Day 10: Tropical Green Smoothie

It's been a busy and it's not over yet. But at least it started right. A glass of the green stuff and almonds (duh). It was all cheerful and tropical until I walked out of the door and got dumped on by El Niño. Sometimes you gotta make your own sunshine.

Tropical Green Smoothie

1 ripe banana, peeled

1 handful spinach

1 cup frozen pineapple

1 cup almond milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla 

1 teaspoon chia seeds

shredded coconut

Put all ingredients except the chia seeds and coconut into the blender. Blend until smooth and stir in chia seeds and coconut. 

Day 9: The Real Detox Drink

I really wasn't going to blog tonight. It was not a cute food day, and dinner was a re-run. I mean, srsly:

But now I'm kinda hooked on over-sharing. 

Pro-tip #3: Avoid bland chicken by a semi-homemade quick fix. Find a sauce or dip that would be amazing on a cracker and dump it in a pan with some chicken and a little stock. Sauce should be oil based. My fav right now is artichoke lemon pesto. 

- Breakfast: Overnight oats with 2 dried apricots, mixed berries and cinnamon

- Lunch: Mixt Greens steak salad and chicken and apple salad sandwich 

- Snacks: Orange slices mixed into 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, BBQ Kettal chips (trapped in a 3 hour meeting, sue me)

- Dinner: Leftover chicken in artichoke lemon pesto, sweet potatoes and avocado over spinach salad 

- Dessert: Spicy orange hazelnut bark, frozen berries

As you can tell from the above, today wasn't *exactly* on-cleanse, so I made a cup of my go-to detox drink to make up the difference. It sounds more like a salad dressing than a warm bedtime drink, but it does a body good. 

Turmeric Lemon "Tea"

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 lemon juice

dash cayenne

1 cup hot water

(optional) honey 

Put first three ingredients in the cup and pour in hot water. Stir in honey, if needed. 

Farmer's Market Scramble & PB+B Smoothie

I got really lucky in the Farmer's Market department. One quick bus ride and I'm at the large, Dupont Farmer's Market, a short drive away and I'm at the Palisades mini-market that has the best Belgian waffles in the world, or a downhill walk away from the Glover Park Flea Market/Farmer's Market. This past Sunday, I patroned the Palisades market and found these vibrantly colored (super cheap!) summer squash and zucchini.

I sautéed the veggies in a little butter before adding in two whisked eggs into the pan. Once the eggs were cooked, I topped it with feta cheese and s&p. So good I made it two days in a row!

On the side of my veg scramble, I had a slice of Dakota bread from Great Harvest - which I discovered is right next to my school :) - topped with a drizzle of local honey.

To cool off, I made a peanut butter and banana smoothie.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
1 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
2 tbsp peanut butter
drizzle of vanilla extract
pinch of salt
honey
dash of cinnamon
ice cubes

Memorial Day Walking Tour

Our biggest adventures in DC usually happen on accident. They start out as innocent: a quick walk to Starbucks to catch the bus to Dupont Circle, we get impatient for the bus and decide to walk the whole way, and then there’s no looking back. This is how we ended up walking 11 miles on Saturday.

One of my favorite outdoor bars is the The Occidental outdoor lounge at the Willard Hotel downtown. We tried to kill some time by exploring the old Post Office Pavilion. The line was too long and full of boy scouters so we headed in a different direction until we stumbled on the National Botanical Garden.

It’s such a hidden gem, and it’s HUGE. There was a room dedicated to spices that were all displayed cutely in large fake flowers.


Those orange pods are cacao {future chocolate!} The garden was a beautiful little oasis in the middle of downtown.

Then a loop around the Capitol just for fun. When I’m exploring DC, I try to avoid groups of people in matching T-shirts as much as possible. This is easier said than done. In our efforts to avoid a group of singing, color-coordinating teens, we ducked into a nearby bakery, Paul’s.


Right outside, a group had gathered to watch a man speak about either Native American issues and/or veterans and war crimes. I really couldn’t tell.
Another 15 block hike back from the Capitol to The Occidental for a refreshment in their lounge patio.

Walk another 14 blocks to Commissary for their happy hour? Sure!

Hello, delicious watermelon margarita. On the walk home from Logan Circle, we saw the coolest corn hole set. Everyone has their unique way of celebrating Memorial Day.

Happy Memorial Day!
And Happy Birthday, Melissa!! Little does she know, I’m about to surprise her in bed with Starbucks.

Monster Smoothie

Ahh great workout this morning. The gym was basically deserted and I took my time on the machines, and even ran a bit! My breakfast of a cup of joe and a serving size bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats started me off on the right foot. Why is it that I live such a healthier lifestyle when I don’t have to work? I’m trying to take advantage of it while it lasts. For lunch I tried something that I’ve been curious about for a while: a spinach smoothie. It was shockingly good. I couldn’t even taste the spinach, except that it gave a fresh taste to the banana and yogurt mixture. I gulped down a salad-sized amount of spinach in a small glass. A great way to sneak in vegetables!

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
1 vanilla yogurt
2 handfuls of spinach
Splash of fruit juice (or milk)
Ice – optional: if you want a thicker smoothie
I added shaved coconut to the top, which gave the smoothie a nice chewiness.