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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

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

{natural insomnia aid : audrey michelle’s tart cherry tonic}

10 Jun

a little secret about me : i have battled with insomnia for about half my life.

i’ve gone back and forth in my head — “claiming it” by owning it and being honest {as i’ve done here}, invoking the law of attraction by saying “i sleep great!” – both seem to have the same effect… i’ve tried melatonin, valerian root and other random herbs, about 5 different kinds of mattresses, yoga, prayer, meditation, sleepy tea, alcohol, and a variety of other remedies to help in my battle. i even tried some feng shui to encourage the right energy during bedtime… i tried one or two prescription drugs but absolutely hated the side-effects and the dopey feeling the next day… one of them even gave me wacky lucid dreams, almost nightmares… i once tried to “donate my body to science” by participating in an insomnia-related study, but i didn’t qualify because i hadn’t tried enough prescription drugs… over-the-counter remedies help in the short-term, but that stuff is so bad for your liver and i also worried about dependency… i have to board up my windows and sleep with a mask usually, and that is in part due to my late work hours… i know i’m reasonably young but i’m not getting any younger and i’m at that age where this kind of crap is super important to me now. i don’t need to get 8-10 hours every night, but what i do need is to STAY asleep during the night.

enter the title of this blog… Continue reading →

Tags: audrey michelle, bedtime drinks, cherries, DIY, drink the rainbow, drinks, food, home remedies, insomnia, natural, natural cures, natural medicine, product reviews, recipes, sleep, sleep aides, tart cherries

Comments 18 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{meatless mondays – pretty rainbow chard}

3 Jun

prior to sauteing up a healthy batch of beautiful rainbow chard {i make mine with a little EVOO and diced shallots}, i like to sit back and admire the colours and patterns this wonderful vegetable creates…

puts a whole new meaning to “eat the rainbow” eh?!

😉 Continue reading →

Tags: chard, color, colour, colourful, cooking, eat the rainbow, eating, food, health, healthy, healthy eating, meatless monday, rainbow chard, recipes, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 2 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{vitamix juice w/ dates, pears, green lettuce}

31 May

i threw a lot of random stuff in this one…. {choosing organic where possible}

– 1 small clementine, peeled

– 1/2 pear, stems and seeds included

– 2 pitted dates

– a few banana slices

– handful of romain lettuce

– orange juice

– almond milk

– some raw protein powder

you just never know what colour to expect… but the taste is always amazing!

i’m a huge fan of using dates for sweetening. usually all you need is one or two per 12 oz. serving. they are inexpensive and the vitamix can handle it! just make sure to buy pitted dates! the lettuce flavour was a little stronger in this compared to good ol’ spinach, but i had run out so i had to replace *something* green… 😉

have a great weekend!

Tags: blenders, blending, cleansing, drinks, fasting, food, healthy, juice, juicing, organic, organics, recipes, vegan, vegetarian, vitamix

Comments 2 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie

{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

Comments 5 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{super cool sea beans}

8 May

i’m going to bet not many of you have seen these little guys. in all my 9 years of being around specialty produce, this was a first for me. i like to look over the produce section this time of year and see “what’s new.” that’s how i discovered kohlrabi…

Continue reading →

Tags: colorful, cooking, cool, eating, food, food is cool, fun with food, produce, recipes, sea asparagus, sea beans, seasonal produce, specialty produce, unique food, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian

Comments 4 Comments
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

Comments 10 Comments
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

Comments 3 Comments
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

Comments 5 Comments
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

Comments 4 Comments
Categories the food

{not the prettiest vitamix juice on the planet…}

17 Apr

but a damn good-tasting one! and good for you, too!

the recipe is something like…

– frozen mixed berries {1/4 cup}

– frozen mango {1/4 cup}

– frozen pineapple {1/4 cup or less}

– frozen banana {a few cut pieces}

– a few dates {pitted}

– 1/4 apple of choice

– fresh kale {about 1/4 cup}

– orange juice {about a 1/2 cup}

– almond milk {about a 1/2 cup}

– ground flax seeds

…or just wing it like i do and get a different creation each time! 😉

Tags: cleansing, colorful, detoxing, drink the rainbow, drinks, eating, food, health, healthy, healthy drinks, juice, juicing, recipes, vitamix

Comments 1 Comment
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

Comments 13 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{drink the rainbow! – “strawberry sunrise” vitamix juice}

8 Apr

i LOVE this one!

– fresh strawberries

– frozen pineapple

– 1/4 frozen banana

– coconut water

*glug glug* – what a pretty colour! cheers!

side-note : i use frozen bananas because i believe it takes over the flavour too much when using fresh, plus it’s a cheap way to save overripe bananas. just chop ’em up and freeze ’em. then you can use a little at a time. some things are just better fresh, and others work fine frozen – like berries or pineapple. last week i just happen to catch fresh strawberries on sale, so i hooked it up! plus, mixing it up with frozen and fresh helps the smoothie stay cold. if you want to use only fresh ingredients, just make sure to throw in a little ice 🙂

Tags: cleansing, colorful, colour, colourful, drink the rainbow, drinks, food, fresh, fruit, health, healthy, healthy drinks, juice, juicing, recipes, simple, vitamix, vitamix drinks, vitamix juice

Comments 9 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{light and fresh quinoa pasta}

21 Mar

happy first day of spring! i got the fever, do you?!

it seems like everywhere i look, i read and hear more about gluten-free products. i have opinions about wheat and gluten and the heightened sensitivity sweeping our nation, but i’ll save them for a day when i decide to get on my soapbox again…

while i am not aware of any sensitivity to gluten personally, i have to admit i like eating gluten-free pasta a lot these days. it’s much lighter compared to regular pasta and i just find it to be a great any-time food because of that. excellent for the spring season, as it’s waist-line approved!

i am in love with this pasta from ancient harvest. it’s made mostly from quinoa and corn. i love their products – i also buy their polenta. they use non-gmo corn and it’s also organic… and as i mentioned, gluten-free! those are three big pluses in a packaged product for me! Continue reading →

Tags: cooking, easy cooking, eating, food, gluten-free, healthy, healthy cooking, healthy eating, organic, quinoa, quinoa pasta, recipes, simple, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 11 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

{post-st. paddy’s day green health tonic}

18 Mar

this juice may help with any post-st-paddys-day feelings of lethargy… hey – no judgement, but if you had maybe one too many green beers to celebrate, this drink will help you recover and feel replenished! 🙂

– 1/2 apple

– 1/2 pear

– 1/2 frozen banana

– few frozen pineapple chunks

– one or two dates to sweeten {or honey}

– almond milk

– orange juice

– LOADS of spinach – gives it that pretty colour, but you can hardly taste it.

i also put a smidgen of my green powder mix in to boost the nutrients…

throw in the blender {vitamix is my bff} for a minute or so and chug it down!

and it feels so good to be back! taking even a week or two off from blogging felt so weird. but it gave me time to adjust to my new apartment and learn my way around my new kitchen. i can’t wait to show you guys my new stove/oven… it’s so retro! i’m switching things up a bit too – no more rigid monday through friday titled posts – just blogs about things i love to eat, things i see, and things i feel. i will still share recipes and photos, but the format will be different. i found myself getting a little too obsessed with coming up with new recipes all the time… food and foto will be more like a diary of some of my favourite things – to include recipes, photos, and life experiences. PLUS – i’m going to have a small garden this year – so watch for info on that! i also want to talk about astrology and energy. things are changing, a shift is happening and i believe it’s vital to talk about what we are experiencing, as it continues to unfold rapidly!

thank you as always for reading and for your dedication and support!

have a wonderful day!

Tags: colour, colourful, food, green juice, health, healthy, healthy eating, juice, juicing, recipes, vegan, vegetarian, vitamix

Comments 8 Comments
Categories the food, the foodie, the foto

happy birthday, food and foto!

11 Mar

today is food and foto dot com’s first birthday! woohoo! i’m making my favourite snack, amazeballs, in celebration and instead of cake. 🙂

on this day in 2012, i created a wordpress website and turned it into a dot com. food and foto was created with the idea of educating readers on healthy eating options as well as sharing my passion for fotography. it has since molded into a collaboration of recipes, ramblings, and images from my canon. with over 220 posts, i must say this blog has transformed into such a fun and healthy outlet for me to share the things i love most. i am humbled by the amount of support from the wordpress community, and i am honoured to have as many followers as i do. my dream is to see this blog transform into a lifestyle blog that inspires people to create. i enjoy cooking and sharing recipes, but i also enjoy sharing information about overall health and wellness… and living a simple life. and since i’ve become rather good at manifesting, i’ll just throw this out there –

my dream is to make this my FULL TIME JOB! and it can happen!

and so, now i am brainstorming new ways to tailor this blog into something slightly different. i like consistency, but i am also a huge proponent for change and i think it’s important to keep things fresh. so i’m working behind the scenes over the next few days, coming up with new ideas for this ever-growing blog, food and foto dot com.

let’s reflect for a moment, shall we?

i believe i’ve come a long way since my first post…

and in case you missed it, here’s my first recipe blogpost…

one of the most delicious recipes i created was this…

although – it has a very close tie with this…

okay, you may want to try this, and this, and this, too…

alright – and no doubt, you may want to throw a party just to make these…

one of my favourite blogs i’ve ever written is right here…

and speaking of cleansing, people always ask about my 5-day DIY version…

but don’t get me wrong, i’ll put away about a dozen of these, as well…

it’s all about balance, really. balance, and this…

i also sometimes get all philosophical and talk about stuff like this…

and don’t forget – i do a lot of other things with my camera – see?!

i want to thank you ALL from the depths of my soul for being an avid reader, for following and taking time to comment, and for making me really feel like part of a community! you are my muse, the reason{s} i keep this up, the fire i need to stay inspired. YOU, my faithful readers — you know i do this for you, right?! i do it for me because i love it, but i do it for you because you appreciate it.

so, HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOOD AND FOTO!

here’s to many many more years of health, food, and fotos! xxoo

Tags: anniversaries, audrey michelle, awesome, birthdays, blogging, cool, food, food and foto, fotos, happy birthday, health, healthy, photography, photos, recipes, writing

Comments 11 Comments
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

Comments 3 Comments
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…