Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Happy Hump Day!

Hey everyone! I can't believe how absolutely gorgeous the weather has been this week and it makes me so happy for the spring to come. I love spring and fall weather where it isn't too hot or too cold. The warmer weather is also making me really excited for the summer because I know I'll really be able to fully embrace the raw lifestyle in the heat of the summer :)

I had a really great day at work yesterday. It flew by so fast, we did 25 minutes of yoga and we had the breeze flowing through the studio through open doors. I may not have been enjoying the weather outside but at least I got to feel the beautiful warm air at work. Hopefully today will be more of the same, it'll make a 10 hour day go much faster!

I have my food all ready to bring with me today. I still have to make my smoothie so I'm going to apologize in advance but I did use a recycled photo. I know it is frowned upon but it will literally be the same thing and I think that a recycled pic is better than no pic! So let's check it out!


For breakfast I will make a Blueberry Muffin Smoothie. One of my new favorites, it's so good but is so good for you too!



For lunch I'm finally going to finish up this Thai food. It is kind of sad looking now but I just can't throw food out, especially when I paid more than I should have for it. 

So something I've started to do is bookmark Raw food restaurant menus with the intention of recreating items that look great to me. I am not a fan of going to to restaurants on a more than occasional basis. It's partially because I don't like spending money on it and partially because I just don't like going out in general, I prefer to be at home. It's just how I've always been. Anyway, I've seen some amazing items on raw menus that look like they can be easily recreated at home so I've started a collection and I'm going to try to mow through them this summer and try as many new things as I possibly can! They will mostly be smoothies and salads but there will be some other things in there too. Anyway, since it is going to be 70 degrees today(!!!) and since I'm bored of my usual chopped salad I decided to tackle my first salad, one I've been wanted to try for a long time.


This is my version of the S&M salad from One Lucky Duck! I have wanted to try it for so long but never had the ingredients. I'm still missing some and had to substitute some but it is close enough now! The menu describes it as "greens, avocado, hemp seeds, dulse, rosemary crackers, pumpkinseed lemon dressing." Mine has greens, avocado, hemp seeds, crumbled nori sheets and balsamic vinaigrette. I don't have dulse (yet) but I did have the nori sheets I got from Trader Joe's so I thought it would be an appropriate substitute! It's not 100% raw because the nori is toasted but I'm ok with that. I don't have rosemary crackers or the fancy vinaigrette but I like balsamic vinaigrette anyway. I'm so excited to eat this! Not bad for my first recreation!

Oh and I will be snacking on some of that awesome fruit salad from yesterday for sure!

OK time to finish getting ready for my long day. I hope you are all enjoying some warm weather and soaking up some Vitamin D today. 

16 comments:

  1. I avoid using blueberries in my smoothies often because they seem to congeal the liquid. Do you have that issue? How have you dealt with it?

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    1. I've never had that happen before that is so strange! I use frozen solid blueberries, maybe that is part of it? The only other thing I can think of is that the oats in this smoothie may help? I've used blueberries without oats too and have never had a problem. Do you use fresh or frozen?

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  2. A lot of my blogging friends have been saying the weather is great where they are, but it's been raining for 2 days here in San Francisco. :( So weird because we rarely get rain. I want to make that blueberry muffin smoothie this weekend. Yum!

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    1. Oh no boo for rain! The way it works for me is that it is beautiful outside when I have to work until 9 then it'll turn to crap when I can enjoy it :) Oooh let me know how you like the smoothie if you make it!

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  3. That's awesome that you're going to be recreating dishes from restaurants. We've done that with a few things with pretty good results. Much healthier and cheaper, usually! Plus, like you said, the added bonus of not having to go out.

    What a wonderful way to start your work day. So relaxing and invigorating! You're very lucky!

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    1. Thanks, I totally agree! The not going out is the best part :X I can be incredibly antisocial.

      The yoga is definitely invigorating. It really helps when you have to sit at a desk for so long.

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  4. Wow, sounds like some really nice, peaceful days over there. It's been cold and rainy here, but that's par for the course; March is usually a sucky month here weather wise.

    I like your idea about getting ideas from raw menus. Sounds like fun. That S&M salad looks great, and I'm looking forward to your other creations in future.

    I've had the same experience as Vic many times with blueberries...

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    1. Ah bummer, but I bet you'll enjoy the sunshine even more when it returns! It has been very peaceful. We are usually swamped and busy so it is nice to take advantage when it is a little slow.

      Thanks, the salad was SOOOO good! I have a lot of things that I want to recreate, I just need to plan them out. It'll be easier when the summer hits and the farmer's market is open again.

      Weird! I've never experienced that! Do you use fresh or frozen blueberries?

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    2. I've used both kinds...who knows? :)

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  5. Beautiful food today. I need to work more Avocados into my everyday.

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    1. Thanks! Avocado is a great addition to any day, I highly recommend it :)

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  6. What a great idea to recreate meals from menus! Usually you hear about people recreating meals they've already eaten but I'm like you and don't enjoy dining out much. If there's enough description on a menu to wing a recipe without having tried it, I say go for it. Salads are probably an especially good bet because they're mostly about ratios to taste and composition once you know what's in them. It's also an awesome way to not get tired of making the same salad over and over again (not that yr chopped salads don't always look wonderful!) ANYWAY, all that said, the salad sounds fantastic. I hope you enjoyed it!
    PS- you probably could have bought the whole container of hemp seeds instead of the sample packets and still saved more money than by getting this at PFW!

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    1. Thanks! The menus I have definitely have enough of a description for me to be able to create something close enough. You are right about the salads and proportion and I like it even more that I can put in as much or as little of something as I want to fit my tastes. The salad was amazing! The avocado, nori and hemp seeds made it taste like sushi!

      You are so right, that place is crazy expensive!

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  7. Sounds like a great couple of days! I bet your work environment is really fantastic with the yoga break. Honestly, it sounds so ideal!!

    I looked at trying a sample of the Vega protein powder, but they only had the Vanilla Chai. I'll look at another WF this weekend or next. Definitely wanting to try your take on the blueberry smoothie!!

    Taking on restaurant menus is a fabulous idea, and your salad looks so good! Yum

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    1. Thanks Ingrid! The yoga definitely helps, especially when stress runs high. It really helps mellow us all out.

      I bet the vanilla chai would work, just don't add in the cinnamon? It just has built in spices. Although the vanilla chai powder is green I think so you won't get the pretty purple color :)

      Thanks! The salad was so good, I highly recommend it!

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