Leftover Lady

First week of school = no time, stress, and unexpected schedule shifts. Which makes it hard to eat, let alone eat healthy.

Thank goodness for left overs!

Luckily for me my breakfasts have looked about like this every morning:


Many thanks to my microwave and my bulk oat cooking.

But what about lunch and dinner? I will admit I did eat and an apple and peanut butter the other day for lunch...hey I'm not perfect! At least it wasn't a bag o' potato chips ;)

Lunch and dinner have been remarkably similar these days and are usually some type of salad or a variation on my Spicy Black Bean Carrot Quinoa leftovers. (The leftovers I didn't stuff into a green pepper). Today, and yesterday, I made a mega salad.

Behold.


What all is in that wondrous mix?
-Mixed Greens
-Spicy Black Bean Carrot Quinoa
-Cucumber
-Patty Pan Squash
-Avocado
-Tomato
-Homemade Hummus
-Louisiana Hot Sauce

I think there was some other goodies lurking in there...but I can't remember since I scarfed it down in a matter of 10 seconds.

Yesterday I made about the same salad with slight variations...It didn't have the hot sauce or tomato but I replaced those with Olive Oil Vinaigrette, Sunflower Seeds, Almonds, and Celery + allll the ingredients above. (nom nom nom nom)

Basically my salads are the contents of my refrigerator and cabinets tossed into a bowl. After my first bite of salad today not one, but three, of my roommates requested a bite! I obliged and my salad got a confused at first, then yum its good, then SPICY response from all 3 roommates :)



When rushing around sometimes it is really hard to get nutrients. One of the easist ways to bulk up any meal is to add some Flax Seeds or grind them up to make Flax Meal. I love Flax Seeds and they provide a laundry list of health benefits.

Buuuut ever since I read Born To Run by Christopher McDougall I have been dying to try to secret running food of the amazing tribe of runners- the Tarahumara. What is it? Chia Seeds! This want for Chia Seeds was compounded by the fact that every healthy eating/lifestyle blogger I follow incorporates Chia Seeds into their diet.

Per Serving(2 TBSP) Chia Seeds provide 4,160mg Omega-3, 1,370mg Omega-6, 4g protein and 8g fiber. Wow, but what do these nutrients do for us?

Chia Seeds promote/support:
- Healthy Heart
- Good Mental Health
- Healthy Skin and Hair
- Healthy Immune System
- Cardiovascualr Health
- Weight Loss
- Joint Function and Mobility
- High Antioxidants
- Traditionally known as "running food" and are said to naturally improve athletic performance.

Well look who broke down and received this in the mail today (after searching EVERY grocery store, co-op, and health food store in my area for Chia Seeds).


Me, me, me! I am so excited to try them in my morning oats, baking recipes (flax and chia seeds are used to make vegan eggs) and try my hand at making my own sports drinks. Yes, you can call me a food nerd but I honestly love trying new things (not limited to new foods). I don't care if that makes me a nerd at all. :) Get excited for some up-coming Chia obsessed posts haha.

Hope if you are back at school this week that it's going smoothly!

Do you have a go-to food that makes great leftovers? What is something new your excited to try?