It’s sweet, it’s refreshing, and it’s…GREEN? Yup, it’s a Green Monster Smoothie!

I know most of you reading right now are Green Monster experts and enthusiasts, so you’re probably wondering what on earth you could possibly learn from this post. And actually, I don’t think you’ll learn anything you don’t already know. But, I do think you could offer your Green Monster expertise for those less familiar with the wonderfulness that is the GM.

This post is actually written more for my other friends and readers. I have a lot of my Zumba participants, “real life” friends, and blog/twitter friends who either aren’t as familiar with Green Monster smoothies or have possibly never heard of them before.

So, if you’re wondering what the heck a “Green Monster” is, then read on. And if you’re a Green Monster guru, then leave some comment love to share some of your GM-know-how and favorite GM recipes.

So, what is a Green Monster smoothie?

What is it?

A Green Monster smoothie is a healthy smoothie that is bright green in color, thanks to the star ingredient: spinach! Yes…I said “spinach.” Don’t cringe. Honestly…once it’s all blended up with other ingredients, you cannot taste it! I mean, have you ever tried eating just a spinach leaf plain? I have. It didn’t taste like much of anything. So, especially when you blend the spinach up with fruit and milk, you won’t taste it. Mmmkay?

Now, some people will use kale in place of spinach, but personally, I prefer spinach.

Ingredients

There are endless combinations of ingredients to make a GM, but the most basic and common ingredients are:

• Spinach – This is the KEY ingredient – you can use fresh or frozen (I’ve tested it – check out this post), and as I mentioned above, you can substitute the spinach with kale
• Bananas – usually 1 to 2 are used per smoothie, I go with 1 per serving, and I prefer frozen bananas because it makes the texture thicker, not to mention this is a good way to save bananas before they spoil – freeze and save for a smoothie later!
• Milk of choice – dairy milk, soy milk, vanilla rice milk – whatever you fancy, but obviously a sweetened milk will yield a sweeter smoothie
• Ice – to help make the smoothie cold and frosty

Other common GM ingredients:

• Yogurt – makes the smoothie thicker and provides protein and probiotics
• Honey/Agave – liquid sweeteners if you need more sweetness in the smoothie – I think the bananas are sweet enough and if you use a sweetened non-dairy milk, you probably won’t need either of these
• Chia Seeds – a health-food ingredient – If you let it sit in liquid for several minutes, it will plump up and become gelatinous (like a tiny tapioca pearl, for bubble tea fans)
• Nut Butters – peanut butter, almond butter, etc. – for creaminess and healthy nut nutrition
• Other fruits – feel free to add your other favorite fruits – just see the next section on ingredients to avoid when selecting

Ingredients to use in small portions when making GMs:

*Edited: After reading some of the comments, I decided to edit this to warn against using too much of these ingredients instead of avoiding them all together. Thanks guys! *

• Berries – blueberries, raspberries, etc. -because if you use too much, the berries will change the color of the smoothie and it won’t be green or as green
• Other – Pretty much anything with a lot of color that will change the color of the smoothie away from green (trust me, a brown smoothie is not as appealing visually, even if it still tastes amazing…not to mention I wouldn’t call a brown smoothie a “Green” Monster. I’d call that just a smoothie with spinach in it. We should come up with a name for these, right?!)

Once you’re ready to blend, there are a couple tips to keep in mind…

Blending Tips

I like to layer my ingredients in the blender in the following order (and all of these ingredients are not always used, but if I were using them, this is the order I’d go with):

• Spinach – putting this at the bottom helps ensure the leaves are blended instead of flying around the blender and sticking to the sides – if I use frozen, I don’t always add that first since it doesn’t have the same texture as fresh
• Dry ingredients – like flaxseed meal, matcha, etc – same reason as spinach – so it doesn’t get stuck to the sides/lid
• Nut Butters – so it’s less likely to fly up and stick to the sides
• Liquid Sweetener – same as nut butters
• Other small fruits – goji berries, etc.
• Bananas – to weigh spinach down
• Other large fruit – cantaloupe, etc.
• Ice
• Milk of choice

And every blender is different, so settings will vary. I usually just blend away until all the fruit/ice is smooth and all the spinach leaves are blended so small, I don’t see individual pieces, just smooth greenness. This usually only takes 1 or 2 minutes for me.

Why Drink Green Monsters?

First of all, they’re fun to look at and just plain delicious.

After spending a month with my Project Veg-Up challenge focusing on eating lots of fruits and veggies every day, I know that it can sometimes be a struggle, especially on your busiest days to get your full servings for the day. Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to consume fruit. And now thanks to the GM, they can be the easiest way to consume vegetables (at least spinach), too!

So GM smoothies feature spinach, and here’s why spinach is good for you – a quote I’ve shared before from whfoods.com:

Spinach is an excellent source of bone-healthy vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, and calcium; heart-healthy folate, potassium, and vitamin B6; energy-producing iron and vitamin B2; and free radical-scavenging vitamin A (through its concentration of beta-carotene) and vitamin C.

Side note: This is just general info. I know some people are supposed to avoid spinach (doctor’s orders), so obviously, you may want to avoid the GM if this is true for you, too. And, you should always consult with your doctor before making dietary changes. But, I trust that you know what’s best for you.

Basic Green Monster Smoothie Recipe

Green Monster smoothies are beautiful to look at and delicious to drink. And if you’re not sold yet, they’re good for you, too! Drinking GM smoothies is the easiest way I know to get a vegetable serving in for the day. Also, I don’t typically add extra sweeteners to my smoothies, but I’ve included directions below in case you would like to add some to yours.

*Vegan if you use vegan milk*

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 cups loosely packed spinach (or sub 1/4 cup frozen spinach)
• 1 banana (a frozen banana will give you a thicker consistency, but non-frozen works, too)
• 1 cup milk of choice (dairy, non-dairy, vanilla non-dairy, etc.)
• 2 cubes ice
• sweetener of choice, to taste, optional

Directions:

1. Place spinach, banana, milk, and ice in the blender.
2. Cover and blend until banana/ice is processed and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Taste test and if desired, blend in sweetener of choice to taste.
3. Enjoy!

Here are more fabulous GM smoothie recipes you may enjoy:

• Cookies ‘N Cream Green Monster – a TCL recipe
• Matcha Green Tea Green Monster – a TCL recipe
• Peppermint Patty Green Monster – Oh She Glows
• Cake Batter Green Monster – Peas and Thank You
• Green Hemp Smoothie – Choosing Raw
• Green Mocha Smoothie – Foodie Fresh
• And I have lots more queued up, so check back soon for more GM love!

*And be sure to check out this site for hundreds of other tasty Green Monster recipes: http://greenmonstermovement.com/ *

Green Monster Virgins: Are you scared of Green Monsters or do you think you’ll try one soon? Why or why not?

Green Monster Gurus: What are you favorite things to add to your GM smoothies? And if you have any GM smoothies (of your own or of others) that you love, please leave the link in a comment!

Have you ever wanted to try new beauty products but been intimidated by the whole process? From picking out the correct product for your skin, to knowing if it will mesh well, there are all kinds of complications that can arise and send you into a panic. Don’t worry. I have some suggestions.

Read on for the dets, but first…some food photos…

I made a tropical-style bowl of oats with rolled oats, banana, and coconut. I just had to put the creation in my Bahamas bowl.

After my beach vacay most of last week, I wasn’t looking forward to spending a day out of the fun and sun and in my windowless cubicle. But, it did feel good to work my way through my inbox and start being productive at the office.

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After the (what seemed like a longer than normal) work day, I headed to Zumba!

Song #3 was a killer squat song, and I helped co-lead it, which meant I was on the stage in front of all the other participants. This means no half-a$$ing the squats, peeps. I was going all out and it took all the energy from my legs for the rest of class! lol. Thank you Press It Up for kicking my hiney. Phew! It hurts so good, though.

I also really enjoyed doing:

• My First Kiss
• Prumm
• Pompis Pa’Arriba

Hubby was a doll and made dinner yet again – Earthfare salad bar…

…and whole wheat spaghetti with grass-fed beef/tomato sauce.

And for dessert…none other than chocolate chip cookie dough balls! It’s so nice having these back in the house again. I wonder if I’ll be baking these for the rest of my life? Will dough balls be the next jello mold?

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My Secrets to Finding & Testing New Skin Care Products

Consult a Professional

Let me start by admitting that I’m a bit of a make-up/beauty product snob. I had pretty bad acne when I was a kid/teen, and tried nearly every product available at the drug store. What I finally determined was that it was better to consult a professional and pay more for 1 product than try 5 “cheap ones” that didn’t, or only semi, worked.

If you can afford it, definitely see a dermatologist. Actually, it’s safe/best to consult them before making a change to your beauty routine, especially if you have health concerns or sensitive skin.

Either way, the “professional” I’m actually talking about here is the one behind the make-up counter of your favorite shop. Not only are they trained to use the products they’re selling, they are usually expert users of the products. They’ve seen everything come through their shop, and they’ll probably be able to utilize all that training and experience to give you some great help.

Note: If you can pick a product off the shelf at CVS and have it work perfectly, then more power to you. Seriously, I’m jealous. But, if you’re like me…keep reading for more tips. Not to mention, playing with new beauty products can be fun!

Get Referrals

So, like I was saying, check with the consultants of your favorite shop. Now, you may not yet know which shop is your favorite. Or, perhaps you had a favorite, but you want to try something new. Personally, I like to get referrals when I try new products/companies…preferably from people I know and trust (my mom is the one who told me about Origins).

Play the Field

When you are in the market for a new product, the world is your oyster. All the peeps at the make-up counters are ready to help you and will do anything in their power to assist you. Some may be a bit more into pressure sales than others (personally, I find that really annoying and prefer to take my business elsewhere), but don’t cave. Now is the time to play the field, try as many products as you want, and really see what’s out there.

Get a Free Consultation

Almost every make-up counter will do a free consultation, make-over, or mini facial. And places like Sephora and Ulta will be able to provide consultations for lots of different products, sometimes even suggestion a combination of products from multiple companies.

You’ll probably need an appointment, though some places do walk-ins. Your best bet is to call ahead. And while you have them on the phone, you should verify the visit will be free. Some charge money and some have minimum product purchases. Don’t get caught off-guard or allow yourself to be tricked into sales. And yes, this happened to me. I got snookered into purchasing 3 items from a not-so-cheap make-up company. Grr…

Ask Questions

While you’re having your consultation, be sure to ask as many questions as you can think of. You have the expert right there in front of you. Use their knowledge to empower yourself so you can make the best decision. Ask how to use the product (usually they show you this during your consultation), what skin types it’s best for, how long it will last, how much it costs…anything.

Samples First, Purchase Later

Given that my skin isn’t always the most agreeable, I find that I need a couple weeks testing out the product before I commit to purchase. Request free samples. They may not advertise or offer them, but they usually can provide samples. They should be able to either put a small amount in a mini pot, and sometimes they even have sample sized portions pre-packaged (like the plantscriptions sample pictured on this post). Usually, they’ll give you enough to last one week. I can often milk mine to last longer.

Note: While you should play the field and test out multiple products, I don’t recommend mixing the products during test phase, unless you plan to use a mixture of products in the future. In other words, if you want to use Company A’s face wash and Company B’s moisturizer, that’s cool. But, if you’re not sure if you want to buy A or B’s moisturizer, don’t test them both out during the same week – you won’t know which one your skin likes best since you won’t know which one is working or not working.

Taking the Plunge

Test out the product with your samples. Make sure it meshes with your skin. And if you like it…go back and take the plunge by purchasing a new product or two. You don’t have to get everything at once. Sometimes there are discounts for purchasing “start up kits” or multiple products. Usually, you can just add a new product here and there until you have the whole “suite.” Just work with your schedule and budget.

And if you didn’t like the samples, fret not, just go back to playing the field!

You may remember that I was considering buying into a new brand – Origins! After my mom recommended the brand, I researched the product online, but found there were too many options. I went into the store to learn more and got that free mini facial (it was glorious!). I came home with 3 samples: a scrub, a moisturizing mask, and some plantscriptions. I’ve been enjoying using my samples. My skin seems to be taking the new products pretty well so far, so yay! Can you believe I still have some of these samples left!?

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Randomness – A Book & TV Show

I have 14 pages left of Water for Elephants! I tried finishing the book near midnight last night, but I wanted to be fully awake to enjoy the ending. You guys know how I feel about finishing this book, but I’m thinking today is the day. I’m sad the story will be over, but I’m also really excited to see how the book comes to a close. Wheeee!

Also, I’m counting down the days until Drop Dead Diva starts up again. There are few shows that I actually try to watch on a regular basis, but DDD is one of them, and Season 3 starts Sunday!!! They left us with quite the cliff hanger at the end of Season 2, so I’m SO curious to see what happens next. Is he alive? Is he dead? Are you going to tune in?

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What are your tips for finding & testing new beauty/skin care products?

What skin care products/lines do you use?

As my beach vacay was coming to a close and we headed home, I was really looking forward to two things specifically:

Hubby and Bailey!

The comfort of my own bed wasn’t too shabby either.

I got a couple surprise extras, though, thanks to sweet hubby – flowers!

And a local doughnut! Actually, it’s a “honey bun”, but it’s pretty much a doughnut. What a sweet “welcome home”!

Hubby also whipped up a fantastic grilled dinner – grass-fed filet, asparagus, and potatoes. I can’t get enough of those grilled potatoes, for realz! They are so tasty! I’m currently brainstorming ways to create a grilled potato salad. Doesn’t that sound drool-worthy?

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Fruit and Vegetable Servings Sizes

As I mentioned for Project Veg-Up (my challenge for you to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day in June), you make the rules. If you want to measure your servings, go ahead. If you’re like me and prefer to eye-ball and estimate, that works, too. And if you just want to say “I ate some broccoli – there’s 1 serving”, that’s cool, too. Your game – your rules.

However, if you’re going to estimate or even guess-timate your serving sizes, it may be good for you to know what actual serving sizes are. In fact, you may wish to measure out a couple servings till you get a handle on what the sizes truly are (up to you, though!).

For all things food and health related, I turn to my favorite RD – Ellie Krieger. If you haven’t seen her book, Small Changes, Big Results, you should totally check it out. The book has a wealth of knowledge, including tips, recipes and perhaps one of my favorite things – a factoid-filled appendix. Take a look at the book next time you’re at the book store.

In the interest of keeping things easy, what you basically need to know is that you should shoot for the following for one serving (according to the USDA):

• Vegetables: 1/2 cup of vegetables or 1 cup of raw leafy greens (Ellie says eat as many as you want)
• Fruits: 1/2 cup of fruit or about 1 medium-sized fruit (Ellie says limit this to no more than 4 servings per day)

Ellie compares these portions to a baseball, saying that 1 medium fruit is the size of a baseball and 1/2 cup of fruits/vegetables is 1/2 of a baseball. She also considers fruit and vegetable juices as servings, but I’m shooting to get mine from full versions. Additionally, she actually has different suggestions in her book for serving sizes for some particular fruits, like 1 cup or chopped canteloupe = 1 fruit serving. Click here for a snippet of her book with more info on her take on serving sizes, how you almost can’t eat too many servings of vegetables, as well as why you shouldn’t eat more than 4 fruit servings.

Check out this site (click) for some other useful fruit/vegetable portion ideas. My favorites, that I most commonly consume, are:

• 10 baby carrots
• 1 banana (however Ellie says 1/2 a banana is a fruit serving, though I’m guessing it depends on the size of the fruit)
• 5 broccoli florets
• 1 apple

If you’re searching for additional information on serving sizes, you may notice that they vary a bit. Just go with whatever works best for you and follow whichever sources you trust most.

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It’s not too late to join in on the challenge! Click here to read more about Project Veg-Up and join in on the fun.

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What do you think? Do you measure your fruit and vegetable servings or do you estimate them? Do you have any tips or tricks on measuring or estimating fruit/vegetable serving sizes?

Saturday kicked off a fantastic and relaxing weekend. Well, truth be told, I had to work a bit Saturday morning, but I was at least able to do it from the comfort of my home. After getting some “real” work done, it was time for some blog work. Imagine my surprise to stand up after hitting the publish button to see this:

Bailey was sitting right under me.

What a weirdo!? lol Silly boy!

I broke away from technology to visit my fave farmer’s market – Atherton Mills.

The market was decorated for Memorial Day!

Note Bailey pulling like a crazed dog on his leash. This is how he rolls at the farmer’s market. I’m sure he seems quite calm since most of his photos are of him just laying around, but he is such a ball of energy! lol

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I like to try to visit a new booth every time we go to the market. This time we decided to try Rio Bertolini’s.

I picked up 1 pound of spinach gnocchi. I’m going to try to create something similar to this.

Hubby picked up some frozen fruit ice while I was buying kale.

So, we sat outside and enjoyed the warm weather for a bit on some of the benches outside.

And then, guess who arrived?! My sis made an impromptu visit to the Chic house for the long weekend. I heated up some soup for everybody for a quick meal.

And then I tracked down the Southern Cake Queen via twitter! I really wanted my sister to experience some of the Charlotte food truck scene and I was just able to catch SCQ via twitter. She nicely set aside cupcakes for me and even tossed in 1 for free! Yay! Thank you SCQ!

We got strawberry, vanilla, lime-coconut, and lemon.

Sis and I headed out for an early dinner with some of my faves – Megan, Toya, and Erica.

Their restaurant of choice – Mac’s Speed Shop. Second time in a week!

And Toya reminded me that they had hush puppies. I had forgotten!

Restaurant Secret: Want to know a restaurant secret? Many restaurants will only give you bread (or hush puppies) if you ask for them. So, next time you’re eating out and missing your carbs (I know I’m not the only carb lover out there, right? ), just ask your server if they serve bread. Oh yes. I’d say about 30% of restaurants work this way. But you can’t hide bread from a carb lover like me! hehe.

Sis and I split the combo. We wanted turkey, but they were out, so we got: pulled pork, beer-butt chicken, ribs, and beef brisket. Plus, we ordered mac and cheese and collards on the side.

Smoky goodness.

After dinner, I met up with blog friends Caitlin, Nicole, and Allison to see a new movie – Something Borrowed. Wow! The movie was so much cuter than I thought it would be. I’m not the biggest chick-flick fan, but there are definitely a handful that I go gaga for!

And then I came home to dig into my cupcake!

Lime-coconut goodness!

Reader question #1: (I know I ask this one a lot, but the movies change all the time!) Have you seen any good movies lately? Which ones and do you recommend them?

Reader question #2: What did you do for Memorial Day weekend?

Hey friends!

I hope everyone is off to a fantastic week so far. I’ve been working some late hours to get this week’s blog posts to you, but it’s so worth it! It’s midnight as I type, but I have some hot tea to sip and bed to hit up soon.

I’m so glad you guys liked the Coconut Cream Cake Minis recipe. Has anyone tried it out yet? I know some of you are waiting on the Carrot Cake version (did you see those photos!?), and I’ll be posting those later this week (as in before or no later than Friday).

Ooh, and I loved reading everyone’s comments on the Vegetarian Dining Tips (for the meat-eating host). There’s some good stuff in there! Thanks for adding your feedback and additional tips.

I was really looking forward to leftovers for lunch on Monday. (I know…me? Loving leftovers? That’s a rarity).

Mostly I was looking forward to this veggie burger Kelly left after our Sunday bloggie dinner get-together.

And for lunch #2, I enjoyed some of my Tuscan 3-Bean and Veggie soup (no recipe yet…do you want it?).

I went to Zumba till late, so hubby ended up making dinner. Salad from the Earthfare salad bar.

And for the main event…

He made one of my recipes!

It’s my Penne Arrabiata (with chicken, fresh mozzarella balls, and basil from my garden).

I even used some of my purple basil leaves! They’re so pretty!

Vegetarian Entertaining – Side Dishes

So yesterday, I introduced four tips on Vegetarian Entertaining (for the Omnivore Host).

The first tip was about low expectations, which I think is pretty self-explanatory. But, I did want to talk a little more about the others, starting with Side Dishes.

So we’ve established the sad truth that vegetarians and vegans have low expectations of eats in social settings (dinner parties, office pot lucks, etc.), but how can you show your veg-friends that you want to make sure they don’t go hungry next time you entertain?

One easy way you can accomplish this, without changing what you had planned already for the main entree (roasting a brisket, eh?), is to offer a lot of or nice variety of side dishes. I’m not saying you need fifteen side dishes. I’m just saying, for the side dishes you’re doing, which is usually between 2-4, maybe make them all (or most) vegetarian and/or vegan friendly. Here are some additional tips:

Leave the meat out

Bacon on your spinach salad or in in your potato salad? That sounds awesome for me…but vegetarians aren’t just picky eaters, most can’t eat meat or anything that’s touched meat. If it’s easier, pretend they’re allergic to meat. You wouldn’t make someone allergic to avocado pick it out of a salad, would you?

Put the meat (and other options non-vegan ingredients) on the side

Put those bacon bits on the side, not mixed into your salad. Cheese on that baked potato? Only if someone adds it themselves. Granted some things require certain ingredients mixed in, but not all. Choose the dishes that are customizable to satisfy everyone.

Substitute veg/vegan-friendly ingredients

Vegan and vegetarian friendly options are pretty easy to find these days (and are pretty affordable). Want to make mashed potatoes? Use Earth Balance instead of butter. Use non-dairy milk, like plain rice milk, instead of dairy-milk. They’re not weird ingredients that you’ll never use again. If you have leftover ingredients, test them out. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find something you like. You don’t have to be vegan to like rice milk. I drink it all the time and think it’s quite tasty.

Let your veg friend bring a side dish

Most vegetarians/vegans are used to bringing dishes they know they can eat to parties (it’s true! Check out the comments from yesterday). You could offer to your friend that they could bring a dish if they want, but don’t force them to. Offer politely. They may even offer on their own. But don’t rely on their single dish to keep them happy. You should still come up with at least one or two other dishes that they could eat. The more the merrier.

Take help from the store

Many health-food-focused grocery stores, like Earthfare or Whole Foods, have prepared foods. They’re probably more familiar than traditional grocery stores with people with vegetarian or vegan dietary styles. So, if you don’t know, ask them for tips on a good side dish to pick up for your next get-together.

I love all the bean, pasta, and potato salads. I also like prepared eats they make like marinated kale, mixed veggie salads, and dips. Veggie platters are always a win.

Protein

If you’re expecting your veg friend to fill up on side dishes, include some that are good sources of protein. I mean, have you ever tried filling up on a bag of potato chips? It’s not going to happen…maybe ever. They’re just not filling. Please note, as Katie pointed out, some people have soy allergies/aversions, so you may want to ask your veg friend before going down that route.

Good vegetarian proteins – base ingredients: beans, quinoa, tempeh, lentils, nuts/seeds. (Cheese and for some even eggs can be good for the non-vegans)

Some of my personal fave recipes with veg-friendly proteins: Balsamic Roasted Chickpeas and Southwestern Quinoa Salad (has quinoa AND beans!).

Keep this simple and easy – it’s not hard!

You probably already enjoy eats that are vegetarian/vegan and you don’t know it. Like hummus? Chances are good that it’s vegan (it’s usually made of chick peas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil). Don’t freak out. Think out…outside of the box. The answer may be easier than you expected.

Side Dish Recipes from around the blogosphere

Here are some wonderful vegetarian AND vegan side dishes from my blog friends:

• Cracklin Cauliflower – Peas and Thank You (Flavorful Veggie Side)
• Herbed Chickpea Flour CRACKers – Nourishing Flourishing
• Zucchini Hummus – Choosing Raw (Veg-Based Hummus)
• Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad with Tahini – FItting It All In (grains & protein side)
• Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese – Oh She Glows (vegan mac and cheese)

Know of any other good vegetarian/vegan side dish recipes? Share the recipe link in a comment.

Entertaining for your vegetarian and vegan friends may seem scary at first, but it’s not only easy, it’s fun to think creatively on ways to keep everyone happy and full.

Next time – more on Vegetarian Entrees that please everyone!

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Want to help get better vegetarian options at more social eat-togethers? Share these tips by clicking the Facebook-Like button, tweeting this post, or using one of the other “share” buttons at the end of this post.

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Vegetarian & vegan friends – What side dishes are you most happy to see in social eating settings? What do you wish you would see in the realm of side dishes at dinner parties and group pot lucks?

After soaking up some sun at the super-fun pot-luck picnic with my local food blog friends, I went home to prepare for one last bloggie event of the evening.

My friend Kelly (of Foodie Fresh) came over for dinner and brought her dog Rascal for a play date with Bailey.

First things first, I got started on dessert! I decided to get a little experimental with a new Cake Mini flavor. Normally, I would avoid experimenting too much when entertaining, but Kelly was my taste tester before (remember that vegan coconut cream pie), and I’d had one success with my first flavor – Coconut Cream.

This time, I decided to make Carrot Cake flavored Cake Minis! Shredded organic carrot was the star ingredient.

One of the other star ingredients of the evening was this tri-colored quinoa! Isn’t it pretty? I’ve seen it popping up in a couple health food stores around time, so it must be the new thing in “grains” (or pseudo-grains as the case may be).

I kicked things off with some Tuscan veggie and bean soup. We each had a mini bowl topped with some fresh-grated parmesan.

The soup was great for two reasons:

1. I love starting meals with small bowls of soup

2. I made BIG batch, so I’d have soup for lunch later in the week.

By the way, we weren’t the only ones eating well on Sunday. I stopped by a local dog boutique earlier in the day to pick up a reward for Bailey for being an exceptional dog. While I was at it, I figured I’d get one for Rascal, too.

After making them work for it…

…we let them dig in. They were happy boys!

The Italian theme carried into the main event. Kelly and I had discussed eats via email earlier in the day and when she said she’d make chick pea veggie burgers with sun-dried tomatoes, I kind of ran with the Italian theme. hehe. First the soup…the the side: kale chips (that were supposed to have parmesan on them, but I forgot!) and Italian-inspired quinoa salad (tri-colored quinoa with fresh basil from my garden and fresh mozzarella balls with a light vinaigrette) served over a tomato slice.

Kelly’s burgers were super tasty! You can get her recipe for her burger and special topping on her blog (click to view).

Mmm…quinoa. It tastes better in 3 colors! (Not really, but it is more fun)

And then it was time for dessert! The cakes came out great. Phew! I made carrot cakes and topped them with a cream cheese frosting with fresh chopped pecans. Nommy nommmmms!

It wasn’t until later that I realized that both Kelly and I are non-vegetarians who totally enjoyed a meatless meal! Both of us enjoy eating sans meat once in awhile, so I guess it’s not unusual that I didn’t even notice it was missing until later. I thought dinner was fab just as it was.

Vegetarian Entertaining (for the Meat-Eating Host)

If you’re a meat-eater and you have a vegetarian coming over, you may be wondering…what the heck do I make?! Well, vegetarian eating is easier than you think. Even vegan eats can be easy to put together. Now, I’m not vegetarian myself, but a lot of my friends are. So, I entertain veg-style a lot.

Low Expectations

First off, you should know that most vegetarians/vegans are used to not having much to eat in social settings. It’s sad but true. I saw this in action when I gave up meat for Lent last year and went to a social setting where of about 10 dishes, only 2 were completely meat-free. My vegetarian friend and I were hitting up the food tables at the same time and had to pass dish after dish, discussing with each other if we could detect meat in the food. I won’t lie…it was pretty frustrating. I mean…they even put bacon on the salad!! She seemed to think the eats were pretty normal while I thought I was going to go hungry for the evening. Anywho, I’m not saying it’s ok…I’m just saying that expectations are probably low in traditional settings…which will work in your favor when you come up with something meat-free and awesome. What an awesome friend you are!

Sides

If you’re, say, roasting a chicken for a large party, but one person or couple is vegetarian, then you can fill them right up with plenty of tasty meat-free sides (if a large number of your guests are vegetarian, then you may want to consider making two small main dishes instead of one big one – one meat and one meatless). Try to make the rest of the sides meat-free. Don’t cook greens with ham. Skip the bacon on salads or pasta salads. Many sides you probably eat today are probably even vegan and you don’t know it. If you can do it, put meat toppings/mixins on the side so people can customize things to their taste. And, protein-rich sides will help keep your vegetarian friends full.

May I suggest Balsamic Roasted Chickpeas, Southwestern Quinoa Salad, or Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon. (These are not only vegetarian…they’re vegan, too!)

Vegetarian Entrees That Please Everyone

When you’re entertaining, things can get crazy. Sometimes you’re too busy to make another side dish, let alone a whole other entree. If you’re having vegetarian friends over, consider making something that meat-eaters will enjoy without missing the meat. Many pizza and pasta dishes are traditionally made sans meat and very often popular with most people. Or maybe you can put the meat options on the side for customizing, like I suggested for the sides. Or, try a new cuisine. Many Mexican dishes can be made with beans, rice, and cheese. Or, for another example, there are quite a few Indian dishes that are delicious but veg-friendly, like this Chana Masala.

Psst…let me let you in on a little secret – vegetarian entrees are often more affordable, too! Just another great reason to entertain veg-style.

Make Meat and Veg-Friendly Entrees

If you can work it out, why not make entrees for everyone? Hubby and I like to grill out. Hubby and I like burgers. But when my vegetarian friends come over, if we’re doing burgers, I like to have meat burgers, but I also like to do veggie burgers. They’re easy, taste great, and store well. Everyone is happy with an entree they can enjoy whether they eat meat or not. I love these quinoa veggie burgers (also vegan).

Want more details? I may elaborate on these areas more later in the week. In the mean time…

Vegetarian/Vegan friends, I am probably not the best person to offer suggestions on vegetarian entertaining. You are! What would you like your meat-eating friends to know about entertaining for you?

Omnivore friends, what are your tips you utilize when entertaining for vegetarian/vegan friends?

I absolutely LOVED reading everyone’s comments on yesterday’s post about not waiting for Friday. You guys rock!

Anywho, we celebrated hubby’s birthday tonight (even though it was yesterday) and what birthday would be complete without cake. But more on that in a minute.

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Hubby and I have spent many-a-year celebrating special events in. We like cooking special meals at home just as much as we do going out. It’s more cost-effective, but can also be more personal and meaningful to celebrate with special dinners cooked at home. Don’t get me wrong, we love to celebrate by dining out…we just don’t do all our celebrations at restaurants. Thusly, doing Eat In Month during hubby’s birthday month isn’t too big of a deal for us.

In fact, if the way to a man’s heart is truly through his stomach (and I think there’s something to this old wives tale people), then this was the meal that hooked hubby – his birthday meal. Hubby’s birthday meal is typically comprised of my dad’s famous steak recipe, potatoes, and a veggie. I pretty much always do roasted potatoes and asparagus – two of hubby’s faves. I’ve basically been cooking the same thing every year since we first started dating. Sometimes the classics never get old.

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I ended up not leaving work till 5:45pm and still needed to go the grocery store to get everything for dinner. I had plans to make a full dinner and even bake a birthday cake from scratch! Yikes.

Because of my late schedule, the decor was kept minimal.

I did manage to print menus.

Menus are one of my favorite touches to add to a special meal in to make it seem more personalized.

The term “Chez” is one I learned in French class in high school. Supposedly “Chez” is commonly used for restaurant names in France. I usually title my menus “Chez Diana”, meaning “from the house of Diana”, but tonight I went for a Chic theme.

I scored this bottle of wine at $5 off at the grocery store – Castle Rock Cabernet Sauvignon (from France). Hubby and I really enjoyed the wine.

For many of hubby’s birthday meals, I try to do an appetizer course, like pan-seared shrimp or baguette and brie, but tonight I kept things simple again.

We just had a baby green salad (since hubby likes baby greens way more than spinach) with lots of green bell pepper (hubby’s fave raw veggie).

And for the main event – filet tips a la Dad, rosemary roasted potatoes, garlic asparagus.

We got the steak from a new local butcher shop in town, The New York Butcher Shoppe, and hubby commented that he really liked the steak. I was really happy with it, too. It was nice and tender and you could taste the quality.

Dessert was homemade yellow birthday cake with homemade Ghiradelli chocolate buttercream frosting.

Remember to use your parchment paper under the cake trick when you’re frosting. I think I learned this one from Sandra Lee.

I may have just happened to lick all the parchment pieces as I removed them from the cake stand.

Fini!

Well, a birthday cake is never done without candles, right? I put 3 + 2 candles on there for hubby’s 32nd birthday. (We didn’t have 32…lol).

Mood lighting for the big blow out!

I used this cake recipe, except I subbed 4 eggs for 8 egg yolks. And I made a double batch of this chocolate butter cream using Ghiradelli chocolate squares.

Both recipes were fabulous, though I do have plans to develop my own Not So Sweet versions.

I thought the cake was nice and moist and the frosting was really good, too.

Remember to use your toothpick trick when you’re wrapping up your cake. Stick toothpicks in the top.

Then, cover with saran wrap, draping over toothpicks. This will keep saran wrap from sticking to the frosting and pulling it all off when you remove the wrapping.

Do you like to celebrate special events in or out?

I hinted I was experimenting with dough balls today on twitter, but you probably didn’t see this coming!  

Taking dough balls to another level…literally. Details further down…

FIrst off…it snowed today! I can’t believe it’s already snowed twice before Christmas this year…that doesn’t usually happen here in the South. The snow didn’t end up sticking. I’m hoping for a good snow storm in January or February though.

The snowy day was perfect for baking!

I made dough balls for a party later.

While the dough chilled, hubby and I threw together a quick meal of soy corn dogs, peas, and…

…mac and cheese.

Then it was time to get my dough ball on…

…I mean…make sure the dough balls were cooked properly. Yeaaaa.

Snow days are also good for hot tea. Ginger tea for me this afternoon.

Yogi tea quote of the day: “Uplift everybody and uplift yourself.“

So, what do you get when you combine a tray of chocolate chip cookie dough balls (click for recipe) and melted chocolate?

You get a Pâtembouche!

Ever since seeing the fabulous croquemcake on Willow Bird Baking, I’ve been wanting to try a croquembouche. I haven’t quite gotten around to this baking project just yet, but I did come up with another idea. What else is round and could be stacked into a tower? Dough balls, of course!

So why “pâtembouche”? Well, croquembouche means “crunch in the mouth” and dough balls are not crunchy. But, “pate” is French for dough, so literally a “patembouche” is “dough in the mouth.” I think I actually like “cookie dough ball tower” better, but pâtembouche sounds more fancy.

PS I just googled “pâtembouche” and there are no search results. I just made up a word…yay! lol

To Assemble Your Pâtembouche

Step 1: Bake a double batch of chocolate chip dough balls

Step 2: Melt remainder of bag of semi-sweet morsels (leftover from the 1 cup removed for the recipe) in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval until chocolate is smooth and melted.

Step 3: Play with your food. I played around stacking my pâtembouche sans chocolate to see how I wanted it to stack. Once I had a strategy for creating the tower, I was ready to go.

Step 4: Outline the foundation circle. I used the largest, flattest dough balls for this layer. I used 6 and spread them into a circle with the dough balls just touching.

Step 5: Begin dipping the dough balls into the melted chocolate and carefully place onto plate to “glue” into place. Continue with bottom layer. Continue with a second layer. I used one less dough ball than the previous level as I went up.

NOTE: Don’t be too skimpy with the chocolate after the first layer. The chocolate is your glue and if you don’t use enough, the dough balls won’t set into place as easily.

Step 6: In between stacking layers, place pâtembouche into the fridge to allow the chocolate to set.

Step 7: Continue dipping dough balls and stacking, slowly tapering as you increase each level till you just have one dough ball on top. Remember to repeat Step 6 to help dough ball structure set.

Eventually you will have this!

Not only is it delicious, but it makes for a pretty cool display too. I think this pâtembouche would be an easy and impressive treat to take to your next special event, if you’re looking for ideas.

I think I know what I’m going to do with the leftover chocolate too.

After finishing my pâtembouche, I got dressed and put on make-up to head out for two parties.

The first party was to celebrate our friend Ashley’s latest achievement – completing all of her actuary exams. Go Ashley!

Ashley’s friends set up a surprise party at her house complete with a Mexican buffet from her favorite local Mexican restaurant – Salsa’s.

I found a neat compartmentalized plate, perfect for the girl who doesn’t like her food to touch. lol

After the champagne toast…

…we headed to Jen and Jeff’s house for a bloggie pot luck.

I debuted my pâtembouche.

Digging in. I was hoping to not have to bring any dough balls home. Luckily, this turned out to not be a problem.

Jen’s dog was a ball of fun.

Ooh and I even got to meet baby Liam. What a cutie pie?! I think I need some more QT with him!

Don’t you love Caitlin and Kristien’s matching Christmas sweaters?

Oh and what party isn’t complete without a fun challenge.

Jen, Caitlin, and Nicole took the Cinnamon Challenge. Check out this funny youtube video of general cinnamon challenges (not ours). We didn’t have anything that dramatic happen, but it was fun.

Nicole is the cinnamon challenge champ! Woohoo!

It’s sleepy time in the Chic house. G’night!

This week on The Chic Life, I’ve been featuring breakfast you can take on-the-go. You can check out my previous posts one, two, three, and four.

One quick note I want to make is that you should only try breakfast on the go if it’s absolutely safe for you to do so. The breakfasts I’ve prepared this week are easy to eat without needing much hands-on time so you can drive safely. But you could also enjoy them walking, taking public transportation or otherwise not at your house. Breakfast on the go is only a good idea if you can do it safely.

So…I’ve saved one of the best for last…

Portable Breakfast #5 – The Breakfast Burrito

The breakfast burrito has the potential to be the messiest portable breakfast of the group, but if prepared properly, it can be quite neat. The nice thing about the breakfast burrito is that like many of the other breakfasts featured this week, it is highly customizable. You can put almost anything in the tortilla and call it breakfast.

There are a few things I shoot for in my breakfast burrito:

• Eggs
• Cheese
• Veggies
• And I really like to add beans, usually

Today, I was running a bit late for work, so I had to forego the avocado I was planning to slice up and stick in my burrito. Oh well…busy or not, I was happy to have something to eat for breakfast. This was certainly a step above the days when I was “too busy to eat breakfast” ever and consistently skipped breakfast.

Step 1: Scramble eggs (or tofu)

Be sure to season eggs with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, heat up your tortilla according to package instructions.

Brownie points for using local, cage-free, organic eggs.

Step 2: Add cooked egg to warm tortilla.

Step 3: Add other ingredients

Today I kept it simple with some black beans I rinsed, drained, and microwaved to heat up. Like I said, I wanted to add avocado, but simply didn’t have time. When you’re pressed for time in the morning, sometimes you have to know when to let some things go.

Note: I also think bell peppers or jalapenos would be fabulous in this.

Step 4: Fold up the breakfast burrito

Tuck the bottom edge up.

Tuck the top edge down.

By tucking in the top and bottom, it will make it easier to keep this meal neat.

Tuck in one side.

Then, tuck in the other.

There, you have a breakfast burrito!

Wrap your burrito in aluminum foil. Try to not wrap it up too much or too tightly. You want to be able to easily access it when you’re trying to enjoy your breakfast burrito on the go.

Step 5: Enjoy!

And you’re ready for the day!

Today, I actually had good luck with traffic and got stuck at fairly few stoplights. This was good for my commute time, but bad for eating on the go. It seemed dangerous to try to eat the burrito in the car while I was doing heavy maneuvering. So, I decided to wait till I got to my office to crack open my burrito. Safety first people!

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TGIF btw! I had dinner with some friends tonight and decided to enjoy the dinner instead of worrying about photos. Great way to start the weekend!

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Need a baking/kitchen project for the weekend? I suggest chocolate chip cookie dough balls. You know you want sooome!

Reader question: Do you eat in the car?

I’m so glad you guys liked our new furniture and my latest Work Chic tips on kitchen essentials to keep at work.

We’re almost ready to wrap up this week’s series on portable breakfasts. I’ve already posted breakfasts one, two, and three. Now we’re ready for the next…

Portable Breakfast #4 – Re-Baked Muffins

Sometimes the best way to save time in the morning is to plan ahead. Re-baked muffins are a prime example.

Why re-baked muffins? Well, if you’re in such a rush that you need to eat your breakfast on the go…my guess is that you don’t have time to make a fresh batch of muffins. Instead, reap the rewards of a weekend baking project (pretty much the only days there’s time to bake for this working woman) of homemade muffins by freezing your leftovers for later. Really, there’s no reason to let leftover muffins go bad now.

Here are some fab muffin recipes:

• Spelt Blueberry Muffins
• Green Monster Muffins
• Vegan Green Monster Muffins
• Ellie Krieger’s Pumpkin Muffins

Step 1: Remove your muffins from the freezer & pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F.

On the day you want to enjoy your re-baked muffins, you’ll want to note that they will take a little longer than others to prepare, but since you basically just stick the muffins in the oven and let them go, you can easily multi-task and use the time the muffins are heating up to get ready for the day.

Step 2: Prepare muffins for baking & let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Place your frozen muffins on a prepared baking sheet and let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

Step 3: Bake muffins for 10-15 minutes, till they reach the temperature you want.

Meanwhile, finish getting ready for work or to go out. Pack your lunch, fill your water bottles, sip coffee, etc. If your muffins are ready before you, you can leave them in the oven and just turn off the heat so they stay warm. I wouldn’t recommend leaving them in too much longer after they’re done.

Step 4: Wrap your muffins in a paper towel or cloth napkin and head out and enjoy!

You may want to employ the dish towel trick from Day #1.

Check back tomorrow for our last portable breakfast of the week!

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Lookie who got new oatmeal bowls! You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find brightly colored, tall-sided bowls. And smaller-sized bowls! I find most bowls are too large for me.

By the way, I’ve been noshing on this Frog Hollow Farm Granola. It’s very tasty, and I loved the ingredient list!

Check out this neat product I found.

Green tea noodles!

I just love the pretty green color!

I used the noodles in another tofu stir fry today for lunch.

In the stir fry:

• tofu
• broccoli
• green tea noodles
• sesame seeds
• soy sauce
• chicken broth

I love these noodle stir fries, mostly because the noodles are a fast replacement for the rice I usually think about eating.

I didn’t add any dulse pieces today because I wanted the noodle flavor to shine through. To be honest, I didn’t really taste green tea when I ate the noodles, but they were still fun.

I had a successful baking project today.

Lucky #7 batch was a winner! Hooray! How do these chocolate chip cookie dough balls look?

I’ll be sharing the recipe with you guys tomorrow!