Luxxe Friday

This week has been truly perfect.  Much needed after last week’s sh!t storm of crazy.  Friday couldn’t have been a more amazing end to the week either.

Kyle has Fridays off, so we both got to sleep in.  Brilliant start already.  Then we found out his waffle company made it to the finals – open to the public (on May 26th) if you want to attend.  Winner gets investors and money and a bunch of press, so this is HUGE. 

While Kyle had a quick conference call I went on a short run (showered); and then we were off!

Caffe Luxxe is VERY close to our apartment, and although Kyle has been a few times, I had still never tried the famous Bella Tazza.

Yummmmm.

We both got soy lattes. 

They were delicious. 

This is a semi-random thought, but why do places still charge extra for soy milk?  There’s no way it costs more than regular milk.  It’s just silly.  Maybe at one time soy milk wasn’t as common and restaurants/cafes had to pay more for it, but that can’t be the case now.  It’s an antiquated rule.  Dear coffee shops of the world, please stop charging extra for soy milk, it’s discriminatory, and you are punishing price gauging people who are unable to tolerate dairy (and/or those who like vanilla deliciousness).

But back to Caffe Luxxe.

 

 

 

 

 

After polishing off our cafe, we went for a stroll…down to the beach, up towards Malibu, back down to the Santa Monica Pier, to the Promenade for shopping bathrooms, and then back home for lunch.

Confession: We live across the street from a vegan cafe and we have NEVER been.

 

I feel like a failure admitting that, but I’m glad I got it off my chest.  Anyway, we finally hit up Golden Mean vegan cafe.  What took us so long?  I really don’t know.  Maybe I was afraid I’d love it and I’d never cook myself a vegan meal again?  Maybe it’s because Huckleberry is a block away (and that’s Kyle’s fave restaurant).  Who knows.  I have no good excuse. 

 

But now we are both big fans. 

Kyle got the vegan “Chicken” Parmigiana with breaded (soy) chicken served with ancient grain penne pasta in tomato sauce, topped with Daiya soy-free cheese, and served with mixed green salad.  He finished the whole thing so clearly he enjoyed it.  And he said it kept him full until dinner. 

I chose the Golden Ratio salad with mixed greens, marinated tempeh, kale, quinoa, red bell peppers, butternut squash, and candied walnuts with a Dijon vinaigrette dressing.

MEGA yum.  I seem to like tempeh ONLY when it’s prepared by others.  I really can’t figure out why, but whenever I attempt to make tempeh, it’s just not pleasing to my palate.  Whatever.  It just means I order it at almost every opportunity I get and therefore enjoy it immensely.  [Side note: Kyle likes my preparation of tempeh, so I think it’s just me]

The tempeh in this salad was perfect.  Flavorful, crunchy, nutty, and not at all bitter.  Also, the butternut squash and candied walnuts made texture variation in each bite.  It was so good. 

I had a (thick) slice of my home-made bread with hummus on the side. 

 

As requested I will do a step-by-step post about the breadmaking process next time I make a loaf. 

Wheaty.  🙂

After lunchy, we did some errands (Costco, what whaaat) and then my home-girl picked me up for a girls night at her casa. 

We started with wine and bruschetta. 

 

Almost everything was from TJs, including the fresh bread, except for the Garlic Gold EVOO.  We chose to omit fresh garlic because the oil is already infused with garlic goodness. 

Drizzle bread with EVOO and toast in the oven for 15-20 minutes on 425. 

 

Chop and mix tomato, basil, EVOO, salt and pepper.

 

Once bread is crisp and golden, add a few drops of balsamic and then top with bruschetta.

I’ll be honest here, I didn’t have my hands in much of the appetizer prep.  Instead, I watched Ethel do most of the work while sipping my wine.  :)  It was good to just chat and catch up with my girls. 

 

For dinner we made mini-pizzas with various toppings, including:

• Follow Your Heart vegan cheese
• fresh mozzarella
• hummus
• tomatoes
• bell peppers
• mushrooms
• salami
• whole wheat naan

 

Rather than use flatbread we chose the whole wheat naan because it looked so soft and fluffy.  In the end, it was a perfectly doughy base for the naan-pizzas. 

 

Hummus and cheese options.

Veg-errific.

I brought over the above vegan cheese for the lactose-intolerant foodies.  Follow Your Heart makes a few different vegan gourmet cheeses, but I figured the “nacho” flavor would be the best for pizzas. 

 

I’m somewhat suspicious of faux products that try to imitate their non-vegan versions.  So I went into the “cheese” tasting as a skeptic (my girlfriends were similarly cautious). 

Appearance?  Not great.  Flavor?  Pretty good, actually!  Meltability?  Fail.

As I was slicing the vegan cheese we all tasted it and decided it had a distinct pimiento flavor.  Alene likened it to an olive loaf, but I’m not sure what that is.  Here’s the thing.  It’s been over a decade since I’ve had real cheese, so I don’t have much of a flavor memory to go on.  That said, the agar-like consistency was very un-cheese-like. If you forget that it’s supposed to replace cheese and just enjoy it as it’s own product, it’s pretty good.

Mine is the middle one, with hummus, nacho “cheese,” bell peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Pretty yummy looking, huh? 

We made two trays of three with six pizzas total.

 

Things to note in the above photo:

(a) very utilized wine opener (yeah buddy)

(b) how pasty Ethel makes Alene look (lucky Filipina)

(c) Alene’s compost bin (love!)

After they were all dressed up and ready for the party, we popped them in the oven for ~15 minutes.

While they cooked, the difference between the fake and real cheese became very obvious. 

 

Alene showed off her Krav muscles as she removed the pizzas from the oven. 

 

See how the cheeses differ in meltability? 

I really wasn’t too concerned.  As fun as stringy melted cheese is, the havoc it wreaks on my GI tract is not worth it.  Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not like eating Follow Your Heart’s cheese is some sacrifice.  It was yummy and I enjoyed every last bite. 

 

I snapped a photo of the first plate of pizzas (plus another piece of bruschetta), but no more pictures after that. 

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, I had such a fun night.  It was the ultimate Friday. 

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Easter reflections

Last year I don’t know what I was doing on Easter, but it was likely something indoors and snow avoidant.  This year I was hoping for a more cheery holiday.

Not quite what I got.  Let me rephrase: not at ALL what I got.

It took me a while to write this because I think I was (am) still in shock about the whole thing, even days after Easter Sunday.  What I do remember is feeling like I was having an out of body experience.  At several points I thought is this really happening?  Like, is this really what is going on right now?  But even writing that feels wrong, because it implies there was enough time to reflect in the moment about the situation.  I know I will never be able to piece it together in entirety because the morning was a total whirlwind.  I couldn’t even recap it if I tried.  It’s just a huge blur that culminated in police invading my patient’s room like storm troopers. 

Deep breath.

I won’t go into details (what’s the point, no charges were pressed, but still, it’s not necessary), but I will simply say that I was very supported by all the hospital (and police) staff.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), one of the measures taken to protect me was transferring me to another unit for the rest of my shift.  And so that is how I found myself starting from scratch with a whole new patient load just before noon. 

You win some, you lose some. 

Happy Easter.

Here is what I had to satisfy my appetite while I celebrated worked through the holiday.

Commute munching mix of Three Sisters cereal, Love Grown granola, raisins, almonds, carob chips. 

Pre-work fruit with mango, strawberries, and tangerines.

Work breakfast of oats with raisins and cinnamon. 

Afternoon snacks of candied ginger and gala apple.

Lunch salad with spinach, steamed broccoli, and a vegan Boca burger – topped in ketchup, mustard, and BBQ sauce.  [Don’t think I’m weird, it’s yummy]

 

Snackage on stand-by was Haig roasted red pepper hummus and two slices of Alvarado Street sprouted bread (this time I got the California Style for those wondering).  By the by, I’m now thinking Haig’s is totally my favorite flavored hummus.  Sabra’s original is still my #1 lovah, but Haig’s roasted red pepper has a tangy kick that tastes so good!  Usual it’s the creaminess of hummus that ropes me in, but this is good for entirely different reasons.  And it’s made in SF.  Local pride, yo! 

[Edited to add: I just checked and it appears last year wasn’t too snowy.  Shockingly.] 

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Maiden loaf

There’s nothing like a new food appliance to get you excited and inspired in the kitchen.

After years of ooing and aahing over home-made breads, I finally made the plunge and got what I was lusting after. 

I did a fair amount of research prior to buying one.  I wanted a reliable machine, but I didn’t wanna blow my bank account on some fancy schmancy professional breadmaker.  I’m not going on Top Chef any time soon after all.

And so I settled on the Sunbeam 2 lb. Breadmaker – model 5981. 

My maiden loaf was baking within hours of opening the box.  And it was the simplest thing EVER. 

I didn’t even need to go to the store for ingredients, I had all (6) ingredients on hand.  Not too surprising considering it only required water, butter (Earth Balance), sugar (coconut sugar), salt, whole wheat flour, and yeast. 

 

Voila!

Vegan whole wheat bread. 

 

Toasted with peanut butter.  Mmmmmelty. 

My first bread making experience couldn’t have been more simple.  Or more delicious.  I’m not kidding.  Any idiot could make perfect loaves of bread with this machine.  I’m in love.

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Intuition

You may have noticed that I took some time off from blogging this week.  Many people turn to rules and the likes to get back on track, but I prefer the opposite.  Personally, I equate rules with restrictions, and I’m not ok with that.  If that works for you, great.  For me, it’s just unhealthy.  Instead, I go the opposite route, listening (and I mean, really paying attention) to my body for guidance.  I think that being an intuitive eater is extra difficult if you have a food blog because it just increases the amount of time in the day you are thinking about meals.  Blogging is not my full time job, so it’s unnatural for it to consume my every thought, and sometimes I forget that.  Hence, the mini hiatus from HHH.  The past few days have served as a much needed break, reminding me that life is more than a series of meals (shocking, I know).  So rather than revolving around food, my days have been free for other things (more “normal” things – like Gossip Girl walks around the neighb with Kyle).  As a result, the amount of time in the day I think about food has decreased tremendously, allowing me to really hone in on my cravings in the moment (and not several hours leading up to eating).  You see, blogging also adds pressure to meal time in terms of recipe variety.  Since I’m taking the time to photograph and share my food with you all, I feel obligated to make something new and interesting each and every day.  That’s hard enough to do when I’m feeling inspired, but sometimes I just want the same thing for dinner 5 nights in a row.  And that’s why I’ve been using the down time to do simply that.  Eat what I want, when I want.

Intuitive eating.

For some it’s as natural as breathing.  For others, like me, it’s more difficult.

Lately I’ve been getting fairly frequent emails from readers commending me for my ability to eat how I do – disregarding the ridiculous FDA approved portion sizes and such.  Flattering as that is, I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about how easy this is for me.

The truth of the matter is: I still struggle with the same issues that 99% of the females in this country also struggle with.

The fact that (a) I have IBS, (b) I’m a food blogger, and (c) I exercise with regularity, means I’m hyperaware of how diet fits into my life.  And for the record, being hyperaware is not a fun way to live.  So to any readers looking to me for guidance on being a carefree eater, please know it’s not as easy as it looks/sounds.  I still have voices in my head that I’m constantly [CONSTANTLY] having to push away.  And ignoring the noise is no small task.  I’d love to blame the media, but I know the factors I listed above are also the main reasons I’m so neurotic analytical with my diet.

IBS is why I eat the way I do and what led to blogging in the first place.

Sharing my vegan meals with others and getting feedback is what keeps me inspired to continue.

Fitness just happens to be a hobby.

And due to all of these things, there is a great deal of consideration that goes into my food choices.  I just want to make sure it’s not TOO MUCH consideration.  So if you think I’m living the sweet life without a worry in the world, it’s not that simple.  I’ve worked hard to drown out the noise (the “should” and “shouldn’t” phrases).  Being an intuitive eater is an uphill climb for me; some days I’m rock solid, while other days I need to work at it.

So yeah, that’s all I wanted to say.  I’m human, I’m still a work in progress…and not living in cruise control, yet.

Here are some (food) highlights from the past few days (in no particular order).

What does intuitive eating mean for you?  Are you good at it (does it come naturally, or do you have to work at it)?

For me, intuitive eating is listening to my body for cues on when and what to eat.  It means ignoring the clock and the times I think I “should” eat, and simply eating as much (or as little) as I want, when I want it.  Obviously, this has some limits – I don’t consider it a free for all.  The point is not to binge or restrict (buzz words be damned), it’s to be in tune with what I really and truly want, and then having it.  In the same vein, intuitive eating also means sensing when I’m satisfied using the same method (listening to my body) and then stopping.  Because I’m full, not because I should be full or want to be done.  It sounds simple, I know.  But it requires me to be present more than I typically am.  It also means I have to accept the fact that some days I’m more hungry than others.  Additionally, some days my body wants food earlier in the day, and some days I don’t seem to get hungry until later on.  I’m a person, not a robot, so I have to treat my body like the complex system that it is, and if that means eating breakfast at 7 am one day and 11 am the next, then so be it.  Routines can be dangerous because over time they can start to become so habitual that you are afraid to branch out.  Change should not be feared.  Intuitively, I think we all know this, but sometimes we just need a reminder.

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Who nabbed Nana’s?

I have a new favorite cookie by the way.

[Yes, I know I already revealed that’s how I feel about every single one of Nana’s cookies, but this time I may be telling the truth]

The chocolate crunch flavor has a sinfully delicious rich chocolate flavor with the crunch of rice crispies mixed in.  It’s fantastic. 

 

Anyway.  Aside from the cookie food porn, I’m only popping in to announce the winner of the Nana’s giveaway.

I really enjoyed reading everyone’s cute cookie memories.  And other drool inducing comments. 

As for the randomly generated winner…congrats to Kaleigh who tweeted “@elisehippie and @NanasCookieCo Tweeting for the hungryhungryhippie/Nana’s cookie giveaway! Lovin’ this blog!”

Email me your address and also let me know if you’re gluten free so I can get your Nana’s cookies on the way!

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Cookie Sunday

This post will be especially appealing to the following people:

• people who are gluten free
• people who are vegan
• people who gave up sweets for Lent (and are now able to indulge)
• people who like cookies 🙂

If you are none of the above, then perhaps you should reevaluate your life stop reading.  For the rest of you…

This is where the good stuff is.

Nana’s cookies have always been my absolute favorite.  I’ve tried MANY dairy free desserts, and there’s always something a little bit off about the flavor/texture/whatever, but not with Nana’s.  They are SO soft and chewy.  They bend like they are fresh out of the oven and literally have a gooey center that makes you wonder if there’s some kind of magic involved in Nana’s recipe.  I’m not exaggerating when I say they are completely perfect in every way.  I’m convinced there is no better cookie.  Anywhere.  Oh, and did you know they are certified gluten free?  Yeah.

They are also vegan, sweetened with 100% natural fruit juice.

Last week I got a big package in the mail…and quickly dug in.  The coconut chip was the first flavor I tried because I had never seen it before in stores.

It had a subtle coconut flavor with a soft baked oaty texture.

They were unbelievably moist and chewy.  Unbelievable, as in, I couldn’t believe I was eating a packaged cookie.  I can’t be any more enthusiastic about it.

The cookie is sweet, but in a mellow way that makes you want to eat a dozen more in one sitting.  And the occasional chocolate chip puts the yum factor over the edge.

The next cookie I tried was peanut butter.

Just like the rest of Nana’s cookies, it was vegan and delicious.

Every time I try a new flavor I swear it’s my favorite one.  And this has happened with the last 4 flavors I’ve tried.  So if you ask me which is my favorite, I’d have to say all of them.  Or whichever one I had just had.  Or whichever one I was about to have.  Seriously.  I could never choose.

Peanut butter is one of them.

Same great nutritional stats.

And just for size comparison, here it is next to my blackberry.

Large and in charge.

So…have I whet your appetite yet?  Have I convinced you that Nana’s has perfected the vegan and gluten free dessert?  Would you like to try some and see for yourself?  I thought so.

Lucky for you Nana’s has offered to give one HHH reader the following:

– 1 box of GF Chocolate Munch Bars + 1 box of GF Lemon bites + 2 large GF ginger cookies (if you are gluten free)

OR

– 1 box Fudgy Wudgy Bars + 1 box of peanut butter bites + 2 large double chocolate cookies (if you aren’t gluten free)

So, here’s what you have to do.

• Leave a comment telling me your favorite kind of cookie (feel free to browse Nana’s website for ideas).
• Leave a comment sharing a home-made cookie memory.
• Tweet about this giveaway mentioning @elisehippie and/or @NanasCookieCo

I’ll announce the winner on Wednesday April 27th, 2011.  Until then, happy (belated) Earth Day, happy (early) Easter, and happy cookie dreaming…

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Trees and Shells

Continuing the theme of almost home-made meals…

This was another seriously basic dinner that turned out fabulous.  It had four ingredients – two real, two from a plastic tub.

Earth Balance soy-free vegan buttery spread plus Follow Your Heart vegan gourmet cream cheese.

I boiled a cup of durum wheat pasta shells then tossed broccoli into the boiling water at the end (stems and all). 

Trees and shells!

The good thing about both Follow Your Heart and Earth Balance is you get a lot of bang for your buck.  I’m not talking about the price, I’m talking about how little you need to make your taste buds dance.  Just a spoonful of each adds some real flavor to each bite. 

 

Vegan. Gluten Free. Kof-K Kosher Parve. Casein Free. Non-GMO.  Organic.  Check out the specific stats here.

Pretty simple huh.  No complaints here.

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Faking the home-cooking

I make my own seitan pretty frequently, but some times there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplished everything I want to. 

And that’s when I am grateful that there are companies that make vegan roasts. 

 

Nutritionals.

 

Ingredients.

Scouring the fridge and freezer, I came up with these odds and ends.

Veggie and Farro Roast Bowl

• farro
• carrot
• clover sprouts
• frozen spinach
• Field Roast Wild Mushroom quarter loaf

Field Roast makes vegetarian and vegan roasts and sausages and such (see all their products here).  The ingredients are pretty pure and for a processed food, they aren’t the worst option.  The price is the biggest deterrent from buying them on the regular, because they aren’t exactly cheap.  The other issue is the sodium content.  As with most other processed foods, it is pretty high (the entire loaf adds up to the recommended daily allowance). 

When combined with other whole foods, it can almost pass as homemade.  Kinda?

All mixed together and then drowned in the rest of the day’s sodium allowance (aka Bragg’s liquid aminos).

Voila!  Nobody has to know that this bowl of yum was mostly from the store.  It’ll be our little secret.

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Often, sometimes, rarely

Often I have a family sized tub of hummus and [fill in the blank] for dinner and call it a night.

Sometimes I include veggies.

Rarely do I have the suggested portion size.

Often the same meal plan can be created with nut butter.

 

Sometimes I add frozen bananas to my morning oats.

 

Rarely does my oatmeal have fewer than three ingredients (nut butter, fresh fruit, dried fruit, cinnamon, stevia, coconut, etc.).

Often I’ll crave nothing but fruit for an entire day.

Sometimes I eat 4 apples in one sitting (but some days apples are trumped by mangos).

Rarely do I go a day without eating at least one piece of fruit. 

Often I forget my coupons at home.

Sometimes I remember and beat the system (look at how my 2 lbs. of loose carrots cost less than the packaged 2 lbs. of carrots). 

Rarely do I forget my grocery bags, thus saving myself an extra 5 cents per BYOB.

Often I hoard things (like Tropical Traditions’ coconut flakes).

Sometimes I share these goodies with you (coming soon!).

Rarely do they disappoint me (ok, never).

Often I wonder if my love of tropical fruits means I am meant to live on an island. 

Sometimes I play the lottery (when it’s realllllly high) to win that island lifestyle.

Rarely do I win (ok, never).

Often I wonder how I’m not orange from my B-carotene themed meals.

Sometimes I wish the self tanning effect of said colored meals would be more apparent.

Rarely does my pale skin cooperate. 

Your turn!  Often, sometimes, rarely…aaaand go!

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Packrat

Before I get into the latest and greatest from the hippie kitchen, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who took the time to offer their thoughts on yesterday’s post.  The discussion certainly got more heated than I anticipated (and some comments were a bit harsh), but it was great to read how others felt about sharing your views with your family/friends.  Being brave enough to stand up for your beliefs while not pressuring others to feel guilty about having differing opinions is definitely a fine line…and it seems that many feel there’s a time and place for being outspoken (as well as a time and place for simply shutting your lid).  I’m very grateful for everyone who commented in a thoughtful and respectful way.  I tried to respond to as many of the comments as I could.

In the meantime, however, I was at the hospital doing my thang.  As a result, I have compiled quite a collection of work eats on my computer…

Breakfast #1 – granola by Big Sky Bread (an Alabama based company with cute home-made wholesome products).  It’s actually a granola plank not granola since it’s one big crispy crunchy granola block.  They also make bread products (as you’d guess from the company name), all of which feature their stone ground whole wheat flour that they make in the bakery every morning.

So how did I discover this adorable company?  Well, Big Sky Bread was at Expo West and they were kind enough to hook me up with this sample.  For some reason I have been saving it and saving it, waiting for the perfect time to try it.  Well, I’m not sure when I thought that time would be, but the other day I spotted it in the pantry and it was exactly what I wanted at that exact moment.  So I guess that makes it the perfect time.

You can (kinda) see the nutritional stats above.  At two servings a package it rounds out to 400 kcals a pop.  The granola planks are basically a lightly sweetened oatmeal base with whole almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.  It was crispy and crunchy like granola, not chewy like a granola bar so I had to break it into bite sized pieces in the bag so the crumbs wouldn’t get all over me (thus enabling me to sprinkle them atop yogurt later).  The flavor reminded me EXACTLY of these bars I used to get at the Union Square WF in NYC.  I haven’t seen them since moving to CA and now I realize how much I miss them.  I think it’s the sesame and pumpkin seeds that makes the taste so unique.

Breakfast #2 – oats with cinnamon, dried cherries, and Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter

Dried cherries are a really good way to bring a new twist to an old simple morning routine.

Lunch part I – Boca vegan burger (lazy much?) and apple x2, orange x1, Bakery on Main Cinnamon Apple Granola Bar

Bakery on Main is another Expo West discovery.  They make both granola and granola bars and I got a big ‘ol shipment of their goodies to try out.  🙂  The granola bar kinda reminded me of those Nutri-Grain bars (by Kellogg’s).  The texture and flavor seem nearly identical (I think?), but the ingredients are way better in terms of being whole foods without preservatives or additives.

[NO GMOs • NO Dairy • NO Casein • NO Wheat • NO Trans Fat • NO Cholesterol]

I liked the flavor, but the bar was really small and therefore didn’t have as much staying power as I typically like in my on-the-go options.  It did taste just like a bite of the top of an apple pie, though.  So there’s definitely a yummy factor going on.  As an FYI, the soft & chewy bars are gluten free (made with certified gluten free oats, amaranth and quinoa).  They also have flax and chia seeds (hello healthy omegas!).

Lunch II – leftover purple potato salad with peas for extra green

All together now!

Night shift doesn’t require quite as large of a line up.

I’ve been craving lots and lots of fruit at night.  Apples and cuties and mangoes, oh my!

I know for a fact I looked like a primitive cave(wo)man as I ate this.  I had juice dripping from my chin to my elbows.  Not attractive.  Maybe I’ll cut it up first next time, huh?  😉

This salad was a twist on one of my favorite recipes of my mom’s.  Growing up she made a bomb a$$ poppyseed salad with avocado, butter lettuce and cantaloupe.  It is seriously fantastic.  Unfortunately, my dairy-free life now makes the dressing she used a no-go.

Enter Follow Your Heart!  They make oil-free salad dressings that are vegan and this Citrus Poppy Seed flavor is a new one!  However, unlike the other oil-free salad dressing on the market, this one doesn’t compensate for the fat with excessive amounts of sugar.  Have you ever noticed that?  So many fat-free dressings are jam packed with other sh!t to make your taste buds forget that you are missing out on the oil.  Not this one.  It’s got the same pure and wholesome ingredients that you’d find in any home-made dressing, minus the oil.

Vegan.  Gluten free.  Dairy free.

Strawberry and Avocado Poppy Seed salad

• spinach
• clover sprouts
• carrots
• strawberries
• avocado
• dried cherries
• Follow Your Heart Citrus Poppy Seed salad dressing

I have to be honest, normally I don’t use salad dressings, aside from basics like extra virgin olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar (or Bragg’s liquid aminos).  But ever since I received Follow Your Heart’s line of vegan dressings, I’ve been experimenting more and more.   And loving them more and more.

This salad is a winner.

And when I got home from a loooong 12 hours, I had overnight oats waiting for me in the fridge.

Oats, frozen blueberries and strawberries, dried cherries, coconut peanut butter.

Maybe it’s the change in the weather, or maybe it’s just a random phase, but I’m really into chilled oats lately.  After I cook them, I put them in the freezer and then eat them so they are thick like cookie dough.  Thick thickity thick.

Night shift numero dos was less fruity, more hummus-y.  There was still a big bad salad (because me and fiber are more of a dynamic duo than Gary and Ace).

Seitan Spinach salad

• spinach
• clover sprouts
• carrots
• bell peppers
• log seitan (this version with bell peppers)
• Bragg’s liquid aminos

This salad was great, but the seitan was definitely the star of the show.

Lots of people have been making my log seitan – a true testament to how simple and delicious it really is.  I swear, you’ll be blown away by it, and then you’ll make it again and again and again (just like me!).  C’mon, what are you waiting for?  Give it a shot!

Pita pieces and Haig’s roasted red pepper hummus rounded out the meal, along with the (lone) apple and a lot lot lot of candied ginger.

Once again I had chilled oats waiting for me when I got home…with blueberries dried cherries and TJ’s peanut flour all mixed in.

Oh, did I forget to mention my latest stock pile?  Yeahhhhhh.  Once I found out peanut flour was getting the axe from Trader Joe’s I quickly jumped into action (aka called my mom and begged her to hit up the local TJ’s before we came upon hard times).  Hoarding mode much?  She did me proud.  🙂 I better make these last!

And as if things weren’t good enough already, I received another package in the mail.  My pantry is officially stocked!

Are you a packrat?  Hoarder?  Pantry supply collector? 

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