TIPS:

• Be sure to check out the regular Green Monster muffin recipe by clicking here – there are tips on how to properly measure/prepare the spinach, etc.
• This batter is thicker than the regular version – it’s ok – it will bake up just fine, though it may need slightly less time than the regular version

There are many ways to veganize baked goods, but I decided to use coconut milk based yogurt. Unfortunately, for 12 muffins, you only need a 1/4 cup. Why is this unfortunate? Well, I like to cook and bake efficiently, and since coconut milk based yogurt is typically sold in 6 ounce containers, it would be more efficient to use the whole container – not just 1/4 cup worth of it. I’ll probably play with the recipe a bit to see if I can fix this.

On the bright side, I was pleased with how much the texture of the vegan version of my muffins resembled the regular kind. They puffed up so nicely and had a great muffin texture. Yay!

*Vegan* Green Monster Muffins

Most spinach muffins are savory but these are sweet!

Click here to view the non-vegan version of this recipe

Makes 12 muffins

Dry Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp spelt flour (note: you can definitely sub flours, I just had spelt on hand)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vanilla coconut milk-based yogurt (or use plain and add 1 tsp vanilla and a little extra sugar – maybe a tbsp or 2)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 single serving applesauce (or 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup PACKED, triple washed baby spinach, chopped by food processor into small bits (see photos above)
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 – 1 tsp lemon zest (depending on how lemon-y you want it)

Optional ingredient: 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, plus extra for topping

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with non-stick spray.
2. Add dry ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk together.
3. Whisk to beat yogurt and sugar together till light (I did this by hand for just a couple minutes).
4. Whisk in the rest of the wet ingredients.
5. Pour dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredient mixture, add 1/4 cup walnuts if desired, and stir gently just to combine – do not over-mix.
6. Pour muffin batter into muffin tin cups – about 3/4 full each. If using walnuts, sprinkle walnuts on top of each muffin.
7. Bake for 14-17 minutes until centers set or a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
8. Cool at least 10-15 minutes before serving.

Next up I’m going to try new mixins! Chocolate Chip Green Monster muffins anyone?

Here it is – my recipe for Marinated Kale! It’s so easy (no cooking!), tasty and healthful – give it a go!

What does it taste like? Well, kale to me, in general, is sort of like spinach except with a much heartier texture. Spinach is tender and bruises easily while kale holds up nicely (which is why a lot of recipes ask you to “massage” the kale – it tenderizes without bruising). Once marinated, the kale will soften up a bit, but it will still have a bite to it, texture-wise. The flavor mostly comes from the sauce ingredients, which end up being salty yet sweet with the lovely flavor of sesame oil ever prevalent and bits of fresh garlic and ginger popping up here and there.

Anywho, I LOVE to make a big batch of this to start a week. It’s an easy side veggie to take to work – just pack some into a tupperware – no re-heating necessary. You just need a fork! Makes a great vegetable serving.

On to the recipe…

First up – some visuals:

Be sure to triple wash your kale – it’s usually pretty gritty when you get it home from the store. I usually tear my kale into smaller pieces with my hands while I’m doing the washing part, but you can also chop it with a knife.

Other key ingredients: Tamari, Sesame Oil.

Whisk up sauce.

Add sauce to kale and massage – preferably with your hands. Why? Well, it seems like you can get away with using less sauce if you just rub it in a little. I believe most people massage their kale to tenderize it, but I just like to ensure my kale is well-coated without being in a puddle of sauce.

Add sesame seeds. Done-zo!

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Marinated Kale Recipe

Raw, Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-Free

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale (curly leaves, not dinosaur), triple-washed, cut or ripped into small 1-2 inch pieces (1 inch pieces will be easier to eat later)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp tamari (use wheat-free if you’re going GF)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (you can omit this but it’s so much more flavorful with it!)
• 1 tsp minced ginger (same note as for garlic)
• 1-3 tbsp sesame seeds depending on how much you like them.

Directions:

1. Place prepped kale into a large bowl.
2. In a separate small to medium bowl, whisk together sesame oil and tamari till emulsified/combined nicely. Whisk in garlic and ginger.
3. Pour sauce over kale and massage sauce into the kale (this will help ensure all pieces of kale are covered.
4. Add sesame seeds to the kale (if you’re not sure if you’d rather go 1 or 3 tbsp, I suggest adding 1 and mixing up and checking coverage. You can always add more sesame seeds but you can’t take them back out…not easily at least).
5. Store in an air-tight container. NOTE: You may wish to make your kale the night before you want to eat it so it has time for the flavors to combine.
6. Enjoy!

My day is always brightened with my cozy coffee. Soooo warming and awakening.

Hubby picked up bagels for our Bagel Day Friday. I haven’t been celebrating my bagel day as much as my Starbucks day – mostly because I’m trying to eat as much whole grain as possible and the local bagel shops don’t exactly make whole grain bagels. Why have a bleached-white bagel when I can have lovely whole grain toast?

But sometimes you just want a bagel, ya know? We had ours with sloppy scrambled eggs. And my bagel of choice today was rosemary olive oil.

I finally re-stocked on yerba mate tea at Trader Joe’s. Thank goodnes…I’ve been missing this stuff.

***

I finally harvested some of the swiss chard that’s been growing in my garden for awhile now. I can’t believe how tall it’s gotten!

Look at those bright stalks!

I took off a few bright and beautiful stalks.

Plus a couple of my tri-colored beans – purple, yellow, green! (uhh – think I need to plant a couple more green bean plants though) lol

I whipped up a quick mac and cheese lunch using the Boursin cheese leftover from that fancy-schmancy dinner I made the other night.

Boursin Mac and Cheese Non-Recipe

I was a little unsure how this would turn out as it was completely experimental. I boiled water for the pasta (about or under half a box of penne), then cooked the pasta (with salt) in the pot for 9 minutes, then added the swiss chard (cleaned and chopped) for the last 3, then green beans for the last 2.

For the sauce, I melted butter in a pan (about 1 tbsp), then added about 2 tbsp of flour and cooked for a minute. Then I whisked in about 1/2 – 3/4 cup of milk. Once that was combined, I added the rest of the Boursin (about half a container), which I whisked to combine. I was a little terrified the sauce was going to be a complete bust, but it turned out ok. phew!

I added the cooked pasta and veggies to the sauce mixed. Done and done.

You could probably sub out different veggies…or even forego the veggies totally (though I would at least have some on the side to complete your meal).

Anywho, it turned out really great! I loved the garlic-y mac and cheese with the tender chard. Yum!

Plus lightly-buttered nine grain toast.

Bailey says “hey!” guys!

Anywho, remember how I was all worried about my cheese sauce. Guess what came on TV later? Barefoot Contessa! And she made a cheese sauce for croque monsieur using nearly the same steps I did! With a different cheese though. Hey, maybe I’m not so bad at this making-up-recipes thing.

Snack = 1/2 coffee cake scuffin

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I had a really stressful day at work today. Add that to some additional stress and drama going on in my personal life and I wasn’t really feeling a work out today. I went back and forth between whether or not to go to class. I felt really zapped of energy. Yet, at the same time, I knew that I would feel better after a workout.

Well, I decided to go!

As I was driving to class, Just Dance by Lady Gaga came on.

The chorus struck a chord with me. She said: “Just dance. Gonna be ok.” And I thought, you know what…zumba class tonight (dancing) is just what I need. I knew I made the right decision going for my workout. See, in zumba, I can let go and forget all my worries and for one lovely hour, I can do as Lady Gaga says – just dance. Without fail, I can go into zumba with the crummiest attitude or feeling totally down and by the end of class I feel …happy.

So…I went to class. I danced. And I know it’s all gonna be ok.

Very glad I went to class!

Post-class, I had just-under-one-scoop of Vega Whole Health Optimizer in vanilla chai mixed with water. My current fave post-workout protein.

***

I had to rush home to shower and change to make it to a show.

I had my other half of the coffee cake scuffin on my way.

Can you guess the show from this photo?

It’s Annie! I went to see the show with friends to support my friend’s daughter who was in the show.

Gosh just hearing the first few notes of the opening song made me feel so sentimental. I used to watch this movie all the time when I was a kiddo!

The sun’ll come up…toooomorroooooowwwwww!

I got Dove’s autograph for when she’s famous.

Me and Dove – future movie star!

After the show we all headed out to grab a quick dinner. I was disappointed Panera closed at 9pm because I was feeling one of their yummy soups, but Dean and Deluca came through.

I had a random assortment of food for my “dinner” – tomato basil soup and pita chips with hummus. I only finished about half of everything.

Cheers!

What do you do to cheer yourself up after you’ve had a bad day or if you’re in a bad mood?

I love how WFH lets me enjoy HOT meals!

Oven-reheated Applesauce (Cranberry) Oat muffins.

Plus a fried cage free egg.

The return of Fresh Market Breakfast Blend! Hubby got more the other day…hoorah!

I also get to enjoy all the hot tea I can stand. Yerba Mate first up.

Dinner was thanks to the freezer,

my herb garden, and my farmer’s market find from the weekend.

Organic Sunshine burger, plus mayo and fresh dill from my garden.

I wanted to make a yogurt or tahini sauce, but since I had neither, I worked with what I had on hand – canola mayo.

Yay greens!

More hot tea – mate vana + rooibos caramel.

Sleepy puppy!

I got to use my mini handmade bowl! Galaxy Granola + vanilla rice milk.

I broke into those new bar samples I got the other day by Lighter Living. First flavor of choice – CHOCOLATE!

Pretty good ingredient list though Mr. Pollan wouldn’t agree. Way more than 5 ingredients and a 5th grader wouldn’t know a lot of them. Ups for organic and natural ingredients – and dates are #1! That may possibly make them a good pre-workout option.

I really liked the bar. It had a nice brownie-like texture and taste. In fact, the bar reminded me a lot of the PURE bars, which I also enjoy. I liked how the yogurt coating wasn’t over-the-top thick or sweet unlike some bars. This one was a nice compliment instead of stealing the show.

If the others are as good as this one, you may be seeing these bars in my OpenSky shop soon!

Post work, I did a quick DIY zumba top shirt by de-constructing a tank top I already had.

The finished result. Psst…I followed this video tutorial – very easy!

I’m currently stalking the ZIN forum for old, used tanks that I can play with. I can’t stop cutting my tops! I. need. MORE!

One+ fabulous dance fitness workout! I’m pooped, but looking forward to more tomorrow already!

I came home and cooked dinner in my PJs. Hubby was a great helper tonight. He had everything prepped by the time I got home!

Mmm…pasta.

Dinner was fab – served with focaccia (had 2 pieces) but something was missing – a veggie side! No salad, no sauteed veggies…nothing. Doh! I seriously need to get my arse to the grocery store! We have no fruits or veggies left! Some frozen veggies but ZERO frozen fruits. Gah!

I had a mini Vega health optimizer shake with vanilla rice milk as a quick fix / band-aid. I don’t think anything can totally substitute real veggies, but this is probably the closest I could come without going to the grocery store.

Do you feel your meal is incomplete if something is missing? I used to think a meal wasn’t complete without meat but now I think it’s not complete with a veggie! You?

Berry Breakfast quinoa! Nomalicious and so nutritious, too! Not to mention this is vegan and gluten-free!

I was excited about both trying my quinoa in a sweet dish and trying my new Tempt vanilla hemp milk that I got on my massive grocery shopping trip last Sunday . I’ve heard such good things about hemp milk but have hesitated to try it because it sounds weird and it’s expensive.

Whenever I try something new, I like to make sure to taste it solo so I can really taste the flavor of the ingredient. I poured a mini cup of the hemp milk this morning while I was making breakfast so I could sample this new (to me) non-dairy milk. Turns out it’s not weird at all! If you like other non-dairy milks, you’ll probably like hemp milk.

All you need to make Breakfast Quinoa is cooked quinoa. While quinoa is generally considered quick and easy, 20 minutes to cook quinoa is not “quick” for me in the morning. That’s why I reserved some cooked quinoa from my food prep last night. Makes life easy.

I like to mixin fruits to my breakfast cereals whenever possible. Tonight I used mixed berries (blueberries, strawberries) leftover from those yummy mini vegan/GF tarts I made on Sunday. Breakfast is such a good way to use up leftovers, no?!

Cook quinoa in a water and milk mixture. Add berries. Add sweetener. Easy-peesy!

Mixed berry breakfast quinoa – yum! Perfect with hot Fresh Market Spring Blend coffee.

As it turns out, quinoa is not nearly as sweet as rolled oats, so even though I used vanilla milk (already sweet) and even though I normally try to get my sweeteners from fruit instead of adding sugar, etc., I did need to add extra sweetener to todays breakfast. I made the cereal without any added sweeteners, but ended up stirring some organic cane sugar in after sampling the first couple bites.

I still prefer my oatmeal since oats seem to be creamier and have a nice chewy texture, but for the powerhouse of nutrition that is quinoa, this is worth adding to the rotation now and again.

Quick + Easy Hot Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

Makes 2 small servings or 1 large

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2/3 cup sweetened vanilla hemp milk (you can sub other milks, but if it’s not sweetened, you may need to add extra sweetener to taste)
• 1/3 cup blueberries, rinsed
• 2-4 strawberries, rinsed, tops cut off, sliced
• ground flaxseed or flaxseed meal

Directions:

1. Combine quinoa and milk in a small pot over medium low heat. Simmer till thickened up to your liking. Try to not let the mixture boil, at least not much.
2. Add berries to pot and cook to heat through (you can add them earlier, but I prefer to add them closer to the end of cooking).
3. Serve in a bowl and top with ground flaxseed or flaxseed meal.

NOTE: You can get creative with your mixins and sub almost anything for the fruit – dates, bananas, apples, etc. Add nuts and seeds as you like…just like you’d do with oatmeal!

Have you tried quinoa for breakfast? What did you think?

I was running later than I would have liked today, so I made breakfast quick so I could spend time prepping lunch: coffee, Power Toast (spelt bread, Barney Butter, pepitas, hemp seeds, and ground flaxseed).

I can’t remember at the moment if I told you but I sort of twisted my ankle last night leaving the dinner party. I stepped on a curb wrong and though it didn’t hurt immediately, I knew I needed to take it easy.

So, though I really wanted to go for my usual double-header workout tonight, I decided to play it safe by:

• wearing flats to work
• skipping my workout
• and trying to eat anti-inflammatory foods
• RICE would probably be a good idea, but since I don’t have a laptop, the Elevation part is going to be a challenge. I should probably try some ice next

Stupid ankle. I googled sprained ankles and I don’t think it’s anything serious (I was barely a level 1 on the article of 3 levels of sprained ankles I found), but I also believe that you should try to take things easy so you don’t make a non-situation turn into a problem. Better to be overly cautious IMO.

Speaking of anti-inflammatory foods, here are the top foods I googled:

• ginger
• garlic
• green tea
• turmeric
• blueberries
• cherries
• curciferous vegetables
• salads – dark green lettuce, spinach, tomatoes
• salmon
• grass fed beef and other animal foods
• olive oil
• kelp – also kombu, wakame, nori, arame
• papaya
• sweet potato

Kath had a great post today on anti-inflammatory foods if you want some more tips.

Today’s eats were very snacky…I really kind of grazed all day.

For Starbucks Monday, I grabbed a tall vanilla soy latte.

For lunch, I brought a big green salad of organic veggies: baby spinach, romaine, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and sun-dried tomato vinaigrette.

I also brought a small sweet potato with some Earth Balance and brown sugar in another container.

A couple knife-pokes and a trip to the microwave later and you have…

Sweet potato with brown sugar!

I also had some honey lemon green tea (a sample from my cube-mate’s new tea) – with sugar.

1000 Layer Cracker (from Tj’s)

One of those organic minneolas from yesterday’s grocery trip.

Cherry Pie Larabar towards the end of the day.

For a post-work snack, I had a 3/4 cup scoop of my Vega Vanilla Chai Whole Health Optimizer…I figured maybe the boost of nutrition would help my ankle?

I also had some Galaxy Granola with blueberries and vanilla almond milk.

While I waited for my friends to call about our girls’ dinner out, I prepped some food for lunch tomorrow. I experimented with a new recipe.

Organic black beans, all nice and rinsed.

I placed mine on a paper-towel lined plate to help them dry off.

Quiona, frozen organic sweet corn, black beans.

Organic lime zest.

Organic limes.

The zest looked so pretty in the olive oil.

All mixed up and ready to dress.

Ta-dah!!! The finished product. Even hubby liked it. This Southwestern Quinoa salad would make a great vegetarian or vegan meal or side dish. Perfect to take to work or a pot luck or cookout.

Southwestern Quinoa Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry, uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeds, minced
• 3 tbsp chopped, fresh cilantro
• 2 limes, zested and juiced
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• heavy dash garlic powder
• dash cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa. Rinse quinoa and combine with water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil and simmer on low till water absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. I used a non-stick pan so it wouldn’t stick to the bottom. Reserve 1 cup of quinoa (I reserved 1 cup so I could use it in another recipe. It would probably be fine to just add all the quinoa to this recipe if you didn’t have another way to use the reserved quinoa, but I encourage you to try it as a breakfast hot cereal – check out tomorrow’s post for details on how to morph it). Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl (preferably with a lid) place cooled, cooked quinoa, beans, bell pepper, corn, jalapeno, and cilantro and mix gently to combine.
3. In a small bowl combine lime zest, lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne papper. Whisk to combine (like you would for a dressing).
4. Pour dressing over the quinoa mixture and stir to combine.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, to allow flavors to combine.
6. Enjoy!

By the time I was done prepping lunch, it was time to meet my friends, Kat and Megan, for dinner. I brought them a sample and they approved.

I was pretty boring tonight and had a couple bites of Kat’s edamame, a small salad with ginger dressing, and miso soup.

Plus, I had a Cali roll and asparagus roll. I thought about getting a big veggie stir fry since lots of veggies seem anti-inflammatory, but then I got the sushi for the sea veggies instead. I also ate all of my pickled ginger tonight!

No dessert for me tonight, but boy do I wish I had a couple of these to nosh on!

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Check out my article on Easy Ways to Go Green for Earth Day 2010.

I have a yummy breakfast planned with quinoa! Can’t wait!

What’s your favorite way to eat quinoa?

I realized the other day I haven’t posted any photos of Bailey lately, so here are a couple from this morning. Bailey says hi friends!

As for eats today, I had something very important planned after work and needed to be in tip-top condition. So, I tried to eat pretty nutritiously, though, I will say, after hearing Brendan Brazier, I’m shying away from meats for performance reasons.

Breakfast – fried cage-free egg, spelt toast with Earth Balance, and some organic strawberries. Plus a lil coffee on the side.

I snacked on some Galaxy Granola (*) with some vanilla almond milk.

For lunch, I had a GIANT romaine salad with almond butter toast.

I made sure to add lots of healthful ingredients – romaine, cucumber, bell pepper, sunflower seeds, pepitas, hemp seeds, ground flaxseed. Chef Drew’s as my dressing.

Great Harvest spelt toast with Barney Butter.

Lunch was a tad on the light side, but I had some good snacks planned.

Since I didn’t get it for breakfast, what better for an afternoon snack than OATMEAL! I added chia seeds, dates, almonds, and ground flaxseed to mine (cooked in 1/2 water and 1/2 almond milk).

And for my pre-workout snack of choice – a delicious smoothie pumped up with good stuff from my Vega Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer (1 scoop). Other ingredients: banana, frozen blueberries, ice, almond milk.

You can check out my review of this product by clicking here. I’m hoping to use it and gauge my energy levels, but I don’t have that info yet.

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So, what may my important activity today be? Well, some my older readers may remember that I tried out to be a zumba instructor last June (click). You may have wondered what ever happened to that and…well, it turns out I didn’t get it. I know I should have made that more obvious but who wants the world to know that they were a failure? Ok, well now you all know, so I will move on…

On Monday, I didn’t say anything because I was thinking of not telling you guys at all about this so I don’t totally embarrass myself if things don’t work out, but I had a private audition. I did 3 songs: Hips Don’t Lie (Bamboo Version), Jai Ho, and Elevator. The audition went really well (MUCH better than last year), but I had another round to do – something new they’re doing this year – a LIVE audition. Eek!

Well, the live auditions were tonight. The plan – lead two songs (from the private audition) in front of a live class as though you’re the instructor.

After polishing off my smoothie, I got ready for auditions by first getting my outfit together: my blue zumba pants, aerobic shoes…

Zumba LOVE sports bra and Zumba instructor tank top. I am a certified zumba instructor, but I am auditioning to be an instructor with a particular group in town.

Then it was dress, makeup, pack water, and get ready to have FUN!

So, each of the 7 people auditioning led two songs for a live class – there were TONS of people there! This would normally terrify me, but the energy in the room was just so positive. Everyone was there to support us and cheer us on and it was really amazingly-awesome.

Big thanks to Jenny for being my photographer tonight!

Here’s me just before taking the stage.

And here are some action shots:

I did Jai Ho and Elevator this round and I had so much FUN! I was pretty nervous, but I knew that all my hard work and practice would kick in. I tried to mentally prepare myself in the past couple weeks that I’d be leading songs without another instructor helping me and one part of that is knowing your choreography. I find that you have to practice it over and over well in advance (not the day of) and that way day of, you don’t have to think about your choreo, you can just DANCE!

Anywho, I’m sure I probably messed something up, but overall, I’m just so happy with how I did, no matter the results. I’m proud that I failed once but came back stronger to try again and that I gave 100%. All you can do is your best.

All the people who tried out did a fabulous job – they should all be very proud of their hard work.

Some of the other auditioners (that’s a word, right? ) – Chauna, Lind e, Crystal, and moi. (Thanks Alex for the photo!)

We should hear back by April 30th, so I’ll keep you guys posted!

A small group of us went out for dinner afterwards at Big Daddy’s Burger Bar. We were having burgers, so I had to have a coke – a REAL coke. I only managed to finish half this, but I still like the flavor of it with burgers.

My friends have been showing me pictures of food they’ve taken, which I think is pretty freakin fantastic! I love seeing their photos. This is a photo of eggs benedict and mimosa breakfast.

Alex got a spiked cookies and cream milkshake and shared samples with us.

I had two delicious bites. Yum!

As for eats, I got the Western Burger – burger with monterey jack, crispy onions, and BBQ sauce, plus tomato and lettuce. I got sweet potato fries for my side.

I was a little disappointed that I ordered my burger medium well and it looked a little too similar to my friend’s burger (they ordered medium rare). My waiter told me the burger would have a warm pink center when I ordered it, but it was preeeetty red-looking to me. After working for years in the restaurant industry, I’m not big on returning food, so I ate it, but I would have preferred medium well like I ordered. I’d like to add also that my waiter and some guy (presumably a manager) stopped by to check on us and I didn’t say anything about the burger – I’m sure they would have been willing to cook my burger more had I said something, but like I said…I don’t like to return food.

I did like the flavors of the burger and toppings and the sweet potato fries were really good, too. Our waiter was also really nice.

*****
What do you think about scales? Are they helpful or over-rated? Weigh in here.

Organic Gardening questions? I’ll be compiling questions for Don, so I know I said ask them by Thursday, but if you add more tonight or tomorrow, I’ll be sure to include them when I email him the questions. Click here to ask away!

Also, I’m working out some promotions for when my OpenSky shop has its grand opening. What would you like to see? Percentage discounts? Free gift certificates, like $5 off anything. Free shipping? Buy something, get a free sample of something else? Tell me and I’ll try to work it out.

Have a great weekend everyone! Hubby and I have plans to start our GARDEN tomorrow!!!

Do you have a funny, inspiring, or interesting audition experience? Tell me about it in a comment.

Friday started off quite nicely with a hot bowl of oats, some fresh berries, and steaming coffee.

Rice milk oats with almonds, sunflower seeds, pepitas and ground flaxseed plus fresh berries: blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Besides the milk in my coffee, breakfast was almost vegan.

For lunch, still inspired by BB, I decided to cook up some pseudo grains (quinoa) plus veggies: red pepper, onion, and steamed broccoli on the side. Apple cider and yerba mate to drink.

Tangy apple quinoa (semi-recipe): I actually cooked the quinoa in water. Then, I put a tbsp of of canola oil in a pan and sauteed the onions and red pepper (chopped) till the onions were translucent –about 4-5 minutes. Then, I added the cooked quinoa, then a dash of apple cider vinegar, then a dash of apple cider. I cooked the mixture till most of the vinegar smell had been cooked out.

This probably would have been really good topped with some nuts of seeds for some texture variety.

Another vegan meal. Yummers!

One of my favorite things about eating vegan food is how light you feel afterwards.

Post work I had a fabulous hour of ZUMBA!

A post-workout protein shake.

I stayed after class to practice some choreography. By the time I got back, I didn’t have time to think about dinner. Hubby and I had a trip to Durham to make and we were already past our ETD. I snacked on some pita chips, ate some leftovers from lunch and took some of the leftover red peppers I cut up earlier in the day to eat in the car. Plus some apple cider to drink.

I flew through the house getting ready, but we still didn’t make it to town until around midnight. Phew! Seems like the longest week in awhile…I’m completely zapped of energy and hoping to use the weekend to rest and re-charge!

Happy Weekend everyone!

What’s your favorite way to re-charge after a long and stressful week?

Ah yes, I was working on a top secret dessert involving mixed berries!

Did you figure out my dessert? Add in a homemade tart shell…

You guessed it! FRUIT TART! Not just any fruit tart – a vegan AND gluten free fruit tart.

I found the recipe in Clean Food – it’s the Mixed Berry Tart.

I definitely sampled the cider while I was baking and it was gooooo! Very, very sweet but great! I’m looking forward to drinking more of this later in the week, though I rarely drink juices.

Anywho, on to tonight!

(couldn’t pick between the pictures, so I used both! hehe…don’t the girls look fabulous in their dresses?!)

Hubby and I were invited over to Emily and Casey’s house to have Easter dinner with them and Kath and Matt!! So, after the dessert was ready, we headed over to meet our friends.

Kath greeted me with a yummy Pom Mocktail.

There were fresh flowers all over!

We sipped mocktails…

…cooked food…

…chit-chatted…

…and snacked on yummy food!

Kath and Matt brought over handmade honey whole wheat baguette slices, toasted in the oven, with a yummy cilantro/pistachio dip.

Here’s the photo I took.

And here’s what Kath and I look like taking our food photos! Thanks for the photo Emily!

The table – all set and waiting for food and friends.

Ta-da!

Our centerpiece – an adorable bread bunny complete with Easter eggs! The bunny is really Great Harvest bread with Virginia rolls…mmm.

We had lots of yummy vegan and gluten-free eats on the menu for our fabulous Easter dinner.

Asparagus + Chard Risotto with fresh herbs.

Millet Salad with corn and tomato.

Split pea soup.

Plus the bunny bread!!

Our friends…

Casey + Emily

Matt + Kath

Me + Hubby (thanks for the photo Kath!)

I got a little bit of everything – the split pea soup…

…the risotto, the millet salad, and even a bread bunny leg.

Dinner was fabulous – filling but light. Everything was so tasty!! I’m so thankful for such talented foodie friends!

Then, it was on to dessert!

My vegan + gluten-free fruit tart.

Photographing dessert (thanks again for the photo Kath!)

I must say, I’ve never made this recipe before, so I was really worried I may just blow the whole thing! lol I was kind of upset that the topping bubbled up so much, but I was mostly worried that the crust may crumble apart or the topping may not taste good.

Thankfully, the tart stayed together nicely. Phew!

And for the taste test….

DEE-licious! Phew again!

The crust had an almost molasses taste to it from the teff flour. The berry topping was perfection – sweet but not too sweet. I loved it and would serve this to any one – vegan or GF or not. Total yummers!

After our most-awesome Easter dinner, hubby and I came home and took Bailey for a walk.

I also decided to sample another Nicobella vegan truffle. Full review to come, but this flavor was an excellent pairing of fruit and chocolate. Yum!

Big thanks to Emily, Casey, Kath, and Matt for a wonderful evening with friends! Special thanks to Emily and Casey for hosting! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Such a fun weekend, even though I was a bit under the weather. First hubby’s beer brewing party with Matt (click), then soaking up the sun at lunch, and now tonight! Feeling very blessed right now.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Reader question: Did you do anything special for Easter dinner? If not, if you could pick any color for an Easter egg, what would it be?

After a wonderful breakfast of rice milk oatmeal, hubby and I got busy cleaning the house.

Things don’t really look much like how I want them to look when we’re all “set up”, but at least having things semi-put-up is better than having things spilling out everywhere and needing sorting. Oh and the empty living room…yea, we need furniture but we need MONEY first!

I’ve received a few requests for updates of the house and while we don’t have a lot, have I shown you guys our pantry? It’s all installed now and looking mighty fine.

Matt came over bearing goods – fresh-baked Great Harvest rolls – Virginia rolls and honey whole wheat. Hells yes! I freakin LOVE these things. Thank you Matt!

I immediately dug into a virginia roll. It was so soft and tender like butter! I ate it plain – no toppings required.

The boys got set up on our back porch to have a full day of brewing…

Round 1 Eats – Pizza

…while I made a semi-homemade pizza for the boys, topped simply with pizza seasonings, sliced roma tomatoes and fresh basil.

What goes better with beer than pizza, right? Ok, a lot of things pair well with beer, but pizza seemed like a good option they could nosh on while they worked.

I took the pizza outside where they were getting things started.

I enjoyed a slice upstairs. My first dairy since I first got sick earlier in the week! It went down A-ok, but I decided to not press my luck with any more slices.

Instead, I went for another Virginia roll, which I put in the oven for just a couple minutes to make it taste fresh-baked again. I drizzled it with some local honey. So simple – so good!

Round 2 Eats – Hummus + Spiced Pita Chips

I figured the boys would be pretty busy with the beer brewing, so I tried to make a lot of things they could casually snack on.

When I was pondering what to make, I consulted two of my faves – Eat Drink and Be Vegan and Ellie Krieger’s The Food You Crave.

Next on the agenda was hummus with spiced pita chips.

I’ve made these spiced pita chips before at Kath and Matt’s cookout last year (fun time – click here to check it out) and they were a BIG HIT! I highly suggest them. The spiced pita chip recipe is available online here (click).

Once they were ready, I brought the hummus and pita chips down for the boys. That’s right – I’m in my PJ’s!

I kept some hummus/chips upstairs for moi but ended up snacking on the chips downstairs and hanging out a few mins here and there with the boys to soak up some of the bright sun.

My beautiful new Anthropologie plates are great for eating a meal or serving company!

I used an ED&BV recipe called “Kids’ Dynamo Hummus”, which included fun ingredients like cashews and nutritional yeast! Neat! I omitted the tahini because hubby didn’t find it at the store, but it still tasted pretty good without it.

Playtime

For one part of the day, hubby tied Bailey up to a tree outside so he could hang out with them (no fence yet).

Hubby and Matt decided to take a little playtime.

They played frisbee…

…and chased each other in circles.

Round 3 Eats – Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

The boys seemed pretty full, but I decided to make some of Dreena’s Homestyle Vegan Chocolate Chip cookies (click for recipe) because they’re just so darn easy to whip up.

They are just too easy.

And Kate + Nate I so owe you a batch of these, but I figured you didn’t want cookies from someone who was just getting over being sick!

Mmm…cooookies.

I made some tea to enjoy with a cookie – Yogi Echinacea Immune Support with some local honey.

I decided to enjoy my tea with a cookie outside. Yummers!

Finito!

Signs of beer-brewing.

Almost done!

Hubby’s first batch – finito! Now we just have to wait about 4 weeks before we can taste the results!

FUN FUN Day for the boys!!!

Thank you sooooo much Matt for helping Dan with his first batch of beer!

Reader Question: What’s your favorite beer (brand, flavor or type of beer)?

PS Be sure to check out this post with some fabulous weight loss and diet tips!

PSS Hubby and I can eat meat again tomorrow!