Watermelon – A Summer Staple

I usually do not buy watermelon on my own because as embarrassing as this sounds, I did not know how to cut it. It’s a watermelon! You can’t mess it up. I have now learned that lesson. Now it’s one of my favorite things.

Watermelon is good on its own, sliced and eaten, but have you tried it in a smoothie? If not, well then you my friend are missing out.

I discovered the wonderfulness of watermelon after receiving one for $1 at Earth Fare due to a promotion they were running. I didn’t even plan on buying one but while I was checking out the woman behind the register said, “Did you get your watermelon for a $1?” And I was like, “What? A whole watermelon for a dollar!?!” So she had another associate grab me one from the produce section and off I went with my whole watermelon in my cart.

Side Note: If you don’t already shop at Earth Fare, it’s amazing. The selection is wonderful but the staff really set it over the top. What other grocery store would remind you about a promotion and then have someone go get it for you? I didn’t even have the coupon! Okay… maybe Publix, but other than that NO OTHER GROCERY STORE.

I thought the watermelon would come in handy over 4th of July weekend since the family was coming down to visit. What says 4th of July better than watermelon? But due to the fact that we had so much food already, the watermelon sat on my counter top until after all guests had left.

That is when I got adventurous after thinking, how in the world are we going to eat this whole watermelon between just the two of us. That’s a lot of watermelon! After doing some googling, because Google solves everything, I found a recipe for a watermelon smoothie:

4 Cups Watermelon

1/2 Lemon*

1/2 Cup Sugar

4 Cups Ice

* I just cut the skin off the lemon and throw the whole thing in there

Blend high until you reach a preferred consistency.

That’s it! And you get a delicious summer treat.

Eric and I even started having it for breakfast in the mornings adding some protein powder and the occasional greens. I will mention however that watermelon does not do a good job of hiding greens. So unless you can deal with that taste, I would not recommend it.

THEN I had the best idea ever… Watermelon Margaritas. Yes… I took it there.

4 Cups Watermelon

1/2 Lemon or Lime

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Tequila (but if you like it strong 3/4 cup)

4-5 Cups Ice

I got great reviews on the margarita and it’s a fun way to incorporate some real food, which is always my main goal.

Do you have other ways that you use watermelon? I would be curious to know!

Wow… So it’s been a while?

I apparently did not keep up with my promise to post more. Goodness! I haven’t posted in almost 6 months. Slightly embarrassed here. So much is going on right now. We are currently under a kitchen renovation which is driving …

Update on Vegan Experiment

So this past week was a tough week. I had a good mind set to begin with making several meals ahead of time on Sunday in preparation for the chaos that is bound to strike as busy season has started.  Currently working on a special project for a client of which consists of lots of take out and late nights. Not good for anyone trying to live a healthy lifestyle.

But I’m learning to stand my ground on  few things. One being workouts. I am making sure to work out every day either at lunch or around dinner time as a break. If I don’t workout, my whole day feels off so it’s been nice to maintain some consistency.

I started off decent with the food. I’m doing pretty well eating my lunches and most of my dinners. Going to strive to be more motivated this week to continue to eat my homemade dishes.

I started having a few cravings this week however. Craving for sweets and junk food. I’m sure that is just my body lashing out for eating healthy. But at the same time, it’s been so exciting learning all about new foods.

Do you know what swiss chard is? I didn’t until this experiment and I have come to discover that I love it. Favorite lettuce variety at the moment. Eric picked up mixed green bags from the Farmer’s Market for our salads at lunch time. And I’ve discovered a vegan ranch dressing that is only 20 calories a tablespoon and tastes amazing. I might even love it more than I ever loved ranch to begin with.

I found a blog that I have fallen in love with: Oh She Glows. It’s written by a woman who is also vegan and has amazing recipes. Her story inspires me and her recipes motivate me. I tried three of her recipes this week.

Finally, I discovered what I consider to be the best blog out there.. “Oh She Glows“. This woman is so creative and inspiring. I’ve pretty much pulled all of my dinner and lunch recipes from her blog. This week we are trying her Mushroom Risotto, which smelled ahh-mazing as it cooked. I can’t recommend her site enough. Try the vegan lasagna. It will sound crazy but it was so good that Eric practically finished the whole casserole dish himself!

I promise to take pictures this week of my food and share my findings as I try to keep this up. I definitely see this being incorporated into a permanent life change. And it’s really not so bad!

I

Bruschetta – Something You May Not Know

I have had a huge craving for bruschetta for the past few days. Just the though of that tomato and basil combo with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar were enough to make me salivate.

I was on a mission at the grocery store to make my own version of bruschetta to conquer these cravings. I bought some roma tomatoes (although looking back I would probably get an heirloom tomato instead), fresh basil, red onion, and whole wheat bread sliced (the good kind).

After watching two quick videos off YouTube on how to make bruschetta I was off to the kitchen to complete my mission.

In the process of watching videos on bruschetta, I found one that explained a misconception about bruschetta. At least for me it was a misconception. Bruschetta is not bread topped with olive oil, tomatoes, and basil, it is actually the italian version of garlic bread. The chef on YouTube explained that bruschetta is merely the act of coating your bread with olive oil and toasting it on a griddle or grill. Then you can top it whatever toppings you want or just eat it along side a dish of pasta. Many times they scrape it with garlic (new technique… who knew!) to give it an extra kick. So bruschetta does not require tomatoes and basil? Still, I love me some tomatoes and basil… so here we go.

‘

(Sorry for the awful picture, not doing a great job on photography at the moment)

Ingredients:

Tomatoes (I used 2 good-sized romas) 

Fresh Basil (4-6 leaves, depending on your need for basil)

Red Onion (2 Tbsps but I used more b/c I heart a good onion taste)

Olive Oil (For coatings bread and for coating tomato-basil mixture)

Salt (to taste)

Dried Oregano (1 tsp)

Balsamic Vinegar (optional; to drizzle at the end)

Garlic, 1-2 cloves

Bread (your preference, but baguette or some close version are best)

 

Directions:

1.) Slice up tomatoes and basil to your preferred size and throw in a bowl. 

2.) Mince Garlic and add to tomato-basil mixture

3.) Chop onion into small pieces then add to mixture. 

5.) Add olive oil, salt, and oregano. 

6.) Heat a griddle, grill, or stove top pan to medium heat. 

7.) Coat bread slices with olive oil on both sides and toast on both sides using the heated surface of your choosing. 

8.) Remove toasted bread from heated surface and coat with tomato-basil mixture. 

9.) Drizzle balsamic vinegar on top and enjoy!

 

This was such an easy recipe and such a delicious treat. I enjoyed mine with some cheap wine from Whole Foods. They have their own version of the $2 Buck Chuck however I think I am becoming a wine snob because I did not enjoy it. The delicious bruschetta made up for the mediocre wine. Next time, I’m opening my Bogle wine. Best winery ever. If you haven’t tried their wines try the Essential Red or Phantom. Both blends that are to die for. Love, love, love.

And… it’s all vegan. See, being vegan isn’t so bad after all. You still get to enjoy bruschetta (just after checking the bread ingredients). 😉

 

My Journey Into Veganism

So after watching tons of these documentaries I wanted to make some changes in my life. So I’ve decided to take a stab at going Vegan. Call me crazy, but it’s really not that crazy… just means eating healthy.

I’ve  cut out all animal products in my diet. Let me tell how hard that is. You would not believe the amount of items that contain milk. I even found veggie burgers that contained milk… WHYYYY!!!

This is coming from a girl who use to drink at least 2-3 glasses of milk a day, meat with every meal, and cheese on anything that would stand still. This is a HUGE change. I’m only on my second full week but I’ve tried a vegetarian diet since Jan 1.

It has been exciting, depressing, and enlightening all at the same time. I also found that I drink more water now (probably thanks to the flu) and that alone makes me feel so much  better.

I hope to do this for at least 6 weeks. I don’t believe in the processed vegan items like cheese, tofu, mayo, butter, etc. I will use them sparingly during this time but the point of veganism should be to eat real foods not replace bad foods with more processed versions.

Because of this change, I’m cooking more, eating more, and I have more energy. My fiber is up to 30 and 50 grams a day! I used to struggle to get 25 grams. Everything seems better. I’ve even lost 4 pounds (probably water weight) and gotten below 140 which I haven’t been able to do in over a year.

I can tell you however, that I’ve gotten a lot of push back. Crazy looks. Lots of questions. My mom even laughed at me. But thankfully I have the best husband in the world who supports me in everything I do. He is even willing to eat all my veggie meals and drink soy / almond milk lattes (which by the way… SO much better than milk). I cannot say enough times how blessed I am and how wonderful he is all around.

Everyone asks me why. That is the big question. There are many reasons why, but here are a few:

1.) I refuse to support the industrialized food industry.

2.) I want to avoid my chances of cancer, heart disease, and other health problems at all costs.

3.) I would like to support our local farmers.

4.) I want full energy and to feel good throughout the day.

Losing weight would be an added benefit to all of this.

I’m not sure how long I will hold this up but I plan to incorporate a plant-based diet into my long-term diet. I expect that I will occasionally have a good steak or burger, or a great slice of cheese but all in limited quantities.

During this time, I’ll share recipes that I have found and facts that I’ve discovered along the way.

Happy Eating!