Heaven times three

Let’s skip the formalities and get straight to the food talk (and tonight's dinner in particular) It was an absolutely phenomenal meal, thanks to three other bloggers and their amazing recipes! I have been dying to try two of the things for quite some time now, and I made them both tonight! This was like heaven times two!

I am quickly skipping through today’s breakfast and lunch, since they would be looming in the shadow of dinner. Simple pictures will do.

Breakfast: chia oats topped with oikos and a nectarine

Lunch: huge bowl o’ veggies topped with hummus, mustard, and multigrain chips

Snack: Banana Bread larabar + Iced Green Tea sweetened with Stevia

And here is where this post gets foodgasm good. Quick, get a napkin to wipe your drool! ;)

Upon walking in the door after work, I immediately got started on Mama Pea’s Pumpkin Spice Latte. And this, my friends, makes heaven times three! It was a triple whammy to the tastebuds tonight!

I made a few tweaks based on what I had on hand:

·         1 c. strongly brewed Starbucks Natural Vanilla Infusions

·         ½ c. unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

·         Sugar-free Vanilla Syrup

·         3 T. canned pumpkin

·         ½ t. cinnamon

·         ¼ t. pumpkin pie spice

·         ¼ t. ginger

·         Stevia

All blended up in my magic bullet for a frothy treat--topped off with a little shake of cinnamon. Hello, caffeine kick at 6:00 PM! Maybe I’ll reserve this for before noon next time. But then again, maybe not!

This was better than Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts combined, hands down. Thanks Mama Pea for a new obsession!

Next, I got started on dinner. Like I said, I have been planning to make these two ever since I first set eyes on them!

Main Course: Vegan Black Bean Burgers

Brought to you by Emily from The Front Burner

I used almost the exact same recipe:

·         2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)

·         10 baby carrots (grated)

·         ¾ c. rolled oats

·         1 T. EVOO

·         ½ t. cinnamon

·         ½ t. cumin

·         1 t. chili powder

·         ½ t. onion powder

·         ¼ t. cayenne pepper

·         1 T. sea salt

·         ¼ t. black pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Next, add the oats and carrot to the food processor and grind on low setting until chopped. Add ¾ of the beans, all the spices, and the olive oil. Let the food processor whir until it’s all nicely mixed together (but still a little chunky). Move the mixture a large bowl. Fold in the rest of the whole beans. Wet your hand and form 6 patties. Wetting your hands is crucial step! If you don’t the mixture will stick to your hands and it will be difficult to form a patty. Place the patties on an EVOO mistoed baking pan and bake for about 50 minutes. Turn once halfway through. I also broiled them a few minutes for a little crispiness.

The verdict (as if you didn’t already know from their introduction): delicious!

Side: Nut Butter Crusted Fries

Brought to you by Angela at Oh She Glows

Again I used almost the exact same recipe except I doubled the almond butter and halved the peanut butter--nut butter preference came into play. ;)

·         3 medium sweet potatoes

·         2 T. Almond Butter

·         1 T. Peanut Butter

·         1 T. Olive Oil

·         Sea Salt

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into fry shapes. Mix the nut butters,
EVOO, and salt in a large bowl. Add the sweet potato fries and mix up with
your hands until they are all coated. MESSY! Spread onto a mistoed baking
sheet and cook for about 50 minutes! I also broiled these at the need to up
the crispy factor. I like em’ crispy!

Again, these totally did not disappoint. A great recipe, hands down!

All together now:
My son's (bun & topped with ketchup):

Mine (bunless topped with Sriracha):

This plate, times two!

With all these cooking going on in my house, you can bet I have a mess to clean up! So I’m off to clean up and hopefully Turbo it up. If my body will listen and digest my food—then I can get in a work out!

Have a great night!

<3 Stefanie

Has anyone else tried any of these recipes that have been spreading around the blogosphere like wildfire?

Confessions of a night owl!

I am such a night owl! My goal for the next few weeks is to get to bed before midnight! Every morning I wake up around 7:30, and yet I can’t seem to be in bed before 1:00 AM. Busy, busy. This is just not enough sleep, though, and I have been really feeling it during the day!

After breakfast this morning, I got ready and headed over to the YMCA for a work out. I packed a bag, so that I could just shower there and go straight to campus. My house is about 30 minutes from campus, whereas the Y is only about 10. So it wouldn’t make sense to go home and get ready before going to campus.

My work out consisted of 20 minutes of HARD HILLS on the treadmill for some cardio. The options were level 1-20. For the first 10 minutes, I did level 10 at 3.8 mph. For the second half, I put it up to level 20 and stayed at 3.8 mph. This was challenging and led to me being a schweaty beast! Which is always a good thing! Then I did upper body and abs. I’m not even sure the names of the exercises, but my arms are SORE!

 After my work out, I refueled with 2 scoops of protein powder (mixed with ice water), a Coconut cream pie larabar, an apple, and a bag of baby carrots. Our fridge is pretty much empty since we're leaving Sunday. So it's a random lunch made up of snacks!

Sorry for the lack of food pics, I forgot to bring my camera with me today! Fail! I guess my rambling with have to suffice. ;)

The night consisted of cleaning, putting out my fall decorations, hitting up the library, Panera, then Marshalls.

Frothy Iced Coffee to fuel my cleaning!

Fall Centerpiece.

Some of the books I got:

I got the vegan books out of curiosity. I have been a vegetarian for a little over a year and I've always been interested in the vegan lifestyle. I may start eating vegan a few days a week if I find a lot of good options! Also, the lunch box book will be helpful for packing my son's lunches. He is also vegetarian and we often have a hard time making good lunches that aren't the same thing every day!

My son got books on magic tricks. He is currently obsessed with Criss Angel and being a magician!

At Panera I had the you-pick-two: Fuji apple chicken salad minus chicken plus apple chips and the tomato mozzarella Panini. I usually always get the black bean soup with the salad, but they were out!

And now I’m in bed about to have a snack and catch up on some reading!

Good night!

Stefanie

Do you have any tips/recipes for the vegan lifestyle or vegetarian lunches for kids?