You gonna grill that?

So far this chilly and rainy Monday turned out to be a real nice treat...no pun intended...or is it?

For lunch today I decided to venture into the grilled sandwich world. Now as a runner I'm a huge nut butter and banana fan because the combo provides some nice fuel! The combo usually happens before an a.m. long run..usually it's whole wheat toast or an english muffin with a smear of almond butter and a banana on the side...sometimes a honey drizzle if I'm feeling it. Today I moved this delicious combo into the lunchtime slot with a glass of almond milk!

Nuttin' but Bananas Sandwich

- 2 Slices of "Wheaty Wheat" Bread from Avalon Bakery...Use your bread of choice but try and stay rustic and local.

- Trader Joe's almond butter- Smear it on both sides, don't be shy!

(Of course you can use your favorite nut butter..cashew, peanut, sunflower, soy...ummmmm pistachio?)

- Add one diced up banana- Go longways with this, it helps it from falling to pieces.

- Top the banana'd piece of bread with the other piece,  and then butter that bread!

(Today I used Earth Balance..I know, it's fake but it is good.)

Toss that baby to a pan over medium heat and grill away. Turn once the bottom is looking toasty and repeat. Remove when it has reached your desired grilledness..

Take a GIANT bite:

Yummmmmmmmy!

Happy Monday!

Food for your Friday...

I am just pulling some of my favorite food posts from the Rock CF Foundation's blog..thought I would share and give you some ideas for your next meal...it's a weird kind of blog today but just go with it..

Em's Pretty Standard OCD Breakfast

Oatmeal dusted with Cinnamon, topped with Pumpkin Butter Laced Greek Yogurt,  sprinkled with Raw Almonds. And of course a side of blueberries and a cup of TJ’s French Roast Coffee.

*Note: Trader Joe's has awesome fruit butters all the time, so change it up! Fig Butter? You may!

Em’s Super Sassy Nacho Mama’s

Grab a handful of tortilla Chips- Garden Fresh will do just fine

-Top with satueed onion & zucchini

- Add cubed avocado and fresh red and yellow tomatoes from the garden

- Cook up some black beans in mexican spices and thrown them on board

- Finally top off with a few scoops of your favorite salsa. Today was Michigan Cherry Salsa

- And always serve lunch with a nice portion of fresh fruit!

- Greek yogurt makes a great topping too and adds protein! I always use it in place of sour cream..that creeps me out.

Homemade Sweet Potato Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Baby portobello mushroom, onion, spinach sauteed in olive oil.

Topped with a dash of rosemary and parmesan cheese. Of course a sliced Roma tomato from the back yard completes this tasty dish.

Pictured above you see:

Trader Joe’s Split Pea Vegan Soup with a few Kashi 7 Grain Crackers

The Sandwich…ohhhh the sandwich:

2 Pieces of Trader Joe’s Sprouted Wheat Bread- Toasted 

Trader Joe’s Edamame Hummus slathered on both pieces of bread (This stuff is killer)

Sliced red onion

Avocado slices

Butter lettuce

2 Slices of beefsteak tomatoes grown right in my back yard! Salt and peppered!

Summer Salad..it's almost time!

In this salad you’ll see Chopped Romaine Lettuce and Baby Spinach topped with:

Baby Carrots, diced

Baby Beets, diced

Baby Almonds

Baby Organic Grape Tomatoes, Diced

Baby Red Pepper, Diced

Goat Cheese, Crumbled

Cracked Pepper

Splash of Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

*Add Avacado for some healthy fats and good calories!!

Serve with:

-Toasted Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat British Muffin on the Side

I'm into making my own Mustard vinaigrette(Very hard word to spell...) these days..

1 part Mustard (whole grain is good..or dijon)

3 part Vinegar (apple cider is my #1)

3 Parts Oil 

Dash of honey if you please

Salt and Pepper

Whisk Away!

The store bought cookie..

I had a random thought go through my head last night. "Why would someone buy store bought cookies?" Now I'm talking Chips Ahoy's (I know, those are weirdly good), Pepperidge Farm, etc... and even my loyal brand Kashi..

Cookies are so easy to bake and places like Avalon Bakery, Traffic Jam, Greengo's, Astoria and a host of other local bakeries fire out amazingly tasty cookies every day. Avalon cookies just happen to be my #1 cookies of all time ...vegan oatmeal raisin? chocolate & sea salt anyone? I think so!

(sea salt going onto the chocolate chunk...)

As much as we eat cookies, which may not and should not be every day (unless you're a CF'er :) ), why would you want one that has tons of preservatives in it and can sit in your pantry or your cabinets for months? It's so bizarre. I don't need a fortune 500 company baking my damn cookies.

And I know, some of you may be thinking, "Emily..what the hell is wrong with you? You've lost your mind..Just eat the damn cookie!" No. I am taking a stand right now. I will not eat a cookie that comes out of a package for the rest of my life. Unless..it is an Oreo or Newman's Own that is going into a Blizzard or it is in ice cream. My rules!

Apparently I've been watching too many food documentaries on Netflix..but the bottom line is this; I'm fed up with the American food situation and I will change it one cookie at a time!

Join the no cheap ingredient crappy cookie movement with me!

Em's Go Go Granola...My first attempt

This morning I woke up and thought, "I'm going to try and make granola!" Who doesn't wake up thinking this?' So, at 7:30am I started brainstorming on what I was going to put in it...I came up with this recipe below....

Dry Ingredients:

Oats

Dried Prunes

Cinnamon

Chia Seeds

Ground Flax Seed

Sunflower Seeds

Almonds

Salt

A pinch of pepper

Wet Ingredients:

Coconut Oil

Agave Nectar

Vanilla

(pre almonds, before the oven...)

Because I've never made granola I didn't know the process. I looked a 3 online recipes briefly, only looking at how you mix the wet and dries and also the oven temp and time of cooking. I was not spying on the other bloggers recipes..this is my damn granola recipe!

When you read the ingredient list you may notice what I did here...this granola is going to really ummm "wet my whistle" ;), and that's the plan. If this shit turns out ok I will venture into different flavors and ingredients, always keeping the low sugar aspect in mind. This is supposed to be a healthy breakfast served with the milk of your choice, mine is Silk unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk or yogurt, Plain Greek or Plain Stoneyfield...with a diced banana or fresh berries of course..

As I type this the granola is in the oven and it smells really, really damn good!

Ok, Ok...the verdict is in...this shit is tasty! I will work to perfect it and then shell out some solid recipes.

Just wait...tonight I'm making veggie & tofu coconut red curry with brown rice....it's ok, you can cry.

Eat well and be happy!

Damn Good People

I know damn good people.

My friend Ryan is damn good person that has helped me get the Rock CF Quickbooks account set up and running smoothly. He spent 4 hours with me the other night getting my personal and Rock CF taxes squared away. He was also the one who delivered the news that I owe around $800 in taxes..yeah! My friend sure is a damn good person.

My other friend Alex is a damn good person too. He has designed 6 new Rock CF and Just Let Me Breathe shirt designs that will be launched this month. These designs are going to blow minds and appeal to not only CF interested people, but everyone! Get ready to wear it.

My friend Kevin is a damn good person too! He is taking me to the Tigers game today at 1pm. Front row seats along the first base line. I'm looking forward to having an afternoon Detroit beer, some Germack peanuts and scooping up a foul ball.

There are too many damn good people to list here...I'll sum it up though; everyone in my family and all of my friends are, you know....

Little Miss Sunshine..

It's amazing how one tiny person with a tiny little voice can change your life and make you feel so good. My little niece Kacey is that person and I love her to pieces. This weekend I got to spend 4 days with her and my bro and sis in law. Thursday night made me realize why I could never have kids of my own though..No, it's not what you are thinking. Kacey is smart, cute, never crabby, hilarious and amazingly sweet. I could never have kids of my own because I could not deal with them ever being sick or in danger. In the middle of the night Thursday I was woken by K screaming and crying. I bolted up the stairs to see what was wrong. When I got there she had puked everywhere. My bro and sis were comforting her as they sat with puke all over them. At 3am I was awoken the same way, so again I stumbled up the stairs to her. Now after puking for 2 hours and feeling like crap K looked at me and said "it's ok Elluly..I just have a little bit of a cold." She then proceeded to see if we wanted to play with her toys. The puking continued for hours and so did her tears..her stomach hurt and she didn't like puking.. It was so sad! After a trip to the Dr, a blue slushy and a long nap, she was good to go and ready to play by mid afternoon.

Because K was feeling so good and the weather was so beautiful I was lucky enough to take her to the zoo on Saturday. We looked at monkeys, bears, turtles, fish, big cats and more monkeys. Afterward we shared a lovely vegan pizza outside and then a vegan cookie after (she is one of the kids has a pesky dairy allergy..) As we were waiting outside for the pizza she asked if she could sit on my lap. As she sat there she nestled in, put her hand around my head and kissed my cheek a couple times. This made me melt and think, good lord I am one lucky aunt! How can something so little be so affectionate?

Here is a funny story from the weekend: We were all sitting at the table finishing breakfast and Kacey said she had to go poo poo. So she ran in there and we sat and chatted. From the bathroom we heard her: "Ok guys are you ready? It's coming!....ok here it comes! Are you ready??...*insert plop* Did you hear it?! Ok guys, here it comes again. Just wait, it's coming! *Insert tiny plop* Did you hear it?!"

Rolling on the floor. All of us!

Another story for your Monday: My dad was in the bathroom shaving and doing his business. He was in there for a white, and after a few minutes I hear Kacey knock on his door and say "Papa...are you ok in there?" Apparently she did that to my brother in the afternoon yesterday too.."Daddy? You ok in there?"

Everyone should know a 3 year old that melts your heart. There is nothing like it.