weekend babbling from the redhead

Happy Monday! It is wonderful waking up on a Monday and feeling so energized and ready to start the work week! I started my Monday off today with some steamed kale splashed with a little red wine vinegar.  Trying to eat more greens in the morning and making my normal green smoothie every other day (Inspired by Chef AJ).

Today I wanted to blog about three different topics:

1.Eating healthy at sporting events

2. Weekend Prep For The Upcoming Week

3. Recipe: Black Bean Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Saturday night was a fun date night for J and I as we had tickets to the Diamondbacks baseball game here in Phoenix.  They had a big bobble-head give away, so we knew even though the game started at 7:10pm we would need to be there really early.  We weighed our eating options as we know that eating vegan at the ballpark would be near to impossible and we didn’t want to be starving and cranky while there.  I looked for some vegan choices using my favorite app Happy Cow and we decided to eat at our favorite vegan place Pomegranates Café.  This place is beyond amazing!! Everything comes Vegan or Vegetarian, so you have that option.  We have been slowly working our way through the menu and this time tried a couple of their bowls.  I had the Dragon Bowl, very tasty, lots of wonderful flavor and FILLING!

Most ballparks now let you carry in items such as water and snacks (check first with your ballpark).  We have a vendor where we park that sells water cheap, so we picked up three along with a bag of peanuts for munching on.  Come on, you have to have peanuts at a ballgame!!   

The long line to get in was much worth it as we received our bobble-heads and had plenty of time to get some extra walking in.  We did a nice lap at the park checking out the food vendors and much to our surprised found some great vegan and vegetarian options!  Red Hot has a Veggie burger (however the bun does have dairy and eggs) and another had fruit and veggie bowls to go! Okay not a ton of healthy options but sometime some are better than none.  J and I also give ourselves a 2% rule when we go out.  At home I can make sure every ingredient going into our meals are vegan and whole, going out can you really trust that they are?  No.  So, if by some chance there is say dairy or egg in one part of our meal…we aren’t going to go all crazy and freak out.  It is what it is.  When outside of the house there is no way to control it all and I am not going to let it stress me out or ruin a good time.

So, there you have it – go out and have fun!  Bring your own snacks if you can. Eat before. Look for options that may work for you.

Weekend Prep For The Upcoming Week

I have found that taking just a couple of hours out of my weekend to prep for the up coming week has made eating healthy so much easier.  Here is where I start:

·         Plan my meals for the next week

·         Shop for those meals sticking to my grocery list

·         Sunday (my prep day) make a list of what needs to be cleaned/diced/and cooked

·         Turn on Netflix and watch Walking Dead lol

·         Put on my super cute apron and get to work!

This weekend when at the store I picked up some Mason jars to help prep for the week and to provide more containers for food! Today on Pinterest I saw the most brilliant idea of spray painting the lids with chalk board paint, and then you can write on the lid what is in there and wipe off when done!  How did I live without Pinterest?!?

Really, it doesn’t take me long at all to get everything done – and I get to enjoy a little healthy snacking as I’m working.  I love opening up the fridge and seeing everything so neat and nice ready to enjoy.

Lunch for this week - Black Bean Soup with Sweet Potatoes

I love making a huge pot of soup up on Sunday to have for lunch at work during the week.  I was really excited this time as I planned on using my new Mason Jars for putting it all in as well.  This recipe came from Fork Over Knifes and I had to give it two thumbs up!  Now, being the Arizona girl I am…I did spice it up a bit (see the recipe below for what I added).  For all of the ingredients in this recipe, it is very easy to make.

Black Bean Soup with Sweet Potatoes
From Plant-Powered 15
Serves 4-5

Ingredients

·         1-2 tablespoon(s) water

·         1½ – 1¾ cups chopped onions (one large onion)

·         1½ cups combination of chopped red peppers and green peppers (I used just red)

·         1¼ teaspoon sea salt (I didn’t add this)

·         freshly ground black pepper to taste (generous is good)

·         2 teaspoons cumin seeds (I didn’t add this…didn’t have)

·         2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

·         ¼ teaspoon allspice (rounded)

·         ¼ teaspoon (or less/more, to taste) red pepper flakes

·         4 medium-large cloves garlic, minced or grated

·         4½ – 5 cups black beans (reserve 1 cup; drain and rinse if using canned – about three 14 or 15 ounce cans)

·         3 cups water

·         2 tablespoons tomato paste

·         1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

·         2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

·         1 Chipotle pepper (I added this)

·         ½ – 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

·         1 bay leaf

·         1½ cups cubed (in small chunks, about ½”) yellow sweet potato (or can substitute white potato)

·         1 Can of diced Green Chilies (I added this)

·         Chopped cilantro for serving

·         Extra lime wedges for serving

·         Chopped avocado tossed with lemon juice and dash of salt, for serving

Instructions:

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add water, onions, red and green peppers, salt and pepper, cumin seeds, oregano, allspice, and red pepper flakes. Let cook for 5-7 minutes until onions and peppers start to soften. Add garlic. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and let cook another few minutes to soften garlic – if sticking/burning, add another splash of water. After a few minutes of cooking, add 3½ cups beans (reserving one cup of beans), water, tomato paste, vinegar, lime juice, and maple syrup (start with ½ teaspoon). Using an immersion blender, puree soup until fairly smooth. Increase heat to bring to boil, add bay leaf and diced sweet potatoes, then once at boil reduce and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add remaining cup of black beans and extra maple syrup if desired (taste test). Stir through, let simmer for another few minutes, then serve, topping with cilantro if desired and with lime wedges. Also delicious to top soup with some chopped seasoned avocado or a simple guacamole.

My soup looked so adorable in the new Mason Jars.  I did let the soup set for awhile and cool off before doing this.  Now we have lunch ready for the week!

All in all, a really good weekend.  Pretty proud of myself, I ran FOUR 5k’s on the treadmill this week!!  Okay, yes they are slow but a girl has to start somewhere.  I figure they must be paying off - the new shorts I bought the weekend before had to be return for a smaller size this weekend!