Instagram Love

October 8, 2013 By Laura

Instagram has turned into a mini-blog for me.

Another opportunity to over-share is always fun.

In keeping with my “trying to cut back and find balance,” this post is short and sweet. I wanted to pop in quickly today to say thank you. Thank you for participating in all the blogiversary fun last week. Thank you for reading. Thank you for constantly inspiring me.

And thank you for braving my recipes. However #strangebutgood some are.

Laura gave my Tomato Brownies the thumbs up. With chocolate proyo – great add!
Maren made my Pumpkin Pan-lettes and topped it with a lovely peanut sauce
Allie declared my Thai Peanut Roasted Kabocha genius!
Cheryl tried my Raspberry Baked Oatmeal and reported they were “delicious!” (Side note: I love making a big batch and stroring them in the freezer for a quick breakfast – same with the Sweet Potato version.)
Megan (who has braved a LOT – thank you!) recently made my Microwave Protein Zucchini Bread and topped it with an almond milk-inspired ice cream
Heather tried the Tomato Brownies too! These ladies are making me crave another batch!

Show them some love with an Instragram follow. You will be inspired. Their feeds are straight up #foodporn.

One more “gift”…

The giveaway with the most entries was for Growing Naturals, my favorite vegan protein powder. They were so excited about the response that they are offering a 30% discount to you guys!

Order via their website and enter code SPRINT30 at checkout.

***

I was telling my trainer last night how much more focused and inspired I am with this prep (finally). I owe a lot to the comments and support from this community. Thank YOU again. 🙂

Are you sometimes surprised by how much your Internet/blog friends inspire you?

What blogger/Instagram recipes have you tried lately? Link it up!

You’re Off to Great Places + Growing Naturals Giveaway

October 3, 2013 By Laura

I’m addicted to the powder.

Not that powder. Where are your minds?! Shame!

Protein powder, bro. I have high standards:

NOT grainy or chalky
Not full of sugar or loaded with a billion carbs
Must actually taste like the flavor on the label
Ingredient lists need to be recognizable and short
Must contain at least 20g of protein

I have tried them all. Today, I am SO excited that my #1 favorite protein powder of all time, Growing Naturals, has agreed to join in the Blogiversary week celebration. They meet my high standards and then some… they are even soy-free and vegan!

The chocolate rice powder really does impart a chocolate taste. It’s perfect in my Mocha Beet Frapp. The vanilla was just the right amount of flavor to make my Plantain Ginger Bread taste like a warm treat.

I’m getting wordy. It’s Kat’s turn to blog today. Just click here for more on why they rock. Or, for proof, know that ~~beg~~ seek them out to sponsor me at Blend and do giveaways… I want everyone to try it! 😉

Sooooo… here’s the schwag one of you will WIN (giveaway entry at the bottom – US only, along with winners for Monday and Tuesday’s giveaways!):

Speaking of protein… my girl Kat is going to need plenty to fuel the race she’s running this weekend. Check her out and wish her luck below!!!

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You’re off to great places!

(by: Kat)

I’m leaving for my 100 mile race in Pennsylvania today. Yes, 100 miles, 32 hour time limit. I’m trying not to try to figure out how fast I have to run each mile to finish in under 30 hours, under 28 hours, etc. I really just want to finish. (Editor’s note: You are officially my hero.)

I’m scared, and I even emailed the race director to see if I could defer my entry ‘til next year. He said no, so I’m going. Eeeeeeek!

This has brought up serious insecurity. Why do my friends believe I can do this more than I believe in myself? My new mantra on my runs has inspired some confidence in me. I’ve been telling myself, “I am strong, I am injury-free, and I can do this!”

It really does help me re-frame and know my body is capable and my mind is yearning for the … what? (Editor’s note: This is so true. I do it in lifting. It’s amazing what positive self-talk can do to your physical abilities… and you know I’m not the touch-y feel-y type.) Maybe a break-through, maybe a break-down. Sometimes we need a little of both.

I plan on taking good care of myself, and Wednesday night was all about packing carefully, and preparing my food/necessities. With 100 miles on foot, you have to think: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and more calories. (Editor’s note: Meal time is my favorite!)

I also have to think about injury prevention, which means lights, batteries, keeping myself warm. I have to honor the body that allows me to even attempt this kind of challenge. I am so grateful to have a healthy body that allows me to push myself physically to achieve something mentally.

I also need to mention that waiting for my bar results has been a terrible waiting period, and I keep getting asked about the date for results which makes me a little batty. It’s October 28^th. Results October 28^th. (Editor’s note: We are going to celebrate hard core! I know you OWNED it!)

Right now, I’m wound up tight, and so are my finances. I’m so grateful for everything I have right now, including my Cold Life Organics deliveries, which save me money and allow me to experiment.

A few experiments lately include this parsnip-cauliflower puree and stuffed red bell peppers. They are both so easy I didn’t initially think of them as a blog post. But they are unique, delicious recipes that helped me to think outside the box.

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Parsnip-Cauliflower Puree

3 large parsnips, cut roughly into ¼ inch pieces
½ head cauliflower, cut roughly into ¼ inch pieces
½ Vidalia onion, diced
4 large cloves of garlic, chopped
Salt, to taste
1-2 T coconut oil
3 T butter
¼ C coconut milk

Saute onion, garlic, cauliflower, and parsnips in the coconut oil until it is generally soft-ish. You should easily be able to pierce the parsnips with a fork.

Add saute to a food processor and puree. Add coconut milk, butter, and salt to taste.

The parsnips give the cauliflower puree a floral taste that isn’t overwhelming. It’s a fun substitute for mashed potatoes that will leave your guests wondering. It’s gluten free, and can be made vegan by substituting the butter for your favorite butter substitute. It’s also lower carb and lower calorie, if you’re going for that! I served it with a little salad and chicken.

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

1/4 lb ground anti-biotic free chicken
1/4 C rice, uncooked.
2 red bell peppers
1 C marinara sauce
1/4 yellow onion
1 T coconut oil
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 green bell pepper
1/8 C nutritional yeast

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut the tops off of bell peppers, and clean out seeds. Boil water and cook the bell peppers in the water for about 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook rice according to package instructions. Set aside.

Saute green pepper, onion, and garlic in the coconut oil, add the chicken and continue to saute until just cooked, but not dried out.

Stir in marinara and nutritional yeast.

Stuff peppers with the mixture and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I put cheese on top of one, and not on top of the other. Both were delicious. They’re gluten free and can easily been made vegan by eliminating/substituting the chicken for TVP. These were so easy and tasty, and they brought back childhood memories for my dinner partner. We love nostalgic food. We both also added additional nutritional yeast as a condiment while we ate.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check back at the NuNaturals and Muesli Fusion giveaways for the winners!

***

Good luck KAT!!!! P.S. You guys come back tomorrow. It’s a giveaway I put together myself of my favorite most-used items. 🙂

What easy recipes/meals do you forget to share because they are just so easy?

What challenges are scary to you lately, and how do you keep yourself going?

Getting Big is Marvelous

August 26, 2013 By Laura

This weekend was especially marvelous.

Not that all weekends aren’t good.

After several weeks in a row of go-go-go, it was nice to be in town and left to my own devices. One might say it was absolutely marvelous.

Click the image for Katie’s Marvelous Monday link up!

Saturday I had brunch with some friends from grad school. We had a great time catching up and resolved (again) not to go some long without a reunion.

On my way home, I stopped at The Fresh Market and picked up a few treats. Apparently I was feeling ginger?

Then I hit the gym. Hard. I am finally feeling comfortable lifting again, and seeing some good progress. A guy I don’t know, but had seen around for a year or so know agreed… he stopped to tell me I was making some good progress and looked a lot bigger than I did a year ago. ~~I almost hugged him.~~

Just a couple of years ago I would have killed someone for telling me I look big. On Saturday I was flattered and thrilled. So much so that I had a photo shoot in the locker room… paying no mind to the lady changing and giving me the “WTF?!” look. #sorryimnotsorry

When I got home, I had a package. The timing couldn’t have been better. It was a delivery of my favorite protein powder from Growing Naturals!

I immediately busted out the vanilla and made a smoothie with spinach and raw sweet potato. It was good, but I want to perfect before sharing.

That night I went to see an artist I used to listen to in college – Melissa Ferrick. The group of friends was totally random; they all responded to my plea for a concert buddy via Facebook. Crowd sourcing concert buddies. 🙂

The venus is a listening room where there are tables and a full menu. I brought my own food in. It was really good! And I saved some carbs to have a Guinness. The best part about bringing your own healthy food to a show? Coming home to a healthy dessert in an almost empty Greek yogurt container! This was my favorite Carrot Cake Protein Batter, topped with granola and cocoa powder sauce.

Sunday I got up and made my Fluffy Cauliflower Protein Pancakes and a broiled grapefruit. Is it just me or are pancakes are the perfect way to start the day?

I semi-homemade my own syrup. It was 1 tsp sugar-free syrup, 1 tsp peanut flour, cinnamon, and a little water to thin. I’ll be doing that again!

There was a little snafu. I left to run errands and forgot to turn off the stove. The black beans I was cooking for the week turned to a char. Oops.

No matter! I had a date with some new friends to run sprints up Stone Mountain! Even more fun was getting to introduce them to my favorite market, where I bought some things to make the dish below.

I will share later. Bwhahaha…

***

In other marvelous news, it was actually sunny and warm in Atlanta most of the weekend. A nice change after our monsoon season.

What do you do with a “do what you want,” agenda-free weekend?

What was the last thing you burned? After burning those beans, my condo smelled like a giant fart. 🙁

Strange But Good: Microwave Protein Zucchini Bread

May 31, 2013 By Laura

I have an unintentional pattern of behavior.

Let’s be honest… I have several patterns: wake up, eat, workout, eat more, sleep.

This particular pattern is a recipe development pattern. I make something with carrot. Then I make it with zucchini. What can I say? I play favorites!

Even though I’d made the carrot version, I thought zucchini could qualify for #strangebugood. Mostly because my Southern family would stare, mouths open, at the thought of making a healthy zucchini bread. If that wasn’t enough, the sight of it cooking in the microwave would send them over the edge.

It does work, and it solves a common problem when microwave baking – the problem of dry mug cakes. With the added moisture from the zucchini, your cake will be almost juicy. In a good way.

For the protein, I wanted to use something super-clean that added a good vanilla flavor. Clean protein powders have become increasingly important to me after reading (and being shocked by) the ingredient list of a popular powder that shall remain nameless. That’s why I REALLY happy to have found Growing Naturals. You can read more about them here.

This small company sponsored part of my Blend trip, and I was able to share some with a few of the ladies there. However, there wasn’t enough for EVERYONE and what about those that couldn’t go? Growing Naturals is generously offering a discount code – “SPRINT30” – for 30% off your first purchase any product through until July 31!

I think these guys were excited about clean protein at Blend too!

Microwave Protein Zucchini Bread

Based on my Microwave Protein Carrot Cake recipe.

1/2 C grated zucchini (90g)
1 scoop Growing Naturals Rice Vanilla Protein Powder (or 31g scoop of your preferred)
1/4 tsp no sodium baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 egg white
1 T applesauce (no sugar added, can also use pumpkin puree)
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp butter extract (optional)
~8-9 drops NuNaturals lemon liquid stevia
“Icing” (see below)

Grate zucchini, squeeze out excess moisture, and set aside.

Place dry ingredients in bowl and stir to combine. Stir in wet ingredients. Mix in grated zucchini.

Transfer to a greased (I use PAM) cereal bowl and microwave for 2-2.5 mins (mine took 2:15). Tip the cake out onto a plate and top as desired.

My cake was topped with a cheese cake icing made by combining Greek yogurt with cinnamon, ginger, cake batter drops, and stevia.

Makes 1 cake.

Approximate Nutritionals (will vary based on protein powder used): 154 calories, 2.1g fat, 183.7mg sodium, 13.4g carbohydrates, 0.7g fiber, 6g sugar, 24.5g protein.

How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week?

The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends!

Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂

***

This weekend is Atlanta’s Food & Wine Festival. I’m so exctied I can barely stand myself!

What are your unintentional (or intentional) patterns?

Have you tried mug cakes? What’s your favorite recipe?

What I Ate at Blend

May 22, 2013 By Laura

Everyone in a while you meet total strangers who aren’t.

I swear that made sense in my head…

I hope I’m not the only one that feel like they “know” bloggers. So many of the fabulous ladies I met at Blend this past weekend are bloggers I’ve been reading for so long that I felt like they were my “real” friends already!

First, I have to say a huge THANK YOU to Janetha, Lindsay (with credits for the following pic), and Katie for putting together another life-changing weekend!

Heather, Me, and Lindaay

Second, I owe a big thanks to Growing Naturals for sponsoring me at the retreat. These guys are truly a great example of a small business offering good, clean products.

I was so thrilled to share their pea and rice protein powders and their protein drink mixes with my friends. More on their products here.

I know Bonnie was extra-excited to try this after the 9 mile run they did in the chilly Park CIty rain!

My friend Heather already used hers and shared a pic on Instagram:

It was also the start of my first post-workout recovery meal.

The vanilla rice protein was fabulous in my green smoothie (extra spinach!) topped with Muesli Fusion:

Stay tuned – this fall they are coming out with a new addition to their protein/supplement line – yummy greens to throw into shakes!!!

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Rather than a “traditional” WIAW post, today is all about What I Ate at Blend! We were totally spoiled all weekend, and I’m still enjoying all the tasty schwag-bag selections at home. 🙂

Check out my eats with my Blends below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see what delicious foods everyone else is enjoying!

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Friday:

We arrived at the hotel excited and famished from travel. Famished. The schwag gods were smiling though… check out all the goodies we had to munch on: protein from Vega, Zevia, SoyJoys, a Lara Bar, muesli and granola from Bob’s Red Mill, Attune Foods chocolates, Healthy Bites (so in love)…. and more!

After a photo ops, we gabbed, snacked… and headed to event #1: a pre-happy hour with Justin’s Nut Butter! I was careful to sample everything, but stopped for a pic with one of the lovely organizers – Katie!

My top butters were: Maple Peanut and Chocolate Hazelnut. They were even better on Attune Foods graham crackers. All I needed was some apple juice.

The kind folks at Silk must have wanted to make absolutely sure the Blends were happy, so they set up a Happy Hour where we could unwind from travel ~~and begin the photo-taking frenzy~~. Heather was patient enough to take a gorgeous pic of her ginger-Silk drink.

There was also an amazing buffet of black bean cakes, veggie summer rolls, and cute veggie sticks in jars (how did they know bloggers like Mason jars?!). Let’s pretend like I didn’t attack this… the temptation was too tasty and I couldn’t wait until dinner! Plus, we all know it’s bad to drink on an empty tummy. 😉

Dinner itself was off the chain. It was a buffet… but a good buffet. Normally I’m anti due to the rogue dirty hands and food sitting out too long. That didn’t happen here. My Blends were nice and clean, and the hotel staff couldn’t have done a better job and keeping the food refreshed.

There were salad options, quinoa patties, roasted veggies, chicken breasts, and lemon-y fish filets. There was literally something for everyone! And it was all good!

No dinner is complete without dessert! there was Chobani panna cotta, apple pie, and berry tarts.

A few of us decided to split all 3… which I graciously finished off. Starving kinds in Africa, you know.

Thanks to Lindsay for this artful photo.

Saturday:

One would think that after all that I’d still be full… well, GPP Fitness fixed that with a little workout that left me waddling. More on that tomorrow but let me just say 200 burpees (I did refuse to yell “Yay burpees!” after each rep as instructed) is a certain cure for lack of appetite.

The highlight of breakfast for me was getting to try a new granola – Muesli Fusion. They have an “Athlete’s Fuel” mix that rocks my socks off. NO added sugar or sodium, and 7g of protein per serving. It’s like they designed it for me. I poured my unsweetened Silk all over that! There was a ton of fresh fruit (holy pineapple deliciousness), and a fabulously strong brew from Green Mountain coffee.

Then we had another workout! Zoomba. I’ll spare you the pics of this white girl shaking her thang… until tomorrow. 😉 Following that we did what any normal blogger does – we went to Whole Foods. I totally failed at life and didn’t take a pic.

I DID take a pic of the snack break that followed – Onnit provided us with some amazing chocolate-banana hemp protein smoothies and rice cakes with cashew-walnut butter (totally crave-worthy). What’s better than these blogger staples? Getting them handed to you by Miss United States! Whitney is one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met. How cute is she?!

And then there was dinner. Calee, Michelle, Heather, Heather, Heather (that’s not a typo – there were 3 beautiful Heathers) found an amazing restaurant on Main St. in Park City called Riverhorse. The food was incredible.

We started with a great Pinot Noir, chosen by fellow-wine lover Michelle (who I will gush about meeting later) and a beet salad served with micro greens, brie cheese, and a potato crisp with tarragon vinaigrette. Calee and I split the Trio of Wild Game for our entrée. It came with buffalo, venison chop, and elk over broccolini and asparagus with a port wine and huckleberry reduction.

I was nice and full… but when I saw the dessert menus I had to place one more order. Peanut Butter Bread Pudding with caramelized bananas and a chocolate drizzle. Can you blame me? 🙂

Every dish was near perfection. Lucky because our server was terrible. I swear I have the worst luck. She basically ignored us all night, added 20% gratuity (for a party of 6 who was clearly spending money… WTF?!), and when Heather asked about the charge (there was NO warning note on the menu) she snatched the bill out of Heather’s hand and stalked off. We tipped the man refilling our waters in cash on the side and spoke to the manager on the way out.

Like I said, the food was great. That combined with the fantastic company made for a great evening and we laughed about our crazy experience all the way back to the hotel (the cab driver was thoroughly entertained).

Sunday:

Holy breakfast heaven. This was the best breakfast out of any Blend Retreat. They had an omelette station!!! Protein at breakfast?! Color me happy. Thank you for this sponsored deliciousness, Chobani!

I got an egg white omelette with mushrooms, garlic, onions, and spinach. And a Chobani yogurt pancake. And fruit. I wanted ALL the foods! 😉

Be sure to check the #blend2013 hashtag on Twitter and Instagram for more action from the weekend!

***

I snacked my way back to ATL with schwag bag goodies, and (obv) hit the Whole Foods hot bar immediatly after getting home. 😉

Soooo… are you all going to come to Blend next year with me?

Have you ever tried any of these fun products? What are you loving right now?

Embrace Your Inner Child

May 16, 2013 By Laura

Change is a good thing.

And it’s inevitable (except from vending machines), so you might as well embrace it.

I’ve been changing up my workouts post-competition, doing things like kickboxing, “real” boxing, and spinning. Yesterday I got back in the weight room for a chest and bicep day. I wrote my own workout, as I haven’t gotten my new plan from my trainer yet. That felt surprisingly intimidating, but I kicked my own arse!

The best part? Even after not lifting as often as I was, I hit 3 PRs!!! Change can be a booster, friends.

After that routine, I was in serious need of recovery. I (like the day before) weren’t for an old favorite: my (vegan) Carrot Cake Batter Shake. I did change it up a bit – this time I used my Growing Naturals Vanilla Rice Protein. I swear this stuff is amazing. I actually forgot to add Stevia until the end, but when I tasted it I realized I didn’t need it. The Growing Naturals has added just the right amount of sweetness – enough to be batter-ish, but not so much that it was nauseating after a hard (and HOT) workout.

Also, check out Laura’s smoothie round up for 34 other fun ideas!

This weekend I am SO excited to get to share Growing Naturals with some of my best blogger-friends at the Blend Retreat in Park City, Utah! Growing Naturals is sponsoring my trip and has sent samples of both their rice and pea protein powders, and their new rice drink!

What I love about these is that they:

Taste good (most important, right?)
Blends well (none of the chalky ick-factor)
Are super-clean (vegan, soy-free, dairy-free, and sprouted, and enzymatically processed)
Have 24g of protein per serving
Have very little sodium and sugar
Offer a 96% correlation to whey protein’s amino acid profile… but without the dairy so there is NO bloat

I wish I could share them with everyone!!! You should all come to Blend! 🙂 If you won’t be there, be sure to follow along on Twitter and Instagram for the live ~~tequila shots with Lindsay~~ weekend action.

Speaking of… I also with the fabulous Kat could come to Blend (I did ask), but she is GRADUATING FROM LAW SCHOOL this weekend!!!

Read on for her fabulously fearless post, and a great vegan recipe. And be sure to tell her congrats in the comments!! 🙂

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Embrace Your Inner Child with TVP Sloppy Joes

(By Kat)

2012, was a year of healing, mending, and replanting my seeds on so many levels. I began trail running (and became addicted). I was healing from injuries and a number of other personal obstacles. I was healing from life. I learned to accept things, I learned to become centered, and this whole year really has already followed the change.

I started my year with a yoga class, and I am truly living my philosophy.

It’s easy to walk the walk, but to be authentic and fearless is often another story.

Do the rest of you have that same internal dialogue that I have? I’m ready for change… no I’m not… yes I am… no I’m not. Then you realize you just have to let yourself be fearless. In an effort to really keep this in the forefront of my mind… and to really remember daily to embrace my commitment to living fearlessly, I got a new tattoo! Like?! (Editor’s note: I LOVE!!!)

In the spirit of embodying fearlessness (and letting my inner adult-child out a little more)… some trail runs have lately taken me on… well, adventures! Saturday, I went on a run called “Janice’s Wheel of Misfortune,” where halfway through the 8.5-ish run, you meet Janice, spin her wheel and are dealt a “misfortune.”

These took place on some of my favorite trails. (Laura, you’ve totally been here, on a different route! – Editor’s note: YES! That was a great run and I want to do it again!)

Some of my favorite trails – The Tributary

Such an awesome idea! The two guys smiling in the picture below together… yeah, they had to run/walk/struggle to get through 4.5 miles with their ankles tied together. (No, they didn’t know each other before the run).

The girl I’m laughing at in the picture had to eat something. While she started off with a 6-count of Chocolate-Covered Krispy Kremes, she ended up with anchovies wrapped around capers (her other options included an entire can of spam, an entire bag of powdered doughnuts, or two cans of Vienna sausage… yeah….).

Others had to carry life-sized stuffed animals, drink warm beer, take a time out, do trivia, drink buttermilk, among other fun misfortunes. I know it’s not fair that I spun and had to do trail math trivia. (Editor’s note: Warm beer?! Whattt?!)

I would do this trail running event again any day! I embraced my inner fearlessness and my inner adult child.

Embracing a fearless spirit also makes me feel way more comfortable in my own skin… it’s going pretty well! 🙂

Speaking of comfort… I’ve got a great comfort food recipe for the gluten-free vegan that will help you to embrace your inner child! (Editor’s note: Seriously? Where am I when you’re making all this deliciousness?!)

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Vegan TVP Sloppy Joes

1 C TVP
1 C boiling water
1 16 oz can tomato paste
1 16 oz can garlic tomato sauce
½ C honey
2 T Tamari (or soy if you’re not GF)
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cayenne
3-ish T seasoning/dried herbs (mine had some rosemary, basil, thyme, paprika, garlic, onion, and parsley)
Garlic powder, to taste (I don’t know… maybe about 1.5 tablespoons??)
½ large white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
MAYBE extra ½ cup of water at the end (depending upon the TVP)

First add the boiling water to the TVP and let it sit. Then, sauté the onion & Garlic in some oil (and butter if you like), on medium/medium-low heat (~7-10 minutes, let them get pretty translucent).

Then I like to add the TVP to the pan where you are doing the sautéing and add ALL the dry seasonings. Sauté until the TVP looks like it’s drying out a bit, and is completely coated in all the beautiful seasonings (this is how you give the TVP a more “meaty” taste), which should take about 7-10 minutes.

Next, add your tomato paste, tomato sauce, honey and tamari (and I needed an extra ½ cup of water). Simmer for ~15-20 minutes. Then you can adjust the seasonings to taste as you like!

At the end, you know, serve the way you remember loving your Sloppy Joes!

I used Udi’s Gluten Free Buns, toasted, and served with Sea Salt Kettle Chips and roasted brussels sprouts.

I also topped them with the most delicious vegan, soy-free, gluten-free cheese I have ever had, Daiya .

If you haven’t tried their products yet, I highly recommend them, in fact, for these sloppy joes, I liked them better than regular cheese.

This cheese melted like regular cheddar, but seemed lighter and was a bit milder than regular cheddar cheese. A must try!

(Editor’s note: I second this – this is amazing cheeze, especially their pepper jack!!)

You’re welcome – I omitted a photo with my face covered in Sloppy Joe.

***

Again, and HUGE congrats to Kat on completing your law education!!! Kat – I’m so sorry to miss your graduation celebration, but I’ll be thinking of you all weekend! You are truly an inspiration.

What have you done to embrace your inner child? To be fearless?

What was your childhood comfort food?

Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins

November 3, 2011 By Laura

Hello love Muffins…

I must confess, I love muffins.

Great for a quick breakfast, I often make a dozen of these Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins and keep them in the freezer. All you need to do is pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds and run out the door.

…

Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats

September 16, 2011 By Laura

Cinnabon.

Can’t you almost smell it through your screen?

That smell kills me when I’m walking through Terminal A in the Atlanta airport. It’s absolutely intoxicating… and all I can do not to stop and order a dozen cinnamon rolls.

I nearly attacked the man behind me last night… he brought one on the plane and didn’t offer a bite. Cruel.

The only thing that saved this man’s life is the fact that I’d had Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats for breakfast. Post-run.

Cinnamon Roll Extract was the discovery of a lifetime. I found the teeny bottle (seriously – this pic is true to size) in a cook’s supply store.

It is made by LorAnn Oils and is referred to as a “Super Strength.” If you use this, know that it’s VERY concentrated – 3-4x a regular extract.

I only needed to use a couple of drops to achieve that buttery cinnamon roll taste!

These oats pack a ton of protein and nutrients that will keep you full until lunch! They will also provide you energy as your brush up on wines of Italy… one more week!!!

Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats

1/4 C oatmeal
2 tsp chia seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Growing Naturals)
1/4 C Greek yogurt
1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
6-7 drops Vanilla NuNaturals Stevia
1/16 tsp cinnamon roll extract (a little goes a long way!)

In a small bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined.

Place in fridge overnight. Remove in the morning, stir, and enjoy!

Note: These were great cold after a workout, but the same flavors would be fantastic in a warm oatmeal on a cool fall morning.

***

I haven’t tied to get oats through airport security yet… I wonder if they count as liquid?! Will test it out and report back. 🙂

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Have you found any unique extracts that you love?

Instagram Love

One more “gift”…

You’re Off to Great Places + Growing Naturals Giveaway

You’re off to great places!

Parsnip-Cauliflower Puree

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

Getting Big is Marvelous

Strange But Good: Microwave Protein Zucchini Bread

Microwave Protein Zucchini Bread

What I Ate at Blend

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

Embrace Your Inner Child

What I love about these is that they:

Embrace Your Inner Child with TVP Sloppy Joes

Vegan TVP Sloppy Joes

Pumpkin Zucchini Muffins

Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats

Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats

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