Breakfast mash

A busy Tuesday already and I'm trying to get to the gym for the first time in weeks, hopefully it won't be too painful getting back into it.  For breakfast this morning I had fresh strawberries and blackberries from weekend shopping so I made my favorite breakfast mash.

This is like a big bowl of dessert.  I had leftover steel cut oats in the fridge which I mix with cinnamon, psyllium and stevia.   Along with a scoop of homemade greek yogurt, berries, prunes, almonds and pomegranate seeds.

In September when the pomegranates were in season and on sale I probably bought  25 of them and after deseeding them I  just froze in freezer bags.  Now I simply let a bit at a time defrost and leave in the fruit bin.   These last me all winter.

I love love dried prunes and pretty much any dried fruit for the matter but these are like candy, I keep them in the fridge as they stay fresh forever that way.

The blackberries were on sale this week so I've been eating piles of them.

I had a great workout today and ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill which is good considering it's been over 3 wks since my last run.  My knee has been bothering me so hopefully the break will help.  I was starving when I got home and felt like eating something instead of a shake.  I guess I would call this one an egg white mash, different than breakfast but sort of the same idea.  I can't help it, I could eat these combinations for every meal and snack!

I just cook the egg whites in in the same bowl in the microwave.  Don't forget to spray with pam because the eggs will cook right on the bowl - not fun to clean up.

In the same bowl I added 1/4 cup cottage cheese.

I added 1/4 cup of left over steel cut oats

1/2 cup of canned pumpkin along with some splenda and  pumpkin spice that is just a mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves.   This makes the whole mash taste like pumkin pie and seriously I could eat anything with pumpkin in it.    

Voila! egg white mash with more strawberries and a some walnuts.  This was yummy and high in protein for after my workout.

In cleaning out my kitchen drawers to pack I found these skewers that I bought probably more than a year ago.   Apparently they infuse flavor into the food so tonight I'm giving them a try with chicken.  I doubt that the flavors will be intense so I also made a marinade this morning for the chicken.   I do have to mention though that these skewers smell AMAZING!!!     They smell just like a huge Thai soup with cilantro, lime, fish sauce, lemon grass and anything else Thai.  

This is a marinade I made out of prunes which may sound bizarre but they add a nice sweetness as well as a thickening agent.  Place the following into a blender or magic bullet.
3 large chicken breasts cubed
10 prunes
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 of a a medium onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt and pepper

Pour this mixture over your cubed chicken and marinade 4-6 hours

Finally, skewer your chicken and bake or grill.    I microwaved the leftover marinade for 5 min and the boy loved it to dip his chicken in it.

 I would love to bbq it but mine is packed for the move so I baked it at 400 until mostly cooked through an then put the broiler on to get a bit carmelized.
Next in my recent quest not to waist and empty the panty, I made a tabouli with the rest of my bulgar and finished off lemons that were soon ready for the lemon grave yard.   This was a medium bulgar so I just boiled it until tender and then drained.

Chop up your veggies finely while bulgar is simmering and add to a large bowl

I added 1/2 a chopped white onion to this only because I had no red onion.

Next add your cooked and cooled bulgar and add the chopped baby spinach last (I know bulgar calls for parsley but I had spinach on hand and besides....it's healthier.    Now for the dressing.....

Using one of my favorite tools in the kitchen, I add the rind of 2 lemons to a bowl

Get the juice of 2 lemons as well.   My lemons were done so I had Josee juice them all and save the juice

For the dressing, add the juice of 2 lemons
3 tbsp avocado oil (any oil will do)
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp each salt and pepper
Blend well and add to cooled bulgar and veggies
This was a very tart dressing which I prefer but maybe use 1 1/2 lemons and keep tasting until it's perfect for you.

Avery pretty tabouli I think!   Like most salads using grains this salad will soak up all the flavors and taste even better tomorrow and the the day after and the day after that and......

So a long blog today.....dinner served with prune marinade on lime skewers and spinach tabouli.  Just a note.....the skewers really did add a great flavor to the chicken and I would definitely buy them again.  Tomorrow is a busy day and I have a TON of leftovers in the fridge so have a fab Wednesday!