Banana Chocolate Chip Millet Muffins

Crispy portobello tacos with this awesome cheeze sauce

Harvest-stuffed portobellos, from my latest girl crush vegan chef obsession

(I’m making her Creamy Pumpkin Penne tonight!  And you know I pre-ordered her cookbook… DUH.)

Chipotle-lime tempeh cabbage wraps with peach salsa, avocado and cilantro

…school is killing me, the kids keep me insanely busy, and life has thrown its biggest curveball yet.

Just over a week ago we learned that B has a brain tumor.

He is having surgery on Wednesday.

Like, someone is going to cut open his sexy noggin, SAW THROUGH HIS SKULL and play with his brain.

I’m a mess.  Please send prayers and happy thoughts his way.

I WILL be back.  And so will B!

xoxo,

Sara

Peanut butter fudge brown rice crispy treats, my favorite vegan dessert to date.

(A hybrid of this recipe and this recipe.)

Salted chocolate chip cookies. 

(Recipe from the Peas and Thank You cookbook.)

Superfood Green Monsters

Sprouted grain penne pasta bake with peppers, onions, not-sausage and Daiya.

(Also from Peas and Thank You.)

Cranberry Orange Lentil Quinoa Loaf

(So, SO freaking tasty.  Didn’t hold together as well as I would’ve liked, but the awesome flavors and textures more than made up for that!)

Cosmic Cashew Kale with Chickpeas…

…served over Confetti Quinoa

This was my favorite meal of the week- so easy, fast and absolutely delicious!

A veganized version of these Whole-wheat Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Pancakes

(Using almond milk instead of cow’s, egg replacer, vegan chocolate chips and Earth Balance.)

The kids went crazy for these. 

And last but not least…

These AMAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZING vegan baked doughnuts with chocolate glaze…

Man, these were out of control Y-U-M.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little O, who turns 3 tomorrow.

And Happy Birthday to me- I’ll be 32 26 on Tuesday. 

Back to the books.

What have you been eating lately?

Have a great week! 

xo,

Sara

]]> http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/cooking-lately-2/feed/ 3 Sara PB Fudge Rice Crisp Treats Salted chocolate chippers Stack 'em high! Green Monster Penne bake with not-sausage Lentil quinoa loaf Cosmic Kale Confetti Quinoa Dinner! Sweet potato chocolate chip pancakes Pancakes! Vegan baked donuts Breakfast! Birthday Boy! http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/veganniversary-and-crazy-schedules/ http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/veganniversary-and-crazy-schedules/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:43:44 +0000 Sara http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/?p=5359 ]]> Well HELLO to YOU.  I’m into the semester full-force now, and this new schedule is proving to be extremely busy and fast-paced.  But that’s okay!  I like staying busy and being productive.  Wednesday was one of the worst days I’ve had in a long time (it poured rain all day long, I discovered that I had a flat tire early in the morning and had to arrange for alternative transportation to make it to class on time, when I did make it to school I got the WORST possible parking spot, a fire alarm caused my psych class to stand out in the cold rain for 30 minutes, I walked around campus all day with the bottom of my jeans wet and freezing cold from the rain, etc. etc. BOO FREAKING HOO), but I guess we all have those days from time to time.  Today is a bright, sunny, happy Friday, and for that I am grateful.

Lately my days consist of little more than kid wrangling, working out, homework, cooking, studying and sleeping, with the occasional episode of Breaking Bad thrown in for good measure (best show EVER!).  I fall asleep to Conan every night and sleep like a friggin’ rock until my alarm goes off at 6:40am, screaming at me to get up and do it all over again.  Life is nuts, but it is also good. 

I did manage to snap a few food pics over the last week.  No matter how insanely busy my life gets, I always take the time to prepare healthy and tasty meals and treats.  I find that eating well is even more important when life gets crazy.  Eating well is definitely a priority for me.  That will never change!

Last weekend my Mom, B and I met my sis at Suma Veggie Cafe for dinner.  I was disappointed that the (ALL-VEGAN!) buffet was only open during lunch hours, but we each ordered something different from the menu and shared, so our meal was full of tasty variety anyway.

Veggie egg roll

Kung Pao “Beef”

Fried “Shrimp”

Orange “Chicken”

We also ordered some tofu with veggies, shown here on my plate.

Everything was really, REALLY delish.  My only complaint was that we weren’t offered brown rice.  I hardly ever eat white rice and would have much preferred brown, so next time I will definitely request that.  I’m not really into mock meats or fried food, but this totally satisfied my Chinese food craving- I swear that even a meat eater would never know the difference!  I definitely want to go back to Suma for the lunch buffet when my schedule allows.  Which, right now, seems like that will be NEVER. 

Last Friday night I made the Curry In A Hurry from Peas and Thank You:

So so so so SO good!  Served over soba noodles and topped with cashews and fresh cilantro. 

That’s more like it.  I swear I could drink sriracha sauce straight from the bottle.

(Maybe.)

Sunday night I made FatFree Vegan Kitchen’s Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Chickpeas:

HOLY FREAKING YUM, y’all.

This was one another one of those meals where you don’t expect it to be all that amazing because the ingredients are simple and the prep is easy.  When it all came together, it knocked my socks off!  It was love at first bite…

The only thing I changed from the recipe was the way I cooked the spaghetti squash.  Instead of keeping it whole and piercing it with a skewer, I halved the squash and rubbed it down with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper before baking (see here for a tutorial).  I find that this method really infuses the squash strands with incredible garlicky flavor that can’t be beat.  If you’ve never cooked a spaghetti squash before, definitely give it a try- it is delicious!  This is definitely one of my all-time favorite vegan recipes to date.

Monday night I made FatFree Vegan Kitchen’s Ridiculously Easy Veggie Gumbo:

This was also incredible.  Really- I tell you no lies! 

I served it over brown rice and it was perfect.  It had that classic gumbo flavor with a nice kick of heat and lots of veggie goodness- comforting, filling and ultra tasty.

I also made these brownies last weekend, which were so good that they pretty much disappeared before I could take a picture.  The butternut squash keeps the brownies extremely moist, and that walnut butter frosting is outta this world.

Before I dive into my Microbiology homework, here is what I’ll be cooking this weekend and next week:

Sunday morning I’ll make more doughnuts.  This time I’m using this Chocolate Frosted Doughnut recipe from (never home)maker.

Since those brownies are gone, I’ll whip up a batch of Oh She Glows Almond Butter Rice Crisp Treats.  I must have some kind of dessert in the freezer at all times!

For easy lunches on campus, I’m going to try Carrie On Vegan’s Lazy Woman’s Kale Salad.  I’m really excited to try this because I think the almond butter-lime-agave combo sounds fab!  Kale is a great choice for a packed salad on the go because it’s leaves are more sturdy and less prone to wilting and sogginess.  For a complete meal, I’ll layer the kale with chopped raw veggies and cooked legumes or a whole grain.

For breakfast, I’ll make another batch of Oh She Glows Make-ahead Steel Cut Oatmeal.  I’m also still making her Superfood Green Monster a couple of times per week and loving it!

And finally, dinners…

I’ve been craving Italian food for about a week, so tonight I’m going to make the Baked Penne with Sausage and Peppers from the Peas and Thank You cookbook.  I’ll use this vegan Italian sausage, this pasta, and this cheese- served with a spinach side salad and a glass or three of red wine, I expect that it will be glorious and should make for some killer leftovers, too. 

Sunday night I’m going to make Daily Garnish’s Cranberry Orange Lentil Quinoa Loaf- doesn’t it look awesome!?  I bought some parsnips and brussels sprouts to roast and serve alongside, but then I came across this recipe earlier today, and now I’m thinking that I might make the parsnips into fries instead.

Last but not least, Monday night I’m making FatFree Vegan Kitchen’s Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas with Confetti Quinoa.  This recipe looks and sounds amazing and I’m very excited to try it.  I’m really loving the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog lately!

On the exercise front I’m still rocking my daily workouts.  My fail-proof trick for working out when life gets cray-cray is to schedule it into my day like an appointment that I can’t miss and then stick to the plan- JUST DO IT!  To change things up, next week I’m going to start the Slow & Heavy Series again for a couple of weeks to shock my muscles.  Gotta keep it new and exciting! 

Okay, that’s all I got.  Happy Friday!  Any big plans this weekend?  Tonight we’re going to stay in and watch movies (The Muppets Take Manhattan for the kids, Moneyball for me and B) and tomorrow night we’re going to a game night with friends.  I hope your weekend rocks!

See ya later. 

xxoo,

Sara

PS- the end of January marks my 6-month Veganniversary.    Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle is one of the best decisions I have ever made, for so many different reasons.  More on this in an upcoming post!

This Superfood Green Monster.

Mine turned out more purple with green specks, but it was mighty tasty just the same!

That’s a whole lotta smoothie with a big nutritional punch- loaded with fiber, protein, healthy fats and green goodness.  This kept me full for several hours, too.  Definitely one of my fave smoothie recipes to date!    It was my first time using that raw vegan protein powder and I couldn’t detect it in my smoothie, even without any added sweetener.  I also added half a scoop to some overnight oats later in the week and couldn’t taste it there, either.  So far, so good!  It has a very earthy smell so I don’t know how good it’d be going down mixed with just water, but I have found it to be perfect for mixing into smoothies and oats.

I had a bit of a donut flop on Sunday morning.  I followed this recipe exactly but my donuts didn’t puff up like they should have.  They also obnoxiously stuck to the pan, so the kids got deconstructed donuts in a bowl drizzled with the chocolate glaze.

Fortunately they didn’t mind one bit!

Sunday afternoon I made Oh She Glows Wheat Berry and Bean Salad for quick, easy lunches all week long.  It is incredibly tasty and has just gotten better sitting in the fridge.  It has a great flavor and lots of different textures, which I love.  This was a definite salad WIN. 

For dinner Sunday night I made the PPK’s Hottie Black Eyed Peas with Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples:

This is one of my very favorite vegan meals in the whole world- there’s just something about legumes and greens cooked together that rocks my world.  Those mashed sweet potatoes are pretty ridiculous, too.  The combo of sweet potato with apple and ginger is pure heaven.

I’m eating the last of this tonight and I am very excited. 

Monday night I made Daily Garnish’s Chickpea Hummus Burgers.

These were so simple to throw together and were freakin’ delicious!  B declared that they are one of his favorite veggie burgers to date.  Served with our favorite spicy kale chips, I had my burger with tomato slices on a sprouted grain bun spread with hummus:

We had the leftover burgers last night for dinner.  We left off the bun and topped the patties with sliced avocado (B slathered his with Vegenaise, too) and ate them with a fork.  I roasted some cauliflower and baked some spicy sweet potato fries to go alongside.  Good stuff.

Here is what I’ll be cooking in the week ahead!

For a sweet treat, I’ll make the Butternut Brownies with Walnut Butter Frosting that I meant to make last week.  We’ve been enjoying those Pumpkin Molasses Cookie Dough Balls (recipe here), but since they’re almost gone I need to make something new!

For Sunday morning breakfast I’m going to try the donut thing again.  I’ve had success with Oh She Glows donut recipes in the past, so this week I’ll make her Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Glazed Donuts.  Don’t they look awesome? 

For snacks and quick breakfasts for the tots, I’ll make Mama Pea’s Raspberry Oat Bran Muffins.  I’ve made these before and the kids gobbled ‘em up.

And finally, dinners.  Friday night I’m going to make the Tofu Curry Stir Fry from Peas and Thank You, served over soba noodles.  Sunday I’ll make Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Chickpeas from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog.  Monday I’ll throw together this Ridiculously Easy Vegetable Gumbo (also from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog), served over either quinoa or brown rice.  Saturday night we’re going to check out a new (to us) vegan restaurant, so that’s pretty exciting. 

Workout wise I’ve been loving Cathe’s Low Impact Series!  AfterBurn and Athletic Training are my fave workouts so far.  I never knew that low impact could be so intense!

Okay, I’m off to pick E up from school, grocery shop, and study.  Have a great Thursday… the weekend is in sight! 

xo,

S.

PS- The curls are gone.  My kids look so grown up now!

]]> http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/back-to-school/feed/ 2 Sara Superfood Smoothie Smoothie Donut flop! Donuts, kinda E and his bowl-nut Wheat berry salad Ginger mashed sweet potatoes and apples Black eyed peas and greens Dinner! Chickpea Hummus Burgers Hummus Burger and kale chips My tots http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/build-a-beast/ http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/build-a-beast/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:42:04 +0000 Sara http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/?p=5319 ]]> Hey!  Happy Friday!    As you probably know, one of my absolute favorite meals is a salad the size of my head- I eat one just about every day for lunch.  I love my daily salads because they are a fantastic way to get multiple servings of veggies at once, they’re incredibly versatile, and they leave me feeling full and satisfied but also light and energized.  My friend and fellow blogger Amber asked me to do a step-by-step post on how I make my mammoth salads, so here we go!

I always start with a big base of greens.  My faves are kale, spinach, and mixed baby greens.  Today I rolled with a 50/50 mix of organic pre-washed spinach and baby greens:

I usually use a couple of big handfuls.

Next up, chopped raw veggies.  I had a pre-packaged stir-fry mix from Whole Foods, so I added a handful on top of the greens:

I also had some leftover roasted brussels sprouts and recently discovered that they make an excellent addition to salads- I like ‘em cold!

Now for more raw veggies.  I roughly chopped a large organic carrot (which I never peel- is that weird?), a stalk of celery and a small tomato…

…and scattered them around my bowl:

At this point I definitely had my veggie bases covered.  Now, time for some protein! 

I had about a third of a package of shelled edamame in the fridge, so I added that…

…along with a big spoonful of hummus:

Nice.    Now for some dressing!  This morning I just happened to make a batch of this amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing Miso Sesame Dressing using the miso that I bought on Tuesday:

Miso is new to me and it was pretty interesting!  It had a slightly sweet, tangy smell and was really thick.

(Unrelated: look at my hand in the above pic!  Looks like some kind of creepy crawly underwater creature, yeah?  Heh.)

Oh, miso… hungry.  Oh, oh miso hungry. 

(Did ya catch that?  Sorry.  Couldn’t resist.)

This dressing was a cinch to make and has a delicious sweet-and-salty kick to it, thanks to the agave nectar, miso and tamari.  I also love the hint of ginger!  Definitely one of my favorite homemade dressings to date!

While we’re talking dressing, here are my top picks:

Homemade:

Angela’s Lemon Tahini Dressing (from this Goddess Bowl recipe)

Angela’s Dill Tahini Dressing (from this salad recipe… basically a variation of the above- love all the fresh dill in this one!)

The Almond-Ginger Dressing from the Peas and Thank You cookbook (that dressing is reason enough to buy the cookbook- trust me!)

Gena’s Outstanding Miso Sesame Dressing

Store-bought:

Annie’s Naturals Goddess Dressing

Annie’s Naturals Woodstock Dressing (a new fave- LOVE this stuff!)

Brianna’s Rich Poppyseed Dressing (surprise- it’s vegan!)

Whole Food’s 365 Ginger Soy Vinaigrette (couldn’t find a link but it’s their store brand- inexpensive, low-calorie and extremely tasty!)

I added a few tablespoons of the miso dressing, along with a dash of Bragg’s Organic Sprinkle for extra flava:

And finished things off with a good grinding of sea salt and black pepper.

LUNCH

IS

SERVED. 

In keeping with the salad theme, here is yesterday’s monster:

Curly kale, mixed veggies, roasted brussels sprouts, avocado chunks, pinto beans and Woodstock dressing.

‘Twas glorious. 

For more tips on how to turn a salad into a meal, see this post.

What are your favorite salad combinations? 

I’m off to run some errands with the tots.  Wine and pizza are in my very near future, oh yes…

Have a great Friday, y’all! 

xo,

S.

The spring semester starts on Tuesday.  This is both horrifying and exciting.  Horrifying because where in the heck did my month-long winter break go?  Exciting because it is my last regular semester of classes and there is, in fact, a bright happy light at the end of the tunnel.  My schedule is going to be a little bit crazy for the next 15 weeks: A morning and afternoon class on campus on Mondays and Wednesdays, microbiology lab and lecture every Tuesday (the lecture goes until 8:50pm!), and an online class that I’ll tend to on Thursdays.  If it weren’t for my amazing Mom and her husband, I would not have been able to take that particular microbiology class and so I am forever grateful to them for their help with the tots and their ongoing support.  They have helped me tremendously and I honestly don’t know where I’d be without them.

Anyway!  Yesterday I took a little trip to Whole Foods.  By myself.  With a couple of hours to kill.  Do you see where this is going?  Here’s a little secret about me: I love to grocery shop.  Okay, maybe that isn’t such a big secret.  You guys know that I love to cook and eat, so that’s probably no surprise.  Usually my grocery shopping is done at 60 mph with at least one child in tow, and I’m always trying to get in and out as quickly as possible.  Yesterday I was able to roam the aisles of the store and take my sweet time, and it was heaven.  There are a lot of vegan recipes that I don’t take on because they contain new-to-me ingredients (think miso, agar agar, xanthan gum), and yesterday I was able to identify and stock up on many of these items.

There are so many different foods out there- it’s just incredible!  I consider myself to be a pretty adventurous eater and I love trying new things.  Yesterday I spotted wheat berries, purple rice, tri-colored quinoa, black lentils, maple sugar, raw walnut butter, and more.  I’m always sad when I see people limiting themselves to the more common, “safe”, same-old same-old foods, because they’re missing out on some really delicious stuff!  I also stocked up on to-go snack and meal options to make eating well on a crazy schedule more doable.  Here are some of my sweet foodie finds:

This Three Sisters instant oatmeal looks awesome!

Full of whole grains, seeds and sea salt (and that’s it!), the cool thing about this instant hot cereal is that the pouch doubles as a measuring cup for your water.

These are going to be perfect for traveling and time-crunched school mornings. 

Agar agar flakes, which are a vegan-friendly way to thicken up things like pudding and pie filling.  One of my food resolutions was to start incorporating sea vegetables into my diet, so off we go.

I’ve been dying to try black rice and I finally bought some.  Black rice contains the same antioxidants that are found in blueberries, and from what I understand it has a quicker cooking time than brown rice.

Red quinoa!  I’ve only cooked with regular yellow quinoa in the past, so I’m stoked to try this colorful new variety.

Wheat berries!  I’ve heard good things about these chewy, nutty little grains but hadn’t tried them until yesterday (more on that later).

Almond-pistachio-dried fruit trail mix to keep in my car or backpack for snack attacks.

Another one of my foodie resolutions was to start using miso.  This mellow white miso is supposed to be great for soups, sauces, dressings, and marinades.  I plan to make a salad dressing using it this weekend.

I could live off of nut butter, and these single serving packets paired with a piece of fruit will be perfect for afternoon snacks while on campus.  I’m already in love with Justin’s almond butter but have never had walnut butter, so I’m excited about giving that a try.

These Thunderbird energy bars look awesome!  I got one in each flavor: cashew fig carrot, cranberry walnut crunch, and cacao hemp walnut.  These seem like an amped up Lara Bar, with ingredients like chia seeds, buckwheat groats, and Hawaiian black lava salt (!).  I can’t wait to try ‘em!  Also?  The wrappers are compostable.  Winner, winner, Thunderbird bars for dinner. 

I don’t plan on eating this deodorant, but I’m always looking for a natural way to stay smelling fresh and clean and I read good things about this one in a magazine.  If we hang out and I stink, now you know why.  Or, if we hang out and I smell amazing, it’s because of this stuff. 

I finally decided on and bought a vegan protein powder.  I want to join the green monster movement and needed something that would turn a smoothie into a meal.  I had narrowed it down to Sun Warrior, Vega and Garden of Life and ultimately decided on the latter.

I picked these up for B- vegan rolled tacos!  I tend to stay away from processed fake-meat foods like this, but if they’re good they can definitely serve as an occasional indulgence.  They’d make a great addition to a vegan Super Bowl watching feast. 

This stuff is also for B- vegan queso!  I did a double-take when I saw this in an end-aisle display.  Might be good with those rolled tacos!  I’ll let you know how it tastes once we try it.

I also picked up some Amy’s soup for those long days when I just don’t feel like cooking.  I love that Amy’s lists whether or not a particular product is vegan right in the ingredients!  I got the Thai Coconut Soup and some Curried Lentil.  Open, heat, eat.  The End.

After my shopping excursion I needed some sustenance, so I treated myself to the salad bar at Whole Foods and ate it when I got home.

I opted for a bed of shaved kale and raw veggies, then topped it with random goodies that included…

…curried wheat berry salad (SO good!).

Wheat berries are my friend.  They’re chewy and nutty and awesome.  I like them very much. 

…ginger roasted beets!

…and tri-bean salad. 

I also added some walnuts, balsamic tofu cubes and roasted red peppers.  When I got home I drizzled it all with the last of that dill tahini dressing and dug in.  It was a great meal!

Tuesday night I made the Gingery Rice with Roasted Butternut Squash, Onion and Green Peas from the Choosing Raw blog.  It was one of those recipes that surprises you with its deliciousness because it just seems too easy to be anything special.

Apple, butternut squash and onion, ready for roasting.

Brussels sprouts on the side!

This dinner rocked!  I subbed brown rice for pink rice and it turned out fantastic.  The slightly sweet butternut squash and apple somehow melted into the perfectly cooked brown rice, and the peas added amazing texture and color to the dish.  The gingery, tart dressing brought all the flavors together- this was truly the perfect one bowl cold weather comfort food meal.

Also from the Choosing Raw blog, this morning’s breakfast:

Pumpkin Chia Pudding!  Man, I’m freaking in love with chia seeds.  This recipe could not have been easier!

I topped my puddin’ with a little agave nectar and some dried cranberries.  It was ridiculously delicious.

And now, here is what I’ll be making in the week ahead!

• Now that I have that raw vegan protein powder, I’m going to start making Superfood Green Monsters for weekday breakfasts.
• I’ll whip up this delicious looking miso dressing for salads.
• For quick, portable lunches all week, I’ll make Oh She Glows Back On Track Wheat Berry and Bean Salad.
• For a sweet fix, I’m going to bake Mama Pea’s Butternut Brownies with Walnut Butter Frosting (OMG HOLY FREAKING YUM).
• I picked up my favorite vegan Amy’s pizza for dinner tomorrow night.  I will cover it with Daiya mozzarella and then blissfully slip away into pizza heaven.
• Sunday night I’m going to make the PPK’s Hottie Black Eyed Peas with Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples.  This should make for some yummy leftovers.  My Mom made this meal a couple of weeks back and it was so good that I’m already making it again!  Those black eyed peas are KILLER.
• Monday night I’ll make these fab looking Chickpea Hummus Burgers.  One night I’ll serve ‘em on a bun with a side of kale chippies, and another night we’ll eat them bunless with a side of spicy sweet potato fries and a roasted veggie (either broccoli or cauliflower, whatever looks good at the store).
• Last but not least, for Sunday morning breakfast I’ll be making vegan CHOCOLATE GLAZED CAKE DONUTS!  You know I’m excited about that.

Is this a long enough post for ya?  Sheesh.  I’m off to do some cardio and then run errands with lil’ E, who gets out of school early today and then has a 4-day weekend.

Have a great Thursday! 

xo,

Sara

On the fitness front, I’m excited about doing some new workouts this week!  I bought Cathe’s Low Impact Series awhile back but never really got a chance to preview the workouts.  I took some time this weekend to watch most of them, so now I can actually do them.  Today I’m going to do Turbo Barre, which is unlike anything I’ve tried in the past.  Tomorrow I have plans to try AfterBurn, and later in the week I’ll do Slide & Glide.  Those gliding discs are no joke- they rock your core, hamstrings and butt like you wouldn’t believe.  I’ve used the discs in other workouts and was amazed at how hard they make you work.  Good stuff.  I’m also going to start incorporating the Total Body Trisets dvd into my weight workout rotation.  Aside from the fact that this series is low impact (which is great news for my crackly joints), I am in love with all the premix options that are available.  This feature will definitely come in handy next week when school starts and I’m crunched for time.

I’ve been back on track with healthy eats and haven’t had any booze since last Wednesday, and I feel like my old self again.  The holiday bloat is gone!  Here’s what I’ve been munching on lately…

Goddess Salad: fresh raw veggies topped with dill tahini dressing and the rest of the Protein Powder Goddess Bowl that I made last week.

A lentil love affair… 

Friday night we met some of our favorite friends at the Spiral Diner for dinner.  We shared some appetizer nachos:

And I ordered The Big Texas Salad with a grilled nut patty on top for my meal, with Spicy Ranch dressing on the side (OMG, that dressing was so good I almost cried).

The salad had these amazing spicy walnuts on it and lots of avocado… pure salad heaven.  B and our friend T both got the Philly Cheez Steak, and my friend J rolled with the Grilled Portobello Quesadilla, which I am definitely going to order next time because it looked and smelled incredible.

I never eat at the Spiral Diner without getting a sweet treat to-go- their desserts are fantastic.  Though the Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake was calling my name, I opted for something a little less rich…

…a cranberry oatmeal cookie (shown here with B’s peanut butter cookie underneath).  Total tasty town. 

Saturday night I made nachos using my favorite vegan nacho cheeze sauce.  I also used some new blue corn tortilla chips…

Similar to these except that this version had chia seeds in them- very cool!  I love Garden of Eatin‘ chips.

Instead of piling my plate high with chips and cheeze like I normally would, I made a taco salad with spinach as the base around a big helping of vegetarian refried beans and topped it with sautéed red bell pepper and onion, diced jalapeno, black olives, chopped avocado, nacho cheeze sauce, a handful of the tortilla chips and some hot salsa:

Because I like to say SALSA!

It was pretty much the best thing ever. 

I baked a little yesterday.  I made Mama Pea’s vegan Chocolate Chip Zee Bars:

The kids devoured these for breakfast this morning like you would not believe!  Can you blame ‘em?

Nums.

I also made Mama Pea’s vegan Pumpkin Molasses Cookie Dough Balls!

These made the whole house smell amazing!  They’re crispy and sweet on the outside, soft, spicy and doughy on the inside…

So freaking delish.

Finally, for dinner last night I made Jenna’s Balsamic Quinoa with Eggplant and Portobellas:

Friends, you must make this.  You will not regret it.  It was sooo easy to throw together and made my taste buds sing!  The balsamic-mustard dressing kind of caramelizes on the roasted veggies and gives them a sweet tang, and the toasted almonds add a nice nutty crunch.  This meal was definitely a win, and I’ll be making it again.

I ate my quinoa with a big side of spicy kale chips:

I have found that Lacinato kale (also called Dinosaur kale) makes the best kale chips.  I used to use curly kale before I knew the difference, but the smooth dark green leaves of the Lacinato variety seem to crisp up better and hold less moisture than any other kind of kale I’ve tried chipifying.

Yes, chipifying.    B and I were both practically licking our plates trying to get every last crumb of those chips.  My go-to easy seasoning for perfect kale chips is a drizzle of olive oil (last night I used garlic-infused olive oil, which ruled!), garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, chipotle chile pepper, sea salt and a hefty sprinkle of nooch.  15ish minutes in the oven at 375 degrees (give the chips a shake half way through cooking) and they come out perfect every time!  I have finally mastered the art of kale chip making.  Awesome sauce.

Okay!  I’m really looking forward to a sickness-free, productive, relaxing, fun last week of winter break.  Tonight I’m making Gena’s Gingery Rice with Roasted Butternut Squash, Onion and Green Peas plus a side of roasted brussels sprouts.  I can’t wait!

What’s on your menu this week?

Have a good Monday, y’all. 

xo,

S.

]]> http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/new-workouts-more-kale-chip-love/feed/ 0 Sara Goddess Salad Protein power! Nachos Big Texas Salad Cookies Multigrain blues Taco Salad Chocolate Chip Zee Bars Chocolate Chip goodness Pumpkin Molasses Cookie Dough Balls Cookie dough ballz Balsamic quinoa with eggplant and portobellas Dinner! Spicy kale chips http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/back-on-track/ http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/back-on-track/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:04:18 +0000 Sara http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/?p=5244 ]]> HAPPY FRIDAY!  Man, what a week.  It went a little something like this: one kid with a sinus and ear infection (Monday), another with strep throat (Tuesday), and me basically not getting anything accomplished (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday).  It feels like my entire week was spent sitting in doctor’s office waiting rooms, administering antibiotics, and being cranky.  And drinking wine…

Unlike many of you, I don’t start fresh and clean on January 1st.  I like to keep the bread-sugar-booze thing going for several days into the New Year.  I’m a rebel, what can I say.  Never been one to follow the crowd…

Just kidding.  I finally got my act together yesterday.  After a couple weeks of holiday eating I always find it really difficult to get back on track, but all it usually takes is getting through one day of clean eats to feel like myself again.  Yesterday I photographed my day in food, just for you. 

Breakfast:

Pumpkin Cream Pie Oat Bran (from Mama Pea’s cookbook) mixed with half a packet of Stevia and topped with a serving of PB2 and apple juice-infused dried cranberries (I had a cup of black coffee, too).  Seems like a weird combination- pumpkin and peanut butter?- but it was actually really, really tasty.  The more I eat PB2, the more I like it!  This weekend I’m going to create a chocolate-banana-peanut butter smoothie with it. 

Lunch:

An incredibly large salad that included baby spinach, carrot, red bell pepper, cucumber, purple cabbage, avocado, cherry tomatoes, fresh baby dill, homemade garlic hummus and the dill tahini dressing from this recipe.

I love the addition of fresh herbs on my salads!  This was so good and kept me full for several hours.

Snack attack:

A huge, gorgeous, juicy organic Honeycrisp apple and a big spoonful of cashew butter.  I also had a cup of herbal tea.  Nut butter straight from the jar is one of my favorite things in the whole world!

Dinner:

Dinner was simple but really satisfying.  I had a big bowl of this detox salad topped with edamame:

And a baked sweet potato topped with Earth Balance, salt, pepper, and (lots of) cayenne pepper:

I actually didn’t mean to put that much cayenne on my potato, but I like things spicy so it all worked out when I mixed it together. 

After dinner I watched Crazy, Stupid, Love and it was so good!  I really liked it, which is saying something since I think that most movies these days are ridiculously lame.  About half way through I felt a tummy grumble and wanted something sweet, but I’m staying away from the heavy sweet treats for a few days so I opted for some Dark Chocolate Almond Milk:

This stuff rocked!  I dig it.  What I don’t dig is my dirty coffee pot in the background.  (Yuck.)

In addition to giving up dessert for a few days (*sob*), I’m also going to abstain from wine for at least a week.  My bod just needs a break, and I feel so much better without all that sugar and alcohol in my system.

This morning’s breakfast was a good one, so what the heck…

I’ve been wanting to find a very basic and easy chia pudding recipe, so after looking over Gena’s chia recipes, I threw this together last night.

The mix (serves 1):

• 3 Tablespoons chia seeds
• 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 packet Stevia
• dash of cinnamon

I should have added a little vanilla extract, too!  Next time.  Stir everything together and place in the fridge overnight.  I am always amazed at how much liquid the chia seeds absorb!  It goes from soup to pudding like magic…

This morning I added a large, very ripe banana on top and dug in:

It was perfect.  Chia seeds are full of protein, fiber and healthy fats, and their neutral taste let the subtle vanilla flavor from the almond milk and cinnamon-y goodness shine through.  I’ll need quick and easy breakfast fixes when I start school again later this month, and this versatile make-ahead chia pudding is perfect for time-crunched mornings. 

I went grocery shopping yesterday, so here is what’s on the menu for the next several nights:

Friday: Tonight B and I are going to meet some friends at the Spiral Diner.  Yahoo!  I will definitely post pics of the meal.  Their food always rocks my face off.

Saturday: Nacho night!  We’ll make nachos with blue corn tortilla chips, sauteed red bell pepper and onion, black olives, jalapeno, avocado, baby spinach and vegetarian refried beans.  Oh, and this vegan nacho cheeze sauce (duh!).  (Recipe here.)

Sunday: I’m very excited to try this amazing looking Balsamic Quinoa with Eggplant and Portobellas!  I definitely need more quinoa in my life. 

Monday: Gena’s Gingery Rice with Roasted Butternut Squash, Onion and Green Peas looks so good!  I’ll be using brown rice instead of pink, which I’m sure will be just as good (I’d never even heard of pink rice until I saw this recipe.  Definitely something worth checking out when I’m out of brown!).  I plan to eat this with a side of roasted brussels sprouts.  (Brussels are my fave!)

Tuesday and Wednesday I’ll eat leftovers, which is definitely not a bad thing if the above dishes are as good as I think they’re going to be.    I also have that container full of Sweet Potato and Lentil Veggie Chili in my freezer to eat, too (recipe here).

What are your food and fitness goals for 2012?

I have no desire to lose weight or change my body in any way this year.  My goal is to maintain my weight, keep rocking my workouts, and stay on the lookout for new, fun ways to be active.  I’ll continue to aim for 2-3 cardio workouts, 2-3 weight workouts, and 1 yoga sesh every week.  JUST DO IT, and stuff. 

I do have some food goals!

• Start experimenting with sea veggies!  I first learned about the wonders of sea vegetables (think wakame, kelp, nori, dulce) in Crazy Sexy Diet, and my newest cookbook (Blissful Bites) has a whole chapter dedicated to them.

• Learn the basics of macrobiotics.  I’ve been intrigued by the concept of a macrobiotic diet ever since reading The Kind Diet, but never really researched it further.  While I definitely won’t be going all macro in 2012, I would love to learn about the components of a well-rounded macrobiotic meal and start incorporating those elements more into my daily eating.  Stay tuned for that!

• Learn about (and start using) miso.  (Holy yum!)

• Buy a decent blender and start making my own Green Monsters.

• Remember to say a little prayer of gratitude before each meal and be more mindful when I eat.

• Make this!  

Alright, I’m off to do some cardio and enjoy this glorious day!  Have a fantastic weekend. 

XO,

Sara

The rest of the evening was spent with B and some friends, and I was home in bed by 1am.

We are ultra classy and adorned our plastic champagne glasses with masking tape name tags.  Don’t be jealous. 

It was a great night!

For breakfast on New Year’s day I made vegan pumpkin spice donuts.  I prepped the wet and dry ingredients separately the afternoon before, and in the morning I was so glad I had planned ahead.

These donuts are really, REALLY easy to make and very, VERY tasty.  Highly recommended!!! 

I used all whole wheat pastry flour instead of unbleached white, and they still turned out amazing.  I was thrilled that the kids loved these as much as they do regular donuts from the bakery.  Homemade, whole wheat, baked donuts are now going to be a regular thang in our kitchen.

New Year’s day I also made this detox salad:

DEEEELISH!  It made a ton, so I have easy lunches throughout the week.  I’m loving the idea of switching it up from my usual salad monsters and prepping a big mixed salad like this every weekend for quick, healthy mid-day meals all week long.

I enjoyed my first bowl topped with homemade garlic hummus and some Mary’s Gone Crackers:

So, so good.  I love the addition of sunflower seeds, currants and raisins and the light, fresh lemon juice and herbs.

For New Year’s day dinner, my Mom had everyone over for a big meal that included PPK’s Hottie Black Eyed Peas with Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Apples…

…plus smoky seitan roast from the Vegan Diner cookbook (gah, so good!).

Also: homemade vegan pull-apart rolls…

And chocolate lava cake from this book for dessert:

I definitely did my fair share of eating and drinking over the holidays!  I know I gained a couple of pounds, and it’s time to get back to a more balanced way of eating.  I’m not focused on the number on the scale, but on feeling lighter, more energetic and better in my clothes.

To get back into the swing of things, last night I made one of my favorite one-bowl meals:

Oh She Glows Protein Power Goddess Bowl

Uh, with a side of red wine.  Hey, yesterday was spent wrangling a cranky 2-year-old who was suffering from his first ear infection, so an evening glass of vino was in order. 

Dinners for the rest of the week will consist of leftovers from the above protein bowl as well as split pea soup (recipe here) and sweet potato & lentil chili (recipe here) that I froze a few weeks ago.  Warm and comforting yet healthy and balanced one-bowl meals should help bring my sexy back in no time. 

I’m off to do some cardio and then take E to the doctor.  Poor guy has a cough that just won’t quit.    At least O’s ear infection seems to have cleared up!

Have a happy and productive Tuesday. 

xoxo,

S.

PS- In 2012 I want to be more of an advocate for a healthy and happy vegan lifestyle.  Spread the veggie love!  To start, I took a tip from the vegan.com blog and added a vegan-friendly signature to my email.

Keep animals from harm every time you sit down to eat. Watch “Farm to Fridge” and read The Ultimate Vegan Guide.

If it prompts even one person to pause and think about where their food comes from, I’ll be a very happy girl.  This year I also plan to host multiple vegan dinner parties (wowing meat eaters with delicious vegan fare is always awesome!), write more about veganism here on the blog, and frequent the veg-friendly restaurants in my area (I can’t wait to go here, here and here!).  I’m coming up on 6 months of being vegan, and I’ve never felt better about my health or enjoyed food more than I do now.  If I had known that living compassionately could be this tasty (or this tasty, or this, this, this, THIS!), I would have given up animal products a long time ago. 

How was your Christmas?  Ours was fantastic!  The kids had a blast, my vegan butternut squash lasagna and sticky toffee pudding rocked the house, and I received some really awesome gifts.

This lasagna was really good.  I doubled the recipe and the sauce was kind of a P in the A, but it all came together and tasted delish in the end.  My first recipe from Spork-Fed was a definite success!

This sticky toffee pudding is now a new holiday tradition for my family!  I will definitely be making it again next year…

So moist and gooey and sweet!  Absolute dessert perfection. 

The boys got me Vegan’s Daily Companion, which is absolutely gorgeous and incredibly inspiring.  B got me this apron, which I’ve been wanting for over a year.  I also got a silicone baking liner, Blissful Bites (hooray!) and a donut pan (which I have been looking everywhere for), among lots of other cool stuff.  I will be making these donuts for breakfast on New Year’s day, and I’m pretty excited about it. 

Tuesday was E’s birthday.  He is 6 years old now!  *sob*  I took him to see The Muppets, and then we headed to Whole Foods for lunch:

I don’t buy/serve dairy at home, but I do let the kids eat cheese and eggs occasionally.  E really wanted some pizza, so I bought the birthday boy a slice of cheese.  (Aside: I got the boys this book for Christmas and it is really touching and beautiful!  E really took to it and is starting to think more about his food, where it comes from and what’s in it.  Naturally, I am thrilled.)  I opted for the salad bar and loaded up on veggie goodness and tofu:

I noticed that the bakery had individual slices of vegan cake, so we split one for dessert…

Man, it was good.  I believe it was called ‘apple harvest cake’ and it was heavenly- perfectly spiced and moist and slathered with thick, rich, creamy frosting (the best part- duh).

Did I mention that E is SIX!?  And O will be 3 in February.  Lets not think about that now…

This week I made persimmon bread for the first time using this easy recipe.  I’ve only made a few things from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog, but everything has turned out fantastic!  For the record, I omitted the raisins and walnuts and used applesauce instead of oil.  This recipe is especially awesome because it uses 100% whole wheat flour, and agave nectar is the only sweetener.  This was my first time baking with persimmons and I found them to be easy to work with and really delicious!  (Persimmon cookies, anyone!?)

Persimmon mash

+applesauce

+agave nectar

+flour and spices, etc.

All mixed up!

Yeah, buddy.

Slathered with some Earth Balance, this was definitely kid-approved.

I scored a couple of foodie finds this week that I wanted to share with you.  Very exciting stuff. 

First, PB2:

Have you guys tried this?  I first read about it on the Daily Garnish blog and was immediately intrigued.  It’s powdered peanut butter that you rehydrate with a little water.  I tested it this morning:

The appeal of PB2 is that a 2 tablespoon serving (2 tablespoons of the powder mixed with 1 tablespoon of water) contains a mere 45 calories and very little fat, whereas regular peanut butter has around 200 calories and 16 grams of fat for the same serving size.  I’m a whole foods kind of girl and typically don’t purchase or consume low or fat-free “diet” foods, but I decided to give PB2 a try because 1) it was on sale and 2) it has only 3 ingredients: peanuts, sugar and salt.

The verdict?

I put some on my steel-cut oatmeal and it was crazy-good!  It didn’t taste *exactly* like regular peanut butter, but it totally satisfied my peanut butter craving and I would be lying if I said that the low calorie content wasn’t an added bonus.  I’m not going to stop buying regular nut butter, but PB2 definitely has a place in my pantry. 

Next up, a coffee replacement.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about Yerba Mate, so when I started running low on coffee I decided to pick up some tea bags instead:

Also tested this for the first time this morning and loved it!  It has a mild flavor that reminded me of a cross between green and black tea.  Though it contains just a third of the caffeine of regular coffee, I didn’t miss my usual cup o’ French Roast at all.

Lastly, I finally broke down and bought some Mary’s Gone Crackers.

Man, these are ridiculous.  They’re super freaking tasty and packed with nutrition but cost a fortune.

I’ve been eating them with salads for lunch and have decided that they are totally worth the price.  I’m officially hooked.  And Mary must be one rich lady! 

Yummy stuff planned for next week!  Sunday night we will make The PPK’s Black Eyed Peas with Ginger Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples, which looks freaking amaze.  I’ll also make this protein-packed lentil bowl for dinner one night, and this salad for lunches throughout the week.  And I am seriously looking forward to making my own donuts!  I’m also stoked to cook from Blissful Bites.  I spent some time drooling over the gorgeous food porn on Christmas Day- the book is packed with big color photos- and I can see this cookbook quickly becoming one of my faves.

I can’t believe that 2012 is only a day and a half away!  Are you making any resolutions?  I decided that I must stop swearing so much.  I’m also working on doing away with perfectionism, which is something I’ve struggled with for pretty much my entire life.  Also?  I vow to eat more carbs in 2012.  That’s right. 

What would you like to see happen in the New Year?

I’m off to read while the tot naps… Happy Friday! 

xo,

Sara