The Quest for the Perfect On-the-Go Breakfast

As of late, I've been hitting the gym in the morning.

Crazy.  I know.

But hear me out.

I've realized that if I get into a routine where I just get up and zombie myself through my morning routine and don't actually wake up until I'm already exercising, I can coast through the first half of my spin class without even knowing where I am.  It seriously works!  And then my work out is DONE for the day and I was only aware of HALF of it!

I encourage you all to try zombie gym time.

Anyways, this complicates my life in many ways.

For example:

-I have to lay out clothes to workout in the evening before.  This cuts into my reality television time.
-I have to lay out clothes for work the evening before.  This ALSO cuts into my reality television time.
-I have to make my lunch the evening before (see above...)
-I have to make my breakfast the evening before (I think you get the picture by now)

There have also been a few instances where I get to the gym and realize I forgot hairspray...or have to deal with creepy lady who is putting her wart cream on her foot on the counter where I just had my lipstick sitting...

But ALL IN ALL, this has been going quite well for me.

It's forced me to be more organized and also forced me into a new routine which has me getting to work earlier and therefore leaving work earlier.  Which I like.

But I did need to figure out what to do for breakfasts.  

You can't really take cereal with you (I'm sure you can, I just don't really want to), and you can't really keep a smoothie cold for 3 hours in a car, so I knew it needed to be a potable b-fast.

Enter: baked goods.

I love all things baked for breakfast.  Scones, muffins, breads, all of it.  The more sweetness, the better.  Matt unfortunately, does not like sweet things for breakfast.  

I still make muffins and scones and breads.

He'll just have to suffer.

I came across these Chocolate Zucchini Muffins in Happy Herbivore and am happy to report that even though these are basically fat free and contain a vegetable, they are still delicious and filling.  I cut back on the sugar in the hopes that Matt would appreciate the effort.

He still complained.

Here's the recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from Happy Herbivore:

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 whole banana, mashed
• ½ cup raw sugar
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• ½ cup raw sugar (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan and set aside. If using paper liners, lightly spray inside of liners with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. In another bowl, cream mashed banana with applesauce and sugar (use extra 1/2 cup for a very sweet, dessert-like muffin). Add in soymilk, vanilla, zucchini and any other optional add-ins you might like such as vegan chocolate chips or chopped raw walnuts. Stir until evenly combined. Add flour mix to wet mix in 3-4 batches and stir until just combined. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan and bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

A New Post, a New Cookbook, and Blueberry Scones

So I'm FINALLY done travelling for awhile.  A month to be exact.  Don't quote me on that.   I'm ready to be at home for a change.  Ready to not live out of a suitcase.  Ready to not wear the same 3 outfits for the majority of the month.  Ready to not go angrily running down to the front desk in search of a can opener while trying to maintain the composure that my hangriness is making OH SO DIFFICULT.

Yea, I'm ready to be at home.

And I'm ready to get back to blogging!

Just to bring you all up to speed about the Engine 2 Diet stuff, we're still going strong.   Matt has lost about 12 pounds and is feeling good and motivated about everything.  I'm not weighing myself, but I do know that my clothing feels a bit looser.  So that's always nice.   We eat a vegan, oil-free, whole grain diet the entire week and then go out to dinner once a weekend to celebrate.  It's been pretty impressive to see how much has changed (at least in Matt) in terms of his appearance, his energy, his mood.

But it's also been hard as HELL to do this when I travel.   Basically I have to cook 8,000 meals and try to bring it with me.  This works when I am driving to my destination, but when I'm flying, I have to research restaurants in the area I'm going to, research where the nearest Whole Foods is, and try to bring along foods that do not need to be refrigerated (hence the scene with the can opener).

All in all, it's a pain.  But I've been trying!

Matt and I were becoming jaded with the recipes in the Engine 2 Diet book and really do not feel equipped to make our own dishes yet, so I took to the internets to see if there was any help.  Thankfully, at just about this same time, I saw that the folks at Engine 2 were doing a giveaway of Happy Herbivore.  This is a cookbook I've been coveting for awhile and so although I did not win the competition (in fact, I did not even enter...so that sort of complicates things), I did make a very wise purchase of this book.  And THAT has made all the difference.

This book is great because it has recipes that basically all fall within the guidelines of the Engine 2 diet, so we feel like we can try out all sorts of things, but it's an ACTUAL cookbook.  Not a diet/lifestyle book with a few recipes thrown in there.  

It's been great and I've loved almost everything we've made from the book.

Especially these scones:

These were delicious and especially timely because I had just returned from a family vacation where we had "Tea and Scones" in the afternoon and I couldn't participate.  No, we aren't British.

So, here's the recipe from Happy Herbivore.  I also highly recommend purchasing this book if you're looking for a supplement to Engine 2 or are just looking to cook delicious low-fat vegan food.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. non-dairy milk
2 tsp lemon juice
3 c whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbsp baking powder
pinch of fine salt
1/3 c raw sugar (optional...I chose not to use this)
1 cold banana, peeled and cut in half
1 c fresh blueberries (you can also use frozen)
dash(es) of ground giner

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Whisk non-dairy milk and lemon juice together, then set aside to curdle.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar if using, together in food processor and pulse a few times to ensure even distribution of the ingredients.

Add banana and let motor run until it has been incorporated  and the flour has little pebbles of bananas (my pebbles looked like stones...but I also didn't use a cold banana).

Transfer to a mixing bowl and pour in non-dairy milk, blueberries, and ginger, stirring until just combined.

Using a wide 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop up batter and drop onto prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until firm to touch.

Breakfast Muffin Bread

I'm not a big breakfast person. I like something quick and easy in the morning, usually sweet and in the form of cereal. The only exception to this rule is brunch, but let's all be honest and fess up that we all know brunch is NOT breakfast whatsoever, but an exception to eat pancakes because you were too lazy to get out of bed 2 hours earlier.

When I realized I would have to cook an actual meal for breakfast on the E2 meal plan, I was not a happy camper. I mean, yes there was the option of making oatmeal or something like that, but that still involved far too much time and energy in the morning. I need something that I can consume in under 5 minutes, preferably in the car.

So, I searched for some sort of baked goods and found the recipe for "Mighty Muffins." I generally really enjoy muffins, especially of the lemon poppy seed sort, so I thought this was a good idea.

As I began compiling the batter for these muffins, I slowly came to the realization that I had neglected to buy any Pam spray (I've just been using olive oil in a spray can) and since Rip has seriously struck the fear of God into me when it comes to oil, I panicked. I had two options: I could make cupcake muffins with some of my cupcake papers, or I could turn these muffins into a loaf of Muffin bread. Since I only had about 3 cupcake papers (how does one only have 3 of those?), I decided to loaf it. I poured the batter into a parchment paper lined loaf pan which actually worked out quite nicely.

When I went grocery shopping, I had neglected to write down exactly how much of certain grains and nuts and what not I needed, but I assumed that since I was buying in bulk, this would not be an issue. Unfortunately, I had underestimated the large amount of strange grains and nuts we would be consuming, so I low-balled everything. I did not have enough oat bran for this so had to include one cup of old fashioned oats since I only had about 2 cups of oat bran. This didn't seem to make much of a difference.

This bread tasted alright all things considered. It was breakfast-y. Could definitely taste the 6 bananas (holy cow, that's a lot of potassium), but it was not something I'd generally serve to guests or crave for a snack. But it was filling and we still haven't gone through the whole loaf yet.

Here's the recipe for the Mighty Muffins from "Engine 2 Diet:"

Ingredients:

3 cups oat bran
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sweetener
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large apple, grated
6 brown bananas, lightly mashed (leave some chunks)
¼ cup walnuts, chopped or halved
¼ cup raisins
¾ cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lemon onto the combined apple and bananas. Add walnuts, raisins, and water. Combine the wet and dry ingredients into one bowl. Pour into sprayed muffin tins and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.

The REAL Royal Wedding (sans rant)

Ok, I know you've all been waiting for this. I've been tweeting about the Royal Wedding Viewing Party I was super excited about and look, it's almost a week later and I haven't posted pics or even a hint at what was cooked.

Granted, I ranted (like that rhyme?). And then I was traveling in Wisconsin all day yesterday.

So, really, this is my first opportunity.

So, I'll just get to it.

Maris from "In Good Taste" came over at about 6 on Thursday evening (I neglected to check my cellphone and when I finally did, saw that I had approximately 18 missed texts including one that threatened to give the pizza she was bringing away to a homeless man if I didn't respond). I was, of course, stressed about this party (i.e. gathering of 3 people), so wanted to start cooking RIGHT AWAY. Maris, being the calm and collected person that she is, wanted to relax...and drink wine...and watch Boy Meets World with Matt.

I went RIGHT to cooking.

I started off with the SCONES. I leafed through "Veganomicon" and found the recipe for Banana and Date Scones...which sounded quite British. So, I gave those a go. I also found a recipe for "Clotted Cream" (this might be THE most disgusting name for a food in the history of food) and whipped those bad boys up right quick (was that British?).

Here's a pic (using my NEW chip and chip bowl that I got from my shower!):

These were SO DELICIOUS. I am STILL eating them for breakfast and the banana/date combo was not only a winning flavor mixture, but also left the scones very moist and delicious.

Here's a link to the recipe, but the blogger was vegetarian and not a hard core vegan, so she used honey whereas the recipe called for brown rice syrup.

For the Clotted Cream, I mixed up 4 tablespoons of Tofutti Cream Cheese (which tastes like "mayonaise" according to Matt), 4 tablespoons Earth Balance and 2 tablespoons Confectioner's Sugar. This was delicious and made PLENTY as long as you don't like, douse the scones in the stuff.

So, then I wanted to make something savory. Now, I've never really been all that interested in British food...and actually had to ask one of my friends who lives in Leeds for helpful suggestions (thanks, Sarah!). I disregarded all of her suggestions (which were great), and decided to make Pasties. I've had these before, and they're basically like homemade hot pockets...or pot pies that fit in your hands.

I found this recipe for "Vegan Cornish Pasties" online and decided to give them a go.

These were...complicated.

I don't know if it was my fault (it was like 11:00PM which is about an hour past my bedtime and I had had a few glasses of wine...and Maris was distracting) or the recipe, but these were...awkward.

Exhibit A:

The dough just really did not work out. And I didn't even eat one until a few days after the event had past. I added a red pepper to the insides which I guess was nice, but really, I would NOT recommend making those. Granted, it might just be that my tastes do not match up with British food...

I pity the Brits if these pasties were an accurate representation of their cuisine.

I put ketchup on mine.

So, here we were with 2 of the 4 dishes completed. Maris had decided at the last minute to bring fish n' chips which turned out to be a Whole Foods version of Goldfish (ducks, actually) and sweet potato fries.

So all we had left was a tart Maris was supposed to make and the cake.

Oh the cake...

I'll post more about that tomorrow.

BUT, we were too tired (i.e. Maris didn't want to make the tart), so our menu was complete.

We fell asleep to the Lifetime Movie about Will and Kate, almost missed the ACTUAL wedding, and then I fell asleep promptly 30 seconds after Kate and Will kissed on the balcony.

Some party...

BUT, as I've said before, it's better to celebrate GOOD things than BAD, so I plan on doing the same for Prince Harry's wedding. Whenever that happens.

Vegan Carbo Loading for Warmth

So, it's now officially the second day of my snowcation and I'm already stir crazy. Not stir crazy enough to want to leave my house and shovel, but I exhausted my kitchen yesterday and basically have half a bottle of Gin and half of a sweet potato leftover (I'm pretty sure they will both be consumed by the end of the day).

I.went.to.town.in.the.kitchen.yesterday.

But this is why:

So, I made a few things to keep warm.

I really really wanted to make some sort of bread but did not have any yeast, which complicated things a bit. But I found this recipe and tried out a yeast-less focaccia bread and left out the cheese.

It was pretty good, a little chewier than I would have liked, but I think that may have been due to the fact that I cooked it the additional 5 minutes that was called for even though I was not melting cheese.

I couldn't stop there...I needed to make something that smelled sweet. I needed to make some COOKIES! Once again, the limitations of my pantry necessitated a pretty intensely specific google search that came up with this recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies. These were UBER simple (so simple in fact, that I felt the need to use a German word to describe their simplicity), fast, and nice and sweet. I don't know why, but they have hardened up a little more than I would like, but that might be because I put them in a tin rather than air tight container.

These cookies were a great "make something out of nothing" treat. And they smelled great upon returning from the artic tundra.