All of this is crazy because I? Absolutely love cooking! I try to get myself in the mind-set that "Food is Fuel, not Fun" but why can't it be both??? I know that one mental road block I have is spending a lot of time in the kitchen for only one person, but I've decided I will make elaborate meals or do big meal prep and be innovative/experimental Just For Me. Because I am worth it. I'm worth the time, it's fun and it's amazing fuel for my workouts. So in addition to the trip tip and green beans I made, I decided to throw in some fun stuff.
For starters, after much encouragement from a friend that loves it, I made Cashew Cheese. It sounds pretty terrible, right? Cashew Cheese. It might as well be toe cheese... or head cheese. It's not really cheese. It's just nuts, pretending to be cheese. I didn't think I needed that kind of deception in my life. Until I made it. Crazily enough, as I was making it, the smell of the nutritional yeast made me not want to eat this weird concoction. But here is the thing about nutritional yeast-- it's an awesome source for B vitamins, has all 18 amino acids, and it's believed to help balance out the gut by eliminating bad yeast. So how can I write off this amazingly, nutrient dense, foul smelling food type product??? Mixed with the cashews, garlic and other ingredients, the nutritional yeast has more of a pungent smell than it does a taste. The Cashew Cheese reminds of hummus more than it does a cheese spread, but the over all verdict is-- this stuff is fantastic! I could easily see myself doing this once a month or so for variety in my diet.
In addition to the Cashew Cheese, I attempted making crackers (because cheese and crackers! amiright?!?!). The recipe I found seemed pretty easy and straight forward for herb crackers, but as I made them I was sure they weren't going to turn out. Seriously?! Three tablespoons of liquid to make a dough with 2 cups of almond flour? Even after taking the crackers out of the oven, I was positive they would just turn to crumbs the second I touched them. But after waiting the requisite 20 minutes, I had fabulous, savory-- almost buttery tasting-- herbed crackers! This is something I can see myself making just about every week because they are THAT great. Seriously. People at work raved over how great the crackers were. Non-paleo eating people. Paleo skeptics. They loved these paleo, vegan crackers. Because what better way to make something sound awful, intimidating and disgusting that to call them Paleo Vegan Crackers. I prefer just calling them homemade crackers.
The final food prep adventure I embarked upon was in making a dessert for the week. Here is the thing-- I don't have a major sweet tooth and I don't feel the need for having dessert at night. I'm not a huge fan of ice cream and I can do without most pies and cobblers (unless they are apple...). When I want something sweet, it's at about 2:30pm. Last week I was majorly tempted by an attorney's candy dish that is located conveniently less than 6 feet from my desk. I was able to resist the temptation, but it was difficult. So-- thanks to the Huffington Post providing me with 27 Paleo Cookie Recipes to choose from ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/03/paleo-cookies_n_5749924.html), I tackled the Pumpkin Pie Cookies. I added the optional dark chocolate chips to my cookies and mine did not look as pretty as the picture provided by the HuffPost, but the flavor?? To Die For. Again, another Paleo item that people at work have been asking me to forward to them so they can try making them too.
Already people are asking me what I'm going to bring in for them to try next week! I'm considering attempting blueberry muffins from a recipe provided to me by Juvy (a CrossFit friend that makes the BEST baked goods), maybe sweet potato chocolate chip cookies and hopefully something yummy for a main course like Butter Chicken over cauliflower rice. We'll see how much I feel like prepping next week though. The cooking is awesome!! The dishes and clean up? Not so much...
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Recipes:
Cashew Cheese: http://www.nutritionstripped.com/classic-cashew-cheese/
Crackers: http://www.elanaspantry.com/vegan-herb-crackers/
Pumpkin Pie Cookies: http://detoxinista.com/2012/09/pumpkin-pie-cookies-vegan-grain-free/
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