Oh Oats I Missed You

I used to eat oats all the time but lately I’ve been having soyogurt, scones and green juice but finally yesterday I returned to my old friend oats, if only it could have been oats in a jar.  I also had oats this morning as well and I think tomorrow OIAJ will happen.

On Monday I got home from work to find my Easy Lunch Boxes sample had arrived and I couldn’t wait to try them out.  My husband and I bring lunch everyday to work because it’s healthier, cheaper and easier than going out for lunch, besides the fact that we don’t really have time to go out for lunch during the work week.  I have to say one of the hardest things at our house however is finding containers to pack our food into. The Hubz We are notorious for leaving our tupperware at work or in the car so it is nice to finally have some new ones.

I went right to work putting together my lunches for the week and because they stack so great I could just stick them in the fridge and grab them when I head out the door.  This makes like so much easier because I don’t have to get up in the morning and make lunch or do it the night before they are all ready to go.  I also received a cute purple lunch box that fits the containers perfectly- I think this is my first real lunch box since elementary school. If you check back later today I think there might be a giveaway post for your own chance to win these eco friendly lunch boxes.

For my lunches this week we have some fruit, salad and the most delicious GF vegan raw sprouted crackers from Livin’ Spoonfuls I have ever tasted.  I tried the coconut curry yesterday and they were amazing I am sure I will post more about these later.

Dinner last night was delicious and filled with healthier versions of two of my favorite things- chili and quesadillas. I know I have blogged about these before but Maria and Ricardo’s Low Carb Tortillas are my favorite tortillas for a few reasons  they are low in calories, fat and carbs and are made with ingredients that are all natural.

In my quesadillas I put some scallions and a serving of cheddar Daiya cheese- I couldn’t hold myself back from buying it the other day when I saw that it was on sale for $2 off.  We tried the mozza a few weeks ago and I decided that a sale was a good excuse reason to try the cheddar;  I think I am a bigger fan of the cheddar so far.

To go with our quesadillas I made up some chili with kidney and black beans that I had soaked the night before and I added a bunch of great veggies to it including mustard greens.

Beans and Greens Chili

Ingredients:

• 1/2T olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1.5 cups cooked kidney beans
• 1.5 cups cooked black beans
• 1T tomato paste
• 2 t cumin
• 1 t paprika
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1T nutritional yeast
• 2t chili powder
• dash of cayenne
• 1t garlic powder
• 1t onion powder
• 1/2t salt
• 1/4t black pepper
• 3 cups mustard greens, chopped
• 1/4 cup scallions, sliced
• 1T chipotle hot sauce or 1t chipotle chili powder (optional)

Directions:

In a medium pot heat the oil over medium-high and add in the onion and carrots; saute for 3-5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute.  Add in the vegetable broth, tomato paste and beans and bring to a boil; turn down to medium low and let simmer for 15 minutes.  While the beans simmer mix the cumin, paprika, oregano, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder salt and pepper with 2T of water to make a paste. Stir the spice paste into the beans and then top with the mustard greens and cover; let the greens wilt. Stir in the greens and scallions.  At this point you can eat as is or if you want you can add in the chipotle hot sauce or chipotle chili powder- I think that with the beans and greens this smoky flavor and heat is a great addition to the chili but it is yummy without it as well.