Today was rainy and cold, so we stayed inside and ate some lovely food! For blood pressure control, we made peanut butter protein balls and homemade almond milk!

We spent the day doing puzzles and cleaning and watching Harry Potter movies and just relaxing. In fact, I didn’t even work out today because I just wasn’t feeling it. And that’s okay. Sometimes you take a break from your workout routine and you don’t beat yourself up for it. Sometimes you just need to chill. Because chill is good for your body too.

Coffee

By now you know my coffee routine. I use reusable pods because my favorite coffee doesn’t come in pods but also because it’s a very small thing we can do to keep our waste output down.

I also put collagen in my coffee every morning. For my joint health. Because I have osteoarthritis. And I’m running low and need to order some more. 

Also, in the winter, I add a little extra spice mix to my coffee. Because I like the warmth these spices provide and I also like the extra dose of nutrition it lends to my morning cup.

Normally I make my own spice mix but in my last Thrive Market order, I found a yummy already-made turmeric latte mix. It has turmeric, and black pepper to activate the tumeric and cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg, all of which are good for heart health.

And of course I am using almond milk and maple syrup. But my almond milk is almost gone and I am very excited to be soaking some almonds on the counter right now! These soaked overnight and they aren’t quite ready yet. But later on in the day, I’ll show you how we make this into yumminess!

Breakfast: Eggs, Bacon, Home Fries, Blueberries

For breakfast I’m having eggs of course, and some sugar-free bacon. The ingredients here are minimal which is always my goal. I’m having some blueberries with that. And also I’m going to make some home fries in the air fryer.

Potatoes have Vitamin C, B6, Potassium and Magnesium and are full of flavonoids, which have strong antioxidant properties and can reduce oxidative stress (or cell damage) in the cardiovascular system. 

So don’t be afraid of potatoes. They are good for you. I make these in the air fryer because they are so easy that way. I spray them with a little avocado oil and pop them in. And then salt them just a little when they come out. And they are perfect every time.

I just fried up the bacon in a cast iron skillet, then fried the eggs in that as well. And put a little Greek yogurt on top of my berries, which feels kind of like having a desert at breakfast. And the Greek yogurt of course adds some healthy fat as well, which keeps you feeling fuller for longer periods of time.

Lunch: Peanut Butter Bombs

In fact, I was so full from breakfast, I decided to make a very light and fun lunch. I had a massage recently and my massage therapist was talking about protein balls she makes with peanut butter and oats and I have been thinking about that since. Because I LOVE some peanut butter and some oats. So I didn’t really use a recipe, I just threw this together. I will write up a recipe for it though and post it on the blog because this is a great way to get a dose of flaxseed, which is Habit #11 in my 12 Habits to Better Blood Pressure.

My whole family loved these. Especially my teenager. Which I counted as a win. Because that kid eats so much and I’m always looking for things to feed him that will fill him up and make him feel satiated. And this definitely did the trick.

Dinner: Chicken Nuggets and Salad

I went pretty light and easy at dinner as well. I just had some chicken nuggets and a very simple salad. And I have to say. This is one of those go to meals I always have on hand. So if I feel like I don’t want to cook anything, all I have to do is go to the freezer for the nugs, and then whip up a simple salad, because I always have some kind of salad greens that need to be used up and I always sunflower seeds, which I use for that crunch that I used to get from croutons. So I’ve always loved that sensation in my salads, but now, sunflower seeds are full of magnesium, which can reduce high blood pressure and inflammation.

Sometimes I like a caesar salad dressing but today I went with a simple olive oil and balsamic glaze. Now, that balsamic glaze does have some sugar in it. But I have to tell you that it is incredible and so worth it. 

And I topped my nugs with some dijon mustard, which I find to be a great combo for that.

These are the Applegate chicken nuggets. Applegate is a great company with a commitment to health and I appreciate that. These nuggets are gluten free and antibiotic free. They do have trace amounts of sugar in them, but like I said these are last minute break the glass in case of emergency nugs. So I don’t have them often. Mainly my teenager eats them. All day every day.

Snack: Popcorn

Later on, while watching Harry Potter, my pre-teen and I shared a bowl of popcorn. This is the popcorn I get from Thrive market. And this is so easy – I just use a small lunch-sized paper bag and I put a half cup of popcorn in it and fold down the top of the bag. And pop it in the microwave. 

I’ve seen people putting oil in the bag with the popcorn, but we don’t even do that. We pop it dry, then we melt butter in a separate dish and pour it over the top and add some salt. And that’s it. It’s fully customizable and doesn’t come with all the added preservatives and palm oil added to it.

In fact, if you wanted to make this even easier, you could store your kernels in a mason jar that already shows you the half cup increments, so you don’t even have to dirty a measuring cup for it. This makes plenty for a big bowl of popcorn two people can share.

In fact, we make so much popcorn in this house, we have a designated basket in our pantry for it, where we keep the paper bags and the kernels.

Making Almond Milk

I found these cute vintage milk bottles on Amazon,

I made this in two different bottles because my teenager likes to drink it just like regular milk. So his bottle is the one with the yellow cap, which by the way, was completely gone when I woke up the next morning. And mine is the bottle with the white cap. 

And I’m ending the night with some decaf just so I can use the freshly made almond milk.