Major Food Confusion - No-Bake Brownies

Since being traumatized by Food Inc. a couple of weeks ago, I hate to say it but my diet took a sharp left turn! It's been crazy. Yes, last week I had grass-fed beef and again over the weekend I bought another piece of grass-fed beef. The problem isn't that. It's figuring out what to eat in the meantime. So as you can imagine I've been very very busy researching all over the internet. I also bought two of Brendan Brazier's books - Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life and also Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health. They are interesting. So yesterday I dove in and made several of the recipes in the books. About every other one is a hit. And every other one is a MAJOR FAIL!

Now, being that I'm a Super Foodie, this is not such a fun battle for me. I often wonder what to eat and then how to make them tasty. The challenge is amplified because I am NOT a salad person. I know...I know. What kind of sense does that make? A vegetarian-ish lifestyle and you don't care for salad? Are you crazy or what? Why yes, I just might be. But let me say that if you do happen to find yourself reading his books and you want to try some recipes, make the Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips because they're just really tasty and fun to eat! And also the Live Avocado Goddess Sauce. It's quite tasty too. I also made a smoothie in his book - YUCK! and also the Mango Coconut Energy Bars - awful! But I will state that I KNOW I can make those Mango Coconut Energy Bars taste divine. Mostly I just have to remove the flaxseed since I am NOT a fan of the flax seed. I know people say it has a nutty taste but mostly to me it tastes like fiber. And no, I don't care for the taste of fiber. LOL!

On the flip side, there is this girl Julie Morris at juliemorris.net that makes some tasty looking things. One of which includes these Raw Brownies that are just wrong! By wrong of course I mean so RIGHT! You must try this and eat the whole batch at once! Oh wait, that's bad advice! Eat HALF the batch at once. That's much better advice! Truly these taste like brownies. No LIE!

Julie Morris's No-Bake Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup medjool dates, pits removed
1 cup raw walnut pieces
½ cup cacao powder
pinch sea salt
1 Tbsp – ½ cup Navitas Naturals Sweetened Cacao Nibs, or regular raw cacao nibs (use quantity to taste) - optional

DIRECTIONS:

Mix: Place walnuts in a food processor and grind for a couple seconds to form a coarse flour. While machine is running, add pitted dates, cacao powder and salt, processing until a moist, crumb-like dough has formed. 

Form: Spread into an 8×8 inch pan, sprinkle with cacao nibs, and press firmly into a solid brownie layer. Cut into bite-size squares and serve. Alternately, press and roll brownie dough into small balls to make brownie bites.

  

Makes about 2 dozen small squares. 

 I have made these twice already. I added some chopped walnuts at the end and they truly taste like nut brownies. DELISH!


I know I'll find my way but right now I'm confused about what to eat and I feel like I need an arsenal of new foods. That's exactly it. Whenever you start something new you need new foods. But this is an evolving kind of thing. For example, I'm just not ready to give up my yogurt. It's just so creamy. The animal protein I can't do right now. Maybe later. Who knows.

In a way it's fun and in a way it's frustrating. It's fun because it gives me a whole new cuisine to explore and who doesn't love that? But at the same time it's hard to not have anything that I already know works and tastes good. But I had this same issue when I started eating more protein in general and from that came a multitude of tasty protein treats. So you never know what I might come up with. Stay tuned.

As for workouts...hmmm...I have no excuse but to say that my heart isn't in it. With that said though I did actually get in a good workout last night. But the gym was crazy crowded. I think I have to go back to working out at 8pm because that's when that gym is lightest. Also I absolutely MUST buy myself some new skates. I think that's going to happen this weekend. For example, had I had them this week that would have been perfect since it's SUMMER here in Southern Cali!! Beautiful weather we've been having! Just beautiful! I just miss the freedom that blading gives me so I really need new skates since my wheel broke on my existing pair. And even though summer's not really here, it will be here soon enough.

So my plan is to do resistance training 3 times a week - one upper body, one lower body and one full body and/or plyometrics. Yoga 1-2 times a week. Outdoor workout (blading/beach/track/stairs) once a week. So now I have a plan and I just have to implement it. I'll keep you posted on that too.

That's about it for now! Welcome weekend! Watch out...here we come!