Health Made Simple, Day 44

Another day on Health Made Simple come and gone! Tuesday morning started with a quick apple cinnamon date bar, and then I went to bootcamp my gym downtown. After my workout, I had — you guessed it! — white rice. I've been eating a small bowl (about a half-cup) of white rice after every workout, and it's working well for recovery carbs.

My breakfast was a mango smoothie with mango, banana, spinach, and walnuts, but I forgot to take a pic. Morning snack was black bean dip and whole wheat crackers, but I failed to take a pic of that too. The bean dip recipe was from Health Made Simple, and it's basically like hummus but with black beans (it has tahini!).

I brought my lunch to work — leftover Cowboy Chili — but when I saw one of the daily specials at Today & Always (the plant-based cafe at Crosstown Arts, where I work), I changed my plan! Chef Raymond made Cajun Tofu Sandwiches with Vegan Caesar, and it just looked SO GOOD. Raymond is a master at seasoning and texturing tofu, and sandwich on house-baked spent grain bread with wilted mustard greens and remoulade aioli was just perfect. Plus, it was pretty whole foods-y, aside from the bread and aioli.

But it was back to the plan for the rest of the day. I had my afternoon fruit bowl (satsuma, grapes, cantaloupe) as I prepped dinner at home.

And then finally, dinner was ready! Baked Potato with Roasted Veggies and Pesto!

I put a baked potato in the Crock Pot before I left for work, thanks to a tip from my co-worker Madelyn. You just rub potatoes with a little oil and salt, wrap in foil, and cook in the slow cooker for 7-8 hours on low. And it was JUST PERFECT. I'm always too impatient to bake them in the oven. And even the air fryer takes too long for me with baked potatoes.

But the veggies — zucchini, squash, bell pepper, portabella, and broccoli — were roasted in the air fryer. I tossed with a smidge of oil and some salt and pepper and air-fried for about 10-12 minutes. They were perfect. The pesto, an HMS recipe, is oil-free and made with basil, spinach, walnuts, garlic, miso, and nooch.

It was sooooo cold last night, perfect hot cocoa weather. And I'd been dying to try my new turmeric-infused dark hot chocolate mix from my November Goddess Provisions box. This is a coconut sugar-sweetened hot chocolate that you mix with just a small portion of hot water for a cute little tiny drink. Look, two pics in the same spot in my house in one post! Unicorns!

They recommend topping with coconut whip, and I just happened to have some Reddi Whip Coconut Whip in the fridge. A perfect evening treat while I worked on my homework for my Goddess Self-Care course. This week, we're doing a self-care deep dive to learn what areas we can improve on (for me, that's sleep, meditation, and connection to nature).