Salsa chickpeas and local brews

This past week has flown by in a complete whirlwind. I'm officially a week and a half into my credential program, but it feels like it's been months. I mean that in the best possible way -- I'm having more fun than anyone should be allowed to have at school, and I'm meeting some wonderful people -- but everything has blurred into one exhausting-but-thrilling memory.

In spite of school work (so. much. school.work.), my classmates and I have been trying to stay sane together. Last Thursday we did happy hour at a brewery down the street from school. It was such a cool atmosphere, in a giant (but unconditioned...) warehouse with brewery equipment everywhere and people actively working to make the beers right in front of you! The tasting room was mostly just a bar with standing room only and about a zillion beers on tap. I'm really excited about being introduced to this place, and I'm hoping it will encourage me to branch out and try other local breweries. Apparently northern San Diego county is full of great local breweries, which I had no idea about! I feel like I've done absolutely nothing in the almost 3 years that I've lived here. Hopefully this is the beginning of me making up for lost time and experiencing what North County has to offer! :)

Cheers to surviving the first week of school!

B and I have been trying to make the most of our weekends together since our schedules suck over the week, but I usually have about 10 hours of homework each weekend. Yesterday all I did was homework after we had a brunch date, but today we spent the whole day together homework free. We went out to breakfast (again!) and I had the most divine banana-nutella-crêpes. Unhealthy? Yes. Worth it? Totally. I figure I'm allowed to be unhealthy once in a while. My attempt at healthy lunches has been really successful over the last few weeks, so that's my excuse to eat an entire bag of chips and crêpes in one day snack in very appropriate portions every once in a while. ;)

Here's my latest favorite excuse to eat like crap over the weekends healthy lunch recipe. Let me know if you try it and how you like it!

Vegan Fat-Free Salsa Chickpea Lettuce Wraps

Originally posted on The Happy Herbivore

Ingredients

10 whole lettuce leaves (I use Romaine)

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
12 ounces salsa (I use Fresh & Easy's Hot salsa)

15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Instructions

Combine chickpeas and salsa in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until all of the liquid has absorbed and the chickpeas have taken on the salsa’s color, about 8 minutes. For best results, refrigerate over night. Spoon chickpeas into lettuce leaves and top with chopped bell pepper pieces. Serve chickpeas at any temperature. (Makes about 8 wraps)