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Happy New Year {2013} Sprouts!

1 Jan

Happy New Year {2013}!

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New year, new opportunities, a clean slate!  I’m super excited about the concept of new possibilities for 2013, and sprouts seem to me the perfect example of new life!

If you’re trying to get healthier this year (or try your green thumb on for size, maybe?)  sprouting your own alfalfa seeds for salads, smoothies, and even soups is a simple, healthy, and nutritious way to go!

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Stay tuned for a how-to post on sprouting your own seeds next time!  For now, I’m taking the rest of the evening to do some relaxing after last night’s festivities, and then heading out to start the year off right with some gym time!

Make a plan to do good things for yourself this year! 🙂

xoxo

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Walnuts

29 Nov

I love brussels sprouts so freaking much.  I feel like there are some people out there, however, who aren’t such huge fans.  I know!  I’m as confused as you are.  For whatever reason…too bitter, too green, too tiny cabbage-esque, whatever.  Pan roasting is the cooking method that changes all of that.  Brussels sprout haters become brussels sprout lovers, or brussels sprouts toleraters, at the very least!  This recipe is so easy, super healthy, only requires a few quality ingredients, and turns out tasty delicious.  I made this as a Thanksgiving side dish this year, and it was quite the hot commodity!  I can see this being extra yummy with dried cranberries tossed in at the end!  This is a new staple side dish for me, I can see making it alongside brown rice and a piece of salmon or baked tofu.

Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts

Ingredients:

* 4 heaping cups large brussels sprouts, cut into quarters

* 5 medium to large cloves of garlic

* 4-5 Tbsp olive oil

* 1 cup toasted walnut halves

* Kosher salt, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* F.

Line a cookie sheet and spread walnuts evenly.  Toast about 10 minutes, checking often until toasty brown (don’t burn, though!)

Wash and quarter the brussels sprouts and set aside.  In a large frying pan with a lid, heat the olive oil.  Roughly chop garlic cloves and add to pan, stirring constantly until soft and lightly browned.

Add brussels sprouts to the pan, and cover, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes.

Once the walnuts are toasted, remove from the oven and allow to cool in a bowl.  Turn oven temperature up to 400* F.  Transfer brussels sprouts from the stove top pan to the baking sheet, spreading out into an even layer.

Sprinkle with salt, to taste.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and toss with toasted walnuts on the pan.  Bake about 10 more minutes, until brussels sprouts are fork tender and slightly crispy on the outside.  Serve!

Favorite Fall Weather Soups!

23 Oct

It’s October and it’s crazy chilly!  We’re talking I’m in California, fall is barely under-way,  and I’m already freezing my butt off chilly!  Don’t talk to me about the East Coast or somewhere that’s actually considered cold, please, or I’ll literally have to park myself in front of a blow dryer or my car heater to thaw out for the better part of the season!  I may end up doing that anyway.

I have to admit, one of my favorite ways to warm up AND eat something delicious at the same time is to make soup!  There are just so many variations, and so many possibilities!  Here are my two very favorite soups at the moment – warm, hearty, and immune-boosting sweet potato & coriander, and garden vegetable! Don’t even try to tell me you don’t see people getting sick left and right already!  I refuse to let that be me!  Don’t let it be you!  Just click on the links below for the full recipes, and whip up some soup to watch movies and cuddle up on the couch with!

Sweet Potato and Coriander Soup

Garden Vegetable Soup

Happy snuggly soup-making!

Stay warm, be healthy.

PS: I can’t wait for Halloween!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie + Why Pumpkin is Super Good for You!

14 Oct

Pumpkin, Please!

Can we talk for a minute about pumpkin?  Everyone’s talking about it this time of year, right?!  But, I don’t mean in the pumpkin spice latte-crazed (although those are yummy!), fall-obsessed, pumpkin “flavored” everything kind of way – I mean in the context of REAL pumpkin and it’s low calorie, high nutrient density profile!  Pumpkin has a lot to offer, and obviously it’s tasty, so it’s understandable why everyone wants a piece of it ( I swear, no pie puns intended! 😉 this time of year.

Beta-Carotene

Pumpkins have beta-carotene to thank for their characteristic, bright orange hue.  Beta-carotene is converted to Vitamin A in the body, which then plays a major functional role in keeping our vision crisp and clear, our immune system fortified, and the repair and health of all the body’s cells  healthy (meaning it’s super important for keeping our skin pretty, too!).

Protein & Fiber

Fiber you may have guessed since most plants contain lots of it, but yes, pumpkins contain protein, too!  Good for digestion, good for pumping up those muscles.

Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, & Potassium

Calcium helps keep your bones and teeth healthy, strong, and fracture free.  Iron promotes the building of blood cells that keep oxygen flowing to your cells for energy and optimal functioning.  Muscle and nerve function, as well as over 300 other biochemical reactions in the human body are dependent upon magnesium.  Energy metabolism, bone strength, and bolstering the immune system are just a few others that rely on this mineral.  Potassium isn’t just a banana thing!  Potassium is also found in pumpkins, and keeps the heart healthy, and is especially important in the diet of athletes and active people since it’s lost through perspiration (sweating!).

Vitamin C & E

It hasn’t been proven, but Vitamin C is suspected to be useful in helping to pull through illness more quickly; it’s also essential for wound healing and collagen synthesis.  Vitamin E is also important to help protect the skin from UV damage and free radicals.  Additionally, there is some evidence to suggest it may help prevent prostate and bladder cancer and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

How to Use Pumpkin:

Fresh pumpkin is perfect cubed and thrown into stir fries, casseroles, or soups.  My favorite super simple, tasty way to enjoy it is to cube it, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with your seasoning of choice, then roast it on a sheet pan in the oven!

Stir pumpkin puree it in to oatmeal with a dash of pumpkin pie spice and a splash of cold milk, mix it into quick bread and pancake batters, soups, obviously put it in a pie crust, or blend it up into this pumpkin pie-esque smoothie!  Any way you can add the real stuff (not the flavored syrup!) into your meals, you know you’re doing yourself a favor.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie {Gluten-free, Vegan}

(The awesome thing about smoothies is, you really can’t make a mistake!  Here, you have the option to add in any kind of milk you like, protein powder for a boost (or not, if you’re not feeling it!), and chia seeds, or ground flax for extra nutrition.  I love my smoothies not too sweet, but if you want more sweetness, just up the amount of maple syrup you add a little, or throw in another half banana.  Not exactlyyyyy like pumpkin pie, but you’ll get your fill of the real thing this season, so enjoy the lightened up flavor of pumpkin with this smoothie for awhile!)

Ingredients:

* 1 large banana, frozen

* 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

* 1/4-1/2 cup milk of choice (I used almond)

* 1 Tbsp chia seeds

* 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

* 1-2 Tbsp vanilla rice protein powder (optional)

* 1-2 Tbsp almond butter

* 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg)

* 3-4 cubes of ice (maybe a few more if your banana wasn’t frozen)

Directions:

Throw everything but the ice in a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Add in ice cubes one at a time until blended – unless you have a fancy Vitamix blender (I’m jealous, if you do!), and then you can probably just throw everything in at once and blend, blend, blend!

LooooooooooooooooVvveee!

A Heart-Felt Heart-to-Heart about LA & Gluten Free Vegan Carrot Cake

21 Aug

As my time spent in Los Angles this summer is coming to an end, I can’t help but get a little teary-eyed, thinking about all of the amazing things I’ve done and seen, and the unforgettable people in my life I’ve had the privilege of reconnecting with and spending time with.  Time has literally flown by, and it feels like just yesterday I over-packed my AC-deprived car and headed southbound in 110 degree heat to the town I left my heart in many years ago.  I remember the promise of freedom, relief, excitement, and a summer to be remembered filling the air, and my wide, happy eyes.  It’s not often I get to up and take off, though my spirit often wants to – I call it wanderlust, and the yearning for a new beginning, new experiences, sights, sounds, etc. rather than being restless and discontent.  Restless, I can be, but I’m often content, so that’s not what I would call it.  And now, here I am wrapping things up, both physically and emotionally; now experiencing that discontent thing a little as I wish for a few more weeks, at the very least.  Instead, I have just a few more days.

Going through my last two months here, I’ve been filtering, revisiting, and questioning, but am happy to have come out realizing I wouldn’t have done anything differently, nor would I trade my time here for anything in the world!  I’m so pleased to say I can go back home with no regrets, knowing that I’ve had the best of intentions and kept my heart big and open,  I’ve learned a lot about myself, and certainly re-confirmed what I already knew about the beach before in that somehow it heals me, soothes me, and always keeps me coming back! The other night, I planned to make a trip to the gym, and instead drove right on by, heading for the ocean instead.  I spent a blissful evening walking in the sand, breathing in the sea breeze, and meandering around the pier in Santa Monica, which is basically a carnival on the water that is brilliantly lit up at dusk.  It’s not the first time I’ve found myself at the beach instead of somewhere else while I’ve been here, that’s for sure, be it Santa Monica, Venice, Laguna, Newport, San Diego….the ocean just does that to me 🙂

No matter where I’ve been, or what I’ve been doing, the common thread in my lovely time here, as I mentioned before, has been the people.  I have some amazing friends that I don’t get to see anywhere near as often as I’d like, and though with some of them it had been months or years, I know they are true friends because everything seems to come right back.  I’ve spent time with friends from high school ( Hi, AP and Brett!), from my days at UC Davis (Love you, Steph!), from years and years back in my Newport Beach days (ahem, TK), and so many more I hope to see and keep in touch with much more often.  I even decided since I’ve been here that I’d love to start writing  hand-written notes or postcards to the people more special in my life so that we can check in with each other and say hi in a much cooler way than with email and Facebook!  The internet is an amazing thing (obviously! haha), but sometimes the most precious and thoughtful means of showing you’re thinking of someone are often lost to quick text messages.  I’ll be getting in touch for your addresses – you know who you are! 😉

I’ve had the summer of my life, in the most cheese-ball sounding, but completely serious way possible!  So many thanks, I love you guys!

I’m positive I’ll be writing more about my time and experiences in LA some more soon, but for now, let’s get into a recipe I tried for the first time while here: gluten free vegan carrot cake…and of course, vegan cream cheese frosting!  It was super awesome, if I do say so myself 🙂

Gluten Free Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe

It’s not often I really really enjoy a gluten free AND vegan cake or bread recipe, since I have yet to fully perfect that art form, but this cake was really delicious.  The flavor was spot-on, from what I remember a good carrot cake to be – a yummy spice-cake with lots of carrot, and the pineapple was a new addition to me, but I think it worked in the crushed form.  It’s pretty dense, and much like a quick bread.  Loved it

Ingredients:

* 1 cup gluten free flour mix (I used Bob’s Redmill)

* 1/2 coconut flour
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