strapped in

Last night Chris mentioned going snowboarding today or tomorrow.  It still seems strange to 1. be able to snowboard in october 2. to actually live in Colorado and be able to snowboard pretty much whenever we want…

This morning I checked the forecast and today sounded better than tomorrow so we got ready and headed out. 

I packed some snacks for the ride home because mountain food is $$$ and you know I’m not stopping for fast “food.” ;)

First time trying Chobani Greek yogurt.  Deelicious!  It was about 70 cents cheaper than Oikos, however not organic.  This was my first time eating the Chocolate Coffee LARABAR.  My feeling for these bars is still “meh.”  Chris doesn’t like them because of the texture.  They are o.k. to me, but I mainly eat them because they are filling and have an impressive ingredient list.

I like bars with more varying textures, like KIND bars. mmmm 

I was really in the mood for coffee and we were going to be passing riiight by NOVO Coffee, a Denver based coffee shop.  This also happens to be right next to Great Harvest Bread Co. 

Natural Grocers + Sunflower Market are in the same plaza too, so when I do my Monday shopping I definitely go in all 4 places =) [GHBC to the left]

I got a Pumpkin Latte, which had the perfect pumpkin spice flavor, and no gross syrup taste.  We went into GHBC, were given 2 HUGE samples, and bought a loaf of their Oregon bread.  

Okay…I have a funny story about GHBC and our dog, Dakota.  Yesterday, I went there to buy breadsticks and buns.  All of their bread types have names and the buns I got were made with their “Dakota” bread.  So, I came home and unloaded all the cold groceries, but left the pantry stuff out.  [I was in a hurry for my interview]  Chris got home 10min after I left to find that Dakota ATE 1/2 of the Dakota buns!!!!!! SO dumb + hilarious all at the same time. =)

The slice was bigger than my hand…so delicious + filling.

bread + coffee + snowboarding + husband = HAPPY ASHLEY [but not in that order, haha]

Not a ton of snow in the mountains yet.  There was only 1 run open today.

We will be back to the mountain soon!  I love that my winter running clothes double as base layers for boarding =)

We came home, famished!  What’s for dinnerrrr?  Lentil veggie burgers!  I didn’t have super high expectations for these but they totally wowed us both!  Chris said this is a keeper, for sure.

Brain fart in the kitchen!  I cooked 3c. of uncooked lentils = 6c. cooked lentils. DOUBLE of what I needed, hehe.  Misread the recipe…woooops! 

The only changes to the recipe that I made were adding 2 cloves garlic, and some garlic/salt/parsley seasoning mix [about 1/2tsp].  This recipe was super easy.  It just takes a little while to cook the lentils.  Oh, and I used dark green lentils.  I could not find black lentils at 3 different stores.

I topped them with a little asiago/mozz/avocado and Chris added jalapenos.  We ate them with the herbed Oregon bread and I dipped mine in plain Greek yogurt which was SO delicious!  Also, made a side of Alexia’s fries.  Insanely filling + healthy meal.

The flavor was GREAT.  I thought it might be a little bland..but definitely not.  I added the 1c. breadcrumbs but next time will add a little less as they were sliiightly dry.  You want the mixture to be pretty wet but still able to be formed into patties that don’t fall apart.

We both decided these are DEfinitely better than black bean burgers and there are tons of leftovers!  On the 101 site, it says you can keep the uncooked mixture in the fridge for a week!  These will be perfect for lunches.  The recipe said to make 12 mini burgers but I made 6 full size patties.

pantry items: olive oil, cheese, garlic, eggs, seasoning mix

Total Cost: $11.40/6 = $1.90  INsanely CHEAP and again almost 100% organic! This price includes the fries/yogurt/avocado too! However, I didn’t include the special loaf we got at GHBC which was a little pricey.  You can use any bread or buns…still super cheap =)

Adios foodies…I’m pooped!

Ashley