Monday, April 11, 2011

Beach Food


You're looking at what I ate at least once a day while I was living in the beach condo. It would have been better on a couple of pieces of Eziekiel bread, which I couldn't find at the beach, but I wasn't complaining. This is six grain bread, spread with hummus and stuffed with kale that was rubbed with plenty of lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. It made a handy picnic lunch to eat on the veranda or with my toes in the sand. Eating the same thing for a while might not float your boat, but personally, food like this never gets old. Raw, dark green leafies, especially paired with a protein such as hummus, beans, whole grains or avocado are what I crave. One day, as I took a big bite while sitting in my beach chair, one of my friends said, "That looks GREAT, Cheryl!"

Another, meat-eatin' friend said, "No, that does not look great, and by the way, you've got something in your teeth!" He was only razzing me -- I had nothing in my teeth. Here he was later in the day while I was still going strong from my nutritious lunch:


Besides my fabulous green sandwiches, I also ate a few great restaurant meals, not without the need to educate local Florida Gulf Coast chefs ("yes, parmesan does count as cheese, but that's okay, I'll wait for you to make a new one!")

Otherwise, I enjoyed fresh sliced tomatoes on "buttered" bread and made a big honkin' bowl of fresh salsa to share with everyone, along with some jicama and red peppers in lime and cayenne for dipping. I also made a bowl of fresh guacamole that did not last long enough for me to snap a photo.



Mmm, the simple basics go perfectly with an effortless beachy existence!

6 comments:

  1. I'll have to remember your idea for a kale sandwich once the kale starts going crazy in our garden! Love jicama w/cayenne - yummy! Your vacay pics are gorgeous!

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  2. Thanks Melissa! Good luck with the garden!

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  3. Thank god you are back! I was worried that you fell off the wagon and were trapped in a McDonalds somewhere! I even told my husband you weren't blogging lately and I didn't know what to do without my MLV fix.

    Your trip sounds wonderful. I also enjoy a kale sandwich with humus and avocado. And I love the jicama in lemon juice and cayenne. I've done it with carrots and mango too. The perfect summer treat!

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  4. Ha ha -- no, can't imagine going back to eating animals . . . Thanks for missing me!

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  5. What a vacay! Kale sammy and all. You may have some green in your teeth, but it's nothing compared to your meat eating friend's gut! I know, I 've also learned to ignore the comments from peeps who don't get it. I'm not here to educate, but just live the way I want! I know you do it too, but I laughed in your last post about having to educate the waiter about parm cheese! Hilarious, but oh so true!

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  6. Thanks, Emily -- Oh, my friend was just teasing. We spar like that. When you get old like me, you might find that things don't get under your skin the way they may have in the past. I really don't care what others think about my choice. It's the most extreme self-care with which I've ever gifted myself! We're all worth it, don't you think?

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