Disgusting
Warning: I’m not going for the pretty post today.
You could ask, when do I ever go for the pretty post? Well played, well played. But everything today was just pretty gross and disgusting, no matter how good it got.
The thought of eating 2 sticks of earth balance, or any fat really, grosses me out. So why do they taste so damn good in this recipe? Note to self: Don’t ever cook that rich again if you’re going to have leftovers for the next 3 days.
Running 14 miles is disgusting, especially when New England decides to warm up. Was I proud? Damn straight. But it was hot. There was cow manure involved. Every part of me got sunburned. And you get really dirty running without a shirt on. In the end, I looked like this:
Disgusting, no? I’m practicing to compete with some of Holly’s self-portraits. I’ve got a long way to go on growing out the hair and getting that kind of frizz.
The entire soda industry is–let’s face it–disgusting. There’s high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavors and preservatives. And all those plastic rings kill sea-life. Not cool, Coke, not cool. Instead, I made a much cleaner version of “Sprite” for recovery: 1/2 cup lemon seltzer, 1/2 cup organic limeade, fresh lime, and some light agave nectar. Sweetness.
The raw olive “cheese” from Grezzo’s looks like a pile of poo; I’m aware. But it tastes deliciously rich in olives. And was perfect on a salad with some organic balsamic vinegar. Oh, and this is the best 2.50 you will ever spend:
Don’t look at the nutritional information; it’s not pretty. “Golden” means fried, but it’s fried by Whole Foods, so it’s magical and delicious. I love keeping one of these around for times I really just don’t feel like cooking, even if I’m taking in my daily limit of way too many things.
Sweet potatoes? Love them! But after they’ve been roasted, grilled, and sitting in the refrigerator for 3 days… There’s a reason that’s not in any recipe book.
…I don’t have any more words to defend myself. Even as a food blogger, sometimes you gotta eat a little disgustingly.
That is 6 squares of my favorite dark chocolate by Endangered Species and a pomegranate Chobani with Justin’s chocolate almond butter. The only disgusting thing here is how much chocolate I can eat in a day. If anybody ever hears of an organic chocolate eating contest, send it my way. We can split the prize money.
What’s the last thing that’s made you think “Gross!”? For me, it was the fish at the beginning of the post. It’s an Asian carp, and it’s making a move to be the next, big, sustainable seafood. Not on my plate, it isn’t.
If Today Was Your Last Day
10 Miles
Sure enough, just when I was thinking of cutting my run short at the halfway point after 5 miles, Nickelback’s If Today Was Your Last Day came up on my ipod shuffle and had me thinking, “If today were my last day(I’m pretty sure this is more grammatically correct but then again I study dead languages for a living), would I want to go out knowing I gave in on my last run?” At that, I kept on running and did another loop. But that same song had me thinking all day long.
Chickpeas Cooking
If today was my last day, I’d knock off all the recipes I want to make over the Summer(listed here). I didn’t do all of them, but I did do 1: chickpeas from their dry state. This was so simple, and much cheaper. How had I not gotten on this before? Besides, fresh chickpeas make for the best lunches.
Olive Oil Seared Chickpeas, Grilled Sweet Potato Chunks, Onion, And Spinach Salad, Root Beer
Virgil's Root Beer
If today was my last day, I’d eat tons of fried food and drink through a brewery. Since it’s not, I stuck with pan-fried chickpeas and root beer. Oh my. When chickpeas take on olive oil is better than When Harry Met Sally, I’m just saying. Add in a cold one, and it’s a little sinly.
Green & Black's Ginger Dark Chocolate
Lulu's Maca Love Bar
If today was my last day, I’d eat through pounds and pounds of chocolate. You could very well make an argument that I already do that. I had a few pieces of Green & Black’s ginger dark chocolate way before my run, and then a Maca Love Bar by Lulu’s chocolate as an afternoon delight. Hmm… I learned I’m not a maca lover. But this totally had me on the vanilla and the crunchy sea salt/coconut sugar combo. How could it not?
Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream, Vegan Blondie
If today was my last day, dessert would have been for dinner. Instead, dessert came before dinner. Oo la la. These blondies are just as magical the day after as leftovers. Speaking of leftovers, I probably would have baked with less earth balance if I knew I’d still have these. Vegan don’t mean skinny 😉 And So Delicious vanilla bean coconut milk ice cream. Yes, please.
Paprika Pepper Fries, Vegan Stuffed Italian Pepper
If today was my last day, I’d have my last meal be a big, juicy piece of grass-fed beef with a whole margarita, gluten-filled pizza with fresh mozzarella up the wazoo; I’m going out guns ablazin’ and belly abloated. In this instance, a vegan stuffed pepper would have to do.
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Ketchup
- Soy Sauce
- Italian Seasoning
- Fresh Basil
- Nutritional Yeast
Stuffed in a pepper and topped with ooey, gooey Daiya goodness next to some fries with pepper and paprika. I do believe it doesn’t have to be your last day to eat good.
What would you do if today was your last day? Of course, ipod shuffle isn’t always so profound. Case in point: Sex Bomb.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 14 so far )Mean Miles And Extra Special Blondies
And here I thought a party at the Museum of Science’s skyline suite what special, I had no idea the blondies I’d be cooking up today.
Endangered Species Milk Chocolate With Peanut Butter
Endangered Species chocolate = amazing pre-running fuel. The milk chocolate with a hint of peanut butter let me down the first time I had it, but now I feel like I get that hint–really subtle hint.
10 Miles
I had fun kind of running around the town and found a new route I liked that came across a reservoir. And it just so happened to be an even number of miles! I love it when that works out. And then I was stahvin’ for a good lunch.
Sweet Potato With BBQ Beans, Tofu, And Mighty Maple
Finishing off a jar of Mighty Maple is always tragic; at least it’s redeemed when it’s in a killer way. A sweet potato with BBQ baked beans, raw tofu chunks, and a scoop of the good stuff. Um, yum. Am I blessed to love the texture of raw, soft tofu or what?
Red Delicious Apple
This afternoon snack was missing something…
365 Creamy PB
Perfect. Who says you need to eat the peanut butter on the apple? They taste fine separate 😀
Tonight, we’re having guests over. I wanted to recreate this recipe. The result was nothing more than “special”, extra “special”. It’s gluten-free and vegan. There are specks of vanilla bean in the batter. And it just tastes damn good. How could it not(with 2 sticks of earth balance)?
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 sticks non-hydrogenated margarine
- 1 cup all-purpose GF baking blend
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum(optional)
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla paste(or vanilla extract)
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 350 and let the margarine sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before working with it. Cream the margarine and the sugar in a large bowl. Sift in all ingredients from flour to xanthan gum(if using). Add the liquids and vanilla paste and mix thoroughly with a large spoon or rubber spatula. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed. Press into an 8×8 baking pan and bake for35-40 minutes or until the center is set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes before slicing. Makes 12 servings.
Now are those fattening, err… “special”, or what?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 10 so far )All The Reasons I’m Screaming
It’s been a little loud around here today.
To-Do
Frankly, there was no way all of this was getting put away today, and there might have been some swearing involved. 12 miles I could have done; this, not so much.
TJ's Temptation Trail Mix
It took Trader Joe’s Temptation Trail Mix to calm me down. I don’t suppose it’s a temptation anymore after you give in.
I’m screaming in joy because today I officially finished up with my 3rd class but in agony because my fourth and last, while being 6 days away, I already feel unprepared for and as if it’s a waste of time to study(not like I’ve found the chance yet).
Meat And Potatoes Cooking
I could have screamed and yelled to tell everyone what an amazing cook I’ve become, but no one’s been home to listen. Of course, my dog will come running once he smells something cooking. Is it bad that he responds to “little shit”? My grandmother and I have got to get better about that…
Bison Medallion, Seared Sweet Potato And Onion Over Greens
Yum! I found an old bison medallion in the freeer to thaw and cook in a little EVOO with a roasted potato, onion, and fresh rosemary. How can anybody not look forward to fresh herbs?! They just add so much flavor.
I might have hollered a bit when I realized that some flavors of Celestial Seasonings contain gluten! Sleepytime Throat Tamer didn’t, however, and it said it would help my throat, which has been a little scratchy all day(probably from the screaming), so I thought I’d give it a taste.
Scratch Ticket
I squealed a little when I won $5. It wasn’t much of a scream, but it made my day.
Mint Chip Coconut Milk Ice Cream
J’adore mint chip coconut milk So Delicious ice cream and I’ll shout it from the rooftop! It’s so minty and the touch of coconut oil chocolate adds a nice, cool crisp to it all. I also love that everyone else in this house won’t touch coconut milk ice cream. More for me.
Oatmeal With 365 Crunchy
It’s also cheaper to shout and bicker that it’s 48 degrees in May than turn up the heat. Why the unseasonable weather? Why? Warm oats, get inside my belly!
But what’s the real reason I’ve been screaming? Well…
Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker
I scream for ice cream makers! I got one a few weeks ago and it’s been waiting here ever since. Excited doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about this; oh the possibilities! But that’s where you all come in. If you had an ice cream maker, what would your dream flavor be? Or, if you have any specific recipes from websites you like, please share! I’m a little wary of dealing with egg yolks to begin with, so now I’m just thinking of working with simple flavors/recipes. Hermit ice cream, maybe? 😉
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 22 so far )Unplanned Is Better Than Not As Planned
In case you missed the weekend:
- Friday I got groceries and ate from Whole Foods and gave nut butter recipes
- Saturday people weighed in on an awkward and moralistic gym situation.
- And Sunday was the big Mother’s Day brunch
I live off to-do lists and plans(you should see my to-do list for today. Yikes!). It should then be understandable that I’m no happy camper when things don’t come out 110% like I planned.
Vegan Tiger Fudge
The “new recipe” I alluded to was vegan tiger fudge: a layer of vegan chocolate fudge with a layer of peanut butter fudge on top. After a few hours, the top never set, so while this was tasty, it wasn’t wholly “fudge”. Boo 😦 It’s back to the drawing board for that recipe. On the bright side, my vegan chocolate fudge tastes as good as ever.
As opposed to not-according-to-planned, things that are unplanned have seemed to have great success recently. Betty White never planned that she would actually get on SNL, and she was hysterical. Amy Adams in Leap Year didn’t plan to fall in love with the Irishman she hired to take her to Dublin(even though it was the most predictable plot-line ever), and that worked out for her. And this dinner, while completely made on the fly, was fantastic:
EVOO Seared Sweet Potato And Chickpeas
EVOO Seared Sweet Potato And Chickpeas
How could something so simple be so good? This was just sweet potato chunks roasted and then seared in a little olive oil with the chickpeas added at the end to finish them off in the oil, and heaped on spinach. It was 5 ingredients with the salt(gotta have the salt), and that was all this needed. Best of all, it combined two of my favorites: sweet potatoes and chickpeas. Love it! Anyone else want to boast a kitchen success story out there?
Oatmeal With Chocolate Peanut Butter
Cascadian Farms Organic Vanilla Chip Bar
Maple Sugar Maple Leaf
It was certainly unplanned that I turn in to the carb king between dinner and breakfast this morning(add in the tiger fudge from before and you’ve got yourself a few meals there). And I’ll admit: It had me feeling a little down. Until I realized what those unplanned carbs could do for me.
12.1 Miles In 1:46:48
As a sort of “Last Hurrah”, I ran on the treadmill watching The Today Show and my other morning television for a strong and unplanned 12.1 miles. Hurrah! My entire gym set up is a luxury of convenience I will sorrowfully miss over the Summer.
Mighty Maple Oatmeal, Pineapple Chobani, Gingerade Kombucha
After all that, I’m happy to be sitting and having a well-balanced, moderately-sweetened breakfast with Mighty Maple and a pineapple Chobani. And, yes, that would be a Gingerade Kombucha at breakfast no less. It’s the only thing keeping me sane today between my to-do list and walking up and down 3 flights of stairs to cook and do laundry.
What do you do when a recipe’s a flop? My gut response: Call the neighbors over. If it’s something bready, I can usually crumble it over yogurt and call it granola. But with anything chocolate and sweet, just hand me a spoon and let the pity party commence.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 16 so far )Two Times, Two Ways
Warning: You can’t even read this post without increasing your cholesterol a little. Consult your doctor to see if Lipitor is right for you.
Forming Grass-Fed Beef Patties
Who doesn’t start their work-week by turning ground beef into burgers? No worries: I practice clean cooking in addition to clean eating. I wore my No Meat Athlete shirt this morning to take my final but quickly changed when I realized what a carnivorous day this would be(and now I’m rocking the Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona look).
Burger, EVOO Sweet Potato Hash Over Spinach
EVOO Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Lunch was a perfectly prepared burger on a bed of spinach with pan-finished EVOO sweet potato chunks. If that doesn’t catch your eye, I don’t know what will. For these, I quartered 1/2 a sweet potato and let those roast for an hour or so. After that, I quickly tossed them in the pan with the rendered beef fat and then finished with a splash and fry of EVOO. As Miss Rachael Ray would say, yummo! Who needs salad dressing? The EVOO’s on the potatoes!
Green & Black's White Chocolate
After an afternoon of classes, I just needed to unwind with some good white chocolate, so I went for Green & Black’s. Most dark chocolate, even when it’s sorta bad, is good; just look for the stuff with no vegetable oils and all-natural ingredients and it’s going to be tasty.
Green & Black's White Chocolate
Milk and white chocolate are more troubled beasts. But a good organic brand like Green & Black’s never fails. I love it when you can see the vanilla beans! Now, let’s no one point out white chocolate has 0 of the antioxidants and more of the sugar and we’ll all be happy, capiche?
Avocado With Lemon And Sea Salt
I’m not going to say this is nature’s white chocolate, but 1/2 an avocado + lemon + sea salt = heaven. And why not eat an avocado like this? It is a fruit after all. Now, can you guess what dinner might have been?
Sweet Potato Fries With Parma, Burger, Baby Carrots
It’s a whole different meal when the sweet potatoes are shaped like fries and the burger has ketchup 😉 That would lead me into answering some questions…
Question 1:Â Do you worry about red meat intake/cholesterol intake/animal-based saturated fat intake?
In short, no. Any concerns I have with eating animals and animal byproducts is rooted in ethical reasons rather than health. That’s not to say I don’t take steps to also get the better products–grass-fed beef and butter, wild fish, etc. I typically buy 1 pound of beef for a week with my groceries. Whether I eat that all in one day or over the week, on the large scale it’s all the same so I’m not phased by it; some days I’ll eat entirely vegan without really trying. Things balance out.
Question 2:Â How do you prepare your sweet potatoes?
Besides the EVOO hash I described, I’ll typically make my “sweet potato fries” by cutting up 1/2 a large sweet potato, tossing them in EVOO, and baking at 350 for 60 minutes. From there, you can add things like tumeric, Parma, Daiya, or anything else. And, of course, sometimes I’ll just roast a sweet potato whole for 90 minutes. But like I’ve said before, I’m a bit of a snob and refuse to microwave them for a quick-fix.
Question 3: Do you plan your meals?
For singular me in my dorm, extended meal plan doesn’t really work. I have a couple of meals I know how to make and make well, and rely on those so long as I have the raw materials on hand. I’ll generally figure out what I want for lunch and dinner sometimes in the morning. I have planned out a week before for my whole family and that worked great; it just hasn’t been a scenario recently.
Question 4: What’s your favorite chocolate?
That’s a loaded question. In general, I’d probably opt for dark on the fly. But really, picking a single one would be like picking a favorite child: You like each one the most at different times depending on who did something bad last 😉 I would suggest seeing my chocolate review page.
Now, since there was no antioxidants in that white chocolate, I’m afraid I’m just going to have to make up for it in dark chocolate tonight and not set my alarm 😀
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 18 so far )Waiting On Chickpeas And What The Internet Knows…
I’m glad you all seem to love fudge almost as much as I do
Could I resist having a piece this morning after photographing it? Not a chance. That does not bode well for how long this will last in my freezer. At least it’s raw, and the coconut oil gave me good energy for a run.
10 Miles In 90:16
Maybe that’s a lie, too. This run was a little slower than I’ve been able to do recently. My left foot hurt and I suspect it’s because there’s so little arch support. These shoes seriously have 2000-3000 miles on them, and I really need a new pair 😦 Perhaps after the half-marathon this Sunday. Besides that, I was entertained by the new Dr. Who and pushed past that.
Blueberry Chobani With Sprouted Almond Butter
Instead of regular class, I had an earlier museum tour today. I didn’t have enough time between running and that for a proper lunch, but it’s always important to fuel, so I threw some Better Than Roasted Sprouted Almond Butter and sea salt on a blueberry Chobani; I love the blueberry/almond flavor combo.
Ancient Egyptian Mummy
The museum tour was pretty interesting; the RISD art museum is famous and somewhere I’d really like to spend more time if I get the chance. As is, we just had 40 minutes to go through a few rooms and get lectured on ancient artifacts.
Tumeric Spiced Carrot Cake Chickpea Salad With Toasted Walnuts, Gingerade Kombucha
Tumeric Spiced Carrot Cake Chickpea Salad With Toasted Walnuts
I was so excited for this salad when I got back. I’ve been toying around with the thought of carrot cake chickpeas in my mind for a while now, and this was a spicy twist on that. In the mix was
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 2 tablespoon chickpea water
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- shredded carrots
- organic hunza raisins
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
- sea salt
I took the extra 5 minutes to go down stairs and toast some walnuts in a pan, too. If you have the time, you really should toast your nuts. The flavors here were all incredible and I loved it! This’ll definitely be a new salad recipe to keep in mind for the future. On the side and in my next class I sipped on a Gingerade Kombucha.
Vanilla Bean Purely Decadent And White Chocolate Cranberry Giovanni Gelato
Vanilla Bean Purely Decadent And White Chocolate Cranberry Giovanni Gelato
Even though the weather is crappy and cold, I can still crave ice cream; I can always crave ice cream. In accordance with project cleanout, I knocked down both of these pints, neither of which had a real serving left. I think the combination of a coconut/vanilla flavor with white chocolate was bliss. Could someone make a vegan white chocolate ice cream next, maybe? I’d buy. That was all in prep for dinner.
Grass-Fed Burger And Sweet Potato Chunks
It wouldn’t be a Wednesday night in this house dorm without sweet potatoes and a burger. How long has it been since I’ve had sweet potatoes? 4 days? That’s too long. This meat also tasted nice and fresh since we just got it Monday and I hadn’t unsealed the pack yet–yum!
I always find it funny seeing what website my internet thinks I want to go to just when I type in the first letter. Some of them are dead on; others I can’t fathom what it’s thinking. I thought I’d post them all here for a laugh and encourage any other bloggers to do the same.
B- Brown.edu
D- Database Library(Brown)
G- Google.com
I- iHerb.com
J- JPLicks.com
O- Nothing
P- Pokemon.com
T- Tinyurl.com
U- Ulimana.com
V- Vivani.de
X- Xagave.com
Y- Youtube.com
Z- Zingbars.com
Anyone care to post this on their blog for themself?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 18 so far )Things To Do And Avoid On Those Hot Summer Days
Do wake up at 7 before the weather turns hot to enjoy a nice run around your home streets.
Don’t go out with the mindset “I’m going to find some horses!” not knowing where the nearest horses are and getting lost 7 miles away from your house.
Do call your sleeping parents in a frenzy saying “I’m lost, can you pick me up?” and then wave them off when they find you saying “Naw, I can make the last 3 miles”
14 Miles In 1:57:24
Don’t run 14 miles unless you really want to. Personally, that’s a bit too much out on the roads.
Oatmeal With Chocolate Peanut Butter And Coconut Milk, Birthday Cake Chobani
Do pour coconut milk on your oatmeal and sweeten your yogurt with gluten-free birthday cake mix instead of plain sugar for some really crazy food pairings that work beautifully.
Red Delicious Apple
Don’t eat store-bought apples when you have freshly picked Summer berries lining your countertops. Unfortunately, I don’t have that yet, so I did eat this organic red delicious apple.
Dill And Lemon Chickpea Salad With Raw Parsley Cheddar
Dill And Lemon Chickpea Salad With Raw Parsley Cheddar
Do make simple summer chickpea salads with this invariable formula:
- Greens(iceberg salad mix. Blech)
- Chickpeas(1 cup 365 brand no-salt added)
- Something Creamy(Next Generation Dairy parsley raw & probiotic cheddar)
- An Oil(lemon pepper olive oil)
- Seasoning(all-purpose dill mix with sea salt)
Do go to Target when you’re double fisting gift cards and hit up the sales. I got 2 chocolate bars for $5 and a 4GB memory card for $13 bucks.
Raspberry Chocolove Bar
Don’t expect chocolate not to melt when you eat it. I think it says something about me that my addiction to chocolate and my hatred towards melted bars almost makes me completely hate the Summer season. I love chocolate.
Do eat about as much ice cream as you can get your hands on, including fun and funky new flavors like green tea coconut milk ala So Delicious. It tasted very coconutty, but I didn’t mind because it made me think of this as some fun Asian boba tea or something. The green tea was actually subtle flavor to the whole thing. Wouldn’t this have been perfect for St. Patrick’s Day?
Don’t take pictures of said ice cream on your new camera which photos you can’t upload onto your computer yet. Whoops! I enjoyed about 2 servings.
Baby Carrots
Do snack on carrots for something healthy, low-sugar, and filling when you need that added crunch to hold you over.
Don’t waste your afternoon in front of Tivo watching Food Network and Little People Big World. Err, whoops? Well, to be fair, I’m only home for the weekend and need to soak up the goodness while I can 😛
Vegan, Gluten-Free Midnight Chocolate Cupcakes
Do make amazing and delicious desserts like vegan chocolate cupcakes from Sweet Utopia to test out new recipes while cooking for your cousins birthday.
Don’t crush 2 cupcakes by fussing around with the oven lay-out 😦 I still got 18 good ones! And 2 piles of crumbs that will be tasty on just about anything 🙂
Stir-Fried Maple Tofu And Sweet Potatoes With Mighty Maple
Do try new meals, especially when things don’t go as planned. I’m very particular about my sweet potatoes, and these were too soft 
I tried cooking the tofu and sweet potato together in a pan with walnut oil to crisp them about. It wasn’t amazing, but certainly improved.
Don’t even think about not enjoying those nice Summer nights. If there’s nothing on The Food Network, I spy a Sherlock Holmes DVD to keep me from getting anywhere on my Latin homework.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 12 so far )Picture It: Javaberry
Food holds memories. Those make the dishes ten times better and ten times tastier. And yet it’s hard to know on a blog just what someone is thinking when they put flavors together unless they’re willing to share it all. That’s why I’m starting a new category of posts, ala Sophia Petrillo, called “Picture It”s.
Picture it: Prom night Junior year. After the prom, I end up at a friends house for an after party with 40 or so friends. There’s an open fire, cookies, chips, s’mores, everything legal(yeah, yeah. We weren’t a very troublesome crowd, but something tells me that’s a good thing). I didn’t even plan to stay the whole night, but by 1am I was convinced by my good friend and hostess. After too many games of midnight Hide N’ Seek(who does this?!), I crashed sometime around 5am in front of Bend It Like Beckham. The next day, still in a cookie coma, no one cared for a very nutritious breakfast, if it’s even breakfast at 11:30. Instead, we took a very short walk to Dairy Joy.
Of course, when there’s an ice cream shop virtually in someone’s front yard, you have to throw yourself at their mercy and get what they suggest. The “favorite flavor” couldn’t have sounded weirder: Javaberry. A blend of raspberry and coffee ice creams. Really? Could that possible be good? No. It was fantastic. What a random but delectable combination, one that I had never had again, until today.
Black Raspberry And Coffee Frozen Yogurts
That would be Elan’s decaf cappuccino frozen yogurt and Sweet Scoops‘ black raspberry frozen yogurt. Again, the combination was eerily magnificent. How could these two flavors work? They just do. And when I had the Sweet Scoops‘ black raspberry the first time, I thought it wasn’t sweet enough. I take that back. This was perfectly fruity and sweet. But I did more today than just eat ice cream.
Chocolove Raspberry Dark Chocolate
I ate chocolate, too. Right before hitting the gym, I snacked on the last few pieces of a raspberry dark chocolate bar and ran out the door. It’s been rainy/cloudy all weekend, so I stuck with the gym. It turns out I picked a perfect time for television, and I was really able to get into my “groove”.
12 Miles In 1:46:08
These 12 miles truly felt effortless I could have kept going, if I really had to, which leads me to feel confident for my half-marathon in 2 weeks from tomorrow. And when I was done, I went straight to work on lunch. I was craving chickpeas, so I tossed some with honey, water, and garlic and tossed them in an oven to roast at 425 while I showered. My lunch ended up having 3 forms of chickpeas. Obsession?
Roasted Garlic Chickpeas And Garlic Over Greens
Steamed Broccoli With Garlic, Hummus Chips With Hummus
My breath was not pretty after this meal, but I loved it nonetheless. On the salad was just the roasted chickpeas given a little flavor with garlic and honey, as well as some roasted garlic from the cafeteria. I steamed some broccoli and added ground garlic, and had “hummus chips” with hummus. The chips are made completely with garbanzo bean flour and baked with garlic and olive oil. Like I said, I think I was having a flavor obsession.
In between lunch and dinner was when I had the Javaberry creation. I also did some work and made an impulse online purchase. Aren’t those fun? I’ll be sure to share on that in a little time…
Cheese Burger, Roasted And Grilled Sweet Potato With Tumeric, Cinnamon, And Sea Salt
I basically kept putting off finding a way to not have to cook so long that I needed to cook. I tossed a sweet potato in the oven for 90 minutes and made a cheeseburger with some questionably old meat And I love roasted potatoes; nothing says “home” and “comfort” like a roasted sweet potato. But they are wholly unfilling. I topped mine with turmeric and cinnamon for powerful antioxidants.
Hidden Ketchup
Whenever my grandmother made me a cheeseburger, she put the ketchup on top of the burger and then the cheese while it was still cooking so the ketchup got a chance to heat up while the cheese melted. I always thought that was smart, and tasty 😉 Speaking of grandparents and parents, I loved Heather’s post today on just enjoying a day with her mom, and I’d like to wish Matt and his wife a huge congratulations for the birth of their baby!
I think after all that cheese and frozen yogurt, dairy has been capped for the day. Thank God for dark chocolate 😀 In the meantime, here’s a giveaway for Tropical Tradition’s shredded coconut! Yum.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 21 so far )Food Combining
When you eat a lot of food, you eat a wide variety of food; that’s good, right? Maybe not, at least according to the rules of food combining. Food combining, at its core, breaks down foods into their categories and suggests which to pair together for optimal nutrition and which to avoid combining. Proper food combining is supposed to lead to proper digestion.
Nectarine
Fruit, for instance, should always be eaten alone. Accordingly, I snacked on this nectarine before lunch eaten all by itself. I first heard of food combining from Gina, and my first reaction was “Finally, the key!”
A little more time and thought and I’m ready to call this one busted. Why? Well, in a bit of research, I’ve came across a slew of articles such as this article which make it sound more absurd than miraculous; 20,000 years of food digestion and we’ve gotten pretty good at it. I also took in to account that nothing usually digests on its own; that nectarine I ate was undoubtedly sitting on top of my breakfast in my gut even if eaten an hour later. The final straw was that I’d have to accept that 19 years of eating have been done “improperly” if I’m to believe food combining now. I’ve had some bad times on the toilet, but not that much.
Grass-Fed Burger, Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Seasoned Butternut Squash
Burgers and sweet potatoes “don’t combine well”; if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you’d know that meal is a staple in my diet. I meant to have it for lunch, too, but instead I cooked some brussels sprouts in the beef fat and steamed butternut squash in the microwave to the point of being soft. I then tossed those with sea salt, turmeric, and cinnamon. That combination of spices was magnificent and anti-oxidant rich–love it! Dessert was my cookie Friday creation:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Sandwich
How do chocolate, peanut butter, and brownie combine? I obviously didn’t stick around with it long enough before looking in to debunking the myth to find out. All I know is that in my mouth they combine heavenly. The inside was a peanut butter gluten-free chocolate brownie, surrounded by Endangered Species 70% dark chocolate and a layer of 365 brand peanut butter sweetened with Madhava vanilla agave.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Sandwich
OK. I actually ate it uncombined more like this because it was so clumpy; it was still delicious! 😀 By far my favorite bit was the chocolate with peanut butter on top, which was perfectly bitter-sweet. And this chocolate bar is on sale at Whole Foods for the next week! I’m going to stock up over the weekend since I obviously have no problem going through them.
Sweet Potatoes, Maple Syrup, Brussels Sprouts, And Tofu With Maple Syrup
This was my dinner: quite literally combined! I gave new meaning to shake and bake by filling a bag with tofu, sweet potato, and brussels, shaking it with maple syrup to spread that around and baking it at 350 to roast the veggies while cooking the tofu to the perfect texture.
Maple Baked Tofu, Roasted Brussels And Sweet Potato
Maple Baked Tofu, Roasted Brussels And Sweet Potato
I loooooove this combination of maple baked tofu with sweet potato and greens. This feels like the perfect Friday night meal because it’s so homey and warm, and it’s been rain clouds all day. I just wish good food didn’t take so long to prepare! I start dinner at 4:30 to eat at 6:30. But if time is the cost for a healthy meal, I’ll pay up and pay it forward. I added a secret ingredient on top I’m “testing out”. I don’t want to say too much, but I think the flavor works well, and I can’t wait to try making a real recipe with it.
My Verdict
I will not be striving to keep separate my starch from my flesh from my fruit any time soon. Had you heard of food combining? Do you practice it? Does it work for you? I’m not saying my disbelief of it means it’s not the key for somebody. I just read an article last night saying there’s no scientific evidence for a gluten intolerance short of Chron’s Disease, but I know my body enough to say I don’t have Chron’s and still gluten from wheat, barley, and rye upset my stomach. Similarly, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear if food combining is what works for some people. Just not myself.
A giveaway for WoW baked goods–I love these!
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