I haven’t had a chance to actually tell you merry Christmas.
So Merry Christmas y’all! Or at least, Merry Day-After! 
Speaking of day-after…
I have a super easy and healthy recipe to “cleanse” away all the sweet goodies, deep fried dishes, and creamy potatoes that you might have indulged in this past weekend.
Admittedly, I don’t usually go all out during the Christmas season in terms of food and eating. I mean, if my family were to celebrate this holiday, then I’m sure self-control would be just a bit harder. However, if I do get to eat any special dishes during the holidays, then it’s most definitely at church.
Thus, although I don’t normally indulge on Christmas day, yesterday I had some really good and new-to-me Philippino desserts at the church!
Boy, they sure know how to make good treats. For example, I tried some of their Cassava cake, which is very similar to a dulce de leche flan, except that it is made out of Cassava and tapioca. This may just be my newest obsession.
Before I share the detox salad recipe, let me share about my weekend first.
Yesterday, Greg got yet another opportunity to speak at the church! For a reason that I will not be stating for Greg’s sake, I will just tell you that I woke up at 5:30 am on Christmas morning and drove all the way to his apartment! I didn’t wake up that early for presents either, mind you.
I documented this very “special” moment just for you and me.
*ahem*
I’m quite proud of myself that I woke up that early on a Sunday morning! It kind of has been forever since I’ve woken up that early. Isn’t that so sad?!
It was a truly blessed and long day to say the least, haha. By the time that 11:00 pm hit, I was about to fall asleep while driving. 
Anyway, when we finally had arrived to service, we were all filled with awe and wonder by the amazing gifts that every one of us has! In particular, half of the church members practiced their hearts out to sing ever so beautifully to honor Christ’s birth.
The whole day was filled with a lot of needed prayer for each other, as well as really precious fellowship with one another. I mentioned before that Greg is used to lavish Christmas parties with his family, and this year it was just as blessed…but in a different way. 
In the evening, G&I headed out to the movies (it’s been forever!) and saw Mission Impossible 4.
We both absolutely loved it! I am by nature a very “passionate” person, especially when it comes to intense thrillers like MI. You can say that I was probably THIS close from breaking Greg’s fingers during all the scenes of suspense. Oops!
This morning I made myself a bowl of the normal, yet always delicious oatmeal.
In the mix there is rolled oats, mashed banana, ground flax, vanilla, cottage cheese, milk, and water. I had it with a side of Godiva’s Hazelnut Crème homemade latte.
Toppings included World Market’s blood orange spread (which is so amazing btw), chocolate covered cookie, pound cake pieces, biscoff spread, blackberries, and Wild Squirrel’s cocoa-nut peanut butter! This pb has made it even harder to choose my favorite out of all of the Wild Squirrel’s products.
Now onto the detox salad, shall we?!
Blackberry Vinaigrette Detox Salad
Makes 2 medium servings, or 1 ginormous bowl
Ingredients for Salad:
- 1/8 wedge of green cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 of a carrot, shredded
- 1/2 of a red bell pepper, sliced
- 1/2 of a parsnip, shredded
- 3/4 C~1C broccoli florets
- 1/4 C cooked and cooled quinoa (method here)
- 1/2 C canned and rinsed garbanzo beans
Ingredients for Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 C fresh blackberries
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar (or other)
- 1 TBSP honey
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 TBSP ground flax
Directions:
1) Wash, peel, and shred all of the vegetables except for the bell pepper and broccoli. Only shred the broccoli if you decide to put in the stalks, which I did. Shred with the food processor’s special “shredding blade” if you want to make the job easier.
2) For the vinaigrette, just throw all the ingredients into a processor or blender, and blend it until there are no big chunks remaining. And voilà! Put all of the vegetables, beans, and Quinoa on a plate, and drizzle on the vinaigrette.
This salad is perfect either as a side dish or a hearty meal. It all depends if you double or triple the recipe.
I loved that the dressing is light, slightly sweet, and perfectly tangy!
Enjoy and relax.
Random: Oh yeah! I am pretty excited to use this cookbook I received from Sharon!
It’s the newest Betty Crocker book, and I love that it has so much variety in it!
Reminding Myself:
Remember that life is always an ongoing journey!
Whether our goal is physical health, spiritual growth, faith in God, or even landing that dream job (or husband/wife), it is not about the mere fact that we get there. Rather, it’s about how we get there. Every bit of that process matters, because it matters to God.
More than anything, I have been learning that I truly fall SO short of God’s glory. Ultimately, I am realizing that I have much more pride than I thought I did, and I am currently asking Him to mold me and shape me. I know, that’s a dangerous prayer to say, so be careful what you pray for! 
I believe that it is beyond imperative for every one of us to constantly examine our hearts, and where we are in life. Sometimes we just have to turn down the noise in our lives and question ourselves why we do the things we do, or who we really are and strive to become.
Have a blessed day!
Have you tried Philippino food before? What’s your fave recipe/dish?
How was your Christmas? And what gift are you excited to use?
What kind of movie-watcher are you?
In what ways will YOU turn down the noise in your life?
-I want to try taking even more time-offs to sit, ponder, and read the Word all throughout the day
Love,
Ellie <33
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Blackberries in a dressing! How wonderful and unique
Merry Christmas to you too, and well done for the 5:30am start! Impressive indeed. Ah, what love! 
Thank you hannah!! It’s surprisingly good with blackberries! And yes, once upon a time 5:30 am wasn’t impressive for me…but now, it’s a great feat that happens less than…5 times a year?
Suddenly I feel slightly guilty about spending Xmas morning in bed! This salad sounds so refreshing, especially the blackberry viniagrette! I may have to try it using strawberries instead due to lack of blackberry availability in Mumbai!
Oh please don’t feel guilty! This never happens! And it was against my own will in a way
Ooooohh yeah if you try it, I hope you love it <3
Good job for waking up so early! I love the color of the vinaigrette; it’s so pretty. My movie-watching is just like you. I get really into movies. I laugh, cry, and feel a whole range of emotions. I’m the person producers dream of hahahaha.
hahaha duuude! We should be getting paid then, right?!!! We’re the ideal movie watchers, then. (although I was getting a bit embarrassed cuz I really think I was making a scene, and most people were just staring at the screen like, *cricket cricket*)
I can’t wait to see MI:4 – it’s one of the only movies I want to see this year (or before the year ends! Aack!)
Your salad looks delicious – I like to have a “detox” stir-fry with cleansing brown rice and fiber-filled veggies! Glad you had a wonderful Christmas!
Thanks for the love Laura! Oh man, you HAVE to watch it! You have….4 days left!
It’s really good b/c it’s a LIL different from the other MI’s. Also, the action is really fun to watch. You’ll be saying “doh!!” the entire time.
I’ve always been scared to put cottage cheese in my oats! how is it?!
Trust me, it’s actually the best idea ever! lol. You can’t taste any “cheesyness”, and it just makes the oats super creamy and fluffy.
Plus, there’s extra protein that way.
That blood orange jam from world market sounds so good!! I wish we had one around here. I always stop there when I’m on vacation because it’s such a cool little store! They seem to be everywhere except here, which is such a shame because I think it would do really well! I’m loving the detox salad too. Sometimes all you need is a good salad to get you back on track!
Shame on them
Maybe you can contact them and become the pioneer for starting a WM in Jersey 