Nostalgic Noodle Inspo from Grandma
My maternal grandma was one of those women who took care of everyone around here. Her and my grandfather ran a very traditional household. Together they were soul-mates and they fell into their conventional roles naturally. My grandma gravitated towards the kitchen, and even at nine years old, I could tell she found peace there. She spent everyday of her married life cooking & baking balanced meals for my grandfather and her children, but when I came over after school she knew the simplest dish was the fast way to my heart.
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I think of my grandma often, and sometimes at the most random times. Like yesterday for example, when I took my first yoga class after spending a week getting over the flu.
With less than two weeks away from the LA Marathon, I was so excited to leave class feeling rejuvenated & 95% back to my normal energetic self. The flow, temp & instructors were pretty much perfect, so it could have been due to those factors. Or, it may have been for the fact that for the last 15 minutes, I couldn’t stop dreaming about the afternoon snack my grandma used to give me when she picked me up from school — elbow macaroni with an excess of melted margarine. It was always so comforting walking into her home, knowing we would make this simple dish together. I think it made her equally as happy to watch me enjoy every drop of "I Can't Believe it's not Butter," as it made me actually eating it.
I haven’t thought of this memory in years, so my brain was probably craving fat to function considering I consumed boxed vegetable broth for the last 4 days. Considering my pantry today looks much different than my Grandma’s did two decades ago, and I wanted to get a full night’s sleep without a blood sugar spike at 2am here’s what my inspiration led me to.
Bowl Details :
One packet of soba noodles, cook as instructed
One large handful of spinach
One small pull of alfalfa sprouts
One half of an avocado
Earth Balance olive oil butter - to taste
Vegan Parmesan, brand of choice
Spinach Dressing:
One tablespoon of lemon juice
One teaspoon of EVOO
Salt to taste