Crunch Quota

First order of business, the gardein winners.  #8 Robin O., #25 Erica Wollman, and #28 Debbie.  Email me with your addresses.

Now.  Let’s do a full day of food, okay?  This is from over a week ago.

I woke up way too early after sleeping way too little.  Nothing new.

IMG_6587

I had milky coffee.  And holiday waffles with an egg.

IMG_6584

Oh gorgeous froth.

About two hours later, I was hungry (again), so I made a sweet potato hash.

IMG_6481

I made it the same way as I previously posted.

You’d think the coconut oil would have been enough, but I still added gratuitous amounts of Earth Balance.

IMG_6486

Mmmm.  Buttah.

Lunch came a bit later in the afternoon.  Since I started the day with mostly carbs and Earth Balance, I wanted to get some real nutrients on board for baby.

IMG_6610

Veggie Kraut Salad with Black Beans & Cashew Hemp Dressing [vegan, gluten free]

Ingredients:

Salad

  • 2 large fists of spinach
  • 1/3 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1/4 cup black beans
  • 1/4 cup sauerkraut

Dressing

  • 1 cup cashews (soaked overnight and drained)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp cane sugar
  • 1 tbsp hemp seeds
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/8 tsp tahini
  • 1/8 tsp miso

Directions:

Chop everything and add to a bowl.

Make dressing my pureeing ingredients together in a magic bullet, food processor, or blender.

Toss salad with dressing until well coated.

IMG_6594 IMG_6596 IMG_6591 IMG_6598 IMG_6589 IMG_6590 IMG_6599 IMG_6600 IMG_6602 IMG_6604 IMG_6606

Now that’s definitely enough to meet my daily crunch quota.  Veg-errific.

IMG_6607

The dressing was thick and creamy, which complemented the sauerkraut nicely.  And talk about a protein punch!  Between the beans, quinoa, and hemp, this salad was packed with amino acids.

IMG_6608

So good.  I will definitely be using kraut in salads more.  It was such a fun and tasty new ingredient.  Not nearly as strong or dominating as I thought it would be.

IMG_6609

I wasn’t so sure about how I’d feel about the sauerkraut so I was cautious with it at first, but ended up adding more later.  It’s really a nice addition to this salad.

IMG_6612

Look at that big hunkin’ pile of kraut!  Yummay.

IMG_6613

After lunch I had two “five” balls.  They are such peanutty perfection.

IMG_6526

I occupied myself in the afternoon by going on a long walk and prepping more food stuffs.

IMG_6424

I tried not to ruin my appetite with this pm snack but holy crap, I cannot contain myself when I am around Sabra’s seasonal hummus.  The rosemary and olive oil flavor is hands down the best they have.  I wish it weren’t specific to the winter months because it means I have to try to get my fix in just a few shorts months of time.

IMG_6425

If you see this on the shelves at your local grocery store – stock up!!!!

We did soosh for dinner since I’d been craving it for a while.

IMG_6659

I got a California roll and a (cooked) shrimp roll.  I didn’t end up eating that seaweed salad because it made my stomach churn.  Early in my pregnancy I spent the night hovered over the toilet dry heaving seaweed salad…and clearly I haven’t really recovered.

I’m so excite for real (raw) sushi after pregnancy.  And beer.  And mimosas.  I swear, one of my first orders of business post-pregnancy is a sushi date and a mimosa brunch.  Oh, and I am going to go to the nail salon too.  After avoiding the toxic fumes for 9 months…well, I’ll just let your imagination fill in the blank…

Ok, so now that I’ve ruined your appetite with that visual, how about I bring it back to dessert.

IMG_6660

On the left, Kyle’s red wine and almond bites.  And on the right, my chocolate, candied ginger, and pecan toffee.  I have a freakin’ love/hate relationship with this Sees candy from my patient’s family.  Blahhhh.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Comments (25)

  1. Ammie

    I’m excited to try your Veggie Kraut salad!! I have never used that brand of kraut before and I’m wondering if it’s raw? I love a good sauerkraut!

  2. Tiffany

    Love See’s Candy…my grandpa gives it out for pretty much any holiday! The caramel/marshmallow/dark chocolate combo is so good!

  3. theresa @ aspoonfulofsunshine

    Sabra has seasonal hummus?! Shut the front door, I need to go buy some of that! That sounds like a genius flavor!

  4. Katie @ Peace Love & Oats

    That salad does look amazing, and I love sauerkraut but I never think to buy it! Good idea

  5. The Life of Clare

    What a delicious day! Salad looks wonderful. And that dip is mouth watering!

  6. Dana

    I used to HATE sauerkraut with a filthy passion, but then I discovered you can make a gigantic vat of your own raw kraut for about $2 (+ a mason jar). The raw kraut isn’t pasteurized, so it’s chock full of healthy probiotics, plus it tastes DELICIOUS! I seriously eat at least a 1/2 cup of raw kraut every day now. My normally sensitive GI system has never felt so great!

    Now excuse me while I go check for Sabra rosemary and olive oil hummus. YUM.

  7. Michal

    So this is what I’ve decided.. We need to have a blog get together because everything in the post looks so incredibly delicious! I want to eat like you for a day, YUM!

  8. Courtney

    I *love* sauerkraut! That salad looks amazing. You know what would have made it even better? Nutritional yeast! Obviously…

    That is so sad about the seaweed salad! I hope you can stomach it again eventually…it is too good to have to avoid forever!

    Courtney

  9. Stacey @ Stacey Eats and Runs

    Wow. Wow. Wow. I love sauerkraut but haven’t eaten it in years (since my meat eating days with pork chops). I never knew what to eat it with. And you even added black beans. I will be making this salad ASAP. Did it only make one serving or two? Thanks for the recipe! I seriously may make this tonight for dinner.

  10. Stacey @ Stacey Eats and Runs

    I’m just trying to figure out if doubling it would be enough for me, hubby and a teenage boy!

  11. Lauren (@poweredbypb)

    I love sauerkraut, this salad looks delicious!

  12. Pingback: A rough week

  13. Elise (Post author)

    this salad was enough for two lunch sized servings (ie i ate about half of it for lunch one day and the rest for lunch the next day). i usually eat smaller sized meals throughout the day with larger dinners, so i would probably have eaten nearly the whole thing as a dinner entree.
    just to be safe, id triple it for you, your hubby and a teenage boy.

  14. Elise (Post author)

    hmmm…im not sure. the only ingredients are cabbage, water, and sea salt.

  15. Elise (Post author)

    indeed. its crazy good.

  16. Elise (Post author)

    because kyle has issues with pickles, cucumber, zucchini, dill, etc. (and all things pickled or acidic), ive been deprived for all 8 years we’ve been together. im hiding this in the back of the fridge…fingers crossed he doesnt find it and puke on me.

  17. Elise (Post author)

    ha! thanks michal 🙂

  18. Marissa

    I love sauerkraut in my salads. All you need for an amazing salad is greens, kraut, and avocado. Anything else is just gravy.

  19. Elise (Post author)

    word!

  20. llya Welfeld

    Delayed on reading but enjoying catching up! Love that Sabra;) But excited you just gave me an afternoon salad idea.

  21. Jessica

    In your personal and professional opinion, is eating a fried egg any different for a pregnant or non pregnant woman? Thank you in advance!

  22. Elise (Post author)

    im assuming youre referring to the risk of infection from the raw yolk here. if the egg is pasteurized theres no risk. but those eggs are $$$. the risk of infection from a raw egg is the same for a pregnant or non pregnant person. the difference is that in a pregnant person, theres a small chance the infection can be transmitted to the fetus. in early development this can be harmful and cause defects, but (a) the chances of transmission are crazy low and (b) the chances it has an effect during that window of time are also minimal. as you can see, i have been eating fried eggs throughout pregnancy. its a risk, and im taking it, but im also knowledgable about the source of my eggs. if eating out at a random diner, id definitely get scrambled. but thats just me. plenty of people will disagree, but theres plenty of other (more legit) stuff to worry about in pregnancy, in my opinion.

  23. Jessica

    Great, thank you so much. I read about it as well but certainly value your personal and professional opinion, and equally comforting to know you and your little one are just fine! Luckily I live in VT so I am very fortunate to know where my eggs come from 🙂

  24. Elise (Post author)

    awesome! congrats and good luck throughout your pregnancy 🙂

  25. Jessica

    Thank you, and best wishes for you and all of your upcoming adventures!

Comments are closed.