Chocolate Chip Cookies

 The simplicity of chocolate chip cookies sounds so comforting. My migraine came on yesterday afternoon and is finally almost on it's way out. I felt so horrible all morning. I was well taken care of, though. Coffee and a yummy omelette were brought to me in bed this morning. 

My boyfriend is the sweetest!

 Staying home sounded like the best plan for me today. When I used to stay home sick from school as a kid I always baked during the day. Most of the time I just pretended to be sick. I never liked school. So for today, baking seemed like a good idea. Something simple, easy, and comforting. Chocolate chip cookies fit the bill. These aren't the classic cookies I remember from my childhood but a healthy updated version that satisfies my sweet tooth these days as I try my best to avoid gluten and sugar. These cookies are almost sugar free. I used bittersweet dark chocolate chips. As much as I use unsweetened carob chips for everything, I knew the result wouldn't be the same... They just don't melt like real chocolate. The recipe I used was from Elana's Pantry. It calls for yacon syrup as the sweetener. For those that aren't familiar, yacon syrup is derived from the root of the yacon plant native to South America. It is free of glucose, therefore having a low glycemic index which doesn't spike blood sugar. It's great for diabetics and people who follow a candida conscience diet. I used to use yacon in most of my dessert making until I discovered Jerusalem artichoke syrup. It has pretty much the same properties of yacon and an almost identical taste. Plus it's about half the price so it's what I use now. Two other changes I made to the recipe was using almond extract instead of vanilla and replacing 1 Tablespoon of almond meal with ground flax. I love the flavor the almond extract gives to the cookies.

Hope everyone has a lovely day! Today is my Sunday so I'm excited to go back to work tomorrow.

Breakfast and Lunch

By far, cooking is one of my favorite things to do.  Today my brother asked me "Are you constantly eating all day? You're always cooking."  His statement may be a bit of an overstatement but I do like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It's hard for me to prepare a meal quickly because I like to take the time putting my efforts and focusing on what I'm doing. The kitchen is also a place where I get to experiment and create. Having a job where I get to be in a kitchen is also a plus. I have such a love for my job. I get to learn from an amazing woman and it never really feels like work to me.

Now that we are in a new year, I'm focusing more on my diet. I'm not trying to restrict certain foods, rather I'm trying to pay more attention to healthier foods. I definitely notice that when I eat this way I feel better and I worry less about what I'm eating. For instance, I used to freak out about carbs. Even whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa. I had it in my head that these foods would make me gain weight. I'm starting to notice that when I eat whole grains with a meal I feel more satisfied and I'm less likely to snack between meals or crave sugar, which I've had a big problem with. 

Lately for breakfast I've been making myself oatmeal. This morning I created a yummy concoction I called C's Oatmeal when I posted the photo to instagram. Chia, carob, coconut, and cherry.

I soaked the chia seeds for about 15 minutes prior to topping the oatmeal. I like the softer texture as opposed to the harder crunch. Mixed in with the oatmeal after cooking was a scoop of almond butter to give it more of a creamy consistency and one stevia packet. 

For my lunch today I made a vegan pizza on pita bread. To accompany my pizza I had a spinach salad with added butternut squash and tofu for protein.

For the cheesy aspect of my pizza I mashed up butternut squash and mixed in tahini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Braggs liquid aminos, and cayenne. It turned out to be some spicy goodness. I topped the pizza with spinach and sauteed onions, red pepper flakes and pumpkin seeds.

Hello Two Thousand Twelve.

Happy New Year. I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a very special year. This morning I made my own version of oats in a jar. I've never even had the "real" oats in a jar before... I need to try that. With the little bit of peanut butter I had left, I cooked some oatmeal and poured it into the jar along with a packet of stevia, stirring to melt the pb that's always so hard to get out of the bottom of the jar. I added a dollop or two of plain yogurt, chunks of apple that had been steamed with cinnamon oil,  raisins, cinnamon powder, and chopped apple peel. It was delicious and satisfying after a night of sipping wine and champagne.

The last month of 2011 was a hectic one. I'm a little ashamed I didn't do a single post.  Here are some photos of my favorite meals I enjoyed during the month.

Cold Weather = Soup Weather

In keeping up with the leftovers theme, I made a batch of soup yesterday. I've been buying quite a bit of celery lately and when I just eat the stalks, I'm left with the top stalks and leaves. Not wanting that to go to waste I decided to make soup. I used the leftover celery, 1 medium onion, a clove of garlic, and 1 bunch kale. I seasoned the the soup with Mexican seasoning, chipotle cayenne, salt, and pepper. I also added about a 1/4 cup of black beans to help give more of a creamy consistency. Adding the chipotle cayenne made it spicy but so good. I added a dollop of Greek yogurt and cilantro for my lunch today. One of the nice things about making soup is that the measurements don't need to be exact. It's always fun making a batch because I end up adding more ingredients as I go along. I'm thinking of some variations I can do with this so a real recipe will be up soon.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope everyone ate delicious food and enjoyed their day with family. My day was spent with my mom. I was in the kitchen while she was in the living room watching movies (her favorite thing to do.) She would frequent the kitchen to see if I needed any help, and she cut the veggies for the stuffing and gravy. Since I'm still trying to stick with the Candida diet as best I can, I planned a gluten and sugar free menu. We also did without a whole turkey. I picked up a bone in half breast at the health food store. It was the perfect size for two people with some leftover. 

Our dinner consisted of roasted kabocha squash mash, quinoa stuffing made with Julian Bakery dinner bread, steamed green and wax beans, turkey, cranberry sauce sweetened with xylitol, and a gravy made from carrots, celery, onion, and shallot that were roasted with the turkey breast. Everything was so yummy. The traditional Thanksgiving food I grew up on was not the healthiest so being able to prepare such a healthy meal is something I am thankful for.

Here is another pretty shot of the Valley I took on my walk this morning.

Not Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

The mood of this week has been wonderfully different. I always love when my normal routine gets shifted. Sunday, which was my Friday, was spent working at the shop. It was a cold and rainy day but people still came in to get some yummy cupcakes. Even though I'm in the kitchen, it's when I work in the shop I really crave a cupcake. The flavors were so good this week and two months with no sugar made me want one even more. I gave in and ate a mini pumpkin cranberry. It was amazing. I also had some wine that night. I was worried that once I consumed sugar again I would get sick or have a flare up but I felt fine. I know it's something I just really need to monitor. I've also been house sitting since Sunday. It's like a mini vacation for me which I love. The rainy Sunday evening was spent making dinner with the boy I have a crush on and watching movies.

Brown rice pasta with chicken, broccoli, and an arugula salad.

The next night I made chicken enchiladas. Daiya vegan cheese is my favorite for this recipe. He was a bit worried when I said I would be using vegan cheese. I think he liked them though.

From both dinners we had food leftover. For the past two days I have been using these leftovers to make my lunch and dinner.

An arugula salad topped with a chicken enchilada, brown rice and beans, more Daiya cheese and ancho chile powder.

I mixed together the last of the enchilada, rice and beans and reheated in the oven with more Daiya cheese sprinkled on top. I really love this cheese. I served it on a bed of spinach with a side of avocado, cilantro and tortilla flax chips. Lots of lime juice made this extra yummy.

For the pasta leftovers I sauteed some green and red bell peppers. Served over a bed of spinach and topped with pine nuts. Pasta and pine nuts are quite the combination.

As for tonight, I ate the rest of the pasta over a bed of arugula with steamed broccoli.

Here is a shot from today's walk. It was chilly out but I very much enjoyed it. I think Fall might be my favorite season.

 Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Stir Fries and a Scramble

 I haven't been doing as much experimental cooking lately but I have been keeping up on making some yummy dinners. I also haven't been cooking in my own kitchen. I made a new friend who I happen to have a crush on. We've been making dinner at his house a lot. I thought it was going to be difficult eating together since I have so many restrictions but he's really accommodating and respectful of my dietary needs. Since my diet consists basically of veggies, protein, and grains, stir fry seemed to be a good choice. We've been making them a lot but each time a little different depending on the veggies or protein used. I wouldn't say I'm bad at preparing meat or poultry but I definitely don't take the time to season it when it comes to making a stir fry. It's amazing how proper seasoning can tie the entire dish together and add so much extra flavor. He is in charge of the protein portion of the meal and I take care of the veggies. The rice portion is a team effort. Cooking is such a love of mine and being able to share that experience with someone else who I enjoy spending time with is really nice. 

 

In addition to our stir fry dinners we made a veggie scramble for breakfast one morning. He's into adding serrano peppers on everything and it's starting to rub off on me. It's so incredibly spicy but so good.