Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Raw Sweet Potato Hummus + WIAW

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Can eating too much orange food really tint your skin?

I think I may be in danger.  

Between the carrots and sweet potatoes I’ve been eating today, I’m going to look like a Jersey Girl.  GTL!

For real – it’s called Carotenosis.

 

Luckily Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday doesn’t go green until March.  Orange fits perfectly with the February vegetable theme.

 

Breakfast:

This morning I met my boss for breakfast a “famous” local breakfast spot, The Flying Biscuit.  While boss-man is used to my picture-taking, my stomach wasn’t used to waiting so late to eat.  Totally forgot to take a picture.

No matter.  My tofu scramble wasn’t that great.  I would have rather had my homemade Indian-Inspired Tofu Scramble:

Lunch:

My Foodie Penpal, Laura, has created a monster.  I made another round of Bibimbap using the ingredients she sent me in this month’s package.

It’s an addiction.  That crunchy rice and  spicy sauce ain’t whack.

Click here to check out the recipe I posted yesterday.  The only change today was that I served it with cucumber rather than carrots.

Snacks:

First us was my first juice creation in the Vitamix.  It was all veggie and all delish!  This was a post workout snack, so I added my Sun Warrior protein powder.  I was worried that would make it a weird consistency, but it was quite pleasant!

In my juice:

  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tsp maca
  • 1 C spinach
  • Handful of wheat grass
  • 1/4 C parsley
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 1 in piece of ginger
  • 3-4 drops stevia
  • 2 in piece of cinnamon (I tossed a real stick in and it WORKED!)
  • 1/2 C water

Snack #2 was a recipe I’ve had marked from Rande @ The Vegetable Centric Kitchen.  Can you guess what this deliciousness is?

RAW Sweet Potato Hummus.  It was insanely good, and an embarrassing amount was consumed… much of it straight from the blender.  I made a few modifications (recipe at the end of this post).

The only difference in using a raw sweet potato is that it isn’t quite as sweet as it would be if it had cooked and caramelized a bit.  To me, this makes it a perfect hummus candidate.

The liquid smoke added a neat dimension with the nutty-sweet tahini, and the spices were just enough to give it a kick on the end.  Even cooler was the addition of Meyer lemon and miso.  These added some sweetness, along with a little tang and saltiness!

Of course, I also had my daily Kombucha!  Served from my growler of Buchi Fire from Whole Foods.

Dinner:

The orange didn’t stop at snack time.  Even post-cleanse I have been craving an increasing amount of raw food.  For dinner I ate the rainbow in the form of this giant salad.

In my salad:

  • Spinach
  • Broccoli and radish sprouts
  • Shredded red cabbage
  • Cucumber
  • Carrot
  • Celery
  • Tomato
  • Onions
  • Sweet Potato Hummus Dressing (1 T hummus + 1 T apple cider vinegar + 2 drops stevia)
  • Angela @ Oh She Glows’ Endurance Crackers

Angela’s Endurance Crackers have been on my list to try for a long time as well.  I needed something to go with all that hummus, so today seemed the perfect day to try them out!  My only modification was to use 2 tsp of the Ras al Hanout spice blend made for my Babaganoush Soup rather than her onion-salt-herb blend.

If you haven’t tried this recipe, I highly recommend it.  I’d love to try a sweet-cinnamon version in the future!

Dessert:

Cinnamon-Vanilla Ice Cream.  The Vitamix was me on a wintertime ice cream bender.  I was working late and felt yet another treat bowl was in order.  Thank god it can be made healthy!  This purple bowl inefficiently hides a “secret” ingredient.

The ice cream blend is really easy – unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla, stevia, cinnamon, and ice… and the secret ingredient.  Purple Cabbage.

I know you think I’ve lost it, but I swear on my shoe collection that not a trace of cabbage taste could be detected.

 

Sweet Potato Hummus

Modified from this recipe from Rande @ The Vegetable Centric Kitchen

  • 1 medium sweet potato (raw and unpeeled)
  • 2 T tahini
  • 4-5 drops liquid smoke
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 Meyer lemon
  • 1 T water
  • 1 tsp yellow miso
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 T fresh thyme

Toss everything in food processor or blender and until smooth.

Note: If using Vitamix, toss the whole lemon in; otherwise, only use the juice of the lemon.

Make 1.5 cups.

***

Spicie Foodie’s “Your Best Recipe” for the month of Feburary is up today!  Hop over to her site to check out my Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes and everyone else’s awesome contributions!

Do you ever intentionally try to eat more raw food?

Do you watch Jersey Shore?  I’m amazed at how passionate people are about it!

Cleanse Recap + A New Addition

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There is a new addition in my family.

 

Hang with me and you’ll see what the addition is and why I went for it…

Friday night we had another cleanse buddies dinner.  My friend Kathleen decided to begin the cleanse on Friday, so Mallory and I had a great time re-hashing our experiences with her.  (Click here for the “rules” and post #1.)

 

My first experience doing this cleanse was in November of 2010.  It was HARD.  My eating habits were not clean – I ate too many burgers, drank too much booze, and had a sugar addiction.  Needless to say, the first few days were a shock to my body.  I was tried, cold, and grouchy.  And constipated.

1 week before the 2010 cleanse

 

This time around I didn’t have as difficult a time.  My eating habits had remained fairly clean since that first cleanse; however, I noticed some old habits beginning to creep in and wanted to give my body a little reminder of how good clean feels.

 

Some observations:

  • Caffeine wasn’t as hard as I thought to give up.  My friend, Mallory, who also cleansed noted that after day 4 she actually had MORE energy without her previous 5-6 caffeinated beverages a day habit.
  • My overall energy level was excellent.  I slept better and the circles under my eyes lightened.
  • Digestively speaking… I’ve always struggled with “regularity.”  That was all better by day 3 of the cleanse.
  • At the risk of TMI, I must warn you to beware of gas – all of those greens are potent.  It’s healthy, but others around you may not appreciate that. 😉
  • My daily exercise didn’t change, and there wasn’t any difference with the amount of effort I was able to exert.  In fact, I increased my weight toward then end of week 2.  Popeye was on to something!
  • Creatively this cleanse has been a win.  Tighter food parameters force you to think outside of the box, which has resulted in some of the best meals I’ve had in a while.
  • Weight loss was NOT my goal.  I maintained my weight throughout the cleanse.  Again, my eating habits didn’t drastically change and I made an effort to have an extra protein shake or chia pudding every day.  My cleanse buddy’s eating habits changed pretty drastically… she lost 10 lbs!!!  Congrats, my bestie!
  • Hunger was never a problem.  People were always asking “aren’t you starving?”  Nope.  You would be shocked how filling veggies can be.  I actually was forcing myself to eat more some days!  I also planned ahead (see tips below) to make sure I was never caught without a food option.

 

 

The most common question I’ve been asked is surrounding how time-consuming making all of this food is.  The short answer is that yes, it takes more time.

The longer answer is that it isn’t that hard if you PLAN.  I have a full-time job and am perpetually running late – I’m not someone who has hours to spend on cooking during the week.  My cleanse-buddy has a full-time job, a 7 month old baby, and a husband that travels all week.  If we can eat clean, you can too!

 

 

Here are some ways to make clean eating easier, whether you are cleansing or simply trying to eat better.

Preparation tips:

  • Bookmark/pin/note recipes you like and write down your weekly menu.  This way when you go to make your grocery list and/or prepare meals, you can do so quickly and not worry about scrounging through the fridge to see what you could throw together.
  • Reserve time to prepare food.  On Sunday nights I make a big pot of soup, roast veggies (squash, beets, eggplant, etc), pre-cook wild rice and/or lentils, and pre-cut veggies.
  • Always keep snacks on hand.  If you are anything like me, when you don’t have anything to eat you go into “panic” mode and have the urge to grab whatever is nearby.  Don’t let that happen!  Keep veggie sticks, fresh fruit, and other healthy snack items on hand so you never have to worry.
  • Don’t be afraid to get creative.  Creative doesn’t mean difficult (these roasted tomatoes looked impressive, but were incredibly easy), but it does mean you won’t get bored with your food and abandon clean eating.  There’s no need to eat a salad every meal.
  • Prepare extra food.  Leftovers make great work-bag lunches and are easy to grab when you end up getting home later than you intended.
  • Get a good blender.  Smoothies are fast and easy, especially in the morning as you’re rushing to get ready for work.  They are also an easy way to get extra protein by adding a scoop of a good (low-sugar) protein powder, and an extra serving of veggies add a cup of spinach (the only evidence is the color).  I love my Magic Bullet because it makes the drink right in the cup… I also love my new toy.

 

A HUGE bonus to the cleanse was cost savings.  My pre-cleanse spending habits cost me about $300 more each week than I spent on the cleanse.  That means I’ve saved $900 in 3 weeks.

My bad influence friend Kathleen suggested that I take that some of that money and use it on something to help me maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Aaaaaand that brings me to the new addition.

 

I got a VITAMIX!!! I’ve had it for 2 days and it has already changed my life.  They are pricy…. but I think it’s going to be worth every penny.

Saturday night I celebrated with Sweet Potato Ice Cream.

Vitamix > Magic Bullet

 

Sunday morning I celebrated with a thick Carrot-Mango-Ginger Smoothie.  I’ve never had such a smooth, delicious breakfast.  I’ll be adding ginger to everything I can now; it added a great zing without overshadowing the sweetness from the carrot and the mango.

Check out the recipe at the bottom of this post.  I’m dying of happiness.

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This week was a little ADD in terms of workouts.  I didn’t have a clear focus of what I wanted to do and have (once again) been slacking on cardio.  I find it really hard to do without being able to run!

I DID do my final BodyRock fit test.  Extreme soreness had me waiting a couple of days, and clearly I didn’t stick to the 30 days exactly.  Each move is done for 50 seconds, with a 10 second rest in between.  I didn’t really except to see much more progress… but I did make a little more!  Funny thing is that I’m getting worse at burpees.  I blame the push-ups leading in to them.

 

There were a couple of fun new workouts this week.  Atlanta Fitness Diva gym contacted me asking if I’d like to try a workout.  Of course I would!  That took place Thursday and kicked my butt.  Literally.  We focused on glutes and I am STILL sore.  They are a but pricey to join, but I really enjoyed the small-group circuits we did.

 

The other new addition was the GAINfitness app.  Cait @ Beyond Bananas posted about it last week.  This app will let you tell it time, equipment available, and what you want to focus on and then put together a workout for you.  All you do it hit “start” and it walks you through with a timer for rest periods!  Check out  Cait’s post for a more thorough explanation.

 

Workout Recap (2/20 – 2/26)

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Carrot-Mango-Ginger Smoothie

  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1/4 large mango
  • 1-in piece of fresh ginger
  • 1/2 C unsweetened coconut milk (or other liquid)
  • 1 tsp maca (optional)
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 capful vanilla extract
  • 6-7 drops liquid stevia
  • Ice, to taste (I used a LOT)

 

Place everything in blender and mix to combine.

Top as desired (I sprinkled some flax and cinnamon), and enjoy!

***

Sunday I was honored to make the FoodBuzz Top 9 for my Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Roasted Tomatoes.  Thank you for the Buzz, and welcome new friends! 🙂

Also, it’s time for the February edition of Spicie Foodie’s Your Best Recipe.  Click the badge for more info on joining, and be sure to check back when recipes are posted on March 1st!

Do you have a Vitamix?  Please share recipes! 🙂

Do you have any tips for eating well?

 

Provençal Tomato Spread + WIAW

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Is it just me…

or are more people are going plant-based?

I started reading restaurant menus (because that’s what I do for fun) to see who has veg-friendly offerings and it has really impressed me that most restaurants offer some sort of vegetarian/vegan dish that is more than pasta drowning in oily stir-fried vegetables.

It warms my plant-based, cleansing heart.

Jenn has also warmed my heart by hosting this month’s What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) in the theme of  vegetable.

Breakfast:

I post a lot of smoothies… most of them are really good despite their color.  In case you ever questioned my honesty/sanity/taste-buds, I must admit to you that this smoothie was not great.

Blueberries do not go with avocado.  The.  End.

On happier note, I did get confirmation that my Valentine’s Roasted Beet and Orange Smoothie was indeed good.  Check out this pic from reader Ashley, who tweeted: “The verdict is in… yummy!”

Thanks to Ashley for the feedback a lovely pic!

Lunch:

Monday night’s french-themed book club left me with some leftovers (thank god because I woke up LATE).

See that pretty stuffed tomato?  I promise to share the recipe with you tomorrow.  It was really friggin’ good… and deserving of it’s very own post. 🙂

I ate that atop a leftover eggplant-seitan stir-fry and some lentils.

Snacks:

Kombucha!  Whole Foods was out of my favorite Buchi Fire, but they were having a sale on GT’s.  I was sad to see this bottom of this bottle.

Snack time was a bag full of veggies with a simple, herb-y Provençal dip left over from the par-tay.  I loved the colors in this dish, and the briny saltiness from the capers and sun-dried tomatoes were perfect paired with crisp veggies for dipping.  (Recipe at the bottom of this post)

How cute is the reusable baggie?  My mom got it for me… it’s from Snack Taxi, but I think she got it at The Container Store.  I’m going green left and right!

Dinner:

I felt like I needed more raw food in my life after a heavier lunch, so dinner was a colorful salad.  A massive, colorful salad.  This was not served on a tiny salad plate:

In my ensalada:

  • Arugula
  • Broccoli and radish sprouts
  • Shredded brussels (raw)
  • Grapefruit
  • Beets
  • French green beans
  • Cucumber
  • Red onion
  • Tempeh croutons 
  • Lemon-thyme vinaigrette
  • Sprinkle of cardamom, salt, and pepper

If you haven’t eaten beets with grapefruit before, you should do so immediately.  I’m not talking those sour grapefruits – get the vibrant pink sweet ‘fruits that are in season right now.  #Nom 

Dessert:

This Sweet Potato Pie Chia Pudding I posted earlier this month made an appearance.  I added a pinch of cardamom to the mix last night, which was fabulous.  However…

I didn’t take a picture because I was too pissed at myself for doing this:

Another one bites the dust…

At least I’d just had a relaxing Hour of Happiness after work so the string of words that came outta my mouth weren’t as bad as they could have been. 😉

Diffusion de Tomate Provençal (Provençal Tomato Spread)

Modified from this recipe by Kathleen Flynn

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 5 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated and chopped
  • 15 Nicoise olives (or Kalamata), chopped
  • 2 tsp capers, chopped
  • 2 T rosemary
  • 1/2 -1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 C fresh basil, chiffonade (cut into thin strips)

Warm olive oil over medium heat in a small pan.  Add bell pepper and onions, and sauté until soft.  Add garlic and cook a minute more until fragrant.  Add chopped tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and vinegar and cook over low heat for another 7-8 mins.  Remove from heat.

When cool, add basil.  Add pepper to taste.

Note: This can be made up to 2 days in advance.  If making in advance, do not add basil until just before serving.  Taste again and adjust spices as they settle.

This is delicious with crackers, veggie sticks, or even atop grilled tofu or chicken.

Serves 8-10 as an appetizer/dip.

***

The floor is still sticky from that spill.  I swear I’ll clean it up before the next dinner at my house tonight.

Can anyone relate.. any recent mishaps?

Do you find that the world is becoming more vegetarian and/or vegan-friendly?

Butternut Squash-Cherry Bomb +WIAW

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We’re half way there… whoaaaa, livin’ on a prayer…

Last Wednesday I shared with you all that 2 friends and I began the Standard Process Cleanse.  Which means this is another super-clean What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW).  And by Wednesday, I mean Tuesday. 🙂

10 days in to the cleanse (half way – woot!), I can honestly say that I haven’t been hungry one time.  Veggies are really filling!  Admittedly, eating and plant-based diet with no processed foods or breads is more time consuming.  The key is to be sure you are prepared.

For instance, on Sunday I roasted beets, butternut squash, and spaghetti squash.  Easy fixin’s for smoothies, salads, and “pastas.”

Don’t forget to check out Jenn’s blog to see what everyone else at this Wednesday during this veggie-centric month!

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Breakfast:

Ice cream isn’t legal, but that didn’t stop me from a Neapolitan smoothie.

It didn’t stay so pretty after it was fully mixed… but these things happen when you mix green, red, and orange.

Trust me, it tasted better than it looks here:

Butternut Squash-Cherry Bomb Smoothie

  • 1 C spinach
  • 1/2 C butternut squash, roasted
  • 1/2 C black cherries
  • 1/2 C unsweetened vanilla coconut milk (a la So Delicious)
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 5-6 drops vanilla stevia
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp guar gum (optional)
  • Shake of allspice
  • Shake of salt

Looks bad, taste good. 🙂

Lunch:

The deliciousness below is brought to you by a new (to me) blog: The Vegetable Centric Kitchen.

Rande makes some delicious-looking, vegetarian dishes.  This is her Zucchini Pasta with Lemon Tahini Sauce and Roasted Crimini Mushrooms.

Since I don’t have a spiralizer, I used the nifty orange tool picture below to peel my zucchini.  I’m not sure what it’s called other than a peeler with razor teeth, but thanks to OXO from gift from the FoodBuzz Festival!

My tweaks:

  • Used a mix of crimini, oyster, and shiitake mushrooms
  • Sautéed my mushrooms and onions in coconut oil
  • Edited the sauce: 2 T tahini, 1/2 lemon juiced, 1 garlic clove (pressed), heaping 1/4 tsp sriracha, S+P, and a bit of water to thin it out.

I’ll be making this on the regular – especially that sauce.  It’s going to be making an appearance as a sauce for broccolini tomorrow night!  Thanks, Rande!

Snacks:

More veggies! (Try to hide your surprise.)

This dip was ah-mazing with my celery and flax cracker (flax seeds are cleanse-legal!).  Recipe to come! 🙂

 

Pre-dinner snack was another shake – this time with avocado!  Nothing earth-shattering in this one…banana, avocado, protein powder, almond extract, cinnamon, vanilla stevia, water, and ice.  You’ve seen it all before… I’m scared my shakes are going to bore you! 🙂

Dinner:

I mentioned yesterday that I had some super-cool Valentine’s Day plans cleanse dinner with by best friend!  And her baby boy.  And her mom.  These are some of my favorite people in the world, so it was actually a really nice way to spend Valentine’s Day.

This un-photogenic brown soup was my contribution.  It’s a Sweet Potato-Pineapple-Eggplant Curry soup served over wild rice.  I’d had it pinned to try for a while, but it was just ok.  I’d try again to tweak it to my liking… but honestly it was so time-consuming I don’t think it’s worth it.  That takes A LOT for me to say.

More delicious was the raw French green bean salad Mallory made.  She tossed them with olive oil, lots of lemon, dill, and a few other herbs.  It was fantastically light and the dill was wonderful.

Note to self: use dill more often!

Lastly, I received the nicest surprise – Mallory’s mom brought us both flowers!  I was the lucky Valentine’s recipient of a gorgeous bouquet of white tulips.

Overall, it was a nice V-Day.  Even if it was chocolate-free.

***

I’m driving to AL for a client meeting with my boss.  It’s my first one to lead in this role… nervous!!!

What was the best Valentine’s treat/dish you had yesterday?

Do you prep food for week on Sundays?

High 5 for Monday

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So many new things to talk about!

 

This weekend has been the most low key I’ve had in a while, but it was much needed.  I hit the ultimate level of productivity: not only did I wash the sheets, but I also washed the mattress cover and flipped the mattress.  Be honest: when was the last time you washed you mattress cover?

 

As much as I know you all are riveted by my cleaning accomplishments, here are 5 other announcements that might be more interesting to you (I know my mattress is riveting).

 

1. I am excited to announce that I am a Recipe Guru @ Around the Plate.

You can just call me “Guru” if you wish. 😉

There’s a new button on my side bar for easy access to the site.  If you click on it, go to “thePlate Community” tab and click on Recipe Gurus.  I’m the second from the bottom.

I am excited about the chance to share fun food ideas with more people… and the added motivation to keep it clean. 🙂

 

2. My Recipage is live!

This is really exciting because it will be MUCH easier to search recipes, ingredients, etc on Sprint 2 the Table.  I’m done with Breakfasts and Mains.  All new recipes will be added on Recipage from now on.  Check it out on the top menu bar!

It’s a slow process, but I thought I’d go ahead and unveil it… which will force me to speed it up. 😉

 

 

3. The Blend Retreat is May 4-6th in Boulder, CO.

 

Blend was named from the combo of two things: Blogger + Friend = Blend!  It’s designed to be “relaxed, laid back retreat for healthy living, food and fitness bloggers across North America!!  Instead of focusing on seminars and speakers, the focus will be on FELLOWSHIP and having a weekend away to get to know one another in real life!”

I’m going and you should too!  Tickets are just $75 and there are some great sponsors and activities planned (dinners, hikes, bootcamp class, etc).  Seriously – for this price I was shocked to see how much is included.  Click here for the schedule and here for the list of attendees.

 

4. The dinner with my cleanse buddies was a win.

 

We had so much fun.  One friend brought a delicious avocado-red pepper soup and the other brought an awesome fruit blend covered in cinnamon for dessert.

I brought back another old cleanse recipe – Mamma’s Italian Stir-Fry.  It was just as good the second time around!  This is a great recipe for using what you have.  I used portobello mushrooms rather than shiitake, used 1 huge eggplant, added a red pepper, and tossed in some apple cider vinegar and ground oregano.

 

We ate dinner (sans wine for the first time ever), enjoyed fruit for dessert out of martini glasses, talked about the random smoothies we’ve been making (no one likes what blueberries do texture-wise when blended), and then enjoyed a rousing game of Clue.  Old school and awesome.  Until I lost.

 

5. I ate some ugli.

Ugli fruit, that is.  Have you guys ever seen these?  They are indeed ugly on the outside, but taste like an orange-y grapefruit.  Not quite as sweet as an orange, but it lacked the bitterness of a grapefruit.  I loved it as part of my breakfast!

 

According to Wikipedia, the Ugli fruit was discovered growing in the wild and is a hybrid of a grapefruit, orange, and tangerine.

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This week was a good one for weights… a little lacking on cardio.  I get to try running again on Wednesday and I think my body know that and is subsequently rebelling against the elliptical.  I hate that thing!

Most exciting is my BodyRock progress.  This week’s first video included a progress check – we were to re-do the fit test from Day 1.  I honestly didn’t think I’d improve that much.  For 50 seconds you do as many of each exercise below, take 10 seconds of rest, and then move on to the the next.

 

Apparently I wasn’t feeling the burpees (I was really sore… also, I hate them), but I was really blown away at the improvement in tuck jumps!  All of this without buying any of their equipment.  It can be done with free weights and a bench (or couch).

I can’t wait to see what the final 2 weeks of the BodyRock 30 Day Challenge brings!

 

Workout Recap (2/6 – 2/12)

***

Added benefit of the cleanse: I spent about $350 less this week than I normally do.  Holy cost savings.

What did you do this weekend?

Did it suddenly become arctic where you live?  I actually saw snow flurries!

 

Sweet Potato Pie Chia Pudding

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We’re on Day 5 of a successful cleanse!

16 to go.

Honestly, it hasn’t been hard.  It’s been so great having the friend support, and seeing them feel good makes me even more determined.

Results come quickly!  My friend sent me the following message yesterday morning:

I have an inordinate amount of energy.  This from a girl who consumed no less than 6 servings a day of caffeine… I’m like, let me clean the whole house, do laundry, and work all day with my kid on my hip.  WOO!

I’m so proud of my best friend!!!

The daily breakfast smoothies continue.  I do love smoothies.  With all of the random things I throw in them, I rarely end up with the same concoctions (except my favorite Liquid Sweet Potato Pie).

Atlanta is finally getting cold(er) this week and the thought of a cold drink for breakfast was too much to handle.  Then I remembered – seeds are allowed on the cleanse… that makes chia pudding legal!

I typically make fruit-based chia puddings like this peach cobbler chia or this banana cashew… but there was a giant sweet potato staring at me.  With my favorite smoothie in mind, I decided to try it as a chia pudding.

Sweet Potato Pie Chia Pudding.  Sweet chia, it was good.

Nuts aren’t allowed, so that ruled out adding my usual nut butters… again, seeds are legal… sesame… tahini!

Turned out to be a genius mix-in.  The nutty, toasty flavor came through subtly, adding a cool dimension.

The martini glass certainly added something as well. 🙂

Sweet-potato-chia-pudding

Sweet Potato Pie Chia Pudding

  • 1/4 large sweet potato, baked
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/2 C unsweetened vanilla coconut milk (or other liquid of choice)
  • 2 tsp tahini
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ginger
  • 2-3 drops vanilla stevia
  • Shake of salt
  • Pinch cloves

In a bowl, mash up the sweet potato until smooth.  Mix in all other ingredients and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or overnight).  If it looks too thick, add more milk or water as needed.

Stir and enjoy!

***

Weekends are always my clean-eating weakness, so I’m really excited to have a dinner and game night with my cleanse buddies!

Have you made chia pudding before?

Are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this weekend?  Share your plans – let me live vicariously!

Clean(se) Eating + WIAW

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My friends and I went crazy.

Monday we kicked off a cleanse.

21 days of veggies, fruits, and protein shakes.  We also get a serving of lentils or wild rice per day, and on day 11 we can add 1 (4 oz) serving of deep sea fish or chicken (I’ll be adding tempeh). Yep – I’m bringing back the Standard Process Cleanse and taking my friends down with me.

We have been exchanging smoothie pics (mine are the greenest – bwhahaha!), sending desperate emails inspired by caffeine-withdraw… MMSing refrigerator pics…

Mallory’s fridge, post-WF trip

We are also planning cleansing group dinners.  Friday is group dinner #1 and game night.  In lieu of wine, I suggested we make grape smoothies.  If we ferment the grapes ourselves, is it cleanse-approved?

Needless to say, this is going to be the cleanest What I Ate Wednesday I’ve posted in a loooong while. 🙂

AND Jenn read my mind because she’s encouraging everyone to post a veggie-centric WIAW.  Check out Jenn’s blog to see what everyone else at this Wednesday!

Breakfast:

Breakfast is the hardest meal.  There’s not a lot of traditional breakfast food that are “approved” other than smoothies and fruit bowls.  Smoothie it is.

This morning was my all-time favorite smoothie: Liquid Sweet Potato Pie.

I do really like protein smoothies, and often eat them for breakfast post-workout… but some days you just want a warm bowl of oatmeal!

Lunch:

I revived an old cleanse favorite from when mom and I did this in 2010.  This is probably my favorite soup ever: Butternut Squash-Apple Soup.

My only tweak was to use fresh basil instead the rosemary… then I added some dried rosemary too ’cause I love it.

Lunch part 2 was a GIANT salad.  I tend to bring these to work to be eaten directly from the plastic container when I have about half of the greens left.

In my salad:

  • Arugula
  • Raw asparagus (julienned)
  • Leftover roasted zucchini
  • Celery
  • Broccoli sprouts
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Lemon juice + EVOO

Snacks:

Midday veggie break with dip – as much as it may look like a turd, that’s eggplant dip.  Veggies dipped in veggies, FTW.

Post-dinner snack dessert was a protein banana softserv.

In my serv:

  • Frozen banana
  • 1 scoop protein powder
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 5-6 drops vanilla stevia
  • ~1/3 C unsweetened vanilla coconut milk
  • With berries on top

Dinner:

Last night Heather came over for dinner.  She was nice enough to loan me her bike for a bit while my knee heals, and I offered dinner (and wine… which I now can’t have) in return.  Luckily Heather is vegan, so my menu options weren’t terribly weird to her.

Cabbage with lentils, beets, spinach, and eggplant “bacon.”  To be honest, I could eat like this all the time.  

Recipe to come!

In lieu of wine, I sipped on fresh kombucha from a growler of Buchi Fire from Whole Foods’ tap.

Stellar customer service story – they were having trouble with the tap at my local Whole Foods.  I waited a solid 10 minutes and the bottle would only fill a little over half way.  The awesome guy working the tap got a manager, who COMPED the contents of the growler.  That right – I got it for FREE… plus 2 regular-sized bottles of Buchi Fire to equal a full growler.

I joke and refer to Whole Foods as Whole Paycheck a lot, but they really do offer quality products and a fantastic customer experience.

***

Don’t forget to enter to “Be My Veggie Valentine” and win 1 of 3 boxes of heart-shaped veggie cookies from Cookie Underground!  Click here to enter.

I’m seeing a lot of juice cleanses lately – have you done one?

What is your favorite “clean” food?

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

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These Chocolate Zucchini Muffin sound a little strange, but you’d never guess the sneaky zucchini add.  Best of all, these 100 calorie bites are vegan, gluten-free, and almost sugar-free.

This deliciousness took me a week to get right.  But when I did… oh lawd they were good!

Judging from the reaction these chocolate muffins got at this week’s dinner party, I found the right combination of ingredients.

Chocolate-y and moist, these are muffins you could chow on for breakfast without guilt.

Why guiltless?  Because you would be starting out your day with veggies!

The “secret” ingredient in these is zucchini!  Fool your kids, your partner, your co-workers… yourself… you cannot detect a trace of the veggie.  I’d put money on it.

I love making these as mini muffins.  It makes them perfect for snacking, and they remind me of those trashy-but-delicious brownie bites from  the grocery store.

These zucchini-filled treats please basically everyone.  They’re vegan, gluten-free, almost sugar-free, and a mere 100 calories!  Unicorn brownie bites! 

I realize the ingredient list is long, but it doesn’t take much time to throw it together and the end result is well worth it!

 

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

  • 1/4 C cocoa powder
  • 1/4 C coconut flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp guar gum (or cornstarch)
  • 2 T Xylitol
  • 2 T NuNaturals Fiber Baking Blend (or other sweetener)
  • 1/2 tsp instant coffee
  • Shake of salt
  • 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T water)
  • 1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or other milk substance)
  • 2 T coconut oil
  • 2 T unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1 T almond butter (or other nut butter)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 C shredded zucchini
  • 1/4 C chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Set aside.

In a small bowl mix egg, milk, oil, nut butter, and vanilla until well-combined.  Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until just combined.

Squeeze out zucchini to remove excess moisture, then add to batter along with chocolate chips.  Gently fold to combine – don’t over-mix!

Place 12 muffin liners in a muffin pan (or lightly grease a mini muffin pan) and spoon the mixture into each tin so they are about 1/2 full.

Bake on the middle rack for 10-15 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.

Makes 12 small muffins or 24 minis.

Approximate Nutrition for small muffin: 100 calories, 7.4g fat, 9.5g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 2g sugar, 1.5g protein

Notes:

  • I have tried this with a full 1/4 C of coconut oil (rather than 2 T oil and 2 T apple sauce) and found it to be too greasy, but you could try it either way
  • You could also leave out the guar gum; however, it helps the muffins to stay together better (coconut flour can result in crumbly baked goods)
  • If you can’t find Xylitol or the Baking Blend, you can use any sugar/sugar-replacer

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Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the Buzz… my “Beefy” TVP Chili made the FoodBuzz Top 9 today!

How do you sneak veggies in?

If you have worked with coconut flour, what’s your favorite recipe?

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