coffee caramel snapachinno

1/2 envelope vega sport protein or any protein powder with no extra flavoring or sweetener
unsweetened almond milk
cold brew coffee
ice and 3 cold brew coffee ice cubes
a drop of caramel extract
tiny bit maple syrup

mindful eating

Last night I attended another interesting seminar at the Great Sage Restaurant in Clarksville MD- weight management on a plant-based diet. The lecturer, Paige Snyder is a plant based nutritionist who specializes in sport performance, stress management and achieving your optimal weight through clean, plant-based foods. She talked about macronutrients and the Thrive food pyramid. One of the most interesting nuggets that struck a chord with me was mindful eating.
Right at this moment I am sipping my smoothie while writing- GUILTY!
Here are her tips;

When ready to eat
1. sit and just take a breath, slow down.
2. take a moment to be thankful for your food.
3.look at and enjoy the pleasure of seeing beautiful food.
4. smell your food.
5. take a bite and chew it 25-30 times (not the 3 that the average American does)
6.put your fork down between bites.

Now I know this is not rocket science and you have probably heard it before...but try it for one meal a day. Or may try all the meals in one day a week. Let me know how it works.
More later........

Yummy tofu

So I was preparing to make my favorite staple of the week- pan seared garlic fried tofu. Yum. I asked my husband, wonderful husband, to pick up two containers of extra firm tofu.  I didn't think that he would bring back two containers of these tiny cubed tofu pieces of extra firm tofu. Hmmmm. Now what do I do with these? 

I started by squeezing them, as always, with my handy tofu X-press. Water out, I fried them in a little coconut oil. After I flipped taken over with a spatula I poured some tamari and maple syrup on and continued to cook. The result was yummy.

Here are the simple ingredients:

*Cubed extra firm tofu

*Coconut oil to fry in

* A couple tablespoons or so tamari sauce- I didn't measure

*1 tablespoon or so maple syrup

Tofu X press

This thing is awesome. Want to squeeze the water out of your tofu in a half hour? ....without doing anything? Get out your Tofu Xpress! Amazing how the spring automatically get tighter while it squeezes out all the water. Make it really easy to whip together  some pan seared garlic tofu!

Marinated Lentils

This recipe was taken directly from the Oh She Glows Everyday cookbook. It's so yummy I wanted to share it. An easy, make ahead or eat immediately, recipe this is a keeper! it was a hit at Burger Night and that's a tough crowd!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked french lentils
1/2 cup uncooked brown lentils
2 TB olive oil
2 TB plus 1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar...here's where I made a change - I used White Nama Shoya Sauce and no salt or pepper
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
 1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups sliced green onions both dark and
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup oil- packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped

1. Pick over lentils, discarding any debris. Rinse and drain. Place lentils in saucepan with 4 cups of water.  Bring to boil then reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
2. In a large bowl whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt. Stir in green onions,  parsley and tomatoes.
3. Drain the lentils really well and spoon them into the bowl with the other ingredients. Stir well.
4. Serve immediately (warm and delicious) or let cool slightly and then cover and marinate in the fridge. You can keep in fridge (in airtight container) for a week. or freeze in a freezer safe ziploc with all the air squeezed out. Lasts 1 month. Angela recommends adding  extra dressing and salt to liven it up.

evergreen matcha and coffee sproutachino

G

This week I was visiting Sanibel Island in Florida. I fell in love with the small vegan cafe called the Sanibel Sprout. The wonderful creators of these drinks were super nice and happily shared the basic recipe .Here are the recipes for the two drinks I imbibed freely.These are basic  and I will update with photos and more exacting amounts.

Evergreen Matcha Iced Tea

1 heaping TB matcha
1 TB soursop matcha
A speck of a drop of jasmine diluted with water - it's potent!
1 squirt honey or maple syrup
vanilla favored almond milk
Stir together and then pour over ice.

Soursop is an amazing source of antioxidants.

Coffee Sproutachino

1 scoop cashews
1 small scoop coconut
4 dates
1 scoop cacao powder
4 oz coffee
ice

I now also add flaxmeal, maca, tofu and nut milk. Yum. 

Blend in a high speed blender.

Sweet Potato Spice Cake

 Sweet Potato Spice Cake with Hazelnuts and Candied Ginger

 I am always looking for good dessert recipes to cook for the "burger night" crowd. Each Sunday night my extended family gets together for food and cards. Usually I bring the dessert or the salad, my two specialties. Here a recipe I found in an 2013 Vegetarian Times.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups all  purpose flour
1 TB baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp group cloves
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
 1 cup almond milk
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 medium sweet potato peeled and finely grated (3 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

topping
1 8oz vegan cream cheese
1 TB agave
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted hazelnuts

Pre-heat oven 350. Coat 10 round cake pan with cooking spray

1.Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. let sit 10 minutes then drain and set aside.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powders and spices in a bowl.
3. In a separate large bowl whisk together oil and sugars. then add in almond milk and lemon juice.
4. Stir flour mixture into oil mixture till a nice batter forms.
5. Fold in sweet potato, ginger, nuts and raisins. Pour into prepared pan.
6. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool then unmold cake onto wire to cool completely.
8. Make topping with cream cheese, agave and vanilla. Spread on cooled cake
9. Decorate.
Yum!