Namaste Gurl

SITE HAS MOVED!!!!

2010-11-17T13:56:00.001-08:00

To http://www.namastegurl.com/

:)

Namaste Gurl

MUY Importante Blog Announcment [!!!!!!!!]

2010-11-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

Special, VERY important, yet exciting announcement.....

Remember when I told you that in the near future I would start self- hosting my own site? Meaning, no more blogger and MUCH more leeway as to what I want to do with my site? Well, that time has come my friends.

My site url has moved to: http://www.namastegurl.com/

I won't be posting over here anymore, just moving all my posts over there and starting fresh.

See you at the new site :)

Namaste Gurl

Mexican Made EASY!

2010-11-15T21:40:00.000-08:00

I promise you my post will be much different than the show, Mexican Made Easy on the Food Network. I'm not referring to that show in any way, nor have I made any recipes from that show. I'm just choosing to share some of yummy, authentic, and healthy takes on Mexican in a simple way. I'm Mexican so why not bring out my culture more?

I forgot to capture the last time I made a full- on Mexican feast, so I did a do-over last night for my mom and I. It came out delicious. There's SO many processed, non-authentic, and overall unhealthy takes on Mexican fare out there. It's quite sad how our country views Mexican food. It really doesn't need to be smothered in lard, meat, preservatives, additives, cheese, etc. It really can be simple and authentic, without wrecking the flavor.

Here's my take on a couple Mexican meals I've enjoyed the last few days. First Mexi- meal: Veggie fajitas with whole-made corn tortillas, guacamole, and beans. Second: Black bean burgers!

For the veggie fajitas, I sauteed a bunch of veggies I got last weekend from my local farmers market:

Really, you can do ANY veggies you choose for fajitas-- they don't need to be solely onions and peppers. I choose onions, zucchini, homegrown chard, bell peppers, garlic and carrots.

I chopped up them all up finely, then threw them on the heat!

Colors of the rainbow?!?

Then, while the veggies were sauteing over medium heat, I started on my whole-made corn tortillas...

Whole-made Corn tortillas

1 1/2 C. Corn Masa (Corn flour)

1 Cup warm water

Sea Salt

Lime juice (optional)

Combine all ingredients and kneed with hands till well combined. Cover dough mixture with a towel for 15 minutes or so.

Make into small balls, and put in a tortilla flattener, if using. If not, flatten with hands or kneed into small tortillas with a rolling pin.

Fry in a non- stick pan till cooked through or desired texture.

Dough after 15 minutes covered.

Flattened, using my authentic handy-dandy tortilla flattener.

And onto the heat:

Mmmm, now there's some NICE looking preservative- free tortillas for you :)!

Meanwhile, I started on my beans...

I could've gone the whole nine yards and boiled my own, but I took the shortcut for this one and just used a can of no- salt added black beans, which I heated over low- heat till I was ready to eat. To jazz them up, I added about 1/2 t of ground cumin, as well as a tablespoon of fresh lime juice and some sea salt.

I then started on my favorite part-- The guacamole!

And wah- lah! There's really not much to this guac, I like mine fresh and simple, but I'll share the recipe I used.

Guacamole Authentico:

2 large avocados

Juice of 1-2 limes

Sea salt and pepper

Onion, jalapenos, or peppers (optional, if desired)

Agave or other sweetener (optional, I opted for none)

Puree or mash till smooth and creamy.

Easy as one, two, three-- I told you the genuine Mexican food doesn't have to be over the top and it's coming from a true (somewhat) Mexican :)

Veggies cooked and lookin' fine...

Tortillas done and in my authentic warmer

And it's a meal!

Veggie fajitas with whole-made corn tortillas, black beans and a generous amount of guacamole-- just how I likes it :)

So yummy, fresh, easy and yet, authentic.

And I promised you these easy hummus black- bean burgers I came up with--

Yep, still working my way through this Costco beast!

Hummus- Black Bean Burgers--

3/4 C. Black beans (pinto would work fine, too)

1/2-1 C. veggies of choice (I choose onions, and peppers, but anything would work)

2 heaping tablespoons of hummus (I choose roasted- red pepper)

1/4 t chili powder

Cayenne pepper (depending on the fire you like)

1/4 t paprika

Garlic gold

Sea salt and pepper

-Start off by mashing beans till well- mashed.

-When beans are mashed, add all other ingredients and combine with clean hands till well mixed.

-Form into flattened balls and bake on a non-stick baking sheet at 415 degrees for about 15 minutes or until well cooked and golden.

-Devour!

And of course, I ate mine with sweet potaters, avocado and a classic cabbage salad.

Yum-- I just LOVE Mexican fare and I don't know why I don't cook it everyday :). It does take some work, but overall, it doesn't take much to create a decadent, healthy, authentic and fresh meal. You don't need a bunch of cheese, preservatives, and added crap to cover the true flavors and taste of true, honest to goodness Mexican food.

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you have ANY questions what so ever :)

Enjoy your evening and Tuesday. Be back soon. xoxo

Easy- Peasy Cashew Collard Wraps!

2010-11-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Saturday, ya'll :)

It's been warm and sunny here in Santa Cruz, which I'll take in mid November! No work till late today, so I started of the day with a trip to my local farmer's market and a lovely beach walk/ run. I said I'd take today off for running and my usual workout, but I did run some of my walk. For some reason my upper quads have been KILLING me, even though I stretch them quite often after running. Despite, I had a great beach wralk (walk- run).

My mom and I went a little crazy at the farmer's market-- lots of goodies were brought home, which is fine for me since I'm a veggie- holic! I bought an unusual green that I usually don't buy: collard greens. I've seen ideas around blogs for making collard greens into "wraps" so that's just what I did for lunch:

Filled with a cashew pate, sunflower sprouts and mushrooms.

Alongside a monda salad with farmer's market mushrooms, carrots, local almonds, sunflower sprouts and blended quinoa.

Dressed in Annie's Gingerly Vinaigrette :)

Super Easy Cashew pate:

1/4 cashews (soaked for a couple hours)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon agave (or stevia)

1/2 teaspoon miso

salt and pepper

water for thinning

--Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor; process till smooth and creamy. Add water till desired consistency.

I could of added ginger, garlic or other spices, but since I was hungry and had my mind on a cashew pate, I opted for simpleness. Turned out really yummy and dense.

I'm on Twitter now, too! So you should follow me when you get a chance :)

Have a lovely Saturday and I'll be back soon! Tomorrow post will include some yummy, simple hummus black bean burgers.....stay tuned! *

My Running Motivators

2010-11-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

Burrrr, I just got back from a very CHILLY run if I do say so myself-- 40 degrees, to be exact. Yes, I live in Santa Cruz and it's supposed to be warm, yeah, yeah. Not true. The mornings and nights, especially nearing winter, get pretty cold and because I live on the coast near water, it's pretty foggy and cold most of the time.

Despite, I had a motivating and good run. The last few days my stamina and speed has come back since I hurt my foot 7 weeks ago or so. Instead of my recent run/ walks, I've been running most of the time and getting my speed up. Today a women who was running ahead of me at the beach caused me to keep going and not stop to walk at all. I went further than usual, too, finishing in my usual hour. I don't have special running gadgets, such as the Garmin, or gear, I simply do it recreationally for fun. I don't count to see how many calories or how fast my pace was. I enjoy running and do it to fit my style uncontrolled. I'm guessing I did about 5 miles this morning.

I prepared my breakfast quickly before I left for my run this morning, so upon return I ate my pumpkin- chia bowl of goodness.....

Pumpkin chia/ hemp/ almond pudding

The Mix:

3 tablespoons chia seeds

1 tablespoon ground flax

3/4 Cup Almond Milk

1/2 C. Pumpkin puree

1/2 scoop Hemp protein

1 tablespoon almond butter

cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice

Stevia

Topped with coconut, pumpkin seeds and walnuts.

Told you it was filled with a chock- full of goodness :) Love that mix-- inspired by Gena @ Choosing Raw :)

Happy Veteran's, lovelies! I'll be spending the day at work selling away!

More Currylicious Meals....

2010-11-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

Just like pumpkin, coconut, chocolate and my other foodie obsessions currently, thai fare is definitely up there.... Not sure if it's the curry, the coconut or what, but I just have been on a roll with Thai food recently! Check out my previous posts for examples and recipes of the Thai obsession :)

Last night was a quick whip- up using leftovers and veggies I had on hand....

Chickpea veggie curry over quinoa (thank you, rice cooker!)

I'm not going to lie; twas' amazing. One of the best Thai meals I've cooked up yet. Not to worry, I'll show my steps on how resulted in this delicious meal I devoured.

Using these ingredients (most leftover) plus lots of veggies, I started my dish....

I first sauteed 1 clove garlic, 1/4 of an onion, broccoli, zucchini chickpeas (2/3 cup) and ginger together till soft.

Along with 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, ginger powder, chili powder, and garlic gold, I added 1/2 can of diced tomatoes (no salt preferable)

I brought the mixture to a boil, then simmered with lid on for about a half hour.

I also added a smidgen of this amazing stuff-- Tahini :)

Results after a half- hour of simmering on low heat

I also put a my qunioa on in my handy-dandy rice-cooker:

Turned into a fabulous meal.

I also made more of my Thai Harvest Soup a couple nights ago for my mama-- she and I both loved it, once again!

Using the leftovers from the soup, I made a tasty lunch out using it as a sauce/ dressing!

Quinoa, roasted veggies, and leftover Thai Harvest soup.

Looks like poo, but I promise you it's not :)

Yes, I eat a lot. Trying to gain weight on a vegan/ vegetarian diet takes a lot!

Off to dinner with my mama-- enjoy your night :)

Operation: Pumpkin- Chocolate Coconut Fudge

2010-11-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

Well, one week later, I'll say operation failed. Yes, I tried to mold three of my favorites into fudge: Coconut (no brainer), chocolate and pumpkin. I got inspired awhile back, by lovely Heather for her two ingrediant fudge, using just a dark chocolate bar and a can of coconut milk. That being said, I rummaged onto make my own version, adding pumpkin.

I blended 1 can of coconut milk, vanilla stevia drops, 4 tablespoons of raw cocoa powder, cinnamon and 1/2 cup of pumpkin (not pictured) in the Vitamix.

Then, I poured the "fudge" mixture in well- greased muffin tins. I added a dollop of coconut butter and put the mixture into the refrigerator to do it's magic (aka, turn into fudge).

Well, the next day that wasn't the case....

It was more puddin-y texture than fudge! YIKES

I decided I didn't want to deal with this baking- extravaganza mess I made, so I then decided well hey, why not bake it and have fudge muffins? MUCH bigger problem.

Results-- a gooey, dried up mess. I SOOOO would've preferred the pudding texture than this one.

I put both tins in my downstairs refrigerator to avoid cleaning up the mess I made.

And now, I just have this ooey- gooey mess of pudge (puddin' and fudge!). I knew I should've just left it the way it was after refrigerating and eaten as pudding. I knew it.

Some factors that could've caused the fudge texture to not form:

--Coconut- chocolate ratio was off. There needs to be enough coconut to do the magic-- harden the mixture.

--I used cocoa powder instead of a chocolate bar. Different hardening properties.

--Pumpkin acts as an egg. Me being a pumpkin goddess, added MUCH too much pumpkin which probably caused the gooey-ness.

Well. Lesson learned. I definitely won't be depending on my creativeness to bake anytime soon. Let's just say I'll depend on others well- tried out recipes when I do so :-) You will be seeing many more creative recipes on the cooking end, however!

Any ideas of what to do with this gooey mess? I don't want to waste it-- then again it was a whole can of precious coconut milk, pumpkin, and raw cocoa powder!!

On a good note, I stocked up on some fabulous foodie items at Target....

Libby's Pumpkin (cheap Libby's-score!), sweet coconut chai tea (SO me), and some dark chocolate.

Whew, so glad I got that unsuccessful baking adventure off my chest. Thanks for listening to that much needed post! I'll definitely let you know if I create one that I'd advise trying, where then I'll list the exact recipe. Have a good night, all! xx

Mexican- Chocolate OATS!!!!!

2010-11-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

When I was stumbling upon what oatmeal combination to make last night..... I thought, "Hey, why not bring out the Mexican in me and make none other than Mexi- cocoa oats?"

And yes, I eat oatbran not for dinner, but for a snack, after dinner-- don't judge me :)

But first, before we get to my amazing, cultural oat creation, let me show you dinner, first:

Before Mexican, I went Mediterranean: Colorful roasted veggies, kidney beans and a rosemary roasted potato all drizzled with lemon- tahini dressing.

Lemon- tahini dressing: Olive oil, lemon, tahini, agave and garlic salt.

Roasted in olive oil + sea salt

Of course that was one yummy meal, but nothing out of the ordinary. Onto the rockin' Mexican-coco oats now, since that's indeed what the post is about :)

Mexi- Cocoa Oatmeal:

1/2 C. Oats (oatbran, rolled, steel-cut)

1 C. water (or liquid of choice)

1 cinnamon stick + ground cinnamon

A couple dashes of cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want the oats)

1-2 tablespoons raw cocoa powder

a few dashes of chili powder

Stevia (or other sweetener)

Nut butter of choice (optional)

Method: Combine oats with liquid and cinnamon stick; boil, add other spices and cocoa and simmer till well combined.

--Cut the heat when oats have reached your desired thickness. Take out cinnamon stick.

--Add more cinnamon and chili powder on top, as well as stevia (if using) and nut butter and call it a meal!

~I choose to put peanut butter on top, but I wish I had pepita butter!

Spicy. Sweet. Vibrant. Sinful. Yummy.

Even with a couple dashes of cayenne pepper, these oats had a major kick to them!

And thank you to Garlic Gold, who sent me some of their fabulous products to review.

Review to come :)

Happy Tuesday- make it a great one! xoxo

The Pumpkin Continues....

2010-11-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

That's right, Libby's Calabaza is still in action and will not leave my plate anytime soon :) I had yet another tasty breakfast this morning after my chilly, hour long run.

I made a parfait using pumpkin yogurt (recipe below), coconut granola (procedure below), apple and almond butter. Twas' amazing and sufficed my ravenous appetite once home from my run.

I was craving and dreaming of my coconut granola all throughout my run prior to breakfast, but it's been long gone since I made it a few weeks back. Anything coconut related doesn't last in my house :) So I made a modified version by just combining 3/4 C. rolled oats, a few spoonfuls of coconut oil, cinnamon, chia seeds, nutmeg, 1/4 C. pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie spice. I toasted the mixture in the oven at 300 degrees for about 7 minutes.

Prior to toasting

Toasty and warm out of the oven :-)

Then for my pumpkin yogurt....

I simply combined about 3/4 C. greek yogurt, 1/4 C. pumpkin, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla stevia and wah- lah!

Super easy. Super healthy. Super yum.

....And I made some more chocolate coconut melties, this time adding pumpkin and chocolate to them!

Same procedure with the chocolate coconut melties, just add a spoonful of pumpkin to each and combine and refrigerate or freeze!

Happy day, all! I hope you enjoy some pumpkin, chocolate and coconut for me! xoxo

Oatmeal- Pumpkin- Coconut Pancakes

2010-11-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

In honor of Pancake Sunday, I'd like to dedicate this mornings pancake inspiration to no other than my friend, Heather of Heather Eats Almond Butter. She just had her baby girl, Summer Juliet, a couple days ago. I couldn't be more excited and overjoyed for her and CD. :)

That's why in honor of miss Heather, I decided to make her oatmeal pumpkin pancakes....

With a few adjustments on my part.

I skipped the egg, and just combined the pumpkin, oats, spices and added about 1/2 C of Almond Milk and a tablespoon of chia seeds.

They came out perfect-- so yummy and tasty. Of course, being the topping queen, I added lots of colorful toppings: Coconut butter, banana and apples, chia seeds, drizzled chocolate and shredded coconut.

Look at all those yummy textures!!

They were perfect for to start off the cold, rainy day.....

Happy Sunday, lovelies! Enjoy your day with whatever you may be doing :) xoxo

An Elegant Dinner For One!

2010-11-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to note on the beautiful, romantic dinner I made solely for my one and only self last night..... :)

When you're home alone with no one to go out with, cook for or accompany, why not prepare a tasty feast for none other than yourself? That's the question I embarked on when deciding what do do with my night since I had no other obligations on hand.

The menu dejor: Coconut- maple tofu, steamed broccolini and brussel sprouts and a sweet kabocha squash puree.

MAN-- Kudos to the chef because this was a beyond- out of this world meal! It only took me about an hour overall to prepare. Super delicious and hearty, yet really simple to whip up.

Let me take you behind the scenes, and show you my steps that led up to this elegant meal.

First, I roasted a small kabocha squash in coconut oil at 415 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Then, I started on the tofu, with these simple ingredients:

Maple syrup, coconut oil, tamari, sesame oil, shredded coconut (not pictured), and Rice Wine Vinegar. I cut up a few slabs of tofu and added about a tsp. of each to marinate the tofu in; once tofu was coated in marinade, I coated in a generous amount of shredded coconut. :)

Then I baked the tofu triangles at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or so (or however toasty you like them).

I went back to my cooked kabocha squash, once cooled, and scooped out all the flesh from the skin. I put all the scooped out flesh into my food processor along with lots of cinnamon, and a dash or so of Almond milk.

I pureed the kabocha mixture till smooth and luscious (I wanted to eat it right out of the food processor- looked heavenly!).

And now you have yourself some sweet kabocha "mashed potatoes" :)

Then, I just steamed my veggies in my awesome Rice Cooker (yes, you can steam all kinds of veggies and root veggies in the rice cooker. yet another amazing feature) till soft.

Then, wah- lah, I had my self one incredible meal-- Coconut- maple tofu, steamed broccolini and creamy kabocha squash mashed potatoes.

It was one heavenly meal that despite having no one to "wine or dine" with, I enjoyed the company of none other than myself.

....And a beautiful sunset from the pleasure of my own porch:

Happy evening, lovelies :) Hope you find yourself with an elegant and amazing night! I'm off to the beach for an afternoon walk.

xoxo

Simple made easy.

2010-11-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

Hello, chocolate pumpkins!

Hope you all are having a lovely day. I sure am-- bike riding, sleeping in, eating yummy leftovers, having the house to myself. Yep, house to MYSELF :) My parents are out in Palm Springs for the weekend, so that means PARTY. No, I'm not much of the partier type, so I think of it more as quietness and more space :)

My meals have been all over the place-- meaning, I haven't done much over the top cooking. I have done some baking though, which i'll share about later. Let's just say the baking adventure didn't go down very well.

Mexican made easy. Period.

Sunny-side fried egg, roasted red pepper hummus, avocado, and yellow pepper atop greens; Ezekial toast.

A REALLY scrumptious (look, i'm using another synonym besides "yummy" or "delish") snack I devoured:

Parfait with pumpkin, the last of my coconuty granola, almond milk, almond butter and the crumbled choco- coconut balls :)

Raw assorted veggies; RRP hummus; seeded crackers and almond butter.

There's nothing simpler than hummus and veggies.

Boring, I know- but this post is about eating healthy and "real" in a matter of minutes. It doesn't take much, friends. Just some thought and the right ingredients on hand!

An amazing salad using all leftover ingredients from last night: Black beans, fresh whole made guacamole, stir-fried veggies on top of cabbage, kale and spinach greens.

All those veggies came right from an organic farm! Thanks to my dear friend, Kate, who brought them over for our Mexi- Cali cooking last night (post to come about that!)

There's nothin' like fresh, whole-made guac'!

Oh, and a leftover whole-made corn tortilla....

Be on the lookout for a post on my fabulous Mexi- Cali cooking night with my friend, Kate. She, too, shares a passion for eating sustainably, vegan and very healthy. So glad to have found someone at my work and school who shares a similar value. There's not many of us foodies out there!

Wholesome and healthy meals DON'T need to be expensive, time- consuming or titus. They absolutely can be whipped up in a matter of minutes, like said. Being impatient as I am, I don't cook drawn out meals that will take longer than an a half hour.

I'll be back soon! Get ready for a few posts coming up-- Mexican Made Easy, Pumpkin- Chocolate- Coconut Fudge Adventure, to name a few.

xoxo

Thai Coconut Farro with Kale

2010-11-04T06:45:00.001-07:00

Good Morning, all!

Or, Arun Sa Wad, in Thai language. However you may say it or understand it, for that matter, hope your having a pleasant morning so far.

Before I get into my shenanigan about a lovely Thai dish I made last night that I SO want to share with you all, take a moment to observe the beautiful sunset I experienced at the pleasure of my own home....

Beautiful, huh? Breathtaking- I know!

I'm SUPER blessed to live in such a beautiful area- with amazing sunsets, ocean, local and best produce, environment and so much more. I <3 Santa Cruz :)

Ok, so I broke out my handy- dandy Rice Cooker again last night to use up some of my leftover farro. Actually, scratch that, I broke it out the night before :)

My mom picked up some organic Farro recently at Costco- a 4 pound bag for that matter!

I haven't cooked much with the Farro grain, but now I'm going to! It's high in fiber, protein, iron and other essential minerals and vitamins. A major score for us vegetarians/vegans.

So I went about and did take two on my thai-coconut barley, replacing with farro and making some adjustments....

I combined these ingredients in the rice cooker with the already cooked leftover farro.

3/4 C Farro, 1/2 C Coconut milk, 1/2 t curry powder, and a few dashes or cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger.

I let the mixture cook (Yes, I recooked the farro, it was still chewy, anyways) with lid on, then when it turned to warm, I added one cup of chopped kale.

(*Again, sorry for the blurriness- I need a new camera!)

Oh, and I added a few golden raisins to the rice mixture:

Stir, stir, stir and let it warm for however long you want- depending on your desired temperature of liking.

Me being inpatient, plated it right away after the coconut milk, spices and kale were absorbed :)

And wah-lah- you have yourself a meal. I added some cashews atop and balanced the rice dish out with a side salad.

*Dressed in pure maple syrup, olive oil, and lemon juice.

The rice was so buttery- I'm assuming from the coconut oil I cooked it in and the added coconut milk :) The curry and other spices gave it just the right touch.

Which close- up do you like better (lighting enhanced, or no)?

I'm off to school- I hope you all have one amazing day whatever it brings :) Hope you enjoyed the post, and let me know what you think!

xoxo

Cooky for Coconut!

2010-11-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right-- I am indeed cooky, crazy, gaga....for nothing else but COCONUT :) In fact, I've thought of changing my Namaste Gurl blog name to Miss Coco-Nut. Although I'd surely love to, not sure if that's an option this late into blogging, but we will see! Anyways, I just solely wanted to express my love for this tropical love.

Last night in fact, I made some really tasty choco- coconut almond balls (don't worry, it's not what you think). Observe....

Using these simple, but tasty ingredients to do the magic :)

(Sorry for the blurriness of the photo- it was late!)

Raw Coco Powder, vanilla stevia drops, Coconut Mana and Almond butter (not-pictured).

MAN were they good, it tasted almost exactly like Artisana's Cocoa Bliss, maybe even better?! And we all know, your wallet won't allow you to continuously buy Cocoa Bliss. So I gotta get my coconut- chocolate fix somehow!

*By the way, Nutiva's Coconut Mana is simply NOT as good as Artisana's Coconut Butter- doesn't even compare. I got it from a friend from a local health food store, and immediately I dove into the jar, disappointed. It tastes like a mix between coconut butter and coconut oil. Not as creamy or buttery as Artisana's- but, it works for things like this :)

I used a couple of those amazing, heavenly chocolate coconut- almond balls in breakfast this morning....

Oat bran cooked in water + almond milk, peanut flour, chia seeds, coco Stevia drops, cinnamon and pumpkin- topped with banana slices, coconut and choco- coconut almond balls :)

The choco- coco balls were SO yummy on top of hot- pipin' oats. I was dreaming about this combo ALL night, people! It went so well with the pumpkin, peanut flour and cinnamon, too.

Okay, okay, I'll give you the recipe :)

Choco- Coconut- Almond "Balls"--

3 tablespoons Coconut butter or oil (or a combo, like mine)

2-3 tablespoons raw coco powder (or dark chocolate- you'll just have to use a blender or food processor)

Stevia, Agave or other sweetener (depending on desired sweetness)

A bit of water (desired consistency)

1 1/2 tablespoon almond butter (or nut butter of choice)

--Mix all ingredients together till well combined; form into balls.

-- Once into well formed balls, roll balls in almond butter (on wax paper, preferable) till well- coated.

-- Freeze for a few minutes, then refrigerate till desired texture.

*These "balls" don't need to be refrigerated; coconut hardens at room temperature :)

Enjoy!

I'm almost done with the 5 balls I made last night-- They're that hard to stay away from :)

I've also enjoyed coconut products in many other ways- usually on a daily basis (or meal basis?)....

Lots of colorful veggies stir-fried in coconut Mana and coconut oil; Farro with coconut oil and maple; tofu sautéed in coconut oil and garlic.

YUM- coconut really does make your meal taste so much yummier.

Spaghetti squash; lots of veggies fried in coconut oil and garlic; dollop of coconut butter (to enjoy atop the squash); whole-made almond milk.

And no other than whole- made coconut milk:

1 can of coconut milk, water and sweetener (I use a bit of stevia)

All in all, I adore you, lovely, amazing, satiating, Coconut :) You make my feels taste way better and my day much happier.

Ok, I'll get of my coconut soapbox now-- I must return to homework. As you can see i'm pretty "cooky for coconut" :-) xoxo

5 Minute Flourless Mexican- Pizza :)

2010-11-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

You know how I said in Sundays post there'd be a lot of recipes involving my 2 pound Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (a la Costco)?!?

Well my friends, I most definitely put that to use in a yummy, quick and most importantly, healthy concoction. On many food bloggers blogs recently, there's been a lot of, "two minute pumpkin soup" or "90 second muffin", etc. So, I decided to do one as well, being 5 minutes.

I needed something quick to eat before work yesterday and pizza was on the mind, so together with these ingredients....

I made a flourless, egg pizza by whisking together two eggs, 1/4 t baking powder, cumin, chili powder and curry powder; then I cooked the egg mixture over medium heat till cooked through. After cooked through, I slathered it with the RRP hummus, chopped avocado, onion and yellow bell pepper and broiled it for 5 minutes or so.

The finished product:

SO easy, yet SUPER yummy-- who needs pizza when you can make it in the pleasure of your own home in 5 minutes or so? I'm sorry Domino's and Pizza Hut, the competition is ON :)

"Mexican Pizza" wrap :)

And you can't forget dessert later: Pumpkin chia seed puddin' (3 T chia seeds, 1/2 c non- dairy milk, 1/2 C pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and love) topped with a pumpkin spice muffin iced with coconut butter <3

Yep, that gooey spice muffin atop my chia puddin' only took 90 sec. to make-- thanks for the inspiration, Heather and Katie!

Alright, I'm off to get some homework done! Enjoy your day, lovelies. Eat lots of pumpkin, chocolate, and coconut :) xx

Chocolate, pumpkin bowl of goodness.

2010-11-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm one day late celebrating halloween, for I had nothing calabaza (pumpkin) yesterday! Sad, huh? Well, I made up for it this morning, whipping up a heavenly bowl of choco- pumpkin oats.....

Using these lovely ingredients....

And this one to do the magic :-)

Coco- pumpkin- almond oats:

1/3 C. Oatbran

1/2 C. almond milk (I used whole-made)

1/2 C. water

1-2 tablespoons spooky chia seeds

1-2 tablespoons coco powder

pumpkin pie spice

nutmeg

lots of cinnamon

1/4-1/2 C. pumpkin puree

--Cook oat-bran with liquid, spices, and coco till mixture comes to a boil.

-- Add pumpkin once oat mixture starts boiling and stir, stir, stir (I use a spatula to whip)

-- Once desired texture, pour into a bowl and add favorite toppings. I added almond butter, coconut granola, chia seeds, and more cinnamon!

*It would be DELISH with a generous dollop of coconut butter on top-- I'm SO doing that next time :)

By the way, did you notice that impostor can of pumpkin?!?

Dun, dun, DUN! I think Libby has a competition going on with Whole Foods brand pumpkin puree....

Or maybe not. I think Libby's tastes the best; however, so many brands of pureed pumpkin taste quite similar. I don't know, we will see....

What's you opinion of canned pumpkin? Favorite brand?

xoxo

Home for Holla- ween!

2010-10-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

I just got home after a 3 hour car-ride from San Louis Obispo. Man, can I just say I'm SO incredibly tired. I also have a terrible headache and I can't distinguish whether it's because of lack of sleep, water, healthy foods I'm used to, or just over all tired from the crazy, busy weekend. It sure was fun- as I said in my last post- but I'm definitely hitting the sack early tonight :)

Happy Halloween, by the way! Unfortunately, I didn't plan to dress up or do any festive activites. I knew I'd be tired coming home from the wedding, so I just planned on making it a low- key, peaceful night :) Who wants to spend money on a costume they may never wear again, anyway? Sorry to be the party- pooper.

Anyways, I came home tonight intending to take a long beach walk or run, but that didn't happen. I was much too tired and out of it to do anything, so I respected my body. I did make a quick, yummy salad though.

With the help of this guy I found at Costco the other day, I made a quick avo- Mediterranean mix...

Greens with avocado, roasted red pepper hummus, goat cheese, mushrooms, yellow pepper and organic tortilla chips to accompany.

Not the prettiest salad, but I blame it on my incompetence tonight :) And how I'm going to finish that RRP hummus beast, well, let's just say there'll be a lot of hummus dishes to come!

Mmmm, fats and veggies, how I missed you :)

To start off the holiday season, egg- nog ice cream, anybody?

Protein ice cream made with homemade almond milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, pumpkin, and avocado- topped with dark chocolate, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds.

Recipe for Egg- nog protein ice cream:

1 Cup non-dairy milk of choice (I did whole made almond)

1/2 t guar gum

1/3 t zanthum gum

1 t cinnamon

1/4 t ground cloves + nutmeg

2 heaping spoonfuls of pumpkin puree

1 heaping spoonful of avocado

15 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients in a VitaMix blender, or other high- speed blender. Top with favorite festive toppings and enjoy :)

Not much of a Halloween lover, but I'm SO excited for the holidays to come! Have a lovely night, everyone!

$6.00 dollar oatmeal, I think so!

2010-10-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

Yes people, that's the price I'm willing to pay for my poor ole' oatmeal I so do adore. This weekend I've been up in San Louis Obispo for my dear cousin's wedding. It was amazing- we partied and danced the night away. Not to mention the decorations, too-- oh, they were so beautiful! But the food, well, that hasn't been on the top of my lists. I've had to give up my veganism (I'm not fully vegan, but I do eat pretty vegan) and healthy eating for the last couple days. It's been HARD-- let's just say eating Chipotle, horrible omelets, and ranch dressing salads, etc hasn't been the easiest.....

But despite, the wedding was amazing, and that's what I came for.

The gorgeous bride and her father....

MARRIED- Holla :)

The reception was held in the "barn"-- so cute how they laid it all out.

The amazing sweets area.... cute, huh?

The tables were so well decorated....

My cousin and I sporting the camera

If my camera wasn't taking a million years to load photos, I'd post many more! Stay tuned... :)

....And some of my low- quality, not- so great eats...

An omelete with cheese, peppers, and spinach; potatoes.

Remind me to NEVER order an omelet at a hotel again...let's just say that was they best thing at the buffet :( I definitely missed my oatmeal...

But I got some this morning! Not so great, but it worked. I jazzed it up with some chia seeds, raisons and sunbutter. It wasn't no oat bran, but it sufficed my oatmeal craving just a bit. Finished every last bite!

And of course, I brought some snacks to hold- me over since the veggie protein options around here are little or none-- well, we just haven't had time to find good places.

Nuts, sunbutter and 100% dark chocolate (dunked in the sun butter!)

Heather, I know you'll enjoy that snack ;)

Alright, I'm off to take a walk along Shell Beach then do some shopping, THEN return home!! :) More pictures, details and my normal posting later!

xoxo

Off at a wedding!

2010-10-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

Hello, all!

Just wanted to let you know I'm off at my cousin's wedding for the weekend in San Louis Obispo. That's what I've been MIA for the day :) Details to come on the turn out, as well as a food updates and recipes :) When I get a chance to post food photos-- hopefully tomorrow-- I totally will!

I'm super excited, as well as anxious about my outfit turn-out! Quite a funny detail to get nervous about, but hey, I care about style and looking cute!

Well I'm off to get my rest in my amazing hotel bed-- and wake up to continental bfast and the fitness and spa room!

Be back soon.

xoxo

No- raw, raw mushroom salad....

2010-10-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm bringing you yet another mushroom-filled recipe :) First it's coconut-based soup, then it's mushrooms! I guess that's just what I've had on hand recently. I'd like to say coconut has been on sale, but sadly that's negatory. Mushrooms have though-- thanks to local, Costco mushrooms :)

First though, I'll give you the low- down on my day....

I went to my favorite vinyasa yoga class this morning-- as always, wonderful but very intense. That's how I like it though. Can't stand the constant relaxation without any actual core/ muscle strength. Yoga brings me such peace and serenity as I always feel so much better afterwards. I biked to yoga, so I was pretty hungry and tired when returning home at noon. I had a mushroom salad on mind, too, since I had a whole carton of bella shrooms calling my name :)

Call me crazy, but I don't like RAW mushrooms-- one of the only veggies I prefer cooked, other than zucchini. But I found a way to get the raw- bite taste away, without any cooking involved. Drench-age of olive oil + lemon juice, of course!

I simply added and massaged one cup of thinly cut shrooms and basil in 1/8 cup olive oil + lemon juice, salt and pepper. I also added some goat cheese, for extra protein and fat.

It was SOOOO yummy-- could definitely not taste the rawness of the shrooms. If you don't like raw mushrooms, or even if you do, this simple salad will win you over!

I've known that olive oil + lemon juice is a quick and healthy marinade/ dressing for awhile, but I've never massaged just veggies in the combo. I got the idea from this lovely salad from a Food Network show called, Giada At home.

Another quicky meal I had using simple, but yummy ingredients:

More leftover spaghetti squash with olive oil, roasted veggies (in olive oil) and a red potato smothered with cashini butter (no sweet potatoes on hand).

Great combo-- just don't add cinnamon :)

Alright, I'm off to find a dress for my cousin's wedding this weekend :) Wish me luck! xoxo

Naked (or clothed) mushroom- coconut soup!

2010-10-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

The title speaks for itself: Naked or clothed mushroom soup. You may be confused, thinking mushrooms are already naked, silly! I just wanted to make the title more interesting than just calling it raw or cooked mushroom- coconut soup, that's all :)

So it's "raw or cooked mushroom- coconut soup", if you're confused :)

Last night, before my staff holiday meeting, I was in the mood for some kind of coconut stew or soup. I wanted something I haven't done yet before, such as winter squash, chickpea or cashew coconut soup. I made a Costco run recently and picked up a big carton of local grown Watsonville shrooms-- so that's just what I based my soup off of. Weirdly, I've been in the mood for soup quite a bit recently-- it must be the changing weather. Regardless, I enjoyed one yummy bowl of goodness last night :)

Raw (or cooked) Mushroom Coconut soup--

Coconut oil (or other oil of choice)

1 garlic clove minced

1- 1 1/2 cup mushrooms (I used crimini)

1/2 Cup kale (optional)

1/2 Cup chickpeas (I added for protein)

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

S+ P

A few shakes of tamari

Chili powder

1 Cup coconut milk

-- Sautee all ingrediants on medium heat OR if making a raw version, blend on a high- speed blender till creamy. I cooked my mixture prior to blending, as I don't like raw mushrooms (!), but you can certainly blend without cooking.

Enjoy, accompanied by some bread or crackers!

It may look like poo, but I PROMISE if doesn't taste like that! It's SUPER yum!

I enjoyed my soup with some whole- grain seed crackers....

It made for one quick, hearty, delicious meal. Soups really don't take that long-- if you have all the ingredients on hand and know what you want to make, it can be done in a flash. Good for rushed nights when you want to make a nutritious, healthy dinner.

And you can't forget the Halloween chocolate....

My breakfast: 1 cup pumpkin puree with 2/3 cup coconut milk, cinnamon and hemp protein topped with chia seeds and dark chocolate with coconut.

And I mean, really dark chocolate:

Off to work for the WHOLE afternoon! Have a good day :)

A Day Of Autumnal Eats

2010-10-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hello, all!

This post will be a quickie as I must get some homework done and jump into bed! I intended on blogging earlier about my yum-licious breakfast, but that didn't happen since I was one busy girl on the move all day! From a beach walk, to school, to eating, then to a holiday staff meeting. Can life get any crazier? I can't wait for a time where I just just have a sigh of relief and relax solely without any future obligations.

I woke this morning craving pumpkin....couldn't decide whether I wanted a pumpkin smoothie, oats or what! I just went with my first instinct, pumpkin- apple oat bran....

Oat bran cooked in almond milk, pumpkin, spice (pumpkin pie spice, ginger and of course, cinnamon!), apple and chia seeds-- topped with pumpkin seeds, peanut butter and coconut.

My apple tree is currently over-flowing with apples, so it was a no- brainer to add apple to the pumpkin oat bran mixture. And it was so, SO yummy, too :)

After getting some math homework done and going on a much needed beach power- walk, I put together a quick lunch before heading to class.

Miss Heather inspired my lunch, using some of my leftover spaghetti squash from last night.

Spaghetti squash with nutritional yeast, avocado, sunflower seeds and tahini; salad with shrooms and Woodstock dressing.

Thanks so much lovely Heather for the idea of "Mac n' cheese" using spaghetti squash- it was indeed delish!

I SOOO recommend the "mac and cheese" combo (nutritional yeast + tahini)

I also had a little treat on the side: Whole milk greek yogurt with leftover coconut granola. Yum!

Alright, I'm off to read yucky textbook material in bed-- Long day tomorrow (work and homework). I'll be back tomorrow with a coconut- mushroom soup recipe :-)

xoxo

Pasta al' pesto, spaghetti- squash style

2010-10-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today was a very low- key, relaxed day-- No work, no school, no nothin'! However, I can't say I could freely enjoy the day, as I had a lot of homework and errands to catch up on.

Did I spend the day getting done what I need to get done? Somewhat, but for the most part, no! I just felt lackadaisical all day and wanted to do nothing but lay around-- ~~and catch up on blogs~~ :). I did get stuff done, but not as much as I intended to. That's alright, I've cut myself some slack. Then again, I worked all weekend, so I'm catching up on the weekend I missed out on.

Other than sitting around the computer all day and getting homework done, I cooked up some delicious meals as well.

In fact, I was craving spaghetti squash all day, so that's just what I cooked up for supper tonight. Sadly though, I grabbed a green acorn squash at TJs the other day-- a rather large one for that matter. I meant to get a spaghetti squash, so instead of driving all the way to TJs (10-15 minutes away), I just bought one from a nearby grocery store, Safeway.

Before I get into my fab. spaghetti squash dinner, I just wanted to show you my beautiful asian-themed lunch:

Baked tofu (marinated in rice wine vinegar, tamari and sesame oil), baked sweet potato fries (drizzles with coconut butter) and sauteed kale (in coconut oil, garlic and sesame oil) and red cabbage.

Yum, this meal took one for the team-- It was THAT good!

I love coconut, basically on anything and everything.

*For exact ingredients on marinades, please do ask me!*

My basil tree still has tons of fresh basil on it, weirdly, since it's well into fall now. That's why when I had my heart set on jazzing up some spaghetti squash for dinner, I knew i'd use my basil in some way for the sauce....

For cashew pesto, that is!

Spaghetti squash al' pesto

Serves one hearty appetite!

1 spaghetti squash

2 cups fresh basil (tightly packed)

2 tablespoons olive oil (or more)

1/4 cup cashew (soaked)

1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Salt and peper to taste

--Cut your spaghetti squash in half and place on a well- greased baking sheet face up.

--Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until fork tender.

--Allow to cool for a few minutes, then scoop out seeds then stringy flesh.

--Meanwhile, for the pesto, combine all ingredients, except spaghetti squash into a high-speed food processor and process until well- blended. Add water or more oil till pesto reaches desired consistency.

--Mix cashew-pesto sauce with desired amount of spaghetti squash.

I served mine with a side salad consisting of arugala, tomato and mushrooms--sprayed with balsamic vinegar.

Twas' one tasty meal. If you have any basil or spaghetti squash on hand, do give this easy and nutritious meal a try! It takes a matter of 10 minutes to prepare (not including squash bake time). Mmmm, it was yummy. I'm super full though, not sure why spaghetti squash is so filling :)

Alright, I'm going to finish some icky math homework! Sending lots of coconut :) xoxo

Baby it's cold outside....

2010-10-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

It's been raining consistently the last couple days around here-- although I do like the rain once in awhile, it's not what I planned this weekend. I've worked 8- hour shifts the last couple days and I am tired, so I was kinda hopin' I wouldn't have to continue to stay inside but be able to go outside. I really wanted to go on a long beach walk and just be outside, but the weather has't permitted. There's always Mr. Treadmill :)

Soup, oat bran, and all my other favorite warm comfort foods have been on the menu recently. I've had little time to get creative in the kitchen in the last few days since i've been hoping from school, to work, to homework, to appointments, etc. However, I've still managed to feed myself quite well with quick- to the jump meals.

Last night, upon returning from trabajador (work in Espanol), I was craving some thai- coconut chickpea soup. I had this excellent version recently at a local Mediterranean restaurant near my house, Zameen's. It was called the Moroccan Madness soup and had coconut milk, curry, garbanzo beans, tomato and onions and better yet, it was vegan! I decided to re-make it Namaste Gurl style in a whopping 10 minutos!

Thai coconut soup--

1/4 of a large onion, diced

Coconut oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 carrot, diced

1/2 C. chickpeas

1/2 t curry powder

A couple shakes of cayenne pepper

S + P to taste

A couple dashes of nutmeg, garlic powder and ground ginger

1/2 C. coconut milk

3/4 C. water or veggie broth

-- Combine coconut oil (or oil of choice), garlic, onion and carrot in a non-stick sauce pan; sauté till soft.

--Add chickpeas and spices and stir well to combine with other ingredients.

-- Add coconut milk and water (or veggie broth), bring mixture to a boil then simmer till desired consistency.

Serve warm and if wanted, top with cashews.

I enjoyed my thai coconut soup with some kale on the side.... (sauteed a bit with coconut oil and dijon mustard).

I also made some more home-made coconut milk using my leftover coconut from the soup.

Twas' delicious. I ~~really think,~~ no, I know I'm most definitely a coconut fiend. I LOVE it and add it most everything I eat....well, I sure try! If you haven't tried any coconut products, I most recommend them. My fav would have to be Artisana's coconut butter. They make the best i've tried!

I used some of my home-made coconut milk in some non-piping hot oats, rather overnight oats.

Made with chia seeds, coconut milk, cinnamon, vanilla liquid stevia and oat bran- topped with almond butter, homemade coconut granola, and fresh raspberries.

*Sorry, the about the horrible quality-- it was pretty dark out at 7 am before I left for work*

I haven't gotten any exercise today, so I'm off to run/walk on the treadmill for a bit! Have a good night :)

Pumpkin seed or plastic?!?

2010-10-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday, first off :)

Second off, I made some REALLY tasty coconut granola last night....

Thank you so much Healthy Coconut for the inspiration-- I LOVED the granola, so coconutty. I can't get enough as I've been munching on it all day. When making it, me being a major- over the top coconut lover, added coconut mana to the mix, lots of it. It gave the granola the perfect, velvety touch. I skipped the agave, as well. Yum!

I added it to my breakfast: Peanut protein-ice cream with double coconut- granola atop.

The granola was fabulous, no doubt about that-- But I had a incident with my Vita this morning while making the protein ice cream. While using the tamper piece during blending, the tamper got crunched in the blade. Not the whole plastic tamper, but just a big chunk of it got torn off. Sad, both that I damaged a part of my new Vita and that I had to throw away perfectly good protein ice- cream....

Well, not all of the protein ice-cream. Yep, that's write, even with pieces of plastic from the torn tamper, I tried to consume my blended concoction. I though, "I'll pick out the little pieces of plastic. There's not very much in there, anyway". I thought wrong-- there was A LOT more bits and pieces of plastic tamper in my ice-cream than i thought. Every time I thought I was chewing on a pumpkin seed or almond, it was plastic. Yuck. I had to throw away 3/4 of the protein ice- cream. It was more like "plastic ice-cream". I do love my Vita, but I sure don't want to cannibalize it :)

I sure hope I don't have any more mishaps with the Vita. Not to worry about the tamper piece, I immediately called Vita and had them ship another one, of no charge. I'm scared to make ice cream on it or any ice/ frozen fruit concoctions. I hope nothing bad happens again!

After digesting plastic and going on a power walk, I made some lunch...

Veggies and tofu cooked in garlic, coconut oil, ginger and soy sauce and tahini; sweet potato with coconut butter.

I do love you coconut, I do, I DO! :)

I spent the afternoon running errands and shopping away with my mom at the mall. I'm making a couple care pacakges for a couple friends, so Bath and Body Works it was. Grocery shopping and smelling it up' would definitely have to be two of my favorite activities :)

I came home late so I made a quick, colorful salad:

Arugala and spinach with leftover bsquash, tomato, goat cheese, sunflower seeds and olive oil.

I'm off to finish my care packages-- Goodnight loves :)

Colors, colors everywhere!

2010-10-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

I managed to have a *somewhat* better day today. Besides getting in a bit of fight with my madre and going to classes, smooth sailing.

I attended a challenging 90 minute vinyasa yoga class this morning before school. I love the teacher-- what makes a good yoga class really depends of the likelihood of the instructor. I can't stand easy-peasy classes where the instructor just works on mindfulness and stretching. While both of those are great, and that's a main reason I love yoga, I'm there to work out, not work out my mind :) Brittany, the yoga instructor, relies heavily on a cardiac- vinyasa workout. It's not an easy class, however you can go at your own pace.

Upon getting back from the intense, but relaxing yoga class, I made myself a big, colorful salad....

Greens with (leftover) butternut squash, avocado, tofu, and almond dressed in a ginger peanut dressing.

Look at that beautimus mix--orange, white, green, red!

Dinner was just leftovers and a quick salad. I was in NO mood to cook when getting home from classes at 5 pm. To top of all off, my mom and I hit it off a bit. That's the problem with still living at home while in college-- Because you're still learning who you are, you clash in difference with your parents. It's hard; we fight a lot about our similarities and differences. I do love them both deeply, but I'm definitely getting ready to leave the nest soon. It's been much too long at home. But that's a whole other story for a different post :)

Leftover black bean chili with avocado, salad with veggies (dressed in honey, olive oil, nutritional yeast and sea salt) and bread.

Nutritional yeast is a good addition to salads!

I'm off to do some overly-procrastinated homework! Goodnight, lovelies :) xx

When life gives you butter, make butternut squash!

2010-10-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a "no good Wednesday". Which is odd because usually Wednesdays are good days-- the week is halfway over and it's my off day for classes. That wasn't the case today for the most part.

I know, funny title, but I thought it was witty and had to do with something I cooked up tonight. Butters not bad, just like lemons aren't-- Again, no pun intended :)

It started of with getting called into work this morning. I thought on a Wednesday morning-- which is usually a slow day as since it's a work day-- they wouldn't call me in. I had a lot of homework to get done today, and other important stuff to do. I ended up only having to stay four hours, but still, it was not in my hopes to go in today.

Then, after my hourly morning swim this morning, I was eager to take a hot, long and steamy shower in the women's locker-room. It was FREEZING this morning, albeit the 45 degree temperature outside. Once in the pool, I was fine as I'm constantly moving, but getting out is a different story. Usually, once I get out of the pool, I run to the shower in eagerness that it's hot. I found out this morning that you can't rely on college locker room showers to suffice begin hot. They were COLD once I turned on the shower-- Which left me more freezing and angry.

Oh well, that just meant I rushed home to take a hot, steamy shower in the pleasure of my own home. Before going back to work, that is.

To top it all of, I got a bad sore-throat tonight. Wait, I though I'm still in the midst of getting over a cold. I couldn't possibly be getting a relapse..... Lemon tea and Emergen-C to the rescue.

I can sit in doom and gloom and be negative about today's outcomes; or I can simply except what happened and move on. Although I'd like to choose the first option (which I considered in every bad experience), the second would bring much more fruit and happiness. I can have gratitude ad mist the negative:

--I'm grateful to have a job as SO many people in todays economy don't and are heavily searching. Even though it doesn't pay very well, it's something.

--I'm lucky to have a pool to swim in so I can do a different kind of exercise than biking, running and walking. There's always home to take a shower at, even if the locker room showers were cold.

-- This too shall pass; you won't be sick and down forever.

Sigh, I think I feel a bit better now after getting that all of my chest :)

I enjoyed some tasty eats today, despite my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. And yes, I continued to "play" with my new Vita, two times today, for that matter.

Before swim, I made a quick green smoothie-- spinach, almond milk, hemp protein, vanilla stevia, almond butter and banana. Nothing too fancy-smacy, just quick and healthful.

I was at work during lunchtime, and only working 4 hours, I didn't get a free lunch. So I packed my own-- A sunshine burger sandwich with avocado and mustard and veggies.

Sadly, when I returned home, I made quite a delish pumpkin-coco-pb shake, but I forgot to snap a shot of it. It consisted of pureed pumpkin (not Libby's), peanut flour, coco powder, almond milk, coconut and cinnamon. It was SO good. That Vita--man, it makes one amazing concoction once you put in your ingredients :)

Upon returning from the math center (where they offer free tutoring-- so amazing), I roasted some veggies and added some leftover couscous, honey sesame cashews and laid them atop greens. It was yummy for being put together in 7 minutes!

I planned on making coconut butternut squash soup for dinner-- but being out most of the day, I had no time. There's always tomorrow!

I've had a fatty bsquash laying around for quite some time. I finally got to slow-roasting it tonight. With some coconut butter, that is.

Some of the results-- Which I savored as a snack after dinner.

Can I just tell you-- It was SOOOOO good! Cook your bsquash with coconut oil or coconut butter!

I used this new one which tastes like a hybrid between coconut oil and coconut butter:

Mmmmm, it added the perfect buttery touch to the squash. I added--because i add nut butter to everything-- some almond butter a top. Heavenly.

I'm off to do some homework and get some rest. Ciao for now.

She's here :)!

2010-10-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

That's right-- My very own Vitamix is here and happily safe and sound! It only took one day to ship, as I ordered it over the phone yesterday morning. I was so happy and surprised to come home from class at 5 pm to see Mrs. Vita on my porch. I thought the beauty wouldn't arrive for a week or so, as that's what the estimated arrival was. Oh what a surprise it was :)

I am not sad one tad that Oster the blender broke; she lived a happy life and it was her time to go. Without the collapse of Oster the blender, I would not have Mrs. Vitamix currently. So, thank you Oster, you did well.

10 Speed, ahhhhh.

And you better bet your-bottoms I used it already-- and I was very happy with the results :) I'll get to that later...

Prior to the Vita coming, I concotated some tatsy meals. Once it did come, oh that was another story. I love playing with my new ~~toy~~ Vita :)

I've been long out of oat bran for a few days, so I just used some good ol' Quaker rolled oats as I was craving oatmeal. I cooked it in almond milk and cinnamon then topped with some fresh raspberries (local-Driscoll Farm, represent!), and almond butter.

I picked up a can of Amy's Black Bean Chili while at Whole Foods the other day-- per Katie's recommendation. I roasted some veggies (with olive oil and sea salt) to accompany the black bean chili. It was yummy; thanks so much Katie for recommending this high-fiber, high-protein product, love it!

When it came to dinner, I got creative. I was hungry, cold and tired when I got home from class at 5 pm. And I also caught glimpse of my new Vita; I was thinking of just having "protein ice-cream" for supper, but I neglected that-- Ice cream later, dinner first. I wanted something warm first, especially some veggie "meatball" soup.

First, I sauteed minced garlic, onion, carrot and zucchini in olive oil till soft.

Once cooked, I added a tad of some spices I enjoy-- Paprika, chili powder, cayenne (just a dash), garlic powder and salt and pepper.

Then, I added a cup of veggie broth (I just used half a veggie cube which I dissolved in hot water) and brought the mixture to a boil. Once boiled, I added 5 (pre-baked) meatless meatballs.

Then, I added a 1/4 cup of whole-wheat couscous-- you can use any whole-grain, though. I added a cup or so of water since the couscous absorbs liquid. Add as much water or other liquid for desired thickness.

Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes till couscous is cooked and veggies are soft.

It was indeed very yummy and hearty-- And me being impatient, I dug into the soup and quickly burnt my tounge. Note to self: Wait 5-10 minutes before consuming anything hot, especially soup or oatmeal :)

Rounded out with a side salad con pistachios and woodstock dressing.

....And what do you think I had for dessert?

Why, protein-ice cream, of course! Oh man, it was SO delicious. It made a big serving and I didn't think I could finish all of it, but ends up I did. What can I say, I love ice cream :)

No creative-ness for the protein ice-cream tonight, just used Heather's recipe as I didn't want bad results on my first time using it. I've got a lot in mind though!

I love it so much and am SUPER excited to get creative with new recipes on the Vita. I have so many in mind, but so little time!

Goodnight lovelies, I must get some rest for swim manana :) xx

Hello, Mrs. Vitamix!!!!!!

2010-10-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

You heard right from the title-- I'm getting my very own VITAMIX blender! I'm SO extremely excited. I'll tell you the story of how a dream turned into reality, but i'm oh so tired, so bare with me! I just completed an 8 1/2 hour shift at work-- crazy, huh? If my grammer and words get odd, again, bare with me :)

My mama was doing dishes the other night and sadly dropped the not-so-poor "Oster Blender" on it's side, causing it to shatter.

That's not the first time this belittled blender has broke-- rather, it's the second time. I broke the last blender, doing the same thing: dishes. We quickly got a replacement at Costco as I can't go too long without a blender. I mean, who do you think I am without my smoothies? :)

After this second mishap with Mr. Oster, we decided to look to Vitamix. By "we", I mean my dad and I.

(Just getting home from work on Saturday) "What? Who broke the blender this time? Ohhhh no."

(Mi papa) "There was a ton of dishes left out and mom had a mistake. Sorry. What about that amazing blender you wanted, maybe we should give that a shot this time."

"The Vitamix? Oh my gosh, can we PLEASE?"

"Let's try to find a reasonably priced one" (dad)

And that's just what the conversation consisted of-- short and to the point. YOW, I cannot wait to dig into some protein ice cream and actually make blended concoctions without having to add tons of liquid. The price? SUPER expensive, however, I called the Vitamix site to see if there were any reconditioned ones for cheaper, and there were! I bought mine for $379, plus sales tax and shipping. The actual total came to $440. Not terrible, but definitely a hefty investment-- a good one though. One that'll last for A LONG time and won't break quickly, like Mr. Oster.

I don't know if I'll be able to be patient for 7-10 days waiting for this amazing, wonderful (and all positive synonyms) gadget, but I simply must.

Enough about the Vitamix--although, I am quite giddy, as you can see. I made the yummiest thai-autumn soup for lunch today.

I paired the soup with some Gayle's organic pain de campange bread (con almond butter) and a homegrown apple.

Thai Harvest Soup--

Makes 1 large Emilia size serving, or two smaller size servings.

1 garlic clove, minced.

1/4 of an onion, diced.

Oil of choice (I used coconut oil)

1 whole carrot, chopped.

1 1/2 cups chopped kale

1/2 cup chickpeas (or desired amount)

1/2 of a cooked acorn squash (any other cooked winter squash would work fine, too)

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

A few dashes of cinnamon

A few dashes of cayenne pepper (to liking)

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a nonstick pan with oil of choice and add garlic and onion; cook till soft. Add carrot and cook to tender; then, add kale in bunches. Add chickpeas, squash flesh and spices, stirring to combine with all ingredients. Once mixture is soft and well combined, add the veggie broth; bring to a boil, then simmer to 5-10 minutes. Turn off heat when soup reaches desired consistency (it'll thicken up as it's cooked longer).

The soup was super yummy and hearty, however, I think I would've made it with coconut milk next time. It was already creamy and rich with the addition of winter squash, but the coconut milk would've given it more of a Thai taste and made it creamier. I'll definitely be making that again soon, it was easy, very filling and nutritious.

Alright, I'm off to bed, it's been a LONG day. Goodnight and reminis in the good news with me-- my new and upcoming blog and the addition of a Vitamix to my kitchen! xoxo

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring....

2010-10-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

It may have been raining all day here in Santa Cruz, but not here in blog-land. I have some exciting news to share.... (drum-roll)

(View from my porch-- pretty, huh?)

I'm going to start self-hosting my own site-- it'll be done in about 3 weeks! Thanks to Zesty at Zesty Blog Consulting, I'll have my own new- and improved Namaste Gurl site. I'm super amped as I've never hosted my own site. But I'm tired of my plain ol' design and what blogger can offer. I want what many other foodie bloggers have done with there sites, self-hosted them. ZBC has helped out many foodie bloggers with their sites such as Heather Eats Almond Butter, Broccoli Hut, Kath Eats, to name a few.

Stay tuned for my new and improved "Namaste Gurl" site-- I hope it turns out amazing, as I'm sure it will considering the work of Mr. ZBC.

It was rainy and cold all day. Well I guess that means Fall has "officially" arrived here :) Seasons come very late in Santa Cruz--where I live-- Summer doesn't come till about August, Fall in October, and so on. Ehhh, at least we don't have snow here :)

There's some Fall coming, can't ya' see?

My lovely vegetable garden welcomes fall as there's NO more summer veggies left :(

Todays eats consisted of fall-type meals-- comforting, spicy and warm.

I woke up hungry and craving pumpkin oats, so that's just what I had, again:

Pumpkin oats topped with walnuts and cashews; homegrown apple

Mmmmmm...

The apples my tree produces are SOOOOO cute.

I had hoped on going on a bike ride or walk before church, but that didn't happen. Often when it's rainy and chilly I'm in no mood to do anything but shop or stay inside.

Lunch consisted of a colorful salad of spinach, goat cheese, fresh raspberries (raspberries in October, I'll take it!), almonds, avocado and cucumber all misted in balsamic vinegar; crackers.

I did math literally all afternoon, non-stop. I came home pretty famished and roasted an acorn squash that'd been yelling to be cooked :) :

Acorn squash stuffed with garlic-y veggies; chickpeas

I thought this picture was funny because you can actually see the steam rising from the hot squash :)

The squash wasn't very good, to be honest. Me being impatient and hungry, I kept peeking while it was cooking and finally just pulled it out prior to it being cooked. Note to self: Don't eat uncooked squash, it's not very yummy. I felt like I was scooping clay from the ground trying to get the flesh out of the rind!

I'm of to do yet more math homework. Have a good Monday :)!

"Biking in the moonlight, everybody...."

2010-10-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

Good evening, lovelies!

I'm sorry for being so idle the last couple days-- I have been completely busy with work and school. Weekends are my slashed away times for that when I mainly work. All I've wanted to do the last couple days was just sit down and blog, but there's been not even a minute for it. Oh well, there's always 9 pm for that!

Today I worked a VERY long shift, 11-7:30 to be exact. I didn't feel like swimming or biking before I started work this morning; so I biked to work. It only takes about 20 minutes to get there-- about 7 miles round-trip. However, I didn't realize how tired I'd be when I got off of work at 7:30 pm. I still have a semi-injured foot, too, so it was definitely a stretch being on my feet all day plus riding home. It's been pretty cold outside all day, in addition, so when I got off work I realized two things: Cold and darkness. That's what I'd be riding home to--well, oh well, no biggie.

The ride home actually wasn't that bad-- There was hardly anybody on the rode, car wise, and I felt like I had the whole atmosphere to myself. Though it was cold at first, just like running early on a cold morning, I warmed up as I started biking. For some reason I had a lot more energy then I did early in the day--almost using copious amount of energy all day gave me a sudden burst.

It felt calming just biking in the dark-- With headlights, no need to worry-- just me and the graceful trees, wind and environment.

Have you ever exercised-- whether it be bike riding, running, walking, etc.-- in the darkness? What did you think of it?

My meals have been quite boring in the last few days, to be honest. Much of what they've been have been "on-the go-meals"-- aka, whatever I can whip off in 10 minutes or less. Here's a few colorful visualizes of some of what I've been munching on.

Mixed greens (butter lettuce and kale) with cucumber, almonds, avocado and a sunshine burger all dressed in honey, olive oil and sea salt. Super easy and yummy.

....Check out my "newspaper placemat" :)

A sweet potato with cashini butter, dill-spiked cottage cheese and veggies.

Green eggs and ham? Nahhh, just plain ol' green oats and banana. With a dolop of peanut butter, of course.

My cravings have been really odd, too....

Sauteed garlic-y spinach, sunny-side up egg, steel cut oats with coconut milk and almond butter.

Spinach for breakfast? Why not! Green oats? It's a must! It just shows i'm a TRUE veggie-lover.

I tell you, that rice cooker makes some perfecto oats--it's not limited to just rice!

Mmmmmm....

Another on- the go- "I gotta be a work in 10 minutes" meal:

Leftover barley (a HUGE amount) stir-fried with red cabbage, kale, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and topped with raw cashews; carrot "fries"; hemp- ~~recess~~ peanut butter shake.

Another odd, but superb meal-- I needed a energy-packed meal for a long shift at work.

Hemp-pb shake: Hemp protein, coconut milk, peanut butter, strawberries and spinach.

Let's just say I was VERY full after this filling, but tasty ~~meal~~ feast.

There's nothing like a pumpkin smoothie to wake you up before an 8 1/2 hour shift.

Pumpkin smoothie: 3/4 C. pureed pumpkin, 2/3 cup almond milk, ice, cinnamon, hemp protein. Topped with wheat germ, almond butter, cinnamon and blueberries.

I'm off to do some online homework-- Yikes. Wish me luck for I am T-I-R-E-D. The lights almost going out in me :)

By the way, BIG announcement coming next post, so stay tuned! Later, lovelies :) xx

The Magical Wonders of Mr. Black and Decker

2010-10-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

As I've shared in the last couple posts, I finally got a brand new rice cooker! I've wanted one for quite some time--and no, it's not a modern, over-the top kitchen gadget like the VitaMix or anything, but for me it's done wonders in the last few days. My mama was ever so kind to buy me one last weekend at Macy's, cause hey, it was on sale-- Why not? :)

If you don't already have a rice cooker-- or whatever name they may modernly call it-- you should get one! They are amazing; they've changed my life in the last couple days. Well that's a lie, not my life, but more the delicious meals I've had on my plate. For me, cooking rice or any other grain (I love grains, too) is a very tetius task-- one that sometimes prevents me from cooking grains. But Mr. Black and Decker, Rice Cooker Plus, has proved me wrong. All you do is just put in the grain--for every 1/4 c. add 1 cup water-- liquid and any other spices, turn it to cook and wah-lah, it does all the work in no time for you.

This morning--thanks to my new, fab rice cooker-- I enjoyed a good ol' bowl of steel cut oats. And man, can I just tell you, they were AMAZING!

Into the mix went:

3/4 C. Steel Cut Oats (I made extra for my mama)

3 1/2 Cups Water

2 large cinnamon sticks

More ground cinnamon

A bit of nutmeg

Then I topped mine with flax, fresh blueberries and of course, almond butter.

It was glorious, people, just divine. It tasted like the way grandma used to make it--thick, luscious, cinnamoney with a big touch of love :)

Another rice-cooker creation I had in the last couple days was my thai- curry barley

Made with coconut milk, curry powder, ginger, zucchini and kale. A meal in a matter of 20 minutes.

I just love my new rice cooker-- I makes life a million times easier for me as I don't ~~always~~ have very much time to cook lovely, nutritious grains. Now I do with the magical wonders of Mr. Black and Decker :)

Have a good Thursday, lovelies! xx

A Corny Meal

2010-10-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday, lovelies :)

I hope everyone's enjoying their wednesday--whether it be at work, school, vacation, getting stuff done at home, or just relaxing.

I felt well enough to go to swim this morning, as my cold is getting much better. It was great-- I hadn't fully worked out in about a week so it was nice to move my body.

When I got home from swim, I did some overly- procrastinated homework then made a quick lunch....

I made a scramble with one whole egg, one egg white, mustard, corn, onions and tomato. Then topped it with avocado, goat cheese and fresh basil.

.... Accompanied with some fresh OJ-- trying to get in as much Vitamin C as possible to keep fighting this cold virus.

It was super yummy--and better yet, only took a matter of 5-7 minutes to prepare!

I also had some chia-peanut flour pudding, not pictured, for extra protein. All I did was mix 1/4 cup peanut flour, some water, 3 tablespoons chia seeds, vanilla and wha-lah, it's done! I am SO full now-- quite the hearty meal.

I'm off to do some research/ analytical work for my College Success class now--adios for now :)

Curry-licious Meals....

2010-10-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Hope you are having a great week. If you're not, like me, look at it this way: We're halfway through the week, with tomorrow being Wednesday :) For me, however, the weekend isn't much to look forward to, other than work, being that I work ALL weekend. Yep- Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Well, at least I can look forward to a good paycheck :)

I felt pretty lousy the last couple days--today, however, I feel a bit better. Just a little more myself, progress not perfection, as they say. Yesterday I laid on the couch all day--you know, catching up on movies, attempting to read magazines you haven't had time to read.... and so on. I didn't even feel well enough to study and do my homework, let alone do anything active! Today, my cold was a tad toned- down and I was able to take a bike- ride and go to class.

I was able to cook yesterday, despite feeling at my worst. ! By three pm, my creative juices started spilling out and I decided to make a colorful meal for my mom and I, which I'll show later.....

Most of my meals recently have been Thai/ curry laden and not purposely!

For a mid-day snack yesterday, I whipped up some pumpkin-chiaseed pudding using the rest of my canned pumpkin. I spiced it up and added tons of cinnamon atop and walnuts. Twas' good. Thanks Gena for the inspiration!

When I went outside to get the mail--taking a break from lovely, A Walk to Remember, I found a package sitting on my porch. A box from NuNaturals, that is.

Thank you SO much NuNaturals-- I'm so excited to further experiment with all these Stevia varieties :)

As per my short story above-- I whipped out my new rice cooker, glass pan, etc and started cooking away. I stuffed two whole peppers, cut lengthwise and filled them with barley, chickpeas, carrots, curry powder, onions, garlic and golden raisins. Then I plopped them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.

MAN were they good. Even my mom, who's not big on vegan food was quite amazed. They definitely did the trick!

BAD quality, but you can still *somewhat* visualize how amazing they look. Colorful, huh?

Props to the newly rice-cooker (Black and Decker brand, to be precise) that my mom bought me--On sale at Macy's, holla!

Lunch today included more spontaneousness....

Using up some of the leftover barley, made on the Rice Cooker, I put 3/4 C. barley and 1 C. coconut milk back into the rice cooker with some curry powder and ginger then when it was cooked through, I added chickpeas (also leftover), kale and sauteed zucchini and let it warm under to rice cooker.

The results? AMAZING-- oh my goodness, I can't tell you how yummy that concoction was. I accompanied the thai- rice with the rest of the sauteed zucchini and an apple with cashew butter.

I do love barley; however, I cook with it very rarely. It's SUPER nutritious, too, so I don't see why I don't. Well, it's definitely going to be making it into more of my meals now that I have a rice cooker.

I think I should move to Thailand, knowing i'd fit in there quite well food-wise :)

For dinner, I used the rest of the TJs Butternut squash soup I broke into a couple days ago when sick. This time I jazzed it up with some more curry powder, ginger, paprika and TVP. Yes, I don't like to eat soy a lot ask it gives me gas and upsets my stomach, but once in a while yes. I had some mixed veggies cooked in coconut oil and a piece of Gayle's whole grain bread with coconut butter. Yum.

Alright, I'm off to get some homework done and catch up on emails! Goodnight, lovlies :) xx

Sick as a dog :(

2010-10-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hello, all!

I've developed a icky, terrible cold/ flu on Saturday evening and have been totally out of all my normal activities since. That explains why I haven't posted anything recently--or done much or anything! Today, I had to miss out on my swim class and in addition, call in to work "sick". Definitely not what I planned on doing; I actually wanted to go to work. I enjoy swim since it's my one of main work-outs for the day, but you gotta do what you gotta do when you feel under the weather. Big, huge bummer. First it was my foot-- which has actually felt the best it's felt in the last couple days-- now it's the cold. Geez, I can't WAIT to get back to my normal self and be on my feet healthy again.

Since I don't feel like writing a drawn out, long post, I'm going to share a essay I started recently about an event that's impacted the person I am today. Coincidentally, I choose to write about what I'm going through now, as it's been a TOUGH couple of weeks. It's only the first draft, people, so don't get too excited. Ignore the bad grammar when you see it, too :)

Many events in my life have shaped the person I am today and there’s still so many to come. Events in my life have been greatly negative and never-ending; on the other hand, they’ve also been constructive and life-giving. I’ve gone through many illness, surgery, weddings, new jobs, losses, cries, and much more—all had an extreme impact on me despite feeling it at the time. Currently, however, I’m going through a circumstance that’s not entirely over yet, but I can certainly see the lesson and change that is coming about through me. Sixteen days ago, I twisted the arch of my foot at the conclusion of my morning run. As a daily runner and overall physical person, you can only imagine how hard it’s been for me to go through this. I’ve had to give up much of myself and fully surrender to ensure that my foot would heal quickly. It hasn’t been a easy thing to do and in fact, it’s still not over.

Friday the 24^th? Are you sure it wasn’t “Friday the 13^th?!? On a sunny, positive-ensuring day, I went out for a morning run before my English lab. It looked like it was going to not a good day, but a wonderful one. The sun was strong and promising that it would stay, I was going to swim after class, go to work later in the day. And better yet, it was the weekend almost—how much better can that get! All that affirmative jibber

-jabber came to a halt when my foot bended inward at the closing of my jog. Luckily, I was seconds away from my house, so I hoped to my grass lawn and fell down—crying deeply and angrily. I knew what I was in for—no running, no work, no nothing! A long recovery of resting and not moving my body. Images and thoughts ran through my crammed head as if I was in a deep pool and couldn’t come up for air.

Later, when my parents found out, my dad’s first comment was, “Don’t even worry, it’s just a simple sprain, you’ll be back on you feet in a day or so. Just rest today and you’ll be better tomorrow”. Heh, I’d like to say that was the case two weeks later, but it’s been a much longer journey than I expected. I called into work sick that night, guilty and angry I couldn’t make it. All I wanted to do was go out and ride my bike and enjoy what’s left of the September sun.

A week later, I scrambled over to Urgent Care to really see what’s going in underneath my skin, as the progress in my injured foot was little if any. I could certainly stand on my foot now and do much more than the fist—yet horrible—day I wounded it. But anytime I did do anything, such as going for light walks and riding my bike shortly to school, the poor thing would start to throb again. The line, “It’ll be better in just a couple days, no need to go to the doctor” wore off quickly and I decided I wasn’t going to wait for anything to magically happen much longer. According to the doctor and urgent care, my foot was not broken—as I knew—or fractured. It was probably just a tendon twist or tear. “Who knows how long it could take to heal”, was what the newly known physician at urgent care replied.

Despite my arch on my foot hurting a little more, or a little less each day, I can still manage to go to my swimming class and bike some. As I’ve matured and blossomed into a woman, a main joy in my life has been physical fitness. One that I think it necessary for proper health and is a wonderful reliever of stress and aches. I try to aim for one or two hours of physical activity a day as it’s a significant part of my daily routine. However, as I’ve had my foot injury, one to two hours hasn’t made in on the charts for my daily activities. I’m lucky now to get even a half hour as I never know the case of my foot. Body maintenance is wonderful for health and many other mental and physical cases, but not always. Reality is reality and you must learn to adjust your beliefs and thoughts depending on “reality”. It’s most definitely fine to rest while your foot heals. I’ve learned recently that I try to fight reality often, not fully accepting what’s happening. As my injury continues to get better—or on some days after I’ve been on my foot too much, a bit worse—I’m learning to be tolerable of little or no exercise in a given day. Life happens and we can’t always control what comes our way.

Over the past week, I’ve been down and low about my foot not progressing the way I’d like. Also, that I’m not able to take long walks, hike, run and do many more foot- depending activities. Being on my feet at work for seven hours, or even swimming on it twice last week, or biking could have impeded the healing. But it’s over with and done, so I must accept and move in with reality. In addition to my still wounded foot, I just got a grueling cold yesterday. Just another hinder for me being able to again enjoy the simple pleasures of life that I once did before all these incidents happened.

It certainly won’t help—as I’ve learned—to dwell on what could have happened had I not taken that morning run or been around people who were inflicted with cold viruses. And getting mad at life’s occurrences and God won’t make my foot feel normal again nor will it take away my cold sickness. If I just simply comply with what’s currently going on by resting, having a optimistic attitude, and loving my body, circumstances will change. And my outlook on life will change and has changed, too. Even though this pessimistic journey is not over yet, I can see the fruit that has come out of it. Yes, I miss my usual physical exercise each day and the norm, but taking a short break from it won’t do me any harm. Life is hard and has its troubles, and we can’t always steer the way of them. But we can change how we deal with what comes at us—our attitudes and actions. As the quote says, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.”

To be honest, the last couple days I haven't had too much of an appetite--definitely not the norm-- but I do have a few photos of my odd cravings in the last few days.

Friday's lunch before work and pre- getting sick: Grilled tofu (marinated in soy sauce, rice vinegar and stevia), grilled sweet potato and carrots, and onions a-top broccoli slaw.

It's never too late too grill even when it's not summer, is it? Not when you have lovely indoor George Forman :)

A lovely bowl of oat bran before work saturday morning topped with homegrown apple, cinnamon and almond butter.

On Saturday night, I definitely felt something coming on me as I felt achy all over. I still ate something as I didn't want to skip dinner. A simple kale- carrot stir-fry with tahini mixed in and topped with a Sunshine Burger.

The one thing you can depend on when feeling icky is TJ's boxed soup: Butternut squash soup, to be precise. I jazzed it up by adding some chickpeas, curry powder, cinnamon, kale and ginger. Even though I couldn't taste it very well, the warmness was soothing.

Oat bran is another WONDERFUL food while you're sick, as I am. I got no sleep what so ever last night, as I kept sneezing, blowing, sniffing... I was craving a bowl of pumpkin oats, so that's just what i made. After drinking some Lemon Zinger tea with lots of lemon, I made a bowl of oat bran with pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger an banana--topped with almond butter and more cinnamon. I could actually taste it, too!

As you can see, my eats were quite boring the last few days. I had to keep it bland as I haven't been vary hungry due to all the congestion and sneezing.

With that, I bid you a wonderful and healthy Monday :)

No OATS in Germany?!?

2010-10-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

That's right-- I've just recently converted a person to my healthy, but yummy concoctions. It was not an American for that matter, in fact she speaks very little English. It was indeed no other than a German :).

Over the past, we've been having a couple from Germany stay with us who are visiting their daughter who's doing a ministry program through our church. I thought it was just a few days, but no. Nine days promptly; which at first when I heard I was a bit (actually A LOT) disappointed since I had to share my bathroom, living space, house in general and more importantly, my food. I'm one of those people who "must- keep- everything- clean, pretty and smelling good". So it's been hard sharing my space as their in the guest room right next to my bedroom. French smelling (abeit, bug spray smelling) perfume definitely isn't on the top of my list of favorite smells. Nooo, I'm exaggerating a bit, their overall pretty clean and kind people. They clean up their messes and try to be quiet, but it's still such a hard thing for me to have people stay with me whom i've never met.

Over the past few days, however, the German women who's staying with us temporarily, Sabine, has been eyeing my cooking. Through broken, but hard-trying English, she communicated to me that she really enjoys vegetarian food and cooking. The other night I was making a bowl of creamy oat bran before bed and the two quickly came over and observed what was in the pot. They thought it looked good and had never seen such a thing such as what we call "oats". And tonight, I was broiling the rest of my leftover spaghetti squash along with some Mediterranean veggies in olive oil. Again, she came over with awe and LOTS of questions.

"...Spaghetti squash, that's what it's called. It comes from a winter squash called spaghetti squash" (said I)

"Spa-ghe-tee squ-ash? I never heard of such thing, we don't have in Germany"

"(Laughing) My cooking is REALLY weird and different. I don't eat like many people who are my age, rather, very healthy and whole. You've probably never heard of many of the foods I eat and cook with such as coconut butter (my secret lover. Noooo, I didn't say that to her), Annie's Goddess dressing, hemp fudge, chocolate butter and the list goest on. That's ok, I'm a bit weird in that way :)

"Ohhhh, my kids in Germany would never eat my healthy food I make. I do wish though."

Our evening conversation sounded a bit like that. Curiosity, curiosity and more curiosity. Tonight, she didn't even eat the German food my parents made for them, as a special occasion. When I walked into the living room for a snack at about 8, she came up to me and asked me about that "porridge you make". I couldn't entirely understand what she was saying, but my mom got it: She wanted me to teach her how I make oat bran! I said yes in a minute-- I love showing people new yummy and healthy foods, especially my fav, oat bran.

Sabine (on the left) next to my parents (mom in middle, dad on right).

And that's just what I did tonight, I gave her a step-by-step tutorial of how to make creamy, amazing, and delish oat bran--my style. I did the whole melt the banana trick at the end, showed her what milk I use--unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, and last but def. not least, topped it with good ol' almond butter on top.

She LOVED it and ate every last bit--and she's a small eater so that says a lot. She wants to take some almond butter, oat bran and nuts home with her to Germany, as they're very expensive their. I'm going to take her to the local, but expensive health food store and show her my favs-- I'm super excited! Yay, I love when people love my cooking and foods and start incorporating into their own lifestyle! :)

Have you showed any friends, family members or acquaintances your favorites foods and recipes? Did they love them, if so?

Here's a couple meals for you while I'm at it:

A fantastically, amazing, tongue lovin' meal (stands for FAT).

Today, I devoted lunch to be a "fat love" meal. I had an omelette wrap with avocado, goat cheese and fresh basil. MAN was it SO good, definitely recommend the avo-goat cheese combo. I also had some sauteed spinach in garlic and a coconut oil (generous amount) and a leftover sweet potater (made with coconut oil) topped with a bit of almond butter and of course, cinnamon!

I tell you people, fat makes your taste buds SUPER happy and leaving you satiated and undeprived. Even though I get a good amount of fats at every meal, I just wanted to show a meal solely devoted to my favorite fats: Coconut, nut butter, and avocado. I'm not one for eating a lot of eggs, one or twice a week is enough for me, same for cheese. But I do incorporate it into my diet for the occasional vegetarian animal protein. And I DON'T skip on the fat when I eat eggs as well-- no egg white omelettes for me usually.

Sorry, the quality of this picture is poop, but I was hungry and inpatient!

Dinner was just something I quickly threw together: Leftover broiled spaghetti squash with roasted tomatoes and artichoke hearts atop; cinnamon-spiked greek yogurt with pistachios; spinach salad with bloobs and cucumber dressed with a rice-wine vinaigrette.

Pretty, huh?

And to lovely Sabine, I devote this picture of oat bran to you, or as you say it "baby food porridge"

Alright people, I'm off to do more homework and answer more questions from the German. Au revoir :)

Confession: I'm a cinnamon WHORE

2010-10-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry to use such profuse language, however, the word "whore" accurately describes my TLC for cinnamon. It's not a new observance; rather, one that I've noticed for quite some time, but didn't think to ever share! From everything to eggs and sweet potatoes, cinnamon takes over my whole feast, but I have no shame in that. I LOVE cinnamon and I'm not afraid to say it :) In fact, I went through a whole 20 oz. jar of ground Saigon cinnamon in a matter of a month.

Mmmm, is my cinnamon addiction making it to the top of the list with my nut butters addiction? I think not-- at least not yet, but cinnamon, you're pretty up there!

Do you have any raging food passions in you? So much that you can't go a day or meal without?

Thank you, Costco--you have provided me with some tasty cinnamon, super-sizing it so that it'll take me a bit longer to finish! :)

I don't doubt where my love for cinnamon comes from, in fact I know where it derives. My mom has deep passion for cinnamon as well--she grew up eating cinnamon right from the stick, not ground! Today she keeps that affection rekindled by boiling cinnamon sticks every morning for cinnamon tea. Don't think I don't steal any, cuz' I do!

I have been putting things into my mouth other than cinnamon--Not to worry! However cinnamon "perfumes" many of my dishes.....

Yesterday I made something quick and light on my tummy since I was rushing to get to an orthodontist appointment and I swam after. Nothing beats Fage greek yogurt, honey sesame cashews and mango.

Plastic containers make WONDERFUL bowls, by the way, as do nut butter jars :)

And some "cinnamon" tea, of course. Like my cup?

After swim, I was quite famished again, that yogurt parfait wore off quick! With my leftover diced tomatoes, I whipped up some Cashini Butter chili, using Artisana's Cashini Butter instead of peanut or almond butter. It was supper tasty, the cashini butter made it really creamy and luscious. I put a big scoop of avocado on top and had a salad with tomatoes and pumpkin seeds on the side. Oh, and some green-y grapes.

Beautiful colors, huh? Despite the colors, I managed to burn my tongue AGAIN, as always with soup or chili-- I'm not patient!

I was in no mood to cook after class yesterday, so I just made a simple semi stir-fry salad, with the addition of some tofu cooked in soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Ak-Mak crackers rounded out the meal.

I had a late shake after swim this morning (Chocolate rice protein, strawberries and almond milk) so I wasn't too hungry, however, I knew I should eat lunch still, so I did.

I had some kale/carrot slaw and broccoli; broiled spaghetti squash rubbed in LOTS of olive oil; roasted tomatoes and leftover black beans. It was a bit of a funky meal, but it worked.

I had the afternoon off--sans classes or work-- so I used that to run errands and of course, get my eyebrows "did". It was a restful day.

For some reason, I had been craving nut butter all day, even though I sufficed my nut butter monster in me twice already today. Oh, and sweet potatoes.

So I sufficed that with a hearty snack, as I was hungry again: A bowl of whole milk, plain yogurt (not Greek :( ) spiked with LOTS and LOTS of cinnamon (the first monster in me) and topped it with a baked sweet potato rubbed with a generous amount of coconut oil and cinnamon. I topped the ~~sundae~~ yogurt mess with another generous amount of almond butter and more cinnamon.

It was SUPER yum. I do recommend that combo if you've never tried!

Which picture do you like better-- With or without flash?

Alright, I'm off to dinner and a movie with a friend! Have a great rest of the night and day tomorrow, loves!

A Deep Fog Of Mistrust

2010-10-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

Hello, fellow blogians!
(Is that even a word, by any means? I don't care; I like it and I'm keeping it!)

Where have I been all weekend? Oh, just working, resting and more working, that is. I really did not have any time for myself this last weekend, and if I did, I would be on blogging the minute I could :).

Anyhow, like I said, my weekend was filled with plain old work at Gayle's, not homework, although I did do quite a bit of that too. My foot is STILL hurting and I STILL can't run or do the many walking activities I regularly enjoy doing. It's sad--and yes, I've already cried through it :) However, I still can bike and swim, which I've been doing since I take a swim class at school twice a week and bike to school, but still no running yet. I don't want to hurt it more.

I suspect my foot hasn't made as much progress due to being on it at school and work this past week. I didn't "RICE" it a lot--rest, ice, compress, and elevate; therefore it's been a slow recovery. It could be also due to not wearing very supportive shoes when I'm on my feet for long periods of time. You can't get in trouble for trying to look cute, right?

I worked Friday and Saturday this past weekend and I was supposed to work 2-9 on Sunday, but I called in sick due to wanting to rest my foot some before the upcoming week, which expects a lot of my poor little foot. I had also called in sick not this past Friday, but the one before--the day I hurt it. I feel SUPER bad letting down my work as they have little trust in anybody who calls in sick for the day. There's so many young, college-aged people who work with me that the managers rarely believe anybody who's ill. When I called in sick again on Sunday (yesterday), I could totally deceive the tone in my manager's voice: Untrustful. All she wanted was a doctors note. And since it's not broken or fractured, rather I probably pulled a tendon [!!], and I look fine when I walk, I'm still in utter pain.

That goes for almost everything in life: We may not know the pain, misery, suffering etc of peoples lives and problems, but we must have compassion through it. It makes me so sad that people can just say "oh, sorry, I hope you feel better" or "ouch, that must hurt". YES, it definitely DOES hurt--SOOOO much. And yet, half the time they won't believe you because you look "fine". I limp a bit-- not as much as last week--but the way I walk has nothing to do with the pain. Just like someone affiliated with horrendous cancer (sorry to give such a strong similarity...not in the disease, people! No need to worry); they may look fine and try to put on a happy face, but really their burning inside and don't want to show the world their pain.

Do you have similar situations in life where people just don't understand or believe what you're doing through?

Oh foot, I do miss you ever so much and hope you return to normal quite soon. Yes, I do personify my feet :)

Alright, enough with the ooy-goey-ness, onto la eats!

I did catch a few photos of mi comida (food) even though I was "on my feet" all weekend.

Saturday morning, I woke up hungry so instead of doing my ab exercises--well actually, let's be honest, since my hurt foot I haven't been doing any early-riser exercise :(
Anyways, I made a pumpkin-corn-almond-blueberry parfait using greek yogurt with pumpkin and cinnamon added, crumbled pumpkin cornbread, blueberries and almond butter. SUCH an amazing combo, I do recommend.

  *Excuse the quality, as my camera busted out of batteries just as I was about to click the photo :)! Hence me using my camera phone...

I've had a spaghetti squash laying around my kitchen YELLING to be used, so that's exactly what I did Saturday night, after work that is. I broiled some spaghetti squash with olive oil and s+p, then added some organic marinara sauce and topped it with a few meatless meatballs and basil. I also had a spinach salad with walnuts and golden raisons. I do apologize for the horibble quality again, as I depended on my camera phone yet again.
TJs meatless meatballs were just ok, a bit salty and processed. I wasn't going to buy them, but I was a bit curious to try them since someone else in the blog land reviewed them. I wasn't too dandy about the 15 or so ingrediants in them, some of which I haven't heard of. Well, know I know. Oh, and I'm not too fond of soy, I'm trying to cut it out of my diet a bit.

Sunday morning, I woke up to chilly weather-- I really think fall has officially hit Santa Cruz. Well, good bye, Summer :)! All I wanted was something pipping hot in my belly before heading to church, so I made a big bowl of luscious oat bran. I topped it with some hemp fudge and almond butter. I had some melon on the side, too. And no, not all that melon was for me-- we have guests from Germany currently, that was for them :)

  I planned on having a dense protein-rich bfast before swim--Which I DIDN'T go to, sad face-- but when I learned I had to work at 10 am, and my class didn't end till 9:20 plus showering, I put swim to a halt. I ate my yummy bfast despite going to swim, as I rode my bike later.

I made Heather's Flourless pizza crepe with tomato paste, goat cheese, eggs, 1/4 tsp. baking powder and fresh basil. It was super delish Heather, thank you for the idea! I accompanied my ~~single serve pizza~~ pizza crepe with a sweet potato with cashini butter which was quite tasty, as always.

  It was very delish, but a bit heavy for that early in the morning. Next time, I'll opt for less sauce and cheese-- I go crazy with those two sometimes!

Microwaved sweet potatoes are not NEARLY as good as baked ones-- My fault.

I was at work for lunch, so I just packed a simple black bean salad, you can't go wrong with that! No snap shot of that.....

I was still SUPER cold by late afternoon and wanted something comforting. I went for lots of sauteed veggies, in coconut oil and garlic, that is. I had some leftover broiled spaghetti squash, too!

I'm off to to compose an essay defending my glorioussss phone :)! Later, lovelies.

There's no use in crying over spilled "wheatgrass"

2010-10-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

Good evening, lovlies :)

I'll make this quick as I just got off of work and not only am I utterly tired and sore, but I need to finish some homework that's due tomorrow night! I wanted to at least post something for today. I'm really trying to be an "accountable blogger"-- I'm doing better, aren't I? A week or two is much too long to be away :)

Before I started work at 3 pm today, I stopped by my fav., local health food store to get a sssh-moo-thee (smoothie), New Leaf. Scanning the local, all organic, and VERY expensive isles while I waited for my blueberry-spirulina-hemp- and flax smoothie to be made, I came across a women who was giving samples of "only the best and raw wheatgrass". Typical, she asked me if I wanted to try a small sample of the amazing, vegan, raw, organic wheatgrass she was selling. I'm not one for drinking wheatgrass everyday, as I don't at all like the taste of it, I rather get in my spirulina through Spirutein, Vega, or other protein powders, etc, that taste good :) I accepted her sample, and drank it down. I continued to look happy even though I didn't really like the taste. All wheatgrass that's raw tastes the same, I'd be nice to find one that tasted delish without any added sweeteners or crap. Anyways, we got into a whole discussion, further than just talking about how good wheatgrass is for you.

She kept telling me the benefits of wheatgrass. And I said, "A ha. Yes, I know, I know..."

But once she found out that I knew a little more about nutrition then she had suspected a typical 18-year old from knowing, we got chattering about the good stuff. Once I told her I make my own coconut milk from just a can of concentrated coconut milk, water and a bit of soy letchin granules, she got amazed. Then I beat her to the bunch on what are some great sources of protein, vitamins and overall nutrition. We were mostly talking about seeds and powders, not beans or tofu :) I mentioned hemp, how wonderful nutritionally speaking it is for you, though it doesn't always taste the best :) Then chia seeds--lots of protein, calcium, fiber, and MUCH much more. She told me along with wheatgrass, I should take a "sweet supplement"-- that being, in her opinion, bee pollen. I've had it added to my smoothie before at various organic smoothie bars. But never have I bought it. Then we talked about coconut-- the saturated fat in is, but it's not bad SF, it's actually very wonderful. And this is coming from a raw, vegan nutritionist...

I love being "right" and often knowing more than some professional people who think they know SO much, but they really don't. Doctors are a good example of that, as they don't know squat about nutrition and benefits of foods.

Do you ever feel like you're "more right" when talking to someone professional, who thinks they "know it all"? It's funny getting into long, deep discussions with them and seeing who knows more!

I went on one simple walk yesterday, I can still bike and swim, not as much as usual, but at least I can still do some exercise without my beloved running :( Unfortunately, I woke up this morning in more pain-- it felt as if my foot got worse this morning that it has been. It must've been due to my walk yesterday, biking and swimming don't seem to hurt it too much. I was hoping for a lot more progress in a week for my foot to heal. That explains why I went to the doctor before work this afternoon. Turns out no fracture, break or abnormality, just probably a tear in the tendons. Poor, poor foot; I do hope you get back to normal soon!

I did eat some tasty meals while hoping around everywhere today.

I woke up STARVING since I didn't have a snack before bed last night. My ravenous appetite never seems to go away, exercise or not :) I put my Hemp Protein to use again this morning, and instead of being too bitter tasting, it was the opposite: too sweet.
I made a smoothie with 1/4 C. Nutiva Hemp Protein (unsweetened), 1 packet stevia, 1 frozen banana, lots of PB, almond milk and cinnamon. I topped it with coconut and had a piece of my moist cornbread with coconut butter. And no, that's not crumbled goat cheese on top, although that would've tasted good! The smoothie was much too sweet; the banana or just the stevia was enough to alone to sweeten the smoothie and get rid of that "dirt" taste from the hemp. Oh well.

I love when what I drink is "green"-- it makes me feel so much better as to what i'm drinking down :)

For lunch, I quickly made a kale salad with kidney beans, honey sesame cashews dressed in a bit of Annie's Gingerly Vinaigrette and some avocado and lemon juice massaged in. I also had a sweet potato, massaged in lots of coconut oil and cinnamon. Sweet potatoes make any meal BETTER!

No pics of dinner, as it was spent at work. I just had a big plate of various veggies-- my work puts together some wonderful vegan and vegetarian salads! I often bring my own protein, though. There's not a lot of protein sources for veggies. I slathered some of my steamed veggies tonight in Artisana's tahini butter-- it was quite delish.

I came home after work--at 9:30 pm, to be precise-- and made my self a quick snack as I was hungry yet again.

Warm cornbread with almond butter and chia seeds a top warm, cinnamon almond milk. I wanted a sweet potato, but I didn't want to wait an hour for it be cooked, then burn my tongue again like last night :) It was pumpkin cornbread to the rescue!

Well, I'm ~~off to do homework~~ or to bed...we'll see. I really am a good student; it's just been a longgggg day. xx

I smell fall in the air.....Or do I?!?

2010-09-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

Despite the 80 and 90 degree weather around Santa Cruz recently, I still going full front on my fall festivities. I've been using a lot more with ~~canned~~ pumpkin, buying my first round of squash, makin' more soup, etc. Oh how I love fall, regardless of our "late summer" recently. I don't sense fall in the air; however, I sense it in all the grocery stores, now having an abundance of on sale canned--and fresh-- pumpkin, locally grown winter squash and all the summer produce saying goodbye. I'll miss you corn, zucchini, watermelon and tomatoes (and much more), but I'm ready for mah apples, pumpkins and winter squash :)

Oh, how I love fall. I'll still create in my own environment, even if people are out boogie boarding and soaking up the sun:) Despite being a sun lover and cold-weahter hater, I'm really excited actually for the weather to start cooling off and getting my uggs, scarfs and warm, poofy jackets out of my closet!

What are your favorite parts of fall? Do you get excited when squash and pumpkin go on sale and you see fall start to bloom?  I sure know I DO :)!

As I've said, a lot more of my meals have been more "autumny"-- aka, pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, apples, etc.

   Not so fall-like of a meal, but it was tasty and warm, so that's all that matters. Oat bran cooked in wholemade coconut milk, cinnamon and ginger and topped with hemp fudge and coconut.

By the way, I bought this Hemp Protein awhile ago because I've heard quite a bit about the nutritional benefits of hemp protein-- loaded with dietary fiber, iron, protein, omega-3s, MUSFA, etc. It's definitely an amazing superfood. There's a "but" though-- as some food bloggers have said, some hemp products can taste like "dirt". After trying this Nutiva brand of regular, unsweetened hemp protein, I have to say I'd agree. I've had tons of unsweetened protein powders, whether they be soy, pea, rice, whey, and even hemp. Their quite yummy and my preferred choice for protein powder, as I don't like added sugars. When I found the Non-Dairy Queen's recipe for hemp fudge, I definitely sprang to give that one a shot. I combined it with a packet of stevia, 2 tablespoons of hemp protein and 1 tablespoon of coco powder. It was good, but still pretty earthy tasting-- I'll definitely try a bit more stevia next time.

Ok, enough of my hemp story, onto lunch...

I made a really good wrap yesterday despite hurrying since my cleaning lady had just arrived. I used a brown rice tortilla from TJs and filled it with hummus, roasted mediterranian-type veggies and a bit of avocado. Roasted, but cold, veggies and hummus are an EXCELLENT combo. I also had a couple mini homegrown apples and cashini butter.

This morning, while doing homework, my mind drifted away and got me thinking about Heather's cornbread re-make that I really wanted to make again to see if it would be better than the last batch I made.

And I did-- and it came out wonderful. Thanks so much for the tips, Heather. I used eggs this time, un-veganizing it and the results were moist and delicious. I also used 2 heaping spoonfuls of pumpkin in place of one of the eggs.

With cinnamon added on the top :)

I was planning on having the cornbread with the chili I made tonight, but I could not wait-- I wanted some with lunch. How can you resist not trying freshly baked cornbread?!?
   I made a simple egg salad with hummus, paprika and dijon mustard and layed a top of spinach. I added some carrots for color, crunch and extra nutrition. Aside is a piece of the warm, fresh-baked cornbread with a bit of WF brand peanut butter atop.



   Mmmmmm, it wasn't (by "it", I mean the fabulous cornbread) that sweet either, as I only added about a tablespoon of agave. The PB atop was enough to sweeten it, though.

   I got home from an appointment late, so I quickly made a big ole' bowl of almond butter chili...and of course accompanied it with more cornbread.
Into the mix of almond butter chili went 1/2 can of diced tomatoes, onion, carrots, 1/2 C. kidney beans, red bell pepper and a tablespoon of Almond butter added and infused at the end. It was quite filling and yummy, however, I managed to burn my tongue at first bite. Dangit.

Well goodnight, lovelies. I hope your weekend gets you all have a fabulous Friday :) xx

Do blondes REALLY have more fun?!?

2010-09-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

I know, stupid title-- it really has nothing to do with my post tonight. However, it does have to do with a random, stupid obervation I made today while in math class. No, I didn't enquire an blondes today who have more fun, rather I made my own stupid, blonde observation :)

The last few days in Santa Cruz have been STEAMING! It seems like our summer has finally come-- In Santa Cruz it usually doesn't come till August and September as those are our nicest monthes. Weird, huh? Yesterday was a record braking temperature since 1970 [!!!!] of 105 degrees. Unfortuanetly, I didn't make it to the beach since I had lots and lots of homework...and my foot was bothering me since I went to my swim class yesterday and we worked a lot on dolphin stroke :) Anyways, us Santa Cruzians have really had an indian summer the last few days-- I just wish I could make it to the beach!

I couldn't even concentrate in english and math today--in fact, in both of my classes today half the class was missing. I suspect they ditched class and went to the beach. There was NO air conditioning in either of my classes today and everybody was sinking in sweat in their chairs, including muah.

You know what I thought of while on my break from math? Maybe schools aren't in session during summer and winter (the main, long breaks) due to the extreme weather occurrences. Possibly superintendents, college presidents...or whoever schedules the school breaks.... etc., aren't just arranging time off for the means of a "break". It's probably so students aren't so distracted by the extreme heat (ahem, sweating and not listening), coldness from snow, hail, etc! Extreme temperatures REALLY make it distracting and make students really not want to learn. For my college, I'm thinking whoever schedules our breaks should make school start in October, when fall really comes.

Okay, okay, I'm done with my random observations. But doesn't it sound like a dumb blonde observation? I sure think it does :)

Do you make any funny and stupid observations ever?

I DID think a lot today, but I also devoured some scrumptious meals while at it.

Oh, one more observation I made today, but it's in no way surprising: I eat nuts in at least every meal, including snacks. But that's no weird observation, it's actually quite normal for those of us foodies who love anything nutty!

   Since I finally bought peanut flour--which everybody's raving about on their blogs-- I decided to make Serena's oatmeal peanut butter waffles! I topped them with almond butter, cinnamon and roasted banana. I also had a glass of coconut milk. They were indeed yummy and moist, but when I was deciding what topping to put on my waffle, I forgot that there already was peanut flour in the batter, so I topped it with almond butter. Who says you can't have two nut butters at one meal ;)?

   Mmmm, don't you want waffles now? You SHOULD make them :)

   For lunch, I was craving a big ole' bowl of roasted (& raw) veggies. So that's indeed what I made. I roasted zucchini and carrots in the oven then sauteed some shrooms and kale with coconut oil and garlic. I added some raw spinach, almonds and honey sesame cashews to the mix. I also had Katie's "3 ingrediant alfredo soup" on the side-- except I used coconut milk when making it, which was sweetened a bit with stevia, so it was a bit savory and sweet.

   So extremely creammmmmy!

   I was in NO mood to cook when I got home from class at 5, so I quickly made another salad. A greek salad, for that matter. It consisted of carrots, tomato, roasted red pepper (except, I roasted my own pepper-- it was not out of a jar), artichoke hearts, goat cheese and hummus. Greek yogurt with pecans accompanied the salad :)

And my Clean Eating magazine came [!!!!!!]. I've only been waiting 2 months since the last magazine.

And no, I don't get it for all that diet and loose weight crap. I am in NO way, shape or form trying to loose any weight. Simply I get it for their yummy recipes and insights on eating natural and healthy. Do ignore the "flatten your belly" and instead fix your eyes on the "Clean Eating", that I do believe :)

Well, I'm off to do some textbook reading on "how we learn". Goodnight!

A new found love

2010-09-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight, after my mom and I got home from some mall shopping-- In the 100 degree heat, thank you very much. Summer comes a little late in Santa Cruz-- fog was our friend ALL summer. Anyways, i'll stop digressing and go back to my story. We both came back famished and HOT. Lucky for me, I whipped up some acorn autumn soup in my free time earlier, so I was set-- all I needed was a quick salad on the side. Keep reading for the recipe for my "acorn autumn soup"....it was DEVINE, do make it people. My mom had no dinner and didn't want to cook something that would take along time, as she had a meeting at 7:30. By the way, my mom's one of those typical (well, not all actually) mom's who thinks healthy eating "takes much too long" and vegetarians "don't get enough protein and vitamins" and "vegetarian food doesn't taste good". But sorry mom, all that is wrong. All of those statements can be proved wrong, but i'll go into that in another post :)

To make a long story short, I offered to make my mom dinner. She was tired from school--she's a 2nd grade teacher, it takes it ALL out of you-- and wanted something "hot" despite the 100 degree weather we had earlier, which was cooling off. I made her one of my favorite, quick but healthy dishes-- lots of asian-style veggies stir-fried with coconut oil, garlic and ginger and I mixed in dijon mustard (thanks, Heather-- the idea derived from Y-O-U!) and topped it with a little bit of crumbled goat cheese. I then microwaved-- I know, i know their better baked, but it was already 7-- a sweet potato and topped it with luscious coconut butter. She absolutely LOVED it. I was so excited; i'm glad she found that healthy food doesn't need to taste bad, take along time or be nutrient-rich deficient. She kept asking, "what's in it?" and "how did it taste so good?" The secrets are in the sauce, my friend.

I just thought I'd share the highlight of my day with you :) I love showing friends and family that the kind of food I eat--healthy, whole, nutritious-- is not hard to make or tasteless.

As for my foot-- I was able to do my swim class today, which was a plus-- however, it still hurts. No running or long walks yet, but it's doing better. For that, I'm grateful.

Onto my eats....

No pic of bfast since I quickly consumed a sweet potato smothered with almond butter before running out the door for swim (at 7:40 am).

   For lunch, I made a salad with tomato, carrots, shrooms, cucumber and hard boiled eggs topped with "hummy-mustard dressing". I also had two pieces of TJs sprouted grain bread with coconut oil-- Yum.

At school, my tummy rumbled at about 3:30 again, so what did I snack on to hold me over? Oh, an Artisana coconut butter squeeze pack, of course. And it did quick the trick-- esp. for my tastebuds :)

After having lunch, too, I made a quick (I say quick much, too much) acorn autumn soup with the leftover acorn squash I had sitting in the fridge.



Acorn Autumn soup

Serves 1.

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small apple of choice, chopped and diced

Half of a cooked acorn squash

Curry powder (a few shakes)

Salt, pepper

Cinnamon (a dash)

1/2 white beans

1 C. vegetable broth

Coconut oil, or your choice of oil

Method

In a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat, add oil and cook onion and garlic till soft. Then when soft, add chopped apple, scooped out (from skin) acorn squash, curry powder, beans, cinnamon and salt and pepper--sauté till soft; add veggie broth. Cover and simmer till soft for about 25- 30 minutes, depending on the consistency you like.
Add more water to thin, or if you like it thick like me, leave as is. Top with more cinnamon and walnuts or cashews-- enjoy!

It's like Fall in a bowl-- it was SOOO scrumptious. Do try, people, you won't be guilty.

   My din-din: Acorn autumn soup and sauteed, garlicky kale with honey-sesame cashews atop. It was one heck of a meal!

   Don't you love the colors?

Goodnight-- off to get some homework done and dive into bed!

~Em

"Hip to the not-so-hop"

2010-09-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Happy (almost) Monday, everybody! I'm sorry I've been idle since last Thursday-- when you hear what happened to me you'll understand why, until now, I have not had the patience or energy to write a post. So my apologies.

At the conclusion of my morning run last Friday morning, my poor, poor foot twisted in. Yep, that's right-- I've got a "twisted foot/ ankle (it's not really my ankle, however, so I choose to say my "inside foot" got hurt). Luckily, I wasn't miles away from my house or anything, but right in front of it. I slowly hopped to my grassy lawn when I hit the ground in a matter of seconds. And yes, I started sobbing, as I knew what I was in for: a hurt, disabled foot. And what did that mean? No running, biking or let alone doing much for a few days to a week. I had a class an hour after my foot-accident and boy is there A LOT of stairs and walkways on my campus so let's just say it wasn't the fondest walk up to class :)

Friday was overall TERRIBLE-- I had to drive literally three minutes to school...I ~~usually~~ actually always bike to school... and call in work sick for that afternoon I was scheduled to work.... and the worst part, which is REALLY hard for me to do: Sit on my butt (sorry to use such specific language) ALL day watching movies, icing my foot and basically doing nothing. No exercise, no social or work life, NOTHING at all. It made for a sad, sad day. Never in my life have I EVER injured any of my bones, except a minor rib fracture last year. I've really never known what it feels like to injure a part of the body that's muy importante, which for me is my feet-- they take me everywhere!

Yesterday, I was again scheduled to work, and although my foot was better, it would still be hard for me to work since it still hurt to walk. I decided to suck it up and try to do my scheduled 8-hour shift (!), quite worried it would make it worse though. There's a lot of walking back and forth in my job! I got through 6 hours of it, then I had to talk to my manager to let me go home. Yesterday no exercise either-- I did do a few ab exercises, however--if you've got no workin' feet, why not work the abs? :)

Today it's better-- slowly but surely my foot is healing. It was a very nice day today in good ole' Santa Cruz-- 85 degrees or so, for that matter (which is hot for SC if you're wondering). I was able to swim as I was definitely exercise deprived-- yes, two full days of no exercise makes me deprived :) I have a swim class manana so besides the exercise, I wanted to see if I was able to swim. Turns out I was-- and I did for about forty minutes--and layed out, can't miss that-- but it still hurt to kick and I couldn't do my norm speed.

I hope it's A LOT better tomorrow-- I have classes, work and other events that I need to use BOTH my feet for :) Do send good wishes that it'll heal completely very soon. I'm really grateful it's about 10Xs better than Friday as I could barely stand on Friday.

Have you ever broken, sprained, twisted or fractured a bone? Was it hard for you to not "do your norm"?

Despite being crippled and lack of exercise the last few days, I still did have my raging appetite. I'll show you a few pics as I didn't snap them all....

   Breakfast before work yesterday: 1/2 C. oats cooked in water and topped with an over-easy egg, basil and hummus-- lovely and as per a recipe Heather shared.

   Lunch Friday (which I made in literally a second as it hurt to stand on my feet): Pita stuffed with leftover baked tempeh, vegan majo, avocado and lettuce; apple with PB; cucumber and almond milk.

   *My appetite doesn't go away, even when I'm crippled and can't exercise--weird, huh? It seems like I've been more hungry laying around than on my feet all day.

   Dinner Thursday, before my foot injury: Greens topped with white bean and black bean "burgers" made with hummus, oats, and veggies topped with organic ketchup; polenta. It was SUCH a tasty meal-- when I could cook longer, that is :(

   Bfast this morning (I know, none of my meals are in order here): "PB&J" smoothie with almond milk, strawberries, peanut flour (my NEW find at TJS, I love it already), stevia and xanthum gum; topped with shredded coconut and wheat germ.

   Dinner last night: My favorite comfort food, scrambled tofu with spinach, onions and shrooms; sweet potato with coconut butter :)

  A snack: Yogurt with honey sesame cashews (another TJ find, as per Caroline), shredded coconut, banana and a *little* bit of coconut butter...oh, and cinnamon :) LOVE that combo

   Dinner tonight, which was beyond-amazing: Baked (a little too-baked, as you can see...haha, I just made a joke and I didn't even realize it. Get it, "too baked"?) acorn squash stuffed with zucchini, onions, white beans and A LOT of oregano.

With that, I bid you goodnight. I'm going to have a snack....can you guess what it is? Yep, sweet potato, that's right :) Gots to get lots of rest to heal my foot and for my swim class manana!

A cashew walks into a "jar" and meets a sesame seed.....

2010-09-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Yep. That's right. If you're thinking what I'm thinking, then you're thinking of Artisana's new "Cashini Butter". All it is what I call love in a jar: Cashews, sesame seeds and sea salt :)

Like I said in my last post, I was welcomed with a little package from Artisana upon getting home from class. I was SOOOOO excited-- I knew the package was coming, but I just could not wait to tear open that box. Upon opening it, I found 10 assorted nut butter squeeze packs (love um-- already had 3 of um'), a 16 oz. jar of their new Cashini Butter and last but definitely NOT least, 8 oz. jar of my favorite coconut butter.

*One pack is missing, as I couldn't resist before I snapped this photo. Macadamia nut butter, to be exact*

And since I snapped this photo, I also tried the walnut and cashew. And of course I've already made a pretty big dent in the cashini butter-- I love it!

*Please excuse the water glass and foil in the back :)*

I know this picture is blurry, but I'm trying to give you a picture of how much of this glorious new Artisana creation I have already consumed...and happily, for that matter!

I do love tahini-- there's no shame in that. However, you can't really eat it by itself, like you do nut butters. It's a bit strong and bitter tasting eaten on it's own, but mixed into things like amazing hummus (my favorite tahini add-in), dressings, stir-fry and other concoctions, it tastes good. It's SOOO nutritious, too. But I'm not talkin' about tahini today, although I did receive a tahini squeeze pack from Artisana. I'm talking about the new creation, Cashini Butter. It's NOT bland, bitter, or over- the-top tahini tasting. It's super creamy--and not chunky or bland like some raw nut butters. Upon first bite, you fall into taste bud love :) The creaminess of cashews added with the sesame seeds makes a wonderful combo. I would probably not make a PB&J sandwich with it, as they say on the bottle that it's a "great PB substitute", however I would make my a hummus- cashini butter sammie.

The nutrition facts are another perk, along with the taste, to this creamy, luscious nut and seed butter. It's got a whopping 5 grams of protein for two tablespoons, along with many omega-3s and healthy fats. Also, for two tablespoons, you get 4% of the RDA for calcium and 7% of the RDA for iron! Sounds like some pretty awesome stuff, and that tastes good too :)!

I've enjoyed this nut butter already in many ways and am very excited to use it more in the future!

Oat bran cooked in almond milk, ginger and cinnamon topped with more cinnamon, shredded coconut and Artisana's Cashini butter.

Topped on a lovely sweet potato, eaten alongside black beans with onions and broccoli with greens.

In a omelet with avocado, alongside cornbread with TJs raspberry preserves and OJ.

*Not my favorite combination :(*

Topped on whole-made cornbread with avocado alongside lentil soup and veggies. Now this was a rocking combo-- try it!

The combination possibilities are endless! Do let me know your ideas-- the best ideas with receive a couple squeeze packs in the mail. Simply leave a comment of your favorite combo, or if you haven't tried this ~~crack~~ in a jar, write what you think would go good with Cashini Butter. Do this by next Tuesday (9/28) by midnight. Can't wait to see what you offer up :)!

As for the coconut butter they also sent me-- only 8 oz., though--well, let's just say i've enjoyed that amazing Artisana concoction in MANY ways. It's no new butter to me. Me and Mr. Coconut Butter have long enjoyed each other :)

On top of overnight oats with cinnamon and raspberries.

Straight up with a whole- wheat pita

A top some kind (?) of smoothie mixture with Tjs raspberry preserves.

And SOOOOO many more ways that I have not captured because I couldn't wait to suck in the goodness of that stuff!

I <3 you, Coconut ~~love~~ butter.

It's SUPER good for you, too! Omega 3-- all natural, healthy fats. Yes, there's a lot of saturated fat, but it's the good kind, not the "animal kind". Fiber, calcium, magnesium and lots of other good amino acids.

The squeeze packs were all-- all the ones I've tried so far, that is-- incredible, too! Similar nutrition facts and wonderful tastes, as everything with Artisana's butters and oils. Thanks you SO incredibly much, Premier Organics, for sending me the samples of your nut butters to try. I love them all and their all SOOOO me. You've created just what I need, love and want-- on a daily basis. I'm excited to continue to use your nut butters in many ways, shapes and forms :)

I leave you with a picture of dinner from last night, as this post is all devoted to Artisana :)

I made cajun spiced tempeh with creamy grits from Vegan Soul Kitchen. It was really good-- a bit too peppery for me-- but overall it made for a tasty supper :) I had a salad with the last (*tear*) of my homegrown tomatoes! Oh well, tomato season is over and no onto fall (ahem, pumpkin and winter squash).

Again, thank you Artisana. Hope you have a lovely rest of the week, lovelies :) Be back soon.

~Em