I apologize to all of our blog followers, We have been moving and haven’t been able to keep up with the blog. We were dealing with packing, moving company, and another sewage overflow. It is so amazing to free ourselves … Continue reading
We chalked up a W for thanksgiving (my football team and our cooking). It does not matter if you are vegan or an extreme carnivore, the day after thanksgiving is characterized by a smorgasbord of leftovers!
Shelby spent the night and I woke her and Danielle up to the sound of the Vitamix blender roaring at full throttle. This is a great way to get everyone up and going in the morning! However I might have woken some of the neighbors up as well. Heck, everyone deserves to get an early start to the day!
So after a delicious smoothie we were off to the beach. The waves were pretty good as they were the day before. I would call it about 6 to 8 foot at Blacks Beach with some 10 foot clean up sets.
Blacks Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world! It also happens to be one of the best beach breaks in the world. The only catch is you have to walk down a very steep cliff for 20 minutes to get there. They also have a road for the cautious which is also very steep. After walking down, surfing, and then walking back up, we were all pretty hungry.
We decided to go to our friend Kevin’s restaurant in La Jolla. It’s called Extreme Pizza. We had the Pandoras box. It has spinach, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, garlic, fresh basil, oregano and mozzarella (tomato sauce upon request, no charge). We substituted soy cheese for the feta and mozzarella and added tomato sauce and it was the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life! Better than all of the pizzas that I have had with regular cheese on them. All of the ingredients tasted so fresh and powerful. If your in La Jolla check it out- LaJolla.extremepizza.com
Kevin has an aeroponics system on his patio that grows a lot of the vegetables that he uses as ingredients on his pizzas.
For all of you that have never seen an aeroponic systems before, check it out…
It is like hydroponics but instead of having a tray that the plants sit in and the water and nutrients ebb and flows, the plants are planted up the tower and their roots are all growing down the center cylinder. A pump then brings the water and nutrients up from the reservoir to the top of the tower and drips it down on the roots. It can be operated nearly maintenance free with timers. All you have to do is add water and nutrients. Very cool. It is a great way to conserve space as well.
We were excited about dinner all day. We knew we had a lot of yummy leftovers to work with. Danielle pan fried some toast with a little olive oil. Then she heated up the potatoes, carrots, onions, and turkey-less roast, and put it over the toast. Finally she poured the heated up gravy over it all for a fantastic, southern style, open-faced sandwich. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. I bet yours is too! We gobbled it down with out saving room for desert, but then we ate pumpkin pie.
I know that Danielle already talked about the pumpkin pie. However, words can not do this recipe justice. I love pie! I would put money on the fact that anybody who knows their pie and tried some of this pie would fall in love. Imagine regular pumpkin pie, only with way more significant flavors. We talked earlier about how ginger helps the assimilation of nutrients in our bodies. It also is believed in Ayurvedic circles that it creates a strong synergy with all the nutrients it is combined with. In other words it makes the nutrients work together to create something bigger than themselves. I think it also creates a synergy of ingredients and the way that they taste. I could taste each ingredient as I euphorically dissected the flavors of this amazing new pumpkin pie. Each so distinct and rich. Thank you Danielle! You shall forever cook our pies! I am a happy man! Chalk up another W!
Travis and I have gotten through 7 days of this VEGAN CHALLENGE! We are feeling really good and very optimistic about it! I was sent the following and I wanted to share: It’s from Dr. Fuhrman’s website (he is an amazing nutritionalist that was in the movie Fat, Sick , and nearly dead: we watched it tonight!)
What is a Nutritarian?
Simply put, a nutritarian is a person who strives for more micronutrients per calorie in their diet-style. A nutritarian understands that food has powerful disease-protecting and therapeutic effects and seeks to consume a broad array of micronutrients via their food choices. It is not sufficient to merely avoid fats, consume foods with a low glycemic index, lower the intake of animal products, or eat a diet of mostly raw foods. A truly healthy diet must be micronutrient rich and the micronutrient richness must be adjusted to meet individual needs. The foods with the highest micronutrient per calorie scores are green vegetables, colorful vegetables, and fresh fruits. For optimal health and to combat disease, it is necessary to consume enough of these foods that deliver the highest concentration of nutrients.
A nutritarian is a person whose food choices are influenced by nutritional quality.
Now this sounds like something we really like! Why not evaluate what types of foods you are putting into your body?! I want to live a long and healthy life and eating healthy is a HUGE step towards that goal.
So, we woke up really early for an appointment we had. Travis threw together a fast Acai Bowl that was ASTONISHING! I sure love my husband so much and I’m super impressed with his skills in the kitchen! Here is his Acai Bowl Recipe:
Travis’ Acai Bowl Recipe:
2 Packets of Organic Sambazon Acai Berry and Guarana Smoothie Packets(run them under warm water for a couple minutes, if frozen, to loosen)
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup of organic apple juice
1/2 cup of frozen strawberries (blueberries are the best, but we were out of them)
1 tablespoon of honey
Organic Granola.
He threw it all in the Vitamix and hit the frozen smoothie setting… then we put the granola on top. Words can’t even describe how delicious this was! Acai berry is so high in antioxidants and the taste is wonderful.
We knew we would be gone for awhile, so I grabbed some of my homemade trail mix (see recipe below) and an apple for the road.
Danielle’s Homemade Trail Mix:
3 cups of roasted almonds
1 cup of dried organic cranberries
1 cup of semi-sweet vegan chocolates
1/2-1 cup of organic sunflower seeds
Toss together. SO GOOD!
After our errands, we came home and I was super hungry. I threw together a pasta, spinach, garlic, and tomato sauce dish. It was very simple, but very tasty!
Travis and I decided to make dinner together, so I worked on the butternut squash and he worked on the Jalapeno and Cilantro Hummus.
Since we made hummus the other day and it turned out so amazing, I suggested he use the Tahini paste that we have so much of. So he did, and it turned out horrible. I guess the Tahini paste wasn’t called for in this recipe. I felt a bit guilty for suggesting it, but Travis is always so sweet and just kept trying to make it better. Needless to say, I won’t post that recipe until we perfect it! It’s all about working towards the same goal: eating healthy and tasty food, right? I decided to make a butternut squash bake and it turned out great!
Danielle’s Butternut Squash Bake:
3 cups of chopped butternut squash (large chunks)
4 tablespoons of water
2-3 tablespoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the squash in a 8×8 dish and add the water.
Once the oven is preheated, put the dish in for 20 minutes (uncovered)
Remove and add the honey, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Put back in the oven for 20 more minutes.
*Make sure to check every 10 minutes throughout cooking and stir the squash to ensure they are getting fully cooked.
THIS WAS WONDERFUL! Sweet, but hearty and healthy!
Travis and I were pretty bummed out about the turnout of the hummus, but he still ate some with corn chips. I tried, but couldn’t stomach it… so we threw together a quick green smoothie with Basil! The basil was Travis’ idea and it turned out DELISH! Here is the recipe:
Travis and Danielle’s Basil and Spinach Smoothie Treat:
1/2 cup organic basil
2 cups of organic spinach
4 clementines
1 orange
1 tablespoon of organic orange juice concentrate
We just put the Frozen Smoothie setting on the VITAMIX and let that bad boy do the job! It was VERY basil-ish, but after the first few sips, it was so good. Travis loved it!
Since we have been so into documentaries lately, we wanted to watch the one many people have been talking about: Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. If you haven’t seen it, DO IT! It is truly an amazing story and some really good points and statistics. Travis and Bella looked so cute cuddling on the couch, I had to take a picture…
After the movie, we ended up falling to sleep pretty early because this is the first Friday night that we didn’t have to run our hot dog cart company, since we sold it on Weds. I have noticed that we have been sleeping a lot better and I don’t feel nearly as bloated as I use to, while eating meats and dairy. I know for a fact this has to do with our new challenge of eating Vegan. I can’t wait to see what the days ahead bring. We are leaving for our up the coast and cross country trip in 2 weeks! I think it will be very interesting to see how well we do with traveling and trying to eat this healthy. We are always up for new challenges and look forward to it!
Thank you for reading.
TheKnewstepsJourney 