(Insert Word Here) In A Bowl: Part Deux

My produce is dwindling and when that happens, my dinner ideas dwindle as well. Call me crazy, but not knowing what to make for dinner frustrates me to no end and sometimes I become irritable until I come up with something. Well, tonight was one of those nights. Then a vision came to me in the form of beans. Three cans of beans my dad gave to me because he wasn't going to eat them and he assumed this vegan girl would. Well, he was right. So, I grabbed the navy beans and this "meal-in-a-bowl" idea began to form in my head pretty quickly.

First I made this navy bean puree.

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup navy beans
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp parsley
- Pinch red pepper flake
- S&P

Instructions
- Toss everything into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Simple!

Then I sauteed some beautifully bright summer squash in 1 tsp olive oil, S&P.


And served over some quinoa (1/4 cup quinoa, 1/2 cup water). No seasoning required because the bean puree was flavorful enough! I topped it with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds and called it a day.




Random? I think so. Delicious? You betcha! This bean puree would also make an excellent, easy dip but I liked the creaminess it gave this dish.


I've definitely been hugging my fats today. Almond butter and flax with breakfast, avocado with lunch, olive oil and seeds with dinner. Mmm, healthy fats! I used to be afraid of using fats and sprayed everything with non-stick spray (including adding it to salad dressings, yuck) because I feared gaining weight again. Now, I know that won't happen; my body needs and loves good fats. My skin, nails, and body definitely thank me for re-adding healthy fats into my diet every day.

My run today went pretty well. I went out a little after 10 and it became progressively hotter as I was running, so by the end I was dripping sweat and panting. Florida heat definitely makes running harder. It also doesn't help that I haven't been running regularly, so my speed wasn't great and I had to stop to walk a couple times. I ended up doing 1.8 miles in about 25 minutes. It's okay, I'll get better in time for the 5K.