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I don’t know about you, but I feel like the addition of grains to a salad make it so much more interesting and appealing, not to mention satisfying. Last night I was in charge of coming up with dinner for my family  and knew that I wanted to make some sort of quinoa-spinach salad to use up the huge bag of spinach in our fridge that expires soon. I’m a fan of anything with a Mediterranean influence, and found a recipe for a Middle-Eastern inspired dressing that I wanted to build off of. The recipe for the dressing originally called for yogurt, but all we had was greek yogurt and I thought that would be too thick to dress the salad. I decided to omit the creaminess of the dressing and left it oil-based.
Moroccan Honey Lemon Dressing
– Juice of 1 lemon
– 1.5 teaspoons natural honey
– 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
– 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
– 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– 1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil, whisked in to the above ingredients slowly to create a smooth emulsion
– salt and pepper to season
Into the salad I tossed a tonnnn of fresh spinach, 1 cup of cooked quinoa, 1 can of tuna, roasted baby bell peppers, 1/2 of an avocado, kalamata olives and feta cheese
I was in such a rush to chow that I forgot to snap a pic of the finished salad! Here is my already-nibbled-on plate.
Would you guys like a tutorial on how to roast peppers yourself?

Tonight we made pizzas! I topped a loaded veggie pizza. The more toppings the merrier!
Pre-Oven: Olive oil, garlic salt and oregano-seasoned crust topped with fresh basil, spinach, cherry tomatoes, button mushrooms, bell peppers, black olives, and 2% shredded mozz

Post-oven
Random pic of an already-eaten, post-run orange

Operation Beautiful Award
I am so humbly honored to be a recipient of the Operation Beautiful Award by the gorgeous, wonderful Allison! The Operation Beautiful seeks to replace the seemingly-ever present negative self-talk with positivity and a love for unique and individual beauty. As a recipient, I have to answer a few questions and nominate others who I find worthy of the award.
Smile!
3 Things You Like About Your Looks
– My eyes
– My legs (calves!)
– My toes — so random
3 Things You Appreciate About Your Personality
– I am kind. I am naturally empathetic and it’s very hard for me to willingly hurt someone else’s feelings, even if it benefits me or someone else.
– I’m laid back. I don’t stress out about small things (for the most part) and can (usually) keep a grounded perspective during stressful times.
– I’m a dreamer. I have a big imagination that stretches into the plans I want my life to include.
Something You Find Beautiful In Other People
One thing I find absolutely captivating in others is humility. Willingness to serve others for the sole purpose of helping (read: no selfish gains like resume building, character building, or research). True humility is so rare that when I see a person who possesses the quality I can’t help but be awed.
Award As Many People As You Like and Let Them Know!