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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Adios afro

I got a Brazilian Blowout today.  Thanks to Groupon, it was nearly half price (although once I added in the tip and shampoo/conditioner it was basically full price). 

I’m happy to say, my ‘fro is now going to be well maintained with ZERO effort on my part…at least for the next 90 days…

In the food realm, I had a really rough night.  Top Chef had me sweating for a full hour, but in the end my boy Blais came through.  Phew!  It was nail biting and my poor stomach was in knots the entire time.  Fortunately, my meals were the opposite of intense – after all, I pretty much aim for soothing (read: IBS-friendly) eats on a daily basis. 

I was out and about much of the day and there’s nothing interesting new about apples, veggies and hummus so my camera is on the emptier side. 

However, one of the day’s snacks is definitely worth sharing.  I received a package in the mail yesterday from Caveman Cookies.  I met the reps at Expo West and was so excited about their cookies, I knew I had to try them out and share them with you guys.  

The Caveman Bakery makes three flavors – original, alpine, and tropical – all of which are dairy and gluten free.  Oh and I discovered something else!  They’re all based on the caveman diet (which I only just learned about). 

Unbeknownst to me this is a way of eating that’s built on the diet of primitive man (hence the caveman term).  It’s basically the paleo diet, a holistic approach to eating that emphasizes the foods humans “grew up on” like vegetables, fruit & nuts.  Supposedly our bodies are best able to digest and enjoy these kinds of foods, rather than ones that have been recently introduced into the human diet (like grains and dairy).  In theory I like this idea because it encourages people to nix processed foods, which reduces refined sugars, saturated and trans fats, salt, high-glycemic carbohydrates, which lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and numerous other health problems.  Although The Paleo Diet isn’t vegan (lean meats are included in the diet), it does encourage people to replace processed food and dairy products with fresh fruits and vegetables. 

The first flavor I chose was the original…since it contains honey it isn’t vegan.  I love how pure the ingredients are though, with just honey, almond meal, walnuts, raisins, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. 

Isn’t the brown paper bag packaging cute!  They are individually wrapped inside as well. 

 

They were much smaller than I expected, but I guess that makes sense as each cookie is only 60 calories. 

They were kinda chewy like a cross between cookie dough and fruit leather.  The texture was awesome because the nuts were undetectable, but there was still a hint of crispy crunch with raisins mixed in too.  It reminded me a lot of a molasses cookie…with a touch of gingerbread flavoring.  Definitely yummy.  

For dinner I made a rice pasta dish featuring Peacock Rice Vermicelli.

This product is hard to come by, and is pretty much an online only item at the moment. 

For a person who is not so keen on pasta dishes (Italian is probably my least favorite), rice pasta has recently made me a convert.  I’ve had it several times in the past few months.  The silky fine noodles are so delicate and soak up sauce like nobody’s business.  And yet, nutritionally speaking, they are almost the Black Swan to my idyllic carbohydrate choice (whole sprouted grains).  What can you do.  

Kinda reminds me of grandma hair.

The best part about this pasta, is the fact that it takes all of 5 minutes to cook.  Seriously.  Because the pasta is so stringy, once added to boiling water it’s done before you can even set the table.  I added frozen corn and for the ultimate lazy girl sauce, I used Sabra spinach and artichoke hummus. 

I used a LOT of hummus. 

Swirly, swirly. 

It was probably the fastest meal I’ve ever made. 

And since Kyle wasn’t paying attention as I cooked dinner, he thought it involved a lot of time and effort.  Muahaha.  I’m such a good sneaky wife.

I had a plate full of carob chips for dessert, while Kyle made a ghetto ‘smore.

What is a ghetto ‘smore?  Watch and learn.

Break off parts of a Snickers bar and place it on a halved graham cracker.

Put it in the microwave…and watch for melting.

Not quite done yet.

Back in the micro…

There it is.

   

Who’s excited!?!?

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Winter in March

In November I was bragging about how great the 80 degree weather was.  And then in January I was happily soaking up the sun’s rays on the beach.  And now it’s March and the weather is cold and dreary!?  What gives?

Since it’s LA, I know it won’t last too long, but I have to say, these stormy skies and rain clouds aren’t fun at all.

Breakfast came really late on Saturday.  After saying goodbye to my sis (until we reunite in Europe in May), Kyle and I drove back to Santa Monica so I could get a loooong night’s sleep in preparation for Saturday’s night shift.

I didn’t get up until after 10 am, and didn’t eat breakfast until almost noon.

To get the day under way, I painted a Alvarado Street sprouted tortilla with Sunbutter.  Look how caked on it was!  I’m a modern day Van Gogh 🙂

I jazzed up the breakfast quesadilla with thinly sliced apples, then topped it with cinnamon and folded it into thirds.

If a PB&J sammie had a menage a trois with a quesadilla and a fruit basket, this would be the love child.  Except instead of peanut butter I used sunflower seed butter.

Wrap-tastic.

In between Jillian and basketball games, there was a fair amount of snacking.  I had the rest of the tropical dried fruit and two more bowls of nuts, raisins, and carob chips than pictured.  I have to say, salt is amazing.

Before heading into the office hospital, I pre-gamed with another sprouted tortilla wrap.  This one was more traditional with ‘shrooms, spinach, butternut squash and hummus.

Even though my pre-shift appetite was pretty much non-existent, I had a feeling it would kick in at some point (most likely around midnight).  The solution?  A snack-esque meal.  Leftover white bean dip with various scoop-ables fit the bill.  Snyder’s gluten-free pretzels were good, but I actually prefer the spelt ones by Newman’s or 365 brand.

I also packed some veg in the form of blanched broccoli, raw carrots and red bell peppers.  Cold crudités have never tasted so good.  They were crisp and crunchy and I craved 200 more.  Needless to say, the bean dip was gone by midnight, as expected.  The apples suffered a similar fate.

When I got home, there were leftover waffles calling my name.  They were so hearty and flavorful, this may be the best batch I’ve tried yet!  They were so tasty, they required absolutely nothing on top.

A shower and warm glass of almond milk (with a few drops of NuNaturals vanilla stevia) later, I was ready to tuck into bed.  Lucky for me, Kyle was still asleep (this was his last weekend of spring break) so I was actually able to fall into a semi-deep slumber.  I didn’t wake up until 11:30 – a personal record!

The next day was the same old, same old.

I had a big bowl of fruit, followed by a snickerdoodle cookie.

The wrapper is all I managed to capture on film because it was THAT good.  Alternate Baking Company makes a mighty fine cookie, but it wasn’t as chewy as Nana’s.

Like the rest of ABC’s cookies, this flavor is 100% vegan (sans dairy, eggs, hydrogenated oils, or artificial ingredients).  Unlike the other flavors, Snickerdoodle is one of the two wheat-free flavors (the other one is Mac the Chip).

As you can see, the ingredients are wholesome, but the nutritional stats are still pretty dessert-like.  I’m not saying I take issue with this – it is a cookie after all – but the fact that the cookie is two servings brings the totals to an area that I would pretty much designate for treats alone.  That said, it was a huge cookie!  I liked the first few bites, but by the end, there was an after-taste that was less like dessert and more like a non-wheat flour.  Yes, I know that taste.  It was like gluten free pancake batter.  Kinda weird.

Nana’s still occupies the #1 spot in my heart for sure, but I plan of trying the rest of ABC’s cookie flavors (just to be extra sure).

My odd lunch was created out of desperation.  The empty fridge turned me to the freezer…which led to a pita pizza.

Topped with Sabra’s artichoke spinach hummus and a crumbled up vegan Boca burger.  It may sound ghetto, but it was actually awesome.

I again filled the afternoon with basketball, Jillian, and couch time with my beau.  ‘Aint no shame in soaking up the rainy day inactivity, right?

Just before work, I made a grilled cheese sammie with Almond Cheddar Style veg cheese.

I’m not sure what to make of this product (by Lisanatti Foods), because it was good, but nothing like cheese.  I think I liked it, but it shouldn’t be compared to other veg “cheeses.”

Once I got over the fact that it in NO way resembled real cheese (or Daiya) I enjoyed it for what it was.  A flavorful sandwich option.  It didn’t really taste or melt like cheese, but then it didn’t taste like almonds either.  I can’t think of how to describe it.  I doubt I’d buy it regularly (kinda $$$ to be a fridge staple), but it’s a nice option every once in a while.

As far as nutritionals go, it’s a winner.  Sure, it’s a processed food, but it’s definitely in a different category from cheetos.  It should be noted that this products does contain casein (however, I had no GI reactions).

Anyway, with that, I was off to work.  Another weekend spent in scrubs and PJs…

Do you eat breakfast in your pajamas or work clothes?  Or does it vary?

I avoid doing anything in my scrubs.  I ditch them within seconds of stepping foot in the door and almost always shower before I do anything else (especially eating).  However, when I work day shifts, I’m typically at work for breakfast and therefore in scrubs.

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Beer, pizza, and insomnia

Monday started bright and early (well, if we are being technical about it, I never went to bed Sunday night…sooo…I guess it started at the stroke of midnight?).  Whatever.  I got home around 8 am and immediately showered, put on my PJs, and started some oats on the stove. 

 

I added a chopped gala to cook with the oats.  By the way, this was a pretty hefty batch (in the 2 cup range).

Can you believe this bowl was only half the yield?  I was feeling crazy so I decided to bust open a brand spankin’ new jar of nutbutter to add in.

Drumroll please…

Sunbutter!

I can’t even tell you how thrilling this was to find.  I randomly stumbled upon this company’s booth at Expo West, and after seeing Sunbutter throughout the blog world, I couldn’t help but try a sample (or three).  I tried creamy, natural, and natural chunky and (obviously) wound up licking the spoon full of natural sunbutter clean.

And that, my friends, is how sunflower seed butter found it’s way into my life.  I am determined to try every single flavor now.  It is so good!  I can’t really think of a good way to describe it – it tastes like ground up sunflower seeds.

Sunflower seeds are packed with Vitamin E, which is the body’s primary fat-soluble antioxidant.  By neutralizing free radicals, it’s anti-inflammatory effects can result in reduced symptoms for chronic conditions like asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis (read: conditions where free radicals and inflammation are the key causes).  The antioxidant properties of Vitamin E have also been shown to significantly reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.  I don’t want to get too scientific on you, but Vitamin E prevents free radicals from oxidizing cholesterol (and cholesterol can only adhere to blood vessel walls after it’s been oxidized). 

Cardiovascular disease prevention AND delicious flavor?!  Win win.

 

I love healthy food that tastes like it’s sinfully good.

After my second bowl, I found my eyes drooping.  Somehow I never made it to the bedroom though, and an hour later I woke up to the ladies of The View screaming.  Yikes.  I can’t imagine a worse alarm clock.

For second breakfast (because I always wake up from naps feeling jittery and hungry), I had a bowl of Love Grown cocoa goodness.

Kyle got home around noon and all hopes of getting more than an hour of sleep went out the window.  He studied quietly while I organized the apartment. 

Then I snacked my way to the bottom of this hummus.  Serving sizes shmerving schmizes.  I thought an afternoon jog would pep me up, but my run was pretty uninspired.  I’m bored with my running music. 

Because I worked night shift the previous night, I was ready for dinner at 5 pm.  Early bird special?  Sure why not.  I asked Kyle if he wanted pizza and he was all about it.

His and hers.

The crust was made of these three ingredients.

Bud light pizza with 3 cups flour, 1 can of beer, and 1 tsp baking powder.

And voila!  Dough!  Mix and form into crust.

Unlike last time, I decided to make two personal pizzas rather than one HUGE pie.

Doughy. 

These were pretty massive for the term “personal pizza” to still apply, but you know how my appetite is.  I baked them at 350 for 15 minutes, after which they were nicely browned and had risen a bit. 

Kyle suddenly changed his tune about eating dinner at a senior citizen hour once he smelled the hot-from-the-oven dough.

To start, I added red sauce, fresh tomatoes, and bell peppers to each of our pizzas.

A good solid red and orange colored base.

 

After this, our pizzas went in pretty different directions…

His went cheesy, while mine went noochy.

Cheddar & parmesan.

Baked eggplant & nutritional yeast.

Back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Ding! 

Dinner time :)  His was perfectly melted.

But my pizza wasn’t quiiiiite ready. 

There we go! [Nothing is complete without hummus]

Now doesn’t that look yummy!

Kyle was pretty stoked on his too…a meal well worth the study break. 

Would you believe me if I said we both cleaned our plates?  Because that’s exactly what happened. 

Taking photos only slowed me down momentarily…and then I was back at it. 

Chowing piece by piece.

Sorry for the insane number of photos…it was so pretty and the lighting was outstanding.  Daylight savings has me loving the extra sunny time.

Post pizza beer belly left me feeling perfectly satisfied. 

More than anything, I wanted to go to bed right then (despite the fact that it was 6 pm and still light out).  My body wasn’t into it.  I think my body and I have differing opinions on what’s considered a proper amount of sleep.  Ideally, I’d like 6 hours.  My body, on the other hand, considers 3-4 hours a perfectly fine amount of snoozing.  WTF!?!  So infuriating. 

 

To help soothe myself into a sleepy mood, I made a big mug of ginger tea.  I tried this stuff at the Natural Foods Expo this last weekend and loved it.  However, when I went to make it myself from the sample packet, I obviously jacked up the ratio of water to mix.

It was SO effing strong, I thought my nose hairs were going to singe off just bringing the mug to my lips.  No joke.  I choked down a couple of sips before pouring the rest out.  Oops!

I turned to a Nana’s ginger cookie instead.

 

I like the purity of the ingredients, although I’m getting a bit tired of seeing tapioca flour in all gluten free foods. 

I ate half of it and saved the rest for later.

 

KIDDING!!!! Ha.  Like I could ever.  Nana’s are the most deliciously soft cookies on the planet.  It would be against every fiber of my being to not finish the entire thing.

Unfortunately, this cookie didn’t quite quench my sweet tooth, but rather awakened it from it’s slumber more drowsy state (I think my sweet tooth suffers from insomnia as well).

My little plate of sweets included dried tropical fruits and various Sunspire chocolate goodies.

With a satiated tummy, I was finally able to get my zzzzs on.  

How many hours do you sleep on a typical night?  Weekends? 

[I think your answers are going to make me feel really bad about my sleep habits] 

When I work day shift, I average 4 hours, but night shifts get me all crazy out of whack so there’s no real pattern.  Eventually I catch up on weekends with a nice 8-10 hour block though. 

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Mostly brownies

I haven’t had very many interesting things to share.  The weather went from shorts and tank-top temperatures to bundle in layers degrees.  Don’t you gauge the season by outfits, too?

I still fit a 4 mile run in yesterday between stuffing my face with brownies.

One, two, buckle my shoe unbuckle my belt…

Okay, okay, I didn’t JUST have brownies (as if you’d judge me either way).

I had a huge bowl of nearly-spilling-over-the-edge oatmeal.

• 1 cup whole rolled oats
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• dash of cinnamon
• drip of NuNaturals’ vanilla stevia

Perfection

My evening was uneventful.  Kyle and his waffle team are working furiously on their big presentation this week, so I was left to my own devices for the entire day.  Amazingly, I got very little accomplished, unless you count clearing out the DVR.

Dinner was simple.

Sweet potato stuffed with hummus (a new flavor!) with a steamed kale and carrot salad and falafel crumbled on top.

One half of the sweet tater had the last bit of the old Sabra flavor (roasted pinenut), while the other side had the new kind (spinach and artichoke).

This was confusing for my taste buds.  It really didn’t have enough chickpea or tahini flavor going on and for me, it was mostly like a spinach artichoke dip.  It was good, but shouldn’t be categorized as a hummus.  Make no mistake, I enjoyed it thoroughly (and definitely added heaps more after taking the photo).

For dessert, I opted to nix the brownies (lest I OD in under 24 hours), and chose a new-to-me Clif MOJO.

Sweet & Salty Trail Mix Bar…mmmm…

These bars are perfect in satisfying either kind of craving – salty AND sweet.  The crushed pieces of pretzels and mini butterscotch chips are drool inducing.  Try as I might to slowly savor the bar, I still scarfed it in under a minute.

I may have to attempt a home-made replication of this soon.  It was friggin’ awesome.

After dessert, I packed up my work food for the day and started settling into my PM routine.

Work was work.

Jillian-ed it up with The Shred at 4:30 am then broke the fast with coffee and an apple.

Work breakfast was oats.  Nothing too fancy, just strawberries & cinnamon.

My main course for lunch was steamed kale topped with spaghetti squash and vegan Field Roast (and subsequently doused in Bragg’s liquid aminos).

Oops, I still owe you all that Field Roast review, huh?  Ok, I’ll get on that 🙂

Don’t tell Kyle, but me and Nana are starting to have an affair.  This is my 3rd in a week.  😉  Ginger is one of the best flavors.

Whoever is the grandchild of “Nana” is SO effing lucky.  These cookies are out of control.  I’ve tried every flavor and they are all perfect.  Chewy, gooey, and melt in your mouth sweet.

Best of all they don’t shoot your blood glucose through the roof.  Always a plus.  My only complaint is that the serving size is 1/2 a cookie.  Because it’s BS to think that anyone could eat half of one of these babies and call it a day.  I dare you.

The rest of the snack pack included raw cauliflower and carrots with Sabra hummus, two apples, and mucho candied ginger.

I have to share a photo that I took on my lunch break (with my phone’s camera) because, well, you’ll see…

I’m sorry about the quality (my blackberry is certainly no iPhone) and the odd angle (I was trying to be semi-incognito), but as you can see here, some mighty fine characters hang around the hospital.  Allow me to draw attention to his plastic gold stunna shades, his ghetto phabulous chain necklace, and his beach blanket (a pile of stripped clothes).  The best part of all, however, which is sadly not caught on film, is that this was mid-exercise.  Mid-crunches, to be specific.  Let me tell you, the guy had spectators.  It was a scene.  Anyway.  I thought you may enjoy it.  It definitely made my lunch break that much more entertaining.

When I got home I did some damage to the brownies and eventually contemplated dinner.  More on that later…

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Work, Presidents, Costco

I was going to try and throw down a quick recap of this “holiday” weekend, but alas, my ramblings got the best of me…it may be picture dense, but it’s not so quick. 

Saturday was the main event, if you will, but Friday was pretty sweet too. 

Kyle and I made a Costco run – always dangerous when you’re a foodie living on a student budget.

Key purchases worth noting…

Almond Butter (this jar is the size of my head)

Sabra hummus x3 including spinach artichoke and roasted pine nut flavors plus individual mini tubs (bets on how many months days these will last?)

Crackers, chips, and bars, bars, bars (Clif, Kashi, Mrs. May’s, Chewy – you name it, we now have it)

And don’t even get me started on the massive amounts of produce! 

Sometimes Costco’s baby bell peppers are on the weaker side, but this bag was atypically large with a fantastic crunch.  [J’adore]

I could hardly fit everything in the fridge!  In addition to the bulk baby bell peppers and blueberries, there was a block of cheddar cheese so massive that it could double as gym equipment. 

 

The fruit basket was a whole other story.  Avocados, bananas, and galas, oh my!

I resisted temptation and didn’t buy the uber cheap crate of strawberries because they weren’t organic, but the pesticide-free blueberries were fair game. 

How is it that a gum and toilet paper run turned into a $250 trip?  Mysterious. 

So back to the eats…I clearly helped myself to some hummus lovin’ for lunch.

Wraptastic.

Alvarado Street sprouted tortilla, Sabra hummus, spinach, bell peppers, and raw shredded cauliflower

What else does hummus go with?

Honestly, what doesn’t hummus go with?

I’ve been having a damn near impossible time finding Sabra in stores, so that’s why I found it necessary to stock up on enough to feed an army (as if I need an excuse).  Still, it’s comforting to know that should disaster strike, I’m good for a while. 

Side note: why are the LA Whole Foods only carrying one kind of hummus nowadays?  I’m not okay with this.  It has drastically reduced my (previously) record breaking chickpea consumption. 

Dinner was a seitan stir-fry that I was able to throw together in less than 10 minutes. 

Home-made log seitan plus frozen stir-fry veggies…tossed in a pan with Bragg’s liquid aminos.  No more.  No less.

After a romantic candlelit dinner with my boo, we were joined by my homegirl Alene for some wine and chit chat.

We got a year long wine club membership to MacRostie as a wedding present and this Cab was the first we’ve tried.  Wow.  I am a Sonoma wine snob after all…  🙂

 

Totally delish.  It’s bold flavor rocked my face.

Saturday started with an “o” meal of oat bran and whole rolled oats.  Sorry that it’s less than thrilling, but not every letter has an appetizing letter that corresponds. 

The AB does add to the excitement though, yes?  MaraNatha is yum.

I heaped it on like I was storing up insulation for the winter.

Before working out in the afternoon I did some baking…and snacking.

[With such delish dough, these activities really were one in the same]

Then Jillian got me sweaty and Kyle forced me into normal clothes.

Sunday was a detox day.  Back to back wine nights is so not like me! (read: I’m old and can’t handle such frequent boozing)

 

I had a hearty breakfast (oats, peanut butter, and a chopped apple).

Followed by a hearty lunch…and a half-hearty workout

Every veg in the apartment salad (BN squash, spinny, bell pepps, carrots, cauli, yadda yadda topped in heaps of hummus). 

Five pounds.  Yes. 

Post-lunch and post-workout, I played in the kitchen (again).  I’m on a roll folks.

Sorry I keep teasing you with this granola recipe.  I swear it will be coming soon!  This once full tupperware was the perfect afternoon snack.

Anyway, Sunday’s lazying about all led up to a 7 pm call time.

Night shift. 😦

I packed the above (leftovers from North End Caffe) with roasted butternut squash, apples, and dried fruit.

Add in teas by the kilo, and that’s my night in a nutshell.

I ate shortly before midnight and the hours rolled on without incident. 

I got home by 8 am and guess what!?!  I went straight to bed!  [Okay I showered first but still – I actually fell asleep and didn’t wake up until 11:45 am]

This is progress.

It helped that Kyle was still asleep and so crawling under the covers didn’t mean missing out on normal people awake time.

As you’d expect, I woke up ravenous. 

I fueled the beast with AB toast before contemplating what (more substantial) breakfast lunch I should make. 

This MaraNatha almond butter is shovel-down-by-the-spoonful good.  I need to slow my roll or the Costco sized jar is going to be empty by the end of the week!

My second course was a bowl of granola with bloobs and apples.

Oh sweet heaven, this stuff is divine.

No napping occurred in the PM (sadly).  I did attempt a beach front jog that left me pretty invigorated. 

Come 6 pm I wound up back in scrubs and headed back to the hospital for a second shift.  My stomach was being kinda questionable, so I didn’t really have a full meal before leaving. 

I did grab a couple of slices of pumpkin banana bread before hitting the road, though. 

I struggled through the first few hours of work, feeling pretty yucky. 

I had an apple around 11 pm, but didn’t feel like anything else at all.  Fortunately I had Yogi stomach ease tea with me, which helped sooth my system. 

 

By 1 am I was starving, so even though my GI tract wasn’t game, my priorities were all about ending the growling.  More fiber probably wasn’t the best dinner option, but it’s all I had…leftover lentil loaf with butternut squash on a bed of spinach. 

Booyah.  Work weekend done.

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Working through the funk

Work on Thursday left me mentally drained.  I could hardly muster the energy to share the lentil loaf recipe (but it’s effing amazing so I found a way).

Sigh.  I’m still in a funk but I’ll spare you all and simply show off my packed food.

When pears are on their last legs, I get worried that transport will be the kiss of death, and so instead of risking mush upon arrival, I go a different (safer) route.

Chopping it up and adding it on top of oatmeal seems to be the best option.

The layers below were simply oats with cinnamon.

Que mas?  The usual suspects…dried fruit, an apple, candied ginger, and a random hodgepodge that I threw together totally haphazardly.

This will seem weird.  I’m the queen of random combos, and this even seemed weird to me.  Quinoa, raw cauliflower “rice,” leftover BBQ-ed corn, carrots (and dried cranz as an afterthought).

Kyle BBQ-ed last week and threw some corn on for me…and I only just got around to eating it.

I packed up some bean dip to in at lunch time.

I made this with the extra beans from the lentil loaf and the garbanzo goop that I’ve been keeping around to salvage somehow.

It tasted like a combo of hummus and bean dip.  Garbanzo flour – while not ideal for hummus – is definitely good for making things thick.

Thick hummus is the only way to do it.  Not J Lo thick, Kirstie Alley thick.

The salad was far tastier than I thought it would be as I was making it.  In fact, the bean dip kinda brought it all together.  It took almost 20 minutes to eat, too, which is practically unheard of.  I love big a$$ salads that take my whole lunch break to dominate.  In the end, I prevailed and my hunger did not.  Win.

For dessert I brought another Kookie Karma treat.

Holistic Chocolate Chip

Because I forgot to take a photo of the last kookie I ate, I felt obligated to at least attempt to document this one.  However, since it was consumed on my lunch break, I was forced to use my camera phone.  Sooo…enjoy the 4 pixel picture?  Ha.

But seriously, these are deeeelish.  I’m pretty sure the almond butter is what makes them so extraordinary.  Plus you can tell they are hand-made.  They just seem like so much care was put into them.  I love.  Big fan.

[Yes, those are snowman socks – don’t hate]

Anyway.  I really was exhausted when I got home, and Kyle was out with MBA peeps so I had nobody to pull me out of my work mindset.  I’m pretty good at leaving work at work, but sometimes things happen that I can’t shake.

I showered and things felt better.  Then I made dinner and things started slipping back to normal.

Peanut butter does make everything better.

Especially when used to make something typically savory (like brown rice) into a sweet dish.

Banana + almond milk + peanut butter + brown rice

Like oats, but with a crunchy chewy rice texture, and a milk & banana cereal ratio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s how you start to de-funkify yourself.  It helps to have a husband and sister who you can endlessly vent to as well…

How do you best switch gears and mentally shift away from work crap?

Blasting music and working out are generally my go-to options.

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The proof is in the pudding

They say evidence is damning.  And I have to agree.  My camera has been revealing some of these truths. 

Here’s proof…

…that I should always cook oats on the stove or eat them raw 

…that working three shifts in a row can cause you to add extra zeros (at least it was the microwave – which has far less disastrous consequences than a patient’s meds!)

…that everything is salvageable (just add nut butter)

…that I will never get bored of apples

…that you can make quinoa “ghetto”

…that my patients are turning me into a 90 year old

If it seems like I worked every day this week, it’s because basically I did.  Kyle was out of town, so I just put my nose to the grindstone and packed as many shifts into the week as possible, including both weekend days.

I really really dislike doing so many shifts in a row, and by Sunday I felt like a walking zombie. 

I started the day with a 4:30 am workout, followed by a deconstructed smoothie.  The tupperware on the left had frozen tropical fruit (mango, papaya, pineapple, and strawberries) plus fresh blueberries and plain greek yogurt while the tupperware on the right had apple slices.  Coffee #1 of several million is visible in the background. 

I also had a couple leftover pumpkin banana mini muffins with carob chips on top.  The freezer is another life saver in food prepping by the way. 

My lunch consisted of two course.  The first was quinoa, roasted butternut squash, and cornmeal & coconut coated tofu.

The second course was an eggy frittata thing. 

I made this up on the fly because I was in the mood for a salad, but wanted something warm and easy of my GI tract.  Eggs are a simple thing for me to digest, I just rarely eat them because I rarely want to eat them. 

I started with the raw ingredients that I would typically use in a salad, including spinach, bell peppers, and roasted veggies (fingerling potatoes and parsnips).

How to turn a salad into a frittata?

Add one (organic free-range) egg mixed with 1/8 cup plain soymilk and microwave for ~ 3 minutes. 

Easy peasy egg dish.

I also had this home-made trail mix to snack on throughout the morning (it was gone long before lunch rolled around).

When I got off work, I was too exhausted for words.  I drove home listening to my mom and sister on speakerphone because I was too brain dead to contribute to the conversation. 

Dinner was anything but glamorous, but definitely delicious. 

I used up the last of the quinoa with (what else?) roasted butternut squash.  But then, I completely killed the classy nature of the meal with some thawed vegan Boca burgers (Costco, what whaaat) topped with America’s favorite condiments (BBQ sauce and ketchup).

Fresh meets frozen.  If nothing else, this is simply more proof that I am owning my delightfully imbalanced approach to eating.

For dessert, I dug two of Mama Pea’s gingersnap cookies out of the freezer.  These are so flippin’ good.  I have to store them in the freezer otherwise I’d devour them all in one sitting.  But we all know I love desserts 🙂

Before I go, the Doctor’s Best giveaway winner is Robin.  I wish I had enough to share with all my fellow IBS-ers because everyone had such amazing and compelling stories.  It’s like an IBS support group up in hurrr. 

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Orange you glad…

You didn’t work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? 

I didn’t really mind it, since I got to celebrate early with my family. 

On the 24th, I woke up early to sweat out a quick 20 minute Shred, which I followed up with a hearty tupperware full of overnight oats.

I used 1/2 cup rolled oats and then mixed in an almost equal portion of canned pumpkin with only an itty bit of water.  This created a crazy thick consistency as it “gelled” overnight. 

Other goodies included Tropical Traditions shredded coconut, dried cherries, and NuNatural liquid stevia. 

Dried cherries are so so good and they make a normal bowl of oats taste like the holidays when combined with other sweet ingredients.  For some reason I always think of Starbucks’ Bliss Bars.

At work, I had these orange eats.  Not a joke, this color scheme was actually a complete accident. 

I made this butternut mash using 1/100th of my squash supply.  It was so simple and so good. 

Rather than roast the squash I left it in the slow cooker all day, which resulted in some seriously mushy squash.  Precisely what I was hoping for!  I didn’t even have to use a food processor or blender to puree it. 

You could probably steam it if you don’t have a slow cooker. 

After separating the flesh from the skin, I added nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and a dash of coconut milk.  Any non-dairy milk would do, though.  I didn’t measure anything and basically played mix-master until I got a nice cheesy, savory flavor.  The result was a vegan squash mash that happens to be way healthier and more nutritionally dense than mashed potatoes! 

*When I say more nutritionally dense, I mean it too.  Nutritional yeast contains B12, and it is actually one of the only vegetarian sources of this vitamin.  Obviously if you are a vegan, this is a key supplementation requirement, so unless you are consuming massive amounts of nooch (a completely legit possibility), you may want to consider taking a B12 supplement for (since B12 is really only found in animal sources).  There are foods that are fortinfied with B12, too, so just be sure to do your research.

Moving on…

Oh hey, what do we have here?

Orange you glad I packed a meal with some non-orange food? 

Orange you glad I have such a lame sense of humor?  😉

If you are looking at the above photo with confused wonder, you wouldn’t be the only one.  Salad?  What is this foreign thing?  Sadly, my body reacted similarly to the green invasion.  Eek! 

After weeks of chocolate, sweets, and treats, I’m pretty sure my stomach had no idea what to do with this lettuce concoction.  Not a good sign.  The salad had spinach, carrots, blanched broccoli, and dried cranberries with Bragg’s liquid aminos (added after the photo). 

 

I also packed NutsOnline’s raw Acai Blueberry Superfood Cereal for my second breakfast (aka my work breakfast).  Holy fabulous ingredients!

 

It took me a while to identify why this cereal tasted so familiar and then I realized…

The coconut flavor, the crispy crunchy texture…

 

It tasted JUST like my hippie-roons.  Yum. Yum. YUM! 

I definitely need to buy a bigger portion now because that sampler completely piqued my taste buds.  So good.  I love when cereal is crunchy without being hard, and since I’m rather particular about granola and cereal (especially ones with clusters), I get really excited when foods surpass my expectations.  This cereal is RAW and it still maintained a beautiful crunch.  No stale texture whatesoever.  I’m not sure the acai came through, but the blueberry flavor was delish.  All in all, this cereal gets 5 stars…and NutsOnline continues to impress me with their quality products! 

After work, I had some boring, non-blogworthy food.

Artisana’s raw almond butter packet sandwiched between two pieces of Alvarado Street sprouted bread. 

Not the least bit gourmet, but totally yummy.

As always, the packet needed some kneading before it was soft enough to squeeze out.  I can’t get over how good Artisana’s products are – and they are raw!  No unnecessary processing, no additives, just pure almonds. 

The aftermath of dessert looked something like this.  Sigh.  Because one wasn’t quite good enough…

Home-made Reese’s anyone?  Vegan peanut butter cups with chocolate fudge casing sounds much fancier, doesn’t it? 

After the peanut butter cup was done, I still wanted more, so I went for a cranberry/coconut fudge cup. 

I’m clearly on a dessert kick.  The holidays are a nice excuse to have multiple servings of sweets.  Santa doesn’t care if you get sick from too much chocolate and neither do I.  Orange you glad about that?  :) 

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