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Weekend Snacks

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

First thing, I would like to thank all of my readers and to those of you who comment on my Blog!! It is so awesome and truly means more than you know to me! Food is my passion, and I am so happy to be part of a blog atmosphere of passionate foodies:) Okay…on to the food.

The beauty of weekends seems to be the lack of structure. Structure guides our lives monday through friday (or at least my life!), and I do enjoy it from a productive stand point. The weekends, however, provide a nice change of pace. Rather than having to eat what I find time to pack in the morning for my busy days, I have the luxury of eating the food I crave WHEN I crave it. There is also more time for food presentation fun:)

“didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with your food…?” ummmm…yeah.

Kabocha Squash Fries (yes, I eat ALOT of kabocha!) w/ Ketchup + Tobasco dip

I sliced the leftovers from a whole roasted kabocha squash into “fries” and roasted them at 350 while broiling until crispy (20 min?)

Roasted brussel sprouts + tofu (400 for 20 minutes) seasoned w/ginger powder, garlic powder, tamari, chili powder, onion powder and soy

of course ketchup + tobasco dip

Ak-maks + parm slices

Protein power snack: Sun Warrior Protein Powder + PB + almond milk and water, all topped with dark choc chips (looks like a cookie!)

Plus a plain greek yogurt and dark chocolate chips

Plus pumpkin puree

All eaten together and used as a dip for a Honey Crisp apple

Next up: MORE kabocha fries! + raw broccoli, cauliflower, a carrot, celery, cherry toms, and nori

Dipping sauces= peanut butter sauce + pumpkin butter + pumpkin and of course ketchup + tobasco for the fries

Apple + carrot + celery dipped in almond butter + PB2 (yes dark chocolate chips managed to make their way into this snack)

Another delish veggie snack plate

Dipping sauces= pumpkin butter + peanut butter

How do you eat on the weekends? Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner, or all day grazing….

If I had my choice, I would opt for snacking consistently throughout the day as opposed to meals everyday. For me, large meals (especially during the day) weight me down, make me sleepy, and lower my level of productivity. I tend to eat my largest meal at dinner time for this reason.

I hope you enjoyed this snacky-post!! What is your “go-to” or favorite snack??

Posted in Uncategorized, snacks | 3 Responses »
Tags: apples, greek yogurt, healthy, kabocha squash, leftovers, pumpkin, seaweed, snacks, tofu, veggies

My Very First Protein Bar (high raw, vegan, gluten free)

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

My favorite food bars are those which contain healthy vegan, soy-free protein and a short ingredient list. I realize that food bars are not the healthiest way to get one’s nutrients, but there are times in which my schedule leaves me no choice! When I am running late in the morning and don’t have time to pack a “well rounded” meal, I grab a protein bar and greek yogurt to go. They are also awesome for traveling. Well, they are also quite pricey! (meaning wayyyy overpriced for what you get!)

Well, my recent obsession with Nugo Bars and Rebars inspired me to create my own version… this was a completly random and on the spot creation, no pre-meditation!

Ingredients:
-Peanut Butter/Almond Butter or PB2, 1/4 cup
-Agave, 1 tablespoon
-Coconut Milk, 2 cups (I use So Delicious Unsweetened)
-Cornstartch, 2 tablespoons
-Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp
-Stevia (optional), 4 drops
-Rolled Oats, 1/4 cup
-Chia Seeds, 2 tablespoons (optional)
-Brown Rice Puffs, 5 cups + 1 cup
-Protein Powder, 6 scoops (I use Sun Warrior)

1. Toast oats in oven at 350 for about 5 minutes
2. Dissolve cornstartch in 1/4 cup of cold coconut milk
3. In a large bowl, mix together 5 cups of the rice puffs and the 5 scoops of protein powder
4. Bring remaining coconut milk to a boil, once boiling remove from heat and immediatly add peanut butter, agave and stevia and stir until beginning to thicken
5. Add cornstartch mixture and continue to stir (note: my mix above did not thicken as I wanted it to, so I added cornstartch)
6. Once it has slighly thickened, add rolled oats and chia seeds (optional, will make batter “gummy”)
7. Gradually add the rice puff-protein mixture to the peanut butter mixture until combined
8. If mixing is difficult (as it was for me) transfer to a food processor and lighly pulse just until combined
9. My mixture was paste like, so I folded in 1 cup of the rice puffs at this point
10. Roll mixture out onto parchment paper, using extra protein powder as “flour”
11. Press in extra rice puffs during the process if needed to make rolling easier
12. Dehydrate for at least 30 minutes @ 118 degrees, or use your oven on the lowest setting with oven door ajar
13. Remove from dehydrator or oven and slice into even “bars” (I made about 16)
14. Make ganche!

rolled out dough with puffs “pressed” in for ease…

Chocolate Ganche
1/4 cup non dairy milk
4 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips (or about 7.5 tablespoons)
Pure Maple Syrup

1. Bring milk to a boil
2. Immediatly remove from heat and add chocolate and maple syrup and stir until smooth and creamy
3. Dip the smooth side of your bars into ganche and return to wax paper.
4. Refridgerate until dry

If anyone attempts making these, please tell me if you do anything different! I am going to be creating another version of these as my goal was to make them more crispy. I am thinking of doing a “rice crispy treat” inspired protein bar next time to acheive the lightness I want.

Nevertheless, these are very tasty and boost 12 grams of protein/bar

Posted in Raw, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegan, snacks | 7 Responses »
Tags: gluten free, healthy, protein bar, Raw, snacks, Vegan

Product Review: Jamfrakas Bar by Larabar

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

We all love our LARABARS, but I was super excited to find these Jamfraka bars for kids at the store! They are about half the size of a normal Larabar and thus contain about half of the nutrition. Larabar is a company I will always trust, so the more products by them, the better!

From their website:
Our company name comes from an ancient belief that food falls into two categories:
BECKONING FOODS, which beckon consumption again and again, sapping the body of energy without any real health benefits, Today, they’re called “junk foods.”
HUMM FOODS on the other hand, resonate with energy in a whole, natural state. When consumed, they cause you to feel vibrant and alive.
You can expect an unmistakable urge to humm after every LÄRABAR bar you eat.

Pros:

-smaller size for when you want a less filling bar
-soy free, dairy free, gluten free
-USDA organic
-CRUNCHY/CRISPY!
-contain fruits + nuts + honey + whole grains
-contain about 10 vital minerals and vitamins in each bar
-and of course, trans fat and high fructose corn syrup free!
-fun flavors: Apple Crispalicious, Chocolate Chip Cosmocrisp, Banana Chocolate Blastocrisp, Strawberry Crispiscrumptious, Peanut Butter Blisscrips

Cons:

-not raw or vegan
-less flavor options
-flavor less pronounced
-higher in sodium per gram
-longer and less attractive list of ingredients

Jamfraka Review: Peanut Butter Blisscrisp

INGREDIENTS: Organic Peanuts, Organic Dates, Organic Rice Crisps (Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Honey, Organic Raisin Juice Concentrate, Sea Salt), Organic Honey, Sea Salt

NUTRITION PROFILE per bar:
calories: 120
Fat: 5g
Carbohydrates: 15g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 3g

Texture: Slight crisp/crunch. In comparison to the Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar, the Peanut Butter Blisscup is much less chewy. The flavor has a interesting aftertaste to it that I can not figure out. It is not bad, I just couldn’t find a word to describe it! I actually prefer it to the Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie bar.

Lastly, I found this bar less filling obviously than a Larabar, however it did hold me over longer than anticipated during class. I have yet to try the other flavors, but look forward to doing so!!

Overall, I would recommend you give these a try, kid or not! Although I also eat kids gummy vitamins… so what can I say!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Responses »
Tags: gluten free, healthy, Jamfraka, Larabar, nutrition bar, Product Review, snacks

Balanced Vegan Dinner

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

This dinner is the perfect balance of carbohydrate + protein + fat. It is cozy and delicious. Here is a quick, light, healthy meal that will leave you satisfied. Multiple servings are a must, I am only showing the first round of servings here:)

Baked tofu with homemade pumpkin cardamom sauce:

Slice and blot (with paper towels) extra firm tofu and bake at 425 for 20-30 mintues depending on your oven, flipping half way throught. You can also “marinate” your tofu in oil or any yummy sauce you like. BBQ is delish. For this recipe, I bake it plain so that it may be dipped in this yummy pumpkin sauce.

Meanwhile, make pumpkin sauce:

1/4 cup pumpkin pecan butter (or TJ’s pumpkin butter)
cardamom and cumin seeds (about a tsp each)
one clove garlic
pinch of ginger powder (optional)
honey, agave or brown sugar to your taste
soy milk creamer to thicken
water to thin if needed

Begin by frying seeds until fragrent in a non stick skillet
Remove from heat and mix with crushed clove of garlic.
Add pumpkin to skillet and stir until warmed throughout, add other spices and seasonings, and then add the fryed seed mixture.
Stir in soy milk creamer and sweetener to taste.
Drizzle over baked tofu, or use as dipping sauce! Delicious on sweet potatoes too.

Sweet Potato Fries:

Peel potatoes if desired, otherwise slice sweet potatoes into wedges.
“Paint” them with olive oil using a pastry brush, you can be quite generous with oil here, as this is the main fat source of the meal and will help in the absorption of valuable nutrients. (you can see my technique for “painting” oil here)
Season with sea salt + garlic powder + red pepper flakes or chili powder

Bake at 500 degrees for 15-20 minutes, flipping half way through.
(Or, if you are baking your potatoes and tofu at the same time, put the oven to 450 and flip tofu when browned on the bottom. Baking time will vary, so keep a close watch!)

Last but not least, MYVERYFIRSTKITCHEN wouldn’t be what it is without a ginormous salad:

Spinach + mushrooms + broccoli + tomatoes + yellow bell pepper + favorite salad dressing (honey mustard for me.)

Perfectly satisfying deliciousness of protein + startch (with some healthy EVOO fat!) + vegggggies. There is even room for a cupcake!

Posted in Dinner, Health Tips, Recipes, Vegan | No Responses »
Tags: balanced meal, Health Tips, healthy, pumpkin, salad, sweet potato, sweet potato fries, tofu, Vegan, vegetable, veggies

Vegan Banana Bread

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Yummy low fat vegan banana bread enhanced with pretty slices of banana on top inspired by veggiegirl for a more rustic look

So delicious and low fat. Nutrition info and recipe can be found in my recipe box here

My recipe was inspired form the famous Veganomicon book! My recipe makes 15 slices and each are roughly 155 calories. Perfect morning on the go snack, plus it fills your home with amazing aromas in the oven.

The addition of chocolate chips are optional, but make this bread a sweeter treat.

Sweet + Savory

Perfectly golden top and gooey inside! You must make this amazing recipe.

Posted in Dessert, Recipes, Vegan | 1 Response »
Tags: banana, bread, cinnamon, Dessert, healthy, nutrition, Vegan

How to make Croutons

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

And not waste stale or the beginning of molding bread!

This bag of sliced french bread has been on the counter for about a week, and I saw one little piece beginning to develop mold! I tossed the one piece, and inspected the rest. What do you do with a bread surplus on the verge of going bad?? Make croutons of course! The way I make them is as healthy as possible. It is very easy to drench your bread in 5-10 tablespoons of olive oil making your croutons a meal in them selves! This works just as well with gluten free bread, baking time may vary though.

Step 1: Measure out 2 tablespoons of your favorite olive oil. I used an herb infused one plus a little regular and poured it in a little bowl with a smashed clove of garlic. You could also add whatever herbs and spices you might want at this point too, but I prefer to add these at the end.

Step 2: Using a pastry brush, lightly and sparingly brush each slice of bread, front and back, with the oil. ( I had about 55 pieces of bread and had a ton of leftover oil!) I enjoy the tediousness of this process, you could of course just toss the bread and oil, but this will require using more oil for even distribution.

Step 3: Decide on the spices you want to use to flavor your croutons. I always use minced onion, garlic powder, basil, rosemary (fresh from the garden!), thyme, red pepper flakes, paprika and sea salt.

Step 4: Slice bread to desired size. I sliced the bigger pieces in half.

Step 5: Put one layer of your bread pieces in the bottom of a large bowl and add your spices, and then toss. Add the next layer of your bread pieces to the bowl, season and toss. Continue this process of layering and seasoning until all your bread is in the bowl!

Step 6: Place bread pieces on a cookie sheet evenly, not overlapping any pieces. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 350. Make sure to check on them as different ovens and bread types will change baking time, and you don’t want to burn your croutons! Enjoy!

Posted in Recipes | 2 Responses »
Tags: bread, crouton, healthy, stale bread

My Very First Kitchen

musings from a student with her own very first kitchen!