1. Even though I still enjoy my hot bowls of oatmeal all summer long, it’s fun to change things up once in awhile. Recently I made a spin off Fruity Pebbles with puffed amaranth cereal, and have other recipes under the “cereal” category. I’m obsessed with popped amaranth. Besides being delicious, it is a nutritional powerhouse and although light + fluffy, it’s extremely filling.

Yesterday, I filled the bowl with:

1/4c raw amaranth [popped to about 1.5 cups]
~1/2c EnviroKidz peanut butter cereal
1/2 banana
5 strawberries
handful of blueberries
almond milk
drizzle of maple syrup

And I also added a glob of peanut butter. Gotta’ get my morning nut butter in! Every bite was enjoyed and I was left full for 4+ hours!

2. After breakfast, I scurried away in the kitchen, prepping for the shower. The smoked deviled eggs turned out great! I just estimated the ingredients, until the texture + taste looked right. I lined them up in the glass baking dish and used the 2 small glass bowls so they wouldn’t slide around in the car. I also used a cover on top of the pan. Worked great!

This recipe is approximated, but included:

12 egg yolks
10 egg whites
3-6T mayonnaise, depending on consistency preference
~1/4t salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/2-1t smoked paprika

Hard boil 12 eggs. [I place all the eggs in a large pot of water – Bring to boil and boil for 1 min – Turn heat off and let sit, covered for 12-14min – Drain water and place eggs in a bowl with cold water + ice – Refrigerate for a few hours – Peel shell off]
Cut the de-shelled eggs in half and remove the yolks into a bowl.
Add 3T mayo, salt, pepper and smoked paprika and mash with a fork until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add more mayo.
Taste + add more salt/pepper/paprika if desired. The smoked paprika is key!
Add filling to a plastic bag and seal it. Cut the corner tip off and squeeze mixture into the eggs.

Creamy, smoky, egg-a-licious! I ate 4. :)

3. Despite the difficulties, the brown rice pops were a major crowd pleaser! If I make these again, I’ll ditch the sticks and just roll them into balls, like I did with half of the mixture.

The key is rolling when the mixture is very cold, right out of the fridge!

Brown Rice PB Krisp Treats [adapted from 101 Cookbooks]

5c brown rice cereal [not puffed cereal]
1/2t cinnamon
1/2c brown rice syrup
1/4c maple syrup
1t salt
2.5t agar agar flakes
3/4c creamy peanut butter

In a pot, over medium-low heat, stir the brown rice syrup, maple syrup, salt, peanut butter, and agar.
Stir until small bubbles form, then turn the heat off.
Carefully fold in the cereal, until well coated.
In a 9x13 [or 8x8 for thicker bars], parchment paper lined pan, dump the mixture out and spread with a silicone spatula.
Carefully compress the mixture and spread around the whole pan until smooth and even on top.
Refrigerate until cool, and cut into bars, or roll into balls if you’re daring. It’s kind of strange, but the mixture doesn’t taste right until fully cooled. The peanut butter comes through more and the sweetness mellows out.

*They don’t roll perfectly and a few fell apart. I also had to stick the pan back in the fridge to cool down more 1/2 way through the rolling. If it’s warm in your house, keep them refrigerated after rolling.

*You can also stir in chopped peanuts [or other nuts] with the cereal.

*I melted white chocolate chips in a pot over low heat, and dipped the tops in and then covered with sprinkles. If dipping in chocolate, I highly suggest keeping them refrigerated. They taste great cold!

*I’ve made two other version of these, here + here.

4. I recently received a new cook book to review and try a few recipes from. Peggy Kotsopoulos, is an author for the company Vega, started by Brendan Braizer [author of Thrive]. A brief description of the book, in an email I received from the folks at Vega.

Peggy K is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist who encourages people to make healthier lifestyle and dietary choices that are realistic and delicious! Her new book is called Must Have BeenSomething I Ate and discusses the connection between the food we eat and how it makes us feel! It also features awesome recipes (vegan options, included) and how to live a more healthy and vibrant lifestyle.

I’ll talk more about the book soon, and have a giveaway [!!], but so far I think it’s a super informative, easy read. The book talks about all different kinds of foods and the affects they have on our bodies. There are little tips sprinkled throughout each chapter and informative charts, making the information very comprehensible. The book also includes 25 recipes + photos.

Vega sent 6 samples of various protein powders. I was disappointed to see that only 3/25 of the recipes actually use the protein powders, as that didn’t give me many options on recipes to try. A handful of the recipes call for specific Vega products, which can make following the recipes a bit difficult. Many of the recipes also use unique ingredients, that most people do not have on hand. ie: yacon syrup, raw cacao powder [not cocoa powder], MacaSure chocolate bars, coconut nectar, SaviSeed [??], wakame, etc. I have quite the extensive pantry, but don’t have any of these ingredients on hand.

This morning I decided to make the Chocolate Cherry Smoothie [pg. 135].

It called for:

hemp milk
frozen cherries
raw cacao powder
cacao nibs
cinnamon
Vega Smoothie Infusion
vanilla bean seeds or vanilla extract
yacon syrup

I had to make some changes, since I don’t have a lot of these ingredients on hand. Here is what I ended up using:

1.25c almond milk [it called for 2c hemp milk, which sounded like way too much liquid]
1c frozen cherries
2T cocoa powder
pinch of cinnamon
1 pack original Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer
1/2t vanilla extract

I wasn’t sure which product was the Smoothie Infusion. It doesn’t look like I had that option from what they sent. The smoothie was just okay. I know I had to change a few ingredients, which I’m sure made a bit of a difference. I felt even with just the 1.25c milk, it was too liquidy. It called for 2c which would have been more like juice than a smoothie. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for this “complete meal supplement.” It uses stevia, which you all know by now, I’m not a fan of. The texture however, was great! Not gritty or chalky at all. The powder also uses Chlorella, which gave the smoothie a slight sea-like taste. I’m not big on that flavor. I think it’s also in the Amazing Grass products, but I’ve never noticed the flavor in those mixes. If you have a sensitive stomach, this protein powder uses added fiber, in the form of chicory root. I get plenty of fiber in my diet, so I’m not really a fan of added fiber.

Some of the other recipes in the book look great and so far, I think the book is unique and extremely informative, especially for someone just starting out in the “real food” adventure.

This concludes my 1.2.3.4! Hope your Wednesday is going well!

Time to get back to my ever growing to-do list and hopefully get outside for some fresh air.

Ashley