Hi Friends! I know my posting schedule has been at
strange hours the past few days.
Well, not strange for for me since I'm a serious night owl . I have been finding a
semi-groove with posting before I sit down with a bowl of popcorn and watch DVR'ed episodes of Bethany and the Real Housewives at
1am and then go to bed. I have a
fresh post that goes up every 24 hours. I just don't know which hour within those 24 I will hit the Publish button. I'm still working on figuring it out. So for anyone trying to keep tabs on
when I publish, it's a
mystery. To you and to me...hah!Before I dive into today's post, I wanted to thank everyone who chimed in yesterday! Thank you to all
new readers, de-lurkers, new and first-time commenters, and
new friends who are stopping by lately to say hello and leave comments . I heart you all! Unfortunately with Scott traveling so much lately and me holding down the fort and parenting solo-style, I
can't always reply personally to your
amazing words of encouragement, positive feedback, and all the great tips and suggestions you leave me. Just know, I
love every single comment and
learn so much from you guys so
please keep it up and keep chiming in! From Yesterday...Thanks to everyone who gave me info about the
Heart Rate Monitors you have.
As I mentioned, I had to
return my Garmin because the
chest strap just wasn't fitting me properly and there was no way I was going to keep something that wasn't
perfect for that kind of money.
It sounds like tons of you
have and really like the Polar F6 and many of you have the Polar F4. There were other brands and models recommended but I'd say
at least 20 of you told me you have the Polar F6 and are happy with the Chest Strap . Sounds like ladies who are a
32 or 34 ribcage can rock out the Polar chest strap with
no slippage. Not true with the Garmin , in my experience at least.And to everyone who has found
Thrifty or On-Sale Produce ,
love it. Other than farmer's market finds and
about to close down and pack up for the day specials at the farmer's market, I
usually never see On Sale or Reduced Price produce. I guess I need to shop where you all are shopping!
Maybe you can find yourself some
Thrifty Bananas and whip up a batch of
Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve Truly the highlight of my 200 emails yesterday was everyone's
5 Coming Clean Facts . I really like to
Keep It Real and there's no sense
lying to ourselves, or others, or putting on
false airs. Just
be honest since most everyone has probably
thought,
or done, what you do anyway!
Here's a few things that kept coming up:I mentioned that I wear the
same outfit to the gym all the time (I wash it daily) but I have a broken in,
super comfy outfit that I live in. Many of you do too it sounded like.
Splenda. Lots of fans of it. Me too . Why? I just like the
super-sweet taste of it. I use sugar and stevia but I also use Splenda. I also use Yacon Syrup, Agave, Maple, Dates, you name it, I am
not afraid of sweeteners. And really, who cares what someone else uses to sweeten their coffee with when there's starving children in Africa and global warming. I thing putting our collective energy towards
bigger issues than Splenda is a good goal!
Off the Top of my Head here are
a Few Other Good Honest Revelations I read in the comments :I want to be a personal trainer but only want to train women
I hate people just "dropping by"
I have to walk on a certain side of my husband
I have no patience for my parents
I have no patience for people taking their time in crosswalks
I go for very long periods of time without showering
I go for a week without washing my hair
I will re-wear dirty socks that are favorites if I am going on a long run
I don't answer my phone and let it go to voicemail because I don't like talking
I watch marathon amounts of TV shows
I eat entire bags of chips before my boyfriend can have 1 chip
I am planning to have a heart-to-heart with a friend when the time is right
I drink Diet Soda (lots of you said this, at least 15 of you I'd say)
I walked out of Whole Foods accidentally without paying for my Hot Bar food once
I hate people in my kitchen
So there you have it. Some
very good stuff . However, I was
a little bummed no one told me they
want to sleep with their co-worker. And
no one told me they have one "friend" that drives them nuts. Kidding! Moving On... I have been thoroughly enjoying my new
Ani book that I
reviewed here I've been inspired to take some of her ideas and
tweak, change, and adapt some of her recipes to suit my own needs. Her banana crepe recipe looked great, but I played around with it and added some things and changed the ratios. I know
Gena also recently made some vegan
crepes . And
Gina has a
crepes recipe , too. As a
high raw, gluten free vegan, it's hard to find crepe recipes that
don't have eggs or gluten-containing flour. So this recipe will hopefully keep all the
GF Vegans happy!Vegan Banana Crepes (adapted from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials)
1/2 C Ground Flax Meal (or 1/2 C Whole Flax Seeds that you grind)
3 Ripe Bananas1/2 C Sugar (you can omit this, reduce/add. Since I am making crepes,
a dessert, I sugared it up)
1/2 C Water (start with 1/4 C but you will probably need 1/2 C. Batter should be thick-ish, but not like sludge. The flax seeds are going to "drink" lots of water and the batter will get thicker by the minute)
1 Tsp Vanilla ExtractOptional: pinch of cinnamon, maca, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, cardamom or any other "warming" spice. First,
Grind Flax Seeds if using Whole Flax Seeds
To the Ground Flax Seeds/Flax Meal,
add the rest of the ingredients and some of the water, and blend. If you need more water,
use your judgment, add a splash more and
blend again.
15 seconds after I started, 5 seconds to grind the seeds, 10 seconds to blend the rest, here's the
batter Spread onto two
lined Dehydrator Trays. Note: I have no idea if this will work on an
aluminum foil lined cookie sheets in a 200F (or lower) oven with the
door ajar.
I say try it! All you have to lose is literally about a dollar's worth of ingredients. Report back and tell me how it goes. I know my kale chip recipe works just fine this way as dozens of you have told me! Spread the batter about 1/8th inch thick (or thinner). Not paper thin, but the thicker you spread it, the longer it will take. Too thin and it will crack.
Dehydrate. My comfort level with dehydrating is
max temp (165F) so that's what I used. About
5 hours. Raw Purist I am not. Most raw purists eschew anything over 115 or so.After 5 hours, I
flipped it over and dehydrated another 2 hours. A mere
7 hours later, finally done. This is why I use
max temp. I don't have the patience for the lower temps, i.e. 105 or 115F. You could of course
eat it like a Fruit-Roll-Up,
a Vegan Banana Fruit Roll Up and it's more than
awesome tasting just like this! Kids and grown ups alike clamor for these! Now for the fun part...deciding what you're going to stuff your crepes with!
I filled some of them with
Frozen Tru-Whip Rolled up and Garnished with
Blueberries and Vanilla AgaveThese were so good! The flax seeds add a nice nutty-ish flavor to an otherwise sweet banana taste and balances it out. But the fruit leather consistency is just plain fun to eat, what can I say.
For something really easy and makes a great
car-snack, I've been making
banana crepe wraps.
Not these
Fresh Vegan Spring Roll Wraps with 2-Minute Homemade Peanut Sauce Wraps These are a little too messy for 3 year olds in the car
I've been making
Vegan Banana Crepe and Peanut Butter WrapsSchmear PB, Roll Up, Eat.Repeat. Schmear PB, Roll Up, Eat. Give to hungry kid in the backseat. Silence ensues. Golden, sweet, silence. Use your
favorite nut butter. If you're a sunflower seed butter fan, that would be awesome in them as would almond butter.
The Vegan Banana Crepes remind me in many ways of my
3-Ingredient Raw Vegan Caramels Super good on their own... ...But
Nut Butter Filled Caramel Bites are
even better!After the
Crepes-Fest, Skylar and I went outside to our "backyard"
(city sidewalk front yard). She
pushed around her shopping cart and rode her trike. And she
Struck a few Poses....
She practices her waves and turns and her posing and then she claps for herself!
I sat and watched "her show" and we made a few attempts at a
self-portrait. While looking
into the sun.
Gym & Weights Workout Today From
This Tab :
Legs Tip of the Day: Please check out
CSN Stores . Get yourself familiar with their
www.Cookware.com ,
www.AllModern.com ,
www.CSNLighting.com or any of their other 200+ online stores.
In total, CSN Stores has over 1 million products and that number is constantly growing. Not only is our product catalog growing but we’re adding new stores like
www.LuxeByCSN.com , and
www.ShoesGotSole.com . Right now, they would love for you to check out their
dining room items at http://www.diningroomsdirect. com/ Why am I promoting them? You
all are in store for my best give away ever, starting this Friday. It happens to
coincide within 1 week of my blogivsersary.
Best.GiveAway.Ever. Questions 1. Crepes. Do you
like them? Have you
ever made them? Have you ever tried
banana crepes or vegan/gluten free crepes? What do you like to
stuff them with?I have memories from my childhood
eating crepes on vacation with a ridiculous amount of strawberry sauce, blueberry sauce, maple syrup, whipped cream, and powdered sugar.
Sugar much? And I
still savor the memory so I took a stab at re-creating something that works for my dietary path
now.2. Do you think there's a
safe or healthy way for kids to be in
pageants or shows/competitions? I go
back and forth on this. I was in dance (tap, ballet, jazz) as a little girl and it
didn't "scar me for life". There was a fair amount of
stage-mothering going on from all the moms but I was
indifferent to it. I was
more into sports like basketball, volleyball, and running.
I know
Skylar would love to take dance and be on stage and really get into it all. I don't want to feed into any JonBenet Ramsey kind of stuff where 4 year olds are wearing false eyelashes and getting spray tanned, but the
unschooling parent in me says that I should
respect and honor her desires and expose her to something I know she
would love.
Or says that she would love. What do you think of dance, pageants, stage stuff for little girls?
Not a biggie? Or no way, not cool? 3. Were you in dance, pageants, organized sports, music classes, theater, or other activities as a kid? Do you have
fond memories of them? Tell me about your
memories and if you
didn't like an activity you were in, tell me about that too.
4. Food Smells. Does it turn your stomach when you
smell food wafting into your house that isn't yours?I live behind some restaurants and now that it's finally getting warmer and I can keep my windows open, I am reminded that the
smells of french fry grease, onion rings, tepanyaki chicken, Indian Curry platters, Italian Meatballs, and Thai Peanut Shrimp skeeves me. I don't eat food like that and the
smell of it wafting into my house repulses me! It's actually worse that it's
wafting in rather than if I was just sitting at a table with someone who was eating it.
I could accept it more if I was dining with someone and that's what they ordered. But the
wafting in is nasty to me!What do you think of other people's food smells? Stay Tuned For Blogger Meetup Details...
Before I dive into today's post, I wanted to thank everyone who chimed in yesterday! Thank you to all new readers, de-lurkers, new and first-time commenters, and new friends who are stopping by lately to say hello and leave comments . I heart you all! Unfortunately with Scott traveling so much lately and me holding down the fort and parenting solo-style, I can't always reply personally to your amazing words of encouragement, positive feedback, and all the great tips and suggestions you leave me. Just know, I love every single comment and learn so much from you guys so please keep it up and keep chiming in!
From Yesterday...
Thanks to everyone who gave me info about the Heart Rate Monitors you have.
It sounds like tons of you have and really like the Polar F6 and many of you have the Polar F4. There were other brands and models recommended but I'd say at least 20 of you told me you have the Polar F6 and are happy with the Chest Strap . Sounds like ladies who are a 32 or 34 ribcage can rock out the Polar chest strap with no slippage. Not true with the Garmin , in my experience at least.
And to everyone who has found Thrifty or On-Sale Produce , love it.
Other than farmer's market finds and about to close down and pack up for the day specials at the farmer's market, I usually never see On Sale or Reduced Price produce. I guess I need to shop where you all are shopping!
Maybe you can find yourself some Thrifty Bananas and whip up a batch of Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Softserve
Truly the highlight of my 200 emails yesterday was everyone's 5 Coming Clean Facts . I really like to Keep It Real and there's no sense lying to ourselves, or others, or putting on false airs. Just be honest since most everyone has probably thought, or done, what you do anyway! Here's a few things that kept coming up:
I mentioned that I wear the same outfit to the gym all the time (I wash it daily) but I have a broken in, super comfy outfit that I live in. Many of you do too it sounded like.
Splenda. Lots of fans of it. Me too . Why? I just like the super-sweet taste of it. I use sugar and stevia but I also use Splenda. I also use Yacon Syrup, Agave, Maple, Dates, you name it, I am not afraid of sweeteners. And really, who cares what someone else uses to sweeten their coffee with when there's starving children in Africa and global warming. I thing putting our collective energy towards bigger issues than Splenda is a good goal!
Off the Top of my Head here are a Few Other Good Honest Revelations I read in the comments :
So there you have it. Some very good stuff . However, I was a little bummed no one told me they want to sleep with their co-worker. And no one told me they have one "friend" that drives them nuts. Kidding!
Moving On...
I have been thoroughly enjoying my new Ani book that I reviewed here
I've been inspired to take some of her ideas and tweak, change, and adapt some of her recipes to suit my own needs. Her banana crepe recipe looked great, but I played around with it and added some things and changed the ratios. I know Gena also recently made some vegan crepes . And Gina has a crepes recipe , too. As a high raw, gluten free vegan, it's hard to find crepe recipes that don't have eggs or gluten-containing flour. So this recipe will hopefully keep all the GF Vegans happy!
Vegan Banana Crepes (adapted from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials)
1/2 C Ground Flax Meal (or 1/2 C Whole Flax Seeds that you grind)
3 Ripe Bananas
1/2 C Sugar (you can omit this, reduce/add. Since I am making crepes, a dessert, I sugared it up)
1/2 C Water (start with 1/4 C but you will probably need 1/2 C. Batter should be thick-ish, but not like sludge. The flax seeds are going to "drink" lots of water and the batter will get thicker by the minute)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Optional: pinch of cinnamon, maca, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, cardamom or any other "warming" spice.
First, Grind Flax Seeds if using Whole Flax Seeds
To the Ground Flax Seeds/Flax Meal, add the rest of the ingredients and some of the water, and blend. If you need more water, use your judgment, add a splash more and blend again.
15 seconds after I started, 5 seconds to grind the seeds, 10 seconds to blend the rest, here's the batter
Spread onto two lined Dehydrator Trays.
Dehydrate. My comfort level with dehydrating is max temp (165F) so that's what I used. About 5 hours. Raw Purist I am not. Most raw purists eschew anything over 115 or so.
After 5 hours, I flipped it over and dehydrated another 2 hours.
A mere 7 hours later, finally done. This is why I use max temp. I don't have the patience for the lower temps, i.e. 105 or 115F.
You could of course eat it like a Fruit-Roll-Up, a Vegan Banana Fruit Roll Up and it's more than awesome tasting just like this! Kids and grown ups alike clamor for these!
I filled some of them with Frozen Tru-Whip
Rolled up and Garnished with Blueberries and Vanilla Agave
For something really easy and makes a great car-snack, I've been making banana crepe wraps.
Not these Fresh Vegan Spring Roll Wraps with 2-Minute Homemade Peanut Sauce Wraps
I've been making Vegan Banana Crepe and Peanut Butter Wraps
Schmear PB, Roll Up, Eat.
Repeat. Schmear PB, Roll Up, Eat. Give to hungry kid in the backseat. Silence ensues. Golden, sweet, silence. Use your favorite nut butter. If you're a sunflower seed butter fan, that would be awesome in them as would almond butter.
The Vegan Banana Crepes remind me in many ways of my 3-Ingredient Raw Vegan Caramels Super good on their own...
...But Nut Butter Filled Caramel Bites are even better!
So Easy, I promise!
After the Crepes-Fest, Skylar and I went outside to our "backyard" (city sidewalk front yard). She pushed around her shopping cart and rode her trike.
And she Struck a few Poses....
I sat and watched "her show" and we made a few attempts at a self-portrait. While looking into the sun.
Gym & Weights Workout Today From This Tab : Legs
Tip of the Day: Please check out CSN Stores . Get yourself familiar with their www.Cookware.com , www.AllModern.com , www.CSNLighting.com or any of their other 200+ online stores.
In total, CSN Stores has over 1 million products and that number is constantly growing. Not only is our product catalog growing but we’re adding new stores like www.LuxeByCSN.com , and www.ShoesGotSole.com . Right now, they would love for you to check out their dining room items at http://www.diningroomsdirect.
Why am I promoting them? You all are in store for my best give away ever, starting this Friday. It happens to coincide within 1 week of my blogivsersary. Best.GiveAway.Ever.
Questions
1. Crepes. Do you like them? Have you ever made them? Have you ever tried banana crepes or vegan/gluten free crepes? What do you like to stuff them with?
I have memories from my childhood eating crepes on vacation with a ridiculous amount of strawberry sauce, blueberry sauce, maple syrup, whipped cream, and powdered sugar. Sugar much? And I still savor the memory so I took a stab at re-creating something that works for my dietary path now.
2. Do you think there's a safe or healthy way for kids to be in pageants or shows/competitions?
I go back and forth on this. I was in dance (tap, ballet, jazz) as a little girl and it didn't "scar me for life". There was a fair amount of stage-mothering going on from all the moms but I was indifferent to it. I was more into sports like basketball, volleyball, and running.
I know Skylar would love to take dance and be on stage and really get into it all. I don't want to feed into any JonBenet Ramsey kind of stuff where 4 year olds are wearing false eyelashes and getting spray tanned, but the unschooling parent in me says that I should respect and honor her desires and expose her to something I know she would love. Or says that she would love.
What do you think of dance, pageants, stage stuff for little girls? Not a biggie? Or no way, not cool?
3. Were you in dance, pageants, organized sports, music classes, theater, or other activities as a kid? Do you have fond memories of them? Tell me about your memories and if you didn't like an activity you were in, tell me about that too.
4. Food Smells. Does it turn your stomach when you smell food wafting into your house that isn't yours?
I live behind some restaurants and now that it's finally getting warmer and I can keep my windows open, I am reminded that the smells of french fry grease, onion rings, tepanyaki chicken, Indian Curry platters, Italian Meatballs, and Thai Peanut Shrimp skeeves me. I don't eat food like that and the smell of it wafting into my house repulses me! It's actually worse that it's wafting in rather than if I was just sitting at a table with someone who was eating it. I could accept it more if I was dining with someone and that's what they ordered. But the wafting in is nasty to me!
What do you think of other people's food smells?
Stay Tuned For Blogger Meetup Details...