Challenge Weekend One

We're closing in on week one of my husband's 30 day vegan challenge.  In my last post I mentioned that I thought this would be his most difficult weekend, and...well if I was right, then the rest of this challenge should be a breeze.  

I don't have any pictures so I won't bore you with too many words, but Saturday we had a cookout at my aunt's house with some of our relative who are visiting from Italy.  We brought veggie burgers, so we had them on whole wheat buns with some rice salad that my aunt made.  Plus there was the raw veggies out.  Oh, and then fruit salad...watermelon...yumm.  It was really a lot of fun to meet them, and was all around a good day!  

Sunday we went down to my husband's family to see his sister off (she is going to Greece).  We now live exactly halfway between both of our families, so its kind of convenient.  Anyway, they were cooking out too, so we brought veggie burgers, but I didn't even end up eating them because my mother in law had gotten a tofu recipe from a friend of hers that was really good (thankfully...I don't think they had really tried tofu before). That with brown rice, corn on the cob, some polenta and vegetable pie she made, baked potato wedges, etc, was plenty for me.  My husband still ate two veggie burgers (Southwest flavor Sunshine burgers.  I've never had them, but he said they were good), along with everything else though.  Oh and there was dessert too!  My sister in law is gluten-free, so we had two options for vegan and gluten-free dessert.  Impressive.  

My in laws have a really awesome natural food store near their house, and as much as I love Wegmans, I do miss the local places.  So we went on our way home.  I didn't really get too much, but I did get these olive oil...things.  

I can't explain them, and I ate them all already (they were REALLY good).  I guess they are kind of like a mix between a pastry/cookie and a cracker.  Like, a sweet cracker.  But round, and sprinkled with sugar.  What put them completely over the top awesome though was the ground anise and anise extract.  Soooo good.  I have never seen them there before, and they were this special "imported" item, so I don't know if they'll be there next time, but if they are...you KNOW I'll be buying some more.  

Today we got up EARLY and went to spinning at 5:45.  We got there at 5:40 only to find out we were actually 10 minutes late because they moved the class up to 5:30.  I totally LOVED it!  It was so much fun.  On top of that we're going to be lifting tonight.  It sounds like a lot, but because of his job, my husband almost always works out twice a day.  Since I have the time now, why not?  On days we don't lift I am going to do yoga.  I've found a place around here called Yogawood that does an Ashtanga style flow, which is what I am used to, and what I love, but I think I may try a Bikram place tomorrow.  By the way, I want to clear up something I said on Friday, that the yoga didn't keep my legs very strong, and I think I should mention that "strong" is a pretty relative term.  Yoga keeps your muscles fit and relatively strong...but not strong enough to squat 100 pounds.  I hope that makes more sense.  To ME, that is STRONG.  Warrior poses don't really do much of anything to my leg muscles (my hips, that's another story).  I lost much more strength in my big legs lifts than I did in my upper body lifts.  But, every kind of exercise, every practice, whether its yoga, running, lifting, etc they all have their own benefits, and they all make you strong in some way.  Which explains why I'm always trying to do a little bit of everything!      

After spinning we have breakfast, which has been "interesting".  Since all I have is a Magic Bullet (no blender), I have a very limited volume capacity.  My smoothies always consist of six ingredients:

1.  Banana

2.  Spinach

3.  Protein powder

4.  Non-dairy milk

5.  Frozen fruit

6.  Water    

Well, as you may imagine, this does not fit in the Magic Bullet very well.  So I've been making them in pieces, and we end up with a green component (spinach, banana, water), and a fruit colored component (today was purple---blueberries!!).  When you pour them together it looks all swirly.  

I just think it looks cool, but my husband likes it like this because he says he can taste the separate components.  Okay. 

In case you were wondering, we're not using the same protein powder.  I'm using the same stuff I've talked about a bunch of times.  My rice and pea blend, sweetened with stevia, from trueprotein.com.  He is using a GNC soy protein isolate.  I can taste such a difference.  His is sweetened with sucralose, I believe, and it is so much sweeter.  I don't like it because it reminds me too much of whey.  So if you are trying to move away from whey, this stuff may be the way to go.  

One last update.  I stopped at my parents this weekend before going to my aunt's house.  I talked about the baby birds living on their porch a few days ago.  

Well this was my mom's most recent picture of them, just a week after that first picture. 

 And this was my picture of them this weekend.  

They're gone!  The babies have officially grown up and left the nest (and my family can use the front door again).  

As far as the vegan challenge, so far it is going very very well.  He says he's feeling really good, and...well that's about it, what else do you want?  Yesterday on the way to my in-laws, I had him listen to Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's podcast, Vegetarian Food for Thought.  Now, I know I have  mentioned her in passing before, but I seriously love this podcast.  The one I really wanted him to listen to was one of her most recent episodes, and its one that I suggest everyone listens to.  I know I have people who read this who aren't necessarily vegetarian or vegan, I'm talking to you, too.  It may not be something that you want to hear, but I think its worth the 40 minutes to just listen.  Not because I want you to be vegan.  But because I want you to be sure you are YOUR definition of healthy.  You can take from it whatever you want, but I think it should be required listening.  And I will never beg you to listen to another one of her podcasts again, I swear.  You can even do it through iTunes, just search.  So, go download:  Vegetarian Food for Thought, Diseases of Civilization.  Now.      

My husband was really unhappy I was making him do this, but once he started listening to her, I think he is hooked.  He takes a lot of pride in being well educated, and her podcast present information that he has never really looked into before.  It is very well research, and it isn't presented in an angry way, so its hard not to listen.  We listened to it the whole way there, and then he told me I could put it on "if I wanted to" on the way home.

One last thing (I swear).  I get really tired of say "my husband this", "my husband that", etc.  I know that other bloggers have other names for their significant others or family members (BoyfriendLovlie from VeganLovie, CD from Heather Eats Almond Butter, and Mama and Papa Crunk from Vegan Crunk come to mind), but I got nothing .   Any ideas?  

Allright, NOW I'm done.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!!

Carrot Cake for Breakfast

Its breakfast time here.  I have some time before I need to leave today, and I am eagerly awaiting my drive to school because I can't wait to eat this morning.  

I've made breakfast cookies before (check out the Banana Walnut variation too), but these are extra special...Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies!  It took a few tries to get them right and they are so. freaking. good.  Perfectly amount of spice, not too sweet, with that irresistible cream cheese icing slathered on top of them...perfect.  Plus, who doesn't like cake for breakfast? 

Of course, they have to follow my breakfast rules:  high in protein, high in fat, and won't crumble or get frosting on my pocket.  Such a delicious cookie does exist. 

Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies

15 baby carrots, shredded (food processor gets that done quick)

1/2 cup pecan halves (or walnuts)

1/2 cup flax meal

1/4 cup raisins

1 cup protein powder

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp maple syrup

3 tbsp agave nectar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp salt 

2-4 tbps water (until you get desired texture, I think I used 2)

4 tbsp trans fat free Tofutti

1 tbsp agave nectar

Easy as anything.  Melt the coconut oil and mix it with all wet ingredients, adding only two tbsp of water.  Mix together the carrots and all the dry ingredients.  Add the wet to the dry.  If more water is needed, add now.  Form into 8 cookies.  They will be fairly large.  

Mix the tofutti with the remaining tbsp of agave nectar until smooth.  Dollop 1/2 tsp of frosting on each cookie, and spread out to "frost" it.  Your best bet now is to put them on a cookie sheet or cutting board and let them sit in the refrigerator overnight.  

Thats it.  Very easy, very tasty, very filling (keeps me going for four hours), very good for breakfast.  

Serves 4

Nutrition Information:  550 Calories;  26.0g Total Fat;  8.2g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  60.6g Carbohydrates;  10.4g Fiber;  25.8g Protein.  

Enjoy the day everyone!

Best Month Ever

If you aren't aware yet, I am here to let you know that March is the best month ever.  If you are wondering why, I am kind of upset that no one took the time to stalk me and figure out when my birthday is.  

Okay, I'm not really upset (thank you, for not stalking me, actually), but my birthday IS this month, and it IS a big deal.  I think I get so excited about it because its at the very very end, so I anticipate it all month.  In reality, I never do anything that great for my birthday, but this year, I am most likely heading down to Baltimore/DC (again, not very exciting), but I am also going to be leaving for Hawaii again less than a week after!  And when I come back, I'll be bringing my husband with me.  Not bad, right?  

Anyway, I know that March technically started yesterday, but this is the first day of the week, so its the first important day.  And for me, March started out with a snow day.  This was kind of upsetting.  First, I only have two weeks left at the school I am student teaching at, and I just lost a day.  Second, I was supposed to be observed today, and I was up late last night actually writing a lesson plan.  

The day off had its perks though.  First, I didn't do any of my work for class tonight, so I got that all done.  Second, my supervisor can come tomorrow, so I didn't make up the fancy lesson plan for naught.  Third, at least since its a Monday, it was a scheduled day off from the gym.  Fourth, I got to actually cook some food.  So much that I can't even fit it in one post.  

Vegan Green "Eggs" and...Oats

I went into the fridge this morning, and all I could find was a broccoli.  Okay, I like broccoli, but I REALLY wanted some tofu scramble.  I could just use broccoli and onions I guess.  But then, I found green onions.  Then, I found a half a green pepper.  Then, I decided I'd throw in some of this really beautiful chard that I bought...oh...two weeks ago? (Debbie Meyers Green Bags are a lifesaver)  Add that to 1/4 block of tofu, make it sweet and spicy, and you've got one good green breakfast.  

I had some chocolate oats with strawberries on the side.  It was just some soymilk, cocoa powder, and butter toffee flavored stevia.  Good way to start off the day off.

Now, I know I said I was going on a baking hiatus, but Celine knocked me back to my senses.  I don't think anything makes me happier than a creatively healthy baked good.  Enter her Chickpea Blondies that she posted about this weekend.  

Baking with beans is just the best idea ever.  I've made cookies with lentils, and I'm sure that many of you have tried black bean brownies (I have not...and I'm not sure why), but since I had never had a blondie before, ever, I had to try them immediately. 

I made two changes, I used seedless blackberry jam, and I used protein powder instead of flour (its only two tablespoons, it doesn't make a big difference).  

She says they serve 8, but mine wanted to be cut into 12.  

Serves 12

Nutrition Information:  157.4 Calories;  4.2g Total Fat;  0.5g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  25.3g Carbohydrates;  2.9g Fiber;  4.7g Protein 

 Its the kind of day where you have more than one dessert (because I said so), so I made some Pumpkin & Banana Protein Ice Cream.  

Protein powder, frozen pumpkin, frozen bananas, coconut oil, pumpkin pie spice, some carob chips and soymilk.  Pretty similar to my usual method, except I used way more frozen fruit/pumpkin this time, so I used more soymilk.  This was way more than I was anticipating, and was pretty filling too.  It should be, oil, protein, fruit, whew. 

More food love tomorrow (or the next day, or whenever I get another free hour)!

Vegan in the Cities

I had a kind of interesting weekend.  Mainly because I spent over 15 hours of it traveling.  I think what made it so interesting is that I am still feeling quite sane. 

Yesterday started pretty great.  Since I am somewhat used to getting up early now, I was up at 7, and decided to make something fun for breakfast before yoga.  

Waffles!  Chocolate Cherry White Chocolate Chip Protein Waffles, to be exact.  I know you're all saying "recipe, please?" (maybe not, but I'm pretending you are), but I have some things I want to change.  They're based off of the Brownie Waffle recipe from Veganomicon, and they're good, but they are not quite deserving of recipe sharing yet.  They will make a great portable breakfast this week though.  

After yoga, I went down to Brooklyn to have dinner with some friends.  It is only about an hour train ride to the city.  But the train that comes closest to my house runs pretty infrequently on the weekends, so I drive down to Jersey.  That is about a half hour.  Then the train itself takes about an hour and a half, counting the waiting and switching trains once.  Then, walking to the subway station, waiting for the subway, and getting to his house...another hour, easy.  I know that doesn't add up exactly to 3 and a half hours, but that was how long it took.  

Whenever I go to see this particular friend, we get Thai food.  It is my most favorite type of food.  Who doesn't love a good Thai curry?  So, first we went to Trader Joe's because I had to get a gift certificate, and then we found a little Thai place that ended up being awesome.  It was called Cafe Chili.  I didn't get any pictures, but I had the Vegetable Spring Rolls and Panang Curry.  One of our friends, who was also down this weekend, studied abroad and then lived in Thailand for quite awhile, and he was telling me how he had actually been to Panang.  I googled it, and I think he meant Penang, but close enough, right?  My husband studied abroad in Thailand too, so I've heard more than I really want to hear about the place.  Anyway, my curry was fantastic.  I have Thai food rarely, so its okay that it is one of the only time I am a member of the Perfectly Spotlessly Clean Plate Club.  I never eat white rice, but as soon as I have a bowl of curry sauce in front of me, I am using it to sop all that up.  So delicious.    

After that, we hung out for a little, and then I made the trek back to my house.  It would be so much faster to drive, but I'd much rather chill out with my music then stress about driving in the city.  Normally, a day like this would irritate me so much, but the playlist the iTunes Genius created was so awesome, that I was completely relaxed and happy the whole time.  

This is a small sampling of said playlist, which is 100 songs based off of 'I Believe in Symmetry' by Bright Eyes:

'Hooray' - Minus the Bear

'Sundress' - Ben Kweller

'People as Places as People' - Modest Mouse

'Yankee Bayonet' - The Decemberists

'Act appalled I' - Circa Survive

'Pink Bullets' - The Shins

'Across the Sea' - Weezer

'I'm Ready, I Am' - The Format

'The Same Boy You've Always Known' - The White Stripes

'Cashmir Pulaski Day' - Sufjan Stevens

'Ask Me Antyhing' - The Strokes

'My Mind' - Portugal.  The Man

'Play Crack the Sky' - Brand New

'Time' - Ben Folds

'Still Take You Home' - The Arctic Monkeys

'Come on Home' - Franz Ferdinand

Those songs are some of my favorites.  If you're curious, or just want some new music, leave me a comment, or send me an email (its in my profile), and I'll send you a CD!

I wanted to post this all yesterday, but I was up against this:  

Sorry Mommy, I'm using the computer right now

Moving on, today I went up to Boston with my family to see my brother and his wife, for her birthday.  After yesterday, I actually went home and bought the new(ish) Format CD, B-sides and Rarities, which is both a bunch of new songs that weren't previously released, and some demo versions of older songs.  If you aren't aware, The Format is longer together, which is very sad.  So, I've been listening to that, Ben Folds, Flight of the Conchords, and Ben Kweller.  Loveliness! 

Now, I mentioned above that Thai food is my favorite, but I rarely get to have it (I don't exactly live in a cosmopolitan area), so imagine my surprise when my not-so-adventurous mom agreed to my brother's suggestion to get Thai!  Twice in one weekend!  Plus, I'm sure I'll be having it in Hawaii this weekend too.  

I don't remember the name of this place, but it wasn't as good...but I also didn't get what I normally get...because I had it the day before!  

For an appetizer here, we had the Vegetable Triangles, which was actually curried potatoes in peas in little fried wrappers.  Pretty yummy!  

My main dish was pretty healthy, steamed veggies with tofu and peanut sauce on the side.  I didn't want to go crazy after having all that curry and rice the day before.  It was good, and the peanut sauce kept getting better as I kept eating it.

After that...oh after that.  We went to the Amsterdam Cafe for frozen yogurt.  They had chocolate and vanilla yogurt, as well as sugar free vanilla, and dairy free vanilla.  They called it "tofu frozen yogurt"...geez, way to turn people off.  Anyway, they had a list of about 30 possible mix ins.  As would be expected, this took me quite awhile.  Minty?  Cookies?  Candy?  Fruit?  Nuts?  Oh my goodness, too many decisions!  I ended up getting the dairy free vanilla with peaches and coconut.  

This was so good.  I almost wanted to move to Boston for it (they even deliver!!)....then we walked outside again and I changed my mind, haha.  It was COLD.  

Now I am back home and it is nice and warm.  

I hope everyone had fabulous weekends!  I am getting all geared up for Hawaii this coming weekend, and I am mucho excited.  We're staying on the North Shore, at Turtle Bay (in case you wanted to stalk me), which...normally I would rather stay in Waikiki or a B&B on the East Side, but my husband wanted to stay there, and now that I've seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall a bunch of times, I really want to go!  I am so looking forward to going back, I totally miss it.  

I also start classes this week, which I am not looking forward to.  My thesis class is going to be a crazy amount of work.  I can bring my computer to class though, haha, so it'll probably give me some time to catch up on blogs and other internet things, actually!  For a teacher, I'm not a very good student.   

Oh, and I wanted to set a goal for myself for this week.  I've gotten the sleep schedule under control, I've got the feeding schedule under control too.  But I definitely have not been drinking enough water.  So, my goal for this week is 4 liters a day.

Let the week begin!  

Portable Food

Sorry I skipped a post yesterday.  I have just been..tired.  But it is getting better!  I can tell, I'm not as exhausted when the school day is over, but I'm still yawning during class...oops.  At least I'm not teaching yet, and yawning in front of the kids.  

I don't have a lot of time to plan breakfast and lunch, so I have been making something that I can eat for a few days.  Also, I don't really like to eat in front of other people when they aren't eating, so I've been eating in the car.  Yes, 

I know this is kind of strange, but it works out.  

For breakfast I have been having these Breakfast Cookies.  They're kind of bastardized version of Ani's breakfast cakes, but I think I have changed them enough that the recipe is postable.  I really like these.  They have a lot of protein, healthy fat, and complex carbs.  Plus, they don't need to be cooked, and they stay together really well.  You can actually pick them up and eat them like a cookie.  

Okay, I realize this picture looks lame, but I promise, they're good.  

Protein Breakfast Cookies

1 cup protein powder of choice (my choice)

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup ground flax seeds

2 tbsp coconut oil

6 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp molasses

3/4-1 tsp salt

4 tbsp water

Melt the coconut oil, and throw everything into a bowl, mix it well.  Form into 8 cookies, 2 cookies per serving.

Serves 4

Nutrition Information:  445.5 Calories;  18.1g Total Fat;  6.3g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  51.2g Carbohydrates;  11.0g Fiber;  26.3g Protein

I've been just having a snack while I'm at school; some kind o

f bar, and fruit (apple and bananas).  I found two new bars at Nature's Pantry (it is right by school!).  First is Ruth's Hemp Power in Peanut Butter Banana.  

This was 190 calories and 7g of protein.  It was okay.  They had a few other flavors though, and they were good enough to try the other flavors.  

Today I had this GoRaw bar.  You can see the ingredients pretty clearly on the front...I had the pumpkin variety.    

I am very sad that they don't have more varieties of this at my store, as it is one of the best bars I have tried in a long time that can really hold its own as a meal replacement.  There is about 275 calories and 14g of protein.  I think what sets this apart from most other raw bars, is that it has been dehydrated.  I'm actually considering buying some online, I am a fan.  

On my way home, I have what you would probably call lunch?  I don't know, its just a meal, I guess.  Anyway, I made the Mini Tofu Quiche from Fat Free Vegan.  I have made these before, and I love them.  Plus, you can pick them up and eat them with your hands on the way home.  

The vegetables in these are roasted asparagus and portabello mushrooms, and sun dried tomatoes.  I also use regular silken tofu instead of lite.  They're really good, I highly recommend them.  

Serves 3:

Nutrition Information:  163.9 Calories, 4.6g Total Fat;  0.4g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  17.1g Carbohydrates;  4.5g Fiber; 19.1g Protein.  

Additionally, I just want to sing the praises of dates.  They're fantastic.  Also, they're really great to have right before the gym, they give a great energy boost.  I normally can only find them pitted, but my grocery store had fresh dates, which I had never had, and had to try, even though I have tons of dates in the pantry.  These are so fantastic.  They're really easy to pit too, which I was nervous about.  YUM.  That's all I wanted to say.  

Dates are awesome

I have a bunch of good news, but I am going to post it tomorrow!!  Hah, you will have to wait.  

Hopefully everyone is excellent.  I have been trying to keep up with everyone's blogs, but if I slack a teeny bit, please know that I am still reading, and just not commenting as much.  I love you all, I promise!!  

Raw Intentions

I had intentions to do another raw day today.  It just wasn't in me.  My thoughts are that I'll try to do a raw day once in awhile, but I don't think I can do it weekly or anything like that.  I kind of feel like I spent the past week making up for the raw day, eating things that I can't have on a raw day.  Yeah, my head plays games with me, I realize this, but being aware of it doesn't change my actions.  

Anyway, breakfast was good.  I've made a variation of the breakfast cakes from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen a few times this past week.  They have protein powder and some other stuff.  They aren't perfect yet (they taste awesome, but a little too high in calories), but I'll post the recipe if I ever decide they are.  I had a grapefruit with them.  Have I mentioned that I love grapefruit?  

That looks so dull, my grapefruit wasn't even as pink as usual.  No wonder I wasn't feeling excited about a raw day.  

Anyway, on Tuesdays I work out in the basement, we have a nice exercise bike, and then I do a Yogamazing podcast.  Today I did "Yoga for Creativity"...I am trying to write a cover letter today, which could use some creativity on my part.  Not that I am going to be making anything up just..embellishing.  The podcasts tend to be about 25 minutes, which isn't very long, so I always add in Trikonasana and some inversions.  The Triangle Poses (Trikonasana) are because I have mild scoliosis and that makes it feel a lot better (aka, I can sleep at night).  The inversions are because I am kind of terrified of them...its sad.  I did a headstand without the wall today though, which I was super proud of myself for.  It irritates me, because I know that I am strong enough to do handstands and forearm stands, but I'm just a big baby.  Oh, and I fell on my face doing the Crane Pose in class the other day.  Luckily, I can laugh at myself, haha.

If you aren't familiar with Crane Pose, and want to picture me falling on my face, watch this:

    

I already knew exactly what I was going to have after my workout, my Raw Organic Food Bar in chocolately chocolate that I got from Heather yesterday!  I've had this brand before, but only their larger bars, I had never seen this one before.  Upon opening it, it looked a lot like a smaller version of the larger bars.  I think I may have actually gasped when I bit into it though.  It had little chocolate chips scattered throughout it, that were the perfect smooth creamy consistency.  I don't really give these out willy nilly but...in the words of VeggieGirl...Holy yum!!

Another plus of this bar is that is has 8g of protein and 220 calories.  That's one of the best protein to calorie ratios I have seen for a raw food bar....it was probably the highlight of my day.  

For lunch, I made Walnut Cranberry Squash "Rice" from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen.  This was...okay.  It looked really cool, really looked a lot like rice.  However, I just couldn't help but think how much better it would taste....cooked.  I guess maybe raw butternut squash is an acquired taste.  Not that any of it tasted bad, actually, it just didn't do anything special for me either.  I think it was the crunchiness.  Maybe the leftovers will taste better tomorrow.  

Nutrition Information:  378.0 Calories;  18.1g Total Fat;  1.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  58.0g Carbohydrates;  12.3g Fiber;  7.0g Protein.

I had dinner plans, but I abandoned them for some (cooked) leftover soup.  

I don't know if you can really feel my tone in this post, but I'm just feeling kind of blah.  Tuesdays tend to do that for me, I have no plans.  Oh.  That reminds me I was supposed to go shopping today...crap.  I need student teaching clothes.  I haven't worked in so long that the only clothes I really have are gym clothes and casual clothes.  I hate spending money on clothes.  I'm going up to visit my mentor teaching tomorrow.  Should be interesting, if nothing else.  

Alright, I promise to be in a better mood tomorrow.   

Today's Chopping (is wasn't all raw, but there was certainly no cooking) Song:  "The Crane Wife" - The Decemberists

Protein Packed Ice Cream

Who doesn't love ice cream?  Even better, who doesn't love ice cream that is pretty darn healthy?  

I've been making this for awhile, although it is a thousand time easier now with my new food processor.  I wanted to eat it before it started to melt, so the picture is a little fuzzy..oops!   

Strawberry Protein Ice Cream

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 tbsp solid fat (that sounds gross, but I mean coconut oil, or a nut butter..who knows, maybe avocado, but I haven't tried it)

1 scoop protein powder (should be about 1/3 cup, if you don't have a typical scoop)

2 tbsp of your choice of milk (I have used soy and almond)

water to "taste"  

Throw everything but the water into the food processor.  I'd imagine this would work in a high powered blender that everyone has but me ::pouts::  but I wouldn't recommend a regular blender, because its a pain.  You can still do it, but you have to manually turn everything a lot.  Anyway, blend everything.  Once it is combined, add water until it has reached the desired texture.  I usually only use a tbsp or so of water.

Serves 1 - made with strawberries and coconut oil

Nutrition Information:  292.3 Calories;  15.3g Total Fat;  12.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  17.0g Carbohydrates;  5.0g Fiber;  25.3g Protein  

There are a ton of combinations that you can make:  Strawberries and almond butter, cherries and cashew butter, raspberries and coconut oil...tons of combinations!  And honestly, you can't really taste the fat, so it is kind of irrelevan, taste-wise.  What is important though, is the protein powder.  I've talked before about my favorite protein powder,  and the quality and type of protein powder affects the taste.  This is the case with almost any protein powder recipe that I post.  If you hate the taste of your protein powder, this recipe isn't going to mask it.  

Anyway, this is one of those desserts that just makes me so happy!  I only have it on days that I don't work out though, because I don't like to use a protein supplement more than once a day.  If you haven't realized from my workout posts yet, I work out most days, haha, so I maybe have this once a week.  Of course, this would make a perfect post workout snack, I just like to have it at nighttime.  

Zoe says:  Mommy, when are you going to make ME something??  

As a small aside...I fixed my rainbow problem from yesterday morning.  Apple Pie Quinoa with a tofu scramble instead!!

  

Tomorrow is going to be a raw day!  Stay tuned :)

Chai and Cookies

Today was annoying.  That's really the only way I can put it.  I did get a run in this morning, 4 miles...4 FREEZING miles.  My legs were bright red when I got home, and I was wearing two pairs of pants.  

After I work out, no matter if I am running, biking, lifting, or yoga-ing, I have a combination of carbs and protein.  Since I was so cold today I wanted something besides my normal orange juice and protein powder.  So I brewed up some chai tea, melted a banana, and blended that with my protein powder.  It was especially delicious with some soy whip and cinnamon on top. 

Post Workout Chai 

The nutrition information for this depends largely on the type of protein powder you use.  Mine is a half rice-half gemma (pea) protein custom mix from True Protein, sweetened with stevia.  

With that, the nutrition information was:

Nutrition Information:  214.6 Calories;  1.5g Total Fat;  0.4g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  4.9g Sodium;  27.4g Carbohydrates;  3.8g Fiber;  24.6g Protein

For what I guess was lunch, I had some rice noodles with a really simple peanut sauce.  It was about 1 tbsp Peanut Butter, about 1/4 cup hot water, a few splashes of lemon juice, Bragg's, and rice wine vinegar, and some crushed red pepper flakes.  Nothing special, although it was good.  

Nutrition Information:  366.4 Calories;  9.1g Total Fat;  1.8g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  331.5mg Sodium;  62.8g Carbohydrates;  9.5g Fiber;  13.5g Protein

Like I said, today was annoying.  I missed my husband's phone call for the second day in a row, I haven't talked to him in awhile, and my family was just all getting on each others' nerves.  So, I had to get out of the house.  I really wanted to make cookies...specifically Dreena's Chocolate Mint Melties, so I went to the grocery store.  They didn't have spelt flour.  In efforts to keep things gluten free, I did get some brown rice flour and buckwheat flour.  While they tasted delicious, I think I should have added some Xantham Gum or something, because they were sort of an ooey gooey mess.  Okay, I shouldn't say mess, they were just so soft that it was difficult to get them from the baking sheet to the cooling rack.  Once they cooled they did stay together though.  They are nice and chewy, very minty, and I used pretty coarse sea salt, so I thought that gave them a nice saltiness here and there.  

I found the recipe online too, if you're interested:  Chocolate Mint Melties  

Dreena's recipe says it makes 11-14 large cookies.  I feel like you could make them regular cookie size though, just watch the baking time.  They do look pretty though.  For fun, I'll give you the comparison of making 11 vs 14.  

Serves 14 

Nutrition Information:  162.8 Calories;  8.2g Total Fat;  2.9g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  124.8mg Sodium;  20.8g Carbohydrates;  2.4g Fiber;  2.3g Protein

Serves 11

Nutrition Information:  207.2 Calories;  10.4g Total Fat;  3.7g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  158.9g Sodium;  26.5g Carbphydrates;  3.1g Fiber;  2.9g Protein

Honestly, I'm just glad today is over at this point.  I hate days like that, but its true.  I have so so so much to do this week, a take home essay final due Tuesday, a huge project due on Thursday that I have yet to start, and I feel like Christmas has completely snuck up on me this year.  

Bah.  Maybe I am in such a bad mood because I don't have any cooking song today.  Music usually makes me feel better.  

My Best Protein Shake

Tonight I have class, then I am going to my friend's house for the night, and spending the day tomorrow observing her at her school.  This means a lot of food packing :), which I sort of like.  It does mean I end up eating more protein bars than usual, but such is life.  But I know I won't be cooking anything today, so I thought I'd write about my favorite macronutrient..protein!    

I'm sure everyone who eats any sort of vegan diet has been asked how they get enough protein.  Now, I spend a lot of time of forums; fitness forums, vegan forums, vegan fitness forums, diet forums, etc (also a moderator on a military girlfriend's forum, but that's a story for another day), and there is always this "debate" about protein.  How much do we need?  What kind is the best?  Is there such a thing as too much?  Can you really get enough protein to build muscle on a vegan diet?  Is vegetable protein inferior to animal protein?  

Almost all of these questions are debatable.  But I do know that it's possible to get plenty of protein on a vegan diet.  Some of my favorite whole foods sources are seitan, seeds (pepitas in particular), tofu, beans, soynuts, nut butters, whole grains, and tempeh.  But personally, I'm also a big fan of the protein shake.  I wouldn't suggest it if you don't work out, lifting or otherwise, since we all know that whole foods are way better for us, and if you are only eating 1200 calories a day, it would be hard to get all the nutrients and vitamins you need if one of your meals is a protein shake.  But I am burning a lot of calories, eating a lot of calories, trying to increase my body's muscle, and a protein shake is easy, fast, and completely convenient when I come home wiped from the gym.  My favorite protein powder is a custom True Protein mix of 50% gemma (pea), and 50% rice protein.  I avoid the soy protein isolate because I figure I get enough other soy in my diet.  

My go to post-workout shake is a scoop mixed with OJ.  I'm not going to bother with a picture because it doesn't look pretty and it isn't the most delicious thing, but it is fast protein and fast carbohydrates.  However, on my non-workout days, I still like to have a protein shake, and it is delicious.

Chocolate Banana Protein Shake

1/2 banana

1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk

1 scoop protein powder

Blend!  

I know, this is ridiculously easy and it sounds silly, but most vegan proteins get a bad rap for being gross and chalky (because...most of them are), but this masks the chalkiness and is yummy chocolate deliciousness.  

So, if I'm not home, like I know I won't be tonight, I do resort to protein bars.  One of my favorites is the Odwalla Super Protein bar.

As far as the calorie to protein content ratio..it can't compare to many of the non-vegan bars out there.  But...they're non-vegan, so who cares?  I don't know if you can see, but I think this one is pretty good, 230 calories, 16g protein.  The protein is soy, the sweeteners are grape juice concentrate, brown rice syrup, and date puree.  I know that Clif Bars and Larabars, and some Luna Bars are vegan, but Clif Bars are more energy bars, the calorie to protein ratio isn't high enough for me, Larabars are essentially cookies in a bar shape, and Luna Bars aren't enough calories for me to have as a meal.  The calorie count of this bar allows for some fruit or veg to be added to the meal too, which I thoroughly enjoy.

For anyone who is curious, I average 100g of protein a day right now.  I'm also eating between 1700 and 2000 calories.  

So, that is how I feel about protein.  It's important, and it is NOT hard to get enough of it.