Mail Time: Graze Box #3

What's in my box this time?

This time I got My Thai, Seedsational, Chocolate Orange Flapjack & Trail Mix.

MY THAI: These are soy bites with sweet chili sauce.  There's only 84 calories in the little package, which is always a plus.  I am, however, a little disappointed to see that the protein content is so low for a snack containing soy.  They were, however, very tasty and savory, and there was plenty of sauce in the container, so I finished it with some mini pretzels I had.

Breakdown:
Calories: 84 k
Fat: 1.18g
Carbohydrates: 17.6g
Protein: 0.605g (>1g)

SEEDSATIONAL:  This is a mix of pumpkin and sunflower seeds that have been tossed in a soy sauce blend.  I am excited about this blend, because both pumpkin & sunflower seeds are incredibly nutritient dense and rich in things like b vitamins, vitamin e, calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, iron, zinc, and omega fatty acids.

Breakdown:
Calories: 202k
Fat:  16.1g
Carbohydrates: 7.07g
Protein: 6.97g

CHOCOLATE ORANGE FLAPJACK: This is an oat flapjack with orange and chocolate.  These are amazing flavor profiles to mix, and can lend themselves to both savory and sweet.  This, however, was definitely a sweet treat.  It was so tasty I found myself very sad when it was all gone.  This is something I would definitely buy at the store to keep in the pantry to satisfy cookie cravings.

Breakdown:
Calories: 244k
Fat:  12.9g
Carbohydrates:  29.2g
Protein: 2.7g

TRAIL MIX: This was a fun combination of peanuts, hazelnuts, cranberries and jumbo raisins.  It was a tasty little snack and the flavors complimented each other perfectly.  This would definitely be a great boost during a hike or a busy day, but not a stationary snack.  I was happy that it had 4g of protein, though.

Breakdown:
Calories: 177k
Fat: 11.2g
Carbohydrates: 15.3g
Protein: 4.02g

Want to try Graze?  Here's a friend code here, here, and if those are gone, they created a unique code for my readers; BETHSNACK.

Breakfast Smoothie: Chocolate Banana

I love making this for breakfast. It's super fast & easy, and I know I'm getting a nice boost of protein, simple carbohydrates, and some good fat from the hemp to start my day.

Ingredients:

• 1 c almond milk* (vanilla, unsweetened)
• 1 tbsp raw agave nectar
• 1 tbsp raw cacao nibs (could also use cacao powder)
• 1 tbsp raw supergreens
• 4 tbsp raw hemp protein powder
• 1 medium-large banana (frozen is best)
• 1 c spinach (also best frozen)

Directions:
With my Ninja, I prefer to use the small blending cup when I'm doing single servings (this is about 2 cups blended).  I put in my milk first, followed by my banana, my powders & cacao nibs, and top everything with the spinach.  I start off using the dough button (#1) for about 5-10 seconds, then bump it up to blend (#2) for 10-20 seconds, followed by about 10 seconds on crush (#3) to break down the cacao nibs.

Pour into a glass & enjoy!

*not a raw food, though you could make it yourself!

In My Pantry: Raw Vegan Protein & Meal Replacer

I'm presently still stuck on the Garden of Life RAW Meal, this time in Vanilla.  I'm having a hard time switching to another brand because I know I like the taste and for the price, it's scary to jump into something new.  Also, it's raw.  Most of the other meal replacers are not a raw food.  For my protein, I just switched to the Hemp Pro 70 from Manitoba Harvest.

Why did I choose these two?  Keep reading!

Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes!

I love pancakes.  Like.. writing this blog post makes me want to get up and make more now.  I'm not even hungry.  I was thinking about having an apple.  Now I want pancakes..

This is the least sexy picture I could have gotten.

Tofu & Broccoli with Peanut Sauce on Wilted Greens

Let's face it.  I worked ten hours today.  The last thing I want to do is come home and get fancy in the kitchen.  This is the great thing about living with a dog; he won't be critiquing my food.  I gambled with this one in my haste, and I got lucky.

This is so freaking good.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 block of tofu (about 7ounces)
• 1.5-2 c broccoli, chopped in bite size pieces
• 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• & to taste (and feel free to omit/replace these):
• ginger
• cumin
• garlic salt
• smoked paprika
• 2 c greens (I used 50/50 spinach & arugula)
• 1/2 c water (as needed)

Directions:
Warm up oil in your pan over medium heat.  When it's hot, toss in your tofu and season with the hot sauce and spices.  Saute your tofu until it is browned on all sides.  Add in your broccoli and peanut butter.  Add enough water to keep it from sticking.  Toss gently until it's all coated.  Leave on heat until broccoli is desired tenderness.  Remove from heat.  And allow to cool for a few minutes.

Put two cups of greens on a plate.  Spoon tofu and broccoli over top of the greens evenly.  This will wilt your greens.  Enjoy!

Nutrition Breakdown:
Total Calories: 539
Total Fat: 39g
Total Carbohydrates: 26g
Total Protein: 32g
Vitamin A: 71%
Vitamin C: 208%
Calcium: 26%
Iron: 32%

Immunity Boosting Low Calorie Snack!

Keeping on with this immunity boosting trend I so desperately need, let's talk about a quick and easy snack I can make even when I barely feel like I can stand up... like now.

By the way: spicy is good, but if your throat is too raw,
feel free to eat mild guacamole, or just mashed avocado.

What do we need?

• One Wholly Guacamole 100 Calorie Mini Packs of Guacamole in Spicy
• One Red Bell Pepper, small to medium in size
• A cutting board, a bowl & a good knife

Directions?  What directions?  Peel the lid off of the guacamole.  Cut the bell pepper into some kind of strips or pieces.  Done.

Get Well Smoothie!

The food supply in my house is running dangerously low now that I've been sick for well over a week.  I have a lot of cereal, oatmeal, and dried psuedograins.  I've been making a lot of overnight oats and surviving off of that, and the bag of potatoes that is very nearly spent.  The situation is dire, haha.  I certainly don't live in a food dessert, but it feels like it right now.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happens when you live alone and don't have friends outside of work in a new state.  You will starve, haha.

So today, I accessed what I had in the house.  Sadly, my frozen bananas never made it into a container, so they are beyond freezer burnt.  There's still a quarter of a tub of frozen spinach though!  All of my dried goods for smoothies are there.. and I still have some Silk Protein Smoothie in Strawberry Banana.  I have no idea when I opened it, but it still smells and tastes good..

This is what I came up with:

Also pictured?  My daily vitamins (Deva Vegan Multivitamin) & an Iron/Zinc tablet.
I've also been drinking a lot of Throat Comfort & Sinus Soother teas.

Ingredients:
1.5 c Silk Fruit & Protein in Strawberry Banana
2 tbsp Amazing Grass Raw Reserve Supergreens
2 tbsp Navitas Naturals Raw Cacao Nibs
1 c raw frozen Spinach
1 tbsp Whole Foods 365 Organic Raw Agave Nectar
2 tbsp Jarrow Formulas Rice Protein Powder

Place all ingredients in the blender.  I have found it's easiest to do liquids, powders, then top with leafy greens to keep your powders off the sides of the blender.  I started on dough and once it was just mixed, bumped it up to blend for a good 30 seconds to break down those nibs.

Nutrition breakdown:
Total Calories: 383
Total Fat: 5g
Total Carbohydrates: 63g
Total Protein: 22g
Total Iron: 38g
Total Vitamin C: 187%

If you have kale, please use it.  Basically, add any cruciferous greens you have!  Dried chili pepper would be a good additional to this as well for it's immunity boosting properties, though it may clash just a touch.