Baileys Coffee Green Monster?!

i know this is completely crazy but while i was at the gym today on the arc trainer (my new fav cardio machine:) i was thinking about what kind of green monster i was going to have after my workout. (hey whatever gets you through, right?) anyway, i started thinking coffee and dessert vanilla protein powder would might be really good together. i decided to try it but i couldn't bring myself to add spinach to it for some reason. i know i have touted spinach as the best thing to add to your smoothie for adding nutritional benefits without adding spinach flavor but i just felt weird about adding spinach to coffee.

then, E came downstairs (he is working from home today and the sound of the blender must have brought him down) and said "i'll take one too." he took a sip and said "this is good. but it would be even better with kalhua or baileys in it." i said we have baileys and before i knew it, he was adding it to the blender.

it was at that point that i figured if i am going to add baileys to my "healthy" smoothie, i might as well add in the spinach to counter balance the baileys. i poured one glass with just the coffee, vanilla powder, milk, and ice mixture and one glass with the addition of the spinach in case i didn't like the spinach one. turns out, i need to listen to my own advice more. i could barely taste a difference so the green one won out. (i will say you have to blend it really well - like crazy - to get the spinach smooth)

thus, the baileys, or lets call it the coffee green monster was born! yum!

among other news, i had a really great lunch. it is rainy (again, ugh!) today and cold so it was a soup day. the bad news is i am out of homemade soups/stews/chilis. i don't even have any in the freezer. so, tomorrow, i go to the store for ingredients to remedy that problem. i cannot be without some sort of hot soup in the fall/winter time should i run into a day just like today where only a hot meal will suffice.

in the meantime, my only option was a can of spaghetti o's. warning: this is not a clean food. very disappointing but it is made with white pasta and (i was surprised to discover) has high fructose corn syrup in it. cambells soup, if you are listening, what on earth are you thinking? please, this is supposed to be a "healthy" kids meal. it even advertises "full serving of veggie and 6 essential vitamins & minerals" on the front of the can. yet, it has high fructose corn syrup in it?!? please, get that out of there!!! and while i am making demands to cambells soup, make a version with whole wheat o's - please:)

spaghetti o's has been a long standing comfort food in my life. i rarely ever eat it now (i only keep a can on hand for just such emergencies - no soup or a serious craving). when i was younger and with braces, it was my go to food after the dreaded braces tightening. sometimes we would even stop at the store on the way home from the orthodontist if we didn't have any on hand (thanks mom:) needless to say, it's been comforting to me ever since.

anyway, i digress. so, half of my lunch was unhealthy but comforting. the other half was very good and good for me. a veggie sandwich packed with cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, carrots, and hummus all on ezekiel bread. yum! very filling too.

check out those veggies!

ok, i'm off to do a little yoga and i have a yummy dinner planned. it's just me tonight (E has class) so i have a new recipe AJ gave me with brussel sprouts planned. stay tuned . . .