Veggie Eats - Tuesday and Wednesday Recap

TUESDAY

 Breakfast

I wanted a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, but I was a good girl and made a green drink with half the kale.

Dinner 

My husband loves french onion soup.  Chances are if french onion soup is on the menu, he'll order it.  So when I suggested french onion soup due to the ridiculous amount of onions we had, the husband was all about it.  What husband wants, husband gets... once in awhile.

However, in my husband's mind soup is not a meal.  So I had to make sausage and Israeli couscous stuffed peppers because husband likes meat. 

Yes I forgot to take a picture of them cooked.  

And I love Israel couscous.  If you have never had it, you need to try it!  So good.

WEDNESDAY

Lunch

I made zucchini noodles aka zoodles with a tomato and sausage sauce. 

Easy, quick, and it used 2 vegetables. 

Dinner

BLT, BLT!

The only thing that would have made this better was some avocado.  I love me some BLATs.

And here's what is left of the vegetables:

And meal suggestions with the remaining vegetables would be greatly appreciated!

Beets in my box ... my CSA box

Beets look intimidating, but they are really easy to cook once you learn how to prep them.  I used to throw away the beet greens, but the whole beet is edible.  You can substitute beet greens in any recipe calling for leafy greens (think swiss chard, spinach, kale, etc.)

Who am I kidding, I still throw away the beet greens.  My mom, was recently visiting so lucky for me she consumed the raw beet greens in her green drinks.  Last time I had beet greens I sauteed them in olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper and immediately threw them away after one bite.  Neither my husband or I could handle the earthiness in sauteed form.  Thank God for moms, especially my mom, who will take one for the team.

Don't feel so bad for her.  She claims she likes beet greens.

PREPPING

To prep the beets for cooking I chop off the stems (keep the stems if you dare) and give them a good wash and scrub with a potato scrubber to remove any caked on dirt.

I find that the skin slides off easier if you drizzle each beet with a small amount of oil.

I then wrap each beet in foil and place in a baking dish.  The baking dish is my insurance policy against leaks because beet juice stains everything!

Beets, depending on their size, can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to cook at a 375 degree heated oven.  These beats were relatively small, ranging in size from a tangerine to a nectarine, and took a full 40 minutes to cook until fork tender (meaning a fork easily pierces through the skin).  I would recommend checking the beets after 30 minutes of cooking to see if they are tender and then every 10-15 minutes to ensure you don't overcook them.  Beets should be slightly soft, but not mushy. Once cooked I cool the beets until I can handle them.



The dark skin will peel off in between your fingers with a rolling action.  It's ridiculously easy, but you can also remove the skin with a paring knife or carrot peeler.  I remove the stems and keep beets whole until ready to eat.  Once cooked they last about a week in an airtight container.

I love roasted beets.  Cooking brings out the sweetness in beets and their flavor is enhanced by combining them in recipes / meals that call for cheese (feta, goat, white cheddar), salt, and vinaigrette.    

Once the beets were cooked lunch was a breeze.  I used leftover veggies from my CSA box and topped the salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and feta cheese.  Yum!

Chard + Berries = Blender Bliss

I didn't get a chance to blog last night because I worked late.  We didn't eat dinner until 8:45pm and I had no mental capacity for any form of thought. 

 BREAKFAST

Yesterday I finished all the chard and I have come to the consensus that the trick to a decent tasting chard green drink is frozen berries.

Lots of them...

DINNER

I don't really have a desire to discuss dinner as it left me feeling sick to my stomach.  We did finish off the corn.  I should say my husband finished off the corn.  My piece was rotten, which I didn't realize until I had eaten half of it.  So that's why farmers use pesticides...

Remaining veggies:

- Mixed greens
- Yellow squash
- 1/2 of a purple onion

About last night... Basic Pesto Recipe

I had plans to blog about my veggie eats yesterday since I incorporated veggies into TWO meals, get it girl, but I was exhausted after work and making dinner.  Plus, soaking my feet and watching Master of None was much more appealing.

BREAKFAST

Turns out chard is much more palatable in a green drink with berries.  Yesterday I blended chard with Siggi's Mixed Berry Yogurt, vanilla almond milk, and frozen mixed berries.  I pounded it on my way to work.

The earthy taste of the chard was masked with the sweetness of the berries.  I normally like pineapple with spinach or kale, but I think chard goes best with berries.  I have some more chard to eat so I'll continue to experiment.

DINNER

Dinner was very green, but awesome!  I love pesto and whenever I get basil in my CSA box I make some type with stuffed pasta and last night was no exception.  I made a traditional basil pesto with cheese tortellini and sweet Italian chicken sausage.

Plus a side of sauteed zucchini and onions because the week is coming to an end and I have to eat all the veggies in my box! #goals

I think I make a delicious pesto if I do say so myself. You can substitute the basil with any green, however, I recommend that at least half the greens are basil when making this recipe. 

Basic Pesto

Ingredients:
2 cups washed and dried basil, stems removed
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup parmesan reggiano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until the consistency of your choosing.

It's that easy.

You can eat this pesto cold or warm.  When eating it with a pasta I cook the pasta as directed and then bring the pot back to the warm stove top.  With the flame off I add the pesto to the warm pan and gently fold in the cooked pasta.  In this case tortellini and chicken sausage.  The pesto will warm with the residual heat of the stove top.

Serve with cheese and enjoy!

Remaining veggies:

- Mixed greens
- Yellow squash
- 1/2 of a purple onion
- Swiss chard
- 2 cobs of corn 

Greens in question

Today I only ate veggies at breakfast.  I had plans for a nice pesto pasta for dinner, but my husband and I had to go to the store for supplies for a time sensitive house project.  So we ate at the diner.  You know, tough life.

My CSA email said that this week's box contained both spinach and chard, however, I only received one bag of questionable loose greens.  I figured that the bag was a mix of both greens and after washing the greens (how I wash greens here) I had a feeling it was chard, but stayed optimistic that it could be mixed with spinach leaves as advertised.

Wrong!  I should have known by the yellow stems...

This is now the second time I was told that my CSA box contained spinach only to find out that it was chard by the taste.  And there is nothing more off putting then taking a sip of your delicious green drink only to taste dirt.  It's not that I don't like chard, I just don't care for it in my green drink as it has a very "earthy" taste.  Earthy is great in a salad, and I love roasted beets with cheese, but earthy is not so great in a drink.  For those of you who stumble across this post I would love to know any suggestions for incorporating chard into a green drink without having to add tons of sweetener to mask the taste as I fear I will have more chard to come throughout this season. 

Remaining veggies:

- Mixed greens
- Yellow squash and 2 zucchini
- Purple onion
- Swiss chard
- Bag of basil
- 2 cobs of corn

Justine's Coconut Dream Green Drink featuring Bai + Bridal Shower / Wedding Gift Idea

I love green drinks.  I have one every morning to get a serving of veggies.  I have experimented with all different types of greens and my preference always comes back to kale.  Experiment at your own risk, but I'm telling you kale is the bomb.com!  I find kale mild and it is a nutrient dense food rich in iron and fiber.  Plus it has a lot of protein for a green.  And my body thanks me if you catch my drift.

I personally love the combo of kale and pineapple.  This drink is filling, mildly sweet, and sustains me.  For an extra dose of protein, mix in a scoop of vanilla protein powder and you have a meal replacement.

Justine's Coconut Dream Green Drink

Ingredients:

• 1 large handful kale greens (approximately 40 grams)
• 6 oz light vanilla yogurt 
• 8 oz Bai Molokai Coconut Antioxidant Drink
• 3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

Directions:

Place in Vitamix and blend until smooth.

Serve in your favorite glass and enjoy!

My friend gave me this Kate Spade hers glass.  Isn't adorable?  It comes in a his and hers set.  It is a great bridal shower or wedding gift.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway in the previous post for your chance to win a set of Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy nail polish in 430 Showtime and 010 Top Coat.  Scroll below or click here.