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{meatless mondays : quinoa pasta w/ sauteed ramps, simmered pear tomatoes, & fresh english peas}

that’s a mouthful, and a really long title for a blog…but that is essentially what is in this dish, and to leave out any part just seamed wrong. those are all amazing and wonderful things and when you put them all together you get this incredible dish :

super healthy, keeps well in the fridge, easy to make, delicious… cute. 🙂

i mean, seriously though – it’s cute… sure – it’s pasta, but it’s cute. 😛

i’ve mentioned this pasta before – i love it for a bunch of reasons, including the fact that it is non-gmo, organic, and gluten-free. Continue reading →

Tags: cooking, easy, eating, food, food photography, foto, fresh, gluten-free, healthy, light, meatless mondays, quinoa, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{grilled cheese and tomato sammy featuring sauteed spring ramps}

13 May

hey – how was your weekend?

i feel like mine was full of epiphanies. i feel like i turned over a new leaf. maybe it’s because i really feel like spring has ACTUALLY finally sprung here in colorado. we had snow to kick off the month of may, and last week was our “spring” full of rain – now we are in the 80s. so typical.

i feel like new life is here and with it, new ways of looking at it. i’ll dive into that more later… for now, let’s talk about baby leeks – AKA “ramps”…

when i see ramps showing up in the produce section, i know spring is here! Continue reading →

Tags: baby leeks, cooking, easy, eating, food, food is cool, produce, ramps, recipes, sammys, sandwiches, seasonal, seasonal produce, simple, specialty produce, spring, vegetarian

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{fabulous flax seeds}

7 May

once upon a time not long ago – for like four months, i was a pretty strict vegan. i just wanted to try it out… see how i felt. i will do it again, for sure – but for the most part, i just eat what my body tells me to and sometimes that includes organic, humane animal products.

when i was eating vegan i wondered how to get my omegas in my diet because i noticed when i took fish oil it gave me heartburn and i didn’t like the way it tasted. i haven’t gone back to fish oil since discovering flax oil. now – it’s not anything new to me, i’ve always known about flax… i just didn’t supplement with it until recently when it was suggested to me that i take it versus the fish oil.

omegas are good for our hair, skin, nails, heart, blood, and brain… among many other things. they help us stay “lubricated” and give our skin a lovely glow. i take flax oil by the capsule daily, but i love being able to buy the whole seeds in bulk such as this…. Continue reading →

Tags: cleansing, colorful, drink the rainbow, drinks, easy, flax seeds, food, health, healthy, heart-healthy, juice, juicing, omegas, recipes, simple, vegan, vegetarian, vitamix

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{meatless mondays : seasonal english peas simmered in a san marzano sauce}

6 May

a co-worker suggested i try this recipe when i said, “what should i do with the delicious english peas i bought today?”

it’s a pretty basic recipe – with a special ingredient of cinnamon… which i must admit, i don’t really ever use in my cooking – unless a recipe specifically calls for it. i don’t keep in the pantry or anything… although, i am really wanting an organic spice rack – should anyone be wondering what to randomly gift me 🙂

what i love about this recipe is the simplicity – and i was surprised at how nicely the cinnamon complimented the overall dish. the key is always adding a little at a time… the rice also brought the dish together – i used simple jasmine rice for this dish. i like the texture and flavour.

ingredients :

– organic authentic san marzano tomatoes {canned}

– fresh garlic

– olive oil

– ground cinnamon

– basmati or jasmine rice Continue reading →

Tags: colorful cooking, cooking, easy, eating, english peas, food, food photography, healthy, healthy eating, light, meatless monday, recipes, san marzano tomatoes, seasonal produce, simple, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{drink the rainbow! – chartreuse vitamix smoothie}

30 Apr

this one is SUPER yum and i just love the colour!!! another great post-workout drink!

– frozen mangos {about 1/4 cup}

– frozen pineapple {about 1/4 cup}

– frozen bananas {about 1/4 cup}

– coconut milk {about 1 cup}

– splash of orange juice

– handful of fresh spinach

– a couple pitted dates

– sprinkle in some golden flax seeds

i’ve somehow almost got it down to a magical science now- that whatever i put in my vitamix makes *just enough* for this glass jar i drink out of {which i believe is about 12 ounces}:

isn’t that colour awesome?!?!

Tags: blending, chartreuse, cleansing, color, colorful, colour, drink, drink the rainbow, easy, food, health, healthy, juice, juicing, recipes, simple, smoothie, vegan, vegetarian, vitamix

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{miss L’s farm fresh eggs}

29 Apr

nothing says “spring” quite like fresh eggs.

i feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have eggs “gifted” to me from time to time…

one of my co-workers has chickens… and she shares her eggs with some of us when she has a bounty…

she’s given them to me several times now… Continue reading →

Tags: classic recipes, comfort food, cooking, easy, eating, eggs, farm eggs, farm-fresh, farming, food, fresh, recipes, simple, spring, vegetarian

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{kohlrabi is cool!}

24 Apr

meet kohlrabi. i tried this yummy vegetable about a year ago when it first showed up in the produce department. it’s super-cool-looking for one, and it turns out it’s rather delicious and good for you! kohlrabi contains loads of vitamin c as well as some fiber and potassium. mostly i love the fun texture and the leaves are actually really good as well, so i saute them as a side… Continue reading →

Tags: cooking, easy, eating, food, healthy, healthy eating, kohlrabi, recipes, simple, specialty produce, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories the food

{drink the rainbow! – clementine creamsicle vitamix juice}

23 Apr

this is super delicious, as you can imagine!!

my only issue with this drink right now is that i want one, and yet it’s snowing outside, so it’s just kinda weird… have i mentioned how i’m so beyond ready for spring?!? – even though technically it ought to be here by now…! sigh…

for this creation, i used some clementines i bought in a bag and just pre-peeled some for smoothies and snacking…

– clementines {about 3/4 cup}
– coconut milk {about 3/4 cup}
– ice

blend on high until desired consistency is reached and ENJOY!
coconut milk is wonderfully creamy and makes drinks like this extra delicious and frothy.

Tags: blending, color, colourful, creamsicle, drink the rainbow, drinking, drinks, easy, food, health, healthy, in the kitchen, juice, juicing, simple, simple recipes, smoothies, vegan, vegetarian, vitamix

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Categories the food

{meatless mondays – kaniwa endive “boats” featuring spring-welcoming english peas}

15 Apr

happy {meatless} monday everyone!

these are SO SO SO SO SO GOOD! i planned on just eating a few and saving some for lunch the next day, but i ended up devouring the whole batch in under 5 minutes! so delicious!

i’ve introduced you to kaniwa a few times now… and this is one of my new favourite things to do with it!

i am all about texture – i love it in both food and foto. kaniwa has plenty of texture and the most fun little crunch. you know how quinoa has that little “pop” kind of crunch going on?! – well kaniwa is like that but it’s much smaller and it’s just so fun to eat! i also love belgian endive for that reason – fun to eat and TEXTURE! so, when i combined the two in this recipe, my taste buds and senses were dancing because it was just so completely delicious and enjoyable! and healthy and simple and easy and all of those things i like to promote here at food and foto dot com!

so without further ado, here is a recipe that’s great as an hors d’oeuvres, snack, light dinner, fun brunch… or blog-worthy dish 😉

another amazing item i will have to blog about again soon – english peas. there are only a few other produce items that make me think of spring like english peas do. i’m trying to encourage it to hurry and get here – we are due for more snow this week, blast! i know we need the moisture, but i just wanna wear flip flops and t-shirts already!

i digress –

ingredients {makes about 8-10 “boats”}:

– 1 medium-sized belgian endive

– 1/4 cup tomato, chopped

– handful of fresh english peas, shelled

– 1 cup kaniwa {you do not need to rinse it}

– about 2 tablespoons honey {preferably local}

– pat of your favourite butter {or substitute} Continue reading →

Tags: colorful, colour, cooking, easy, english peas, food, food is cool, food photography, fun with food, health, healthy, high-fiber, high-protein, kaniwa, meatless monday, photography, photos, recipes, simple, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{homemade applesauce – vitamix style!}

12 Apr

as we know, i’m all about DIY in the kitchen.

between skyrocketing food prices and the need for healthy, organic, fresh food – i have to find a balance so that i can still continue eating well, but also still afford to pay rent 😉 – and honestly, owning a vitamix has helped tremendously in that arena. even though it was a steep investment initially – it’s actually helping me save money by making a lot of things at home!

for example, this homemade applesauce. i did make some once a while back with my potato latkes. but i hadn’t tried it with the vitamix, yet.

applesauce isn’t something i just go out and buy. in fact, i’m not actually much of a fan of apples. i love the flavour and i love apple juice, but i just have never been one to eat handheld fruits. i’m more apt to eat grapes, mangos, berries, and bite-size typed fruits. it’s just one of those idiosyncrasies of mine… i’ll eat apple slices with some nut butter, that’s more my style 😉 oorrrrr, this delicious applesauce…

and whoa – was it easy to make!

step 1. buy some apples.

i opted for honeycrisp because they were on sale and approaching the end of their season… plus, these were super cute and smaller than most. have you noticed how BIG apples are getting lately?! it’s just not natural… i’m like “i can’t eat that in one sitting!” haha. these honeycrisps were perfectly-sized and came in a 3-pound bag. Continue reading →

Tags: apples, colorful, colour, DIY, easy, eating, food, food photography, healthy, homemade, homemade applesauce, produce, simple recipes, vegan, vegetarian, vitamix

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{drink the rainbow! – “pineapple island dream” vitamix juice}

10 Apr

another good one… i’m hoping all of these tropical-type drinks will convince nicer weather to stick around, instead of more snow! {we got another 6 inches or so here in colorado – boo!}

– frozen pineapple

– fresh mango

– fresh kiwi

– coconut milk

and if you want, throw in a little frozen banana…

this one is a nice balance of sweet and tart, it’s very refreshing, and makes me want to be on the beach!!

and it also needs a little umbrella…

Tags: blenders, color, colorful, colour, drink the rainbow, drinks, easy, fruit, health, healthy, juice, juicing, smoothies, vitamix

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{vitamix smoothie w/ dehydrated fruit}

2 Apr

so yesterday i showed you that i made some dehydrated fruit, right… delicious mangos and honeycrisp apples – nom nom, right… well, may i just first comment on the difference in flavour from a fresh mango and a dehydrated one? i really believe the taste is very different. i mean they are both outstanding, i don’t have a favourite. but they do taste way different.
and i suppose that applies for apples, too… but mangos – i just love love love dried mangos! something about ’em…

i {barely} saved a few of each and threw some in with a smoothie that included frozen mixed berries, fresh spinach, 1/2 a banana, some orange juice, a little grape juice, splash of almond milk and some ground flax seeds.

one is never really certain just what colour the smoothie will turn out. at least the way i do it sometimes… lots of colour in there, doesn’t always blend to the prettiest, but this turned out great! and a pretty dark reddish-purple. oh, and it was for sure delicious!

cheers!

Tags: colour, colourful, drink the rainbow, drinks, easy, fruit, health, healthy, healthy eating, juice, juicing, organic, smoothies, vegan vegetarian, vitamix

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Categories the food

{homemade dehydrated fruit}

1 Apr

i need a dehydrator. it just feels like a really good investment to make, and you know me i’m all about DIY in the kitchen! my former roommate let me borrow hers when i was living there, and i became an insta-fan! there’s something about dehydrated fruit – particularly apples – that i just love!

and these little honeycrisps steal the show, no doubt. Continue reading →

Tags: color, colorful, colour, dehydrated food, dehydrated fruit, dehydrator, DIY, easy, eating, food, fruits, health, healthy eating, healthy snacks, nature's candy, organics

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{thirsty thursday} — vitamix juice w/ grapefruit, spinach, and apples

28 Feb

super healthy drink with fiber, vitamin c, iron, calcium, antioxidants, and loads of other goodness!

– frozen mixed berries

– whole apple {honeycrisp is my pick, seeds and stems included}

– baby spinach

– grapefruit

– grape juice

– orange juice

– almond milk

and i always add in a little protein powder and ground flax seeds.

then let the amazing vitamix do its thing – amaze.

Tags: colourful, easy, eating, energy, food, fruit, health, healthy, juice, juicing, recipes, simple, smoothies, thirsty thursday, vegan, vegetarian, vitamix

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Categories the food, the foodie

{meatless monday} — a very delicious repost

25 Feb

i was super lazy this weekend – we got about 14 inches of snow here in colorado. all i have been doing is eating comfort food and watching a felicity marathon. so i admit i didn’t prepare a meatless monday recipe for today… though, i really want to make some of these soon…

i’ve posted about these yummy zucchini pizza strips before… but i’ve been craving them, so i wanted to {re}share… they are SO GOOD!

———

Continue reading →

Tags: colour, colourful, cooking, easy, food, fun with food, healthy, healthy eating, heath, meatless monday, produce, recipes, simple, vegetarian

Comments 6 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{thirsty thursday} — vitamix juice with pears, grapes, and spinach

21 Feb

i just love the colour!

fresh, organic, wholesome ingredients – nothing wasted… Continue reading →

Tags: colour, colourful, drinks, easy, food, health, healthy, juice, juicing, recipes, simple, thirsty thursday, vitamix

Comments 4 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{meatless monday} — “chocolacado pudding”

18 Feb

avocados are an amazing superfood. packed full of nutrients like potassium, vitamin e, and health fats – avocados also are helpful at maintaining a healthy cholesterol. they go great with tuna like in my tunacado sammy… i had heard about making chocolate avocado pudding but had never tried it…

until now 🙂

there are lots of variations and i plan to try another soon – but this one is about as simple and delicious as you can get.

chocolacadopudding-1

so simple. so delicious.

– avocado

– cocoa powder

– sugar

agave works well as a sweetener, also. i used a mix of cane sugar and agave. Continue reading →

Tags: avocado pudding, cooking, desserts, easy, eating, food, healthy, raw, recipes, simple, snacks, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{thirsty thursday} — ch-ch-ch-chia… drink?!

14 Feb

happy thirsty thursday! oh, and valentine’s day…

remember this?!

well this is the same stuff!

they are chia seeds.

these tiny amazing protein-packed seeds are full of awesome nutrients including fiber, antioxidants, and heart-healthy omega-3. and while they make excellent “pet plants,” they also make fun drinks when added to liquid!

you may have started to notice chia drinks pop up all around your favourite health food stores. you can purchase the seeds in bulk or in packages online and i know you can pick them up at whole foods market. Continue reading →

Tags: chia, chia seeds, drinks, easy, food, fun, fun with food, healthy, high-fiber, lean protein, recipes, simple, thirsty thursday, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories the food

{meatless monday} — “this is the healthiest superbowl party i’ve ever been to”

4 Feb

hA! i’m still sort of giggling from the comment one of my friend’s made at the superbowl gathering my former roomie had this weekend. and what a game! way to go, ravens – so well-deserved!!

since going pretty much 100% vegan recently, it’s hard to eat out or even go to a friend’s house to eat, because basically everything that is prepared has some form of dairy or animal product in it. so i brought over my own food and made something easy to munch on for the big game. it was a hit!

i also toasted some falafel in the oven and chopped up some celery, carrots, and mixed sweet peppers as well as some fruit. one healthy spread, indeed. and all 3 dudes gobbled it up!

“this is the healthiest superbowl party i’ve ever been to” – one of them exclaimed. i laughed so hard, it was so great.

Continue reading →