Easy Panzanella Salad

Spring time makes me crave fresh flavorful ingredients. Recently I wanted to make a quick and simple flavorful dinner. I complied what ingredients I had and decided that a panzanella salad would be the way to go. A panzanella salad uses thick pieces of bread that has been quickly soaked in different liquids such as juice from a tomato, olive oil, or balsamic vinegar. For my salad I soaked it in tomato juice, which brought out the flavor of the meal.

I saw the image above on myrecepies.com and it inspired the dish below! 

Easy Panzanella Salad 

Serves 1 

2 thick slices of bread (ideally stale or day old bread) cut or ripped into bite sized pieces 

10 cherry tomatoes

4 basil leaves cut up

1/4 cup of thinly sliced red onion 

1/4 cup of garbanzo beans 

1/3 cup of cucumber sliced

Salt and Pepper to taste 

1 tablespoon of olive oil + 2 tablespoons 

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 

Start by preheating the over to 425 degrees. Place the bread in a bowl. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and squeeze the juice into the bread with the bowl. Mix, cover, and let sit for about 10 minutes. After it has soaked, place the bread on a backing sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and bake in oven for about 10 minutes. The bread should come out crispy and golden brown.  While the bread is in the oven, cut up the basil, red onion, and cucumber and place in a medium sized bowl along with the garbanzo beans. When the bread is done mix with the other ingredients and drizzle on the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. 

Have fun with the ingredients! There are tons of different ways to enjoy panzanella salad!

Follow along on Twitter and Insta here! 

-A

Hometown Hike

Recently, we took a hike in our hometown. We live in a really hilly area that over looks the entire Bay Area. It was a beautiful day and we brought along our friend’s dog, Walt. It was so nice to explore our own backyard and get in some exercise. Whether you live in a big city, small town, or somewhere in the middle spending time outdoors with friends is both a work out and a super fun way to catch up. 

 

It's also a fun activity that doesn't cost any money! I think it's great to have a set of fun and free activities that you can do with friends at a moments notice. It's a nice break from movie nights, shopping trips, and lazy days spent inside. 

-A

Feeling Green

I have re-found a love for juicing!

I think juicing can be really intimidating at first! What do you juice? Will it taste good? How do I even use a juicer? These were my big questions at first. With Pinterest as my guide I found some good recipes that wouldn't leave me with the taste of grass in my mouth.

When I first started juicing one of my biggest complaints was how long the process was. Finding the right veggies and fruits, juicing them all (with pealing and cutting before) and then cleaning! It took for-ever. Not ideal for a girl on the go! I talked about this frustration with a cousin of mine this past Christmas and he mentioned that he freezes his juice, fabulous idea! And just like that I loved juicing again.




Here is my current juice concoction:
4 large cucumbers
1 bundle of celery
1 bag of kale
2 grapefruits
2 green apples

Once I juiced everything, I mixed it all together and evenly divided it for I have my juice lunch for the next 2 weeks!

In the morning I take my frozen juice out of the freezer to let it defrost and then add about a cup of coconut water when I am ready to drink!

Let me know what some of your favorite juicing recipes are!

-A

It's a challenge

During the summer months it is easy to get out of a routine - even when you work full time. Lazy summer dinners with friends turn into long nights of bar hoping, and sooner then you know it you have to be up the next morning. After hitting snooze a couple of times you finally manage to get out of bed, with just enough time to grab a cup of iced coffee and run out the door. I realized in the beginning of fall that I really wanted to get back into a healthy routine, mostly of going to the gym and eating better. I also realized that I love a good challenge, so in September I did a full on cleanse. After Kira, some friends, and I went up to a cabin over labor day (a long weekend of lounging around and many cookie chips!) I came to the conclusion that it was the perfect time to get back into a routine!

I started off by planning out meals for each week, including snacks, so I would eat a small meal about every 3 hours to keep my metabolism up. I also made a plan to only each fruits, veggies, lean protein, and limited complex carbs (i.e. brown rice, corn tortillas, oats) and to drink lots of water. I also included some multivitamins, fiber pills, and protein shakes. Along with eating healthy, I also made a plan with a friend to go to the gym early in the mornings to start our day. Let me tell you - I am definitely back on a routine! Set yourself a small goal (mine was 24 days) in which you will accomplish something. It makes the ending point attainable and less scary.

For the month of October I am doing the "Kardashian Squat Challenge"! I'm not really positive if the Kardashians made it up, but I saw Khloe post it on Instagram, so that's where I got the idea! I like that it is only 30 days, so by Halloween I will hopefully see a difference, or at least feel a difference!

If anyone has a good tip for a fun workout challenge for the month of November - I'm all ears!!!

-A