I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! While most people say that the gym is most packed the week after New Year’s, I disagree. I think it’s most packed the Monday after Thanksgiving.
The first week of December is always about “eat as many healthy things as possible before every night there’s a holiday party.”
December is a pretty magical time of year.
Not only is there 25 days of Christmas (and for those of you who don’t celebrate, you can still appreciate the merriment,) there’s such a happy mentality.
I’m vowing this year to take advantage of every single excuse to celebrate. I’ve already told Lu that he’s going to have to come with me to every holiday pop-up store in the city, every festive free event (we’re already signed up for wreath decorating!), and we’ll be drinking things like spiced apple cider and baking for no reason at all, other than to fill our apartment with the smells of the holidays.
I’ve actually been meaning to boil cinnamon sticks and apples like every cute lifestyle blogger does to fill our apartment with the smells of winter.
My New Year’s resolution is definitely going to be to appreciate the little things, so I figured, why not start now?!
Now, for those of you who properly enjoyed Thanksgiving and didn’t give a DAMN about calories, fat, sugar, or anything nutritionally-oriented, first off, BRAVO and secondly, now’s your time to shine with some healthy, nutrient-packed foods!
Today’s recipe reveals my latest obsession: hemp hearts. I have been seeing them all over the place, but never saw them in the grocery stores, so I decided to consult Amazon and immediately found them, Primed them and now, I can’t stop using them!
These hemp hearts are my new coconut bacon.
From everything I’ve researched, hemp hearts are a great addition to your healthy regimen – they pack essential omega-3s and are high in protein, perfect for sprinkling over a vegetarian salad like this for extra nutrients. If you’d like to grab the brand I bought, here’s the link.
Hemp hearts have a great seed-y texture and a lovely nutty flavor. I put them on my avocado toast, in my latest veggie sandwich and in today’s recipe, a cucumber noodle bowl with veggies.
Cucumbers come alive when spiralized, they’re no longer just a vehicle for dipping in hummus – they’re craveable!
This dish is easy to make in advance for work lunches and it’s easily customized – top it with grilled chicken, quinoa, salmon, or add more veggies or even some sliced avocado.
You’ll be seeing hemp hearts around here more often, so add them to your pantry!
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Weight Watchers PointsPlus*: 9 points
*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers PointsPlus® calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.
Cucumber Noodle Chickpea and Green Bean Salad with Hemp Hearts
Ingredients
- For the salad:
- A handful of green beans about 2oz
- 1/2 large seedless cucumber Blade D, noodles trimmed
- 4 cherry tomatoes
- 4 olives your preference
- 1/2 cup canned chickpeas drained, rinsed, patted dry
- 1 teaspoon hemp hearts
- For the dressing:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 pinch herbes de provence about 1/8 teaspoon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Fill a small pot 1/3 of the way with water and a pinch of salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add in the green beans and let cook for 4 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain into a colander and set aside over a bowl with ice. Let chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
- While the green beans cook, pat the cucumber noodles dry, thoroughly and set aside in a bowl. Also, halve the cherry tomatoes and add to the bowl. Halve the olives and add those to the bowl as well. Add in the chickpeas.
- Next, prepare the dressing. Place all of the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together. Taste and adjust to your preference.
- Once the green beans are chilled and no longer warm, add them to the bowl and drizzle everything with the dressing and sprinkle with hemp hearts.
comments