a look inside my {colourful} lunchbox – volume 2
– lemon pepper smoked salmon chunks
– noosa brand yoghurt with vanilla almond granola
– steamed chioggia beets
– nut thins crackers : almond flavour
– sauteed swiss chard with garlic
– tomato, mushroom, and spinach amaranth porridge
– a few slices of premium salami
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have you ever used garlic scapes?! they are also referred to as “green garlic”…
first of all – how fun and wild-looking are they?! …reminds me of my hair in the mornings 😛
you can start to find them popping up in some specialty stores, organic grocers, and maybe even at a farmer’s market…if you’re lucky to live where you can shop at one now!
i just love garlic scapes! they are not nearly as strong as garlic itself, and provide a fun texture to a dish. the “scapes” are the “flower stalks” of the plant, and are typically pruned or discarded in gardening practices. however, this foodie knows better and has learned that they can be an amazing substitute for garlic itself. Continue reading
i’ve been wanting to try to play with millet for a while now. i have had a package of it on the shelves for a good bit now and i thought it was high time to give it a whirl.
i like to store things in glass jars… packaging just annoys me! 😛
millet is a tiny grain that reminds me of something from my youth… when cooked, it is almost like a pilaf. i read online that it also can turn into more of a mashed-potato like consistency, if cooked the right way. Continue reading
i’ve definitely been throwing back a few of these in the last few weeks…
just your good ol’ basic lager. clean, smooth taste, easy finish. compliments a frozen pizza after a long day at work just perfectly! 😉
i love himalayan pink salt.
i love to cook with it, eat with it…
bathe with it, pray with it…
it’s one versatile salt! {and i happen to be somewhat of a connoisseur.} 😉
what makes himalayan pink salt extra special other than the awesome flavour, is its extremely high mineral content. this stuff is very high in… well, practically everything!
no, it’s not a typo. i called this dish “rainbow rainbow quinoa because… well – look at it. 😉
i wanted to use up some stuff in the fridge – like my shredded carrots and leftover cabbage… both of which, to me, can be a challenge to use up for one person. i find that quinoa is a great “anything goes” kind of dish. so when i’m looking to use up fresh veggies, i usually throw them in with quinoa. another reason i love quinoa is because it is a complete protein. basically what that means is it contains all 9 essential amino acids. this makes it a great grain for vegans or vegetarians.
rainbow rainbow quinoa – ingredients :
– 1/2 cup rinsed rainbow quinoa
– 1/2 cup chopped red cabbage
– 1/2 cup shredded carrots
– 1/4 finely chopped onion
– 2 cloves diced garlic
– 1 cup raw baby spinach
with homemade toasted rye bread, creamy melted swiss, authentic deli mustard, and colourful coleslaw… nom nom…
i would also do almost anything for a pastrammy from MASTERPIECE right about now… this one i created a while back was pretty incredible {miss E knows how to slice some perfect pastrami!}… but nothing beats a sammy from masterpiece delicatessen… and i lived in new york! – so that’s saying a lot! 😉
a look inside my {colourful} lunchbox :
– natural raw almonds
– fresh asparagus sauteed in olive oil
– large colourful salad w/ italian vinaigrette
– savory parmigiano reggiano baked chicken
– steamed zucchini medallions
– pastrami turkey strips and parm reggi chunks
– fresh organic strawberries
{i just love my laptop lunches bento box!} 😀
if you’re one of my colorado readers, you’ve probably already been obsessed with noosa yoghurt for a while now. if you haven’t, you will be soon…
this yummy creamy treat is made with milk from semi-pasture-raised cows here in colorado. noosa’s flavour is unsurpassed, and i believe it’s in part due to the milk from these cows.
another beautiful piece of produce i picked up at the cutest organic store in town….
have you ever had golden beets?! i just loooooove them! i am pretty sure you can keep the skin on – so long as you scrub it pretty thoroughly. i just peel mine. these were so cute and little!
love the colour!
i usually just steam mine. i find them to be so delicious, i don’t even add any S and/or P. i think they have the most unique flavour. i just love to put them in salads or just munch on them alone… so good! beets are loaded with vitamins and minerals and they are just an all around amazing vegetable!
i noticed a few new followers have joined the fun – thank you and welcome!
in case you don’t know this about me, i love to eat anything with colour. i believe in living by the motto… well, a lot of “mottos” really – but one of them is “eat the rainbow.” if your food has colour naturally, it is good for you! this dish definitely meshes with that motto. i whipped it up last week when i was doing a short veggie cleanse. i just love mushrooms – do you?!
this is a great vegan dish, or a healthy random way to get in a ton of veggies all at once. sometimes i’ll construct meals entirely of vegetables… this one i just made up on the spot, when inspired by the fresh-looking produce in the market.
simple ingredients : portabella mushrooms, zucchini, purple cabbage, shredded carrots.
i’m fascinated by the intricate insides of certain vegetables – like cabbage. Continue reading
i’m a little late on posting today – it’s snowing here in colorado… and, sigh – i’ll just go ahead and say it – i’m over it! can we please be in spring now?! i’m just dying to put on my sanuks and put away my wellies.
i’ve been making a smoothie every morning since we are ‘officially’ in spring now – but i admit it’s just not as satisfying first thing in the morning as a warm cup of coffee or tea. but i’m determined to start cleansing my body out, preparing it for a different season, and lots of different veggies to compliment!
in the meantime, here’s another smoothie recipe. i created this one in mind as more of an evening smoothie. tart cherries and tart cherry juice are good for insomnia, remember?! i call it “sweet-tart” because i used sweet frozen cherries and tart cherry juice… and it turned out rather delicious!
cherry sweet-tart vitamix smoothie :
– frozen sweet cherries {1/2 cup}
– 3 frozen strawberries
– 3 frozen pineapple chunks
– 1 pitted date
– 1/2 cup coconut milk
– 1/2 cup tart cherry juice
how’s that for a title?!
vitamix-ing {and really, smoothie-making in general} is all about experimenting. sometimes you nail it. sometimes you don’t. more times than not, it turns out amazing… like in this case. 🙂
purple-ish vitamix smoothie :
– 1/4 cup frozen blackberries
– 1/4 cup frozen pineapple
– 1/4 cup red/purple cabbage
– 1 pitted date {for sweetness}
– 2-3 dehydrated apple wedges {i like to dehydrate stuff}
– 1/2 – 2/3 cup coconut milk
– splash of orange juice
– sprinkle in a little raw protein powder
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and the fact that it tastes amazing is a huge bonus to how incredibly healthy and good for you it is!! 😀
check out that colour!!!
as you may have noticed – i like to try new things. and there was this one particular vegetable i had been wanting to try for a while now – radicchio. i knew it had to be good for us – just look at all that colour!
when i did a little research on this interesting-looking chicory, i discovered that it may actually help insomnia. and – as you may recall, i battle with that from time to time… eating intuitively has become such a way of life for me, that i notice i’ll crave things i need and not even realize it. how awesome is that?! our bodies are so incredible! Continue reading
did ya’ll sleep in today?! i sure wanted to… daylight savings always jolts my system. takes me a week or so to get used to it – but goodness, do i love having that light in the evenings!!! i just look forward to the mornings catching up, ya feel me?!
i’m going to start my seeds for my garden this weekend and of course, i’ll be documenting the whole thing. i bought tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, chives, and leeks for now. i have attempted to grow from seed before, but to no avail. i learned my lesson with my lovely tomato plant last year and i just don’t think some kinds of lettuces grow well here. SO – we are going to try again 😀
my awesome landlord has all the fixins’ to get my garden going and plenty of outdoor space in which to plant it all… one of the things i’ve wanted so desperately over the last couple of years was to have a garden. i’m so glad i can finally try!
i do love me some good ol’ romaine lettuce from time to time – the crunch is so good. not much nutrition going on, but i do find myself craving the fiber and just wanting something to put dressing on, mostly.
it’s a comfort food kind of day. grilled ham and cheese on 7-grain toast with roasted red pepper and tomato soup…
it’s a childhood classic… grown-up style.
everyone knows i love to support local. and obviously i’m totally down with the all-natural. however, you may be surprised to discover that i love ginger ale. i mean i LOVE IT! almost as much as i love beer… almost.
i have always thought swiss chard was so beautiful. the colours, the intricate web-like design on the leaves, the fun “bubbly” type texture… and i thought this one was particularly cool. for one, it kind of reminds me of an aspen leaf – the shape of it. and for two, look at the fun pink tip – it’s like a paintbrush…
nature’s paintbrush 😉
how beautiful and cool is that?! nature does it best. Continue reading
i have been wanting to try sunchokes {aka “jerusalem artichokes“} for a long time now. they are so interesting-looking {as most root vegetables are} and one time i bought a bag when i was doing a cleanse, but i didn’t get to cook them and unfortunately they spoiled.
so, when i was at the cutest little organic store in town the other day, i picked some up so i could fotograph and blog about them.
and of course – EAT THEM! 😀
how happy am i to have recently been made aware of an amazing little local/organic store within biking distance of where i live!!?!??!!!?!?!?!
SO!!!!!! 😀
beautiful cherry tomatoes grown within 60 miles of my home…
exploding with flavour!! i’m guessing they are hydroponically grown… which in my opinion, seems to be the most tasty way to grow tomatoes – just from personal experience, having eaten a bajillion of them over the last few years. 😉 hello, remember my san marzano obsession!? cuz i do… Continue reading
food & foto 