How I Roll On Sundays

"Enjoy the little things in life, for someday you will look back and realize they were the Big things."

It was easy to blink my eyes open this morning.  It's always a delight to awaken to the diffused light through my new curtains, the breeze that kissed my skin, and the two hungry Pug eyes that stared straight through me. 

how could one resist???

I prepared a bowl of fruit and oats.  

The cooler mornings have me craving warmer foods.  This recipe is sweet and decadent but only calls for 1/4 cup of oats, so it's not grain overkill.  Plus it's naturally sweet; no need for the sugar bowl.

Fruit & Spice Oatmeal

1/4 cup oats

3/4 cup water

1/2 chopped apple

1/2 chopped banana

1 tbsp raisins

1 tsp of ghee

cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt

2 drops stevia OR 1 tsp of chavanprash

1/2 to 1 cup vanilla almond milk

Put the oats, water, apple, banana, raisins and spices in a pot.  Take to a boil, then turn to medium.  Add 2 drops of liquid stevia and 1 tsp of ghee.  Continue to cook until much of the water is absorbed, about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Add a little almond milk, stir in, and continue to cook a few more minutes to thicken.  Serve and top with additional almond milk.  Optionally, add 1 tsp of chavanprash and skip the stevia.  

**I'm a huge fan of the sweet salty combo, so i tend to add a pinch more coarse sea salt upon serving. 

Time to get my yoga on.  I spent the extra hour that daylight savings provided here.  How often do we have enough hours in the day to take 2 yoga classes?  i couldn't think of a better way to spend my morning then to be in the good company of so many inspiring and beautiful yogis and instructors, in a place of love and peace, getting my sweat on, and letting the energy flow.  Ommmmmmmmmmm shanti.

Post yoga brought with it a lunch of steamed veggies with indian inspired jalifrezi sauce.  This is the perfect post yoga meal.

Indian Inspired Vegetables & Rice:

1 zucchini cut in half and chopped

1/2 cup chopped caulifower

a few big fistfuls of chopped kale

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/3 cup Seeds Of Change Jalifrezi sauce

Steam everything in a steamer basket.  Fill a pot with 1 inch of water, place the steamer basket in the pot, veggies in the basket, cover, and leave over high heat.  Veggies steam quickly.  Serve in a large bowl and top with 1/3 cup jalifer sauce.

Notes:

Seeds of Change makes ORGANIC pre-prepared sauces in glass jars - They. Are. Good.

Trader Joes now sells bags of pre-washed and chopped ORGANIC kale for those who love convenience....like me!

Another convenience tip:  I cook a pot of grain like brown rice or quinoa twice a week to use throughout the week in my meals.  When steaming veggies, i'll often toss a bit of brown rice from the fridge on top of my veggies in the pot to reheat.

With the day still young, we rode bikes to the beach, thought at the thinking wall (for me mostly about chocolate), and perused around our cute little beach town.

Hours later, I was still thinking about chocolate......c.h.o.c.o.l.a.t.e.

i made a natural chilly chocolate shake

Sweet Chilly Chocolate Shake:

A couple handfuls of frozen bananas chunks (perhaps about 2 bananas worth)

2 pitted medjool dates (though it was quite sweet, so one would probably suffice)

1 cup and a splash of almond milk,

2 Tbsp raw cacao powder

a dash of maple extract (optional)

3 ice cubes

and a pinch of sea salt

(when freezing bananas for thickening chilly shakes and smoothies, peel and chop into 1 inch pieces before you freeze them.  This makes it easier on your blender to pulverize once they are frozen)

This was the perfect consistency of just thick enough to enjoy with a spoon, but also thin enough to sip from the glass.

Sunday Funday, turned into Sunday Runday.  I hit up the laundromat....yawn, and the market.  I watched this video while at the laundo to pass the time.  I'm a huge fan of kris carr and therefore L.O.V.E this vid and her recipes.

Smart Phones are BOMB for the laundo....and so duh, like any good Pinner I hit up Pinterest for some foodie inspiration. Here's what i found:

http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/post/31064437858/fab-fit-friday-back-to-school-granola-bars-and-a

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/10/22/skinny-halloween-treat-4-ingredient-homemade-pumpkin-frozen-yogurt/

http://fragrantvanillacake.blogspot.com/2012/09/raw-ginger-carrot-layer-cake.html

and as tasty as that all looks, i still managed to find a little home-style inspiration as well:

http://pinterest.com/pin/94786767128647694/

http://myidealhome.tumblr.com/post/24802386008/lovely-dining-area-via-homes-fjeldborg

http://nomadicway.tumblr.com/post/10731082780

We finished the day with a fire in the chimaya, chillin', grilling, and sipping a big red Zin....yes, it was a decadent day.  They don't call it Sunday Funday for nuttin....

Grilled veggies with black olives, roasted garlic, sundried tomatoes, and feta:

Mediterranean Grilled Veggies:

a few fistfuls chopped kale

a few cups mushroom slices

chopped asparagus (optional)

EVOO

balsamic

sea salt 

coarse black pepper

2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes

2 Tbsp chopped black olives

1 Tbsp roasted garlic, chopped

1/4 cup feta cheese

2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts

Toast pine-nuts in a dry pan over med-high heat, shaking occasionally until golden.  Put aside.  Chop about 8 pitted black olive into 3rds.  Add to a bowl with 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes, chopped roasted garlic, feta cheese, and pine nuts.  Heat the grill to 400.  Toss kale, mushrooms, and asparagus (if using) with EVOO and balsamic and grill until all veggies are cooked well (about 15 - 20 minutes).  Mix everything together in a bowl.  Season again with salt and pepper and balsamic to suit your palette.   Enjoy with Big Red Zin.

.

To enjoy big red zin:  peel, open, pour, and sip.  Ha, as if YOU needed directions on that one.  LOL