Bruised Rosemary Honey Roasted Nuts

Bruised Rosemary & Honey Roasted Nuts:

2 cups raw pecans

2 cups of additional raw nuts such as raw almonds or cashews

3 Tbsps of Ghee (clarified butter which is lactose free)

3 Tbsps of Honey

Coarse Sea Salt

Fresh Rosemary

Preheat oven to 375.  Melt the ghee and honey in a pot on low heat and crank in a little coarse sea salt. Pull the rosemary from it's stem and bruise it into the melted mixture using the back of a spoon to release the oils and fragrance.  Remove from heat and stir in the mixed nuts.  Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread the nut mixture out evenly.  Toast in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, stirring half way through.  Remove from oven crank on more coarse sea salt and allow to cool.  Put in jars, label, and wrap, or serve in jars as light cocktail fare.

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Craving Something Crunchy? Shamelessly Indulge In Kale Crisps

You know how sometimes you wander into the kitchen looking for something, but you don't know what it is? Then it hits you...i want something CRUNCHY! Inevitably, there is a bag of chips or pretzels, or even scarier a box of cookies. Not thinking too much about it we reach in and take a nibble....then another....then another.....and yet one more....next thing you know half the bag is gone and you still haven't received any nutrients so your body is wanting something MORE! Sure you can go to the store and buy kale chips or flax chips to have on hand, however a small bag puts you out nearly $7.00. In today's economy who has that kind of dough, plus who's to say you're gonna dig the flavor? Today's lesson is to make your own veggie based crisps to suit your tastes. All you need is about $2 for a bunch of kale (mine was $1.88), olive oil, nutritional yeast (which beyond a ton of B vitamins and protein, adds a cheese-like taste and 'cheetos' powder quality), and add any flavors to suit your palate. I am a sucker for the sweet and salty combination, which just so happened to work amazing with this latest kitchen creation. If you're a sweet, salty, crunchy lover too, follow the recipe exact and i promise you....you and your little ones won't be let down!

* You'll Need A Dehydrator 
(if you don't have one you can make my Baked Kale Chips recipe HERE)

Other Things You'll Need For Your Kale Crisps:

1 bunch of lacinato kale (pictured) or curly kale
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 & 1/2 Tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp spirulina
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Feeling Chip'er:

Trim the bottom of the kale about two inches and toss or compost.
Clean and lightly pat your kale leaves dry.
Remove the thick stem from each kale leaf, leaving the leaf connected about 1-2 inches from the top if possible where the thinner stem can remain. (stems left in can become stick-like and inedible after dehydrating for extended periods)
Cut the remainder of the leaves in half or into thirds (depending how long your leaves are), leaving each section about 3 inches in length. These will be your chips (they shrink as they dehydrate). These are delicate chips, so be gentle the remainder of this process. Place your kale in the largest mixing bowl your kitchen has to offer.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil
Add 1 & 1/2 tbsp agave

GENTLY toss to coat well with your hands. Pick up leaves and rub the under-side against/between your palms lightly to coat all leaves well. Make sure not to over massage the leaves, as this will make them weaker and you'll be left with chip scraps in the end. (The curly kale tends to stand up to massaging better, as their leaves are generally wider)

Sprinkle in sea salt, spirulina, and 1/2 the nutritional yeast.

Again, GENTLY toss with hands to coat the leaves well and to evenly distribute.

Add remaining nutritional yeast, and toss one more time gently rubbing the yeast flakes into the leaves.

Pull out your handy dandy dehydrator. Set temp around 118 degrees. Lay the kale leaves out flat on the dehydrator racks trying not to overlap leaves too much. Check after an hour and a half or two, flipping leaves and rotating the trays. It will take at least four hours to reach dryness (depending on size of leaves). The smaller the kale/chip, the faster they dry, however leaving them in the dehydrator for an extended period (6-8 hours) will not do anything other than make them extra crispy and even more fahhhhh-bulous.

These chips are so freakin' good...i wouldn't be at all surprised if you double or even triple each additional batch you make. (The end product is MUCH smaller than what you start with). Store them in an airtight glass container.

Chomp Away! The good thing is, it's pretty hard to feel bad about eating too much kale and spirulina.

Granola Biscuit Bites

These granola bites are great for when you're in a pinch running out the door, on the go traveling, camping, or simply mid-morning when you need a little something to get you through until lunch.  They are easy to make, super low calorie, low fat, and made from rolled oats and sweetened with fruit and honey.  Gluten free, soy free, dairy free, granola biscuit bites can be made Vegan by switching out the honey for agave, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or another vegan-friendly sweetener.  PS - let it be known the dough is just as fun to eat as the cookies.  Plan to yield a couple less than expected due to pre-bake noshing.

Granola Biscuit Bites:

1 very large super ripe (spotty) banana
2 Tbsp of Coconut Butter 
1 tsp coconut oil
2 cup gluten free oats
3 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp golden flaxseed
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp dried blueberries
1 Tbsp dried sour cherries
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350.  Use a food processor with the S blade to combine the coconut oil, coconut butter, honey, sea salt, cinnamon, and banana.  Pulse in the other ingredients until fully moist.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop out spoonfuls of dough to make small mounds.  Bake from 14 - 20 minutes to reach your desired doneness.  Makes approximately 18 cookies.

Nutrition facts per cookie (yield 18): 
Calories: 41
Fat:  2
Carbs: 10
Fiber:  1.5
Protein:  1.7

Salty, Crispy, Roasted Asparagus & Making Ryan Gosling Smile.

There are a few things you should know about me:

1.  I like salt.  Actually i should say I love salt.  Salty foods make me smile.  I especially like sweet, salty combos.
2.  I like roasted veggies.  It brings out their natural sweetness (which of course i off-set with lots of sea salt) and I especially like the roasted bits with slightly burnt edge.  They make my toes curl.  mm mmm mmmm.
3.  I might be in love with ryan gosling.  He too makes my toes curl.  Lucky for me my boyfriend kind of looks like him :)

So what could be better, healthier, or saltier than having an afternoon snack of salted, slightly crispy, roasted veggies?  I dunno...a date with Ryan Gosling?  Yeah, perhaps that would be better, but roasted, salted, asparagus ain't so bad either.  It's definitely better than eating bread, and eating bread makes R.G sad, and we don't want to see him sad...or do we????

Not to mention asparagus is uber good for you and will help you get in your skinny jeans...and skinny jeans turn boys' heads.

asparagus pros:

- it's a rich source of glutathione, an antioxidant that is mega importante when detoxing
- it's a spectacular diuretic (makes you pee).  This helps get rid of excess salts and water retention (especially if you over salt like me), but it also helps relieve edema (swelling).
- it's flipping full of nutrients.  We're talking about folate, fiber, vitamins A, C, E, and K, and chromium which helps insulin work better (helps get sugar out of your blood stream and into your cells).
- one spear of asparagus is under 4 calories.  So you can eat a whole'lotta spears for very little caloric impact - and since it's full of fiber and water, it's pretty filling for a great afternoon snack.

asparagus cons:

- your pee will smell like asparagus.

I recommend carrying a match, incense, perfume, or some other divine fragrance to mist in la toilette after you pee.  Otherwise, others may too know you're eating asparagus, and others knowing your eating asparagus cuz they smell your pee ain't so sexy, friend.


Roasted, Salted Asparagus:

First look for the skinny spears and buy those if you can.  Sometimes the market only has fatties.  UGH, this bums me out.  Skinny spears cook quick, char quick, and get a little crispy.  nom nom.  If fatties is all they got, then fatties is what you'll be eating.  They are still good, but you'll have to cook them longer.....and this hungry girl hates waiting for her snacks.  

Set the oven to 375 or 400 (everyone's oven temps may vary a bit)
roll out parchment paper onto a baking sheet
cut the woody end off the asparagus
lay out on the baking sheet, prevent overlapping
mist with EVOO or coconut oil (trader joes now has one in the mister can)
crank of the sea salt
roast for about 18 minutes (checking for doneness at 15 - skinnies cook quick)

If you are digging on the char, let the last minute be under broil, but watch em' they'll burn quick!  Take them out, let them cool a few minutes, add more salt if you need to and snitch away.

Good Eatin' Oat-E Bars

Perfect for your Grateful Lips and Sexy Hips.  Here's a raw, healthy, and clean-eating energy bar, sans any low quality sugars, preservatives, or fillers.  JUST * GOOD * CLEAN * FOOD.

Raw Chewy Oat-E Bars:

6 pitted medjool dates
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (squeezed from a medium orange)
2 heaping Tbsps Raw Creamy Almond Butter
1 Tbsp Honey
1 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup whole flaxseeds
1 1/2 cups gluten free (uncooked) oats
cinnamon - to taste, a few dashes
sea salt - also a few sprinkles, to taste

Put the dates in the food processor with the almond butter, honey, and orange juice.  Process the dates down.  Add all the other ingredients and process lightly until everything is combined well and tacky/sticks together.  Remove contents from food processor and place on parchment paper.  Form a large square.  Score into 10 bars.  Store in the fridge-y.

remove from food processor and press firmly into square shape

score into 10 bars with a sharp knife

i use plastic mixed greens containers to store bars in.  Parchment in between to prevent sticking.  store in fridge.

No Bake Protein Bars

These are easy, fantastic, fun, healthy, and require next to no time.  If that doesn't sell you on this recipe, i don't know what will.  OH!!!  How about that these home-made protein bars are low carb, low sugar, and require only a few ingredients unlike the traditional processed ones you see on the shelf with tons of fillers.   The base is only 3 ingredients with honey as an optional 4th ingredient.  The rest is up to you if you want to add more dimension.  I added pumpkin seeds and dried blueberries, but you can easily add coconut flakes, almonds, flax, chia, raisins, gojis, whatever it is that you've got on hand.


No Bake Gratitude Bars


Your base is one very large ripe banana (or two small)
1/4 cup of creamy, unsalted peanut butter
4 scoops of sun warrior vanilla protein powder (pea and hemp protein)
and an optional Tbsp of honey (if omitting you may want to bump up the PB by a Tbsp or add a Tbsp of agave for stickiness)

In your food processor with the standard S blade, process the banana down to a pudding.  Add in the PB and process again.  Toss in the protein powder and process, adding the Tbsp of honey.  This will make what looks like a sticky crumble.   If you omit honey check the tackiness of your mixture by pinching a small amount between your fingers.  You want it to stick together tightly.  If it doesn't add a Tbsp of PB or a vegan sweetener such as agave.

This is your base.  Take any mix-ins you want to add (1/2 cup dried fruit and 1/2 cup nuts or seeds) and toss them into the food processor and pulse just a few times to distribute.  If nothing you add is salted add a pinch of sea salt and i recommend a few solid dashes of cinnamon as well.

 I added 1/2 cup of roasted & salted pumpkin seeds and 1/2 cup of dried wild blueberries, along with cinnamon.

Press this tightly together with your hands and into a square cake pan lined with parchment or saran so they are easy to remove once cut.

You can cut these into small squares, long bar-like rectangles, or like me into 6 fatty rectangles.  Here are the nutrition deets:

for the entire base recipe with honey (without mix-ins):  910 calories, 36 grams fat, and 11 grams fiber


for the entire recipe w/ pumpkin seeds and blueberries:  1530 calories, 66 grams fat, and 28 grams fiber


The way i cut mine it serves 6. 
One serving of the recipe with pumpkin seeds and blueberries has:


250 calories, 11 grams fat, and 5 grams fiber....PLUS 15 grams of protein!

Make At Home Lara-like Bars

I first came across a recipe for these on Pinterest, then after digging deeper i found a few other bloggers (enlightened cooking and DAMY) who also posted recipes for their makeshift lara bars (check out enlightened cooking for her take on trio and kind bars too).  I thought i too would try my hand at these in hopes they would be an easy to prep recipe for my girls/teens workshop later this month.  Luckily they are, and i believe they are going to be a big hit with the sassy little ladies!

After hitting up Trader Joes and stocking up on maddening amounts of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, i cleared off the counters, busted out the food processor and started making bars.  I was blown away at what a breeze they are to make.  I even used the now empty medjool date container to store my bars (stacked on sheets of parchment paper) in the fridgey.  I started with just three flavors but you could easily swap out the ingredients using similar measurements to make a special YOU bar.

the basic recipe is 1/2 cup of dried fruit processed to a paste to 1/3 cup of ground nuts.  Make sure you don't grind the nuts all the way down to a flour, the nuts should be like coarse gravel.


Apple Cinnamon Pumpkin Bars (my fave of the three)
makes four bars


8 dried apple rings (from T.J's)
4 large pitted medjool dates
1/3 cup of nuts/seeds:  this was half almonds and half roasted, salted pumpkin seeds
a few solid shakes of cinnamon and a dash of sea salt

Apricot Almond Bars
makes four bars


1/4 cup of pitted medjool dates (about 5)
1/4 cup of dried apricots (approx 7)
your dried fruit should equal 1/2 cup total
1/3 cup raw almonds
cinnamon
sea salt

Blueberry Coconut Cashew Bars
makes 6 bars


1/2 cup pitted medjool dates
3 heaping Tbsp of dried blueberries
1/3 cup cashew pieces
2 rounded Tbsps Coconut flour
cinnamon
sea salt

Directions:

Put the nuts in the food processor and grind to a coarse gravel.  Put these nuts aside in a bowl.  Add the dried fruit to the empty food processor and process to a thick, lightly-chunky paste.  Add the nuts to the dried fruit in the food processor and sprinkle in cinnamon and sea salt.  Process a bit to combine well.  When the mixture is tacky and you can pinch it together to stick well it's done (it will look like a sticky crumble).  Put this mixture into a large bowl and either use your hands or a spatula to press it together well.  Put your sticky (lara-like) ball onto a piece of parchment paper, lay saran wrap over top, and begin to shape into a rectangle by pressing down with the back of a drinking glass or your hands.  Trim the edges with a wet knife to create your perfect rectangle.  To cut the bars wet the knife first.  Store these in your fridge.

Sometimes A Girl's Just Gotta Have Her Cereal: Enjoy Life

Think back to your favorite boxed cereals as a kid....

Lucky charms, Fruity Pebbles, Life, Golden Grahams, Frosted Flakes, Raisin Bran....

I loved them all...the healthy ones too!  I enjoyed fiber cereals made of what other kids thought were sticks and twigs just as much as i liked my Sugar Smacks, and although i still do have an deep affinity for cereal, i don't eat it much.  I realize that boxed cereals are heavily refined, processed, and nutrient deplete foods, and i know that Corn Pops are going to hold me over for all of 10 minutes, but still...sometimes a girl's just gotta have her cereal.

Lucky for this Gluten Free girl, Enjoy Life has a full line of Gluten Free Foods.  I picked up a box of their Crunchy Flax cereal and too my delight it's the perfect low fat topper on a fruit cereal bowl.  While i used to pile my bowl full of cereal and leave little room for some banana or berries on top, i've now switched the proportions and start with a bowl of fruit/berries and just top the fruit with almond milk and a few Tbsps of nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, or whatever it is that suits my fancy.  Since my discovery of this great gluten free cereal i now have a go to recipe for a guiltless bowl of cereal still hearty in antioxidant-rich berries and pumpkin seeds to boost my iron and protein, now with a little kicker of low fat crunchy cereal to top it off.  YUM!

Blueberry, Pumpkin Seed, & Crunchy Flax Cereal:

1 cup organic blueberries rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp of roasted and salted pumpkin seeds (i'm a fan of the sweet/salty combo, though you can use raw unsalted pumpkin seeds if you do not have my same love for sweet/salty stuff!)
3 Tbsp of Enjoy Life's Crunchy Flax Cereal
1/2 cup of vanilla unsweetened almond milk
liquid stevia to sweeten if needed.

"Let This Be Enough": A Daily Dining Mantra

"Let This Be Enough."

So often we are tempting by the flavors, smells, and comforts, the many joys, food brings us.  Often so tempted that we indulge, over indulge, and grow somewhat attached to our foods.

Let this be enough is my daily dining mantra that helps me stay on track with right nutrition.  It's a gentle reminder that food is not a reward, it's not a tool to bury stress, boredom, or fear.  Plus, since what you serve yourself must be enough, it makes you contemplate what you put on your plate, so that it will keep you nourished until your next meal or snack.

Food Journaling as well is a fantastic tool to help steer you toward better decisions.  You can see where there is repetition in your diet:

perhaps you are always wanting something sweet at 3pm, snacking after dinner even though you're not truly hungry, eating too much because you are UNDER hydrated.

Being able to look back at your day or many days can help determine a proper diet for yourself whether that's 4 meals a day, 3 meals and two snacks, or 6 small snacks throughout the day.  Food Journaling shows you where little bits might have snuck in, plus many have a 'notes' section at the footer so you can record any feelings/thoughts/inspirations/or reminders from the day or going forward.

Now onto the foodie stuff....

I've been consuming a lot of fruit lately....and a lot of fruit bowls.  While I'm thoroughly enjoying the taste of lactose free dairy yogurt on them, i do not believe it's honoring my constitution.  Listening to my body and it's cycles (and journaling these in my food diary) I've recognized that small amounts of dairy here and there might be okay, but too much dairy (such as a serving of yogurt on a daily basis, even if it's lactose free) is not going to work for me.  It's such a shame since i don't like soy-gurt, coconut yogurt (which is heavily processed and refined, Friends), or even the vegan versions one can make with rice or almond milk and agar agar.  If YOU have a low fat, dairy free, soy free, YUMMY alternative to plain dairy yogurt (that actually tastes and feels like yogurt) PLEASE let me know!  Meanwhile perhaps i'll use a little chia pudding or some citrus/tahini or sweet poppyseed dressings for my salads.

Two things i LOVE adding to my fruit bowls are cilantro and cucumber.  Both really freshen up and add a really nice dimension to a fruit salad.  Mind you it won't work with every fruit, but do try green apple, kiwi, blueberry, cucumber, and cilanto together, topped with a couple Tbsps of plain yogurt (if you are okay with dairy) and roasted and salted pumpkin seeds and pistachios.  NOM NOM!!!  Consider making the colors of your fruit pair together to make your dining experience more beautiful.  Grapefruit with strawberry and cherry, or the green and blues from the cuke, blue, kiwi, apple bowl.  Add pops of green with pumpkin seeds and pistachios, or flecks of white and green with whole hempseeds.

Roasted Cauliflower

recipe and image from Whole Living

Let's face it, cauliflower is like the ugly step child of vegetables.  If it were in gym class it would be last picked for the team.  Cauliflower would have to sit on the back of the bus, and would have no one to push him on the swing.  For years it's gotten shoved aside on veggie platters and mashed up with potatoes to hide the flavor, while we've cuddled and savored it's more colorful and flavorful veggie playmates.  It's unfortunate too, as cauliflower has a WEALTH of healthy benefits, AND prepared right it actually is really, really good!

One cup of cauliflower will provide you 85% of your Recommended Daily Intake of Vitamin C....did you hear that?  85%!! Yet have you ever heard anyone suggest you eat cauliflower when you are sick?  Plus as an excellent source of Vitamin K and Omega 3's (yes, you heard that right, cauliflower contains omega 3's!), cauliflower provides us with one of the hallmark anti-inflammatory nutrients.  What more?  It's low in calories and high in fiber.  Who doesn't love that?

You can click on the link below the photo above for Whole Living's basic roasted cauliflower recipe.  I've made this many times, always using different spices.  Last night was the best batch i've ever made.

Here's the recipe:

One head of cauliflower, chopped
Olive Oil Spray
onion powder
garlic powder
celery salt
black pepper
sea salt
liquid stevia

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lay the cauliflower on a parchment lined pan.  Mist lightly with olive oil.  Squirt a few drops of liquid stevia into your palm and gently toss cauliflower.  Shake the seasonings listed above over cauliflower, lightly toss, and roast for about 15-20 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.

These are great as a side dish, but i love making it as a healthy snack!

I Eat, Therefore I Blog. 10 of My All Time Faves.

Breakfast Cobbler (click for link)

BeeKeepers Muesli

Cantelope Coconut Mocktail

Peachy Green Smoothie

Raw'k N' Rolls

Fresh Lean & Green Lima Bean Salad

Oven Roasted Frenchy Fries

Pack'm Up Snack'm Up Bars

Raw Choco Chip Cookie Dough Bites (click for link)

Heart Healthy Cookie Jar

Figgy Business

Yo it's fig season.  I've been eating black mission figs lately up the ying yang.  I can't get enough of these delicious no guilt treats packed with potassium, fiber, and well...magic.  Today was my first foray into calmarnya figs...the green ones.  As i savored my gooey red jammy filled velvety pouch of figliciousness i referenced feeling goddess like.  Figs are so beautiful and i think somewhat magical too.

While i'm not a big cheese eater i do indulge in a wee bit here and there.  Lately i've been indulging in a wee bit of goat cheese on me figs.  OH MAN!  Slice your figs into four, slap on a dallop of goat or honeyed goat cheese and top with a pistachio.  This is the stuff goddess dreams are made of.

Want to keep it VEGAN?  Leave the goat cheese behind and dust your figs with dried flaked coconut.  YUM!

By the way, as if you couldn't have figured this out on your own, this figlicious treat is stellar accompanied with a glass o' vino.  I'm currently into 2009 Vigilance Cimarron, a sustainably farmed cuvee out of California.  So easy to sip, sniff, savor, and enjoy.  AND for you Bev Mo fans, it's on the 5 cent deal until October 24th.  Buy one get one more for 5 cents.  Yeah, you heard that right.  It's typically the only time i buy more expensive wines (this is a $20 bottle).  So get on down to your Bev Mo (or order on line here), get your vigilance, hustle to your co-op or farmers market, and get yourselves some figs, pistachios, and goat cheese.  Enjoy my Sweetpeas...enjoy with gratitude.  Savor each sip and bite thanking the farmers that grew it, those before them that taught them how, and the many complexities of flavors, colors, and textures that will prance upon your palette.  You can thank me for this tip later.


xo

Market To Table Cooking Class & 5 Easy Recipes

cups culinary space la jolla

This sunday i went to a rocking market to table culinary class at Cups.  Local San Diegans you might know Cups for it's cupcakes, but tucked away on the back side down a nondescript alley and behind a big wrought iron cupcake gate lies this little mecca for the aspiring chef (or for anyone that wants to learn how to get savvy in the kitch.)  Jesus Gonzales is the creative director at Cups, the former head chef at rancho la puerta, and was our mastermind for the day.  I had already known about Jesus since he was the chef that prepared our dishes during beaming cleanse.

The group took a gander through the local farmers market where we picked up any produce we wanted to cook with or learn to cook with.  A few assistants and a few bag fulls later we were in the kitch where Jesus put us all to work.  We each had a task or two to create our lunch together.  And even though there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen we seamlessly put together an AWESOME lunch, thankfully without any band-aids, first aid kits, or the like necessary.

Here's what we dined on and a few of the recipes.  Everything was easy to do and so delicious!

this is the dish i made!

Kale Salad:

one bunch kale

one avocado

one asian pear

1 tsp EVOO

2 lemons

s/p

sprouts
broccoli stems (optional)

nuts and seeds (walnuts and pepitas)

a basic kale salad requires you to de stem the kale to take out bitterness, stack the leaves and chiffonate/slice ribbon like (thin).  Toss into a large bowl with juice from one lemon, 1 tsp EVOO, and a dash of salt.  Massage the heck outta the greens until they look wilted/slightly cooked.  Really give em' a good squeezin'.  Toss into the salad whatever add ins you like.  We did sliced asian pear, chopped avocado, onion and sunflower sprouts, pumpkin seeds and walnuts, and sliced broccoli stems: peel the stem of broccoli  and slice at an 1/8 inch intervals at a diagonal.  I added the juice from the additional lemon to prevent the asian pear and the avo from browning.

Muesli Stuffed Nectarines:

1 cup each of walnuts and almonds (pulse in a food processor to break down significantly)

Toss this with:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 can of coconut milk (full fat)

1-2 Tbsp of coconut sugar (or sweetener of choice like agave, stevia, honey)

cinnamon to taste

This would make an awesome overnights oats dish, or would be great on fruit salad, a yogurt parfait, with almond milk, or stuffed into any halved pitted fruits. Jesus uses coconut sugar since it has a lower Glycemic Index.

Pistachio and Goat Cheese Saute'd Figs and Dates:

slice your figs and dates only halfway through (remove the pit from the date).  Stuff with goat cheese and a few pistachios.  Eat as is, or saute in a lightly misted pan to lightly brown.  (some were wrapped in procuitto - should you choose to do this you saute first, then wrap w/ proscuitto, then saute lightly again.)

someone asked me recently how to cook with eggplant..here you go:

Vegetable Terrine:

1 eggplant (pick one that is firm and shiny)

2 large heirloom tomatoes

pesto (see radish greens pesto recipe below)

1 lb. goat cheese (or just more pesto if you are making it non dairy)

Slice tomatoes to about 1/8 inch.  Slice eggplant as thinly as you can.  Heat a DRY pan and cook the eggplant on both sides just until it browns.  Layer your casserole dish first with a layer of sliced tomatoes to fully cover the bottom, sprinkle goat cheese over tomatoes (or pesto), then a layer of eggplant, then a layer of  pesto, repeat until you've used everything, finishing with the eggplant.  Press down on built terrine with another same sized dish.  Place in fridge for an hour (we skipped this step and it was just fine!).  Cut into small squares and pour any sauce over the top (we used tomatillo though i think a marinara would be great...or even just more pesto).  This also would be really great over a bed of greens.

Radish Greens Pesto:

1 cup of walnuts

1 bunch of radish greens (green parts only)

1 avocado

EVOO (about 1/4 cup)

Asiago Cheese or 1/4 cup parmesan
3 garlic cloves

salt/pepper/cayenne to taste

All goes into a food processor.  The avo adds a lot of creaminess so just drizzle the EVOO in as it's processing so you can get to the consistency you like.

This was served on fresh rosemary bread with roasted red pepper and shaved asiago cheese.  It was also the pesto we used in the terrine.

ladies lunching!!!

terrine, broccoli rabe, kale salad, figs and dates, and squash tagine

The next class at Cups will be October 2.  This Farm-to-Table class is hosted by Jesus Gonzalez and Suzie's Farm - my favorite farm here in San Diego!!!

Do you struggle with what to do with the seasonal fresh vegetables you receive in your CSA box, or have you wanted to join one but have worried you won’t know what to do with all the fresh produce once it arrives? Or maybe you marvel at the variety of produce available in local markets and want to cook healthier meals. If so, this is the class for you! This class will feature a box of produce from Suzie’s Farm in San Diego, which the class will utilize to make several tasty dishes. Students are also encouraged to bring along their own CSA boxes or a particular fruit/vegetable that they want to learn how to cook. Recipes will be provided to all participants in this instructional hands-on class with an expert is using the freshest local, seasonal ingredients.

$65. 9am-12pm (Minimum 8, maximum 16)

What I'm Eating Now: Breakfast For Nut Butter Addicts

"Hi I'm Meredith, and i'm addicted to nut butter."  

A month back while at Henry's market i stumbled upon an end cap with a variety of nut butters, some of which i hadn't tried before:

Coconut Manna - yes, i've had you and you always make me want more.  Cashew butter....I've had my way with you too...puuuurrrrrrrr.  Almond...you'll always be my standby.  Peanut...i mean duh i grew up on it.  HOWEVER i had never had sunflower seed butter before and the label really appealed to me.  2 Tbsp of sunflower seed butter had a fraction of the fat and more fiber than you'll see in almond butter (12 grams fat, 4 grams of fiber).  I took it home.  I spooned it from the jar.  I slathered it on things.  I threw it in smoothies.  I went back and bought more...and not just one jar!  Here i am 4 jars later scraping the end bits out of this empty jar and scheduling my day around another market run to refill my supply.

Here's breakfast today...and yesterday...and the day before.  This really holds me over.  Like grandma said about her oats - it'll stick to your ribs.

1 rice cake (i use lundberg brand lightly salted)
1/2 banana, sliced
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter

(this has about 210 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 4 grams of fiber) - makes a great snack too!

not feeling like it's enough?  double it up and use your whole banana, 2 rice cakes, and 2 Tbsp Sunflower Seed Butter.   (will have about 420 cal, 14 g fat, and 8 grams fiber)

PS - i'm on Twitter now.  Click here to find me at A_Grateful_Life. (A_Grateful_Life)

Clean, Green, and Lean: Roasted Okra

I love okra.  It's a vegetable that took me a long time to try because my Mom never made it and i never knew what to do with it.  Last year i really got into it and i'm so excited that it's in season again now.  Not only is it packed with vitamin C but half a cup is only going to cost you about 30 calories!  Plus it's got a high profile of antioxidants. 

roasted okra, recipe below

 We've been growing okra at home, but my plant isn't quite mature yet.  Luckily it's abundant at the farmers market now.  Check out our okra plant...it has a beautiful yellow bloom and you can see all my little okra pods starting to grow (look at the sprouts above the flower).

Roasted Okra:

Heat the oven to 400
Make sure your okra is dry (so perhaps wash it earlier and let them air dry)
No need to trim - leave it whole with the stem/tip
Mist your okra with olive oil
Season with sea salt
Put in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until they are starting to wilt and char.  Shake the pan every now and again.

Allow them to cool for a few minutes before attempting to devour!  Hold the stem end and gobble up the tasty pod.

*when selecting okra, pick the pods that are about 2 1/2 - 3 inches in length.  The very large pods can get woody.



first image from google

The Tortilla Chip Fiasco: A Confession & Lesson Learned

Well the cleanse made it two days....almost.  After my happy hour pina coolada and an inspired session blogging i hit the kitchen with the best of intentions to juice.  What happened in the kitchen is a completely different story.

The boyfriend was making fresh salsa from these juicy tomatoes we picked from Heidi's garden.  I sampled the salsa, as clearly it was cleanse approved, and was tickled by not only the heated kick but also by how my beer guzzling, meat slinging boyfriend made an AWESOME raw and wholesome dish.  My willpower faded and the bag of tortilla chips on the counter was all i could see.  I fell into a foggy haze of delirium and before i knew it i was two fists deep into tortilla chips and gobbling up the best salsa and the ripest avocado i could have ever dreamed up.

Clearly the cleanse went out the window.  However, not all is lost.  I got back on board on Sunday eating a very 'cleanse approved' diet and now with the BF out of town for a few days i'm hoping to be less distracted by his indulgent ways.

Now...there is a lesson to my tortilla chip fiasco.  Within minutes of devouring chips i was in a drunken state.  No kidding.  I felt inebriated...drunk...processed foods = toxins....and toxic matter was taking over my body.  Not cool.  A few minutes after this realization the sick feeling set in.  Double not cool.  I was just feeling BLAH, gross, kinda sick to my stomach, and it made me realize how horrible processed food is for our bodies....yes, even tortilla chips!!! (albeit if i made them on my own without salt and from fresh tortillas i might not have been feeling quite this sick).  Lesson learned.  As a matter of fact the very next morning i participated in a class where we got to set an affirmation and mine was "I will continue to put high vibration food/juice into my body daily and with that take out food without life giving properties."  Pretty easy to affirm to that when i was feeling hung over from my tortilla chip fiasco.

HOME MADE TORTILLA CHIP RECIPE:

choose corn tortillas with MINIMUM ingredients.  label should read corn, salt, lime.  OR buy them fresh at a farmers market or reputable vendor.

Stack 3 corn tortillas.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter cut down the center so you have two equal halves.
Slice each of these twice to make 3 triangles on each semi-circle (6 chips all together per tortilla).
Mist lightly with EVOO and place on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350 shaking the pan or flipping the chips after a couple minutes.
Keep your eyes on them, they will cook fast and be ready in less than 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with salt or hit with a squeeze of lime