back to the grind

I'm going back to work tomorrow. Yay. It's almost like I can't contain the excitement (note the sarcasm). 

I lie. I'm not completely devastated to be going back to work - if I could stay home with my little one, I would, but I gotta do what I gotta do and I am looking forward to having a daily schedule again...I definitely don't hate my job. 

(But seriously, I wish I could spend all day just hanging with this cutie patootie)

In an effort to be extra healthy (and lose that extra 20 (!!!) pounds in baby weight), I took the time today to prepare my lunches for the whole week (as well as green smoothie packs and a snack). I need to try to walk on my lunch break too - we'll see how that goes, I have a LOT of work that needs to be caught up on, 7 weeks' worth. 

So I've been doing my research and (you know all about it if you follow me on Pinterest) I've found tons of recipes for simple, healthy lunches that I can make up on Sundays to last me the entire week. Here's what I came up with for this week:

Black and White Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

1 can black beans (drained/rinsed)

1 can white beans (drained/rinsed - I used great white northern, you could sub navy or chickpeas)

1 cucumber (diced)

1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

1 small red onion (I omitted this because Kroger didn't have any...I know, whaaat??)

Dressing: 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

2 tbs lime juice

2 1/2 tsp chili powder (courtesy of my friend Ashley - I didn't have any. Thanks, Ashley!)

1 clove garlic (minced)

1 tbs Italian seasoning 

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa as directed.

In a large bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Add beans, veggies, and cooked quinoa and mix thoroughly. 

This made about 6 cups - the perfect amount to cover my entire work week!

In addition to this yummy lunch, I made up green smoothie freezer packs - enough for 10 (!!!) smoothies! That means I have 2 weeks of smoothies ready to go!

Here's what you need:

5 green apples (peeled and diced)

5 bananas (peeled and sliced)

A bunch of kale (destemmed/chopped)

A bunch of parsley (chopped)

Each bag will contain:

1/2 apple

1/2 banana

1 cup kale (tightly packed)

1/4 cup parsley (loosely packed)

These can be thrown in the freezer until you're ready to use them! Just add to the blender with about a cup of water (im sure your fave nut milk would work too) and blend! 

Oh! I made a snack too (I was definitely on a roll today)!!

Garlic Roasted Chickpeas 

1 can chickpeas (drained/rinsed/dried ~30 minutes)

2 tbs olive oil

1 clove garlic (minced) 

2 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After chickpeas are dry, add them to a bowl with other ingredients and toss to coat thoroughly. Spread chickpeas out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake until crunchy.