Thursday, May 30, 2013

Pinterest Fail or Prevail: Chia Seed Pudding

I live in a very rural town. We have two grocery stores. Not much selection. At all. So, when Mike and I were driving through Charlottesville, VA on our way back from vacation I stopped by Wholefoods and bought some Chia Seed. I have heard great things about this wonder seed so I wanted to see for myself.


I made this chia seed pudding from the Baltic Maid's blog.

I would say this was a prevail. It had the consistency of tapioca pudding, which is a personal favorite of mine. I would say that this recipe is a bit large for one meal. So I am now cutting it in half for breakfast and I add about a half cup of frozen blueberries to it.

Again, if you have a very sensitive tummy, like me, this one takes a bit of getting used to. Also it is a strange texture (slimy and crunchy) so that might cause aversions for some.

Chia Seed offers a good dose of sticker shock, but a little bit goes along way. 1/8 of a cup is all you need.

If you don't like it, you can always make Chia Pets with your left over seeds.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Pinterest Fail or Prevail: Kale Salad

Everywhere on Pinterest I see kale this & kale that.

Varieties of kale are growing in my garden as we speak, so, I have been wanting to explore recipes for this amazing super leaf! Last night I tried this Better-than-Trader Joe's-Kale Salad. It started off as a Pinterest Prevail, then by the end of the night it was a Pinterest Fail.

(Photo by original blogger)


Let me explain the fail portion: I have a sensitive digestive system and the kale was a bit too much for it.  I thought I was safe because I used baby kale. Not the case. So next time I will have to chop and steam the kale a bit. It was delicious enough for a "next time".

Here is the original recipe:

Dressing:
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 4 tablespoons EVOO
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • ¾ teaspoon dried Italian herbs
  • ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
Salad
  • 4 cups of finely chopped kale
  • 1 can of rinsed and drained chickpea
  • 2/3 cup of dried cranberries (rehydrated)
  • 1 cup of prepared edamame bean
  • Some mint and basil
  • Carrot Shreds
  • Garnish with cherry tomatoes and slivered almonds 

You pretty much just toss it all together.

Of course I did "this and that" with the recipe. I omitted the carrots and added green onions. Instead of almonds I added pumpkin seeds (quickly becoming my new favorite snack.) Then I added white balsamic vinegar to the dressing.

I spent April just eating away. Chips, pizza, DQ Blizzards, you know, the works. My poor digestive system was in tangles by the end of the month. So my goal for May is to eat as raw and as veggieful as possible.

I made these raw beauties last night too to help me fight my desire for an Oreo Blizzard: German Chocolate Fudge Bites. Three words: OH MY GOODNESS! (Double the recipe, I think it processes better. Also, I bought Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder, which I think is much better than Hershey's original cocoa powder.)

Happy raw eating!