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!
I love gerbera daisies. SIGH. I have flower envy now. :)
Man! I can’t believe what happened in Gossip Girl. I’m so mad that I’m going to have to wait X number of months until the next season….*Sighhh*
That is a brilliant green for your overnight oats/gm
My staples are similar to yours: nut butter, gf oats, gluten free pasta, canned beans, honey, agave, quinoa, tea…hmm what else…rice crackers/rice cakes…thats about it!
have a wonderful day – the weather is so nice today!!!
Oats, beans, quiona, seeds always in my cupboard – I also have a tendency to keep canned pumkin but don’t find myself using it very often. Angels love the new design but I miss that there is not a reciepe button to click on – it’s a bit more tough to navigate now – :-(
For pumpkin:
1. Mix 1/2 c. pumpkin w/ 1/2 c. natural PB — use as dip
2. Mix pumpkin into plain yogurt and drizzle with honey
3. Use it to make a vegan risotto
4. Add to pancakes or any other quick bread recipe
5. Make it into a sauce for pasta (ia different taste than tomato sauce)
6. Use in smoothie
7. Eat plain, or with a little seasoning (saute garlic, onion, salt, pepper — then add the pumpkin).
8. Vegan pumpkin pie: Blenderize pumpkin, silken tofu, honey, nutmeg/cinnamon and pour into cruss (let set in the fridge).
I love pumpkin (and usually use up a big can within a week of purchasing it).
I always have couscous, coconut milk and peanut butter. Unfortunately, I have some quinoa and brown rice in there that I never eat. I don’t like the quinoa much, and the brown rice is fine but takes so long to cook. That’s why I eat so much couscous, tasty and quick!
Hi! First of all, that was my reaction to Monday night’s Gossip Girl too. I can’t believe what happened.
Anyway, I have been reading your blog, which I found through an old high school classmates blog Healthforthewholeself.com. Between your blog and hers, I have come to realize that I have “disordered eating”. I love working out-especially running-but I think I am eating all the wrong things and only running on the elliptical at my house. But, also between your blogs I have read so much, I feel slightly overwhelmed. I would appreciate any help as per where to start on this healthy lifestyle. Do I start by changing exercises? Do I join other exercise classes? Or is it more important to start with the things I am eating? Any feedback would be helpful (from anyone reading this). My e-mail is [email protected].
Hi Victoria,
I think it is always wise to start with a professional if you think that you could benefit from it. In university I saw a registered dietitan and a therapist and both were crucial to getting me on a healthier path.
I always have canned chicken noodle soup on hand because its the only thing I want when I get sick. However; since I changed my diet and exercise habits, I haven’t been sick in almost 1.5 years!
Other staples:
-whole wheat pasta
-pizza sauce
-kidney beans
-tomato paste
I know what you mean about having no food in the house…but having cupboards full of food… I feel like I’m always buying “staples” but never eating them…
We always have nuts, nut butter, dates, dried mango and organic beef jerky (a la Trader Joe’s)– those things usually get eaten within a week or two…we ALWAYS have chick peas, black beans, brown rice, some kind of soup…that we usually avoid or forget that we have…and buy more accidentally!
I love love black eyed peas after trying them for the first time a few months ago. I definitely must try this recipe. For the past week I’ve been using fresh produce but adding the “lurking cupboard ingredients” to make dinners. They really have been turning out great! That GM is soooo pretty!!!
Ummm Ange … I usually love your concoctions but the green oats are but too much for me ; )
Amy’s soup is really bland eh? I used to buy it and add my own spices but after a while decided to just go back to my old soup. I couldn’t justify the cost of Amy’s if I had to doctor it up each time.
it is bland and I doctor it up too. Luckily I get it from my wholesaler so its cheap.
Isn’t it amazing what you’ll find sometimes if you look past the first “row” of foods in the pantry? :) I was just recently at my mother-in-law’s house, and we found a pacakge of shredded cheese that had an expiration date of August 2008!!!! :-O
Some of my food staples would be:
-canned diced tomatoes (despite their controversy I’ve been hearing about?)
-oats
-whole wheat pasta
-chocolate chips :-P
-olive oil
-balsamic vinegar
What have you been hearing about diced tomatoes?
Is it the BPA controversy in cans?
Yes, the BPA controversy is what I was referring to. As well as, a couple of my friends were going on and on about how they heard diced tomatoes were bad?!? I did whatever research I could, and didn’t find anything, but they swore they heard otherwise? Not really sure about it though. Either way…I’m still eating them! :)
We always have pasta, tuna in oil, canned tomatoes and noodles :)
There is always a box of cheerios that never gets eaten . Also, fruity teas and peanut butter for me.lol
I always always have canned tomato sauce, whole wheat pasta, canned vegetables, and canned soup.
There are things my boyfriend has in the cupboard that I would never touch. Like Spam. Ew!
I always have canned beans (usually chickpeas), rice, pasta, and diced tomatoes. My goji berries just sit there. I can’t stomach them enough to even eat one. :-( ICK!
hahah I too hated goji berries for the longest time. Now i think they are ‘ok’
We always have tons of crushed tomatoe and tomatoe sauce. We buy them by the case, because they form a part of countless dishes. That, and salsa and flavored sea salts — I think my husband bought about 5 different kinds when he went through a phase last summer of try different flavored salts on different things.
I love this kitchen cupboard clean-out inspiration! It’s the perfect time of year to do so!
What a beautifully vibrant breakfast in a glass!! And those flowers – gorgeous!!!
I was going to call you crazy for calling Amy’s split pea soup bland, but then I remember I always spiced it up by dumping craploads of cayenne on it and “ohgoddelicious”ing the entire bowl while my nose ran and my tongue tingled the entire bowl. lmao.
I love your teacup. <3 It's so… modern. +0+
I always have…
canned beans
whole wheat pasta
brown rice
quinoa
couscous
canned tomatoes
nut butters
soba or somen noodles
veg stock
onions/garlic!
xo
K
I love your blog and I so LOVE THE Green Monster Vegan overnight Oats. I made my Oats yesterday and this morning I could hardly wait to try it..IT’S SO, SO GOOD!! I could definitely crave this drink as you do..Getting ready to made another batch of overnight oats right now..
THANK YOU, thank you…I can not wait to share this with friends and I also posted it on my blog for family and friends..
Thanks again and I will be buying some Glo bars today..
Thanks again,
Allison