a phenomenal restaurant. I definitely recommending you all trying this one!

   I try to have dark greens at least once a day. I love to eat them for breakfast. This morning I had steamed kale, left-over long grain brown rice and left over potatoes. This meal took under five minutes to make and it was so nutritious and satisfying. 

   What are some of your favorite ways to eat kale? The more I'm learning to love kale the more I'm actually starting to be open to more ideas!

My Favorite Plant Based Sandwich

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in a week! Daniel went back to work last week and the girls and I enjoyed having different company over every day. It's great to have a new baby so you have an excuse to have people over. Daniel picked up laundry duty when I went back to school, so this week I did laundry for the first time in eleven months! I don't know why people complain about laundry so much. It's so darn exciting. 

Being home alone with the girls is slightly challenging. The biggest challenge has been finding time to eat, let alone cook my food. Since I'm so anti-processed food, I realized I needed to make up a few meals to have on hand so I could have instant healthy food. Tuesday my in-laws took the girls for the day so I could do visit with my old friend, laundry, and make some food to have in the fridge. I made:

* Hummus

* Swiss chard pot stickers (only up to the folding part so when we were ready to eat, I just fried them up and they tasted fresh)

* Vegan Paella (from Paltrow's My Father's Daughter. I love this dish!)

I made something else, but I'm sleep deprived. So parts of my brain sleep during the day since it can't sleep at night. 

This is what I made with the hummus throughout the week. This sandwich is perfect for us. Daniel runs and swims almost every day, and often bikes to work, so he needs lots of protein and most importantly fat. I'm nursing a giant (she gained a pound and a half her first two weeks. holy cow) so clearly I am working harder than Daniel and need the fats even more than he does. Remember, being on a plant based diet the biggest challenge is getting enough fat, not protein! But these fats will keep you slender.

This sandwich is very near and dear to my heart. It was one of the first vegan meals I ever ate as a teenager. A local health food restaurant made this and I loved how delicious and satisfying it was. It's refreshing for summer and has lots of natural fats your body and brain need. Here is my rendition. 

Summer Veg Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread (I use Ezekiel, but you can use something lighter)

2-3 Tbsp. hummus

1-2 tsp. sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp. Veganaise

1/2 ripe avocado, sliced

4 slices tomatoes

1 c. loosely packed alfalfa sprouts(these guys get a bad rep. Lay off the hateful talk, they are awesome!)

1/2 cucumber, peeled and grated

1) Spread hummus over one slice of bread. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds. 

2) Spread Veganise over other slice of toast and layer avocado evenly over it.

3) Put tomato slices over avocado, then top with cucumber and alfalfa sprouts. Close with the slice of bread with hummus. 

Serves 1

Hmmmmm....so good! I love the sweet and nutty taste this sandwich has. 

It was nice to have food made so I could hang out with these people. 

I will be making more meals ahead of time and more quick meals too. I'll be sharing! 

I want to thank all of you for welcoming my baby and giving me such a warm welcome back into the blogging world. To those who have written me, sorry I haven't gotten a chance to write all of you a personal email back. You are much appreciated and thought of! 

By the way, I would like to discourage you all from buying soft tofu. We got soft tofu instead of firm tofu this week and the texture is even less exciting than laundry. 

How I Get Through My Day

Oh good people of the blogging world,

how I miss you, 

and the simple life I had when I was able to blog.

I'm dealing with midterms in school right now. 

Which is....okay, I'm not going to lie, 

I actually kind of like school. 

I enjoy my major (English Lit) 

and I totally am in love with my professors.

Not totally down with the craziness of school and babies though.

And we are commuting for my classes which is super hard.

Take your own Lunch:

The Cheaper Healthier Option

I always take my own lunches and snacks to class with me.

Daniel will make dinner, clean the kitchen, 

and sit down with a sigh after a long day of running the house with the babies.

Then I'll get in the kitchen to make my lunch for the next day while I hear him exclaiming,

"Your always cooking! You have to take wraps, sushi....",

and it's totally true.

Hey, if I'm going to spend six hours on campus

sitting in uncomfortable seats, and watching everyone else eat fast food

I want to treat myself with some good food.

GOOD food. Food that is going to 

fill me, nourish me and make me excited to be alive.

I'm going to share one with you.

It isn't by any means a meal you sit down to, and think about the amazing flavors.

But I loved it today. 

With the built up stress of homework, essays, midterms, potty training,

I've been doing daily cardio and intense yoga. I'm finally intermediate! Yay!

So today I did an hour of exercise, showered, and rushed off to school.

After my first class this tempeh salad was perfect.

Tempeh is a food for atheletes. 

It's loaded with protein.

We try to have it once a week.

You can pick it up at Trader Joe's (Their brand is in an orange package)

or any health food store.

It's usually in the fridge section with the tofu.

Tempeh Salad

1) Unwrap tempeh from package and steam for twenty minutes.

Remove tempeh from heat and cool completely.

2) This is a salad. So go crazy with the veggies!

I used the leftover veggies that were in our fridge.

Here are some options:

- 1 chopped carrot

- 1 chopped celery

- 3 chopped radish

- 1 minced green onion

- 1/4 cup frozen peas

- 1/4 cup frozen corn

- 1 tablespoon minced parsley

3) Mix in: 

1/4 cup veganaise

a dash of umboshi plum vinegar (optional)

a teaspoon mustard 

I made this salad Monday night.

Got to plan ahead when you take your own meals!

Lunch #1 

Tuesday I had it in two wraps with lettuce in Ezekiel tortillas. 

I love these hearty tortillas.

They are packed with fiber.

Lunch #2

Today I had these with the most scrumptious crackers.

My in-laws had them in their cupboard.

Trader Joe's Multigrain Crackers.

Really yummy.

This meal is super colorful and rejuvenating. 

I highly recommend it for busy, active people.

Stretch it Out

For me, doing yoga is the equivalent of getting a massage.

I feel so great after a work out!

Here is my new favorite. 

My body gets a complete stretch.

Indulge in Stories of Hope:

This month is Domestic Violence Abuse Month.

A friend of mine recently lost her best friend to domestic violence abuse.

You can go to Natalie's blog to read her whole story.

Anytime she mentions it in her blog I just burst into tears

because she is so honest about her suffering and 

hopeful about the reason for this suffering.

Please pray for an end to domestic violence

(they recently legalized it in Kansas)

and pray for Shannon's two beautiful babies.

On that note, I'm very happy with my babies

(and the messes they make)

and our happy (stressful) home.

Talk to you soon!