Citrus Rainbow Vegetable Salad

Traveling as a vegetarian (or vegan) can be hard.

I've spent too many airport visits desperately trying to find a sandwich without meat or scarfing down a dry muffin in an attempt to fill my rumbling stomach before a flight. Don't even get me started on road trips, which I've done both as a vegetarian and omnivore (years ago). Let me tell you, omnivoring (is that even a word? It is now) was waaaaay easier. More restaurants are thankfully trying to be more vegetarian-friendly, but I can't even imagine the pain that my vegan friends experience when attempting to get delicious food without having to travel down a back-country road to find a fruit cup.

Basically, I've given up buying things in the air or on the road at this point, and just bring my own. I brown-bag it, if you will. There are a few recipes that are super easy for me to transport and are equally as easy to prepare, since cooking is the last thing I want to be doing on the night before a trip. I can barely manage to remember to pack my toothbrush and deodorant, yet alone make something time-consuming in the same period.

I'm traveling to Arizona at 4AM tomorrow (or, I guess, it will be today by the time I post this on Monday), and I planned ahead. One trip to Whole Foods (yes, I am that person, but how can you blame me? Whole Foods is so cozy and everyone is so granola, plus there are so many kinds of cheese) and I was all set. Because I've found that the one go-to thing that I can pack on a consistent basis without messing it up is roasted vegetables.

You can use whatever combination of vegetables that you like, but I personally enjoy basically eating a rainbow and because of that like to pack in as many colors as possible. Add a touch of salt and pepper, plus some lemon juice, and a roasted vegetable salad works as the perfect pick-me-up. Because, being realistic here, we all know that traveling on a plane or driving for hours in a car isn't always the most invigorating experience. Citrus makes me feel way more refreshed and awake, which helps make the trip just a tad more bearable. Plus this travels so well and can be eaten with fingers if necessary.

It's happened.

Don't judge.

Citrus Rainbow Vegetable Salad
Serves 8 sides, or 4 mains

Ingredients:

• 1 large head broccoli, florets only, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small head purple cauliflower, florets only, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small head orange cauliflower, florets only, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced into 1/4-inch half-ringlets
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and quartered
• 5 carrots, sliced into rounds (approximately 1.5cups) 
• 1 cup chopped fresh kale
• 7 cloves garlic, whole but peeled
• 1 large shallot, sliced into 1/4-inch half-ringlets
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/4t salt
• 1/2t pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Meanwhile, combine broccoli, both cauliflower, and one tablespoon of olive oil in a large bowl. Toss to coat the vegetables with oil. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray, and dump vegetable mix onto the sheet. Spread into an even, single layer.
3. Repeat step 2 with the onion, bell pepper, kale, garlic, shallot, and remaining one tablespoon oil. Spray a medium baking sheet with cooking spray, and dump second vegetable mix onto the sheet. Spread into an even. single layer.
4. Put both trays in the oven. Cook vegetable mixture number 2 for approximately 15-20 minutes, and vegetable mixture number one for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. 
5. Remove from oven and immediately transfer both mixtures into the same heat-proof bowl. Pour lemon juice over the vegetable mix, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Best served semi-warm or cool, and can be stored for up to five days in the fridge.

Berry-Kale Smoothie (And The Apartment Update!)

We are finally fully moved into our apartment!

It's taken a bit over a week for us to get all the things that we needed. It's interesting: you don't realize just how much stuff you use on a daily basis until you find yourself without it. We still have a few things left to get, but we are pretty much done. The apartment is a 2Bed 1Bath located really close to campus (about a 20 minute walk and a 10 minute bike ride) and looks super quaint. It has this cozy, lived-in feeling that makes me comfortable as soon as I walk in the door. My apartment-mate and I have similar styles so there hasn't been any conflict over decorations (or any conflict at all, really-- her and I get along great).

Our days have been really productive (mainly because we know that once school starts time will be our biggest issue). Today we cleaned the entire apartment, did laundry, watched the news, made breakfast, took out trash/garbage, and did various other chores all before 11AM. And that was with me sleeping in until 8, which rarely happens. We've been so busy that we haven't cooked much (I've been living off a container of kale and some steel cut oats in the fridge), but I finally got the time yesterday to make a quick smoothie for breakfast.

This is a smoothie that has been a staple for me over the past few months, ever since I found out that I had Iron Deficiency Anemia. I like this for a few reasons: first, it tastes amazing; secondly, it takes about 2 minutes to make; three, it is ridiculously healthy. It's a blend of blackberries, strawberries, kale, almond (or soy!) milk, and yogurt. That is it. Five ingredients and a blender (or food processor-- I've done that too) and you are good to go. This has also been approved by my non-vegetarian father back in Sacramento and my non-vegetarian apartment-mate here in CO.

I personally like my smoothies a bit less sweet than stereotypical ones found in stores, hence why I don't add any sugar or honey to this. However, you could easily add some honey for a touch more sweetness if desired. My apartment-mate liked adding some more sugar because she likes things a bit sweeter, but my Dad was fine with it unsweetened. I'm not a huge kale fan (yet! I'm trying to get my tastes to acclimate to it), so I appreciate how the kale isn't necessarily the star in this one. If you don't like kale, feel free to add in spinach or wheat-grass in replacement. I haven't tried it with any other greens, but chard might work?

This smoothie is also really filling because of all the produce that goes into it, not to mention the protein from the Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is the way to go when making smoothies, in my opinion, because it provides that extra kick and doesn't drown out the flavor of the fruit. I've had this for lunch and a snack, and it usually keeps me full for a few hours. It can also be refrigerated overnight (I hate the idea of waking up our neighbors with my blender at 6AM, so I usually blend it the night before and just leave it in the fridge for my breakfast in the morning).

If you can't tell by my blabbering above, I really love this smoothie. I'll probably be pouring myself a glass as I run out the door for my morning classes this week (I have to be on campus by 7:30 every day! Whew!!).

Good luck during the rest of the week!

Berry-Kale Smoothie
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3/4c. vanilla almond or soy milk
• 1c. nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1c. packed kale leaves
• 1c. frozen blackberries
• 2/3c. sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2tbl honey (optional)

Instructions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

Nutritional Information:
Sodium: 120mg
Total Fat: 2g
       Saturated: 0g
      Trans: 0g
Sugar: 39g
Protein: 13g
Calories: 252
BONUS
    Calcium: 37% DV
    Iron: 9% DV