a simple dinner

Someday I will be able to divert my office 9-5 energies and they will be better used by making homemade everything. Bread, yogurt, cheese, almond milk, soaps are just some of the ideas I have swirling in my head.  Using my hands to slowly create nourishing things for my family is something I am so excited to do. But right now I am in a place where I have to be more choosy about the foods and projects I tackle, and dinners simply can't take 3 hours to make. That doesn't mean they can't be just as healthy, however! This recipe I found at this gluten free mostly vegan free blog, has it all. Allergen free(neither of us are actually allergic to anything, except cats*, but I try to limit allergen foods when I can just because), nutritious, made in less than 30 minutes, and a whopping 4 dollars for the whole pan and like a dollar more to make this recipe organic(I used organic beans, but I forgot to buy the organic chard, and the organic potatoes at trader joe's only come in a huge bag not individually and we wouldn't have gotten around to eating them all), and it also makes a couple servings of leftovers. Here is the recipe.

Potato, Black Bean, & Swiss Chard Hash
Serves 4, or 2 with leftovers
2 large russet potatos, chopped into a small dice - 39 cents each
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/4 cup white onion chopped small
1 can black beans rinsed and drained - 1.19 organic can
1 bunch Swiss chard (I used half a trader joe's bag), sliced into ribbons & thick stems diced - 1.99 a bag
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika, optional (I didn't use it, instead added a bit of garlic powder)
Generous pinch of salt
Plenty of black pepper

Place olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and a generous pinch of salt, toss to coat. Cover the skillet and cook for 9 minutes (mine took more around 11), tossing occasionally to ensure that all sides of the potatoes are browning and getting crisp.

Add the onions and Swiss chard stems to the skillet and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until softened.  Add the black beans to the skillet and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping once or twice, to ensure that the beans are heated through.

Add the ribbons of Swiss chard and cook briefly until wilted slightly. Remove from heat and sprinkle in the spices, black pepper, and additional salt to taste. Ben added sriracha because duh.  Serve immediately, preferably with a side of Arrested Development Season 4.

Could also use: sweet potato, any other green veggies you happen to have on hand, crumbled sausage, corn, this recipe is super versatile. Enjoy!

Potato, Black Bean, & Swiss Chard Hash

*there are definitely no cats in this recipe.

Diets and lack thereof

There's always something new. Juice. Don't juice! Paleo. Gluten Free. Raw. None of these are inherently good or bad, despite all the very opinionated soapboxers who have nothing to do but put down other people's idea of healthy eating. I'm just glad that the conversations have shifted its focus from low fat, low carb, low taste, to what's natural and whole. I feel like that's why people inherently don't like 'healthy' foods anyway, cause they eat the ones that are just as processed as the junk food kind, or even more so. For either health or personal reasons, i'm glad that people are starting to care more about food overall in its natural state without unnecessary processing. Being mindful of what you're putting in your body is a beautiful thing. I grew up eating boxed mac & cheese, junk food, canned vegetables, steak steak steak and more steak. Even though I guess I turned out alright (I dunno, you tell me), I am so fascinated with the idea of eating holistically and naturally. Being fully in charge of what I consume now has made me much more aware of everything food companies shove into those cardboard boxes.

One of the simple things I've discovered is instead of looking at the calorie content and nutrition facts, looking at the actual ingredients. Often I would hear people say "oh it has only 2 grams of fat!", but if they had looked at the ingredient list they would have noticed the second one was high fructose corn syrup. And i'm happy to see people slowly shifting towards the latter. Or even better, not buying things in a box at all. It is amazing how easy that is! My new rule of thumb is if I want something sweet/salty/bready, I have to make it myself. It's loads cheaper, my family is only eating ingredients we can pronounce, and most of the time i'm so dadgum lazy I just end up eating a banana anyway. Win win win.

A 'diet' (if you would call it that) i heard about recently is called VB6, or vegan before 6. And I realized that's almost exactly my lifestyle, in my case it's mostly vegetarian though. Eat nuts, whole grains, fruit and veggies for breakfast and lunch, and whatever you want for dinner. You probably think "ohh but it's bad to eat all your fatty foods at night", but after eating wholesome foods all day, your actually probably less likely to binge knowing you can eat what you want every night, not just on a giant binge cheat day one measly time a week. You can enjoy whatever tasty delicious real healthy foods you choose during the day, and then get to enjoy social gatherings to the fullest without worrying about calories. I don't know about you, but that sounds awesome.

All this to say that I got this dream of a blender system and i'll be occasionally posting recipes I make up. I haven't done a juice fast/cleanse as of yet, still researching and deciding which one would the best fit for me(and would hopefully tempt husband to join), but I definitely am a fan of morning juices. Today: one banana, one teeny organic apple, one carrot, some grated ginger, ground flaxseed, and a big bunch of kale.

#morningjuice #hello_juice