Good morning. I took the lunch pictures today very quickly, as I worked late last night and then decided to sleep a bit later this morning. Here is lunch + 3 snacks as I hope to go to yoga after work today:
- Espinacas con Garbanzos, a long-time favorite:
- Hummus with carrots, celery and small collard leaves. These collard leaves are seriously tiny compared to the usual large floppy leaves:
- Green smoothie made with collards, banana, almond milk, chia seeds, Sunwarrior Vanilla and ice:
- A half recipe ‘s worth of Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats. I used Angela’s recipe and substituted agave for the maple syrup:
I skipped the toppings Angela suggested (walnuts, maple syrup, raisins) in favor of my latest obssession:
I have yet to meet an Artisana butter I do not like – I started with the Coconut Butter, then the Tahini, then the Cacao Bliss, then the Cashew and Almond, and now the Walnut. I used to be only meh about nut butters, but I think the problem was that I was relying on Maranatha and Trader Joe’s – I never seem to like any of their nut butters, yet I love love love the Artisana ones. They are pricey, but I use them sparingly. I know that I can make my own nut butters, but nut butters is something I prefer buying. I find I eat less of it that way. I am pretty picky about nut butters – I prefer raw nut butters, no added oils, no added sugar and no added salt. That basically kicks out most nut butters I can buy in stores I go to. I think some of the Naturally Nutty butters might fit my criteria, so I am going to look into those eventually, but for now I have a lovely stash of Artisana butters I am working my way through.
I actually had planned to have pumpkin overnight oats for breakfast Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I whipped up a big batch on Sunday night and loved having them yesterday morning (topped with Artisana Walnut, of course). This morning however, all I wanted was a green smoothie. I think it is because drinking one when I am tired feels like having caffeine in terms of the instant energy boost, with the bonus of not having a caffeine crash right after. As usual, I made a smoothie, drank half of it and packed the other half. Here are the ingredients:
Wake-Up Smoothie
Makes 2 16oz smoothies
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1 scoop Sun Warrior (vanilla flavor)
- 2 cups collard leaves
- 1 banana, frozen (I freeze bananas in large chunks)
- 4 ice cubes
I put the ingredients in that order in the Vita and presto, instant wake-up potion.
I am so grateful my husband cooked the Espinacas con Garbanzos, when he got home from work, so all I had to do this morning was assemble and photograph.
Have a great day!
*******************
Chat with me on Twitter or Facebook.
Subscribe via RSS or email.
General Disclosures & Disclaimers
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Valerie! I'm a new viewer of your blog, and love it!! I was wondering since you always take pics of your "lunchbox" does that mean you include breakfast and lunch in the shot, or is it everything you eat for lunch
Silly question. Love your blog!
Thank you so much for sharing the green smoothie recipe. I am going to give it a whirl with some Vega tomorrow morning.
love your blog as well — your meals look delicious. want to cater my life? just kidding. but seriously, yum.
What, no sweet potato? Haha. Don't worry, I had some tonight. I just can't get into the overnight oats. I've tried Angela's before and I find it too soggy. So I usually add it to my 'kill the sweet-tooth' date smoothie.
Love the smoothie!! I am recently obsessed with Barney Butter, an almond butter I picked up at Whole Foods.
I agree with you on how green smoothies can feel like a caffeine boost. I don't know if it's nutrients in the veggies that does that or what, but I'm all for it!