Tropical Green Salad

At 1:15 p.m. today I got to thinking about my water intake for the day. So far, I had consumed one glass of warm water with lemon and cayenne pepper and a glass of water mixed with 2 teaspoons of Vega Shake & Go (does that even count?!). What??!? And I'm supposed to get 8 glasses of water per day ~ yikes!! This is a continual struggle for me.

Yesterday, I started a fitness journal. Today I decided that I would add a food intake journal to it; including water intake. My goal: to drink 8 glasses of water per day. It will be interesting to see how I actually do. I think it's one of those things that I often think I am doing a great job at, but when it's recorded on paper it ends up being a bit of a different tale.

All afternoon I sipped away at water and I still only got 3 more glasses down. Tomorrow I'm going 8 for 8! I do like my water with lemon or lime and I've heard people talk about using cucumber slices or other fruit to give a glass of water some pizzazz. Do you have a favourite addition to make your water extra special? Do share.

When I got home from work, my running buddy, Dora, and I headed out for our first Spring run. My goal is to run a 5K this year and since I haven't been doing much running, I've decided to follow the Couch to 5K Running Program by Cool Running. Today was our first run outside and I've gotta tell you it was quite cold out there - can you believe we're getting more snow overnight tonight?!? Next time I'll be throwing on a toque and some light gloves.

When I got home from my run, I made yet another amazing salad; it was more fabulous than I could have possibly dreamed. I hope over the next 12 weeks I don't overdose you with salads, but I feel compelled to share the amazing recipes I keep finding and loving! Today, its all about a recipe that I found on How Sweet It Is.

Tropical Green Salad
Recipe for Tropical Spring Greens Salad by Jessica

2 c of your favourite lettuce (I used red leaf lettuce, Jessica used spring greens)

1/2 sweet onion, caramelized

1/4 c mango, diced

1/4 of a small avocado, chopped

2 tablepoons shredded coconut

agave nectar (or honey), olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper

Top your salad greens with the onions, mango, and avocado in a salad bowl. Drizzle with agave nectar (or honey), olive olive, lemon, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with coconut.

I found that you didn't need to drizzle too much of the agave, olive oil and lemon. I would say a tbsp or less of each. The flavours combined with the fresh mango, carmelized onions and creamy avocado is amazing. I would never have put these ingredients together on my own. This is a salad I will be eating alot of this summer!!

The lineup....

..of course this salad goes smashingly well with sweet potato fries :-) 

Another delicious and nutritious meal! I got this one all to myself because Derek doesn't really dig salads especially ones with fruit in them. He also recently let me know that he prefers yellow potatoes and doesn't need my 'fancy' sweet potatoes <sigh> ~ I try, I really do!! If he only knew what he was missing!

So far it has been pretty easy to stick to my workout and food plans. We took my before pictures today and if I wasn't motivated before, I certainly am now; let's just say they are a little scary. I will be having a look at them everytime I crave chocolate or chips because I definitely need some improvement before bathing suit weather arrives!!

Tomorrow is dinner night with my grandparents, so who knows what will be on the menu. I'll be sure to take my camera and report back!

Have a great night!

Andrea

Veggie Burger & Sweet Potato Fries

We all have some nights when we are either too busy, too tired or just don't feel like spending alot of time in the kitchen after a long day at work. I had one of those nights recently, so I decided to splurge and treat myself to my favourite ready- made veggie burger. Let me introduce you to the President's Choice Thick & Juicy Portbello Swiss Vegetarian Burger.

Ohhhh Yeahhhh....

I think these burgers are only available to us Canadians, but man are they good! They aren't as low fat & low calorie as I typically like, but once in a while a girl has got to go crazy and let loose...so what if you have to undo the button on your pants after dinner....we'll make it up with a good workout tomorrow right ;-)??

These burgers are great on the barbecue, but since our barbie is covered in 3 feet of snow, I decided to throw it under the broiler - it still tasted great!

When I have a good veggie burger, I don't like to overpower it with all sorts of toppings. I am not very exciting when it comes to topping a burger: I like carmelized onions (doesn't everyone??)...I actually put an entire onion on my burger ... I just couldn't help myself :-) I also like a little mayonaise (you can use your favourite vegan version if you'd like)  and a handful of baby spinach.

Doesn't this burger look amazing ~ I know my mouth's watering  :-)

As a side, I whipped up some baked sweet potato fries. These are so easy to make!

Sweet Potato Fries

serves 1

1 sweet potato

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or oil of your choice)

1 tsp of sea salt

Preheat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or non-stick spray.

Chop your sweet potato up into wedges or fries - I was watching Hawaii 5-0 while I did this, so mine are cut a little funky, but they still tasted great.



Add the oil and salt and mix thoroughly.

Place fries onto cookie sheet. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes making sure to flip the fries halfway through. You may find that they take a little longer depending on your oven and how crispy you like the fries to get, so keep an eye on them.

I am a lover of the salt shaker, so I do add more salt once they are cooked ~ it really depends upon your taste ~ personally I think everything tastes better with salt.

If you realy want to get crazy, you could make a larger batch of fries and mix sweet potatoes and regular potatoes - this is quite a hit at my house because it satisfies my sweet tooth and love of sweet potato fries and Derek still gets his normal, "not fancy" taters.  

Voila! An easy and delicious meal without much effort or clean up.

Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday evening!

Andrea