Two bloggers go food shopping…
I can’t even narrow down the punchlines.
Lucie and I had a food shopping adventure to the Pacific Beach Farmer’s Market and then to Whole Foods. We were actually quite well-behaved! Even between the two of us we spent less than $100* in Whole Paycheck Foods.
*That’s unheard of for me – just ask Vegas.
…
I’m stranging-up Mayo!
(That’s May, not mayonnaise.)
It occurred to me that many of my Mexican-inspired creations are a bit strange. Mexican is one of my favorite cuisines, and I’m always looking for a good way to shake it up!
No matter what time of day you celebrate, I have an appropriately themed dish!
How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.
Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂
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Check out the FitFluential Cinco de Mayo Round Up for more ideas!
What’s your favorite cuisine to add a #strangebutgood twist to?
Do you have Cino de Mayo plans? Any special meals?
Have you ever met a raw foodist?
I don’t get it…
I do get that it can be fun sometimes though! Like veganism. It forces creativity, which I love. Also, I love bacon.
A raw vegan taco seems strange, but this was so good it even surprised me. You could go all raw if you took the time to marinate the mushrooms and omitted the lentils. I’m not that patient.
While it didn’t include bacon, I barely missed the meat in this vegan taco salad creation. Sautéing the mushrooms with aminos gave it a delicious saltiness the was reminiscent of meat. Plus, anything you top with guac is a win.
I also love having a texture contrast with the crunchy raw bell peppers. A bite of that with the creamy guacamole and juicy tomatoes was a fiesta in my mouth. #twss
On the side I had some dehydrated kale chips, courtesy of Whole foods. Gotta have chips with my guac!
Taco “Meat”
Guacamole
Toppers
Cauliflower “Rice”
Sauté taco “meat” ingredients until tender.
Meanwhile, mash together guacamole ingredients. Prep desired toppings and cauliflower rice.
Plate rice and stack remaining components on top.
Take a picture (because it’s pretty) and enjoy!
How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.
Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂
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I just realize I should have saved this recipe for Cino de Drinko Mayo!
Do you like raw food?
Will you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
A Blend weekend (ironically) meant I actually ate nothing blended.
You don’t realize how addicted you are to morning green smoothies until you don’t have it. Starting your day with carbs vs. greens feels different… not that I didn’t enjoy the spread we were treated to. It was an epically fabulous departure from my norm. 🙂
The only thing that could have made last weekend better was if my girl Jenn @ Peas and Crayons had been able to come. My What I Ate Wednesday this week is all about What I Ate at Blend. Dedicated to Jenn, since we missed her so.
Check out my eats below; then click here to see what everyone else enjoyed for WIAW.
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No smoothies, but it was fruit-filled! We had mangoes, blueberries, strawberries, and the best pineapple I’ve had this season. All of that plus some almond butter made for a killer oatmeal bowl.
I couldn’t decide what to have, so I went back for round 2. Those muffins you see were homemade by the Xagave crew – the carrot muffin (let’s be honest – it was a cupcake) was out-of-this-world.
There was also a lot of tasty fuel provided by Green Mountain Coffee. I really loved the Double Black Diamond blend!
Local joint Mountain Sun was our lunch destination on Saturday. We showed up with a huge group that was ravenous from a 4 mile hike. Most restaurant staff would have run screaming from the building, but these guys were so cool. Lauren and I knew we were in love with this spot when the bartender said she LOVED giving people beer tastes. *swoon*
After finally selecting a beer (a pale ale called “Kind“), we sat down to order. Just when I thought the place couldn’t get better we found out that they have a hummus of the day (rosemary – it was delish) AND the server actually encouraged us to make modifications. Ashley and I split the special Cinco de Mayo burger and subbed the meat patty for the veggie.
The East Coast crew was still adjusting to the time zone, so we ran next door to the The Cup for double espressos. They came with the cutest mini biscottis!
Beer counts as a snack, right?
Lauren and her hubby hipped us to a great local brewery called Avery. This place was awesome – 21 beers on tap, $1 for a 4 oz taste, and a delicious menu. We came, we toured, we tasted.
See the bottom left pic? Those are sweet potato tater tots. And that dip? Super-star Heather had them blend hummus and avocado together and then topped it with hot sauce to make us an amazing dip.
We stopped in at Rio Grande to get our obligatory Mexican fill. Honestly, I wasn’t even hungry at this point… but Cinco de Mayo isn’t complete without fajitas! And margaritas.
It may be a chain, but I was impressed – the vegetarian fajitas came with an incredibly tasty grilled Portobello mushroom and grilled zucchini.
Aaaaaand… maybe some tequila shots. Disguises have been added to protect the identity of the not-so-innocent.
Gotta celebrate new tattoos. No, I didn’t get another… I won’t let the cat out of the bag as to who did. It looks good though. 🙂
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I miss you, my Cinco de Blenders!!! (P.S. I can’t remember who took these group shots… please claim them and I’ll give credit!!! Sorry…)
Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
Do you eat greens in the morning? Would it throw you off to switch it up to carbs?
Rice has never been appealing to me.
It’s always been sort of boring to me. Like a waste of plate space. I’d rather have more veggies or a big piece of crusty bread. I even order my burrito bowl from Willy’s without rice.
When I started seeing cauliflower rice recipes floating around Pinterest, I had to check it out for myself. Finally, was way to re-create rice-based meals without having to waste space on actual rice. Other benefits: it doesn’t take an hour to cook, it’s loaded with fiber, and one cup is only 28 calories!
I’d like to say that Cinco de Mayo was the inspiration for making this bowl Mexican… but really it’s just because I eat something Mexican-ish nearly every day.
This is the simplest recipe – you simply put the cauliflower in a blender or food processor and pulse until it resembles rice. I added some red pepper to mine to make it more flavorful and festive-looking.
Topped with carrots, black beans, avocado, pineapple, and cilantro and then smothered in a spicy salsa verde, this bowl looked like a fiesta! It made for a filling lunch that didn’t weigh me down and make me yearn for a siesta.
I really loved how the cauliflower really did resemble rice, and the way it took on the other flavors in my Mexican bowl. If I hadn’t made it myself, I would have had no idea I was eating cauliflower!
Before we get to the recipe… I guess you want to know if you won the Nature Box giveaway. 🙂
The lucky winner is….
Email me your address and I’ll get it to Nature Box in time for the May box delivery!
Cut cauliflower and red pepper into pieces and place in a food processor or blender. Pulse the pieces until they are the size and consistency of rice.
Transfer the “rice” to a medium bowl. Top with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with cumin, a pinch of cinnamon, red pepper flakes, and S&P, to taste.
Enjoy!
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I procrastinated packing last night… so I better get to it before my afternoon flight. I can’t believe the Blend weekend is FINALLY here!!!
How will you be celebrating Cinco de Mayo?
Are you a fan of rice? Have you ever made a rice alternative?
It’s hard to believe it’s almost Cinco de Drinko Mayo.
I didn’t actually realize it until I saw someone else’s blog post. Maybe that’s why I’ve been craving Mexican lately?
This concoction is an unexpectedly Mexican combo, but a tasty one. My pineapple was perfectly golden to the top, meaning it was on the sweet side. That sweetness was wonderful with the earthy beets.
The colors were nice too – pretty food tastes better!
You can use pre-cored pineapple from your grocery store, but I recommend buying pineapple whole. Whole pineapples always intimidated me in the past because I wasn’t sure how to tell if it was ripe.
Then I found a fool-proof method.
There are 2 ways that – in combination – I have found to be fool-proof:
Cumin, red pepper, and a pinch of cinnamon give the salad its Mexican taste. The cilantro and the lime juice on top set it off and balanced the stronger spices. (If you don’t like cilantro, parsley would be an excellent sub here.)
Note: I didn’t include the measures for any of these because… well, you don’t really need them. Make as much or as little as you like, as adjust the spices to your tastes. I piled on the cilantro and the red pepper flakes.
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Peel and core the pineapple and cut into half-moon slices. Slice beets into rounds.
Arrange in layers on a plate. Sprinkle with each of the spices, adjusting flavors to your palate.
Top with cilantro and fresh lime juice. If it’s available, crumbled cotija cheese would also make a nice addition here.
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I am realllly looking forward to Cinco de Mayo this year because I will be hanging with some of my favorite bloggers at the Blend Retreat!
Are you going to Blend?
Do you have a secret for determining if a certain fruit is ripe?
