Red Beans & Rice and Energy Balls

I am a big fan of one-pot meals, especially ones I can put in the rice cooker and leave them to do their thing.  The other night I threw a cup of brown rice, a can of rinsed kidney beans, a cup of canned coconut milk, a cup of water, my leftover three-ingredient tomato sauce, and half a veggie bullion cube in the rice cooker.

Along with about 1/4 cup of split peas, because well why not?

About 40 minutes later I had the creamiest, mildly tomato-y, protein packed red beans and rice, that I served with some leftover brussels sprouts.

That same night I wanted to create a little somethin’ somethin’ healthy but snacky, and I threw together these quick energy balls, based on a recipe from the loveliest Kristina!

I stirred together a cup of peanut butter, 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, and 2 tablespoons cacao powder until a doughy substance came together.

Then I poured in some millet puffs, probably 1/3 to 1/2 cup.

I formed a big ball out of it all.

And pieced that out into smaller snack-size balls.

I suspected the millet puffs might get soggy from the applesauce, and I was right, but they still taste fine!  Next time I’ll probably use oats or something more hearty as the add in.

Tomorrow I’ll be showing you a couple of awwwwwwesome dips I made, and my first attempt at using chard leaves for wraps!

I’m drawing a blank on a question for you all… so, uh… tell me some good news!  Or a joke. Or your favorite quote.  Just talk to me.  I love you guys.  🙂

❤ C

Gluten-Free Breakfast Pizzert

Yesterday morning I woke up craving something new, and finally wanted to try my hand at making Katie‘s breakfast pizzert, with a gluten-free twist!

I busted out two new products for experimenting.

I mixed up all my ingredients (recipe below).

Put it in my greased pie dish.

And popped it in the oven… only to realize 4 minutes in that I forgot the baking powder, doh!  I removed it from the oven and furiously whisked in my baking powder, which I think disrupted the coconut oil spray I used to grease the dish, because once baking was complete I had quite the difficult time removing this one!

So it came out more of a mess than a pizzert, but still tasted totally delicious.  I topped this one with a sauce I made out of peanut flour, water, salt, and vanilla stevia drops.  Not one to stand for defeat, I tried again in the afternoon!

This one was prepared properly, but I think I should have let it cool before removing it from the dish, as I still had a bit of trouble getting it out.  Or maybe it’s the glass pie dish?  Or the GF flour?  Much fluffier than the last though!

Despite the fluffy appearance, these babies kept me FULL.  The first pizzert actually kept me going for over 5 hours before I got hungry, and I snacked on and off on the second one in the late afternoon and evening.  Amazing staying power!  The second one was topped with a slightly different sauce, peanut flour whisked into some plain coconut milk yogurt and a little bit of coconut milk kefir added to thin it.

This was also my first time experimenting with the NuNaturals stevia baking blend, and I loved it!  I used 2 teaspoons to sweeten the first pizzert and 1 teaspoon in the second, and both were totally amazing, just the second one being substantially less sweet than the first. Also, I know a lot of GF baked goods turn out better if you add xanthan gum (which the Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose GF flour does not have added), but since that is already an ingredient in the baking blend I didn’t add any additional, and the texture of the pizzert was delightful!

I am posting my version of the recipe, with Katie’s permission of course!

Gluten Free Breakfast Pizzert

• 1/2 cup all purpose GF flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1 tsp baking powder (don’t forget 😉 )
• 1-2 tsp NuNaturals Stevia Baking Blend (can sub appropriate amount of stevia drops or real sugar if desired)
• slightly under 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 tbsp peanut butter (I used Valencia crunchy)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional, I put this in the second version)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup frozen blueberries

Mix all your ingredients together, pour into a greased pie plate, and bake in an UNpreheated oven at 420° for 10-15 minutes (both of mine took 15). Top with whatever your heart desires.  🙂  (And obviously you can switch up the fruit, leave out the peanut butter, use a different nut better, etc.)

Thanks, Katie!  I am in LOVE with the pizzert!

I made some more GF bread yesterday too.  I used flax eggs this time (only because I was out of regular eggs), and the bread came out doughier and didn’t rise as high.  Still delicious, but I prefer the version made with eggs!

And I just have to share another yogurt mess I ate on Saturday (same as the one from WIAW) mainly because I think the pictures are pretty.  🙂

I am having fun experimenting with GF baking and look forward to trying new recipes.  To the experienced GF bakers out there, any tips for me?

❤ C

Pizza and Groceries

Friday night Alex and I went on a dinner date to a local pizza place, Promise Pizza.  We’ve eaten there a few times in the past, always delighted with their pizza, but this time I was on a mission to try their gluten-free crust!

I ordered some mint and honey tea… this flavor is always so refreshing and not too sweet.

Waiting for the pizza to arrive… I’m excited!

Heaven in pizza form! I ordered mushroom and pineapple with Daiya mozz on the GF crust.

It was absolute pizza perfection!  The crust was thin and very tasty.  I ordered a medium and polished off the whole thing!

Alex was pretty proud of his all the meats concoction.

After our pizza excursion, we continued our date by doing what every couple on a date does after pizza… we went to the grocery store!  What?  You guys actually go to the movies or something?

Sprouts was having a sale on beans, so I stocked up on chickpeas.

A new vanilla GF cereal?  Sold.  And Puffins, of course.

A horribly yellow photo of some snack bars.

Chips and cookies for FREE (yay coupons!)?  A little splurge is always nice.

Some red chard… I’ll be making some raw wraps soon!

Some GF crackers that I can take to school for snacks, and I have eventual baking plans for those pretzels.

The powdered sugar and turbinado were on clearance for 99 cents.  Done and done!  I got a couple new flours to play around with and some white chocolate chips for a project I’m working on next weekend.

My So Delicious trifecta of awesome.

A new simmer sauce I haven’t tried before that was on sale and some bulk sunflower seeds, also in sale.

And some Tom’s deodorant (the apricot smell is awesome!) and some fiber pills that were on clearance (because fiber rules).

Alex’s work schedule and my work and school schedule don’t jive well at the moment, so even going to the grocery store with him is welcome time together.  ❤

Do you enjoy grocery shopping with your significant other?

❤ C

My Accent Vlog

Hey guys, back with another post today.  First and foremost, I want to thank you all for your kind comments on my new header!  I have the loveliest Jenn from Peas & Crayons to thank for designing this brilliant button (from when I won her button giveaway, and which I still haven’t embedded in the side of my blog, but I will!).

Yesterday with the snow day I got inspired to use it to make a new header, did a TON of Google searching, and with a lot of trial and error finally put together the new header in Photoshop all by myself (which is indeed quite an accomplishment!).  Eventually I am actually going to hire Jenn to do some serious blog design overhaul for me (and you should too if your blog needs a spruce up, because she’s talented and amazing and the bestest!), but in the meantime I am content with my new header!  I still can’t believe I pulled it off.  🙂

Check out this sad pup.

My little Rambo-man exacerbated a prior back injury when he slipped on some ice on the back porch steps last night.  I was up with him all night trying to get him as comfortable as possible and able to rest, and it took a pretty hefty dose of doggy Tramadol to finally get him to relax.  He’s still very uncomfortable and riddled with muscle spasms, and I took the day off from school to be with him and keep him still.  Please send some healing vibes this way for the little guy!

I’ve been seeing the Accent Vlog pop up around the ‘sphere recently (Lee, Jessica, and Allie to name a few), and I decided to do my own!

Here’s the list of words and questions so you can follow along.

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped
body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry
groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

I think all of you guys should do this… I am having a blast putting voices to faces! 🙂

I am going to go cuddle with my injured pup some more.  Be back tomorrow with some groceries and a pizza date recap!

❤ C

I Heart Snacks

I’m not a big fan of being hungry, so consequently I am a huge fan of snacks.  Here are a few snacks I’ve enjoyed over the past couple days.

It’s no secret I love the Stretch Island Fruit Strips, but when Heather put peanut butter on them the other day, I was baffled why I hadn’t already thought of that and knew I must recreate it immediately!

Lurrrrved it!!

Last night I had some lovely dessert hummus (although I think calling it hummus might be offputting to some folks, so maybe we should call it sweet chickpea spread or something) on the last slice of my gluten-free bread.

And a nice hot cup of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and vanilla stevia.

I also made some banana sandwiches a la Janetha.

Cute and delicious!

And a few more snow pictures from yesterday’s freak occurrence!

The bestieroomie and I made a teeny snowman.

Rambo braved the snow for a couple minutes and played with Lucy.

But then he needed some warming up when we came back inside!

And Lucy doesn’t like to play fetch, but she likes to carry all the toys around.

Silly baby.

I hope your Saturday is full of awesome and good times!

❤ C

Snow Day!

I know for many people across the country the snow is getting old or is at least a common occurrence, but down here in Austin where we hardly ever get any, snow is EXCITING!

It started last night with some ice flurries, which I only knew was going on because I read about it on Facebook. 🙂

You can’t even really see them in the picture I took of myself.

As I was getting into bed around 2 a.m. (my inner night person has been ruling my sleep patterns lately), it occurred to me that I could hear it snowing. I ran back downstairs, and it was definitely coming down harder.

And this morning we went outside to THIS!

Hehehe, my roommate had already been out to play!

She made a snow angel.

The dogs checking it all out.

Lucy loved the snow!

Check her out in action!

Meanwhile, Rambo did his business and wanted right back inside.

Where he could just lick the snow that got tracked in off the floor.

I went to take a peek out front.

Neighbors and dogs obviously walked through our yard!

Purple Bird Blog, baby.

And with that, I have to WORK.  Working from home doesn’t excuse a person from the snow day, doh!  Hopefully the snow will clear out enough that me and Alex can go on our planned date for tonight out for pizzzzza (to a place with GF crust options and Daiya, woohoo!). Have a great day everyone!

Do you like snow?

❤ C

Lentils and Hummus, As Promised

Last night I promised you guys I would talk about the lentil bake and the dessert hummus I made, and I’m here to make good on that promise.

As soon as I read HEAB’s post yesterday about the curried lentil dish she copied out of a magazine in a waiting room, I knew it was dinner destiny.

I also used a sweet potato instead of a butternut squash, and I also upped the content of the chili powder, but I subbed garlic for the ginger.

McSteamy.

I love the flavor of curry and sweet potatoes together, and the lentils made for a very hearty dish.   The coconut and cinnamon really tied it all together.  I will definitely be making this again!

And for dessert, I had big plans for this guy.

I jumped on Evan’s dessert hummus bandwagon and made the peanut butter chocolate chip version, with a couple tweaks of my own.  More on that in a minute.

I set up my hummus skin peeling station.  Wanna take a trip into my warped mind?  The whole time I was doing this, I felt like I was circumcising each little chickpea.

Bowl of chickpea foreskins?  Yeah, I’ve got maaaaaaddddd issues, I know.

I put all my ingredients in the food processor, subbing vanilla bean paste for the vanilla extract and adding 1/4 teaspoon of salt, hoping this would up the cookie dough-esque factor of the dish.

I held that mini-Cuisinart button with all I had.

This came together pretty quick, but I blended for a good while to make sure all little chunks were pulverized. Once it was all homogeneous (to steal an Evan word), I folded in carob chips rather than chocolate chips, as I’ve really been loving on some carob lately. Love that maltiness!

This is smack yo’ mama good.

First taste bliss face.  Kudos for a truly delicious recipe, Evan!

I had a spoonful of it as a mid morning snack.

And lunch was a lentil bake burrito.

Served on a brown rice tortilla and with a hefty squirt of Sriracha.

And accompanied by some brussels topped with coconut oil and Southwestern Chipotle Mrs. Dash.

Heavenly indeed.

And because this post obviously doesn’t have enough photos in it already, here are my lovepups.

What’s your favorite way to prepare lentils?

❤ C

What I Ate Wednesday

Time for another installment of What I Ate Wednesday, courtesy of the lovely Jenn at Peas and Crayons!

Breakfast

A yogurt mess!  I whisked together some coconut milk yogurt, almond milk, and peanut flour, and stirred in one mini pouch of 18 Rabbits granola, 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries, and a small blob of Valencia peanut butter.  This was FANTASTIC and kept me full for hours!

Lunch

Pasta leftovers and a rice cake with almond butter and cranberry apple butter.

Afternoon Snack

My first Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabar.

Verdict?  Delicious, but I like the Cookie Dough flavor better.  🙂

Dinner

I snacked on a piece of bread when I got home from yoga while I was making dinner.

A lentil/sweet potato bake and some dessert hummus. I will totally detail both of these in a post tomorrow.  Both were crazygood.

Not Pictured

A cup of coffee with stevia and almond milk this morning with breakfast, my usual supplements, a bunch of water, and an individual squeeze pack of Barney Butter that I ate in the car on the way to yoga.

Last week’s WIAW installment.

What was the best thing you ate today?

❤ C

Can you substitute brussels sprouts for meatballs?

Hahaha, not really, but they were the only ball-like component in my pasta dish last night!

Please forgive the crappy quality of that picture… my camera died at the very moment I snapped it.  I’m honestly surprised anything was captured at all!

I made an extremely simple but flavorful tomato sauce out of a can of tomato paste, a cup of veggie broth, and 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, whisked in a small pot until combined.

I cooked some of this pasta.  Verdict?  I like the brown rice vermicelli I got at the Asian market better than this, but it wasn’t bad.

I steamed some brussels (camera photo taken after my other camera died).  I don’t know why I was craving steamed whole sprouts vs roasted or sauteed last night, but I was. Mind you, very gently steamed so they were still brilliant green and slightly crunchy.

I found a random snap pea in the bag of sprouts!  I love when that happens… the healthier version of finding a french fry in your order of tater tots!  🙂

The final component in my meal… some baby clams.

I’ve got to get better about charging my camera more often so I don’t have to use the camera phone.  Looks less than appetizing, but I assure you it was delicious.

I’ll try to be back tonight with another post for What I Ate Wednesday!

Do you have a recipe for homemade tomato sauce?

❤ C

Tofu Scramble

I had some leftover cubed tofu from the other night that was begging to be used up, so I made my first tofu scramble yesterday for lunch. Forgive the little burnt crunchy onions… I turned my back to do some dishes, oops.  Still delicious.

I sauteed burnt some onions in some olive oil, added the crumbled tofu, and sprinkled everything with the lovely chipotle Mrs. Dash seasoning that Heather sent me (I looooove this stuff!).  I sauteed the tofu for a couple minutes and then topped a microwaved sweet potato with the scramble.

Quick and tasty!

Dinner last night?  Umm… some GF crackers, a blob of hummus, a couple pickle spears, and some tortilla chips topped with jalapenos.  I was tired when I got home from class at 11… you can’t win em all!  😉

Moving on.

Breakfast this morning was of course more of my lovely, dreamy bread.

I can’t get enough of it.

Another crazypants day… gotta run!  What’s the lamest dinner you’ve had recently?

❤ C