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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

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

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

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of course ketchup + tobasco dip

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Ak-maks + parm slices

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

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Plus a plain greek yogurt and dark chocolate chips

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Plus pumpkin puree

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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

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

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

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Another delish veggie snack plate

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Dipping sauces= pumpkin butter + peanut butter

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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??

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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:

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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:

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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.)

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

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