Archive for June, 2009

Vegan Veggie Surprise

June 30th, 2009 admin

So awhile back in  the teaser photos I put a few of sliced veggies and the final creation with those veggies. Here’s what I made…..

Eggplant was one sale at Sunflower’s Farmer Market so I picked up a couple a few days before. I love eggplant but sometimes find it difficult to cook correctly and taste good… and some recipes make me nervous (especially ones where they have you microwave eggplant!) because I learned  that microwaving eggplant isn’t the greatest idea.. it will explode & destroy your kitchen : (

Luckily I had an idea to make some eggplant lasagna. I figured it would be good to bake up and freeze the extras for future dinners. I peeled and vertically sliced two eggplants so they were “strip-like.” After doing this I sprinkled salt, pepper and breadcrumbs on top and lightly sauteed them in olive oi until browned.

Next up, I did the exact same thing with a squash. Sliced and sauteed. The last vegetable to be cooked up was a bunch of sliced mushrooms, which were sauteed in a little bit of vegetable broth. While they were warming up I went ahead and made a sauce to substitute for cheese.

The sauce/spread is from Vegan Yum Yum once again (her handy iPhone app is an easy way to find quick recipes!). Put all these ingredients in a blender or a Magic Bullet….

* 1 cup of roasted pine nuts

*1 tbsp water

*1/2 tsp White Wine Vinegar

*1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes

*1 tsp Italian Herbs

Perfecto. This spread was awesome and delicious. So after everything was ready I started to assemble the lasagna dish.

First layer consisted of no boil lasagna noodles, followed by a light covering of Pine Nut Spread, then Eggplant From here I switched up the layers:

Noodles + Spread + Eggplant +Mushrooms + Noodles+ Spread + Squash + Mushrooms + Fresh Spinach + Noodles + Spread + 1.5 Jars of Maranara Sauce

Bake for 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees F. While this was a bit time consuming, it turned out awesome and was well worth it. Ryan, my roommate Joe and I had this with some other veggies for dinner and it was demolished. There were only about 4 pieces left by the end.

This picture does not give it justice. Hahah in fact this looks like a pile of mush… but I guarantee it was fabulous. I feel lasagna can have so many variations. Anybody have a unique lasagna recipe? I think the next lasagna I will attempt to make will be RAW!

Posted in Vegan Recipes 4 Comments »

Weekend Adventures

June 29th, 2009 admin

What a great weekend!  On Saturday, Ryan and I drove up to Nederland to race in an Orienteering event. Orienteering ehh?

Don’t feel bad… I had no idea what this was until I met Ryan…..

Orienteering is defined as “the sport of navigation with map and compass. It’s easy to learn,  but always challenging” (US Orienteering Federation) Below is an example of what an orienteering map looks like.

“The object is to run, walk, ski, or mountain bike {WE  RAN} to a series of points shown on the map, choosing routes—both on and off trail—that will help you find all the points and get back to the finish in the shortest amount of time. The points on the course are marked with orange and white flags and punches, so you can prove you’ve been there. Each “control” marker is located on a distinct feature, such as a stream junction or the top of a knoll.” (US Orienteering Federation)

Ryan uses a thumb compass, pictured above, but I stick with a normal one. Thumb compasses are often transparent so that an orienteer can hold a map in the hand with the compass and see the map through the compass. In the end I was pretty happy with myself because I found all the controls and completed the beginner course! Last race I did….. was pretty pathetic :)

Learning to read a map has been surprisingly fun and I think it is a great skill to have. Thanks Ryan for introducing me to yet another sport! Get out and find your local Orienteering Club. For those around in Colorado google Rocky Mountain Orienteering Club (RMOC)  for more information.

DSCN1409

On our way back down to Boulder, we stopped at the beautiful Boulder Falls only to find out the trail leading back to the falls was closed because of falling rock :(    It’s a gorgeous area… we goofed around on a cool rock with a natural hole in it.

Please excuse the horrible picture layout above. Wordpress and I are fighting over picture placement… grrr.

Sunday was super sweet as well…. we decided to go crawl around in a nearby cave, known as Fault Cave outside Golden CO. We brought climbing gear to practice ascending in a cave….

looking up at Ryan from the bottom

looking up at Ryan from the bottom

going down

going down

Caving is another love of mine. I can’t explain the thrill of crawling through areas of the Earth that are millions of years old. They are fascinating and I love reading about them as well (shh I know I am a nerd!) Fault Cave is a pretty well known “cave” in the area so it is vandalized and littered. People should really respect their beauty and “leave no trace” when visiting. Any other spelunkers [cavers] out there?

We are headed to Glenwood Springs this weekend to go caving at Fulford Cave. I am so pumped… this will be quite an experience as Fulford is much larger and intricate that Fault. What are your Fourth of July plans?

I apologize for not incorporating much food into this post. I feel these two activities are interesting and not typical hobbies. I would have never considered partaking in these before moving to Colorado. I continue to learn the more I participate in them and love sharing them to others – because it may just be a hobby you’d enjoy!

HAPPY MONDAY!

Posted in Caving, Orienteering No Comments »

BimBamWho? BIMBAMBOO!

June 28th, 2009 admin

I have been away from the computer lately. I feel I have needed a break to sort things out. I have been stressed lately and I am not sure why.…What do you do to relieve stress? Any suggestions?

As promised, here is my review of a local Boulder restaurant called BimBamBoo:

“Bimbamboo is a new Asian restaurant concept delivering a unique and modern spin on Asian food in Boulder, Colorado.


We offer a bold and distinctive fusion of Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Korean, Malaysian and Japanese flavors.


Whether you want a quick workday lunch or to linger over cocktails and dinner with family and friends, bimbamboo is a welcome adventure in taste.”

Not surprisingly I was craving sweet potato fries (uh my weakness) so we started off with an order to share. I was impressed and thought they had good flavor. It was an ideal summer night on Pearl Street and the decor of BimBamBoo contributed to the summer ambiance. I was also stoked to find out they had a vegan menu….

I ordered the Tofu Salad Bowl that was on the vegan menu with soba noodles. I am still not sure if this is the same tofu salad bowl offered on the main menu…. but I must say it was damn good! I was very happy with the mixture – soba noodles + romaine lettuce + bimbamboo slaw+ herbs + sprouts. The dressing/vinagarette was a perfect addition. This was very filling, but felt very fresh. I would not hesitate to eat this again!

Ryan had Bengali Grilled Wild Salmon + Tikka Masala Curry Sauce + Cool Cucumber-Mint Raita. Ryan was not as thrilled with his choice compared to mine. I think he was expecting something different from the description. I had a taste and liked the way the salmon was cooked, but I was not too wild about the other flavors. It was so-so. Ryan admitted he liked my Tofu Salad Bowl more than his.

Overall I thought my dish was good, but the service was not as great. We went for a long period of time with no water, which really bugs me. I loooove my water with dinner, so besides the water dilemma, all was good. We were told they make all desserts in house and even have vegan options. We were so full we opted out on a sweet treat.

Has anyone had desserts from BimBamBoo?  What’d ya think?

It’s a great restaurant for good noodle bowls + fresh options + plenty of food. I think I may hit this place up for lunch sometime soon.

Posted in Boulder Restaurants 1 Comment »

I Have an Addiction to Juicing

June 26th, 2009 admin

“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change”

Good morning! Good morning! SMILE because it is Friday!

I am happy and going this morning. I went to bed before midnight last night so I feel very refreshed and not groggy. I hope teaser photos were entertaining….I mentioned this week has been exciting because I have some fun foodie adventures.

Well to begin, it finally happened…. I finally got a Breville Juicer Elite! Eeeekkk!!  I got a great deal on it over at Bed, Bath & Beyond with coupons. So what is my opinion on this baby?

WOW. AMAZING. FABULOUS. EASY.  Okay I am not trying to sound like an infomercial here but my golly – the Breville puts the MB to shame! (sorry MB, you will still have a special place in my heart for smoothies) Wednesday evening I brought it home and my roommate and I started juicing anything on hand. 2 peaches and 1 apple later we had some of the most delicious juice I have ever had.

Talk about the ultimate green monster! I made this for breakfast yesterday and gulped it down before Ryan and I rode at the velodrome.

* 3 kale leaves

*4 celery sticks

* 1 granny smith apple

So with all thos green ingredients you would think it tasted pretty nast…. but in reality it was superb. Refreshing and very, very filling. If Ryan drank it – I think it passes the test.

Today’s drink concotion was:

* 1 beet, stem included

*4 carrots

* 2 kale leaves

* 1/2 a cucmber

Literally, the Breville handles all these veggies and fruits with ease. I am amazed to watch how fast it juices! This drink was another simply delicious mixture. There was enough juice for two glassfuls. I am amazed and in love with this juicer.

I have used previous juicers in the past and they are such a PAIN to CLEAN beacuse they have a bazillion parts. The Juicer Elite has 4 parts that you clean and they are dishwasher safe as well. It is so easy that in the mornings I have time to juice and rinse it off in 10 minutes or less. To me, that is so worth the price tag.

Over at Happy Vegetables the topic of sports bras has been discussed. Here are my two favorite sports bras. A bit on the pricey side, but to me they are worth it. Who wants to have the gals bouncing around? I don’t!

1087_multi_up_and_down_l

Lululemon Flow Y Bra II is one of my all time favorites. It gives me a great amount of support and provides little cups to put inside the bra if you want to wear it without the look of squished boobays. I wear it for running, cycling and pretty much everything else -they come in the cutest designs and colors as well!  Retails at $42

The other love of my life (besides the Breville) is the CW-X Lite Support Bra. $46 This company makes the greatest running gear (maybe I am biased). But I find this bra to be unbelievably supportive and comfortable. I wear the Lite Support because, well I am not well-endowed- but for those of you who are – CW-X makes some great extra support bras. I have to thank Ryan for introducing me to this company because I love their running gear.

What are your favorite sports bras? What are you least favorite?

I have never been happy with Nike sports bras because I feel like they lose their elasticity/tightness so quickly and fit weird on me.

New Restaurant Friday is at ALBA with a couple friends tonight. I am excited, the menu looks pretty fab.

Alba and BimBamBoo reviews will be up soon!

Lastly, I think it is best to end the post with a tribute to Michael Jackson.  I hope we can all remember and be thankful for having the opportunity to enjoy his talents and music.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zpTQCQEFhg]

Posted in Juicing 4 Comments »

Teasers

June 25th, 2009 admin

Hey hey hey… I know it has been a couple days since I have put a new post up. Life has been exciting lately… I don’t have the time to put together a full post right now but I will leave you with some teaser photos to give you hints as to what I have been up to… and what to expect in upcoming posts!

breville

Posted in Uncategorized 2 Comments »

Just Call Me Juicy, Juicy McJuicter

June 23rd, 2009 admin
Mr. OJ

Mr. OJ

I awoke and made a mad dash to the kitchen this morning because:

1) It was time to juice with the Magic Bullet

2) There were vegan choc. cookies on the counter…. (the main reason, duh!) ;)

I finally picked up a big ars bag of oranges to be juiced…. A sad story in my life about juicing begins back in my Nebraska days…. One morning I wanted fresh squeezed OJ. With two oranges on hand and being the young, silly girl that I was I assumed this would make me buttloads of OJ! Come to find out I think I only got 1/4 cup of juice from those suckas :( Tears formed in my eyes. I was suppose to have cups upon cups of juice….

Today the oranges were a tough peel, but I stripped the skin off three huge oranges and tossed them in the Magic Bullet Juicer set up.  And hey it worked!  Simple. Easy. Tasty. Mmmm I think I found a new love in the morning. Mr. OJ

just hanging out on the balcony

just hanging out on the balcony

So then I got courageous and threw a sliced apple, 5 celery stalks and 5 small carrots in to be juiced. Magic Bullet {MB} did not perform as well with these other ingredients. It took a lot of shoving, fighting and pulp flying everywhere to finally get the juice I wanted. Juice finally came out. Maybe I was expecting more? In the end I ended up with some Poopy Juice. I named it so because I mean come on…. it looked nasty when I poured it into the cup.

Btw, when I was snapping these pics on my patio, I was in my PJ’s (sad I know!) and the guy mowing below me kept looking at me like a weirdo.

Do any other food bloggers get strange reactions from people when you snap photos of your food?

Maybe I just looked a little scary, with my bed head and in my PJ’s….. & I think I had a mud mask on my face too. That explains it.

Mr. OJ & Poopy Juice

Mr. OJ & Poopy Juice

Poopy juice tasted quite well actually! I sprinkled a little cinnamon in to give it a little kick. It had a fairly strong celery taste… so next time more carrots/apples! Mr. OJ tasted spectacular.. I am an OJ lover & snob. Only fresh squeezed for me! I plan on doing more experimenting with this Magic Bullet Juicer. I wonder how it compares to other juicers? Someday it would be awesome to own a Breville Juice Fountain Elite. For now, my college budget sticks with the MB  :)

Anyone out there own a Breville? If so, what do you like best/least about it? Any other juicers out there that you like?

Last night around 11 pm I made vegan choc. chip cashew cookies. I love to bake but at the same time hate it because then I have cookies in my apartment for an eternity. I already had two this morning….I think I am going to take these over to Ryan and his roommates. College boys always love cookies. Best part about these cookies is nobody realizes they are vegan…..they are that scrumptious!

I didn’t have walnuts on hand so I chopped whole, raw cashews in the MB. I used the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, one of my all time favorite vegan baking books.

**I just finishing up Poopy Juice and I decided it has too much pulpy crap in it. Ick.

I have been struggling with getting up at a decent time in the morning. I want to so desperately be a morning person but I find it difficult!!! I set my alarm for 8:20 today and turned it off and fell back asleep until 10 :( That makes me sad! Ryan will be up and going at 8 almost every day and I feel somewhat wasteful when I sleep in….

What gets you going in the morning?  What time do you normally get up?

This afternoon I am going in for a bike fit. Expect a post later on proper bike fittings! :)


Posted in Juicing Tags: , 1 Comment »

Krunchy Kale & Basic Basil

June 22nd, 2009 admin

Wheeee! I am so excited because I officially have a new domain and all the hosting figured out for the new BoulderBite! It may (okay, it will) take me awhile to get everything figured out but I think it’s going to be great and you should be excited too ;)

Today was a great day, do you ever have those days when you feel super productive and have a glow all day? Well today was one of those for me…. which I am thinking is due to my consumptions of green monsters and lots of fresh veggies.

kale This morning I blended up a full banana, 4 frozen strawberries, handful of spinach, one whole carrot and a few tbsp. of ground flax. It filled me up for so long! I have made a goal with myself to start every morning with a green smoothie.

I prepared a ‘massaged kale salad’ around 12:30 and let it sit in the fridge before eating it around 1:30. I found this recipe idea over at Choosing Raw. It was my frist time eating kale without blending or baking it. It was surprisingly very tasty and very crunchy.

To make this simply tear the kale of the vein or main branch, take 1/4 -1/2 an avacado and little bit of VOO and literally massage it into the kale to soften it. I then dropped in a sliced tomato, almond slices and some s&p. I also ate a Cashew Cookie Larabar with the salad.. my last one too. Looks like I need to make a trip to CostCo for some mo!

mtbike

After class I decided to head to CU’s East Campus/Research Park to play around on the short track trails. This is a great area for beginning mt. bikers (like me!) to get comfortable on a bike. The idea of adventure racing has crossed my mind several times but in order to be able to do these races I need to invest some time on the bike and trails.

I am a newbie rider and it terrifies me at times. So Ryan made it a goal for me to ride 1.5 hours a week to build up my confidence and overcome my fear. I rode for a good 45 minutes today. Woo hoo…. only 45 more to go for the week :)

Dinner was a quick dish of basil pesto, pine nuts & sun-dried tomatoes in a penne pasta. I made the pesto with my handy Magic Bullet. Do any readers have a Magic Bullet?

It was quite simple, I pulsed 1/4 cup of pine nuts with 3 garlic cloves until they looked pretty well chopped/blended. Add as much basil as you want…. I never put as much as recipes usually call for because I don’t like too much basil. I probably used a handful of fresh basil leaves in tonight along with some olive oil to make it mix. Then I tossed in 1/2 cup of parmesean cheese.  (the vegan parm. cheese ingredients scared me….)

I used sun dried tomatoes that were packed in oil – so I heated 1 cup of them in the microwave and placed them in a strainer to rinse all the oil off. I despise oily sun-dried tomatoes! 8 oz of whole wheat penne was cooked and I left a tiny bit of water in them and dumped in the pesto, tomatoes & some more pine nuts (3/4 c or so). Mixed it all up on a low heat and bam dinner was done. It took like 20 minutes. I love quick, delicious meals!

Ryan was over for dinner and really enjoyed this dish. He said it was a keeper.  That’s what I like to hear…. :)

Peas also accompanied our dinner plates. I have tons of canned peas. Anyone have some stellar pea recipes?

It’s time to finish up a project on Turkish Semantics for my Linguistics course or see a movie with a friend.

Ah. I think I am going to opt for the movie ;) Adios my friends.

Posted in Moutnain Biking, Quick & Easy Recipes No Comments »

New Home

June 22nd, 2009 Andrea

Look i have a new home

Posted in Uncategorized 1 Comment »

July 3rd: Boulderites Can See Food, Inc.

June 22nd, 2009 admin

This morning I received an e-mail from Magnolia Pictures regarding their new movie Food, Inc. which was recently released in NY and LA. They informed me that on Friday, July 3rd Food, Inc. will be opening in Boulder.  They specifically wrote in their email:

“Due to the film’s messages about the importance of purchasing local, sustainable foods and the dangers of the industrialization of food, we think that your site’s audience would strongly identify with ‘Food, Inc.’”

For readers who are not in the Boulder area check out Magnolia Pictures website to find locations near you. In a previous post I put up the movie trailer and for those of you who missed it, the trailer is below. The movie’s website appears to have a lot of informative links and pages, so please check it out if these issues interest you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6688aiWwAM]

Want to know something else exciting? Boulder Bite officially has it’s own url…. yes!  Hopefully soon everything will be switched and my layout ideas will be reality!

Have a spectacular Monday :)

Posted in Uncategorized 3 Comments »

Sunday Night Randomness

June 22nd, 2009 admin

Happy Father’s Day to all you wonderful Dads out there! I couldn’t be more grateful for my Dad and family. They are so important to me and I love them so much! I was unable to get home to be with my dad today but I know he had a great Father’s Day.

dad & i

dad & i

So tonight’s post is a complete collection of absolute randomness :)

The weekend was great…. I will recap my fitness as of Friday. Ryan and I ran a decently hard trail named Betasso for about 50 minutes. It was tough for me because the first section is a steep uphill. I was sucking air hardcore but it was a great trail to push myself on. After the uphill it lollipopped around to the top of the mountain. We then continued on to Canyon Loop Trail and ran that for approximately 10 more minutes or so. Of course coming back down was awesome – pretty technical downhill at times but nothing too intense.

The start of the trail (pretend like there is no snow in this picture - it's an old one)

The start of the trail (pretend like there is no snow in this picture - it's an old photo)

So this trail is pretty popular for mountain biking…. but after running the trail I decided I will not mt. bike it for a long time…

Betasso + Me+ Mt. Bike = Not happening!

Anyways, this was a great trail run and I am glad I ran the whole time because with a combination of a sore lower back/crazy allergies/mental issues I wanted to just walk.

Saturday was a rest day for me. It was cloudy and rainy in Boulder and I was lacking the motivation to get out and do any training. Ryan and I made a quick trip to the gym at 10 tonight. We focus a lot on our legs when lifting, so a lot of sets consist mostly of leg workouts.

I always start off with a good 5 -10 minute warm up on the treadmill before doing any lifting. After this we did 3 sets of:

*12 reps of squats – 12 reps (individual legs) leg press – 12 reps each side of a core exercise

After this we did more core 3 sets each:

* 12 reps using an ab roller – 12 Push ups ( “girl” pushups for me) – 20 reps of heel reaches

The to end the night we did another 3 sets of 12 reps of quad and hamstring machines. And after reading through this I am not good at describing workouts – I am going to work on this for future posts. ;)

Onto FOOD for the weekend… Saturday night I was able to meet up wtih a friend down in Denver for dinner. We went to high school together so it is always tons of fun to catch up. We ended up eating at Little India. I am still trying to decide how I feel about that place. I am a sucker for Indian food… it is one of my favorite foods for dining out. But I do not know any of the terminology… aka I don’t know Indian food terms which can be a problem.

We started off with some of these…..

Which looks like a pile of fried crap. While they were tasty no doubt… I was kind of upset with the fact that everything on this Combination Platter was fried. My fault for not asking more questions or knowing Indian food lingo.

My main dish was Saag Chole, spinach cooked with chick peas and spices. Okay this dish won my heart over because I could not quit eating it. I left dinner feeling way too full and an upset stomach because of overeating. Bummer.It frustrates me when I do this because I feel I should listen to body and know when to stop.

How do you tell if you are full?

Little India had a great waitstaff and perfect service. So no complaints there and everything besides the fried Combination Platter was delicious.

As I came home tonight from picking up some groceries I thought my bag looked pretty with the carrot tops popping out. I am playing around with my Magic Bullet more this week so be prepared for some crazy blended creations in my posts.

Lastly, I would like to mention Ryan’s sister, Nicole, has recently started a blog of her own focusing on fashion and sewing. Go check it out and say hi to her at Cut & Sew :)

All right. It is sleep time. Ciao!

Posted in Denver Restaurants, Workouts 4 Comments »
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