I have to admit it isn't because I managed to get an extra hour of sleep. But, with 3 kids running around crazy on a Sunday morning before church, it was a welcome relief to know that I actually had time to make breakfast that wasn't zapped in a microwave, and I could locate matching socks for them without needing to barter my soul to the Sock Gnome. I swear, the divorce rate for socks in this house is 100%, but I digress...
I began the morning with a green smoothie-- don't be put off by that, they are actually amazing. Mine consisted of coconut milk (just because i prefer the taste and thickness to almond milk), avocado, spinach, coconut water, chia seeds, and vegan vanilla protein. It was thick and an absolutely perfect way to start the morning. It was blending while the kids were listening to music on my iPad, and we were all dancing around like fools, their dad included, which kinda shocked me. I couldn't resist the urge to tell him that I liked his butt, that it was cute. He jokingly asked "ugh, you don't like my eyes?" and we chuckled. I told him they were beautiful cow brown, and once he explained that to a boy from a midwest farming state, that meant poop, he joked about how I must be the apple of his ***hole. The laughter couldn't have brightened the morning any more than the bright sunbeams shining in the windows.
After church, and once the kiddos were enjoying their quiet time, I went into kale mode-- I have a downloaded cookbook from an amazing chef who calls himself "the Vegan Zombie" (the gimmick is actually hilarious, and his food is amazing!), and I yanked out one of my favorite salads from him known as the Creamy Kale Salad. This is the video of him making it-- so don't take my word for it, you can enjoy it for yourself :-)
The salad turned out amazing of course, and even though it was 4 servings, I still ate half the bowl. The tahini dressing that goes on it was sweet and tangy, and it blended perfectly with the kale. Crunchy, crispy, sweet, tangy-- an amazing combination. I LOVE this salad!
I have to admit that this has been a rough few days... I know, you're thinking Already! Sadly, yes. It isn't just the giving up of the food that is getting to me, but the effect of it. Yesterday the eveil detox migraine showed up. Today..... yes, the dreaded woman fairy that always appears at the most inconvenient time... and the chocolate craving came, and I gave in. In all fairness, it was dark chocolate acai berries. Vegan? No. Healthier than a Snickers? Absolutely.
Attempting to redeem myself at dinner, I finished the night with a Raw Blackberry and Mango Almond Nut Pate Salad. Sounds complicated, right? It really wasn't. I had already soaked a cup of almonds overnight, which made it very easy to pulse-process them into bite tiny pieces (not mush, hence using the pulse option). I combined that with lime juice and zest, garlic, Himalayan salt, water, red pepper, fresh mint, avocado, fresh blackberries and a bit of green onion, and Holy WOW. [*the original recipe also calls for fresh ginger, mango, and pine nuts, but I didn't have those, so I just skipped them..*] Regardless, I topped about 2 spoonfuls of this over a bed of baby spinach and kale combo, and let me say that salad dressing has nothing on this recipe-- you could not possibly squeeze more flavor into this, at all. The blackberries burst and meshed with the mint and the lime, and it just completely changes the way you think about food.
This is by no means a professional picture (I will probably break out my good camera for future recipes), but this was the end result:
Maybe I'm completely insane, but this gave me the energy to get through 5 baskets of laundry, the ability to tidy up the entire laundry room, do dishes, reorganize the refrigerator, clean the kids toys, make their lunches, and still get to bed before 10:30. I have to say, despite the chocolate mid-day, I'm rather impressed!
Looking forward to day 3 :-)
Til then,
Savor and smile!
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