Easy- Peasy Cashew Collard Wraps!

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

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!

Thai Coconut Farro with Kale

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