Raw Foods, Mixed Well

I've been doing a lot of stealing lately. Of course I mean stealing from other bloggers and websites. As such, I have tons of pictures, and not much to write about except how delicious everything is. So I figured I will do just that.

First off though, we got a Vita-Mix! This has been a very exciting development, and I think I have used it multiple times every day. I love it love it love it already. So most of the food being shown here was made with that.

I hit Averie's blog first. She posts a lot of stuff that looks great, but I have been dying to try her Raw Vegan Kale Chips. They were one of the first things that got made in my shiny new (well...refurbished, but new to me) Vita-Mix...and oh man did they deliver.

They were cheesey and crispy and made the whole apartment smell yummy while they were dehydrating. I added some cayenne for a little kick too, and they were gone very quickly.

I also tried one of Averie's newer desserts that she had posted. Now don't get me wrong, I love chocolate and all that too, but when I saw her recipe for Raw Caramels, I had to make them.

Either my hand is smaller, or I spread mine thinner!

Sandwiched with chocolate soynut butter

Ah, there he is. I'm not the only one in this place that's been stealing. Ivan, our newest little stinker, LOVES food. And I don't mean he gets excited when a can is opened because he still thinks there's a chance it might be tuna, like Zoe does. The cat loves anything. One of his favorite treats is spinach, he loves zucchini and asparagus, and he has an especially soft spot for coconut (flakes, oil, milk, any form). So you can expect to find him in most pictures from here on out because it is almost impossible to keep him out of them!

So, one of the reasons I have always wanted a Vita-Mix was because it seemed like making smoothies was just SO much easier. And...it is infinitely such.

Avocado, kale, spinach, parsley, cucumber, banana, dates.

Avocado, cucumber, parsley, kale, spinach, frozen strawberries, pear.

Topped with grapefruit.

Spirulina smoothie from Annie's Raw Food Kitchen. Which Ivan especially loved...

and got him very messy, since he knocked over the blender and crawled inside to lick it all up.

I did have some not so raw food this week. I was watching the Food Network while working out and saw these Sauteed Potatoes with Chorizo being made on Mexican Made Easy. I was thinking how I could easily do it with a Soy Chorizo, and was then dumbfounded when the host actually suggested doing that to make it vegetarian. So, I tried it.

We also used sweet potatoes instead of white.

Honestly, this was just okay. I've never had real chorizo and I used Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo. I don't think that Soy Chorizo is really an awesome substitute. It just tasted like TVP marinated in spices. I'm sure that's what it is, and I've made things like that before. So, it was fine, just not what I was expecting I guess. Have you tried the Soy Chorizo or even Soyrizo? Is one better? Am I just asking too much of poor TVP?

I also whipped out another tool that I had promised I would be using a lot this year. I have been using it, just haven't been posting about it for some reason. Anyway, enter the spiralizer!

Zucchini "Noodles"

which Ivan, of course, loves

Mixed with a mango and red pepper mixture from the Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook.

All together with a sesame oil dressing, lime, and cilantro.

This recipe was supposed to be made with buckwheat noodles, but it made such a fantastic combo with the Zucchini "Noodles". I have leftovers of this and I am very happy about it!

Back to the Vita-Mix for the last thing today, which was from one of my newest very favorite bloggers, the lovely Michal, from Earth Muffin. I was at a loss for what to have for breakfast this morning. On the weekends I always want something "special", but I still want it to be healthy. I usually end up compromising one of those. Not today! I made her Spiced Carrot Puree.

Yummy.

This pretty much tasted like carrot cake in a bowl. I used 2 dates to sweeten it, and added cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger, and it was totally perfect...with the obvious addition of coconut and raisins! This made such a satisfying breakfast, it totally fit my "special", and healthy, requests. Oh, and this got Ivan's seal of approval too. At one point he was able to get some by sticking his foot in it (I know, I'm not proud), and when I was done, he licked the bowl.

So there we have it! A week's worth of good food, thankyouverymuch blog friends and Vita-Mix! And as I mentioned above, I did get a refurbished model, so it was about $100 less. Still expensive, but I've only had it for a week, and I can tell you it is so worth it.

Enjoy the weekend! I am off to my cousin's birthday party, and my brother's band's show.

Raw Banana Bread Cookies

Something about that Love Force raw bar had me in a raw mood. Usually when I "do raw" its all-out for a day, and after that, I'm over it until the next time I decide for a full-on raw day.

This time, something clicked that I didn't have to eat super high raw for the day in order to incorporate some raw food in my day.

I soaked some almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds, and then set to finding recipes for them. Believe it or not, these started out as...falafel. Don't let that sway you, I abandoned that recipe after grinding up the almonds and decided to go my own way.

Banana Bread Cookies were born. And they were yummy. If you are in the mood for something raw, this is a pretty good treat made with things you may very well have sitting in your pantry, begging to be made into raw cookies!

1 cup Raw Almonds, soaked

1/2 Banana

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil*

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup Raisins

I processed my almonds when they were still wet, just out of their soak, so they grinded together in the food processor together to make a wet meal. If you are using dry almonds, you may need to add a little more water. After grinding the almonds, add all but the raisins, and process until you have a smooth, sticky batter. Add the raisins and pulse a few times, until combined.

*You can use another oil, like melted coconut oil instead of sunflower.

Use a Tbsp measure to portion out each cookies, and flatten so that it looks like a cookie. The batter will be sticky, you may need to wash your hands a few times.

While these are quick and easy to make, they do take a bit of time to dehydrate. If its nice out (it finally is here), stick them outside for a few hours (we have no outside space). I dehydrated them at 115 degrees for 6 hours, and they are still slightly soft in the middle (in a good way). They were still good at 4 hours though, so anywhere from 4-8 hours would be tops. I always like to flip stuff like this halfway through, so..I did.

This makes about a baker's dozen.

Serves 13

Nutrition Information: 89.2 Calories; 6.6g Total Fat; 0.5g Saturated Fat; 0.0mg Cholesterol; 6.5g Carbohydrates; 1.6g Fiber; 2.5g Protein

If you don't have a dehydrator and live in a small apartment with no lanai like us, you can use an oven. Just keep it on the lowest setting, cracked, and check from time to time. Your oven will be warmer, so it probably won't take quite as long.

Don't feel like making your own raw treats? Be sure to enter the giveaway for some Love Force bars!! Five more days to enter!

With that, I am going to go enjoy some raw cookies at the beach. Peace :)

A New (Raw) Day

The first time I ever did a "raw day" I was nervous about exercising.  Worried that I wouldn't be eating enough, not getting enough calories, would be tired, sluggish, etc.  Yesterday, after having some dates, I went out and ran (and walked) a total of 5 miles, and I'm still feeling pretty peachy.  

The menu included a lot of nut and seed soaking, prep time, and a very messy kitchen, but it was well worth it.  

Breakfast was a Vega Smoothie.  The very lovely people at Vega sent me a nice sized bag of Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion last week.  While the hemp in Vega is raw, the other proteins aren't (like the pea protein).  I figured with so much good stuff in it, was still okay with me to start a raw day.  

But, I was skeptical.  Oh SO skeptical.  I have regular Vega and I'm not a fan of it.  I bought it because it has so much great healthy stuff in it, but I just can't have it every day, for various reasons.  I decided I'd make their Blueberry Smoothie suggestion on the back of the package, since I had fresh blueberries from the farmer's market yesterday.  My first impression?  Ew.  The powder is a gross green color...but that's because its filled with greens (spirulina, spinach, broccoli, etc)!  So I sucked it up and made the smoothie.  And...it was really good!!  It was still a gross greenish brown color (hence the lack of picture...you didn't want to see it), but that's just what happens when you add greens to a smoothie.  The Vega Smoothie Infusion is about 120 calories a serving and has 14 grams of protein.  So the verdict is, if you're looking for a very healthy, very easy way to start (or end, or continue) you day, there is no denying that this stuff is really good for you, and pretty tasty to boot!

I can't possibly say enough about how delicious my lunch was, so I will just give you a picture which does not do it justice.  

This is the Baked Macaroni and Cheese from Everyday Raw, with Buckwheat Cheezies (recipe follows).  This was SO good.  What really made it just the best was that it was dehydrated for awhile, so the squash softened a little bit.  Really, this is fantastic, if you have the book, you must try it.  

The Buckwheat Cheezies are based on a recipe that was in Vegetarian Times a few months ago, but I made it raw-ish, so I will share.    

1/2 cup Raw Buckwheat Groats

1/4 cup plus 1-2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (not raw)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

3 garlic cloves

5-ish Basil Leavs (depends on how much you like basil)

2 tsp salt

1.  Soak buckwheat groats overnight.  Give them some space because they just about double in size.

2.  Dehydrate the groats for about 3 hours at 104 degrees.

3.  Blend together the oil, garlic, salt, and basil until it makes a thick paste.

4.  When the groats are dehydrated, add them to a bowl with the paste and mush everything together until all the groats are more or less coated with something (it may not be even).  

5.  Dehydrate for another 30-60 minutes.

These are so yummy!  I wouldn't eat them by themselves, the raw garlic is fairly strong, but they were absolutely perfect over the baked mac and cheese.  Also, for those of you without a dehydrator, you can do this in a 300 degree oven too, which is what the original recipe calls for.  If you want to roll that way, you don't need to pre-dehydrate them, and you should only keep them in for 30 minutes.  Also, if you're not keeping it raw, you could cook the garlic with the oil.  

Makes 8 2-Tbsp Servings

Nutritional Information:  90.5 Calories;  4.1g Total Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  10.7g Carbohydrates;  2.6g Fiber;  4.6g Protein.  And 181% of the RDA for Vitamin B12!

One of the things I was really itching to make with the dehydrator was Ani's Black Sesame Sunflower Bread.  

I had it as a raw sandwich for dinner along with her Sun-Dried Tomato Cheeze, topped with some avocado and tomato, along with some fresh farmer's market green beans.  This Cheeze was okay.  The Black Pepper Cheeze was way better.    

The bread was somewhat of a disaster, although it worked out in the end!  Because my kitchen is still in pieces all over the country, I don't have things like sieves, so it was hard to get all the water out of the teeny flaxseeds and sesame seeds.  I think that made it too watery, and it made a bit of a mess.  Again though, it worked out.  Next time I make it I think I'll take her advice to make a few batches of it.  I calculated the nutritional information for it and was really surprised.  I'm not a big "real" bread person, so I'd choose this any day.  

Makes 9 Slices

Nutrition Information:  167.6 Calories;  13.0g Total Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  9.6g Carbohydrates;  7.0g Fiber;  6.6g Protein

Dessert, of course, was the impetus for having a raw day at all.  I've had my eye on the Key Lime Kream Bars in Ani's Raw Food Desserts since the moment I opened the book.  

I really didn't need a "raw day" as an excuse to make them, since they came together in all of 5 minutes (plus freezing time).  They are yummy!  I made a dessert or two in Ani's first book and I thought that they were incredibly salty, but it seems like she's toned it down for this book, and everything I've tried so far (like the Strawberry Macaroons) has been fantastic! 

I really love having an (almost) entirely raw day.  Because I have far too much time on my hands now, I calculated the nutritional information for everything (email me if you want any of it), and it came to just about 2000 calories (including an orange I had for a snack), which is perfect for me.  What is really more important to me though, is that it all came from good, whole food.  Nothing is better than that, right?  

  

Making New Friends

So far, its been a relaxing week.  Spring Break for me, remember?  In all honesty, it should not be this relaxing, I have a ton of stuff to do that I'm just ignoring.  I am procrastinating for a few reasons.  First, I do everything better under pressure.  Second, I finally got my hands on Breaking Dawn.  My next door neighbor let me borrow it since I'm too cheap to buy, and that library thing just wasn't working out.  I'm about a third of the way through.  

Normally on a week off I'd be taking advantage of extra gym time, but I've been doing a detox/cleanse/whatever you want to call it, and it was suggested that you kind of take it easy.  I've been walking with my mom and her friend in the morning, and going to yoga.  I went to a new teacher today and was thrilled to find that my normal teacher was subbing for her!  I love him so.  It was a short class though, only 60 minutes, when I'm used to 90 minutes.  There's just not enough time to get into things with only 60 minutes in my opinion.  

So clearly food this week has been different.  Well, not so different than normal but super different from the crap I've been eating lately.  I've been resorting to a lot more processed food than normal, and I really wanted to break away from that.  The diet that this "cleanse" suggests is mainly fruits and vegetables.  Almonds and sunflower seeds are okay in moderation, as are millet and quinoa.  I've mainly been sticking to the fruits and veggies though, and keeping a large portion of it raw.  There is also no caffeine, which is fine with me when I'm not working, no processed foods, no soy, and no salt.  

I do miss salt.  

Other than that its going really well.  Much better than I expected actually.  The hardest part was getting used to eating at the suggested "meal times", because I'm not used to eating such low calories foods all day, so I get really hungry, and I'm not about to tell myself I can't eat.    

So, I've been eating tons of fruit, thinking about Paulina's experiences (who recently started to basically follow an 80/10/10 diet), and having some fun with food again.  Its been far too long.  I really don't have any complaints so far, and while they suggest not doing any intense exercise, I feel like I have a ton of energy (says the girl who has been sitting on the couch reading and watching TiVo all day).  

My favorite meal on this diet (not that it isn't usually) has been breakfast.  There is just something so cheerful and vibrant about a big bowl of fresh fruit in the morning. 

 

I had this yesterday:  Bananas, pomegranate seeds (that I froze months ago), coconut, and the most beautiful papaya ever.  

I love you, papaya

This totally made my morning.  One of the downsides to this is that all the fruit and vegetables are supposed to be organic.  Yikes.  I don't know about you, but to me, that reads expensive.  $6 for a papaya?  I about fainted when I saw that pop up on the screen, and I told myself it had better be the best papaya of my life...I don't think it disappointed.  I'm not usually a papaya fan, but I believe it was Vegetarian Times who has an article this month about its health benefits and how it aids in digestion.  Maybe I'm wrong though, I get all those little free magazines at my health food stores, so everything gets mixed up in my head.  Regardless, I did read an article, and I figured now was a good time to try fruits I was wary about.  Wary no longer!

I made another new friend this week:  Beets.  I know I've had golden beets featured on here before, but I have also expressed my fear of its more mainstream sibling, purple beet.  I decided it was time to conquer my fear.  

Beets are the dark purple, apples are the pink, and carrots are the orange (obviously)

Now, this cleanse doesn't suggest that you eat only raw food, but I figured I would conquer my beet fear head on, and had this really delicious raw Spiced Shredded Beet & Carrot Salad from GoneRaw.  It was really good!  Beets are really good!  The only change I made came from the comment of the person who posted it, which was to add apples.  She also made the suggestion of adding pine nuts, but I think walnuts would be better...however, since I'm not eating nuts right now, they didn't get added.  

Conquering beet fear?  Check.  Well, I guess I have done one productive thing this week.    

As this has been a largely raw week, of course I turned to the one and only Ani Phyo.  I've mentioned Ani's Raw Food Kitchen on here many times, and this was another recipe that did not fail to disappoint.  

Above is the Garden Pate, one of my nut (almonds) based meals for the week, stuffed in a pepper with some edamame.  Totally yummy, and you can't see but there are raisins in it, which make it really extra yummy in my book.  By the way, if you check her site, you'll see that Ani is coming out with Ani's Raw Food Desserts soon.  I totally can't wait to snatch that up, I love the semblance of dessert being healthy!        

 

I'm so happy to be eating food again.  It has been an expensive week, but that is mainly because I'm bored and keep going to grocery stores for fun.  Funny, I used to do nothing every day and was fine, but now I actually miss going to "work".  

As much as this cleanse is going great, there are some things I already miss, and I am definitely fantasizing about making some tofu when this is over.  Barbeque Tofu?  Tofu Salad?  Any suggestions?

Mail Call

Everyone likes mail, right?  Okay, everyone likes mail that isn't bills or junk, right?  

I had a big mail week.  On Monday, I got a little surprise.  You can see on the right of my page that I am a Foodbuzz featured publisher and, maybe I just didn't read the fine print, but I was excited when I got these cute little cards in my mailbox!

To be completely honest, I don't have a clue what I am going to do with them.  If you can't tell, they're about half the size of a regular business card.  Such a cute surprise!  

Next was something I ordered.  I saw on Megan's blog a week or two ago, that she had ordered something called a YouBar.  

I am a total sucker for stuff like this.  I went crazy making my own cereal mixes when I discovered [me] & goji.  So, while they are on the pricey side, I totally had to make my own.  The website is really cool.  You get to choose the base, nuts, seeds, nut butters, dried fruits, protein, and other add ins like spirulina, maca powder, cocoa powder, etc.  Then you name it, they give you an idea of whether or not it'll taste like crap, and then they make it up fresh, and send them off. 

When I was making mine it seemed like a huge jumble of randomness, so I named it The Messy Bar.  It ended up being not so messy, but certainly yummy!

This was made up of:  Dates, Sunflower seed butter, YouBar base (almond butter and dates), blueberries, agave nectar, rice protein, soy protein isolate, chia seeds, hempseeds, oat bran, maca powder, and stevia.  All their ingredients are organic, too.  

Of course, because I am always first concerned with nutrition information:  

These are about 200 calories and have 10g of protein.  They're really good.  My only complaint is that I'm pretty sure they put in dried apples instead of dried blueberries.

My last mail treat was from Robert Cheeke of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness.  He made a post a few days ago, wondering if anyone wanted some walnuts from his mom's farm.  Of course I said yes, $5 a pound for fresh walnuts?  Sign me up.  

They're totally delicious, I'm so glad I had him send me some.  Anyone else get anything fun in the mail lately?  

I was really stressed for some reason this week, so I am looking forward to mostly staying home and doing a bunch of work.  I am being observed on Monday, and I've got a paper due.  Boring, but hopefully I'll be able to recharge a little.  What's on the agenda for your weekend?  

Just Because Its Vegan..

I have a confession to make.  Since becoming vegan, I have put on a little bit of weight.  I think.  Maybe.  Honestly, I don't really know how much I weighed when I started, but I don't feel awesome right now.  

Luckily, I guess, I am completely aware of why this has happened.  Prior to becoming vegan, the last thing I would have spent my free time doing was baking.  Cooking, yes, baking, no.  

I have been forced to face the fact that, just because its vegan, doesn't mean it is good for you.  I think I just get all excited to find some new vegan thing, or try some vegan cookie recipe to see how it compares, and feel like its "good" just because it is animal-free.  Vegan doesn't have to equal healthy.  I know how to eat better than I am, and I should be.  So, I am saying farewell to baking for awhile.  This also involves not eating sugar after 8 because I have a hard time falling asleep when I do. 

Pretend the following pictures are a video montage set to "Bye Bye Love" (Simon & Garfunkel):   

 

Well, if you know the song, that may be a little overly dramatic, but you get the point.    

I have to add one other thing to this cutback.  Peanut butter.  I think I just ate half a jar.  I don't care if its good fat...too much of a good thing does exist.  

Just to be clear, I'm not giving up any and all sugar, just going on a baking hiatus, and not eating sugar after 8.  I'm not even giving up baked goods made elsewhere, I am taking a break from making a batch of cookies, and then eating them all because they're there.  This has actually been going on for a week or so, and its going pretty well.  

Does everyone have a three day weekend?  Most of the schools around me have a winter break, but we don't.  I'm actually pretty happy about it, because it means I get to spend more time at this school.  I went to my first student teaching seminar today, and after listening to some other people talk, I think that I got really lucky, and I'm not looking forward to leaving.  

I hope to get some kind of cooking done on my day off...at the very least, I need to actually buy some food.  My refrigerator is eerily empty...I think I can hear an echo in there!  

Peanut Better Butter

I love peanut butter.  I don't let myself buy it because I will just go at the jar with a spoon.  There is something about making my own, though, that makes me want to savor it a little longer.  

The best part about making peanut butter is that it doesn't have to just be peanut butter.  Yay!  

So what makes this peanut butter better?  Hemp.  

I don't know how well you can see that label, but 2 tbsp of hemp seed is 160 calories and 11g of protein.  Not to mention an iron boost and the profile of healthy fats.    I ordered mine online from Food Fight! grocery.  If you are wondering what they taste like...they're yummy.  They aren't really crunchy, but they are mildly sweet and nutty.   

Peanut Better Butter

1 1/2 cups unsalted peanuts

2 tbsp hemp seeds

1 tsp Z-sweet (or other sweetener) (optional)

1 tsp oil (optional)

salt to taste  

1.  Process peanuts until they form a ball.

2.  Break up peanut butter, add hemp seed nut and  z-sweet.

3.  Process until smooth.  

4.  Add oil if necessary, and salt to taste.

Yields about 8oz.  1 serving = 2 tbsp

Nutrition Information:  195.1 Calories; 15.8g Total Fat;  2.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  6.9g Carbohydrates;  3.1g Fiber;  9.4g Protein.  

You really don't need any sweetener, I just wanted to add some.  If you do like it slightly sweet, but don't have Z-sweet, you can always use agave.  One tsp isn't going to add any significant calories.  If you're wondering what Z-sweet is, I did talk about it briefly last month.  It is a sugar alcohol called erythritol.  It only has 0.2 calories per gram, so the calories are basically negligible.  If you want to read about someone else's experience with it, Diann talked about it in some length yesterday.    

So, everyone go forth and enjoy your nut butters!  They're good for you, and as possibly one of my favorite foods, ever.    

Peanut Butter Cookie Monster

I love dessert.  I love eating dessert.  I love the idea of making my own dessert creations.  Truth be told, however, I rarely actually do that.  I would much rather search for a recipe, be inspired by a blog post, or buy a cookbook by someone who is clearly more experienced than I, and avoid being disappointed.  You’d think, as someone with a science background, that the science behind baking would intrigue me, but...tis not so.    

Luckily, I got two vegan dessert cookbooks for Christmas:  My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky and The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  I have to say that one of my favorite things about both of these books is all the pictures!  They make the recipes so much more mouthwatering and memorable.    

I was also elated to be gifted with a Kitchen Aid food processor from my parents.  So, the first thing I did was make peanut butter.  This is good for a number of reasons.  First, I can’t control myself around an entire jar of peanut butter, so now I can make limited quantities.  Second...um...I like peanut butter?  I’m not sure why I said there were a number of reasons, peanut butter just rocks.  

   

Anyway, after making my peanut butter, I was flipping through My Sweet Vegan and found the peanut butter cookie recipe.  The best part, they are made with red lentils...not only did I have them in my pantry, but it would make them gluten free!!  

So, you’ll have to get the book yourself if you want to try them, but I will tell you that I woke up bright and early this morning before my yoga class to make them, and they are awesome.  I am pretty sensitive to the bean flour taste, but you can’t taste it even a little in these cookies; they are chewy and peanut buttery and even better than I thought they would be!  I didn’t have parchment paper, so I just used a bare ungreased baking sheet and removed them soon after taking them out of the oven so they wouldn’t stick.  I suggest flattening them a little before baking so they have that flat peanut butter cookie look.  I skipped that on the first batch and they weren’t as pretty.          

Peanut-Plus Cookies  

Nutrition Information:  112.8 Calories; 5.5g Total Fat;  0.9g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  11.7g Carbohydrates;  1.1g Fiber;  3.3g Protein

These were perfect with a nice glass of unsweetened soymilk (sweetened with english toffee flavored liquid stevia).  I had them for breakfast :)  You might want to save them for dessert, but I couldn’t wait until then.

So that’s it for the food.  My holiday was fine, kind of boring, although every single gift I received was fabulous, I feel quite spoiled this year.  I also got Veganomicon and Great Chefs Cook Vegan, both of which I am excited about.  Actually about 95% of my gifts were food related, so I’m sure they will be popping up on here in one way or another!  

I'm going to dinner at my friend's house tomorrow and I offered to bring two appetizers, because they are having non-vegan potato leek soup for dinner.  I'm thinking stuffed mushrooms, any ideas for a second app?

I hope everyone had (or is having, I don’t think Hanukkah is over yet?) a great holiday!  I’ll be able to catch up on everyone’s blogs soon, if I haven’t already...I feel so behind!   

Spiced Sugar Almonds

While my family and my husband's family are getting traditional presents, I am also making a bunch of food-gifts...because its fun!  

Chai Spiced Almonds

The past two days I've been experimenting with sugared almonds.  If you've ever been to New York City (or maybe other cities too, I don't know), you have probably seen or at least smelled the "Nuts4Nuts" carts.  They are my favorite snack...ever.  Seriously, I love them.  I decided I would make my own, since I had no idea if the street cart version is vegan. 

The basic recipe is simple:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 cup almonds

1.  Bring everything to boil in a pan.  

2.  Simmer mixture, stirring periodically with a wooden spoon.  

simmering

3.  When the sugar syrup starts to crystalize, remove from heat, and stir almonds constantly to coat.  

4.  Because of the nature of the solution, all the sugar will fall out, but not all of it will stick to the almonds.  So, you are going to put the pan back on the heat and stir, allowing the sugar that has fallen out to melt and stick to the almonds.

after removing from heat and allowing sugar to settle

5.  Remove from heat, separate any large chunks, and allow to cool.

  

Now, because I am a pain in the ass to myself, instead of just making one big batch, I made a few different versions:

  

Cinnamon Spice Almonds - before boiling add 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper and 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Chai Spiced Almonds - before boiling add 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp cardamom, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg  

 

Orange Glazed Almonds - use 1/2 cup orange juice, and 3/4 cup water.  This didn't necessarily turn out the same as the first two.  It looked more like they were covered in caramel.  At first I was disappointed, and just put them out on the counter for my family...but then I ate them all.  They were actually really good.  If you want to try them, I don't have a picture (again, because I ate them all), but the directions were the same...the sugar just never really crystallizes, so once the sugar mixture is really thick, and everything is coated, lay the almonds out on a piece of waxed paper. 

If you are slightly masochistic, you may want to know the calorie count for these.  You're crazy.  Oh wait, that's just me?  Fine, whatever.  I only have it for the first two, just with the spice addition.  1 cup of almonds yields about 2 1/4 cups of sugared almonds (it is much less for the orange almonds, because not even close to all the sugar sticks, which is why I don't really have a way to figure out the nutrition info for them).  

1 serving = 1/4 cup 

Nutrition Information:  177.2 Calories;  8.0g Total Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  25.3g Carbohydrates;  1.9g Fiber;  3.4g Protein

I know that for the most part, I try to make healthy stuff, but its the holidays...and for the most part, I won't be eating it!  Plus, at least they have some protein.  By the way, my brother prefers these when they're warm and the nuts are still slightly soft.  I prefer to let them cool and dry, because then the nuts get crunchy again.

One other little Christmas related (for me) thing.  I was Christmas shopping in Express yesterday.  It is frustrating to me how much is made of sheep or bunny hair (not to mention that its itchy).  But I found myself in Express looking at a shirt that I really liked, but was made of 60% cotton and 40% modal.  What the hell is modal?  I wanted to know.  Immediately (I had a coupon, after all).  So I asked the salespeople, and no one knew.  So I called my dad.  If you ever encounter modal, you should feel pretty safe buying it.  It is a plant product, sort of similar to rayon.  Whew.  I bought two.  

Alright well, I'm not done with my Christmas gift making.  I doubt I will get to the next part tomorrow, but hopefully on Thursday!!