Ick, it’s been raining pretty much all day. And it’s hard to get out of a warm bed when it’s cold, dark and raining, I seriously had to motivate myself this morning. But my workouts have been fun lately because I’ve been setting our DVR to grab every Christmas movie I can find to watch during them. So far I’ve watched The Muphet Christmas Carol (super cute!), Elf (which I could watch about 20 more times), Christmas Vacation (just wouldn’t be Christmas without it), It’s A Wonderful Life and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (not the train wreck version with Jim Carrey). I could spend most of December watching Christmas movies, there are so many good ones.
For lunch I utilized more leftovers, salad with a creamy hemp seed rosemary dressing and chopped veggies with hummus. Not too original, but quick and healthy.
I’ve found a creamy, hemp seed-based dressing coating a salad can help preserve it in the fridge longer and always make a huge salad for simple lunches.
After work I did something very brave – headed to Trader Joe’s with a long list. Even though it was raining and traffic sucked. But it actually went better than I expected, the store wasn’t that crowded and I found everything on my list which can be hit-or-miss with Trader Joe’s. A lot of what I bought wasn’t for me, but goodies to send to east coast family for the holidays.
Nut butters, flavored nuts, flattened bananas, dark chocolate and Larabars – I think they’ll like it. :-)
But my shopping trip left me a little drained and running late on preparing dinner, so I went ghetto-healthy first chopping a small butternut squash in half and gutting the seeds.
Then turning the halves cut side down on a plate of water and “steaming” them in the microwave on high for 8 minutes.
While I heated one of my favorite soups on the stove top.
Shredded a topping for it.
And dinner is served in 10 minutes!
Yeah, not fancy, but warm and soothing after running around in the rain all day. Now I need to coax a dog into stepping out into the rain to do her business, but between the rain and the terrifying blow-up Christmas lawn decorations, I’m thinking this is gonna be a short walk. :-)
What are some of your favorite Christmas movies?
“Ghetto healthy”…LOL. Love it.
I never knew you could cook a big butternut squash in the microwave! Good to know!
Oh yeah, just about any winter squash can be cooked that way and it’s good to fast steam them for squash mashes, soups, etc. But the texture is more mushy compared to baking them.
I love all those movies you listed..Scrooged is probably my favourite one though!
How did you make that salad dressing..it looks delish :)
Oh, Scrooged is one of my faves too!
I just realized that I’ve never posted the dressing recipe – I will soon, I promise. :-) I adapted it from a cashew-based cream sauce using hemp seeds instead for less fat and more protein.
It’s always nice to send people “food presents” – you know they’ll use it for sure! Also, it’s funny what becomes “fast food” to us health nuts haha – squash and soup
Some family members are tough to shop for, they already have everything and more. Gourmet foods always work though, especially when they don’t have Trader Joe’s in their area. So true on fast food, to me it’s basic, whole foods I can cook fast – not a bag from a drive thru. :-P
what do you put on your squash it looks amazing?!
Hey, a little stevia sweetener and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie seasoning which makes it almost a dessert!
Gotta love the black bean soup + squash combo!
Vegan cheese must be a really wonderful addition, too :)
the tj’s goodies…i have purposely never bought those sesame honey cashews b/c i KNOW i could eat the bag in a sitting. lol. And that would be too many nuts for my tummy to handle.
Flattened bananas, yep. Staple.
The b-nut squash and what you told the above commenter you put on it…yum! That’s how I roast squash too..but w/ coconut or evoo + brown sugar. I should keep it simple and try your method.
Glad you made it thru the groc store despite the pre holiday hubbub.
And glad you saw the post today with your tree! Thanks again for the pic permission :) I have never even seen a romanesco in stores. Ever. And in my So Cal CSA box have never gotten anything like that either..it’s amazing what local produce can be like…awesome, unique and eye opening!