Pop Quiz

January 27, 2012 By Laura

My inner high schooler is showing.

I used to LOVE taking quizzes. The ones people would pass around in school or MySpace or email… I took them all. To the point where it probably annoyed people.

When I was tagged for this quiz on Claire’s blog, I got ~~unnaturally~~ excited. Thanks Claire!

The rules:

You must post these rules
Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog
Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer

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11 Things About Me

1. I sit on a Swiss ball at work. The desk chair hurts my hips!

2. My co-workers think I’m weird – for the Swiss ball and for the random foods I bring for lunch. Sorry, no Big Macs for me.

3. I haven’t had more than a few bites of meat in 2012. I’m not a vegetarian because I love to try new things and don’t want to feel restricted… but I do have a plant-based diet.

4. 2 years ago I ate about 3-4 burgers and 1 steak a week. Since the end of 2010 I haven’t had more than half of a burger or a bite of steak (with the exception of my 2 weeks in Italy… when in Rome Florence!).

5. I have the a terrible memory when it come to names or events, but I can rattle off recipes and statistics like nobody’s business.

6. In high school I went through a phase where I only work men’s XL shirts and Birkenstocks. Those pictures have been burned.

7. I’ve been going to the same hair stylist since I was 15… despite the fact that I now have to drive an hour to see her. Karen and Lava Hair Studio are the best!

8. If I could have any job, I would develop recipes/new concepts for restaurants.

9. Yes, I really do 100 push-ups nearly every day. No, I don’t do them at once – sets of 3!

10. Red wine is my ~~weakness~~ kryptonite. Specifically, Italian reds. I would even choose it over cookies.

Which leads me to #11…

11. Just like Claire, if I had no other ties or commitments and unlimited funds I would move to Italy and never look back. I might do it anyway.

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Claire’s 11 questions were in list form: “Tell me about your 11 favorite foods (restaurant, grocery store, or homemade).”

This is actually really hard for me – it’s like choosing a favorite child! In no particular order, here’s what comes to mind…

These Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies
Sweet potatoes protein shakes like this one
The hummus from Top Flr. It’s the best I’ve ever had.
My mom’s Carrot Cake (made from my grandmother’s recipe)
Flourless chocolate cake with sea salt and olive oil from La Tavola (with a glass of Amarone)
This Zucchini Bread Oatmeal
Sriracha (a.k.a. Rooster Sauce)
Guacamole – extra jalapenos
Indian food – I don’t care what it is, just pass it this way with extra spice on the side
Gnocchi with shaved black truffles from one of Italy’s first Slow Food restaurants – Osteria dell’ Arco in Alba
Pizza – specifically authentic Italian pizza from places like Antico Pizza

Now I get to tag! It doesn’t say how many people, so I’ll choose 5 because I like prime numbers.

Leanne @ Healthful Pursuit
Christin @ Purple Bird Blog
Holly @ Healthy Everythingtarian
Heather @ Better with Veggies
Carol @ Lucky Zucca

For my 11 questions, I would love to know:

What are your 5 favorite foods?
What are the 3 best things you cook/bake/concoct in the kitchen?
What 3 things you would do first if you were President of the United States?

***

This weekend I’m going to the Atlanta Underground Market again. The theme is Bruch… which I think should always be the theme. 🙂

What are you getting into this weekend?

What are some of your favorite foods? Do we share any of the same?

Citrus Chickpea Cilantro Salad

January 26, 2012 By Laura

Are you ever shocked by how interested people are in a recipe?

You guys were all over the Portobello Jerky yesterday! I’m a little sad that it’s all gone. If you make it, be sure to make 3-4 mushrooms at a time. 1 = gone to fast.

The second most-commented on item was my lunch, a Citrus Chickpea Cilantro Salad that I promised to share today. Well, I promised to share the recipe today. If you were here I’d be tempted to share my physical lunch if you had some of Ari’s Ding Dongs to trade.

Due a bookmarking addiction, I’ve had Heather’s recipe for Cilantro Lime Chickpea Salad for months. With a huge bunch of cilantro in my fridge, this was the perfect time to try it out. As soon as I made this, I emailed the recipe to my mom. It was that delicious.

With the abundance of delicious winter citrus, I used fresh orange juice rather than sugar to sweeten the vinaigrette. I also changed up the spices to make this more Indian-influenced. Use your imagination here – this salad is nice base for a variety of spice blends.

The first serving I ate in a rustic fashion (read: with my fingers right out of the mixing bowl).

The second serving I jazzed up. I spooned out the salad on top of an eggplant patty and then diced a carrot over the top. Colorful and delicious! I love the crunchy carrot against the soft chickpeas and the slight tang of the mustard with the sweetness of the orange juice and fresh carrot. I also sprinkled a ~~shitload~~ few red pepper flakes on top because I’m not happy until I’m crying.

The 3rd serving I added diced avocado and blood orange segments. Best idea ever. If you make this, try it at least once with the avocado. It was phenomenal with the cilantro and the citrus juices – like chickpea chunky guac! As usual, I got too excited and forgot a pic.

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Citrus Chickpea Cilantro Salad

2 C chickpeas, cooked or canned
2 T shallot, chopped finely
2.5 C spinach
1/2 C fresh cilantro
Zest from 1/2 large lime
Juice from 1/2 large lime
Juice from 1/2 medium orange
2 tsp whole grain mustard
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
S+P, to taste

Drain and rinse chickpeas and place in a large bowl with chopped shallot.

In a food processor, pulse cilantro and spinach until fairly finely chopped. Make sure you don’t let it run and turn to mush. Add to chickpea bowl.

Next in the processor combine the zest, juices, mustard, garlic, oil, and spices. Adjust spices, salt and pepper to taste.

Pour dressing over the chickpea mixture and stir to combine. Adjust spices and allow to rest for 15 mins in order for flavors to marry.

Plate with grains, create a veggie sandwich (awesome in pita pocket!), or enjoy as a side.

Makes 2 mains or 4 sides.

Note: I started with dried chickpeas. I soaked them in water over night. The next morning I cooked them in a pot with a bay leaf and 2 garlic cloves over low heat for 3 hours. The bay leaf and garlic gave them a great, subtle flavor!

***

I am over-the-moon today because yesterday I made the Daily Buzz Top 9 and today I made the FoodBuzz Top 9! Thank you for the buzz – I’m truly honored. xoxo

Do any of you have that genetic thing that makes cilantro tastes like soap? You could try this with parsley. 🙂

Make me feel like less of a dork… do you call your mom when you make something really awesome?

Raw-ish Vegan Jerky + WIAW

January 25, 2012 By Laura

All day yesterday I thought it was Monday.

Funny how now that it’s Wednesday, I’m feeling like Friday is not so far away.

This week has really been awesome – tons of cooking, which means I have LOTS to share with you. More to come!

For now, lets cheers to chalkboard wine glasses, kick-ass workouts, being half way to Friday, and my friend Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday.

Breakfast:

After last week’s hotel oatmeal ick, this more than made up for it:

Overnight oats in an almond butter jar. Pure bliss.

Oatmeal
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Chia seeds
Pumpkin puree
Almond butter jar remnants
Cinnamon
Vanilla
4-5 drops of vanilla liquid Stevia
A little TBA chocolate something crumbled in. 🙂

Lunch:

Another bit of amazingness. Citrus Chickpea Cilantro Salad with carrots atop an eggplant patty.

Recipe for this deliciousness coming tomorrow!

Dinner:

You may be familiar with a little problem I have. When I go out I sometimes get so excited about the meal that I forget to take pics. This is all that remained of my post-workout dinner last night:

That WAS a side salad, 2 veggie tacos, a chips and salsa trio, and a Patron Silver margarita. Whoops.

More proof that Taqueria del Sol remains my favorite intown taco joint.

Snacks:

Continuing with last week’s blogger recipes, I tried Gena @ Choosing Raw’s Portabello Jerky. It was a fantastically salty, satisfyingly chewy afternoon snack. Seriously – Gena is a genius.

My raw-sih version of Gena’s raw jerky is at the bottom of this post!

Lucky me was asked to taste-test a new cookie recipe for Cookie Underground. I mentioned trying these veggie-based cookies at the Atlanta Underground Market here.

My test-kit included an original recipe and 4 alternatives for their Parsnip Vanilla flavor. In my mind there was a clear winner. Check them out on Facebook to read more!

Apparently I need to rename this blog dessert underground because my pre-workout snack was on of these vegan Granola Cookies:

At just 3g of sugar and over 1g of protein, can you blame me? P.S. They freeze perfectly.

Last, there was a vegan, gluten-free post-workout dessert.

I promise to share next week – I want to make one more batch to test with more soda. Let’s just say they are silky in texture, impossibly chocolate-y, and inspired by a Cookie Underground concept. 😉

Raw-ish Portabello Jerky

1 large Portabello mushroom
1 tsp soy sauce
1tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
3 drops liquid Stevia
3-4 twist of freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients. Slice ‘shroom into 1/2 inch thick sticks and marinate overnight in refrigerator overnight.

Place on foil-lined baking sheet and cook in 170 degree oven* for ~3 hours.

*Note: Gena had a dehydrator – check out her instructions for raw jerky details. For those of us without… just set your oven at it’s lowest temp (mine is 170 degrees). It’s raw-ish. 🙂

***

I’m really into vegan/low-sugar cooking and baking lately! It’s fun to try different style and I love feeling so clean.

Have you tried vegan jerky? Have you tried “real” jerky?

Do you feel a little the-end-is-near relief on Wednesday?

DIY (Chinese) New Year Noodles

January 24, 2012 By Laura

She’s crafty, and she’s just my type…

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you know why this song is stuck in my head. I did something crafty!

Like everyone else, I am addicted to Pinterest. One of the first items I “pinned” were chalkboard wine glasses. I’m not crafty. When I see something cool, I look for a way to buy it. Chalkboard wine glasses can be bought, but they are wayyyyy overpriced ($60 for 1 glass and a carafe… nothankyou). I had no choice but to be crafty.

The whole process was super easy – I followed the instructions from this “pin” to a tee. All it takes is a spray can of chalkboard paint and 6 wine glasses (which you can find on the cheap at Home Goods or T.J. Maxx).

PSA: You’ll notice there are only 5 glasses pictured. Do not drive around with a box of 6 wine glasses in the back of your car for 2 weeks. Consider yourself warned.

I can’t wait for the next wine gathering at my place!

P.S. I swear I wasn’t drinking rose in the middle of the day (or ever – blech). I poured myself of glass of this deliciousness:

My Whole Foods sells growlers of my favorite kombucha – Buchi Fire. 🙂

I love you Whole Foods… it’s my wallet that doesn’t.

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In the continued spirit of DIY, I avoided a typical Chinese New Year takeout celebration yesterday by cooking my own Asian-flavored meal.

Weeks ago I purchased a bag of kelp noodles… and for weeks I’ve been staring at them in the fridge, unsure of what to do with them. Last night, in the spirit of the Chinese New Year I busted them out.

I realize these noodles aren’t necessarily Chinese, but kelp feels like it should be Asian. Sushi > seaweed > kelp. See the connection?

Any how, I felt I needed to get in the spirit with an Asian-themed new noodle dish.

I love, love the sauté goodness I conjured to go with my kelp noodles – the simple mix was filled with flavor. As it cooked, the ginger, shallots, and garlic made my kitchen smell better than Chinatown.

The noodles… I’m still unsure. They were oddly rubbery and crunchy. I had to use kitchen shears to cut them apart in order to eat. The texture did grow on me as I ate them, and the taste really was neutral.

Bonus: You can eat the entire package, as 1 serving only contains 6 calories and 1g carbs. Really – it’s only water and kelp. They are also a RAW food – upon further research I learned you can marinate them in lemon juice to “cook” them and help the texture.

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Chinese New Year Noodles

2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 large shallot, minced
1 in piece of fresh ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 serrano pepper
1/4 C edamame beans (shelled)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 C spinach
1 pkg kelp noodles (or any noodle/rice)
cilantro, for garnish

In a large skillet, toast sesame seeds over medium heat until just browning. Transfer to plate to cool.

In same skillet, heat sesame oil. Sauté ginger and shallot for ~5 mins, until shallot becomes translucent and ginger is fragrant. Add garlic, pepper, and edamame. Cook until softened and garlic is turning golden (~3-4 mins).

Reduce heat to medium low. Add soy sauce and vinegar, stirring to combine. Add spinach and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally (~8-9 mins).

Add kelp noodles (or cooked noodles/rice) to the pan. Stir well to coat in mixture. Continue cooking until noodles are warmed through.

Transfer to plates and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and cilantro.

Serves 2.

***

The real test will be if I do any of the other DIY projects I’ve pinned. Oddly, most involve vino…

Have you ever crafted something from Pinetrest (or another website)?

Have you ever tried kelp noodles? Tofu noodles?

Greek Protein Mess

January 23, 2012 By Laura

By Friday of last week I had to force myself out the door for a workout.

I say forced because I am determined to do cardio everyday and I just wasn’t feeling it. Not being able to run is dragging me down… 30 mins on the elliptical (or any machine) is not my idea of fun. My ADD and I need scenery! I tried to push it this week with running… every time the pain becomes excruciating at 0.8 miles.

Anyway, Friday I stayed on the elliptical by promising myself that if I was really miserable I could stop after 10 min… then 20 mins. This works really well for me – by the time I get to those marks, I tell myself “10 more mins isn’t going to KILL you.”

30 looooong minutes later, I did 45 mins of Back/Biceps. I coaxed myself through some heavier weights with thoughts of breakfast. #fatkid

Specifically the Greek Protein Mess waiting in my fridge. I wish I’d heated it so I could call it a hot mess.

Have you guys seen the Wallaby Greek Yogurt? I found it a Whole ~~Paycheck~~ Foods last week and fell in love. This is the creamiest, most flavorful Greek I’ve tried (~~that’s what she said~~)! 17g of protein and just 4 g of sugar, its my dream yogurt.

With the last of the container I was hoarding, I made a post-workout protein-filled mess. Mess because it was a total hodge podge… and I had the shakes (sure sign of a good gym session) so bad that I spilled the protein powder and the cinnamon and then sloshed the chocolate milk out of my bowl.

This is one mess I plan to make again! Recipe following the recap.

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So… yeah. My knee. I’m frustrated. It better not ruin my plans to run the Nashville Rock ‘N Roll Half in April! I’ve been really good about getting cardio in with the elliptical and the stationary bike. The Mile-a-Day Challenge has been just the motivation I need.

I’ve also been loving Body Rock. The hotel I stayed in last week had a terrible gym, but Body Rock saved the day. The 30 Day Challenge is no joke! Especially the Sean’s part of the Day 3 workout. Holy quad burn, Batman.

Workout Recap (1/16 – 1/22)

Monday – 100 push-ups
Tuesday – Body Rock Day 2, 1 mile run, Shoulders, 100 push-ups
Wednesday – This Body Rock, 1 mile run, Ab Ripper X
Thursday – Body Rock Day 3, Stationary bike (intervals)
Friday – Bis/Back, Elliptical (intervals)
Saturday – Body Rock Day 4, 1 mile run, 20 spiderman push-ups
Sunday – 1/2 mile run (knee gave up), Tris/Chest, Ab work*, 100 push-ups

*Sunday’s ab work was basic but good – if you ever need a quickie just try doing 100 reps of your favorite ab exercises. I did 100 sit-ups on the exercise ball, 100 bicycle abs, and 100 baby crunches. Then I did Hayley’s 6 minute plank rotation.

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Greek Protein Mess

1/2 C plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
1 T chia seeds
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 tsp peanut flour
1 tsp maca
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
5-6 drops NuNaturals Liquid Coca Stevia
Apple

Mix everything (except the apple) in a bowl and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Remove and stir, adding more milk if necessary.

Top with diced apple, or other fruit of choice.

Refuel yourself!

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This weekend I completed a fun art project (and I’m NOT artsy like my aunt). Can’t wait to share with you tomorrow!!!

Do you like doing cardio on machines? How do you get through it?

Some of you said last week you were doing/wanted to do Body Rock. How do you like it so far?

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner: A Tribute

January 20, 2012 By Laura

Today is a tribute.

Friday seems like the perfect time to celebrate some fantastic bloggers who have inspired some of the best meals I’ve had. This list is not at all exhaustive, but it’s what I’ve had lately for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.