Happy taste buds

Have you ever seen a better looking "pizza" pie?

My guess is probably yeah no.

Stemmed from the great lookin' vegan pizzas over at Ohh May, I decided to create my own worthy contender. And no pizza would be complete without Ohh May's own secret ingredients:

Step 3: Humnut Cheese
- 2-3 tbsp hummus
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- A pinch of turmeric if you like your cheese yellow
-water to thin

Step 5: TAHINI
Don’t forget it!

Honestly, these make the pizza!

When I started combining ingredients, I knew I wanted something that would taste great with the hummus/nutritional yeast mixture and what would go better than brussel sprouts? (Yes, I'm sure a lot of things would go well, but B.S.'s are my FAVORITE things... hehe, I like their initials...) And I did not have any tomato paste or other tomato related products to make red sauce...

Getting back on topic, I shredded, combined with apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt, and roasted some B.S. in the oven at 400 degrees. Whilst my green loves were wilting away, I topped an Alvarado Street Sprouted Wheat Torilla with the hummus mixture. When the brussel babies were cooked to my liking, I grabbed them from the oven and scattered them onto the torilla/hummus combo. Then came the tahini. Folks, if you haven't tried tahini, try it. If you haven't eaten it on a pizza, do it now.

 

Into the oven, again, went the pizza for a few minutes, just to crisp. When thouroughly crisped, I topped the pizza pie with fresh Italian parsley and sliced green onions. And then a salad.

 

And what pizza, or pizza-look alike, would be complete without one two three glasses of wine?

I may have indulged a little too much with this one. The wine wasn't even that good... 

Today's early morning MMA Cardio Kickboxing class was unusually difficult, probably due to the glass of red.

Verdict? 

I thought this was the best tasting pizza that has ever been placed upon my taste buds. My boyfriend, the meat eater, had to agree too! 

Mae, you are a genious!

Check back tomorrow for my first every (yay!) reader giveaway!!!

Not just for the fishes

As I snack...

I write.

What to write about...?

How about seaweed...?

Ok, seaweed.

What is so special about this stuff anyway? Sure, it smells like the ocean. And, yeah, usually it's all over the beach. But, what else is there to seaweed besides makin' sushi?

Oooooooh. Plenty.

A little 411 on seaweed, or better yet, Sea Vegetables.

Sea vegetables are truly a superfood. Recommended for their high nutrient values, sea vegetables also aid in weight loss, cellulite control, detoxification, beautiful hair and skin, and more. Since these vegetables come from the Ocean, they
Here are just some of these sea vegetables' amazing facts (source):

...the benefits of more than a few of these plants have proven to be absolutely profound. Low in calories and abundant in vitamins and minerals not to be found in land derived foods, sea vegetables stand in a class all their own. For centuries, sea vegetables have been a part of the human diet, particularly for those living in coastal regions. Given that the marine waters where sea vegetables grow is remarkably similar to the constitution of human blood, the health benefits go without saying...Sea vegetables have the potential to boost immune system function and have been proven to do so in multiple laboratory studies conducted across the globe. Sea vegetables have been credited with increasing energy, improving general well being and accelerating wound healing while maximizing the body's metabolism and anti-aging defenses. Sea vegetables are noted for their anti-inflammatory effects and may help in the treatment of certain skin conditions.

Not only that, but they contain some all-important minerals such as iron and iodine, they're rich in trace elements which can have a profound effect on human health and well being. Zinc, boron, tin, selenium, chromium, antimony and bismuth, a few of the essential trace minerals that most are not getting in the lacking standard American diet, but are readily available from the sea. In addition, sea vegetables contain E, A, C and B12 (hard to find without meat!). Seaweeds are also used commercially as thickeners and stabilizers in such products as ice cream, instant pudding, whipped toppings, salad dressings, and even toothpaste.

With that said written, why not try some seaweed?
Available at most grocery stores, you will find a small selection of sea vegetables, such as the most commonly know, Nori. Nori is a red-algae sea vegetable that is dried and pressed. Honestly, I use this one a lot. Crumble it on salads or wrap it around quinoa and avocado.

Or you can do as I did and pretty much use those sea veggies on everything!

Oven roasted butternut squash with soaked Arame (my favorite!) in a nutritional yeast, tahini, miso, apple cider vinegar mixture.  And a red cabbage salad.

Here are some other worthy competitors:
Agar Agar
Kombu
Hijiki
Sea Palm
Bladderwrack
Wakame
Dulse
Irish Moss (great in dessert recipes! More on that on some other post...)

Ok, yes, this was a slightly random post but I had to segway into my dinner last night somehow...

Hi Mom

Hi Readers! And a very special, Hi Mom!

Hope you all enjoyed all the recipes from yesterday! I'm actually snacking on the rawnola as I type!

Last night I played around with some kitchen utensils, a mini food processor, and lots of vegan ingredients. The outcome, Almost Raw, Vegan Chocolate "Kiss" Cookies (I love playing in the kitchen...). The base of these bad boys taste like chocolate chip cookie dough (without the choco chips) and the big chocolate blob "Kiss" in the middle is, well, raw chocolate.

The cookie part was made with ground rolled oats, sprouted millet and quinoa (superfoods and lots of protein!), millet flour (Bob's Red Mill), melted virgin coconut oil, agave, maca, vanilla, and salt. Combine, taste, adjust, making into cookie shapes.
The "Kiss" blog of chocolaty goodness included melted virgin coconut oil, dash of agave, and equal parts of raw cacao powder and carob powder, all melted and stirred together.

And these, I must say are very good! And, this leads me to why I gave the Run Lori Mom a shout-out...
These are being sent to you, Mom (and Dad)! Included with these sweet little cookies are some vitamins, Vanilla Stevia, and a few extra goodies, as you requested. Love ya Mom and Dad!

Now that I've taken care of my parents, onto my workout.

Honestly, I'm addicted to the MMA workouts I've been doing. I feel stronger, already, and it's only been a week! These are definitely endurance and strength workouts.
Today, true MMA Cardio Kickboxing, we worked until failure at all the sets. It was crazy hard but completely amazing. The classes are brand new so today there was only myself, another guy, and the instructor. These are the best classes because it's like having a private session. This guy, my partner for the class, has been doing MMA for years... so, that means I got to "block" his kicks, punches, and knee kicks- which I almost fell over doing- that provided me with a bonus workout. It's all core holding the pads for the other person to attack. Oooooh, it was great. My abs, arms, body, are already sore.
Included in today's class:
Jumping jacks
Jump rope
Plank
Jabs and punches (with and without punching bags)
Kicks (kicking pads)
Speed kicks (same as above but FAST)
Knees (kneeing pads)
Burpees
80 sit-ups followed by 20 with medicine ball
Plank on forearms
Full plank, alternating knee-ins
Push-up to punches (push-up then punch target with right arm, push-up, repeat punch with left arm)
Mountain climbers
And other torture moves that I have blocked from my mind

Ooooh, it burns so good.

Oh, and Happy Groundhog's Day!
I guess the groundhog saw his/her shadow. Another six weeks of winter is in the forecast.

 

Yum. These are to make your day sunny... even if it's only temporarily.

*I have a question for all readers. What are you afraid of? What makes you nervous? This is a completely open question. It could be anything, maybe even something you are not yet aware of.
For me, I'm afraid of the future... the future of what I "am going to be when I grow up..."
I am still searching for the perfect career or job. I almost feel as though there are too many options out there for me to pick one thing to do for the rest of my life. I do have a college degree but am in limbo trying to decide if I should go back to school for a specialty or to just keep searching the job field. Life is tough sometimes.

Anyway, have a great day! And I'm leaving you with a sunny picture of the family. Ah, summertime.

Recipe Monday

Happy Monday! I hope that the sun is shining where you are too! Although, rain is in the forecast for tonight...
Hmmmm....

I hope you all enjoyed my meals on Saturday as much as I did. Some day we'll be able to do a scratch-and-lick blog screen for us food bloggers.... or maybe not... 

As promised, here are the ingredients for the Tuna Poke that my boyfriend put together.
Great, easy, super healthy, and tasty recipe. Try it. Bonus, it looks really cool.

Tuna Poke
Sashimi grade Ahi Tuna, fresh, diced
Splash of sesame oil and shoyu (or soy)
English cucumber soaked for ten minutes in rice wine vinegar and agave syrup (2 part vinegar, 1 part agave)
Avocado, diced
Green onions, sliced
Sesame seeds
Sriracha hot sauce

Dice the tuna into small squares. Place in bowl with sesame oil and shoyu. Add diced avocado, green onions, and sesame seeds, toss all to coat. Set aside.
In a new bowl, mix together the rice wine vinegar and agave. Slice cucumber into thin rounds and place bowl with vinegar and agave. Let sit for ten minutes or so in the refrigerator.

As pictured above, using a large round cookie cutter, arrange the soaked cucumbers around the edge of the cookie cutter. Scoop tuna mixture into the middle of the cookie cutter, so the cucumbers stay along the rim.
Place tuna, cucumbers, cookie cutter and all into the refrigerator to set for a few minutes.
When ready to serve, slowly pull off the cookie cutter and top with a small amount of Sriracha sauce.
Enjoy with Sweet Potato Fries.

Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato
• olive oil or coconut oil, to coat
• sea salt, pepper, garlic salt

Slice, however works, the sweet potato into strips and place on a baking sheet. Toss with oil, seasonings, love, fairy dust, whatever else you can think of. Pop into a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or until desired doneness (is that a word...?) and eat!
Serving suggestions: Eat with large amounts of Vegan Wasabi Mayo

Easy Vegan Wasabi Mayo

So easy, I'm only going to list the ingredients that are to be placed in a blender and blended to perfection.

• Tofu (about 1 cup)
• 1 heaping spoonful Miso
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2-1 tsp wasabi powder
• 1 tsp agave
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• dash cayenne pepper and sea salt
• water for blending

Blend and done.

And what meal would be complete without dessert?

How about breakfast for dessert?!

(Pretty Much) Raw RunLoriOla
(granola recipe)
Ingredients and any amounts you'd like:

• Rolled oats
• Millet and quinoa, soaked and sprouted
• Pumpkin seeds, processed into smaller pieces

Mix together and add

• Agave syrup and/or Yacon syrup
• Dried fruit, raisins, goji berries, apricots, etc
• Sea salt
• Cinnamon

Spoon onto dehydrator sheet and dehydrate overnight.

And I just had to point out that the Tuna Poke idea came from one of mine and the boyfriend's favorite restaurants, California Cafe. Here is the one we have ordered (about every time we go there) and my boyfriend's version. The tastes, also, were so similar!

 

 Pretty Close, huh!