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 %

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

If you're having a cold winter where you live, then you know that there's no better way to warm up on a chilly morning than by eating a hot and hearty breakfast. Pancakes are notoriously delicious, but are not typically the healthiest things to chow down for breakfast. 'Till now ;) These heart-healthy whole wheat blueberry pancakes are vegan: which makes them cholesterol-free. Even without eggs, these pancakes are super fluffy and have that perfect pancake thickness. They're delish. And if you're not sold already, maybe knowing the fact that they only have about 150 calories per cake might convince you to give them a try. (You'll likely be full after one, trust me). I wrap the leftovers in foil and a ziplock bag and freeze them, and pop them into the toaster for quick breakfasts all week long! This recipe makes 7-8 pancakes, each about 6 inches in diameter.

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

4.5 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon sugar

Dash of salt

2 cups almond milk (+up to 4 tablespoons, as needed for texture)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients together. (Keeping blueberries out).

Mix wet ingredients together in a measuring cup or small bowl that holds a little more than 2 cups of liquid.

Pour the wet mixture over the dry, and whisk until everything is thououghly combined. Gently stir in the 2 cups of blueberries last.

Cook in a skillet (sprayed generously with cooking oil) on the stovetop over low heat. When bubbles start to pop in the batter, flip the pancake and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Serve topped with a little pure maple syrup, and enjoy!!

New Year's Confession (plus weight loss tips!)

Okay...Time for a New Year's Confession. I've been going back and forth in my head about whether or not to make this post, because it's a confession that I'm both proud of and ashamed of. Sound weird? Let me explain--you see, in 2012, I lost a ton of weight (that needed to come off). I'm really proud that I did it, and very happy with where I'm at now, but I'm ashamed that I didn't used to care about myself enough to keep myself healthy and my weight in check. I don't even have "before" pictures that I can find, because I was so ashamed of the way I looked that I would avoid cameras at all costs. Not a good place to be.

This is uber-scary sharing it on my blog that my friends and family check up on. I've never given anybody a number as to what I was at this time last year, but, I will tell you what came off in the last year: 70 pounds. Whoop, there it is! More than half of that I would attribute to diet changes. Going vegan last January was difficult at first, but got easier with time, and I found myself actually enjoying eating more fruits and veggies. I don't miss milk, because I grew to love almond milk more. I don't miss butter, because I love olive oil more. I kind of loved cheese, but I discovered that Daiya brand dairy-free cheese is just as good! And in learning that art of substitution, being vegan became one of the easiest things in my life. A vegan diet cuts out dietary cholesterol completely, which my heart has thanked me for. Switching to a veg-diet also cuts out a bunch of calories (meaning you can eat more food and consume fewer calories...um, deal!). So changing my diet was a huge part of my weight loss, but there are many other things I had to do in order to lose that 70 pounds. Here are some weight loss tips, the key things that helped me lose:

• Portion control--I came to realize that I was eating much bigger portions than my body actually needed! A way to fix this is to, instead of grabbing a dinner plate to fill up, grab a salad plate. Fill it with your regular food, just in smaller portions. It's okay if they look too small, if you're still hungry 20 minutes after you start eating, then go ahead and grab a little more.
• Fill up on fruits and veggies first--We all know that fruits and veggies are good for us. Full of vitamins, high in fiber, all-natural...and they also tend to be very low-calorie. Start your meal with fruits or veggies, fill yourself up a little, and you will likely eat less of your higher-calorie entree.
• Eat 5 small meals each day--Like the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings movies!! (What is it they have, breakfast, second breakfast, 11sies, lunch, tea, dinner, supper....okay, that's way too much food, but still). Eating 5 small meals everyday that average about 300 calories each will keep your blood sugar from dropping and spiking, you'll feel full all day, and you are less likely to binge.
• Water--Waterwaterwaterwaterwaterwaterwaterwaterwaterwater. Get the picture?
• Don't drink empty calories--I had two soda drinks this year, and I didn't even really enjoy them. By cutting out soda completely, I saved myself a bunch of calories (I used to think I was addicted to Dr. Pepper). After not drinking it for awhile, I found that the carbonation in the drinks kind of hurt my mouth, and flat soda doesn't even taste good. Trust me, the first two weeks are the worst: if you can get through those, then you're golden.
• Plan your meals a day ahead of time--Having a plan will keep you from standing in front of an open fridge and succumbing to a binge. Be sure to have a plan that you like, or else you may not be keen to stick to it.
• Keep an "emergency" stash in your car or purse--you never know when something unexpected will happen, so always be sure to have a water bottle and some fruit or a granola bar close by, to power you through to the next meal if you're going to miss one.
• Treat yourself--If you feel deprived of something, eventually you're more likely to binge. But 100-calorie snack packs of a tasty treat will take away that feeling of deprivation, and help to keep you on track.
• Find at least 2 exercises you really like--And alternate them throughout the week. When exercise is enjoyable, you're going to keep at it, simple as that. As all the experts say, aim for an average of 30 minutes each day! (They say it because it works, I promise).
• Keep trying new things--The more we challenge ourselves physically, the more quickly we will see results. Even try things that you didn't used to like! Give something two weeks, and if you still hate it at the end of two weeks, you can stop. Make goals for yourself, like trying two new things each month. Running, walking, hiking, mountain biking, spinning, ballet, zumba, elliptical, yoga, kickboxing, calisthenics, swimming, rock climbing, stair-stepping, sports, a new workout video, ice skating, skiing...I could go on for ages, but there are so many ways to work up a sweat.
• Motivate yourself!--Read inspirational quotes, subscribe to a fitness magazine, hire a personal trainer, get a diet-and-fitness buddy, utilize self-talk...Do whatever you have to in order to keep yourself motivated and on-track. Motivation gets you started, then habits form and keep you going. :)

Well, I think that's all I have for tonight! May the New Year bring you all the best, and may you achieve each of your New Year's resolutions :)

Green Chilaquiles

Finally! My first authentic Mexican recipe. Kinda funny that I waited until I was visiting Iowa for Christmas, but I wanted my home grocery store where I can read everything and be absolutely sure what I'm buying. (I've had more than a few failures in locating items in my Mexico City grocery store). So, I've finally gotten around to making a homemade rendition of my absolute favorite Mexican dish! Chilaquiles are a popular breakfast food, so this recipe will be filed under the breakfast category, but tonight for me they were dinner :) De-freaking-licious. I heart chilaquiles. There are several ways of preparing chilaquiles--for one you can make them with a red or a green sauce (the ones here are made with green sauce, they're less spicy), it's also popular to make them with eggs and/or shredded chicken, if you're not a vegan. The recipe you'll find here, of course, is vegan. They can be made spicier by adding more serrano peppers to the sauce, if you like, but two peppers are usually enough for those not accustomed to the uber spicy Mexican food. Here is your homemade green chilaquiles recipe!

Ingredients:

Corn tortillas (I recommend homemade, since they're tasty and easy, but you can find good ones at the store as well. Regardless, let them sit out for a few hours or overnight to dry out a bit.)

Refried black beans (Or or they don't exist in your store, as is the case in central Iowa, make them at home by draining a can of black beans and whipping them up in the blender.)

Vegan sour cream

Vegan shredded cheese (Daiya dairy-free mozzarella style is my favorite)


For the green sauce:

1 pound tomatillos

2 serrano chile peppers

1/8 - 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic

1 cup vegetable broth

1/2 white onion

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Chop tomatillos in half, and place in foil-covered baking dish, along with whole serrano chile peppers. Roast in oven for about 25 minutes.

While the tomatillos and serranos are roasting, cut or rip the corn tortillas in to bite-sized bits. Coat a large frying pan in 1/8 inch vegetable oil, and fry the tortillas over medium-high heat until they are a golden color. Remove from heat, pat dry, and set aside.

Roughly chop the white onion and sautee in hot oil until just before it begins to brown.

Place the roasted tomatillos (don't forget the juice collected by the foil during the roasting process!), serranos, cilantro, garlic, onion, and vegetable broth into your blender. Blend for about 30 seconds.

Change the oven temperature to 350. Divide the fried corn tortillas into two or three oven-safe bowls. Cover lightly with the green sauce from the blender, and stir around with a spoon until evenly coated. Top with a layer of refried black beans, then a layer of vegan sour cream, then cover with a layer of vegan shredded cheese.

Place in the oven and cook until the cheese has begun to melt, or about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and garnish with extra sliced onion and green sauce, if you want it more spicy.

Serve hot, and enjoy!!

(Pictured is the dish, just before it goes into the oven. Yum!)