Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A Little Raw Today: Greenie

Here it is...my first Green Monster...Angela is doing it, and so is Kath...
This is part of my flirting with a more raw food, and more vegan lifestyle.
It was hard to think about not diving into my favorite egg white breakfast this morning, but once I started assembling this monster, I got a little excited about it.
In the humble little blender this morning went
1. frozen strawberries (local, organic)
2. fresh spinach
3. almond milk (about 1/2c)
4. frozen banana
It made a huge amount, keeping me well satiated until my scheduled morning snack. It tasted good- believe me. No 'green' flavor at all. And I had BOUNDLESS energy this morning- whether that's because of an awesome sleep last night, 2 cups of coffee or this greenie I don't know (and don't want to perform isolated trials to figure it out).
I'm waiting to see if the sugars (natural, but sugar none the less) will give me a headache later in the day as they have done before. So far so good though, and if this proves to be a cost effective and healthy alternative I may make these a staple in my meal plans.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Weekly Nutrition: Spring changes

I've craved fresh, raw fruits and vegetables since there have been signs of spring abound. So you can see more light, cool dishes in my meals this week.
1. 6 Egg whites, 2 handfuls spinach, 1 handful mushrooms
2. 1/2c Raw oats with almond milk, raisins and ground flax
3. 2c raw spinach, 1/2c rice and beans, vinaigrette
4. 2c raw veggies (mostly broccoli and carrots)
5. BIG bowl of salad including avocado and hemp hearts
Some treats over the week included:
Some almond-banana oat cookies, some trail mix, some gluten-free crackers and cheese. I had a treat just about every other day- just not tightening up my nutrition like I would like to. Not going to beat myself up about it because my workouts have been AWESOME, and included more HIIT circuit training c/o Jillian Michaels.

Almond-Banana Oat Cookies

(Gluten-free, Dairy Free)
Preheat oven to 350F
2 frozen medium bananas
1c almond butter
1/4c coconut oil
1/2c honey or agave nectar
1c splenda
Combine all above in a food processor until smooth
11/2 tsp baking soda
3c gluten-free oats
1/2c ground almonds
Mix together, then pour wet ingredients from processor into bowl. Add chocolate chips and stir by hand.
Drop golf-ball size mounds onto parchment lined cookie sheet (makes about 18). Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are just browned, and peaks golden.
Enjoy this treat!