Sucky Saturday? I Think Not

Sucky Start 

I totally woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I was a major Pissy Pants. I had an order of dog treats that I needed to bake up. I should have done them Friday night of course. I knew that too. I was supposed to have gone to visit my mom and sister and take the treats for a customer in that city. After getting them bake, I found out that my nephew was really sick, so no visit. My pups, however, a most decidedly happy about the acquisition of doggy treats. I'll have to make more next weekend now. So, I procrastinated on starting my workouts and my mood only kept getting worse (if that was actually possible). I finally did what my sis would say: put on my big girl panties and sucked it up. I did Shock Cardio Athletic Step. I really enjoy that one. It's about 35 mins. Time flies by. Then I did weights. Today was the last weight workout for week 3 of my Total Body Training rotation. I did 3 sets of 15 reps of each exercise:

Triceps - Double Arm Kickbacks
Calves - Dumbbell Calf Raises
Chest - Decline Dumbbell Press
Back - Double Arm Rows
Legs - Step Ups (on 12" step)
Shoulders - Front Raises

I did also sneak in 2 sets of 6 reps alternating bicep curls and 2 sets of 12 reps of pullovers for back.

Saturday Shopping

After working out, Jason and I decided to take a trip to the Asian market. The first thing I spotted - kabocha!!!! Thanks so much Allie for the tip of where to find it. I have been searching for this beaut for months now. I have a few blogging buddies who rave about it so that led me to my search. Now I have it. Now I don't know what to do with it. But, I have it! I also came home with Japanese egglplant (love love love that stuff), fresh green beans, bok choy, miso paste, tom yum (vegan), and dried shiitakes, 4 boxes of silken tofu (variety of firmness)  all for a mere 22 bucks. I'd call that a pretty good deal.

So Not Sucky Saturday After All

In the end, the day turned around and wasn't sucky at all. After polishing off the rest of the White Cheeseless Queso, Jason worked on setting up his new toy - PlayStation 3 (for Blu-ray capabilities I was told). The storms finally set in, so I got comfy in my sweats and started working on dinner. I was inspired by Alyson's quesadilla. I love the flavor and texture combination of sweet potatoes and black beans, and had some kale that needed to be used. I wasn't in the mood for soup, so quesadillas or burritos sounded like a good idea (especially after having snacked on the white cheeseless queso). So, I made Sweet Potato, Black Bean, & Kale Burritos.

Sweet Potato, Black Bean, & Kale Burritos

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 sweet potato (or 1 small), diced

1/2 bunch curly kale

1/2 white onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

minced garlic

Spices to taste: sea salt, black pepper, red pepper, cumin, nutmeg, chili powder

Whole-wheat tortilla wraps

cheese/vegan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Prepare the kale by removing from the steams and cleaning thouroughly. Blanch in boiling water approximately 2 minutes then transfer to bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cooled, squeeze out excess water.

Cook diced sweet potato in microwave for approximately 5 minutes. Meanwhile, saute onion, bell pepper, and garlic in sauce pan with drizzle of olive oil until soft. Add in beans, sweet potatoes, and spices and cook until sweet potatoes are soft. Lightly mash mixture. Stir in kale and re-season if needed.

Fill tortilla with mixture and wrap into burrito. As an option (which is what I did), toast the burritos in non-stick skillet. Serve with pico de gallo and creamy cilantro sauce (used Urban Vegan recipe).

I should mention that this made quite a bit of filling. After making 3 very healthy burritos, I still had enough to make at least 2 more. I did save the filling and plan to reheat and serve over pearled barley perhaps. It may very well be good cold as a salad.