It's Friday!

I have always liked the totally boring, good for you cereals. The only ingredients in this shredded wheat are wheat, and Vitamin E added to preserve freshness. On top of the shredded wheat are: blackberries, half of a banana, a handful of raw/unsalted peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds, a good sprinkle of chia seeds, drizzle of agave, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The other half of the banana that didn't fit in the bowl just hung out on the side and got a good dusting of chia seeds as well. A bit of almond milk finishes it off.

Since the protein question is asked so much, I'd like to point out that this unassuming cereal breakfast has 15 grams of protein in it.

Buying the CSA Kids' Love with Vegan Cookies

So, as I've mentioned before, our CSA is through our local university, and it's run by students. They're awesome kids and they do a great job, so I decided since I'm always take, take, taking, I should give back in our relationship. I made them vegan peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips. The chocolate chips were made out of a Mayan dark chocolate bar that I chopped up. The spicy chocolate was really, really good with the peanut butter. I got the recipe from ChooseVeg.com, and I modified it by adding cinnamon, the chocolate chips, and enough unsweetened coconut milk to make it not as crumbly, it was quite dry even before I added the chocolate. Here's the recipe-

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

* 1 1/2 cups flour
* 1 cup peanut butter
* 1/4 cup oil
* 3/4 cups sugar
* 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, roll the dough into 2-inch balls, place on an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Could it get any easier?

Here's the link- http://www.chooseveg.com/display_recipe.asp?recipe=236

These are about 2 inches in diameter, and they came out crumbly on the outside but moist on the inside. I definitely suggest adding whatever milk sub you like to use. Bobby and I each had two, and then I packed up the rest to take to the CSA gang. I don't know about anyone else, but it's always nerve wracking for me to make sure that if I'm going to make food for someone, it needs to be *good*, so maybe it will plant a seed of "hmm... that tastes awesome, cookies don't need milk/eggs/butter at all!". There are already so many misconceptions for vegan/vegetarian food being bland, or "missing something". This recipe was simple and quick, and it's going in the keeper file.

A Light Day

Yesterday was one of those days were nothing sounded appetizing and I wasn't that hungry. For breakfast I made a smoothie of frozen strawberries, fresh blackberries, a banana, a cup of raw swiss chard from our CSA, a few spoonfuls of fresh ground no sugar/salt almond butter, a handful of chia seeds, and a sprinkle of cinnamon and unsweetened coconut milk. I nursed this for about an hour while I read the news online. Even if I'm not hungry in the morning, I have to eat something or else I crash later.



Random little bits leftover from taco night. I had a bowl of about 1/2 a cup of black beans and 1/2 a cup of sauteed baby bellas, orange bells, zucchini, and squash. Sprinkled the remaining chopped red onions/avocados/mangoes and some chipotle salsa on top. I ate this dip-like with some whole wheat crackers leftover from our camping trip.



I have finally tried Sunshine Burgers, and it was like seeing a double rainbow. Ok, maybe not *that* intense. Anyway, as I've mentioned before I think soy is a perfectly healthy food, but I'm not trying to eat processed soy this and that and the other every single day, and not even every other day. So I was happy to try these out since they are minimally processed and have a simple, short list of ingredients, and I thought they might join Field Roast as a favorite soy free product. This sandwich is a garden herb flavored sunshine burger on sprouted whole wheat bread, with raw: squash, orange bell pepper, tomatoes, red onions, and shredded swiss chard. I spread about half an avocado on top, along with some Vegenaise, horseradish mustard, and a good grind of fresh black pepper. I really, really liked this burger. As it admits on the box, it is not meant to taste/act like a meat substitute such as a Boca Burger, and it doesn't. It was almost like a differently flavored falafel in texture/taste, but still with a nice dense texture to it. I will definitely be eating more of these!

Tacos

After the wraps a few nights ago, I was craving crunchy tacos. These are organic, blue corn tacos, stuffed with: sauteed orange bell pepper, squash, zucchini, and baby bellas, seasoned with fresh garlic, cumin, red pepper, salt, pepper, cayenne, and a bit of ginger. Sprinkled on top are: tomatoes, red onions, mangoes, avocados, chipotle salsa, and shredded rainbow swiss chard from our CSA.

The black beans were plain, from a can, so I simmered them in fresh garlic, red onions, cumin, and about a tbsp of raspberry lime vinaigrette. These are topped with more mangoes/avocados/tomatoes. The rice was some cheap-o Spanish rice in a bag leftover from a while back, and it was pretty much terrible and didn't deserve to be on the same plate with tacos and black beans such as these. I took one bite and didn't eat anymore. Processed/boxed food tastes even worse when sitting next to fresh food. Sorry for calling you out like that rice. It's just the way it is.

Sushi for Dinner

I had a job interview 40 minutes away Tuesday morning, so I had to be up early. I ate a lil' blue teacup full of tropical fruit crumble for breakfast. Oh, and then I had refried bean nachos for lunch at Taco Bell. Not my most shining moments, but I was rushed and late heading out the door, and after my interview let out a Taco Bell was *right there* and I was starved. I drank a ton of water and made up for it with a healthy dinner- lots of veggie packed sushi and green tea at our favorite local spot, Mt. Fuji.



We started off with vegetable dumplings. I love these. They're not greasy and slimy like some dumplings, and the different sauces all over the plate are so good. I had a green tea because they make theirs from the powder, the way it should be :)



Next up is a standard veggie roll. I really like this roll, even though it's very simple.



Mmmm, the "Heart Attack Roll". Bobby and I have never been to a sushi place that has so many vegetarian options that are also so complex. This roll usually comes with shrimp tempura, but we always sub asparagus for it instead. Inside is asparagus, cucumber, avocado, and jalapenos, on top is a chopped mixture of mango and avocados covered in a spicy mango sauce and topped with sesame seeds. The sweet and spicy mix of this is amazing.



Last but certainly not least is the chef's newest vegetarian creation, "Buddha's Feast". This roll has a lemony fresh flavor to it. Inside we have sweet potato, squash, cucumber, avocado, and a pickled vegetable, name escapes me as I type. It is wrapped in a thin layer of tofu, and topped with a dollop of lemony guacamole and sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

We really love this place because the guy that owns it is vegan. They know what it means, so we're not getting fish eggs on top of our veggie roll. So many places lean heavily on cream cheese/mayo when it comes to veggie options, and the creativity and complexity of this place makes me happy.

Wraps

I had a few things to use up in the fridge after our trip- spaghetti squash, tomatoes, mango, avocados, zucchini, and a red bell pepper- so I did some lazy wraps. This is (very, very loosely) inspired by the spaghetti squash recipe in "Veganomicon", but about one million times less involved :)Basically I baked a spaghetti squash, and threw it in with a can of red kidney beans, a zucchini, a red bell pepper, tomatoes, and a yellow squash. All of this was sauteed in 4 cloves of garlic and olive oil and seasoned with a vegetarian chili packet. I added two generous fingerfuls of nutritional yeast, mixed it all up, and let it simmer to thicken up into a taco filling consistency. This mixture was spooned into a large swiss chard leaf- I wish you could see the hot pink veins!- and topped with chopped mangoes, tomatoes, avocados, a spoonful of chipotle hot sauce, and a sprinkle of cilantro. On the side is the remaining base of acorn squash/mango soup, to which I added two big handfuls of more chard sauteed in lime juice, cumin, and olive oil. The soup is seasoned with a tbsp of raspberry vinaigrette, more cumin, pepper, ginger, and garlic salt. I toasted the spaghetti squash seeds in the oven with some olive oil and pepper, and tossed those on top. They were delicious and really made the soup.


Here it is all wrapped up. I thought it looked like a wrinkly caterpillar. I only ate about half of it, and half of the soup. It felt really good to get back in my kitchen and make a veggie/fiber/nutrient/protein rich homecooked meal after all the road meals.

Road Trips, Sight Seeing, and Camping

Deciding on the spur of the moment to go to South Dakota for a big camping/sight seeing weekend was a great move. We had so much fun, and there was way more to see than just Mt. Rushmore- so much in fact that we had to break our trip in two, one trip this weekend, and a future trip to check out Badlands Nat'l Park when it's a bit cooler. I took pictures of the proper, sit down meals we ate, but I decided to leave room on my memory card for things we were doing/see, instead of eating :) Other than these meals we had standard road trip/camping fare- trail mix, crackers and peanut butter, fruit, fruit smoothies from convenience stores, granola bars, and some blueberry banana whole wheat muffins I made on the way out.




Boca burger at a diner in town on the way out Friday evening- lettuce/tomato/pickle/mustard/ketchup. Fries on the side, water to drink.



After a crappy continental breakfast that I ended up not eating, we checked out Mt. Rushmore and then headed to Crazy Horse Memorial. After exploring around there we took our chances with the onsite restaurant. It was just like cafeteria food. But it was surprisingly not overpriced. I had pasta with tomato sauce and garlic bread, Bobby had the Gardenburger. I had a few bites of his meal, he didn't want any of mine- smart move.



Native American fry bread for dessert. This was not vegan. It also wasn't very good, and probably not worth the calories.



We played around in Custer State Park and checked out the buffalo, and then we made camp on the prairie at Wind Cave Nat'l Park. Bobby cooked, and it was my favorite meal of the trip.



Simple, healthy vegan food. Red beans and rice, stoneground wheat crackers, a banana, and lots of water. We made a fire, there was a full moon, and we could see the stars. The next morning we were 20 stories underground checking out Wind Cave, and on our way out of South Dakota we checked out the Mammoth Site. My battery was dead by the time we hit Wyoming, so no pics of the much relished Indian food upon our return home.

On the food front, I admit that this was not a well planned trip because, well, we didn't decide to go until a day and a half before we went, so really nothing was planned except for the hotel room we booked Friday night. I had the foresight to make the muffins, and I made a huge fruit salad.. which we forgot, whoops! Bobby and I strive for 100% of our diet to be vegan, but we are certainly not perfect. So that means that yes, sometimes we're going to eat fry bread and honey, and sometimes we might eat a BK Veggie Burger on the road when we're traveling- which is not vegan. Then again, we drove a car on our road trip, and tires are not vegan. The pamphlets we received at the Nat'l Parks are not vegan due to the coating of the glossy pages. We paid entrance to Nat'l Parks, who have policies of allowing hunting to weed out animal populations, and the buffalo we were excited to see are auctioned off for slaughter. The important thing, for us, is doing the best we can, and not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. After many years as vegetarians we switched to vegan last September, and I find it gets easier and easier. A fear of not being able to be a perfect vegan always kept me from trying, and I'm glad I got over that and decided to do it.

Thank you CSA, or, Baked Tofu Makes My Night

Today was the CSA pickup. We get ours through the local university agriculture program, so not only is it local, organic, in season produce, but it directly supports our local university and helps students get hands on experience. This is literally only *one fourth* of the rainbow swiss chard we got, in addition to all sorts of other goodies. All of the colors against the green make me happy- and hungry :)



Dinner was themed around the leftover Israeli couscous with pistachios from "Veganomicon". The tofu recipe is from the same cookbook, "Tangerine Baked Tofu", but I subbed orange for the tangerine as suggested and made several other changes to the marinade. It soaked all day, and then I baked it until it got really chewy and meaty. It's spiced with orange zest and juice, lime juice, maple syrup, soy sauce, cumin and allspice, and some other random things I added and can't remember. Bobby and I both declared it to be our favorite, most flavorful tofu ever. Even if you eat meat like a champ, I really suggest getting "Veganomicon", because since veggies are the star, there are tons of really unique and very tasty ways of making them.



On the side in a lil' blue teacup is a half lazy/half wingin' it soup. I got a creamy acorn squash and mango soup- Imagine brand- from Sprouts to use as a base. I added more spices and a bit of coconut milk to the base and let it simmer while I sauteed red onions and CSA swiss chard, turnips, and radishes in a bit of garlic, spiced with cumin, ginger, and black pepper. All of this sauteed mix was dumped into the soup base, making a very thick, stew like greens soup. I added a handful of chopped walnuts just because, well, walnuts taste good and they're good for you, so why not? I liked the convenience of the soup base, but I'd definitely recommend using it as you would Campbell's Cream of Fill in the Blank- it's a great, creamy base, but needs to be gussied up.

Incidentally, I *hated* tofu, no really, that isn't too strong of a word, until I baked it at home myself. A lot of restaurants leave it very soft, spongy, and "cubey", whereas I prefer mine very thin, chewy, and almost kind of dry unless it's in miso soup. So, if you think you hate tofu, give a try cooking it at home, after it soaks in a complex marinade overnight. It really makes a huge difference.

Lots of Fruit and Veggies!

Breakfast: Mmmmm fruit bowl. This is a mix of mango, kiwi, peach, plum, and orange, with fresh mint and a sprinkle of ginger, topped with a raw, unsalted trail mix of sunflower seeds, coconut slices, peanuts, dates, almonds, and walnuts, all finished off with a sprinkle of chia seeds.



The other half of breakfast- 1/4 a cup of steel cut oats, soaked overnight, then cooked in water. Mixed with- half of a chopped up peach, a handful of unsalted, raw walnuts, a drizzle of agave, splash of vanilla, and cinnamon. Topped with about a tbsp of almond butter (no sugar/no salt) and chia seeds. I ended up only eating about 2/3 of this, I always forget how filling oatmeal is when I go a bit without having it. I think the water dense fruit salad definitely played a part in filling me up as well.



Lunch- I had leftover sauteed veggies and mushrooms from last night's pizza toppings. This sandwich is STUFFED- I hollowed out the inside to fit the almost a cup's worth of veggies, plus two large swiss chard leaves from our CSA, and two very thin slices of Vegan Gourmet mozzarella. A generous grind of fresh black pepper and spicy horseradish mustard rounded it out. Most importantly, however, is the amazing bread. I picked up more of the take and bake rosemary bread from Sprouts. It's whole wheat plus it has vital wheat gluten added, so it's *loaded* with protein. This is a very small salad plate, and that serving gave me 10 grams of protein, 6% of my DV for calcium, and almost 20% of my DV for iron.



A close up. I love lunch pictures, because I can use the natural light and turn off my flash. It's a bit blurry, but I prefer to say it has "warm colors" ;)

Yesterday..

A quick sandwich breakfast as I ran out the door to my internship yesterday- almond butter (no sugar/salt) and no sugar added raspberry pomegranate jelly on sprouted whole wheat bread with no sugar. A big glass of water, and a shy unphotographed banana.

Lunch was a salad I picked up, baby greens, pickled beets, pumpkin seeds, croutons. It comes with goat cheese, which I usually have them leave out, but I really, really, really wanted some goat cheese- it's seriously the *only* thing I ever remotely "miss". So, not a vegan meal. And, interestingly enough, after I ate it I just felt kind of... heavy.



Speaking of cheese, let me start off by defending the cheese in this picture- the white chunks you see. It's Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet mozzarella, and it's *amazing*. It tastes soft and salty and mellow just like regular mozzarella, and contrary to pictorial evidence, I assure you it *does* melt. But,this time I wanted more cubed, feta like texture, so I chopped it in little tiny squares. It gave it a texture very similar to feta, and when you bit into it it melted in your mouth. Anyway, now that I've redeemed the soy cheese- try it, it's really good!- on to the details. This is the other whole wheat crust from the package I bought at Whole Foods, topped with tomato basil marinara and a mixture of red onions, green and red bell pepper, and garlic sauteed in a smidge of olive oil. On top of those veggies are sliced baby bellas, shredded soy pepperoni, and the aforementioned and much talked about soy cheese. Generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning, 12 minutes in the oven, and hello delicious. We scarfed this down pretty quickly and headed out the door for our West Coast Swing lessons. A very fun dance, I highly recommend it!

Israeli Couscous is Amazing

Tonight's dinner was a mix of an old favorite I haven't made in about two years, and a new recipe. We'll start with the old standby in the bowl, mediterranean vegetable strata from "Regina's International Vegetarian Kitchen". It's a layered veggie dish that looks deceptively simple but is a lot of work. Two onions are sauteed in olive oil until browned and then tomato paste, turmeric, lemon peel, salt and pepper are added. This mixture is spread between each layer of veggies, and topped with fresh parsley and freshly ground black pepper, repeat with more veggies, more mixture, etc. The veggies are- eggplant, green bell pepper, potato, and carrots. This layering of veggies is done in a stovetop pot, and filled about halfway with veggie broth spiked with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The top left dish is a recipe from "Veganomicon", pistachio and apricot Israeli couscous. This has Israeli couscous, toasted in fresh garlic and olive oil, then cooked in water with the zest of one lime, cumin, ground cardamom, salt, pepper, and one whole cinnamon stick. The last five minutes of cooking, you add pistachios, apricots, fresh chopped mint, and lime juice. Taking the lid off of this to remove the cinnamon stick and fluff the couscous confirmed this would be awesome before I even ate it. I loved this dish, and can't wait to eat it for lunch :)



A close up of all the goodness, about halfway through eating it.



Speaking of goodness... this tea is amazing. I love it- vanilla rooibos naturally caffeine free red tea. To me, it tastes just like vanilla coke, but less stringent and not fizzy of course. The whole bottle only has 10 calories, it's very low in sodium, and is sweetened with just a bit of brown rice syrup.

Unrelated to tea or couscous and perhaps rather morbid...as I type this up Bobby and I are listening to Feist on Pandora, and talking about how one day we're going to be old, and then one day we're going to die. I told him that's why we should have kids. To which he replied "so we'll be too busy to think about dying?". To which I replied "Exactly".

Yogurt and Cereal

Coconut milk yogurt, vanilla flavor, with a plum mixed in and overflowing, sprinkled with chia seeds.



There was about 1/3 of a cup of shredded wheat left, so I finished it off with unsweetened coconut milk, a big handful of the raw/unsalted trail mix- walnuts, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, coconut slices, raisins, dates, half a banana, sprinkle of cinnamon, sprinkle of chia seeds. Then it was out the door to yoga!

I Did Not Want to Wake Up This Morning

While that three hour nap yesterday afternoon was great and all, it left me wide awake at 1 a.m. this morning. And then the alarm went off at 7 a.m. But since Bobby works outside the house I had promised blueberry cornmeal pancakes from scratch. It's a recipe from "Veganomicon", one of my favorite (albeit fussy and involved) cookbooks. These pancakes had whole wheat flour, cornmeal, maple syrup, and lemon zest in them, among the other standard pancake dry/wet ingredients. I had two small guys with a drizzle of pure maple syrup, sprinkle of cinnamon, and chia seeds. Fruit on the side- about 1/4 of a mango, a peach, and a kiwi, also topped with more chia seeds. Unsweetened hot decaf green tea with leftover lemon zest.

As a side note- one tbsp of chia seeds gives you about 10% of your DV for calcium and iron, and 2 grams of a complete protein. They also have B vitamins and other good nutrients, and while they're pretty tasteless they gel up in liquid, which feels cool in your mouth. But, for the love of all that is good and holy, please research and buy in bulk if you can. My local Sprouts sells them for $7.99 a pound- frequently $5.99 a pound on sale- which, as you can imagine, gets you a ton of chia seeds. But I've seen them go for as high as TWENTY-FIVE dollars a pound. That's ridiculous. Search around and see if you have a health foods store that sells bulk items. Bring your own container to avoid waste, and save a load of money too :)

Out of Order Breakfast...

So, this is the breakfast I ate before all the food in the next post :) Smoothie- frozen strawberries, one banana, a cup of raw organic local chard from our CSA, about 2 tbsp of almond butter, a plum, and a splash of unsweetened coconut milk. I had about 8 oz and the rest went to Bobby. Rounded it out with 1/4 of a leftover waffle topped with about a 1/2 a tbsp of almond butter, no sugar added raspberry pomegranate jam, and chia seeds.

Yoga and Naps and Yummy Food

Lunch after yoga- whole wheat spirals tossed in a tbsp of basil pesto, topped with a mixture of zucchini, squash, green and red bell pepper, a Field Roast apple sage sausage, and fresh garlic sauteed in olive oil with the rest of the basil pesto and about half a cup of organic tomato sauce. This meal might look light, but it has 20+ grams of protein in it. Very much needed after that yoga class!



After an hour long nap turned into 3 hours (whoops!) I was hungry and needed something to get me through grocery shopping that wouldn't destroy my appetite for dinner. Enter a half a cup of shredded whole wheat, unsweetened coconut milk, topped with a trail mix of raw, unsalted cashews, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, dates, raisins, and unsweetened coconut slices, plus blueberries, chia seeds, cinnamon, and honey.



After grocery shopping we decided to go out downtown. Our downtown is amazing. Clean, safe, bike and pedestrian friendly, filled with flowers and trees and beautifully kept old buildings, and packed with local shops and restaurants. We hit up STUFT, where you can build your own burger. I ordered a Pepsi- I have no idea why, it just popped out- and it was way, way too sweet. This is a pretty small glass, and it was packed with ice, and I was still cracked out from all the HFCS and caffeine. Who knows why I did that to myself..



I built a portabella burger- it tastes like steak, and is so juicy and messy, it's awesome- on a sourdough bun with lettuce, tomatoes, onion and pickles, with spicy red pepper pesto. Sweet potato fries on the side. What I love about this place is how small their portions are. I ate the entire burger and 1/2 of the fries, and didn't feel anywhere near uncomfortable. Bobby took care of the rest of my fries :)



After STUFT we walked around downtown a bit and then hit up our favorite bar, Elliot's. It has a great atmosphere, it's never crowded, and there are comfy couches in the front where you can people watch. Bobby is a very light drinker, and I don't drink, so they gave me a Shirley Temple on the house. I took about two drinks of it but that was all the sweet I could handle after the Pepsi. We hung out for an hour or so planning some trips and then headed back home. Thanks for the free drink Elliot's. That's why you're our favorite.

Late Lazy Dinner

After the late breakfast of waffles, and then a late lunch of pizza, I wasn't hungry again until 9 p.m., and then juuuuuust barely. I ate a soy free chick'n patty on sprouted whole wheat bread with onions, tomatoes, zucchini, vegan mayo, and horseradish mustard. There was a pitiful handful of frozen chipotle fries to use up, so we baked those as well. It hit the spot, and then we spent the rest of the night being lazy and watching movies.

Pizza Downtown

Lunch at Beau Jo's pizza. Root beer, drank about half. Water, drank all of it- it was hot today!



Whole wheat crust with basil pesto, garlic, olives, red and green bell peppers, onions, artichoke hearts, vegan cheese (they use my favorite mozzarella substitute, it's divine). After the pizza we walked around downtown checking out the shops and the live music, and then we hit up the food co-op to buy some liquid in bulk- today it was white vinegar. I can't get over how happy I am to be able to buy my liquids in bulk there. They have everything from maple syrup to apple cider vinegar to olive oil and agave, almost all organic, and way cheaper by the pound than in the store. Plus, I can bring in my own container. Nerdy things like that make me happy.

Waffles and Sleeping In

Friday was crazy awful busy and super hot. I drove 45 minutes to drop off a resume/fill out an application, drove back, then hurriedly changed and scarfed down a salad- baby greens, pickled beets, pumpkin seeds, croutons, grilled portabella mushrooms- and some gatorade before I ran out the door to observe a community organizing position from 1:45 to 11:00 at night. I ate some fruit on the way to the community, walked around for 5 hours in the 97 degree heat, and then we all went out afterwards and I ate a portabella burger at almost midnight. Collapsed into bed blistered and tired at 1 a.m.

So, this morning, I slept in until 10:30, and then Bobby woke me up to this breakfast. Whole wheat made from scratch waffle topped with a tbsp of almond butter (no sugar/no salt) and a handful of blueberries. A drizzle of honey and a lot of chia seeds and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Half a banana on the side topped with more chia seeds. These waffles pull apart into four sections, and I ate three sections and all of the banana. Homemade hot cocoa on the side- unsweetened coconut milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, a tsp of of honey. This guy I live with is kind of a catch I think :)

Pizza and Salad, Made of Rainbows

After realizing just how amazing my homemade cashew cheese was, I couldn't wait to make this pizza tonight. I had good intentions of making the crust from scratch, but I stayed at my internship office a bit longer than intended and then I had to pick up our CSA share- whee!- so since Whole Foods was on the way I grabbed a thin, whole wheat pizza crust. I baked it for 3 minutes to get it a bit crispy, and then piled everything on. I started with more of the pesto from earlier, and then spread on all of the cashew cheese (aka wonder sauce). On top of that I put a mixture of zucchini, squash, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper sauteed in olive oil, fresh garlic, and seasoned with herbs de provence, cayenne, and black pepper. On top of that was a layer of uncooked baby bellas, white onions, very small shreds of vegan pepperoni, and fresh basil from the CSA. This was baked for about 10 minutes, before it completed the transition into an amazing tour de force of pizza magic- totally not an exaggeration, I promise!

Next to that vegetable awesome-sauce thin crust explosion was a salad. Made from CSA lettuce, broccoli, baby bellas, blueberries, tomatoes, avocados, and unsalted, roasted walnuts, tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a generous sprinkling of chia seeds. I think this might be my favorite salad so far.



As for the beverage- nope, not red wine, I don't drink. This is half of a bottle of blackberry Izze. It's 70% pure fruit juice and the rest is sparkling water. I thought I would want something fizzy with the pizza, but I only drank about 1/3 of it before I passed it over to Bobby. Speaking of Bobby, he agreed that the cashew cheese was probably the best thing ever- other than me, but I think that's just because he has to keep me around to make the cashew cheese ;)

A Treat that Won't End up in the Pacific Garbage Patch!

A bit of history- my entire family are huge coffee drinkers. Think 4 to 6 cups a day even in summer. I despised coffee until I tasted a gingerbread frap with extra whip when I was 22. I was hooked. There was a while when I was that person that went to Starbucks *every morning* before work, it was always some fancy sugar and chemical filled drink, and it was usually the venti. Anyway, about two years ago I went totally caffeine free and gave up coffee for 8 months. Now, I still try to avoid caffeinated beverages, and I have coffee once in a very, very great while, and today was one of those days. This guy is a decaf,iced, grande soy caramel machiatto. And best of all, it's in the re-usable double walled plastic cup (even the straw is thick, reusable plastic) that I bought on clearance about a year ago.It was in the high 90's here in Colorado today, and I have no air conditioning. This was very much enjoyed :)

Cashew Cheese Makes the World Go 'Round

Since there were no leftovers from last night, I had to throw something together before I leave for my internship work today. This pasta consists of- about a half a cup of whole wheat spirals, mixed with about half a tbsp of pesto. Topped with sauteed squash, baby bellas, onions, red peppers, beets from our CSA, and fresh garlic, seasoned with a bit of black pepper and mixed with another half a tbsp of pesto. The real star of this dish however, is hands down the cashew cheese- the creamy orange-y dollops you see on top. It tasted like a spicy red pepper creamy cheese. I made it last night in the food processor with a mixture of onions, cashews, red peppers, nutritional yeast, lots of garlic, some lemon juice, and fresh ground black pepper. This is destined for a creamy base on a pizza, but I wanted to give it a test run. It passed with very high marks. Oh, and yes, on top of that I sprinkled about 1/4 a cup of roasted, unsalted walnuts that I chopped up.

I'm off to research and write! And I can't promise you won't see a rare treat pop up on this blog later today...

Pre and Post Workout Food

I try and eat no later than an hour before my yoga class, because it is hard and I will puke. How's that for a nice food blog entry? This morning I was running a *bit* behind because I got all wrapped up in reading the news, so I had half a banana with a no sugar/no salt almond butter and no sugar added raspberry pomegranate jam sandwich on sprouted wheat bread. Big glass of water, and I ran out the door.



I did NOT puke in class- hurrah!- but I was hungry so when I got home I ate the other half of the banana and a tbsp of almond butter. Fat, protein, carbs, hello there, I totally deserve you.

Scrambles and Swing Lessons

Last night was our second swing lesson with our new teacher here in Colorado. We took classes for a month, an hour once a week, back in Dallas, and we both loved it. I wanted to make something quick so a scramble was an easy go to. I mixed in baby bellas, red bell peppers, onions, chipotle salsa, and half an avocado. A slice of sprouted whole wheat bread with no sugar added raspberry pomegranate jam rounded it out. We headed out for our lesson and I got to dance with a hot guy, which was a great way to end the night :)

Love of Cereal, cont.

I seriously couldn't wait to have this again :) Unsweetened shredded wheat with unsweetened coconut milk, topped with blueberries, half a banana, cinnamon, generous sprinkle of chia seeds, walnuts, cinnamon, about a tsp of agave. Unsweetened hot decaf green tea to drink.