Customization & Options!

There are so many things I have been wanting to update you all on but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it YET.  One of these days I will but not today.  Today I would rather blog about better things.  One of them being a new(er) business that is in town.  I mentioned it yesterday but I thought I would expand on that today!

The business is called Total Evolution Cafe & Smoothie Lounge.  This place offers a LOT!  There is a core group of people that attend exercise classes there.  Some of the classes that I have been seeing info about are Kettlebells, Dance, Kickboxing, Tabata, Circuit Training, PiYo, Cardio, etc.

In addition to the classes they have a Cafe.  Here is one of the things I ordered yesterday.  It was from the Build Your Own Rice Bowl Option.

Here is what I chose of this bowl...Rice, Tempeh, BBQ Chickpeas, Avocado, Carrots, Sprouts, Marinated Mushrooms, and I ordered their vegan ranch but I think they forgot it.  It was pretty good.  I LOVE that they have Build Your Own Wraps and Rice Bowls.  They have some non-vegan items but are VERY vegan friendly and knowledgeable.  I can't wait to go back there and try something different!  I'm totally digging this place because of the way you can customize.

I couldn't resist trying their Avocado Toast.  I enjoy putting mashed Avocado on toast and bagels whenever I can but the price of Avocados have been INSANE lately on the local level.  So I do try and get something while ordering out.  This is their take on Avocado Toast.  It's on Super Grain Bread with Avocado, Tomato, Maple Mustard, and Salt and Pepper.  There was only a pinch of salt and for that I'm grateful - you know that I'm not much of a salt person.

Some of the other things I found interesting on the menu were Chia Pudding made with Coconut Milk...Super Food Energy Balls, Smoothie Bowls, Fresh Fruit Cups, Shakes, Juices, MANY Menu Wraps in addition to the Build Your Own.

I'm going to try their Oatmeal Bar one of these days!  Hot cereal of your choice with about 22 different toppings to choose from.

I grabbed this photo from their social media because I forgot to take a pic of it before I ate it last week.  I can't remember what they called it and it wasn't on their menu from what I could see.

This wrap had Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Carrots, Sprouts, Greens, Beets, Beet Hummus, and 2 dressings that they made in-house which was the Vegan Ranch combined with the Greek Balsamic type dressing.  It was AWESOME!

So YEAH...needless to say I will be frequenting this place often.  LOTS of options and LOTS of ways to incorporate different foods in different ways.  PLUS they have healthy snacks!  YAY!

Not to mention some of the things you can buy in their shop!  I'll save that for another day!

Blissful Dehydrating Journey ~ Dried CHIPS ~ 3 ways!

Happy Wednesday!  I have a few things to share with you today including these three Dehydrated Ideas and Recipes!  Yes, I have been busy with my Early Christmas Gift...my new Excalibur Dehydrator!  First up...Corn Chips!  Or Corn Tortillas that I made at home!  Here's what I used...
4 C Corn
1/4 C Flax Seeds (Grinded Myself)
3 Small Sweet Yellow Bell Peppers
1 Small Onion
1/2 tea Cumin
1/2 tea Cayenne

I also added 1/2 T of Garden of Life's Original Flavor of their Raw Perfect Food!  These turned out really good...especially for my first attempt.  Next time I think I will add some Lime Juice and also make the 'batter' thicker as these were pretty thin.

Next up...Sea Salt & Vinegar Zucchini Chips!

3 Small or Mini Zuke's
1 T Wildtree Basil Pesto Grapeseed Oil
2 T Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tea Garlic Flavored Sea Salt (or Sea Salt - plain)

These were neat, too, but next time I will be adding more Apple Cider Vinegar as I LOVE vinegar.

And finally, I made these Banana Chips for my husband and my sister as they both love bananas.  Many of you know my trials and tribulations with bananas so I haven't tried them YET but I might get brave SOON!  I have been doing well with 1/4 to 1/2 of a banana that has already been frozen added to my smoothies, tho, so I am pretty proud about that! 

I didn't do ANYTHING to these Banana Slices...they are naked and dried as-is.

Question of the Day...What do you think I should try dehydrating next?

Feel Good Mint Chocolate Berry Sorbet

This morning this started off as a smoothie but the more I thought about it I wanted it to be more of a Sorbet of sorts.  I made a rather large batch and froze it.  The texture was VERY thick and creamy!  More importantly it was AWESOMELY Flavorful and I can see myself making this more often that is for sure!

I have a few Secret Ingredients in this as well!  WHY!?  Well, I added a little bit of the Super Orange Emergen-C like I did in my previous post trying to fight off potential sniffles!  I THINK I have been successful!  I believe I nipped it in the bud pretty early!  I rarely get sick!  It used to be that I got 4 head colds a year when I was a kid.  When I turned 15 and went VEG I only got one every couple of years.  For the past SEVERAL Years I haven't had ANY Head Colds at all!  I didn't want to ruin my streak so I started pumping up on some foods I knew were helpful as well as a little extra Emergen-C.  Here is the recipe for this Refreshing and Healthy Treat...

1 C Hemp Milk
1 C Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk
1/2 Frozen Banana
12-Ounce Package of Frozen Fruit including Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, and Raspberries
1 Packet of Emergen-C Super Orange
1 Scoop of Garden Of Life's Yerba Mate Energizer Perfect Food

I will mostly snack on this in the evenings for a while.  I might also use it in smoothies a scoop or two at a time!  FUNNY...I used to hate being in the kitchen and was so 'challenged' when it came to cooking and such but I have been enjoying myself quite a bit the last year to year and a half since going Dairy-Free (Veg*n).

Bites of Bliss - Carob Almond Butter Bites, Sunridge Farms Almond Butter & Cranberry Power Chews, New Earth Banana Walnut Bites

I've been stock piling some product reviews the last several months and I want to start sharing more of them with you!

I thought I would start off with 3 of them...first with this one...Bites of Bliss - Carob Almond Butter Bites!  I have reviewed the other products from Bites Of Bliss and I have LOVED everything I have tried!  One of the main reasons being that their products are WYSIWYG and many of you know that stands for What You See Is What You Get.  I think that should pertain to the foods we eat, too!  Meaning...when you look at it...you can see and identify most if not all of the ingredients.  Speaking of ingredients here is what you can expect from this gem of a product from Bites of Bliss...Organic raw dates, organic raw walnuts, organic raw almond butter, organic raw hemp seeds, organic raw carob powder, organic coconut oil, organic vanilla extract.

ORGANIC � RAW � VEGAN � GLUTEN FREE � DAIRY FREE � SOY FREE � NO ADDED SUGARS

As for my personal findings on this product I found it to be quite chocolatey tasting from the Carob, of course!  It was also nutty.  The vanilla contributed to the sweetness and a bit of creaminess while nibbling on this circle-shaped treat.  It has a gentle crispy crunch to it, too!  Not saying that it would be hard for someone 'watching their teeth' like my mother, for example.  If you only eat softer foods you wouldn't have a problem consuming this item!  The gentle crispy crunch is from the nuts and seeds.  The walnuts are easy to chew and are a good-size...they certainly didn't skimp on them!  The sweetness also seems to come from the Carob as well as the dates.  This is TOTALLY YUM and leaves no unpleasant aftertaste.

 Another healthy snack that disappeared from my stash a while back were these little "chews" and they were FAB.

Sunridge Farms Almond Butter & Cranberry Power Chews!  YUMMO!  This isn't the bag that I received it was one I saw online so I think they had a repackaging plan going on when I received them but I didn't mind at all!  It's what's on the inside that counts.

The gentle Almond Butter Flavor really shined here!  It has a slight tartness to it which I REALLY liked - and - you guess it - the tarty flavor is from those little cranberries!  These are not vegan because they contain honey so if you are "Apia" or "Apian" Vegan this might fit into that category a bit better by definition, I suppose.  These are chewy, sweet, nutty, fruity, crispy, with a hint of saltiness to them.  They leave you with a creamy/sweet after taste which is very pleasant.  These pack a powerful punch, too!  There is no need to sit there and eat the whole bag!  2 or 3 will do you just fine!

 

 And for my 3rd and final Snack Review today...this one might surprise you...but they are Banana Walnut Bites from New Earth.  WHY might this surprise you?  Well...I HATE bananas!!!!  Seriously can't stand them.  But I do know how good they are for you and I WANT to like them, I do!  It took me a day or two to appreciate the flavor of these - ONLY because they TOTALLY tasted like Banana!  But...After a day or two I found myself craving them, really!  Which was very surprising yet pleasing to me!  YAY!  These are Raw and Vegan and a wonderful snack!  They use Activated Walnuts, here.  They are sweet and crunchy.  Because of the flavor combo, here, they DO taste like Banana Nut Bread but in a flavored Walnut!  It's GENIUS, really!

The next time you are looking for some different snacks to try - look for these little guys!  They are VERY impressive!