Tag Archives: vegan

“Oatmeal” Currant Cookies

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Oh.My.Goodness.

I haven’t baked in over two months thanks to the Whole30 Challenge and can I just say what an eye opener that was for me?! I didn’t realize the amount of baked goods in my diet until I took them out. It has felt sooo good to back off fruit and baked stuff. I even found the coconut flour gives me the worst tummy ache ever!!

However, this morning, I was just craving something sweet and delicious. So, I perused some recipe sites and modified one to fit what I needed. And boy was it worth it!

“Oatmeal” Currant Cookies

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Makes about 12 little guys

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour (a little course is good)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

Truvia (I used one packet)

1/3 cup clarified butter, ghee, pastured butter or coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon heavy cream or full fat coconut milk

1/3 cup currants (or whatever you want to put in there)

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Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet.

In large mixing bowl, mix everything together. Sample dough to make sure you have enough sweetener (just don’t do what I did and eat half the batch). Use a tablespoon to measure out dough and roll into little ball. Press down slightly with hand or spatula to flatten a little. Not too much because these little guys are a little crumbly.

Bake for about 10 minutes and let cool before eating (or die trying). Enjoy!!

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Veggie Garden Update and Karma Katcher Chocolate Giveaway Winner!

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Yesterday a friend gave me some feedback on my blog. She said my pictures suck. Ok, she was kinder than that, but that was the general take home message. I couldn’t agree more but then again, I never ever expected the blog to be where it is today so I have never worried about my lack of photography skills.

So, last night was dedicated to reading about my camera (Cannon Power Shot A590) and how to use it. I found so many great posts on blogging photography! I was so inspired that I contacted a few photographers that I know and love to ask their opinion on what camera I should buy! I asked my amazing cousin Zach Hodges (who’s in Temecula) of Zach Hodges Photography and Monica Lauritsen (in Portland) of Monica Lauritsen Photography what cameras the use and love. I will let you know which one I decide to buy (ugh…have you looked at lense prices lately??)

So, this morning, I got up and started taking some pics with natural lighting. It was actually a lot of fun. I busted out my tripod and ran my camera completely out of batteries! I decided my subject matter should be amazing Carrot Cake Balls and my veggie garden. Here’s what I got:

The carrot cake balls are my new nut-free version :0) I will post the recipe this week! Speaking of sweets, our winner for the Karma Katcher Chocolates Giveaway is…Jeanette! Thanks everyone for entering and be sure to check out The Great Unbaked for more delicious desserts!

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!

What kind of camera do you use?

Any suggestions for me?? 

Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

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Support

How does that word make you feel? Comforted, knowing you have it? Sad, because you wish you had it. Frustrated, because it’s conditional?

We all need support. That’s why programs like Weight Watchers, Livestrong, Jenny Craig and more just like it flourish- because each and every member is supported in their journey. It makes me think of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Can you imagine her making it all the way to the Emerald City without the support and encouragement of her manly entourage?

How many times you have you started out on a journey only to quit because no one was there for you? I know I have a bunch of times. Sometimes, the support has to come from within and sometimes you can find it in others. That’s what makes Facebook and blogging so great! No matter what crazy journey you want to embark upon, you can find people who have been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

I think back to all the people who have supported me in some pretty wacky ideas. Going to Bible College in Oregon (which coming from NorCal was like moving to Alaska), moving to Spokane to pursue being a teacher, changing my mind and moving back to California, going back to Bible College, asking out a boy :0) Marrying the man of my dreams on a tight budget (that took a LOT of support- I had 9 bridesmaids!) Pursuing fitness as a career, quitting my steady job to pursue my own business….I could not have done it without support of those around me.

Obviously, most people are not going to come right out with their support. Sometimes, you have to dig a little and find it. I spent a lot of time online for job support, time with people who had walked in my shoes and new what I was going through. I  had to ask to be mentored and I pay for a counselor to help support me in my growth process. My husband is probably the most supportive man I know! (Side note to the married ladies out there- Sometimes men don’t know that you need lots and lots of support on things, so give him a break and tell him that you would love his support in x,y or z.)

Don’t be afraid to try something new! Here are some great sources of support:

For Weightloss Accountability- Weight Watchers, Livestrong, Spark People

For Diet Changes- Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Grain Free 

For Exercise Changes- Livestrong, PeerTrainer, Everyday Health

For Career Changes- CareerShifters, Meet Up, LinkedIn

There’s a lot of support out there. Don’t put your life on hold waiting for someone to give you a boost- go out there and find the support you need to take it to the next level.

 You Can Do It! Then you can look back and say : I Did It!!

Flat Belly Cobbler

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A friend of mine recently gave me a ton of pears straight from her parents garden! I have been waiting anxiously all week for these little guys to ripen and finally the time has come!!

Not to mention the abundance of blackberries still in my back yard.

I’ve mentioned before a recipe or two from Elana’s Pantry. She has an awesome cookbook out called The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook- Delish!! I have really enjoyed looking through her amazing recipes, especially since a lot of them fit right in with the Paleo lifestyle. You should definitely check it out! The thing I like about using almond flour instead of grain flour is that it does’t give you the bloated puffy tummy after eating it!! Hence, Flat Belly Cobbler!

I modified her Apple Blackberry Crisp to include my delicious pears. I hope you enjoy it!

Pear Blackberry Crisp

Modified from Elana’s Pantry

Ingredients:

Directions:

  • Place pears and blackberries in a large bowl
  • Sprinkle with lemon juice, vanilla and arrowroot, tossing to incorporate all ingredients

  • To make topping, in a medium bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, oil and agave

  • Crumble topping over pear-blackberry mixture

  • Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350° for 60 to 75 minutes until fruit is juicy and bubbling
  • Remove from oven and uncover
  • If topping is browned, allow to cool for 10-15 minutes
  • If topping is not yet browned place in oven uncovered for 5 minutes, or until browned

  • Serve and enjoy!

Thank you Elana for this awesome recipe and easy to follow instructions! This is an awesome recipe!! Probably one of the best crisps I have ever had! And, with no added sugar!!!

Summer Succotash Quesadillas With Nacho Mmmm Sauce

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So, my wonderful amazing client Stephanie brought this recipe to my attention ( I assume because 1) it’s vegan and 2) its loaded with veggies!) She raved about it, but I was skeptical. Until now….

Summer Succotash Quesadillas With Nacho Mmmm Sauce

From the Oregonian (8/23/11)

Ingredients:

Filling
  • 1 sweet onion, sliced
  • 1 ear fresh corn, kernels cut from cob
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or agave syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

  • 2/3 cup salsa, store-bought or homemade
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup raw almonds
  • 1/4 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
    (I used black beans)
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried cilantro or 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Wrap

  • 8 whole-grain tortillas (For Tim’s, I used flour)
  • 1 cup shredded nondairy cheese (Tim used cheddar)

Directions:

To make filling: Place a large skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or lightly coated with oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until softened and starting to brown.

Add corn, bell pepper and zucchini to the pan with the onion, along with garlic, water, lemon juice, maple or agave syrup and cumin. Cook the succotash down for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make sauce: In a food processor or blender combine salsa, water, almonds, garbanzo beans, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, salt, chili powder, cumin and cilantro. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate until serving.

Place another large skillet sprayed with cooking spray or lightly coated with oil over medium high heat and add one tortilla. Top with 2 tablespoons cheese. Add about 1/3 cup of succotash filling. Top with another 2 tablespoons of cheese and another tortilla.

Cook for several minutes on both sides, until tortilla is crisp and cheese is melty.

Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese and filling. Serve with Nacho Mmmm Sauce.

I did mine without the tortilla or cheese and it was delicious and filling! I did add a dollop of Fage Greek Yogurt in place of sour cream  and a few slices of Slimcado (I just picked it up at the store…not my favorite. It tastes like watery avocado.)

Definitely a great recipe for families and kids!!

Day 2, Whew!

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My day started out early! I zapped 3 egg whites in the microwave (yup, it works- just put them in a big bowl and microwave for about 90 seconds and voila! Eggs!) and added some black beans, tomatoes and feta cheese. I also grabbed some chilled coffee (we refrigerate the leftovers so I can have iced coffee in the morning) and added some Almond Breeze. It was soooo smooth and delicious!

I had a morning full of clients at Fisher’s Landing and even got to take one to Whole Foods for some fresh ideas on what to eat. Some things we were revising were:

Chips

Crackers

Popcorn

pretzels

We were looking at options that were more nutrient dense so she could get the good calories necessary for building muscle but without all the starchy, processed carbs. We came up with:

Carrots

Bell Peppers

Kale Chips

Veggie smoothies

Cucumbers

Zucchini

and of course….locally grown fruit in proportion to veggies (5:1 for fat loss)

Then we drifted down one of my faaaavorite aisles…..

The Bulk Aisle!

If you have never been to the bulk section at Whole Foods, be prepared to be wowed. They have bulk nuts, dried fruits, seeds, flours, grains, rice, lentils, beans, trail mix, grind your own nut butters, olive oil, maple syrup, amino acids, and spices galore!!! I think I like it so much because if you want to try something, you can just buy a little bit. It also breaks the mold of just buying pre-packaged goods where there are usually a lot of food additives.

I grabbed a Chobani yogurt (these seem to be ok with me, for now….) and headed home to prepare for my nutrition class. For lunch, I had some lettuce wraps. These are one of my favorite quick and easy meals. I like to take romaine lettuce leaves, drizzle some mustard, add humus, black beans, edamame and deli meat (yes, I too eat deli meat) and there ya go- it’s like a sandwich sans the bread! I may or may not have also indulged in a little almond butter as well.

I was slightly discouraged at the lack of turnout for my class. I blame it on summer, good weather (which for us Oregonians is like crack), vacations and lack of marketing. I am not very good at going up to people and talking about myself or my class. I guess I could use some improvement. That’s ok because my class on Saturday will be rockin!

Tim phoned in a special request for Sunny Hans for dinner, which I was happy to oblige to. Sunny Hans is a great little place in downtown Gresham that does fairly healthy chinese food. They offer brown rice, they don’t use MSG and they cook in vegetable oil. I love their Oriental Chicken Salad. It comes on a bed of romaine with cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, edamame and chicken (which I get plain). It also comes with peanuts and brown rice, but I give those to Tim. I did indulge in a little too much peanut sauce though (1.5 to go cups!!!), but I felt good enough to make a little milkshake to end my long day.

Kim’s Comfort Milkshake

Ingredients:

Small banana

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1 cup Almond Breeze ( I like Unsweetened vanilla)

5 ice cubes

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Truvia packet

1/2 scoop protein powder

Directions:

Blend everything together until nice and smooth. For a little extra flavor, you could also add a tablespoon of nut butter or berries :0)

It definitely helped take my mind off of my sore cheeks (those lunges from yesterday toasted me!)!!

Guest Post!!! Katherine’s Walnut Fig Bread!

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Today, I am so excited to have Katherine as a guest poster! Her blog, Katshealthcorner, is so awesome! She has some great recipes, one of which she was kind enough to share!

Hey Train Your Body-Change Your Life Followers!

My name is Kathleen, and I blog over at KatsHealthCorner.

I am so excited to be here with you guys. Kim is such an amazing person – and her blog is just as amazing as she is!

In my life I strive for balance: Balance with myself, Balance in my life, and Balance with Food.

One of my favorite foods is Figs (you know, those things they puree and smack in the middle of Fig Newtons).

Figs are nutrition powerhouses! They are high in Vitamins B1 and B2, Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Manganese, Potassium, and Fiber! And just like dried apricots and dates, they help keep you regular! J

We have a fig tree right outside our front door (literally! You can see it here), and it suddenly decided to grow lots of fruit and have them ripen all at the same time.

My mom and I both used figs this past week.

My mom made Jam.

Lots of it.

And what did I make?

I MADE FIG WALNUT BREAD!

Fig Walnut Bread

NOTE: Not only is it VEGAN, WHOLE GRAIN, OMEGA-rich, and DAIRY FREE, but it is of course absolutely nutritious! J To up the protein even more, replace 1/2 – 3/4 cup of the flour with unflavored protein powder (I’d up the liquid a little bit too if using the protein powder). Based on an old Vegetarian Times’ recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup water *see substitution option below
  • 1 cup chopped dried figs
  • 4 oz tofu
  • ¼ cup applesauce
  • 2 Tbsp agave, honey, or maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 1 ¾ cup flour (I used whole wheat) *see note above
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp cloves
  • 2/3 cups chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Directions

Boil the water and pour over the figs.

Let them stand until the water is lukewarm (the water should also change in color to a rich dark red).

Drain the figs well, saving the liquid.

Blend the tofu and reserved liquid in a blender until smooth. Add the applesauce, honey, and oil and pulse until combined.

Pour tofu mixture into a bowl and stir in figs.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until just combined (don’t overmix).

Fold in walnuts.

Immediately pour batter into a sprayed 9×5 baking pan

and cook about 50-55 minutes at 325 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool 10-15 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool (it slices better after cooling).

DEVOUR!

If you want a sweeter bread, simply replace the water with apple juice! :)

So delicious! And so nutritious!

Do you like Figs?

Do you like to Bake? Cook?

What would you consider a Balanced Diet?

Happy Easter!!

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When I think about Easter, I think back to dying eggs, egg hunts, baskets filled with candy (mmm…..Cadbury Cream Eggs….) and toys, new colorful dresses and swarming masses at church.

As an adult, I think about the implications of Easter and what that means for my faith in Jesus Christ. I see it as a day for celebrating life, new life! In the spirit of this, I decided to do what I love and jump in the kitchen to make some little baby chicks!

One of my favorite sites, ohsheglows.com, features this awesome (although, rather time consuming) recipe for making vegan cupcake chicks! Here is a link to her awesome recipe:

http://ohsheglows.com/2011/04/16/spring-chick-cupcakes/

I am hoping they will be a big hit this afternoon at my in-laws house :0) We shall see!

I hope today is a restful and fun day filled with hope of a new start!

Happy Celebrating,

Kim