Peanut and Broccoli Pasta & A Pizza Combo for One

Today’s Fitness Highlight

A lot of the time for the cardio portion of my workout at the gym, I cycle on a spin bike. My gym just got new spinners that are more high tech than the old ones, telling you how far you’ve cycled, how many calories you’ve burned, etc. I took advantage of this new training tool and instead of biking for a specific amount of time today, I set a distance goal… and I spinned 15 miles with the resistance set at a decently high gear. Go me!

Food

In case you don’t know, I’m crazy about fruit. My usual fruit staples include berries, bananas, apples, mangoes, and kiwis (and I suppose avocado is technically a fruit, and one that I eat often!), along with others that I will randomly buy in season.

I’m also a veggie fan (It only makes sense, as I am a vegetarian!), but I don’t eat them as often as fruits. I gravitate towards combining fruits with so many of the foods I tend to eat all the time – yogurt, cereal, smoothies, with peanut butter, you name it. In fact, sometimes the only time I eat vegetables is at dinner. In an effort to up my veggie intake when I feel like it’s lacking, I make sure to include some in my breakfast or lunch. When I realized that yesterday the only veggie I ate was corn in a tofu wrap (Unless salsa counts? Anyone?), I wanted to amp up my veggie count today. This afternoon for lunch, I did just that with some fresh broccoli. I had leftover Japanese noodles from my creation a few days ago, and came up with a super yummy combo. Luckily I have one more serving of noodles left, so I have a feeling that I will soon repeat this exact meal:

Peanut Pasta with Broccoli 

• 1 cup of Japanese noodles (or 2 oz angel hair pasta will work), cooked
• 1 cup of fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1 TSP roasted sesame seeds
• 1 TBSP seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 TSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP peanut butter

Steam broccoli in a small pot (with a few inches of water at the bottom) and let it cook for a few minutes under tender. Meanwhile, combine peanut butter, rice vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl.

Once broccoli is done cooking, take the veggies and strainer out of the pot. Scoop out 2-4 TBSP of the water used to steam the broccoli (depending on how saucy you want your pasta to be), and pour it into the bowl with the peanut butter mix. Whisk until everything is combined.

Combine broccoli with noodles, add sesame seeds, and pour sauce on top.

Nutrition Facts: 390 calories, 11 g fat, 16 g protein, 62 g carbs

To continue my goal of eating a good amount of veggies today, my (so delicious!) dinner also included some greens:

Arugula, Feta, & Cherry Tomato Mini Pizza

• 1 whole wheat pocket bread (The brand I use is Goglanian’s. I also know that Whole Foods has em.)
• 1 large handful of wild arugula
• 1.5 oz crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 TSP avocado oil
• 1 TSP [blackberry] balsamic vinegar
• Mixed up salt & pepper

First, I threw the pocket bread in the toaster to make it nice and crispy. Meanwhile, I sliced my tomatoes.

Once your “dough” is done toasting, top with arugula, cheese, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle oil and vinegar on top.

Nutrition Stats: 330 calories, 14 g fat, 17 g protein, 41 g carbs

I’ll leave you with a picture of probably the best part of Harley’s day – getting to lick the bottom of the peanut butter jar! I’m such a nice mom.