Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Almond Milk Ice Cubes

Hi Bunnies!
I know it’s been over a week since my last post, YIKES ( I haven’t done that for over a year) but I have had so much going on recently. I am back and ready to kill it this week!

I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction in which I want my blog to go. I get so many comments on social media asking for more Youtube videos, so I definitely want to start doing some recipe tutorials as well as fun hair tutorials for you guys, but honestly I’ve become so self conscious that it’s holding me back from doing videos. During recovery, I gained weight and I came so insecure about it that I never talked about it on my blog. I actually became quite guarded and quiet about my personal life on my blog and I feel like I haven’t had much of a voice. I used to speak so openly about the ups and downs of weight loss and what it’s like to struggle with losing weight, maintaining weight, and getting myself to the gym, but I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve done a post like that.

This past weekend my friend Kathy of Healthy Happy Life stayed over for the weekend and we were Expo West buddies. As we we’re driving to the Anaheim convention center together, I was telling her that I was struggling with my voice on my blog. I told her that I felt like it lost what it used to be because I was insecure about where I am in my weight loss journey now, and that I almost wanted to give up blogging. Let me start by saying that Kathy inspires me so much. She has her vegan recipe blog Healthy Happy Life, her yummy drool-worthy site Finding Vegan, and two books 365 Vegan Smoothies, and Healthy Happy Vegan Kitchen. She is the definition of #GirlBoss. When I told Kathy I was about to throw in the towel because of my insecurity, she completely shut my idea of giving up down. She reminded me of what my blog is about. It’s not just about the “after” pictures. It’s about my story, my feelings, my accomplishments, my bad days, my recipes, my goals, and my connection with my readers who have been here since the start. I had gotten so in my head and wrapped up into the fact that the majority of my blog readers know me as my before and after photos – a weight loss success story. I’m proud and honored that my weight loss story has inspired and motivated so many people to change their lives, and in the back of my mind, I’ve had a fear that if I gained weight or fell of the wagon that my readers would judge me, but I can’t hide that I’m not that teeny tiny sickly thin person in the old after photos anymore. I am putting my silly insecurity aside and I want to be an example that recovery is possible, that happiness is possible, that life goes on, and that for the most part, these crazy thoughts of insecurity and unworthiness are all in your head. Right now, I am so inspired to do more posts about what I have been going through and thinking about because not only is it therapeutic for me (I completely forgot until just now) but if it helps just one person out there that can relate, it’s 100% worth it.

Cat-and-Matt-Self-Help-FestivalPhoto by: Ashley Osborn
Matt and I on Saturday night at the Self Help Festival

I don’t know how many of you read Andie Mitchell’s blog Can You Stay For Dinner? but this post is a must read, her TEDx Talk is a must watch, and her book “It Was Me All Along” is a YOU NEED TO BUY IT AND READ IT RIGHT NOW. I resonate with her so much. In fact, I’m pretty sure most people do. She’s amazing, and her honesty and bravery also helped me with this post!

I started a public Snapchat (@EatRabbitFood) that shows behind the scenes videos and pictures of me working on my blog, and doing boring silly things that are carefree and fun. I want to show my readers that not everything is as perfectly curated as Instagram and let my personality show. I mean at the end of the day, I am just little old Catherine who writes a blog!

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For the past month I’ve been breaking out in crazy hives all over my forearms, wrists, ankles, and knees and I cannot figure out what is causing them. Food allergies? Thyroid off again? Stress? It’s been super irritating and uncomfortable so I finally made an appointment to see a new allergist with my friend Celina tomorrow. We both have really severe food allergies (in fact that’s how we bonded when we first met), so tomorrow we have back-to-back allergist appointments together. So romantical! Kind of a bummer, but recently I’ve been wondering if I have developed an almond allergy. I use almond milk every morning in my coffee and in tons of my smoothies and recipes (like today’s!) and I would be pretty heart broken if I found out I was allergic, but I’m quite nervous that I could be. Wahhhh. An hour or so after this smoothie I broke out in hives, which was concerning. I also made an iced coffee with the remaining almond milk ice cubes the next day and ended up with hives later in the day. Ugh, since then I’ve tried to avoid almonds and almond milk but I’m still getting hives. So… onto the allergist I go.

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The idea behind almond milk ice cubes is to replace regular ice cubes so that the smoothie doesn’t get watered down. Almond milk ice cubes will add creaminess to any smoothie that normally uses regular ice cubes! Simply put almond milk in an ice tray, and freeze overnight! They can also be used to make iced coffee. Brew coffee an pour over a cup of almond milk ice cubes for a creamy cool caffeinated treat!

I like using Almond Breeze Original because it doesn’t have added sugars!

Almond-Milk-Ice-Cubes-for-Thick-Smoothie-3 Almond-Milk-Ice-Cubes-for-Thick-Smoothie-4 Almond-Milk-Ice-Cubes-for-Thick-Smoothie-5 Almond-Milk-Ice-Cubes-for-Thick-Smoothie-6 Almond-Milk-Ice-Cubes-for-Thick-Smoothie-7 Almond-Milk-Ice-Cubes-for-Thick-Smoothie-8Tropical Almond Milk Ice Cube Smoothie
Serves 1

5 almond milk ice cubes
1 handful of spinach
1/2 cup coconut water
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 frozen banana

Pour almond milk in an ice tray and freeze overnight. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until creamy and smooth.

Quinoa Peanut Butter Crunch Cups

In the recipe, puffed quinoa is coated in a rich mixture of peanut butter, coconut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. That nutty mixture is then spooned into muffin liners and popped into the freezer to set. After an hour or so, you’ll have crunchy, peanut-buttery, and addictive little cups of goodness. These crave-worthy peanut butter cups are sweet enough for dessert, yet totally pre and post workout snack-approved.

All of my bunnies know that I love making recipes as simple as possible, and simple to me means as few ingredients as possible. This recipe only contains 6 ingredients and I bet you have more than half of them at your house right now!

Quinoa-Peanut-Butter-Crunch-Cups-1 Quinoa-Peanut-Butter-Crunch-Cups-2Now before anyone asks, “do I have to go out and buy coconut butter? Isn’t it the same as coconut oil?” let me give you the 411! At one point, I thought they were the same thing. I thought that when coconut oil was at its solid form it was considered coconut butter and when it was melted and liquid it was considered coconut oil. Well I was wrong! No shame!

Coconut oil is JUST the oil that is extracted from the meat of a coconut. Coconut butter is the whole meat of the coconut pureed into a creamy butter. If you’re curious, coconut meat (by nature) is approximately 65% oil! So there it is folks, coconut butter has the flesh of the coconut in it! Look at the difference in the photo above (coconut butter on the left, and coconut oil on the right).

Quinoa-Peanut-Butter-Crunch-Cups-3*You can purchase puffed quinoa at specialty health food stores but it’s kind of tricky to find and it may be a bit on the pricier side, so in this post I’m showing you how to make your own puffed/popped quinoa! Heat a large stock pot over medium heat (I have an induction stove, and I set my heat to level 6 out of 9). Once the pot is hot, pour a small amount (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan as seen in the photo below) of pre-rinsed and dried quinoa over the bottom of the pan. Gently swirl the quinoa around with a wooden spoon as it pops (this helps prevent burning). You’ll notice that the quinoa has a very quiet little crackle pop, and its popped state is only the tiniest bit larger than its unpopped state (nothing like popcorn!). Once your first round of quinoa has popped (a minute or two), pour it into a bowl and repeat until you have 1½ cups. I like to have a bowl of unpopped quinoa ready to pour into the pot, and then a bowl on the other side for the puffed quinoa to go into when it has finished popping.

1½ cups of unpinned quinoa is pretty darn close to 1½ cups of puffed quinoa in the end since there is barely any difference in size once it has puffed!

Quinoa-Peanut-Butter-Crunch-Cups-4 Quinoa-Peanut-Butter-Crunch-Cups-5 Above is a photo of unpopped quinoa to the left and popped or puffed quinoa on the right. See how there is a very slight difference in size, but the little ring inside has expanded?

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Quinoa Peanut Butter Crunch Cups
By Blissful Basil
Makes 12 crunch cups

1½ cups puffed quinoa*
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp peanut butter
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp coconut butter
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1½ Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Puff quinoa over a stove as described underneath photos above and set aside.* In a saucepan over low heat, combine the peanut butter, coconut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture is completely melted and smooth. Next, turn off the stove and pour the puffed quinoa into the melted peanut butter mixture. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners. Scoop 2 tablespoons of the quinoa mixture into each muffin liner and smooth the tops with a spoon if needed. Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 1 hour to set. Once the cups have set, they can be transferred to the refrigerator to store. Do not leave at room temperature or they will melt!

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown:
Produce: none
Whole Grain: quinoa
Protein: none
Plant Based Fat: peanut butter, coconut butter, and coconut oil

Rabbit Food Meal Tip: 1 Quinoa Peanut Butter Crunch Cup is 2 tablespoons of plant based fat and a small serving of whole grain. Enjoy this with an apple and glass of soy milk to make it a Rabbit Food Approved meal! Or blend some fruit and soy milk together with some ice as a smoothie.

Health & Happiness
xo-Catherine

P.S. I joined Snapchat!!! Open up Snapchat on your phone and take a photo of the image below to instantly add me to your Snapchat friends! Or add me the old fashioned way 🙂
I’ll be sharing behind the scenes photos and videos of me cooking, working on my blog, working out, and probably lots of super cute pictures of my corgi, Teddy!
Snapchat: @EatRabbitFood

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Rosemary Coconut Stove Top Sweet Potatoes

My schedule has been insane recently. I feel like this is the first time in a while that I’ve actually slept in my own bed for more than 3 nights in a row! I feel so lucky that I get to travel for my job, and that my job allows me to travel for leisure as well. Last week I made a very last minute unexpected trip to Chicago to see Matt, and the week before that I was in Seattle with my momma!

Matt-and-I-Chicago-February-2015
So I originally posted about this recipe back in August when I was in New York – I know, it took me long enough, right? While I was in NY, my friend Dominique and her roommate Kat made me these Sweet Potatoes for dinner and I was obsessed! This was the first time I had seen someone cook sweet potatoes over the stove, and it changed my life! Cooking sweet potatoes over the stove is so easy and pretty much fool proof!

Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-1 Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-2 Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-3 Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-4 Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-5 I have an induction stove that ranges from heat level 1-9 and I left it on level 5 for the duration of my cooking time. My potatoes cooked perfectly in 13 minutes! Of course the cooking time varies depending on the size of your potato and pan. If you potato is larger, you can add 1 tsp more of coconut oil.

Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-10Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-6 Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-7 Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-8 Rosemary-Coconut-Stove-Top-Sweet-Potatoes-9
Rosemary Coconut Stove Top Sweet Potatoes
Serves 2

1 sweet potato
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/8 tsp sea salt

Wash and dry sweet potato. Cube sweet potato into about 1 inch pieces. Place cubed sweet potato, coconut oil, rosemary, crushed garlic, and sea salt into a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until sweet potato is evenly coated in the coconut oil and herb mixture. Cover for 12 minutes and stir occasionally (about every 2 minutes). Continue cooking until sweet potato is soft or desired texture is reached (12-15 minutes). Serve immediately.

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown:
Produce: none
Whole Grain: Sweet potato*
Protein: none
Plant Based Fat: Coconut oil

*So I get asked fairly often if a potato counts as produce under The Rabbit Food Pyramid. While yes, a potato is classified as a vegetable it is also considered a “starchy food.” I know that a potato is not a whole grain, but I would put potatoes in the whole grain category since this is where the starchy foods like breads and rice fit into the puzzle. Basically, if you are trying to lose weight, I would try to avoid creating meals that combine potato as your vegetable serving, and then rice as your whole grain serving since it makes for a starchy, heavy meal. Something more appropriate and balanced would be a green vegetable salad with mushrooms and bell peppers as your vegetable serving and potato as your whole grain or starch serving! Or even red bell peppers as your vegetable serving stuffed with sweet potatoes as your whole grain/starch serving! I hope this helps you to better understand how to create balanced meals with the pyramid, and to see why certain foods are in the categories they are!

Rabbit Food Meal Tip: Complete this meal with a salad of 1.5 cups field greens, 1/4 cup of chopped mushrooms, and 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper as your vegetable serving, and 1/2 cup cooked lentils as your protein serving tossed with balsamic vinegar!

20 Medjool Date Recipes // National #MedjoolDateDay

Today is National Medjool Date Day! To celebrate this naturally sweet holiday, I’ve gathered all of my super sweet recipes for you! I knew I used Medjool dates a lot, but WOW, I didn’t realize just how often I used them in my recipes! As you guys know, you will never find any recipes containing refined sugar on my blog, so Medjool dates make the perfect choice for most of my creations!

If you didn’t already know about Nature’s power fruit…
Natural Delights™ Medjool Dates, named an official “heart healthy” food by the American Heart Association, are low-medium on the glycemic index and packed full of fiber and potassium (50% more, by weight, than a banana) – making them perfect for boosting energy, satisfying hunger and helping with muscle recovery. Their caramel-like taste, consistency and natural sweetness gives them an advantage over refined sugars in recipes and pre- and post-workout snacks. Medjool dates are also gluten-free, Vegan, Halal and Kosher, making them perfect for nearly every diet.

Explore all of my sweet & savory Medjool date recipes, plus scroll all the way to the bottom for information about tonight’s #MedjoolDateDay Twitter Party brought to you by @NDmedjooldates for a fun Medjool convo with fellow blogger and host @CoryanneEttiene and a chance to win some awesome prizes (um, I heard there’s really cool fitness gear!) from Natural Delights™ Medjool Dates!

Meddjol-Dates-Lightened-Up-Date-ShakeLightened Up Date Shake

Medjool-Date-BBQ-SauceMedjool Date BBQ Sauce

Medjool-Date-Black-Bean-BrowniesBlack Bean Brownies

Medjool-Date-Brownie-BitesRaw Brownie Bites
Medjool-Date-Caramel-Date-SauceCaramel Date Sauce

Medjool-Date-Cashew-Cookie-Larabr{Copycat} Cashew Cookie Larabars
Medjool-Date-Chocolate-Chip-Chickpea-CookiesChocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies

Medjool-Date-Chocomole-1Chocomole

Medjool-Date-Crunchy-Chia-BitesCrunchy Chia Energy Bites

Medjool-Date-Espresso-Chocolate-Avocado-Mousse-6Espresso Chocolate Mousse

Medjool-Date-Hail-To-the-Kale-Salad-DressingHail To the Kale Salad & Dressing

Medjool-Date-Healthy-Chocolate-Chip-Cookie-Dough-DipHealthy Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Medjool-Date-Mini-Vegan-Pumpkin-Pies-1Mini Vegan Pumpkin Pies

Medjool-Date-Olive-Date-Tapenade-1Olive Date Tapenade

Medjool-Date-Peanute-Butte-rand-Jelly-SmoothiePB&J Medjool Date Smoothie

Medjool-Date-Raw-BitesRaw Bites

Medjool-Date-Raw-Gingerbread-MenRaw Gingerbread Men

Medjool-Date-Valentines-Day-Cookie-SandwichesValentine’s Day Cookie Sandwiches

Medjool-Date-Vegan-Banana-BreadVegan Banana Bread

Medjool-Date-Vegan-EggnogVegan Eggnog

National-Medjool-Date-Dat-2015-Twitter-Party

To mark the holiday, Natural Delights™ is partnering with blogger and power-Tweeter Coryanne Ettiene for a one-hour Twitter party TODAY Feb. 4 at 5pm PST/8pm EST. Guests who participate in the conversation by tagging @CoryanneEttiene, @NDMedjoolDates and using #MedjoolDateDay will have the opportunity to win more than $1,200 in fitness prizes, as well as downloading recently added recipes.

Don’t forget to tag @NDMedjoolDates@CoryanneEttiene and use #MedjoolDateDay!!!

Dole Super Bowl Superfood Smoothies + Giveaway

I feel obligated to start off this post by telling you that I am writing to you from Seahawks territory. Yes, I am in the hawk’s nest (Seattle). I flew here on the big hawk this afternoon, but rest assured my blog is Super Bowl neutral, and I am not a 12th man! I mean, I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials (anyone else guilty?)!

Funny story, when boarding my plane in Orange County, the person at the front of the gate announced over the speaker system “Anyone wearing a Russell Wilson, jersey may now board the plane” ahead of all of the general boarding passengers. And then after the 2 people with Russell Wilson jerseys boarded the plane, she announced “Anyone in Seahawks apparel may now board the plane!” I should’ve worn 12th man gear. I wouldn’t gotten better overhead bin space. DARN IT!

Dole-Super-Bowl-Superfood-Smoothies-Seahawks-Smoothie-Patriots-Smoothie-4 Dole-Super-Bowl-Superfood-Smoothies-Seahawks-Smoothie-Patriots-Smoothie-2Dole-Super-Bowl-Superfood-Smoothies-Seahawks-Smoothie-Patriots-Smoothie-3

We all know the Super Bowl usually consists of watching the game, drinking beer, eating burgers or pizza, and tons of chips, salsa, and junk food, but I am here to change that, starting by using the best fat burner! I mean, how cute are these Super Bowl team rivalry smoothies? Even if you’re going to snack during the game, at least give your team some good juju and start your morning off right with a Super Bowl Superfood Smoothie for your team!

I love combining fruits and veggies together in my smoothies and juices, and Dole has a huge variety of fresh fruits and fresh vegetables to choose from to make juicing and smoothie making simple and easy!

Seahawks Blue
1 cup Dole Blueberries
1 handful of Dole Baby Spinach
1/2 Dole Banana
1/4 cup coconut water
1/4 cup almond milk

Seahawks Green
1 huge handful Dole Baby Spinach
1 cup Dole Pineapple
1/2 Dole Banana
1/4 cup orange juice

Patriots Red
1 cup Dole Strawberries
1/2 cup Dole Raspberries
1/2 Dole Banana
1/2 cup orange juice

Patriots Blue
1 cup Dole Blueberries
1 handful of Dole Power Up Greens™ Baby Kale
1/2 Dole Banana
1/4 cup coconut water
1/4 cup almond milk

The trick to making layered smoothies is using the least amount of liquid as possible. You want each smoothie to be extra thick so that they can sit on top of each other without the colors mixing into each other. Less liquid is better. Think of a soft serve consistency.

DOLE_Dole-Tonic-and-Running-Man-Recipe
Dole has two brand new Get Up and Grow healthy juice and smoothie recipes combining both Dole fresh fruits and Dole fresh vegetables! Click the links to get the new free recipes for the Running Man and Dole Tonic!

Now it’s your chance to win some Dole goodies!
Dole love love loves my readers and giving you guys awesome prizes, and this one makes me so happy because it includes one of my favorite books “365 Smoothies” by one of my close friends Kathy Patalsky from Healthy Happy Life!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Must use a valid email address to enter. Must be a US resident to enter. Giveaway ends on Sunday, February 1st at 11:59 PM (PST). 1 winner will be randomly selected and announced on Monday, February 2nd.

This post has been sponsored by Dole. I received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

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