Today’s Newfound Love: Avocado Hummus

My favorite quote of the day: 

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

This afternoon I couldn’t decide between making guacamole or hummus, so I decided to try combining the two. After whipping it up in my food processor and tasting, I decided my new creation was a genius idea. I totally thought for a second that I invented a new amazing dip..until I took .5 seconds to Google ‘avocado hummus’ and saw tons of results. Whomp. I suppose other [brilliant] people have thought of blending the chickpea and avocado dips together before me (why have I never heard of this before today?!), but here is my version of avocado hummus:

Avocado Hummus

Makes 1 cup/8 2-TBSP servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 avocado, cut into chunks
• 1 c canned chickpeas
• 1 slice of onion, roughly chopped
• 1 TBSP tahini
• 1/2 TBSP lime juice
• salt & pepper
• water for thinning out mixture (I used 2 TBSP)

Throw first 5 ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined. Add water, salt, & pepper and pulse a few more times. Make sure you have the desired consistency, then spoon into a bowl. Eat with crackers, veggies, bread, or whatever your heart desires. I had mine with whole wheat pita bread and cucumber slices:

Stats per serving: 65 calories, 3 g fat, 3 g protein, 9 g carbs

Off to veg out and watch a movie, good night!

Jumping on the Watermelon Salad Bandwagon

Happy Friday! First off, I’ve got to share what I’m munching on…

I made oatmeal peanut butter banana cookies from PB Fingers , with just a couple changes. First, her recipe makes four dozen cookies. I do NOT need 48 damn cookies in my apartment with just me here! So, I made 6 instead, which was a smart move… these babies are delicious and I could probably eat a dozen if I made that many! I also subbed her egg for a flax egg and added chocolate chips to mine (because in my opinion, desserts are always better with chocolate chips added in). They came out so yummy, so if you’re looking for a cookie recipe, make these!

Moving on to dinner…

Now that summer is around the corner, I keep seeing watermelon salads popping up everywhere. I find it to be an interesting salad mix and have eaten it a time or two while dining out, but had never made one at home. Lately I’ve been keeping watermelon around to make watermelon smoothies, but tonight I decided to use some to make a salad. Me being typical me, instead of looking up a recipe for it, I rummaged around my kitchen to find what seemed like (and turned out to be) a winning combination. I couldn’t decide between using arugula or spinach, so I threw both into the mix:

Watermelon, Feta, Arugula & Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 large handfuls of arugula
• a large handful of spinach
• 1 c cubed watermelon
• 1 oz crumbled feta cheese
• 2 TBSP toasted pecans
• about 5 sprigs of fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP red wine vinegar
• mixed up salt & pepper

Stats: 300 calories, 24 g fat, 10 g protein, 17 g carbs

Have a wonderful weekend!

South of the Border Personal Pizza

I keep getting my days messed up this week, but does it seem like Friday to anyone else?!

Before I get to this yumminess…

There’s something that’s been weighing on my heart since last night that I need to vent about.

In the past, I’ve expressed my love for volunteering at the Humane Society. Normally I’m able to ignore any feelings of sadness, and leave just feeling good knowing that I spent a few hours helping out an organization whose purpose is to give animals the best lives possible. But every once in awhile, I can’t help but leave feeling a little brokenhearted about the ways some of the animals have been treated. This was the case last night. Meet Duke, a now blind 10-year old sweetie pie:

He recently had surgery to have his eyes sewn shut.

Reading the story of Duke’s known history as he sat there letting me pet him, a feeling of sadness washed over me. The main gist of his background is that he’s been bounced around from home to home, given to a friend when someone didn’t want to take care of him, “stolen” from the person who his microchip is registered with, and then eventually relinquished to the Humane Society for no specific reason.

At some point, he developed eye and ear infections. His owners never bothered to take him to the vet to get it checked out. Medically speaking, I don’t know what the situation was. But what I do know is that it was bad enough that when he finally did get medical attention at the Humane Society, they determined that the best course of action was to leave him blind. His hearing doesn’t seem too great either – possibly another consequence of not being properly cared for.

I consider myself to be a sympathetic person, but one thing I just cannot understand is animal neglect and cruelty. I know that not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up in a home where people are loved and cared for, let alone pets. I get that adult abusers are typically a product of the less than ideal environments they grew up in, but I just can’t fathom neglecting my dog like that. Pets are not possessions. Anyone who thinks they are should not own one, point blank period.  

I was already hung up thinking about all of this when I came home to a magazine in my mailbox that the Humane Society published. In it they talk about their law enforcement department being a voice for the voiceless. In a year, the officers responded to 1,900+ reports of animal cruelty and neglect in San Diego. A few of the cases they noted included a dog dying from blunt force trauma to the head by his owner, a man attempting to poison his neighbor’s four dogs, and a guy who burned a 6 month old puppy with scalding water. Oh my heart. I can’t even begin to think about all of the animals currently being abused under the radar..

I’m someone who likes to focus on the positive things in life. But I have to admit, I do find myself asking, “What is wrong with people?” pretty often, especially with stuff like this. I suppose the only way to think about animal abuse in a positive light is to say that at least laws are now in place so that people are forced to pay the price for their horrific actions. I feel better in knowing that organizations like the place I volunteer at exist to help these types of situations and do the best they can to rectify the damage that has been done. On a good note, the SD Humane Society just had its annual fundraiser walk for animals, and they raised over $425,000!

Moving onto a more happy subject, my dinner tonight was delish. When I realized that the dinner I planned to make wasn’t doable (don’t you hate forgetting things at the store that you need for a recipe?), I stared into my cabinets and fridge for at least 10 minutes before decided on making a Mexican mini pizza. Holy yum, it was so good! The following recipe is great if you’re cooking for just you, and are in the mood for pizza but want to be healthy. If you’re making dinner for more than 2 people, I’d quadruple the recipe and make it on a regular-sized whole wheat pizza crust.

South of the Border Personal Pizza

What you need:

• 1 whole wheat pita/pocket bread
• 1 oz avocado
• 1 TBSP light sour cream
• 2 TBSP salsa
• 1/4 c cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 serving Mexican shredded cheese
• 1 green onion, sliced
• a slice of white/yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 TSP lime juice
• 1/4 c canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• salt & pepper

In a bowl, mash avocado. Add white onion, lime juice, salt, pepper, sour cream, and salsa, and mix together.

Spread avocado “pizza sauce” onto pita. Add tomatoes, beans, and green onion on top. Sprinkle cheese evenly onto the pita, then put your pizza in the toaster or oven until cheese is melted and pizza is crispy.

Nutrition stats: 380 calories, 12 g fat, 20 g protein, 54 g carbs

The Best 20 Minutes Ever

This afternoon when I took Harley to a nearby park to get some of her energy out, a photo shoot ensued:

She played fetch…

Made a new friend…

Rolled around like a maniac..

Quenched her thirst…

Relaxed…

And in typical Harley fashion, put on a sad face when she realized it was time to go…

I’m fairly confident I’m not the only person who does this (and if I am… guess I’m just a nutty dog owner), but every time I take Harley for a walk or on an outing, I picture the things she’d be saying if she could talk: “This is AWESOME!” and “Best day EVER!” frequently pop into my head, because my dog gets crazy excited every. damn. time. Her enthusiasm really makes me laugh. Today was no different, and after her 20 minutes of afternoon playtime, as she kept looking at me like the happiest puppy on the planet on the way home, I was imagining her saying, “THAT WAS THE BEST 20 MINUTES EVER MOM!”

What I Ate Today

This week’s “what this vegetarian ate today” recap follows. It was a busy day and I didn’t make anything fancy, but it was healthy nonetheless:

Breakfast: a light english muffin with cinnamon peanut butter, banana, & sprinkled cinnamon

Lunch: a chocolate yogurt, almonds, and a chopped apple

Pre-Workout Snack:  a chocolate mint Balance bar

Dinner: Post-workout, I came home feeling famished and wound up inhaling a granola bar and a few dried peaches right before dinner.

By the way, Cascadian Farms granola bars = deliciousness!

Dinner tonight was a mini “pizza” – spinach, tomato, zucchini, and Italian shredded cheese on a whole wheat pocket bread, with edamame on the side:

Snack: some cut up cantaloupe, which I’m munching on now

That’s all I got for ya friends, good night!

Switching Up My Playlist

Like many avid exercisers, I rely on music to help keep my workouts strong, and sometimes, to give me motivation when I find it lacking. Sometimes I feel like I’m dragging through a workout, and then that one jam will come on and I’ll get that extra oomph I need. Every couple of months I rearrange my playlist and download some new tunes to keep it from getting musically monotonous. After a bit of revamping tonight, here are the songs at the top of my list:

As you may be able to tell, I like some variety in my music!

And here are my favorite songs right now for cool down time:

Good music is all I need sometimes to turn the switch on… 😉

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

“All I am I owe to my mother.” – George Washington

Happy Mother’s Day to all the great moms out there, especially my mama!

Sometimes I get bummed on holidays, knowing my family is all getting together thousands of miles away, especially when my hubby is even thousands of miles farther away. With 2/3 of this deployment under my belt, I’m starting to feel like I just want him to be home already. Everyone is different, but it seems that with me, there comes a certain time when I just start to think enough is enough! Case in point: A.) I just love love, but when I see couples big on PDA these days, I have the sudden urge to throw things at them. B.) In a daze, I stared outside at my patio last night, imagining I was sitting out there with Adam drinking wine and relaxing together. And C.) I may or may not have cried watching the season finale of The Voice last week (and another TV show or two that people are not supposed to get teary watching)… so yes, it’s safe to say that I’ve reached the point where I just want the deployment to be done with! It’d be easy to curl up in a ball and bask in self pity on days like today, but instead of doing that, I opted to keep myself moving and busy.

Exercise-wise, today was all about the legs for me. First, Harley and I went for a hike this morning, where we saw yet another snake – a bigger, scarier, hissing one this time. I had a moment when I almost turned around because I was slightly terrified (I’m not the only one, people actually did turn around!), but I just faced my fear and ran past it. All turned out okay.

I also biked 20 miles at the gym. I alternated cycling 1 mile sitting at an easier pace with biking standing up 1 mile at a higher resistance level. I’ve done this a few times now, and the intervals make the hour it takes me to complete 20 miles go by pretty fast. By the end, I’m sweating like a beast. Really, it’s gross.

[Mental note: after all my leg work today, must ice calves tonight!!]

Today’s activities also included torturing Harley with a bath, cleaning my apartment, reading by the pool, and coming up with this yumminess:

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Makes 12

• 1.5 c whole wheat flour
  
• 2 c dry old fashioned oats
• 12 oz natural applesauce
• 1/2 c light butter, melted
• 2 c fresh strawberries, sliced
• 2 TBSP agave
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 TSP salt
• 2 TSP baking powder

Preheat oven to 375.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine strawberries and agave. Cook for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until strawberries soften and mixture becomes jam-like.

Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine applesauce and melted butter in another bowl, then mix the wet in with the dry.

In a greased 8×11 pan, spread half of the flour mix onto the bottom. Once strawberries are done, pour the entire strawberry/agave combo on top of the flour layer. Spread the rest of the flour mixture on top.

Bake bars until lightly browned, around 30 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

I think they’re great for a snack on the go, and I also have a feeling they’d make a delicious dessert when heated up (and possibly eaten with a scoop of fro yo!). 

Nutrition facts: 190 calories, 5 g fat, 4 g protein, 36 g carbs

And lastly, my favorite concoction of the weekend was definitely a watermelon smoothie with a kiwi thrown into the mix:

I’m slightly obsessed, it’s so delish. I highly suggest trying it for yourself! Good night!

Creamy Rotini with Zucchini & Cherry Tomatoes

This afternoon I was already in the mood for pasta when I stepped outside and got a whiff from my basil plant. And then, I wanted pasta with fresh basil, so that’s exactly what I whipped up. This dish is easy, fresh and delicious.

[Side note: This was my first time eating basil from my plant, yea! I haven’t killed it yet!]

Goat Cheese Rotini with Zucchini & Cherry Tomatoes 

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Rotini or other pasta
• 1/2 c zucchini, diced
• 1/2 c cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1 oz Chevrion goat cheese
• 1 TSP olive oil
• around 3 sprigs of fresh basil, plus more for garnish
• a few TBSPs of water or cooking wine for sautéing
• salt & pepper

Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, heat cooking wine (or water) in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Add zucchini, tomatoes, and basil, and cook for around 5 minutes until they start to soften. Season with salt and pepper.

Once pasta is done, drain and return back to pot. Add in zucchini mix, and drizzle olive oil on top. Add the cheese in in several chunks, and then mix well. Garnish with basil.

Nutrition stats: 350 calories, 11 g fat, 14 g protein, 50 g carbs

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

I just found out that today was (technically still is for a little while) Military Spouse Appreciation Day. I want to take a second to recognize all of the military spouses out there. It can certainly be a tough job being a military spouse (and obviously a member of the armed forces, which goes without saying). I joke around with my Marine that I’m a member of the “silent ranks” as us spouses are sometimes referred to as, because when your husband or wife is in the military, you have a job as their partner to be supportive, strong, and flexible with this crazy lifestyle you are living. I think it’s the only way that you’ll be able to thrive and live life to its fullest as a military spouse. There are so many wives & hubbies out there who are holding down the fort, handling things on their own, and raising families without their spouses. I would say that I’m not sure how the mothers and expectant mothers I know seem to handle their situations so well, but I already know how they do it, because it’s the only answer I have for people when they wonder the same thing of me: they simply just keep living and trucking along as best they can, because what else can they do? Military spouses are strong for themselves, their partners, their families, and their country. Today is a day to recognize those people and show appreciation. BLESS OUR TROOPS!

Sound Off: My Gym Pet Peeves

While I was sitting around at jury duty yesterday, I got to thinking about my gym session the day before.  A lot of the time I leave the gym feeling great all around, but Tuesday was a bit of a different story. I had an above average workout, but it was just one of those days where the gym environment irked me in more ways than one. This propelled me to come up with a list of the things that annoy me most at the gym, and I know I can’t be alone here!

In no particular order –

My Top Gym Pet Peeves

#1 – Men who think it’s okay to take their shirts off. Is that really necessary?

Side note: The people who do this tend to look more like this…

Than this…

#2- When the gym is ridiculously sticky and hot – because sweating as soon as you walk into the gym isn’t cute (or comfortable).

#3- Obnoxiously panting and breathing – Yes, it’s okay to let out a deep breath here or there. It’s beneficial to breathe and not constantly hold it in while exercising. But all in moderation people! Groaning like crazy is not acceptable behavior and is distracting (yet also entertaining) to other people. No offense, but it’s usually men who do this. It’s even worse when they’re doing something easy like basic crunches. Get. Outta. Here.

#4- Chatting away on your cell phone. I understand that people get calls during workouts. It happens, but anytime my deployed husband calls me while I’m at the gym, I hop out of the room or keep it under 30 seconds. Lengthy phone conversations while you walk on the treadmill or exercise on the elliptical is just plain rude.

#5- Playing your music in something other than your headphones – I work out a lot in my gym’s aerobics room when there aren’t classes going on there. For some reason people think it’s okay to blast their music through the speaker system so loud that I can’t hear the music coming out of my earbuds. It’s even more frustrating when it’s heavy metal, which is not really my style. This also applies to people who play music with their device’s speaker feature. Walking around the weight room with your iPod blasting for everyone to hear? Not okay.

#6- Hitting the heavy bag as hard as you possibly can – There’s a small boxing corner in my gym where people hit the bag and such. Usually I barely even notice it, except for when the same 3 guys use it while I’m working out. These pretty scrawny dudes (also the same people who take their shirts off) obnoxiously hit the bag so hard that it becomes really annoying to listen to. Yes, tough guys, I get that you’re showing off, but I’m not a fan of listening to you hit the bag with a vengeance instead of my Usher jams while I bike.

#7 – Strange Gym Attire – As far as how much skin people should show at the gym, I’m kind of neutral on the topic and think people should wear whatever they’re comfortable in. However, part of me looks at some people and thinks but why?  Case in point, there’s the guy that always wears a tank top and a ski hat… to which I say, if you’re hot enough to wear a tank top, why are you wearing winter attire on your head? The other day I saw a guy work out with sunglasses on. Sure,  he could have some sort of sight issue or something weird, but chances are he just thinks he’s a rock star, as he also annoyed me with #3 the whole time. Or my favorite (and this I pretty much have only seen since I’ve lived in San Diego), people who wear beach attire to the gym. Flip flops on the treadmill? Now that’s just stupid and dangerous. I suppose these are all just fashion statements. Hey, I guess it keeps things interesting, as I clearly do a lot of people watching while I’m doing cardio!

What gets on your nerves at the gym? 

You know, I’m very observant.

Today I had to report to jury duty for the first time ever. I was surprised when I actually got called out of the hundreds of people there to be in the selection process, or as my hubby told me last night as he was trying to school me with his criminal justice degree knowledge, participate in voir dire. I wound up not having to be on the jury, though once I got into the courtroom, I found the whole process pretty interesting and was intrigued to know more details of the case. But my civic duty is complete for now!

After being gone all day, I knew my spoiled puppy would be a ball of energy. This assumption proved to be true, as she freaked out and was practically doing back handsprings when I got home. I wanted to get some exercise in and it was beautiful out, so we went for a nice hike together.

A few weeks ago I blogged about hiking at a nearby place called Cowles Mountain, and mentioned how I mistakenly thought Cowles was another mountain that I usually hike. Today when we returned to our go-to hike spot, I actually paid attention to the signage, and this is what I found:

Riiiight. I should probably pay more attention to stuff like this! I think I’m too busy soaking up the weather and feeling all Zen-like while I’m hiking to actually look at signs (or something like that). It’s really become an activity I enjoy, and I’m happy to have this munchkin as a hiking partner:

Doesn’t she camouflage well to the mountain?

We had a teeny bit of a scare during our hike – a snake spotting! Ever since I found out that someone recently died at the park from a snake bite, I’m slightly paranoid. Today was the first time I’ve ever seen one hiking. The funny part is I always thought that Harley would see one and jump at it to check it out, but today, she stepped right past the snake and didn’t even notice. I snapped a photo before it started slithering around, at which point I got THE HELL OUT OF THERE:

By the end of our park excursion, both my dog and I were content with life.

She’s been passed out ever since, and I think snoozing sounds like a good idea about now. Good night!

Sweet & Sour Pineapple and Red Bell Pepper

Do you know what today is? I just noticed on my calendar that it’s National Teacher Day. Hope it was a good day for all the amazing teachers out there, my best friend being one of them (love you Meg!!)!

Last week I recapped everything I had eaten one day (here). As I mentioned then, I think it’s a good way to show what a vegetarian diet could look like to people, whether they’re veg-curious, or just looking for different meal ideas or to eat healthier – whatever the case may be. With that said, here is a look at my eats today:

Breakfast:  lemon Chobani Greek yogurt + blueberries

Lunch: sweet & sour pineapple and peppers with brown rice

After cutting up a pineapple a few days ago, I was thinking about what I could do with it besides eating it plain as usual. I decided to roast it with some bell pepper and onion, drizzled with sesame oil and a touch of brown sugar – hence, an easy sweet and sour side dish was born. I loved it mixed into a serving of brown rice.

Sweet & Sour Roasted Pineapple and Red Bell Pepper

Makes 2 servings

What you need:

• 2 c of fresh pineapple, cut into bite sized chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• A  small chunk of onion, thinly sliced
• 2 TSP sesame oil
• 1 TSP light brown sugar
• 1 TSP lime juice
• salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange pineapple, pepper, and onion on a baking sheet, then sprinkle brown sugar on top, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Roast the mixture in the oven until lightly browned. I left mine in there for about half an hour. Once it’s done, drizzle with lime juice.

Stats: 150 calories, 30 g carbs, 5 g fat, 2 g protein

Pre-Workout Snack: an apricot, almonds, some cherries, and a protein drink (1/2 scoop Designer Whey chocolate protein powder + 1 c Soy Slender chocolate soy milk)

Dinner: a whole wheat wrap stuffed with tofu, beans, tomato, and light shredded cheese

Snack: a homemade nutrigrain bar + raspberries

I made these bars last night and they taste so yummy, but they didn’t stick together enough (these are only the ones I managed to cut into pieces). Must do more trial & error before posting the recipe!

I had never seen yellow raspberries before last weekend at the farmer’s market. They pretty much taste the same as red ones, maybe just a little less sweet:

Well, I’m off to go watch the season finale of The Voice. They had some amazinggg singers on the show this season and I’m not sure who I think should win it!