G is for Green, and Grass, and Good for You, and Guacamole!

E and i had a training session with G this morning that worked us over good! when we got home, i decided we should try one of the amazing grass amazing meal packets i picked up at whole foods yesterday. i figured i could just dump it into our normal post-workout green monster instead of the usual protein powder and we would have some added nutritional benefits besides just protein.

let me tell you, this stuff is good for you with a capital G! it is a combination of greens, protein, fruits and vegetables. i bought two different packets to try yesterday. this one, pomegranate mango infusion, and original blend. i tried this one today because i had strawberries, mango, 1/2 a banana, and spinach already in the blender. i also added some milk and agave nectar.

this was the greenest tasting green monster i have ever had - hands down. the first sip was interesting. i wasn't expecting it to taste so, well . . . green. i do not recommend adding this to your first ever green monster. if i were to make it again, i would not have added the extra spinach. i would have used a whole banana (it adds a lot of flavor and natural sweetness) and perhaps used some fresh fruit rather than frozen. or, i may have just forgone the other fruit altogether since i couldn't tasted anything over the wheat grass flavor. the 2nd sip was better and halfway through the smoothie i was used to the taste. plus, i just kept telling myself how good this stuff is for me. i mean, check out the ingredient list:

 

(sorry the picture is a little blurry) i mean, they couldn't pack more good, green stuff into this envelope if they tried. i couldn't taste the pomegranate or mango at all, but, i would still drink it again. if i was starting to feel a little under the weather or a slight bug creeping up on me, i'd down this stuff for sure. it must be able to fight anything!

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lots of errands, cleaning, tax fixing (yes i have to file an amended tax return, ugh, long story), and dog-sitting today/ blah, blah, blah. then on to the good stuff . . . dinner!

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for dinner i made pizzas! i made E his favorite - cheese and peperoni.

i, however, was feeling in a south-of-the-border mood so i made mine a mexican pizza. i used a whole wheat pocketless pita for the crust (which E and i both really liked and would definitely use again). then i added mexican-style corn (just corn with peppers and chili peppers), black beans, and diced tomatoes with green chilies

then i topped it with lots of shredded mexican cheese . . . mmmmm

 

after 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven, they looked like this:

i then spread homemade guacamole on top of mine. in the words of ina garten THE barefoot contessa, "how bad could that be?"

the answer, not bad, not bad at all ina. Y-U-M!!!

i only wish i had spread guac on half because my eyes were bigger than my stomach tonight. i only ate half of this bad boy. hopefully i salvaged it by scrapping off the guac and wrapping both the leftover guacamole and pizza tightly with plastic wrap. lunch tomorrow? check!

alongside our pizzas, i made kale chips for the first time. i have seen these puppies around the food blog world for quite some time now but just got around to trying it tonight.

 

what a great way to get some greens into your diet! plus, kale is sooo good for you. 

basically, you just cut or rip off some kale leaves into bite-sized pieces. wash and thoroughly dry them (a salad spinner would work perfectly). spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet. drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper (i also sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on mine because i was in a sprinkling meed) and bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. keep an eye on them and pull them out when the edges start to brown. 

they are literally as crispy as thin chips. they almost melt in your mouth too. so light, crispy, and airy. it almost doesn't even seem like you are eating anything. 

 

the best part, they really don't taste like kale. dark, leafy greens have never been my favorite. i don't really like kale cooked (or spinach for that matter) and raw kale is a bit too green tasting for me. but these "chips" were great. E liked them too. i will be making those again too!

an excellent meal if i do say so myself, excellent indeed!