No Cook Tomato Soup

I'm one of those people whose work schedules mean that I eat lunch and dinner at work. Trying to think of meals that are easy and portable had been challenging up until recently. I used to live on Lean Cuisine or Weight Watcher's meals because they took the guesswork and messwork (I made that word up) out of one meal of the day. I could eat one meal with a piece of fruit and maybe a side salad if I was feeling up to it. Or hungry.

"Wow - those Lean Cuisines make me feel stuffed. Said no one. Ever."

Seriously. Am I the only one to eat one of those things who afterwards felt like driving to get a cheeseburger because they felt shorted in the lunch department?

One of things I love about the raw food lifestyle is there's no cooking, no reheating, the food is easy to pack, it's fresh and colorful, and my hunger is always satiated. There's minimal mess in making food too, which is exactly what I need right now. I need easy. I need uncomplicated. I need fast. I'm just in one of those moods where I don't feel like using my brain cells to make dinner.

Know what I mean?

This tomato soup has become one my new favorite meals because there's minimal prep work, everything goes into the blender, and it's done. I pack it up into a mason jar, and that's dinner. It's also very inexpensive to make right now since tomatoes are in season and gardens are overflowing with herbs - I know mine sure is! If you have an abundance of tomatoes from the garden, this is an easy way to use them up.

I've written out a basic recipe but consider it to be freeform. The only thing I measure when I make this is the olive oil, just to be sure that I'm not going too crazy with it since I'm still working on reducing my body weight. Not all fat is created equal, so keep in mind that olive oil is one of the "good guys" - a healthy, monounsaturated fat that has polyphenols, which are natural antioxidants. In addition to the antioxidants in the extra virgin olive oil, you'll be receiving lycopene from the tomatoes, which protects the cells from free radicals. Tomatoes are also very high in Vitamin C and potassium.

Make sure you are using the best ingredients you can get your hands on, preferably organic. The quality really comes through in this soup. You may even want to make a really big batch to freeze and reheat on a chilly winter day.

No Cook Tomato Soup
2 large tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped (around 4 cups chopped)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/4 of a medium red onion
1/2 - 1 garlic clove
5 large basil leaves
3 stems oregano, leaves removed and stems discarded
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes, optional


Directions:
Put everything in a blender and blend for at least one minute or until smooth.

Serves: 2

6 Weight Watchers Points+ counting veggies

4 Weight Watchers Points+ not counting veggies

Chocolate Berry Zucchini Smoothie

Anyone else feel like they have zucchini coming out of their ears? Last year I was begging, dreaming, wishing, and hoping some kind soul would leave a few zucchini on my front porch for Sneak Some Zucchini On Your Neighbor's Porch night. Not a one showed up on my porch, by the way.

But this year?

Ohhhhh...this yearrrrr.

This year, we will be the ones to sneak zucchini on to my neighbors' porches.

My brother planted a garden at his house, so in addition to our garden, we overfloweth with zucchini and cucumbers.

No joke, my parents came home from my brother's house with this 5 gallon bucket filled with zucchini and cucumbers. A few of the zucchini could double as a baseball bat.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I asked for zucchini, and I got it.

We've already shared the wealth with friends and family, but we still have quite an abundance. We've made a zucchini cobbler, zucchini fudge cake, zucchini bread, and zucchini cake, but none of those options are super friendly to the waistline.

At this stage of the zucchini game, I want to eat it and not know that I'm eating it. Know what I mean?

Hence, zucchini in a smoothie.

I'm dead serious about putting zucchini in a smoothie. It's desperate times and I think this has become my favorite way to eat it. For reals, y'all. I mean, last year I made zucchini pancakes and zucchini brownies that were good, but this is just too easy. Zucchini has virtually no flavor, which is why it's so great in sweet things. Plus, by eating the zucchini in its raw form, you're getting the max amount of benefits from the zucchini. They are low in calories, high in Vitamin C, and a good source of folates, Vitamin A, manganese, and potassium,.

I used a normal sized zucchini here, but if you're trying to use up a zucchini the size of a baseball bat, you'll need to scrape the seeds out, for sure.

Chocolate Berry Zucchini Smoothie

1 cup roughly chopped zucchini
1 cup frozen mixed berries
2 Tbls cocoa powder
2 tsps agave
1 Tbls almond butter
3/4 cup almond milk

Combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Drink it up!

Cantaloupe, Fig & Olive Salad

As I was making this salad, a thought occurred to me.

It cost $6.99 for the figs you see in this picture. There's no way the old me would have have dropped that for some figs.

The old me, however, wouldn't have balked at dropping that same amount on a Whopper with cheese, fries, and a Diet Coke. As a matter of fact, I might dine at Burger King one day and Wendy's later in the week. And then I would have dinner out with family or friends.

I wouldn't have spent $6.99 for some fresh, organic Brown Turkey figs because they were too expensive, but I would have easily dropped nearly $30 on fast food meals.

Crazy logic, huh?

After eating the fast food - and I enjoyed the taste of every bite - my stomach would feel heavy and full, yet I'd crave something else...something sweet. How could I possibly fit anything else in? But I could. Then I'd get upset with myself for hiding in a parking lot to eat my meal because I didn't want anyone to see me or say anything to me. Physically and mentally I was doing myself zero favors.

This lunch is a stark difference. After eating this salad, I felt good. No guilt for eating it. No need to eat anything else. No mid-afternoon slump. No need to hide what I was eating. I loved the colors; I loved the way it looked; and it made me feel happy. I also loved the added benefit that had for my body.

• Cantaloupe has one of the highest sources of Vitamin A of any fruit. It's also rich with beta-carotene, potassium, Viatmin C, and B vitamins.
  
• Figs have the highest level of calcium of any fruit, plus they are rich with fiber, potassium, iron, B vitamins, and magnesium.

I like to imagine the nutrients working as band-aids to help heal my body. I'm letting the Lupron do its thing, but I'd like to give it as much support as possible. And it feels good to do something positive for myself.

This salad is very free form. If the idea of olives with fruit scares you, feel free to leave them out. I used Black Beldi Olives - a brine cured olive - that is quite salty. I love the burst of salt with the juicy sweetness of the cantaloupe and fig. The basil adds a bit of bright licorice flavor. If you're not a fan of basil, try rosemary or mint. If you want to be extra decadent, drizzle the slightest bit of honey over the fruit. Delicious!

Local to the Baltimore area? I picked the organic cantaloupe, organic figs, and olives up at MOM's Organic Market in Jessup.

Cantaloupe, Fig & Olive Salad 

1/4 cantaloupe, sliced thinly
3 figs, quartered
4 olives, quartered
1 Tablespoon sliced almonds
2 fresh basil leaves, torn
pinch of black pepper 

On a plate or to go container (like me), lay the thinly sliced cantaloupe down first. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste. Arrange the fig quarters next. Sprinkle the olives, almond slices, and basil leaves on top. 

Eat in freedom and enjoy!

Cheesy Kale Chips...In My Car

You know, for a girl without central air in her house, you'd think I'd dread the hot and hazy Baltimore days. I don't enjoy sweating. I don't enjoy seeing my hair frizz. And I definitely don't enjoy the feeling of sweat beads rolling down the side of my face. EWWW.

But I love it when the temp goes above 95 degrees because it's actually hot enough to bake something in my car. If you're going to get scorched, you might as well get a tasty treat out of it, right?

I've made cookies and fruit roll ups in my car, but I decided to go the healthy route: kale chips. I know, I know. Kale is ridiculously anti-climactic compared to cookies and fruit roll ups, but trust me...these things are addicting. Jack, my co-worker, rolled his eyes, crinkled his nose, and lamented the kale and eggs his wife "makes" him eat for breakfast. He was most decidedly not excited about me making kale chips. But after he ate one, he kept reaching for more and said they taste like cheese popcorn. Everyone in the office liked them, with the exception of one party pooper. But there always has to be one party pooper, doesn't there?

Here's the thing - the ingredients to make the Cheesy Kale Chips are a bit untraditional. The really "weird" ingredient is nutritional yeast (not to be confused with Brewer's Yeast). I picked everything up at my local health food store, and if I were you, I'd walk in the door of the health food store, march myself up to a one of the clerks, show them the list of ingredients and say, "Let's go on a scavenger hunt!" Seriously, don't stress yourself out trying to find it. They'll know exactly where to look. Nutritional yeast is worth finding because it gives the kale the "cheesy" flavor. Per tablespoon, nutritional yeast has 130% of your daily vitamin B-12, 4 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein, and 60% of your daily folic acid! All in ONE TABLESPOON! It's seriously delicious stuff that you'd never know is super healthy for you too.

If these feels too ambitious for you, DON'T give up. Take a bunch of kale, make sure to wash and dry it (must be dry or else the water will steam the kale and you don't want that), tear it up, and drizzle it with olive oil (2-3 Tbls) and sprinkle it with some salt. Massage the oil and salt into the kale pieces, lay the coated kale pieces on parchment paper lined trays, and "bake" in your car for 2-3 hours. Seriously...you will be amazed at how addicting they are.

Jack is hoarding the cheesy kale chips!

Cheesy Kale Chips
Recipe lightly adapted from Pride & Vegudice

1 bunch curly kale
1 cup cashews (raw, not roasted or salted)
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt

Place the cashews in a medium sized bowl and cover with water. Let the cashews soak for a minimum of 3 hours. This will soften the cashews and make them easier to blend. You can even do this step the night before, if you'd like, and let the cashews soak while you sleep.

Remove the tough, woody stems from the kale leaves and tear them into bite-sized pieces. Thoroughly wash and dry the kale (a salad spinner is great for this) and drop the pieces into the biggest bowl you have. Kale seems to expand.

In a food processor, drop the garlic cloves through the shoot while the food processor is running. When the garlic is chopped, stop the food processor, add everything but the kale, and process until everything is smooth. It should look like a really thick salad dressing.

In a large bowl, toss the "cheese sauce" and kale until the kale is thoroughly coated. Try not eat it straight from the bowl like I did. Seriously...I could have eaten the whole bowl just like that.

Line two large cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper (I only brought one with me to work). Arrange the kale pieces on the cookie sheets so there's still a little space in between them. At this point, you can either pop these in an oven at 200 degrees for around 45 minutes... or you can bake them in your car.

Make sure it's 95 degrees or hotter outside and your car is parked in full sun. Drape a bath towel over the dashboard so you don't accidentally melt it. Place the cookie sheets on the dashboard, make sure you don't need anything from your car for the next few hours, shut the door, admire your kale chips, and then walk away. The heat from sun will turn your car into an oven and the kale chips will dry out. They should be completely dried in 2-3 hours. Try not to eat them all... like Jack and me.

The Green Smoothie

"Blech," my mother said as she looked at me with her nose scrunched up. "Guess that's what you're having breakfast, hmmm?"

"Aaaaahhh," I said as I took a swig of my green smoothie. "It's so creamy and sweet. I can feel the vitamins and nutrients making the cells in my body spring to life!"

She rolled her eyes, grabbed her high fiber cereal topped with strawberries and left me to my mess.

I didn't used to be a smoothie girl, but since I've decided to make organic vegetables and fruits my primary source of food, I've jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon.

I like to use 2 cups of spinach as the base. Spinach is high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, manganese, iron, zinc, and so much more. Occasionally I'll use a combination of spinach and kale or just kale, but I really prefer spinach because the kale can taste bitter. To me, the spinach has no flavor in the smoothie.

Once I've got my spinach set, I'll add half a banana or avocado to make it creamy; 1/2 cup of frozen fruit to make it cold; some water, coconut milk, or almond milk to thin it out; and then I might add in some flax seeds for additional omega 3's and fiber. I will sometimes add in a tablespoon of a nut butter to make it extra satiating if I know I'm not going to be able to eat lunch at my usual time.

I know it looks weird. It's so...so... green. But I promise - all you will taste is the fruit and their sweetness.

Do you have smoothies for breakfast? What do you typically put in your smoothie? I'm looking to try something new - non-dairy - and would love to hear your suggestions.

Titanic (Zucchini) Brownies

"I think you should call them 'Titanic Brownies,'" my brother mumbled from the general direction of the kitchen. I didn't have to see him to know that he was leaning over the pan, evaluating the brownies with his nose crinkled in mild disdain.

"Why?" I asked, ready for whatever his smart reply was going to be.

"Because they're going down."

Hmph.

"Maybe going down the hatch in a flame of awesomeness!" I replied back.

He mumbled something that I missed. I could tell he wasn't a fan of my zucchini brownies. He's not a big fan of putting vegetables in sweet things. Actually, he's not a fan of my cooking in general. Except for my chocolate chip cookies.

And that's OK.

Zucchini Pancakes

This is the story of how I came to make zucchini pancakes.

(There's always a story with me, isn't there?)

The story starts with bananas.

Yes, bananas.

You see, in a house without central AC, all produce must be eaten as soon as it's purchased. Why I decided to purchase a bunch of bananas that I couldn't possibly eat within 48 hours is beyond me. I had four bananas that needed rescuing right away. I hit up one of my favorite recipe inspiration sites, TasteSpotting, and found this recipe for Banana Rosemary Baby Bundt Cakes w/ Rosemary Brown Butter Icing.

They were UH-MAY-ZING.

This is a "must make in your lifetime" kind of recipe. I shared the link on Twitter, and got a tweet back from Wendi at Bon Appetit Hon who offered to trade some jam for one of my mini bundt cakes. Who am I to turn down another food blogger's jam??

The Monstrosity In The Fridge

"What monstrosity did you make in here, Erin??" my dad hollered from the kitchen with his head half in the refrigerator.

"I'll have you know that monstrosity is a light and refreshing melon salad," I shouted over my shoulder towards the general direction of the kitchen, not budging from cushioned glider in which I had just made myself comfy.

"What's in this thing?" he said, emerging from the kitchen.

"Delightfulness. And awesomeness. And some honeydew, blueberries, cucumbers, lime, and mint and basil from our garden."

"Hmmmmmm...sounds...interesting."

My family doesn't like my food.

Seriously.

They call it "weird stuff" or "science experiments."

We have different definitions of delicious.

Ever seen Pixar's Ratatouille?

My little brother often compares me to Remy, the chef rat.

I overlook the fact that he's comparing me to a rat.

I love the part where Remy is trying to explain to his rat brother (which, theoretically, represents my little brother - heh, heh, heh) the textures and flavors of cheese and strawberries....