Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Bo-Bice Cream; Banana-Fana Fo-Fice Cream

June 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Me-Mi-Mo-mice cream, ICE CREAM!

If you’re a regular reader, you may know that I’ve been having problems with ice cream. Eating too much, craving it too much, feeling bad about it too much.  I was just about to give up on ice cream when I discovered a healthier, cleaner way to enjoy it – frozen-banana “ice cream,” made only from frozen bananas. I sliced and froze bananas last night, and I was ready to pull out my mini-food processor tonight. Imagine my joy when I saw Yoyanas, a gadget that makes a frozen dessert out of any frozen fruit!

I did a careful online vetting, and once I read the rave reviews from actual users, ordered one from Amazon.com. And I’m not wasting any  time – thanks to my Amazon Prime membership (eternal thanks to Chris Segars from recommending), will have it in time for a frozen treat tomorrow night!

Stay tuned. This could be a life changer!

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Going Ape over Funky Monkey!

June 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I discovered a great new snack at Publix yesterday: Funky Monkey Fruit Snacks.

Funky Monkey Fruit Snacks consists of 100% natural freeze-dried fruit. That’s it – no added sugar, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. It contains no gluten, wheat, dairy, peanut or tree nut, either. It’s organic, kosher and also considered raw as it’s not cooked or heated. There are two things, however, that Funky Money does have: a fab fruity crunch and plenty of flavor!

Publix had four varieties in the .42 oz. package, and I got one of each: Applemon, Bananamon, Pink Pineapple and MangoOJ. There are also three other flavors available, but I didn’t see them at Publix: Carnival Mix, Jive-A-Lime and Purple Funk. I’d like to buy a larger bag, but I’m going to wait to test all of the flavors. So far, I’ve had Bananamon and Pink Pineapple, and they were both delish.

Nutritionally speaking, the .42 oz. package contains 40-50 calories and is equal to one serving of fruit. There is little or no sodium – only that which occurs naturally in the given fruit.  No fat or cholesterol, either.

I found my Funky Monkeys at Publix on the perimeter of the produce section. Funky Monkey’s website lists other retail locations, including Target, Whole Foods, Earth Fare. You can also order them directly from the website, Amazon.com or Drugstore.com.

Funky Monkey Fruit Snacks are a great supplement to a healthy, clean eating lifestyle. They would be especially good as an on-the-go snack and/or a fruity change of pace. I’m planning on stocking a few Funky Monkeys at the office and in the car for those times that I need a quick, healthy snack. I’m also going to add them to my list of must-have travel foods.

Visit the fun and user-friendly Funky Monkey website for more information. While you’re there, sign up for their newsletter – you’ll get a coupon for Funky Monkey for signing up!

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Festive Food for Frightful Halloween!

October 23, 2011 by 1 Comment

How precious are these?

They’re Carrot-Orange-Quinoa Pepper Jacks, courtesy of the fab Spabettie! I made just one small change; I could’t find carrot-ginger juice and don’t have a juicer, so I used orange juice instead.

They are delish, cute and easy! I made a batch of ten so I could have some to eat, some to share.

A few hints with the orange peppers:

  • Test their “standability.” I bought one that wouldn’t stand up, so I just leveled the bottom with my knife.
  • Look for orange peppers with a large surface for carving.
  • Spabettie used a small paring knife to carve, but I used a (brand new, clean) X-acto knife.
  • No time to carve? No worries; they’re just as cute as a plain pumpkin. (That even allows you to use them at Thanksgiving, too!)
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Recipe: Grilled Tofu w/Smoky BBQ Sauce

March 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I have to share this one – it’s a winner!  Traci gave me this recipe; it’s from The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook. I grilled this on our George Foreman grill, but it could also be baked. I served this over brown rice with broccoli. Delish mixed together!It was even better reheated!

INGREDIENTS

BBQ Sauce

  • 1 8-oz can tomato paste
  • 1/2 c agave nectar
  • 1 t liquid smoke
  • 1/2 t ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 t allspice
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Pinch, cayenne pepper

Kabobs

  • 1 lbs. extra firm tofu
  • Wooden skewers, soaked 1 hour in warm water
  • Cooking spray
  1. Combine all bbq sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Lower heat to simmer and cook for five minutes, stirring regularly. Set aside.
  2. Cut tofu into equal-size slabs, about 3/4 in thick. Using two skewers per tofu piece, skewer tofu, separating skewers about 1/2 inch from each other.
  3. Coat grill rack with cooking spray. Preheat gas grill to medium-high heat. When grill ready, add tofu and grill for one minute. Brush some of sauce on top, cook for one more minute. Turn tofu and brush with more sauce. Cook additional two minutes until tofu is browned.
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What the Heck IS Coffee-Mate Anyway?

March 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This post from Organic Authority is quite timely as I’ve just given up “creamers” within the past two weeks.

I’ve just started my third-12 weeks at Doctors Wellness Center, and I’ve been looking for small ways to “up my game,” but I only considered giving up creamer by mistake. I was at The Summit Club for lunch and had a cup of their DELISH coffee, but they didn’t have soy milk, so I drank it without. I then realized that I don’t NEED creamer; the coffee was wonderful without it.

Since my move to eat healthier, I actually switched from Coffee-Mate type creamers to vanilla soy creamer, which is vegan, but it still includes:

  • Palm Oil: A saturated fat
  • Potassium Phosphate: A salt
  • Sodium Citrate: A salt

Nothing that is HORRIBLE, really, especially in the relatively small servings I have, but it’s certainly processed and not quite clean eating!

Filed Under: Changes and Milestones, Healthy Eating/Nutrition Tagged With: ,

Mmmmm, mmmmm, good!

December 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Enjoying a bowl of delish “vegan tomato soup” that I made last night in the crock pot! As much as I didn’t like the Veggie Bean Barley soup, I LOVE this. Five stars!

Tonight is the Change for Change art show/fundraiser. I’ve packed a pile of food and am taking my green lemonade – continuing to plan. I’m excited about the event, but also ready for the peace and quiet that comes Thursday through Sunday, hopefully!

Pictures from the art show later this week!

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Even President Clinton is Going Plant-Based!

September 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment
From Newser.Com:Well, vegans, get excited: None other than Bill Clinton, famous McDonald’s lover, appears to have joined your ranks. No more Big Macs for Bubba: He’s now on a “plant-based diet,” he told Wolf Blitzer last night on CNN. “I live on beans, legumes, vegetables, fruit. I drink a protein supplement every morning. No dairy,” he said. “It changed my whole metabolism and I lost 24 pounds, and I got back to basically what I weighed in high school.”

Yes, he did it partly because he needed to lose weight for Chelsea’s wedding, but he was also scared by the two heart stents he had to have put in earlier this year. “I did all this research, and I saw that 82% of the people since 1986 who have gone on a plant-based, no dairy, no meat of any kind, no chicken, no turkey—I eat very little fish, once in a while I’ll have a little fish—If you can do it, 82% of people have begun to heal themselves,” he said.

Video Clip

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