PB-Banana Protein Bars

I'm in love with granola bars. Head-over-heels. They are so yummy! Luna bars, Clif Bars, and Larabars are all super-delicious, but can be expensive. Homemade granola bars, on the other hand, are quite inexpensive, and you know exactly what goes into them and what they come in contact with before you eat them. (Particularly useful for strict vegans and those who are gluten-intolerant). The homemade granola bars I made the other day are vegan (of course), gluten-free, about 160 calories each while packing in 12 whole grams of protein per bar! Guaranteed delicious and healthy. I added a vegan protein powder supplement to these bars, which I highly recommend. The brand I use is called MLO Vegetable Protein Powder, to buy it online, click here. Otherwise you can probably find it in the health-food section of your grocery store. Really good stuff to have around to mix into smoothies, granola bars, etc. But enough of raving about my protein powder (you're welcome for the free advertising, MLO), now it's time for the actual recipe!

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup vegan protein powder

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1 ripe banana

6 whole dates

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 tablespoons agave nectar

1/4 cup almond milk

Directions

Chop the banana and dates in to very small pieces.

In a saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat, melt the peanut butter, and stir in the agave nectar, and almond milk.

Slowly mix in the protein powder, almonds, oats, chopped banana and dates. Mix together very well--the mixture will be very thick, but keep at it until it's all mixed evenly.

Transfer the mixture to an ungreased 8 x 8 pan, and press it down into the pan using your (clean) hands. You may need to wait for a minute or two for the mixture to be cool enough to touch. Once everything is even in the pan, set the pan in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours for the bars to set.

Cut the bars in to 10 pieces, and serve cold. The only "downside" is that the bars need to be kept in the fridge, but they pop out of the pan really easily and make a great snack or pre/post workout fuel. Enjoy!

Lorna Rae's (Sugar Cookies)

Ah, it's been a nostalgic morning. I'm getting ready to move back to Mexico City after being home for a month and a half, and aside from my excitement for the future, there are a lot of things that I'm really going to miss about Iowa. (Not the weather) But my family, my friends, my favorite hiking spots, midwestern-restaurants, get-togethers, American holidays...the list goes on and on. So, in the midst of all these nostalgic thoughts and feelings, I made sugar cookies--from a recipe that my mom has been using for at least 20 years. These cookies have been at every family Christmas and Easter (and other various holidays) for as long as I can remember. I have a taste of one of these cookies, and the trip down memory lane begins...I've tweaked the recipe just a tiny bit, of course, and veganized the cookies, but they taste just the same as always :) This recipe made 9 cookies. (2 of them vanished before they got in front of the camera...Oops)

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1/2 cup Splenda or sugar

1/2 cup melted Earth Balance (vegan buttery stick) (you can use regular butter if you're not vegan)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400.

Melt the Earth Balance "butter" over the stovetop or in the microwave

In a small mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients together

Pour the melted Earth Balance "butter" over the dry ingredients, and beat together with a fork. This will form a crumbly dough.

Form 8-10 cookie dough balls out of the dough, flatten slightly with your hands, and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. When they come out of the oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes before transfering them to a glass plate, and allow to cool completely before frosting them.

Frosting Ingredients

**This makes more than enough frosting for 9 cookies, so you'll have extra...Darn ;)**

2 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan buttery stick

2 tablespoons almond milk

1 & 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Dash salt

Food coloring of your choice

Directions

Melt the Earth Balance, and pour into a small bowl. Add in almond milk and vanilla, and whisk together.

Stir in the powdered sugar using a fork. The stirring will take a while, but it should result in a nicely thick frosting.

Add a dash of salt and a few drops of the food coloring of your choice, and mix together very well.

Frost the cookies (I use the back of a spoon, that tends to work really well), allow the frosting to harden for 10 minutes, and enjoy!

Tofu Tagine Pasta (Can be Gluten-Free!)

Another grey day in Iowa, another perfect excuse to spend a lot of time in the kitchen making new recipes :) These grey days aren't bothering me so much anymore! Bad weather = excuse to stay in and bake/cook = happiness. Ah, the simple things in life. Today's lunch was inspired by a recipe I saw in Cosmo a few months back: Chicken Tagine. It looked really good for a lunch or dinner, except that little problem of chicken not being quite vegan. Buuuut, a little bit of tofu solves that problem! After subbing the tofu for the chicken and making a few not-exactly-minor tweaks to the recipe, I came out with a tofu recipe that is great on its own, and awesome in a pasta dish. The tofu needs to marinate for a long time, so it can absorb a nice flavor--so it's best to begin preparing this dish 8-24 hours ahead of time. Here's the recipe for a fancy-schmancy lunch or dinner, serves 4 people.

Ingredients for the Tofu Tagine:

1 block extra-firm tofu

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon spanish paprika

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions for the Tofu Tagine

Drain the tofu and pat it dry with a napkin. Cut it into strips, about 1 inch wide, 1/2 inch thick, and 4 inches tall. Set aside on a paper towel.

Pour the vegetable broth into a bread loaf pan, and stir in all of the remaining ingredients listed above except the olive oil.

Place the tofu strips into the vegetable broth marinade, and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours. (I let it sit for about 15 hours)

After the tofu has been marinating for 8+ hours, preheat the oven to 350. Bake the tofu for 25 minutes; this really locks in the flavor.

When the tofu comes out of the oven, drain the marinade liquid and, using tongs, gently place the tofu strips on paper towels.

Now, heat up a large frying pan over medium heat, and coat it with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Fry the tofu strips for a couple minutes on each side, until they reach a golden color.

Remove from the heat and set aside. Your tofu is done! Now for the remainder of the pasta dish ingredients...

Pasta Dish Ingredients

1 package (8 oz) fettuccine (I used DeBoles brand gluten-free rice fettuccine)

1/2 zucchini

4 large baby portabella mushrooms

1 lemon

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Pasta Dish Directions

Cook the fettuccine according to package directions, in salted water.

While the pasta is cooking, slice the zucchini and mushrooms into small, bite-sized pieces.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, lightly coat it with a little bit of olive oil, and stir-fry the zucchini and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Then, remove from heat and set aside.

Drain the pasta and portion it onto 4 plates or bowls.

Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the pasta, to taste.

Distribute the tofu, mushrooms, and zucchini into each bowl on top of the pasta. Add salt and pepper to each bowl, to taste. Garnish with a bit of lemon zest, if desired.

Serve warm, and enjoy!!

The BOSP Smoothie

Hey guys, I have a new favorite smoothie--the BOSP Smoothie! So what the heck is a BOSP Smoothie? And why would I give it such a weird name? Simply, it's just that I'm feeling rather uncreative in naming smoothies this week, so the name is just an acronym of the fruits in the drink: banana, orange, strawberry, and peach. The BOSP is a vitamin and fiber-packed smoothie, so it keeps you feeling full for a long time. Plus it's really yummy :)

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond milk

1 smallish banana

6 frozen peach slices (or 1 medium fresh peach, but we don't get those in the store in Iowa in January)

8 frozen strawberries

1 orange

1 teaspoon chia seeds

Directions

Well, you all know how to make a smoothie. Just a note, you'll want to thaw anything that's been frozen before blending it ;)

Notes

In case you're interested, I found a nutritional info calculator on the Spark People website, and checked out what's in this smoothie. Here's what's in the BOSP Smoothie, vitamin-wise: (There's also 5 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber)

Vitamin A	24.3 %
Vitamin B-12	0.0 %
Vitamin B-6	34.1 %
Vitamin C	169.5 %
Vitamin D	18.8 %
Vitamin E	44.6 %
Calcium	25.3 %
Copper	12.9 %
Folate	16.3 %
Iron	10.9 %
Magnesium	21.8 %
Manganese	23.6 %
Niacin	10.9 %
Pantothenic Acid	7.6 %
Phosphorus	13.1 %
Riboflavin	12.5 %
Selenium	3.6 %
Thiamin	10.9 %
Zinc	3.2 %