The Best Day

I have had the best day ever. Well, kind of. But it does really seem like things are going my way today.

I started my day off right with some fun and delicious Choconut Oatmeal.

For lunch, I made linguini with my homemade tomato sauce and lentil balls, with a salad consisting of baby greens, grapefruit segments, raisins, sunflower seeds, and a raspberry-lime-coconut vinaigrette.

In the afternoon, I dragged myself to the wellness center. I really didn't want to be there. But after just 2 laps of running, I suddenly felt great. I knew I was going to run more than a mile. Gleefully, I ran a mile and a half...which sounds anticlimactic, but not if you consider that I haven't run more than a mile at a time since high school. I was considering continuing to two miles, but then my lungs really started hurting, so I wimped out. :)

Then I went to my beloved grocery store, which I actually haven't been to for nearly two weeks! And wouldn't you know it? They've expanded the health market section. And guess what one of the many new products is? A blend of almond milk and coconut milk. I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP. I was so excited that I opened it up as soon as I got to the car and took a swig. Such an interesting flavor! It begins with that typical nutty flavor I know and love, but then it hits you with the coconut. Bam!

Soon, it was time to make dinner. I had purchased all the ingredients to make this fantastic shredded brussels sprouts and apple salad...including the tofu. I really hate tofu. Or at least I thought I did. But then I read somewhere that if you tried tofu and didn't like it, it's because it wasn't prepared right. So I decided to give it another chance.

Um, this salad is possibly the best thing I have ever made (although I'm not sure it could beat my chili...or roasted butternut squash and kale pizza). I have been allllll about interesting salads lately (check out my Pinterest board!), but this one just blew me away. Charred, flavorful, sweet from the apples, crunchy from the almonds (I used sliced almonds instead of pine nuts), and.....that TOFU. I caramelized mine by sauteing it with olive oil, salt, garlic, and blackstrap molasses. It was crisp and sweet and smokey and wonderful...and it didn't taste anything like that dreadful sponge in the package!

Let me make this clear: if you've tried tofu and didn't like it, it's because it wasn't prepared right.

And then, just because I was so delighted with the world and needed some dessert, I made a glass of pina colada soft serve, with just three beautiful ingredients: frozen bananas, frozen pineapple, and coconut milk. And gosh darn it, it was the perfect ending to a great day. It was super healthy, yet it tasted far more rich and decadent than a brownie, or my mother's amazing baked cheesecake.

I tell you, my friends: clean eating is a blast and a half.