The Hubz, the Rents and I headed out yesterday afternoon to Stamford CT, where we are staying this weekend. By the time we got there we were pretty hungry and decided to try a place called Little Buddha. The place and it’s sister restaurants have received great reviews from the NY Times and the reviews were right on AMAZING food.
Now the place leaves a little to be desired like it only has seating for 14 people and you are crammed into a small place. However the restaurant is more focused on it’s take out orders and the food makes up for the not so ideal dining space. Here is what we shared:
So the Hubz and I are headed out today to CT/MA and the NYC tomorrow for a Yankees game and to eat good food and visit one of my BFF’s. I will hopefully be blogging about the start of our adventure tonight but you’ll get a full recap Sunday evening. Until later lets reminisce about past NYC trips.
The good people at Juliet Mae’s sent me their Indian Spice Sampler to try and I was so excited I dove right in. After work I made myself a sandwich for lunch filled with yummy Cool Vindaloo Spice mix.
The spice mix suggested adding vinegar to my mix to enhance the mustard flavor so I decided to add some coconut water vinegar. It really enhanced my tempeh, mushrooms and onions.
This morning I just wasn’t feeling solid foods, warm foods, heavy foods, ect. However something cold sounded good, especially in this ridiculously hot weather (it has been over 90F in VT this week). So I decided to make a smoothie filled with the things I love.
Melon from our CSA, unsweetened Hemp Milk, Chia Seeds and Raw Almond Butter
I really love to add chia seeds to smoothies because it adds omega-3’s and are loaded with antioxidants, calcium, protein, fiber, and vitamins including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, niacin, and zinc. They really help to bulk up my smoothie. Buy Now
I also add the raw almond butter to bulk up this simple smoothie since I am having it for breakfast and want it to fill me until lunch. This raw almond butter is great because it is silky smooth and just nice a creamy with a sweetness you don’t get from regular almond butter which generally is made from roasted almonds. Also just a reminder that this almond butter is available in my OpenSky shop and until September 7, 2010 for every jar purchased $1 will be donated to The Lunch Box Project and I will make a donation for every jar sold as well. Buy Now
Oh and of course the Hubz and I drank ours out of our GlassDharma straws- decorative dots for me (Buy Now) and simple elegant for the Hubz. (Buy Now) I love these straws and am so glad I was finally able to try them – I will have a mini interview coming at you next week from the crew at GlassDharma- so keep your eyes peeled!
To help you get a little better aquainted with one of my favorite products in my OpenSky shop I did a short interview with Dr. Ayala:
What is the inspiration behind HerbalWater?
I am a pediatrician and one of my main interests in pediatrics was preventive medicine, especially the role good nutrition has on overall health.
Well before everyone became concerned with the obesity epidemic, I started advising parents to stay away from sweet drinks, because there are so many calories and so much junk in most sweet drinks and drinking sweet is so habit forming.
You see, the average American consumes about 300cal/day in sweet beverages, mostly empty calories from sugar. There’s pretty good evidence that these calories don’t register the way solid food does, and therefore they’re not compensated for. Just attacking this habit is a going to make a huge impact on our waistlines.
And since I try very hard to practice what I preach, and I believe that anything you put in your mouth should taste good, and not just be good for you, I started exploring calorie free beverages for my home
I grow an organic herb garden, and have an abundance of herbs in the warm months. I love cooking with herbs: Culinary herbs are the natural way to flavor anything, while adding health benefits. Herbs are also, to me one of the most sensual foods, and really connect you to nature and memories. I would make herbal beverages to pair with meals, and our guests were offered this herbal water as an alternative to regular water or wine. They came to expect it, and asked for it whenever they came. But I couldn’t make it in the winter, since I didn’t have the fresh herbs growing then.
The enthusiasm for this healthy alternative led my husband to believe that this beverage answers a need in the market, and we should make it commercially available. My enthusiasm for making this drink widely available is so great because there just aren’t many truly healthy alternative drinks out there.
What is your favorite flavor and why?
I love all my kids the same, really. I find that I’ll tend to drink the Cloves Cardamom Cinnamon Herbal Water with a meal, the Verbena Geranium with dessert, the Lavender Mint when I want to relax and the Lemongrass Mint Vanilla on a warm day after exercise. The Ginger Lemon Peel and Cinnamon Orange Peel are my “anytime, anyplace” drinks. Each of the Herbal Water flavors has a place in my own routine, and a lot of it also depends on the mood I’m after.
What makes Herbal Water a better choice than other flavored waters and functional drinks?
Ayala’s herbal water is a delicious flavored water that is 100% good for you. It is made by infusing pure water with organic herbs, adding nothing else. It has no calories, no preservatives and no additives and it delivers the wonderful taste and aroma of herbs. Herbs are the natural way to flavor water without adding calories. We achieved a full flavored plant based drink, without manipulating the ingredients, or using any additives and preservatives.
Unlike some of the other functional offerings, Ayala’s Herbal Water doesn’t throw in the new hot nutrient, thinking you can get away from eating well by drinking nutrients, many times mixed in lots of sugar and artificial ingredients. What we offer is a centuries old traditional food that was always known for both its benefits and wonderful taste.
To get my favorite flavors you can simply click here for Lemongrass Mint Vanilla And here for Ginger Lemon Peel
To purchase any of the other flavors, which are all on my OpenSky Shop please click here.
Beans, beans the magical fruit the more you eat the more you…..okay you know how the rhyme goes. Beans are a great source of protein and nutrients but for many people eating beans does a real number on their stomachs. The cause of the gas is from a sugar in the beans and it is easily preventable. Here are a few ways to make beans give you less gas:
1. Make sure if you are using dry beans to soak them for at least 8 hours and then make sure when you do cook them that they are cooked in fresh water until soft. Do not add salt to the water. Alternatively for canned beans make sure to rinse them to remove all the salt and then I recommend cooking them in a little vegetable broth for 10 minutes.
2. Refried beans, not the healthiest; these beans that have been cooked once and then cooked a second time with some sort of fat weather margarine, oil or vegetable shortening. The fat helps to balance that sugar causing gas.
3. Do not eat fruit with beans such as tomatoes.
4. Eat rice and beans- whole grains and beans are a great combination and civilizations have been pairing these two things for hundreds of years- this is proof that they are a wonderful combination.
5. My favorite thing to do is add seaweed, specifically kombu to my beans when I am either boiling them from dry or even with canned when I do a second mini cook. Additionally adding seaweed will provide a number of essential minerals and is a great detoxifier; I also love to add it to my grains (don’t worry if it makes you squeamish you don’t have to eat it to get the benefits and it doesn’t make your grains or beans taste funny).
I would recommend that if you shy away from beans because of their “magical properties” that you test out these 5 easy tips and see how your body feels. Everyone’s body is different so if one suggestion doesn’t work for you move on to the next.
Below are a few of my favorite bean recipes:
Three Bean Burgers
2 cups of black eyed peas, kidney beans, and chickpeas
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/2-3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2t chili powder
1/2t cumin
1/4t garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1T hot sauce (I used VT Pepperworks Chocolate Chipotle)
Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mash the beans up and add in the spices, chickpea flour, panko breadcrumbs and hot sauce. Form the patties into 1/4 cup patties and bake for 10 minutes on each side.
Creamy Mashed White Beans
2 cans Cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
8-10 oil packed sundried tomatoes, chopped small
5 scallions, chopped small
3T vegan cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1t garlic powder
Add all ingredients to a pan over medium heat and mash with a potato masher. Mix everything together and then heat until warmed
Yummy Vegan Lavender Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Salad
A huge bowl of spaghetti- recipe to come!
Garlic Bread
Monica and Shaun
Birthday Treats from Monica
Aaron and Laura
Gift From Aaron and Laura- minus one bottle of wine that we drank. Aren't the eye masks awesome! I love them I think I should have Laura make one for a giveaway.
New Hiking Pack and Water Bottle from My Parents- will be good to cross the overnight on the Long Trail off my list!
A wonderful bunch of goodies from Megan- a few items missing due to eating.
An after dinner game of Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture
After dinner and a game we headed downtown to get our dance on
