Friday Five: Foodie Edition

Thanks for all the helpful words on my last post! It’s hard to deal with well-meaning but unhelpful advice from family and friends, but it’s a good reminder that we have to take those words with a grain of salt and do what’s best for our health.

I wanted to bring back the Friday Five posts again and this week, I’m focusing on some fun food things for all my fellow foodies out there!

1. I found some new Larabar flavors…at Target!

You all know my love for Target and Larabars…so put the two together and it’s a perfect match! I actually generally don’t buy my Larabars from Target since they don’t usually have a huge selection like Whole Foods and Sprouts do. But since they have a lot of New Years resolution health stuff right now, they had some Uber bars on sale for $1 each, including 2 new-to-me flavors! You definitely can’t beat that–and they sound downright delicious too.

Ummmm, yum!

2. I’m obsessed with making grain-free flatbreads. 

First, it was this flatbread made into grain free stuffing. Then it was my staple socca. Now it’s this focaccia, which happens to be egg-free also! If you think grain free baking is hard, try it without eggs. It’s really fun to experiment with grain-free flours and when something turns out delicious, it’s even better.

3. I’m really craving the produce of spring and summer. 

Winter is hard enough as it is, with plenty of cold days, snow and the general feeling of blah-ness once the holidays are over. At least I didn’t get hit with the crazy cold weather here in Colorado (we’ve been in the 40s and 50s, which I can’t complain too much about) and we get over 300 days of sunshine each year, so my mood stays the same. The one thing I crave (other than warmer weather) is spring and summer produce. I miss all the berries, the watermelon, the peaches and cherries, the asparagus and the artichokes. Winter produce just isn’t cutting it–I’m already sick of squashes and citrus. At least I still have my beloved pomegranate…only 68 days until spring arrives!

I miss having fresh berries for my breakfast!

4. I haven’t had peanut flour in over 6 months…and I kinda want it again.

Remember when I was addicted to ordering food from iHerb? Yeah, me neither since the last time I ordered from them was last May! I don’t know what happened, but I guess I got more budget-conscious and my monthly orders stopped happening. I used to eat peanut flour AT LEAST once per day, and I haven’t had it since June. I just miiiiight end up ordering some more with some of my graduation money, but then again, it might all go towards clothes #sorrynotsorry

5. I’m debating going back on the raw foods train.

I actually did this for quite a while last summer and then I stopped once school started back up and fall came and there was less good produce around. I’m not planning on going 100% raw anytime soon, but I’d like to reincorporate more raw foods into my diet. I’m a big fan of eating whole, minimally-processed foods and this just takes it an extra step. This might be more realistic once spring happens, because there will be more produce, and I love loading up my plate with plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, but in the meantime, I’m going to be buying more raw things, like nuts/seeds and making my own almond milk and stuff like that. I have a lot more time on my hands now that I’m just looking for a job, so I have tons of time to experiment in the kitchen!

I’m going to be making more recipes from this book.

Anyone else missing the warm weather produce? What’s a food you haven’t eaten in awhile that you want to start eating again more often?

WIAW: Free At Last (Almost!)

Well girlies, I am so close to being completely done with my first two years of college! I’ve just got one final bright and early tomorrow night and then I am done done DONE! I’ve already been home since Friday afternoon, but getting this over with means that summer can officially begin.

Being home has been awesome so far! Of course, I went on a huge grocery haul my first full day back–does anyone else love grocery shopping? I could literally do it every day and not get bored, especially at Whole Foods. There’s always some new product and I’ve always gotta try it! So this week’s WIAW will be featuring a few of those new finds, and a couple of recipes.

The ginger root beer variety is almost as good as the cream soda.

The 6-packs of Zevia were on sale at my WF, so I had to try out a new-to-me flavor. It was really good, but I was expecting a little more ginger flavor. I love ginger anything so it was a little disappointing, but I’m sure it’ll make the perfect healthy root beer float! I’ve been on the lookout for Zevia’s newer flavors (lime cola and strawberry) but no luck yet. I think I’ll be hitting up all the Whole Foods in CO… 😉

Whole Foods guacamole (aka the best guac ever) and amazing locally-made mango salsa, in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

Cinco de Mayo wasn’t too exciting for me or my family (my dad was more excited about the Kentucky Derby) but we did ‘celebrate’ with salsa and guacamole. WF has the  best guac, but unfortunately it’s super expensive. We got a tiny container of it for $4.99, a total rip-off but so worth it. The mango salsa was a much better buy, and also delicioso (had to get some Spanish in there somewhere!). I am in love with fruity salsas and really want to make my own this summer. I made a strawberry jalapeno pico de gallo last summer but the recipe never made it to the blog–I’ll be making it again soon and sharing the recipe this time!

What season is this?!

So Monday morning, I woke up to snow. Yes, snow in May. Crazy Colorado! We’ve had warm, dry weather for 2 months straight and now this. At least it was only a dusting, and didn’t stick around for long.

A Cinco de Mayo snack plate: crushed sweet potato and blue corn Late July chips, kettle corn, stuffed Medjool date, chili and jalapeno olives, guacamole and mango salsa.

I don’t think I will ever get sick of snack plates. They are perfect for indecisive people like me who don’t like to commit to one huge thing. I’d rather sample a bunch of small things and please all my cravings. Plus each snack plate is completely different, so I never get bored.

I’m always down for seasonal flavors!

You know you’re a foodie when you practically pee your pants upon seeing brand new Larabar flavors. Especially ones that you haven’t even heard about, and that sound as amazingly delicious as these. I am so glad I am no longer a Larabar snob because I will be hoarding these seasonal flavors like nobody’s business. I love anything and everything limited edition, especially summery things. I’ve only tried the pineapple upside down cake one and it’s so pineapple-y! I can’t believe it’s only made of almonds, dates and pineapple. If you see these near you, buy the whole box some! You won’t regret it.

[Pancake] breakfast of champions: peanut flour pancakes topped with homemade strawberry vanilla stevia jam and drizzle sunflower seed butter.

I couldn’t come home and not make pancakes, right? I haven’t had any in months, and this was my first time making them completely from scratch–no boxed mixes for this girl anymore! These pancakes are super easy to make, taste just like a gooey PB&J sandwich and have 15 grams of protein in the entire batch! P.S. Both recipes are adapted from here.

Peanut Flour Pancakes (vegan, gluten-free, high protein)

3 T peanut flour (or PB2)

1 T ground flax seed (I used golden flax) or mashed banana/unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 T water

1/2 t baking powder

2 packets Truvia or stevia (can use liquid stevia drops)

4 T unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I used Almond Breeze)+ water, to thin

Stir together ground flax and water to make a flax “egg”. Set aside for a few minutes. In a bowl, mix together peanut flour, baking powder and Truvia. Add in flax egg, almond milk and any additional water needed to thin the batter. On a skillet or small pan heated to medium, scoop batter in small spoonfuls (I used a melon baller) or form into a larger pancake, cooking two at a time. Flip pancakes once the batter bubbles up. Serve pancakes topped with nut butter (I used sunflower seed butter), caramelized bananas, real maple syrup or homemade jam (see recipe below). Makes 5 small or 2 large pancakes.

Homemade Microwave Strawberry Vanilla Jam (vegan, gluten-free)

strawberries, sliced (I used 3 large berries)

4-8 drops liquid vanilla stevia, to taste (you can use any flavor)

Stir berries and stevia together until combined. Microwave on high for 30 seconds to 1 min. Can serve warm or chilled. Spoon over pancakes, on toast or on top of nondairy ice cream. Makes 1 serving.

So spicy, so good.

Continuing with my love for all things hot, I picked up this gem at WF this past weekend. Like a lot of new-t0-me products, I hoped that it would live up to the hype that I put on it. Well, this definitely delivered! Spicy with just a hint of ginger, it’s perfect as a marinade, sauce and dip.

Having Mexican food a few days after Cinco de Mayo still counts, right? Black beans with mango salsa, crispy kale tempeh taco on sprouted Ezekiel tortilla topped with guacamole.

I am usually a fan of tacos. Just because I don’t eat meat doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a taco every once in awhile. In the past, I’ve used beans as a filler but this time I went for ground tempeh and it was a winner. In fact, it was probably the best taco I’ve ever had.

Crispy Kale Tempeh Tacos (vegan)

1 oz crumbled tempeh (I used Lightlife organic flax tempeh)

marinade of choice (I used the Ginger People Hot Ginger Jalapeno sauce above)

handful kale

salt and pepper, to taste

nooch, to taste

tortilla (I used a small Ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla)

taco toppings (guacamole, vegan sour cream, Daiya cheese or cashew cheese, salsa)

Marinade tempeh in sauce for 5-10 minutes. Place tempeh in a pan on the stove over medium high heat and let cook until browned and somewhat crunchy. Add in kale, salt, pepper and nooch and cook until crispy. Spoon kale and tempeh onto tortilla and top with more sauce and whatever toppings you love. Makes 1 taco.

PB&J smoothie in a bowl (unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, peanut flour, Truvia) topped with fresh strawberries and crushed PB Puffins.

Apparently I’m on a PB&J for breakfast kick right now! I’m just loving the combo of peanut flour and fresh strawberries right now–I may have to make a wrap or open-faced sandwich with these two ingredients soon.

Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Have you spotted the new Larabar flavors yet?

WIAW: (Almost) Wordless

Heeeeey guys, I loved hearing what you think about Larabars! I always like to know what other people’s preferences are and try out new things based on a good review.

Today’s WIAW will be basically wordless, besides the captions, and just a mishmash of foods I ate throughout the weekend and early part of this week. Obviously this is not all I ate, nor was it all eaten in one day, it’s just some of the highlights of what I’ve been noshing on.

Baby carrots and (shiny) red grapes.

I love Whole Foods' no salt no oil popcorn, especially sprinkled with nooch!

Peanut butter Puffins in unsweetened vanilla almond milk are my crack.

My first time trying kale in a smoothie--and it's actually delicious, mixed with u/s vanilla almond milk, frozen banana and Truvia.

My latest Larabar find--peanut butter and jelly. It was just okay, not bad, but I wouldn't buy it again. Bring on the cappuccino and chocolate chip brownie flavors instead!

Carrot cake overnight oats (topped with raisins, almond peanut cashew butter and peanut flour) with a side of fashion magazine reading and a stuffed Medjool date.

Frozen grapes > fresh grapes.

Raw massaged lemon pepper kale topped with nooch and crumbled hempfast Sunshine burger. I have been obsessed with nooch on everything lately!

Another of my typical snack plates, with nooch-ified edamame, Late July sweet potato multigrain chips, mini sweet pepper, plain popcorn and kettle corn, kalamata olives, Medjool date and dark chocolate espresso bean.

What is the best thing you ate this past weekend? Have you ever tried kale in a smoothie?

WIAW: Flavor Flav

Hi my lovelies! What is up? I loved all your responses to my fashion blogging post–even if you aren’t the ‘fashion’ type, I really appreciated your feedback on what makes a good blog.

Anyways, no, my WIAW title this week has nothing to do with the rapper–it’s just my super-lame way to say that this week’s edition is all about new-t0-me flavors. Like I mentioned in my recent Saturday Seven post, I love trying out new things and this week, I apparently tried out a few new combos and they did not disappoint! So lesssss go!

Breakfast: PBBH sandwich oats (aka peanut butter banana honey sandwich), topped with peanut flour paste, frozen banana slices, drizzle raw honey; unpictured veggie sausage

Ummmmm yeah…let’s just say I have yet another favorite oats combo. I don’t know where I came up with this idea, but it totally reminded me of a peanut butter banana honey sandwich and it. was. delicious. The combination of frozen banana chunks, thick peanut flour paste, creamy voluminous oats and a drizzle of my favorite honey was a magical one. This has just replaced my latest favorite, carrot cake oats!

Starbucks Christmas VIA Blend with AB unsweetened chocolate almond milk.

I have no lunch picture this week (and probably won’t for a while) because my class schedule forces me to eat on-the-go, hence I basically just scarf down baggies of Kashi GoLean, baby carrots, grapes or edamame. Not the most gourmet, but it gets the job done. Oh how I miss leisurely lunches at home…

Tuesday's outfit: pink cropped cardigan (A&F), navy lace-front tank with pinstripe waist tie (A&F Kids), slim boot jeans (American Eagle). The weird face is all me, sadly.

This week and last have been devoted to wearing all my brand-new clothes. I actually love that part of back-to-school–showing off all my new outfits. The tank top in the picture is the new piece, and I love it because it’s one of my few lace pieces, and it’s got an adorable bow around the waist. What’s not to love?

Snack: plain Stonyfield Oikos yogurt mixed with cinnamon and Truvia, topped with half a honeycrisp apple and a little Kashi GoLean.

I’ve been really enjoying plain Greek yogurt lately. Now hear me out. Plain doesn’t mean boring–it just means I buy the plain kind and then flavor it myself with cinnamon, dark cocoa powder, instant coffee–whatever. It’s more economical that way, plus I get more yogurt in a container. Win win! I loved this combo in particular because it had the crunch from the cereal and the sweet-tartness from the apple. Plus the amazing protein and calcium from the yogurt.

Dinner: vegan nachos.

Definitely not nachos in the traditional sense, but good nonetheless. I topped some Late July mild green mojo chips (the best chips, in my opinion) with some Whole Foods refried beans (with chile and lime) and some heated-up frozen grilled peppers from Target. Simple, delicious and a healthy way to get your Mexican fix.

Snack: Annie's pretzel bunnies, heaping teaspoon almond peanut cashew butter.

I’ve said it a million and one times, but again, I love the sweet-salty combo. Nothing better. The other night, I got the super-smart idea to dip pretzels in almond butter. Soooooooo tasty. I love Annie’s pretzel bunnies in particular, because they’re cute!

What’s your favorite way to eat pretzels? What’s the best flavor combo you just discovered?

WIAW: Old Things, New Ways

Hi ladies 😀 Well, another Wednesday is upon us, and I for one couldn’t be happier. First of all, it’s supposed to snow for the first time this season today! Okay, so that might not be so fun to walk to classes in, but I think snow is so pretty, and the first few snowfalls are the best. Come January and February, not so much 😦 But right now it’s great. It’s also another week closer to Thanksgiving break–aka 9 days of freedom from this crap known as school. I have big plans for that week–well, not really, but I have a lot of cooking and baking plans, that’s for sure. And finally, it’s almost the weekend and I’m headed home again! So it should be a pretty busy but fun 2 days.

So I was really struggling coming up with some kind of theme for this week’s WIAW. I don’t know why, but I think it’s more fun with a theme or extra thing, like a survey. I kinda got burned out on surveys, so lately it’s been all about some theme like new purchases or recipes or what I did over the weekend. Since I haven’t had any of those this week, I couldn’t think of anything…until I looked through my pictures and realized that they were all of things I’ve had before, but in a new way. So that’s my WIAW theme this week!

Banana whip smoothie, half a sweet potato topped with hot Mexican style chili powder. Sweet and spicy...awwwww yeah!

 So I haven’t had a ‘banana whip’ since sometime this summer but that’s only because I haven’t had almond milk around since then. Sad, right? I finally grabbed a carton of unsweetened vanilla AM two weekends ago and it’s definitely been put to good use in lattes and cereal. But then I remembered how much I loved this smoothie, and I made it for a snack, alongside half a chili powder-spiked sweet potato (eaten cold, BTW). Basically, you just take 3/4 cup almond milk, a packet of Truvia or stevia and a handful of frozen banana slices, and blend away. Once I invest in xantham gum, you best believe this will be even better and more milkshake like.

Pumpkin spice Vitatop (with a bite taken out of it, oops!) topped with a teaspoon of almond peanut cashew butter.

 Vitatops aren’t quite the same when you can’t toast them (stupid dorm rules) but they still smell amazing in the microwave. I topped this one (pumpkin spice, of course) with some drippy, almost-at-the-bottom-of-the-jar APCB. So. Good. Period. Why did I never do this before? I honestly don’t know!

Vintage-ized photo taken by my lovely phone. Dr McDougall's vegan tortilla soup.

 So I’ve had this soup before, and it’s really really good but for some reason, I’ve always eaten it out of the paper container it comes in. I decided to fancy it up a bit by pouring it in a bowl. Classy, no? And I also just realized, after almost 2 years of having my phone, that it can edit photos right on the phone itself. Since this picture was taken at night (and therefore was super yellow), I messed around with the coloring and also decided to make it look vintage-y. I got bored, okay?

Caramel Oikos (in a bowl) topped with frozen banana slices.

 Again, I’ve had frozen banana slices and this flavor of Greek yogurt before, but never together and never in a bowl. I mean, it comes in a container you can eat out of, so why use dishes, right? Turns out, it tastes much better in a real bowl, especially when mixed with frozen banana. It’s like dessert almost (I had this for lunch, though).

Homemade Starbucks latte, half sweet potato, raisins, sour gummy vitamins, almond peanut cashew buttah.

 I’m a coffee girl at heart. Not so much for the caffeine, because it doesn’t do much for me (other than when I get anything larger than a tall at the ‘bucks–then I feel sick and have a humongo headcahe afterwards) but for the delicious taste. I’m not a hardcore black coffee person at all–I like some sweetness and flavor. Oh, and I also rarely have coffee at breakfast, usually opting for the afternoon (because caffeine does not keep me up at night–I could probably drink coffee at 10 pm and still sleep fine) but lately, I’ve been feeling a nice cup thermos at breakfast time, especially since it’s getting pretty cold around here. Anyways, I make my coffee with half a packet of Starbucks VIA mocha instant coffee, a packet of Truvia, 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk steamed in the micro and a dash of cinnamon. Alongside that I had half of a hot sweet potato, some raisins and APCB. Oh, and my beloved sour gummy vitamins. I wish I could eat them more than just once a day, because I totally would, they’re so good 😛

The new Halloween Clif Kid bar flavor--full moon brownie.

 I love Clif Z-bars–they’re perfectly snack sized and come in really good flavors. So far, I’ve tried the blueberry, chocolate brownie, apple cinnamon (which was discontinued) and s’mores and have liked them all. But the full moon brownie is by far my favorite! I love the soy white chocolate chunks and the richness of the bar itself. I wish it was a permanent flavor, though–guess I’ll just have to stock up before Halloween!

 

What “old favorite” have you eaten lately in a new way?

Foodie Newbie

I love love love trying out new products! I’m the girl who sees the label New! on a product and instantly drops said product into the cart. I’m such a sucker for anything I’ve never tried before. I usually have high expectations for the item, and sometimes they are met, other times not so much. But I rarely regret trying something new. It’s just…exciting!

I’ve gotten a lot of new-to-me products lately, and I wanted to share my (unbiased) reviews of them here. I was not given these products to try by the companies themselves (I wish they would have, though!)–I bought them all myself my parents bought them for me.

Kaia Foods Sprouted Sunflower Seeds (Cocoa Molé)

I’m not a huge fan of sunflower seeds, but when I saw these on a random solo trip to Whole Foods, I decided to try them. The flavor combo really grabbed me, and the nutritional stats weren’t too shabby (7 grams of healthy fat, 80 calories per serving, some Vitamin E). I was a little thrown off by the soft texture, but these were pretty decent. Not quite cocoa-y or spicy enough (one of the ingredients is organic cayenne pepper) but not bad at all. I would probably try a different flavor (like sweet curry or teriyaki) in the future.

I'm really getting into raw foods like these!

Oikos 0% Peach Mango and Honey Fig Greek Yogurts

Oikos is my Greek yogurt brand of choice, and these new flavors did not disappoint! The peach mango was reaaaaaaally sweet, but definitely tasted like peach and mango. There were even real chunks of fruit in the bottom 😀  The honey fig is super-creamy and not watered down at all by the real organic honey and fig juice (the fig juice is actually the 3rd ingredient!) I love that this brand is always organic, and in general, I love Greek yogurt for its creaminess and amazing protein stats.

I'm always drawn to colorful packaging

 

PB Puffins+new Oikos flavor? Yes please!

Whole Foods Hot/Cold Bars

My fam went on an impromptu picnic this weekend, and we stopped at (where else?) Whole Foods to grab lunch. I’ve always wanted to try the hot and cold food bars they have there and I’ve gotta say, I can see why so many bloggers love to eat there. They have such a good selection of stuff, and it’s so. good. I got curried tofu salad, curried quinoa salad (lots of curry-lovin’ for this girl), Asian kale salad and roasted sweet tater chunks. Even though it all ended up mixing together in the box, it was all still amazing! Definitely gonna go back ASAP!

I definitely got my "rainbow of produce" in with this lunch!

Barbara’s Bakery Peanut Butter Puffins

After seeing this pop up on so many blogs, I decided to hop on the bandwagon. Best decision ever! I’m not the biggest PB fan, but I love the slightly soft, slightly crunchy texture of these babies, and their strong peanut taste. I love them as an overnighters topper (coffee maple oats topped with these are my new go-to combo) and in Greek yogurt. Mmmmmm…

There's so many ways to eat Puffins, but this is my favorite--as an overnight oats topper! Crunchy and creamy...

Whole Foods 365 Individual Vegan Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust

I miss their larger onion-sauce based vegan pizza, but this is also good. It’s topped with tons of roasted veggies, and the sauce is very flavorful. It’s tiny, but I don’t have a big appetite anyway 😛

Tons of veggies and NO cheese make for one happy Ashley 🙂

Late July Mild Green Mojo Multigrain Chips

On my recent vacay, I brought along a new-to-me product, Late July Sea Salt by the Seashore Multigrain chips, and I loved their simple salty flava. I liked them better than regular tortilla chips. Then I saw this flavor, and I just knew I had to get them. However–I didn’t realize until I brought them home that they had cheese as an ingredient. Yikes! I was a tad upset, but I decided to try them anyway and…well, they were so so good! They honestly don’t taste cheesy to me at all (more like these ranch-flavored soy crisps I’ve had before) and have a little bit of kick to them. I tried them as a crunchy topper on a black bean salad and lets just say that I’m gonna be having this salad for lunch for awhile 😉

 

It's easy being green if you're also super-delish!

 

What is the best new thing you’ve tried lately?