vegan cranberry orange scones

tonight i was feeling a little adventurous - despite the day i had of a physical therapist telling me my back is totally messed up & that i may need months of PT to correct it. i was also sent for x-ray's to make sure that i don't have any fractures (which i do doubt). regardless, i have a bad florida driver who rear ended me to thank for that. i don't know what i am going to do with exercising seeing as i was planning to do a duathlon in 4 weeks, & want to train for a full marathon over the summer. yoga seems to be the only form of exercise on the doctor's agenda, but that certainly is not the amount of physical exertion i'm used to.

anyways... i made vegan cranberry orange scones tonight. my mom makes the most fabulous scones i've ever eaten, but she's on vacation in the caribbean right now with my dad, so i just used a recipe i found online & modified it. when she gets back, i'll have to snag her recipe & make a new batch (but i don't know if she'll be willing to share her secrets!)

* 3 cups all-purpose whole wheat flour
* 1/2 cup florida crystals sugar (organic)
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup earth balance butter
* 1 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
* 2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
* 1/2 cup soy yogurt
* juice of one hand squeezed orange

mix all ingredients together in a bowl (i know most recipes say to mix these parts, mix those parts & then mix together, but i just don't bake that way, which might be why i'm not the most successful baker). baking is certainly less forgiving than cooking, which i am MUCH better at, but working on it.

i rolled mine into a big ball, then put it onto a cookie sheet, then cut like a pizza into 12 pieces & sprinkled a little sugar on each scone. keep in mind, if you haven't eaten scones before (or it's been a while, or haven't made your own) scones are pretty dry! don't freak out if they are dry when you pull them out of the oven - they are to be enjoyed with a cup of tea!

raw falafel, tahini & hummus

if anyone knows me at all, they know that one of my favorite foods, that i could eat anytime or anywhere, is falafel. today, instead of doing school work, which i dreadfully needed to catch up on due to working 5 days in a row, i made homemade raw falafel, tahini and hummus. here are the recipes:

falafel:
2 cups almonds
1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons raw tahini
1 Tablespoon olive oil
11/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup water

blend in a food processor, and make into small patties. i don't have a dehydrator, so i put the oven on 100 (raw is considered anything under 118 degrees) and then i leave the oven door open. watch until the patties start to get hard. if you do have a dehydrator, i'm not sure of how long you would put them in there for...

tahini
1/2 large cucumber (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup raw tahini
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/2 lemon, juiced (or if you are lazy like me, you buy lemon juice in a bottle, in which case, you can use 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

blend in the food processor.

hummus recipe
the only difference between the recipe from before and the one that i made today is that i added 2 tablespoons of pine nuts. totally worth the splurge of the pine nuts - which can be pretty expensive.

this meal was fabulous: the only splurge was a very high fiber wrap & a small sprinkle of feta cheese. i also added lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and onions to the inside. voila! one of my favorite meals of all time!

enjoy!

banana bliss balls

been slacking in the work out department, but on a more positive note, i have gone back to eating pretty much 100% raw(i would say i'm at 90%). i really need to up my intake of wheat grass, which has virtually been none the past month or so.

i made a really great raw dessert tonight, with a little bit of modification from some raw food websites i've looked at. i did this on my own, & they actually turned out to be quite decadent! you were never know they were raw.

2 bananas
1 cup of walnuts (raw)
2 tablespoons of agave syrup (or honey, raw)
1 cup of mixed dried berries (or raisins will do)
2 tablespoons raw carob chips

pulse in food processor until chopped up - but not a gooey mush. use a tablespoon to create each ball, put on wax paper in the freezer for an hour. after they come out, heat up 2 cups of raw carob chocolate syrup (I put a cup in for one minute, just enough to make it more liquidy, which also probably made it unraw). dip each ball into the bowl of chocolate sauce & place back in the freezer. shouldn't take long to freeze. yum! dipping in raw shredded coconut is also an option.










(the raw chocolate is a little expensive, so melted regular chocolate can be substituted. great treat with little calories and when you need something for that craving!

other blog fun

as i become more involved in the blogging world, i've been finding friends & others who blog about their health, nutrition, and also desserts. i thought i would share them here.

a friend from high school, catie, is blogging about her exercising & changing her life not to lose weight but to just feel better in general, find her here: catie gets healthy

& a recent friend, stephanie, who owns her a very cool apron conversion business, also blogs about all of her amazing, delicious desserts. i told her she needs to list modifiers to those of us trying to watch calories can still indulge, but she claims her husband-to-be loves butter too much! i will keep bothering her about it! find her decadent desserts here: ice cream for dinner maybe she'll make some raw desserts? (hint, hint)

& speaking of friends, a friend of mine from high school recently hit her 50 pound mark after trying to lose weight for 9+ months. i'm so impressed & inspired by keri & am striving to do the same. slowly but surely. i think little by little is the only way to keep it off. size 10 pants are only a little tight! probably another 10 pounds or so until they fit comfortably. thank you everyone for all of your support along the way. it helps me along this journey so much!

cottage cheese & oatmeal

essentially i am trying to keep up with this, but truth is, i'm so much more busy this semester than last. FINALLY gotten used to eating cottage cheese, thank you to breakstone's.
















i do eat it with blackberries or pineapple though. either way, it's growing on me. also, i was religiously eating ocean spray's oatmeal with pomegranate, but they stopped carrying it(or discontinued it?) at publix. seriously. i almost had a meltdown in the cereal aisle.

















seems they headed in a different direction, so i've replaced it with this, which is almost just as good. i will be on a continuous search for it though. maybe target, walmart, or alberson's.


my life is terribly exciting, isn't it? a post about oatmeal?...

fabulous vegetable dumplings

i made these for dinner tonight. they were sooo good.

1/2 pound firm tofu
1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
1/2 cup shredded Napa cabbage
2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
2 minced cloves garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
wonton wrappers

Mix all of the ingredients together. put a tablespoon of the mix in a wonton wrapper - fold over, and wet the edges to mend together. put a small amount of sesame oil in a pan, and at low-medium heat, sear the wonton wrappers on each side.















There are some really good sesame sauces out there (i love the iron chef sesame ginger), but if you're feeling super ambitious, you can make this one:

Sesame Dressing

1 (1/2-inch-thick) slice peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup Asian sesame paste or smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon Asian chile paste with garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt

Blend all dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth.

hummus recipe

normally, on a monday night, you'll find me gorging myself at my friend heather's house watching the bachelor. tonight, however, the arugula or the salad dressing gave me quite the stomach ache & i opted to stay home in bed & eat a sleeve of saltines with my reheatable heating pad (which is amazing & smells like ginger, from origins).

& finally, i have someone to hold me accountable again. my friend trish & i are checking in with each other once a week on weight loss & waist size. this should help. i've done really well with eating & working out yesterday & today: and i'm running ANOTHER half marathon on saturday! woohoo!

also, hummus (store bought) bothers my stomach, but for some reason, when i make my own, it doesn't. i think this is because of all the preservatives. anyways, here is a GREAT recipe i've been using to make my own. enjoy!


Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

* 1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
* 1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas (take it or leave it, i leave it out)
* 3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
* 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed (i love garlic, so i add 3)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine ingredients in blender or food processor. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

cookies & yoga

a lot of work on my plate today, yet again; but i made time for yoga, much needed. lots of toning & reminded me why it is so important to make time for it - besides the fact that it calms & relaxes.

on another note, i found this great cookie like cracker at my local health food store the other day, and they are AWESOME. 130 calories per bag & 6 grams of fiber. and very satisfying if you're craving something sweet.

still rawsome?

alright. so despite my lack of posting, because of a mind boggling amount of school and work, i've been trying to be healthy. trying being the operative word. this has been difficult.

while i'm not training for a marathon anymore (though i am signed up to do another half NEXT weekend, which maybe is a mistake), and have done hardly any running since disney, i'm slowly feeling myself crumble away. is all this hard work slipping? school and work have proven to be incredibly overwhelming, yet i do not have the means to support myself without a job, and this job, as crazy as my early mornings are, does provide a sense of stress relief(or maybe more stress, i don't know) just to keep my mind off of other things.

while i'm going to spinning class, and trying to catch a yoga class here and there (which is what i really need), i'm having a really hard time managing my time... and therefore, having a hard time managing what i eat. i fear that most of my sheer exhaustion comes from the fact that i'm not eating raw, or totally raw due to just going for what's 'easy' instead of really thinking about what i'm shoveling in my mouth. most mornings and lunches i start off great, but come 2 or 3pm when i've been up since 4 in the morning i start to crash and that's when i lose it.

my stomach, which i think is mostly from anxiety, has still been bothering me lately. stress will do that to you. after keeping a pretty religious food journal, tracking how i'm feeling after i eat, dates
seem to be the one thing that really bothers my stomach (besides what i create myself). this does cause a problem, as dates are a base for almost all raw food bars, dips, etc. in a raw food diet. but i'm trying to work my way around it. i've ruled out nuts, and also the issue i was having with hummus: now i make it at home and my stomach is okay: just a forewarning, be careful with new blades on the food processor, i probably should have gone to the hospital for a stitch or two on my thumb.

i have joined the jillian michaels website (affordable, something like $10 a month), which is great for weightlifting training for my not so strong arms, and i have lost another 2 pounds, still teetering on that 20 pound mark. i keep going back and forth between 17/19 pounds. all i can try to do is take it day by day, and really try to stick with it. sometimes, it's hard with no live in support system. this blogging outlet keeps me somewhat sane.