breakfast... it's what's for dinner

The plan was to make salmon tonight, but once I looked up the WW PointsPlus value, I got discouraged. (And side note, also annoyed that wild-caught salmon costs way more points than farm-raised salmon. Guess which one I bought thinking I was making the healthier choice!) As I was closing the freezer door after putting a salmon filet to defrost in the refrigerator for tomorrow, my eyes fell on a completely unnecessary purchase I made on Sunday: waffles! YES! Breakfast for dinner! All of the sudden, it was exactly what I was craving. Who wants/needs fish when you can have waffles! Now, really!?!

I tried to add a bit of nutrition. On one I added peanut butter and jelly, for a bit of protein (and lots of sugar, yes). On the other I added some agave nectar and sliced bananas (not much nutrition on that one, but another fruit added to the day). Ah, who am I kidding!? It was just plain good without much nutritional value!

Today's fruit count:

clementines: 4

bananas: 2

peaches: 1/2

Today's vegetable count:

uhhh, 0

I'll work on that tomorrow. ;-) But for today, I must say that this breakfast-for-dinner has made my night!!

In other news, I bought a blender! AND dug up a smoothie recipe book that I had forgotten about! More on that in another post...

And one last thing... I bought disposable coffee cups for the next time it snows and nice plow man comes around!!

where have you been all of my life?

I'm not really sure when I started being more interested in eating healthier and more varied foods. A few years ago, I guess. And in the last few months I've been reading a bunch of foodie blogs (see which ones on the right). But what set off this foodie tendency in me is a kale/banana/mango smoothie eaten at Strawberry Fields in Phoenixville, PA. Why didn't I know about kale before? It's my new favorite vegetable. Think of it like spinach, but with more flavor.

I went home from the smoothie-eating experience and decided that I, too, could make smoothies with kale. The first one was so-so, but the second attempt... YUM! The secret, for anyone who wants to try, is to blanch the kale first.

Without further ado, the smoothie:

Ingredients:
- kale, probably about 1/2 c. after blanched, which is maybe 2 cups raw
- 1/4 c. of juice (I used v8 pomegranate + green tea)
- 1/4 c. of mango sorbet
- 3 clementines, peeled
- 1 banana, peeled
- 1/2 c. frozen papaya chunks
- 3.5 oz Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp. flax seeds (optional)
(or really, whatever you have on hand. I just happen to know that this combination is a winner.)

Directions:
Blanch the kale. (Here is how to blanch it... and what to do with the leftovers)
Add all ingredients to the blender and blend for a loooong time.

Makes 2 normal servings or 1 big, delicious smoothie.