Brandi‘s Stuffed French Toast:

Sabrina‘s Egg White Veggie Frittata Muffins:

Frog Hollow Farm‘s dried fruits (and Warren pears! So amazing).

Frog Hollow Farm also had a variety of chutneys and conserves, which were incredible. This was my favorite booth of the afternoon.

Some kind of shrimp and scallop ceviche from Fuego (can’t find a link):

A cool table with non-traditional shortbread made by Botanical Bakery:

Handmade marshmallows (pumpkin was one of the flavors) by Gateau et Ganache:

Chocolate covered nuts. I brought some of these home for Bobby and he has been calling them "poo balls". They are delicious despite their odd nickname.

My favorite candy of the day, made by Nina. Her Single Malt Scotch Bar was awesome.

Annie the Baker‘s cookies. Amazingly buttery and delicious. They tasted just like cookie dough.

p.o.p. candy‘s toffee – I had so much of the chai one. It had nuts and dried fruit.

Yummy (and pretty) chocolates.

Fabulous spreads.

479 Popcorn. My favorite was the curry (odd because I don’t like Indian food).

My other favorite dish of the day – Vineyard Pantry‘s Autumn Savory Tartlets (little pastry filled with wild rice, butternut squash, blue cheese mustard, cheese, and more). I can’t wait to experiment with their products.

A crazy cool beet meringue goat cheese savory dessert thing. It was a work of art (and quite tasty).

Olives.

Shannon‘s savory bread pudding.

I still have pictures from dinner, but I’ll save them. I met so many amazing people, including Emily from Foodzie – what a cool woman. That is a company I would love to work for.

A big thanks to FOODBUZZ for an amazing weekend.

In other news… wish me luck – we’re moving this week. (We’re taking off Tuesday instead of Monday.) Road trip from Sunnyvale to Princeton with two cats. Will be interesting.

Happy Monday! (Or Sunday, if you’re up late.) What did you do this weekend?

Like this post? Check out...

• April 26, 2009 -- Menu Plan Monday (mostly vegetarian/macrobiotic)
• February 10, 2010 -- The Great Fat Animal Experiment
• August 25, 2009 -- Jazzy juicing, the return of kabocha, and Japanese deals!
• July 5, 2011 -- A Week of Moving – Rocking and Walking
• October 12, 2008 -- Just another lazy Sunday…

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 28 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

We didn’t get any kiddies last year, and I don’t know if we will this year either. Do you get trick-or-treaters?

Earlier today Bobby joked, “Maybe the reason Americans are becoming obese is that we focus on candy for every holiday and on Halloween we buy too much so we have extra left over. I bet other countries don’t do this.” But he’s right. Trick-or-treating is a very North American thing (Canadians do it too). It’s done in the US, the UK, Canada, parts of Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Ireland. Apparently it’s been introduced in Italy and New Zealand (because of American culture infiltrating the media), but it’s been pretty controversial. Stuffing your face with candy seems to be a uniquely American thing to do.

As a kid I loved halloween. I don’t think I cared too much about the candy, to be honest. I did love dressing up. My mom always helped me and made elaborate costumes. I’ve been everything from a witch, to a pumpkin, to a bag of jelly beans (so cute), to a little Dutch girl with clogs, to a witch again, to a hippie… Well, you get the idea.

Of course I ate my candy – who wouldn’t? But I remember saving it for ages (I always “save” things for the “best” time) and ending up throwing most of it away after it went bad a few months later. This is the same way I treat most nice things I own; I save them for opportune times, but often the opportune time never comes and I regret saving whatever it is. Living in the moment is probably a better idea, anyway. And who wants to save something like calories? That shouldn’t doesn’t make sense.

But back to Halloween – it’s a shame that we can’t give out candied apples or homemade cookies anymore. I think that would be the best way to celebrate.

[Aside: we just got a kid! A little alligator! So cute.]

Am I being too cynical? Should I just accept that (most) Americans glorify unhealthiness because it’s “the land of the free” and we can pretty much do what and eat what we want without thinking of the consequences? I think I’m getting too pensive for a Saturday night, so I’ll stop there. Hope you all enjoyed your Halloweens.

Like this post? Check out...

• April 26, 2009 -- Menu Plan Monday (mostly vegetarian/macrobiotic)
• January 27, 2009 -- Dave Farmar kicks my butt
• May 23, 2008 -- Day 2 in Ithaca (Thursday)
• November 10, 2010 -- Everything Is a Contradiction – Just Eat Food and Stop Thinking So Much.
• March 8, 2009 -- YogaFit Level 1 – Day 2!

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Raw Energy Balls

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup carob powder
• 3 cups shredded unsweetened raw coconut
• 3/4 cup coconut butter/oil
• 1/2 cup raw agave nectar

Directions

Mush everything together by hand. Shape into balls and freeze before eating.

Substitution ideas (not all raw)

• honey or maple syrup in place of agave
• oatmeal in place of some shredded coconut
• nut butter in place of coconut butter/oil
• cut down on oil; add more sweetener
• replace half the oil with a super-ripe mashed banana
• cocoa powder in place of carob powder
• ground flax in place of some shredded coconut

These were good, but a little bit too heavy for me. I find that many raw food desserts do not sit well with my temperamental stomach. The recipes with a lot of oil or sweet ingredients are especially tough for me to eat. These were really delicious though, and I would make them with a few modifications. I would cut down on the oil and Jill suggested maybe subbing some of the coconut for oatmeal (like no-bake cookies).

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I watched The Biggest Loser last night. I’ve been enjoying this season (“Second Chances”) mainly due to the fact that Jillian is digging up the contestants’ issues and forcing them (the contestants) to deal with the issues head on instead of hiding them as the contestants get healthy. The theme with all of the contestants is self-forgiveness. We can all relate to this on some level; I certainly have (more than) one experience in my life that I just can’t seem to let go of. Watching the contestants grow and change and evolve into these new and inspiring people is motivating. I suppose that’s why the show is so popular.

While I’m on the topic of growth and change, I wanted to say again how excited I am to be moving (to New York) in less than 2 short weeks. Thank you for your ideas and positive comments. I can’t wait to begin this next phase of my life. It’s bittersweet to be packing up my things and making preparations to move back “home”. I will certainly miss some of the people I’ve met here and I’ll always remember the fun times I had in California. Now I think it’s time to let it go and move on.

My high school reunion (5 years) is at the end of November. I’m going to go since I’ll be back in the area. Did you go to your high school reunion?

Like this post? Check out...

• August 7, 2011 -- Long Time No Blog! (Sunday French Toast Recipe)
• February 28, 2009 -- Fun & Free Day
• October 11, 2011 -- Sunday Dinner with Family
• July 19, 2010 -- Final Wedding Plans & Fresh Italian Food
• November 2, 2008 -- Great Thanksgiving Challenge

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I love it. What do you guys think?

My own crazy love is helping me change up my diet. I’m trying to eat pretty much the same stuff he does. For breakfast we made grilled cheese on Nature’s Pride bread. I had the 2 heels from the white one and he had 2 slices of the brown one. Cheddar oozed out the middle as we grilled them on the waffle maker. The outsides are lightly buttered for extra flavor. Bobby’s is in front; mine is in back.

I had coffee with breakfast; I have finally forsaken tea for coffee. I’m not sure what took me so long.

I was pretty starving for lunch. We made chicken burgers from Trader Joe’s. I sauteed up some veggies (Brussels sprouts, red pepper, burdock, collard greens) in chicken broth and added some Asian salad dressing. I had my burger on top of the veggies with some extra parm and ketchup; Bobby had his on bread with some cheddar and veggies on the side. He also had 3 pieces of veggie bacon (unpictured).

I got these yummy Pepperidge Farms cookies this morning at CVS, so we each had one for dessert. They are trail mix flavor – chocolate, raisins, and almonds.

Tonight we are making dinner for friends and we’re debating between baked French toast and my classic pizza recipe. Right now we are leaning towards the pizza because it’s always a hit.

What’s your favorite dish to make for friends or family?

In the news today…

• 6 year old boy missing from an experimental hot air balloon (UPDATE: he was found alive)
• It’s global handwashing day
• Report links smoking bans and heart health

Like this post? Check out...

• February 3, 2009 -- Snappy Vietnamese Vegetable Soup
• May 15, 2008 -- Baked Oatmeal
• October 5, 2011 -- RIP Steve Jobs
• October 25, 2010 -- Healthy Monday Tip #2: 8 Steps to Reduce Packaging Waste
• November 26, 2008 -- Vietnamese for dinner… again :)

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 30 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I say this about a lot of things, but you *must* make these. You will not be disappointed!

Goji Nut Biscotti

Ingredients (makes ~12 small biscotti)

• 1 cup oat bran
• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats (instant) (can sub with flour or oat bran)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 dashes of salt
• 1 teaspoon spice (cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup sweetener (I used Trader Joe’s stevia)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup goji berries
• 1/4 chopped nuts of choice (see notes below)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Soak the goji berries in hot water.
3. Mix together the oat bran, oats, baking soda, salt, and spices.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat this pretty well.
5. Slowly add the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Drain the berries and add them, and then add the nuts. The dough should be dry enough so that you can work with it. If it’s not, add a bit more oat bran (or don’t add all of the egg mixture).
6. Spray a cooking pan with non-stick spray and shape the dough into a long log shape, about 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch high. You can top with extra nuts or oats. Bake this for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the log from the oven and reduce heat to 300F. Cut the log into pieces and bake them on one side for 15 minutes. Take them out, turn them over, and bake them for another 15 minutes. If they are still not hard, turn them again and cook for 10 more minutes.
8. Enjoy dipped in coffee, tea, peanut butter, or plain.

For the nuts I used these things I found in the Asian grocery store called “olive kernels” (seen above). I recognize the flavor, but I have no idea what they really are, or if maybe they have another name. The nut is definitely used in a Christmas cookie that I have every year, but I cannot remember which cookie and I have been unable to find out anything online.

Help! Do you know what these nuts might be?

Like this post? Check out...

• November 27, 2009 -- Thanksgiving Recap
• January 12, 2008 -- Italian Ratatouille Recipe | How to Make Ratatouille
• January 19, 2009 -- Vegan Mac ‘n’ Cheeze
• August 22, 2008 -- Maggie’s "Panzanella"
• June 8, 2010 -- Recipe: Hot-Cold Asian Salad

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

But back to yesterday. Not everything is pictured, so I hope I remembered to mention everything. Disclaimer: everything pictured was eaten; not everything eaten is pictured. I like to think that this day is a good example of intuitive, varied eating. Let me know what you think.

I started the morning off with fresh goji-nutty-biscotti (recipe to come) that I baked last night. They are semi-healthy, but not overly so. I had 5 of these guys dipped in some cookie tea and a little bit of chocolate peanut butter. A little while after I did some yoga on my own (30 minutes).

Bobby and I trekked out to Borders early in the afternoon; I snagged an unpictured apple with almond butter on the way out the door. We stopped in to the fruit stand next to Borders where I had a few nibbles of cookie samples. Peanut Butter was the best (duh). After Borders we made a grocery stop at Trader Joe’s where we got (unpictured) samples of the Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup. In a 1 cup serving: 100 calories, 2 grams fat, 16 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 5 grams protein. They added creme fraiche and crispy bread; it was tasty.

Came home, made a lunchy snack. Arame (seaweed) from Heather, some sweet tomatoes, and leftover gingery chickpeas. Topped with Newman’s Own Lowfat Sesame Ginger dressing. Had 2 bowls of this. Lunch dessert: 2 tablespoons dark chocolate dreams peanut butter (unpictured).

We ended up buying that soup we sampled, so I heated that up for dinner along with salads. My salad was spinach, parmesan, pickles, olives, tomatoes, arame, sprouts, sunflower seeds, and the rest of the chickpeas. I topped my soup with kefir (my idea), sprouts (Bobby’s idea), and some Morningstar veggie bacon (my idea).

Dessert was faux cheesecake (cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, mashed banana) and 3 large handpicked apples spaced throughout the night… and the rest of those yummy tomatoes.

Do you like tomatoes? I love them in just about everything: unsweetened organic ketchup (Biz and Holly!), plain, stir-fried, in sandwiches, in salads, etc… Bobby likes tomatoes sometimes but he doesn’t like when they squirt in your mouth (that’s what she said) so he avoids the little bite-sized ones that I love.

Hey – Do you follow me on Twitter yet?

Like this post? Check out...

• May 15, 2009 -- Coping Mechanisms: Part 2
• May 31, 2009 -- BSI: Corn Bitelettes
• April 23, 2008 -- Grilled Cinnamon Oranges
• January 5, 2010 -- Review: Core Fusion DVD (and an award)
• November 6, 2009 -- Catch Up Post!

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 27 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

But yesterday I was feeling adventurous.  I have these instant oatmeal packets from Nature’s Path that are too sweet for me to use for breakfast… but they would be perfect for baking.  I’m not sure if instant oatmeal can be considered raw, but I came up with this…

Raw-ish Oatmeal Cookie Balls

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup instant oatmeal, flavored/sweetened (you could probably use plain, but add some sugar/agave/brown rice syrup and decrease the water accordingly; you could also add some cinnamon or other spices)
• 1.5 tablespoons water
• 1 medjool date (edited to add: you could probably use a tablespoon of raisins soaked in water OR 1-2 prunes)

Directions

1. Put 1/2 cup of the oats in a food processor.  Blend until it becomes fine – almost like flour, but with a few chunks left.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of the water.  Blend.  Rip up the date and add that. Blend, blend.
3. Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of water.  Blend some more.  It should turn into a big ball at this point.
4. Remove the ball of dough to a bowl.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of the remaining oats (1/4 cup) to the dough and mush them together until they are incorporated well.
5. You should have 2-3 tablespoons of oats left.  Blend them into a powder with the processor and mush that slowly to the ball of dough until it’s not sticky anymore.
6. Use a teaspoon measurer to portion out the dough, then roll them into balls.
7. Enjoy immediately or refrigerated.

My recipe made 18.5 1-teaspoon balls.  They have ~22 calories apiece.  The instant oats that I used have about 210 calories per 1/2 cup so that’s how I calculated it.

Bobby stayed home yesterday (it was really nice to spend a non-weekend day with him) and I made him try them as well.  I loved them; they taste like cookie dough to me.  He said they taste like a yummy granola in cookie dough form.  His description is clearly better.

Have you tried raw cooking/baking?  How did it turn out?  (Are these raw, by the way?  I can’t figure out if instant oats have been processed/cooked in some way…)

Like this post? Check out...

• July 26, 2009 -- Stirfry, being not veg, and frozen yogurt :)
• November 3, 2009 -- Walk This Way
• September 10, 2010 -- NuNaturals Giveaway (Free Stevia!)
• March 16, 2009 -- Quick Hip-Opener: Double Pigeon
• January 7, 2008 -- How to Make Tortellini – Italy Day 4

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 23 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Last week Bobby and I received some Honest Foods products to try – granola planks and country squares!  Honest Foods has a new look, and new nutritional info – they cut a lot of sugar!  But the product still tastes delicious.

This is Bobby trying one of the country squares (Choco Peanut Butter) – it was very good.  I had to steal a bite of it before he finished.  We also got to try the Apple Ginger, Cran Lemon Zest, and Almond Trail Mix.  Apple Ginger is my favorite.  I had 1/2 of an apple ginger with some yogurt and chopped pear last week – yum!  The squares are perfect for an on the go breakfast (Bobby) or a healthy dessert (me).

We also got to try 3 kinds of granola planks – Maple Almond Crunch, Pomegranate Walnut Crisp, and Blueberry Vanilla Crackle.  I liked Maple Almond Crunch the best; Bobby like the Blueberry Vanilla Crackle.

I am really happy that Honest Foods revamped their products to have less sugar, and I will definitely be buying these again.  Have you tried them?  What’s your favorite flavor?

Like this post? Check out...

• June 15, 2009 -- Going Out With Mom!
• September 30, 2010 -- CSN Giveaway Winner
• August 24, 2010 -- Updates
• March 7, 2011 -- Documentary: Inside Job & Yoga Recs
• April 6, 2008 -- Menu Plan Monday

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 21 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Some things I ate that were not very macrobiotic:

• honey
• vanilla soy ice cream (organic though, and no sugar)
• a bunch of oranges (citrus fruit) dipped in light coconut milk
• too much salt!
• stevia in my tea

Things I am proud that I did not eat:

• yogurt
• fake sweeteners
• snacky processed foods

I’m going to buy some brown rice syrup to help with the sugar cravings.  I realized that I have a huge dependency on fruit.  It makes up a very large part of my diet.  Over the next 2 weeks I’m going to try to replace some of the fruit with whole grains instead – wheat berries, oatmeal, and brown rice mainly.

The other issues I’m having are: not eating 3 hours before bed, eating 3 square meals, and chewing thoroughly.  I think I can fix the chewing thing.  Not eating 3 hours before bed – much harder.  Not grazing – much harder.  Appreciating and taking time to eat – much harder.

I’m going to have to break this down into daily goals.  Today’s challenge: not eating 3 hours before bed.  What would the hardest part of this challenge be for you?

I was chosen by K @ K’s Good Eats for an interview…

To play along:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”  If a few people want interviews, I will randomly pick 2. 
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions). 
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. 
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Questions

1. You are a big advocate of yoga, what initially drew you to trying yoga in the first place?
   

   I’ve been trying yoga off and on since high school, but for some reason it never stuck until about a year ago.  A year ago I wasn’t in that great a place physically/mentally and yoga made me feel strong and energized.  It was something I could do that always made me feel good.  I started doing it 2-3 times a week.  Then this past summer I discovered Power Yoga and I was hooked.  Now it’s a daily thing.

2. How did you and Bobby meet?
   

   Bobby and I lived on the same floor in the dorms during our sophomore year of college (Cornell).  Bobby and a few of his friends were randomly knocking on doors trying to get people to go to a party, and I thought he was cute so I went.  We ended up being best friends for about a month before we started dating.  I’ve lived with him ever since (3 years this past December!).

3. If you were granted a check of $100,000 but had to give it to charity, which charity (or charities) would you choose? Why?
   

   I would give the money to the World Wildlife Fund.  Their mission is the conservation of nature.  They protect endangered species, they protect the environment, they promote sustainability and energy efficiency.  All of these causes are things that I find very important and I like how they have a variety of goals.  They also seem more honest/well-organized than some other non-profits.

4. What is your biggest pet peeve?
   

   My biggest pet peeve is when people complain all the time and do nothing to fix their problems.  I met a lot of people like this in college, and it always bugged the heck out of me.  I know I probably do this occasionally, but it’s still my pet peeve!

5. Who is your role model/inspiration?
   

   My role model is… probably my dad.  I’m very similar to him (personality-wise).  He’s 51 years old and he has his own company, he’s in great health, and he’s funny and caring.  He always found time for me and my siblings after working all day and he made us love the outdoors.  He grew up on an almost-farm (they had a horse, dog, geese, lots of cats) and he always seems to know everything that I need to know, whether it’s when I should get my oil changed or how to cook a pizza.

Thanks for the interview K!  Now I am off to do a 90-minute Dave Farmar Yoga podcast.

Update – I forgot to say that Meghann’s Blogger Bake Sale is happening right now!  I’m making Vegan Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies so GO START BIDDING!

Like this post? Check out...

• September 1, 2008 -- Goodeats for 9/1/2008
• July 16, 2010 -- 7 Instant Diet Boosters
• September 27, 2010 -- What’s Up Monday – 9.27.10
• August 7, 2011 -- Long Time No Blog! (Sunday French Toast Recipe)
• November 12, 2010 -- Changing Education Paradigms – A New Direction for Learning?

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 20 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Yesterday’s free yoga podcast was a 90-minute class with Philip Urso (Salt Pond Yoga) but I only had time to do the first 60 minutes.  I did my own ending (headstand to savasana).  The class I took was called “High Power SPY Vinyasa” and can be found by searching “Yoga classes – Baptiste Power Vinyasa” in iTunes.

Yesterday’s oatmeal was the usual heart-healthy serving of oats:

• 3/4 cup dry oats, 1.5 cups water
• salt, cinnamon, stevia
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt (added at the end)
• sliced Asian pear
• blueberries

I decided to take a break from power yoga this morning and instead I just walked to the grocery store to pick up some necessities (yogurt, lime and lemon juice, syrup).  I will probably do some Ashtanga on my own this afternoon.

I made a great find at Trader Joe’s the other day – vanilla mini meringue cookies.  There is 1 calorie per meringue.  One serving is 100 minis!  The tub comes with 5 servings, and it was gone in two days.

This afternoon I have to go out looking for the last component to my Secret Cupid present, but that’s the only thing I have planned so far.  What is the weather like where you are?  Here in Mountain View it’s a cloudy and cool 57 degrees, but the forecast for today claims that it will get up to 70F.  I don’t believe it though!

Like this post? Check out...

• February 8, 2008 -- Lazy breakfasts…
• December 1, 2008 -- New month!
• February 22, 2008 -- On Being Vegan – Skinny Bitch Book Review
• October 30, 2008 -- The Creamiest Oats
• August 23, 2008 -- Goodeats for 8/22/2008

© Maggie for Say Yes to Salad, 2009. | Permalink | 24 comments |
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh