Sunday, March 27, 2011

Recent Goodies

It's been about a week since my last post, so I've got a bit of catching up to do!

News with me: Finally looking into actual places to get back into school. I'm kind of deciding between two options. Option 1: Go back to a Community College to finish my Associates (boo) and Option 2: Start immediately in a Culinary program. The thing is, the schools I would prefer to go to are either in Cincinnati or Columbus, both of which are an hour drive. I'm thinking if the classes are twice a week, I wouldn't mind driving the distance to spend the day doing and learning about what I love. I've requested information from the Culinary Schools and am waiting to hear back.

Other news: Joe and I are on a look out for a new car. We are also stuck on two options with that as well. Option 1: Get a cash car that we will plan on trading in.. in a few months, or Option 2: Find a car that we are looking for that will require a loan but will be more economical & reliable... just overall nice. I'm set on a MINI Cooper. Black. Or gunmetal, with a black stripe. But hey... who knows.

And now.. in food news, these are the recent goods:

This is a Pineapple Cilantro Smoothie :)


These are the goods:


That little Pyrex bowl contains fresh Young Thai Coconut water.


Blend all until smooth & enjoy!


That is some Beet Carrot Orange juice. Don't let the word beet frighten you off! It tastes amazing.
Ingredients:
4 carrots
1 orange
1/2 a medium beet

Run everything through the juicer!


I just love the color! That little guy behind it is my Basil plant! I'm super excited. I've had him for about a week now, and today I bought a Rosemary plant. I use them enough that it is beneficial to have the actual plant instead of buying the little box versions that go bad.


This I just ate for dinner. Raw sushi of course!
I made the 'rice' out of my recipe for Rosemary Garlic mashed potatoes... which are actually Jicama. Super yummy, it has just a hint of that sweet taste that sweet sushi rice has. It also has raw cashews! My favorite wonder nut!


I really need sharper knives to cut the rolls, it will be much prettier then.


Lunch anyone?
Yummy Cucumber Avocado Salad with the Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes!
I realize that these photos are going in absolutely no order at all, I apologize and hope you don't mind!


Here are one of my absolute FAVORITE meals I made this week:



Yep! My first raw pizza!!! I haven't had pizza in SUCH a LONG time! So I was super excited about this. So yummy!

These are my most recent flowers :)
I buy flowers almost weekly to help brighten up the kitchen. I like a cheer-y kitchen area. :)

I'm currently dehydrating some mango's, apples and bananas as snacks throughout the week. I'm planning on making another type of raw pizza this week and also some raw burgers. Probably a few sweets in there as will. I will keep in touch throughout the week!

I hope everybody had a nice weekend!

P.S. I was told that the comments section wasn't working under my posts, I made a few changes, so hopefully it works! Wouldn't mind a few 'testing' comments! :)

<3

Monday, March 21, 2011

Snowballs & Doughnuts!

Just a quickie morning blog...


I think I've finally got the hang of using my doughnut pan!
I told Joe last week that I would make doughnuts for him & the guys at work.
They were so fun to decorate! I used the original recipe for the actual dough from Mama Pea at peasandthankyou.com.
I made 3 different glazes.
Glaze 1: 1/2 c powdered sugar + 1 T nondairy milk
Glaze 2: 1/2 c peanut butter chips + 1 T coconut oil (microwave, mix & drizzle)
Glaze 3: 1/2 c chocolate chips + 1 T coconut oil (microwave, mix & drizzle)
and sprinkles :)


:)
They look so happy!

It's started off pretty gloomy looking here in Dayton today. I'm hoping it clears up soon! I just finished my apple carrot orange juice. Delicious. Fresh juice wakes you up so quickly. Since the fibers have been removed from the fruits/veg, your body doesn't have to do any digestion to break them down and you immediately absorb all of the nutrients & enzimes. It's fabulous! I really recommend juicing at home. There is nothing like fresh juice!

This morning I'm heading off to Zumba and I am so excited for this afternoon when Joe and I will go running and I can break in my new Vibram's. Can't wait!

I must also show you the snowballs I made last night.



These guys are sooo yummy! I got the recipe out of "Raw Food Real World" by Matthew Kenney & Sarma Melngailis. They taste JUST LIKE cookie dough! Who would ever guess they were 100% raw and free of dough? Not me. Joe said they were "magnificent!"
They're actually made out of Brazil nuts! They are packed with selenium!
 Brazil nuts, coconut oil, agave nectar & vanilla!
They're delicious. Wonder how long they will last in the house, haha.

Well, I'm off to get ready for class! I hope everybody is having a great Monday morning!!!
<3

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Oh That's Why I'm Easy, I'm Easy Like Sunday Morning

I love Saturday & Sunday mornings. No need to rush, just to take the day calmly and peacefully.
I also love Sunday evenings. Mostly due to Desperate Housewives.

Yesterday Joe took me to a nearby farm that starting in May, allows us to pick our own fruits! We didn't know that we had to wait until may. But the trip didn't leave us empty handed :)


Half a barrel of apples and an overflowing basket of blueberries!


I LOVE apples :)

Yesterday I started with a standard juice. Four carrots & two oranges.

Around lunchtime I made Joe some vegan pancakes with a strawberry & pineapple compote to top. Unfortunately, we were both super hungry and I lacked taking a photo of his... I took a photo of my raw pancakes though, via my new Ani Phyo raw book. I also drizzled them with agave nectar. Once I did that, they were in my mouth.. so unfortunately, no pictures of that either :)


Topped with sliced banana & pineapple. These are actually made out of Brazil nuts, flax meal and bananas! They are surprisingly fluffy and delicious inside. Super nourishing. I was filled with energy for hours after I ate these guys!

Joe and I ready for the day after we filled our happy bellies:


While we were out and about, I picked up a couple of these:

These give me the most insane amount of energy! Forget ever drinking coffee... this is the good stuff.

Also.. while out and about :) I picked up some of these:




I FINALLY got my Vibram's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay :)
Joe & I are going running tomorrow. I know, I know, I have to start slow. These work your muscles in the way they should.. meaning the way our bodies were meant to while running barefoot.. and in doing so prevent injury. I started running a while back but had to stop due to the bones in my knees/shins/thighs hurting. I'm super excited to get going again though!

For dinner, Joe decided he wanted a Greek chicken-y salad. I told him if he makes his chicken & salad, I would make a couscous side to go with it.

Couscous recipe will be below the photos. Joe said he wouldn't share his chicken recipe with you all, due to my blog being a vegan blog. ;)





:) It's a pretty dinner, isn't it? :)
The presentation was all Joe.

Couscous Side Dish Recipe:

1 c couscous
1.5 c water
1 carrot peeled and grated
1/4 c chopped red pepper
1/4 c currants, soaked in water (just enough water to cover)
1 T chopped parsley

Dressing- 1/4 c EVOO
2 T lemon juice
1 T apple cider vinegar
3 T agave nectar
1/4 t mustard
sprinkle of salt & fresh cracked pepper

Bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil over medium-high heat, add couscous. Stir, let sit about 45-60 seconds and turn off heat. Cover pot and let sit about 4-5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Pour couscous into a bowl to cool and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. You will actually be using probably half of this, I made extra for Joe to pour over his salad.

In the bowl of couscous, add your remaining ingredients, including the currant's soaking water and mix to disperse ingredients. Add dressing and mix.

Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat!

For myself I made raw rosemary garlic mashed potatoes (jicama) and collard wraps stuffed with avocado, cucumber, olives, sun dried tomato and drizzled with spicy Thai dressing:

These were really good! For sure going to make them again!

I hope you all are having a great weekend! I will probably be blogging again tonight. Possibly tomorrow morning... but for now....
Out of my kitchen!

<3

:)

Friday, March 18, 2011

I've Come To The Conclusion..

That I'd rather eat at home than out in a restaurant.
At home, I know that I can eat more than just a salad. And if I do eat just a salad, it cost me $1.50 to make vs $10-12.00 of dissapointment.
Plus, my food just tastes better.

I've also come to the conclusion that I love eating raw. My skin is already seeing a difference. So I'm going to continue to chose a high raw lifestyle. If I am going out for a meal (which from now on will probably rarely happen) I can certainly choose to eat something cooked, and if I am craving something warm, I'm going to eat something warm... but this week has opened my eyes to the beauty of creating delicious raw dishes. I'm so excited to try more things next week. Starting with raw pancakes tomorrow morning! :) Mmmm.

Here are today's dishes...
Popped 4 carrots and about 2 cups of grapes (half seeded, half unseeded) through the juicer.

Yumm.

I love fresh juiced. I've actually started craving it in the morning.

Just a bit later, I made some green pudding :)

Green pudding + Desperate Housewives = Very peaceful!

At lunchtime I made some raw spring rolls and drizzled them with a bit of Coconut Aminos. These have spinach, cucumber, olives, tomato & avocados. I love avocados lately!


For dinner I made the Spicy Thai dressing.... with a Thai inspired salad...

Pre-dressing...
Dark greens, sundried tomatos, sliced pineapple, sliced cucumber & sliced avocado.

This was SO delicious! The sweet of the pineapple + the spicy of the Thai Dressing was a delicious combo! Secret? there are cashews in that dressing! Cashews are the most versatile nut ever! They can be used in almost anything! From dressings to cheese's to whipped cream! They are my favorite!

I ended up eating this dinner at about 3:30pm, so of course at about 7, I was ready for something more... and.. since I LOVED the dressing and all...


Yep, delicious :)

Today I also tested out my doughnut pan for the first time... Here's what happened:

No holes!!!!
Haha. Too much batter in the pans I suppose.. so I tried again with the remaining batter:

Got it ;)





;)

Planning on posting a couple recipes & pics of my raw pancakes tomorrow!
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!