Tag Archives: gluten-free

“Summer Beauty Foods” Release & Perricone MD Giveaway

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Hi everyone!

Today I have something special in mind. I’ve been feeling like I’ve been all over the place, mostly in mind… a lot has been going on which is why I haven’t written a post in awhile. I had actually been wanting to write something around the time when I was traveling around, and had finally settled back into New York. Now that I’ve been back, and being the introvert that I am… along with the start of the fall season I’ve been giving myself some extra TLC. Whether it’s an aromatic foot soak for ten minutes, lighting a candle, or swinging my hair around to some music.

This time of year always reminds me of how we pull out vegetables, and that this is also the time we go back to our roots. During these transition times I like to simplify things so I can hear my body better. What’s it trying to say?

Honey is my candy?

Now let’s hop back to Florida… early August.

Remember back when I was instructing a workshop called “Beauty On A Plate”?

That particular afternoon started off with a lovely bouquet of flowers.

And in the spirit of antioxidants we opened a couple bottles of pomegranate wine… made from pomegranates!

A bit of prep work…

For some of them it was their first time cutting asparagus, and as an instructor it always helps when people share things like that. I love helping people learn how to do things, and have them leave feeling more confident. Now what was on this three-course menu?

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A Way To Start The Day

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I reminded Matilda of how lovable she is…

"What else did you expect?"

This is true.. I should also note that Matilda is no ordinary dog. No, I have to lure her with treats to go out for walks, and she doesn’t settle for just any kind of food, toy, or other dog. She can also eat an entire bar of dark chocolate without repercussions. Lucky her, but I don’t want to go through the experience of the latter again.

And definitely not with this pot of chocolate.

When I came across Ashley’s recipe for ‘Chocolate Coconut Fudge Sauce‘, I went to the store to fetch some coconut milk to make it later that day. The coconut milk was incredibly thick, so I knew this was going to be a yummy, decadent affair.

Chocolate-dipped strawberry?

Yes, please. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this jar was nearly empty by the end of the morning.

Since it’s Friday and the weekend is beginning, I thought I’d share some breakfast ideas with you.

Katie’s ‘Deep-Dish Cookie Pie‘

It's very moist on the inside and crusty along the edges.

Some people like their cookies crunchy all the way through, but I like to have a little bit of both worlds. Something that will melt in my mouth, but with a crunch my teeth I have to bite through first.

Topped with goat's milk yogurt and berries, and a cup of green tea.

I'm going to tell you a little secret...

This cookie pie is mostly made with beans! Red bean cakes anyone?

Around the table for a more traditional breakfast

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With Love

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You know what I think is great? It seems that there are more and more conscientious people starting up businesses. With that, means that we actually have more choices. Choices that support whatever morals and values we may agree with. Something that I prioritize is being aware of how I, a person, may affect another person or anything else in the world.  How something I may be doing could either benefit something else or contribute towards a seemingly vicious cycle. I’d say the decisions I make for myself, for the most part, are ones that I feel at peace with; from how I treat myself and others, to not littering, to the food I eat. Whatever it is that you believe in, those beliefs are expressed and reflected in so many different ways. Yeah, I know it’s not up to no one person to save the world, but we can make it a more peaceful place. Awhile back I was sent some granolas by Love Grown Foods to sample and share. I am a lover of granolas, and there are few things that make a great recipe in my eyes. First, let me share with you what Love Grown Foods is all about: Here at LOVE GROWN FOODS, we take pride in the fact that all of our recipes are made with LOVE!

  • Free of Refined Sugar
  • Free of High Fructose Corn Syrup
  • Free of Trans Fats
  • Free of Hydrogenated Oils
  • Free of Artificial Flavors
  • Free of Preservatives
  • Free of Gluten (my gluten-intolerant mom’s stamp of approval)
  • Free of Genetically Modified Ingredients

“[...] we choose ingredients that are wholesome and nutritious.”

When I read what their intentions are behind the yummy things they make–well, it’s nice to know that some companies are started have real people with hearts behind them, and actually care about people’s well-being. And honestly, who purposely adds hydrogenated oils to their food when they’re making something in their own kitchen? Although some may do it accidentally when they cook with an oil at a higher temperature than its burning point. Anyway, let’s get to the real test because in the end I’m pretty simple… it’s taste that matters to me.

What’s a shake doing here?
A shake with cookie dough balls at that?
Ah yes we’ve found the golden… er chocolate nugget

That’s actually one of my criteria for what makes a good granola–chunks! And lots of them. This was the ‘Cocoa Goodness’ flavor, for all the chocolate lovers out there. On top of the oats being dusted in 100% cocoa powder, they also use 63% dark chocolate chips. Oh yeah. This granola would say “psh and so what” to anyone that laughs it off as hippie food.

It also passed the ‘lighter than a feather’ test.

Sidenote: that ‘shake’  was Angela’s recipe (highly recommended by moi) for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ‘Blizzard’.

Next up was the ‘Raisin Almond Crunch’.
Look at all of the almonds!

Comparatively speaking, this flavor wasn’t my favorite (doesn’t mean it’s bad) out of the three I was sent, but this granola gets an A+ for texture. I’ll give it a B+ for taste.

Sweet Cranberry Pecan
This was my favorite!

The granola all the kids hated because it always got extra credit in grade school: A++…+! Personifying these granolas makes for a more interesting review, don’t you think?

You’ve got taste, texture, and oh gosh… the pecans!

How can you go wrong? You can’t. When I first tried it, it was straight out of the bag and I almost ate the whole thing. Then I thought to myself “hey, save some for tomorrow!” Actually all of the granolas had me munching out of the bag. In fact, each one lasted me two or three days tops. I think by now you can tell what I think about Love Grown Foods’ granola. Take my word for it.

Gluten-free granolas lead me to other gluten-free recipes.

Flourless Coconut Pancakes (Gluten-Free)

Adapted from Alejandra

Serves 2

Ingredients

2  eggs

1/4 cup regular coconut milk*

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1 teaspoon coconut sugar (you can use another sweetener)

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, finely ground

Directions

1. Mix the eggs, coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut sugar, and salt in a bowl.

2. In another bowl, combine the baking powder and ground coconut.

3. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Make sure to mix well.

4. Heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat, then warm up a bit of coconut oil.

5. Spoon the batter onto a skillet. Only make a couple at a time so the pancakes don’t ooze into each other. Let cook until edges start to brown, then flip and let cook for a minute or so on the other side.

* I suggest using regular coconut milk to get a thicker pancake, but light was what I had on hand.

*You can grind the shredded coconut into a fine powder by placing it in a blender or food processor.

Coconut flour. Check.
Delicious pancakes. Check.
My mom’s happy belly. Triple check.

I especially made these for my mom, and she raved about them. I topped them with her favorite fruits, shredded coconut, and maple syrup. I tried only a small bite since eggs are hard for me to digest, but from what I tasted it was very yummy.

Place on your favorite plates and enjoy!

Do you guys like to cook special recipes for someone you care about?

Have you tried Love Grown Foods’ granola?

p.s. I know the reading blogs may be the last thing on some people’s minds right now, but I hope that everyone that is in the path of Hurricane Irene is safe. Mother Nature’s ways can sometimes be a force that puts us humans in a very different place at times. “Storms are one of nature’s ways of moving heat around, and high temperatures at the ocean surface tend to feed hurricanes and make them stronger.” [Source.] So if you may be affected try not to think about how this hurricane is ridiculous and ruining your plans, but rather focus on staying safe and hopefully you’ve got a comedian nearby to cheer you up.

p.s.s. I loved your responses to my post on skincare, and I want to talk about that in another post.

Treats with Thought

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Greetings Earthlings. I’ll be announcing the “Must Have Been Something I Ate” giveaway at the end. Now today’s post is one that I’ll get into without further ado!

Awhile ago I was given the opportunity to sample and review Smart Treat’s, well, treats! My mom and her mom’s side of the family have a history of digestive issues and such so alternative foods have peaked my interest since I can remember. I can only empathize with my mom when she can’t have pasta at an Italian restaurant because she knows what will happen to her digestive system afterwards. But I believe that whatever sensitivities you may have, you can still enjoy delicious tasting food! That’s where Smart Treat comes in. I usually keep an eye out for gluten-free foods to share with my mom, and when I stumbled upon Smart Treat’s site while on a search for ‘banana granola recipes’ I was intrigued. Their treats are wheat-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free with some vegan and nut-free options.

Chip of Everything cookies

These cookies have chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts! They also had a nice texture–not too dry, or super chewy. My mom enjoyed these as well! There have been times in my life where I temporarily had to give up something (sadly, recently it is my new allergy to eggplant). However, I’d rather think about what you can have instead of what you can’t. So I imagine for someone like my mother, who has sensitivities to gluten, she wouldn’t have to think about missing out on classic cookies. In this case, classic cookies all rolled into one.

Behold, the Peanut Brittle Chocolate Samich

This was basically a nutty brittle used as the “bread” and semi-sweet chocolate as the filling. What a genius idea!

I took the rest of it to class and I couldn’t help but think everyone was jealous of the deliciousness I was eating.

This was a recipe that I think Bonnie probably conjured up in her kitchen because I didn’t see this item on their site. The only thing I’d say is that there could be a wee bit more chocolate, but this was still great! I can only dream of having another one of these delicious samiches until… hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

Apricot Raspberry Krispie Bar

These were reminiscent of the Rice Krispies bars my friends would tote around, but with a fruity twist. The raspberry part tasted so interesting to me and seemed to be laced into every rice crisp. I took a look at the ingredient list to see what it was and raspberry fruit spread was on the list! My brain started imagining all of the things I could incorporate fruits spreads into. The apricot bits added a taste of tartness, and kept this from being an overly-sweet treat. Overly-sweet things make me cringe. I like the sweetness to be just so.

Nutty Brittle Bar

FYI, the brittle “bread” in that sandwich earlier? That’s what this is! Sooo good! The texture was awesome, and it reminded me of those clusters that I love in granola. Yes, these could easily crumble, but still into big pieces so you can have a satisfying bite. You could taste the spices and subtle sweetness, along with crunchy sunflower seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and almonds.

Apricot Date Granola

This granola was filled with chunks, and some really big ones that you could break apart and still have a solid nugget in your hand. Awesome! I let the granola and banana slices soak in almond milk for awhile to soften them.

This breakfast was so good!
Next up, the Onion and Caraway Seed bread

The savory one of the bunch, and delicious at that! I toasted it up and knew just what I wanted to try this with…

Excellent for buttering up and dipping into a delicious tomato bisque.

I think this is a bread that you would want toasted, and I enjoyed it with simple spreads like butter and cream cheese. But really, the caraway and onion in the bread could stand alone.

Lastly, I tried the Cranberry Walnut dinner rolls
Mmm crusty on the outside, and soft and pillowy dough on the inside
Cream cheese sounded like a good idea for these!

And it was. You get a lot of bites with dried cranberries and walnut bits, which I liked. I know that some people aren’t into nuts in cookies or bread. These led me to discovering that I just don’t like nuts in things that are already dense like brownies.

Verdict? If you have sensitives to any of wheat, dairy, gluten, or follow a vegan diet… or are just plain curious, then I’d give Smart Treat a try. Note: not everything is vegan or nut free but there are a lot of friendly options.

By the way you should check out their ‘About‘ page. Actually, when I read their page when I first came upon this company I was comforted. Intention and thought are very important things to me, so seeing that these are part of their philosophy was a wonderful reminder. A reminder that there are companies that do genuinely care about people, and that we have options beyond the companies that are so far removed from the concept of humanity that they lack integrity. These are principles beyond food. These are principles for life.

And now… I’m so excited to announce the winner of the “Must Have Been Something I Ate” book giveaway!

Florence from Squigglefloey! Congratulations, Florence! Just e-mail me your address, and your book awaits you! Now, if you aren’t Florence you can still check this book out. Ask to see if your local bookstore carries it, and if they don’t you can always request them to! There’s also the option of finding it online as well. By the way, I loved reading all of your answers to the food or things that make you feel good. It seems like many of you feel good when you eat something fresh! I think fresh is on many of our minds with the hot months coming. I’ve talked about my observations of people’s tendencies when it’s winter, spring, summer, or fall on my blog before. Isn’t it interesting to see how our personalities and comforts can change with the seasons?

The Bakery Down the Street

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Hello beautiful people! I hope everyone has been enjoying their weekend, spending it however you please. My first week of my last semester went well! I don’t have time to be home for my meals so I’ve been making things that are easy and tasty for on-the-go. It makes not being able to eat in the comfort of my own place not seem like such a poopie idea. Atleast it tastes like I’m eating at home!

Red lentils: one of my favorite legumes.

When my mom first made her special red lentil soup a few years ago, I was in love with this new discovery! There was awhile where the only thing I’d make was my mom’s red lentil soup, and to this day the recipe remains a secret. Sorry folks, but I’m really good at keeping secrets. Actually, that just means you can trust me! So I’m not really sorry hehe. Anyway, I enjoyed these red lentil burgers with Vegenaise, with tamarind date chutney, and whatever other condiments I thought would taste yummy.

Beautiful wraps made out of collard greens are a great way to get your veggies in, and keep it mess free!
My class was let out early so I was able to enjoy this at home.

I bookmarked this recipe for flax-encrusted sweet potato balls awhile ago from Caitlin’s blog. Mine came out rather mushy, but I ended up baking them twice, and that seemed to do the trick. I tried them with mustard and sour cream, as the recipe suggested. These were very easy to make, and I made a batch to last me a week (probably)! If you’re looking for a recipe that isn’t intimidating and tastes good then may I suggest this one?

Frozen pizzas come in handy during the semester as well.

I’m usually wary of frozen pizzas, since a lot of the times they just taste bad. However, I saw this frozen pizza at the Indian store for $1.99. So if it ended up tasting icky $1.99 was all I had to lose, well it was a risk I was willing to take.

This is Deep Indian Gourmet's spinach and paneer naan pizza, in case you were curious.

The crust and sauce were tasty, but it could've definitely used more paneer cheese.

It’s a unique taste on pizza though, and worth trying for the heck of it.

Before the semester started I went to a bachelorette party for the first time, and it was unforgettable!

The Maid of Honor aka the bartender!

Deceivingly calm...

After dirty presents were opened we went down to the bar, took our blow job shots, and started the night!

This occassion called for a special straw!

Here, you try.

Brightly colored drinks were popular that night, and this one tasted like a Thin Mint!

We made our mark at a few places, and eventually found ourselves back at the hotel's bar.

We graced them with dancing on bar tops--note the bartender joined us and let us plug our music in!

We stayed till the bar closed, and then some of us jumped into the pool with our "bathing suits" aka undies.

They are pretty much the same thing, after all. Ah yes, just thinking about that night makes me laugh. I always have so much fun when I’m with this group of ladies. We’ve been wreaking havoc ever since high school. Masters of pranks, being outrageous, and just having a good time–that’s us in a nutshell.

On a different note, I was given the pleasure of reviewing some products that have intrigued me for quite some time. I’ve always noticed Bakery on Main’s granola because it just looks so delicious, and it’s got a different texture than most. Then I found out that they have more than just granola! Most importantly, their motto is: food that’s good for you should taste good too. Amen to that–I’m looking at you shots of wheat grass (blech)! Honestly, I don’t care how “healthy” something may be, but if something tastes bad then forget it. Taste is the number one thing I consider–always. Anyway, shall I show you all the goodies?

They make gluten-free granola!

First off, I love the texture of these granolas! Instead of using oats, they toast sweetened corn flakes and rice crisps. The crunch factor doesn’t stop there because there are so many delicious seeds to bite into!

Nutty Cranberry Maple Granola: Pecans, almonds, sweetened cranberries, raisins with maple sound like a great combination, right? Well it is! Sweet, but not overly so. That’s how I like it! What’s the point of having flavors anyway, if it’s just overpowered by the sugars?

Extreme Fruit & Nut Granola: Bakery on Main means what it says! I’m going to list off what’s in this granola because I just think it’s amazing that they have such a variety in one granola. Sunflower seeds, flax seeds, raisins, sesame seeds, coconut, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, cranberries, pecans, apricots, and brazil nuts. Granola makers take note, and chew on that.

Apple Raisin Walnut Granola: This was the most comforting flavor out of the bunch, and I loved it just as much. There was something so satisfying about biting into the walnut halves. Once again, the texture and flavor were so great!

If you have gluten sensitivities and thought you had to say bye bye to granola, well you should try these out! Even if you don’t have to worry about gluten, you should still give these a go. You won’t miss the traditional granolas made with oats because these are on another level. Sweetness, crunch, and flavor are all here. They’re available in snack pack sizes, or bigger sizes if you’d like.

And they also make a high fiber granola if you feel like you may be lacking in that department.

Now these are made with oats but they are gluten-free. The founder, Michael Smulders, heard the complaints of many of his customers suffering from Celiac disease that the gluten-free options out there were less than stellar alternatives. This is great for people who are on a gluten-free diet because medical research shows that people on gluten-free diets tend to have less than the recommended amount of fiber. These granolas pack in 36% of the recommended daily value!

However, I didn’t like these granolas as much as the other kind. I think it was mostly the texture though, but I also think that these tasted very grainy. Perhaps some improvements could be made with that, and also making it crunchier some how. I really love the flavor choices though, and I don’t see berry granolas frequently.

Such a refreshing breakfast.
More please!

I usually eat granola with yogurt, but I wanted to have it with almond milk and it tasted so yummy that way too! While looking at Bakery on Main’s site I spotted a discussion board where people share their favorite ways to eat granola. Check it out here! Maybe you’ll find a new way you enjoy granola.

Now let’s move on to the bars, shall we?

I love when bars have big chunks of nuts.

It just reminds me that not all bars look the same, and for some reason that sticks out to me.

Out of their gluten free granola snack bars I tried the Cranberry Maple Nut, Extreme Trail Mix, and Peanut Butter Chocolate. Once again, I’m loving the corn flakes, and the crispy grains. These were crunchy but chewy at the same time. I didn’t really enjoy the Peanut Butter Chocolate snack bar though. It sounded like it would be really tasty, but there was something off about it. I’m picky about peanut butter, so maybe the flavor of theirs just didn’t do it for me. The other two flavors though were treats to eat!

They also make soft and chewy bars!

This was the Peanut Butter & Jelly flavor. I liked the taste, but I think it could use more jelly! I even spied some chia seeds! Next up I tried the Apple Cinnamon flavor. Wow! That was my reaction when I had the first bite. This bar was so good that I thought I was eating some sort of… pie? I’m not sure, but it seemed way more than a snack bar! The cinnamon was spot on, and the apple was too. Who doesn’t love that combination? Lastly, I tried the Chocolate Almond bar. There was something off with this bar too, but I had a hard time putting my finger on it. Maybe there weren’t enough almonds? I thought there was something with the chocolate chips too though. It was hard to pinpoint it.

It just looks so wholesome doesn’t it?
Clusters of chocolate chips? I like!

Anyway, if you see any Bakery on Main products in the store, I suggest you give them a try. As for their gluten-free granola, I can’t imagine anyone not liking it! Here’s some more information on their products as well. All of their ingredients are GMO free, natural, have unsulfured dried fruits, and are dairy and casein free. Moreover, if you sign up for their “Eat Better Live Better Club” you will automatically receive a coupon for $1.50. To think it all started in the small bakery of a natural foods market on Main Street in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

I hope you all enjoyed the review! I know that I enjoyed being the sampler, and sharing about this company and their products with all of you.

Complicated Creatures From the Depths of Atlantis

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First things first! A few lovely ladies bestowed me with the Stylish Blogger Award. From one stylish lady to another, thank you so much LB, Fi, and Kate for passing this honor on to me.

In order to accept this award, I must perform these four duties:

1. Make a post and link back to the person who awarded this to me.
2. Share 7 things about myself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers to tell them they’ve won!

1. Lately I have been running while listening to the Amélie soundtrack (my favorite movie of all time). It makes for a very pleasant run actually.

2. I’ll be graduating with my BFA this spring!

3. There was a brief period in my life where I didn’t talk much because I was afraid of socializing. The thought of me interacting with other people made me really anxious, so I’d just avoid it all together.

4. I talk to strangers… unless they give off a creepy vibe. I’ve met some of the most interesting people that way, and it’s just nice to know I’ve got friends wherever I go.

5. When I was 15 my parents drove me to New York so I could take pictures at Warped Tour for ELLEgirl magazine.

6. I use to dream that I was Nala from “The Lion King”, meaning that Simba was my boyfriend. I also use to have a crush on Macaulay Culkin, and I’d imagine that he was in my ballet class.

7. We moved up to Virginia when I was in 9th grade for two reasons: my step-dad’s job, and our house in Florida was haunted. We ended up moving back to that same house a year later, then back up to Virginia for my senior year. As soon as I graduated and went back to Germany, my parents moved back down to Florida. No wonder people ask me where I am!

There are really so many great people that I’d like to pass this award on to, so here are some off the top of my head! I look up to these people for their cool attitude, impeccable food tastes, wonderful charm, and of course because they’ve got it goin’ on!

Liz, Neela, Jess, Gill, Angharad, Katie, Maggie, Mel, Lauren, Kelsey, Megan, Lynn, Maya, Laury, and Megan D!

The other day I made up a delicious recipe definitely worth sharing!

Vegan Yellow Split Pea Soup

1 Tbl ghee or extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt

2 med. carrots, chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

2 cups dried split yellow peas, picked over and rinsed

1 tsp vegetable bouillon

5-7 cups water

2 bay leaves

juice of 1/2 lemon

smoked paprika

1. Add the ghee or oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions, garlic, and salt. Cook until the onions soften, about a minute or two. Then throw in the carrots and sauté for a few minutes. The salt keeps things from sticking to the pot.

2. Add the split peas, bay leaves, thyme, bouillon, and water. Bring to a boil, and bring down the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through. The soup should have a thick texture; half pureed and half chunky.

3. Stir in the lemon juice and taste.

4. Serve the soup in bowls. Drizzle the soup with oil (I used coconut) and top with a good pinch of smoked paprika. You can also garnish with fresh herbs, cheese,  what have you.

This is what I call “jiva” soup aka soul soup
I also made another tasty vegan, gluten-free dish…
Vegan Mac and Cheese at its finest!

The mastermind behind this dish? My dear friend, Erica, of course! She takes beautiful pictures of food that I can imagine tastes just as wonderful.

Butternut Squash “Mac and Cheese”

Serves one hungry lady!

8-9 oz raw butternut squash, peeled, cubed, and steamed until very soft

2 T (or more to taste) of nutritional yeast

1 T tomato paste

1 tsp dijon mustard

lots of spices to taste (cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, italian herb seasoning, cayenne, chili powder)

1/3 cup unsweetened milk (almond or so delicious coconut)

1 T soy-free earth balance (or olive oil might work, too)

fresh parsley, rosemary, sage to taste

sea salt and pepper to taste

2.5 oz gluten free pasta of choice (quinoa pasta or brown rice)

6 oz raw broccoli, steamed

1. Steam the peeled butternut squash until extremely tender. Once finished, toss in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add the nutritional yeast, tomato paste, dijon, and spices to the mashed squash. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, cook your pasta of choice according to package directions. Once cooked, run under cold water and set aside. Also, steam your broccoli and set aside once cooked.

3. While your pasta is cooking, place the squash mixture in a small saucepan on medium-low heat, and stir frequently. Add the milk and incorporate it with the squash. Taste the sauce, add some more spices, including the sea salt and pepper, to taste. Now, add the earth balance and stir it in until incorporated.

4. In a vitamix, carefully process the sauce so it’s nice and silky smooth. Add it back to the saucepan, and toss in the pasta and broccoli. Stir it all up, and then add your fresh herbs into the mix.

5. Warm it up gently until heated, plate it up, and enjoy!

I suggest you walk to your kitchen to see if you have all of the ingredients to make this because you’ve got to try it.

Now remember that shopping list with the clues?
Open it up and see what is revealed!

Since I’ve been buying split mung beans I’ve only made one recipe with them… over and over and over again. I love my split mung bean soup, but I wanted to try something different! That’s when these Spicy Thai Mung Bean Burgers called my name. Oddly enough, I’ve been wanting fresher things to eat. Perhaps spring is just around the corner? I wish.

Can you spy the quinoa?

I love how wonderful and compact these are. No messy loose grains! Instead the quinoa is mixed in with the burgers. This tasted so fresh, and the texture was great as well; crispy on the outside and dense on the inside. Silly me forgot the onions and cilantro, so I just topped the burgers with the “missing” ingredients. I also topped the burgers with avocado slices, a curried coconut cream sauce or tamarind date sauce (this was my favorite of the two sauces).

It’s beautiful to look at too.
A mix of fresh and cooked!

I stumbled upon this warm spinach salad with smoky pecans and sweet potato on CHOW. This had just enough heat and smokiness over a bed of fresh spinach. Next time I make this I want to add dried cranberries and goat cheese. That’ll take all of the flavors to new heights, I’m sure!

I love when things are smoked!

Now here's a bit of breakfast pleasure with a walnut on top!

Melted deliciousness.

And I stacked them this time.

I'm pretty sure I've got your attention now... I can see you drooling!

One fine morning I woke up and I knew I wanted something very special for breakfast that day. I looked through my recipes and spotted one I had bookmarked not too long ago. Behold, carrot cake pancakes with cinnamon honey butter! Yes, you read that correctly. Check out Picky Cook’s blog for more mouth-watering recipes.

I recently had a mini reunion with a dear friend of mine over tea.

Remember I told you about my dear friend that is also going to be in Richmond’s Fashion Week? Well this is him!

We were going to go to Cafe Gutenberg, but I guess they’re closed on Mondays.

So we headed to LuLu’s right down the street!

I’m glad he’s close by again, but he’s one of those friends that you will always have no matter how far you may be!

I always have the best conversations with him! He’s very insightful, and so full of passion for life. We talked about so many things. One of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot is how people are complex by nature. Things can complicated, that’s for sure. But one thing that I really want to strive for is to not be a… conscious hypocrite. I want to mean what I say. When I say that I’m going to do something, I will do it. I will live life with grace and sincerity. After a couple of hours of being around him, I felt recharged. Do any of you have people like that in your lives? They’re really something special!

It’s Friday over here, so I hope everyone enjoys their weekends!!! Much love to you all.

Kaia Foods Review

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Friends, I have an over due review to share with you all! The kind people over at Kaia Foods sent me a sampler package with various things to try. But before I jump right in, I want to share some information about them with you.

“Keep it simple. We believe that’s the key to proper nutrition. All we do to make our foods is sprout, season, mix, and puree organic ingredients before dehydrating them at low temperatures. The nutrients and great taste stay intact and aren’t processed away.”

They actually launched the first-ever raw fruit leather, and they also have other products that are ‘raw’, certified organic, gluten-free, and vegan. Moreover, 1% of sales go to food aid programs such as The Hunger Project and The UN’s World Food Programme.

Not your ordinary sunflower seeds…

I was sent these two sprouted sunflower seed flavors to try out:

Cocoa Molé and Sweet Curry

The Cocoa Molé flavor was a bit too earthy for me and I didn’t quite catch the cayenne pepper in there. But the Sweet Curry flavor… whoa mama! Okay, so it was hard for me not to finish off the bag. These were so wonderfully flavorful and delicious. I could eat them alone all day long, but sprinkling them on dishes is also a great idea. Seriously, who knew such little seeds could deliver flavor with such a bang!

Next up...

The wondrous fruit leathers. Check out these flavors!

These are not like most fruit leathers that are sticky, but I think that’s because these are dehydrated at low temperatures and have no added sugars or concentrates.

Lime Ginger: I didn’t like this one at all! I don’t know, something was just really off tasting about this for me.

Goji Orange: I didn’t like this one either, but it was more palatable than the previous flavor. I think these two were just not my taste because the other flavors were much more to my liking.

Spiced Apple: This was yummy and definitely not too sweet. This was like eating an apple with pumpkin pie spice, only in fruit leather form! Perfect for on the go and much more compact than an apple.

Vanilla Pear: Okay so I saved this one for last because it was my favorite. It’s got a really simple ingredient list and it’s obvious what it tasted like. When do pears and vanilla not go well together? Yeah, that’s what I thought!

If they come out with more flavors, I’d be interested to see what they are because these flavor combinations are already intriguing.

Last but not least...

I tried the Cocoa Bliss buckwheat granola. This was also a bit too earthy for me, but better than the sunflower seeds. The raisins and various nuts made it better than the sunflower seeds. Anyhow, I really love the texture of this granola though. After looking at the other buckwheat granola flavors: Dates & Spices, and Raisin Cinnamon… those sound more to my liking. If I saw them in the store I would definitely give them a try.

I hope you all enjoyed the review! If you’re interested you can find their products in stores nationwide such as Whole Foods, and online at their website. I hope all of you started your week off on the right side of the bed!

Ketchup

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I have quite a few things to catch you all up on!

First off,

Matilda, my mother, and I sleeping together in my twin-size bed

Our breakfast for her last day in town.

What was served? I made oatmeal with cinnamon and a bruleed banana + shredded coconut for my mom. She also wanted some of the bread we had gotten from the brasserie with sunflower seed butter. I opted for an end piece with marmalade and butter. I also tried a Heart Thrive. This time it was the raisin flavor and it was so good! It was delicious alone and crumbled over vanilla Greek yogurt + persimmon + cashew butter. We both had cups of warm pumpkin spice soymilk with pumpkin spice! We just dilly-dallied around the apartment and took Matilda on a walk.

Mom's breakfast

And mine

Then lunch time rolled around…

Gluten-free pizza crust with roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, portobello, and goat cheese.

After we got ready, we were off to the studio!

Wishing I didn't have to spend my last day with my mom at the studio.

But before I dropped her off at the airport we were able to meet up with one my bests for some coffee.

Beautiful smiles all around!

All three of us

Being silly

I was sad when I dropped my mom off at the airport but luckily I’ll be flying down to Florida tomorrow till Sunday!

Lazy Sundays

I had a Rudi’s Organic English Muffin – these are so good! One half with cashew butter and the other half with Creme of Almonds and Dates spread. I also had vanilla Greek yogurt with marmalade and some slices of bananas. I also saved some banana slices for my English Muffin. My sweet tooth was calling my name that morning and I had a Marzipan candy and I tried a Newman’s Own Organic dark chocolate peppermint cup. This one was so good! I did some things around the apartment and spent most of my day painting.

More pizza!

Yummy dinner

I had some of the baguette from the brasserie with basil pesto, and a mock tuna made with soybeans. I also had a sliced up a carrot and look at that beautiful persimmon! I’m glad I decided to cut it that way.

I tried someone's favorite nighttime snack.

Well not just someone, but I tried Jessica’s favorite! Warmed up applesauce with cinnamon, melted chocolate chips, a crumbled graham cracker, and since I didn’t have almond butter I just used cashew. Girl, now I know why this snack is at the top of your list.

Spreading the love on Monday.

What a great way to start a Monday – with heart-shaped goodies! I tried the date Heart Thrive that morning. The date flavor wasn’t as intense as some of the other flavors I’ve tried. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed off. I had it over vanilla Greek yogurt, a sliced banana, and cashew butter. Mixed in with everything else it was good, but alone I didn’t really like it.

Baguette action

This sandwich was composed of: a beer-brat Tofurky sausage, homemade tomato sauce, red onions, and relish. Yum! I love using a baguette as the bread for a sandwich.

I obviously couldn't get enough!

So later on I snacked on some more with a baked apple + cinnamon, goat cheese, and honey!

I also got an incredibly sweet package in the mail!

From one of the sweetest girls around, Mitri! Her package warmed my heart and kept a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Little delicious treats and wonders tucked inside.

Thank you so much! Don’t you love acts of kindness? Especially through snailmail! Since Tuesday was around the corner, I spent most of my day kicking major booty in the studio. Tuesday = my final critique of the semester!

Breakfast on-the-go

This is why bars are perfect sometimes! I tried the last 18 rabbits granola bar – Haute Diggity Date. This was incredibly delicious and is right up there with the first one I tried. The one that made me think, “this is what a granola bar is suppose to taste like.” Thank you for sending me these bars to review! I am so glad that I did because I will definitely find myself getting these in the future.

So now I will share with you what my piece for this semester’s final critique looked like. Now keep in mind that being there in person is an entirely different experience – as is with most art. I also had a Nag Champa incense burning which definitely added to the piece itself. I had originally wanted to set it up in various open fields and document my interaction in the space. Then I realized how little time I had, and I was debating doing a performance piece with it instead. However, nothing specific came to mind and I never force myself into anything when it comes to my art. So I just let it be, but I will set it up outside and film that in my leisure time.

Balancing on itself

Mitri’s beautiful box of goodies found its way into my piece! Can you spy it?

Watercolors on fabric + burlap

Interesting angle the stripped branches made.

The whole experience was meditative for me, and the environment I built is meditative as well. What a great place to relax…

Where do you all like to go to relax?

p.s. check out Katie’s amazing giveaway!

It’s a State of Mind

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It’s been far too long since my vivacious mother has graced the pages of my blog! When I think of my mom I think of what someone who has a passion for life. She has this youthfulness about her and I believe it can be a state of mind. How you carry and perceive yourself really reflects a lot on how people see you. This brings me to my number one fashion tip: wear it with confidence! When you’ve finally decided what outfit you want to wear, or if you just threw something on, don’t forget to walk out your door with a good amount of self-esteem and work it!

First off I started my Thanksgiving day with some homemade granola!

I used the soybean pulp, coconut oil, honey, shredded coconut, vanilla extract

I used the soybean pulp, coconut oil, honey, shredded coconut, and vanilla extract

Granola + vanilla Greek yogurt/pumpkin puree + raisins

After straightening the apartment up and running some errands, I picked up my mother at the airport and gave her a tour of the place. It didn’t take too long though since it’s quite small. She came bearing gifts from her recent trip to Germany!

German goodies!

Neela definitely understands that Germans have mastered the art of baking bread and Kuchen! Oh and making chocolate too!

Choco Gummibaerchen

Then we started cooking up a storm for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Mom also helped!

Then we set my coffee table and sat on pillows.

Looking cute!

Shall we eat?

This was on the menu:

First time trying Swiss chard!

Swiss chard with toasted pine nuts and raisins

Indian-spiced Kabocha mash

Stollen my mom brought back from her trip to Germany

Sage and pumpkin seed encrusted "chick'n" with cranberry cabernet sauce

I used Gardein scallopinis for the “chick’n”. I also baked some maple cornbread and mushroom gravy.

All together and what have you got?

Afterwards we went on a walk with Matilda.

Then we watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I had never seen that movie, and now I see why so many people love it!

Next morning, mom and daughter breakfast

My mom had some of the gourmet cashew toffee Holly sent me, a Fig Newman, banana, toast with sunflower seed butter (her first time trying it), and an arepa con choclo. Her and I actually split the delicious arepa. For myself I tried the chocolate Heart Thrive over some vanilla Greek yogurt, cashew butter, some Newman’s Own Organic dark chocolate, and a sliced banana. I think the Heart Thrives are getting better and better with each new flavor I try. I heated this one up and I loved the melted chocolate. This one in particular tastes like a cookie. Can you guess which kind? Then we got ready for some shopping!

Dressing room photoshoots - commence!

I tried on this incredible black dress!

So awesome!

Since I’m going to Art Basel this coming weekend, I need to come up with an extravagant outfit!

I'm thinking something along the lines of what I wore to my "End of the World" party.

Also tried on an incredible top.

A dress like in Breakfast at Tiffany's!

My mom likes playing with my camera!

Matilda went shopping with us too!

We were being goofy in the store!

On to the next store – my favorite!

Of course Anthropologie has adorable ceramic egg trays! (far right)

Now it's Mom's turn to model!

I think she wanted to go to the dog bakery!

She makes me smile

Now both of us!

Awesome overalls!

A shame they were too small.

A gypsy shawl!

Then we went to Sur la Table

The cooking class that day was entirely based around chocolate. Katie, I thought of you!

Minus my feet being cut-off, my mom took a cool picture!

We were done shopping and decided to head home for some lunch. Well the day before my mom flew in I had decided to bake something for us.

The ingredients!

I used French Meadow Bakery’s gluten-free pizza crust! Pizza 1: basil pesto pizza sauce, goat cheese, caramelized onions (in brown sugar), portobello, roasted eggplant. Pizza 2: basil pesto pizza sauce, goat cheese, caramelized onions (in brown sugar), portobello, roasted red pepper and artichokes.

The pizza I made!

Pizza No. 1

I must say that I was surprised at how normal the crust tasted. In fact, it didn’t occur to me till later that, “Oh yeah! This is gluten-free crust. Wow!” After lunch we were headed out again and I had forgotten something so I went back. Then I realized I had locked us out of the apartment and my roommate was out of town. Oops! Thank goodness through some guardian angels were watching out for me and my neighbors walked into the building at the right moment. They had a way of getting me into my apartment. Imagine poor Matilda waiting for us!

Dinnertime!

We each had Sunshine Burgers topped with diced tomato, seasoned avocado, and ketchup. I also sauteed some kale in balsamic vinegar and honey + grated parmesan. Lastly, we split a beautiful persimmon! I asked my mom what she thought of the Sunshine Burger. Her response: “DELICIOUS!” After dinner we got ready to go to the movies.

And I packed some movie snacks for us.

We went to go see Julie & Julia.

The movie made me smile so much because I totally feel the same way!

The movie theater itself is so beautiful!

After the movie we wanted to go get some drinks.

We went to this French brasserie called Can Can

My friend was working so she took some pictures of me and my mom.

They brought out the bread - They ended up giving us a free baguette and another loaf!

A toast to us!

With a blackberry Bellini for me and an Indian Summer for my mom.

We also ordered a dessert.

A sweet potato tart with cranberry ice cream and a ginger creme anglaise.

A sweet potato tart with ginger creme anglaise and cranberry ice cream.

After a couple of hours of talking we headed home and laid our little heads to rest.

You are all so sweet and I’m incredibly thankful for each and every single one of you. I can’t remember exactly what sparked me to start a blog, but whatever that reason is – it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that it brought me here, with a bunch of wonderful friends. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are enjoying all the delicious leftovers. Cooking shouldn’t be a problem for the next few days!

Inspired Eats

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Hello hello there! I am so happy to say that these past few days have been awesome. I think it’s the whole mentality I’m trying to maintain to get me through the winter.  It was actually the title for a recent post of mine, “life is what you make of it.” The winter doesn’t have to suck the life out of me (okay I’m being dramatic here), but instead I focus on what I’m doing now and all the positives of this holiday season. And all your answers really stuck with me and reminded me of so many things I have to smile about. Don’t we all?

Here are few of my reasons, inspired by some of you, in the past couple of days.

A different version of frozen yogurt

I took a container of So Delicious coconut milk yogurt and stuck it in the freezer.

Two cookies for good measure!

The night I received the package I had a couple of Holly’s homemade vegan pumpkin molasses cookies. Wow! These were so good, I’m glad she shared her recipe.

Inspired by two very special ladies.

The other day I saw that Maya and Eliza had each made a bowl of gingerbread-inspired oats. Do I need to explain? This is why I love breakfast. When I’ve had a delicious breakfast then I know it’s going to be a good day.

On my day off from classes I felt like dressing-up.

One of my favorite scarves - it makes me feel like Mozart.

And a skirt I should wear more often.

Along with some dark grey tights and red Mary Janes flats.

I had recently gotten a ton of basil.

So I decided to make a pesto. Rather than using raw pine nuts I toasted them first and it really made a difference in the flavor.

Afternoon snack

These are the Apple Grahams that came in the package Holly sent me. I’ve tried them plain, with the medley jam she also sent me, pumpkin butter, dipped in Sugar Cookie tea, and pumpkin spice soymilk. I have yet to crumble them on a nice warm bowl of oatmeal.

Almost forgot about lunch!

For lunch I tried another Gardein product. This time it was the chick’n scallopini. I really liked how they lightly-seasoned these, and they were also a really nice size. There are some vegetarian products out there that give such small portions and that can be frustrating. I decided to cook up the rest of cauliflower and chick’n scallopini in a Sweet Pepper and Coconut cooking sauce. Served with Nishiki rice. So good that even my little Moofia toy wanted some.

I recently picked up a new item at the grocery store.

What could it be? A rutabaga! I’m pretty sure I’ve never tried one before. My darling darling, Brooke, said this was one veggie I needed to try. She recommended to try them with cranberries, so of course I listened! I roasted the rutabaga and an apple with sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. I also had a Tofurky Kielbasa decorated with ketchup, beer-brewed mustard, and a bit of sweet relish. Yum! I definitely was looking up more rutabaga recipes after this.

This was a special bowl of oatmeal...

In Brooke’s survey one of the questions was, “bowl of hot cereal you have been wanting to try.” And I answered a banana rum cake-inspired oatmeal. Lynn thought it sounded good too, so I decided to make it! I made my way to the liquor store and got a miniature bottle of Captain Morgan’s spiced rum. I did not prepare my oatmeal as I usually do because I additionally cooked it with a couple spoonfuls of spiced rum and a bruleed banana. I topped it with a sliced banana, some pecans, New Morning Honey Grahams, and a ZenSoy banana pudding cup.

I even mixed spiced rum in the banana pudding!

I wanted to be drunk for my Taoism class! Kidding of course!

I hadn't worn this blazer in ages!

Lunch was surprisingly yummy.

I wanted to try out something different for the wee bit of kale I had left. It was just enough to help make this sandwich (I just boiled it). I assembled the sandwich with French Meadow Bakery’s gluten-free sandwich bread, cashew butter, kale, and pumpkin butter. This was a new combination I thought of and wanted to try out; I think some onion jam would’ve definitely sealed the deal, but this was delicious as well. I had some of the leftover hummus from Brittany’s sandwich recipe – perfect for the broccoli!

Bright and early on a Saturday!

Since I have to wake up really early on a Saturday morning (and I hadn’t gotten home on Friday till 4:30 am), I just want as much sleep as I can get. So when I woke up I quickly put my breakfast together. I tried another 18 Rabbits flavor that was sent to me; that morning I decided to try the “Nibble a Sultana” bar. I had it with a container of vanilla Greek yogurt, a diced apple, and cinnamon. I’ve seen sultanas baked with apples in little tarts. This bar didn’t have that same perfect granola-y flavor the other one had. It was okay, but I probably wouldn’t buy it for myself.

Carrots and rutabaga mash + sandwich

With the rest of my rutabaga I followed Brooke’s advice again and made a mash out of it! I stumbled upon this recipe and I knew it would be nothing short of delicious. However, I ended up sprinkling on some pumpkin pie spice and mixed some coconut oil in as well. This had me licking my bowl clean. The sandwich was inspired by a local coffee-shop item on their menu. It had my homemade basil pesto, Gardein chick’n scallopini, roasted red peppers, and goat cheese. Wow! Do any of you ever recreate restaurant recipes?

I just had to!

After going on a long walk excursion with a friend I came home to work on my project.

And I got kind of side-tracked...

Okay, really side-tracked!

Then I finally got back to work.

Then, next thing you know dinnertime rolled around! I had become so focused that I had totally lost track of time.

Yin and Yang

I made sweet and sour lentils and had it with leftover Nishiki rice and coconut oil.

Korean-Russian Carrot Salad

I’ve had this recipe saved for a really long time and totally forgot about it! This tasted very different from what I usually eat, sweet and spicy, but it was a very pleasant change.

Later that night I ended up going to some of my friends’ art exhibit and met up with another friend. Afterwards we went to a birthday celebration and eventually I came back home and I woke up with two thoughts on my mind. “I have on last night’s makeup” and “April’s pumpkin French toast sticks.”

An example of a perfectly delicious Sunday breakfast.

April’s recipe also calls for a peanut butter frosting. I changed it around a bit and made it vegan by omitting the eggs, and used Pumpkin Spice soymilk (highly recommended!!!) and a thickening agent. I used two thick slices of Rudi’s 100% Whole Wheat bread. The toppings include: diced apple, more pumpkin pie spice, and some Apple & Maple syrup. This breakfast was such a great way to start a beautiful day.

Well now I’m off to enjoy the sun and walk to the Farmer’s Market with Matilda. I hope you all had a relaxing and fun weekend! I’ll leave you all with a clip from a new hit TV series aka a video recording I made:

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Original Video – More videos at TinyPic

Much love!