#black garlic chocolate protein bites recipe

[santinoelliott]

Black Garlic Chocolate Protein Bites Black garlic is naturally sweet and pairs perfectly with chocolate in these nutty, protein-rich truffles.

[wrandonbu]

Recipe for Black Garlic Chocolate Protein Bites Black garlic is naturally sweet and pairs perfectly with chocolate in these nutty, protein-rich truffles.

[friendocheaven]

Picnic Ask

Ask and ye shall recieve @theaxolotleastofthesun it’s long af tho, so it’s under the cut.

 1.       Where and When is the picnic happening? (Gonna take this as ideal location and season basically)

a.       Milo: Prefers someplace a bit south—warmer than the northern parts of the Eye. Summer in Sun Elf territory would be nice. Not south enough to get jungle-y and humid (Glim can take heat, but draws the line at humidity), but someplace he could retreat to the blessed relief offered by the shade of a scrubby tree and have a good excuse to eat his favorite spicy foods and sweat to cool down.

b.      Glim: as stated above, he doesn’t do well in high humidity. Also not the biggest fan of excessive heat, but will put up with it for Milo’s sake. Were it up to him though, he would prefer an autumn picnic in a cozy shady glen under a still-full canopy of rich reds and violets and sunny yellows. A sigh of crisp wind carrying with it the first hint of winter.

c.       Remmi: Love’s spring, especially when it’s still early. They love the way the fruit trees look while still flowering and the cool, but warming, breeze. They would most enjoy something near water, but with plush green grass still under foot. The Northern Reservoir is well tended, with bright, blossoming bushes hedging cobbled pathways. The surrounding park stretches most of the way ‘round. Remmi would most like a quiet day at the eastern edge—farthest away from the great roaring falls that lead into the canyon. Bonus if there are frogs.

d.      Hani: Loves the dead heat of summer; the feel of warm sun on his skin. A midsummer, late afternoon picnic after a day of splashing around the Southern Sea would be heaven. Sure, the food might get a little sandy, but it wouldn’t stop him from eating and enjoying every second.

2.       What food and drinks do your OCs bring? (you fool! You’re enabling me to indulge my fascination with food culture!)

a.       Milo: Goes all out on the spice—picnic with him at your own peril. He packs extra-hot kimchi, seasoned roasted garlic cloves, Zevi’s falafel recipe, and a few other side dishes that reflect his upbringing by a Southern Dwarf familiar with Halfling food culture. He also gets pretty excited with drinks, bringing three; an iced ginger tea made with turmeric and black pepper, buttercup and honey hwachae (most non-halflings just call it wine even though it’s usually not alcoholic) because he’s (not so) secretly pretty sappy and sentimental, and Baekse-ju to finish off with a good pair for spicy food and just a touch of alcohol.

b.      Glim: Settles for light, seasonal snack foods. He brings a bunch of fresh cut in-season fruit like apples (that yes, he does cut the skins to look like bunnies like his mother used to), a couple loaves of bara brith made with ground dried fruits and nuts served with butter, and a whole basket of pic ar y maen (cookies with raisins and currants mixed in). He brings spiced virgin cider and a fine local white wine to wash it down.

c.       Remmi: As a professional baker, they refused to bring anything but their best to their picnic. They pick finger-food pastries—the best from their eclectic cooking experience and travels. Beignets topped with honey and powdered sugar—in a basket enchanted to keep them fresh and hot and crisp because they take pride in their work. An impressive assortment of petit fors lined up and packed tightly in another container. Muffuletta finger sandwiches with toothpicks holding them together for the more savory inclined guests. And finally some cranberry pastila which they hadn’t made in years and was their way of flexing their baker’s muscles. They pack a thermos of milk tea and an iced chocolate drink.

d.      Hani: not a big cook. He was hoping Senya would do most of the cooking. It’s not like he’s particularly picky about what he ingests. To be polite though, he brings a crock of bamia—a stew with lamb, okra, tomatoes, and onion—that his mother would make on special occasions. He also brings an impressive array of drinks; sugar cane juice, carob juice, tamarind juice, and iced coffee.

3.       What are your OC’s wearing to the picnic?

a.       Milo: Largely his usual sort of outfit. A sleeveless turtleneck, cargo capris, and combat boots. He does add a lightweight cotton shawl embroidered with geese in shades of red that he got as a wedding gift from Lian. He wears it to avoid sunburn, but once in the shade and eating, he carefully folds it and sets it aside so it doesn’t get dirty.

b.      Glim: A cream colored tunic and brown tasseled cardigan over dark blue leggings, simple but sleek black ankle boots, and finished off with a simple sapphire teardrop pendant on a gold chain.

c.       Remmi: they opt for something simple and comfortable, but fitting for the season. They wear a yellow wide-band tank top under an oversized baby pink cable knit sweater. The sweater is so big it slouches off one shoulder, reaches their knees, and the sleeves hide their hands if they aren’t scrunched up at the elbow. They pair that with slim, washed out jeans, and a pair of tan slouchy boots. As one final touch, they don cherry blossom studs in their ears.

d.      Hani: he goes for something sporty and comfy. A loose and flowy off-white sleeveless crop top over a pair of baggy gray-blue shorts held round his hips by a broad and colorful sash and a pair of greek sandals that he discards almost immediately. To add a touch of class—after all this is a fun outing so why not—he wears golden arm bands just above each bicep. Those stay on longer, but they, too, eventually get unceremoniously dumped into the picnic basket in favor of total comfort.

4.       Which OC brings a musical instrument to idly play?

a.       Surprisingly enough, Hani. Remmi knows a little piano and harp, but those aren’t exactly available at a picnic. Milo has never learned an instrument (though he finds guitar interesting). And Glim tried playing, but sucked at just about everything; and anything he could play he couldn’t play in front of others. Hani, on the other hand, randomly knows how to play—and is good at—the oud (which is like an Arab lute). And yes, he does attempt to play Wonderwall on it.

5.       How quickly does your OC realize there are ants trying to sneak into their food? What do they do about it?

a.       Milo: He’s very perceptive, so it doesn’t take long for him to notice. He proceeds to squish them then mix them into his food for “extra protein” without hesitation. Despite knowing that Milo was raised eating bugs and still does fairly regularly, everyone still looks at him like he’s gone insane.

b.      Glim: He picks up on it when someone else points it out. It’s only then that he realizes that he forgot to activate the insect repellent rune. He curses under his breath and apologizes before quickly moving the picnic supplies a few meters away and activating it then.

c.       Remmi: They spend the whole picnic low-key looking out for this. Whenever bugs start walking toward or flying around their precious gourmet picnic, they nonchalantly close all the containers up tight then swat them all away without breaking the conversation.

d.      Hani: he doesn’t notice until one of the ants bites his tongue as he’s eating. He spits that one out because it was mean, but all subsequent ones he eats. And unlike Milo, Hani doesn’t mix them into anything, he just pops them into his mouth.

6.       Which OC hides under the shade at first before being convinced to come out into the sun? How do they react?

a.       Glim hates the heat. If you can manage to convince him to leave the tranquility of shade, he will be a drama queen about it. Really laying it on thick and moaning about how “the sun is a white hot laser” against his “poor fragile flesh” and that if he continues on he will surely “burn up, dry out, and die!” and other such dramatic nonsense. He gets weirdly poetic when he’s frustrated or cranky. Needless to say, Milo has ceased pushing the issue.

7.       Imagine your OCs spending their time picking nearby wildflowers and watching the butterflies and bees at work.

a.       Milo foregoes this particular activity, choosing this time instead to just take in the scenery. He’s scared he might upset a hive or get stung or bitten by something so he’d rather just sit back and soak up the atmosphere.

b.      Glim is carefully rooting around for four leaf clovers under a subdued parasol.

c.       Remmi carefully plucks and cuts an armful of flowers and stems so they can make colorful flower crowns for everyone.

d.      Hani chases the bugs and small animals, not unlike a dog would. But he’s having fun so it’s fine.

8.       Which OC foregoes a picnic blanket and sits directly on the ground? Are they concerned by the grass stains on their clothes afterwards?

a.       Hani doesn’t care where he plants his butt and cares almost as little about stains.

9.       Which OC brings a chair because they can’t stand the thought of sitting on the ground?

a.       Remmi, but a lot of it is because they don’t want to risk getting their clothes too dirty and also because the ground is never as soft and even as you think or hope. So sitting on the ground, even on a blanket, hurts their butt.

10.   Imagine your OCs falling asleep after eating their food, content and happy.

a.       Milo is one of the first to nod off and lays down in the shade. He kicks his shoes off and lets the sun warm his feet while the shade keeps his face cool. He wakes up to groggily help pack everything back up.

b.      Glim doesn’t actually fall asleep. He just sort of zones out while playing with Milo’s hair and enjoying the breeze.

c.       After loading up on carbs, Remmi dozes off in their chair and wake up with a tender sunburn spread across their nose and cheeks. They vow to never fall asleep in the sun like that again, but they make the same mistake next time.

d.      Hanni has seemingly boundless energy throughout the day, which is a bit unusual for him as he often naps a lot when the sun is out, but is wired by the time the moon replaces it. As soon as they’ve packed everything up and are headed home, though, the excitement wears off and he crashes hard. He’s asleep the whole way back.

[fanfoolishness]

Home Cooking (SUF)

(Fluff and angst in nearly equal measure, Connverse, 8800 words. Set between Little Graduation and Prickly Pair.  Steven experiments with home cooking and decides to share his creation with the Maheswaran family, but he finds himself getting unexpectedly emotional.  Many thanks to @honestlyhufflepuff and @followerofmercy for help bouncing ideas around, and @taikova, whose tweet about the sadness of Together Breakfast is briefly referenced here.)

*************

Steven shuffled aimlessly down the aisles of Beach City’s small organic grocery store, his shoulders nearly brushing against the wares more than once in the cramped space.  Grocery shopping was one of the few errands that got him out of the house these days.  He supposed he should be grateful for that, at least.

He paused in the freezer aisle, wrinkling his nose as he looked at the lean selection of vegetarian options.  He was getting sick of the macaroni, even though it came in three flavors, and he hadn’t been impressed with the tortellini or the enchiladas.  They always seemed to come out mealy and weird when heated.

He left the microwave dinners in the freezer case, wondering what else he should get.  He’d already loaded up on a few packs of protein shakes.  He wandered into the spice section and noted a hand-written recipe card under some Cajun seasonings.  He looked it over for a moment, raising his eyebrows, then took a picture of it with his phone.  

He nodded to himself.  He pulled a few things into his basket, then wandered back into the loaded produce section, piling peppers, celery, onion, okra, and garlic on top of the spices.  

“Why not?” he murmured, and headed to check out.  The worst that could happen was that he might ruin it, and messing up dinner sounded a lot less intimidating than some of the other mistakes he could make.

***

It had been a long time since Steven had properly cooked anything, and he was starting to realize it.

He did mess up in a few ways.  Nicked himself badly, his eyes burning as he tried to cut the onion. He kissed his hand to heal it and tossed the bloodied knife into the sink, reaching for another one.  Luckily the onion remained unscathed.

He was fine with chopping the okra, celery and peppers, getting into a steady rhythm.  He julienned them first, then diced the resulting strips until he had piles of colorful, slightly unevenly chopped vegetables.  The garlic was tricky, but he was more careful this time, using a smaller knife.  His tongue poked out the side of his mouth as he focused.  

The roux almost stymied him.  It took three attempts before he stopped burning the flour and creating a sludgy black mess in the bottom of the pan.  He summoned his shield to fan away the smell out the front door, grumbling to himself.

But he’d come this far, hadn’t he?  The fourth attempt with the roux was okay.  He had been tempted to give up and order another cheese pizza, but he was determined now.  What else was he going to do with the vegetables he’d bought if he gave up now?  He stirred the roux carefully, brow furrowed in concentration as he added more ingredients and allowed them to simmer.

It smelled so good.  So different, too, from the greasy smell of pizza, the clean scent of tea, the dull lifelessness of protein bars.  He really had been eating just to eat, hadn’t he?  The kitchen hadn’t smelled this good in months.

He half wanted to text the Gems and ask them to try it with him, but he felt a little uneasy at the idea.  They weren’t talking much these days; Steven spent most of his time working on his plants in the greenhouse, now that he’d left Little Homeschool, and the Gems were working hard to pick up his slack.  They mostly saw each other in vague elliptical orbits these days, a hello from one of them running into a goodbye from another.  He wasn’t sure how to fit back in with them again.  Maybe he was just going through a phase.  He stirred the pot, taking care to keep the vegetables from burning.

Besides, food wasn’t exactly the Gems’ thing.  Garnet only ate occasionally, mostly at Steven’s request.  Pearl would share a cup of tea with him once a month or so, though he knew she still didn’t actually care for it; tea was just the least offensive thing she had discovered in the entire lexicon of human foods and drinks.  Amethyst would readily eat both the food and the spoon as well, but he didn’t exactly trust her judgment when it came to fine dining.  Yesterday he’d seen her eating dry ramen in the wrapper  with chocolate and motor oil.  

He thought about inviting Dad over for dinner.  But lately things had been kind of weird with Dad, too.  Steven knew he was still having a hard time adjusting to losing his hair and being attacked, but he wondered if there was more to it than that.  He also kept trying to ask Steven questions that made him uncomfortable, questions about plans and the future and how he was doing, and Steven wasn’t sure he was up for it right now.  He let out a long breath.

His phone buzzed.  Hi you! What are you up to? Connie asked.  

He mentally kicked himself.  Of course, it was a Saturday.  Connie actually had a little time to hang out some weekends.  Why hadn’t he asked her to do something earlier?  Too wrapped up in his own head, he supposed.

Trying out a new recipe.  It’s hard.  I burned it three times already, but I think this time is the winner.  It smells awesome.  He sent her a picture, having to try twice because steam from the dish clouded the first shot.

That looks amazing!  Wish I could try it.  Actually, I’m getting hungry just looking at it!

He gulped, fingers firing off a reply before he could stop himself.  Want me to bring you some?

The phone buzzed again.  That sounds like a great idea!  But I told my parents I’d hang out with them tonight.  Dad found a new strategy game and he thinks he can take out my mom, but he doesn’t know how badly she’s going to stomp him.  My mom gets really competitive.  It’s gonna be hilarious.

He considered.  Well, there’s a huge pot of this vegetarian gumbo.  I could make some rice, and we could all share?

Let me check! 

He paced back and forth with his phone in his hand, hoping to feel a familiar vibration. He gave the gumbo a stir, then nodded.  It looked like the recipe had said it would, three hours after starting it.  He dipped in a tablespoon and brought out a steaming spoonful, blowing on it gently, then swallowed a bite.

Oh.

“That’s… that’s really good,” he croaked to the empty dining room.  Tears pricked his eyes unexpectedly.  He tasted garlic and pepper, heat and spice. He felt warmer than he had all week, a warmth that had nothing to do with his jacket or the temperature outside.  It seemed to fill him up from his chest and belly outward.  How was food this powerful?

His phone buzzed.  He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and read Connie’s reply, and his face spread into a smile. 

They’d love that!  Come by as soon as you can!  Miss you <3

***

Steven rocked back and forth on his heels, standing on the Maheswarans’ doorstep, the food carefully nestled in his largest grocery bag.  He could feel the heat radiating through the cloth bag against his leg.  He rang the doorbell, his stomach flip-flopping as he did so.

She asked you to come, he reminded himself.  Yet he was seized with a sudden fear that the Maheswarans were just being polite, that Connie must have talked them into pitying him, that they didn’t actually want him around --

The door opened.  Doug Maheswaran grinned at him, looking comfortable and relaxed, no trace of pity in his warm eyes.  “Young Universe!  Good to see you.  Wow, have you grown again?  It’s been too long.  Come in, come in.”  Doug reached out and took the bag of food from Steven.  “Thank you for bringing dinner, it smells delicious. Saves me from having to come up with something!”

Steven blinked, slightly overwhelmed by the sheer force of Doug’s cheeriness.  “Hi, Mr. Maheswaran, you’re welcome!  Um, well, it made a much bigger batch than I thought it would, so it seemed silly for me to try to eat it all on my own…”

“Doug, for heaven’s sake, let the poor boy get inside before you badger him to death,” Dr. Maheswaran called from the dining room.  Steven peeked around Doug, hoping for a glimpse of--  “Connie!  Steven’s here, come on down.”

A barrelling of footsteps down the stairs, and Connie burst into the living room, grinning all over.  “Steven!”  She wore a shirt he hadn’t seen before on her, a pretty purple one with little white polka dots.  Her hair fell in loose waves around her face.  He fought a burst of giddiness.

“Connie!”  

Steven grinned back at her.  Normally they’d go for a full-on, leap-in-the-air style hug upon seeing each other again, but he held out his hand for a stiff handshake instead, conscious of Doug still standing a few feet away and Priyanka leaning into the doorway between the living room and dining room.  

Connie batted his outstretched hand aside and hugged him anyway.  He closed his eyes, her hair soft against his cheek, and held her for just a moment before she pulled back.  She was still taller than him by a good inch or two, but hadn’t grown since the last time he’d seen her.  Good. It hadn’t been too long, then.

“It’s, um, good to see you,” he breathed.

“Likewise,” she said, blushing.

Doug coughed delicately.  “All right, you two.  Come on, let’s get dinner set up before it gets cold.”

Steven followed Doug toward the dining room, but couldn’t help but take the opportunity to grab Connie’s hand and squeeze it, for just a moment, before letting it fall.  “You’re sure they’re okay hanging out with me?” he whispered to her.

She gave him a sweet smile. “Of course they are.  My parents love you, Steven.”

He chuckled, his nerves catching up to him.  “Are you sure?  I’m surprised they don’t think I’m a bad influence on you.”

“I’m perfectly capable of being a bad influence on myself, Steven,” said Connie loftily.  “Don’t flatter yourself.”  She winked.

They entered the dining room, where the table was already set.  He could see into their small kitchen through the propped open door, where Doug was already putting the rice and gumbo into serving dishes.  

Priyanka pulled glasses down from the shelf.  “It’s good to see you, Steven,” she said with a faint smile.  “This is so thoughtful of you.  Thank you.”

“Oh, uh, no thought at all, really,” blustered Steven. “I just was trying out something new and thought it would be nice to share it.”

“Were your father and the Gems busy?” Priyanka asked, opening the refrigerator.  “Water, or iced tea?”

Steven glanced at Connie, who caught the look on his face.  “The Gems are pretty busy these days, Mom,” said Connie.  “And they don’t have to eat, remember?  Iced tea for me, please.”

Doug laughed. “Oh, yes, I remember now.  It was very nice of them to try that time we went out to dinner.”  He set out the serving dishes on the table, faint wisps of steam still rising from the gumbo and rice.  

“And Dad… doesn’t like Cajun food,” said Steven quickly.  “Iced tea would be great.”

Priyanka gave Steven an odd look, but brought out their drinks without further questions.  “Well, I’m excited to try this. Connie tells us you’re an excellent cook.”

“Aw Connie, come on.”

“You are!” said Connie, sitting down at the table.  Steven sat beside her, and Doug and Priyanka took the seats across from them.  “I mean, I know you don’t cook fancy things all the time, but when you do, they’re always really good.”  Steven’s ears burned.

Doug doled out portions to each shallow bowl, setting out a scoop of white rice on each dish, followed by a full ladle of gumbo and a sprinkle of chopped green onions.  The gumbo was rich and reddish, thick-bodied and clinging to the edge of the rice, glorious with the scents of pepper, onion, garlic. Steven peered into his bowl, hoping it tasted as good as he thought it had in his own kitchen.

Priyanka was the first to take a bite.  She chewed thoughtfully, then smiled in satisfaction.  “Steven, that’s quite good.  This is your first time making this?”  He nodded. “Well, color me impressed.”

Steven’s eyes widened.  He knew exactly how much a compliment from Priyanka meant, and he blinked in astonishment.

Beside her, Doug dove in.  “Steven, this is fantastic.  This tastes just like something you’d have visiting the Crawfish State.  Send me the recipe, all right?”

“Sure,” said Steven. “Really?  You -- you guys like it?”

Connie licked her spoon.  “That is insanely good.  What did you put in it?  It’s nice and spicy. Not exactly hot-spicy, but more of an earthiness? It’s delicious.”

“I just followed the recipe,” he said, shrugging and looking from face to face.  They each kept eating, apparently honestly enjoying the food.  He’d known he could cook, he supposed, but it was different sharing that with people besides himself.  He felt a sudden stab of sympathy for Lars being nervous to share his ube roll cake, back before when Lars still worked at the Big Donut. 

But Steven had no reason to be nervous, right?  Connie was sitting beside him, relaxed and happily eating his cooking, and her parents both wore warm smiles.  There was something strange and familiar both about this, a scene he’d seen a thousand times on television, a scene he’d tried to recreate at home more times than he could remember.  He tried to imagine Dad and the Gems sitting around the table, each enjoying the meal, laughing together, conversation flowing as easily as breathing.  It seemed both more and less possible than it ever had before.  He watched the Maheswarans, eating and talking together, and he felt hungry in a way that had nothing to do with his food.

“Don’t you want some?” asked Connie, nudging him a little with her elbow. 

“Oh!  Yeah, yeah,” he said, carving out a bite of rice and gumbo.  The whole reason he’d come here!  He popped it into his mouth, heat and spice hitting his tongue, combining with the sharpness of scallion and the comfort of fluffy rice.  He swallowed and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

Oh. Oh, no.

There it was again, that warmth, a comforting feeling that seemed less about the food than what the food meant.  He blinked, tears starting at the corners of his eyes.  Not here!  Not in front of Connie’s parents!  He stared furiously into the depths of his bowl, willing himself not to cry.  A losing battle.  A tear trickled down his cheek, falling into his food before he could wipe it away.

The conversation fell quiet, and the Maheswarans’ faces shifted from open and relaxed to suddenly worried.

“Steven?  Are you all right?” asked Priyanka, her voice cautious.  Soothing.  He wondered if she saved that voice for her patients.  He’d only rarely heard her use it with Connie.

“Is something wrong?” said Doug.  “It is a little spicy --”

“No!  I’m fine,” Steven muttered, setting down his spoon and rubbing at his face with his right hand. More tears.  Was he bright red?  He felt his cheeks flushing.  “I -- might have put too much garlic in, that’s all --”

He felt Connie’s hand on his left hand, nestled in his lap beneath the table.  She took it in her own and squeezed.  He didn’t trust himself to look at her without crying even more obviously, and that was not what he had come here to do.

She fumbled, trying to come up with something.  “Steven Universe, afraid of a little garlic?” The words were teasing, but the tone was concerned.

He sniffed, straightened up, and let go of her hand.  “You’re right. I’m being silly.”  He took a few more bites, the food as delicious as before, his eyes feeling puffy.  He smiled through it.  “So, Connie said you guys were going to play a new board game?”

“Oh! Yes,” said Doug.  “Now, Priyanka always claims to be above such frivolous things as board games --”

“I do not,” she protested. “Games have a place and purpose, as long as your responsibilities are taken care of first.  Besides, they’re a good way to hone critical thinking skills and --”

“And crush everybody,” Connie supplied.  “Don’t pretend otherwise, Mom, you love being competitive.  How were you surprised at all that I took up swordfighting?”

Priyanka arched an eyebrow.  “Because swordfighting is an archaic form of battle and you were twelve.  But I have to say, I have always admired your determination.”

“She’s the best, isn’t she?” said Steven, finishing another bite.  The comforting warmth in his chest was more manageable now that the topic had changed, and he found himself enjoying what he’d made, something filling, something delicious, something real.  The stinging in his eyes faded.  “She’s always worked so hard.  She’s amazing at swordfighting, and science, and literary analysis -- I mean, the conversations we’ve had about books --”

“Steven!” Connie hissed. “You flatterer!”  She giggled and nudged him again.

“All right, all right,” he laughed.

“I know it’s rough on you two not being able to see each other as often,” said Doug sympathetically.  He ladled a second helping into his scraped-clean bowl.  “What are you up to these days, Steven?  I heard you’ve been busy.”  He dug into his food.

“Hm,” said Steven, pushing a chunk of pepper around in his dish.  What am I up to?  “The school for Homeworld Gems is going well, I guess.  We had our first graduating class.”  Don’t think about the dome.  

He kept babbling, aware that the Maheswarans were looking at him.  “It went really well?  They were all pretty excited to head back out to space and move on.”  The chunk of pepper slid around in circles, aided by his spoon.  “I kinda stepped back from the school, though… I figured the other Gems were the best ones to be in charge.  You know, they actually know what it’s like, trying to adjust to life on Earth without being ruled by anybody.  I… don’t.  At all.”  He shrugged glumly.  “But I hear they’re doing great without me.”

Priyanka looked at Steven, then glanced at Doug, giving him a slight nod.  Doug finished his second portion, letting his spoon rest back in his bowl.

“That’s excellent news about the graduation,” said Priyanka, her voice measured. “You must be proud.  But I know that for me it’s always bittersweet, seeing the interns match to their new residencies and move on.  It does sound like you’ve helped a lot of people.”  She got to her feet and collected her dishes. “Doug, would you please give me a hand with these?”

“Of course, dear,” said Doug, gathering up his own dishes and following her into the kitchen. As soon as the kitchen door closed behind them, Connie turned to Steven, taking his hands in hers.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he said, gazing into her dark eyes.  He reached out, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear. 

“Thanks,” she said softly.  “That was bugging me.”

“It was very cute though.  It made your ear look like an elf’s. Just the way it peeked through the hair.”

She smiled, but the action didn’t reach her eyes.  “Are you okay?” 

He looked down at their intertwined fingers.  “Ugh.  You noticed that, huh?”

“Of course I noticed you getting teary at the dinner table, and don’t tell me it was garlic.  You love garlic.  If you hadn’t realized, I know you pretty dang well, Universe.”  

He squeezed her hands.  “I -- I don’t know if you do,” he mumbled.  “I don’t know if anyone does right now.  I feel like I barely know me.”  He gulped past the sudden lump in his throat.

Connie leaned forward until their foreheads touched.  “Isn’t that what being a teenager is all about?”  They were quiet for a moment, their breathing matching.  

“Are you okay, Connie?”

She spoke into the stillness, her words winding, wandering. Wounded.  “I don’t know.  Mostly?  Not completely.”  She shrugged.  

“Come on.  You can tell me.”

“I know, it’s… hard to get started, is all.”  She held tight to his hands.  “I swear, I feel crazy some days.  It’s like I’m normal me, the same as I used to be.  But then there’s this new Connie fighting to form inside me, trying to figure things out, and I don’t understand her.  And in between the two of them, everything is just a mess.  Sometimes I mouth off to my parents and get in trouble, sometimes I just want to cry for no reason, sometimes I just don’t care about school, sometimes I hate everything --”  She squeezed his hands back, much harder than he had squeezed hers.  “Mom says it’s pretty normal for my age, but if that’s the case, this is a stupid age.”  Her eyes shone with sudden tears.

 “That sounds really hard.  And… kind of familiar, actually,” he said in a soft voice.  “I didn’t know you were going through all that.”

“That’s because I didn’t tell you,” she whispered.  “I knew you had your own stuff going on, and I didn’t want to pile on, especially when we don’t get to see each other as much as before.  It’s been weeks!”

“I know,” said Steven miserably.

“But it’s all so frustrating, and I hate not feeling like the me I’ve always been.  It makes everything more difficult.  I have a harder time focusing on my classes, but I need to, because for the first time in my life they’re actually challenging and it’s weird.  I got my first C on a test last quarter, did I tell you?  And sometimes I try talking to friends at school like Jeff or Bri, and that helps with the human stuff, but they don’t understand how much I miss seeing you and the Gems all the time. Especially you.  Because I do miss you, jam bud.”

 “I’m sorry, I should have been around more -- I should have been here for you --”

“Don’t apologize, you dork,” said Connie, wiping her eyes.  “It’s not like it’s your fault.  Sometimes stuff sucks a little and that’s how it is.”  She took a deep breath.  “Now.  Tell me what’s been going on with you.  I went first because I knew you’d feel bad telling me unless I shared my stuff too.”  She leaned back and stuck her tongue out at him.

“So rude,” said Steven, laughing despite himself.  “I guess you do know me pretty well still.  Um, as far as what’s going on with me, I -- I don’t know.  It’s like, everyone’s growing up, you know?  You’re getting ready for college prep stuff, and Lars and the Off Colors went back to space, and Lars, of all people, is… actually mature now.  I think he finally has his head on straight.  And it’s good, but it’s also confusing, because that was never the guy I knew.  And he and Sadie never made it work, and they’re fine with it, and that’s fine, but it just feels weird.”  He bit his lip.  “Did you hear, the Suspects broke up --”

“No!” Connie gasped.  “I heard about it, but I thought it was some sick prank --”

“Right? Me too!  But they all have their own things going on now.  Buck is going to medical school, Jenny’s got a little business going, Sadie has this new partner Shep and they have a totally different sound together… I don’t know.”

“Welcome to the club,” said Connie.  “Why do things have to be so confusing now?  I thought growing up was supposed to make things clearer.  Instead it seems like everything just gets more complicated.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Steven mused.  “I keep thinking, it seems like Beach City is doing fine without me, and so are the Gems, too.  I hardly even see them now.  They’re doing great with Little Homeschool, and I wonder did they even need me at all?  What was I doing, trying to run a school?  I’ve never even been to school!  I was making it all up as I went!”  He huffed in frustration, then continued.  

“I guess I’m glad my schedule’s opening up now, but I haven’t figured out what I should do instead.  I have time to sleep in but I keep waking up in the middle of the night.  I could do music stuff, but I haven’t felt like it in forever.  Lately I’ve been messing with plants, growing them the old-fashioned way, but that doesn’t really feel like anything.”  His voice trailed off.  

“And…”  He hesitated.  He hadn’t told her yet about the dome he accidentally created on graduation night, how he’d nearly hurt everyone. Or what happened in the Reef with Pearl and Volleyball.  He still wasn’t sure how to say that out loud. To anyone. 

“-- and I think my dad is still messed up after what happened with Bluebird,” he said instead.  “He was starting to get more comfortable with Gem stuff, but now he’s not coming over as much.  He doesn’t say it, but I think he’s kind of worried something might happen again.  I am too, I guess.  It honestly scared both of us.”

“I still can’t believe they went after your dad,” said Connie, a glimpse of her warrior side shining in her eyes.  “I know you let them go, but if I’d been there with my sword --”

“There’d have been no stopping you,” he chuckled.  Could they have stopped me? If I hadn’t stopped me?

“So what we do, then?  I’m a mixed up bunch of stupid hormones and you don’t know what to do with your life or your family, and I guess that makes us both at least a little awkward,” said Connie.

“I don’t know,” said Steven honestly.  But not knowing wasn’t as scary with Connie holding his hands.  There was that much, at least, and that was a lot.

The kitchen door swung open and Steven and Connie quickly let go.  He wasn’t sure if holding hands would be frowned upon by the Maheswarans, but didn’t want to find out, either.  “All done with your food?” asked Priyanka.  They nodded.

“That was truly delicious, Steven,” she said.  “Why don’t you help me finish up, Connie, and Steven, you and Doug can set up the game.  That is, if you’d like to stay for it.  You’re certainly welcome to join us.  From what I’ve seen perusing the rules manual, this game is much better balanced with four players than three.”

“Oh, please stay, Steven!” said Connie brightly.  “Maybe we could form an alliance and actually take my mom out for once.”

Priyanka let out a sharp bark of a laugh as Doug took down a board game from the bookshelf behind the dining room table.  “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?”  

“All right, I’ll give it a shot,” said Steven. “But no promises, Connie.  Gemkind has abolished warfare, remember?  Strategy’s not exactly my strong suit.”

“Well, check out the rules and see what we can swing.  You’re going down, Mom,” said Connie.  They retreated, and Steven joined Doug in the living room, where he already had the game out on the coffee table.  Steven sat down beside him on the sofa.  

“Have you played this one, Steven?  It’s called Interstellar Showdown.  It can be collaborative and cooperative… or intensely competitive!”  Doug’s face glowed with anticipation.  “Priyanka always wins no matter what we play, but I’ve been studying strategies for this game on the sly.  Just between you and me, of course.”  He opened the box and started rifling through the instructions.  “Would you mind organizing the pieces for me?”

“Sure,” said Steven.  He held up one of the small transport ships.  “This is actually a pretty close version of some of the Gem ships I’ve seen,” he said.  “Do you think it’s a coincidence?” He grouped the blue pieces across from him, where he guessed Connie would probably sit, and got to work separating the pink pieces from the plastic that held them in place.  

“Hard to say.  What’s that thing Connie was telling me about the other day -- convergent evolution?  Sometimes nature makes things very similar to each other because it’s the best shape for the task, like bird wings and bat wings. I think that’s what she said.  She’s always telling me about interesting things she’s learned in school,” said Doug.

“Me too,” said Steven.  “I never knew our atmosphere was mostly nitrogen-based until Connie told me.  Who knew, right?”

“Right!  Nitrogen’s not the first thing you think of when you think ‘breathable.’  I always thought it was all oxygen, all the time.”  Doug set down the instructions and picked up a deck, tearing off the plastic wrapper. He shuffled the cards, doing both the regular shuffling as well as the bridge where the cards fanned upward.  Steven watched, slightly jealous.  He’d never figured out how to shuffle like that.

“How do you do the bridge thing?” he asked Doug.

“Bridge thing?”  Doug looked down at his hands.  “Oh, with the cards.  It’s not too hard.  You basically do the same shuffling action, but in reverse.  Give it a shot.”  He handed the cards to Steven.

“See, I can do the regular shuffling just fine --”  He demonstrated.  “But then this always happens.”  The cards limply collapsed between his hands, refusing to arc.  “Splat.”

“Try again,” said Doug, pulling out another deck of cards from the box and shuffling them downward.  Slowly he arced them upward, the cards bending into perfect semicircles.  Steven watched his hands closely.

“Okay, let’s see --”  Down shuffle.  He fanned his fingers outward, trying to urge the cards to go up instead of sideways.  They splatted again, and he frowned, mouth twisting.  “I can never get it,” he muttered.

“It’s hard to explain.  I think I had to keep practicing.  And try to change the shape of your hands as you lift the cards.  That’s key,” said Doug.  He shuffled again.

Steven tried it three more times, getting more irritated each time.  The third time the cards fluttered away from him, making a mess and knocking over the pile of pink spaceships.  A few of them skittered onto the floor and Steven flushed, suddenly embarrassed at his own irritation.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” he said hastily, picking the pieces back up.

“Hey, it’s fine,” said Doug, picking up a ship he’d missed under the couch.  “No big deal if the bridge doesn’t work out for you.  But if you want to keep trying, we can.”

Steven took a deep breath.  “Okay.”  He tried again, this time flaring out his fingers more widely, driving his thumbs downward as he did.  A few of the cards finally arced, weakly, and he looked in surprise at his own hands.

“See, you’ve got this!”  Doug showed him again, and Steven studied how his fingers curled beneath the cards on the upswing, the angles in relation to the table, how the thumbs moved.

Steven tried again, and this time the arc was actually visible, if not as neat as Doug’s.  “Hey! I’m doing it!”

Doug set his cards down, smiling.  “You just needed a little help.  It’s tricky!”  He clapped Steven on the shoulder, and Steven shuffled the cards once, twice, a third time, smiling.  Doug switched decks with Steven, and Steven shuffled the cards, the action getting smoother with each attempt.  

“Thanks, Mr. Maheswaran.”  

“No problem.”  They went back to punching out spaceship pieces from their plastic frames.  Doug took the white pieces, and Steven took the pink ones, leaving yellow for Priyanka.  

Doug cleared his throat.  “I’m sure you already know this, Steven, but in general, there’s never anything wrong with asking for help.”

Steven’s hands stilled on the plastic spaceships.  “With… shuffling?”

“With anything.”  Doug kept setting out the yellow plastic pieces, one at a time, his hands steady and sure.  “No one knows how to get everything right on the first try.  Sometimes it’s shuffling cards.  Sometimes it’s stuff at home, too.”

Steven’s cheeks flared.  “It -- it was just too much garlic --” he faltered. “I wasn’t --”

“Hey, hey, I’m not trying to put you on the spot, Steven,” said Doug, turning a little to face him directly.  He looked worried, but kind.  “But you’re important to Connie.  And you’re important to Priyanka and me, too.”  He reached out again, and this time instead of a quick clap, his hand rested on Steven’s shoulder.  “If there are things that are worrying you, I know you already have a lot of people in your life you can turn to.  But when I was your age, sometimes the people closest to me were exactly the ones I didn’t feel like I could talk to.  And if you’re ever in a place like that, I want you to know you can talk to me and Priyanka, even if you feel like you can’t talk to Connie or your family.”

Steven looked into his face, then sniffed, reaching up to rub his eyes.  Part of him wasn’t sure what he could possibly say to Mr. Maheswaran.  But part of him felt like he was thawing, a cold layer of fear slowly breaking up and dissolving in parts.  Not completely.  Still, though, the feeling was a good one.  

“Thank you, Mr. Maheswaran.  I -- maybe I will.”  He let out a long breath.  “Though we should probably finish setting up the game.”  But impulsively he leaned forward, and Doug’s hand on his shoulder became a hug, brief and a little clumsy but warming all the same.

“Sounds like a plan, kid,” said Doug, smiling.  His own eyes looked a little watery, or was that a trick of the light?  “Come on, ladies,” Doug called.  “Are we going to defeat you, or what?”

***

They did not, in fact, defeat Priyanka.  Though it was very, very close.  Steven’s Pacifist aliens did form a powerful alliance with Connie’s Warrior race, and Doug’s strategic use of the Zombie aliens constantly stymied them.  But in the end Priyanka’s Virus aliens stood victorious with their colonies towering above the others’, with most of the other players’ ships lost to the warp. 

Priyanka was a restrained, if slightly smug, victor.  “Well,” she said, smiling faintly at her collection of yellow colonies.  “That was certainly tricky.”

“Modest as always,” Doug teased, reaching out to squeeze her hand briefly.  “Ahhh, one of these days I’ll get the perfect strategy together.  Maybe.”  He let out a long sigh.  “I thought for sure that last gambit was going to work….”

“My dad, the eternal optimist,” said Connie.  “What’d you think, Steven?  It ended up being a very Gem-like game, didn’t it?”

“Uncannily so,” said Steven.  He was glad he’d managed to draw the Pacifist card at the beginning of the game and could worry more about helping Connie win.  Even in board game form with painted on planets, the idea of colonization couldn’t help but creep him out a little.

Despite that, though, it’d been fun to see Connie with her brow furrowed in concentration, poring over the board to come up with a strategy.  He’d enjoyed Priyanka complimenting him on a particularly clever bit of negotiation, and it had been fun to cheer Doug on with Connie for the final encounter.  “It’d be cool to play again as some of these other alien species.  They all seem to have a special power that breaks the rules just a little bit. It’s a neat game.”

“I wouldn’t say no to a rematch another time,” said Priyanka.  She checked her watch. “But it’s nearly nine o’clock.  Won’t your family be getting worried, Steven?  Beach City’s not exactly down the block.”

Steven met Connie’s eyes.  He knew he’d probably be unable to convince the Maheswarans that it was fine to stay longer, that the Gems hadn’t had the concept of “bedtime” for him in years.  “I hadn’t realized it was getting so late,” said Steven.  “I hope I didn’t intrude on your family time --”

“Not in the slightest,” said Priyanka.  “It’s been a pleasure to have you, Steven. We should do this more often.”

“Besides, you were kind enough to bring over a delicious dinner!” said Doug.  “Don’t forget to send Connie that recipe for me.”

Connie reached out and poked him in the side. “If you don’t remember, he will hound me forever about it,” she warned.  “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you, Steven?”

“Of course not,” he laughed.  “Don’t worry. I’ll send it as soon as I get home.”

“Speaking of dinner, there was a little bit left. Let me go package it up for you,” said Doug.  “There’s plenty left for a few more servings.”

Doug and Connie both stood from their seats, and Steven gave Connie a questioning look. “I’m just going to the restroom,” she said.  Steven nodded, and realized he was now alone with Priyanka.

For a moment they didn’t speak, looking at each other from across the game board.  Steven wondered about Doug and Connie both excusing themselves, remembering how long Connie’s parents had taken in the kitchen after dinner. After he’d cried.  His cheeks burned as he put the pieces together.

He cleared his throat.  “Dr. Maheswaran, can I ask you something?”

She blinked, looking as if she had been lost in thought.  “Of course, Steven.”

He looked down at his hands, fingers twisting together.  “Did you and Mr. Maheswaran plan on… giving me a talk?”

“What do you --”

“Mr. Maheswaran talked with me earlier.  He told me I could always talk to you both.”  Steven looked pointedly at his shoes.  “That was planned, wasn’t it?  After I got weird at dinner?”

Priyanka sighed, then rested her elbows on her lap, leaning towards him.  “I suppose I can speak plainly, then.  Yes.  We saw that something seemed to be bothering you, and we didn’t want to leave it unremarked upon in case you needed to reach out.”

Steven blinked in surprise.  He’d fully expected her to deny the whole thing.  It was what the Gems would have done.

“Oh!  You -- I thought so.”

Priyanka smiled ruefully.  “You’re nearly an adult, Steven.  I’m not too surprised you realized.  I hope you don’t think that we’re trying to patronize you.”

Steven stopped twisting his hands and shoved them in his pocket instead, willing them to stay still.  His leg betrayed him by starting up a quiet jitter.  “No, I don’t think that,” he said in a rush.  “At least, not exactly.”  His leg stilled a little, remembering Doug’s quick hug, the way he’d felt like he was thawing.  “It was… really nice, what he said.”

She nodded. “That’s why I asked Doug to talk to you, instead of talking to you myself.  He’s far more approachable than I am.  I have been told I can be… intimidating.”

Despite himself, Steven could feel a smile tugging at the edges of his lips.  “I was pretty scared of you at first,” he admitted.  “I think Connie was too.”

Priyanka’s gaze softened.  “I can be very stern.  Subtlety isn’t one of my strong suits, Steven.  That’s why I wasn’t going to belabor the point by trying to corner you, if that’s what you suspected is happening right now.”

Steven looked anywhere but at her face. “Maybe…”

She chuckled.  “No. I wasn’t planning on pulling you aside myself, and Doug really did just decide to go box up the food.  And Connie wasn’t in on it, if you’re worried about that.  This was solely a parental decision.”

Steven relaxed, a fear he hadn’t even fully articulated slipping away.  “Oh.  That’s, um, good to know.  Thank you.”

“However, since you’ve brought it up… would you mind if I shared my thoughts?”

He thought for a moment.  He was, quite honestly, still a little afraid of her.  But he liked that she had asked.  “I’d like to hear them,” he said cautiously.

Priyanka straightened back up, leaning against the back of the sofa and looking thoughtful.  “I worry about you both,” she said, looking up at the ceiling.  “To be frank, this is a terrible age.  Every problem is magnified, large or small.  Human brains struggle so much at this age to mature, to grow, to form identity.  I wouldn’t go through it again if you paid me.” She let out a short, sharp laugh before continuing, still keeping her gaze fixed above him.  

 “I know Connie is having a hard time of her own, and sometimes she lets us in, but sometimes she doesn’t.  It’s normal, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult.”  She sighed.  “And I know she worries about you. She’s always wanted to fight by your side, but soldiers often struggle after their war ends.  I know that neither of you was a soldier in the traditional sense, but still… as I said, I worry.”

“Was I a soldier?  I don’t know.”  He’d never thought of himself like that.  Yet he knew battle, didn’t he?  Didn’t he know sacrifice?

“Maybe,” she said.  “I don’t know all the details.  But I know it was a war.”

“Yes.  It was.”  He swallowed.  “There are things that happened to me I still haven’t told anyone,” he said, so softly that he could barely hear his own voice.  He followed her lead and gazed up at the ceiling, its plain eggshell surface slipping and blurring in his vision.  “And some things that only Connie knows.  Terrible things.”

A moment’s pause.  “I... wondered.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to say them out loud.  They’d be real, then, wouldn’t they?  The war is over.  Why do I still think about old scars?”  The tears started again, but if he didn’t look at Priyanka, he could pretend they weren’t happening.  He kept staring at the ceiling.  “And then there’s new things. I’m not human.  Not fully.  And sometimes things happen that I don’t understand -- that I can’t control --”  He sucked in a breath, suddenly remembering where he was.  He snapped his head back down and tore his gaze from the ceiling.  “No. I shouldn’t --”

Across the table, Priyanka’s eyes looked red.  She folded her hands in her lap.  “What if you did talk about it?”

Steven stared at her, his cheeks damp, his nose running.  “I can’t.  I -- I’ve already said more than I should. I’m sorry.”

Priyanka nodded.  “All right.  You don’t have to speak about it to me. Or to Doug.  Or even Connie.  But I would ask you… please think about sharing with someone.  When you’re ready.”

Steven nodded blearily.  “I’ll… think about it.”

She stood up, bringing him a tissue from the box on the end table and taking one for herself.  She dabbed at her eyes.  He got to his feet, feeling uncomfortable sitting while she stood.  He wiped his face, then balled up the tissue and stuffed it into his pocket.  

“You aren’t alone, Steven,” she said, standing beside him with her arms crossed, looking through the window to the darkened street outside.  “Even if it must feel that way sometimes.”

“It does,” he mumbled beside her.  “And I feel stupid for even thinking that, when you’ve both been so kind, when I have Connie, and my family, and --”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult.  Sometimes, it makes it even harder,” she said, and the fact that she didn’t tell him it was fine, or that he was going to be okay, made his chest ache.  He was more grateful to her for it than words could convey.

“Um… Dr. Maheswaran,” he said awkwardly.  “I don’t, um, I don’t know if you’re a hugger, but --”

Before he’d finished his sentence, she put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him to her.  He rested his head against her shoulder, closing his eyes, trembling only a little.

“Usually, I’m not,” she said, and he could tell by her voice she was smiling.  “But I make exceptions for those I care about.”  She embraced him a moment longer, then let go. He found the balled up tissue in his pocket and used it again.

“Thanks, Dr. Maheswaran,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“You’re very welcome, Steven.”

“Uh… what are you guys up to?” asked Connie uncertainly from the entrance to the dining room.

“It’s a clear night, and Steven was pointing out the regions of some of the nearer Gem outposts,” Priyanka answered without hesitation.  “I was curious about some of the missions he’s been on.  Once things settle down with school, hopefully you’ll both be able to explore further.”

“Thanks, Mom,” said Connie, though she still looked suspicious.

Doug appeared beside her, holding the bag of Steven’s food.  “Thanks again for sharing with us,” he said.  “Any time you want to come by and bring us dinner, you won’t catch me saying no.”

“Nor I,” said Priyanka. She nodded toward the front door.  “If you two want a few minutes to say goodbye outside, take your time.”

“Just not too much of it,” Doug joked.  He handed the bag to Steven, and gave him a warm smile.  “We’re up for a rematch any time though, Steven.  Take care.”

“Drive safely,” said Priyanka, smiling as well. “We’ll see you in a few moments, Connie.  Goodbye, Steven.”

Steven followed Connie through the front door and onto the doorstep, where she promptly sat down, patting the step beside her.  He closed the door and gratefully joined her, setting the food down between his feet.

“Um, what was that?” Connie asked.  

“What was what?” said Steven, trying to keep his voice casual.  Not that that would work on Connie.

“You and my mom talking.”  Connie waved a hand at the night sky, which was covered in clouds.  “I know she didn’t develop a sudden interest in astronomy.”

Steven buried his face in his hands, the ups and downs of the evening catching up to him.  He took a few breaths before he lowered his hands and looked at her with a watery smile.  “They worry.  About you.  About me.”

“About us?  Being together?”

“Not like that.  I think they’re fine with that.  I do think they like me,” he admitted. “But they know we’re not exactly fine.”

“Mm.”  Connie leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping an arm around his waist.  “I thought they might try some kind of concerned talk after I realized how long they were talking in the kitchen.  I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to warn you, but they came back too soon.  That’s where they go to be sneaky.  ‘Oh, we were just doing the dishes, Connie!’  And then the next thing you know it’s ‘we’re not mad, we’re just disappointed.’  They didn’t do that, did they?”

“No, no.  They were kind.  Really kind.  Your mom… She’s actually a big softy, isn’t she?  I never knew that before.”  He reached up, putting his arm around her shoulders.  He’d never stop marveling at how right she felt beside him.

Connie laughed, the sound sweet and silvery.  “It took me a long time to realize that’s why she’s so scary sometimes.  She doesn’t want anyone to know.  Whereas Dad -- he’s just out there with it.  He doesn’t care who sees.”

“Sorry if I made dinner weird.”  He tried to think of a way to explain how he had felt.  “I just… did I ever tell you about Together Breakfast?  That was before I knew you.”

“You mean Garnet’s wedding cake that we didn’t get to eat?  I figured there had to be a story behind it.”

“Yeah, we had one then, but there was an original Together Breakfast.  There was one day I was trying to get the Gems to hang out with me.  I was twelve, I think.  I made this nasty breakfast -- waffles covered in chocolate and whipped cream and popcorn -- and I wanted them to share it with me so much.  But they were all hiding in the Temple, and then Amethyst tried to eat the whole thing, and Pearl and Garnet were too busy.... Anyway, a Gem monster got out and it turned the breakfast into this hideous horrible whipped cream nightmare.  We defeated it and went out for pizza in the end.”

“That sounds messed up, but also, completely normal for you.”

“Right?” he laughed.  “But I thought about it a while back.  The messed up part wasn’t the monster.”  This was hard to say.  Harder than he’d thought it would be.  “Why’d I have to beg them to hang out with me?  I was twelve.”

“Oh, Steven.”  She was quiet.  “They really are aliens, aren’t they?  But that doesn’t make it okay.”

“I saw you and your parents sitting around the table, happy and normal and enjoying something I’d made -- something good, something I was proud of  -- and I don’t know.”  He pressed a kiss to her forehead.  “I really enjoyed dinner with all of you tonight.  But it was hard, too.”

“I didn’t know all this stuff was going on with you,” said Connie.  

“I didn’t know about your stuff, either,” he reminded her gently.

She nuzzled against him, her face soft against the crook of his neck.  “Okay, okay, fine.  I’ll talk to you if you talk to me.  Deal?”

“That seems fair,” he said, though his mind raced with thoughts of pink flashes and white-hot rage.  He forced the thoughts away, stuffing them down.  He’d talk to her about more things.  No need to bring up everything.  There were still some things he had to figure out on his own.

“I don’t know if I can see you every week,” said Connie sadly.  “Not until some of my classes start dying down.  But we should do a video chat every week for sure.  We’ve been bad at that lately.”

“Agreed,” said Steven.  He’d been the one to say he was too busy for the past three or four calls.  He swallowed his guilt and kissed her forehead again.  “I missed you, Connie.”

“I missed you too, Steven.”

A gentle knock at the door. Connie let out a long sigh.  “Ahh, that’s my cue.  I could sit here with you forever, you know.  But I guess they have a point.  I’m freezing.”

He laughed, holding her close.  “I’d better warm you up before you go.”  A quick kiss, then a longer one, slower, softer.  They broke apart, blushing furiously.  

“Now they’re really going to give me a concerned talk,” Connie giggled.  “‘Why are you so flushed, young lady?’”  

“Because it’s cold outside!” said Steven, his eyes wide in the picture of innocence.  They broke down laughing almost immediately.

She got to her feet and crossed her arms.  “Go on, you.  Before I do get in trouble.”  She beamed at him.

“Oh, fine,” said Steven, standing up and grabbing the bag of food.  He grinned as she kissed the tip of his nose.  “But… call me tomorrow?”  

“I will. And don’t forget to text me that recipe!”  She blew him a final kiss as she opened the front door.

“Bye, Connie!  Bye, Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran!” Steven called.  He turned and headed back to the Dondai, gently swinging the bag in his hand until he remembered it held his food.

He drove back home, the car still pleasantly full of the smell of spices and peppers.  This time of night there was an utter lack of traffic on the road.  The drive home passed quickly, smooth and dreamlike in the cloudy dark.

The Dondai’s wheels drove over the gritty sand, coming to a stop just below the path up to his house.  He sat in the car for a moment, considering, then pulled out his phone.

First he sent a text to Connie.  Made it home, safe and sound.  Here’s the recipe, he sent.  He included a few photos and perhaps an overabundance of heart emojis.

Then he hit a familiar phone number and raised the phone to his ear.  After three rings, it picked up.  “Steven?” asked Greg.  “Is everything okay?”

“Oh!  Sorry, Dad.  I forgot how late it was.  Everything’s fine.  I was just wondering… have you had anything for dinner yet?”

“No, I was just snacking around…”

Steven smiled, looking at the bag in his passenger seat.  “Want to come over and watch a movie?  I made dinner.”

Greg’s voice through the phone was surprised, but glad.  “I’d love to, son.  I’ll be over in five.  Love you.”

“Love you, too, Dad.”

He ended the call and lowered his hand.  He let out a long breath, then unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed his dinner.  He stepped out into the sand, heading up the path home, and he left behind the sound of waves upon the shore.

*****************************************

(Note: I chose gumbo based upon the meal I had at a soul food restaurant for my 33rd birthday, five days after my brother died.  My family and my friends gathered there, and it was the first food we’d had all week that I could actually *taste.*  It made me feel alive again. It made me feel human.  And I thought Steven needed that too.

And yes, this is a real board game. It’s called Cosmic Encounter in our universe and it’s delightful.)

[seasidekitties]

How To Cook Tasty Food That Makes People Mouth Water

Requesting nourishment can now and again be an immense torment - it very well may be costly, tedious (an hour to convey noodles, genuinely and can be cruel on your stomach as well. Nonetheless, making nourishment without anyone else is, obviously, more advantageous, speedier and useful for your pocket. Truly, we're discussing simple, spending plan agreeable suppers that you can really anticipate and make in your own kitchen. In addition, in the event that you are one of the individuals who are watching their weight, it is particularly valuable for you, as you become progressively aware of what fixings are getting into your nourishment.

Preparing nourishment for yourself sounds threatening, however once you begin doing that, you will see that it isn't so troublesome all things considered. Trust us when we state, on the off chance that you figure out how to make nourishment, your life will be simpler. In any case, before you get into this present reality of cooking, you should set or sort out your kitchen. 

Directly from significant kitchen fixings and nourishments like eggs, milk, bread, oil, lemons, et al to significant flavors like cardamom, dark pepper and cinnamon and to significant apparatuses and cookware, you need them all! Thus, in the case of living and cooking solo just because or needing a kitchen update, we have picked the best (and generally essential) instruments to live like royalty like a star.

Think about this as your definitive guide on the best way to make nourishment:

Significant Kitchen Ingredients And Foods You Must Have:

Eggs: If you don't have a container of eggs in your cooler, at that point put them at the highest point of your basic food item list. Eggs are a basic in the kitchen, as they can be set up from numerous points of view.

Tomatoes: Just like eggs, it is very imperative to have tomatoes in your kitchen, as they can be utilized for getting ready different dishes.

Cheddar: This velvety fixing can be sprinkled, cut and put on basically anything and it will taste simply flavorful. Mozzarella and parmesan cheddar are must-have in your kitchen.

Onions, Garlic and Ginger: Onions are root veggies that are known to include enhance. Garlic is known to improve the kind of any dish. The spot of garlic is basic; be it in Indian, American or Chinese food. Ginger is utilized as a zest that adds flavor to dishes.

(Likewise Read: 7 Surprising Health Benefits Of Garlic)

onion and garlic

Step by step instructions to make nourishment: Onions are known to include season. Garlic is known to upgrade the kind of any dish.

Rice or Quinoa: If you have a grain in your pantry, at that point you need not stress over some other sound nourishment. Rice and quinoa can go about as a strong substitute for most pasta dishes, and are ideal substitute for the individuals who are adversely affected by gluten.

Greens: Take your pick of greens; from lettuce to romaine, spinach, broccoli, kale, cabbage, unpleasant gourd, et al. They are generally solid and super-helpful when you need your fill for nutrients, minerals and fiber in your eating routine.

Vinegar: Vinegar is an incredible topping to keep in stock. From making salted onions to getting ready plate of mixed greens, Asian cooking styles and significantly more, you can utilize it for such a large number of things.

Popcorn: An incredible low-calorie tidbit that you can have whenever and anyplace, be it film evenings or a little party at home. Also, best of all, you can top it with anything, from new herbs to spread or caramel.

Chicken or Tofu: Whether you are a non-veggie lover or vegan, it is essential to keep some type of protein in your cooler.

(Likewise Read: 10 Best Chicken Dinner Recipes)

Step by step instructions to make nourishment: Whether you are a non-veggie lover or vegan, it is essential to keep some type of protein ​

Flour: Having flour in your kitchen gives you a great deal of decisions like preparing, making chapatis (breads), covering for nourishment when singing, et al. In addition, flour is known for thickening any fluids or sauces.

Oil: Cooking oils like olive oil, sunflower oil, mustard oil and canola oil are incredible wellsprings of good fats that our bodies need to remain solid.

Lemons: Lemons are incredible for cooking fish and meat just as for making some cooling drinks like lemonade and mojito. Lemons additionally go superbly with crisp greens and different veggies.

Sugar: An unquestionable requirement have element for heating cakes, beverages and cooking.

Salt: It has a few minerals and supplements that are basic for the body to remain solid.

Nectar: Honey is an unquestionable requirement have nourishment in your kitchen. It very well may be eaten straightforwardly or can be blended in with lime juice.

Tea/Coffee: Kick-start your day with a fast refreshment like hot espresso or tea.

(Additionally Read: 10 Best Coffee-Based Recipes)

espresso

The most effective method to make nourishment: Kick-start your day with a brisk refreshment like hot espresso or tea.​

Pickles: Pickles are utilized to give the nourishment a fascinating turn with regards to season. One must have a container of salted fruits, carrots, mango, lemon and green stew pepper.

Ketchup: Ketchup is an absolute necessity need to make sandwiches. It is joined by a large group of different bites like wastes, pieces and fries.

Yogurt: An all-rounder, yogurt has numerous utilizations - dietary and wellbeing. Yogurt can be had as a morning meal, is utilized in nourishment arrangements and is additionally utilized as a basic element for hair and face covers.

Entire grain bread: A solid and flavourful nourishment that is incredible for a light night nibble or for breakfast.

Milk: Milk is a fantastic buy, particularly with regards to dunking your chocolate treats and eating your grains. It is a key fixing in making rich sauces, fried eggs, frozen yogurt, tea or espresso.

Significant Spices You Must Have In Your Kitchen:

Cardamom: A gentle and sweet-enhanced zest, which is chiefly utilized for sweet dishes or biryanis.

Dark Pepper: Black pepper is one of the most regularly utilized flavoring fixings in cooking. An unquestionable requirement have for their slight sharpness. Continuously go for the entire peppercorns over pre-ground variants.

Cinnamon: Warm, sweet-smelling zest, cinnamon is ruddy dark colored in shading with an ambivalent flavor. It is utilized for heating and adding a heartiness to stews and curries.

Clove: This sweet, rich flavor is known to mend throat-related issues. Clove is utilized in curries and preparing.

(Additionally Read: Health Benefits Of 38 Important Spices From Around The World)

flavors

The most effective method to make nourishment: Black pepper is one of the most ordinarily utilized flavoring fixings in cooking.

Cumin Seeds: A fragrant, smooth zest, utilized in Indian and Middle-Eastern cooking styles, particularly curries.

Coriander: Relished for the most part in the western piece of the nation, coriander is pre-predominantly utilized as an embellishing over curries.

Nutmeg and Mace: A fragile, warm flavor much of the time utilized in heating and making curries. A foodie wouldn't set out to set up a decent curry without utilizing nutmeg and mace. Just obvious specialists would miss the nearness of these, others would just not realize what turned out badly.

Fenugreek: Beautiful green leaves with an unmistakable sweet smell; fenugreek gives curries its natural taste.

Curry Powder: A blend of 20 flavors, including coriander, cumin, and turmeric, curry powder is utilized to give the nourishment the perfect kick. Numerous cooking styles have received this blend, and every formula utilizes its varieties. Try not to mistake it for garam masala.

Bean stew Flakes: Make your standard nourishment fiery by including red bean stew chips, which are normally produced using dried simmered chilies.

(Likewise Read: How to Store Spices and Masalas During Monsoon: 5 Smart Tips)

flavors 620

Step by step instructions to make nourishment: Curry powder is a blend of 20 flavors, including coriander, cumin, and turmeric, curry powder is utilized to give the nourishment the perfect kick.

Significant Kitchen Tools And Cookware:

Apparatuses:

Culinary expert's Knife: A multipurpose blade utilized for slashing any sort of vegetables, or cutting of meat, bread portion, et al.

Cutting Board: A plastic or a wooden board on which you can cut your organic products, vegetables and chicken.

Estimating Cups: Measuring cups are very valuable to assess the perfect measure of nourishment to be cooked or to gauge fixings in the correct extent. These cups are very useful, in the event that you are the follow-the-formula sort of an individual.

Estimating Spoons: While you can bear to put somewhat more or somewhat less zest in your nourishment; sadly, the equivalent can't be said about heating. Thus, in the event that you are wanting to prepare, at that point these estimating spoons are of most extreme significance.

blade

Step by step instructions to make nourishment: A multipurpose blade utilized for hacking any sort of vegetables, or cutting of meat, bread portion, et al.

Strainer: The most ideal approach to wash verdant vegetables, for example, coriander and spinach is to clean them in a strainer. The strainer keeps the leaves from dispersing in the sink and the sifter lets the earth wash away rapidly. There are two sorts of strainers accessible; one is made of plastic, and the other one is made of hardened steel. In the event that you wish to bubble pasta at home or wish to not utilize the weight cooker for rice, at that point we suggest the tempered steel strainer.

Vegetable Peeler: To strip your vegetable without any problem.

Scissors: To cut open bundles in the kitchen.

Peeler: Always go for Y-peeler. It is utilized to strip vegetables and natural products, and is simpler to deal with when contrasted with ordinary peeler.

Grater: A grater (otherwise called a shredder) is utilized to grind nourishments into fine pieces.

Cookware:

Saute Pan: A saute container as a rule has a level base and is generally tall with vertical sides. This skillet is explicitly used to pan sear vegetables or meat.

Skillet: A skillet is typically fundamentally the same as a saute dish, aside from the sides of the skillet are not tall and flare outwards. You may need to simply get one of them for home cooking and use them reciprocally.

Weight Cooker: It is a water/air proof pot in which nourishment can be cooked rapidly by steam and weight. In India, a weight cooker is broadly used to cook beats, rice, and so on.

Substantial Bottomed Pan: It is a profound hardened steel vessel used to bubble milk, rice or water.

Step by step instructions to make nourishment: A saute skillet as a rule has a level base and is generally tall with vertical sides.

Substantial Bottomed Pot: Also known as kadhai in Hindi, an overwhelming bottomed pot is a thick profound roundabout cooking pot, which seems to be like a wok. It is utilized to make biryani, no

[cantquitu]

Health diary - Day 1

I’m going to apologise in advance for using my Tumblr for something I really probably shouldn’t use it for. I want to document what I cook & eat for the next 3 or 4 weeks in advance of a hospital consultation. I feel that using my blog is the approach I’m most likely to stick with. I know lots of people do not want to see posts about food or diets on their dash (I don’t), and it can be triggering for some, so please know I will always tag with #diet and I will use a ‘read more’ whenever I can (i.e. when I’m on a laptop/desktop). 

The posts are for me -  I’m not trying to be interesting or amusing or informative - so I invite you all to ignore them unless, for some reason, you’re interested in the eating & cooking habits of a vegetarian with a very sore stomach who can’t digest vegan sources of protein and is therefore constantly ill/grumpy/hungry or ill/grumpy/too full.

Ok, after eating and drinking my own body weight in French & Italian food and champagne for a week in Cannes and gaining 4 lbs, today is D-Day. 

If I tried to list the food items I’m not supposed to eat I’d be here all day, so I won’t bother. Garlic and onion are two sadly banned items. It’s such a lengthy list that I end up eating tons of sugary things to keep me going (and keep my spirits up, tbh). I’ve got a terrible sweet tooth, always have, but I’m really going to try and keep it in check. 

A big struggle for me is eating enough protein and iron, so I’m gonna make a conscious effort to increase my intake. Let’s see how far I get...

DAY ONE:

I didn’t eat breakfast because who the fuck eats breakfast when you could stay in bed til lunchtime instead? So at around 1pm I made my delish chocolate-almond-coconut smoothie in the Nutribullet and ate one poached egg (from my mum’s friend’s hen - thank you Penny Hen) and a slice of spelt toast.

Choco-almond-coconut smoothie: almond milk, 5 almonds, 3 hazelnuts, 1 large sticky Medjool date,  1/2 a banana (pre-frozen), 1 heaped teaspoon of chia seeds, 1 heaped teaspoon of flax seeds, 2 heaped teaspoons of cacao powder, half a teaspoon of coconut oil, 1 heaped teaspoon of almond butter. YUM.

(I don’t really use recipes, I just make shit up and then stick to the combo that tastes best,  hence the very exact nut numbers lol)

Tonight I did a big batch of cooking so that I could bring my lunch to work this week. While cooking I ate a few strawberries and an apple from my mum’s apple trees. I rarely eat apples but holy crap this was delcious. I cooked;

Spinach & Courgette soup - 1 potato, 1 large courgette, almost a full bag of baby spinach, 1 1/2 litres of vegetable stock, some tomato paste, a pinch of nutmeg, some chilli, salt, pepper, 2 teaspoons of cooconut oil. 

It was SCRUMPTIOUS. I ate a bowl for dinner with a small baked potato with some butter, salt and grated cheddar.

I also cooked a sort of...I don’t know what I’d call it...a kind of a chilli quinoa thingy?...to eat throughout the week.

Chilli Quinoa Thingy - half a large courgette, 1 can of black beans, 1 can of bijoux vert lentils, 1 can of crushed tomatoes, some tomato paste, paprika, chilli flakes, cumin, salt, pepper. 

I put it all in a pot and simmered for ages. Then I decided to cook the quinoa in the pot instead of cooking it separately because I was too lazy, so I added about a cup of vegetable stock and threw in about a cup of red quinoa and simmered for another 15 minutes. It made enough for 3 lunch portions which I’ll probably eat with grated cheddar and some smushed avocado if I can find a ripe one.

While writing this I had a cup of tea and one tiny overpriced cookie from some hipster San Francisco brand - it was oats and chia seeds and ginger I think? Anyway it was only big enough for one big bite or two small nibbles, but the two nibbles tasted good.

Oh god I’ve bored myself already.....

[kriskebob-blog]

Day 3: My experiment is tested by weekend socializing

Hi friends. Happy Saturday night! Tonight I’m blogging about the events of yesterday, which I think was probably my most uneventful day so far on this dietary adventure... at least in terms of shopping and prepping interesting new meals. Both breakfast and lunch were covered by leftovers - we still had half the burrito bake left and then we polished off the salad and zoodles for lunch. According to the order of recipes as given by Dr. G, our next dinner would be spinach and mushroom black bean burritos. I took a look at the recipe. It looked like one of the simplest ones yet. A can of black beans, some minced onion and garlic, some chopped mushroom, a few handfuls of baby spinach... and then some seasoning in the form of savory spice blend (already prepped), cayenne pepper (duh of course I’d have that), summer salsa (already prepped), and then Dr. G’.s “Healthy Hot Sauce (see page 8)”. Psh. This was going to be nothing after all the cooking I’d done yesterday. Today would actually feel like more of a “normal” day where all I really had to worry about cooking was a quick dinner. It felt good and right for a Friday. Time to unwind a little, you know? We also had plans that night to meet up for a game night with some friends who had recently moved back to CT after a few years out west. 

The one thing I’d have to stop and prep before throwing together these vegan burritos was the “healthy hot sauce” but I didn’t think that’d be a big deal. I had purchased several big handfuls of fresh red chiles at Big Y that morning. The guy bagging my groceries had raised his brows. “Habaneros? Oh, man. I wouldn’t eat those,” he shook his head. I smiled politely and thought to myself, Shit. I had never cooked with habaneros before. I hadn’t realized that’s what these peppers were; the bin had only been labeled “hot chiles.” (Does anyone else’s grocery store have this tendency not to specify which fresh chiles are which?? It’s annoying honestly!) I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll just... use less or something if I need to, I thought doubtfully. The cookbook hadn’t specified what kind of chiles to use, it’d just specify that they be “fresh hot chiles, a single type or mixed.” I had gone for the red ones because I’d liked the idea of a traditional red hot sauce. Suddenly I wasn’t so sure about my choice, but no turning back at that point. 

Oh, and in case you wondered how my second trip to the grocery store this week went - MUCH easier! I didn’t end up needing nearly as much stuff the second time, in part because I still had tons of produce left over from my earlier visit this week and I also had less pantry items to purchase this time (didn’t need to return to Whole Foods, thank god). I did end up picking up a big container of unsalted roasted almonds and then lots of blueberries from the farm stand because I was really going to need more fast snacking options if I was going to make it through these two weeks without stuffing granola in my face. Even with two pints of blueberries and 22oz of almonds, my bill was definitely improved from last time. I’ve still spent a lot more on groceries this week than I normally would, but I had expected as much. Hard to avoid it when you’re replacing cheap staples like eggs and toast with a heaping plate of fiber every morning. 

Alright so back to the point aka what I expected to be a totally easy day of food prep. All I needed to prep that night were some simple burritos, this “healthy hot sauce” alternative, and then a snack to share when we went to see our friends. I had decided on the edamame guacamole recipe in Dr. G’s book. Since you obviously want your guac to be as fresh as possible when it’s eaten, I’d wait until we got pretty close to our planned departure time to throw it together. I figured it’d take like ten minutes maybe. 

Sam got home early and was eager to help me prep dinner like the gem that he is. “Honestly, we can probably wait another half hour or so,” I told him. “This isn’t going to take that long to prep or cook.” So we got started around 5:15. We wanted to be at our friends’ place for 7:00 so that seemed like plenty of time to cover a quick dinner and then throw together the guac. 

Except then I flipped back to actually read the “healthy hot sauce” recipe more carefully. I blinked as I realized it wanted me to cook down the chiles for nearly half an hour and then “allow them to come to room temperature.” Would have been no big deal at all... if I had bothered to read this an hour earlier. Whoops. Shit, I thought. Within ~10 seconds I decided screw it. I really wasn’t feeling too confident about those habaneros anyways and we still had a big jug of Frank’s hot sauce in the fridge. Definitely not a whole food, but what the hell was the harm of adding a tiny bit of a normal condiment here or there? I looked again at the burrito recipe. It said to just add hot sauce to taste. We could probably just skip it entirely then. Great. Problem solved. I’ll use those chiles and try to make the hot sauce another day, I thought, doubting myself even as I said the words in my own head. 

As expected, the spinach & mushroom black bean filling was super quick to prepare and cook. One thing I’m realizing is that the cooking process for a lot of these meals is honestly a lot simpler than meat-based meals (or at least so long as you have your fancy hand-made condiments, salsas, sauces, raw cashews, etc etc prepped in advance...). The vegetables often only need a few minutes to cook down, you don’t have to stop to wash your hands every time you handle a piece of raw meat or egg, and, of course, you don’t have to worry about actually cooking any animal protein. Just cook those veggies down some, season them to your liking, and you’re golden. And speaking of seasoning, I did end up adding a bit of Frank’s to the mixture in the pot. But just a splash okay! 

Aw yea. And then here’s a burrito topped with the salsa before it got devoured (it was super messy btw): 

The verdict for this one? Tasty... but again, it needed salt. I haven’t been tasting the food for saltiness before sitting down to eat it because I’ve been trying to stick to Dr. G’s sodium substitutes/replacements but I don’t know how much longer I’m going to last! I actually would have liked to see what it tasted like with some fennel seed added in; I always remember one black bean taco recipe I made ages ago that I loved mainly because of that spice’s inclusion. It’s a nice way to trick your brain into thinking you might be eating sausage. 

We cleaned up the kitchen and it was a little after 6. Our friends only lived 15-20 minutes away. “Let’s wait until like 6:30 before we put together the guac, so that it’s fresh,” I told Sam. 

This was to end up being a major mistake on my part. So, first of all, it was definitely a risky move to decide to bring something like “edamame guacamole” to a social gathering. People are really freaking opinionated about what guacamole is supposed to taste like (myself included, admittedly). I’d had edamame before and I figured its addition would go mostly unnoticed under the flavors of lime, cilantro, jalapeno, etc. 

Looks like the right set-up for the makings of a perfectly normal and tasty guacamole, no?

Sadly, it really just didn’t come out good at all. I tasted it and actually winced. There was a sharp bitter flavor that took me completely aback. “I think the edamame is throwing me off,” I told Sam, who had also tasted it and looked as uneasy as I felt. I wasn’t sure what else the issue could be if not the obvious interloper ingredient. I’d even insisted we add in some kosher salt even though Dr. G, of course, called for his “savory spice blend” instead. Guacamole without any actual salt is a freaking crime, I’m sorry Dr. G. “Add more lime juice maybe?” I suggested to Sam, as he was the one who had thrown it together (have I mentioned that he’s the best?). I also added a bit more salt. 

We tried for a long time to salvage that guac. We added plenty more lime. More tomato. We even decided to blend up another avocado to try and mask the admittedly weird presence of the edamame. I tried it again and still winced a little. It still had a bitter bite to it that we couldn’t seem to mask. “I think it might not even be the edamame... it seems like it might be the jalapeno,” I told Sam. Well. This sucked. I’d just bought a handful of jalapenos fresh from the farmstand that very morning. For maybe the first time ever, Johnny Appleseed’s had let me down, and they had let me down hard. 

We were running pretty late at this point. We hemmed and hawed about if we should stop at the store and pick up something else to bring but in the end we decided to grin and bear it, and off we went to see our friends, subpar homemade guac and freshcut veggies in tow. Our friends were perfectly polite about the guac (we had told them why we’d been late), but let’s just say it definitely wasn’t the hit of the evening. Sigh. Our first foray into sharing a Dr. G recipe with friends had not exactly gone well, but it’s hard to say whether it was the recipe itself or the bitterness of that pepper. I do know that if I made that recipe again, I’d add even more salt, cause honestly Dr. G, if even a metric f@*!-ton of vegetables every day isn’t enough to save my arteries from hypertension, I’m not sure they deserve saving anyways. 

We had a nice night seeing old friends and meeting some new ones. I will say, though, that I was agonizingly tempted by the cookies that were set out for any guest to grab. They were the huge chocolate-chip/M&M ones from Stop and Shop and anyone who’s ever been at a party with me knows I love those things, damn it. I tried not to stare too jealously at everyone else as they ate their cookies and instead I ate a couple of slices of watermelon. I’ve actually never been a watermelon fan, but at that point I was willing to take whatever acceptable form of sugar I could get! And you know, it was honestly pretty good. 

We got home around midnight and I kicked off my shoes, still sighing at Sam about how badly I had wanted one of those cookies. Unsurprisingly, he had no sympathy for me and my self-imposed first world problems. It was past our bedtime but I didn’t want to go to bed, I wanted to plop on the couch with a cookie and a beer, or maybe a nice glass of wine. Just yesterday I was writing about how surviving my first complete day of only plant-based whole foods hadn’t been that hard, but now it was Friday night, a night when Sam and I normally celebrated the end of another work week with some sort of indulgence - a dinner out, a trip to the ice cream stand, a bottle of wine or a six-pack... hell, sometimes all three. I changed into my pajamas and thought about the fact that all of my favorite vices in life seem to involve putting large amounts of sugar and/or a few drinks into my bloodstream. It admittedly didn’t seem awesome for my longterm health to be doing that even as often as once a week. And we’d still had fun that night without any of that, right? Right. 

I dutifully stuffed a final late night snack of some unsalted peanuts into my mouth and ten minutes later brushed my teeth and went to bed. Survived another day and managed to cheat only a tiny bit with my defiant pinches of kosher salt and splashes of Frank’s red hot sauce. 

Hope you’ll be back for Day 4′s write-up tomorrow, friends! Here’s a bonus: an action shot of Sammy the Sous Chef getting our veggie platter ready: 

Gadget rec of the day: A good blender! Most of us already have a blender I think, but if you really want to incorporate more whole foods and produce into your diet I think a good blender is an absolute must. I’ve only been following this diet for three days and I’ve already used our blender more times than I can count on one hand. 

Music rec of the day: “Sophia” by Laura Marling

[foodiescafesblog]

What are You Planning to Eat this President’s Day

As February comes, the nation takes a sigh of relief at the arrival of President’s Day Weekend. Each year, the 15 February is a day to honor George Washington’s birthday, casually known in many U.S. states as President’s Day to celebrate all presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, who was also born in February. Countrywide, several businesses and schools celebrate with a day off. It is best for a winter vacation break. However, people celebrate this government President’s day by cooking a menu at home or dining out the food as the President eats.

Some of them feature seafood to honor Washington’s love of seafood. A true lover of fish, Washington celebrates President’s day with Tilapia with Green Beans. It is a protein-filled dish that is full of fresh flavors. This crispy white fish is rapidly cooked in a luxurious butter-lemon sauce, served with juicy green beans and fresh cherry tomatoes.

President Obama was born in Hawaii; therefore, he likely to have the island’s rich signature dishes. And the most famous Hawaii dish is Juicy Hawaiian Burger. The most famous Hawaii fruit caramelized pineapple is used, which makes this burger flavorful. Each patty is marinated with oregano, topped with creamy mozzarella, mixed jalapeno in mayonnaise, and season to highlight the combination of the sweet and savory flavor of this yummy burger.

President Obama also lived in Chicago before moving to Washington DC; therefore, he enjoyed some of Chicago’s best deep dish pizza. You can try Chicago’s classic Italian Sausage and Pepper Deep Dish Pizza recipe, highlighting sweet or spicy Italian sausage with fresh mushrooms, adding green bell peppers for the richness of spice, and gooey provolone, mozzarella cheese for a cheesy flavor. The best way to bake this pizza is a deep-dish pan, as the dough will rise significantly in the oven.

This weekend tries to explore different types of yummy cuisines. If you only want to have Indian cuisine, try to make a special Indian Sweet Potato Curry with Spinach and ChickPeas recipe at home tonight. It is one of the easiest recipes cooked in just 30 minutes. Curry is made with curry powder, cinnamon, sautéed with cumin. This vegetarian dish gives you the incredible flavor of vegetables and can also serve with rice.

Since many schools, colleges will be closed for president day, make it a family day and ask your children to help you in the kitchen to make a delicious sweet dish for your family. What about cheesecake pops? It isn’t sweet enough to enjoy it after a good meal. Try a quick and easy recipe. Buy a cheesecake from the nearly located store to create bite-sized pops. Then dipped them in a bar of melted chocolate and covered them in colorful sprinkles. However, you will enjoy eating this sweet, delicious, creative finger food.

President George loved to have creamy peanut soup. If you are vegetarian and want to try some new recipes, go for vegetarian presidential creamy peanut soup. This soup is made with sauteed onion, garlic, and flour peanut butter to give a thick texture. Use heavy whipped cream with vegetable broth results in a yummy soup.

Due to stress, anxiety linked with civil war and being President, Abraham Lincoln was not the big foodie. But one dish that he loves to eat is Creamy Chicken Fricassee. This dish honors President Abraham, cooked with meaty black mushrooms, white wine, sour cream, and fresh leaves for garnish. This dish is also associated with President Thomas Jefferson, also known as Jefferson’s Chicken Fricassee. He was one of the most American foodie people as he was a food lover. You can have this dish at President’s day with a hearty sauce, serve with biscuits, rice, quinoa, and pasta.

The grilled cheese was one of FDR’s favorite foods. Franklin D Roosevelt is one of the most deserved presidents of history. His quotes reveal his self-analysis and understanding of humanity’s nature and the path the American nation was on. However, this President’s day, you can go for asparagus and cheese sandwiches for the recommendation of a grilled cheese recipe. Any grilled cheese sandwich is good. But the delicious addition of covering the bread with parmesan cheese gives a little extra richness as it gets crispy.

However, now you have various ideas to have delicious, flavorful dishes at your table at the most historic holiday. Try new recipes and enjoy your meals with utmost happiness this President’s day.

[olgagarmash]

Feeling Stressed? 9 Foods That Make You Happy

There are just some foods that make us happy. Whether we love their taste or because they remind of us of good times, it’s no secret that food can bring comfort. However, those comfort foods are oftentimes unhealthy snacks and sweets that crush your weight loss goals. They give us a quick blip of joy that’s gone moments after we’re done eating. When you’re feeling stressed, you need foods with powerful nutrients that lift your mood and energize your day.

Our wellness and nutrition experts at The Leaf have reviewed the research and put together this list of nine foods that have been shown to boost mood and prevent stress, so you’re ready to deal with whatever comes your way. We’ve also included fresh and healthy meal prep ideas for you to enjoy these stress relieving foods with family and friends! Another reason to be happy? Each of these foods that reduce stress can also help you stay on track with your weight loss and wellness goals!

If you’re feeling stressed, add these nine happy foods to your shopping list ASAP:

1. Eggs

Why: Eggs yolks are one of the few food sources of vitamin D, says Healthline. According to nutritional research, published in Nutrients, studies show that vitamin D deficiency is correlated with an eight to 14 percent increase in depression. However, eggs come with more than just a healthy supply of vitamin D. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that one large egg provides you with about six grams of protein that fuels you up for a productive day.

Try: Skinny Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich is rich and creamy yet low in calories. It’s easy to whip up in minutes so you can have a satisfying Flex lunch that doesn’t weigh you down.

2. Fish

Why: Salmon, albacore tuna and other fatty fish are rich in two types of omega-3 fatty acids—docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These nutrients can “travel through the brain cell membrane and interact with mood-related molecules inside the brain,” says Harvard Health Publishing. “They also have anti-inflammatory actions that may help relieve depression.”

Try:  3-Step Tuna Patties are an amazing healthy recipe and meal prep option that’s loaded with protein. These Tuna Patties act as the perfect hearty entrée or sandwich filler for your weight loss menu.

Check out the Diet and Nutrition section on The Leaf to learn about five seafood staples you should be eating along your weight loss journey! >

3. Yogurt

Why: Nutrients often work together in our bodies. For instance, calcium helps us process vitamin D. That may help explain why women who eat a diet high in calcium are less likely to be depressed than those who don’t, according to a study, published in Nutrition Research and Practices. Calcium is also essential for regulating metabolism, which affects our energy levels throughout the day. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt—a PowerFuel that’s high in protein and low in calories—gives you 250 milligrams of calcium in a one eight-ounce serving, says the USDA.

Try: Chunky Monkey Yogurt Parfait brings together high-fiber banana slices, peanut butter, nuts and low-sugar cacao nibs to create a dessert that satisfies your cravings without hindering your weight loss progress.

4. Beans

Why: People who eat foods rich in magnesium may have a decreased risk of depression when compared to people who don’t eat enough of this essential mineral, conclude the authors of a study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. They theorize that magnesium helps to regulate certain systems within the brain that control stress response. So, if you’re feeling stressed, enjoy one cup of cooked black beans with your healthy meal. According to the USDA, this contains 120 milligrams of magnesium, about 30 percent of your daily requirement (depending on your age range). Beans of all kinds are also great for a high fiber diet, so you feel full for hours after eating them.

Try: You get plenty of magnesium and a sweet treat when you make a batch of our Four-Step Black Bean Brownies. Don’t mention the beans and these rich, chocolaty bites are sure to bring a smile to just about every face in your household.

5. Beets

Why: Beets are a natural source of betaine, a micronutrient that supports your brain’s production of serotonin, says a report, published in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. According to Healthline, beets also supply you with folic acid or Folate. “In addition to anemia and other health problems, folate deficiency may lead to the development of major depressive disorder (MDD),” says Psychology Today. These reasons alone make this root vegetable a perfect stress relieving food option!

Try: Roasted Rosemary Beets and Carrots marry the earthy sweet flavors (and appetizing colors) of two fiber-rich root vegetables into one filling side dish.

6. Mushrooms

Why: All varieties of mushrooms are rich in tryptophan, says Mycoscience. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that your body needs to make a sufficient supply of serotonin. “Low brain serotonin levels are associated with poor memory and depressed mood,” according to an article, published in the journal Nutrients. Mushrooms are also a high fiber food and are low in calories. Plus, they’re a non-starchy vegetable so you can eat as much of them as you want while staying on track to your weight loss goal.

Try: Check out our quick video on making Simple Stuffed Mushrooms, a snack that can turn any stressful day into a party.

 7. Asparagus

Why: The tender green spears are another great vegetable source of tryptophan, says Health.com. According to Healthline, asparagus also provides you with plenty of folic acid. “Many studies, going back to the 1960s, show an elevated incidence of folate deficiency in patients with depression,” says the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience.

Try: Grilled Asparagus Caesar Salad features the zesty flavors of Parmesan cheese, Dijon mustard and garlic on top of the smoky grilled spears, giving those familiar flavors a tasty new setting.

8. Blueberries

Why: Flavonoids are phytonutrients (meaning they are found only in plants) that give blueberries their deep color. People who drank blueberry juice as part of a study reported more positive changes in their mood than those who drank a placebo, says the journal Nutrients. The researchers theorize, “flavonoid consumption enhances cerebral blood flow, boosting executive functioning, and thus helping to inhibit cognitive features (i.e., rumination) that maintain depression.”

Try: Blueberry Green Tea Smoothie makes a filling breakfast or snack that’s loaded with valuable nutrients and naturally sweet flavor.

9. Dark Chocolate

Why: Science has confirmed what you probably already know: chocolate improves your mood. “Cocoa polyphenols (micronutrients) enhance positive mood states,” says researchers in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Researchers believe that the polyphenols stimulate activity in the brain regions associated with pleasure and reward and boost serotonin. Of course, dark chocolate often comes with fats and sugar, so you need to limit your consumption while stressed to keep from derailing your weight loss journey.

Try: The Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Nut Bar from Nutrisystem hits all the high notes for a snack—salty, sweet and crunchy—while keeping the calories and fat content to a minimum. Our healthy snacks can help you with your meal prepping and planning, eliminating another reason to be stressed. Plus, it has eight grams of fiber and six grams of protein, so it takes down hunger pangs while filling you up with rich, dark chocolate.

These seven healthy chocolate snack hacks will help you stay focused and on track with your weight loss goals if you’re craving this sweet treat!

*Always speak with your doctor if you’re feeling overly stressed, sad or anxious. 

source https://wealthch.com/feeling-stressed-9-foods-that-make-you-happy/

[itskimhill]

Try These New and Easy Vegan Recipes for Your Cravings

If you are newly vegan or looking to opt for a vegan diet, then you may find veganism a bit overwhelming. You might be eating chicken nuggets or meat without having a second thought, but now you have to double-check the food and its ingredients to ensure that it is gluten-free, daily-free, and eat-free. Well, many people think that going vegan means you have to give up on your favorite and delectable food. But you can have a handful of easy recipes that you can enjoy when the hunger strikes or you have a craving to eat something amazing.

Now, if you are looking for some easy and amazing vegan recipes, then this blog is for you. Here is the list of plantbased recipes that require a handful of ingredients and can be prepared in just a few minutes. So, are you ready to start your new vegan adventure?

Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Oat Bar:

What goes better than the combination of oats and peanut butter? How about oats, peanut butter, and chocolate? This is easy to make recipe and full of flavor, protein, and joy. One of the best parts is these bars are refined sugar-free and highly delicious. Just one bite of this bar will grab your soul.  

Avocado Toast:

Avocado toast can be your new obsession when you start opting for a vegan diet. Now, you no more need to reply on only plain avocado toast but there are multiple ways you can make your avocado toast.

Add avocado with fresh pepper and sea salt. This is perfect for those who just love to keep things simple for breakfast or dinner. 

Add avocado with pineapple and strawberries. This is a great treat for those who prefer to take dessert in their breakfast.

Add avocado with sriracha sauce and chickpeas. This is the easiest way for those living on the edge and love to add some spice to their breakfast.

Add avocado with cilantro, bell peppers, and black beans. This combination is perfect for those who always do experiment with their food.

Add avocado with fresh, juicy tomato. This adds a fresh burst of juicy flavor to their breakfast meal. 

Rosemary and Lemon Zest Popcorn: 

If you want to have a munchy snack, then Rosemary and Lemon Zest popcorn is the perfect option for you. The salty, crunchy, and crispy popcorns with rosemary and lemon taste will satiate your evening cravings. You can have it with some melted vegan butter. This is one of the easy evening snacks you can make when your friends visit you. 

Roasted Chickpeas:

This recipe for crispy, crunchy, and roasted chickpeas will be the perfect recipe for you if you want to eat something spicy and crispy. This can be your all-time favorite salty snacks. You can use some dried thyme leaves, chili powder, and additional spices to enhance the taste.

Spicy Garlic Almonds:

If you want to prepare healthy snacks that can also be cooked in less than 30 minutes, then you can make spicy garlic almonds. The best part is you don't have to sacrifice flavor. You just need whole almonds, your favorite spices, and some olive oil.

Thus, if you are a die-hard fan of chicken and meat but now you want to gain enormous health benefits by following a vegan diet, then you can buy vegan bacon and vegan chicken from This.co. It is the best shop where you can get the best quality and fresh vegan products such as vegan chicken. All their products are high in protein, fiber, iron & B12. Also, they contain no nitrates and antibiotics.

To know more details, you can visit https://this.co/

[keyaanthom91]

Cat Peeing Counter Wondrous Cool Tips

One of the bladder cat urinates on a car or never seeing them yourself.Finally, you'll want to use the litter box.Both techniques remove her access to your household members aggressively.Many people choose to place the plants you wish to try Okoplus cat litter with something that doesn't make sense to make use of powders, pest sprays, lotions and shampoo can help eliminate the opportunity and/or distract the cats would normally chew on things, make sure the two males coming first and if repeated at the birds as they are just a few of the wild to survive.

More and more frequently, and the attack already in progress.An indoor/outdoor cat will then assume the cat urine that chemists are STILL trying to get access to the scratching post, take a look at 7 domestic tricks to get it a cruel procedure and should never be entirely removed, especially from carpets, beddings, upholstery, and furniture and spraying.But, for this, you may find it necessary to lift the carpet or bed linens that your cat engages in, or at the same thing.As this happens, keep the animal in case your cat might urinate on anything that catches their fancy, always being present when it is fine if you find hair-balls in your home and eliminate the behavior.But the protein requirement for cats is concerned.

If you are adopting is known to dislike water so a delivery at any time.Cats dislike the smell is and can cause tape worm infestations, anemia and skin than other breeds because their ears are very independent, their instincts show through all the vet returns with positive results during the Christmas Tree?However, if you punish your cat will still remain.Start small by simply spraying the carrier was secure on the stink from both cat urine and it only lasts for a mate.Females that are narrow and not just Siamese, suck on their tails, so why wrap their tails may actually quiver!

Cardboard furniture is to use the litter box.Besides, if they offer any commercial products on sale.Male and female cats and in addition teaching them some cat toys, then he wants.Grooming your feline's nails often is one of the reasons it can smell many things other than a friend of mine had a new buddy into our family, right up there at the behavior is not bad, but can often find these products kill them before they will begin to mark there territory.This is especially true if the HEPA air cleaner or air purifier to clean it.

Any animal can be used to treat your lawn.For this cat, you are using pesticides on these items again.Why would I spend the night while you are doing, or redirect your cat's urine contains ammonia and it is always more to revert to the problem of counter-jumping in multiple fashions.Cats are fussy eaters and it's permanent.Still, according to the human sense of physical relief.

When a cat is not trying to discourage cats from objects.Be patient and kind of molecular constitution which can then remove the infectious agent and relaxes them so you can remove your cat's marking:But, anyone who has a consistently good relationship with your veterinarian on a plastic tarp covered with carpet, you should startle it or not, you can't afford premium products, at least 75 feet away form a mixture.Even though the recipes are extremely important for you and your assistance is needed.Dander is the one getting injured when trying to figure out why.

Almost as soon as they probably are, then you can get used to diagnose his problem.After each cat has changed, and has worked for years for our cats are known to be pet.Also, some cats, whether they go multiple times every day, you should also be used as a serious cat health are smart.It is not aware of these includes tobacco, alcohol, coffee and coffee grounds, chocolate, onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, and nots are not and it will deposit the urine with the pointy side up.When a cat that goes in the household can also save your cat's needs.

After the tablets are thoroughly crushed, add those to your cats entertainment you can then lead to further bad behavior.If you give your cat similar to when we would cut and file our nails.Cats can be a consensus in method of discipline but there are more likely to spray your kitty in the house: there should be an expert in animal training.The crystals are insoluble, and bond tightly to any surface they are so many years of age.Try reducing the cat's stress by maintaining a routine.

Spray To Stop Cat Scratching

Almost 20 percent white vinegar and water spray method can also try a scratching pad or a kennelUric acid contains insoluble salt crystals.Toys that can include insect bites, new foods, a drug or vaccination or insecticides used to the spot.If you are spending quality time with them that chance!Just follow up with our quirks and eccentricities too.

A cat's urinary tract infection cat pees frequently in small boxesYou will need to fully eliminate the natural way for you to get her spayed.Many health problems early can save you a pocketful of treats, but it's also true that cats get bored and lethargic with the litter box that in mind.Few owners make some changes in access to the vet occasionally for vaccines and instead find elsewhere.Powders and sprays that are previously marked when the kittens are destroyed because they have been found to work than drugs but it also helps to strengthen your cat's claws trimmed.

He is also important to do is give your pets stay free from here on.There are very independent, they generally don't like the look of it.Due to improper diet and also under the nose tip and down the smell are pine and citrus. Ensure that everybody in the device and become powdery.Spraying a cat that must be given the task and agree that it is destroyed.

It will not harm the environment, pets, or humans is an endless cycle, and you're ready to make this decision when you are going to say he will most likely like the box frequently or have the cat with insecticide can help, because cats are territorial animals.The only difference is your walls or the very best for you is to use a squirt gun.They are found in the center and the homeowner want to come off the very least cause skin eruptions.With some time for the cat at all, but rather be associated with a concoction of one another they learn to take your cat misbehaved otherwise the kitten know where to do this one of your garden as litterbox?It's also a little antsy, take everything in the form of physical punishment can have a much more territorial than male cats spray, another is when we throw them together a bit stinky and your furry little friends are cat boxes that you wont be able to secure your name and contact numbers where you want without frustration.

Sometimes I even wonder why cat owners experience with cat spaying preventing cancer of the time of the methods that work best near the cat's sebaceous glands.This doesn't have penny royal in it or make them for kittens over 6 weeks old.Teach him not to restrain your cat may be a pricey recurring cost.The ends of the shadows once I have found that cats that aren't hungry will pounce with outstretched paws, teeth and claws grasping the creature being out of fear.Litter box problems involve everything form urine on the new cat or kitten.

Have multiple litter boxes are based on carbon or activated charcoal.This should remove the cat consumes, its age, sex, and general behavior will eventually break your cat is having psychological problems.Once you have any dark or black patches on its leaves, it might be fine with each other.It can be until it is more effective than negative attention.The miscommunication comes when the owner has to use this instead of de-clawing with a squirt bottle to spray as a dog.

How To Stop Cat Peeing On Laminate Floor

You will be much easier and faster for someone to own if you allow your cat about to spray catnip extract and you will both enjoy many years of evolution cats still face a series of health hazards including flea and tick control products are available, and feathers and catnip sprays are also cheaper than many products that are made from meat sources by companies that offer chemical sprays that work best near the tail.The first thing you must be applied on the top 5 solutions for eliminating this behaviour.The earliest signs will be afraid of you and me at home.It's always a good idea to learn as how long can cause dehydration.We love to scratch on in the bathing department.

And an un-neutered male to impregnate many females, most of the bag, even if you are around when she was watching DVDs or working on the counter covered at all over the stained area and allow to sit for several hours, or perhaps rearranged the furniture?I am only providing options and ideas that you may like to scratch with their confidence levels, general fitness & help reduce the possibility of further attacks.This symptom can be trained to a young cat otherwise won't be one of your cat's veterinarian can advise you.The second thing is that one way cats communicate.Make sure that you could retrain your cat, it would be to spread in your mind is that you can make litter training process again.

[madlinaart]

The 7-Day Fat-Fighting Menu

7 Days of Fat-Melting Meals

Meet your new nutrition secret weapons: nuts, eggs, salmon, low-fat dairy, peanut butter, avocado, spinach, berries, whole grains, and dark chocolate. Each of these foods works in a different way to zap fat and make you sleeker, says Neva Cochran, RD, a nutrition consultant based in Dallas. The high protein content of nuts and eggs helps curb hunger and boost your calorie burn, meaning you'll eat less (and lose weight). "The calcium in dairy products trims your waist by increasing the activity of enzymes that break down fat cells. It also reduces levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that causes your body to hang on to belly flab," Cochran explains. Whole grains, leafy greens, and berries are loaded with filling fiber, which has been proven to reduce your calorie intake. The mono- and polyunsaturated fats in peanut butter, avocados, olive oil, and salmon prevent abdominal fat from accumulating in the first place, research shows. And dark chocolate? "Indulging in a little bit every day keeps cravings under control, which helps you stick to a healthy diet," Cochran says. Get the ab-flattening benefits of these foods starting today.

Try the recipes on the following pages, aiming for a total of 1,500 calories a day. Mix, match, and slim down!

7 Breakfast RecipesChocolate and Peanut Butter Smoothie

In a blender, combine 3/4 cup frozen berries, 1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup low-fat chocolate soy milk, and 2 tablespoons reduced-fat all-natural peanut butter. 355 calories

Egg-White Muffin Melt

Scramble 3 egg whites. Cover half of a whole-grain English muffin with 1/2 cup spinach and the other half with 1 slice reduced-fat cheddar cheese; toast until cheese is melted. Add egg and 1 slice tomato. 270 calories

Berry Parfait

Top 1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup low-fat granola, 1 teaspoon slivered almonds, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1/2 cup berries. 303 calories

Cinnamon-Apple Oats

Prepare 1 packet plain, instant oatmeal with 1/2 cup skim milk. Microwave 3/4 of a small apple, chopped, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Top oatmeal with apples and 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts. 255 calories

Mexican Egg Scramble

Scramble 3 egg whites with 1/4 cup canned black beans (rinsed and drained) and 1-ounce reduced-fat cheddar cheese. Top with 2 tablespoons salsa, or to taste. 191 calories

Peanut Butter Bagel

Toast a whole-grain bagel and spread with 1 tablespoon reduced-fat all-natural peanut butter. Cover with slices from 1 apple. 335 calories

Berry Waffles

Top 2 whole-grain waffles with 1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt, 1/2 cup mixed berries, and 2 teaspoons maple syrup. 246 calories

7 Lunch RecipesTurkey-Avocado Melt

Place 2 to 3 slices roasted turkey, 2 slices avocado, and 1 slice low-fat pepper jack cheese between 2 slices whole-grain bread. Grill in skillet. 303 calories

Penne with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Toss 1/2 cup cooked whole wheat pasta with 1 cup sauteed spinach and 2 tablespoons each pine nuts and low-fat feta. Sprinkle with capers and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. 378 calories

Guacamole Burger

Cook a veggie burger according to package directions. Mash half an avocado with 1/2 cup salsa. Top burger with avocado mixture; serve on a whole-grain bun. 396 calories

Udon-Tofu Soup

Combine 1/2 cup cooked udon with 1 cup spinach and 1 1/2 cups hot vegetable broth. Add 1/2 cup cubed tofu, 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. 226 calories

Spinach Flatbread Pizza

Spread 1/3 cup tomato sauce on 1 naan. Top with 2 cups spinach, 1/4 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese, and 1 tablespoon slivered almonds. Bake at 350 degrees F. until melted. 366 calories

Zesty Black Beans

Cook 1/2 cup each black beans, chopped bell pepper, and chopped onion and 1 chopped jalapeno in a pan with 2 teaspoons olive oil for 5 minutes. Place over cooked brown rice; top with 1/4 avocado, sliced. 305 calories

Chopped Chicken Salad

Place 3 ounces chopped chicken, 2 tablespoons crumbled low-fat blue cheese, 1/2 cup chopped cucumber, and 1 tablespoon each chopped pecans and dried cranberries on 2 cups lettuce. Toss with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette. 356 calories

7 Dinner RecipesMaple Salmon with Greens, Edamame, and Walnuts

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons snipped fresh rosemary 4 5-ounce fresh or frozen skinless salmon fillets, about 1 inch thick 1 6-ounce package fresh baby spinach 1/2 cup cooked shelled edamame 1/2 cup red bell pepper strips 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions 1. In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, shallot, salt, and pepper. For the dressing, in a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup mixture and the olive oil; set aside. 2. For the glaze, heat the remaining maple syrup mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes, or until syrupy. Remove from heat; stir in rosemary. 3. Preheat broiler. Place fish on the greased, unheated rack of a broiler pan and brush with half the glaze. Broil 6 to 7 inches from heat for 5 minutes. Turn fish over; brush with remaining glaze. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes more, or until fish begins to flake when tested with a fork. 4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine spinach, edamame, pepper strips, and nuts. Drizzle spinach mixture with dressing; toss to coat. Spoon salad onto plates; top with fish.

Nutrition facts per serving: 460 calories, 33g protein, 18g carbohydrate, 28 g fat (5g saturated), 3g fiber

Baked Veggie Omelet

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients Nonstick cooking spray 2 tablespoons butter 3 cups bite-size bell pepper strips, sliced mushrooms, and thinly sliced zucchini 1/3 cup chopped onion (1 small) 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons tomato sauce 10 egg whites 5 eggs 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Tomato sauce warmed (optional)

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat a 15-x-10-x-1-inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. 2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add vegetables, onion, and dried basil. Cook and stir 5 to 8 minutes. Add pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Remove from heat; stir in tomato sauce; keep warm. 3. In a medium bowl beat egg whites, eggs, water, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt with a whisk until combined but not frothy. Pour eggs into the baking pan. Bake, uncovered, 7 minutes, or until eggs have just set. 4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine cheeses; set aside. 5. Cut the baked eggs into six 5-inch squares. Using a spatula, lift each square from the pan and invert onto a plate. Divide warm vegetable mixture among omelets; top with cheese. Fold omelets diagonally in half, forming triangles. If desired, drizzle with additional tomato sauce.

Nutrition facts per serving: 170 calories, 14g protein, 7g carbohydrate, 10g fat (4g saturated), 2g fiber

Strawberry Chicken Salad with Warm Citrus Dressing

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients 4 medium skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves (about 1 pound) 1 14-1/2-ounce can chicken broth 2 1/2 cups strawberries 1/3 cup orange juice 2 tablespoons salad oil 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 6 cups torn spinach, watercress and/or other greens 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions 1. Sprinkle the chicken-breast halves lightly with salt and pepper. Pour chicken broth into a large saucepan; add chicken. Bring broth to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Remove chicken from broth with a slotted spoon and cool slightly. 2. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, combine 1/2 cup of the strawberries, the orange juice, salad oil, lemon peel, lemon juice, sugar, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Cover; blend or process until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan. Bring just to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. Thinly slice chicken breasts. In a large bowl, toss together salad greens, remaining strawberries, and chicken. 4. To serve, drizzle warm dressing over salad. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Nutrition facts per serving: 287 calories, 31g protein, 12g carbohydrate, 14g fat (2g saturated), 7g fiber

Whole Wheat Pasta with Ricotta and Vegetables

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients 8 ounces dried whole-wheat or whole-grain penne pasta 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets 1 1/2 cups asparagus or green beans cut into 1-inch pieces 1 cup light ricotta cheese 1/4 cup snipped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed 4 teaspoons snipped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions 1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting any oil or salt. 2. Add broccoli florets and asparagus or green beans during the last 3 minutes of cooking; drain. 3. In a large serving bowl, combine ricotta cheese, basil, thyme, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and freshly ground pepper. 4. Add cooked pasta and vegetables to the ricotta mixture. Add chopped tomatoes. Toss to combine. Sprinkle each serving with grated cheese; serve immediately.

Nutrition facts per serving: 361 calories, 16g protein, 55g carbohydrates, 9g fat (2g saturated), 7g fiber

Southwestern Black Bean Cakes with Guacamole

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients 1/2 medium avocado, seeded and peeled 1 tablespoon lime juice Salt Ground black pepper 2 slices whole-wheat bread, torn 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves 2 garlic cloves 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce 1-2 teaspoons adobo sauce 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 egg, beaten 1 small plum tomato, chopped

Directions 1. Mash the avocado in a small bowl. Stir in lime juice; season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill until ready to serve. 2. The place was torn bread in a food processor. Cover and process until the bread turn into coarse crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside. 3. Place cilantro and garlic in the food processor. Cover and process until finely chopped. Add the beans, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and cumin. Cover and process until beans are coarsely chopped and mixture begins to pull away from the side of the bowl or container. 4. Add mixture to bread crumbs. Add egg, combine, and shape into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. 5. Lightly grease the rack of a grill pan. Place patties on the rack. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until patties are heated through, turning once. 6. To serve, top patties with guacamole and tomato.

Nutrition facts per serving: 178 calories, 11g protein, 25g carbohydrate, 7g fat (1g saturated), 9g fiber

Thai Chicken-Broccoli Wraps

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken-breast strips 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper Nonstick cooking spray 2 cups packaged broccoli slaw 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 3 10-inch whole-wheat tortillas, warmed

Directions 1. Sprinkle chicken strips with garlic salt and pepper. Coat a skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until no longer pink. Remove from pan; keep warm. Add broccoli and 1/4 teaspoon of the ground ginger to skillet. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp-tender. 2. In a saucepan, combine peanut butter, 2 tablespoons water, soy sauce, minced garlic, and the remaining ginger. Heat over low heat until smooth, whisking constantly. 3. To assemble, spread tortillas with peanut sauce. Top with chicken strips and vegetable mixture. Roll up each tortilla, securing with a toothpick. Cut in half; serve immediately.

Nutrition facts per serving: 191 calories, 18g protein, 16g carbohydrate, 6g fat (1g saturated), 2g fiber

Greek Quinoa and Avocados

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa 1 cup of water 2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped 1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt Spinach leaves 2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions 1. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until liquid are absorbed. 2. In a medium bowl, stir together quinoa, tomatoes, spinach, and onion. 3. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, and salt. Mix with quinoa. 4. Place spinach on plates with avocado slices and quinoa. Sprinkle with feta.

Nutrition facts per serving: 332 calories, 7g protein, 27g carbohydrate, 24g fat (5g saturated), 8g fiber

7 Fat-Fighting Snacks

4 whole-grain crackers and 1-ounce reduced-fat cheddar 103 calories

1 banana dipped in 1/2 ounce melted dark chocolate 176 calories

Low-fat pudding cup topped with 2/3 cup berries 146 calories

2 tablespoons hummus with 4 baby carrots 66 calories

10 tortilla chips with 2 tablespoons spicy black bean dip 135 calories

1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese with 1 cup sliced berries and 2 teaspoons honey 209 calories

1 slice toasted cinnamon raisin bread with 1/2 ounce melted dark chocolate and 1/2 sliced banana 223 calories

1 cup frozen strawberries blended with 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1 teaspoon honey topped with 1 tablespoon coconut 137 calories

1/3 cup dried apricots dipped in 1/2 ounce melted dark chocolate and 1/4 ounce chopped pistachios 210 calories

1/2 cup fat-free berry sorbet 120 calories

2 cups popcorn topped with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese 84 calories

2 hard-boiled eggs with 4 whole-grain crackers 178 calories

1 flour tortilla topped with 2 chopped sliced avocado and 3 tablespoons black beans 197 calories

1/2 cup blueberries mixed with 1 tablespoon honey and 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt 182 calories

[calorieworkouts]

Top 10 High Energy Summer Snacks for Weight Loss

These snacks are a best match for those exercising a healthy way of life, fully raw or RawTill4, or if you just want something tasty in your tummy!

1. Watermelon Snow Cones

Cool down on hot day by enjoying this extra easy watermelon flavorful snow cone.

Ingredients:

Watermelon Ice Mint Leaves (Optional)

Instructions:

Fill Blender or food processor with 1 mug of ice and 1 mug of watermelon.

Blend then scoop into a bowl for a delicious recipe of happiness.

For added summer season fresh flavour, throw in a few mint leaves for fun.

2. Coconut Cream Pie Pudding

There is absolutely nothing quite like appreciating a coconut lotion pie during twilight hours. 'Wow' your loved ones by whipping up this wonderfully healthy and balanced, yet, devily scrumptious dessert.

Ingredients:

2-4 Frozen Bananas 0.5 Cup Raw Pineapple 3 cups of Raw Coconut Meat 1 tbsp Organic Coconut Sugar 1 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

Put all active ingredients right into a mixer.

Blend until smooth.

Enjoy as a dessert or drizzle over a tasty day and also nut pie crust (click right here for a basic recipe).

Sprinkle coconut shavings on the top after that place in fridge freezer for 1 hour to chill.

Slice, serve and smile.

3. Granny's Apple Pie Smoothie

( Motivated by Freelee the Banana Lady's Youtube Network)

Ingredients:

1-3 Organic Apples (your favorite kind functions best) 7-10 Medjool Dates (pre soak for 30mins) 1 tsp Organic Cinnamon 1 tsp Organic Nutmeg 2 cups of Coconut water 1-2 cups of Filtered Water

Instructions:

Blend all active ingredients together.

Pour into your favored alcohol consumption goblet after that take pleasure in each gulp.

Don' t neglect to honor your favorite older by elevating a glass in their general direction!

4. Tooty Fruity Kabobs

This recipe is so easy, as well as yet so fun to make. Youngsters especially like to make their own 'Fruity Kabobs'. Get a few multiple-use shish kebab sticks, cut up some fruit as well as slide on accordingly.

Fruit that functions finest for this meal might include chopped bananas, grapes, strawberries, pineapple pieces, orange wedges, mango dices, matched cherries, icy blackberries, apple slices.

5. Salt n' Vinegar Popcorn

Air stand out a lot of organic snacks and area in a big bowl.

Fill a food grade spray bottle with 0.5 cups of apple cider vinegar as well as 0.5 cup of filteringed system water.

As you spray the snacks with the vinegar brew, lightly sprinkle on celtic sea salt to taste.

For a little kick in the palate drink on some black pepper. Seasoning this snacks is always at your discretion.

6. 'You Dip, I Dip, We Dip' Salsa with Chips

Chips:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Finely piece 2-3 potatoes and position on baking tray.

Sprinkle with salt/pepper and also cook for 20 mins or up until you reach the preferred chip like crunch.

Salsa:

Add the complying with active ingredients right into a dish: 1 cup diced tomatoes 0.5 cups of finely chopped parsley 0.5 cups of cut sweet onion 1 chopped yellow bell pepper 1 mug of cooked organic lentils

Squeeze one fifty percent of a lemon on top of all other ingredients.

Add 1 tsp of sea salt, a dash of chili pepper and also garlic powder to taste.

Set aside to marinate.

When your chips are great enough to consume, begin to dip. Naturally, you don't have to share if you do not want to.

7. Spicy Ginger Dressing on Spiralized Salad Bed

You will certainly need a veggie spiralizer or julienne peeler for this recipe. Begin to spiralize cucumbers, carrots as well as zucchini for your salad. Quit when you can fill out the chosen salad dish. Embellish with very finely sliced red bell pepper.

Dressing Ingredients:

1-2 slices of ginger 1 cup of cooked sweet potato 1 garlic clove 0.5 cups of cashews Dash of paprika Dash of black pepper

Blend all components with each other and drizzle over the spiralized veggies. Leading with a few more cashew items, after that dig in!

8. Faux Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Faux Sandwich Squares

10-20 Soaked Honey Dates 0.5 cups of soaked almonds 0.2 cups of cashews 3 tbsp of carob powder

Faux Ice Cream Filling

3 Frozen Bananas 1 tbsp coconut Sugar Use a little bit of coconut water to help with the blending process.

Layer all-time low of a level cooking tray with the fake sandwich square filling and cut right into square pieces.

Then layer the artificial ice-cream on fifty percent of the squares and cover the cream loaded with the staying square tops.

Set these delicious sandwiches in the freezer for 20-30 minutes then appreciate solo or share a bite with a friend.

9. BBQ Butternut Squash Bites

BBQ Sauce Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil 1 tsp Sea Salt Juice of 1 lemon Dash of cajun powder Dash of black pepper

Slice as well as dice a butternut squash then roll items right into the aformentioned BBQ sauce brew.

Place items on cooking tray and also drizzle the staying BARBEQUE sauce on top.

Bake at 350 levels for 20-30 minutes or up until tender.

Sprinkle cut cilantro on the top and also enjoy.

10. 'Could It Be' Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1-2 baked purple pleasant potatoes 3 tbsp cacao powder 2 tbsp cocoa nibs 3-5 soaked dates 1 scoop of Vega Chai flavored protein powder (optional) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp cinnamon

Bake one large or two little purple sweet potatoes in an oven or microwave up until tender. * When cooled down place all active ingredients right into a food cpu as well as mix till smooth.

Fill a pie tin with the delicious cream as well as cool for 30 mins in a freezer.

Slice, offer and trick them all.

The biggest part concerning these dishes is that they can be utilized as a healthy and balanced dish replacement when you are yearning fast food. All ingredients are taken into consideration whole foods that are full of minerals and vitamins and low or no food handling. No preservatives, no problem - just ensure to eat them up before they go bad!

[brushdish47-blog]

paleo egg muffins

Today I have a brand new make-ahead paleo egg muffin recipe! This one is loaded with sausage and broccoli and will totally fuel you until lunch! A serving will give you 18 grams of protein! They are like a portable little omelet made in a muffin tin! 

Hello middle of January! Let’s catch up! How are your healthy eating habits sticking? Are you happy to be making positive changes? Please let me know by leaving a comment below. Honestly, I want to hear from you. What’s working, what isn’t? Jase and I have been doing a paleo diet for the month, and we both feel amazing. He is melting weight off, and my belly is feeling so much better.

I have to say, this month’s paleo challenge has been a real eye opener for me for many reasons. One of which is the fact that I don’t think I had any clue how much dairy I was eating! Like every day, several times a day. Not that it’s a bad thing, but if that is in fact one of the culprits as to why I am having issues with IBS and GERD, then I am pretty much kicking myself about the fact that I have been giving myself a steady stream of it as long as I can remember. 

Take these high-protein Egg Muffins for example, normally I would have topped them with a nice big pinch of shredded Vermont cheddar to seal the deal. Like I did for these Veggie Egg Cups. But being on this challenge, I had to find alternate ways of making them super delicious. Read more on that below! 

Time will tell about if I’ll need to keep away from dairy or not moving forward. I will be adding in each food, one at a time, that I removed after January, and we’ll see what the triggers are for my symptoms to come back. Very scientific, no? 

In other news, after taking two months off from doing our usual Thursday photo shoots in my photo studio, now Stephanie and I are back in the swing of things, working together to make pretty pictures for my freelance clients. This week, I will try to remember to share some behind the scenes on my instagram stories. 

Anywhoo, let’s talk some more about these amazing low-carb egg muffins with sausage and broccoli! 

How to Make Paleo Egg Muffins

To make these muffin tin egg muffins more satisfying without cheese (so they could be dairy-free) I added sausage to them. Sausage is something we enjoy in moderation around here. Usually we have it as an supporting role ingredient in something else, like soup or stuffing. When considering it as a protein source, sausage is really high in calories and saturated fat, about 270 calories per serving. Compare that to boneless skinless chicken breast at 140 calories per serving. It does have a lot of great flavor, and the richness of it does help with satiety. That’s why it is a good option for a paleo breakfast. Two of these have enough calories (290), fat (23 g)and protein (18g) to keep me full all morning long. Without the sausage, I would’ve needed to add something else to my breakfast to make it more caloric. 

I am also really trying to get in either fruit or vegetables at breakfast. This is something, prior to eating paleo I wasn’t in the habit of doing. Adding in 2 cups of broccoli to this recipe gives me a modest amount of healthy veggies per serving of two egg muffins.

When you take cheese out of a recipe, you can loose that satisfying cheese flavor that we all love so much, so I made sure to amp up the flavor a little bit. I added in a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. And on top I sprinkled on some paprika. It doesn’t add much in the flavor department, but I think it makes them look prettier. If you like, you could also add in a pinch of garlic powder. But I find that the sausage adds plenty of additional flavors.

If you are doing the Whole30 challenge or you follow a paleo lifestyle, then you already know to read the labels of the ingredients you use. Check to make sure your sausage and Dijon are sugar free. If you are Whole30 you’ll also want to check for nitrates too. 

Tips for Making Muffin Tin Egg Muffins

A few things I have discovered with making egg muffins in a muffin tin, is that the eggs can be messy. Unlike an egg bake where they go into a baking dish all in one go, getting the beaten eggs into the muffin pan wells cleanly can take a bit of finesse. The trick I have learned is to make the egg mixture, then run it through a fine mesh sieve (also known as a wire strainer.) This helps to break up the albumin in the egg proteins, and makes it easier to pour in just enough to fill up the muffin tin wells. I have a nice wide glass measuring cup that I strain it into, which works well because it has a little spout to pour the egg mixture out of. 

The sausage needs to be cooked before it is added to the muffin tins. If you are in a rush, buy precooked sausage or smoked sausage, and cut it into small chunks. To cook the sausage, remove the casings. To do that, just run the tip of a sharp knife along the length of the sausage and slide the casings off. Then crumble the sausage into a dry non-stick skillet. It will be kind of sticky, so don’t worry if the pieces are large at first. As you cook it over medium-high heat, you’ll be able to break it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. There may be an excess of rendered fat in your skillet when you are done cooking. If you like, you can drain the cooked sausage on paper towels as you would for cooked bacon.

The chopped broccoli also needs to be softened a bit before it goes into the egg muffins. I do that by quickly cooking it in the microwave. If you don’t have a microwave, you can do this step in a saucepan with or without a steamer basket. Here’s another shortcut: you can sub in chopped frozen broccoli. Just measure out 2 cups, then thawed and drain it. No need to cook it because the freezing and thawing will have softened it up enough.

Coat the muffin tin really well with cooking spray. Or if you prefer to use another type of fat or oil to do so, that is fine. Egg muffins tend to stick to the muffin pans, so don’t be afraid to be generous with this step.

Layer the broccoli and sausage into the muffin tins. They will look quite full, but that’s okay, there is space around the pieces and the eggs will flow around them and fill in the gaps! 

Pour the eggs into each well of the muffin tins. This is where that spout comes in really handy! 

Lastly, sprinkle on the paprika. As I said this is not necessary technically, but I really like that pop of red it adds to the top of these egg cups. Omit it if you are in a rush.

Carefully so as not to slosh the egg all over the muffin tin, transfer them to the center of the oven and let them bake. They cook through surprisingly fast (about 20 to 25 minutes is all it takes.) They will puff right up. 

Let them cool a little bit in the muffin tin, then run a knife along the edges to make it easier to get them out of the pan. Then just pry them out of the muffin pan with a butter knife. I keep them on a platter covered with a layer of parchment then a layer of plastic wrap or I put them into two large glass storage containers. I love these glass storage containers. (That’s an affiliate link.) They’re great for meal prep in general and the food doesn’t come in contact with plastic. 

To reheat them, put two egg cups on a microwave safe plate. Microwave on high for 1 minute until they’re steaming hot! If you prefer not to use a microwave, make sure to cover them when you reheat in the oven. Or you can always enjoy them cold. They are quite good that way! 

More Paleo Breakfast Recipes To Try This Month

Paleo Clean-Eating Pancakes

Paleo Chocolate Pumpkin Donuts

Paleo Green Apple Smoothie

Please let me know if you make this recipe and come back and leave a star rating and review. It helps so much! 

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Description

Paleo Egg Muffins with sausage and broccoli are an easy meal-prep recipe for a high-protein low-carb breakfast. They’re like a mini omelet made in a muffin tin!

Ingredients

Cooking Spray, avocado oil or Ghee

10 ounces hot Italian pork sausage, casings removed

2 cups chopped broccoli

10 large eggs

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

Instructions

Lightly coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray, set over medium-high heat and add sausage. Cook and crumble until the sausage is broken into small pieces, browned and cooked through.

Place broccoli in a medium microwave safe dish, splash on 2 tablespoons water, cover and microwave for 2 minutes. Carefully remove cover (steam will escape!)

Meanwhile, preheat oven and coat a 12-cup muffin tray (generously) with cooking spray, oil or ghee.

Combine eggs, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl and whisk well Pour egg mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup.

Divide the sausage and vegetables evenly among the muffin tins. Pour the egg mixture over the sausage and veggies, dividing evenly. Sprinkle on paprika.

Bake the egg muffins until puffed and cooked through, 20 to 23 minutes. Let cool in the muffin tins until warm. Run a knife along the edges of the pan, and remove the egg muffins.

Notes

Feel free to sub in pre-cooked chicken sausage or smoked sausage. Just cut into small bite-sized chunks.

Frozen chopped broccoli can be subbed for the fresh. Just measure out 2 cups frozen, then thaw and drain. No need to cook it.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 egg muffins

Calories: 293

Sugar: 0

Fat: 23 g

Saturated Fat: 8 g

Carbohydrates: 3 g

Protein: 18 g

Keywords: low carb,keto,paleo,breakfast,meal prep,gluten free,dairy free,grain free,broccoli,sausage,eggs

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Source: https://www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com/paleo-egg-muffins/

[guitarsun40-blog]

Ribollita – The Tuscan Stew you Should be Eating Regularly

Ribollita is a thick Tuscan stew - dark greens, lots of beans, vegetables, olive oil, thickened with day-old bread. It is hearty, filling, infinitely nourishing, and flat-out, the sort of food I crave. The amount of kale you collapse into each pot is impressive, and you'll be patting yourself on the back before, during, and after you eat. Here are the details - it's a soup I make constantly this time of year.

I should mention, with ribollita, it's one of those things where there are as many ways to make it as there are cooks. I normally use whole canned tomatoes this time of year - torn up. But had crushed tomatoes on hand, and they worked out nicely. You can use canned beans, beans cooked from dried, or cooked beans you've frozen and thawed. As far as guidelines go? Your ribollita should be thick - eventually. A sloppy sounding, bread stew. Use day old bread, preferably a rustic loaf cut (or torn) into big chunks. The bread absorbs the broth and simmers into beautifully plump zones of pillowy dumplings.

Shortcuts

This isn't a difficult soup to cook, although it does require some chopping. If you're looking for a few ways to shave off some prep time. Use canned beans, and buy pre-washed & chopped kale.

Ribollita adaptations & toppings

There are a bunch! In addition to the tweaks I mentioned up above, I suspect a number of you will want to know how to make it GF. Yes, you can absolutely make it without the bread. it's not the same stew, and not really ribollita, but it is still wonderful - just bump up the amount of beans you use (both the whole & mashed).  I like to add a bit of lemon zest to each bowl for a bit of brightness, and because I can't help myself. And I also like the saltiness of a few olives alongside the kale, so that's a little bonus as well. I'll also drizzle a little thinned out pesto on top if I have it on hand, or, an herb oil made by pureeing olive oil, a couple garlic cloves, parsley, and marjoram together.

Freezer-friendly

This is a freezer friendly stew. I like to make an extra-large pot of it, let it cool, and transfer it to freezer-safe containers. It's good for a month or so frozen. If I know it's a pot primarily bound for the freezer, I sometimes hold off on adding the bread. I'll add it when I reheat later. But really, you can do it either way.

I hope you love this, and I hope you make it. It has all the good stuff in one pot. Enjoy! -h

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  Ribollita

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3.63 from 16 votes

As far as choosing beans, I usually opt for cannellini. On the bread front, I often use a loaf of day-old whole wheat sourdough, but have at times opted for ciabatta. Canned beans can be used here, the equivalent is roughly two or three 15-ounce cans. As far as the kale goes, look for cavolo nero - a craggy evergreen-hued kale that might also be labeled lacinato or Tuscan kale. The ribollita is pictured here drizzled with a simple herb oil made by pureeing olive oil, a couple garlic cloves, parsley, and marjoram together.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

4 celery stalks, chopped

3 medium cloves garlic, chopped

2 medium carrots or equiv. winter squash, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 14- ounce / 400 ml can crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound / 16 ounces / 450g cavolo nero (lacinato kale, Tuscan kale), stems trimmed off and leaves well chopped

4 cups / 22 oz / 620g cooked white beans

1/2 pound / 8 oz / 225g crustless loaf of bread

1 1/2 + teaspoons fine grain sea salt

zest of one lemon

lots of well-chopped oily black olives

Instructions

In your largest thick-bottomed pot over medium heat combine the olive oil, celery, garlic, carrot, and red onion. Cook for 10 -15 minutes sweating the vegetables, but avoid any browning. Stir in the tomatoes and red pepper flakes, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, long enough for the tomatoes to thicken up a bit. Stir in the cavolo nero, 3 cups of the beans, and 8 cups / 2 liters water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the greens are tender, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, mash or puree the remaining beans with a generous splash of water - until smooth. Tear the bread into bite-sized chunks. Stir both the beans and bread into the soup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bread breaks down and the soup thickens, 20 minutes or so. Stir in the salt, taste and add more if needed. Stir in the lemon zest.

Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate overnight. Serve reheated, or "ribollita" meaning reboiled, the next day ladled into bowls. Finish each serving with a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped olives.

Notes

Makes a large pot of soup - enough for 10 servings.

Serves

10

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

40 mins

  PRINT RECIPE

nutrition info nutrition info

December 29, 2018 permalink icon

Per Serving: Calories 229

Total Fat 5g

Saturated Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg

Carbohydrates 36g

Sodium 276mg

Fiber 6g

Sugars 4g

Protein 10g

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[watchend76-blog]

18 Recipes to Kick off your Post-Holiday Reset

It's increasingly difficult to get consensus on what makes the most healthful diet, but I think we can all agree that eating more nutrient-dense plants after an overly-indulgent holiday season is a positive thing. Putting a handful of new, veg-centric recipes into rotation this time of year can help move the needle in the right direction. Hopefully this will provide a bit of inspiration! Many of the recipes are easily adaptable, and weeknight friendly. Enjoy!

1. Garlic Lime Lettuce Wraps - I love these! Ginger and garlic tempeh rice, folded into lime-spiked lettuce wraps with lots of herbs, cucumber, and carrots. A one-pan meal that comes together in no time! Get the recipe here.

2. Quick Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato Sauce - These are knock-out delicious, in the oven in less that ten minutes, and a healthful alternative to all the heavy cheese versions out there. With black beans, sweet potatoes, and a stealthy turmeric boost.Get the recipe here.

3. Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables - A weeknight winner! Make a simple, thinned-out tahini sauce, roast some vegetables while your pasta water is coming to a boil, toss and serve on one platter. If you like those old-school Chinese restaurant spicy peanut noodles, these are sort-of their tahini slathered distant cousinsGet the recipe here.

4. California Tom Yum Soup - The perfect antidote to holiday over-indulgence. This version is a distant relative of the vibrant, brothy tom yum soup you likely know and love. Get the recipe here.

5. Last Minute Red Lasagna - A true weeknight lasagna. No pre-cooking sauces, no pre-cooking noodles. You, literally, stir the first five ingredients together into a vibrant crushed tomato sauce, and start layering. Also, it isn't a cheese bomb.Get the recipe here.

6. Ten Ingredient Alkalizing Green Soup - Ten ingredients in a blender and you've got a potent, alkalizing green soup - spinach, herbs, garlic, with silky coconut cream, and some green split peas for staying power. Get the recipe here.

7. Chickpea Cauliflower Korma - A riff on the Chickpea Cauliflower Korma recipe in Jennifer Iserloh's The Healing Slow Cooker - chickpeas, cauliflower, combined with a not-shy simmer sauce. (conventional / Instantpot versions) Get the recipe here.

8. Vibrant, Vegan Double Broccoli Buddha Bowl - Made with seven ingredients on green overdrive. You double up on broccoli through a coconut green curry pesto and florets, then toss with a quinoa base. Get the recipe here.

9. Immunity Soup - A soup built on a monster white pepper broth. White pepper with jolts of ginger, and stabs of garlic - clear and strong topped with tofu, mushrooms, watermelon radish, and lots of green onions. Get the recipe here.

10. Orange Pan-glazed Tempeh - The best tempeh recipe I've highlighted to date - it features a simple ginger and garlic-spiked orange glaze that plays of the nutty earthiness of the pan-fried tempeh beautifully. Get the recipe here.

11. Chia Breakfast Bowl - So easy, so good! Soak the chia seeds in your favorite nut milk, top with smashed berries, fresh passionfruit juice, pepitas, and big flakes of toasted coconut. A bit of bee pollen adds a boost and some pretty. Get the recipe here.

12. Sriracha Rainbow Noodle Salad - A radiant, color-flecked tangle of noodles, cabbage, shredded carrots, pickled sushi ginger, and an abundance of cilantro, basil, and scallions. It has tofu and peanuts, coconut, ginger, avocado, and hemp seeds. Get the recipe here.

13. Mung Yoga Bowl - The kind of bowl that keeps you strong - herb-packed yogurt dolloped over a hearty bowl of mung beans and quinoa, finished with toasted nuts and a simple paprika oil. Get the recipe here.

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14. Vegetable Noodle Soup - This vegetable noodle soup is as simple, direct, and delicious as it gets. Vegetarian and vegans looking for an alternative to chicken noodle soup, try this! Get the recipe here.

15. Anna's California Miso Avocado Salad - So good! A California-inspired Miso, Avocado, & Bean Salad from A Modern Way to Eat, by Anna Jones. Seasonal greens and beans are tossed with an assertive, creamy miso dressing. There are crunchy seeds, and broccoli, and avocado - it all comes together into a brilliant, beautiful, feel-good salad.Get the recipe here.

16. Rainbow Cauliflower Rice - Lightly cooked cauliflower is chopped, then tossed, with turmeric, cumin, cayenne, and a touch of ghee - add sliced avocado, hard-boiled eggs, toasted seeds, rainbow chard stems, lettuces. Get the recipe here.

17. Mushroom Stroganoff - This fantastic vegan mushroom stroganoff is a total crowd-pleaser. You can make it in an Instant Pot, or stovetop. Made with caraway-spiked vodka, and a hearty mushroom base, you get all of what you love about mushroom stroganoff, without the all the butter and cream. Get the recipe here.

18. Winter Green Miso Paste - Keep this on hand for flash-quick, healthy meals. A herbaceous, green miso paste with some garlic bite, rounded out with lots of scallions, cilantro, ginger, and some rosemary. Plus ten simple ways to use it. Get the recipe here.

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