Lunch time goodness!!

You ever have those days where nothing in the house sounds good? I am having that day today. I make my meal plans, and try my hardest to stick to them every week. Sometimes wrenches are thrown in to our plans though and makes it almost impossible to stick to it. Well in the middle of the night last night I was awoken by those dreaded words no parent wants to hear, "Mommy I think I'm going to throw up." Followed by the sound of said action. So my night was spent cleaning up and caring for a sick boy. So needless to say it was not a good night, and a giant wrench was thrown into my plans.

My husband stayed up with our daughter, and let me get a little more sleep in. So the morning was not too terrible. When I woke up the last thing I wanted to do was cook breakfast so I had a quickie breakfast, but when it came to lunch today I wanted something a little more filling and well quite frankly delicious. Looking over my meal plan nothing looked good, and browsing through the cabinets again nothing looked good. Until I stumbled up a bag of noodles I had purchased last week that I had forgotten about. So I quickly put together a yummy lunch. It was very easy and quick to make, and to be honest more delicious than what was on my original meal plan. So I think this will be going into future meal plans. I'm calling it quick noodle yumminess!! Ok I may need to come up with another name :)

Quick Noodle Yumminess (I am currently accepting new names for the recipe :) )

8oz package of organic brown rice udon noodles
1lb organic chicken breast
1tsp organic unrefined coconut oil
1tsp organic garlic powder
1tsp organic cumin
1tsp organic sesame oil
1 organic red bell pepper chopped
1 cup organic kale (ribs and stems removed)
2 organic Portobello mushroom tops
1 organic zucchini 
Organic tamari

Cook your udon noodles as the package states. Coat your chicken in coconut oil, garlic powder and cumin. Grill your chicken (I just cooked mine on my George Foreman). After it has cooked for a little put 1tsp of tamari over the chicken. When the chicken is done cut it into chunks.

Warm up a pan with the sesame oil. Add your zucchini and kale first. After they cook for about 5 minutes add the peppers and mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Mix everything together in a bowl and add a little tamari to each bowl. This should serve 4-6 people.

Quick and delicious. I think it took me about 15-20 minutes for everything. You could add different veggies if you would like, but these were the ones I had on hand. You get your protein, veggie, good fats and complex carbohydrate in one yummy bowl. Let me know how you like it, and if you added any other veggies to it.

My favorite green fruit

AVOCADO!!!!

Yes I said fruit and not vegetable. I always thought this wonderful food was a vegetable, but I was wrong. Either way whether fruit or vegetable it is a SUPERFOOD. Avocados have gotten a bad wrap because they are very high in calories, 322 calories, but it is a very healthy fat. We all need healthy fats in our diets every day. Avocado is called "the alphabet fruit" because just one avocado provides your body with vitamins A, C, E, K, B6 and many more, almost all alphabet letters! Avocados have 54% of your recommended daily value of fiber, which gives this fruit much of its fat burning abilities.

I cut them out of my diet for awhile because of the high calories, but I have returned to my love of avocado and eat at least a half every day. My son Collin and daughter Callie love it as well. They eat some everyday. That was actually miss Callie's first food, and she has been in love ever since. My husband tried it once and did not like it, and Riley refuses to even try it. Hopefully I can get them to come to the dark side :) 

Perhaps the biggest health benefit of avocados is that by adding avocado to certain foods, you can improve your absorption of nutrients. This means that when you combine other fat burning foods with avocado, you can improve your nutrient absorption up to 400%! Avocados can also reduce the signs of aging, regulate blood sugar and improve eye health. The fat content of an avocado provides protection against heart diseases. Studies have shown that oleic acid improves cardiovascular health. Oleic acid is the primary fatty acid in avocadoes. Avocadoes are rich in omega-3, delivering 160 milligrams per cup of alpha-linolenic acid. Avocadoes provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete protein. Unlike the protein in steak, which is difficult for most people to digest, avocado protein is readily absorbed by the body because avocadoes also contain fiber. Here a couple of choice items to chew over. Once an avocado is picked, it takes between 7 and 10 days to ripen. Keeping it in the refrigerator will slow down the ripening process, while putting it in a paper bag with a ripe apple will speed up the process. Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit. I could go on all day about how wonderful this fruit is, but you should just go try it for yourself.

 

 

 

You can eat the avocado by itself which is yummy and delicious, but there are also about a million other things you can do with it. I put it in smoothies, on sandwiches, mixed with pasta, with egg whites, use in desserts such as avocado pudding and popsicles, I bet Collin and Callie would love these. It really is one of the most versatile foods.

 

 



http://thefoodexplorer.com/dessert/39-healthy-and-delicious-avocado-recipes/

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2013/07/50-scrumptious-avocado-recipes/

http://www.damyhealth.com/2013/06/11-sneaky-avocado-recipes/

http://sunshineandsippycups.com/2011/12/cookin-with-kids-avocado-recipes-and-mini-chef-contest/