Happy Wednesday! I hope you’ve had a great week so far!? Mine has been WONDERFUL. Since getting home on Sunday night, I’ve been able to get 9+ hours of sleep most nights, catch up with a few friends, spend time with my family, go on some longer runs, and cook more than I usually do at school. Starting on Thursday, I’ll be doing a 9-5 internship a couple of days per week, so I’m enjoying my long days of freedom before then.
In case you’re new to the food blog/healthy living blog world, WIAW (What I Ate Wednesday) posts were created by a blogger named Jenn from Peas and Crayons and are now hosted by a different blogger each week. world.com is hosting today! They’re a fun way for food and healthy living bloggers to share food inspiration by blogging about a full day of eats. I haven’t done one in a while, so I thought it’d be fun to do one chronicling yesterday’s eats since I tried a couple of interesting, new-to-me things.
Breakfast was pretty standard– just a veggie and cheese omelet after a longish (8 miles) run, topped with salsa.
For lunch, I made black bean pasta. I’d made it once before, and I’ve started liking it because the ingredients are just black beans and water and the noodles have 22 grams of protein per 2-ounce serving, compared to the typical 8 or so grams of protein in a 2-ounce serving of white or whole-grain pasta.
I tossed mine with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, oregano, and parsley. Since the pasta is already packed with so much protein, there’s no need to top it with meat sauce or add another additional source of protein! 
I’m a tough critic of healthy items that are supposed to replace less healthy foods, and I find that these noodles don’t have quite as much flavor as regular pasta and the texture is a little bit chewier, but I’ve found actually myself really enjoying them both times I’ve made them. I think they’re a great addition to my diet, but they probably would never fully replace good ol’ regular pasta for me.
We ordered our black bean pasta from a website called Thrive Market that has great deals on healthy pantry staples like oats, coconut milk, and nuts, as well as natural beauty products and other things like that. I’ve also found them on Amazon.
For an afternoon snack, I had a cup of Siggi’s mixed berries skyr, which is super thick and full of protein like Greek yogurt.
I also tried my hand at making kale chips for the first time using the kale from my mystery produce box. I wouldn’t say they taste quite like potato chips, but they were a great little snack. I’ll share the recipe for these later on this week.
I also made a giant “green” smoothie for a later afternoon snack which included unsweetened almond milk, half of a can of coconut milk, fresh spinach, frozen mixed berries, and frozen bananas.
For dinner, I had a huge salad with chicken, lots of veggies, guacamole, and steamed broccoli.
And after dinner, my brother and I did my favorite Christmas tradition– decorating our tree while watching Elf. 
Can you believe Christmas is only 9 days away? And that, at least here in NC, it’s still warm enough to be wearing shorts?!
So tell me…
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten or cooked recently?
Have you ever tried black bean or edamame pasta?
What’s your favorite Christmas tradition? When do you typically decorate your tree?
Growing up, my family usually decorated our tree on the day after Thanksgiving, but our tree decorating has started happening later and later each year.
That pasta looks great! I haven’t ever tried bean-based pasta, but I absolutely would. It’s so nice to be home and have more time to spend preparing delicious food. I’ve been doing a lot of baking, so that’s all been pretty wonderful, but last night I made a quiche for dinner that was awesome!
Mmmm, love quiche! And I agree– it’s so nice to spend time ENJOYING making food rather than trying to hurriedly throw together a healthy dinner as I’m running out the door to a meeting at school.
I recently tried the same pasta! I am kind of with you on the chewy texture, and the first time I had it I wasn’t so sure, but I honestly have come to love it! And the protein content is just an added bonus!
I just had Joshua pick some salsa up from the store on base. Such a great topping on my morning eggs 🙂
I LOVE eggs with salsa, but without salsa, I barely like eggs. It makes all of the difference for me!
yay for being home! I need to get my hands on some of this black bean pasta (:
(((CLICKS AWAY TO ORDER HER SOME BLACK BEAN PASTA)))
You did a great job decorating the tree,Liv! I’m not sure ours ever sparkled that brightly and we never added a huge bow but that’s a sweet idea. My family won’t have a tree this year but when we did we didn’t put it up inside the house until 23rd or even Christmas Eve.
I’m intrigued by the black bean pasta yet have never seen it around here.
Thank you! I love big bows on top of Christmas trees for a fun, non-traditional twist 🙂
Actually looking forward to your kale chip recipe- I tried making them once and I made charcoal…
Haha yikes! I’m excited to share the recipe 🙂
That black bean pasta looks REALLY good! 🙂 And that bow on the tree is AMAZING. I need to learn bow making skills from you.
I’ve never had black bean pasta…but I am so intrigued. That much protein, and still getting to eat something pasta-ish sound great! May have to check out that site.
Your tree looks so pretty! I’ve been getting emails for Thrive Market, and I keep meaning to try them out. Thanks for the reminder!
Congrats on finishing up all your finals – your new routine of sleeping in, cooking, and running longer are my favorite things 🙂 I’ve never tried black bean pasta before but I’ve had edamame pasta and liked it. It’s hard to think how close Christmas is when it’s so warm here in NC
I’m really curious about trying edamame pasta, too! And I agree– it does NOT feel like Christmas is next week because it’s still so warm!
I’m a fan of some pasta alternatives though nothing will ever beat classic pasta! I am headed home for break later today and I cannot wait. I am in need of some relaxation and time with family!
Have an awesome break, Brie! Hope it’s super relaxing and that all the schools stress quickly fades away 🙂
That omelet looks so good! Love mushrooms in omelets – I think that’s my favorite flavor of Siggi’s too! I’ve never tried black bean pasta, but I recently had chickpea pasta which was surprisingly satisfying.
I love the mixed berries Siggi’s but I think my number one favorite is the strawberry rhubarb flavor. SO good! (And not strawberry rutabaga like my grandma thought- haha!)
I need to try that black bean pasta! I can’t believe how warm it has been in NC, so crazy!!
I love that black bean pasta. I like making a Mexican pasta with it using peppers, inoins and guacamole. I have never seen edamame pasta though! I find that black bean pasta at my local Publix but now I want to go check out what Thrive Market is all about. Happy Wednesday!
YUM, your Mexican pasta sounds awesome! And I LOVE Publix but don’t have one near me anymore. Enjoy it! 🙂
I’ve never tried that kind of pasta but I did like soba noodles when I tried them. They are also black in color, a bit thinner than regular pasta but taste the same.
I don’t have a tree to decorate this year (my cats would destroy it) but I feel festive making all the holiday drinks at work 🙂
I tried soba noodles a couple of times when I spent time in East Asia for an exchange program but had no idea what they were for the longest time. I was so surprised to find out they’re just buckwheat noodles!
Wow you eat so healthy, and your recipes are so simple! I tried out your sweet potato fries recipe a few weeks ago and it was so delicious! My family has two “traditions,” if you can call it that lol. My cousins and I always hold a Secret Santa and we always open all our presents on Christmas Eve with all our relatives, so Christmas Eve is usually a bigger holiday for us than Christmas haha.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the sweet potato fries recipe! They’re one of my favorite things to make and I probably have them at least 2-3 times per week.
Your two traditions sound like so much fun! Merry Christmas, Lauren!
That pasta looks really good, I love things with lots of protein as I eat mostly vegetarian. Me and my sis always decorate our tree too! This year Curtis and I got a tiny one for our little apartment which was fun too 🙂 it is soo hot here (102 degrees F!!) but this is normal Christmas weather for me! Christmas time for us down under peeps = beach time 🙂
102 degrees at Christmas time?! Stay cool inside for me 🙂
My family has had up our THREE Christmas trees since before Thanksgiving! We really get into the holidays 😉
Three threes?! I love it!!
I’ve heard of black bean pasta, I didn’t realize it had that much protein in it, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for it! My favorite Christmas movies are Elf and The Santa Clause, Elf I could probably watch any time of year, but I reserve it for Christmas because it is such a tradition to watch it every year.
Those are two of the best Christmas classics! I never get tired of them!
Your eats look crazy delicious! Your breakfast makes me miss berries so much. They are just too expensive to buy right now since they aren’t in season. My sister forked over $5 for a tiny thing of strawberries the other day. Craziness! And I’ve always wanted to try out that pasta, but now that I’m gluten-free I find that my desire to eat pasta has kind of diminished. Weird, considering pasta used to be my go-to favorite dish!
Confession: Just for the breakfast picture, I reused a photo from this summer when berries were still in season! You’re so right- they’re way too expensive now!
Yum. I love pastas that are simply dressed. They really highlight the wonderful noodle!
I’ve missed you, Liv!! So good to catch up on your blog! That smoothie snack looks and sounds fantastic. Hope you have a great time at home and at your internship!
Sleeping for 9 hours a night sounds like a dream! Even though I am home on break now, my internal clock still wakes me up early. I have tried edamame noodles from that same brand and LOVE them! I use them to make veggie-noodles stir fry and they taste so good. I need to try the black bean ones though- they sound super delicious. I hope you enjoy your time off school!!
Hoep you can get some good rest over break, Kerri! Merry Christmas!