My Morning Smoothie

When it comes down to it, this blog is really just a wordy attempt at getting my shit together. While it starts with a strict commitment to financial responsibility, my hope is that it will encourage me to be more deliberate about all aspects of my life. In fact, I don't really see how I can separate frugality from living deliberately, because gone are the days of grabbing takeout when I haven't planned dinner, or spending $12 on my daily salad (that's $240 a month and the first time I've ever done that math).

This morning, after a quick outdoor run/walk that made me realize just how out of shape I am, and how much work I have to do if I am going to get my ass across the finish line of the October half marathon I signed up for last month (on the half-price registration day, of course) I spent half an hour in the kitchen. Yes, I'm terrible at mornings, but I made the time… and was only 10 minutes late to work today.

Anyway, I made myself some lime water in mason jars and put them in the fridge for the next few mornings, I made a salad with lettuce from my garden, and I made myself a beautiful pink smoothie.

Even before I started this frugality project, I was pretty good about making myself a morning smoothie, at least a few days a week. Now that I'm not making it rain every time I need to eat lunch, it's much more important to eat (or drink) breakfast.

Though the color varies a bit every day depending on the type and quantity of berries I use, this smoothie is my favorite because it's full of nutrients but tastes, well, not like one of those disgusting smoothies that's full of nutrients. I think I'm being a bit more generous with my berries lately since my last berry haul came from Aldi. They're not organic, so I'm probably ingesting some pesticides, but they're affordable and they taste great.

Here's what I put in my morning smoothie (including the pesticide berries):

• 3 kale leaves (with stems) or a handful of spinach (you can freeze your own)
• One apple (with skin), cut into about 8 pieces
• About a half-cup of frozen berries (you can also use fresh berries, but the frozen ones make the smoothie cold) 
• A heaping teaspoon of whatever nut butter you have on hand 
• A cup or so of unsweetened almond milk (I did find organic almond milk at Aldi!) or coconut milk

I blend my morning smoothie in the NutriBullet. (I may or may not have purchased it at target.com last year after seeing the infomercial while lounging on the couch with a bottle of wine around 2 am. It should be noted that unlike the people in the infomercial, the NutriBullet hasn't caused me to lose a bunch of weight or spend more time with my grandchildren, but it pulverizes frozen berries, so I'm happy.) It's great if you're making one or two smoothies, and compared to a VitaMix, the NutriBullet's $99 price tag doesn't seem so bad. It's much better than the $16 individual blender I bought at Target the previous year, and it's super easy to clean.

Maybe NutriBullet should hire me to do its next infomercial. Then I can go back to my organic berries.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

(Not) Recipe: Eggs in Tomato Sauce

This isn't really a recipe, and that's exactly what the person I stole (er, adapted) it from said, too. But it is delicious, and easy, and affordable, so I wanted to share.

I posted yesterday about my failure to plan meals, and got some great tips from my friend Ruth. One was to keep frozen shrimp in the freezer. Always. The other was to make eggs in a quick tomato sauce. Because Ruth is usually right about most things, and because I love eggs and tomato sauce, I tried it.

Here's what I used: 

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large, white onion, chopped

A pinch of crushed red pepper

1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes

About a teaspoon of honey

A few pinches of dried basil (because I didn't have any fresh basil handy)

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 large, brown eggs

A handful of shredded Parmesan cheese 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Here's what I did: 

I sauteed the onion in the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When the onions became translucent, I added the tomatoes, garlic, honey and spices, and cooked everything down until what was in the pot resembled a red sauce. I then salted and peppered it to taste and (tried to) gently crack three eggs into sauce. I let the eggs poach for a few minutes — until the whites were cooked and the yolks were still runny. Then, I transferred it all to a bowl and sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top.

Then, I put it in my mouth. I expected it to be good, but it was even better than I imagined. The white Two Buck Chuck I had in the fridge didn't hurt the situation.

I still had about half of the red sauce left over, and since I bought two cans of tomatoes and a dozen eggs, that makes four easy, affordable meals. Definitely not a great option for when I'm cooking for Kyle and myself, but a wonderful naturally gluten-free dinner for one (or for two who don't require a meat and a starch every night).