As the previous mangoes that I have lately bought, I was expecting my very fragrant and soft mango to be overripe, fibrous and mushy. However, when I had cut into it, I found some amazing qualities to it. The tropical aroma of the mango was amazing all together; it was soft, but still firm enough to hold its shape when being peeled and sliced; and the flavor was at its peak with a sweet yet tangy bite to it. I loved it and couldn’t wait to dive into it. However, unfortunately, with joy comes sorrow! My waffles…the sorrow.
The first batch of waffles I made fell apart. I guess I didn’t grease my waffle maker enough so no biggy, I just decided to go for a second round. However, those didn’t turn out right either. They just wouldn’t puff and crisp right. It was either the fact that the batter was too runny or it might have been the little bit of OJ I added to give my waffles a citrusy flavor to go with my mango. Either way, it just wasn’t my day to make waffles, so I just stuck with what I had and made sure I topped it off really well to make up for what was underneath.
So I topped it off with some of my homemade cottage cheese, my mango slices, lots of coconut and chopped Brazilian nuts! And a little side plate of “extras”! It was sooooo tropically good..if only my waffle was crisp =-(! As for Amerie: She had a perfect waffle, some vanilla pudding and some mango slices which she crushed! We headed out to the gym where I was able to do a 20 minute run and a 20 minute “stair master” climb..I felt like I was working it hard too! It must have been that beer from last night slowing me down..but it felt really great to work out though! I felt more energized, perky and happy and ready to take on the rest of the day! When we got back I went straight to lunch. I felt creative today so for Lunch I made an Avocado Cucumber BLT wrap (from parent/parenting magz) minus the bacon with a simple mayo dressing. It was so cool, light and refreshing! On the side, extra veggies and my favorite recipe for chickpeas; Roasted Tamari Chickpeas (from some vegan cookbook!).
If you love anything roasted, like chestnuts, peanuts, vegetables..then you will die for these roasted chickpeas!! The flavor is amazing and I would never expect roasted beans to be so good! I love how its slightly dry and crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside and they are soo great hot! I could eat a ton of them! As for Amerie I made her a “Garden Pot” filled with hummus and carrot, celery and bell pepper sticks sticking out like “plants”, some cucumber slices, and a baked bread cup filled with chickpeas. 
All the ideas came from my parent/parenting magz. I figured I would try something new with her meal to make it more fun and appealing and sure enough she ate most of it. She, of course, licked the hummus clean, she ate about half the veggies, all her chickpeas, and if the bread cup was more soft than crispy, she would’ve eaten all that too!!! I’m definitely gonna have to start being more creative; she ate more and I had fun doing it!
During Amerie’s short nap, I decided to go ahead and make my marinara sauce for our spaghetti dinner tonight. I found a recipe off of vegcooking.com for a Sublime Marinara Sauce which used canned whole tomatoes..expcept I did a few things different. I crushed my tomatoes to release all the juices to allow them to simmer and I added more dried herbs for more of an Italian flavor. I finished it by pulsing it in a blender and dinner was ready to go. We spent a little time at the pool which was nice. Amerie and I had a blast playing, bonding and having mommy and me time! I love watching her play; she's such a little person!
As for dinner, I threw on some noodles and added some red pepper flakes and half a crumbled boca to my marinara sauce to give it some spicy kick and a meaty texture and flavor and served it on top my noodles with a sprinkle of fresh basil leave strips. It was another satisfyied craving! However, I think I might have added a little too much red pepper because it definitely had a kick..a clear my nose out kick! As for little Amerie, a plate of noodles sprinkled with parmesan cheese, some marinara sauce and 6 meatballs and she ate every last bite of it! I guess she just can’t resist the noodles and my marinara sauce, it must have been decent enough for her to eat it straight with a fork!
It was such an enjoyable, yet fast moving day! This day flew by so fast but I was glad that I was able to enjoy some time with my daughter and keep my promise to her. I think it’s important to follow up with any promises that are made and plus, she needed some outside time after being cooped up in the house and then being driven around for the last couple of days. And she was soo well behaved those last couple of days; she deserved a treat to the pool! Ahhh…I love being a mom!! Although, I do need a job..I have too much going on during the day to talk about! This is crazy!
"Learning to live in the present moment is part of the path of joy."
Sarah Ban Breathnach
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