Breakfast, Lunch, and Cook Day

This morning I wasn't in the mood for eggs - I wanted something sweet and cold. I didn't have any chia muesli made so I made a smoothie that contained all of the same ingredients. My smoothie was made with 2tbsp chia seeds, 1tbsp hemp hearts, a spoonful of cashew butter, a spoonful of cocoa, a banana, some almond milk, and ice. 

I set out for my run and achieved my goal of 10k, but the heat definitely got to me. I'll need to get used to running in hot, muggy weather. I think summer may finally have made it to Toronto. 

After running, I had some errands to do, including a lengthy trek to an art gallery to drop off some work for an upcoming show. While walking I realized that I felt exhausted. I hadn't drunk enough water and I certainly hadn't eaten enough (only a bit of fruit salad and a larabar after my run). Even though I had no appetite because of the heat, I made myself eat some eggs and prosciutto with raspberries and a litre of water. I felt much better after.

Now for cook day. Once again, my recipes are all from Well Fed. There are so many recipes in that book I want to try. First up are these Meat & Spinach Muffins. They are very easy to do and I love how customizable they are - they could be done with extra vegetables, other seasonings, and other types of ground meat...and I know they'll be perfect for packed lunches. They also gave me a chance to use my neglected muffin pan and liners!

Next up is the cauliflower rice pilaf. I've made cauliflower rice before, but never with added flavours and ingredients. The raisins and apricots in this seemed really appealing so I wanted to give it a try. Side note - my budget this week didn't really allow for the pine nuts called for in the recipe, so I subbed in walnuts. Here's the apricots, walnuts, and raisins getting toasty before I add the cinnamon, cumin, and cauliflower.

Lastly, I made a "hot plate" as outlined in Well Fed. I basically just took stock of what was in the fridge and picked up some extra veggies at the grocery store. I decided to use chicken because my meals of late have been pretty beef-centric. 

In the book, hot plates are described as "turning 'ingredients' into dinner". You basically just choose an assortment of proteins, veggies, and fat and sauté it all together until you have a meal. You can also use any type of seasoning you want to create different flavours (the book includes suggestions for Chinese, Indian, Italian, French, and other international flavours). For mine, I went with a tried-and-true mix of salt, pepper, chili flakes, cumin, and chili powder. Because my skillet isn't gigantic, I cooked everything in batches. First was onion and garlic, then was zucchini and carrot, then the chicken, and finally yellow pepper, haricots verts, and kale. I seasoned each batch individually and then mixed it all in a large bowl before putting into a reusable container. 

Here's the chicken and the zucchini-carrot mix hanging out while the pepper and kale cook. Below is the finished product all blended together. I haven't tasted it yet, but I bet it will be awesome with some hot sauce.

All done! Here's everything cooling off before going into the fridge.