Veggie Rice

Yes, I know no post yesterday?? Let’s just say Monday was super busy and I ended up sleeping through my alarm on Tuesday…oops! I did wake up 10 minutes before my standard yoga class started and I made it there just as the class was moving into their first downward dog… SUCCESS! I think the sleeping in had a lot to do with a few days of some intense yoga for me. On Monday I went to my usual 6am class and then Katie talked me into going with her to a 6:30 class after work at a different studio. Last night when I arrived home from work, even though I was sore and exhausted I really wanted to play around in the kitchen before I took to the couch for the rest of the evening. I didn’t mention this on Monday’s post because it’s become my standard weekend lunch spot if I’m here in Charlotte and many of you have seen the same dish posted on the blog over and over again.   Yes you know what I’m talking about… Luna’s Living Kitchen. I’m telling you I am head over heels in love with this place and Saturday was no different. I ordered my favorite Gaia’s Treasure and devoured every bite. My favorite part of this dish is the veggie rice. It is a mix of cauliflower, walnuts, garlic and celery root left to marinate in ginger dressing. It is amazing! One thing which was new to my lunch was this Fruit Tart. O yes and it was all raw… nom nom nom. The crust was made of brazil nuts, dates and cashews. The inside crème was a combination of coconut butter, cashews, vanilla and a few other ingredients I couldn’t remember…oops! The tart was topped with plum slices and figs! Isn’t it pretty?? It tasted just as good as it looks if not better. Even though I was full from lunch, there is always room for a new dessert Now back to the veggie rice… sometimes desserts just get me so sidetracked! Over the weekend I picked up the biggest head of cauliflower at the grocery store I could find just so I could make my own veggie rice at home. It is so easy and it’s a great way to add some protein and healthy fats to your diet. Of course it’s an easy way to get some more added veggies too! Veggie Rice 1 c. chopped cauliflower ½ c. walnuts 1/2 clove garlic Place all ingredients in a food processor and combine! The end result will look a little something like this…   I multiplied this recipe by 3 to make a large batch! When they are raw like this they taste kind of bland, but once you dress them up in a marinade… delish!! I dressed this batch up with soy sauce and when I combined the ingredients above I added 1/2 c. carrots!   I wish I had thought to buy some peas to add to it too as they kind of taste like fried rice! It’s delicious and I’ve been enjoying it all week as one of the toppings to my salad. After I make my salad I’ve been topping ½ c. – 1c. of this “fried” veggie rice and it really adds some great texture and protein!! Yes, I promise it’s under there! Stay tuned for more variations coming soon… this just may be my next new KICK! Happy Hump Day!! Have you discovered a food or recipe recently that you just can’t get enough of? Please share!!

 

 

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Ah! I’m really loving these 6am yoga classes… it makes me feel like I’ve accomplished so much before my day has even started. The hardest part is just getting my behind out of bed! I know this sounds ridiculously early, but to try to get myself back into routine I’ve been setting my alarm for 4:45! Holy cow… that really is early and then every 15 minutes afterwards.

This is just to ensure I get my boot-ay out of bed and make it to class on time! Hopefully in the next week or two I can scale that alarm clock back.

The best part… 11:45 came around and I didn’t need to stop to go to class. I could just keep plowing through my list!

I stopped around 4:30-5:00 to head over to the Atherton Mill Farmers Market. This is by far the nicest farmers market in the Charlotte area. It is indoors, there are fans and all the booths are so nicely set up. Plus, it is year-round and super close!! Win, win all around.

 

I picked up some necessary produce as I’ve been craving some heirloom tomatoes and a few other treats for recipes I have planned later on in the week!

On my out I snagged a Peach Blueberry Popsicle that was locally made and devoured it on my way over to Mel’s place!

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Currently, the Mint Museum  is having a Coco Chanel: Designs for the Modern Woman exhibit. The museum has free entrance on Tuesday nights, so Mel and I have been waiting all week to check it out. The only downfall was the exhibit only took up one room and I was dying to see more! Mel and I strolled around looking at other designs such as the 1920′s… Great Gatsby anyone??

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How awesome would it be to have been born in another era. I think I would have loved the 50′s with the full skirts and dresses and the boned bodices. Love them!

  

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Once I arrived home I threw together a quick heirloom tomato salad to have as part of my dinner…

Heirloom Tomato Salad  

• variety of heirloom tomatoes: green, yellow, orange, pink (they have specific names, but did you know there are over 600 varieties… who knew!)
• olive oil – enough to slightly coat all the tomatoes
• chopped fresh basil
• sea salt and cracked pepper

OMG! Such an easy-peasy salad, but is o so delicious and refreshing. This is very simple and basic!  You could really dress it up if you wanted to with cheese, nuts, etc. Personally, when it comes to summer produce especially heirloom tomatoes I think they steal the show on their own and don’t need any help making them fantastic!

If you could have lived in any era, what era would it be and why!?

I’ll leave you with a great Coco Chanel quote from the exhibit… “A girl should be two thing: Classy and Eloquent” 

 

Nola Granola

Yesterday was full of to-do list crossing. I love that feeling when I cross something off! After I finished my book, I got my behind moving with some necessities before I leave…

Cleaning – check

Laundry – check

Set up wireless internet finally! – check (Just received Apple Airport Express in the mail… literally the easiest wireless you will ever set up)

Then on to the hardest part… Packing!!

I know some people are really good packers, but boy o boy I am not one of them. I always try to pack light, then I start thinking “what if the weather is cooler” or “what if we go do this one day”… next thing I know I have a huge pile of clothes and that just won’t do on this trip!

So, last night I laid everything on my bed and tried to be reasonable! Dress and shoes for the wedding, swimsuits, shorts & shirts and a few day dresses… all in all I think I did pretty good! O we can’t forget the workout clothes… skipping a week of running won’t be acceptable since I just started!! We’re going to Grand Rapids for my cousins wedding over the weekend, but on Sunday we’re heading to Lake Michigan to spend some quality time with the fam.

As I walked into the kitchen for a snack I feasted my eyes on my new obsession… TJ’s Sunflower Nut Butter! I’ve been charging through this jar like it’s going out of style. Can’t wait until the end, so I can make a spectacular jar of overnight oats. I recently saw a recipe for Almond Butter Granola on Peanut Butter Fingers that I have been dying to try out. So I figured the Sunflower butter would be just as delicious! Plus, it’d be the perfect snack to bring along with me for the flight. The only thing I did differently than her recipe was use agave and I added a teaspoon of wheat germ.

I couldn’t stop eating them and literally consumed half the batch… it’s more like crack granola if you ask me!

Of course, once I make one thing the gears just start turning, so I got out some sweet potato puree I whipped up the other day and tried my hand at some sweet potato granola! I used a few ingredients from Julie’s recipe, but made some adjustments to compliment the sweet potato!

Sweet Potato Granola (makes 1 cup of granola)

• 1/4 c. sweet potato puree
• 3 tbsp. honey or agave ( I used 1 tbsp. cinnamon honey and 2 tbsp. agave)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tbsp. chai seeds
• 1 c. oats
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, bake at 350 for 5 minutes, toss and put them back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes until golden…YuM! I’m so glad I took the time to make these, now I won’t be lured by all the vibrant candy bags at the airport… well maybe. I’m off to run quite a few errands before tomorrow and to get my haircut finally. It’s starting to look like a hot mess!!

Are you an overpacker? How do you try to downsize?

Before I go, I just wanted to share some pictures from my brothers weekend in Croatia. He is currently studying abroad in Prague for the summer and they decided to take a trip over the weekend. I am ridiculously jealous since this is one of the places I want to go before I die!

 

Gorgeous! Gorgeous!

Wouldn’t you kill to be sitting on that beach?? I can imagine it now…a nice margarita and the sun! I’ll make it there someday, but for now I’m living vicariously through him

 

Happy Birthday America

Hope you all are having a fabulous holiday weekend!

We’ve had a lot going around here at the beach, including a little ones baptism yesterday

I love long holiday weekends and ours has included lots of time on the boat and in the sun. In such sweltering temperatures like this the only food I crave consistently is fruit.

So yesterday we made a beautiful fruit basket for the after baptism festivities!!

The key to making one of these key-catching baskets in no time at all is the “V Decorator knife”… I swear easiest thing ever! You can also use a large knife and a paring knife to create a decorative edge.

First, we took a large watermelon and drew a line with a pencil around the longer mid-line of the watermelon. Then, we drew lines where the handle would be.

 

Next, we took the tool and pushed it through along the drawn line.

   

Took off the two corner pieces and hollowed out the melon… saving the inside to cut into cubes!

We cut up a cantaloupe, some strawberries, a pineapple and added in raspberries and blueberries. Tons and tons of delicious fruit!

We filled up the watermelon basket and a fantastic fruit basket for the party was finished.

You can’t have a 4th of July celebratory weekend without some sweets too. These brownies may not be healthy, but boy are they decadent!

Triple Chocolate Brownies with Reese’s…. extremely sinful!

I’m off to enjoy my last day in the sun!

What is your favorite thing about holiday weekends?

Have a great 4th!

 

Pistachio Bars

I was looking through the fridge yesterday when I spotted this…

Yes Pistachio Butter!! I knew I wanted to put it to use somehow… then I found a huge bag of oats and knew just what I would make.

Healthy Granola Bars! These babies are packed full of nutrients and the star of this decadent bar is the Pistachio Butter of course!

Pistachios contain hearth healthy fats which can lower your cholesterol and improve your heart health. In addition, these little nuts are the lowest in fat, lowest in calories and highest in fiber compared to other nuts. They are a great source of copper, magnesium and Vitamin B-6! Sounds like a hit all around!! (Source)

Healthy Granola Bars                              

• 2 c. oats
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/2 c. honey or agave
• Hefty 1 c. pistachio butter
• 1/4 c. wheat germ
• 1/4 c. ground flax seeds
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. dark chocolate

I kept the pistachio butter in the fridge, so I let it sit out for a few hours to soften up so I could mix it in with the other ingredients.

 

I mixed all the ingredients in a bowl.

And then added the best part… Chocolate!!

I greased a baking dish with a little bit of olive oil and spread the mixture out evenly.

I baked these in the oven at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. Once I took them out I let them cool for about 30 minutes and put the dish in the freezer for another 5-10 minutes so they would be easier to cut into squares.

These bars are YUMMY! I added a little over a cup of the Pistachio butter as I really wanted the pistachio flavor to stand out! I also used agave rather than honey because agave has a lower glycemic index rating, but honey would work just fine. These bars are full of protein, fiber, Omega-3s, Vitamin E, Vitamin B-6, folate, and antioxidants!

My advice would be that if you’re not used to flax seeds or wheat germ to add a little bit more honey or agave to kick up the sweetness. In addition, any nut or seed butter would work such Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, Sunflower Butter even Peanut Butter!

    

This recipe is very versatile and once you have the base down you can add anything you would like… dried fruit, other nuts, coconut…

Get Creative!!

Product Review Thursday

Since the star of today’s post is the Pistachio Butter, it’s only necessary this amazing treat have its own review.

This butter is smooth, creamy, and tastes just like pistachios of course! Compared to other nut butters this one is definitely the most buttery and sweet. It’s not overly salty either and is great on just about anything. I even had it on my toast this morning… I think this may be my new favorite treat!

With the low fat content and the taste I think this baby just may beat out all the other nut butters for me!

What is your favorite type of nut butter??

PS – Naturally Addicted’s first GIVEAWAY is coming up, check back often so you don’t miss out!