Faux-Coa Krispies

Hi Friends! Wow, school is getting busy very quickly! Do not fear though... I shall always make time for you! 

I have always been the type of student that skated through school with minimal studying and reading for classes. As long as I paid attention in class, I was good to go on tests and homework! I have a feeling that grad school is going to be very different. So far I have done more reading for school than I think I have done in the past year... I'm not going to back down though- Bring it on, Clinical Psychology!

What kind of student were you/are you? 

One of my goals for the semester, aside from making good grades and doing well at my job as a graduate assistant, is to make time for myself. Over the past 2 years I have worked full time as well as gone to school and as a result, I neglected to give myself me-time. Whether it was making time to work out, paint my nails, read a magazine, or try a new recipe...I often shoved those things I wanted to do onto the back burner. 

So, a few nights ago when inspiration for a new dish struck- I ran with it!

Every once in a while I get a craving for sweet, sugary, crunchy cereal- the stuff I wasn't even allowed to eat while I was growing up :) Sometimes Raine gets Cocoa Krispies from the store and I always end up eating some more than my fair share. So, I decided to make my own!

Faux-Coa Krispies

Three Servings

2 TBSP unsweetened applesauce

2 TBSP Splenda (you could definitely use "real" sugar instead)

1 TBSP Hershey's Special Dark cocoa

1 TBSP Agave Nectar

3/4 TBSP Olive Oil (I am sure any oil would work)

1/2 tsp instant coffee (I used Nescafe)

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Cup Dry Oats

Preheat oven to 250*

Combine all ingredients except for the oats. Taste it to see if you want more sweetness. Add the oats and stir very well, trying to coat all of the oats with the chocolate mixture.

Spray a baking pan with oil and spread the oats thinly onto it.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, checking the oats every 10 minutes and breaking them apart so the clumps aren't too large.

Even if they still feel soft, turn off the oven and let them sit in the oven. They will continue to cook.

When they're cooled and crispy, transfer to a container:

Yum!

And the stats:

And they're filling, too! I can't say that for most boxed cereal.

Side Note: Since when did apple sauce ingredients include high-fructose corn syrup? I had to search through about 4 different brands before I found one that didn't! Says the girl with the gallon bag of Splenda...

PS: They stayed crunchy in soy milk!

What is your favorite kind of cereal? 

and...

What is your best study tip? 

Salsa vs. Salsa, Magnificent Muffins, Vegan PB Cups

Hello! Thanks so much for all of your great comments about my Omnivore's Delight.

I forgot to post the nutritional stats that I calculated for this delicious dish- they're quite good!

Holy protein! Not bad at all :)
Earlier this week, Raine and I discovered a farmer's market in "downtown" Charleston! I use the term downtown very loosely... it is basically a square block that surrounds a courthouse. We picked up a few yummy veggies.

Lots of tomatoes, jalapeños, cherry tomatoes, carrots suffering from Gigantism, and patty pan squash. All for under $5! With the tomatoes and peppers, we decided to have a salsa-making competition!

The whole time we were cooking raw-ing (?), I couldn't stop thinking of the episode of Seinfeld, The Pitch. "I wanted seltzer, not salsa!"

I used 2 tomatoes, 1.5 jalapeños, a few cherry tomatoes, and 1/4 of a white onion in mine, along with a bit of cilantro, cumin, and red chili powder.

Into the blender, since we still don't have a food processor. 

I added a small squeeze of lime after test-tasting it, which ended up being a bit too much.

It was yummy, though!

Look at these perfectly red tomatoes...

The tomatoes I get from the grocery store are usually hard with white and green on the inside. Not these! 

I am not sure what Raine used in his salsa, but I know that he didn't use cilantro or lime juice, and probably used twice as much jalapeño and chili powder as me. 

Here is mine:

and his:

We managed to keep them slightly chunky but pulsing instead of blending continuously. 

There was no real winner here... I think Raine thought mine had too much lime, and his was a bit spicy for me.

We proceeded to consume nothing but chips and salsa for dinner.

Yum. 

Besides eating too much salsa, I have also made 2 of Averie's recipes. First, I made her Vegan Gluten Free Cinnamon Banana Oatmeal Muffins. I didn't have raisins, so I omitted those. I also cut the sugar to a quarter cup of each sugar in the raw and brown sugar. I omitted the vanilla as well, and added 1 tsp of coconut oil.

Pre-Baking:

the batter was good enough to eat without baking...but I persisted...

They were fabulous! Another winner from Averie :)

They took quite a while to cool, then I packed them up and stored them in the fridge.

They are excellent cold with a smear of peanut butter...

and a crisp apple on the side!

In keeping with the trend of making Averie-recipes, I tried out her Raw Vegan PB Cups next. My peanut butter wasn't raw, so mine were not totally raw...but still way better than a Reese's!

For the chocolate part of the cups, I used another one of Averie's recipes- her Raw Vegan Coconut Oil Chocolate. I doubled that recipe and nixed the vanilla.

Then I used it as the base for the cups:

(um, please excuse that huge bag of Splenda in the background...)

I stuck the cups in the fridge to harden, then I followed her recipe for the PB filling,

and topped it off with more chocolate!

Finally- the hard part- waiting for them to harden. I stuck them in the freezer to expedite the process:

Keep cool my babies

Mine were a little thinner than Averie's, since I didn't use an entire half cup of melted chocolate...

And wow, the insides looked great!

Since Averie's recipe for her coconut oil chocolate is sooo decadent, 1/4 of a cup was completely satisfying to me. This was awesome! 

Confession: The reason this post is so long is that I'm avoiding studying!

Do you come up with things to do in order to postpone studying or work? What do you do?

An Omnivore's Delight

A few years ago, several months after Raine and I started dating, we started cooking together. We usually made simple recipes, like enchiladas, vegetarian chili, and veggie stir-fry. And even though Raine was an omnivore, he started transitioning toward a vegetarian diet under my tutelage ;) One night, we had a few random ingredients in the fridge, freezer, and pantry, and I devised a deliciously simple new meal: Baked Spinach Tofu Ziti.
I probably can't take credit for the originality of this recipe; there are several similar ones online. But, after browsing 50+ baked tofu ziti recipes, none are prepared quite the same as mine.
Thus was born: Omnivore's Delight, a Baked Spinach Tofu Ziti. Most recipes I found called for pureed or mashed tofu with egg whites or lemon juice- an attempt at a ricotta. In mine, I press and dice the tofu into small cubes:

and proceed to gather the usual suspects:

Sockarooni marinara sauce, olive oil spray, black pepper, crushed red, italian seasonings, and garlic powder.

The sauce is oh so important here! Newman's Own Sockarooni is one of my favorites, and so is Emeril's Kicked Up Marinara. 

Boil a pot of water and add 4 servings of ziti. A serving of the pasta I used was 2/3 cup. Heat a large skillet to medium/medium high and spray with olive oil. Add the tofu, and spices to taste. I love lots of crushed red and italian seasoning. Stir it frequently and brown it until it looks like this:

There should be no moisture in the pan. 

The pasta and tofu should cook in a similar amount of time- about 10 minutes. While I'm doing that I also thaw 4 cups of frozen spinach in the microwave. It makes about 2 cups of cooked spinach. You are a multi-tasking diva at this point!

Preheat the oven to 375*

Put a enough sauce in the bottom of a baking pan (9X9) to cover it:

Love those Sockarooni chunks of veg!

Add the pasta, followed by the spinach, tofu, the rest of the jar of sauce, and half a cup of shredded cheese (optional). I used Kraft Fat Free Shredded Mozzarella- it was was the first time I'd seen it and Raine and I wondered how it would be. 

Stir up very well!

Sprinkle with an additional 1/2 cup cheese (optional):

Bake for 10-15 minutes on the middle rack in the oven. The pasta, tofu, and spinach was already hot, so really you are just making sure that this is heated through and melting the cheese...

et voila!

This is a filling, satisfying dish! The tofu is TLF- To Live For! And most importantly, it is a crowd-pleaser :)

Omnivore's Delight: Baked Spinach Tofu Ziti

Serves 6

1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed to reduce moisture

4 cups frozen spinach, or 2 cups cooked

4 servings ziti noodles (or any other pasta- penne, etc)

1 jar sauce (make it a good one!)

1 cup shredded Mozzarella (optional)

Olive Oil Spray

Black Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper

Italian Seasoning

Garlic Powder

Directions: Dice the tofu and add to a heated skillet that has been sprayed with olive oil. Add all spices to taste (I love mine spicy). While the tofu is cooking, cook noodles according to directions and defrost spinach in microwave.

Preheat oven to 375*

Add some sauce to the bottom of a 9X9 baking pan. Add pasta, then add spinach, tofu, the rest of the sauce, and 1/2 cup cheese (optional). Stir it well then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, if you wish. Bake for 10-15 minutes- until ingredients are heated through and cheese has melted. 

Finally, enjoy!

This meal is really great- perfect to make a meal for a large family, potluck, or to have lots of leftovers for 2 people! And, it's great for an omnivore transitioning to vegetarianism! 

What dishes can you think of that might be good for a person in transition from omnivore to vegetarian? 

First Day of Grad School

Hello friends!
Yesterday was a very exciting day- my first day of grad school! For my new readers (hi!), I recently graduated from Texas Tech University and moved to IL to pursue my Master's degree in Clinical Psychology.
We just had our orientation yesterday and didn't have a lecture in the one class that was scheduled, so it was an easy day, but it was long. I was exhausted by the time I was finished on campus.
I took a few pictures around campus before the orientation started...

the campus is full of flowers and greenery-it's very pretty!

and there are tall trees unlike Texas trees :)

Can you spot the butterfly?

Now?

Now I cannot wait until Autumn comes... it will be beautiful compared to the practically non-existent Autumn in Texas.

It was a little after 5 once I was done at school. I walked home (just a 12 minute walk!) and then Raine and I went to go pick up my textbooks and went to the store to get a few ingredients I was missing for the dinner I wanted to put together. 

After reading Gena's post that mentioned VegWeb.com (my favorite recipe database!), I started browsing the site and came across a recipe for Szechuan Green Beans.

I adapted the recipe to my tastes, as well as in response to some of the comments about the recip:

Serves 2

2 large handfuls of fresh green beans
1/2 cup cooked buckwheat
1/2 to 1 TBSP sesame oil
1/4 cup raw cashews
2-3 TBSP minced garlic1 TBSP shredded or minced fresh ginger
1/8 cup reduced sodium soy sauce (or less... I added tsp by tsp until it tasted right)
few shakes of sesame seeds
generous crushed red pepper (I like it hot!)
ground black pepper

Heat a large skillet to medium/medium high and add the sesame oil. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Then, add the green beans, cashews, sesame seeds, red pepper, and black pepper. Cook until green beans become slightly cooked (they should remain crispy though!) and add buckwheat and soy sauce. Cook until the soy sauce is absorbed. Enjoy!

This was awesome. Raine absolutely loved this too! Winner Winner Green Bean Dinner!
I also had 2/3 of a can of garbanzo beans leftover in the fridge, and some spinach that absolutely needed to be used up. I browsed a lot of recipes before I found one for Espinacas con Garbanzos which is obviously spinach with garbanzo beans :)
I changed this recipe very slightly by using water instead of oil, and by using fresh spinach rather than frozen. I also cut back a bit on the onion and garlic since I didn't have a full can of beans or the full amount of spinach. I seasoned it with the cumin and salt to taste.

This was also fabulous. I think the key was mashing half of the garbanzo beans while they cooked- they really took on the spices that way. 

After dinner and several a big glass of wine, I was ready for bed! I read for half an hour and slept very fitfully.

Do you read before bed? What are your winding-down activities? 
I read before bed just about every night. If I use the computer or watch television before I sleep, I have a harder time sleeping. Unfortunately, I often do those things too!

2 New Vegan Recipes!

Namaste my fellow bloggies :)
Thank you all so much for all of your positive comments and reactions to my $21 a week challenge! I will definitely be continuing to spend a low amount on groceries- this weeks shopping total was around the same amount!
I have been eating lots of yummy things in past few days...

That, my friends, is a chopped spinach, buckwheat, and chickpea salad...

It was amazing.

Chopped Spinach, Buckwheat, and Chickpea Salad

Serves 1 hungry Sonia or can be 2 side salads

1/4 cup buckwheat groats, boiled in 1/2 cup water with a pinch of salt

(make this first and stick it in the fridge so it cools off)

3 handfuls spinach, chopped up

1/2 cup garbanzo beans

1 carrot, chopped into little sticks

1 small roma tomato, diced

1/8 cup diced onion

I dressed mine with a TBSP of Annie's Goddess Dressing- but I think a simple combination of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper would be just fine!

Dig in!

Does anyone know what else I can do with buckwheat groats? I bought these over a month ago and this is the first time I've used them... 

Today for lunch I wanted Indian food! I didn't want to have to chop up lots of veggies or sit and stir a skillet or pot though. Thus was born...
Healthified Aloo Tikki
Aloo Tikki is basically an Indian snack food- it's a fried potato patty that's often served with yogurt or chutney. I decided to make my own version of it.

Ingredients:

1 largish red potato, boiled and mashed

1/4 cup green peas

1/4 cup oat flour (this was just 1/4 cup quaker oats that I stuck in the blender and pulsed til they were chopped up)

1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

large pinch garam masala

shake of ground ginger powder

crushed red pepper to taste

Now, combine all of the ingredients and make sure they are all incorporated with one another. I didn't mash the potato very well...left it a little chunky!

Now the fun part... make everything into a large ball using your hands :) and divide it into four equal sections. Make each section into a ball and press to flatten into a patty. 

Finally, heat a skillet to medium-high, spray with olive oil spray (or use any other spray or oil), and brown on both sides.

I ate mine with lots of spinach and a sliced roma tomato!

with ketchup over the tops of the aloo tikki patties...it was delicious. 

Let me know if you try these!

What is your absolute favorite salad combination? 

And favorite dressing?

$21 a Week Challenge: Day 7

Hi hi hi! Phew! Today has been a busy day... We have been going and going since this morning! I went to the rec center this morning and was 10 minutes into a treadmill run when my mom called; so I slowed to a walk and talked to her for 20 minutes, then ran for 25 more. I did some quick weights and stopped at the library on the way home. I started reading BUST Magazine which I picked up because Rashida Jones was on the cover- heart her! I had never heard of this magazine before, but it had some good articles...I'll definitely be checking it out again. Great fashion, articles, and music reviews!
Then Raine called and I headed home, took a shower, and made a grocery list for the week (hooray!). We left and went to the bank to open a new account here, but there was a long line so now we have an appointment for tomorrow...then we went to a grocery store we'd never been to, decided it was too expensive, and went to Walmart... I know, I know... I try not to shop there but right now it's the best we can do. I got mostly produce again like last time and was pleased to see that I'd only spend $20 on food again this week!
Speaking of... Yesterday was the last day of my Challenge! It was slim pickings as I was almost out of all of my produce.
I pretty much grazed all day...

Raine was very sweet to allow me control of 2 slices of a pizza he was making. Raine eats a lot of pizza and it is one of the many reasons I love him :)
I had a few carrots with PB, unpictured...
and got experimental with some more leftovers, the Ethiopian Veggies!
I decided to try and make baked samosas. The dough is similar to my roti dough- just whole wheat flour, a pinch of salt, and water, with the addition of a drizzle of olive oil. I rolled it out into a roti-like circle, and sliced it in half:

Then put some veggies on the middle of each piece,

Unfortunately, I overstuffed it by a lot and it fell apart. I ended up getting creative with the shapes and made 1 large taco shaped samosa and a ball (bundle?) shaped one...

since I was going to be using the oven anyways, I decided to make use of the leftover tofu I had stuck in the freezer (and thawed out yesterday morning). I had my eye on Averie's Green Tea and Honey Ginger Tofu. However I did not have honey or green tea so I used agave and a spiced chai tea that my mom gave me:

This tea is extremely flavorful so I thought it would surely shine through in this dish. 

I kept the rest of the marinade the same and let the tofu bathe in it for about 20 minutes:

I put them on the same baking sheet as the misshapen samosas:

Both items were baked at 425*- at 12 minutes I removed the samosas:

(looks good so far)

and after 20 minutes total had elapsed, I flipped the tofu:

5 minutes later, they were done!

 mmm, this was delicious! I know I say everything is delicious...and despite the fact that I'm not a picky eater and will eat almost any (vegetarian) thing... These really were! The chai spice tea flavor definitely came through, and they were slightly sweet and totally scrumptious. The frozen and thawed tofu takes on a spongy texture (that sounds horrid but trust me it's good!) and becomes very chewy. I usually use the frozen and thawed method for when I'm making faux-paneer- it tastes like the real deal!

I cut into the taco shaped samosa next...

The crust held up well and it smelled great!

I ate it with ketchup :)

Winner!

I saved the ball shaped samosa for Raine but he didn't want it so I had it later.

With the last half of my apple, and a slice of bread with leftover tofu "egg" salad. Is there such a thing as too much tofu? I actually only had 3 squares of the ginger chai tofu...so I figured I was okay :)

Chana Masala: last of the leftovers

Pizza crust: courtesy of Raine

2 carrots: .22

Ethiopian veggies: last of the leftovers

half of last apple: 30

1 slice of wheat bread: .09

half block of tofu: .99

tofu "egg" salad: leftovers

Spices, chai tea, condiments...already had those!

Total: 1.60, but all in all it wasn't a very fulfilling day. All I wanted was more fruit! And broccoli! And I was having severe cravings for a banana...and Subway! 

I am just glad I was able to do more groceries today! I definitely got broccoli and bananas, along with lots of other yummy produce, and a few other items. When I got home from the store I immediately made a tall smoothie with half a banana, 5 strawberries, 1 tsp Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder, 2 tsp agave nectar, loads of ice, and some soy milk to help it along... So replenishing!

Overall, I think the Challenge went really well! Despite eating out once, I stuck to the challenge and was able to make it work quite well. I never felt (until the last day) that I was lacking any variety or ingredients, and I wasn't dissatisfied with what I was eating. I am pretty sure that having y'all as an audience gave me a little push to get a little creative with what I ate, too! I will now resume eating a head of broc, 2 apples and a handful of cashews for lunch ;) Only slightly joking...

It was definitely eye-opening to realize that I can easily eat for $21 of groceries for an entire week!!! I honestly didn't think it would be as easy as it was. When I think of how easy it is to spend $10 or more on a meal out in a restaurant, I feel like it's such a waste of money! I do enjoy going out to eat, and love the social aspect of it, so I won't cut out restaurant eating all together, but I will definitely cut back! There are just so many people that cannot afford to spend a lot of money on groceries, and I think with good information on what to buy and some idea of a meal plan, it is possible to make a little money go a long way.

3 years ago I was working as a cashier at a local grocery store in Lubbock and got a pretty good idea of what people with food stamps were spending their money on: meat, more meat, Little Debbie snack cakes, even more meat, white bread, gallons of cooking oil, 10 lb bags of potatoes, cartons upon cartons of eggs, milk, and sugary juices. Seriously. I think the entire Food Stamp Program needs a makeover. I believe that it's just careless to provide this type of assistance to low-income individuals without providing a class, meeting, or even a few pamphlets on a healthy diet. I know it's definitely not the place of the government to tell us what to eat, and I'm not trying to suggest that...but I just think something needs to be done. I rarely ever saw anybody using their food stamps for fresh produce or legumes, and it seemed like the food in general was worse than the Standard American Diet...Anyways, maybe I am overstepping my boundaries as a mere food blogger here, so I will stop. Please do not get me started on WIC...

I feel so privileged to even have $20 dollars a week to spend on groceries, to have a nice home to live in, and to have a loving family who cares for me.  

Could you live for 7 days on $21 of groceries? What would you have the hardest time giving up? I don't have any staples that are super expensive, but I remember passing up a box of yummy-looking crackers as well as more expensive produce like cherries and grapes. 

The only thing that makes me feel better when I get upset about things like this, is to think we cannot change where we were born or where we came from, we cannot change our ethnicity or what we've done in the past- but we can change our education. I believe that there is always room to learn more and become better educated to make good choices for ourselves, our families, and our Earth!

What do you think?