motweth

If I had to summarized Monday through Thursday in a single post…well…I can’t, so I don’t know how to end that sentence.  But, where I was going with that intro was to say my week has been packed and amazing.

Highlights reel?  Sure, why not.

Monday slash Tuesday I had night shift stuff.  The only thing of note food-wise was how many berries I consumed over the course of the day. 

I have likely met my Vitamin C quota until October. 

I also made a pita pie (for those of you who keep asking about the-best-pita-ever, it’s from Whole Foods and the brand is called Turlock Pita Bread). 

My gorgeous pie was toasted then layered (generously) with Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter and very thinly sliced golden delicious apples.

Any meal that has fewer than five ingredients, takes under five minutes to make, AND tastes this good should be illegal.  Or accepted into the Foodie Hall of Fame.  Is there such a thing?  Nope. 

 

I also did some late night therapy baking.  I find it a very soothing thing.  Just me and the oven, and the rest of the day fades away…

 

Kyle’s a big fan of these nights.  Unlike retail therapy, they don’t cut into our vacation rent funds, plus they yield delicious treats.  Who else uses cooking/baking in this way?

(Vegan) peanut butter and jelly thumbprint muffins.  Recipe on the way!

Wednesday morning wasn’t notably interesting, but I did make a really really yummy tropical smoothie.

I had it with a massive bowl of cherries (since the strawbeezies are done-zo).

I didn’t measure anything, but it had: light unsweetened soymilk (365), vanilla soy yogurt (Stonyfield), frozen tropical fruit mix (Costco), and some ice.

I tried to go slow and eat cherries in between, but you know I froze my brain up because I have no self control.

Of course to compensate I had to make some tea.  I may be having issues with my body core thermal regulation, because I always seem to be the temperature of whatever I’m eating.  Humans are supposed to be warm blooded.  I may be a lizard.  My poor patients have to deal with my frigid hands poking and prodding them (ok, ok, I’m not that rough).  Good thing I suck down coffee like a fiend all morning long which is when I do most of my assessments…at least the heat from that helps my hands stay a bit warmer.  I’m sure the fact that I’m cracked out of my mind and bouncing off the walls doesn’t even phase them. 

Fact: I drink Yogi tea more for the inspirational messages than the flavor of the tea.  This flavor happens to be Cocoa Mayan Spice.  It’s no Chai, but it fills the roll when my Tazo stash is on empty.

Wednesday afternoon we picked up our friend at the airport.  In our new car.  His name is Carson and he’s a new 2011 silver CRV.  Yes, we name all our cars.  Who doesn’t? 

The best feature is the cup holder in the door.  It fits a Kombucha perfectly.

After navigating our way back to Santa Monica (LA traffic wasn’t that bad actually), we immediately dropped off Dean’s luggage and walked to dinner.

 

Blue Plate is one of my absolute favorite places ever and I have been craving their falafel burger for a solid month now. 

 

We started with chips ‘n guac for the table.

 

Plus a nice white bean dip with bread crisps (on the house).

 

Kyle got the chicken & veggie soup and the falafel burger. 

Dean got the falafel burger with fries.

And I got the falafel burger on a salad with fresh greens, cucumber, carrots, sprouts and huge amounts of avocado. 

 

I used all the balsamic dressing, plus the remainder of the guacamole that wasn’t eaten with chips.  It would be a crime for avocado to go unclaimed!

SO GOOD.  There’s no two ways about it, Blue Plate makes a damn fine falafel.

Wii tennis and golf duels took up the remainder of the night.  We are party animals!

Thursday morning was not meant to start at 5 am, but that it did.  Why you ask?  Because we have crazy effing birds that crow incessantly like they are the alarm clock for the entire West Coast (and their home base happens to be directly outside our window).  The rage I was feeling…gah!  Let’s just say there’s probably never been a more conflicted vegan.  I may not be a member of PETA, but I’m still not into shooting down angry birds.  

In any event, our plans to got for a hike in Malibu were simply pushed forward a few hours.  So after a trip to WF for coffee and a picnic lunch, we headed off to Point Mugu State Park.

We had a fun hike.  It was relatively mild and only took a bit over an hour.  The weather wasn’t really cooperating, but if we had waited ‘til later on, the cloud cover probably would have blown off.  Sun or no sun, we enjoyed the views. 

After reaching the bottom again, we made our way to the beach for lunch. 

 

Not too bad of a view. 

I got a veggie sando from WF with hummus, avocado, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and mustard. 

I could’ve used more hummus, but that’s pretty much always the case.  In life.

The rest of the day was mellow.  We strolled on the Promenade, stopped by the Santa Monica Pier, watched some volleyball games, and enjoyed the sun that finally did show up.

For dinner there was no question about what we were making.  Dean simply HAD to try some home-made vegan waffles.

We tried out Surprisingly Vegan’s latest flavor and I have to say, it’s even better than the OG recipe.

They really are SO good.  Unfortunately, they take quite a while to make from scratch…and grinding and blending and mixing everything uses up just about every single appliance and counter space in our kitchen.  Needless to say, I’ll be glad when these babies finally hit shelves, because just-add-water is so much simpler. 

The good news is that by late summer they will be sold online!!!  Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to let you all know when, where, and how you can get your hands on them. 

Vegan, gluten-free, delicious, and nutritious.  :) 

If you’re wondering about the above creation, it’s a waffle ‘wich that I made with two waffle squares, blueberries and Follow Your Heart vegan cream cheese.  I had two servings.  And even though I was very full after my double serving, I didn’t feel like my stomach was coated in lead.  Heavenly!

And now I am getting ready for a Friday at the hospital.  Big salad, quinoa with tofu, Inka Crops corn nuts, apple (x2), Nana’s fudge bites – yep, it’s gonna be a good day. 

 

Lunch is packed and I have a breakfast of vegan waffles ready for early morning leftovers.  Yeah buddy. 

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Crash and burn

My second night shift came and went without incident.  It was pretty much a dream 12 hours.  I staggered my way to the parking garage and arrived home just before 8 am to pass the car off to my better half (as in, the half that doesn’t crash the car).  Oh, did I not mention my little accident?  Twitter followers may have read the news, but for those who aren’t in the loop, I suck at driving. 

Don’t worry, I’m being slightly dramatic (I’m fine).  The passenger side door, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.  I got into an accident with a wall.  Big picture – it’s not that big of a deal.  But I’m still annoyed with myself.  For being such an aggressive driver, it’s actually kinda a miracle I’ve never been pulled over, gotten a speeding ticket, or had any accidents before…so to taint my pristine record with such a ridiculous thing is frustrating to say the least.  I’m not saying I’d rather have been in an accident with another vehicle.  When it comes to auto accidents, the phrase “go big or go home” definitely doesn’t apply.  It’s just so stupid to hit a stationary object!

Have you ever been in a car accident?  Have you ever hit a wall/pole/non-moving object? 

So back to yesterday’s night shift.

Before leaving for work, I enjoyed a slice of vegan coconut “cheesecake”.

This is pear and coconut perfection.  And it just keeps getting better and better.  Who says you can’t have dessert for dinner? 

There was fruit too. 

I’m out of spinach so the non-green appearance was a change up.  I doubled up the frozen strawberries which required extra almond milk (so that it would blend), and in the end, it tasted like a strawberry milk shake.  No complaints on my end. 

For work I packed the following eats:

 

Two apples and a couple of slices of Alvarado Street sprouted bread to soak up my black eyed pea masala leftovers. 

I steamed kale to bulk it up in the greens department, which was totally yummy with the masala flavors. 

If you want to know the truth, yes, bringing leftover Indian food to work was a daring move.  I’ll admit, I was nervous about how my body would deal, but I’m happy to report everything was A-ok.  And combined with the hearty bread, this meal kept my hunger at bay for the entire night. 

As per usual, I was peeing every 30 minutes on account of all the tea I was consuming.  And I’m proud to say, I had NO coffee last night and all but 2 mugs of tea were caffeine free.  Progress people. 

Consequently, my body was ready to crash when I got home.  So after I passed the car off to Kyle, I showered, PJed, put on my night vision goggles blackout mask and went to zzzzz.

I woke back up around 11, but still wasn’t ready to start the day.  With my fabulous sweatpants and sweatshirt, I looked like a home-less gray monster.  Isn’t it great that I could capture the essence of my morning in one photo?  Sweats.  Coffee.  Remote.  Are you there, Bravo?  It’s me, lazy.

Almost four seconds after the coffee was gone, I made some breakfast. 

Cooked (and then chilled) oats, apple cinnamon granola, blueberries, and almond milk.  I need to start remembering to prep overnight oats because waiting for them to cook and then chill is torture.  I’m not nearly patient enough.  Obviously I enjoy warm oats, but lately I’ve been craving my grains cold. 

I’m now gearing up for my first ever yoga class, for which I’m a big ball of nervousanxiousexcited.  Can you believe I’ve still not used my YogaWorks gift certificate from my birthday?!  Such a pansy.  I just wish I hadn’t done 50 minutes of Jillian’s Banish Fat Boost Metabolism yesterday because my muscles are already burnin’.  Maybe yoga is the perfect remedy, though. 

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The Cove

Last night I saw a movie that affected me unlike any other has in a long time.

The Cove is a documentary that follows a team of activists, filmmakers and free-divers as they attempt to penetrate a remote and hidden cove in Taiji, Japan, to capture evidence of the slaughter that happens there.  The goal of the covert mission is to shed light on the town’s hideous secret.  The story is unforgettable and inspired me, saddened me, and I know it will stick with me forever.  Corruption.  Murder.  Massacre.  It’s horrifying to discover such gruesome activities exist.  And even worse that they are covered up by a government agency and the public doesn’t even know about it.

The film won the Academy Award in 2009 for Best Documentary.  If you haven’t seen it, please do.  It’s very intense, but needs to be shared.

I never intended to become a vegan for animal rights.  My decision to eat a plant-based diet was/is primarily based on (a) the health benefits and (b) the improvement in my GI discomfort (and reduction of IBS flare-ups).  The eco-friendly impact and ethical treatment of animals are merely added bonuses.  But after seeing this film, it’s hard not to react with outrage and disgust.  I’m still processing it all…

If you have seen The Cove, what were your thoughts?  If you haven’t, it’s available on Netflix on demand.

Anyway, now I’ll get to the weekend food wrap-up.

Organic ricemilk is currently on sale at Whole Foods (along with almond milk and other non-dairy milks).  I decided to give it a try and I was shocked at how much I liked it!?  Usually I try to ease myself into new things with the sweetened, flavored varieties (almond milk took me a while to get used to).  Then, once my taste buds have adjusted to the flavor and consistency of a nutmilk’s sweet vanilla version, I wean myself to a more pure and wholesome form (not that I take issue with the aforementioned flavors, but I generally prefer the least number of ingredients possible).  This 365 organic ricemilk required none of that.  I liked it right off the bat.

I first had it with this breakfast bowl.

Vanilla almond granola + banana + pear + cinnamon + coconut.

Everything about this bowl was stellar.

After digestion occurred, I went for a run along the beach.  I started slow, but by the end of it, I really hit my stride and finished the last mile+ at a fairly fast pace.

For lunch I was craving greens in bulk and I knew a big a$$ salad was the only way to satisfy my hunger.  So I decided to make a tupperware beast.

I realize it’s a bit weird to eat out of tupperware when you are at home, but there’s actual logic behind this decision…and that is the shake ‘n bake dressing coating ability that tupperware affords.

Having a lid is key because I want each and every bite of my salad to have dressing.  No leaf left behind, right Mr. Bush.

Layering from the bottom up: spinach, bell peppers, carrots, roasted butternut squash, steamed cauliflower, leftover WF tofu.

Then I added in BBQ sauce and roasted red pepper hummus and shook it like a Polaroid picture.

Voila!

Post-lunch, Kyle got back from campus and we took a stroll to the Promenade.  Mindless wandering turned into window shopping turned into wish list making.  Of course this is all thanks to the iPhone coming to Verizon.

When we got home it was almost dinner time.  But since  I had a soy misto on the way home, I really didn’t have much going on in the appetite department.

Hmmmm…out of indecision boredom, I snacked on a gala while debating what to make.  I only took a picture because I thought it was especially pretty with it’s cute little red stripe.

Cut to a few hours later.  It was almost 8 o’clock and I still had no clue what I felt like eating.  That’s a lie.  What I wanted wasn’t a real meal.

Here’s what I ended up eating.

Apparently my sweet tooth cravings have been replaced with salty ones.

It started innocently enough.  I poured a small bowl to snack on…which turned into several bowls…which turned into the entire bag.  Roasted salt is addicting!!

Fortunately, I saved a few to add to a real meal because my body needs food of substance.

Rolled oats with frozen peas, fresh chopped carrots, nutritional yeast, and cashini butter.  Hello B12!

After stirring it all up together, I added the last few cashews.

No dessert needed after this hearty meal!  I was full all the way ‘til late Saturday morning.

Rather than show the exact same breakfast (if it ‘aint broke…), I’ll skip straight to Saturday’s lunch.

I know what you’re thinking.  Veggie burger.  Hummus.  Snooze.  It’s true.  But I was in a hurry to get to the beach, so I didn’t care about making some elaborate meal.

I feel guilty showing photos of the incredible weather, so just picture miles and miles of sunshine, sand and ocean.

When I got home from the beach, I cooled off with a refreshing green brown monster.

This was my first time adding in Spirulina and I have to say, it was pretty yummy!  It’s definitely not flavorless; there’s a distinct green taste to it.  But if you’re the kind of person who enjoys the flavor of spinach and kale in your smoothies (I do), then I think you’d be all about this stuff.  The benefits are outstanding.

Spirulina is actually a blue-green alga (and as a bio geek I feel compelled to dispel the myth that these are related to algae).  I won’t get uber-nerd on you, but they are classified differently from seaweed.

The reason it is such an amazing supplement is simple.  It has an unparalleled nutritional profile.  Are you ready for these truly impressive stats?

Spirulina is a complete protein, containing all essential amino acids and an unusually high amount of protein (between 55% and 77% by dry weight).  This makes it a vastly superior plant-based protein.

Spirulina is also rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.  And when it comes to health benefits, I would have to write an essay to do it justice.  Needless to say, this is one packed little cyanobacteria!

Frozen papaya, mango, spinach, ice, ricemilk, and spirulina.

Healthy and delish.

If you’re not into the “green” flavor of smoothies, extra fruit and stevia easily mask this, so you can still get the benefits without forcing yourself to choke down blended veggies.

Saturday’s dinner was the black eyed pea masala dish that I already posted.  So now I’m off to enjoy some football.  Go Packers!!

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Is it January?

East Coast readers avert your eyes.

This is the morning view from our rooftop.  I went upstairs in a tank top and boxers after pouring my first cup of joe.  And it’s mid-January. 

I couldn’t even finish my coffee because it was too hot!

Instead, I made some fresh lemonade with stevia and the juice from one whole lemon. 

With temps in the high 70’s there’s only one thing to do!

Bust out the blender.

Green monster time!!

My perfect summer LA winter smoothie included:

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• fist of spinach
• 1/2 cup frozen tropical fruit (mango, strawberries, papaya)
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 4-5 ice cubes
• stevia (optional, to taste)

It was absolutely delightful. 

And that’s all I have for this Friday.  I have big plans to soak up the sun for the next few days.  And football.  Obviously. 

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The quick and (not) dirty

Clean eats with minimalist descriptions.  Ready, set, blog.

Pumpkin Pie smoothie

 

Toast with “cream cheese” and cinnamon.

I have mixed feelings about Tofutti cream cheese.  It’s got an odd saltiness to it that can sometimes make for an unexpected flavor, but it’s great for subbing into pasta dishes. 

It does melt when it meets warm bread, which is a win in my book.  🙂

 

Self explanatory addiction.

Ditto to the above.

Avocado + pea mash up

It’s not easy being green…when avocado is involved. 

On toasted sprouted bread.  

My night shift work eats were identical to yesterday’s so I won’t re-post them… I had a more active night, complete with a 2 am heart attack.  Patient is stable now, but it kept me busy.  I slept most of the morning, but I work day shift tomorrow so I will be trying to trick my body back into a normal schedule with an 8 pm bed time tonight. 

Batch #2 of hippie-roons

Just a few more days to enter my coconut giveaway!!

Ciao for now. 

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And then it was time to taste…

I actually didn’t take too many pictures at the tasting pavilion because I was busy, well, tasting! 

Here are the ones I do have, supplemented with ones borrowed from my roommates Danica, Holly, Susan, and Janetha.

Before heading into the tasting, Kyle and my sister joined up with me (I’m not the only foodie in my family).  :) 

So stripe-y.  We took some photos in the sunshine…and then the clock struck one and it was time to go. 

Waiting for the event to start reminded me of being in a corral before a running race.  We were all ushered up to the entrance with our ears craned in anticipation of the go-ahead.  And a runner is the nicer of the two analogies that came to mind, because it was also very much like we were a bunch of cattle being herded into the slaughterhouse (hideous, right?).  Sorry.  

Either way, once the flood gates opened, there was definitely a mini-stampede to get to the food.  Ha!  

First on the menu was 479 popcorn – a company I had never heard of until the festival.  I was a little daring, trying the Ginger Sesame & Caramel flavor.  It tasted mostly like caramel corn, and I didn’t really taste much in the ginger or sesame department.  I got a sample to take home in my swag bag so I’m looking forward to trying out another flavor.

Frog Hollow Farm had cheese and pear platters set out, plus they gave us all a bag with granola, dried fruit, and some other goodies.  I tried the pears, but couldn’t really say if it was anything extraordinary.  I was hungry, so of course it tasted good.  I do have a fresh pear sample from their farm still, so that may be a second shot for a review.

There were a LOT of different wine vendors.

Seriously, the booze to food ratio was really surprising!  There were nearly the same number of alcohol brands as food companies. 

I think I had more of Jakq’s cabernet than any other wine.  And what’s better than pairing a nice glass of red with some nibbles and bites…

This table provided most of the food for my wine pairings.  I practically had to tackle other bloggers to get my plate of dried figs, apricots, salted cashews, raw almonds, crackers, and grapes.

When it came to Alexia Foods’ goodies, there was a rather extensive line.  I thought I was so clever waiting until later in the day to return to the stand, but when I finally made my way back, there was only one flavor left (Carolina BBQ Sweet Potato).  Flavor-wise I liked it, but the inside was mushy.  Maybe because they made them in bulk?  However, the whole point of Alexia’s stand was to have us, as foodies, taste and review all four new flavors to help choose a favorite (which, in theory, will be the next product they launch).  Difficult to do after trying just one flavor…

Anyways, I definitely like the idea of frozen sweet potato fries, so I am excited to use my coupons for a free package.

The recipes for these shortbread biscuits and apple squash soup were definitely amazing.  I tip my hat to you Tyler Florence.  They made me one without the crème fraiche on top.  I got a copy of the recipe and it seems so simple.  I added it to the ever growing to-make list. 

Fresh Express had a stand too.  Finally, some greens!! 

After the morning session sponsored by Fresh Express, I was happy to get the opportunity to ask them about their product.  You see, I don’t really like bagged salad mixes or lettuces.  I’ve never seen an organic variety by Fresh Express, which is a major negative in my eyes.  Also the plastic bags produce way too much waste for my liking.  And even if the bags weren’t made of plastic, they still use a ton of fuel to ship them all over the country. 

I prefer local organic lettuce.  The impact on the Earth is negligible in comparison, and the lettuce is better.  Sorry Fresh Express, I’m just saying what I think. 

In their defense(ish), they did have a new bag design on display with less plastic, but I’m still am not a fan because it will never be more eco-friendly to buy a bag of lettuce that has been shipped from some farm factory who-knows-where.  Buy local!  Buy organic! 

The salad wasn’t anything super creative.  It had quinoa in it, which was a nice effort to be unique.  The dressing was weird though, and there was something oddly smoky/bacon-y about it.  Hmmm…

Cupcakes are such a fad right now. 

Which is good news for Mission Minis.

And guess what!?  This time they had a vegan flavor!  Good news for me.

The ones on the right in the above photo were the vegan “cupcakes.”  I used quotations because they weren’t really true cupcakes.  In my opinion, cupcakes are defined by two very distinct characteristics; (a) their thick frosting layer of icing and (b) their fluffy cakey-y base. 

These were more or less small banana bread bites.  There wasn’t frosting (boo) and the inside reminded me of banana bread, not dessert cake.  I don’t mind banana bread, so it was all good in my book, but don’t call it a vegan cupcake, because it’s not. 

Now that’s a cupcake.

 

 

Next on the menu, some real food. 

The line to get the tacos was INSANELY long.  As in, tick tock half an hour later I still haven’t moved any closer. 

It was worth the wait though.  They had every single topping imaginable!  Mango, avocado, pineapple, pico de gallo salsa, jicima, a squeeze of lime, and who-knows-what-else on top of corn tortillas and wild Alaskan salmon. 

Second to the Tyler Florence soup and biscuit combo, this was my fave. 

After lunch, it was time for (more) dessert.

Annie the Baker!

This is a borrowed photo.  I only tried the peanut butter flavor.  It was like cookie dough it was so dense.  Wowzers. 

The last thing I sample were the Lactaid smoothies.  The avocado vanilla one (middle) tasted like a combo of guacamole and a vanilla pudding Snack Pack.  Totally weird.  The pumpkin one (far right) was insanely thick.  It actually had a really good flavor going on, but it wasn’t cold.  Room temperature smoothies aren’t my thing.

All in all, there were kinda a large number of misses in my opinion.  Again, I wasn’t overly impressed with the vegan options.  Maybe I’m being super critical, but it just wasn’t as great as I thought it would be.  I mean, I get samples in the mail all the time, and I rarely have anything negative to say about them.  Whereas reading back on this post, I feel like Debbie Downer.  Let me assure you that I enjoyed myself and would do it all over again. 

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Sweet and au naturel

My morning started with this newbie.

To me, “Au Naturel”…is the classy way of saying “hippie food”…so clearly this was right up my alley. 

Like the rest of Udi’s products, this granola is gluten free.  It also happens to be dairy free, soy free, nut free, and egg free (it’s is not vegan because it contains honey).

The only ingredients are certified gluten free oats, wildflower honey and canola oil.  That’s it!  THREE ingredients.  No wonder they call it Au Naturel…

I packed myself a tupperware full of granola to add to my (unpictured) plain greek yogurt for my work breakfast. 

The flavor was simple, but good.  It had that signature crunch that tasted toasted, and not the least bit stale.  I like my granola crunchy because then it has the ability to be used for many things.  If you want to soak it in milk, it can soften up like oats and be enjoyed like cereal, but if you want to eat it with greek yogurt or add it into a trail mix, it’s definitely better to have a more crunchy consistency.  What’s your favorite way to eat granola?

The rest of my pre-packed eats included an apple, carrots, and big salad…plus an unpictured tub of hummus and (aforementioned) greek yogurt. 

Love me a kale-face salad.  It had kale, avocado, bell peppers, carrots, and dried cranberries.

Que grande!

Work was work, nothing too thrilling about it, but I am so excited to officially be done with orientation.  Starting next week I will be nursing for real.  For real for real.  Having patients.  Finally!  Yesssss. 

I got home from work in the afternoon, so I made use of my Udi’s gluten free granola – this time jazzing it up with carob chips, raisins, and salty roasted nuts. 

Trail mix at it’s finest.  I refilled this tupperware more than once ;)  It was too tasty!  As a result, I was not remotely hungry once dinnertime rolled around.  Instead of making a meal, I decided to make a smoothie.  Not just an ordinary smoothie though.  A tofu & protein powder based treat that was so delicious, it could have passed as dessert, but was still nutrient dense enough to pass as dinner. 

I know there are many pumpkin recipes going around the blog world right now (with everything from baked goods, to lattes, to hearty entrees), so I’m sure my inspiration came from many of them.  But in terms of following a recipe, I just winged it based on what I had on-hand.  In the end it tasted JUST like pumpkin pie, so I will show you exactly what I put in.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious coconut milk)
• 1/2 block (6 oz.) silken tofu (I used Mori-Nu light)
• 3/4 cup (~1/2 can) pumpkin puree (I used Libby’s)
• 1 tsp cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
• 1 serving vanilla protein powder of choice (I used Vega vanilla chai)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I used a lot more)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (I used ~4 drops of NuNaturals vanilla stevia)
• sweetener of choice* (I used ~2 tbsp agave nectar because I like things sweeeeeeeet)
• 1/2 cup ice cubes

*optional depending on how sweet you want your pie smoothie

Blend away.

It was eerie how similar to actual pumpkin pie this tasted.  Even Kyle was blown away, and he’s a pie fiend.  He also said it was perfect if you have a sweet tooth (guilty!). 

This smoothie recipe may cause me to buy stock in Libby’s.  I’m going to be having this every day from now until I can’t find anymore canned pumpkin. 

Mmmmmm.

Before I sign off to enjoy the gorgeous weather goin on right now, I want to be sure you all click this link to vote for my girl Kailey…she’s the diva of all divas and 100% deserves this job.  So go to the site and help her win the opportunity to do what she loves (while getting a paycheck).

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Liquid love for my achy heart

Still ailing…aching from head to toe.  Brain, body, pretty much everything. 

And I’m really getting sick of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

Blah. 

Today I had a sneaky chef moment, though.  As my girl Holly says, “sharing is caring” so here you go: 

When you’ve hit the wall with carbs and nutbutter (the horror!), but you still have zero desire to eat greens, here’s a delicious way to cheat them into your bod. 

PB & Greens Smoothie

• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 2 shafts of kale, leaves only
• 3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 3 ice cubes (no more, no less)

This was just the liquid love I needed to get me back in the game…(ish).

If there ever were a smoothie cure for the flu, this would be it.  Straight up.

[Ok, ok, I don’t actually have the flu, I’m just being dramatic] 

I am 99.9% sure my symptoms are the side effects of last week’s DTaP shot.  Sure, I’m immune from tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis now, but my birthday week is SUCKING as a result.  I better feel normal by Saturday.

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Nine two nine

It’s 9/29!  You didn’t think I’d forget National Coffee Day did you!?!?

Not a chance.  I’m a tad behind in blogging because I’ve been playing catch-up around the casa.  I’ve been productive, but I hardly deserve a pat on the back since it’s all stuff that I should have accomplished last weekend. 

For breakfast on Tuesday I had a bowl of One Lucky Duck grawnola, cheerios, and bananas on top of greek yogurt.

Tuesday I got my running mojo back and after this bowl of deliciousness had digested I set off for a nice 30 minutes of jogging on the beach.  It was glorious.  I stretched for another 15 minutes when I got home, which was almost better than the run. 

Lately I’ve been into throwing curve balls when it comes to normal flavor combinations.  Like making foods that are typically savory into sweet dishes, and vice versa…

Continuing the trend, for Tuesday’s lunch I toyed with the idea of creating a sweet hummus.  Sounds weird, right?  It took a looong brainstorming sesh, but I finally came up with a winning recipe. 

Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.

Remember that delicious almond butter fluff I made a few days ago?  Allow me to introduce sweet almond hummus.

Sweet almond hummus

• 3/4 cup chickpeas
• 1/2 cup raw soaked almond butter
• 1/4 cup water

*If you don’t have almond butter made from soaked nuts you could use 1/4 cup regular almond butter with an extra 1/4 cup water instead

Pulse in a blender or food processor until everything is super smooth.

I dipped carrots and apples in it, and I have to say, it was pretty awesome.  As far as dips go, this one is really versatile because it can work for both sweet and savory foods.  Next time I make it I’ll use less water and see how it goes with pita wedges. 

The afternoon was fairly snacky.  I had a berry MIX1 smoothie which was absolutely stellar.  It’s not vegan because it contains whey, but it is lactose free. 

I rarely drink (a) smoothies that I haven’t made myself and/or (b) pre-made beverages that are more than 100 kcals (that’s an arbitrary numeric amount, but it’s generally about right).  That said, I felt like a thick and fruity drink.  What can I say, I don’t live in black and white and MIX1 has good smoothies that don’t leave you feeling like you just downed a sugar bomb. 

Later I had 3 apples (2 galas, 1 braeburn).  Hello fall!

Dinner was a vegan quesadilla. 

• La Tortilla Factory whole wheat tortillas
• hummus
• Daiya vegan cheddar “cheese”
• kidney beans
• chili powder
• paprika

Beanie weeney (that’s for you Kailey)

I smooshed the kidney beans then threw it in the micro for a few seconds.

 

Fold and feast.

It’s kinda like a new and improved crack wrap…more hearty, more beany, and all around delicious.  Plus the chili powder kinda gave my taste buds a run for their money.  Spicayyy. 

 

On the late night I had some hummus with Livin’ Spoonful raw crackers.  I effing love these things.  I even order them from my own OpenSky shop because I adore them and can’t find them ANYwhere. 

This was my last pack though :( 

On Wednesday, I got up early and celebrated National Coffee Day.

Then I headed off to the farmer’s market.  This is basically becoming a Wednesday tradition since I’ve now gone the past 3 weeks in a row, with 2 Saturday trips as well.  I love the atmosphere and supporting the local farms, but I also love scoping out good deals.  I have scored bags of multi-colored bell peppers (that taste out of this world) for $2.  That said, I also think some stuff is triple what it would cost in the store (like the pears I “had to have”). 

Fig had a mini-kitchen set up going on and their menu looked legit.  I’m going to have to remember to try the restaurant out soon.  Being semi-new to the area, I am continuously discovering good places to dine…when I got home and googled Fig, I decided it was right up my ally.  Add that to the to-do list!

Anyways, today I was supposed to meet a friend at the market, but there was a miscommunication and we wound up taking a rain check on our date.  I still came home with some mighty fine loot, which you can see in the bowl below.

Pears, peaches, greek yogurt, oh my!

Not too much later I made lunch since I had to run out for an afternoon errand.  I wasn’t that hungry, but I didn’t know how long I’d be away from the casa. 

Round two with the Fakin’ Bakin’ tempeh.

This time I cooked it in a pan with minimal cooking spray so it crisped up.

Let me tell you, the kitchen smelled amazing…even better was the fact that the smoke detector didn’t go off (I don’t miss my NYC kitchen shoebox with a sink and oven at all). 

 

On the one half of the sando I careful caked on spicy dijon mustard, half an avocado, and the crispy tempeh, while on the other half I melted some vegan (Daiya) cheddar “cheese.”

In the words of Joey Tribbiani “put those hands together” (Friends fans?). 

Yeah buddy. 

I think I can get on board with tempeh if I keep making sammies like this! 

Anyways, I’ll post the rest of the day’s eats later, since I’m gonna work on the seitan tutorial you guys asked for.  Ciao for now.

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Social Light

This weekend was a reminder of why Kyle and I moved back to the West Coast.  No offense NYC, but when it comes to the weather and the social scene, California is where the party’s at! 

I may be well out of college, but that doesn’t mean I’m an old fart (yet).  This weekend I was drawn to keg parties and tailgates like a moth to a flame. 

I don’t mind a seedy bar once in a while either.

But before I get to the brew-fueled festivities, let me back up to Friday.

You like my new pink Wifey mug?  It was a gift from my husband ;) 

 

I had mega frothy coffee while making headway in my job search.  Keep your fingers crossed for me! 

I decided to break the fast with a bang.  Pancakes are a rare craving because I don’t wake up with an appetite.  But there are always exceptions when my stomach is involved, and on Friday that meant pancakes.

Vegan Whole Wheat Banana Vanilla Pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 drops NuNaturals vanilla stevia
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 banana (mashed up)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup So Delicious coconut milk French Vanilla “creamer”

Check out the banana inside.  Yummm…

After such a hearty breakfast (I’m usually into lighter fare in the AM), noon came and went and I still wasn’t hungry for lunch.  Since I had a date with a friend in the early afternoon, I headed out with an apple as back-up (hanger management, if you will). 

In-apple-propriate crotch shot.

We did some hospital stalking (job research at it’s finest) and then I came home to make a real meal.

For lunch I finally got a taste of the hottest ticket in town, DAIYA! 

I was scared to purchase the entire $5.99 bag (that’s a big expense if – heaven forbid – I didn’t like it).  Fortunately, for economical people like myself, Whole Foods sells it in smaller containers at a fraction of the price.

I started with the cheddar flavor. 

Vegan grilled “cheese” with a Zevia cola on the side.  Have you entered my Zevia giveaway yet?

Now I know what all the hype was about!  It does melt.  Win for me.  Loss for my poor bank account.

Later on I hit the road for a quickie 3 mile run and my daily Vitamin D dose, and then came home to shower and make dinner. 

All I wanted was more Daiya, so I threw together a recipe that is definitely delicious enough to share.

Cheezy White Bean Dip

• 1/2 can cannellini beans
• 1/2 can garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup “ bean juice” from can
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup vegan cheddar “cheese”

Whoa.

I had it with veggies first…and after licking the plate clean of every last drop, I decided to make it into a second course, too.

Sweet tater with cheezy bean dip.  Can you believe how long it had been since my last sweet potato!?!  Criminal.

Winner winner faux cheese dinner. 

The night could have ended there and I would’ve considered it a success, but it continued on…

Let the good times roll…

Isn’t it amazing how pouring a can into a glass instantly makes Bud Light a classy beverage?  Or maybe that’s just my opinion. 

I was one beer deep before doing my hair and make-up to go out (poor decision), and two beers deep as we headed off to a friend’s place for some good old fashioned Friday night shenanigans. 

Sweet photog skills. :P  Let me fill you in on a little secret I recently discovered…grad students know how to party.  Why didn’t I choose a career in which happy hours were justified as networking opportunities?  I was just trying to hold my own.

PM snackage went down.  The above photo needs no further explaining. 

Saturday morning was a bit rough as a result, which made a double dose of java almost as necessary as air.  I probably could’ve used an IV to rehydrate myself, but coffee is much more practical. 

Recovery was the name of the game on Saturday morning, but by the PM we were off to Main Street to get our race day packets.

Oh, did I forget to mention Kyle signed us up for a 10K while we were on our honeymoon?  The couple that runs together…who knows. 

Lunch was a new creation, involving a revamped sammie of my favorite ingreds.

Avo. Chickpeas.  Daiya.

I hand-mashed the chickpeas so they would be a bit chunky, but still stick together and then added them atop a bed of melted Daiya “cheese.”  They were on the same slice of bread, which made the cheddar fairly elusive in the above photo, but a little queso goes a long way.  Smooshed into the other slice was half an avocado.  All together now…

Trio to be repeated. 

Like I said before, Kyle and I had to pick up our race packets with our bibs and goodies on Saturday afternoon, so I grabbed an apple for the road and off we went!

We stopped on the way home to get sweat bands, and I just had to take a photo with my girlfriend role model.

Hi Jillian!  Thanks for introducing me to strength training – I had no idea what I was missing out on!  Soon my abs and arms will look just like yours 😉

The walk back home took a bit longer because I was side tracked by Santa Monica’s community garden.

Note to self: work out green thumb soon. 

We also made a trip to The ‘Bucks for two iced soy mistos…and swung by WF for some essentials (bread)…and stopped into a sports bar to check up on the Federer match… 

After all the detours on our walk back to the casa we finally made it home…but it was a short lived layover in the hippie household.  No rest for the weary social.

Where were we off to, you ask?

Here’s a hint: it involved 75 minutes of traffic…and pre-packed eats.

Sure, the Rose Bowl is legendary in the sports world, but in the food world it is seriously lacking.  Vegans consider this your warning (unless you are willing to make a meal out of kettle corn).  Fortunately I smuggled in the above eats (minus the PranaBar which met it’s fate in the looooong car ride to Pasadena). 

PranaBar = My new favorite company.  Period, end of sentence.  I prefer real food to bars, but each and every flavor is perfection.  I could go on and on (consistency, size, texture, ingreds – nothing I would change).

18 Rabbits Bar – Of all the flavors, the Belle Bananas Foster was the last left on my shelf.  It was good, but not one I’d buy again.  It tasted exactly (and I mean exactly) like a bowl of oats with bananas and walnuts on top.  I don’t like walnuts, but if you do, this is the bar for you!

Tailgating at the Rose Bowl really takes me back.  Too bad not much has changed since I was an undergrad…drunk frat boys, long bathroom lines, and a losing team. 

Still, I love it all.  We left early enough to get home before midnight since we had such an early wake up call the following day.

True enough, Sunday morning Kyle and I got a bright and early start to the day with the Lexus 5000 Santa Monica 10K.  I look deceptively chipper for 6:30 am. 

We rarely run races together, but this was a nice route and I really enjoyed having a partner.  You like our new sweat bands?  Kyle wanted one for his head, so I was the lucky recipient of the unclaimed wrist band.

It was a chilly morning in Santa Monica, but the commute to the starting line wasn’t too bad.  We took the bus and arrived 8 minutes before the horn went off, which was perfect timing (in my opinion).  No need to shiver myself silly 30 minutes before it’s even go-time. 

I’m not sure what kind of turnout I was expecting, but there were way fewer runners as compared to the past races I’ve done in NYC.  I’m not accustomed to having so much space! 

The course was a slow and steady uphill for the first 4 miles, which was a bit tough, but it was all worth it once we hit the last two miles.  Downhill to freedom!  Weeeee!

I finished in 47 minutes (not too bad considering my honeymoon exercise consisted of…stretching eating). 

And now I’m officially a Santa Monica runner.  Watch out, a half marathon may be calling my name in the near future…

After a scalding shower, I warmed up even more with a few cups of joe.  It’s weird but I always feel freezing after morning runs.  The walk home was fine because my muscles were still warm from the race, but once I got home and stretched out, my body cooled down and I was left feeling pretty brrrrrr…weird. 

If it aint broke.

This batch of banana vanilla pancakes was topped with cinnamon.

I polished off the entire stack.  Happy belly.  Happy hippie.

If you know me, you know what the rest of the day was devoted to.

I know I’m a nerd, but I love love love Fantasy Football.  Kyle and I went to a friends house to watch games.  He has a 63 inch TV.  Do you have any idea how big that is?  It’s ridiculous. 

This post is getting mighty lengthy, so I’ll wrap it up with my gorgeous PM snack. 

Tropical frozen fruit + So Delicious coconut “creamer” + ice ice bay-bay

Not too bad for our first weekend after the honeymoon.  Seriously, who needs a job when you have such a rockin’ social life? 

Don’t forget, you have until Tuesday afternoon to enter my Zevia giveaway.

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