Although I raced through this lunch in order to be on time for the Top Chef demonstration (scroll down to my previous post for a recap), I was able appreciate the light & fresh play of tropical flavors.

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  • bed of baby spinach and romaine
  • 1 mango, diced
  • 1/4 of an avocado, diced
  • 1/4 of an avocado, mashed with a few Tbsp Fage 0% greek yogurt + a couple drops of pure coconut extract
  • a handful of raw cashews
  • a scattering of unsweetened shredded coconut

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Obviously super simple to put together, this salad was also really tasty! Avocado, mango, and coconut are a fantastic trio of flavors, and the mild cashews were a perfect crunchy addition.

While waiting for John to come home, I enjoyed a glass of pinot grigio out of our new wine glasses. I think this one is technically for red wine, but we haven’t yet received the white wine glasses from our registry. I’ve been wanting big wine glasses for a while now, and I LOVE these!

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I made John the naan pizza with homemade basil-cashew pesto that I had last night, with mozzarella subbed in for goat cheese. I was in the mood for something a bit lighter, so I decided to spiff up a Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burger.

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I started by combining in a bowl, and letting meld together:

  • about 1/2 cup each shelled edamame and corn niblets
  • 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp sake
  • a few drops of Sriracha
  • 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp fish sauce
  • 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
  • juice from 1/2 of a lime
  • gomashio, to taste

After soaking up the Asian flavors, the corn and edamame were piled atop a heated veggie burger served on a Trader Joe’s whole wheat hamburger bun with some extra gomashio and Sriracha.

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I ate the rest of the edamame and corn on the side.

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This flavor of veggie burger is a blank canvas for topping creativity – you could go with Asian, Tex-Mex, Italian… ooo, I’m getting some good ideas for future veggie burger meals!

Surprise, surprise, I followed dinner with another delectable smoothie.

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This one had:

  • about 1/8 of a honeydew melon, cut off the rind and into chunks
  • 1/2 of a frozen banana
  • about 1/2 cup of my wild berry frozen yogurt
  • juice from one orange
  • about 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Perfecto.