Homemade Granola Bars~ MMMM

Loosely based on a recipe I found in this month’s Yoga magazine, I basically took the technique and changed up the ingredients.  These things are AWESOME, super easy, cheaper than what you would pay in the grocery store for bars and the best part is you get to lick the delicious batter!

I combined 3 cups of oats, 1/2 cup of oat bran, 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds.

On stovetop I melted ~1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup sunflower seed butter with 1 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt.  Stir constantly.  Once the mixture is nice and melty pour over bowl of oats and stir REALLY well to combine.  Then, press into a greased(i used pan spray) 8 x 8 baking dish and cover with wax paper to press into pan(use a lot of pressure for more formed bars).   Then scrape the pan for any remaining honey/sunflower butter bits and say “mmmmmmmmmmmm”. Because it’s that good! Refrigerate bars and then cut once they have cooled.  I meant to add flax seed but I forgot. You could easily substitute other nuts for the seeds or different kinds of nut butter and add in dried fruit. Brown rice syrup would also work but don’t use a more liquid-y sweetener(like maple syrup or agave) because then the bars will not stay together(trust me, I tried).

The bars are chewy and nutty and sweet and delicious! I will be making more VERY soon!  I may try baking them to achieve the “crunchy” granola texture but I don’t know if I am ready to mess around with these just yet because they are SOOOOO good!

Sorry I don’t have more pictures for you but my favorite way to enjoy these has been crumbled up with Oikos plain Greek yogurt and fresh berries. 

Some other pretty eats….Oikos with berries and hidden almond butter(pre-granola bar making days)

Salad with farmers market corn, guac, organic greens, salsa and black beans.  Something about corn and black beans just says “summertime” to me!

Hope everyone has had a great weekend! Mine was filled with friends and live music and baseball and wine and beer.  Oh and lots of yummy food too!

what’s up doc?

I have a small tendency to eavesdrop…especially when I am by myself and the conversation at the next table starts with “the doctor says my 6 year old daughter’s BMI is 2% too high and he wants to put her on a diet”……eeek!

I did my best to contain myself but when the woman started talking about how the doctor told her daughter to not eat bananas(her favorite fruit) because of the high glycemic index I couldn’t help but open my big mouth and say something along the lines of “fruit is healthy, if your daughter likes bananas you should let her eat bananas”….we then discussed that most bananas are really two servings of fruit and have more natural sugars than most other fruit, they are high in potassium and soluble fiber, and the difference between glycemic index and glycemic load.  The glycemic index ranks the way a food impacts your blood sugar, and glycemic load takes into account serving size.  For example, carrots have a bad rep because they have a high glycemic index but you would need to eat A LOT of carrots to have the same impact on your blood sugar as a small piece of cake(which may have a lower GI score bc of the fat) so they have a relatively low glycemic load score.

she also asked me if peanut butter was mostly carbohydrates or mostly protein, but in actuality it is mostly fat! the healthy kind of course, with a little bit of protein(7 g in 2 tbsp)

Needless to say, I don’t think any 6 year old should be put on a diet, although it is nice to see doctors being proactive about healthy eating.  I also don’t believe in any diet that takes away foods like fruits because I love fruit and it usually contains a lot of anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber. MMMMMM…fruit!

p.s. fruit tastes even better with ______nut butter! This happens to be smothered in sunflower seed butter! Nom, nom nom!

i love my dad!!!

While we went through some rough patches (aka middle school-11th grade; sorry for being such a brat!) my dad is AMAZING and super supportive!  We also both LOVE LOVE LOVE: pure maple syrup, whiskey and gingerales  and VOLLEYBALL!

My dad is also awesome because he makes things like this and sends me pictures…This was his homemade father’s day brunch(can you tell he has a much better camera & photography skills! That he made and ate by himself and then went for a bike ride! I was sad I wasn’t there to enjoy it with him but I was in Cape Cod enjoying way toooooooooooo many whiskey and ginger-ales!  I tried to post this  awhile back but wordpress wasn’t being very nice to me that day and it did not work! So Happy belated father’s day!

In regards to my recent blogging hiatus: I think I may be ready to come back…if y’all are still ready to read(and if not I may still post).  I feel like the blog made me much more aware of my own eating habits in a good way and I just felt healthier/happier.  I also need to start exercising more because I can do A LOT even with a bum knee and I have been using my knee as an excuse(I was going to make a pun about it being my crutch but after spending six weeks on crutches I just didn’t know if it was that funny!-also after spending about 6 weeks away from blogging I don’t want to be too punny too soon!)I think blogging keeps me accountable and hopefully gives you guys some good ideas of how to play with food- when I was put on a research diet at the hospital for a day everyone thought I was CRAZY to eat peanut butter and yogurt together!

I am off to enjoy the Boston sun(which after taking a month off has decided to come out) and perhaps even photograph some of my eats! I did get a request to make brownies so there may be some of that going on as well!

i made pizza

Oh blog. I have missed you; well kind-of. It’s been so long since I’ve posted because every time I went to write, I just didn’t feel like it. And I think that’s a pretty legit reason because I try and do what makes me happy. And ya know what makes me happy? PIIIIIIZZZZZA! But I have been doing my blog title an injustice by not eating enough of it(and then when eating it, not photographing it). I think this “pizza” is pretty awesome.
I took some store-bought whole wheat naan bread-which makes exceeeeeeeeeelent crust and topped it with pureed black beans(blended with a small amount of tomato sauce) and topped with cheddar cheese. Broil for about 7 minutes and voila! dinner is served.


I had it with some Trader Joe’s gazpacho with one tostito. The one chip was sooooooo yummy with the soup(I basically think gazpacho tastes just like eating fresh salsa…mmmmm).
This variation on pizza was super easy to make and really quick. The beans added some protein/fiber/healthy carbs and because it was so flavorful I didn’t need to use so much cheese. I also threw some chili powder in when I was blending it so it was a very spicy pizza.
I think it would also be great to use chickpeas and curry powder or white beans and basil. One of these days, I’ll get around to making my own pizza crust but the naan was a great(easy) substitution.
Hopefully, it won’t be so long until my next post. I’ve eaten some really AMAZING blog-worthy meals but I have just gotten in the habit of not photographing or blogging. I’m in summer mode, which is bad because my internship still has 10 weeks left!

p.s. I love that blog shows up as a typo using spellcheck!

p.p.s.  Thanks to anyone who reads this!

freaky ears

Today I am not going to write about food AT ALL…well it might slip in but instead I would like to show off my crazy asymmetrical and freakishly anti-headphone ears…

See the one on the bottom is super smooshy on the top! EEK! It does not look good in all it’s close up glory!  I am semi-selfconscious about my ears but MOST people just say they can’t even notice a difference.  Liars huh?!?! But ooooooo no! Not my best friend who one day over bagels went into FITS of laughter and still makes me fun of me for my asymmetrical ears(and feet, which by the way are a whole size different!)

So anyways, I can get over my ears being different for cosmetic reasons, but headphones do not FIT in my ears!  Those little ipod buds will stay if I am PERFECTLY still, but I can’t turn my head wearing them let alone run, without them falling out.

Enter my new skull candy buds……

Note the Vaseline, honey mustard and bbq sauce packs on my night stand! haha oops…And the tiny tiny headphones in my ears that did not fall out my whole time at the gym/walk home!  They are little buds that come with adjustable cap sizes and these are the smallest ones and barely fit in my ear(the reason most buds fall out is they are too large so are never actually in in the first place)! I recommend trying these to anyone who has headphone troubles.  I was so skeptical when the lady told me they would work and she had “my problem” because a quick glance at her ears revealed they were the same size.  But she was right.

I am BEYOND excited! Although I don’t know if they will stay in(at least in my left ear) when I can finally run again, they will be PERFECT for commuting/biking/walking etc. etc.

In other non-food related news….I broke a sweat at the gym by doing sprints on the bike.  I then realized that this was the first time my heart was pumping, like really pumping, for 4 months! It felt so good. Clearly I am so out of shape and shouldn’t be sprinting too long anyways(my knee can only take so much), I did one minute for every 4 regular over 15 minutes.

I was elated to be panting on the bike, and my muscles felt so good especially my heart(not especially my butt though-is that why you stand up in spin class, ouch!)  I can’t wait til I get strong enough to run/jump again!  And just think only 3 months ago I couldn’t walk! Or lift my leg….stinkin surgery.  Oh yea, and now in addition to my ears and feet being different sizes my right leg is tinier than my left-less muscle….aw well, at least that’s getting back to normal..now if only someone could refer me to a plastic surgeon for my ears….

JUST KIDDING! Happy Tuesday!

produce haven….

Yesterday I went to the amazing “grocery” store*(and I use the word grocery lightly because it is mostly produce and fresh baked goods along with plants) called Russos in Watertown, MA.  IT was crazy packed but I saw lots of interesting fruits and veggies I have NEVER seen before!

I picked up some yellow sun-dried tomatoes and dried pineapple(sooooo sweet!)

this is a red apricot, two yellow kiwis and a quince fruit-which is supposed to have similar flavors to both an apple and pear. 

I sampled the red apricot. And thought it would be a good idea to photograph/post it.

But it’s yellow on the inside! tasted like a tart apricot; so I am not sure if it was just unripe or if the red ones usually are like that.

and a 1/2 sour pickle rounded out my snacking.

I have been saving this tempeh to try that came in my Wildwood goody bag a while back.  It is seaweed tempeh! mmm.  I have to say though, tasted kind of like regular tempeh.  It has a softer texture than the brand I normally buy but the flavor was nice and I am sure the seaweed gave me some more vitamins. 

I made a stirfry using these.  ****buyer beware- this no sauce just sugar snap peas also contain sugar and salt- not that big of  a deal but always smart to check before buying to see if you really are getting JUST the veggie! especially if you have to watch your sugar/salt intake**

I marinated cut up tempeh with terriyaki sauce for about 1 hr and then sauteed some carrots for 5 minutes, added the tempeh and microwaved snap peas and threw in a handful of spinach at the end. Yum! By the way, this bowl is so tiny because while the tempeh was marinating I found lots of yummy eats in the pantry.  Oops-appetite spoiled.

Have a great Monday!

raspberry lemon stuffed french toast…

A few weeks ago I was craving french toast and asked my friend Emily( a culinary school graduate) for a recipe.  She laughed at me and said there was no such thing as a recipe its basically just bread and egg! So today I got a little creative in the kitchen and made raspberry lemon stuffed french toast.  Dipped in egg, with a little soy milk and LOTS of cinnamon.

see-super easy!

I mashed up some raspberries in whipped cottage cheese and added some lemon curd.

Half the filling went inside two pieces of bread like a sandwich, the other half was supposed to go on top after but somehow ended up in my mouth!

All finished topped with 1 TBSP of maple syrup.  That was a LOT of maple syrup! It was super sweet but good thing maple syrup is my fav!

The yummy stuffed inside!

This breakfast was amazing and I can’t believe how easy french toast is to make! The only other time I have made it before was when I was a gegan and I had to blend up some soft tofu to make a batter.  The egg version is much easier, although vegan french toast is still pretty tasty!

Oh and dinner the other night was a meatless balls parmesan sandwich! With artichoke hearts and spinach and tomato sauce and american cheeeeeeese!

This sandwich was AMAZING, probably due to the fact that I put in EXTRA cheese! I figured two thin slices= 1 regular slice right??!? right!

If you don’t have a panini press-which I don’t, you can use a George Foreman grill or a pan! Just like grilled cheese!

Enjoy the last little bit of the weekend! And congrats to all the recent college grads out there! Especially those UVMers!

a few of my favorite things…

I got out of work a little early today and it is BEAUTIFUL in Boston! On my way home I stopped at whole foods to pick up a gift for my BFF but I of course got something for myself too!  I have had a strange craving for coffee flavored yogurt all week.  Enter…

Mocha one ups coffee in my book.  I stirred in a spoonful of cashew butter for the PERFECT afternoon snack.  I was WAY too happy while eating this.  Today I was reading an article about emotional eating.  If people are emotional eaters the pleasure center in their brain is triggered after eating sweets; while those who eat sweets but are not emotional eaters do not experience the same thing.  I guess I’m an emotional eater because food makes me happy!

I also read about a study in which researchers gave two groups the same milkshake but told one group it was low-fat.  The group who thought it was low-fat were less satisfied than the group who wasn’t told.  INTERESTING!
you want to read this article

I also treated myself to this.  It is a blend of raspberry, ginger and lemon.  And like any Kombucha it tastes like it is spiked with vinegar but I LOVE IT!  It makes me feel slightly drunk after wards and  I get all tingly.  Does this happen to anyone else? It costs $3.39 but I figure that is about the cost of a beer and since I get a slight buzz it’s all worth it.  I just can’t buy too many.

I refused to try these for the longest time because this is what they look like on the bottom.  IT’S ALIVE! kinda yucky

This is in my fridge right now…*sigh*! I ran out of both cashew and almond butter this week! It was so sad! Clearly I have stocked up since.

Oh and this was on sale, and my Aunt picked it up but since no one else likes it in the house I will be drinking it.  I actually like the mango flavor a lot more!  60 calories in 11 ounces plus lots of potassium and tastes yummy!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend planned! I got nothing as far as plans, but it feels so nice to be FREE!

Floor-DUH!

As soon as I arrived in Florida, I was informed I didn’t really have a NY accent but I did say Florida wrong.  Apparently I say Flaarida and I should say Floor-duh.

I ended up being in St. Augustine and Palm Coast and Daytona Beach!  Lots of beach time and tourist-y things.  And of course some good eats!

The food highlight of this trip was my first time at Seasons 52!!! For those that have never heard of this wonderful restaurant chain that exists in Florida and Cherry Hill, NJ they focus on seasonal veggies, fresh flavors and every entree is under 475 kcals! I read about this place a LONG time ago in a Dietitian magazine and ever since have wanted to try it….

tomato basil flat bread-thinnest most amazing crust ever!

goat cheese ravioli with LOTS of garlic and tomatoes!

spring vegetable plate-with tofu

my aunt’s wonderfully presented turkey burger with side salad

and dessert!! red velvet cake-for me, carrot cake, for mama and some AMAZING pecan pie type shot for auntie!

I loved this place! The trick to getting caloric “bang for you buck” is to fill up with lots of veggies, medium amount of lean protein and whole grain carbs, and small amount of high-fat/high-cal items(like dessert and the tiny amounts of cheese/guac they include in menu items)

There was other good eats in Florida, including a Mother’s Day lunch with the best key lime pie EVER! which apparently my camera ATE the picture of(see, I told you it was good!)

Also, the biggest potato, sweet or otherwise that I have ever seen!

look at the size of this thing!

By the way, if you have never tried grilling sweet potatoes, I HIGHLY recommend it.  They just need to be sliced in thin to medium rounds and brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper.  The man at the farmstand who sold us this potato said he sprinkles brown sugar on one side once they have been flipped.  This also sounds amazing but I have yet to try.

Also, St. Augustine was having a 2009 CrayFish Boil which I figured was a bunch of crayfish and nothing to special.  I was SO wrong. I missed Snoop Dogg, G. Love and the Presidents of the USA! tear.

Today I walked 12,000 steps! Wahoo! My right knee is getting much much better!

Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend!-Goodnight

travel tips…

Turns out I didn’t have internet access all weekend in Florida.  I originally intended to post this Friday or Saturday but here it is now, more fun stuff to follow soon!

Blogging from sunny Florida….well technically the airport, posted via sunny Florida!

Before taking off last night I ate a small meal when I wasn’t hungry just because I didn’t want to be famished on the plane!  And since I knew I would be staying up til 2 am, I packed some snacks of a Kashi Hot Fudge Sundae bar and kettle corn! I had fruit, veggies, protein before leaving at about 5:30 which now at 7 pm I think was a great idea.  I just walked past a chocolate shop, a fudge shop, a beer garden!, and a burrito place.  Mostly, I plan my meals ahead to save money, but it is also usually healthier!

It can be really hard to stay healthy while traveling-hence my 12 lb weight gain last summer in about 1.5 months(well that was a culmination of a lot of things-lack of exercise, LOTS of eating out(seriously I think I had two home cooked meals in a span of 2 months), and traveling to MEXICO, VEGAS and CALI! Plus bachelorette parties and an amazing wedding back on the East Coast plus blah blah blah…you get the picture)….I should digress some more and say that part of this weight gain(I think) was me rebelling against my “healthy” life style…for the first time in years I didn’t think about calories, carbs, protein, fat, fried anything, sugar ( I can’t really help this, it’s part of what I majored in) and I just ate the way I wanted to eat and enjoyed almost every bite!  It was very refreshing but I took it a little overboard, and it didn’t help that everyone wanted to celebrate my graduation of college/last summer home!  I’m not complaining; I was just super spoiled and ate A LOT of good food!

ANYWAYS….

-vacations are a good time to splurge on fun foods you can’t have back at home; airports/road stops are places I do not consider good splurges.  It usually ends up being; I’m hungry, I’m on the road/in the air and there is nothing else to eat! I know not everyone can subsist on Clif bars and PB and J sandwiches and baby carrots (some of my favorite travel snack-packs) but planning ahead with snacks or even meals-if feasible- is a great way to prevent being famished and making poor food decisions while on the go.

– Speaking of planning ahead….when my family goes on vacation it can probably be assumed that we end up talking about/planning our meals in advance.  This is great because if you know you are going to a restaurant for dinner with a dessert you’ve been dying to try, you have a good incentive to eat a healthy breakfast.  The downside is, you talk about food all the time(which is clearly something  I don’t mind) but it doesn’t help to keep your mind of hunger when all you do is talk about food!

– Stay active– I for one cannot lay on the beach all day(although I am beginning to see the appeal more and more).  Beach walks(walking on sand engages your core and burns more calories), hikes, long treks around town exploring are all ways to get some “exercise” in while you are on vacation.  It doesn’t have to be scheduled in as part of your day; just try and make sure you move your body a little

–funny side note, one of my favorite people swears she developed rock hard abs freshman year of college from reaching under her bed all the time, which was where she kept her snacks- haha I don’t know if it counts on vacation to lift some chips to your mouth, but maybe placing them far away and doing some sort of side lunge or sit up to get to them could work…..

–Don’t beat yourself up– Today at work, one of the counselors was talking about how guilt does not come from an action, it comes from the thoughts regarding that action.  For example, eating a cupcake(or 2 or 3) does not make you guilty but the thoughts of “Oh I over-ate, I ruined my day, I’m such a failure” instead of “I ate a little too much, but I will do my best to eat healthier and stick with my eating plan now(but man those cupcakes were good)” will make you feel guilty.

So…. To sum up- pack some healthy snacks for the road, choose your indulgences wisely, go for a hike, and don’t stress the small stuff-after all, you’re on VACATION!

p.s. Florida recap tomorrow- I finally got to go to a restaurant I have been wanting to try for YEARS!