Good morning!
Last night, I watched Monday night’s Gossip Girl and I am still in shock! Like this –> :shocked:
Eric and I are donating blood on Thursday so I have been kicking it into spinach overdrive…
We have been really low on groceries the past week, so it has forced me to make due with what we have!
Sometimes when I think we are low on food, that just means code word for ‘we are low on the foods that we eat 90% of the time’, but in reality there are things in the cupboard like beans or canned tomatoes that could make a wonderful meal! It just means getting a bit creative.
Black Eyed Peas are so disgustingly cute.
The camera really loves them!
I decided to use the peas as a base and build a soup around it with a can of tomatoes, a can of soup, and some spinach.
An odd mixture, I know!
The Amy’s Split Pea Soup is quite bland, so I figured it could blend into anything…
With some seasonings, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper, it turned into a decent soup!
It wasn’t the best soup I have ever made, but considering how easy it was, I’m not complaining.
Black Eyed Pea Soup
Ingredients:
- 1.25 cups uncooked black eyed peas
- 3-4 cups spinach
- 1 can Amy’s split pea soup
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
- 3/4 tsp sea salt (add more if necessary)
- Ground black pepper
Directions: Cook black eyed peas according to package directions. While they are cooking, add the rest of the ingredients into a large pot and cook over low-medium heat. Stir well. When peas are almost done, rinse, drain, and add to soup. Cook on low for another 20 minutes or so. Serve and sprinkle with sesame seeds or another seed of your choice.
It was a good soup considering the random ingredients that went into it!
This glass mug from Crate and Barrel makes me insanely happy. I feel like I am having one big tea party with the Queen when I drink from it. :kissing: Does anyone have any fancy teacups they want to donate for Shop 4 A Cause 2? I would so bid on them!
Breakfast this morning was more green!
I decided this morning that I could not part with my beloved Banana Soft Serve Vegan Overnight Oats so I decided to layer the VOO with a green monster. This is similar to the Julie’s Green overnight oats I made a little while back, but this morning I made a few modifications.
I think the main problem I had with the last batch of green monster VOO was that the green monster was mixed fully into the oats, making green oats. I can’t really stomach green oats early in the morning even though I don’t mind drinking a tall glass of green. I work in mysterious ways. :alien:
This time I kept them separate until layering.
The other issue I had was that it tasted too green in the first batch. This time I made sure to use a bigger frozen banana and I added a dollop of maple syrup for delicious sweetness.
The result was much better! Still not 100% there, but I quite enjoyed this batch. I made a few modifications that I will note below.
Green Monster Vegan Overnight Oats
Green Monster:
- 1/3 cup almond milk (reduced liquid to make more of a soft serve texture!)
- 1 large frozen banana
- 1.5 cups spinach (cut down on the green a bit)
- 1/2-1 tbsp pure maple syrup (see note below)
Vegan Overnight Oats
- 1/3 cup oats
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp Amazing Grass Chocolate Amazing Meal Powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions: Combine Vegan Overnight Oat ingredients in a bowl and place in fridge overnight (or for 2 hours in the fridge if in a time crunch). In the morning, blend the green monster ingredients and then layer the green monster and VOO in a dish or glass.
I think next time I will make my reduced sugar syrup (1 tbsp pure maple syrup + 1/2 tbsp coconut oil) and drizzle it on top, instead of mixing in the maple syrup into the green monster. That way the taste doesn’t get lost as much and you get a taste of it in each spoonful.
I enjoyed breakfast with these beautiful birthday flowers that were delivered to me!
Thank you to my sister Kerrie for the birthday flowers! :biggrin:
Gorgeous!
Updates:
- Raw + Gluten-free Glo Bar announcement –>The new bar will go on sale Tuesday June 1st! Mark your calendars!
- Don’t forget tomorrow is the last day to get in your Shop 4 A Cause 2 submissions! I need about double the amount of items I currently have so please dig through your stuff and see what you can donate for a great cause. Every little bit counts! All proceeds will be going to cancer research!
Today’s question: What ‘staple items’ do you always tend to have in your cupboards? Are there any foods in your cupboards that you never eat but you leave them there anyways?
Staple items that can be found in my cupboards:
- Pasta
- Couscous
- Quinoa
- Beans
- Canned tomatoes
- Canned soup
- Nut butter
- Oats
- All kinds of bagged and loose leaf tea
- Tomato paste
To answer the second question, I am going to take a picture of the foods in my cupboards that we never eat- this will be my 1,000 words post this afternoon!
Have a wonderful day!
love your soup recipe and your smoothie looks great! love my green monsters :)
We always have cereals, brown rice, oats, protein powder, peanut butters (a variety), pitas and pita chips …. the list could go on and on.
I can’t even think about the stuff we have that we don’t eat. I always buy things with good intentions and never end up using them. One big one for me – Larabars. I hate them!
I’m green with oat envy! We always seem to have Black Beans and Corn, Nutella, Oats (duh), Trader Joe’s Pretzel Slims, Couscous out the wazoo, Velveeta skim Mac N Cheese and dried cranberries and apricots.
The most random item, a silly jar of green sugar sprinkles that are probably 4 Christmases and two moves old. I don’t have the heart to get rid of them. They have such a great color and are in a cute jar. I guess I could ditch em and finally reuse that jar, ha.
hahah you just reminded me of all the crazy baking supplies I have!! omg…
I have some stuff in my cupboards from when my brother in law moved away from Toronto. He just dumped his kitchen here and it’s a tonne of food we would never eat (well anymore!). There are these weird maple cookies, jars of Ragu, Lipton’s sidekicks, instant mashed potatoes.
I always have canned tomatoes, canned beans, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and oatmeal in my cupboard. For my husband I also keep regular pasta, canned chicken noodle soup, and hard taco shells in supply. When I catch one of these items on sale, I stock up! I have been known to buy 20 cans of soup when it’s buy one get one free :)
Wow, those flowers are absolutely gorgeous!!! Something about fresh flowers always brings my mood up three levels :D
I’m pretty sure you and your man are going to donate the healthiest blood mankind has ever seen!
Yep, I always think we’re “running low,” when we really have tons of usable food in the pantry! Sometimes the best recipes come out of desperation of throwing random ingredients together in a pot when it’s all you have!
I have very little stored away in my cupboards…for a while I was getting overwhelmed with the number of cans I had so I made a serious attemt to use them all up and now I just store the essentials. I feel so much better now!
I always have oats in my cupboard. I would be lost (and starving!) without them!
Staples for me: black beans, sweet potatoes, spinach, bananas, apples, chickpeas, almond/soy milk.
I have so many things in my cupboards that I completely forget about, and therefore don’t use. I really need to go through them … and my freezer too!!
Oats, rice, snacks, and get this – veggies! We always always always have veggies in our fridge, every single day. Oh, and fruits! Our family can’t seem to stock up fast enough ;)
Flowers are gorgeous! I’m glad you’re having an awesome birthday week. :)
Wei-Wei
I always have a stockpile of oats, couscous, vegetable broth, a variety of beans and peanut butter. :D
I always have canned tomatoes and beans on hand.
Items I always have…hmmm..
Black beans
Northern beans
Quinoa
MaraNatha Peanut Butter
PB 2 from Bell Plantation
Chocolate Shakeology
Peppermint extract (my new found love in smoothies!)
Stewed tomatoes w/ spices
Oats galore
Protein bars for the fiance :)
Jenn – I just made quinoa for the first time yesterday and can’t figure out what to put with it to make it scrumptious. It’s OK with some veggies and salt/pepper, but not amazing. Any suggestions?
I love quinoa and pasta sauce, but I am just generally obsessed with pasta sauce! haha
Hi Karen!
I typically use my quinoa like I would brown rice. I add it to wraps, burritos, even salads!
My current favorites:
quinoa w/ black beans + corn + salsa + bell peppers
quinoa w/ a bit of onion, bell peppers, cucumber, and a fruit of choice, mix w/ olive oil + lime juice
quinoa w/ tomato paste, green peppers and a bit of onion for taste plus fresh tomatoes and olive oil
I hope that helps a bit. :)
Yes, big help. Thank you! I’ll do more experimenting this weekend.
I usually have a few canned goods in the pantry that will sit there for a couple of weeks before I use them but I really try not to let things sit too long or if I do, I take them into the food pantry at church so at least someone else can use them. :)
I can generally eat for another two weeks after I complain, “We have no food!” Yup, totally code for all my easy foods are gone and now I have to get creative. I always have pasta, rice, beans, tuna, and bread in my cupboards. It’s the veggies and fruit that run out fast.
I am at that point RIGHT NOW where it seems as if I am very low on groceries, when in reality, I could make many nutritious meals from what I have on hand. I almost always have:
-oats
-brown rice
-beans
-canned tomatoes
-nut butters
I always have cous cous, rice, beans, pasta sauce, oats- the usual!