flavuuuh flaaav

This post is fuLL of flavaaa’

First up:  Superbowl Guacamole – I could have cared less about the game but hello!?  It’s an excuse for chips + dip!  Aaaand I had some ready to eat avocados. 

I took a super simple guac recipe and turned it into this:

Flava’ful Guacamole

• 2 avocados
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2T olive oil
• 1/2t salt
• 1/4t pepper
• 1/4c fine chopped onion
• 1/3c tomato, squeezed + chopped [squeeze to get rid of the runny juices]
• 1 garlic clove minced

1. Mash the avocado.
2. Add all other ingredients and stir/mash until combined.  S+P to taste!

Do you guys think a true Guacamole has less ingredients?  Would you call this an avocado dip?  Does guacamole refer to a set list of ingredients?  Just curious what people think real deal guac is!  But either way, I like to bend the rules!

Second uP for Superbowl night:  Mexi Pizza

I made this really spicy for Chris, Kurtz and Ann.  Too much kick for me but I meant to do that :)

Mexi Pizza ~Spicy Style~

*the ingredients are in the order they were put on the pizza

• 1/2 of a full pizza dough from Whole Foods [about 8-10” rolled out]
• refried black beans
• WF black bean salsa
• 1T adobo sauce [small can in the mexican section of the store – super spicy!]
• oregano + cumin + chili powder + black pepper + garlic powder
• cheddar + monterey jack
• jalapenos
• red pepper
• onion

1. Bake at 400* for about 15min until brown + delicious looking

Mexi pizza my style!

Just a Little Kick – Mexi Pizza

• other 1/2 of the dough from WF [SO good and only $2.99 for 16”]
• refried black beans
• roasted garlic salsa
• 1t adobo sauce
• oregano + cumin + chili powder + black pepper + garlic powder
• cheddar + monterey jack
• thick layer of spinach
• red pepper
• onion

Everyone loved both pizzas.  I really liked the different textures and the pizza wasn’t soggy in the middle.  I love veggie packed pizza!! 

so.flavorful.so.good.

My favorite way to cut a pizza.

Monday morning, full of snow..about 4” and chilly!!  I guess I can deal with it…last week was in the 40’s-50’s and full of sun.

Creamy layered oats!!!

Creamy Oats:

• 1/3c oats
• 2/3c water
• [out of banana!]
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2t cinnamon

Layers:

1. Bob’s Red Mill Apple Blueberry Granola [from the samples they sent]
2. creamy oats
3. Justin’s chocolate pnut butter [YUM]
4. creamy oats
5. 4 fruit jam
6. creamy oats
7. Apple Blueberry Granola + AB + Jam

Layered oats are where it’s at.

Only veggies for lunch? 

Don’t worry, not the case.  I went to Whole Foods before lunch and they had SIX different muffins on sample.  I had all six [maybe 7, hehe] samples and they were 2-bite samples.  I’m pretty sure I ended up eating almost a whole muffin.  The blueberry + chocolate were excellent.  There were 2 multigrain types that I didn’t like because they had dried fruit in them.  I cringe at the thought/taste of squishy baked dried fruit in muffins/baked goods.  Anyone else??  They also had 2 vegan muffins on sample: blueberry + almond poppy – Both were great and I would have never ever known they were vegan.  They were extremely moist.  The blueberry was pretty standard but maybe lacking a bit of flavor.  The almond poppy was bursting with almond flavor but maybe a tad too much with the almond extract.  I would give them an 8/10 for sure!

I tried a new hummus from my favorite Blue Moose hummus company.  They are a local company :)

The flavor intrigued me: sundried tomato + walnut – I thought it sounded so weird that it had to be good!?

It was just “okay.”  I definitely prefer their plain hummus WAY more.  I really didn’t taste the sun-dried tomato at all.  It was a little heavy on the walnut.  Not sure what this would best be paired with…didn’t work too well with the veggies.

OMG! I finally tried a “mocktail” that I have seen Kath sporting for the past few months.  I didn’t drink it to avoid drinking an alcoholic drink..come on, it was only 2pm.  I just needed a change of pace from plain old water.  This was PERFection!!!  I used about 1/3 bubbly water + 2/3 of the juice.  Next time I’ll try to switch the ratios on that…it was SO good and still pretty sweet tasting.  Looooved the bUbBlE action!

I made ota.bars today for the Haiti Relief Bake Sale winning bidders from the other week.  I did a few things different and thought I messed them up, but I actually like them more!  They are a little crunchy but still easy to chew.  YUM.  I made the #1 selling flavor for the winners: cinna-fuse –> oats + almonds + walnuts + apples + apricots + cinnamon

SO good that I had another with a new sparkling juice.  I just picked up this grape spritzer at WF today because I had a coupon.  It’s sparkling water and pure juice, no sugar added.  I did about 1/2 and 1/2 with sparkling water…so it had double bubble action going on! 

The grape spritzer was AWEsome!!  I used to LOVE grape pop.  [do you guys say “pop” or “soda”?? I switch off because chris is a “soda” person and now I say both]  I would definitely suggest this as a soda-pop alternative.  It still is high in sugar, but that’s just like any juice with no added sugar.  I could definitely get hooked on these but won’t because plain water is cheaper ;)

I told Chris the name of this meal was:  Totally Random, Filled with Flavor + Full of LOve

Chipotle sweet tater cubes above + Curry spiced roasted chickpeas below

I’m still perfecting the recipes that I pulled out of my arse tonight ;)  They turned out bursting with flavor and a little too much heat for me. 

The star of the night was honestly the Sea Salt + Vinegar Kale Chips!!!  Chris LOVES sea salt + vinegar chips and he loves when the kale is roasted and super crunchy.  So, I combined the two and it was a match made in kale heaven.

Sea Salt + Vinegar Kale Chips [terribly photographed, hehe]

1. Preheat oven to 375*
2. Rinse the kale and pull off the stems.  Blot dry and throw on a pan.
3. Evenly disperse about 1T of olive oil, 1T apple cider vinegar + 1/4t salt
4. Roast for 10-20min. Watch carefully the vinegar made it cook + brown faster!
5. Toss with 1T apple cider vinegar + salt to taste.

And a side of bread with pear + goat cheese!? Totallllly random…so random that I forget Chris doesn’t really like pears..oooops!

Chickpeas with a dollup of Oikos Plain.

Aaaand that’s about all I have up my sleeve for 1 day…quite a lot, no?  I didn’t want to cook dinner tonight [RARE] but then had fun playing with random foods + spices.  Weeeeeeeee :)

I went back and responded to comments last night, from the past few days..sorry I got behind!  Also, still planning on doing the Vibrams follow-up post..I have not forgotten :) 

Aaaand I’m o.u.t.

~Ashley      

p.s. check out the $50 iherb giveaway at LiveWell360!!

Comments

[Lauren]

There is just way too many amazing looking things in this post to comment on one! Seriously, the pizza, the oats, the dip, the chic peas, the kale!!! I've gone into food overload just by looking at your weekend eats!!! Amazing! :)

Glad it was great Ashely!!! :)

[Abby]

Totally agree.. not so interested in the game.. but a little too interested in the food!

[Teri [a foodie stays fit]]

I've been wary of kale chips but if you like 'em, then I'll try them. I trust your taste. :)

[Heather (Heather's Dish)]

wow, those are full of flavor! i wanna try those sweet potato cubes...yum!

[Ally (Exercise and Pies)]

wowza, what a jam packed post! Everything looks so, so amazing!

The mexi-pizza takes the cake for me though, it looks downright awesome

[Freya]

Haha I love the title of this post. And, honestly, in my quest to get a veggie, protein, and carb in most meals, they often turn out like that... totally random, but totally delicious! Gotta try the salt and vin kale chips.

[Katie@ Two Lives, One Lifestyl]

I've tried a few of the Blue Moose hummus' and just haven't really loved any of it sad to say. I think guac is better with lots of ingredients like that, mmm, almost lunchtime??! Oh yeah, also bought my first kale so I might try this recipe this week.

[Meryl]

hey lady!

I found your blog from Kath's a little while ago and have loved reading of our adventures in Denver!

my husband and I just moved to Denver from North Carolina 2 months ago and it's been neat to check out some of the places that you've reviewed- helped us to explore our city :)

anyways, I wanted to send you an email but haven't been able to locate one on the page. I am a recruiter in the Denver area and I might be able to help with the job situation. Would you mind sending me a copy of your resume? we place people in all types of positions!

you can email me directly if you have more questions- good luck!

[Sarah Ikegami]

Wow, so full of good eats, no pun intended! I must try your dinner recipes, those are some of my all time fave ingredients!

[Lisa Cohen]

This IS guac! At least how I make it... only I use red onions (so colorful!) and add a few shakes of Cholula! YUM! Off to read the rest of the post... but had to stop after the guac to post this! LOL! In fact I'm making it tonight because it's Mex night at my house. In winter I don't mix in tomatoes because they never look as good here in the mid-Atlantic and I sprinkle on some shredded cheese instead. Delish!

[Christie]

Oh my guac! It has been too long since i've had some. Your pic made my mouth water :) I don't think there is a need to clarify, but I too would say guac. I just go ahead and mix in pico de gallo (I LOVE tomatoes)! Hope you enjoyed it!
~CK

[Beth]

oh yum! That food looks amazing! I love layered oats!

[Ashley]

Awesome. I say it's guac too! :) Ugh..you caught me with the tomato...I literally haven't bought a tomato since september, haha...at least it was organic!

[Ashley]

Thanks for saying hi and for your offer. I really appreciate the help! I will send you a resume soon! I'm waiting to see how a few things play out this week and then will get back to you :)

[Ashley]

Ooooh I hope you like kale..I haven't met anyone who hasn't liked it yet [if you like the usual green veggies] I loved the vinegar addition!

[Ashley]

hehe, I know what you mean about the random dinners...let me know if you try the kale chips!

[Ashley]

It was awesome...I'm still thinking about it....mmmmm hehe

[Ashley]

rut row...if you don't like them, don't blame me!!

[Ashley]

You are too sweet! If I had to tell you 1 thing to make....it would be the pizza!!! ok ok and the kale chips ;)

[2-for-1: Mushroom Bourguignon]

[...] to make kale chips (sooo food blog of me).  Ashley of edible perspective posted a recipe for salt and vinegar kale chips that caught my [...]

[Kath]

So the vinegar didn't make them soggy? I'll have to try that!

[Charlotte]

Made your pizza tonight - it was awesome! Thanks

[Ashley]

Oooh yay!!

[Feta and CousCous Stuffed Pepp]

[...] been wanting to try the Kale Chips recipe for a little bit now and decided it would be a good side for the peppers. Tyson and I LOVE [...]