Inspirational Bloggers & Two Really Good Recipes

There are so many amazing food bloggers on the web today and everyday I am inspired by their creative recipes and eye for beautiful food photography.

I've seen a ton of recipes lately that I bookmarked to try, so today I'm going to share two absolutely amazing recipes from 2 of my favourite bloggers.

First, let's start off with Angela's healthy Taco Salad for One recipe. I followed this recipe to a tee and this is one of the most amazing and delicious salads I have ever eaten (PS - it's also cleanse-friendly). I don't go for a salad that's consists of just lettuce and veggies ~ can you say boring?!? I enjoy a salad that's jazzed up and this salad fits the bill. I never thought I'd enjoy a taco salad again after becoming a vegetarian, but the bean/walnut "meat" mixture is so good. I'd say this salad is even better than the original taco salad and I'm sure it's much lower in calories and fat!! This is a salad I could eat every single day!

Now, before I share this next recipe, I want to warn you that it's not for the faint of heart. If you're doing a cleanse or trying to watch what you eat, I need to advise you to stop reading now!!!

Jessica's Red Velvet Brownies are to die for. The only change I made to her brownie recipe was that I substituted water for the red food colouring. Since St Patty's Day is just around the corner, I added green food colouring to the icing - I think they look cute and festive!

When I decided to make them, I was going to be strong and not even have a taste, but alas I caved. These brownies are so fudgy and delicious. They are the defintion of "to die for."

WARNING: these are not cleanse-friendly.

I have now returned from the dark side and am back on track :-)

Someday when you have a little time to surf the Net, you really should take a quick peak around Angela and Jessica's sites. They have so many more awesome recipes. Its amazing bloggers like these two gals that inspired me to start my blog.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Andrea

The 21 Day Crazy Sexy Diet Cleanse

Happy Tuesday everyone - yayyy for short weeks (anyone who had a holiday yesterday knows what I'm talkin' about)!

Before I get all deep and thoughtful, I want to give a shout out to Angela at Oh She Glows --- I just finished downing a bowl of her Sweet Potato Oatmeal <Breakfast> Casserole it was sooooo good!! There are days when I just love having breakfast for dinner. I followed her recipe exactly, so I'm not going to reiterate it here. All I am going to say is if you love sweet potato casserole, duh ~ who doesn't?? and you love oatmeal, this casserole is for you.

....and now on to deeper more pressing issues:

Do you have any idea what it’s like to feel blissfully whole and comfortable in your skin? Do you know what it’s like to be centered and grounded yet filled with an abundant supply of zippy energy?

These are two questions that are asked by author Kris Carr on her website http://www.crazysexydiet.com/.

My answer: No!! I don't know what it would be like to feel blissfully whole & comfortable in my skin and No! I don't know what it's like to be centered and grounded nor have I ever felt full of "zippy energy (except when I was maybe like 5 years old)!!"

Do I want these things: Hell Yes!!

This weekend my sweet mom drove me around to 3 different Chapters bookstores so I could buy Kris Carr's book, Crazy Sexy Diet. I am just finishing Chapter 2 and already I am feeling really excited about the possibilities should I be able to follow the principles set out in this book.

My plan right now is to finish reading the book this week and then embark on the 21 day cleanse. I've never tried stuck to this type of plan, but I'm feeling ready and motivated and this time I am going to do it fully, completely and with an open heart and mind.

Body image has always been a sensitive issue for me. I have to work really hard and be very careful about what I eat in order to maintain a figure that I am happy with. I just have to look at a Boston Cream Donut and I swear that an inch is added to my bum.

I had a lot of success with Weight Watchers a few years back, but in order to shed the pounds, I primarily ate grilled cheese sandwiches using Weight Watchers bread, butter flavoured Pam instead of butter and light cheese slices. Healthy?? I think not. 

A few years have now passed since shedding the pounds and here I am a few pounds heavier finding all my pants to be just a little bit snugger. My dilemma now is that I am much more aware about what I am putting in my mouth and the long-term impact of the food choices that I make, so a Weight Watchers grilled cheese just isn't going to cut it. 

So, I am going to try to stick to eating healthy, whole, organic when possible foods to see if I can get myself and my body back on track. I really want to know, does this change in eating really give you the healthy glow I've been reading about from all my favourite bloggers? ~  because if it does I wanna get me some of that!!

There are no more "diets" for this chickie-poo - only healthy eating and conscious habits like less TV and more exercise!! I'm going to create a new page on my blog that is going to chronicle my 21 day journey - so check back often and chime in with your thoughts and encouragement...& appropriate recipes if you have some!

I'm looking forward to taking this journey with you!!

Andrea

Veggie Plate with Hummus and Chocolate Cashew Dip

What a great long weekend it has been with my mom! We have been to the movies, visited with family, gone out for dinner and brunch, driven all over Southwestern Ontario searching for a book that I have been wanting to buy and eating.....lots and lots of eating CARBS!!!

We have had banana cake, sweet potato cornbread, ravioli, gnocchi, spaghetti, toast and the list goes on and on. Today, I decided we needed to amp up our veggie and fruit intake and add some healthy dips to go along side for a healthy lunch.

I had some organic carrots, pears, kiwis and apples that I need to use up, as well as some leftover green onions from Saturday night's dinner. I also added some vegetable crackers that I needed to use up.

Doesn't that look refreshing?? I have been craving something green for days!

It won't take you long to figure out that I am a total sucker for dips. In fact, I can eat an entire bowl of dip in one sitting, so it's best if I have some healthy choices that I can whip up quickly and easily rather than digging into store bought dips that are full of fat and empty calories.

Hummus
Adapted from Oh She Glows

1 19 oz can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp spicy Herbamare (sea salt)
3 cloves of garlic
juice from 2 fresh organic lemons (approx 5 tbsp)
3 - 4 tbsp of water
1 tsp Frank's red hot
1/2 c tahini
1 tbsp olive oil

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Unfortunately my food processor bit the dust today, so I had to blend this in batches in my very old blender :-( 

Right before serving, drizzle with an additional tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

This hummus is fantastic~it tastes great with fresh veggies, on crackers, in veggie wraps or on whole grain toast.

I also wanted to have something sweet, so that I could dip my fruit. I have been having a love affair with cashew butter lately and I only had a wee bit left in my jar....what better combo than to mix my favourite nut butter with a chunk of chocolate? The only question more pressing is why has it taken me so long to try this combination??

Chocolate Cashew Butter Dip
2 - 3 tbsp of all natural cashew butter
1 square of dark chocolate

Place in microwaveable dish and heat in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir after each 30 seconds.

Absolutely decadent!

I really loved this dip with the apples. I think it would also be divine with animal crackers.

This was such a great lunch - it was satisfying and healthy and provided us with lots of fruits and vegetables that our bodies were so badly craving.

My mom really loved the hummus (I did too), but I really loved my chocolate cashew butter dip. Thank goodness I only had enough to make a small little bowl because I finished every last bit!

Wishing you a wonderful Monday evening and lovely end to your long holiday weekend (if you were lucky like me to have one).

Andrea

PS - If you're craving something a little sweeter and more decadent, check out my girl, Kris's, contest at i heart wellness. Enter to win 6 of her bakery's decadent Chocolate Chip "Chips Enjoy" Cookie Sandwiches - they are vegan and gluten free!! Click the link above to enter. I'd wish you all good luck, but you're going to have to beat me to get these tasty treats!!

Rustic Chocolate Chunk Banana Oat Cake with Cashew Butter Sauce

I first discovered the world of food blogging when I stumbled across Angela Liddon's blog, Oh She Glows. She is one of my favourite bloggers and I check out her posts on a daily basis. She has a lot of insight about life and chasing your dreams and she also has some really fabulous vegan recipes. You should check her out!

This morning I decided to make her Rustic Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze. This recipe is fantastic. I followed Angela's recipe making only a couple of substitutions: I didn't have any nuts, so I added slices of banana and dark chocolate chunks to the cake and I used cashew butter instead of peanut butter in the glaze. The cake was phenomenal! My mom is quickly learning that I have to take 100 pictures during every cooking venture, so rather than reiterate Ang's recipe, I am going to share my photos of making this scrumptious breakie:

I have an over-abundance of bananas taking up space in my freezer - what better way to use them up than a banana cake...especially one that includes some chocolate!

Making oats into an oat flour is so easy.

Blend the dry ingredients. 

Add wet ingredients to dry & mix well. 

Add the goodies - chunky bananas & dark chocolate chunks. 

Pour batter into a greased 8'x8' pie plate. 

There are no eggs in this recipe, so you or your kids can lick this bowl clean...er, I don't have kids, so I guess I'll have to do it myself ;-)

Be patient - my cake was perfect after 25 minutes of baking. 

Wow!

Now for the cashew butter banana sauce...start whisking

Keep whisking - you want the sauce to be nice & smooth!

Doesn't that look delicious - & it's so easy!! 

The finished product - this cake was SCRUMPTIOUS!! 

Let's just say, my piece did not last very long.

I make a mess when I'm baking...where are my cleaner elves when I need them?? 



I hope those cleaner elves show up soon because my mom & I are off to watch The King's Speech this afternoon. I'm super excited about checking out this Oscar nominated flick ~ I'll let you know what I think.

I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday - if you live in Southwestern Ontario, watch out for that wind ~ I'd hate for any of my friends to get blown away today - it's crazy out there!!

Andrea