Coconuts and Collards oh my

I am excited to share with you some of the great food I ate yesterday. I told you on Monday that I am going sugarless for ten days, and my goal is to try to eat more vegetables and balance out my cravings. It is going well and I believe yesterday was a great success. It included a lot of coconut and collard greens, and that makes me happy :).

For breakfast I ate a banana sliced in half with natural peanut butter and unsweetened coconut. 

  

For lunch I ate summer rolls. They originated in Vietnam and the name literally means "mixed salad rolled". You can take whatever filling you want, with options including meat, sprouts, vegetables, rice noodles, and herbs. Then you wrap it up in a thin wrapper made out of rice, and is generally served with a dipping sauce. It is naturally gluten free, fresh tasting, and a meal I enjoy frequently. Yesterday I put avacado, cucumber, mushroom, carrot, and cilantro leaves in my summer rolls. I used a recipe for Spicy Mustard Green and Miso salad dressing that I found from Kim at Affairs of Living as my dipping sauce. I enjoyed the sauce on its own, but couldn't help myself and added some sriracha for good measure. This girl likes it spicy. :) I also cooked some collard greens in chicken broth to eat with my summer rolls. I loved how vibrant and green everything looked. It was a great balance of cooked and raw, hot and cold, spicy and soothing. Yum!

Last but definitely not least, for dinner last night I created a coconut lime peanut sauce. I based my idea off of the Thai Fresh Green Curry Sauce created by Ali at the The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen. I played up with the ratios, and mixed up the ingredients. I was proud of myself for making this sauce. It had a variety of distinct flavors that stood out individually, yet married well to create something rich and complex. You first tasted the acidic lime juice, then the soothing coconut and rich peanut butter, then you got a kick from the fresh ginger, and finally you felt the heat from the Sriracha in the back of your throat as you finished the bite. Paired with steamed broccoli, leftover roasted chicken, and collard greens and served over quinoa. It was as nourishing as it was tasty. All I can say is that I was more than excited to have some leftover to be able to eat for lunch today. 

Coconut Lime Peanut Sauce:

1 lg clove garlic

1 Tablespoon lime juice, fresh squeezed

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter, crunchy or creamy

1 small bunch of cilantro

1 can full fat coconut milk

1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce 

1 inch fresh ginger,  peeled

3 Tablespoons of chicken broth or water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend until creamy. Serve with steamed vegetables and quinoa or brown rice. 

This post is a part of Simple Lives Thursday hosted by GNOWFGLINS.