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The amazing folks over at Galaxy Granola started the Fruit Not Fat movement aimed to provide us with tips, recipes, stories, and more that will inspire healthier eating choices and healthier living habits. If you haven’t already, I encourage you all to join the movement - check out the website (www.fruitnotfat.com) and of course make sure you follow them on Twitter and fan them on Facebook.

 If you’re not familiar with Galaxy Granola (shame on you!), they are a one-of-a kind healthy granola company that uses fruit instad of fat (oil) to bake their granola. I first discovered their amazingly healthy and delicious granola at the farmer’s market in San Rafael in 2004 and have been eating it ever since.  My favorite flavor thus far is the Not Sweet Vanilla and Bryan prefers the Vanilla Almond and Cranberry Orange (he’s the bigger sweet tooth).

I haven’t yet found another granola that compares and trust me, I like granola. :)  It seems like every other “healthy” granola company is trying cutting corners on their fat content by using canola oil (barf) and their sugar by adding  various chemicals (double barf). If you don’t know why canola oil is dangerous or haven’t yet heard my rant, just check this out, I’ll spare you the details.

If I’m going to eat healthy, it has to be the right way. No fake stuff, just the good stuff. Fruit Not Fat baby!

I have eaten broccoli rabe, I know what it is, but have never prepared it, and never really thought about what I would do with it if I had it. But of course, while at the grocery store browsing the produce aisle, it caught my eye. And for a second I was able to shake it off and keep walking. I kept saying to myself, “its late. I need to make dinner. Really should not buy ingredients I don’t know what to do with.” (I always wonder if people in my neighborhood grocery store notice me rambling on to myself…)

I tried to get inspiration from more familiar veggies — squash, mushrooms, spinach, anything - but  they just wouldn’t speak to me. All I could think about was the little yellow flowers and leaves on that broccoli rabe looking up at me and I knew I wasn’t leaving without it. So I bought some, washed it and began doing some guesswork and research. I know, I know — great way to get a late dinner started!

If it looks like broccoli, sounds like broccoli,is it just broccoli? Not really. Its not actually in the broccoli family, it is more closely related to a turnip. Seriously, who knew?

Here’s what I did with my broccoli rabe - anyone else have tips?

• Wash broccoli rabe and pat dry with a paper towel. While waiting, bring 5 cups of water to a boil in the pot
• While waiting for water to boil, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium-sized pan.
• When the water is boiling, carefully place the broccoli rabe in the water
• After 2 minutes, drain the broccoli rabe and pat them dry
• Place the broccoli rabe into the sizzling olive oil and add tofu
• Add salt, pepper and sugar to the broccoli rabe and tofu according to taste. Gently stir the greens and tofu with a spatula and allow to sautee for 4 to 5 minutes. When the broccoli rabe is vibrantly green, remove from heat and enjoy!

And since I was extra inspired for dinner last night, I decided to make some lettuce wraps using fake ground meat, asparagus, mushrooms and soy vay terriyaki sauce wrapped in swiss chard leaves and topped with radish sprouts.  I usually do my wraps with kale leaves but my local grocery store never seems to carry it, and I’ve been way too lazy (or busy) to get my ass up to Whole Foods, so decided to give swiss chard a try.  They were delicious.

Just wait, soon I’ll be selling these bad boys all over town. :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 3 tbsp water
• ½ cup raw sugar
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• ½ cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup salba seeds

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest.  In a food processor or using a hand mixer, beat the flaxseed and water until thick and creamy.  In a large bowl, beat flax mixture, sugar, coconut oil, applesauce and vanilla. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and then fold in the salba seeds. Bake 15-20 minutes or until fork comes out clean.

Here’s a view of the lake…

And some hot runners… :)

A nice spot for a break…

To fuel us for our run, we had a cantaloupe smoothie for breakfast with bananas, soy milk and chia seeds… yum!

And a Chocolate Crisp Bumble Bar…

After the run I was craving a big, hot burrito but settled for a veggie quesadilla at Pancho Villa’s in Fairfax. Not a  bad Monday…Not bad at all!

What did you do for the holiday weekend?

Who? Me!??  No, I would never. I’m a food blogger. I’m always healthy.

Yeah, right. We’ve all been there. We’ve all had our moments of weakness. One cheesyrific Cheeto when no one was looking that turned into an entire  giant bag. Late night burritos. Ungodly amounts of cheese when you’re drinking and dishing with the girls. Sound familiar?

So in the spirit of being a bit more transparent, I have a confession to make.  I’m a hot sauce addict. I’m one of those people who honestly believes that everything tastes better when its  hot.  I will pour it on almost anything and everything. Sometimes even my hot sauce tastes better with hot sauce. I have even been known to pour a little on a plate and dip my finger in just because I can.

When I opened my drawer at work, took out my trusty Cholula and began pouring (ok, dousing) it on my avocado, I began to wonder if I had a problem. I used to be pretty discreet about my hot saucing and rarely would do it outside of the comfort of my own home; but now that I have a bottle conveniently tucked away in my desk drawer, there is no limit to my hot saucing. I can do it anywhere and at anytime.

Do I have a problem? Yeah, probably. But, its not the worst problem I could have.

Are you a hot sauce addict? What strange thing have you poured hot sauce on?

Here are some of my fave hot sauceable foods:  avocados, cheese, bread, ketchup, mac and cheese, sandwiches, cabbage salad, eggs, rice, beans, brussel sprouts, crackers, and more.

Here’s what was on the menu this weekend:

Friday night: Honey Mustard Cabbage Salad and BLTs (made with Tempeh Fakin Bacon):

Saturday Night: Sesame Chili Tofu with Quinoa and Honey Mustard Cabbage Salad:

Sunday Night: Lentil soup, Walnut Bread and Honey Mustard Cabbage Salad (no photo - guess we scarfed it down too fast - but hey, that’s what happens after a weekend filled with long, muddy trail runs!

In case you want to give this AMAZING cabbage salad a try, here’s the recipe:

Honey Mustard Dressing:

• 1 cup vegenaise
  1 cup dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup honey or agave syrup
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp turmeric
• sea salt to taste

Put all ingredients into blender (Blendtec) or food processor and blend until smooth.

Cabbage Salad:

• One medium red cabbage
• 6-8 large strawberries, diced
• One cup sprouted sunflower seeds (we love Kaia Sprouted Sunflower seeds)

• 1/2 cup broccoli sprouts

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and pour honey mustard dressing in. Refrigerate for about 2 hours before serving.

Any guesses on what else is in these glorious muffins besides chia seeds and vegan chocolate chips? I’ll give you one other ingredient: applesauce. Anything else?

If you’re looking for a power muffin, these will do the trick. They kept us full and strong for our 8 mile loop on a muddy, steep trail in Olema Valley.

I brought some in to work today and my co-worker literally said, “these are your best yet.” So thanks Matt and Christine for getting me some brownie points in the office and hopefully with the dinner guests. ;)

All the ingredients mushed together…

And the little macaroon balls getting oven ready…

Bear with me - I’ll post a photo of the chocolate topped final product when I get home this evening. For some reason, it didn’t load!

Here’s the recipe:

• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (I love  Navitas Naturals Coconut Oil)
• 2 cups raw coconut flakes
• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs raw agave
• one handful of vegan chocolate chips (Whole Foods 365 brand or Tropical Source are great)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together except for the chocolate in a large bowl. Lightly grease a cookie sheet (I just rubbed on a little more coconut oil). Pat mixture into 24 balls, slightly smaller then golfballs. Place balls on pan 2 inches apart and bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Drizzle or in my case DROP a little melty chocolate on the top. And Voila!

Since my bestest friend Tasha who also happens to be a bad ass blogger is moving to Portland in a week, we decided to spend the weekend doing a little drinking, dancing, pampering, yoga-ing and cooking. And since no going away party is complete without Mac and Cheese, we decided to make this fabulous recipe that we found on No Meat Athlete. I was a bit skeptical at first…I mean how can you have Mac and Cheese without the CHEESE??!

But omg, the mac and cheese was f*ing fabulous!

Here’s how we prepared the “cheeseless” sauce…

And here it is, the fabulous cheeseless Mac and Cheese with Chard sprinkles… :)