FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

The Photogenic Vegan BLT (VLT)

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“Work it…  Work it!”.  Words that almost came out of my mouth as I was shooting this sandwich.  This new found sort of like of tomatoes really works out well in the photo department.  Red on a sandwich is totally beautiful.

Vegan BLT

Vegan was the mission tonight.  It’s hard to believe that this used to be the mission almost every night (I’ve been off and on veg for as long as I can remember).  But tonight, vegan and Nasoya’s new Nayonaise, were the mission.  Oh and forcing down some tomatoes – that was part of the mission too!

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This VLT consisted of Whole Foods Seeduction bread slathered with Nayonaise and topped with toasted Smart Bacon, romaine lettuce, and sliced beefsteak tomatoes.  I’ll be honest, the meat-eater me would have been soooo much happier with legit bacon.  But bacon/faux bacon aside, this sandwich was all sorts of hearty goodness tied together perfectly with Nayonaise.  I’m looking forward to putting this stuff to work in some Easter potato salad this weekend!

Forcing The Conversion

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Lately, it seems as though I’m awfully committed to being a tomato liker.  When I was home for Christmas, I ordered a caprese-esque dish from Food + Drink Lab.  Shortly after, I asked my roommate to make a caprese salad for New Year’s Eve dinner.  Over the weekend, I ate tomato on a sandwich on purpose.  And tonight, a caprese salad was once again on my mind.

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I picked up a vine of yellow tomatoes at the market, hoping that their lack of redness meant a less tomato-y flavor.

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I made a super simple balsamic reduction by bringing 1/2 cup balsamic and 1 teaspoon sugar to a boil and whisking until thick.  And then I assembled: yellow tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, balsamic reduction, fresh basil.

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I was severely wrong about the yellow tomatoes being less tomato-y.  They were super seedy/slimy in the middle, but I forced myself to eat them anyway, hoping each tomato experience will bring me closer to that like feeling.  I ate a plate full and then brought the rest up the hill to the boys.  They mounged, they approved.

Bulk Madness

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The bulk section at Central Market is one of my favorite places on earth.  Not only does it have everything you could ever want, but you can get the exact quantity that you need for cheap, cheap, cheap.  And today, it also served as my inspiration for some portable, protein-filled snacks for work this week.

Almonds, macadamia nuts, golden flax seeds, chocolate chunks, rascherries (dried raspberries+cherries=rascherries), oh my!

FoodFash Protein Balls (Take #1) yields 20ish balls

1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled

1/2 cup almond slivers

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

1/2 cup golden flax seeds

1 cup rascherries (or another dried fruit)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a food processor, pulse chop almonds and macadamia nuts until they are finely chopped.  In a medium sized bowl, stir together nuts, flax seeds and cooled quinoa.  Place dried fruit in the food processor and process until smooth.  Add the fruit to the other ingredients and use a fork to stir and mash until everything is evenly mixed.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Use a 1 tablespoon measure to scoop mixture, form into balls, and place on a cookie sheet.  Chill for 1 to 2 hours and store in an air-tight container.

Tons of protein, a good dose of fiber, and a pop of sweetness are what these balls are all about.  All of this makes me super excited to bring them to work tomorrow because I just know they’ll save my life around 3 PM when I start to get that sleepy feeling.

Tis The Season For A @NatureBox Giveaway

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As soon as we opened our FoodBuzz Fest swag bags, we had a hunch that whatever was in the big box was going to be our favorite.  Bigger equals better, right?  But honestly, we spent little time swag bag sorting and, instead, packed our treats away and spent our time galavanting around and eating our way through San Fran.

Fast forward a couple weeks to Halloween when candy posts dominated every ounce of social media feeds which caused me to frantically search through my cabinets for anything that would satisfy my jealousy-induced sweet tooth.  I spotted my NatureBox treats, popped a few fancy clusters in my mouth, raised my hands in the air for a mini “hurrah!” moment, finished half of the bag, and then, naturally, tweeted my excitement.

The folks at NatureBox promptly responded to my tweet asking if FoodFash readers would be interested in a giveaway.  Surely they would.  And what they’d be even more interested in this holiday season would be two Nature Boxes:  one for themselves and one for a friend.  They loved the idea!

Each Nature Box includes 4 to 6 packages of delish snacks ranging from granola, clusters, trail mix, fruits, and nuts.  And when you fall in love with your Nature Box, you can easily sign up for Nature Box delivery for months to come.

Here’s how to win a NatureBox for you and a friend!

Contest Entry Instructions:

Each of the steps below will count as one contest entry, with a maximum of 5 entries per person.  The contest will run between now and 8PM CST on Tuesday, November 27th.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry as each individual comment represents a number and a random number generator will be used to select the winner.

1.  Leave a comment on this post letting me know your favorite snack food.

2.  Follow me on Facebook and leave a comment on this post indicating you have done so.

3.  Follow NatureBox on Facebook and leave a comment on this post indicating you have done so.

4.  Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment on this post indicating you have done so.

5.  Follow NatureBox on Twitter and leave a comment on this post indicating you have done so.

 

The winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 28th.

Best of luck to you all!

(photo source)