Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Contemplating Carnivore + WIAW

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Don’t cry for me, Argentina…

 

 

I recently decided on my 2012 international trip and there’s no crying here!  Two of my best friends from grad school and I are going to Argentina AND Uruguay!  Leaving just 6 weeks from today!!!

 

Here’s my dilemma: Argentina is known for meat.  I love to travel and try new foods, and I always said that whatever veggie-food thing I have going is out the window when I travel.  No restrictions.  But now I am scared I’ll get sick… and meat just doesn’t appeal to me like it used it.

I did eat 3 bites of meat at dinner tonight… so far so good.

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Meat dilemmas aside, Jenn (who called me a genius last night) @ Peas and Crayons is hosting  What I Ate Wednesday this month in the theme of veggies:

 

 

Check out my veggie eats (plus a couple of meats) below; then click here to see what everyone else enjoyed for WIAW.

 

Breakfast:

This morning I woke up feeling jumpy… in a plyo way.  I bounced out of bed and down to the gym for 60 mins of Plyo with Tony Horton (from P90X).  In case you haven’t tried it yet, this plyo DVD with kick your butt.  It left me hot, sweaty, and STARVING.

I ran up to my condo for a tasty Banana-Maple-Ginger Smoothie accompanied by a (vegan) Raw Cookie Dough Ball, compliments of this recipe by Lisa @ Healthful Sense (I always keep a batch in the freezer for a quick snack or smoothie topping).

 

Banana-Maple-Ginger Smoothie

  • 1 small banana
  • 1 C spinach
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tsp maca (optional)
  • 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 T ground flax seed
  • 5-6 drops vanilla liquid Stevia
  • 1/2 in piece of fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp maple extract

 

Lunch:

Working from home makes me happy because I get to MOVE so much more.  Bring chained to a desk is really hard for me.  In the interest of movement, I walked to one of my favorite spots – MetroFresh – to meet a friend for lunch.

MetroFresh’s menu changes daily, but they always offer 5-6 soups, 7-8 salads/sides, and a couple of sandwiches.  They also designate which items are vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free.  Love that.

 

Today I had a Swiss Chard and White Bean Stew and a Maple-Citrus Wild Rice Salad with Mushrooms, Feta, Cucumber, Black Wheatberries, and Dried Cranberries.  Finger-lickin’ good.

Side note: Did anyone watch Doogie Howser or Party of 5 growing up?  The owner of MetroFresh, Mitchell Anderson, played roles in both hit shows!

 

Snacks:

My lunch was pretty filling, and I knew I was going out for dinner so I was a little light on the snacks today.  I did enjoy a Kombucha, a banana (topped with a failed attempt at chocolate-peanut butter – the texture was nasty), and a piece of chocolate (to help me feel better after the PB fail).

Dinner:

Apparently is was a day for dining out.  I had dinner with my mom and cousin at a local Indian spot called Cardamom Hill.  This place is amazing – I blogged about it here when they first opened, and they have only gotten better since.

For appetizers we ordered Pork Vindaloo (pork shoulder slow-cooked in a flavorful vinegar sauce with turmeric and cardamom served with a side of appam), Coconut Curry Vegetable Stew, and a Squid special that was cooked in a red chili sauce and served with a side of fried plantains.

 

I did take a bite of everything… it was the first time I’ve had pork in months.  It was delicious, but I still couldn’t imagine eating a whole order.  The vegetable curry soup was my favorite!

 

Remembering how delicious it was the first time there, I ordered the Vegetable Platter.  It wasn’t quiiiite as good, but that is a preference thing.  They do change-up pieces of the dish, and on my first trip there was more heat incorporated.  I love spicy food. 

 

From L to R: Avail (lightly steamed vegetables in a shaved coconut sauce), Sambhar (a stew with okra, carrots, and potatoes), stack of sliced warm Beets layered with housemade yogurt and mustard seeds, and seasoned rice.

My favorite was the Avail.  That shaved coconut sauce was perfect – not too sweet or heavy, complimenting the root veggies it was served over.

The winner was my mom’s dish (unpictured).  She ordered the Kerala-Style Fried Chicken, served over vegetable pileau (rice with veggies).  Yup, I took another bite of meat… I don’t regret it.  This chicken was among the best I’ve ever tasted.  Don’t skip it if you are in the neighborhood (and you eat meat).

 

Dessert:

Someone once said there is a whole separate part of your stomach for dessert.  They weren’t kidding.  I should have been stuffed after all of that… yet I came home and enjoyed a So Delicious coconut ice cream bar.  The bar is dairy-free and contains only 1g of sugar… and you would never be able to tell.

 

So Delicious, indeed.

 

***

Another reminder to enter my NuNaturals giveaway – there are 4 chances to win the new NuNaturals Orange and Lemon Liquid Stevias!  Contest ends Thursday at 11:59pm EST.  Click here to enter.

Have you ever been to Argentina, or South America?  Any suggestions?

Have you ever gone back to eating meat?  How did you ease back in to it?

 

Zucchini Pasta with Raw (vegan) Alfredo Sauce

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The 2 Week Veg Pledge is over.

At first I was sad and then I realized… I’ll still eat a plant-based diet.  I’ll probably even keep making an effort to have at least one veggie serving at every meal (breakfast included).

You may have checked out this post where I announced that as part of the Food Buzz Tastemakers program, I was selected to take the Green Giant Veg Pledge.  The pledge was to eat one more cup of vegetables per day.

Over the past couple of weeks I did a pretty good job at keeping up with it.  I even added arugula to my pizza on a less-than-clean dinner out. 🙂  Here are a few of my favorite veggie-based meals over the past couple of weeks:

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

Carrot Cake Smoothie

Edamame and Jicama Salad

Spring Endive Boats

Raw Collard Green “Tacos”

Last but not least I made Zucchini Pasta with Raw Alfredo Sauce.

For years I have resisted making a “cheese” sauce out of cashews.  Partially out of laziness, partially out of the belief that I’d have to eat a full cup of cashews to make enough sauce.

I feel silly now.

Cashews actually get fluffy when blended, FYI.  You won’t even need to eat 1/2 a cup of them (not for lack of wanting).

When Janet @ The Taste Space posted this recipe for her Raw Alfredo Sauce with Basil, Cherry Tomatoes, and Zucchini Noodles, I knew I had to try a version of my own.

The lemon-y sauce was fantastic with the fresh zucchini and the sweet heirloom tomato.  Light and summery, I will be making this raw dish over and over again.

The sauce can be used for a number of things!  So far I have added it to smoothies, used it as a sauce for a raw collard taco, and slathered it on a sweet potato fr a snack.

Use your imagination!  And make a double batch.

 

Zucchini Pasta with Raw Alfredo Sauce

  • 1/2 C cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours and drained
  • Juice of 1/2 large lemon
  • 1-2 drops NuNaturals Lemon Liquid Stevia
  • 1/4 tsp white miso
  • Water, as needed (~2 T)
  • 2 zucchinis, spiralized (or finely cut with a cheese cutter, as I did)
  • 1/2 carrot, spirialized (or fine cut with same high-tech method above)
  • 6-8 stalks of asparagus, cut into 1/2 in pieces
  • 1 large Heirloom tomato, diced
  • 5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded

Place the soaked cashews, lemon juice, Stevia, miso, and water in a blender and blend until smooth.

Combine vegetables in bowls and drizzle each with 2-3 T of sauce.

Top with basil, pepper, and red pepper.

Any remaining sauce may be stored in the fridge.

Serves 2.

***

In case you’re curious about that NuNaturals Lemon Stevia… check back Monday.  There just might be a give away… 🙂

Have you ever made cashew “cheese?”

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Fluffy Sesame Baked Tofu

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Do you watch Food Network?

I did when I had cable.  

It’s actually one of the 3 things I miss about cable.  The other 2: Bravo and sports channels.  Side note: this would indicate I’m some combo of a gay man and a jock.  Nope – I’m a Southern girl. 🙂

Food Network’s new shows for 2012 were announced a while ago and I’m super-sad to miss one in particular – Blind Dinner Party.

Slated for October of 2012, this new show will be hosted by none other than The Notorious CHO!  This may call for an order of cable… of a standing self-invite to a friend’s house.

The premise is that she hosts a dinner party for 7 total strangers “who come from completely different backgrounds, beliefs and views on everything – come together to break bread in the most dysfunctional family dinner imaginable.”

I want to be at that dinner party!

Maybe they would let me cook for the party/show?  I’m sure someone would be offended that I didn’t serve meat…

…but who doesn’t love baked goods?  Cookies, cakes, cupcakes, brownies… tofu.

If you haven’t tried it before or if you *think* you don’t like tofu, come on over and let me serve it to you baked.  It will only cost you a good bottle of red.  Kidding.  Sort of.

If you saw the dinner I posted for yesterday’s WIAW, you know that I made a Sesame Baked Tofu.  The biggest difference between baked and grilled tofu is the inside.  When baked, tofu’s outside gets crisp, but the inside gets soft and fluffy.  It’s a wonderful texture to bite into!

The coating of liquid aminos (or soy sauce) and sesame seeds is awesome with just a bit of heat on the end from Chinese 5-Spice (you could also use red pepper flakes).  Garnish with a bit of refreshing cilantro (unless you are one of those people who thinks it tastes like soap).

Sesame Baked Tofu

  • 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed
  • 1T liquid aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)
  • 1T rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Chinese 5-Spice
  • 1 T sesame seeds
  • Cilantro, for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil, or spray with cooking spray.

Drain liquid from tofu, cut in half horizontally, and press for 15 mins.  You may use a tofu press or – if you’re fancy like me – stack 5-6 large cookbooks on top.  Slice pressed tofu into cubes.

In a medium bowl, mix together liquid aminos, vinegar, and 5-spice.  Toss tofu in mixture to coat evenly.

Spread tofu out evenly across baking sheet.  Sprinkle with 1/2 of the seeds, flip, and sprinkle the opposite side with remaining seeds.

Place in oven and bake for 10-12 mins on each side, or until golden brown and looking “fluffy.”

***

Spring weather and festival season make the work week longer.

Have you ever baked tofu?

What is the biggest reason you have (or don’t have) cable?

Home Brewing + WIAW

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I drink a lot…

 

 

…of KOMBUCHA!

At $3 a bottle, it’s an expensive habit.  When Stacy Tweeted to tell me about a deal on OpenSky (click for invite!) for a Kombucha Home Brewing Kit  from Kombucha Brooklyn I jumped at the opportunity.

 

 

My kit came with a jar, tea bags, sugar, and my very own scoby.  The instructions were idiot-proof easy to understand… with very little effort I’m 14-28 days away from home-brewed kombucha!*

*I fully realize that you can brew Komubcha without buying a kit.  Still, $30-something to get started is still less than what I spend on the stuff at Whole Foods.  And I actually DID it.

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Two weeks ago marked the beginning of the Green Giant Veg Pledge to add an additional cup of veggies to my daily eats.  Despite some terrible food choices over the weekend (french fries happened… I can’t say I regret it), I’m back on track this week and greening it up with everyone for What I Ate Wednesday!

Jenn @ Peas and Crayons is hosting  What I Ate Wednesday  this month in the theme of veggies:

 

 

Check out my veggies below; then click here to see how everyone else incorporated extra servings.

 

 

Breakfast:

After a quick tabata-style workout found on Pinterest, I needed to cool down before getting in the shower.  Don’t you hate when you’re still sweating AFTER getting out of the shower?

 

I slurped down up a little Liquid Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie topped with hemp seeds while I got a head start on work email.

 

Lunch:

Massive collard greens are everywhere in Georgia grocery stores.  Traditional Southerners cook them with things like ham hocks.

Not me!  I use the greens as raw taco shells!

 

I filled my “tacos” with raw asparagus, carrots, celery, cucumbers, red pepper flakes, and a massive amount of my new favorite hummus.  The spinach-flavored hummus is made by a company called Roots.  Not sure how widely available it is, but I found this a Whole Foods. The rest of the container was enjoyed with some Sesame Wasa crackers on the side.

 

Snacks:

Unpictured was the daily Kombucha, a piece of dark chocolate, and handful of cashews.

An apple with peanut butter and a surprise from Nature Box did make it for a photo shoot:
 
I really loved the Smokey Pepitas and Dried Pears.  More to come on this awesome company later! 

 

Dinner:

Baked is my favorite way to do tofu.  The outside gets all crunchy and the inside becomes marshmallow-fluffy.

Tonight’s dinner was a Baked Sesame Tofu with lemon roasted asparagus and an heirloom tomato.

Tomato season has arrived down South!  That was the sweetest tomato I think I’ve ever had.  I made the mistake of cutting the tomato too early… only 2 little slices remained to go with dinner.

What was left of my tom was delicious with the light spice and nuttiness of the tofu marinade.  Recipe to come tomorrow!

 

 

Dessert:

It was a healthy post workout dessert – a chocolate protein shake topped with cereal.  Packed with spinach, of course.

 

***

I can’t believe I didn’t like tomatoes until a couple of years ago.

How are you doing with the Veg Pledge?  Have you been incorporating an extra veggie serving each day?

Have you ever brewed your own Kombucha?  How about beer?

 

Sneaky Monday

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Can you believe it’s already Monday?

 

I’m so tired I almost can’t stand it.  Why?  Because I woke up at 2:30am.

Apparently I fell asleep with my phone in my room.  My sheets were still in the dryer, so I crashed on the couch… and when my mom called I didn’t hear the phone.  This worried her and when I hadn’t gotten back to her by 2am she decided to drive 30 minutes to make sure I was ok pay me a visit.  No joke.

 

Here’s the Top 5 from the weekend:

 

1. Zucchini Bread Oats

 

 

I stayed at my mom’s one night and made these again after a brief hiatus.  She hadn’t had them and was skeptical… turns out she loved Zucchini Bread Oats!

 

2. Sticky Toffee Pudding

 

 

I went to a dinner party at my friends Katherine and Giles’ house.  Joined by Heather and her husband Kirk, we had a fantastic vegan fest.  My contribution was this Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Recipe to come soon… I need to take some better pics. 🙂

 

3. Foodie Penpal

 

 

The revel isn’t until the end of the month… but my foodie penpal package arrived!  The box she shipped it in got me excited. 

 

4. PB&J Yogurt

 

 

This was is my new love.  How can you go wrong with anything PB&J-esque?  In my yogurt was:

  • 1 C Greek yogurt
  • 1 T peanut flour
  • 5-6 drops vanilla Stevia
  • 1/2 C strawberries

 

5. Softball Sunday

It was another softball Sunday!   We won one game and lost one.  No split this week though. 🙂

 

 

One of my teammates rides a unicycle.  I love this time of year. 

 

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I thought my knee was cured this weekend when I ran a mile pain-free.  Then I tried for 1.5 the next day and was back in pain… *sigh*

It’s more P90X for me.

 

Workout Recap (4/2 – 4/8):

  • Monday – This Pinned workout, P90X Chest/Back, Ab Ripper X
  • Tuesday – This Pinned workout, P90X Yoga
  • Wednesday – P90X Shoulders/Arms, Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
  • Thursday – This Pinned workout, P90X Kenpo, 100 push-ups
  • Friday – P90X Legs/Back, 100 push-ups
  • Saturday – This Pinned workout, 4 mile walk, 1 mile run, Ab Ripper X
  • Sunday –  1.5 mile run, 2 softball games

 

***

I’m looking forward to a low-key week.  Knock on wood.

Has your mom ever driven to your house to check on you?

What was the best part about your weekend?

 

Spring Endive Boats + WIAW

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Endive Boats are the perfect party salad.

Boats make salad a finger food!

Last Christmas when I catered this party I served endive boats rather than a salad dish.  They went over really well, so I decided to make a spring version for the wedding shower.

This spring version contained raspberries, raw asparagus (thin stalks), and pecans.  Over the top I drizzled a light raspberry vinaigrette.

A lot of people are surprised by raw asparagus, but it is quite tasty.  In season, the asparagus is especially sweet and the crunch it added was perfect.

The raspberries were just a tad sweet, but still have an early-season tartness that was well-balanced with the fruity vinaigrette and rich, nutty pecans.

Like the deviled eggs, there weren’t any leftover by the end of the party!

Recipe at the bottom.

Last week I announced I was taking the Green Giant Veg Pledge to add an additional cup of veggies to my daily eats.  Many of you said you would join me… have you been doing it?

Jenn @ Peas and Crayons is with her  What I Ate Wednesday theme for April:

Check out my veggies below; then click here to see how everyone else incorporated extra servings.

Breakfast:

Do you ever wake up starving?  Having followed the P90X workouts this week, I cannot get enough food!

Carrot Cake Smoothie:

  • 1 C spinach
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/2 in piece fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 7-8 drops liquid vanilla stevia
  • 1 T rolled oats
  • 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp maca (optional)
  • Pecans (optional – for topping)

Lunch:

The veggie-theme was full force at lunch today.  I had a conference call, so I ate it in two parts.

Part 1: A slice of whole wheat multi-grain bread from the farmer’s market with my Chipotle Corn Hummus, raw asparagus, zucchini, and carrots.

I brought the veggies to work in that carrot bag.  The bag was almost empty, so I piled my asparagus and zucchini slices rather than wasting another baggie.  I’m a total hippie.

Part 2: Garden Lites Cauliflower Souffle

Tasty, but I may have over-microwaved it.

Snacks:

With my 2-part lunch, I didn’t do much snacking… there was the daily Kombucha with raspebrries, a Think Thin, Wasa flatbread, and unpictued stuff (nuts, 1/2  cupcake, cereal):

Dinner:

It was a pizza night at a favorite pizza joint, Double Zero.  You cut the pie with scissors and they have one of the best Italian wine selections in ATL.  My pie was tomato, mozzarella, arugula, roasted garlic, and chilis.

Spring Endive Boats

  • 6-8 endive heads
  • 2 pints raspberries
  • 1 bunch thin asparagus, chopped
  • 1/2 C chopped pecans
  • Raspberry vinaigrette

Assemble endive leaves evenly across a large tray.  Divide raspberries, asparagus pieces, and pecans evenly among boats.  

Lightly drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette just before serving.

Serves 30.

***

I was going to post that mac ‘n cheese recipe… but I had to go endive for the veggie theme! 🙂

How are you doing with the Veg Pledge?  Have you been incorporating an extra veggie serving each day?

What is the best thing you’ve eaten so far this week?

Facebook and Eating Disorders + WIAW

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Facebook may lead to eating disorders.

Last week it was narcissism, this week it’s eating disorders.  Poor Facebook is taking a hit!

 

 

A new study that found that “51% of respondents felt more self-conscious about their physical appearance after looking at pictures of themselves on Facebook.”  These Facebook users are checking out their friend’s photos, which leads them to be more critical of their own physiques.

I don’t know about this… you can compare yourself to other people just walking down the street.

Read the full article on Newser by clicking here.

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Want to know how to feel better?  Eat some veggies!

Yesterday I asked you all to join me in the Green Giant Veg Pledge to add an additional cup of veggies to your daily eats.  Jenn @ Peas and Crayons is also taking part in the challenge, so this month her  What I Ate Wednesday theme is…

 

 

Check out my veggies below; then click here to see how everyone else incorporated extra servings.

 

 

Breakfast:

Do you ever wake up starving?  After Sunday’s jam-packed day of softball and plyometrics, I was in need of an extra-filling breakfast.  I mixed this concoction and let it sit in the fridge to thicken (~15 mins) while I downed a glass of water and got the coffee started.

Those blackberries on top were incredible – the first perfect berries of the season!

 

 

In my oat bowl:

  • Rolled oats
  • Chia
  • Greek yogurt
  • Chia seeds
  • Unsweetened almond milk
  • Vanilla extract
  • Cinnamon
  • Blackberries

 

Lunch:

I failed to take a picture of the final result… but here’s what my veggie-centric lunch consisted of:

 

 

 

I am fully aware that gazpacho is easy to make yourself… but with my crazy schedule, Whole Foods’ soup had to happen.  It was delicious with some red pepper flakes and avocado (unpictured) on top.

I devoured this with some spinach, broccoli slaw, and ak-mak crackers.  These crackers were new to me – they were delicious and reminded me of Wasa crisps.

 

Snacks:

It was a snack-y sort of day – handfuls of this and that here and there.  A few munchies:

 

KIND bars are my new addiction

Bowls of grapes and edamame

 

My two favorite drinks - coffee and kombucha

 

Dinner:

I was starving by dinner time.  You know what that means…

 

 

All that remained were 2 strips of tempeh when I remembered to take a pic.  My cousin and I hit up a local vegetarian spot called World Peace Cafe for dinner.  It was my first time there, but certainly won’t be the last!

That tempeh was sitting on top of a huge salad with shredded beets, carrots, and tomatoes.  On the left is a bowl that held a delicious mushroom–kale–lentil soup.  The crumbs around to bowl belonged to a slice of rye toast.  The tea pot in the background was filled with lemon-gnger tea.

We also split a piece of vegan chocolate-almond cake.  It was divine.

 

***

Adding veggies isn’t so hard… I think I could eat edamame all day long.

Did you incorporate an extra veggie serving to your day?  If so, how?

Any thoughts on the Facebook story?  Do you think it’s any worse than the millions of other way you can compare yourself to others?

 

Green Giant Veg Pledge

By

Eating clean takes effort.

Many of us use spring as an opportunity to clean up our diets.  The crisp, seasonal produce and the warmer air lends itself to lightening up our dishes.  Adieu, winter squashes.

However, the feeling in the air alone doesn’t make it easier to eat cleaner.  Eating better does take some forethought.

 

Skinny Girl Thai Greek Sauce

 

As part of the Food Buzz Tastemakers program, I was selected to take the Green Giant Veg Pledge.  This is a two-week pledge to eat one more cup of vegetables per day.  I am especially excited to have the extra motivation to step away from the Peeps and towards the rabbit food.

 

Beet Sunflower Pesto

 

 

Who else is up for the challenge?

To help us get started, here are some ways I like to add additional veggies to my diet:

  • Add a handful of spinach to smoothies/shakes – it will turn your beverage green, but you’ll never taste a difference.  Check out this green spinach smoothie:  

 

  • Before dinner each night, begin with a side salad – this can get your greens in and help you to fill up on the good stuff before filling up on heavier fare
  • Use greens in place of carbs, like I did with these collard tacos
  • Keep pre-cut veggies in your fridge for a quick grab-and-go snack
  • Shop the perimeters of the grocery store – if you don’t meander down the cookie aisle, those treats won’t end up in your pantry at home and you’ll be “forced” to choose a healthier (veggie) snack option
  • Turn salads into meals by “eating the rainbow” – add colorful veggies like beets, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sugar peas, raw yellow squash/zucchini, etc. (Check out these lunch salad ideas!) 

 

  • Add a veggie or two to your usual meals: saute spinach and mushrooms to go with scrambled eggs, toss some kale into soups, serve grains in a roasted red pepper or tomato, use parsnips as rice or beans for burgers. 

***

I do love my greens. Nevermind the gas.  🙂

Will you take the Green Giant 2 Week Veg Pledge with me?

How do you incorporate more veggies into your diet?

 

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