Gothic Granola

...Because 99.9% of the food produced in this household befits the adjective "mysterious," to the uninitiated.

Continuing the theme of "so basic it shouldn't need a recipe and I'd rather be writing" posts, here is the vegan and gluten-free fried rice recipe TC makes for me when we have leftover fried rice.

OMG! It's a hippie lentil loaf! Miriam at Mouthwatering Vegan created this Epic Veggie Loaf . I have nothing to add other than my substitutions:

If you're vegan or vegetarian, you've probably stared at a plate like this often: cooked grain, beans, and greens. Videre licet , lentils and rice.  Nota bene the rice was cooked with cumin and saffron.

  Here's an article I saw this week about the dearth of Omega-3's and overabundance of Omega-6's in the American diet. Hence, we have more than double the linoleic acid in our body fat as do our parents' generation, and fatty acid turnover in adipose tissue can take years. So you may feel the health effects of your diet from the past year or two, even if you switch to a healthier diet. Besides the importance of supplementing with Omega-3's ( preferably eating Omega-3 rich foods before turning to supplements), the point about the "delay" in your healthier habits taking hold reinforces the idea that you just have to give things time. The body doesn't repair itself overnight. Major health changes through behaviour change are not easy, and the rewards don't come quickly, but they will pay off with consistent effort over time. How about some Omega-3 Powerhouse Muffins?

I'm not a fan of baking with protein powder, for the record. The " Shakeology Cookies " I made this time last year tasted odd and sharply fake-sweet. The stevia and other low-calorie sweeteners in most protein powders just don't set well with me either raw (by themselves) or baked. These brownies are good, in theory, when you're looking for a substantial but sweet snack, and the texture became almost cheesecake-like. I haven't been impressed with the vanilla blended Sun Warrior protein powder, and it's still pretty gross in brownie form, too. So use whatever protein powder, preferably chocolate, that you already like. Since I used vanilla powder, the brownies were not as chocolate-coloured as they could be.  

These peanut butter oatmeal protein balls have been taking over the interwebs. I put my own twist on the recipes found in Dr. Phoenyx's Instagram and Gimme Some Oven .  

Cake and smoothies, cake and smoothies...they're all I seem to have posted about lately, and they are amongst what I eat, pretty much every day.  Let's get real about energy drinks. While all the B vitamins, taurine, caffeine, and sugar in Monster give you a temporary boost (and a serious crash), energy drinks don't address the real issue(s) underlying fatigue. Don't want to go to sleep? Or do you just not want to wake up because of X, Y, Z happening the next day? Feeling powerless to solve a problem and so you can't sleep but lie awake worrying about it? Daily tasks not challenging enough so you have excess energy? Think about that the next time you find yourself reaching for that fourth cup of coffee or that Red Bull. Constricting your blood vessels with caffeine probably isn't the long-term solution to why you're feeling tired. I'm not you, so I don't know what's going on in your life. You know your life best; you have the power to adjust thin...

"What really happens to you if you eat gluten, though?" Women's Health Magazine has this most enlightening article for all the new faux paus committed around the GF-ers. Actually, saying these things to anyone who has allergies ("I tried soy nut butter once and it was disgusting!" to a peanut allergic person) is rude. Not to be all high and mighty, but a little education goes a long way towards creating a better dining (and  kissing ) situation. That being said, eating gluten-free and eating more whole foods (the two generally go together) involves a palate adjustment, visually and physically. TC rightly called me out on using being GF as an excuse to eat even weirder foods. Green juice and overnight oatmeal, anyone?

They really do. I served over 250 squares of cacao goji hemp protein bars on Wednesday for Foodie Call. This week's theme was Whole Body, the supplements department. I modified this superfood bar from Earthsprout , having bookmarked the idea when Eleanor included it in her newsletter earlier this year.

I had a smoothie on Sunday that was just a wonderfully kickass way to begin my Sunday ritual of reading in the library, attending the Princeton Buddhist Meditation Group, and doing life work for the rest of the day (i.e., walking, working on poetry, and cooking).  This is my basic formula for a single serving smoothie:  1 cup non-dairy yoghurt or milk 1 scoop protein powder (optional; I use  Garden of Life's RAW protein  or  Manitoba Harvest's Hemp PRO 50 ) 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed 2 cups greens/frozen greens cubes (blend greens and freeze in cubes for thicker smoothies; optional but recommended) 1 piece or 1 cup fruit (fresh/frozen) 1 tablespoon nut butter Spices to taste Ice (optional) Blend the beejeebes out of it.