1. Nut Butters (don't even try to be perverted)
I love any kind of nut butter....peanut, cashew, almond, sunflower, dark chocolate......I have at least 4 different open jars at all times in my house. This morning I drizzled some on pancakes, and the other day I had dark chocolate spread on a banana. Andy even made me an almond/peanut butter sauce for dipping vegan Vietnamese spring rolls. I would love to try pistachio butter....maybe I should make some in my food processor!!!
2. Sweet Potato Fries
As you can tell from my recent blog posts, I love sweet potato fries. Unfortunately, I don't love the serving size. I pretty much want to eat an entire bag. But that's okay since they're a veggie, right?
3. Vegetables
This is a broad category, but I really do love all vegetables. The only ones I'm not particularly fond of are white potatoes. I mean, they're okay, but sweet potatoes are WAY better. I'm just going to post up some pictures of some unique veggies that you may not eat that frequently. Variety is the spice of life even when you're choosing the types of veggies to eat. Move out of your comfort zone and try something new.
Asparagus: Try this steamed with a little kosher salt, a drizzle of olive oil, and a splash of fresh lemon juice. This is also great to add raw to a nice crudite.
Beets: Beets are great roasted, chilled, and topped on a salad. I also like them boiled and roasted with a little bit of salt. Yes, they do have a strong flavor, but give them a try. I hated them my entire life, and just recently embraced them.
Artichokes: What can I even say? Fresh artichokes like the ones pictured below are fabulous. Boil them in water with garlic, salt, and a dash of cayenne. You can serve the leaves dipped in olive oil. Andy and I made our first artichoke several months ago, and housed it in like 2 seconds. I always keep a can of artichokes in water in my pantry. I use them in both salads and pizza.
Squashes: The picture below is a compilation of squashes including butternut, kabocha, and sweet dumpling. They can all be roasted and eaten plain, or can be pureed into a soup.
4. Greek Yogurt
I eat Greek yogurt pretty frequently. It's a great source of both calcium and protein and it's a very versatile protein at that. I like it sweetened with honey, fresh fruit, and walnuts. I also like it as a sour cream replacement....such as on tacos or nachos.
5. Dark Chocolate: Cause everybody needs a little chocolate in their life.
I mentioned a few posts ago that I was doing the "Match Meltdown." I don't want this to be some sort of weird dieting blog, but I wanted to bring this back up. I am feeling awesome!!! I've been tracking my food intake into an IPhone food diary app, and I've been working out very regularly. During interview season I didn't really have time to exercise that much because I was on the road, and I was staying at places without a workout facility. (Not trying to make excuses.) I definitely felt totally gross and not myself after traveling so much. Now that I'm in a routine, I've felt much better. I've even rekindled my love for spinning class. I've basically been alternating between spinning, circuit training, and other gym classes. So....I'm going to keep up the good work and have a rockin' body by the time Match Day rolls around.
Oh my gosh this is a list of some of my very favorite foods, too. Asparagus is one of my truest loves, as well as sweet potato fries.
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