All-In 2016: #24DC Day Two

Coughing counts as exercise, yes?

The funny thing about chest colds is how much worse you sound as the cold improves.  As everything gets more productive (from a "blasting disgusting stuff out of my lungs" goes, not from an efficiency or work standpoint), I tend to cough roughly once every four nanoseconds.  On the plus side I was able to spend most of a conference call on mute while I hacked up a lung.  On the down side I wasn't able to finish a rant to my manager before completely losing my voice.  I hope it sounded like I was about to cry.

Breakfast:

I finally made my Oh She Glows Oatmeal!  

Recipe is here, since I didn't change a thing.  I went with some dried and unsweetened bing cherries from Trader Joe's as my topping, which probably pushed the calories a bit overboard (469 calories, with 120 of that coming from the cherries).  What I love about this oatmeal is you put everything together the night before, and then in the morning just zap it in the microwave or heat it up on the stove for a few minutes.  Way better than instant, and takes pretty much the same amount of time in the morning as instant.

Tomorrow I'm going to give chia pudding a shot, with my own little twist...since I have about five hundred pounds of chia seeds knocking around my pantry.  They're fascinating little buggers.

Lunch:
Lunch was...mediocre.  I've used this recipe before while camping, but I think this time I overdid it with the ketchup and mustard, which really turned the "burgers" into "mushy globs of not-very-pretty beans and oats".

Quick Burgers (here on a 100 calorie sandwich thin with ketchup and hot sauce)

Software:

15oz can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

2 tbsp ketchup (I eyeballed this...probably a mistake)

1 tbsp yellow mustard (ditto)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 c instant oats (I only had old fashioned on hand)

Code:

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Mash black beans with a potato masher thoroughly.  A few stragglers of intact beans are fine.
3. Stir in condiments and spices
4. Add oats and use your hands to mush everything together, forming four patties about 1/2 inch thick.
5. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping once, until crisp

Serves Four!  I'd recommend trying this with instant to see if it better incorporates with the bean mixture.  I've seen variants that add chili powder or hot sauce to heat things up a bit as well.

Snacks:
I'll spare y'all repeats...I mean...at some point you take your 50th picture of an orange and wonder what am I doing with my life? But hummus is my friend.  Hummus is always there for me.  Hummus gets me.

Dinner:

The strangest thing just happened.  I made tonight's dinner and, staying true to my hipster tendencies, took a picture of the end result and posted it on Instagram.  Among the likes?  Happy Herbivore...you know...the awesome woman that created the recipe.

So here's to you, Ms. Nixon: Greek Rice Salad!

Software:

2 tbsp pine nuts

1-2 garlic cloves, chopped (I used 2 because...c'mon)

4 sun dried tomatoes, chopped

2 cups baby spinach

2 cups cooked brown rice

3/4 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Code:

1. Put pine nuts in a small sauce pan over medium heat, tossing occasionally until toasted
2. Soak sun dried tomatoes in 1 cup of hot water, for 10 minutes
3. Pour about 1/4 cup of soaking water into skillet on medium heat
4. Add garlic to skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes
5. Add spinach and toss in skillet until wilted
6. Transfer spinach/garlic mixture to a mixing bowl
7. Add rice, olives, chickpeas, tomatoes, oregano, and vinegar, toss thoroughly
8. Top with toasted pine nuts

Serves two!

The Final Score:

• Calories: 1910
• Carbs: 309
• Fat: 50
• Protein: 64
• Sodium: 1325
• Water: 104 oz
• Steps: 8500