Mostly because we’re out of leaves. Spinach, romaine, mixed greens…we have none.

What’s that saying about necessity breeding innovation? This is like that.

Just keep layering those vegetables on top of each other until your bowl/plate/eating vessel is full.

Here we have zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, sprouts…

…almonds, homemade croutons, and dressing:

• 1/4 cup light coconut milk (canned)
• 1 t spicy mustard
• seasonings (salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder)

There’s the seal of approval.

Well, okay, she didn’t actually put any in her mouth – but throwing salad on the floor is fun, too.

I’m still on a salad bender. We’re going on about two months here.

I’m worried that with all this healthy, I’m going to wake up and crave fried chicken and mashed potatoes every day for two months. We’ll just have to deal with that as it comes.

Until then, I ‘ll keep showing you my salads. This one was a winner.

• spinach
• cucumber
• raisins
• sweet potato (which might really be a yam. I have no idea.)
• pecans
• sprouts
• celery
• cinnamon vinaigrette

In case you’re bored of salads – this moment was a winner, too. Punky loves to lick A’s feet and A is fascinated by that furry creature.

I told you they were going to be best friends.

One question I get over and over again on this blog is: Does a salad really fill you up?

And the answer is unequivocally, yes. But not just any old salad. To tame an appetite like mine, it must have certain things. Here are my filing salad must-haves

1. Size: large – that tub up there was my lunch today. You know those plastic containers that hold something like 5lbs of spinach leaves, that is my bowl.  A salad in a cereal bowl? That wouldn’t even put a dent in my appetite.

2. More than lettuce – lettuce is fine. But 10lbs of lettuce is like what…10 calories? It needs to have bulk. A few of my favorites:

• avocados
• peppers
• raisins
• roasted vegetables
• sweet potatoes (any squash, really)
• cucumbers
• chickpeas
• potatoes
• nuts
• seeds
• croutons

3. Dressing – oil and vinegar just don’t cut it for me. I need a lot of flavor and some heartiness. I usually add almond butter or peanut butter to my salad dressings because I love the taste and it bumps up that bulk factor.

4. Make is special – I think part of the hurdle (for me) in getting  a salad to fill me up is mental. It can easily feel like I’m depriving myself if I don’t make it special. Things like a hunk of bread on the side, roasted almonds, wonton strips, homemade croutons – I need these special items to make a salad feel like a meal. Otherwise my brain tells me to eat a piece of pie afterwards.

So there you have it. Make it big, make it bulky, and make it special.

I eat a salad every single day. That might change as the weather gets cooler – but for now, I’m on a salad kick and I can’t be stopped.

My lunch salads generally fall into two categories: Asian or Mexican

Today was decidedly Asian.

lettuce, mushrooms, sugar-snap peas, sprouts, roasted almonds, tofu, and chow mein noodles

For the tofu: I generally press, marinate, and cook a batch at the beginning of the week and keep it in the fridge for quick salad building. Here’s my tofu press and this week, I marinated it in soy sauce, mustard, water, and ground ginger. Then I just broil it for 5-6 minutes on each side.

As for the dressing, I’m pretty much sold on anything that tastes like peanut dipping sauce. So today’s mix was:

• 2 T peanut butter
• 2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 T water
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 T maple syrup

Yes, I want salad.

Do you have a favorite lunch these days?

We made it to the pool today! After A’s morning nap – we hightailed it to the pool where we swam splashed and played for a couple of hours. After our walk back home, I was hot and the only thing on my mind was a salad: lettuce, spinach, avocado, edamame, peanuts, cucumber and almond butter + soy sauce dressing. The perfect decision for a hot day.

You know what else was the perfect decision?

Making the choice to be a stay-at-home-mom. I’ve been getting emails upon emails of people asking me if I miss teaching, and why I decided to stay at home this year.

The short answer is yes: I dearly miss being a teacher.

The beginning of the year excitement, setting up my classroom, a new set of expectant eight-year-olds. Making a difference in the lives of a lot of children every day. I miss it.

However. It just didn’t make sense to me to go back. Think about it, I would spend all day taking care of other people’s kiddos and making money. Then I would hand over (more than half of) that money to pay someone to else to take care of my kiddo. That is illogical to me.

Sure, we’re going have to sacrifice a little. But I’m willing to do without almost anything so I can stay at home with my girl. And I feel extremely blessed to have a husband who shares that same philosophy. Adrienne is number one. I don’t want someone else being there for all of her firsts. As a teacher, I sometimes (a lot) worked twelve hour days. Adrienne isn’t even awake for 12 out of the 24 hours in day. If she went to daycare – I would literally not get to see her (awake) for five of the seven days of the week – and that is a sacrifice I am not willing to make.

So there you have it. I do miss teaching. But I would miss Adrienne even more.

I mean..really?

***

Also, did you vote today?

But then it was naptime.

And then it was lunchtime.

And then naptime again.

And then I made this pizza swirl bread.

And then it was cloudy and rainy.

So, A and I went to Target instead of the pool. I got a really cute pair of jeans for $19.

Then we came home and I ate pizza bread.

And now my new jeans probably don’t fit.

But I couldn’t care less. I just want more pizza bread.

Oh, and salad. I still like salad.

Which is a good thing, because tomorrow I’ll squeeze into my bikini and we’ll try to make it to the pool. Again.

homemade croutons, home grown basil (thanks mom), and plump little grape tomatoes…don’t mind if I do.

my sous chef – you should see this girl’s knife skills.

I am actually eating this salad as I type these words, and my mouth is full of happiness. I think between Babycakes and Peas and Thank You, I could be a very, very content vegan.

***

This just in: I was looking at my blog stats, and saw that I had been nominated for Denver’s Best Blogger. I’m not sure how this happened, but I would love your vote. CLICK HERE!

I have been eating salads at an alarming rate. I really hate wasting food, and the lettuce in our garden is just exploding. Therefore, I am being forced (by myself) to use the lettuce in every dang meal I eat.

Today’s was particularly good, so I thought I’d share:

• 3 cups romaine lettuce (from the garden)
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup alfalfa sprouts
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/8 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 veggie burger
• 1 T hummus
• 2 T BBQ sauce (Mama Pea’s recipe)

The lettuce is growing out of control.

Which means I can’t stop making salads. Even if I wanted to.

Today’s salad was born because of an impulse purchase I made at the grocery store…

Without a doubt, the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had. They taste like fried eggrolls, and the list of ingredients is short. Also…no beans. Which makes my belly happy. And my family happy. If you get my drift.

I’ve embarrassed myself, back to the salad.

Ingredients:

• Lettuce
  
• 1 cup grapes, sliced in half
  
• Veggie burger, cooked
  
• Feta cheese
  

Dressing

• 2 T red wine vinegar
  
• 2 T olive oil
  
• 1 T Dijon mustard
  
• 1 t lemon pepper seasoning
  
• sweetener (I used ½ packet of stevia, but I think honey would be really tasty. I was just out of honey.)
  

Yup, too much lettuce is a good problem to have.

That’s going to make for some bad photo lighting come wintertime, but I refuse to think of winter yet. So what did I eat on this summery day?

Glad you asked.

Lunch

My favorite kind – a collection of snacks.

From left to right – kale chips, carrot sticks/red bell pepper (which were dipped in hummus), bread with almond butter and cherries.

Kale chips for the win! I washed and tore up a bunch of kale, mashed it around with some olive oil, added salt, and some nutritional yeast…

…and baked them on a cookie sheet for 12 minutes at 450 degrees. Even Meeker thinks they taste like potato chips, and he’s a tough critic.

Afternoon Baking Project

The Hippie’s blueberry scones. So stinking good – I was greedily eating the dough before they even went in the oven, leaving me with very few finished products. However, the few that I did manage to see to fruition were delicious.

Dinner

I made this tofu greek salad (ßreally good. Meeker thought it was all feta cheese and was unaware of the tofu, muahhaha!) and some eggplant fries to go alongside.

You really want the recipe, trust me. But it’s not quite perfect yet – so you’ll have to be patient.

What time do you eat dinner?