I don’t know the recipe, but I know it had lots of peanut butter. It was delicious. Maybe I’ll ask her how she made it sometime soon. It had all of my favorite veggies – broccoli, mushrooms, carrots (which I actually avoided because I’m trying not to turn orange), and red peppers. She’s not scared to use enough oil to make it taste good either.

This morning (and yesterday I think) for breakfast I made a really good bowl of hot cereal. I mix together…

• ~1/2 cup of quick cooking oats
• a few tablespoons of farina
• cook it in water & almond milk
• cinnamon, almond or orange extract (or both!), dash of salt

I like to top it with milk (whole cow’s milk or more almond milk) and maple syrup or honey. My facial lady told me to avoid sugar and see what happens (I know what will happen – my face will be clear), so today I had it with no syrup (but extra milk).

Uh oh. I think I have a new addiction. It sounds like kabocha, but it’s more expensive – kombucha.

The one I tried was $3.39 (yikes) and it was "GT’s Organic Botanic No. 7 Kombucha". I specifically got the one with probiotics to help with my digestion. This one was raw.

Kombucha is a fermented Chinese tea. It takes about 30 days to make; during the process various nutrients are formed (enzymes, probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants, and polyphenols). It’s basically the healthiest thing you could possibly drink.

Some people say it tastes like vinegar; I thought it tasted a little bit like wine, only fizzy and better (I don’t really like wine). I’ll definitely be buying this again as soon as I can wrap my head around the price. It’s so darn pricey. I will absolutely try to make this in the future. Tips?

Speaking of yummy things, I did these 5 videos yesterday for exercise. They are each 10 minutes. Try them out! My sister loves Polly’s videos too.

• YOGA for yummy abs
• YOGA for upper thighs
• YOGA for your muffin top
• YOGA for yin
• YOGA for triathletes

Do you like kombucha? Have you tried it? Have you tried Polly’s videos yet? (It’s her birthday week by the way!)

P.S. Check out Clare’s Positivity Giveaway. She’s so sweet

Like this post? Check out...

• February 22, 2008 -- On Being Vegan – Skinny Bitch Book Review
• January 12, 2008 -- Italian Ratatouille Recipe | How to Make Ratatouille
• September 9, 2008 -- Goodeats for 9/8/2008
• October 5, 2008 -- 05 October 2008 – Afternoon/Evening
• February 23, 2009 -- Ener-G’s Seattle Crackers

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Raw Zucchini Hummus

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini
• 3/4 cup tahini (raw)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil (cold pressed, if you want it to be truly raw)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2.5 teaspoons salt (I would cut down on this)
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin

Directions

Chop the zucchini and blend everything in the blender. Add the lemon juice and garlic (and salt) a little bit at a time to get the flavor that you want.

I thought this was really yummy. I might use a little less garlic and salt. I few other substitution ideas might be…

• nut butter instead of tahini (like a yummy Thai peanut sauce)
• experiment with other oils – sesame oil would give it a nice Asian flavor
• other spices instead (or in addition to) cumin – chili powder, Asian 5-spice, cinnamon
• add in some herbs – oregano, basil, dill, etc…
• vinegar in place of lemon juice
• add some Bragg’s liquid aminos (cut out salt, cut down on lemon juice)

Of course you could do beans instead of the tahini, but then it would be a more standard hummus.

What’s your favorite hummus? I really like Tribe’s Olive Hummus. So good. I know Sabra is a popular one as well. I love putting hummus on crispy fruit like apples. I don’t know if that’s common or not…

HERE is my recipe for simple homemade hummus.

Like this post? Check out...

• September 6, 2010 -- Walking For Health & Walking As Exercise
• February 4, 2011 -- Ambush Makeover. Weekend Link Love.
• September 16, 2010 -- Thankful Thursday & Happiness
• August 22, 2008 -- Goodeats for 8/21/2008
• November 23, 2008 -- Seeing cousins :)

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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...

• February 9, 2009 -- Golden Beets & Wheat Berries (Weekend Herb Blogging, Macrobiotic)
• June 10, 2009 -- Mom’s Matching Green Oat Bran
• May 25, 2009 -- Awesome Macrobiotic Apple-Raspberry Pie
• September 13, 2011 -- Weekend Link Love [on a Tuesday...] – 09.13.2011
• June 14, 2011 -- On Waking Up Early & Summer Challenge

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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?

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• November 8, 2010 -- Healthy Monday Tip #4: Walk for Exercise!
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• June 30, 2009 -- Fun foods!
• October 2, 2010 -- What’s Up Saturday – 10.2.10

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This is a bowl of cereal – peanut butter chocolate balls (Leapin Lemurs I believe), kamut puffs, sunflower seeds, a banana, and kefir (watered down a little bit to be more milky). I had with it some delicious cookie tea from Lupicia.

This next bowl is more cereal in a yogurt mess – kamut puffs, granola, sunflower seeds, a banana, and Oikos Greek yogurt. The granola has pumpkin seeds in it. It’s from Nature’s Path. Again, served with cookie tea.

I’ve also been digging popcorn (topped with cinnamon, salt, and chili powder).

Bobby loves homemade ramen – just fresh noodles, shoyu sauce, celery, and tofurkey slices. We get the noodles in the refrigerated section of the Asian market.

And we all know I love salads. This one is topped with lots of olives, pickled beets using Clare’s recipe (more on that later – delicious), pickles, parmesan (duh), and Newman’s Own lowfat sesame ginger dressing (it’s back!).

I’ve been using a cool site called Meals Matter to try planning more of my meals. It makes me branch out and I’ve been less inclined to snack at night when I know what my breakfast the next morning will be. Though… I have to admit. Last night I had a little bit of a snack attack with apples (the ones we picked) and a Vosges Black Pearl Bar (chocolate with wasabi, ginger, black sesame seeds – I swear it’s awesome). I did make it 2 whole days with no night time snacking, and that is big for me.

What was the last thing you indulged in?

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• June 15, 2009 -- Going Out With Mom!
• January 8, 2008 -- Leek Soup Recipe
• January 31, 2009 -- So Fraiche and So Clean
• June 30, 2010 -- The Girl of Sandwich or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bread.
• July 9, 2010 -- My Little Piece of Heaven: Pilates and Green Oat Bran

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First I made a wrap (Flat Out wrap) with shredded apple (from Sunday) and grated blue cheese. I spread the toppings out over the wrap while I heated up my “panini press” (which is actually a waffle maker!).

I pressed it in the waffle maker for about 4-5 minutes, then cut it in half and ate it with another apple.

The next morning I was in the mood for a new creation. I sliced a banana and laid it out on the Flat Out wrap. Then I drizzled Greek yogurt and almond butter (warmed in the microwave) on top.

I stuck it in the waffle maker again.

I think I like the banana creation better, but the apple/cheese one is definitely a keeper too. I like the way the waffle maker leaves little squares on the wrap. Who knew you could use a waffle maker as a panini press?

While these guys probably can’t beat out oat bran (my favorite breakfast), they are great for switching things up. I can’t have oat bran for breakfast every day.

What’s your favorite breakfast?

On a more serious note, please take the time to visit Natalie’s Project Feed Me. It’s a donation effort to feed thousands of hungry families.

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• July 22, 2009 -- A day in the life
• January 27, 2009 -- Dave Farmar kicks my butt
• March 24, 2009 -- Cruise prep – 2 days!
• December 10, 2008 -- Bento Boxes
• January 21, 2010 -- Thursday Treats

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Another announcement – HealthyYum has a coupon code for organic healthy Halloween candy. Check it out!

Recipes used in this post:

• Butternut Squash Fries (for all types of squash though)
• Homemade unsweetened ketchup (with added stevia this time!)

Last night I made a delicious dinner, part of which is pictured here. Also pictured is my big pumpkin. This was miso soup (just hot water, miso, and wakame seaweed), “sweet dumpling squash” fries, and my homemade ketchup. Mmm… squash is amazing. What a lovely carb. Not pictured are the rest of the fries and 2 La Tortilla Factory wraps that I had with peanut butter

The sweet dumpling squash are small and roundish; they have delicata coloring. I also call them “I’m a cute squash”. They made great fries.

A few nights ago I made butternut squash fries for the first time in a while. Once I discovered kabocha, I kind of forgot about butternut. Butternut used to be my go-to squash, and now I remember why. (I still prefer kabocha though.)

These were also dipped in my homemade ketchup.

I got a few questions about my camera – I use a Nikon D40 (SLR). It’s digital. I got it about two weeks ago. The lens it came with (I got it on craigslist, so it didn’t come with the standard kit lens) is a 55-200mm, 1.4-5.6G lens. It’s great for zoom; it’s actually not that great for close-ups, so I’ll be getting another lens too as soon as I can. If you are debating getting a digital SLR, check out Ken Rockwell’s website. He has great information and advice.

I know, I know – I owe you a carb hugging picture. It’s coming. I just haven’t gotten around to taking it yet. Can you guess which carb (or carb appliance) I’ll be embracing? Maybe I’ll do requests.

(I also have some awesome breakfasts to share… Stay tuned!)

Like this post? Check out...

• April 11, 2008 -- Fried Plantains
• December 1, 2008 -- New month!
• July 6, 2009 -- Best Day Ever
• August 12, 2008 -- Jap Chae (Korean noodle dish)
• October 22, 2009 -- Day With Dad

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Protein Fiber Crepes

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• scant 1/3 cup wheat bran (or oat bran, or whole wheat flour)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (I used PB2 powder)
• stevia or other sweetener, to taste (I did about 2 teaspoons stevia)
• dash of salt
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup water
• toppings: kefir, real maple syrup, grapes

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients (except the toppings) together. Beat it well. You may add more or less water to get the right consistency. It should be smooth, but not watery.
2. Heat a nonstick pan over high heat. Lightly spray with cooking oil.
3. Pour 1/3 of the batter into the pan. Let it cook through until you can flip it. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
4. Top with your desired toppings. Maple syrup (real, of course) is my favorite.

The crepes alone (no toppings, using PB2) offer up just 160 calories, 33 grams of protein, 8.3 grams of fiber, 16.3 carbohydrates, and 3.6 grams of fat. Using real peanut butter will obviously give you more healthy fats; I’ll probably try this at some point. Once you add the kefir and maple syrup you’ll have a very well-rounded breakfast. Mine came out kind of ugly, but that’s because my non-stick pan is no longer non-stick.

I recently found a fantastic deal on Coombs Family Farms maple syrup thanks to Alisa at One Frugal Foodie. I got 4 pounds (2 jugs) of organic syrup for just $26.00 on Amazon, and free shipping. All you have to do is pick your maple syrup and use the code BASCOM35 when you check out. You get an additional 15% off if you sign up for their subscription program, which you can just cancel after you get your syrup. My order arrived 2 days after I sent it in. The deal ends on September 30, so make your order quick! I picked Grade B, which is really flavorful.

I also made a version of these crepes yesterday – they included chia seeds and Amazing Grass Supergreens. For some reason they were not crepe-like in the least; they were more like a mushy bran scramble. They tasted fine, but they were quite hideous. I’ll spare you the picture.

Okay, I have no idea why I’m awake at 5AM when I went to bed after 1AM. I’m going to make the most of it and try to be productive. Off to post at A Love of Words…

P.S. Have you submitted your healthy pasta recipes yet?

P.P.S Last chance at Katie’s giveaway!

Like this post? Check out...

• July 18, 2008 -- Cheesy (or not!) Garlic Bread & a birthday
• September 23, 2010 -- New York Yummy Vegan Food
• July 9, 2008 -- Vegan Trail Mix Cookies
• April 3, 2011 -- My Quirks – 7 Random Things
• April 3, 2009 -- Faux Cheesecake

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I also ate it plain – yes, it was that good, and it’s gone now. She sent me Wonderful Salsa, which was enjoyed with organic tortilla chips:

Delicious (and now gone as well). And she sent me Yogi teas! Here are the ones I have tried so far…

• Mayan Cocoa Spice – “let your manner speak for you”
• Ginger – “old age needs wisdom and grace”
• Ginkgo IQ – “to be great, feel great and act great”
• Egyptian Licorice – “the power of love is infinte”

These teas are delicious, and most are organic. Thank you so much Clare! I can’t wait to bust into the rest of the package.

Today is the first day of fall, my favorite season. I love the leaves, the smells, the foods (pumpkin, squash, apples), the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving), the atmosphere: it’s just a fantastic time of year. Fall is a good time to be thankful, and I really am for so many things. I’m thankful for my friends, my family, my kitties, my life, my future, and everything that has happened recently to push me towards the career I want…

What are you thankful for?

Like this post? Check out...

• October 1, 2010 -- Energy Sculpt, Best Breakfast, & A Healthy Gut
• October 11, 2008 -- Saturday and Strawberries
• December 19, 2008 -- Carby carbs
• October 6, 2008 -- 06 October 2008
• December 10, 2008 -- Bento Boxes

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Tart frozen yogurt from Red Mango. Did you know that tart frozen yogurt is always sweetened? I did not. I wish that some place would make really really tart froyo, but this was pretty delicious anyway.

Bobby liked his breakfast too (Sarku Japan… I stole some. It’s actually really good fast food.):

Then we shopped! We got some espresso samples at Williams Sonoma…

And I got “cookie” tea from Lupicia. I also got a bunch of clothes. I was a happy girl.

“Black tea scented with an image of freshly baked caramel cookies. Best served with milk.” I had it plain, thank-you-very-much.

Last night I brought back something that’s been missing in my life.

Oat bran. This bowl had almond butter from Trader Joe’s and Jay Robb vanilla protein powder, courtesy of my sweet sweet friend Heather! I love it! She sent me some other birthday goodies that I’ve been enjoying and will share soon. I cook up my oat bran with lots of water, then wait for it to get creamy. I pour it in a bowl and put it in the freezer so it cools and gets super-thick.

I have another confession. I spent my birthday night organizing because I love it. I made a jewelry box out of a cardboard box and some pretty tissue paper, then I arranged all of my jewelry in it. I cleaned my closet and made a huge bag to give to Goodwill. I went through the bathroom cabinets and thew out the old stuff. It was possibly the best birthday ever. (I’m actually being serious.)

I forgot to say yesterday, but this cool chick shares my birthday We both watched Biggest Loser last night (pretty good, I think). Overall, a great birthday!

(Word post – why is English so popular?)

Like this post? Check out...

• August 22, 2011 -- When Life Hands You Lemons…
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• January 31, 2008 -- Vegan Cinnamon Buns | Healthy Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
• September 1, 2008 -- Mint Chutney (Weekend Herb Blogging)
• December 11, 2007 -- Apples with Brussels Sprouts Recipe

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