Exploring more Beautiful B.C.

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B.C., Fraser Valley amazing view lookout westminster abbey, Mission, Nordstrom Vancouver restaurant Bistro Verde apple kale salad, stained glass monastery, Vancouver China Town architecture, vancouver public library architecture, Westminster Abbey

Our host had a special treat in store — one that’s not even in the tourist handbook — the Westminster Abbey in Mission, B.C. (this is where monks get schooled.)

Dazzling colors fill the huge prayer hall — each minute provides a new light combination.

Outside the hall, the grounds are filled with flowers and pathways — this one leads to an overlook with a view of the valley ‘to die for.’ (That’s Mariko and my host Leslie.)

We were so happy to get this ‘killer view’ at a table inside the Nordstrom restaurant (downtown Vancouver).

Mariko’s kale and apple salad was just beautiful — and she said it tasted yummy. (Nordstrom’s Bistro Verde restaurant.)

This is Vancouver’s public library. Killer architecture, eh??

This is on the walk from the public library to China Town.

Cool old building in China Town.

 

Austin Places Keeping Me Healthy: ‘Steeping Room,’ ‘WFoods’

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healthy living salmon green salad, steeping room Buddha Bowl rice protein

One of my favorites in Austin is ‘The Steeping Room’ at the Domain. Not only do I get a big pot of hot steaming KUKICHA tea, but they always serve a Buddha Bowl with steamed veggie, grain, and protein…this one had black beans, brown rice, sweet potato and steamed kale. (Dressing is a tangy vinaigrette.)

Since the New Year started I’ve really tried to clean up my diet — and I am so happy and thankful to say I am managing to stay the course 🙂

I’ve pretty much eliminated all white sugars, white breads, and any processed foods.

Post workout meal at Whole Foods: Grilled Salmon, roasted tomatoes, green onions, shredded carrots and squash. (I use lots of salsa for dressing.)

If it’s a slice of bread it’s Ezekiel’s sprouted bread with no sugar. And their pita pockets.

I feel GREAT!!

And I have a ton of energy for my workouts at the gym 🙂

Stewie Louie

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crockpot stew, easy crockpot stew fall, lean beef tomato stew, Stellar Organics Wine Stew

Stew is one of the dishes I can put together pretty quickly with the help of the ‘ole crockpot. And with the weather in Austin turning all Fall (for us that’s 60 to 70…tee hee…)…I knew we needed to get our stew on. (A dollop of Fage yogurt on top — right before serving. And don’t forget kale for the veggie/greenery.)

This is a pretty easy stew … helped by pre-cut carrots, onions, and lean stew meat. (And that Stellar Organic Wine sure makes things seem ‘easy’ after two or three glasses….

And I’m sorry but I’m becoming a little snobby about my ‘maters since I’ve tasted the best at the Farmer’s Market. So, for this stew I boiled the tomatoes soft before being dunked into the crockpot.

That’s what the wine is for lol…a good long pour, at that. Then all the ingredients get diced up and put in the crockpot…the onions, potatoes, meat, carrots…boiled tomatoes…and sometimes i’ll even throw in garlic, kale … and maybe even extra tomato sauce from leftover Italian night. It just depends on my mood. (turn that puppy on high for four hours and the house smells like a real Southern woman’s 🙂

Bravin crowds at the new Whole Foods — and Survivin! HA!

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Austin Texas Whole Foods Supermarket, Kale Salad orange juice apple, Whole Foods Austin North Domain, Whole Foods' Kale salad recipe, Whole Foods' Sweet Summer Kale Salad

My mom (left) and our good friend Maggie — at opening week of the Whole Foods (Domain, North).

AN EXCITING OUTING for me is a ‘girl’s day / walk / lunch’ at the new WHOLE FOODS supermarket North (in the Domain).

(George would have lasted 15 minutes — TOPS!!)

Lucky for me I have my mom and Maggie — and they are my culinary goddesses — the top of my foodie friend list.

We braved opening week Friday — and SURVIVED!!

There are fire pits cozy and warm out front — you know, if you want to cuddle up to your honey with a bottle of wine and cheese and crackers (and olives from their fanciful olive bonanza.)

Then there’s the coffee bar with the glass beakers hanging from the ceiling dispensing that black gold ooze.

It’s all so TRES CHIC!!

Trail mix bar, Medjool dates

Hey, and if you feel like it, wrap up your lunch so you can scoot on about five minutes south — you can try on some new Athleta capris or Lululemon Wunder Unders.

(Seriously, folks, this is RETAIL HEAVEN! And yes, I’m more than willing to participate…come ‘on now.)

If you don’t want to fancy urself up for SERIOUS FARE, just saddle up to their ‘sausage smoker bar,’ getcha a pint, and a brat, and hang out next to the band stage for some cool tunes.

It’s all so wonderful…i mean, seriously, they have a RAMEN BAR, y’all….

Fish market and fresh salmon slicing

This new store rocks — I think they did a great job taking everything that works — and adding some new surprises. LOVE IT! Thanks Whole Foods!!

Olive, dip bar

Their Sweet Summer Kale salad is the best KALE salad ever — the secret is APPLE RINGS, plus: almonds, sun-dried cranberries, olive oil, honey, orange juice, white balsamic vinegar, shallots, garlic, oregano, crushed red chili flakes, salt, black pepper.

Dear Reader, I couldn’t find their Sweet Summer Kale recipe online, but I did find their Kale salad recipe.

Enjoy!

Love, D.

Here’s what I’m doin with this food THANG

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Almond Butter Toast Banana, Cage Free Eggs Peppers Salsa, Daiya Dairy Free Cheese Shreds, Eating Right Plan, Healthy Eating 2014, Mestemacher Pumpernickel Bread

This was my ‘front-loading’ breakfast this morning. While I mostly like plant sources of protein, I do love my cage-free egg with peppers and spinach and salsa. (Daiya cheese shreds too!)

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Day One of ‘doing the right thing food-wise’ has come and gone.

I woke up feeling ‘clear’ and ready to take on DAY TWO.

I’ve been asked, ‘What I’m doing with this food-thing?’

Hopefully, sharing this adds some value.

So, I thought I’d review yesterday…

Loaded in as many green vegetables as I possibly could.

(More good stuff means less room for bad stuff.) 

For breakfast, this included spinach with my eggs and salsa.

For lunch I made a huge salad for me and George with shredded broccoli and steamed kale and spinach.

For dinner steamed kale with black beans and salsa. (I guess you can tell I love the kick of salsa.)

Stayed away from packaged Lara Bars — and the like — including those lovely little individually-packaged fig bars in the bulk aisle at HEB.

Take sprouted bread and toast and use 1 TB almond butter and four thin banana slices. Voila! (George loves this treat any time of the day.)

(Ate an apple for 2p snack with a piece of pumpernickel and almond butter — only a tablespoon of almond butter.)

My mid-morning snack had been the piece of health bread with 1 tablespoon of almond butter

(yes…almond butter has lots of fat calories, but right now I’m all about moderation and I think a total of 2 tablespoons almond butter per day is fine.)

I attended yoga class and worked through half the postures in the Ashtanga primary series.

After heading home I had for an evening snack a bowl of plain popcorn — and drizzled over it about a tablespoon of Daiya cheddar cheese.

Yes. This YEAR I want to eat RIGHT and FEEL GREAT and USE food as fuel.

But of course making sure the experience is pleasurable.

Do you have a new eating plan for the new year? If so, I’d like to know about it.

Leave a post or shoot me an e-mail. Thanks! And Happy New Year!!

Lovin Stir-FRY SHORTCUTS

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Broccoli, mushroom, red bell pepper, steamed kale, stir fry shortcuts vegan, tofu, wasabi peas

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE stir fry. And I was pleased with this one I threw together tonight. But there-in lies the operative word ‘threw-together.’ These days with this microbiology class, I have to find short cuts. The tofu came from the Whole Foods prepared foods bar and the veggies were pre-chopped. I bought some low-sodium stir-fry sauce. (No oil, just lemon juice to de-glaze.)

This stir-fry was a little more involved. A cube of store-bought tofu was cut into squares and blotted. That way it picks up sauce. (The sauce was a quick throw together of lemon juice, a sesame tamari vinaigrette and low-sodium soy sauce.) There’s even crunchy wasabi peas, steamed kale and sliced mushrooms.

 

Recipe: ‘SuperFood’ TOSTADAS

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Black Bean Guacamole Brown Rice Tostada, Black Bean Guacamole Tostada, Plant based Tostadas, Refried Black Bean Tostada Guacamole, Vegan Tostadas

My dear sweet husband who I love as much as the sun rising … is a REAL YANKEE!

For those of you that know him, you are laughing.

For those of you who haven’t, imagine a guy who was born in Manhattan and never really left the island except for going back and forth on the train to his family home in Westchester County.

(Honestly, he says he grew up in that house, but really, I think that’s just where he slept.)

I met him in New York. And I have to admit, in the two years I was there, I really didn’t find a Mexican restaurant I fell in love with.

I mean, there was the occasional fish-bowl-sized Margarita with fancy salt and a limed rim, but nothin came close to what I had here in Texas — both the Mexican and Tex-Mex.

So, moving to Austin, Texas, for George, was an exploration into a whole new world of culture. (And you would have loved seeing their faces when he started talking.)

He affectionately began referring to every Tex-Mex delight as an ‘Empanada.’ Even if it was a taco, a burrito, a tostada, he would call it an ‘Empanada.’

The first time he did this I nearly had a half coronary / pee in my pants …’It’s NOT AN EMPANADA,’ I stated.

‘An Empanada is like a CALZONE, like a puff pastry stuffed with meat/and or veggies.’

But if you know my husband you also know if he ‘gets a laugh,’ then he’s gonna use it again and again.

So, until probably the end of time, anything I cook like a taco, burrito or enchilada will be referred to as an EMPANADA, and taco night is EMPANADA NIGHT, NO MATTER WHAT.

(And I’m ok with that. In marriage one has to make compromises, and I’m willing to bend a little here. As long as he understands what an empanada really is.)

When we moved here he had so many new things to get used to and I really didn’t know if he adapt, but he did. In fact, he loves EMPANADA NIGHT. Which is really TACO/TOSTADA NIGHT.

Sunday night we cooked up a large pot of black beans and used them to make the ‘Yummy Superfood Tostadas.’ Please see recipe below.

YUMMY SUPERFOOD TOSTADAS:

Ingredients:

• 1 box baked tostada shells
• 1 can black ‘refried’ beans
• 1 container fresh guacamole
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in halves or thirds (depending on size)
• 2 cups kale cut up like garnish pieces (see ‘tostada toppers’ pic)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup Mateo’s salsa (any brand will work. Costco carries Mateo’s.)
• 1/4 cup whole black beans cooked (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon Chimayo Chili Powder or any other chili powder (optional)
• Vegan cheddar cheese (optional)

METHOD:

• Wash and chop kale, cherry tomatoes. Add to big mixing bowl.
• Add brown rice, salsa, a few whole black beans and chili powder.
• Mix very well (coating kale evenly with the salsa.)
• Set bowl aside and/or store in fridge until ready to top tostadas.
• Open containers of refried beans, guacamole and tostadas.
• Warm refried beans, tostada shells.

ASSEMBLE TOSTADAS:

• Using a knife scoop out about 1/4 cup beans for the first tostada shell.
• Place beans in the middle of tostada shell.
• Working from middle of shell, spread beans evenly to coat shell. (Helps to rotate shell like a decorator frosting a cake.)
• Spread guacamole as a layer on top of the refried bean layer.
• Top with kale/cherry tomato/rice mixture made earlier.
• Top with more veggie goodies like purple onion, cabbage, vegan cheese, etc.

NOTES:

• You can make your own tostada shells from sprouted corn tortillas like Ezekiel brand. (Simply bake/warm tortillas to dry out water and voila! Instant tostada shell.)
• I buy baked tostada shells from HEB. It’s their own brand.
• Sanissimo brand baked corn tostada shells can be purchased online at MexGrocer.com.
• It’s super easy to make your own guacamole — just avocado, lemon juice and sea salt.
• If I don’t have my own cooked black beans I buy the Bearitos Refried Black Beans (Vegetarian). VitaCost.com sells a 4-pack for about $10.
• This week we cooked our own black beans and made our own ‘refried’ base layer.

Related articles

• Weekly Menu: Featuring ‘Heritage’ Chimayó Chile Powder (yardandplate.com)
• How-To: Use ‘heirloom’ chili powder to boost ‘them beans (yardandplate.com)

My love affair with a local Buddha Bowl

Tags

Buddha Bowl, Buddha Bowl combos, Buddha Bowl with sweet potato chard and red rice, Kukicha, Soy sauce, Sweet Potato, The Steeping Room Austin Texas

A Buddha Bowl of Ruby Red Rice, Sweet Potato, White Beans and Chard. (This was Monday’s lunch to which George –and his shrinking frame — said, ‘I have those sweet potatoes to look forward to’ …I about choked on my chard, I was laughing so hard.’

I really have no earthly idea what constitutes a Buddha Bowl.

All I know is I started ‘really’ liking them at a restaurant / tea lounge in the Domain called The Steeping Room.

Now, they do tea well, and they serve a mighty fine Kukicha, but these ladies that own it know a thing or two about putting together the right legume with the correct grain.

And I cannot say enough for the tea-braised chicken sandwich, which they offer on spelt bread.

While the menu is diverse and everything I have ever had there in my many visits has been outstanding I keep on going back to this simple Buddha bowl they do, which allows one to sample different combos of rices / grains , beans and greens.

Sometimes its quinoa, sweet potato and brown rice (and a little dollop of baked tofu.)

Another time I think I had black beans, sweet potato, and the brown rice. But what I do need to mention is: this sesame tamari vinaigrette that gets poured right on top of it all. (I usually ask for mine on the side.)

The dressing is divine! I believe they put a little sesame oil and apple cider vinegar in there and the tartness plays well with the sweetness of the sweet potato.

At home, I’ve been working up different combinations.

Today for lunch we had ruby red rice, sweet potato and white bean. All of this with chard. Some days I do this with kale. It just depends on what I have in the pantry … and the possibilities are endless.

In thinking up the next ‘bowl’ I want a lot of color, a grain of some sort, a bean, and leafy green veggies.

If you have ideas, please send them my way.

I would love to cook it up.

love, d.

Recipe: Yummy, filling leafy green salad

Tags

Avacado, Broccoli, Diced Purple Onion, Golden Balsamic Vinegar Dressing, Healthy Green Salad, Kale, Kale Avacado Salad, Purple Cabbage

A bunch of different, colorful veggies in today’s BIG lunch salad. Approx. 340 calories for each serving like this one (plus tons of important nutrients like iron). What I put together in the mixing bowl was enough for two servings, for me and George. He gobbled his down while proclaiming how good it was. So this isn’t a ‘girlie salad.’

We had a big, yummy, filling, low-cal leafy green salad for lunch today.

I love it when we eat this way cause by 6 p.m. I’m not starving. I get super energy and I can tell my yoga practice is better.

While this has everything but the kitchen sink in it, the salad is so easy to assemble. I just get out a big ole mixing bowl and start throwing in the ingredients, even the items for the dressing.

Toss several times to coat everything with the avocado / oil / vinegar.

(p.s. this could be considered a variation of Whole Foods’ kale/avacado salad. Just many more ingredients, and not the use of apple cider vinegar-based dressing.)

For this Easy, Healthy, Green Kale/Avacado salad you’ll need…

– organic kale (used a big handful)

– spring mix (filled up 1/3 of the big mixing bowl)

– purple cabbage (1/4 of a small head, chopped fine)

– Mann’s organic broccoli coleslaw (used about 1/2 handful)

– 1/2 cup homemade kidney beans (from the freezer, I had cooked these up last week)

– 1/2 cup diced organic Roma tomatoes (they had been on sale at Whole Foods)

– 2 tablespoons diced purple onion

– 1 cup grilled brocolli (I had leftovers from the weekend)

– handful spinach

– half medium-sized avocado

– spicy tamari pumpkin seeds

(I get the pumpkin seeds from Whole Foods’ bulk area. I used half tablespoon on mine and half on George’s.)

Items to dress salad (just throw these in the mixing bowl too):

– 2 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar (Napa Valley Naturals)

– 1 tablespoon extra light tasting olive oil (Pompeian Brand)

– squeeze half lemon

– sea salt and cracked black pepper (a few small dashes here and there)