Quinoa, Egg, & Avocado Bowl

I recently came across a recipe for a protein-packed bowl of goodness from Runner's World and decided to give it a try. The original recipe included roasted kale, but to be honest I prefer my kale in juice or as straight-out kale chips, so I omitted it. The remaining ingredients are quinoa, avocado, eggs, and some olive oil, and needless to say those provide plenty of protein and health benefits even without the kale. The modified recipe below is for 1 serving.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dry quinoa
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 eggs
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Sea salt
• Pepper

Recipe:

• Cook the 1/2 cup of quinoa according to the boxed instructions. The brand I bought was 1/2 cup quinoa to 1 cup water, bring to a boil, cover, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until all water is absorbed. Keep in mind that the cooked amount is a good bit more than the dry amount you start with
• Once the quinoa is done, toss in a little bit of olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper to taste and stir well
• Cut the 1/2 avocado into cubes and spread on top of the quinoa
• Fry 1-2 eggs, leaving the yolk(s) runny, and put on top of the quinoa/avocado
• Enjoy

**If you're not a big eater, use 1 egg instead of 2

Breakfast Sandwich

While browsing Pinterest the other day (what? me? on Pinterest? no...) I got an idea for a breakfast sandwich. It's crazy good and crazy full of protein, so if you have bad kidneys, don't eat it.

All you need is 2 slices of bread, fresh sliced avocado (AB blended it up to make a paste), a tomato, a fried egg, and some bacon, and ta-da:

Good stuff. Try some.

Bacon, Tomato, & Avocado Pasta

Another recipe that I found on Pinterest was for a creamy bacon, avocado, and tomato pasta salad. The first time I made it was for my family, and since it was a hit I made it again for AB this past Saturday. The recipe is super-easy (b/c I need things that way) and the end result is delicious.

Recipe:

• 6 slices bacon, chopped into one inch pieces
• 1/2 pound dried rotini pasta
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado pitted and sliced

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box; strain and run under cold water
2. Cook bacon and place on paper towels- once cooled cut into small pieces
3. Whisk together mayo, lemon, salt, garlic powder, white pepper, and dill
4. Cut tomatoes into halves
5. Cut avocado into small pieces
6. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes
7. Serve

Protein Packed Salad

Despite still have a massive amount of eggplant lasagna leftover from the other night, I decided to throw together a salad for dinner. I had AB grill while I did the cutting indoors. This salad is super-tasty and chocked full of protein. I would link the recipe I used but I honestly just threw together a bunch of stuff (and a friend of my parent's used to make something similar to this).

Ingredients (for 3-4 servings):

• 4 pieces of corn-on-the-cob, grilled with butter
• 1 avocado
• 2 pieces of chicken breast grilled
• 1 can of black beans
• Handful fresh cilantro
• Cherry tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

What I Did:

• Grill corn on the cob and chicken- AB seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• Rinse black beans and strain
• Chop cherry tomatoes in 2-3 slices each
• Put black beans and tomatoes in bowl, toss in some olive oil (enough to coat everything), and salt and pepper to taste
• Finely chop cilantro and stir in
• Once corn and chicken is grilled, cut the kernels off the cobs and chop the chicken into small pieces
• Toss corn kernels and chicken in with beans/tomatoes
• At the very end, cut the avocado into small pieces and stir in with everything else

I prefer to add the chicken and avocado right before I eat the salad, but everything else can be stored in the fridge (I don't like the stink of chicken or my avocados to get brown).

AB bought some pineapple today- he loves his pineapple...

Earlier this morning I drove out to my parent's house and snapped a picture of their Koi. The white one is HUGE (probably the length of my 18lb cat)...

In the last post I mentioned starting the dogs on Adequan today; that didn't happen. The vet was closed and apparently the girl that made my appointment forgot that. I will try again tomorrow before work! Lastly (is that a word?) AB bought a chess set and I survived my first game...and I liked it! Who would have thought?