Leftovers: Two Ways

Hey loves! How are you? I just finished a very satisfying dinner…but more on that later!

Workout

I woke up in my workout clothes today (does anyone else do this?) and mosied on downstairs to replicate last Tuesday’s workout. I upped the ante today and totally felt it! To switch it up a bit, went for 20 minutes on the stationary bike instead of 30 minutes and omitted the intervals of jumping jacks, burpees, and mountain climbers.

After my HIIT workout, I moved on to complete this Tone it Up lower-body circuit. OH MY GOSH. I was on fire! Totally do this! It reminds me of what we do at Mind Body Barre. I loved this circuit because you can really feel your muscles working and adapting as you go.

Breakfast

This morning, I was craving something cool and comforting after my sweaty workout. Enter cereal.

Tride and true. Never fails! I enjoyed a bowl of the usual Nature’s Path, chia seeds, and almond milk, along with an apple and a piping hot mug of coffee. In my very favorite mug, no less.

I’m the type of girl who basically dreams of cereal when she’s not eating it. I’ve considered professional help but I’m still in the denial phase. And perfectly okay with it.

Lunch

I love leftovers. While many would argue (and with good reason!), my favorite part about leftovers isn’t the less-effort factor. While that is certainly a perk, I take a particular liking to their creative force of nature! Huh? Yes, exactly. Leftovers force me to think a little deeper about incorporating them into new recipes. Today, I made two: one for lunch and one for dinner. Let’s start with lunch.

Using leftover tempeh from Sunday, I made a new favorite.

Pineapple-Teriyaki Tempeh Wraps

Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 – 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cabbage leaves
• 1/2 cup tempeh, sliced
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup carrots, julienned
• 1 Tbsp. Trader Joe’s Soyaki Sauce*
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh pineapple juice
• Olive Oil Cooking Spray

* If you don’t have soyaki sauce, teriyaki works  fine. Just look for a low-sodium variety!

Directions

• Spray skillet with cooking spray.
• On medium-high heat, saute tempeh slices for five minutes on one side.

• After five minutes, flip tempeh and add mushrooms and broccoli florets.
• Saute for 2 minutes, add soyaki sauce and pineapple juice, and continue to saute for 3 minutes, until tempeh is golden brown.

• Turn burner off and stir mixture to evenly coat tempeh and veggies.
• Add two slices of tempeh and veggies (to your liking) to the cabbage leaves.
• Wrap and enjoy!

These are so delicious! The soft and chewy tempeh and mushrooms are a nice compliment to the crunchy cabbage and carrots. They would make a great appetizer for a party. You could easily make these a meal in and of themselves by adding avocado to the wraps and serving them with a hearty peanut dipping sauce. I was short on time and served mine with more soyaki sauce instead.

After making these little beauties, I jet-setted to work. The nano-second I walked into work, my “womanly flood” decided to make its presence known. You’re welcome. Whenever that happens, I am especially cold. So, when I got home, I wanted something hot. Specifically, As a result, something warm and creamy in texture.  

Dinner

I got to work on more leftovers! To start, I sauteed leftover kale and chickpeas from yesterday’s salad with some onion, olive oil, and garlic. I topped the kale and chickpea blend with some cheeze sauce and served it up with leftover sweet potaoes, dusted with cinnamon.

Warm, comforting, and divine. I love when dinners take less than 25 minutes to prepare!

Leftovers were always big in my house growing up. My mom always hated to waste food. She would always say “Haste makes waste!” and sing jingles to my dad and I about not wasting food and water. Remember that old Sesame Street song about not wasting water? My mom was the queen bee of never letting me forget that one. She still yells at me for taking showers longer than 10 minutes! :-p

Stay lovely,
Heather

Question of the Day: Leftovers: yay or nay?