Shopping..more shopping and banana cookies!

Hello! I hope everyone is having one fab-U-lous week so far. Mine has been full of holiday shopping, perfume dodging and cookie baking.

Just wanted to say thanks to Averie! I received my awesome Amazing Grass package in the mail. Thanks so much!!

I cannot wait to try all this out. Im sssoo excited!

The rest of my day was pretty great as I got alot of stuff done. I rocked the gym during my lunch break today, 60 minutes of elliptical action with a 15 minute cool down on the treadclimber. Then made a fast lunch of leftovers. Im in need of some serious g-shopping so I scrounged. Cabbage and onions with egg whites. Did the trick!

After work, I came home and roasted up a spaghetti squash with some marinara, parmesan cheese and some seitan. It doesnt look too stellar on the plate but tasted great!

Aahh my poor little seitan strips look so sad. hahah.

I hit up some shopping later. I finished grabbin up some goodies for the blogger secret santa so I can send that out tomorrow. I'm so excited about it. I also found some things for Austin.

Aaaahh, what a sad little wrap job. I honestly did not inherit the beautiful wrapping gene. Oh well. My husband on the other does an amazing job. I wish he could have wrapped these for me.

In between bouts of crappy wrapping I did however make some killer cookies. These are amazingly delicious. Half the batter in my face, and a few when they came out of the oven. They are Banana and Date Oaties and they rock my socks off!

Banana and Date Oaties

3 ripe bananas

2 c. oatmeal

1 c. dates

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. maple extract

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Mash bananas in food processor until smooth but still a tad lumpy. Transfer to bowl and mix with oats. Then in the food processor mash you dates and then add this to the banana and oat mixture. Add rest of ingredients and stir to combine. (If you find you batter a bit wet just add a tad more oatmeal or even some whole wheat flour would work too) Then bake at 350 for roughly 15 minutes.

These were so tasty. Big chunks of banana with maple and cinnamon. They bake up in whatever shape you want. So mold away. I used a cookie scooper for mine so I got banana balls but you could always squish them down into a more cookie like shape.

And just in case your bananas are in need of protection, fear not!

The Banana Bunker protects smooshy banana accidents in your bag.

Whew what a relief.

And on that happy note Im out! I hope you are all having one fantastic week!! Happy Baking!

Happy Monday!

 

This morning started off great! Sweet spin class…then lunched on some veggie soup and a quick wrap with some tofurky, mustard and cucumbers and a fresh satsuma orange.

The Tofuky I tried out in my wrap was really good. It was a cranberry and stuffing flavor. Pretty holiday-ish.

Delicious! I showered fast with some Klean whipped body polish. I cannot get over how awesome this stuff is! I used a Pumpkin spice whipped body polish followed up with some Angel food cake smelling body soufflé. Yum! I smell like dessert. Its great.

Then back to work time. After work though I had to get my shop on! The realization that the holidays is just around the corner finally hit me. Ack! Time to get it in gear. I finally went to this new mall that just opened. I have been avoiding it because well it just opened and its the holidays..so I thought it was going to be a total mad house. But really not so bad. I ended up walking out with too many things for myself. I hate when i do that! hahah.

Massive perfume headache now though. I think I must have tested out about 50 perfumes. Ugh. Do you ever avoid malls and stores around the holidays? (I certainly do! Well certain ones anyways=)

When I got back I was super hungry for some reason. I whipped up some tofu peanut butter pudding and topped it with some chia seeds, coconut, goji berries and some raw cacao nibs. It was ssooo good!

It was super comforting and just hit the spot. Now Im off to see if there is a Criminal Minds on. (When is there not?) I absolutely love that show. Anyways have a fabulous night everyone!

Tommorrow morning tickets for the UT game are on sale. Its gonna be tough to get but we are getting ready for it. Wish us luck!

We cant Say Its Cheese…

 

So I recently came across a new vegan cheese called We Cant Say its Cheese and the people over at Wayfare were kind enough to send me some samples to try out there product.

Now I’ll be honest, I'm usually not a fan of vegan cheese. I was vegan for about 6 years I believe, and that whole time I just didn't eat any vegan cheese type products. But I was a bit curious about this one.

What really caught my attention was that the first ingredient was oatmeal. Now, since oatmeal is definitely one of my top foods I was super curious. Flipping the container over I checked out the ingredient list.

Nice! All ingredients I recognize which is a bonus. I don't like eating foods with indecipherable ingredients. Real food please! So thumbs up on this.

Next up..I gotta check the nutritional stats..cause well…I always do!

Not bad either. So far looking very promising. Now the real test…the taste…

It comes in three flavors:

Hickory Smoked Cheddar Style spread

Mexi Cheddar Style Dip

Cheddar Style Spread

Cheddar Style Dip

The difference with the dip and the spread is consistency. The Spread is way more thicker than the Dip. I think of the dip more like a sour cream consistency and the spread like a cream cheese.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the taste. It doesn’t taste exactly like cheese but to me its a wonderful substitute. The mexi had a great kick and the cheddar has a real nice overall flavor to it. My favorite though was the hickory smoked. Its wonderful. It just has such a lovely smoky flavor that would great for all kinds of dishes.

Another plus to me was that it was meltable. Oh yes. That is something that is hard to get with a lot of vegan cheeses. I used some of the cheddar dip and popped it in the micro for about 30 seconds and I had the most wonderful melty spread. Pour it over some noodles and voila! Delicious mac and cheese. I love the fact that this product is so versatile. I decided to test it out in different ways:

Vegan Cheesy Sweet Potato Soup with Ancho Chilies and a Fire Roasted Corn Salsa

Soup:

1 large sweet potato (small dice)

1 large carrot (small dice)

3 dried chili peppers

4 c. water

1 ancho chili

1 tsp. of adobo sauce

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh pepper

3 large Tbsp. We Can’t Say its Cheese Cheddar Cheese Spread

1/2 lime

Salsa:

1 ear corn

1/4 onion (small dice)

1/2 large red pepper

1/2 lime

cilantro

salt

Toppings:

crushed blue corn tortilla chips

Directions:

For the soup Boil about 2 cups of the water with the diced sweet potato and carrots. Add in the 3 dried chili peppers and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Remove and toss dried chilies. Drain and toss into the food processor and blend. Add puree back into pan and add remaining 2 cups of water. Add in seasonings, bouillon cube. Finely chop your ancho chili and add that to the soup. If you like it spicy add in about 1 tsp of the adobo sauce. Simmer for about 20 minutes or so uncovered. Soup will seem a bit thin but this is ok as it thickens once you add in the cheese. Right before serving, add in the cheese and squeeze of lime, whisk and heat for about 5-6 more minutes. Soup is finished!

Salsa:

For the salsa fire up your grill and sear the corn and red pepper. While that is cooking, dice up your onion and add to a small bowl. Once pepper and corn are charred remove from heat. Take the charred skin off the pepper and small dice. Add to onions. Take the corn off the cob and add this to the bowl as well. Season with salt, juice from 1/2 of lime and cilantro.

Assembly:

Spoon soup into bowls. Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of salsa an the middle. Top with crushed corn chips and enjoy!

 

Next up some potato skins! No real recipe here. I mainly just filled some wonderful purple potatoes that I found at the market and stuffed them with caramelized onions. Then I made a quick salsa and had a side of the cheddar style dip to dip the potatoes in. Easy and great!

Next up I whipped up some ultimate comfort. A very easy and mighty cheesy cauliflower gratin.

 

Vegan Cauliflower Gratin

 

1 head of cauliflower

4 Tbsp. Earth balance butter

4 Tbsp. Whole wheat flour

2 c. soymilk (or other nut milk)

6 big Tbsp. Hickory Smoked Cheddar Cheese

3 green onions, fine dice

1 tsp garlic

1/4 c. panko bread crumbs

sea salt and pepper

 

Preheat oven to 350. Chop cauliflower into small florets. Put into boiling water and boil cauliflower until al dente. (soft but not mush, still has some crunch) Strain cauliflower into colander and place into greased baking pan. Using a medium skillet heat butter until melted. Whisk in flour making a roux. Stream in milk and keep whisking until it boils. It should now be a thick consistency. Add in cheese and whisk until all combined. Remove from heat and add in green onions and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the cauliflower. Top with panko crumbs and garlic. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Pop into oven and bake 20 minutes. (or until nice and bubbly)

Note: if you like your gratin super cheesy just double the recipe.

 

Overall I would definitely buy this product again. I think its healthy alternative to cheese and it offers a lot of possibilities. It offers a good taste on its own but also pairs up well with other products and heats nicely.

Wow! What a week…

 

Wow! It feels like forever! I feel like Ive been MIA for awhile. And well I have been. This week was crazy, between work and family flying in and all sorts of other things it has been exhausting. In a good way though=) So unfortunately I have been neglecting my writing..but no worries! I think things are calming down now so whew!!

So far Ive been sticking pretty close to my goals so Im happy! Despite it being crazy I did have time to make a few of Averie’s raw gingerbread cookies.

 

They are amazing! 

Yuuuuuuuum!

 

I've also been working on a huge product review which Im super excited about too. So will have that ready soon. Today is most definitely Christmas cookie day! I used to do this all day with my mom. Its a tradition. She always bakes up the hugest plate of cookies which is amazing. We actually used to start making them weeks in advance and then just freeze them. There's something about freezing them too which adds to the texture a bit I think. Aahh well…its mainly for the nostalgia and since I cant be there to visit them this year I'm baking up my own plate!

I got an email the other day too with some great baking tips that I thought that I would share…(from myrecipes.com)

Baking Tips: (myrecipes.com)

Split the dough.

Work with half of the cookie dough at a time when rolling and cutting cookies. Too much handling of the dough makes cookies tough. Keep the other half refrigerated. Chilled dough is easier to handle.

Choose baking sheets wisely.

Bake cookies on shiny, heavy aluminum baking sheets. These sheets with no sides are designed for easily sliding cookies onto a cooling rack. Dark sheets may absorb heat, causing cookies to brown too much on the bottom; nonstick baking sheets work well if not too dark. Insulated baking sheets require a slightly longer baking time.

Know how to grease.

Grease baking sheets with cooking spray or solid shortening instead of butter or margarine. Avoid using tub butter or margarine products labeled as spread, reduced calorie, liquid, or soft-style. These contain less fat than regular butter or margarine and do not give satisfactory results.

Purchase parchment paper.

Use parchment paper to eliminate the need for greasing baking sheets. It also promotes even browning.

Don't overload the oven.

Bake one sheet of cookies at a time on the middle oven rack; if you need to bake more than one at a time, rotate the sheets from the top rack to the bottom rack halfway through baking to encourage even browning.

Make a better bar.

To make brownies and bar cookies, line a baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil; allow several inches to extend over the sides. Lightly grease the foil. Spread the batter evenly in the pan; bake and cool. Lift from the pan, using edges of the foil. Press down the foil sides; cut cookies into the desired size and shape with a dough scraper (available at kitchen-supply stores).

Be careful with overbaking.

Check cookies for doneness at the minimum baking time.

Use cooled baking sheets.

Cool baking sheets between batches before reusing; wipe the surface of each with a paper towel.

Short on cooling racks?

Place a sheet of wax paper on the counter and sprinkle it with sugar. Cookies will cool without getting soggy.

Cool before storing.

Cool cookies completely before storing them in airtight containers.

 

I thought these were pretty good tips. Ive been baking for a good while but didnt know the trick with the cooling racks. So just wanted to pass it along!

On the menu today:

Chocolate spelt cookies and Peanut butter teff cookies. Yum!!

 

Also on the agenda:

-Rockin out at the gym

-grocery shopping

-manicure (most needed)

-cooking and baking time!

 

Well Im off to get my gym thang on. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Delicious coffee giveaway! Check it out...the flavors look great.

Cranberry Bliss Raw Balls, Craft Fair and a Give away Winner!

Fabulous day so far! Hit up the gym and had one kickin workout…I rocked the elliptical and then tried out the treadclimber. If havent ever used the treadclimber before one word of advice, pay attention to what you are doing. I got in the zone and started listening to some music and then I just about bit it.

Lets just say I stepped in the middle of the treadmill. Bad move. Still had an awesome time though despite the massive ego blow!

Do any of you have any fun embarrassing gym stories you’d be willing to share? (I’ll admit, I’ve taken a tumble or two off the treadmill and one almost toppled off my spin bike….)

Today I went out the Unique L.A craft show in downtown L.A where my friend was selling some her amazing crafts. Will be cool! She does amazing work so I'm pretty excited to see what she's been making!

I packed some road snacks..Go Raw bars..LOVE these!

Also some club soda with blueberry stevia in it. This stuff rocks my socks off. Not too sweet and just tons of blueberry goodness. You can put it in almost anything. I like it in water, gives a nice light fruity taste without that sugary taste. My mom actually found this at a health food store near her. Good find!

When we arrived there were tons of amazing artisans there selling everything from jewelry to clothes to tea. You name it, they had it!

Wonderful smelling aromatherapy goods.

Delicious teas! I sampled a chocolate, caramel hazelnut tea. Yummmy!

I stumbled upon a wonderful bath and body company. Its called Klean and wow is this stuff amazing. I think I spent about 30 minutes here testing and smelling everything. I ended stocking up on things for myself and some gifts as well!

The Whipped Body Polish is amazing! Not greasy like some body scrubs are. But it left my skin so incredibly soft. Highly recommend these products as they are fabulous. They also come in the most amazing scents ever. I like more vanilla scents usually and I bought the Where Angels Go scent, which is a vanilla angle food cake, some whipped Body polish in Perfect Pumpkin and Brown Sugar and some whipped shea butter in cocoa. Amazing!!!

They also had plenty of delicious foods! This was one dangerous stand as all the cookies look out of this world.

But finally I came across a favorite of mine…

I was ssooo excited when I saw this!! I LOVE this chocolate. I walked away with Coffee and vanilla bean chocolate, Bing cherry, almond and black peppercorn chocolate, orange spice and my favorite a pure 85% cocoa bar.

On my way out I picked up a cute BeerDeer ornament my friend was selling. Cute!

What a day! I came back five hours later shopped out and ready to cook! I whipped up some turkey chili for Austin. Ground Turkey, cumin, chipotle peppers, masa harina, dark beer, chocolate, cumin and tons of kidney beans and veggies.

And some pumpkin pudding for me. (With just a half serving of fiber one! ahha. Im still sticking to my goals…;) )

But this was a container of Chobani, 1/2 c. of pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, a splash of coconut milk, vanilla stevia and some Fiber one on top. I gotta have the crunch in my pudding!

And I got around to making some Cranberry Bliss Raw Balls! These might not be completely raw…but for some reason that is just what I keep on calling them. I used the nut to date ratio from Katie’s fudge baby recipes. It works out great!

Cranberry Bliss Raw Balls:

30 grams of cashews

80 grams of medjool dates

2 Tbs oatbran

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 Tbs white chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. craisons

4 Tbsp coconut flakes (just enough to roll the balls in)

Blend the cashews, oatbran, cinnamon, ginger, salt and chocolate chips together in food processor. When this is ground down fine enough. Add in the dates, maple syrup, vanilla extract. Blend again. Put into bowl and mix in your craisons. Roll into balls and roll in coconut flakes. Top with some cinnamon.

And finally Contest time!! The winner of the Kind Diet Book by Alicia Silverstone is……

Naomi of one Fit Foodie!!! Congrats girl!!!!

Anyways I hope everyone is having a fantastic Sunday evening and have a great start to the week!!

Check this amazing Raw give away~!

If you love Larabars you will love this giveaway!

Happy Decemeber!

 

I cannot believe its already almost Christmas. I'm so excited. I love this time of year. It totally energizes me completely and brings so many memories or warmth and comfort. I've had to take some time off from working out which has been really hard for me!! I had my RMR tested this week and basically wasn't allowed to work out for 48 hours prior to the test then after some bad planning on my part (late nights at work) I missed out. Although I did squeeze in 3o minutes tonight on my trainer so at least it was something! Gotta love indoor biking.

So I wanted to make some changes in my life. I'm not trying to lose weight more just maintain and I just feel like I've been eating too much cereal and simple carbs and sugar! I feel like a puffed marshmallow.

Yuck! The RMR test really helped me too as I know have something to aim for!

So some of my healthy challenges this month for me is:

1) Eat way less sugar…not cutting it out completely but I really have to start limiting my FroYo obsession

2) Watch my cereal intake. While I don't think cereal is a bad thing, eating large quantities in one sitting is probably something my body doesn't need

3) Get on a more regular workout schedule. Ive still been maintaining 4-6 days per week but its all at random times

4) Change up my routine a bit

5) Spend way more time with the hubby and my kitties.

6) Get more sleep and de-stress more!

I just wanted to write these out because I think that once its typed out I will hold myself more accountable for it. And the last one is a huge one for me….

7) No more late night snack attacks!! <—this is huge for me as I sometimes eat when Im not even hungry! Gotta Stop.

So these are my challenges for the month. It takes21 days to make something a habit (or so Ive read) So I’m hoping by Christmas I’ll have some healthier habits. Wow sorry this was long..Probably boring too.

Ok now on with the good stuff!

This week has been crazy!!! So Ive been a bit MIA. So crazy I even had to hit up my trainer instead of the gym. Ignore the mess. Cleaning day is today ;)

I did this while watching Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Such a great show. Im looking really intense too..hahah.

Eats were fast that day..

Beans with loads of garlic and onion seasoning.

Quick wrap with some cheese, cucs and mustard. And finally some apple cereal!

Yum! There was definitely some cereal action happening too that isn't pictured.

Anyways I'm off for now. But will be back later with some recipes and to announce the winner of the Alicia Silverstone book! Have a great morning!!