Thanksgiving Recap + KINDA BIG NEWS

Here's what I ended up making for the big day last week:

Farro with Leeks and Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

So good, so comforting!  This was a hit with both meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.  I think farro is going to be my new favorite grain - it's very chewy and hearty, which is great for these colder winter months.  I loved the mix of brussel sprouts and leeks with balsamic and spicy Dijon mustard.  We had a ton of leftovers, and I found myself adding even more mustard to this dish.  This is something I would make again.

Baked Butternut Squash with Tofu and Kale

This was inspired by the similar dish from Oh Ladycakes; however, I did not have vegan worcestershire sauce, and didn't have time to make my own, so, with help from a caterer relative, we added warming spices to give this dish a more Indian taste (curry, cumin, and garam masala were used heavily).  It turned out good, but not great.  Still, I would probably make again.

Roasted Vegetables - Broccoli, Cauliflower, Beets, and Turnips 

Every year we do tons of roasted vegetables for our Thanksgiving feast and this year was no different. Turnips were new though, and boy were they delicious!  All we did was chop the raw veggies into bite sized pieces and then toss them with liberal amounts of olive oil, salt, and pepper.  The broccoli and cauliflower also got a generous sprinkle of nutritional yeast (side note: if you have not tried roasting broccoli or cauliflower before, please do. It really transforms the flavor of these vegetables into something so great!)

Sweet Potato Pie

I decided to break from tradition and make sweet potato pie instead of pumpkin pie this year.  The pie was okay, but I don't think I would make it again.  It was overly spiced, which is saying quite a lot coming from me, the girl who buys cinnamon from Costco.  I think next year I will stick with pumpkin.

Raw, Vegan Pecan Pie

OMG.  Words cannot describe this pie.  It was amazing, incredible, beyond expectations - everyone agreed.  Also, since it was made from all good-for-you ingredients, I didn't get a sugar rush or crash from eating it.  I will definitely be making this again, soon!

And now for the big news... I'm moving to NYC!  Okay, to be accurate I have already moved to NYC.  I am still in DC for another week wrapping up work stuff, but will be heading up to the big apple for real this weekend.  This is no surprise to my friends and family, but I wanted to officially announce the news here.  It's sad to leave DC, but I'm so excited to explore all the sights, sounds, and eats NYC has to offer, and to share my adventures here!

That's all for now.  I'll be back later this week with a decadent recipe for dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

Halloween Snack Attack

This post is bit delayed - I got my October Vegan Cuts snack box over a month ago, but just realized I never posted the video of my un-boxing!  This box was filled with Halloween-inspired treats.  While I'm not a big candy person (except chocolate, that is), it's good to know that there are vegan options out there of your favorite holiday treats.

You can find these "healthified" candies online, on sites like Vegan Cuts, but there are also vegan options carried in most grocery stores.  If you haven't done so already, check out PETA's "Accidentally Vegan" lists for full details on widely distributed products that just so happen to be vegan.  Note:  While it is fun to know that Oreos are okay for vegans (YES, it's true!), it is also important to remember that vegan does not necessarily mean wholesome and healthy.

Without further ado... my October Vegan Cuts snack box un-boxing...

Carrot Cake Smoothie

There's not much that can beat a good homemade smoothie.  Unlike juice bar smoothies that are usually packed with strange ingredients and added sugars, homemade smoothies are 100% customizable and can be the perfect healthy indulgence. 

Most days I have a smoothie for breakfast.  They are quick to make and an easy way to get fruit, veggies, protein, and healthy fats in a portable form.  I eat my smoothies with a spoon, which makes the health drink feel indulgent, almost like a bowl of ice cream.

My favorite blend of the moment combines the natural sweetness of carrots and bananas with the richness of almond butter and warmth of cinnamon for an absolutely delicious fall morning treat.  Maca gives you a little boost of energy and the protein means this smoothie will keep you full for hours.  Seriously, this drink is the bomb!  And so so so easy to make - just a few seconds in a blender and you are done.

Carrot Cake Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:
-1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
-1/4 cup carrot juice
-1 banana
-1 tsp maca
-1 TBSP almond butter
-dash of cinnamon
-1 scoop plain or vanilla protein powder (I have been using Perfect Fit Vanilla protein)
-Stevia to taste (I like Truvia and have found that 1/2 an individual packet works for me.  Omit or adjust depending on your preference.  I'm sure maple syrup would also taste great)

Directions:
Add all ingredients to your blender and pulse until well combined.  Enjoy! 

Vegan Thanksgiving

I've always said that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, if not my most favorite (Passover is also up there, so maybe I just like holidays centered around feasts...).  Anyways, being vegetarian and then vegan did not change this.  Luckily at my family's Thanksgiving, we have always had tons of different vegetables to go along side the standard turkey and mashed potatoes.  Each year I try to find a new veg-friendly recipe, at least one sweet and one savory, to bring into the mix.  Generally, I have been very successful in convincing my family that vegetarian and vegan food does not have to be plain or unfulfilling, and that it does have a place at the Thanksgiving table.  While I'm not sure what I will whip up this year, here are a few recipes that have caught my eye over the past few weeks:

Main Dishes:
- Farro with Leeks and Balsamic Roasted Brussels

- Walnut Encrusted Tempeh

- Smoky Butternut Squash Sauce with Pasta and Greens and Butternut Squash Mac and Cheeze
- Butternut Leek and Toasted Hazelnut Risotto
- Seitan Mushroom Roast  

Salads and Sides:

- Grilled Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

- Quinoa Salad with Pears, Spinach, and Chickpeas

- Roasted Root Vegetable Mash

- Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels with Nutmeg and Sage

- Apple Cider Glazed Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Biscuits

Desserts:
- Raw, Vegan Pecan Pie
- Vegan Sweet Potato Pie
- You Won't Believe It's Vegan Pumpkin Pie

- Raw, Deep Dish Chocolate PB Ice Cream Cake 

- Vegan Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Drinks:

- Perfect Fall Sangria

- Butterscotch Maca Mug

In addition to being a favorite time of year, Thanksgiving is also pretty significant to me as it was 3 years ago on Thanksgiving that I ate meat for the last time.  This year, in addition to passing on the turkey, I am turning this day into one of giving: giving a turkey a life that is!  One of my favorite teachers at my yoga studio in DC is holding a donation based class Thanksgiving morning.  All donations go to Farm Sanctuary's Adopt a Turkey program.  Which means my one time donation of $30 will sponsor and support a turkey living at one of Farm Sanctuary's shelters, for the rest of his or her life!  I encourage you to check out the program, or better yet, if you will be in the DC area this Thanksgiving, join me in taking Courtney's class at The Studio DC.

Pumpkin Breakfast Bars with Maple Almond Glaze

Another pumpkin recipe coming at you today: pumpkin bars with maple almond glaze.  I wasn't planning on posting this recipe, but it was SUCH a hit that I couldn't not post it!  I got the inspiration for this one from my brother's girlfriend (thanks, Arielle!) who shared a chocolate-chip version of these bars with my family last weekend.  While the chocolate-chip version was delicious, I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate and pumpkin, and wanted to make these a little more breakfast-friendly (not saying you can't have chocolate for breakfast, but for me, chocolate in the morning is usually reserved for birthdays and special holidays).

Pumpkin Breakfast Bars with Maple Almond Glaze (vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free)

Dry:
2 1/2 cups oat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 scoop neutral or vanilla flavored protein powder (optional)

Wet:
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup almond butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 TBSP almond butter
chopped walnuts for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease an 8 x 8 square pan with coconut oil (or nonstick method of choice).  Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a separate, large bowl (or food processor).   Add the dry to the wet and stir until just combined.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.  While the bars are cooking, prepare the glaze by whisking together maple syrup and almond butter.  Remove bars from the oven and let cool slightly before pouring the glaze over the top of the bars.  Garnish with chopped walnuts, if desired.

Adapted from here. 


These bars are perfect for breakfast, but also great as an afternoon snack or healthy dessert.  They freeze well, so if you don't have a band of hungry co-workers, friends, or family members (or if you just want to keep them all to yourself, which is not a bad idea), slice the cooled bars then pop into a Ziploc bag.  You may want to leave off the glaze if you are planning on freezing, and simply slather the bars with almond butter, maple syrup, or topping of your choice once reheated.

Happy baking!

GO GREEN: An All Green Juice Cleanse

A few weeks ago, Organic Avenue (remember, one of my favorite juice places in NYC) sent out an email advertising a sale on their ALL GREEN juice cleanse.  Without thinking much, I hopped on this opportunity!  I was going to be traveling again for work for an extended period of time (Memphis again, four weeks) and thought a juice cleanse would be a great break from the restaurant and hotel food.  I did a juice cleanse the last time I was in Memphis and it was a great experience.

I conned a co-worker into doing the cleanse with me.  We decided to do it during the week, starting on October 29th and ending the day after Halloween. Trick, or treat?


I'm not going to go into all the details of the cleanse, but will summarize my thoughts on this cleanse briefly:

1. There is such a thing as "too much of a good thing" - I love me a green juice (hey, even two green juices), but 6 green juices a day plus a green booster shot?  It is a little much.  I enjoyed most of the juices; however, drinking six 14 oz green juices a day was hard!  Most were completely savory (very little to no fruit).  Savory is great, but it would have been nice to have at least one or two sweet juices in the mix.  Disclaimer:  Two of the juices I considered semi-sweet, but not fruity enough to mask that they were still mostly veggies.

2.  Juice feast, don't juice fast - Due to the low fruit content of this cleanse, an entire day of juices only added up to around 500 calories.  From my research, your body goes into starvation mode with anything less than 1,200.  While it's totally fine to have such a reduced calorie intake for a few days, I didn't like the idea of draining my body.  I needed to work and wanted to work out during this cleanse.  Looking back, this extreme option probably wasn't the best choice based on my situation.

Finally I realized that you need to be fully committed in order to have a successful cleanse (duh, Emily).  As I mentioned, I sort of hopped on this juice cleanse on a whim, and didn't really take the time to think if this was something my body and life could handle at the time.  I don't think that I went into the cleanse fully committed, which is pretty important considering the cost and effort required to do any cleanse.

All this being said, I "supplemented" my cleanse.  Some would call this "cheating," but I knew I wasn't going to get anything out of the cleanse if I starved myself for 3 days and wasn't productive in my professional or personal life.  I listened to what my body needed.  I added some fresh fruit and veggies, and raw nuts.  And guess what?  I still saw great results - my senses sharper, my digestion improved, and, for the most part, I was able to do regular work outs. 

So while I don't recommend this "Go Green" juice cleanse to anyone except the most experienced, hard core juicers, I also do not have any regrets about trying this cleanse.  Next time though (yes there will be a next time), I'll stick with the less intense version.  Drinking all juice all day is enough intensity for me. =)

Review: Thai X-ing

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting some friends for dinner at Thai X-ing, an authentic (you guessed it) Thai food restaurant in Shaw.  I had been to Thai X-ing before with the BF - we enjoyed our meal there, but it wasn't as wonderful as others had proclaimed, so I didn't bother to write about it here.  However, this second visit did in fact live up to those high expectations and so I thought I should share some details on this experience.

Dining at Thai X-ing is in fact an experience.  The restaurant is located inside a row house on Florida Avenue; you could easily miss it except for the hostess who is usually standing outside the entrance.  We were ushered inside by said hostess and, as we were a slightly larger group, we were sat at the larger, low table by the front window.

I had called ahead to make my dietary preferences known, and our server checked in with all of us before the meal began for allergies and preferences.  Food arrived almost immediately, but not before we had a chance to open the wine we had brought (yup, Thai X-ing is a rare BYOB in DC).

First up: Papaya Salad and Tom Yam soup.  Two of the simplest, yet also my favorite, Thai dishes.  The salad was perfectly crunchy and just spicy enough to wake up your taste buds.  The soup also had a delicate balance of spice (from the lemongrass and ginger) and sweetness (from the rich coconut milk).  I could have been satisfied with just those two dishes, but there was much more to come.

The main dishes all came out at once:  Pumpkin Curry, Bean Sprouts with Tofu, and Drunken Noodles with Tofu, plus a fish and beef dish for the carnivorous folks in the group.  Plus a mountain of fluffy white rice.  My favorite by far was the Pumpkin Curry - slightly spicy, yet also so creamy.  I am determined to replicate this dish at home sometime soon.
 

 

And finally... Mango Sticky Rice.  While we all proclaimed to be too stuffed to continue, we ate every last bite of this amazing dessert.  Another dish I am determined to learn how to make and perfect. 

We all left too full, but also very satisfied.  I love to try new foods, and it is so much more fun to share this experience with friends and loved ones.