Category Archives: adventures

Dec 19 2012
2 Comments
adventures, cats, fun, life

Baby It’s Cold Inside

I live in California- right on the dividing line between So Cal and Central Cal. It can get cold in the winter. It’ll be down in the 30′s tonight. But my house is fairly new (14 years old) and fairly well insulated. This fall, David and I decided to go as long as possible without turning on the heater. Just to see how long we could hold out and also as kind of a fun game to see how low the power bill would go. I think last night was the coldest night so far this season. But it hasn’t gotten below 60 degrees inside the house yet (at least not while I’ve been awake). But 60 degrees inside your house is pretty dang chilly! But we will not cave! At least not yet! January may get colder though.

I’m sitting here in yoga pants and a t-shirt. Accompanied by fleecy socks, fuzzy slippers, a big wrap sweater, and fingerless gloves (so I can type). And I’m covered up by a thick faux furry blanket. I’m pretty comfy, except my fingertips… ; )

A byproduct of this experiment is that I’ve become more mindful of just how much of a luxury having central heat inside a cozy home really is. With the flip of a switch I could have warm, toasty air circulating throughout my entire home. Not everyone has this luxury or can afford to run their heat even if they have it. I am grateful I have the option to play this ‘game’. Also, kittens really like to snuggle when it is cooler in the house. They may even sleep with you ALL night!

I wonder if we’ll want to experiment with how long we can go this summer without running the air conditioner? It gets up to 105+ degrees on the reg in these parts. We shall see. (I could go for a nice 85-90 degrees right about now. I’m kind of a warm weather person…)

I won’t feel like a failure if we decide to turn the heat on. I’ll just feel warm. : )

Feb 20 2012
9 Comments
adventures, life, travel

things… life… whatnot…

I’ve decided to take a blogging hiatus. Life is so full right now, and I’m loving it (mostly) but I feel like in the back of my mind I’m always worrying about not taking enough pictures or not taking good enough pictures, or needing to evaluate every single thing I do as blog-worthy or not blog-worthy, instead of just LIVING my actual life. I’ve been putting unnecessary pressure on myself to build this blog into something I don’t know if it will ever be. There are so many fabulous lifestyle blogs out there- like gazillions of them- I can’t even keep up with reading them, let alone being on par with them.

March is already booked solid. I’m going to get another fitness certification next month (yay!!) along with two separate work trips (including a major trade show), plus some events with my family, and a couple personal development seminars. Oh yeah, and keeping up with all my household chores, fitting in exercise, tons of cooking (of course!), spending time with my husband and kitties, and planning for the future! And that other thing called a day job…

Anyway, I know I’m not busier than anyone else and there are amazing bloggers out there that do all the things I’ve got listed along with raising kids and full time blogging! They are utterly amazing to me. But I’m not in the space to do that now. It makes me panic just thinking about it!

So I’m going to take SOME of the pressure off of myself and spend the next few months working on my fitness and health goals and getting my home organized to perfection! :)

If you are so inclined I’ll still be active on twitter (my one true social media love).

Thanks for reading!

xoxo Jenna

Feb 08 2012
4 Comments
adventures, fun, in the kitchen, Let's Eat!, raw food, vegan food

Let’s Eat: Cacao Buckwheatie Brittle!

Buckwheaties are dehydrated raw, sprouted buckwheat groats. You can eat them like cereal or grind them up and use as flour in raw recipes. OR you can make brittle!

Several months ago I bought a little bag of buckwheat groats at this tiny local health food store with the intention of making raw cereal. Last week I finally started the process. I looked online for some guidance and found all kinds of conflicting info. Soak them overnight. Don’t oversoak or they won’t sprout. I was confused but decided to wing it a bit and soak them overnight and see what happened.

First I measured out a cup of groats and rinsed them well in a fine mesh sieve. Then I covered them in four cups of water and let them soak overnight in a bowl. In the morning I drained and rinsed them and let them sit in the bowl covered with a tea towel all day. That evening I gave them another rinse and drain and let them sit overnight covered again. The next morning they had sprouted tiny green tails! So cute! (If groats can be cute. Which they can because almost anything can be cute with a tiny tail!)

At that point the groats could have been eaten for a truly raw experience. Or I could have continued to let them sprout and then added them to salads. But I continued my quest for raw cereal. I spread the sprouted groats out on dehydrator sheets and put them in the machine at 115 degrees F. I let them go for about 8 hours. They seemed dry and ‘done’. When I squeezed them between my fingers they crushed easily so I figured they were dry enough.

deydrated groats- buckwheaties!

The next morning (this is, like, four days later from starting the process!) I poured them into a bowl and was about to pour some soymilk over them for breakfast when I decided to give them a taste first. They tasted like I figured they would. Planty. Sprouty. Groaty. They would have been good with some berries and agave or stevia. But it was Sunday morning and I wanted something heartier. And more Sunday brunchish. So I made pancakes.

I decided to follow the advice of one of the blogs I came across and flavor them and give them another spin in the dehydrator. So I made a coating using raw agave and raw cacoa nibs. I mixed the groats with the coating and spread it out of parchment paper (I don’t have those special sheets for my dehydrator). I dehydrated overnight. The next morning I flipped it over and dehydrated another eight hours or so.

groats mixed with agave and cacao nibs ready for dehydration

When I finally felt like it was done I started to break up the big piece to store and realized that not only did I have cereal if I wanted it, but even better I had made buckwheatie brittle!! I decided to enjoy it as a snack. I took a piece to my raw-enthusiast co-worker too. When I received an email from her entitled: “Brittle is the Bomb” I knew I had reached success! And it only took a week! ;)

raw buckwheatie brittle!

Feb 01 2012
5 Comments
adventures, books, food, Let's Eat!, vegan food, veganism

Adventures in Whole Foods!

No, not the store, but actual whole foods! A few months ago I came to the harsh realization that although I eat lots of healthy foods I also eat lots of process junk foods. And just because they are vegan junk foods does not make them healthy! Anyone that follows me on Twitter knows how much I ADORE nachos. Like, LOVE them. OBSESSED with them. I always have tortilla chips in the pantry. I eat a variation of nachos at least once a week if not more often. Yes, I usually make my own vegan queso that is low fat and relatively healthy, and I sometimes put veggies on top of the chips and queso, but still. I am eating full fat, fried, processed, not even always organic tortilla chips! This needs to stop (not entirely (gawd forbid) – but just not as a regular habit).

And even more recently I realized that I have become addicted to sugar. In the afternoons, sitting at my desk, I get an overwhelming urge to eat something sweet and if I don’t get it I get all panicky! (umm, sugar-holics anonymous much?) And then, if I do eat something sugary, I get that terrible crash later and feel like I’m going to pass out at my desk! No Bueno.

So I’m embarking on some changes around JenoJoon-land. I’m focusing on whole foods and primarily on fruits, veggies, and beans. With a little bit of nuts and seeds thrown in and the occasional serving of a cooked grain or sprouted bread or pasta.

I’m taking parts of a few philosophies that work for me and combining them into an eating-habit revamp. This isn’t a cleanse or anything like that. I need to make some permanent changes. However, I was definitely inspired by Bianca of Vegan Crunk, who does a cleanse each January, and I decided to give The Crazy Sexy Diet another read. I’m incorporating green juice most mornings because I know how good it makes me feel. I’m also using the little ph sticks to test my alkaline/acid balance in my body. So far today I’ve been nice and balanced!

I’m reading Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat To Live so I’m also incorporating lots of raw fruits and veggies (also recommended by The Crazy Sexy Diet). As well as some cooked veggies, lots of beans, and moderate amounts of nuts and seeds.

So, with all that being said, here’s what I’ve eaten today:

Before I left for work I sipped eight ounces of fresh green juice. I juiced what I had on hand that needed using up so I did collards, bok choy, rainbow chard, romaine, a little carrot, a couple apples, half a lemon and a couple oranges. (this made enough juice for four servings) This made for a pretty spicy green juice but very tasty.

Then I ate some chia seed pudding that I’d made last night- just chia seeds, some organic soymilk, and a bit of stevia. It ‘gelled’ overnight and tasted like vanilla tapioca pudding. I also had a small cup of coffee with soymilk. I’m not giving up coffee. It brings me joy and I don’t think the 6 ounces I drink each day is going to hurt me…

chia seed pudding

Then I had a big fruit salad with a combo of fresh and frozen fruits: Frozen peaches and strawberries and a fresh orange and banana. Dr. Fuhrman recommends at least four fruits a day, so that was my breakfast.

fruit salad

I was definitely feeling hungry around 10am but I need to remind myself that it is ok to feel a little hungry between meals. My body needs down time. If I’m constantly eating, I’m constantly digesting! Dr. Fuhrman recommends not snacking between meals.

So I waited until lunch time to eat my next meal. I had some juice pulp crackers that I dehydrated (more about this tomorrow when I tell you about my raw NACHOS! See? Told you I wasn’t giving them up!), and two dishes that my mom gave me. She gets food delivered from a vegan food service sometimes and I always get to try some of the items. This week she gave me a lentil pistachio salad and green beans with leeks and fennel! So delicious. I’ll do a post on the food delivery service soon too.

lentil salad, green beans, and raw crackers

I guess this wasn’t all that different from a typical day for me, but it was what I DIDN’T eat instead of what I did eat that was so different. There was no snacking, no afternoon cookie gorging, and the only processed thing I had was the soymilk in my chia pudding and coffee. I had to make a concerted effort not to snack before dinner too. But I knew that I’d had plenty of food and plenty of nutrients throughout the day and also that I had an awesome raw dinner to look forward to!

I felt clear and energetic all day. Which was nice.

Jan 12 2012
3 Comments
adventures, baked treats, food, fun, in the kitchen, life, vegan food

Weekend Adventures: Birthday Monster Cookies!

I have one nephew and his name is Jake. He is a rad kid- super athletic and handsome- but more importantly, he is a good person. He is fun and friendly and polite. We just love him to pieces, of course!

Jake’s birthday is right after Christmas so everyone in the family is careful to make sure we make a big deal about his special day so that it doesn’t get overshadowed by the holiday. This birthday Jake turned 9, his last single digit bday!

Jake chose to get a video game console instead of having a party with his friends so we had a little family gathering for cake and ice cream (well, actually, per his request, it was an ice cream cake) and opening presents. And he showed all of us old fogies how to play video games!

I’d been carrying around a picture of some super adorable monster cookies for months waiting to make them for Jake’s birthday. I got the idea from this cute blog, which is one of my favorites. Aren’t they great?

I used my standard sugar cookie recipe which I adapted from this one, and had fun decorating with green frosting and candies. My only regret is that the Tic Tacs are nearly identical in color to the frosting. Next time I’ll switch it up a little more. I wanted to surprise Jake with the cookies, but these would be super-duper fun to make with little kids and let them go crazy with the decorations.

this one was my favorite!

  • Sugar Cookies- oven 425 degrees- yields 12 giant cookies

Cream together:
1 cup vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
1 cup sugar

Add to that and mix till combined:
the equivalent of 3 eggs made from Ener-G egg replacer (mix according to package directions)
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together and then add to the sugar mixture:
3 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda

Roll dough on lightly floured surface to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. I used a wide-mouth mason jar lid as a cookie cutter.

Bake about 7-10 minutes. My oven seems to run hot so 7 minutes is perfect for these for me.

  • Frosting- frosts 12 giant cookies

I really just eye-balled this but I mixed about a 1/2 cup Earth Balance with a cup of powdered sugar and a bit of soymilk. I used a hand-held electric beater and just kept messing with the ratios until it made a thin, smooth spreading consistency. Then I added green food coloring until I got the shade I wanted.

  • A little tube of black frosting for the mouth
  • Various candies for making facial features. I used Jr. Mints, Lemonheads and Tic Tacs, and some nonpareils.
Once the cookies are completely cooled make the frosting and then start frosting and work quickly. Frost one cookie and then decorate it so that the candies will stick to the wet frosting, before moving on to the next cookie.

all the lil monsters!

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