An Honest Review

A few weeks ago, I received a shipment of granola bars from Honest Foods. I had read about these granola bars on many blogs, most notably KERF, and I was excited about trying them for myself.

Honest Foods believes in honesty on many levels. The company uses wholesome, all natural ingredients and supports sustainable farming practices. They also want the honest truth about their products and encourage feedback, which I think is really remarkable.

For many of these flavors I enlisted my trusty sidekick and brother, Sergio to help me sample.

First up, the bars, which are baked with almond butter instead of oil (love!). Most of the bars’ sweetness comes from dried fruit with a little brown rice syrup, and the first two ingredients listed are oats and almond butter.  Most of the bars packed around 200 calories, 90 calories from fat, and 5 grams of protein.

Almond Trail Mix

Sergio- I thought it had a nice smooth texture like a Sunday morning. It has more of an almondy flavor than anything else. It reminds me of my summer home in Prague. It tastes very homemade like your Aunt Sue made it. Another thing I like is that it’s chewy like candy.

Me- I love the texture! Hearty like an oatmeal cookie. It tastes like an almond extract was tipped a little too heavily in the bar, as the flavor was too pronounced, but I did enjoy this flavor overall.

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Sergio- Well I must say it’s good in the way that it’s two of my favorite flavors combined. But (yes there is a but) it does make my mouth very dry. It had a subtle nutty texture and flavor. This one reminds me of my other home in Beirut. I also suggest to put this flavor in yogurt so it doesn’t make you as thirsty.

Me- I love chocolate and peanut butter and together I was stoked for this flavor. Word to Sergio, it is rather dry. I crumbled this flavor over my oatmeal and the moisture of the oats helped create a more cookie like consistency for the crumbled bar.

Apple Ginger

Me- This bar had a lovely apple flavor with a definite ginger zing. However I detected a stronger cinnamon than ginger flavor, but that was still a nice accompaniment to the apple taste.

Sergio- That is amazing. The only thing I was disappointed with was that it said ginger but I couldn’t really taste it. So the next time you go hunting never forget your lucky speedo (note from me: When you think this boy has major insight he turns around and says something that makes you realize he’s crazy. At least he makes some good points).

Cran Lemon Zest

Me- This bar also had the perfect oatmeal cookie like texture. There was a great balance between the lemon and cranberry flavors, and it had a slightly salty after taste that was very pleasant.

Now the planks. I was enticed by the planks once I read the description on the Honest Foods website: “Everyone knows the best part of granola is the clusters. The problem with regular granola is there just aren’t enough of them. That’s how we came up with the idea of baking granola into a plank.” I love crumbly granola so this seemed right up my alley. If I can crumble my own granola I am guaranteed large clusters! Most of the planks have around 200 calories, 80 calories from fat, and 5 grams of protein per serving and each package contains 2 servings.

Maple Almond Crunch

Aja- Mmm there’s nuts in this, delicious.

Mom- There’s nuts but no crunch.

Me- Like the almond bar, the almond flavor in here is too strong. There is a hint of maple flavor. I was disappointed that there was no crunch. It tasted a bit stale, and the maple syrup made for a soggy texture, but I did like the maple essence.

Pomegranate Walnut Crisp

Me- I really liked the pomegranate flavor, but this bar was sticky and wet, like the maple almond plank.

Me- Crackle is right. I could bearly break into this bar. It reminded me of peanut brittle it was so tough to bite into. I liked the flavor, it reminded me of a blueberry muffin.

Sergio- I can’t even bite my teeth into this.

After sampling the bars and planks, I ate many of them in my oatmeal or yogurt concotions.

Favorite product sampled

Cran Lemon Zest bar

My Honest Conclusion

I was really disappointed by the planks. The flavor of the planks was spot on, but I was really looking forward to a crunchy granola like texture that just wasn’t there. This could be a fluke as I have heard positive things about the planks on other blogs. I loved the cookie like texture of the bars though the flavor was a bit too strong for some of the bars. I would definitely buy the bars again, especially apple ginger or cran lemon zest. I would be weary about buying the planks. Again, I love that Honest Foods emphasizes honesty in every sense, and these bars contain nothing artificial or overly processed and are produced in small batches, which I really appreciate.

Thank you to Honest Foods for sending me samples of their products!

Special thanks to this guy for his help:

Who would like to add: Well folks that’s all the time I have for today, see you next time on Marya’s blog!!!!!

Snow Escapade

So if you’re reading this and you’re in the DC area, congratulations on surviving the blizzard of the decade! Thankfully we didn’t lose power, and I was so, so, SO grateful. Because losing power would have meant not eating the wonderful things that graced my lips today, nor would it have meant the TV show marathons that went down today.

The school were I work closed at noon yesterday, and so my mom and I ran a few before-the-blizzard errands, and I was able to sneak off to the gym and ran 5 miles on the dreadmill, without pain and with some sprints thrown in! This is my longest post marathon run, and I am celebrating every little milestone. Watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch probably helped my run along, too (anyone else watch ABC’s TGIF lineups back in the day?)

Anyway, once I got home on Thursday I just felt like a hot bath, so I filled my mom’s jacuzzi tub that we NEVER use, poured some Kombucha in a wine glass because I’m klassy and read a book while bathing. It was so nice to know that the snow was falling heavily outside but I was cozy in a warm tub.

Thursday night’s dinner still left me craving a pile of mush with some kind of meaty substitute topping. We had some sad looking turnips and parsnips in the fridge, so I whipped up Elise’s mashed unpotatoes, only minus the squash and plus parsnips. I also made them un vegan by using organic moo milk. In my defense, the only vegan milk we had in the house was of the vanilla almond variety, and that does not seem to jive with cauliflower.

I also had brussel sprouts in barbecue sauce, steamed kale with coconut oil, and a Sunshine BBQ patty alongside. Elise’s unpotatoes were DELICIOUS, and I loved adding miso paste and nutritional yeast for an unconventional twist that still retained a classic mashed potato flavor.

I used one of the coupons Sunshine Burger sent me:

The stats:

I wrote about Sunshine burger here. I still have a third flavor to try, but so far the falafel flavor is my favorite. This BBQ patty seemed to be lacking in the barbecue department. I liked how it still had a consistency similar to falafel. I love these Sunshine burgers, and I would definitely buy the falafel flavor again, but sometimes I kind of like a burger that tastes soy processed, fake meat-y. Sometimes. But for the other times, Sunshine burgers are great!

Veganomicon has a great recipe for brownie waffles. But I wanted something a bit more healthified (just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s healthy!) I made a batch of Bob’s Red Mill buckwheat waffles using a flax egg and a chocolate fudge protein powder sauce by whisking my vanilla soy protein powder with cocoa and water to thin. I added a tablespoon of almond butter to the sauce, but the flavor was a bit lost. Next time I think I may put the nut butter on the side of the waffle or use peanut butter for a pb/chocolate combo.

SO. GOOD. I heart banana+chocolate. On the side I had some kiwi, strawberries, and blueberries.

With lots of Washington Post magazines for reading material:

I also found a really interesting article in the New York Times Dining section, ‘When Chocolate And Chakras Collide.’ In Gliding Calm’s absence, I had to share!

The article was about how many passionate foodies are also ardent yogis (hello blogworld!) and discussed whether there the practice of yoga required certain dietary principles. I found this interesting:

Why yes, I would love a gourmet dinner after my yoga class.

This week I received This American Life the TV show Season 2 from Netflix, so Aja, my mom, and I had a nice TV watching marathon. At first I was a bit skeptical of a TV version of TAL, I figured why mess with something that works so well? But the TAL gang picked shows that become so much more poignant with images, and it is definitely worth checking out.

After all that putzing around, I needed lunch, so I threw together a plate of randomness:

whole wheat naan with hummus, nutritional yeast, sundried tomatoes, tofurkey with a side of parsnip fries with spicy Moroccan ketcup and kale cooked with coconut oil

I used this ketcup for dipping:

Still loving the spiced ketchup! I have yet to experiment with it, but I want to make a spiced Morrocan ketchup topped veggie meatloaf soon. The snow was pretty to watch fall, and it was nice thinking that everyone had to choice but to stay at home. It was definitely cozy. But we did get a ridiculous amount of snow (around 28 inches). Luckily it stopped earlier than expected, and I helped my mom shovel (we have a HUGE driveway).

Missy was a big help with shoveling.

NOT. That’s pretty much where Missy stayed all day, on top of my bed. In her defense, she was out for about 2 days prior to this weekend, so girl needed her rest.

While mom and I were shoveling, Aja prepared dinner. I left her with eggplant, seaweed, various Asian spices, and rice and told her to make dinner. Aja obliged, and took photos to boot.

Aja made fried eggplant in a hoisin/ginger/garlic sauce that melts in your mouth, rice, and wakame salad with rice vinegar, sesame oil and other fun things I don’t really know.

Melt in my mouth delicious! I wish I had a bigger appetite (my stomach was grumbling like crazy and I had a major Snackface on in the afternoon) because I only ate about half. But it made for good leftovers today! We capped off the night with more This American Life, because one can never have too much Ira Glass.

If you had a snow day, how did you spend it?

A tout a l’heure
Maya!

Probably the Most Un-photogenic Thing on AG Ever

But you’ll just have to stay tuned to find out what that un-photogenic thing was!

You may think it was my oatmeal yesterday morning, but that is just the dim lighting. Not my fault, nor my food’s fault. That’s what happens at 6:30 am.

I like to eat at home mainly because everyone has different tastes. I love meals out, don’t get me wrong, but I have certain food preferences that are kind of peculiar, as I’m sure we all have.  Anyway, here is where I am going with this: the bowl of oatmeal was 1/2 oat bran 1/2 oatmeal. I loved the way the oat bran got kind of lumpy because of the way I stirred it haphazardly. It reminded me of grits and I loved chowing down on those bumps. This oatmeal/oat bran was cooked with 1/2 a banana, a few teaspoons of chia seeds, a tablespoon of Naturally Nutty vanilla almond butter, and 1/2 of an Honest Foods bar (review to come!)

So I realized something the other day. I eat breakfast at 6:30 before work. I am staring at 10:30 and tried to hold out before until lunch. But then I would become hungry in the afternoon, and the other day I was so hungry I switched around dinner and an afternoon snack, so I dined at 5, which is incredibly early for me. Sometimes I can hold out for lunch, but other times I just become snacky. So why not pack myself a proper mid morning snack so that my fuel is evenly dispersed throughout the day if I need it? Makes sense. So I packed about 2 tablespoons of pistachios and a Funky Monkey snack in pineapple guava.

Review of Funky Monkey also to come!

This snack did the trick, almost too well, because 2:30 rolled around and I ate lunch not because I was particularly hungry but because it was almost 3 pm.

I still contend that anything tastes better on a salad, like my eggplant casserole. On the side: a little fruit salad with mango, kiwi, strawberries, and blueberries.

My sister went apartment hunting in Baltimore after school/work, so Sergio and I tagged along. Afterward we headed to a nearby restaurant, the Golden West Cafe, for dinner. I really liked the eccentric decor:

I also  liked that they used old records as menus:

This restaurant was a bit of a hipster haven. Lots of people dressed in their vintage/thrift store finest discussing this weekend’s shows.

Apparently, I wanted to raise the roof while waiting:

Wave em like you just don’t care! Maybe I had to throw my hands up because I was stoked when I read the menu and thus and had a hard time deciding what I wanted for dinner. I ended up ordering the polenta with green chile sauce and tofu chorizo. I envisioned a comforting polenta mush with hearty pieces of chorizo. I got this:

It was good, don’t get me wrong. I just didn’t picture a polenta triangle with mushy corizo sauce when I read the description. I think I might make a similar dish at home with green chile sauce the way I envisioned this dish. I ordered lemon tahini dressing with my salad.

EMBRACE THE SWEET POTATO FRY.

I savored the sweet potato fry I stole from Sergio.

Sergio didn’t really like his green chile cheeseburger, so he traded with my sister’s black bean burger, which he did enjoy.

Apparently, the cafe likes their spice, because everyone’s meal, from my siblings’ burgers to my polenta was loaded with spice. Again, not a bad thing, just a fact. I will say we greatly appreciated the York peppermint patties that came with the check.

In the end, I felt like we waited too long for food that was good, but didn’t wow me like I expected. I would try it again, though, if I’m in the neighborhood, and I might be if my sister moves to Baltimore.

When I got home, I still felt like protein powder cookie dough, so that’s what I did!

Behold the most un-photogenic thing ever. Not even background props could save this dish’s ugliness.

Really the protein powder is white but turns green when mixed, due to its spirulina/kale/barley content. It tastes just like cookie dough, though! I mixed a scoop of vanilla soy pimped out protein powder with water, oats (because I like raw oatmeal cookie dough) and chopped bits of NibMor dark chocolate. I did not use peanut butter but will probably add that in the future. Yum in the tum, gross to the eye.

If you’re snowed in this weekend, try and make the most of it!

A tout a l’heure!

Maya

All Praise Theo

Ahh, feels like Monday. Yesterday we had a snow day, which made Wednesday kind of like the second Saturday of the week. If only that happened more often! This weekend is supposed to be an epic snowstorm of 24-30 inches. Jeez louise. So run to your local Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s fellow east coast bloggians!

Anyway, I have to tell you to please check out the discount produce at your local grocery store. So, it might not be organic, but who am I to turn down 8 kiwis for 2 dollars, even if they came from Italy? Such bargains are the reason why I can stock up on fruit and veg and indulge fully at work:

glorious fruit trifecta

I find peeling the white pith off grapefruits therapeutic. Anyone else with me?

And of course I fully indulge in fruit and veg at home:

salad with sweet potato, broccoli, orange bell pepper, meatless meatballs, hummus, bbq sauce, and guiltless TJ multigrain chips

If you haven’t tried the bbq sauce, hummus, and sweet potato combination, I HIGHLY recommend you get on that!

Does anuyone find this close up gross? Because personally it makes me drool on my keyboard.

Even though we had more time in the morning yesterday, with school canceled, I still turned to a quick and easy breakfast because protein powder fudge swirl is just so good in Greek yogurt.

greek yogurt with fudge swirl, banana, Honest Foods bar (review to come soon!) and shredded wheat

Also check out reduced dairy products at grocery stores, sometimes they will take 50% off select items because they are nearing their expiration date. That is how I got my Oikos for one dolla bill.

What I loved about yesterday’s snow day was that it was enough to cancel school but not enough to prevent going out later in the afternoon. So we took grandma out for an early birthday dinner, which also celebrated my sister Aja’s arrival back home!

My grandma is the #1 doter around, and she always calls me precious. That lady was 5′10 back in the day.

My sister makes the most ridiculous faces, so there will probably be many more pictures like this to come.

Happy birthday Grandma! She is one classy woman who knows how to make a martini.

The other day, weeks after Katharina sent it to me I tried a piece of German chocolate coated marzipan.

That doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, but I had to give my girl a shout out. It is also a good segue into the next topic: chocolate!

A few weeks ago, Theo send me chocolate to review. Theo chocolate is organic and fair trade. They purchase cacao directly from farmers with whom they build long terms relationships to ensure economic stability in cocoa growing regions and practice sustainable growing practices.

Plus their packaging is just darn cute. See those little hazelnut kids? Adorable.

I received Dark Chocolate with Spicy Chile, Milk Chocolate with 45% cocoa, and Hazelnut Crunch Milk Chocolate.

First up, the chocolate with chile:

Aja: Wow, this is really spicy. Usually it’s just a hint of spice but this is like bam! Intense flavor. If you like heat, get this!

Next up, milk chocolate:

Aja: Really smooth. It’s crisp when you bite into it but still melts well in your mouth.

Maya: Definitely ain’t Hershey’s. Delicious!

And last, but definitely not least, Hazelnut Crunch:

Aja: Whoah this is good! (this is directly quoted, she did not write this herself) It’s like…salty.

Maya: It almost tastes like toffee, Aja thought they might have used candied hazelnuts to achieve that flavor. Definite crunch to this! It has a salty aftertaste that is just glorious.

The Hazelnut Crunch flavor is part of Theo’s 3400 Phinney bars, and other flavors include Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate, Chai Milk Chocolate, Coffee Dark Chocolate, and Bread and Chocolate Dark Chocolate (!) I must MUST try bread and chocoalte!

I highly recommend  Sure some other brands of chocolate are cheap, but I find that you don’t appreciate its flavor so you down way too many of them at once. Theo chocolate. If you buy good chocolate it doesn’t take much more than a small square to be satisfied, and you savor the flavor much better, so it is worth the price. Organic chocolate just tastes better, and Theo knows how to combine innovative flavors without overpowering the chocolate.

What’s your favorite brand of chocolate?

A tout a l’heure!
Maya

I’m Back!

Hope everyone had a good weekend! We were snowed in on Saturday, as was most of the East Coast.  Not a big fan of the white stuff,b but I’m always appreciative of when we can finally get out of the house. Yesterday we went to an Indian buffet lunch for the first post snow outing, and that’s never a bad thing.

My dog, Apolo, in the snow.

So, I’m back and running! Yesterday as part of my cardio workout at the gym I ran three miles on the treadmill, my longest consistent run post marathon, and without injury. I felt very accomplished after three miles. I’m not at my previous running stamina, but I find it humbling that I’m back on the ground floor in my running ability.  I am not a professional runner, nor do I plan on entering any ultra running competitions, so i don’t need to be constantly in running shape. I’m actually really excited to slowly build my endurance again.

My leftover pancake batter from my egg in a kabocha/eggplant pancake hole made for a great pancake salad topper.

I am pretty sure that anything would taste good on top of salad (this one includes red pepper, broccoli, and carrots). I may even have to try cake on top of salad one day.

I also had an Asian pear, which reminds me of a cross between an apple and a pear.

Friday night I dreamed of waffles. How bizarre! I woke up CRAVING waffles, and made some with my vanilla soy protein powder for my family, based off this recipe, with oat bran instead of wheat bran.

I love my waffles topped with yogurt and fruit (in this case, vanilla Oikos, blueberries, pomegranate arils, and kiwi) and I prepared a similarly topped waffle for Sergio.

I was unexpectedly home alone on Saturday, and I rummaged through the fridge for lunch ideas. I ended up making an eggplant parmesan/moussaka concoction, very loosely based off this recipe. I salted eggplant slices to remove the bitter juices, dried the slices, and roasted them. I sauteed various onions remnants from our fridge (red onion, green onion, and yellow onion) with garlic and olive oil and added sliced mushrooms and a few sundried tomatoes, to which I later added tomato sauce, cumin (instead of cinnamon), and nutritional yeast (instead of parmesan). I layered the tomato sauce and roasted eggplant and topped it with some ricotta mixed with oregano. I baked the casserole at 350 for 20 mniutes and added feta cheese in the last ten minutes of baking.

On the side I had some sauteed kale with pomegranate molasses and raisins.

I forgot how good dried fruit is mixed with sauteed greens. I highly recommend it, as it adds a bit of a chew and sweet touch.

Inspired by Katie’s yode, I made my own fudge swirled yogurt mess.

Greek yogurt with banana slices, protein powder fudge swirl, shredded wheat, and sunflower seed butter. My fudge swirl isn’t as fudgy as it could be, as my protein powder was vanilla based, and also has a bit of a green tint. But my protein powder also boosts spirulina, barley, kale, and other ingredients I can’t remember right now, so it’s worth the trade off. The best thing about this yogurt mess?

The color swirls!

Hope everyone doesn’t have too manic of a Monday!

A tout a l’heure!

Maya

K is For Kefir, Kabocha, and Kale

Hey blog playas! Even though I may take an unexpected absence from blog world from time to time, eating still happens. And occasionally picture taking as well.

Before I get to today’s k’s, I wanted to share this passage I read from the foodie goddess Ruth Reichl’s blog:

“Given the situation in Haiti,” someone wrote me yesterday, “maybe you should stop writing about all the great food you’re eating.” I’ve been thinking about that, a lot…

The man who wants me to stop writing about food until the Haiti crisis is over (and will it ever be over?) is, of course, on much more solid ground. But it reminds me a bit of my grandparents, who stopped celebrating everything when their youngest daughter died. If she couldn’t be there to join in the fun, there would be no more fun. That’s ridiculous. And the opposite of life-affirming.

We all have a moral obligation to do whatever we can to help the Haitians during this terrible time. But talking about it doesn’t help; we need to take concrete action. And once again, it’s not an either/or situation. There will always be trouble – war, famine, earthquake, illness – somewhere in the world. We should not close our eyes or our minds to them. We should help in whatever ways we can. But in times of trouble- especially in times of trouble – it is important to celebrate life. We need to remind ourselves – and others – that it is good to be alive. If only as a promise that better times are coming.”

I think it’s a good thing to keep in mind in any kind of tragedy, from an earthquake in  Haiti to the death of a loved one. We need to celebrate life, and food is such an integral part of that. So onto the k foods!

Lately I’ve been all over kale. But I’m rolling with it, because of all the cravings, a kale kraving is a particularly good one to have.

Kale has accompanied many of this week’s meals. And on the side is some black beans on toast (a very British concept, except not usually with black beans) because my mom made a ton of beans that have been my lunch with salad literally every day this week.

K is not for Prana Bar, but k is for krazy delicious Prana Bar, so let’s go with that. I was sent many Prana bars from Divine Foods. They are enzyme active, organic, unprocessed, non-gmo, soy free, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, and all natural, with no added sugar. Whew! But mainly I like them because they are like pumped up Larabars, with a little more texture by way of nuts and grains, but with a similar dried fruit puree like base. So far apple pie is my favorite. I’ve seen them in local health food stores, so look for them in one near you! I like having one in my purse in case an afternoon snack is needed.

The other day we were running errands and my brother desperately wanted a snack. He wanted to buy chips, but I gave him the Prana Bar I had with me instead. He was hesitant at first, but really liked it, too.

nice face, Sergio

He’s munching on the pumpkin apricot flavor, which I also highly recommend. And the pear ginseng pictured above. Heck, all the flavors are good.

Kefir definitely starts with k, however, which we’ve been drinking a lot in our house, thanks to Lifeway.

I was very excited to try kefir after reading how much Allie loves the stuff, who waxes poetic about this dairy beverage regularly. Kefir is similar to yogurt, but much more beneficial, as it contains 10 live cultures that help to, um, clean you out. The cultures also boost your immunity system, improves digestion, lower cholesterol levels, and may even prevent the development of cancer causing toxins. Kefir’s history goes back 2000 years, when Eastern nomadic shepherds discovered that the milk in their leather pouches fermented into a delicious and nutritious beverage. Kefir comes from the word keif, which means “good feeling” in Turkish, in reference to the well being kefir promotes.

Lifeway hooked me up. I got six different flavors, and I was a bit overwhelmed at trying them all myself, thinking that no one else in my family would enjoy it. I usually like plain yogurt and all the kefir flavors I got were flavored, which is great, but six bottles is a lot. Turns out I didn’t have to worry about the overabundance of kefir, as there is a natural born kefir lover in my house.

Sergio loves kefir. He practically wrote an ode to it this morning. He tried the cherry flavor today and pronounced it the drink of the gods. Seriously. He even said that he would drink this over soda (he doesn’t drink soda everyday, but the kid likes his soda). Really, kefir is like a much healthier alternative to go gurt and other similar drinkable yogurts marketed to kids.

I’ve been using kefir in my cereal:

shredded wheat with strawberry banana kefir, banana slices, blueberries, and sunflower seed butter

It also makes for a great bowl of Swiss oats. I don’t have any pictures of it, but basically I soak 1/3 cup to 1/2 a cup of old fashioned oats in about 3/4 cup kefir thinned with a little water overnight. In the morning I add the usual dried fruits, nuts, bananas, etc, whatever floats your boat. My brother now demands that kefir be readily available in our house. He’s been taking it in the car as his morning beverage instead of a Capri Sun. Thanks Lifeway for introducing such a great, healthful beverage to our household! I just checked out the website and apparently they have a Greek style kefir! Must try this!

I’ve been missing kabocha squash, but couldn’t find it in the grocery stores, so I took a trip to the Asian market and stocked up. So good! I remembered seeing a recipe for Egg in a Kabocha Eggplant Pancake on Sophia’s blog and I had to try it last night. I used buckwheat pancake mix instead of the white flour she calls for, mainly because I wanted something whole grain but our whole grain flours were downstairs, and I was hungry, and it was past 9 pm…and also because I figured pancake mix should work just fine.

I don’t know where this girl gets her crazy brilliant ideas. It’s so original! I’ve never seen anything like this:

I of course had steamed kale on the side.

It also didn’t take too much time to whip up, which I greatly appreciated. It was exactly my idea of comfort food: a thick, hearty pancaked stuffed with squash and spices, with a runny yolk.

I saved the best, runniest yolkiest bite for last.

Although I may not have posted much this week, some kreative eats with a k have definitely gone down. TGIF everyone!

Maya

The New York Schlep

Good morning Upper East Siders bloggians! Excuse the Gossip Girl talk, but I just spent a weekend on the Upper East Side, so I couldn’t help it! Hope everyone had a good weekend, mine involved a lot, a LOT of schlepping walking all up and down the east side.

My family and I journeyed to the Big Apple to visit a sick relative. Our bus left at 1 am on Saturday and arrived at  5 am in NYC. I was not a happy camper, to say the least, as we dragged both our suitcases and sorry behinds to the hotel.

After a refreshing 3 hour nap I arose to walk down to the East Village to meet Katie for lunch at Bonobo’s. I love walking long distances with a destination in mind and then arriving at that destination. I was very happy to see this sign after 70 blocks of walking.

Bonobo’s is a raw, vegetarian restaurant set up cafeteria style. They have a large assortment of pates, nutmeats, and vegetables to add to nori wraps, salads, and atop veggie burgers, as well as many soups and fresh juices. I was overwhelmed with the choices, but luckily you can sample whatever you like. Katie and I both ordered nori wraps, and I asked for curry sunflower seed spread and sundried tomato walnut spread on mine along with beets, sprouts, carrots, and zucchini. It came with a side salad and from their many dressings, I ordered the agave ginger. Katie and I split the coconut chai, the most delicious tasting beverage I have ever had. It was creamy, spicy, and oh so sweet. Heaven. If you told me it was a milkshake I would have believed it. Katie and I weren’t sure who got who’s nori wraps, so we shared. She also gave me some of her diablo spicy dressing that complemented the rolls well. I love anyone so open to sharing. On Saturday I couldn’t charge my camera, so the next picture of my lunch was taken with my phone.

Katie will definitely have better pictures, so check out Lilveggiepatch!

We had a great time together, and I easily could have stayed longer to chat, but eventually we had to part ways. Hopefully I’ll see much more of her next year when I’m in the city for school!

I then trudged from E 23rd to E 99th to go to the hospital. Whew! We decided to stay in the area for dinner so I consulted Yelp for dinner and found a charming, intimate Mexican French fusion bistro in Spanish Harlem, Itzocan Bistro. Even if I had my camera it would have been pointless to take pictures, as the lighting was very dim. The meal was delicious, though, and I highly recommend this restaurant. Everything was beautifully presented with such unique combination of flavors. It was also moderately priced for the experience. We shared among the three of us the huitlachoche souffle cake with baby greens and truffle oil (huitlacoche is a fungus that grows in corn stalks and is considered a delicacy); pumpkin gnocchi with purple kale, shitakes, rajas poblanas, and corn; and Itzocan bouillabaisse with prawns, striped bass, mussels, and aioli croutons. We happily slurped up this meal, and afterward my brother and I got Tasti Di Lite for dessert. It was okay, I think I’d take self serve frozen yogurt anyday though.

Sunday we arose early to see the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA. I planned on going to Alice’s Tea Cup, but as this was a last minute trip we were on a bit of a budget, so I opted for H&H Bagels instead. I don’t think we’ve ever gone out for bagels in New York, so we were past due for a visit.

I got a whole wheat everything bagel with tofutti cream cheese on the side. We also ordered 1/4 pound Nova smoked salmon.

For some reason they scooped out the innards. Maybe they figured the whole wheat, tofu cream cheese slathering girl doesn’t want the excess carbs, or maybe they wanted to make it a better vehicle for cream cheese (though my brother and mom’s bagels weren’t scooped) but I rarely have bagels and when I have one I want full carb action. I still lapped it up.

My brother, the aspiring food photographer, takes a picture of his Vitamin Water.

And pictures of me with my mom’s coffee.

On our walk to the museum we passed by one of Eli Zabar’s stores, and I dragged my family in.

And Sergio had a little fun with the produce.

Although I am a vegetarian, I will have matzoh ball soup, even made with chicken broth, anyday. Love it.

As delicious as the salad bar looked,

at 10.95 a pound it’s even more expensive than Whole Foods. I think I’ll pass. I think I will also pass on the 10.95 a pound Eli’s granola. I was hoping to happen upon some of Eli’s Health bread, but no dice. Oh well!

Luckily we made it to MoMA before it opened because there was quite a line for tickets. I love Tim Burton’s style (my favorite film of his is Edward Scissorhands) but my mom didn’t hold him in very high regard, aside from enjoying some of his movies. After seeing the eshibit she had much more appreciation for Burton as not only a director but an artist.

We didn’t have time for much else in the museum, but once Sergio heard it was home to Starry Night he had to see it, so we did wander the exhibits for a bit before going back to the hospital.

I love anthing tha tadds a pop of color to city streets.

I thought these trees were kind of Tim Burton-esque after seeing the exhibit.

After our hospital visit we schlepped our suitcases downtown to catch the 5 pm bus. I passed Maoz on Saturday, a vegetarian falafel joint so good I went there twice in Amsterdam.

There are several locations in Europe and it has now opened in New York City with a few locations elsewhere, including Washington DC (definitely worth a visit for me!)

It’s fast food, and falafel pitas and salads come with a complimentary salad bar, loaded with such amazing vegetables (including spiced carrots, beets, chickpeas, cucumber & tomato, pickled eggplant, and broccoli & cauliflower), tabbouuleh, coleslaw, salsas, olives, and tahini sauce. The beauty of the salad bar is that you can refill it as many times as you like.

I could only load my falafel salad plate once, but the container was plenty big. My mom did work on her refillable pita though, rest assured. The employees’ tips was to put my falafels on the lid so that I can maximize my carton space for salad. Good advice!

My brother was hesitant to eat falafel for our late lunch (apparently he confused falafel for a lentil concotion) but he happily ate his pita.

They also have fresh squeezed orange juice and sweet potato fries. Can life get any better? Oh yes, it can, you can get a sandwich for 5 dollars and a combo meal for 8 dollars. Take that Mickey D’s. I highly highly recommend Maoz for a quick bite, as does my entire family, including formerly weary of falafel Sergio.

It was perfect fuel for walking to the bus stop and waiting. Sergio and I opted to sit in Madison Square Garden, and I was a happy clam as I could use my phone while charging it.

Just give me my phone for entertain me and I’m set. When I think of all the time I spend reading sh!t on my phone I think of all the novels I could read instead. But novels are hard to read in line while shopping or when you don’t have room for a book, so that’s my defense.

We made it back to Maryland much sooner than expected, with tired legs from all the walking (I figure I walked 13+ miles on Saturday alone) but with satisfied spirits. The trip went off to a rough start, but it was highly memorable.

Have you ever been to New York? If so, what are your favorite NYC spots?

As I will be in the city next year, I anticipate many restaurant visits, so I’m adding a restaurant page. Also check out my recipes page!

A toute a l’heure!

Maya

Rabbit Food

First up, a review!

I first reviewed 18 Rabbits a couple of months ago, and I recently received the latest flavor that launched on January 1st, Belle Bananas Foster. I love this company’s story and the founder’s fond memories of her mom’s granola. 18 Rabbits granola bars taste like just what they are, minimally processed and made with wholesome ingredients. They are also wheat and dairy free.

My breakfast the other day starred Belle Bananas Foster center stage.

My yogurt mess also contained banana slices and pomegranate seeds. As I mentioned in my last 18 Rabbits review, the texture of the granola bars is chewy, which isn’t my ideal granola bar texture. But that is just a personal preference, and I did love the caramelized flavor of this bar.

I am, in general, someone who prefers rabbit food. I eat a lot of vegetables, and if I miss my daily quotient I end up craving them the next day, hence why I came home yesterday and noshed away at sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes. I take my veggies anyway, roasted, cooked, raw, grilled, etc. (except no raw broccoli and cauliflower, please!) The other day I made a delicious turnip, roasted garlic, and honey soup. I used this recipe. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture, but it was enjoyed by my family with homemade bread, even by my mother who first turned up her nose at the thought of turnip soup for dinner.

Today I thought we would have a 2 hour delay for my school where I work as a receptionist. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and I unexpectedly had to think of a quick lunch to prepare. I braised some collard greens in a bit of leftover soup and topped it with browned tofu. I didn’t think much of this idea, but hurriedly packed it and called it a meal.

Much to my surprise, it was delicious!

It was so comforting on a gray day. The school offers pizza lunches on Friday, but honestly, I’d take this bowl of warm nourishment anyway. Really. It was that good. Leftover soup can be an awesome base for leftover upgrades. I also had a pear alongside. The magazine article next to it is about  Back On My Feet, a nonprofit organization that trains homeless people for marathons. The man pictured is a former heroin addict who trained for the Baltimore Marathon. I love marathon training stories. I can’t wait to think about training for my next marathon (cross my fingers!)

Speaking of lunch, I know students and office workers around blogworld are always looking for easy lunch ideas. May I suggest a frittata? Frittatas are delicious cold and at room temperature, which makes them great sandwiches. I made one for dinner the other night and saved the leftovers for lunch. It’s ideal for when you have odd veggies and cheese to use up, as anything can be thrown in a frittata.

Our neighbor sells these organic, free range eggs for 1.50 a dozen. That definitely beats the grocery store price of over 2 dollars a dozen for conventional eggs.

I love how they are all different colors, too.

For a frittata, simply sautee whatever vegetables you like in a medium to large oven safe skillet (I used zucchini and marjoram), beat 6-7 eggs in a bowl (to which I added salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup ricotta) and add the egg mixture to the pan. Cook on low, undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then broil until the top is cooked.

The pockets of ricotta were so good. Using a non stick skillet allows the frittata to slide onto a plate easily.

I had 1/4 of the frittata along side cheetah fries (with Dulcet ketchup for dipping) and a side salad. Fast, simple dinner with plenty of satisfying leftovers for lunch=a two for two.

I am going to New York City this weekend to visit a sick relative and I may have a blogger lunch lined up! I’ll be back after the weekend with a recap, hope everyone has a great weekend!

A toute a l’heure!
Maya

To Grandmother’s House We Go

TGIt’s almost the weekend. This week is feeling kind of long for a four day one.

I have a few days of eats to share, so let’s hop to it.

Starting with breakfast, because that’s the best way to start anything:

Oikos greek yogurt with Bekah’s coconut chia granola (so glad she posted the recipe!), a handful of Kashi Heart to Heart,  banana slices, pomegranate arils, a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, and a spoonful of sunflower seed butter. A yogurt mess at its best.

On Sunday I baked two loaves of whole wheat bread. Baking bread is surprisingly easy, especially when you use the dough hook attachment of a Kitchen Aid mixer. It doesn’t take a lot of work but it does take some hands off time for it to rise. It isn’t something I indulge in often, but I would like to bake bread for the week more often if I have a lazy Sunday to do it. If you do bake your own bread one tip I find very helpful is preheating your oven to 200 degrees, keep it on for 10 minutes, and then turn it off and let the bread rise in the oven. It’s a draft free, warm environment ideal for the dough.

It makes great toast, such as this carrot cake toast I remembered Sophia making. I simply spread some gingerbread cream cheese on a slice of bread and layered toasted walnuts on top. Then I added shaved carrots and sprinkled some cinnamon before letting it toast on the stovetop. Afterward I drizzled some maple agave blend (from Trader Joe’s). This would also be great with a second layer of bread and paninied, which I’d love to try for a more filling breakfast. On the side I had some grapefruit, banana slices, pear slices, and pomegranate arils.

The bread makes for great sandwiches, such a this tofurkey, avocado, and mustard sandwich eaten at work. I bought 3 avocadoes at a reduced price package for 99 cents, so I’ve been enjoying them quite a bit lately. I packed my mom’s sandwich, too, and she sent me an email about the sandwich: “Delicious, I forgot to tell you.  Avocado is my new favorite for all meals, except I aint putting it in my oatmeal any time soon.” She would be referring to me making banana avocado chocolate pudding and topping my oatmeal with it.

Oatmeal with avocado pudding, shaved NibMor bittersweet chocolate and a banana chip

She just doesn’t know what she’s missing.

I’m not one to usually buy protein powders, but the other day I found a organic, raw soy protein powder on sale at my local health food store from 32 dollars to 15. I couldn’t resist, and I recalled seeing several recipes in the blogworld featuring protein powder that I’d like to try.

Yes, that is my baby picture on the mug, and yes I was born cross eyed, but focus on the protein powder! My first experiment with the protein powder was for an April inspired protein cake. My protein cake was kind of spongy, I think one minute was too long in my microwave, but I’m looking forward to trying this again.

I ate it out of the mug out of pure laziness.

The orange to the left of the picture is a special treat my family receives once a year. My grandma is from Florida and always sent Florida Honeybell oranges every year. She lives in Maryland now, but continues to send oranges from Florida.

Seedless, sweet, and so delicious.

Speaking of grandma, yesterday I was supposed to babysit for two adorable kids, but the mom and I confused the dates. No worries, because Grandma lives in the same area (about half hour from my house) and I haven’t seen her for at least a few weeks. I think popping over for a surprise visit made her week. I love how adoring grandparents are. I’m determined to visit her more often. Especially because no one showers you with praise like a grandparent.

To close this post, my brother has been taking pictures randomly with my camera, which I think is cute. I’d like to foster his photography skills, so here are some of his better shots.

Fridayfridayfriday is almost here!

A toute a l’heure!

Maya

PS: I added a recipes page, so check it out!

Pomegranate Passion

I’m sitting at my desk at work and was reading a blog that mentioned some episode of Hoarders and linked to an episode on YouTube. I’ve heard of this show and could only imagine its horrors, but for whatever reason I decided to watch for a bit. Holy sh!t. If you like scary movies watch Hoarders. I don’t think I will ever be able to undo the scarring that just happened.

But anyway, on to another topic of viewing material. This past weekend I watched Food, Inc. with my brother and mom. There are many topics that can be discussed from this viewing and today I wanted to address the price of fast food. One family explained that they often dine at fast food restaurants because they cannot afford anything else. Fast food is cheap and filling. When the family went to a grocery store, they said that for 99 cents they could barely get a head of broccoli, whereas at McDonald’s they can get a cheeseburger. The daughter asked for a pear, but when the parents discovered that at 1.49 a pound they can only get 2 or 3 pears, they turned down her request. Crestfallen, the daughter follows her family away from the produce section.

Now the father suffers from diabetes, and the family pays over $150 a month for each medication that he takes, and he takes at least a few. Yes, their habit of dining regularly at fast food restaurants was a cheaper lifestyle in the short term, but in the long term it’s costing them more money. If the father doesn’t take care of himself, he might lost his sight to diabetes and then he cannot continue work as a truck driver. But it is even more of a struggle for the family to eat healthier now that they have so many medical bills to pay.

I feel so badly for this family and consider myself lucky to be in a family where healthy food is available. I know that money is no object for my family, but my mom has bargain grocery shopping down to a science, and I’ve picked up some of her tips.

For example, this past weekend I went to the grocery store for a few items and found a rack of reduced produce, where I scored these gems:

Three pomegranates for 1.49. They were a little misshapen and perhaps a bit bruised, but they contained beautiful red arils nonetheless. The sale price for pomegranates at this store was two for 5 dollars. So, for$1.50 dollars a package, I got 2 packages of 6 pomegranates for 3 dollars. Pomegranate arils can be easily frozen, which was the fate of these biblical fruits.

First, cut the stem off the pomegranate.

Next, split the pomegranate into sections.

Place a bowl of cold water in the sink and remove the seeds of the pomegranate in the cold water. Any white membrane remains will float to the top, and can be skimmed after removing all the arils.

And dump the bowl into a strainer.

Spread the pomegranate arils on a sheet pan in a single layer.

I filled up two of these pans with my six pomegranates. Afterward I froze them and placed them in a freezer bag, where they last for several months. They can easily be defrosted in small handful for a few seconds in the microwave.

What to do with pomegranates? Anything! Top your yogurt, cereal, pancakes, salads with them. Toss them in a fruit salad. Cover them in chocolate. Put them in muffins, cakes, and breads. So many, many possibilities for this superfruit.

Avocado with pomegranate molasses and arils.

Pancakes topped with pumpkin yogurt, pistachios, and pomegranate arils.

Just don’t go so overboard with buying so many cheap produce items you can’t store them and you get, say, pumpkins and apples rotting in your living room. Only follow that link if you are very, very brave.

How do you handle your grocery store budget? Do you sometimes resort to less healthy options not because you want them but because it is what you can afford?

PS: Janetha is hosting a giveaway for some beautiful jewelery!