The gift

Today my friend Lisa and I had a girl's lunch out. Well, it wasn't really out, it was on Lisa's patio. But the idea was the same: food, fun, and sun.  
Although we have lunches out/nights out about once a month, today was a special day. We celebrated six months of adopting our new, healthier, lifestyle, a gift that we gave to ourselves.
Do you know what was the first thing that came to our minds? The beginning. We were laughing out loud, picturing ourselves first days at the health center, especially our first time on elliptical machine.
Five minutes into workout (slow pace walking) we were exhausted, gasping for a breath, but whispering to each other: "We can do it. We can do another five minutes. We can do it. We can do it..."
Now we rarely go to the gym together, and we also have a different routines (Lisa loves running long distance, I prefer running sprints and elliptical), but we keep encouraging each other every possible time via texts, phone calls or in person.
And I started this blog not just to share, but to inspire.
I encourage you to give yourself a gift of healthy life, and make a simple step today: go for a short walk, take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. You can do it. As we did.
I am here for you, and I am on the same path with you.

***

Lisa's Spicy Green Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb green beans
2 handfuls of walnuts
4-5 garliccloves 
cilantro (a handful)
5-7 green onions
red pepper of your choice (optional)
1 tsp of salt


1. In a large pot bring to a boil 3qt of water.
2. Chop onions, place in a small skillet with 2 teaspoons of water and simmer for 4-5 min on a medium-high heat. Set aside.

3. Chop walnuts, cilantro and garlic (use food processor or just chop with knife).

Walnuts and garlic chopped in a food processor.

4. Trim green beans, cut it in half, wash and add in the pot with boiling water with one teaspoon of salt. Cook for 5 min and taste. It should be crunchy. For softer beans boil for another 3 min. When ready, pour beans in a colander and rinse quickly with cold water.

5. Now, in a bowl big enough to hold all off the ingredients, combine beans, chopped walnuts, garlic, cilantro, onions. Mix well. Taste. Add a pinch of salt, red pepper (if using), and mix again. Taste. Adjust seasoning to your taste. Experiment with different spices. Taste, taste, taste...




Beans served with roasted eggplants and tomatoes


Serve by itself, or add some roasted vegetables.
Save leftover, next day it's even better!


Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian