Oikos

Lots, if it involves kale, fruits, and protein!

Isaac’s dad brought over some baby kale from his garden so to make good use of it I made a delicious brown monster this morning. It’s interesting because when looking at the smoothie you’d think it would have tasted chocolatey right? Nope, that’s just the color that frozen raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and banana; kale, cinnamon, water, almond, and vanilla protein powder make. It might have been a gross color, but it was delicious.

Speaking of delicious. I’ve been snacking on the 18 Rabbits granola bars that I received and I’ve been throughly enjoying each of them.

I thought I was going to be in love with the Haute Diggity Date flavor ,but it’s my least favorite. It wasn’t bad by any means, but not overly flavorful. My favorite thus far has been the Funky Figs and Cherries, which was everything a granola bar should be!

I’m not sure why but the fridge is a little bare this week so I resorted to a frozen meal for lunch yesterday. I have a little obsession with Amy’s Indian Meals and when I saw that there is now a Matar Paneer Tofu available and it was on SALE at Kroger, I jumped at the chance to try it.

Too bad it didn’t live up to the regular Matar Paneer! The tofu was a fine substitution for the cheese cubes, but I missed the curried chana masala that is served with the non-vegan version. Oh well, at least now I know which one I prefer.

And just when I thought there was nothing in the fridge that could possibly create a meal….

I combined a little Sabra with a nori wrap, some spinach, a sun dried tomato, and some peeled carrots. And waa-la, a lunch wrap was born.

I finally got my hands on the Spinach and Artichoke flavor.

For a mid afternoon snack, both today and yesterday, I’ve enjoyed Okios with Zadie’s Blueberry Almond Granola. Why change something that works, right?

I’ll admit I still have to add stevia to plain greek yogurt- it’s a little too tart for my taste, but 2 drops of liquid stevia and the granola sweetens it right up and it makes a filling and tasty afternoon treat.

I’m off to bed- Isaac and I are waking up early to hit the gym in the am! And guess what 12/10/09, tomorrow, is our 5 year anniversary (of dating)!! So exciting- we are celebrating by having dinner at home together and discussing/planning out a future trip to California!

Happy almost Friday.

- Brittany

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I ran out of my beloved Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter yesterday. I definitely needed more, but rather than rushing out to the store I decided to make my own using a recipe I found on Kath’s blog.

Maria’s Homemade Microwave Pumpkin Butter

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups (15 oz) canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling mix)

Combine everything except pumpkin in microwave-safe bowl. Mix well, and microwave on high for three minutes.
Remove from microwave (Carefully!) and stir really well.
Stir in pumpkin well, and microwave on high 5 minutes.
Remove from microwave (Even more carefully!), stir, and let cool.

This recipe was super easy and turned out great. I was pumped because it tastes very similar to the TJ’s version, just has a bit thicker consistency. If you’ve been trying to find pumpkin butter I strongly suggest stopping the search and trying the above recipe. It won’t disappoint!

I incorporated the P butter into breakfast with a slice of toast.

And because I can’t find the Stonyfield Pumpkin Pie yogurt anywhere here in Richmond, VA (not even Whole Foods) I decided to create my own Oikos Pumpkin Parfait.

Pumpkin Parfait

1/4 cup Ezekiel golden flax cereal

1 container (5.3 oz) plain Oikos Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon pumpkin butter (homemade or store bought)

1/4 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal

Layer all ingredients in the order they are listed into a parfait glass or bowl. If you’re feeling fancy you can use a wine glass. Stir all ingredients together and enjoy! Super simple, yet super tasty as well.

The pumpkin parfait recipe is my entry into the Oikos Na-MOO-ste Giveaway for bloggers.

It’s easy to enter and the prize package is an all expenses paid weekend trip for two to the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, MA.

There are three ways to enter and you only need to choose one:

A) Share a brief story about why you need to relax and say “Ohm.”

B) Share a recipe you create or tip using Oikos yogurt – it can be as simple as a holiday dip or dessert or breakfast idea.

C) Post a photo of you doing yoga in a toga (Oikos is Greek yogurt after all!).

All entries (your post is your entry) must include a link to the Facebook fan page, and be emailed to oikos@360publicrelations.com by November 30, 2009 – and you’ll be entered to win! The winner will be selected at random and notified by 12/15/09.

The rest of my day was leisure based- Isaac was at a frisbee tournament so Olive and I were on our own. I made a special stop by Whole Food’s for a few items and decided to grab lunch. I got the norm- salad greens with sesame tofu and a bunch of other salads on top. Lots of wheatberries and curried things. It was scrumptious, but who would expect less?

It was absolutely beautiful in Richmond today so a friend an I took advantage of the weather and went for a long walk around the city with miss Olive. It was such a treat to enjoy the sunshine and colorful leaves after 3 days of dreadful rain. We then came home and turned my living room into a yoga studio. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon!

I love yoga but often fall out of the habit of doing it. I guess there are several reasons. 1- the yoga studio near by house is expensive 2- I suck at working out at home- I get distracted and I am simply more motivated once I’m at the gym 3- I am more enticed to do my own cardio and strength training stuff at the gym rather than to attend a yoga class. The thing is – whenever I do yoga I always feel so relaxed afterwards, plus the more intense practices like power or core are great for strength training and I’m typically sore after those. Long story short I’m excited because I’m slowly but surely getting back into my yoga groove- I actually did it twice this weekend and feel wonderful. Now I just have to keep it up.

Do you like yoga? Why or why not? What’s keeps you motivated to do it?

- Brittany