Thursday, August 21, 2008

you only see what you want to see, nothing less, nothing more

So I leave tomorrow to go back to philly. I'm really hopeing that I'll be able to cook and blog as much..I'll definitely be reading everyone else's though, so i'm sure that will inspire me to get in the kitchen. My classes for this semester start up on Monday.. not to mention on my 20th birthday unfortunately.. haha but hopefully they won't be too bad this semester :)

So I went to Vitamin World the other day to look for a new vitamin. I ended up getting the Vitamin Code ones. They're all raw and they seem to be a good pick. Only down side of it is that you have to take four of them a day..that seems a bit odd to me, but we'll see. Also while I was there I picked up two raw nutrition bars. One was the Raw Revolution brand, in chocolate cashew. I wasn't a huge fan.. it wasn't bad, I could eat it..but it was just very bland and boring. I also got a Raw Organic Power Bar in the chocolate coconut, and I did prefer this one over the other. But still, nothing too fabulous. I'd rather stick to Luna bars. :)


Okay so yeah my vitamins are in the background. But in the glass is pure awesomeness. I was thinking the other day about the new Starbucks drinks, the chocolate banana energy one..and thinking that without the whey, and plus the soy milk, it could be vegan. Welll... also realizing that I had all the ingredients on hand already, I made one myself and it was soo good.

Banana Chocolate Drink
1 banana
1 T cocoa powder (more if you want it chocolateyy)
1/2 cup soy milk
5-6 ice cubes
Sweetener, if you so desire.. i didn't and it was fine.

Put it all in a blender and pulse to blend the ice cubes. Add sweetener if needed, or even some peanut butter if you're feeling super fancy ;) Not to mention, the way written above, is all about 100 calories...depending on what kind of soy milk you used! (i used light 8th continent..so 1/2 cup was only 30 calories)
It's just such a simple drink that I love and found really refreshing.

Let's see, also for dinner the other night I made TLT's(tempeh lettuce tomato!) using Fat Free Vegan's "bacon" tempeh recipe.




I would like to ask for a bit of advice though. This is the second time that I've tried to cook tempeh and marinate it and such. The other try was using Veganomicon's hot sauce glazed tempeh. And I mean, the tempeh is always quite delicious. But honestly, I don't really feel like it marinades correctly for me. I never really taste the marinade distinctly..more just like plain tempeh. The recipe on fat free vegan was to marinate it for at least 20 minutes, which i did for about 25-30 minutes just in case. Also, I steamed it at the beginning for 15 minutes, which she said would let it marinate better.. but i still feel like the taste isnt that distinct. Any ideas? :)
Dont get me wrong, these sandwiches rocked though!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

100 calories! What a steal! Banana + chocolate = heaven.
Sorry I can't help you out with your tempeh conundrum--it's never been my speciality.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Yeah, I've heard before that those Raw Revolution bars are pretty nasty. I stick to MY obsession = Larabars. Six ingredients or less, with no added "nonsense ingredients."

Sounds like a great beverage!

Anonymous said...

I agree with Veggiegirl, Larabar bet out all other raw bars! :)

I wish they did make vegan versions of those new starbucks drinks, your looks delicious!

I've only try to make tempeh once,and it turned out pretty bad so I can't offer any advice. :(

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I'm really bad at marinating tempeh! Last time I tried, I burned it :o/

Anonymous said...

I started taking these Women's vitamins a few days ago (same brand). From what I've learned, whole foods supplements are like having the nutrients of 4 small meals per day. You wouldn't eat once a day, so why take a vitamin once a day.

I love what I'm feeling so far-I have a renewed energy only after a few days of taking it! I've actually mixed it into my smoothies. They smell yummy when you open them!

Bianca said...

On the tempeh, I steam first for 15-20 minutes, and then I always marinate overnight. The recipes always say 30 minutes is okay, but 30 minutes never works for me either.

I've made the Hot Glazed Tempeh this way, and my own recipe for tempeh bacon. The overnight method really locks in the flavor, just takes a little more prep ahead time.

Anonymous said...

I've never cooked with tempeh but your sandwich looks delicious!

tofufreak said...

I really am enjoying the looks of your drink. it looks quite awesome, and for 100 cals, what could be better?

sorry, can't help ya much in the area of tempeh. I usually just let mine marinate overnight after steaming, but i don't know if you have that much time.

Hope you do well in Philly!

Hungry Hungry Dancer said...

Ive tried some raw revolution bars... and i must say im not a huge fan. I tried one that was pumpkin seeds (among other things) but other than those YUCK!

happy 20th birthday!! enjoy it despite your school day :)

alaina said...

i always make a choco-banana drink just like that! it goes awesome with pb&j ;)

Erin said...

Those vitamins sound interesting. I tend to change brand of vitamins every time I run out cause I haven't found one I love yet. The ones I have right now, the serving is SIX a day. And they're big pills too. But six of them will provide thousands of percent of some vitamins, so I've been taking one or two and assuming that will supplement what I'm eating.

For marinating tempeh, I might suggest slicing it thinner if possible. That way there's more surface area to marinate compared to insides, which won't really suck it up. Also, if you slice more thinly for bacon style tempeh, it will crisp up a little bit on the edges. Hope that helps!