Should have just gotten the Pita

I've been kind of lazy lately and have been doing take-out for lunch WAY too often. So I decided to get motivated and stock up on produce in order to make my own salad everyday for lunch. I was thinking about saving money and eating healthy. Here's the thing, though. When I buy a veggie/hummus pita from The Perfect Pita (a restaurant in the bottom floor of my office building), it's about $6. My groceries for my at-home salads were over $30! So I'm not saving any money! That was annoying.

But I know that the salads I make at home are super healthy with lots of good stuff - healthy fats (avocado), protein (baked tofu and chickpeas) and lots of great veggies. And unlike the Whole Foods salad bar, I'm not paying by the pound. Sister likes her a big salad.

Plus, I bought the wrong kind of spinach. Instead of the baby spinach (which is convenient and ready for salads), I bought the spinach with the thick stems that need to be removed. Annoying. And the bag was HUGE. So in order to use up some of the spinach and the button mushrooms I bought - that weren't tasting so good in my salads - I came up with a new dish. Well, at least new to me. It's no sauteed kale :), but spinach is like its slightly less cool younger brother. This combo of flavors was delicious...and totally guilt-free. It would make a better side dish, but I made a full batch and turned it into my main course.

Sauteed Mushrooms & Spinach

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 package of button mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• ~1 lb of spinach, destemmed and torn into smaller pieces
• vegan parmesean cheese (optional)

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large pot. Add mushrooms and onions and cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are soft and onions begin to brown (about 8-10 mins). Add garlic, salt and pepper, stir. Add spinach. It will wilt down as it cooks - saute, stirring occasionally until fully cooked down (about 5-8 mins). Top with parmesean cheese, if desired, and serve.