chia oats

First off I want to extend a warm welcome to any new readers – I know you’re out there! I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read this little blog. My readers are the biggest motivation and if it weren’t for you guys I’d probably stop writing, so a big thanks goes out to each of you! Please leave me feedback (here or by email) whenever you’d like – I would love to know more about you and also find out what you’d like to see more of on the blog!

So with that little house keeping out of the way, here’s what have I been getting into this weekend…

Saturday was quite relaxed and rejuvenating. Isaac and I both slept in (until 9) and then lounged around the house for a good portion of the day. I made a pot of chia seed oats and decided it was time to turn a waning jar of TJ’s unsalted raw almond butter into an Oats in a Jar breakfast of deliciousness.

All Oats in a Jar means is that you take an almost empty jar of nut butter, jam, or any other oatmeal topping, fill it with oatmeal, and eat it out of a jar. Each bite has a little of the nut butter on it and it’s simply amazing. A genius in the food blog world, Heather, came up with this grand idea. I’d like to say thanks HEAB because now when a jar of nut butter gets to the end I’m no longer filled with complete sadness and I’m happy to put it to good use.

I thought numerous times about going to the gym but ended up cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, doing laundry, and other things around the house instead. Come lunch time I whipped up a spinach salad and topped it with a left over black bean patty, avocado, broccoli, and TJ’s goddess dressing.

I also took a massive (8oz) shot of wheatgrass.

I randomly found a packet of Amazing Grass Wheat Grass in the cabinet and for some strange reason I thought that yesterday was a good day to give it a go. I mixed the packet with 8 oz of water and chugged it down. Bleh, it was grainy, grass like, and quite unpalatable. Definitely not a Appletini nor a drink I would want to sip on. But, despite the taste- wheat grass powder is known to be an excellent concentrated food source of beta-carotene, calcium, chlorophyll, fiber, iron and vitamin K. It is also a very good source of protein, vitamin C, vitamin B-12, folic acid, vitamin B-6, trace minerals and contains all essential amino acids. BUT it’s also EXPENSIVE. This packet was a sample I received a while ago, but personally, I can’t afford to take wheatgrass shots daily, especially 1-3 servings a day (as Amazing Grass recommends). Plus, I think that if you strive to get green leafy veggies, fruits and other veggies in your diet on a daily basis there’s no real need for wheatgrass supplementation. On the other hand, if a person is ill, nutrient deficient, and not able to consume an adequate amount of leafy greens, fruits and veggies that perhaps taking a shot of wheatgrass 3 times daily would be beneficial. This topic goes along with my post on the expensive price tag on exotic super fruits and whether or not they are worth it.

As always, I’m curious to know what you think. Have you tried wheat grass juice/shots? Did it make a big difference in your health?

The highlight of my day was attending a Vegetarian Potluck put on by the Richmond Vegetarian and Vegan Meetup Group. I’ve been a member for a while now but I’ve only attended two formal meetings. I actually joined in hopes of meeting some people my age that have similar interests, but so far I haven’t had much luck. I’m sure there are plenty of young people in Richmond interested in vegetarianism but for some reason they’re definitely not attending this meetup. I’m still on the hunt to meet some new friends, especially after my fav richmond girlfriend moved to LA last month. I guess I’ll just need to look elsewhere.

So, the young folks may have been missing last night but good food definitely was not.

Mid-morning yesterday I still hadn’t decided what dish to bring so I announced on twitter that I could use some help. Allie came to my rescue and recommended that I make Greek Potatoes from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant. She emailed me the recipe, I went and bought the ingredients that I didn’t have on hand and ta-da, the Greek Potatoes were created.

They turned out to be lemony and delicious! I garnished mine with fresh parsley but left out the feta because I knew there would be vegans at the potluck.

Greek Potatoes

6 medium potatoes, cubed (3 pounds)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
3 cups hot water

chopped parsley to garnish

feta cheese to garnish (optional)

Toss together the potatoes, lemon juice, oils, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic in a deep, flat pan (about 8X12 inches). Add the water. Bake uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours at 475 degrees. Stir every 20 minutes, adding more water if necessary to prevent sticking. Be very careful not to burn the potatoes during the last 30 minutes. During the final 15-20 minutes, allow the water to evaporate until only the oil is left. Garnish and serve.

It turns out that there were just under 60 people at the potluck. As you can imagine there was a ton of food! Everything looked so good- I piled my plate with small samples of many dishes.

From 12 o’ clock (going clockwise) spring mix salad, 3 bean salad, tangy coleslaw, general tso’s “chicken” (from Whole Foods), roasted root veggies, curried rice with beans, 2 different seaweed salads, curried lentils, cranberry sauce, and 2 different quinoa dishes.

The nice part about this potluck is that each dish had a label that listed the ingredients so you knew what you were eating, plus you could write down the recipe if you were interested in recreating it. My favorite dish was the Knotted Kelp (6 o’ clock). I liked it so much that I researched online last night and already went to my local Asian market this morning and purchased some dried kelp so I can recreate the recipe!!

There were also desserts and I definitely had my fair share- they were just camera shy. However one dessert I tried that stands out from the rest was Vegan Fudgy Wudgy Brownies from Veganomicon.

Speaking of which, I still have yet to check out Veganomicon- I need to get on that!

Like Saturday, today’s been quite leisurely as well. I’m off to the Whole Foods now, then going to dinner at a family friend’s place. Should be a nice afternoon and evening!

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

- Brittany

PS This is my 500th post!! Happy 500 to EBF, here’s to 500 more!!

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