After I eat dinner, I tend crave a little something sweet. Lately I've been having some raisins, a piece of hard candy, or a few dates to satisfy my sweet tooth. They say that fruit is nature's candy, and dates are the epitome of a fruit full of nutrient-rich sweetness. This is obviously why I love them. While recently browsing through one of my cookbooks, The Vegan Table, I spotted a recipe for date truffles. When I saw that they were described as a lighter treat after a meal, I knew these would be a perfect little snack for me to have around as my post-dinner sweet fix. Delightful Date Truffles Makes 10 Ingredients: 1/2 c raw almonds 10 large dates (pitted) 1/2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for rolling truffles in Zest from 1/2 orange 1 TBSP agave nectar 1/4 TSP ... [Read More]
Archives for April 2012
My Weekend in Photos
As this weekend draws to a close, I have to say that I had a lot of fun these past few days. The highlights were getting to see some great live music on Friday, and spending time hanging out in Balboa Park in gorgeous weather yesterday. Here is a picture recap, with a few food shots thrown in (obviously): Quote for the week: "Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?" ... [Read More]
Friday Morning Hike at Cowles Mountain
As you may have noticed in my posts, I hike pretty often with Harley. I think it's a great way to spend time outside and get some exercise in for the both of us. Earlier today, I decided to try hiking a mountain we had never been to before, called Cowles Mountain. It took us about 1 hour and 20 minutes round trip to hike 3 miles, with the highest point being 1,591' above sea level. I've heard that it's one of the busiest trails in San Diego, and I can definitely see why. As soon as you begin climbing the mountain, this is the view: PROS: Compared to the other mountain we usually hike (which is also part of the same huge regional park, Mission Trails), Cowles was interesting in that it was sort of like a maze, with the trails weaving up the mountain. The hike Harley and I frequent ... [Read More]
Strawberry Watermelon Smoothie
When I blogged about my favorite eats & drinks on my recent vacation to Thailand, I gushed about all the fresh fruit I ate. My favorites were watermelon and pineapple, both of which are so refreshing on a hot day (which I needed since it was 100 and humid there!). The only thing more thirst-quenching than plain old fruit is a fruit smoothie, which I also had in abundance on my vacay. My favorite flavor was watermelon. They tasted simple and delicious, like there weren't added sugars or anything else. I made a mental note to try making a watermelon smoothie in the near future when I was home, and today, I did just that. This 3-ingredient smoothie is my new favorite ridiculously easy thing to make! I love that it's fitting as a small meal (it was my breakfast this AM), snack, or ... [Read More]
Ballet Boot Camp + Strawberry Arugula Salad
Happy Hump Day! This evening I volunteered at the Humane Society and got to play with puppies like this cutie: Because I had a full day of work to do and knew I wanted to make it to volunteering, I squeezed in a workout at home today. I've been wanting to try a barre workout, and I keep seeing The Barre Method studios popping up around here, but I just haven't made it to a class yet. Today I tried a Ballet Boot Camp Challenge workout I found in Prevention magazine. The article claims the workout is so effective because: "It strengthens your deepest belly muscles, pulling in your waist like a corset, while lifting your butt, trimming your thighs, and toning your arms. It also whips into shape your perfect-posture muscles, so you'll strand straighter after a single session." Sounds ... [Read More]
Peanut and Broccoli Pasta & A Pizza Combo for One
Today's Fitness Highlight A lot of the time for the cardio portion of my workout at the gym, I cycle on a spin bike. My gym just got new spinners that are more high tech than the old ones, telling you how far you've cycled, how many calories you've burned, etc. I took advantage of this new training tool and instead of biking for a specific amount of time today, I set a distance goal... and I spinned 15 miles with the resistance set at a decently high gear. Go me! Food In case you don't know, I'm crazy about fruit. My usual fruit staples include berries, bananas, apples, mangoes, and kiwis (and I suppose avocado is technically a fruit, and one that I eat often!), along with others that I will randomly buy in season. I'm also a veggie fan (It only makes sense, as I am a ... [Read More]