Eat More Greens: What I Ate in a Day {with BrightFarms}

Disclosure: I received promotional consideration from BrightFarms. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Sometimes I get in ruts where I've been so busy that I notice I haven't really been eating any greens. Oops. 

I find myself grabbing some protein bars, oatmeal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and whatever for dinner (including pizza sometimes because it's my favorite and SO easy). So I drink some green juice, eat some salads, and re-balance my diet. A couple weeks ago was one of those times that I decided that I really needed to start adding more greens and vegetables into my diet again. I wanted to start this diet shift off by including vegetables in every meal of the day. It encouraged me to get creative in the kitchen and actually make a meal plan. Planning actually makes things a lot easier when you take the time to do the planning, in case you forgot (like I had). 

This all happened at the perfect time because BrightFarms was lucky enough to send me some of their produce to try out, which made my one-day challenge more fun. I was going to use 1 shell of the BrightFarms local spring mix, 1 of their local baby greens, and 1 of their kale in a different meal of the day. 

BrightFarms is a produce company that uses sustainable greenhouse farming to supply grocery stores with fresh greens, tomatoes, and herbs year-round. In the DMV area they solely deliver their produce to Giant grocery stores, farm to shelf within 24 hours. I was excited because unfresh produce and buying lettuce from the grocery store and finding a couple smelly, slimy pieces that have gone bad within a day is super annoying. If you need to grab some greens and can't make it out to a farmer's market or local farm, BrightFarms from your grocery store is the next best thing! 

Meal 1- Breakfast: Queen Green Smoothie

I decided to keep it nice and simple for breakfast with a green smoothie. This was also portable to take in the car with me on the way to class which is a bonus. I created this smoothie on the fly, using whatever I had available in my refrigerator and pantry. I like trying out new smoothie recipes, but usually end up making ones with my favorite ingredients like frozen pineapple anyways. This is the Queen Green because it's one of my go-to smoothie variations and is queen to me!

Into my Ninja blender for my Queen Green Smoothie I added: 

• a  handful of BrightFarms kale
• a handful of frozen pineapple and peaches mix
• 1 1/2 cups of vanilla unsweetened almond milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 tablespoon of honey
• Optional: 1 scoop of your favorite protein powder or supplement-I used a scoop of Vital Proteins collagen in this smoothie. 

Blended everything up, and it was ready to go. Despite the color, you can barely taste the greens in this smoothie. Everything went into the blender and within minutes I had breakfast on-the-go, packed with lots of yummy goodness. 

Meal 2-Lunch: a Mediterranean-style Salad

Today was one of those days where I was able to stop home in between class and heading to work. I actually dislike packing salads (probably why I was eating more sandwiches lately) so I love when I can grab lunch at home. I can't take all of the credit for this one because my lovely boyfriend actually whipped this salad up for me. 

This Mediterranean inspired salad includes adding all of the following to a bowl, mixing, and enjoying: 

• BrightFarms baby kale
• shredded carrots
• chopped cucumbers
• feta cheese
• kalamata olives
• Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

This salad was so delicious. I have been loving olives in everything lately so the mixture of the salty olives with the sweet carrots and creamy feta cheese just hit the spot. I also loved the texture of the baby kale which made for a great salad base. 

Meal 3-Dinner: Cheesy Taco Skillet 

Making some sort of Mexican-inspired meal is always a go-to for me whether it's tacos, enchiladas, taco salad, or a taco skillet, like what I made this day for dinner. 

I used this recipe from Sweet C's as a guide for my cheesy taco skillet  and used BrightFarms local spring mix as the greens in it. The best part is I cooked everything in this one big pan so clean-up was easy. 

My cheesy taco skillet (adapted from Sweet C's) included: 

• 1 lb of ground beef ( I used grass fed ground beef) 
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1, 12 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp of taco seasoning
• 2 cups (I just did two big handfuls) of local spring mix (or any greens you prefer)
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

First brown the ground beef in the pan, and then drain the excess fat. Next add onions and peppers, cook until browned. Then add the canned tomatoes, taco seasoning and zucchini into the pan. Then add the spring mix or greens and let fully wilt, mixing everything together. Finally add the shredded cheese on top and cover to let the cheese melt. This took just a few minutes. You can eat it right out of a bowl like I did or could even eat over rice or in a burrito. 

Of course, I made sure to include plenty of cheesy goodness on top! Sadly it was so good, there was only a tiny bit of leftovers. The greens in this wilt so you are getting lots of nutrients that you can't even really taste-perfect for those picky eater kids or significant others. 

I'm a totally snack queen so in between I had multiple snacks during the day  including a yogurt, trail mix, and good old protein bar. Adding in greens to all of my big meals of the day was a lot easier than I thought. I was happy to be balancing my diet as well as preparing some delicious meals in the kitchen instead of grabbing sandwiches, pre-packaged meals and snacks. I was thinking of making it a fun Monday challenge for myself to help me start planning my meals and beginning the week on a high note after enjoying some weekend treats. 

Shout-out to BrightFarms for supplying some yummy greens for my challenge-Marylanders can find their products in local Giant grocery stores. 

 What's your favorite way to sneak greens into your everyday meals?