i'm sorry

i disappeared into a busy frenzy.

i found myself

swimming in a sea of work

and then i treated myself

to a trip down south.

but i'm back

and i need to get my

healthy eating

back

on 

track.

stat.

when i splurge

on a week or more of 

fried

chicken,

okra,

cube steak

eating,

i come home

and make myself

a tub of easy to grab 

salad.

here we go.

my favorite,

easy to grab,

always satisfying,

light and clean

salad...

tabouli

1 1/2 cup fresh curly parsley (1 whole bunch), finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 of 1 cucumber

1/2 of 1 roma tomato

1/4 of 1 small red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup pepperocinis, finely chopped

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 sprig of mint

3 tbs. olive oil

juice from 1 1/2 lemons

ground pepper to taste

in a medium size pan, bring your water to boil with quinoa and a mint sprig (you don't NEED the mint in there, but i like the flavor it gives the quinoa, plus if someone is watching, it makes you look super fancy). once you reach a boil, drop the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about ten minutes. when its done cooking, let it sit for another five minutes, covered, over no fire.. then place into a bowl and let it cool in your fridge or on the counter. now your real skills are going to come in, now we start chopping the shit out of pretty much everything. this is the time where i play some gangster rap and take my frustration out on vegetables (i'm not crazy). take your bunch of parsley and get to chopping; i like mine pretty finely chopped, so i go hard for a solid five minutes at this thing. do the same to the mint. when they're both pretty much dead, toss them into a bowl and grab your lemons and give them a hard roll to loosen them up and release the juice. squeeze the juice from one and a half lemons, or more if you like the tartness, into your chopped parsley and mint. grab your onion, make sure to chop it into small pieces or you'll get bites that taste slightly spicier than others. then take the cucumber and slice it into strips, dice those strips slightly thicker so we get a nice crunch. now, i'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but i can handle them in this because the lemon kicks ass and makes everything taste like heaven. take your tomato, slice it into fourths and cut out the center and toss it out. then dice whats left and toss it in. we are coming to the end of this fun little journey.. grab some pepperocinis out of the jar, slice them into strips, toss them in. NOW, take your quinoa and lightly fluff it into the masterpiece. drizzle on that olive oil, grind that pepper... holy shit. it's done. it's time. eat it. if you have patience, it tastes better the longer it melds together, but i don't. i have no patience. so i eat it with a fork, with a pita chip, i eat it on a tuna sandwich, and i don't waste time.

"φρέσκος"

greek

"fresh"

i ate breakfast like the french

at le pain quotidien.

carb-and-spread-o'load.

 i probably forgot to mention that there's a burger patty on this salad.

1 cup baby kale

1/4 lemon

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 garden burger patty

1/8 avocado

small handful of sprouts

pepperocinis to your liking

1 tsp. feta

pepper/salt/garlic powder to taste

this is hands down the easiest, and one of my ultimate favorite, lunch for one. 

warm a small pan over medium heat, drop in enough oil/butter to coat the pan. when hot, place your burger patty in the center of the pan. sprinkle some pepper, salt and a little bit of garlic powder on the side facing up. after about 4 minutes, flip your burger. while this starts to crunch up, grab your kale, olive oil, and lemon. drop the kale on your plate and squeeze that lemon all over. after another 3-4 minutes, remove the patty from the heat and place ontop of your salad. now we stack. i go sprouts, avo, feta, pepperocinis.. but it would be silly to tell you there is a right way to do that. after its stacked up high, drizzle the remaining olive oil over everything. i personally add more pepper because, like my reason for everything else, i just can't get enough. you are now allowed to eat.

which is insatiable inside me