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Blueberry-Nana Muffins (Vegan)

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

I had 3 bananas at home that were just a tad too ripe and I don’t like to eat ripe bananas… and since blueberries were on sale at Kroger I decided to make Blueberry-Nana Muffin.   This time though I used Spelt Flour.  My friend Mandi uses Spelt Flour in her baking all the time so I figured I would give it a try… the result… I like it a lot.   Spelt flour is wheat free for those of you who are concerned about wheat.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup spelt flour
  • 1/4 cup pastry flour
  • 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup flax seed meal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup Agave
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 3 ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 cup milk (I used Almond breeze Almond milk)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  2. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper muffin cups.
  3. In a large bowl, stir together the spelt flour, pastry flour, rolled oats, flax seed, baking powder, and baking soda.
  4. Add in vanilla, milk and vegetable oil mix well.
  5. Mash bananas with a fork and fold it into the batter (this is important, you don’t want to mix it in with the mixer)
  6. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts.
  7. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

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Posted in Recipe, Vegan | 4 Comments »

Day 1 of 21

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a great day starting this last week of April.

I was up at 4 AM this morning, 20 min before the alarm went off.  I got dressed and got things together and headed out to the gym.

At the gym I did;
-  20 min on Elliptical Trainer
-  20 min on Stairmaster
-  20 min of Ab workouts

Todays’ Eats:
Before workout -  1 C Almond Milk
After workout – 1 Banana

Morning Snack – 8 oz Blackberries + 1 SM Tangerine

Lunch – Scotish Oats
in the mix:
-  1/3 C Scotish Oats
-  1 C Almond Milk
-  1 tbsp Almond Butter
-  0.75 tbsp Quince Jam
-  1 tbsp Coconut (Shreded)
-  1 tbsp Pumpkin Seed
-  1 tbsp Slivered Almonds

Afternoon Snack – 2 Dates + 1 oz raw Walnuts

Dinner – Brown Rice + Roasted Veggies + Salad
-  0.5 C Brwon Rice + 0.5 Edamame
Roasted Veggies
-  Eggplant, Zucchini, Okra, Potato, Mushrooms and Sun Dried Tomato

I got a text from friends of our last night asking me if I am intrested in some lettuce from their garden… to which I replied… “OH MY GOD YES!”  So when I got to work this morning I had lettuce waiting for me at my desk…. the salad tonight was from our friends Jason & Melissa’s garden.  A big thanks to them as I am loving it :)

~ G

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, Vegan | 17 Comments »

MS-150 Weekend Recap

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Yes I am a walking zombie.  I have been able to barely keep up with a “hey how is it going” let alone blogging.   The MS-150 weekend was a lot of fun, but it was also very emotional and heartbreaking for me.   As I saw the riders go through the finish line in La Grange on Saturday and in Austin on Sunday I so wanted to be on my bike and finishing with them.

Here is a re-cap of our weekend….

Friday was our OFF day and it started in Kemah and the Flying Dutchman to set the menu for our upcoming Alumni event.   It is going to be fun.. and I will tell you more about that later… but if you are a Mountaineer in Houston mark May 15th on your calender as Coach Stewart will be here in Houston.

After Kemah we headed back into Houston for lunch, grocery shopping and to pick Raymond’s rider bib.    Lunch was at Ruggles Green…

I had their Minestrone Soup

and Salad

After our grocery shopping we headed to the Omni Hotel… Holy moly, it was jam packed with riders and vendors… they were selling everything and anything that you might need for the ride… from gu to cycling shorts & jerseys to fancy accessories….

By the time we were done with our errands and were back at home it was 9 PM and we had to get up at 4.. YIKES!

Saturday morning Raymond and I drove to Shell Woodcreek where the Shell team was meeting up.  Some of the riders didn’t get a chance to drop off their over night bags on Friday so I offered to take their stuff up to the camp site for them.   I filled up the truck and wish Raymond luck on his ride and started my drive to La Grange.   The morning started with a little bit of rain, but it stopped at about 10 miles into the ride.

Here is our dining tent

getting the snacks ready for the riders to get in

I got into LaGarange and the fairgrounds around 8:30 AM and started unloading the truck and helping set up in the Shell team.  around 9:40 I got a text from Raymond telling me that he is at 50 miles and eating lunch… Team Shell started #5 @ 7:30… which means Raymond had a pretty good pace for the first 50 mi.

Since I was also volunteering for Team Jacobs, I walked over to their tent to see if they needed help with anything and found their tent sort of flooded…. I helped get things set up there and figured I would grap lunch at around 11:30…. the only problem… they have burgers for the volunteers… BURGERS… um.. HELLO, what about the vegetarians?  Luckily I had packed myself a nice large salad so I ate my salad.

Around 1 PM, I got a text from Raymond telling me that he is not going to make it in for another 2 hrs because the guy he is riding with is having back problems and they are taking a long break…  Finally around 3:45 I saw Raymond and Rick cross the finish line into the camp ground… a quick fact about Rick… he is a 17 yr sophomore in high school… oh and he is dutch and rode for team Shell.

Here is Raymond coming in at the end of day 1

They had brought in trailers with showers in them.. really cool.. sorry no pics, and poor Raymond waited 1.5 hrs in line to take a shower.   After he got back from his shower we headed to dinner…. dinner was:  BBQ (yes meat), baked beaned (with bacon), potato salad (with eggs) and bake potato… so I had a plain bake potato which did not do justice for my hunger.

After dinner Raymond and I walked around the camp ground and visited friends who were riding for different teams… plus this way we figured out which team has better food and sleeping arrangments so we know for next year ;)

We had an intresting sleeping arrangments… 400 riders all slept in one HUGE tent…. air mattress next to air mattress

Raymond lounging on our mattress

some people had a tent inside the tent

At mid night we heard the heavy rain… pouring and turning the camp ground into one big mud puddle.  Around 3:30 AM some of the riders started getting up and moving around with their flash lights and started getting ready… COME ON PEOPLE they said lights on at 5 AM.. it is only 3:30… so by 4:30 Raymond and I gave up and got up to get all packed up and get him ready for day 2 of the ride.

We headed to breakfast and I found out the only options are sausage kolaches or breakfast tacos… (meat and egg) so once again I had to skip a meal.   I loaded up the truck and headed out to Austin once all the riders left the camp ground.

On my first 10 miles out of the camp ground I saw 3 bike accidents that required an ambulance… yikes.  I think tired riders along with a little bit of rain was a recipe for a lot of accidents and flat tires.

Once in Austin I unloaded the truck at Jacobs tent and drove to the closest 24 hr fitness to take a shower…. I was going to wait an hour and half in line to take a shower at the camp ground… and at this point I was muddy and really needed a good shower.

After that I went to Mother’s cafe… a vegetarian cafe that was recommended to me by my friend Bill… Thanks Bill!  The food was AWESOME :)
I had their vegetable rancheros (vegan) which contained… steamed veggies, brown rice, pinto bean chili and sage mashed potato… HOLY YUM :)  I ate everything on my plate… I was hungry.

After lunch I ordered the Vegan Belgian Chocolate Cake… it was heavenly… I polished that as well.  :)

Then I headed back to the finish line, packed the car and tried to find myself a good spot to take a picture of Raymond coming in :)

Raymond and I in Austin

We loaded back up in the truck and drove the 3 hours back home just in time to pick up our little munchkin at 8 PM :)

I didn’t take a lot of pictures.. it was a jam packed weekend.. it was wet and muddy.. and crowded.. I was afraid of forgetting my camera somewhere or dropping it in the puddles..  We both went to work on Monday, but I was a complete zombie and I didn’t even do the ride… so we took Monday and Tuesday night easy…

On Monday after lunch I got a call from our front desk receptionist telling me I have some flowers waiting for me.  I went down stairs and these beauties were waiting for me

The note basically said “Thank you for being there and taking care of me this weekend”  :)

I came home this evening had a quick dinner… I made a veggie wrap on ezekiel wrap.. Sauteed Mushrooms, Okra and Sun dried Tomatoes on top of spring mix.  I also spread some homemade avocado dressing

After dinner I headed to  March of Dimes Volunteers meeting from 6 – 7:30, I have organized a group of 11 Mountaineers to volunteer for the March of Dimes on Sunday.

Off to bed :)

~ G

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Posted in Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegetarian, Volunteering | 16 Comments »

Sadie & Giveaway Winners!

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

It may seem silly that I am naming a post after my dog Sadie… but just like any other replationship, Sadie and I have had to work on our relationship :)  It was rocky at first, She was/is the perfect one, I am the one who had to work on making things work and now it is a true love affair.

You see I used to have a dog phobia.  Growing up I remember visiting friends and family and I would not step foot in their house unless they locked up the dog.  I was petrified.  If somehow their dog got loose (poor doggies) I would scream, run and start crying.   This was the case as long as I can remember.

In undergrad my friend Alisa and I would go by the Merrimack river in Lowell to have a picnic lunch which was always intrupted by my scream of “there is a dog coming” and running to my car.   In grad school, I would sit in my car for hours waiting for my neighbor and his dog to walk back into his apartment before I walked from my car to my apartment.

That all changed when I met Raymond.   On our 2nd date we were at Lake Lanier, North of Atlanta, having a nice picnic lunch when I started crawling up his back.  Raymond was confused and asked me “what is wrong”, to this I replied, “there is a dog”.  He looked around a bit and said “where is the dog?” and I said “across the lake”.   The poor guy thought I was joking… little did he know that the dog phobia is a serious case, but he made it his mission to help me get over my fear.

We started by weekly visits to the pet store and just watching the dogs in their little cage.   On our first visit I was holding his arm so tight that I left a nice hand print on his arm.   This went on for weeks… 5-10 min increased to 20 -30 min, then to actually slowly touching the dog while Raymond is holding him/her.    Then one day Raymond announced that he wants to get an English Setter and name her Sadie (he grew up with this breed, and Sadie is his 5th Setter).  I thought he is joking so I said well let’s see if there are any available in the paper… and to my surprise there were.   We called a couple places and weren’t succecssful in getting one.   He finally contacted the DeCoverly Kennels in PA and asked if they have a white girl pupyy with orange spots and the answer was “YES!”

We got these pictures of Sadie in an email

On Thursday July 28th Sadie boarded a Delta flight from PA to GA :).   We picked her up at the airport, she was all scared and smelly from being in the cage from 6 AM to 9 PM.   We took her home, gave her a bath and let her explore the apartment, while I sad on the back of the couch with my legs curled up under me.  For a month after she arrived I would do my best to keep my feet off the floor while she was playing.

Sadie a few weeks after we had got her

Raymond Used to hold her like a little baby (well he still does :) )  I need to find the picture of me holding her like this for the first time.. I know we have it on one of the comps.

At the end of the month I let her smell my feet when I had my shoes on, then we moved to just socks and 5 years later I am lost without my little puppy.   She makes my day.  I love it how when I get home she is soooo happy and excited to see me and if I am frustrated or not happy she tries to love on me and make me feel better.  She has become my little girl, for a while people at work thought I have a daughter named Sadie :)

Isn’t she BEAUTIFUL :)

I am still a bit hesitant to meet new and big dogs, but after a few minutes I usually warm up to them and am loving on them.

Do you have any Phobias?  Have you ever had to overcome a fear?

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Dinner tonight was Polenta Pizza and I have to say it was an awesome dinner.. I am looking to my leftovers for tomorrow.. :)

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Here is the Falafel Recipe that I had promised.  Sorry I didn’t post it last night

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The winners of the TEMP Milk & Ice cream were… drum roll please (I used Random Generator)

Winner #1:  Emily


Winner #2: The Ordinary Vegetarian


Congrats ladies!  Please leave me a comment so I can get in touch with you and send you the coupons.   I can’t wait to hear what you think of Temp Milk and Ice Cream as I am a BIG fan :)

- Gelareh

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, Vegan, Vegetarian | 29 Comments »

G’s Felafel

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Ingredients:

-  1 can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-  1 Shallot or 1/2 small onion
-  2-3 cloves of Garlic
-  3 tbps Italian Parsley, chopped
-  3 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
-  1 tsp Cumin
-  1 tsp Coriander
-  1 tsp Paprika
-  1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
-  Juice of 1 Lime
-  1 tbsp Olive oil
-  2 tbsp Quinoa Flour*

* I had some quinoa at home and using my magic bullet made some quinoa flour to use in this recipe.

Directions:

-  In a food processor combine all ingredients except for the chickpeas
-  Mash the chickpeas in with a fork and fold the well mixed ingredients into the chickpeas
-  Roll into small balls and place on a baking dish
-  Bake for 5-8 min under broil @ 500°

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Posted in Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian | 5 Comments »

Short Week?

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Hope everyone had a great Monday!  Is this is a short week for you?  Did you have today off?

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I have recieved a couple questions regarding the things that I eat and why I choose to eat them…

Question 1: This question was regarding the Creamy Avocado Smoothie
Can you tell me the nutritional benefits of the ingredients that you selected for this recipe?

Absolutly, Here is the break down;

1 - Avocado
-  Contains oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that may help to lower cholesterol.
-  a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. Adequate intake of potassium can help to guard against circulatory diseases, like high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke.
-  a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and copper

Ways to enjoy Avocado:
-  Add it to your salad
-  Added to your morning Smoothie
-  Make Guacomole
-  On your sandwich — I used some avocado slices on my sandwich to give it a creamer texture.. and since I started doing that I was able to say goodbye to Mayo :)

2 – Hemp Seed & Milk  (see Hemp 101)
-  considered a super food because of its ideal balance of Omega 3 and 6.  It is also a perfect protein supplement because it contains fatty amino acids and this is specially important for vegetarian and vegans.
-  2 tbsp of hemp seed contains 2000 mg of Omega 3, 6200 mg of Omega 6 and 800 mg of Omega 9.
-  a great supplement if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant as 2 tbsp provides 210 ug (recommended value before pregnancy 400 ug and during pregnancy 600-1000ug).
-  provides 3.6 IU of Vitamin E, 3 mg zinc and 3 mg Manganese, which are a great source for beautiful hair and skin.

Ways to enjoy Hemp Seed:
-  Morning Smoothie
-  Oatmeal
-  Homemade Veggie Burger  (see recipe)
-  Salad
-  Baked goods
-  Topping for greek yogurt or frozen yogurt

3 – Flax Seed
-  high in most of the B vitamins, magnesium, and manganese.
-  rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids are a key force against inflammation in our bodies.
-  high in Fiber — both soluble and insoluble. Fiber is probably mainly responsible for the cholesterol-lowering effects of flax. Fiber in the diet also helps stabilize blood sugar, and, of course, promotes proper functioning of the intestines.

Ways to enjoy Flax Seed:
-  Smoothie
-  Oatmeal
-  Pancake
-  Baked Goods
-  Topping for greek yogurt or frozen yogurt

4 – Chia Seed
-  high in Omega-3 fatty acids
-  excellent source of dietary fiber
-  helps the body retain fluids and electrolytes, it forms a gel in the stomach that slows the conversion of carbohydrates to sugar, and it helps build muscle and other tissues.

Ways to enjoy Chia Seed:
-  Smoothie
-  Oatmeal
-  added it to baked goods, like bread, muffins
-  soak it in water or juice for up to 8 hours to make gelatin and use it in pudding
-  sprout the seed and use it on your salad

5 – Red Maca Powder
-  provides Potasium & Calcium
-  helps boost energy
Personal Note:  I am not a big fan of the taste.. I can only handle 1/4 tsp at a time mixed with tons of other things to mask the flavor..

Ways to enjoy Red Maca Powder: (in this case I should say consume.. lol)
-  Smoothie
-  Oatmeal

6 – Spinach
-  excellent source of Magnesium and Riboflavin.  Studies show that these two compounds can help reduce frequency of migrane attacks in people who suffer from them.
-  high in Vitamins A, C, E, K and Iron.

Ways to enjoy Spinach:
-  Juice it
-  Smoothie
-  Steamed
-  In your salad
-  In wraps and sandwiches

Question #2:  Where do you get Hemp Seed/Milk, Flax Seed, Chia Seed & Maca Powder?

I don’t know if Trador Joe’s carris these products as we don’t have one in TX :(

Hemp Milk – I buy the Living Harvest Brand, you can find it in Whole Foods and or othe natural food stores.  I also know that Kroger and Hannaford carry the brand.  Click here to find out where you can get this product at a store close to you.

Hemp Seed & Oil – I buy the Monitoba Harvest Brand.  I buy mine from Central Market, which is a Austin based grocer with one branch in Houston.  You may be able to find it at whole foods, if not I am sure they have other brands of Hemp Seed and Hemp Oil.

Chia Seed, Maca Powder – I placed an order of Chia seed, Maca Powder, Acai Powder and Goji berries at Nuts Online.   I have seen them in the health section of Krogers and at Whole Foods.

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We had a very relaxing Sunday.  Our goal was to eat as easy as we possibly could, so we did…  Yesterday being Pancakes Sunday, I whiped up a batch of Blueberry Panckaes using Arrowhead Mill Multigrain Pancake Mix and added some fresh blueberries to it.   Our pancakes were topped with Raspberries, Blackberries, more Blueberries and sliced bananas :)

All Berried up Pancakes

Since we had a late and big breakfast, we decided on an earlier dinner.  For dinner I had Spagethi Squash, on of my favorites, topped with Homemade Sundried Tomato Sauce and Roasted Veggies (Brussel Sprouts, Zucchini and Asparagus).

Homemade Sundried Tomato

Ingredients:
-  2 Tomatoes
-  2 tbsp Sundried tomatoes
-  4 cloves of Garlic
-  1/2 tbsp of Olive oil
-  Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions: Provies 2 servings
-  In a pan saute finely chopped garlic until golden
-  Add sundried tomato and toss with the garlic for a minute
-  In magic bullet, blend and mix tomatoes, sudried tomato/garlic mixture and Salt & Pepper
-  Enjoy your fresh homemade sauce on top of your favorite spaghetti :)

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I also had a nice phone chat with Amie of The Healthy Apple.  We talked about blogging and clean eating.. and of course my long battle with IBS-C and how I was able to fix it with healthy and clean eating.  :)

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I dragged myself out of bed this morning… not because i didn’t get enough sleep, just because I had Sadie all cuddled up to me and it was just too nice holding my soft puppy that I didn’t want to get out of the bed.. but I did just because she wasn’t crazy about the snooze button.

I made it to the gym and to my surprise it was EMPTY.   I did stairmaster for 20 min, Elliptical Trainer for 20 min and 250 crunches and called it the day.   Once showered and dressed I realized I am the only person in the locker room because everyone else has today OFF…

For dinner tonight I wanted a nice big salad… Simple and yummy… I topped my salad with roasted potato, steamed Broccoli and Carrots and used a tbsp of my homemade tahini dressing :)

I have my gym bag all packed up and in the car and about to enjoy a quite evening.

I didn’t get to post last night… but that doesn’t mean that we get to skip our weekly goal… Set yourself ONE goal this week and try to achieve it.

My goal this week is get to bed at a decent time and get minimum of 6.5 – 7 hrs of sleep.

- Gelareh

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Posted in Did you know?, Everyday Stuff, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian | 32 Comments »

Dinner in 45 Min

Monday, February 8th, 2010

I had a very busy and productive day today.   I got to the gym at 5:30 AM and did 30 min on Elliptical, 20 min on Stairmaster, some serious stretching and some crunches.     I kept up with my goal of drinking plenty of water and drank 74 oz of water while at work.     I got home very hungry and wanted something quick and tasty.  Not to mention Raymond’s friend Jason was coming over to watch WVU play basketball and it needed to be something that feeds 3 people with some left overs…. and that’s when Mushroom and Sundried Tomato Macaroni was born.

Ingredients:

-  2 tbsp Olive Oil
-  1 Med Onion, chopped
-  8 oz of Mushrooms, chopped
-  3 cloves of Garlic
-  2 tsp dried Oregano
-  1 tsp Italian Seasoning
-  1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
-  1 Can (8 oz) Tomato Sauce
-  1 Can (15 oz) Whole tomatoes
-  2 tbsp Sundried Tomatoes
-  2 cup Vegetable Broth
-  2 cup dried Macaroni
-  Salt & Pepper to Taste

Cooking Directions: Serves 4

-  Saute Onion and Garlic in olive oil, let it cook until onion is transluscent
-  Add Mushrooms to the onion mixture and let it cook until mushrooms are soft
-  Add Oregano, Italian Seasoning, Tomato Sauce, Chopped up canned tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, salt & Pepper
-  Add a little over half of the parsley to the mixture, add vegetable broth and let it come to boil
-  Add Macaroni, allow it to come to boil, cover and let simmer until the liquid is completely gone and Macaroni is soft.
-  Garnish with Parsley and Enjoy!

NOTE: I served the Macaroni with Grilled chicken, seasoned with Italian season, salt and pepper to the boys.    I added 1/2 cup of Edamame to my dish for some added protein.

This dish took a total of 45 min, from prep to finish…

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I got an email this morning from Raymond about our ride next Saturday, which is about an hour and half north of where we live.. YIKES!  In his email he wrote “you need to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate”.   I didn’t do a good job of hydrating last week leading to the race and while riding.   Part of it was Saturday was a chilly day and when its chilly you sort of forget that you need to be drinking water, not that is any excuse.    Hence my goal this week, to make sure I drink enough water throughout the week and definatly drink plenty while riding on Saturday.

How do you stay hydrated while training or running/cycling a race?

Gelareh

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Posted in Recipe, Uncategorized, Vegan | 31 Comments »

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Do you ever wake up in the morning and think… I want some Carrot Cake!  Well I do.  My mom makes the BEST Carrot Cake in the world, and I wanted some of her cake this morning.  Since that wasn’t an option I decided to make CARROT CAKE PANCAKES for Pancake Sunday :)

Ingredients:

-  1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
-  1/4 cup Scottish Oatmeal
-  1/4 tsp Baking Soda
-  1 tsp Cinnamon
-  1/4 tsp Nutmeg
-  1 tbsp Brown Sugar
-  1/4 cup Shredded Carrots
-  2 tbsp Raisins
-  3/4 cup Milk
-  2 tbsp Walnuts

Directions: Serves 2

-  Mix all ingredients except for Walnuts together well, make pancakes.  Top pancakes with more cinnamon, raisins and walnuts.  Use honey or Syrup.  Enjoy!

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Posted in Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian | 12 Comments »

Smoothie In a Bowl (SIB)

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

I was lazy to make my normal morning green Juice so instead I made green smoothie and topped it with Granola.   The smoothie is easy on the diegestive system requiring not much work and the granola adds the perfect crunch to make your jaw feel like it’s doing something useful ;)

Green Smoothie In a Bowl

-  2 cups Spinach
-  0.5 cup Milk (I used Hemp milk, for the extra boost)
-  1 cup Strawberries
-  1 frozen Banana
-  1 tbsp Chia Seed
-  1 tbsp Hemp Seed
-  1/2 tsp Maca Powder

Blend everything in a blender, pour in a bowl and top with 1/4 cup Granola.  Enjoy!

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Posted in Recipe, Vegan | 3 Comments »

Houston to Austin ONE Pedal at time

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The BP MS-150 Houston to Austin bike ride is one of the biggest events here in Houston… Other than the Marathon.  Once January hits the spin classes are packed, the bike shops start selling bikes like crazy and you see riders out in the streets training for the big ride.     This is a two day fundraising cycling ride organized by the National MS society.

The ride is a 180 mile journey from Houston to Austin, starting on Saturday morning April 17th,  a 100 mile ride, with an overnight stay in La Grange.   On Sunday the riders will choose between Bechtel Challenge Route, which travels through the rolling terrain of Bastrop and Buescher State Parks or the Pfizer Express Route which by-passes the park.   The 80 mile ride will finish at the Capital….

The ride has grown from 6,000 riders in 1994 to 13,000 riders in 2009.    Each rider must raise minimum of $400 to particpate in the event AND as you know both Raymond and I registered for the ride with team SHELL  (he works for Shell Global Solutions).

We would appreciate your donation and support for this charitable cause.    If you would like to make a donation please visit Gelareh’s Donation Page or Raymond’s Donation Page.

Our weekends are booked with training rides… here is a quick look at the rides we have paid to participate in between now and the MS-150 ride (there are a lot more and we might add a few more on Sundays).

Saturday Feb 6th – Puddle for the Ducks – 25/37/45/70 miles –  45 miles

Saturday Feb 13th – Pedaling the Prairie ride – 23/41/56/70 miles — 56 miles

Saturday Feb 20th – Humble Lions Ride – 4/25/46.5/55 miles — 55 miles

Saturday Feb 27 – Team Shell Ride – 44/63 miles – 63 miles??

Sunday Feb 28th – Sun & Ski Ride – 24/36/50/65 miles - Would like to do 50 miles but two days in a row might go for 36 miles

Saturday Mar 6th – Pedal Thru the Pines – 16/27/ 50/ 65 miles — 65 miles

Saturday Mar 13th – Conoco Phillips Ride – 44/62 — 62 Miles

Saturday Mar 20th – Conoco Phillips Ride – 34/52 — 52 miles

Saturday Mar 27th – Conoco Phillips Ride – 25/45/62 — 62 miles

Saturday Apr 3rd – Conoco Phillips Ride – 38/57 — 57 miles

Saturday Apr 10 – Conoco Phillips Ride – 41/51 — 51 miles

Saturday & Sunday April 16 & 17 – BP MS 150 Ride — 180 miles in two days

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I started my day with a good spin class, but I have to admit, I didn’t get to bed untl 10:30 so when the alarm clock went off at 4:15 this morning I thought about just staying in bed.  Thanks to Sadie who complaint about the alarm clock and moved herself to my spot I got out of the bed and made it to my class.

I forgot my packed lunch at home and had to get Salad from the cafeteria.   I got big salad topped with Mushrooms, Red Cabbage, Cucumbers, Green Bell Pepper, Olives, Alfa Alfa Sprouts, Tomatos and HALF of an Avocado for $4.38… now if that is not a bargin I don’t know what it is.

For dinner I had yet another salad, I used up all of my steamed veggies and some raw veggies and mixed it with Raw Tahini Dressing and Fresh Salsa from last night.

Raymond is out at Basketball watching… Hopefully watching WVU handing it to PITT, I decided to have an experimental baking night, figured this way Raymond is not home to see it if it turns out bad.

I baked Vegan-Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Cake and it turned out AWESOME.

I sent him a txt to let him know he has a surprise waiting for him in the fridge ;)

Gelareh

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Posted in Everyday Stuff, Vegan, Vegetarian | 35 Comments »

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