This week I've been using some coconut milk in my breakfast smoothies for extra fat and calories, in an effort to get me feeling better faster.

I normally use about 1 cup of soy milk. This week I've been substituting a little coconut milk for part of the soy milk. One thing I've noticed is I'm overcompensating for the sweetness in the coconut milk. I keep thinking it's going to be too sweet, so I add less protein powder, because that adds a lot of sweetness.

I compared labels. The soy milk has 1 gram of sugar per cup. The coconut milk has 3 grams per cup. Neither has added sugars. I don't know why, but the coconut milk always tastes less sweet in my smoothies than the soy milk does. I shall investigate this further. There must be some sciencey explanation.

For your reference, I also use 1 cup of frozen fruit, 5 baby carrots, vanilla protein powder, and half a tablespoon of wheat germ.

Yes, wheat germ--I am turning into a full-on hippie! I've been adding that for extra vitamins and fiber, but I've found half a tablespoon is my limit. Add any more and I don't like it.

I think I've mentioned the carrots before. They add vitamins, sweetness and fiber, and I honestly do not notice a difference in taste. And believe me, I am the Princess and the Pea when it comes to taste!

Here's today's breakfast, made with strawberries and coconut milk. Happy Meatless Monday!

Is there anything yams can't do?

Today I've got two beanalicious dishes to share with ya!

First, I was making a pasta salad to bring to a picnic over the weekend. I usually use ceci, boiled egg, mayo and chopped veg, but I was a little bored with that. I remembered this awesome salad dressing called Noche Buena and made that, but just added a lot more mayo to get it to the right consistency. It's a lime-sweet chile flavor. Then I added cooked pasta, frozen corn kernels, black beans, chopped cherry tomatoes, and a chopped sweet pepper I had leftover from grilling a few days earlier. Unbelievable flavor. I've been eating it right out of the serving bowl.

Then I saw Vegetarian Times' recipe for a black bean-sweet potato burrito. I'm a huge fan of sweet potatoes, but I've always been hesitant to try it in burritos. It just seems wrong somehow. But that recipe struck me for some reason. I couldn't find any sweet potatoes so I bought a huge yam.

I was too lazy to look up the recipe so I winged it. Cooked onion with black beans and a little cider vinegar, mashed with salsa. Microwaved yam with a little margarine. (That alone made me skeptical. How could that possibly not be tasteless?) A whole wheat burrito slathered with chile lime mayo, filled and heated.

The two dishes together....ooooh...MY. I can't believe how good it was.

Seriously, it was a little like eating dessert. I guess you'd have to be in the mood for something on the sweet side for dinner, which for me is always. ;) But soooooooo good. Pics later!

ETA: Here is a picture.