Four for you, Glen Coco!

I enjoyed two delicious salads today.

And for that sentence, I deserve every accusation that I've turned boring.

But wait!  Hear me out!  The salads were proteini, colorful, crunchy and delicious.  Simply marvy.  I'm sharing them with you because 1. I know how easy it is to get in a salad rut and 2. I know how many iceberg/shredded carrot/withered cucumber side-salad-eating nonbelievers there are out there.  I'd wager a guess that most of them dine out exclusively at Applebees.

Down to business.  First up: the lunch salad.

Spiraly Tuna Salad

Come closer...

Contents:

• CSA red leaf ettuce
• Spiralized CSA golden beets
• Spiralized CSA radish (hoochie mama, this was spicy!!!)
• Spiralized CSA cuke
• Spiralized carrots (the brand is "Bunny Luv"... how cute is that?!)
• 1 can Roche Bros. water-packed tuna (so flavorful and rich.  It blows Bumblebee out of the water [har har], and is definitely my new favorite, better even that Trader Joe's)
• Juice of 1/4 a lemon

It was incredible.  I enjoyed al desko, straight out of my Fit and Fresh shaker container.  Best believe that'll be in my OpenSky shop!

Next up... the dinner salad.  This one was a little more dangerous and a lot more involved.  There were steps.

 Chili Lime Coconut Shrimp Salad

1. Make a sauce for your protein of choice using a combination of coconut oil, peanut butter, lime juice, ginger, chili powder, cumin, smoked salt, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and cracked black pepper.  (When I whip up my creations, I don't really measure, so the ingredients are just listed in greatest to least quantity.  My idea was to make a seasoned coconut oil).

2. Slather sauce onto chosen protein (I used shrimp), then slap it onto a sizzling hot pan.  I used the grill pan that my mother gave me for my birthday.  Yes, the one I literally burned to a crisp upon first use. What?  It's just seasoned.

3. While the protein is cooking, put together a salad.  I used a combination of CSA red leaf lettuce,          CSA cabbage, CSA cukes, spiralized carrots, diced avocado (I use the mango method: cross-hatch,              flip contents into a bowl), onion.  I forgot to put in tomatoes.  Squirt with lime juice.

4.  Once the protein is cooked to your liking, sprinkle with unsweetened flake coconut and pile it on top of your salad.

5. Top with chili sauce and more coconut.  Coconut makes everything better.  You go, coco!

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People, I am sore after last night's beating BodyRocking.  I had planned to run tonight, but that ain't happenin'.  After consulting Coworker M, I decided that the best remedy was a brisk lunchtime walk to loosen up my muscles.  To where did I walk?  To Whole Foods.  Like a masochist.

My "Happy August 3rd!" treats: MetroMint peppermint water, Peanut Butter & Co. White Chocolate Wonderful and the famed new LaraBars.  I love trying new foods.  Today, I had three winners!

• The peppermint water was so delicious and refreshing- it was like drinking a piece of Orbit!  At first I was sort of skeeved by a minty "Am I at the dentist?" feeling, but the flavor grew on me.  I sipped the bottle on the train, which was steamy due to broken A/C, and the minty-ness definitely cooled me off!
• The PB is good.  The white chocolate flavor is subtle and definitely less strong than dark chocolate nut butters.  It sort of just tastes like sweet peanut butter. One perk was the fact that it was on sale for a dollar less that its usual price- nothing wrong with that!
• I nibbled a chocolate chip cookie dough LaraBar for dessert.  It blew my mind.  I actually furrowed my brow and re-read the ingredients (cashews, dates, chocolate chips, sea salt) because it tasted so very much like raw cookie dough!  It amazes me how versatile cashews are- raw ricotta, vegan cheese, and now cookie dough, of course.  Anyways, I want a case (you heard me) of these bars. 

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Question of the Day: Have you tried the new LaraBars?!  If so, what did you think?  They're a big hit in the blog world; I was worried that since they had been built up so much, I would be disappointed when I finally got a chance to try them.  As you know, that wasn't the case ;)  I can't wait to taste the other flavors!