adzuki beans | Train Your Body- Change Your Life!

Whew! I am pooped! Thursday, I worked an 11 hour day and then stayed up for the 12:05 showing of Harry Potter in 3D (My first 3D experience!). I went with Tim, Brittney, Erica and some others from work.

I was a little nervous about the 3D deal since I get motion sick, but it was AWESOME!!!

I can’t believe how good the cinematography was, the acting was and how well the wrapped it up!!! I was thoroughly impressed and exhausted!

Erica and I were going to hike Mt Defiance in the morning, but we decided to go to Group Groove instead- after only 4 hours of sleep! Then it was off to Downtown Portland for the day! We started with lunch at Whole Foods (of course- I heart their salad bar!!) followed by coffee @ Peet’s. Then over to Lululemon for shorts!

I normally don’t advocate spending this much money on clothes, but since I literally live in my gym shorts, it is worth the investment! I picked up a pair of their Turbo Run Shorts. I love these because they are just long enough that I am not flashing my thunder thighs (that’s right baby- proud of it!) and they are oober comfy and last forever!!!

Next we checked out Buffalo Exchange and Goodwill. We found some great sweaters…..

Don’t worry, those didn’t actually go home with us. Next I showed E my favorite downtown running spots on NW 23rd, Thurman and up Lovejoy to the Birch Trail in Forest Park. It was a beautiful day for a drive! We ended with a stop @ Trader Joes for ingredients to make some fun dips from Clean Eating Magazine, except, we couldn’t remember the recipe!! Oh well…..Then we went to her new apartment (sooo cool!) and made some amazing guacamole with chopped cauliflower for dipping!

Simple Guacamole

Ingredients:

2 Shallots

1 Roma tomato

3 cloves of garlic

1 small jalapeno pepper

1 lime

2 avocados (we added 1/2 of another one to tone down the spice)

salt and pepper (we also added 1 Tablespoon of nutritional yeast)

Directions:

Chop shallots, tomato,jalapeno, garlic and avocados. Place in bowl and mash until desired consistency is reached. Add lime juice and enjoy!!

We chopped up some cauliflower for dipping!

Next up was the Clean Eating Spinach and Artichoke Dip. This one we kind of made up as we remembered, lol!

Kim and Erica’s Artichoke Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic

2 shallots

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1.5 cups artichokes

1 cup cauliflower

2 Tablespoons Tofuti (or 1/4 reduced fat cream cheese)

1/4 cup almond milk (or milk)

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon mustard

Feta cheese for the top

Directions:

Drain your spinach and dry it as much as you can. Chop shallots, garlic and artichokes. Saute together until garlic browns. Add all ingredients in a food processor. Make sure you pulse and not blend :0) Serve warm with feta cheese sprinkled on top! We used carrots and cucumbers for dipping. To be honest, this was a little bland, but I think with some more Tofuti and some more spices, it could be magical. Keep an eye out for the next batch!

After that, we drove back to my house to finish off the night with some amazing Bean Brownies!!!

I Can’t Believe It’s Beans Brownies!

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked small red beans (or adzuki beans, which is what we used)
2 small ripe bananas (or 1 large)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional, but highly recommended)

1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened if you can)

2 Tablespoons almond butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees and Spray a 9×13 pan. Mix first five ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 20-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. We put almond butter on some and it was delicious! Makes roughly 16 bars.