3/7/17: Tasty Tuesday

It’s Tuesday! Which means it’s not Monday! It’s the 7th of March! Which means Jenny Lawson’s new book/coloring adventure is officially released.

It arrived on my doorstep today, and the wait was worth it. (I pre-ordered that bad boy in September.) I’ve had a rough few days in my hurricane brain, and the first page I opened to said this:

Lovelovelovelovelove

I can’t wait to get coloring and reading and thinking. And I’m hoping to have a review up in the next week or two.

We’re still going somewhat strong in our house with the healthy eating and meal planning. Tonight’s fare was something a little different, though! I received a recommendation from my friend, Dana, about some stellar BBQ jackfruit sandwiches with avocado slaw. I had no idea what jackfruit was (pictures told me it was some sort of Kakuna-like creature that grew on trees) before this whole endeavor, but she kindly gave two cans to me so I could try out the recipe from Minimalist Baker.

Credit: Pokemon Amino community

Credit: Wikipedia

The resemblance is uncanny, right? It’s like for real, real-life PokémonGo.

I am glad to say, though, it does not taste like Kakuna. Though, I have never actually tasted a Kakuna to do any sort of comparison. I’ve never tasted any Pokémon if you want to know the truth. I’m vegetarian. You’re welcome, Pikachu.

We had mixed results with the recipe, but that was nothing to do with the jackfruit itself. The BBQ sauce I chose for the recipe was much spicier than I expected, and that doesn’t jive with hubby or the 3-year-old. I did smear some plain Greek yogurt on her sandwich to mellow out the flavor a bit. She took three bites at my coaxing (and with the promise of a PB&J if she took a few bites). She isn’t a picky eater, so I no problems with her deciding she doesn’t want something, as long as she tries it. (She eats quality foods, but we have problems getting her to eat enough of a quantity to sustain the level of energy she exudes every minute of every day.)

Slaw on the bottom. Shredded BBQ jackfruit on top.

Looks pretty gross in this context…it’s so not gross, though.

I enjoyed the recipe! The spice was a little overwhelming and distracted from the jackfruit itself, but I was amazed at the similarity in texture to pulled pork. What a strange little fruit. I hadn’t ever made a slaw before, and I thought that was pretty tasty, too!

Hubby doesn’t like slaw. Or spicy things. But he ate his whole sandwich. I will consider this a victory.

When we try this again (notice I said “when,” not “if”), I’ll get a sweeter BBQ sauce. I’ll also use lime juice in the slaw recipe. The lemon juice competed hard with the jackfruit. I wanted it to complement it a bit more. I think lime is a bit more subtle, so maybe that’ll help.

Anyone else ever tried jackfruit before? Dana said it’s hard to find, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for it!

Have a fabulous rest of your day, folks! You’re almost halfway through the week!

Read on. Run on.
Cassie

2/21/17: Tasty Tuesday

Greetings! I think I maybe have some nifty new readers, and that is awesome. (Shoutout to #thebloggesstribe!) Even if I have some nifty consistent readers, though, that’s just as awesome. I’m really glad you’re here. Even if my dad is the only person who reads this, that’s totally just as awesome. (Hi, Dad!)

So let’s get it out there. I had a super-lazy-super-bad-eating-DGAF kind of a day yesterday. It took all day for me to get even half way out of my funk and “turn that frown upside down” if you’re looking for the professional terminology.

Once I did, though, I was unstoppable for a good 18 minutes! Even just washing up a few batches of fruits and veggies for the week was enough to give me a little power boost.

I also made a late-evening trip to the grocery store, which wasn’t even interrupted until I was in the checkout line and hubby called to tell me that LJ had shoved a pea up her nose and it was stuck and what should he do now. (Sidenote: flat-nosed[NOT POINTY] tweezers work as long as you can get your kid to stop screaming/flailing long enough to let you actually get near them with said flat-nosed tweezers. Probably not the safest method, but c’mon, that pea was RIGHT there. Hubby was looking for ye olde handy Nose Frida, though. Would have resorted to that if she hadn’t calmed down and sat still. Don’t judge me. We’re fine and she and I have discussed the fact that this has happened more than once. I think we’re at a good place.)

First up on the meal train this week: black bean and sweet potato chili! Actually pulled it from a Weight Watchers meal planning guide. Very enjoyable and 7 SP for 1 1/2 cups of chili with a tablespoons of light sour cream, and a couple tablespoons of avocado.

LJ mostly tolerated it, which really is a solid B+ in preschooler life. I added some extra full-fat plain Greek yogurt to hers to take the chili edge off of it and give her a little nutrient boost.

Both LJ and hubby said they like this better than our usual slow-cooker chili, so I think it’ll be making a comeback.

In unrelated news, our weekend was rather eventful. A party Friday night, dance pictures Saturday morning, and a Stephen Kellogg concert Saturday evening along with our annual post-Valentine’s Valentine’s date. And some effing amazing vegetarian spring rolls at a Vietnamese restaurant we randomly picked. Baby shower Sunday. No-work, crash-and-burn kind of Monday. And here we are!

Most importantly (k, not really MOST), I have new running shoes! Getting a package with running shoes in it is like a little taste of Christmas in February. New ASICS, and I lurrrrrvvveee them. I don’t know why I stray from the Gel-Kayanos ever. My feet feel like they’re in a comfy, cozy, happy home when I put them on.

Squee!

Double squee!

Totally wore them to work to “break them in” aka “stare at them with googly eyes.”

Well, that’s enough of a photo-dump for the evening. Hope you’re all doing well and enjoying life. If not, go do something fun. Or relaxing. Or sleep (which I find fun and relaxing). Right now! Go!

Read on. Run on.
Cassie