Cilantro double down

I haven’t been super hungry in the mornings this week so I’ve been making my coffee with full fat coconut milk to hold me over instead of breakfast.  It has been working out great because by the time lunch arrives I’m properly hungry (starving) and I get to dig into a huge bowl of goodness without feeling super stuffed.  I think my low appetite may be because I’m doing less intense workouts.  For the most part, the short 22-24 minute run to drop P off at school is all I do.  It’s plenty of a workout considering I’m pushing both kids in the double stroller (they are HEAVY!). By contrast, the ride home with only V feels super light.

The weather has gotten cooler but I’m hoping to continue our jogging commute all year long.  The kids like listening to a podcast together, I like not dealing with parking in the small school lot, and it means I get a workout in doing something I have to do anyway.  Not to mention how great it is for the environment.  And that it’s actually faster than getting them in and out of the car for such a short distance.  And it kills some of the time between his drop off and hers.  So many reasons!

I love this Thai salad.

I have already had it twice this week.

The only thing different was what kind of nuts I used, cashews vs peanuts.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I made the salad with peanuts one of the times this week.  I feel pretty safe eating them since P is so far into maintenance.  I have given him an extra peanut with his daily dose a couple of times and he hasn’t had any issues, so that’s reassuring.

I know you can’t tell in the photo, but this avo was T H E  H U G E S T I have ever seen.  It was bigger than my hand.  So naturally I had half of it and pretended it was a normal half, even though it was about as much avo as a whole one would typically be.  No shame in my ‘cado game.

I made this yummy salad for dinner, which all revolved around this sauce.

It’s a chermoula sauce from America’s Test Kitchen.  I halved it thinking the kids wouldn’t be into it because it’s predominantly cilantro, but I regret it since Kyle and I LOVED it and it was much milder than I thought it would be once it was mixed into everything.  I’ll have to make it again.  We were both big fans.  And I just realized since I had cilantro on my Thai salad, I have been doubling down on the cilantro quite a bit lately!

Here’s my version of the recipe:

Cilantro Chermoula

• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (I used some of the stalks too)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Pulse together in a blender/magic bullet until the cilantro is well chopped and everything is incorporated.

I tossed the dressing with spinach before adding in millet and chicken.

I made the millet in the rice cooker and baked the chicken in the oven before shredding it.  And then toasted some slivered almonds and seeds at the very end of the chicken’s baking time.

Voila!

I sometimes forget about millet, but it’s such an under rated and under used grain.

I sub it for couscous to make any recipe that calls for it gluten free.

I had this for dessert.  It was my birthday present from my mom and dad and was a new flavor that I’d never had.  Of course it was incredible, because it had toffee AND nuts.  There’s no better combo in my book.  Thanks parents!