What I Ate Wednesday #33 ? Farmers Market Vegan

Breakfast: A green?(and very loose) rendition?of The Alkaline Sisters? Buckwheat and Berry Smoothie, consisting of 1/3 cup sprouted buckwheat, 1/2 cup almond milk kefir, 3/4 cup frozen strawberries, the juice of?a lemon, about 1 tsp each of maca and spirulina, 1 tbsp tahini, a 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, four large leaves of lacinato kale, and?one date, topped with a handful of fresh sliced strawberries and accompanied by two of Choosing Raw?s No-Bake Omega-3 Snack Bars.

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Discovering myself in the almost unfathomable situation of having no frozen bananas in the house, I frantically searched through my recipe archives for a smoothie recipe that promised thick, creamy yummniess without the implementation of the standard tropical fruit. Unfortunately, I didn?t have an avocado, either?or a cucumber?both of which the Alkaline Sisters? recipe calls for. In a last-minute mad attempt to evoke some sort of creaminess from this doomed smoothie, I added a scoop of tahini, to which I would attribute the rather perplexing and not quite pleasant flavor that the end result of my morning science experiment held.

Smoothie=fail. Granola bars=fantastic! Unbelievably simple to make?and utterly satisfying to eat, Gena?s no-bake snack bars perked up my morning after my disappointing?smoothie fiasco.

Breakfast Checklist: Protein?almond milk kefir, tahini, chickpeas, almond butter (last two in bars).?Whole Grain?sprouted buckwheat, GF rolled oats, brown rice puffs (last two in bars). Fruit?strawberries, lemon, dates, dried apricot, dried figs, prunes (last four in bars).?Leafy Green?kale. ?Super Food??maca, spirulina, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseed meal (last three in bars). Added Veggie Bonus!?ginger.

Local Ingredients:?Lacinato kale from Driftless Organics, strawberries from JenEhr Family Farm.

Morning Tea: An of Strawberry Vanilla Bean Rooibos Iced Tea from The First Mess.

While I usually revel in sipping on my thermos of steaming hot tea in the morning, this ritual does not seem conducive to the current summer weather. Enter iced tea?nature?s gastronomic solution to all our herbal drink pleasures. I skipped the agave and lemon juice in Laura?s recipe, opting to enjoy the intensely vanilla-ey and subtlely fruity flavor in their unmarred, refreshing glory.

Lunch: A medley of leftover salads atop a large handful of mixed greens and chickpeas tossed with Liquid Gold Dressing and dusted with dulse flakes, accompanied by a Raw Tex-Mex Pumpkin Wrap filled with Smoky Tahini Coleslaw from the lovely Elenore at Earthsprout. The salads, beginning in the upper right-hand corner of the bowl and rotating clockwise, are as follows: Green Bean and Potato Salad with Miso Dressing?from For the Love of Food, Raw Coconut Noodle Pad Thai from PUREmamas, cortido, and Black Rice Salad with Mango from Bon Appetit.

With all this leisure time suddenly thrown at me in the beautiful days of post-high school bliss, how have I kept myself occupied? Fooling around in the kitchen, of course! This pasttime obviously leads to oodles of leftovers crowding up the fridge, though I certainly cannot complain about this since it means I get to enjoy each delicious recipe on multiple occasions! I won?t bore you by recalling all the modifications I made to the five recipes I mentioned above (though you can read specifically about the Black Rice Salad on my last What I Ate Wednesday?yes, I still have leftovers), but I will assure you that every salad turned out as a complete and utter success, especially the Coconut Noodle Pad Thai which served as my first experience in opening a coconut! I also urge to you sprint on over to Earthsprout to try your hand at her Raw Tex-Mex Pumpkin Wraps, which I dehydrated at 170?F in my oven?even without ?proper? equipment, they tasted suprisingly and authentically raw with a crunchy/chewy/pliable texture and a slightly spicy, umami flavor.

Meal Checklist: Protein?garbanzo beans, almonds, tahini. Whole Grain?black rice. Vegetables (and fruits)?green shallot, garlic scapes, chives, purple potatoes, green beans, cilantro, red onion, scallions, jalapeno, zucchini, carrots, sugar snap peas, ginger, butternut squash, tomatoes, fennel, broccoli, mango, orange, apple, coconut (whew! Quite a hefty list).?Leafy Greens?mixed greens, dulse seaweed, sweetheart cabbage.

Local Ingredients: Mixed greens, cilantro, red onion, scallions, sugar snap peas, and?fennel?from Harmony Valley Farm; cortido from Fizzeology, green shallots from the Plahnt Farm; garlic scapes from the Troy Kids? Garden; chives from my backyard herb garden; purple potatoes and zucchini?from Driftless Organics, carrots from JenEhr Family Farm, tomatoes from Canopy Gardens, broccoli from Roots Down Community Farm, and apple from Future Fruit Farm.

Lunch Dessert: A Lavender Vanilla Dream Ball from This Rawsome Vegan Life.

Expecting a standard (though still delectable) raw ball, I found myself in almost a state of shock to experience the silky smoothness hidden within these bites of lavender heaven?truly dream balls!

Local Ingredients: Lavender from the Plahnt Farm.

After-Lunch Beverage:?A tall glass of NessAlla?Kombucha in?Peach Blush?flavor.

Afternoon Snack: A vibrant homemade juice of?a 1/4 of a small head of?romaine lettuce, 2 large stalks of lacinato kale, 1 baby cucumber, 2 large carrots, and a 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger.

If you follow my Twitter feed, perhaps you caught my intense bout of sheer excitement at unearthing a working juicer from the depths of my basement. I cannot accurately express my ridiculous happiness at my newly obtained ability to?revel in?colorful, nutrient-rich beverages full of fruits and veggies without having to stop by the Willy Street Co-op?s juice bar. Daily juices, here I come!

Local Ingredients:?Romaine lettuce from Harmony Valley Farm, lacinato kale?from Driftless Organics, baby cucumber from Canopy Gardens, carrots from JenEhr Family Farm.

Dinner: A salad bowl similar to that of lunch. This one included a Conservation Burger from Choosing Raw, another Raw Tex-Mex Pumpkin Wrap filled with Smoky Tahini Coleslaw from Earthsprout, and some more of both the Green Bean and Potato Salad with Miso Dressing from For the Love of Food?and the?Raw Coconut Noodle Pad Thai from PUREmamas. All of this sat atop a pile of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, sprouted buckwheat, and pea sprouts?tossed in Liquid Gold Dressing.

With my new juicer comes leftover juice pulp?the fruit and veggie solids remaining after you?extract the liquid out of them. A shame to waste all that fibrous, nutrient-dense pulp, it?s become common practice in the raw foods community to implement this leftover juicing goodness in raw crackers, breads, pancakes, and burgers. Gena?s particular recipe also calls for almond pulp?the solids remaining after making almond milk. Since I make some variety of nut milk kefir every week, my freezer contains ample amounts of nut milk pulp, and I happily threw it in the food processor along with my juice pulp, some flaxseed meal, and a dash of fresh herbs before forming the mixture into patties and baking them at 350?F for 15 minutes on each side. Yay, semi-raw food!

Meal Checklist: Protein?almonds, tahini. Whole Grain?sprouted buckwheat. Vegetables?mixed veggies in the juice pulp in the burger, butternut squash, tomatoes, cilantro, fennel, apple, broccoli, zucchini, carrot, ginger, sugar snap peas, green beans, green shallot, garlic, chives, purple potatoes, pea sprouts.?Leafy Greens?mixed greens, sweetheart cabbage.

Local Ingredients: Tomatoes from Canopy Gardens; cilantro, fennel, sugar snap peas, mixed greens, and sweetheart cabbage from Harmony Valley Farm; apple from Future Fruit Farm; broccoli from Roots Down Community Farm; zucchini and purple potatoes?from Driftless Organics; carrots from JenEhr Family Farm; green shallot from the Plahnt Farm; garlic from Brantmeier Family Farm; chives from my backyard garden; pea sprouts from Troy Community Farm.

Comment Provoking Questions: What?s the most disappointing smoothie you?ve ever made? What?s your favorite flavor combination for homemade iced tea? Do you dehydrate in your oven? What?s your favorite juice recipe?

Happy WIAW!

Until next time, Ali.

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