"Cheesy" Kale Chips

Vegan cheese is very good. I have been obsessed with Quite Cheesy Kale Krunch for some time now, but at $6 for a 2oz bag... it didn't seem like a wise investment for a poor college kid.

So, I searched the internet near and far for a recipe in order to recreate my own "cheesy" kale goodness. (And by "cheesy" I mean to imply that there is no dairy involved here.)

I stumbled upon this recipe, and while I enjoyed it, I was still seeking a flavor more similar to the Kale Krunch version. So using the recipe I found on Pinterest as inspiration, I created my own version, and I am pleased to say it tastes exactly like my beloved Quite Cheesy Kale Krunch.

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Kale

1 1/2 c. Cashews

1 small Red Bell Pepper

2/3 c. Nutritional Yeast (this is NOT baker's yeast)

Juice of 1 Lemon

2 cloves Garlic

1-2 tsp. Pink Himalayan Salt

1-2 Tbsp Chia Seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Soak cashews in water for a minimum of 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

3. Wash and dry kale. Tear into pieces, removing large stems.

4. Drain soaked cashews and pour into a food processor.

5. Remove stem and seeds of bell pepper, adding it to food processor, along with the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and chia seeds. Blend until an orange paste is formed.

6. Generously massage the vegan cheese spread onto the kale leaves.

7. Spread the leaves out onto a nonstick pan sprayed with cooking spray.

8. Cook in preheated oven for approximately 1 hour (It may be more or less depending on how spread out and how small the leaves are; the chips are done when they are crispy to touch, but the cheese has not turned a dark brown color)

9. Let cool before storing in an airtight container.

Enjoy!! I literally have a hard time not eating the whole batch! They taste exactly like Cheez-It's to me!

Raw Zucchini "Pasta"

I have seen this idea of shaved zucchini substituting pasta for a while now, and I have been wanting to give it a try. I had found a couple recipes, but I ended up just concocting my own creation with what I had, and it turned out very delicious!

Ingredients:
2 Shredded Zucchinis
4 tsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic
1.5 tsp Basil
1 Diced Tomato
1/4 c. Chopped Red Onion
Salt and Pepper to taste

First I combined all the ingredients except the zucchini into a bowl and stirred it until it become a sort of sauce. Then I took a vegetable peeler and peeled off the skin of both zucchinis. After throwing away the skin, I continued to use the peeler to create thin strips resembling pasta. I peeled until it got down to the core of the zucchini, and then I threw the rest away so that the strips wouldn't have lots of little seeds. Then I poured the olive oil mixture over the zucchini and stirred it all together!

Extremely simple. A light and refreshing summer meal.

I ran 3 miles today and it was in the mid 90's, making me never want to run again. Haha, too bad I'm training for a half marathon and I can't stop now!!

For the Love of Greens

I have been obsessed with spinach for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty sure one of my birthday wishes when I turned 13 was to have an entire plate of spinach for dinner. I'm not sure if I ever got that wish, but I sure satisfied my love for greens with last night's dinner.

Fresh beet greens, spinach, guacamole, and collards. I have never had a more delicious meal. All the greens and the avocado were from local farm stands in New Hampshire. This was seriously the best spinach I have ever had in my life.

All the greens were topped with vinegar and salt (my favorite) and then the guacamole was made with 1/2 an avocado, a dollop of salsa, salt, pepper, and lime juice. It's even better if it has chopped cilantro and red onion. 

What am I going to do when I go back to North Carolina and I don't have access to all this fresh deliciousness?? I need to start my own garden...

New Hampshire

I finally made it to the part of summer I have been waiting for: my 3 week trip to New Hampshire!! I love New Hampshire so much because I get to see all my cousins and eat tons of fresh veggies from all the local farm stands. Not to mention the weather is much cooler, so I can finally begin training for the Ramblin' Rose Half Marathon, which is speedily approaching. I took this past month off from jogging because it was getting really boring for me and starting to feel like a chore, so instead I did HIIT training on the treadmill to stay in shape.

It is really interesting how you can feel "in shape" in some areas, but completely "out of shape" in other areas. For example, I can probably chest press, bicep curl, or squat the same weight that I could when I was training for volleyball back in high school, and I can do 20 minutes of interval sprints without dying. I guess I would consider that "in shape," but now that I am trying to start training for another half marathon it is so weird because I feel "out of shape" for long distance running. I also have NEVER felt comfortable doing workout routines that do light weights and tons of repetitions. I feel the burn, but I would much rather fail with heavy weights after 10 reps then do like 123984123 reps until I pass out. Not fun at all... I'd rather be "strong" then "toned."

Moving on...

After my cousin Sarah and I ran a few errands we stopped at Harlow Farmstand to pick up a few vegetables. We got fresh beets, beet greens, zucchini, and a box of raspberries. 

This picture was originally posted on my Instagram account. You can follow me at lalalaurenhub :)

For dinner last night I diced up the zucchini and we made Clean Eating Lemon Zucchini Chicken. We had this along with our beets and beet greens. I absolutely adore fresh vegetables. 

I recently saw this recipe on Pinterest for Protein Pancakes, so I made them for Sarah and I to have for lunch yesterday. They are loaded with protein and taste very delicious. We topped them with 2 tablespoons peanut butter.

By the way, I am obsessed with Pinterest. So please follow me here!!

Directions:

Just dump all the ingredients in a blender and blend until it starts to look like regular pancake batter. Then spray some cooking spray on a pan and cook over medium high heat, flipping when bubbles appear. Makes 2 six inch pancakes.

We finished the night off with a relaxing 2 mile walk...

I saw this little chipmunk on the way :)

Have a great Tuesday and Happy Fourth of July Eve!!