Feelin’ Kinda Mello!

Posted on January 17, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Thank you all for your sweet comments on my Irresistable Carrot Pan-CAKES! They were absolutely scrumptious! Definitely make it your next pancake recipe!

As I told you guys yesterday, I met my friend Christine yesterday to do some shopping and to introduce her to the wonderful world that is the inside of a Trader Joe’s store! It’s hard to believe, but my very first trip wasn’t but about 6 months ago. I honestly don’t know how I lived before!

My snackage for the road included a Green Gray Monster and a half slice of whole wheat naan with dark chocolate almond butter (leftover from the cookies).

“It’s (obviously) Not Easy Being Green” Monster Shake:

  • 1 cup plain low-fat kefir
  • BIG handful fresh spinach
  • 1/2 of banana (0h yeah, I ate the other half while making my smoothie)
  • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

Before we headed to Nashville, we decided to stop in this store that Christine’s hubby had been telling her about. Anyone out there ever heard of an Essex? Well, it turns out there is actually one around where I live only much smaller than the one we visited yesterday. The best way to describe it is TJ Maxx meets Goodwill!

They have all sorts of merchandise ranging from clothing to housewares to TVs and mattresses! You have to do a bit of digging to find the good stuff (some items were damaged), but check out what all I found!

 

 

Can you believe I got all this stuff for under $30?! I got 16 place mats, 1 table runner, a 2.5 quart crock-pot, 2 bowls, 2 salad plates, and a cup and saucer! Score!!

The prices weren’t marked on a lot of items and the sale signs were a bit confusing so I really wasn’t sure how much I would be spending until I got to the check-out. When the cashier told me that the place mats were only 50 cents a piece, I HAD to go back and grab more!

Christine seemed pretty impressed with the overall TJ’s experience, plus it helped that they were sampling something amazing:

Definite proof that sampling increases sales revenue since we both ended up buying one! It has got to be the creamiest hearty canned chili I have ever tasted!

I did pretty well this time. Since my cupboard are about to burst at the seams, I had to make sure I didn’t get the “TJ Fever” and go crazy!

Turkey chili, organic baked beans, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, plantain chips, carrot ginger muffins (so I can finally see what Allie is talking about), white bean hummus, and a red pepper/eggplant/garlic spread (hello, yum!)

Christine also got some great foodie items including some peanut flour (Haha! I have converted another!), a 5 pound bag of cuties, and a pummelo the size of her head!

On the way out, we stopped by Whole Foods so I could grab something special!

Oh yeah! Guess who’s making Elise’s Corn Flour & Coconut Tofu and Ashley’s Chickpea Bake!

To round out the evening, Christine introduced ME to something new…Mellow Mushroom, a local pizzeria offering just about anything you can think of to top a pie! Check out their specialty pizza menu here!

We split a 10 inch pie, Christine’s half was Hawaiian with pepperoni instead of ham and my half was the Mega Veggie. Wow, when they say mega they mean MEGA!

I have NEVER seen so many veggies on a pizza before in my life! I was in LURVE!

  • Sun-dried tomatoes
  • Spinach
  • Bell peppers
  • Mushrooms
  • Onions
  • Black olives
  • Roma tomatoes
  • Broccoli 🙂
  • Banana peppers
  • Artichoke hearts
  • Tofu

My two slices of pizza were the equivalent to FOUR with all those toppings. I was only able to finish one, but you know what that means…leftovers for dinner tonight! Well, that is if I can peel myself away from the white bean hummus! I am currently crunching away on some sweet mini peppers dipped in this creamy white bean goodness while I am typing this!

After a fun-filled evening of shopping and pizza lovin, we headed back to her place and watched the movie The Producers. This was my first time seeing it. A bit of a slow start, but after you get into it, it is such an entertaining and hilarious movie! If you like musicals, you should definitely see it!

So, I’ve asked you before what your favorite vegetable is. What about your LEAST favorite?
I would have to say radishes. To me, they seem absolutely pointless since they really have no taste, but there’s just something about them that I’ve never cared for.

Oh and just FYI, that white bean hummus tastes AHHHHHHHH-mazing on these:

Hmm, leftover pizza…hummus and spi-say chippage…that’s a hard one! 😉

 

 

Posted in Shopping | Tagged , , , , , , | 25 Comments

A Very Stylish Pancake Sunday

Posted on January 16, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Happy Sunday my lovely friends! Of course this morning I could NOT wait to celebrate Pancake Sunday…any excuse to make pancakes is alright by me!

I wish inventing cookie creations came as easily to me as making up new pancake recipes! I had no problem coming up with these tasty cakes! Maybe it was Katie’s 24 Carrot Gold Muffins I made last week or my little visit over to Cookies and Carrots, but I woke up this morning with a craving that only a succulent slice of carrot cake could satisfy.

Irresistible Carrot Pan-CAKES: (serves 1)

  • 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup pineapple juice (or milk)
  • 1/8 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 tablespoon shredded carrots
  • 1 tablespoon raisins
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

1. Combine dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
2. Whisk together pineapple juice, yogurt and honey and then stir into your flour mixture.
3. Stir in carrots, raisins, coconut, and walnuts until combined.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
5. Pour batter into skillet making two medium-sized pancakes.
6. Cook until batter starts to bubble on top (about 5 minutes), flip and continue to cook for about 3 more minutes.

I topped my lovely cakes with homemade coconut butter and pure maple syrup. I am telling you now, make these and prepare to feel like you are floating on a heavenly cloud…much like the little “clouds” of coconut butter resting ever so lightly on the crust of the cakes themselves. Seriously, they are that good! Go make them NOW!

Love the “surprise” taste of all the mix-ins! Like a party in my mouth! 😉

Mouth-gasms abound!…seriously!

All gone! So sad!

Oh, and guess what! Tiger approves too!

I accidentally dropped a bite on the floor…GASP!…and he ate the whole thing! Then he looked up at me and started licking his lips!

Now onto the stylish part of this post! Apparently, a couple of lovely ladies, Lindsay and Priyanka to be exact, think I’m pretty stylish! 😉 Thank you ladies, I am truly honored to be accepting this award! *insert Miss America wave*

Part of accepting this award is to share 7 things about myself and to nominate other bloggers for the award. Well, since this has been running around the blog world for a week or more now, I’m not sure who has and has not been nominated so if you are reading this and have not participated, consider yourself nominated!

Seven Things You May or May Not Know About Me:

1. I absolutely LOVE being in the kitchen, but when I moved out of my parents house and started college 8 years ago (wow, that makes me feel old) I had no idea how to even cook an egg!

2. I am the most accident prone person I have ever met! That being said, I’m probably one of the only ones that throughout all my spills, tumbles, and falls has never actually broken a bone! Knock on some wood for me, will ya? Apparently my love of Adora disks is paying off!

3. I have lived the past 25 years of my life completely food allergy free until this past summer. After rediscovering my love for kiwi, my lips swelled about 3 times the normal size and my tongue started itching! So sad…sometimes I want to just pop a few benendryls and eat a case of those furry little beauties!

4. I was born in Virginia, but have lived in Tennessee since I was about 3.

5. My favorite color is the same shade of green as my eyes…an olive-y type of green.

6. Every time I put on my blush, I smile at myself in the mirror! I don’t know why…it’s not like I can’t already see my cheekbones!

7. I am addicted to blogging! Five months ago, I couldn’t even tell you what a food blog was, but since my discovery of them back in September, I believe they have truly changed my life! Plus, now I HAVE an excuse for taking pictures of my food!

So there ya have it folks, the most incredible pancakes you will EVER taste and some random facts about the lady behind the broccoli stalk! 😉

Hope you all have a delightful Sunday! I am off to meet one of my besties so I can introduce her to the wonderful world of Trader Joes! I know…it is an absolute crime against humanity that she has never set foot in one before! And yes, this will be my THIRD trip in THREE weeks! Maybe I should just hand over my paycheck to the owner?

Posted in Breakfast, Pancake Sunday, Recipe, Survey/Tag | Tagged , , , , | 36 Comments

Welcome to My Lab-Oooor-Atory!

Posted on January 15, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Or my kitchen…same thing as far as today’s concerned! Hope everybody has had a great Saturday! I’d say about 60% of my daylight hours were logged in the lab kitchen today! Dang, I totally should’ve puffed flour in my face and took a pic! 😉

Let me first say that I am in no way a baker. I love to bake and I change things around sometimes and add ingredients, but as for coming up with a recipe from scratch? Yeah, I don’t speak that language…yet! But mark your calendars folks, because today was the day Heather made her very own cookie recipe for the FIRST time! Eeek!

But, before we get to the GREAT stuff, how about we look at some of the good eats enjoyed on this sunny (finally) Saturday?

Breakfast was a warm creamy bowl of protein packed “yoats” or “yoatgurt for long” as Janetha would say and a mug of lifeforce coffee.

Protein-Packed Pumpkin Yoats: (serves 1)

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute
  • splash of vanilla
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin

1. Combine all ingredients except pumpkin in a small sauce pan over medium heat and           cook for about 5-6 minutes.
2. In the last few minutes of cooking, stir in the pumpkin.
3. Pour into bowl, combine with your favorite Greek yogurt (I chose Voskos Honey                 Vanilla) and top your heart out!

Toppings: Coconut cream (chilled coconut milk), fresh raspberries, and unsweetened shredded coconut.

After a trip to the store to get some essentials for my baking experiments, I came home and threw together a veggie wrap and a side of Julie’s rutabaga fries.

That’s a Wrap (sorry, couldn’t resist): Whole wheat tortilla, 2 tablespoons roasted pine nut hummus (yumm-o), spinach, carrots, and roasted red pepper.

Rutabaga Fries: 1/2 a medium-sized rutabaga cut into fries, sprayed with cooking spray and seasoned with a touch of salt, pepper, garlic and chili powders, and of course some smoked paprika and baked in a 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes.

Drinky-Drink: 1/2 cup POM Wonderful + 1/2 cup ginger-ale.

Loved these “fries”! Sweet P’s are still my fave, but it was nice to switch things up a bit! If you’ve never tried a rutabaga before, it is a root vegetable (in the same fam with potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc…) and it has a nice natural sweetness to it that is only enhanced with roasting in the oven! Delish! Julie has a step-by-step video on her blog showing you how to peel, dice, and spice. Check it out here!

After lunch, I pushed up my sleeves and started my cookie creations with some nut buttering! Peanut buttering to be specific!

Look at that creamy goodness!

It’s a bit of a process (ha! pun totally intended) but the end product is so heavenly you’ll forget all about jarred stuff!

Peanut Butter Oat Cookies Biscuits:

  • 1 1/2 cups dry roasted unsalted peanuts processed until buttah
  • 1 medium banana, mashed
  • 4 chopped, pitted dates (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • (2nd batch added 1/2 cup rolled oats)

1. Throw all ingredients in food processor and process just until combined.
2. Using an ice-cream or cookie scoop, scoop batter out by 1-2 tablespoons and place on         greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes.

Before

After. Not much of a difference, huh?

Phase 2 included adding 1/2 cup of rolled oats to the batter:

The cookie kept an almost dough-like inside which I liked, but the dates and banana just didn’t do enough for the sweetness. They tasted like little peanut butter biscuits.

Next!

Yeah, I ran out of peanuts! But who cares when you have DARK CHOCOLATE almonds?

Fast forward through the 2 1/2 batches of dry semi-tasty cookies, sticky fingers, and a messy kitchen and behold the beauty of experimental success!

Everything-But-Sugar Oatmeal Cookies: (makes 48 small cookies)

  • 1 cup dark chocolate almond butter
  • 1 banana, mashed
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
  • 1 scoop (30g) chocolate protein powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1. Combine first seven ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.
2. Stir together flour, oats, soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
3. Pour contents of food processor into bowl of dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Stir in cranberries and coconut.
5.  Spoon dough out by the tablespoon (I used my cookie scoop) and place on a greased         baking sheet. Wet your hands and flatten the cookie slightly with your fingers.
6. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 8-10 minutes.

Ok, ok so I got a little proud of my babies and took a TON of pics! What’s funny is that that’s not even HALF of them!

These are not your typical sugary oatmeal cookies. The only sweetness in them comes from the cranberries. I like to think of them as a flour flower child of a cookie and some good natural granola! Thank you again Miss Kayla for the inspiration that started this whole process!

Come on over folks, I’ve got PLENTY of cookies to share!

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Entree | Tagged , , , , , , | 36 Comments