Category Archives: Snacks

My New Favorite Snack: Next Organics

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Lately I’ve become addicted to these delicious chocolate treats!

It’s very simple: organic fruit covered with organic dark chocolate. I started with the Dark Chocolate Coconut and I was hooked! From there I’ve tried Dark Chocolate Apricots (winner!) and Dark Chocolate Cherries (yum!)

Next Organics also offers the following:

  • Goji berries
  • Bananas
  • Almonds
  • Walnuts
  • Cashews
  • Brazil Nuts
  • Ginger

All are smothered in dark chocolate. :)

Happy snacking!

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O Chickpea I Heart You

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veganmofo

I don’t know why but lately it feels like the day zooms by and suddenly it’s bedtime and I’ve barely touched my “to-do” list. What’s up with that?I keep thinking, OK tomorrow I’ll have time to do “X.” And then tomorrow whizzes by and it’s the next day.

A lot of people have been asking me lately, “how do you get your protein?” (Anyone else ever get that question??? ;) )

One way I get my protein is by eating beans. If I had to name my most favorite bean I would have to say the chickpea. Also knows as the “garbanzo bean, I use chickpeas to make homemade hummus,

White and green chickpeas

White and green chickpeas. Credit: Wikipedia

falafel, and Indian dishes such as Chana Saag (chickpeas and spinach). I love tossing them into salads. After reading Isa‘s recipe for Fronch Toast, I recently used chickpea flour to make my Coconut Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast recipe, which was amazing. With a few herbs and spices added they are even great eaten straight out of the can! I especially love to roast chickpeas, which is what I did tonight.

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Here are a few fun facts about chickpeas:

  • Chickpeas, which originated in the Middle East, are one of the oldest cultivated veggies – they have been carbon dated back to 6790BC
  • There are two main types of chickpeas: Desi (darker, smaller seeds, rough coat) and Kubuli (lighter colored, larger seeds, smooth coat)
  • Recent studies show that chickpeas can help lower cholesterol
  • Chick peas are high in fiber, protein, zinc, and folate

ROASTED CHICKPEAS

Ingredients

  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1-2 Tbs olive oil (NOT extra virgin)
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed
  • chili powder
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. On the stove, heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat.
  3. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds stirring constantly so the garlic doesn’t burn.
  4. Add the chickpeas, chili powder, salt, and pepper to and mix thoroughly.
  5. Put the skillet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
  6. Enjoy straight out of the oven or add to salads or pasta.

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Vanilla Spice Oatmeal Cookies

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veganmofoHappy Monday!

It’s been a very busy weekend for yours truly. We had our second weekend of yoga teacher training and can you believe that the teachers-in-training are already practice teaching? They are doing a fabulous job – I cannot wait for our next training weekend in November!

Because of the teacher training, this past weekend was not a typical weekend in terms of cooking and baking but I did manage to fit in a few runs :)

  • Friday: 6 miles at an 8:40 pace
  • Saturday : 3.25 miles at a 9:30 pace during my lunch hour
  • Sunday: 7.20 miles at an 8:40 pace

Today I’m going to take a yoga class with Tori at Flow Yoga – I’m really looking forward to it :)

For the last two weeks I’ve been working on a new recipe for Vanilla Spice Oatmeal Cookies. After numerous trial batches I am happy to say that I think I’ve got it down. These cookies are slightly crispy on the edges yet chewy in the center, with a hint of vanilla and sweet bursts of crystallized ginger throughout. And on the How Healthy Is Your Cookie scale, I’d say they are pretty much on the healthier side thanks to the minimal amount of oil and sugar being used – YAY!

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Makes 20-22 cookies


Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 Tablespoon flax seeds plus 3 Tablespoons water whisked together until frothy
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 T minced ginger root
  • 1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • ½ cup diced crystallized ginger

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat two large baking sheets with cooking spray.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt in your food processor and pulse 4-5 times. Transfer to a large bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, applesauce, oil, flaxseed mixture, vanilla, and ginger root and blend well with a hand mixer.
  4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until combined.
  5. Stir in the oats and the crystallized ginger.
  6. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons, 2” apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand on the baking sheets for two minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

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Tomato Salad + Brown Rice Crispy Treats

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I love long weekends!!

Run

I had a lovely evening run tonight to my friend Kat’s house and back. It was great to be able to drop in for a few minutes and get a drink of water!

Distance: 7.42 miles
Time: 1 hour, 3 minutes
Pace: 8.49 minute mile

Eats

I made my 9-A-Day today! WOO HOO! Here’s the breakdown:

  • 1 banana in my morning smoothie
  • 1 serving spinach in said smoothie
  • 1 serving of veggies in my tofu scramble at lunch
  • 1 serving of cooked zucchini at lunch
  • 3 servings of tomato salad for dinner
  • 1 apple at dinner
  • 1 serving of Banana Soft Serve for dessert

That’s 9, baby! :)

The tomato salad idea was given to me by Kat. It’s super easy and super yummy.

Tomato Salad

  • 3 pints cherry tomatoes – I used an assortment of yellow and red that I got at the farmer’s market
  • 1/2 cup chopped basil
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic, diced
  • salt
  • pepper

Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Toss with the basil and garlic – add salt and pepper to taste.
Put the salad into a colander over a bowl to catch the liquid.
Kat also recommended using the liquid to make salad dressing – how cool is that?!

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For dessert (a second dessert!) I had a homemade Peanut Butter Crispie Treat!

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Peanut Butter Crispy Treat

Prepare an 8X8 glass cake pan by spraying it lightly with canola oil.
Melt the marshmallows, Earth Balance, and brown rice syrup in small saucepan.
Add in the peanut butter and blend all together until smooth.
Combine the peanut butter mixture and the cereal in a bowl. Combine well – you may get to have to use your hands.  :)
Press the cereal into the prepared pan, and place in the refrigerator until set.
YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!

Have a super awesome Labor Day and eat your fruits and veggies!!

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New Gnu Bars

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I found a wonderful bar today at Whole Foods. It’s a Gnu Peanut Butter Bar and it was fantastic! What I liked about it:pb_bar

  • Vegan
  • Just 140 calories
  • A whopping TWELVE GRAMS OF FIBER! (I better drink lots of water…)
  • No added sugar
  • Yummy
  • Satisfying

Gnu is a small company that makes all natural foods. Their food philosophy is “Real health makes us feel good inside and out, physically and emotionally. Returning to real health, feeling good the way nature intended – that’s what Gnu foods is all about. We’re dedicated to creating Food that Works. Beautifully.™“

Isn’t that awesome?

You can find Gnu bars at Whole Foods and on Gnu’s online store. I’m looking forward to trying their other flavors.

It’s pronounced “noo” or “nyoo,” by the way. Not “ga-noo.”  :)

What’s your favorite bar?

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Homemade Larabars Part Deux

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Happy Monday!

Run

I had a great run :)   I love when I am feeling energetic and and like I can run forever! I ran on the treadmill at the gym:

Distance: 7 miles
Ave Speed: 8.34 mph
Vertical Distance: 187 feet

I really don’t mind running on the treadmill, especially when it’s hot outside (which it is around here starting at about 8am!) I usually watch something on the little TV – I don’t even remember what it was yesterday! – and that keeps me happy so I don’t notice that I’m running nowhere :)   When I run outside I usually listen to music – most often U2 or Dave Matthews. I could use some new running tunes come to think of it…any suggestions out there?

Eats

I had some extra time today and so I decided to make more “Larabars!” Maybe I should call them “JuliaBars?”

Anyway, I made four new awesome flavors that I’m really excited to share with you.

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Chocolate JuliaBar
Makes 2 bars

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup chopped medjool dates
2 T raw cacao powder (I’m sure regular cocoa would work too)
1/8 t salt (optional, but suggested)

Combine all ingredients in the food processor and whirl away for about 1 to 1.5 minutes. Shape into bars and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge. (I find that the bars become more solid in the fridge and have better consistency.)

Mexican Chocolate Bar (The JuliaBar thing is just too weird)
Makes 2 bars

Same as above but add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/16 to 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper. You can play around with the spices until you get the flavor you love. I REALLY like this one but the texture was a little…soft. See the little cracks? Need to work on that some more but the flavor is awesome.

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Peanut Butter Cookie
Makes 2 bars

1/2 cup chopped medjool dates
1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
1/8 teaspoon salt

You know – food processor – about 1 minute – wrap – store. :)
(I think I will change the Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bar recipe that I made the other day to be the Peanut Butter Cookie recipe plus some oatmeal. I have to play around with it. I could probably just eliminate the cashews and the peanut butter and just use peanuts instead.)

OK….now we’re ready for the BEST “LARABAR” flavor EVAH!
Are you ready….drum roll…
Wait for it….

PB&J Bar!!!
Makes 2 bars

Same as the Peanut Butter Bar but now add 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of dried cherries towards the end of the processing time – like when there’s about 20 seconds left.

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WHEEEEEEEE!!! These are so so so delicious! I was practically crying when I tasted these.

I have ideas for additional flavors…including one that I think will be AMAZING!…but A. I’m full from “testing” my four new flavors and B.  I need to go to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients. What about you – what are your ideas for new “Larabar” flavors?

OK – signing off. I try to stay under 350 words and I’ve way exceeded that today!

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