May 15, 2009

New food adventure!~~

After seeing Heather and Maggie having green oats, I wanted to try it out. But it took me a long while to actually do it. Yesterday I had my first glorious green oat and I loved it! As some of you know Heather latest combo is purple cauliflower oat and Maggie loves her spinach oat bran. Since I was adventurous yesterday, I combined them! I used 1/2 cup broco-flower puree and a big handful of spinach to make this amazing green bowl
It took me like 15 min to make it: puree the cauliflower, re-heat steel cuts with almond milk and then blend with spinach. I also added 1 small banana to give it more sweetness as well as vanilla for the flavor. Final result: DELICIOUS!!!
I topped it with Cinnamon Swirl PB (finishing another jar, I'm so proud of me!!!) and coconut spread.
I love love love this combo. But I need some technical advice. How to blend spinach and not splash everywhere? How do you guys do it? What I did was adding spinach directly to the pot and blend it, obviously the pot is not as tall as the blending cup, so I splashed all over the kitchen table. HELP!

After breakfast and blogging, I called my mom and talked about an hour. It was great to know that my Dad is feeling better. My mom also told me that my Dad was doing great on managing Diabetes. He started to exercise, like walking 2-3 times a day for at least 30 min; he is eating less and counting calories/carbs; and his glucose has been declining steadily. I'm so happy to know. I started to think that this Diabetes thing might be "good" for him to force him to finally decide for a healthy lifestyle and that will lead him to actually live longer and healthier! ^_^

The rest of morning was spent doing errands, buying some little things for my new apt. I love going to ROSS to find cheap but great items for home. Do you guys go to ROSS?

For lunch I made a big fresh salad with mix greens, tomatoes, mushrooms, olive and balsamic. And the main course was black/brown rice with smoked salmon frittata. Mi, you can find the recipe here.
Dessert: dairy free chocolate pudding and tea. Gina, I think the secret to get a smooth pudding is blend it well and add exact amount of liquid. And the brand of the silken tofu might be a reason too. I use Nasoya.I spent the afternoon watching TV, deal hunting with Qiao and office hour at school. Munching on strawberries. I think I had about 1 pound of it. And before I went to the gym I had the last half bar of Honest Food.
When I was running on the treadmill I began to plan for dinner. Mental thoughts: what do I crave? Nothing really. Then What do I need? Some proteins. What do I have? Chiken, rainbow carrots, onions, etc. What can I make from them? Balsamic grazed chicken!
I wasn't especially hungry for meal... so I had small portion of the chicken and some broco-flower puree over spinach. But I did have appetite for dessert. So... 3 course desserts:
Steamed kabocha (a big bowl)
White fungus drinkBlueberries cottage cheesecakeQuestion: When was your last vacation? How long it was and what did you do?

19 comments:

Mrs. LC said...

I LOVE going to Ross. I've found countless clothes, sunglasses, and home items there over the years. :)I actually just finished my sister's birthday present with something from Ross last night! (hehe and got the same thing in a different color for myself). :)

Rose said...

Lovely green oats!

My last vacation was to Charlottesville, VA, where the boyfriend and I rented a cabin. We hiked, kayaked, went on a wine tasting and out to some restaurants in the area. It was only for two days - but it was great!

Pearl said...

my last vacation? hmm. it was definitely a while ago.

oh coco - my mom makes orange oats by blending kabocha with milk and her oats; she puts it in a blender :)

annie said...

wow all your foods look really good especially that blueberry cheesecake, have you thought about doing a green tea one?

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

Annie: you're a genius!!! I'll make sure that my next cheesecake will be green tea one! :) thanks for inspire me!

Meg said...

I am intrigued by the green oats and the dairy free chocolate pudding!

My last vacation was to Florida for my nephew's second birthday party.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear the good nes about your dad. I love going to Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx when I'm in the states..I always find so many awesome deals.

janetha said...

um i am addicted to ross! and tj maxx. i have a secret obsession of going there and looking at all the dirt cheap dishes and kitchen gadgets. love those places.

dude green oats! with cauliflower! that is how ima get my veggies in. uhh but how exactly do i do this? explain please, i could really screw it up i am thinking.

my last vaca was to playa del carmen, mexico.. for free. my work took me on an all inclusive trip. sad part was they woulda taken the boyf for free too but it was last minute and he has no passport and couldnt afford to take work off :( but it was still a blast! planning a trip to belize now though!


happy happy frrriiidaaaayyy!

Anonymous said...

so glad dad is feeling better now!

i'm also very glad you had a three-course dessert :-). right up my alley!

Maggie said...

I always make my green oats in a mini food processor. It has a top, so I don't have to worry about splashing. I put the spinach in the food processor (raw). I cook the oat bran (with whatever flavors I'm using - it's been green tea ice cream for the last few days) and then pour it (still very hot) on top of the spinach. I have to do this slowly and I have to poke it with a spoon for it all to fit. Since this takes a few minutes, the spinach gets slightly cooked by the hot oats (I think). Then I put the top on and blend it for 20 seconds or so. I pour it out into a bowl and scrape the inside of the processor (I don't want to lose any of my oat bran!). I usually let it sit for a few minutes while I clean up so it gets nice and thick. A mini food processor is a wonderful kitchen tool to have if you don't have one already. I use it all the time. I think I got it in college at Wegmans (food store) for about $30, and it's a pretty nice one.

I love Ross!!! And TJMaxx, and Marshalls. TJMaxx even has these special stores (I think they're called TJMaxx HomeGoods) that have A TON of house stuff. There's one in Waldorf, MD if you're close to that. Now that you reminded me, I think I'll go shopping today :) I still have a lot of stuff to buy for the new apartment. I love their sales, too - so cheap. I got this beautiful designer coat once for about $90 and it was originally $400 something.

Anyway, lovely post :) Green oats are the best.

Fitnessista said...

the frittata looks so delicious!
the green oats are awesome.. i need to try those one of these days
my last vacation was last weekend :D we just went to orlando but our next big vacation is next weekend to NY!
have a great day!

Trying To Heal said...

oh, i totally used to go to Ross at home, but there's none really around here that i can find.

last vacation, australia, june-july 2007. so long ago...

Alison Can Read said...

We don't have Ross in MN, but my dad loves going to it in AZ.
One thing you might find interesting...my husband (who's a doctor) told me that Asians are particularly susceptible to diabetes. When their BMI reaches 24 or 25 - considered a normal, healthy weight, they become at high risk for diabetes. Unfortunately this information isn't particularly helpful but I thought you might find it interesting.

Krista said...

I'm glad to hear that your Dad is feeling better!

I haven;t had a vacation in ages!! It's definitely time for one!!

Gina; The Candid RD said...

Thanks for the info. I think I need to use the blender instead of an electric mixer (I take the lazy way out). As for my last vacation...it's been so long! I believe my last vacation was a wedding in California. It was last summer and it was an amazing wedding. The year before that I went to Arizona to watch OSU play in the National Champtionship. In July I'm going to FLorida! I'm excited.

Melissa @ For the Love of Health said...

That's great your father is feeling better! Health is so important. :-)

What an interesting way to make oats. I saw it on the other's blogs too. I really should try it. Can you taste the spinach at all??

Everything else yuo made looks very good!!

Have a wonderful evening!

ChickPea said...

Haha, I haven't quite mastered the "no-splashing" thing either--I made pesto last weekend, and let's just say it ended up all over the kitchen!

Anonymous said...

Hi Coco! I love green oat bran too. I always poor my oatbran into a food processor, put the lid on, and blend it that way. Very quick and easy!

Lovely cheesecake too :-)

I haven't had a vacation for a very long time. The last place I went away too was up North in Australia, to a place called Byron Bay which is a beach town which attracts tourists from all over the world. It was a lovely getaway!

Anonymous said...

coco i'm so sorry to hear about your daddy and the family. I didn't see the last post until now, but I want you to know that I know EXACTLY how you feel! A few months ago, my dad was also hospitalized for a back injury that the doctors said he would need surgery before he can walk again. It scared me SO MUCH and you feel so helpless because you're so far away. But luckily he's gotten much better since then and i'm SO happy to hear that your daddy is doing so much better too. We really have so much in common I'd love to meet you one day. :) I think we'd have to much to share and talk about!!!

ROSS! YES!!! We have TJ Maxx and Marshalls in Illinois, but when i go to Washington DC to visit my aunt, we always go to Ross. hahahaha so many great deals!!!

P.s. I just bought a kobucha squash and i was going to roast it, but since i saw your steamed one, i might have to try that too!!!

Hope you have a gorgeous weekend!! if you ever need someone to whine to, or chat with, I'm here!! :)

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