My FontaineBleau Experience

Its always great to break away for a little while every now and then, and this past weekend I did just that. My sister and I went on a 3-day staycation to the historic Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. I was super excited about the whole experience in general but on top of that we had a private tour of what goes on behind the scenes of their pastry shop and a complimentary cake courtesy of their new bakery shop Chez BonBon. It was pretty much a big deal, to say the least.

We sought out to try a new restaurant for each meal for the duration of our stay and we did just that. Breakfast was not as  accommodating like lunch and dinner was but I was able to work around my picky eating ways. The food was pricey ,but the Kimchi Salmon Burger at Micheal Mina 74 is definitely a must have.

When it came time to go on the tour we were pretty excited ,We met the head Chef Jordi Panisello, the Chocolatier and the bakers. We got to try a few of their handmade chocolates as well as their gelatos. We saw the work stations, the ovens and how they made and prepped all the pastries for the different restaurants and bakery in the hotel. It was truly a pastry lover dream, such as myself.

All in all, we had an great time at the FontaineBleau and the hospitality was out of this world. Its amazing how much fun you can have right in your backyard.  If you’re ever in the area or looking to take a break checkout the FontaineBleau Hotel and their restaurants (their open to the public), you surely wont be disappointed.

P.S. : I’m officially on Instagram, Follow me @Forksandstraws

 

Clean Eating Vegan Challenge

I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of  person that can eat the same thing for a couple days and never get tired of it.  So when I decided that I was going to do a clean eating challenge where all my meals or at least two meals would be clean I knew I wouldn’t get tired of the redundancy. So with a little bit of research and preparation I made a simple meal plan of  easy clean vegan type meals that i can  prepare or find if I decide to eat out.  With Starbucks  and Whole Foods it was  pretty much a cakewalk. Of course you don’t have to frequent those places to find vegan items , but it sure make life easier. Below I added a few examples of the type of meals I eat when on the challenge.

Breakfast

Hot Tea or Coffee  (unsweetened) with:

Green Smoothie(16 ounce)

or

Super-Antioxidant Oatmeal/ Plain oatmeal with seeds and nuts

 

Morning Snack

Green Smoothie (8-16ounce)

or

Fresh Fruit or Trail-mix

 

Lunch

Hot Tea or Kombucha with:

Lentil Tabbouleh with Kale and  Hummus

or

Nut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with a banana

or

Super-Antioxidant Oatmeal/ Plain oatmeal with seeds and nuts

 

Dinner

Hot Tea or Kombucha with:

Whole Grain Spaghetti with Kale, and California Blend Vegetable (Cauliflower, Broccoli and Carrot)

or

Sauteed spinach and Kale with onions and peppers  with sweet potatoes fries

 

The meals can be interchangeable or tweaked to your liking.The products can be fresh or frozen but avoid canned foods, preservatives and additives as much as possible. Check the ingredients if buying frozen and dried fruits and veggies, and stick to products that have simple ingredients. Check out the recipe  for my Super-Antioxidant  Oatmeal below:

 

Super-Antioxidant  Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup water or almond milk
• handful of organic raisins,organic goji berries and organic prunes for sweetness
• handful of organic pumpkin seeds and organic hemp seeds for nuttiness

Mix the oatmeal and almond milk and cook for 3-5 minutes, then top with the seeds and nuts of your liking. If  you want more of a sweetness add honey or maple syrup.

FYI: This can be made as overnight oats as well, just add the toppings in the morning.

Happy Cooking!

 

Banana Nog

It’s my favorite time of the year! Not just because its the holiday season, but because its the only time of the year where you can buy an unlimited supply of egg nog. Growing up egg nog was always a staple at all our family festivities, so I’ve grown accustom to looking forward to it.  So while grocery shopping for Thanksgiving this week, I went searching for some new egg nog to try out. I found plenty of  new brands to try but to my dismay all the brands contained carrageenan.  There’s been numerous talk about this additives being bad for your health and possibly carcinogenic so I personally stay away from products that contains it. So I decided this year I would make my own “egg nog”.

I’m personally not a fan of eggs so I chose to do an egg-less egg-nog with very simple ingredients. This recipe was so thick and creamy and easy to make that I will definitely be making this year round. I hope that you do too! Happy Thanksgiving!

Banana Nog

• 3 Frozen Ripe Bananas (diced)
• 1 Cup of Almond Milk (Unsweetened)
• Vanilla Extract
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Whipped Cream (optional)

Blend till you get a thick smooth consistency and top with whip cream for a festive look.

Tip: If you want it more thick add more bananas , more thinner add more milk. If your banana aren’t ripe add some of your favorite type of sweetener.

Blueberries Galore

 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and when its added with chock-full of antioxidants and good for you nutrition it’s even better.  Berries are high in antioxidants and polyphenols, which help fight chronic disease and cancer but they also have high levels of compounds that help widen arteries, which helps blood to flow smoothly. With all these types of benefits why wouldn’t you want to pile them on your plate. With berries being in season at this time of the year, finding them at a reasonable prices at any store is possible. Berries are great on desserts and smoothies but I for one  love them in my breakfast. I love them topped over my waffles or pancakes to get all the benefits that they provide. Listed below is my favorite 5 minute go to breakfast or any time of the day meal that provides a great amount of protein, fiber, grains, and sweetness  to satisfy you throughout the day. I’ve listed the brands I  used to make this dish but really these products can be swapped out  with any product you have at hand or swapped out for your own homemade version which would be even better and more nutritious.

Blueberry Nut Delight

2 Kashi Blueberry waffles

1/2 a cup of  Fage Plain Greek yogurt (I used nonfat in this recipe but full-fat is perfectly fine to use)

Honey or Syrup for the waffles

Handful of Bare Naked Banana Nut Granola ( My favorite granola!!)

Handful of blueberries

 

Prepare the waffles as you regularly would, and top the rest of the ingredients to your liking. This recipe is so good , you probably might find yourself eating it for lunch or dinner too!

 

 

 

New year, New day!

Its a new year and a new day! I’ve been on a a little hiatus from updating you guys but with things changing up a bit I plan on having more time to blog with you guys.  Around this time of the year,  I usually do a fast for 40 days In preparation of that  I went to the  farmer’s market to purchase some produce.  From kiwis, pears, starfruits, clementines, bananas  and lemons, I was well equipped to make  tropical green smoothies for days for under 15 bucks. Though its great to buy green juices or smoothies on the go, the cost adds up. With a little bit of time and preparation 15 bucks of produce can stretch well into a week. I for one love the fresh taste of Kale in my smoothies because it gives it a fresh grass taste but Kale goes bad really quick. So in order to prevent that I wash my kale in vinegar and  water  and zip lock them, keeping one bag in the fridge and one in the freezer. Though the frozen batch never taste the same as the fresh batch its close compared to the frozen bagged Kale found in grocery stores. Check out my recipe below:

Tropical Oasis Green Smoothie

Fresh Kale

Fresh/ Frozen pineapple chunks

1 or  2 clemetines (peeled)

handful of frozen grapes

Coconut water or Water

Blend and enjoy!

FYI: I almost always use frozen pineapples so I rarely incorporate ice in my smoothies.

Morning Delight

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and my favorite meal as well. Since becoming a vegetarian my breakfasts hasn’t really been the same. I tend to drink a green smoothie to break the fast and maybe have have some yogurt with hemp seeds and nuts but today I wanted something hearty. I’m use to making my own pancakes and waffles but lately I just haven’t had the time to that. So when buying waffles I buy the most natural I can find. This week I decided to try Kashi 7 grains Blueberry Waffles and topped them off with fresh raspberries. To make it a well rounded breakfast I added a slice of avocado(diced) and maple syrup drizzled on the waffles. I often get strange looks from people when I say I eat avocados with my waffles,but trust me this combination is like no other when it comes to a hearty and filling breakfast.  This breakfast was tasty, nutritious and hearty and took less than 5 minutes to prepare filled with heart healthy fats, 7 grains and fruit. Who says breakfast can’t be quick and nutritious!?!

Half Day Cleanse -Blueberry Oats and Green Pineapple smoothie

The summer is made to have fun, unfortunately this summer my face has been stuck in the books. I’m realizing more and more each day that the life of a grad student is not so fun.  With the added stress of school along with work i really haven’t been eating the way I’ve like to. Fries, Pizzas, Cake, Lasagna  and anything fried has been on the menu for the past few weeks. So i decided i need to change things up and do a half day cleanse, where the first half of the day its smoothies and a light snack if need be with a  late lunch and dinner as usual. With plans in mind of doing this cleanse, i went to whole foods looking to find a new source of protein , and found hemp seeds. I usually buy hemp protein powder but i hate the chalky texture protein powder in general leaves so i was hoping that this would work.

So in replace of ordinary protein powder,I milled handfuls of  Raw Rolled Oats, Flax-seeds, chia seeds and hemp seeds in my Nutri-Bullet and use it as protein powder.  I used it in my Blueberries Oats smoothies and Green Pineapple smoothie that’s picture below. I also  tried a new addition to my smoothies for a sweeter taste this time: 2 medjool  dates and one dried fig in each batch. They didn’t blend thoroughly but i didn’t mind the the sweet bits that they brought. Down below are the recipe for both smoothies.

Blueberry Oats

• Blueberries (Frozen)
• Protein Mixture
• Coconut water
• Water
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 dried fig
• extra cup of oatmeal (for heartiness)

Green Pineapple

• Spinach(Frozen)
• Pineapple (Frozen)
• Protein mixture
• Coconut water
• water
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 dried fig

I made three for the day, underestimating the power of my protein mixture and only drank one and a half  that morning. If you’re looking to do a full day cleanse, you can do six jars a day with water in between each. I for one prefer smoothies than juicing cleanse for the mere fact that they are more filling  to me. But what’s great about these recipes is that they are so  tasty that they can be made for cleanses or anytime of the day.

Switching things up a bit: Tropical Oats Smoothie

One thing about me is that i like trying new things, Food wise but I’m not much of a risk taker in other aspect. So since transitioning  I’ve been a green smoothie drinker addict. I went from one smoothie a day to sometimes three, I went from super sweet smoothies to barley  sweet smoothies the list goes on.  But I wanted to switch things up a bit cause a girl can only take so much green smoothies. So i decided to do  raw oatmeal smoothies instead, trust me I’m not sure how i came to that decision but it made perfect sense at that moment.   This is very similar to the No cook oat smoothie i did when i first started transitioning, but this has more nutritional and tasty  ingredients. I was excited and nervous to try this recipe because I’ve been on a mission to avoid food and drinks high in arginine for personal reason. So oatmeal was an issue, but i kept it to organic raw rolled oats ( it is said that instant oatmeal has a high arginine content but who knows).  Since I was avoiding nuts all together due to the foods i was avoiding  almond milk was a no go , so i opted  for SO Coconut milk unsweetened vanilla and Chobani Vanilla Greek yogurt.

So after i had those main staples ingredients, i  then added mix ins of fruits, juices and teas and water all to my liking. On this particular day this was what  i like to call my Tropical Oats Smoothie. If you follow me by now, you should know i  free hand everything so i  don’t have exact measurements. But, here’s the run down on my hearty nutritious smoothie

• Organic Raw Rolled Oats
• Coconut Milk Unsweetened (can use sweetened if preferred and any kind of milk)
• Greek Yogurt Vanilla
• Flax seeds
• Chia seeds
• Tropical Blend Frozen Fruits (Banana, Pineapple, Mango)
• a small ripe banana
• Coconut Water (optional)
• Unsweetened  Green Ice Tea ((optional)
• A couple dashes of cinnamon

Mix all that together and you get a satiating tropical  oatmeal smoothie. I find that using the NutriBullet give a  smooth silkiness that i never achieved with my blender ,but if you’re having  a hard time mixing add more liquid to the blender till you get the consistency that you want.

FYI: I don’t add protein powder because I’m not a fan of the gritty taste. If you want a hearty high fiber smoothie for breakfast,  sans protein powder double up on the the yogurt and oatmeal. This smoothie can be made a head of time and stored in the fridge in an air tight container for 1-2 days. A great on the go breakfast option but great for any time of the day as well!

Cheers to the Pancake!

There are two types of people in this world, Pancake lovers and waffle lovers. I personally like both myself but some people are really particular when it comes to their breakfast. Everyone in my house prefer waffles over pancakes, but are willing to eat pancakes if its a “good gourmet pancake”. Well let me tell you my friends, I got the recipe to a good gourmet pancake. My pancake recipe is so good, my waffle loving family request me to make these pancakes just about weekly. They are so yummy, satiating and full of good fiber, fats and nutrients. Its practically everything but the kitchen sink in these pancakes but i just call them my banana almond oat pancakes.

So what’s in the pancakes you ask?  Well the most important yet so basic ingredient needed for the pancakes is pancake mix. It can be organic  if you like but for mines i used a generic store brand buttermilk pancake mix. I than sliced some bananas and mashed them to small pieces.

But i didn’t stop there, i added just about everything i had on hand in my pantry.

First I milled a handful of dry ingredients in my Nutribullet  until it became a fine powder and mix it in with the pancake mix such as :

• Flaxseeds
• Chia seeds
• Raw rolled oats
• Raw unsalted almonds

Than for taste, i than added a few spices such as:

• Powdered ginger
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Vanilla extract

Mix everything with a few cups of water, and followed the direction on the pancake batter box. The end result being a gourmet pancake that is out of this world filled with fiber and nutrients.   Cheers to the pancake! lol

FYI: If you have a waffle maker, You can still have a good gourmet waffle with this recipe too.

 

Drink to health

Hey loves, It’s been a crazy couple weeks and the next few weeks will be too but i wanted to stop everything and say hi. With assignments, projects and quizzes due simultaneously on top of being sick 3 types of ways with a full time job, Updating you guys had taken the back burner. But I’m back and better than ever!  With all that’s has been going on i hadn’t really been eating the healthiest but i make sure to get at least 2 if not 3 green smoothies a day. This has help me to recover from being sick quicker than usual without the need for medicine. When sick i like to make a super alkalizing  green smoothie, that basically flush out toxins out my body while giving me the provided nutrients my body need. What’s in my Super alkalizing green smoothie you ask?

• bunches of Kale and Spinach (fresh or/and frozen)
• Pineapple chunks (Frozen)
• Green Grapes
• Water
• Coconut water
• Unsweetened Green Tea (can be bought in store, i use whole foods bottled version)
• Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
• Matcha Green Tea
• Spirulina Tablets
• Wheat Grass powder/ tablets
• Vibrant Health GreenVibrance powder
• Honey(Optional)
• Avocado(Optional)
• Hemp protein(optional)
• Flax-seeds and Chia seeds (optional)

I know you’re thinking i just gave you a laundry list of ingredients, but the cool things about green smoothies are that you can put whatever you want in them.These ingredients listed are high in antioxidants and/or alkalizing to the body, With a bit of research your food can cure your sickness with no need for medicine. Drink to health my friends.

Best part of waking up is a Green smoothie in your cup