Green Machine Burrito

More to come later this week, but I was struck this evening by some sort of wild motivation to grocery shop and cook a real meal for dinner (often it’s a super easy eggs and Eggos dinner for me). Obviously, I had to share the best meal I’ve made in awhile. Plus it was super healthy. I wanted to get it down before I forgot the ingredients (it was a make-it-up-as-I-go kind of meal. Hence the scientific measurements.):

Makes one small burrito

Half of an avocado
Half of a sweet potato
Two scoops of “veggie protein crumbles” (similar to ground beef if you want to use that instead)
Lime wedge for squeezing on top (not to be confused with the wedgie that you may find difficult to pick while you still have lime juice on your hands)
One glop of plain Greek yogurt
A healthy drizzle of (pre-made) salsa verde
One magical dash of salt on top
A baby flour tortilla to swaddle all of the ingredients tightly before you cuddle them straight into your mouth

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1. Follow directions to brown veggie protein crumbles (in skillet over medium heat for 4-6 minutes). If using ground beef, brown meat in greased skillet over medium heat until…well, until brown.
2. If using the Lazy Girl Method for Cooking Potatoes (I’ve practiced this method for many years), cut sweet potato in half and remove all of the deeper, ugly blemishes. With a fork, take out all of your frustration from the day and stab the half of the potato 5-10 times and then wrap in two damp paper towels. Microwave for five minutes, checking to see at the end of the time if it’s cooked to your satisfaction. If not, continue nuking for one minute at a time until soft.
3. Using your Magic Bullet, a blender, or any food processor, throw the cooked sweet potato in and blend until mashed.
4. Cut avocado in half, and dice using this method.
5. Assembling the final masterpiece, from the base up:
   1. Smear the mashed sweet potato on your tortilla
   2. Arrange your avocado cubes in an orderly fashion
   3. Invite your meat (or meat substitute) to the party
   4. Drizzle the desired amount of salsa verde
   5. Glop (yes, it’s a verb in this context) your greek yogurt on as the hat
   6. And then make it rain with your lime juice and salt

Sing your baby burrito a lullaby and then kiss it goodnight.

Enjoy!

Warm cinnamon fruit salad

Last night I hit the gym to do a 4.5  mile run on the treadmill (it was too dark to run outside at that point) and a full-body strength workout.

When I have to spend more than like 20 minutes on a cardio machine, I normally like to lift weights before I do the cardio because I know I won’t feel motivated to do all of the lifting afterwards, whereas if I do my lifting first, I can usually muster up the motivation to stay on a cardio machine long enough to finish. Does that happen to anyone else?

I feel like the reason is because with lifting, I’m constantly pausing to change weights, start new sets, move to a different machine, etc., and it gives me that many more opportunities to think about how tired I am.  On a cardio machine, I simply start and then chug along until the time or distance is up, and there’s no stopping to think. Basically, if I could turn into a zombie at the gym, I would be really freakin’ fit.

So last night I followed my normal order of events, and after lifting, hopped on the treadmill to start my 4.5 miles. And then at 1.5 miles, I was suddenly hit with the running-on-empty-no-pun-intended-my-stomach-is-an-bottomless-pit feeling. So I incline walked 0.5 miles, stretched, left, and came home to make this laughably easy and delicious experiment instead!  Ah, well. Not every run is your best one. I’ll make up the miles sometime in the next day or two.

serves 1

Ingredients:

1 medium size banana

1 medium size apple (any kind)

Approximately 1 cup of green grapes

Approximately 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance, butter, or margarine

Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to flavor

Plain greek yogurt to garnish

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1. Slice up all fruits into medium-to-small size chunks.

2. Throw all of the fruit and Earth Balance/butter/margarine into a medium-sized pot on the stove. Set heat to medium-low.

3. Gently stir mixture for about 10 minutes, sprinkling in the desired amount of cinnamon (and I later decided to add pumpkin pie spice as well) about halfway through. Let all of the fruit be coated with the Earth Balance and cinnamon. Don’t worry about the bananas getting all mushy – that’s the best part.

4. The mixture will start smelling really, really good, and infiltrate your whole house. Make sure to continue stirring slowly while protecting it from the others that will surely come in to see what you’re making.

Protect it closely.

5. After about 10 minutes, take the mixture off of the heat and serve immediately.

Garnish with a generous dollop of Daisy plain Greek yogurt. Don’t skip this part! The tartness of the yogurt is the perfect cool, creamy compliment to the sweet, syrupy salad (<– alliteration station). Plus it gives it staying power by adding protein.

The best part about this meal is that it’s healthy and tastes like a dessert. Who doesn’t like dessert for dinner?

Enjoy!

Off to try to accomplish that 4.5 mile run before it’s too dark outside.