Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal

For some people, weekends mean making elaborate breakfasts with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and glugs of maple syrup. ("Glugs" is a word, right?)

For me, weekends mean adding chocolate to my oatmeal.

This week was extra special for me because I had strawberries. I generally try to stick to the produce that's in season, and I usually avoid all conventionally grown berries because of the pesticides. However, I was dying for strawberries, and after several weeks of thinking of them constantly, I gave in. So thanks for the strawberries, California!

Throughout the week, I ate them diced up in my oatmeal along with some mashed banana. It was quite delightful, but when Saturday came around, I was ready to amp it up. My original plan was simply to swirl in some chocolate chips at the end, but then I convinced myself to use cocoa powder instead to avoid the extra sugar (not to mention how expensive that bag of chocolate chips was!). To keep it from being too bitter, I used half a mashed banana. Perfect!

How I did it:

1. Cook the oatmeal as you normally would. As I've said many times before, I use an equal mixture of almond milk and water to cook my oats. I also cook mine with a spoonful of flax. 
2. Next, mash a banana well (I only used half a banana), and stir that in (the banana is optional. If you don't need the sweetness, you could leave it out!). 
3. Once more of the liquid has dissolved, add several spoonfuls of cocoa powder until the oatmeal takes on a dark, luxurious, creamy texture. :) I recommend tasting it after every spoonful so you can judge for yourself how much you want. If you don't use enough, it will just taste weirdly bitter and bland. You have to use at least two spoonfuls. :) 
4. Add a splash of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir, stir, stir! 
5. Finally, add some diced strawberries (I use about 4-6 berries). You want to save this for last so the strawberries don't become mushy and dull while cooking.

I served mine with sliced almonds and another splash of almond milk. It would also be appropriate to add chocolate chips...if you're wild like that. :)

By the way, I recently found out that Hershey's has a dark chocolate powder... I must have this! Soon! But I should probably finish my current tub of cocoa powder. I guess that gives me an excuse to add it to my oatmeal every day from now on!

**You can check out my other oatmeal recipes here, or by clicking the oatmeal tag. You can also find dozens of other oatmeal recipes on my Pinterest board (along with tons of other meatless recipes!). Thanks!

Eric Schlosser

This evening, I was blessed with the rare opportunity of meeting one of my biggest heros, Mr. Eric Schlosser.

This is the man who changed my life. This is the man that forced me to think about food in new ways. This is the man who uncovered a passion in me that I had never felt before. This passion for food, health, and sustainable living gave me confidence, energy, and purpose. It gave me an identity. A hobby. A lifestyle.

Growing up in rural South Dakota, I often struggle with the mainstream adoration of biotechnology. I once got in a little debate in class with a bunch of ag education majors who were mocking the organic market. And this is normal for me. So as I sat in the fourth row, seeing Eric Schlosser right there in front of me, speaking about all the things I am most passionate about, knowing many of my friends, peers, and community members were all there listening to it, made me more emotional than I have been since leaving Ireland.

As expected, the question and answer period brought much heated discussion. Every question began with, "I am a family farmer. I actually agree with some of the things you said, but..." And then it went downhill from there.

I noticed quickly during this time that the audience was segregated. Whenever one of these farmers said something, applause roared from the back of the theater. As these farmers were speaking, all the people around me in the front of the theater were rolling their eyes, shaking their heads, and muttering to their neighbors about how embarrassed they were by these members of the opposing viewpoints.

(On one hand, I agree. There were a few comments that just made me duck my head in shame, and they reminded me of why I want to move to Europe. On the other hand, I felt it disrespectful for us to want "the others" to keep their opinions to themselves.)

I used to think I was alone as a food activist in South Dakota, but the segregation of the audience at this event made me realize I'm not alone--I'm just socializing with the wrong people. :) It also makes me realize that there's a distinct segregation in the culture of this community, state, and perhaps the country as a whole. If you look at my school alone, we have the "farm kids" and the "not-farm kids." To say that we don't always see eye to eye  would be an understatement. (One of my best friends comes from a farm....but that's an organic farm, so I don't think that counts).

One question/comment given tonight really caught my attention. A man introduced himself as a family farmer (naturally) and explained that--in this region--it's almost impossible to get ahold of seed that ISN'T genetically modified. The large corporations have taken over so much that even those that WANT to plant non-GMO crops are having a hard time making it happen.

So anyway, let's skip to the happy part. As if hearing him speak wasn't enough of a pleasure, he was also doing a book signing afterwards. I'm not going to lie--I was on the verge of tears. I held them back so people wouldn't think I was crazy. Although, if you saw how much I was shaking and fidgeting around, you'd probably think I was crazy anyway. :)

And then it happened. I stood in line for 10-15 minutes, and then there I was, at the front of the line, nervously pushing my copy of Fast Food Nation toward him.

I said to him, "Thank you so much for being here. Growing up around here, it's just....welll....you heard those attitudes out there, so you know what I'm dealing with. And it's just so....confining and frustrating, and it's just so refreshing to have someone like you come here, so I really appreciate it..thank you so much." And he said that that was great to hear. And then I added that I saw Food Inc. about a year and a half ago, and it just absolutely changed my life. He smiled and said thanks again, and my friend Alex, who was standing next to me, made some comment about how I was boosting his confidence or something? I don't remember. And Eric laughed and replied, "Yeah, I kind of needed that, thank you." :) My schoolmates bruised his ego.. :( And I fixed it. :D

And then I asked for a picture with him. He laughed and said, "Are you sure you won't regret this someday?" He has a fabulous sense of humor.

Now if only I could meet Michael Pollan...

It doesn't run in the family.

As I finished slicing some tomatoes in half and sent them into the oven, my brother (also known as my roommate) walked into the kitchen.

"Look!" I said, proudly pointing to a carton of organic half-and-half on the counter. "I bought organic half-and-half for my homemade tomato soup." I rarely have dairy to begin with (because I'm mildly lactose intolerant), so purchasing organic dairy was new to me (with the exception of organic greek yogurt, when it's on sale).

The look on his face said he was clearly just as excited about this as I was. (...Okay, maybe not.) He nodded once, and then opened the freezer and pulled out a frozen pepperoni pizza.

The juxtaposition of my homemade tomato-with-organic-dairy soup with his frozen pizza made me laugh. A dark, defeated, I-wish-he-would-stop-eating-that-crap laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. I've given up converting my family.

I've had far more luck teaching my friends good habits than my family. I have friends who stopped drinking soda, increased their fruits and vegetables, and switched to whole grains. I have friends who even tried the meatless thing with me (hey, Alex!). But with my family, not so much.

They continue to consume Splenda and aspartame.

They continue to consume foods containing trans fat and a long list of chemical ingredients.

They continue to devote half the kitchen space to ice cream, chips, and other junk food.

They continue to consider corn as the vegetable of choice.

They continue to have an entire fridge full of a variety of sodas in the basement at all times.

I just want everyone to be healthy. :(

EDIT: So, I hated that the techies at Food Revolution chose to link to THIS blog post. This post was originally a frustrated and illogical rant, and while much of it contained my true feelings, I worded it poorly and exaggerated a few things that made me come off like a real pretentious idiot. :) Thinking about all the people reading it made me sick. I finally had to tweak it a bit. So if you notice a few parts of this post missing, that's why!

P.S. Check out my Pinterest for hundreds of healthy, meatless meals!

Three-bean and quinoa chili (with avocado!)

Well, folks. I did it. It's October 1st, which means I've successfully completed one month without meat.

So now what? Do I keep going? It's certainly a lot to consider. The fact that I don't feel like "celebrating" my completed goal with a giant burger is a pretty good sign that maybe vegetarianism is for me.

The creativity of meatless meals excites me. I love how it gets me to try new foods.

I love how I save money by not buying meat.

I love how my body feels.

I love networking with other vegetarians.

I love having a more sustainable diet.

I love not supporting the disgusting meat industry with their horrendous feedlots/CAFOs.

And I especially love the feeling I get when I declare, "I am a vegetarian." The first time, it was a little scary; I felt judged. But since then, I've embraced it. It feels like a part of my identity now. Even when my BFF Tiffany interjects, "YOU'RE NOT A REAL VEGETARIAN."

I'm not sure I could give that up. But I'll update you on my decision later.

Last Saturday, I tried making chili with quinoa. Fail. Ultimate fail. I made a much larger batch than usual, but I didn't adjust the amount of beans to keep it proportionate. It tasted like bad tomato soup with quinoa and an occasional bean.

But the wonderful thing about cooking is that you can often revamp the leftovers into something better. So instead of my bad chili with pinto beans and quinoa, I added both red AND black beans. Instant improvement. And then, the next time, I garnished it with avocado. Just wonderful.

This is one of the first times I've been proud enough of my concoction that I actually considered sharing the recipe. But then I realized there was no recipe. ;) So maybe next time, I'll actually write down what I'm doing so I can share it. Because I've really gotten good at this chili thing.

Summer Lunches

Once I knew I was going to be working at the library again this summer, I knew I had to make some changes. Last summer, the utter misery of that place took me to a pretty awful mental state. But this summer, I was determined to enjoy myself. One of the ways I was going to try to keep a positive attitude was with food. My hope was that being able to look forward to awesome lunches would keep me in a positive mood all morning. :)

I suppose I was highly inspired by Mrs. Q. She posts photos of her son's lunches, as well as her own lunches, every week. I loved seeing how she could pull together such enticing, well-balanced meals to send in a lunchbox. I wanted to do the same thing.

So I purchased my BPA-free Laptop Lunch bento boxes. And I got creative. Well, sometimes. By the end of the summer, I was getting pretty redundant. And I didn't take photos every day. In fact, despite working five days a week for nearly four months, I ended the summer with a total of ELEVEN pictures. Fail? Well...eleven is more than zero. :)

Items are listed clockwise from the top left corner.

• half a (very ripe) banana and trail mix (for mid-morning snack)
• watermelon cubes
• mashed sweet potatoes
• PB&J&banana sandwich

And you're probably thinking, what's exciting about PB&J? Um...have you had a PB&J&banana sandwich? If you haven't...don't judge. Because it's fantastic. You will quickly notice in these pictures that I'm obsessed.

• Oven-roasted cauliflower
• orange
• seasoned sweet potato puree for dipping the cauliflower
• PB&J sandwich (no banana...but still wonderful)

• Broccoli and rice
• Trail mix (mid-morning snack)
• Diced mango
• Organic yellow carrots; hard-boiled egg

Falafel day!

• Spinach, mozzarella cheese, and julienned yellow carrots for stuffing in my pitas!
• Diced mango
• Baked falafel
• Pita pockets

Enough materials to make two falafel pitas.

• Orange wedges
• Trail mix (mid-morning snack)
• Yellow carrots
• Vegan banana-oatmeal waffles with homemade strawberry syrup

I would just like to say that these waffles ROCK. Whenever I make them, my apartment smells like banana bread. It's an absolutely divine recipe.

• Broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and hard-boiled egg
• Trail mix (mid-morning snack)
• Diced mango
• PB&J&banana :)

• Diced mango (again)
• Trail mix (mid-morning snack)
• Yellow carrots (again)
• Tuna noodle casserole with broccoli

Yes, that's tuna noodle. I used angel hair pasta (because it was all I had on hand), and the thickness of the casserole made the pasta break up into rice-sized pieces. I make this from scratch, using this concoction to replace the traditional Cream of Chicken/Mushroom monstrosity.

• Vegan quinoa and pinto bean salad (which I chose to eat warm, not cold)
• Trail mix (mid-morning snack)
• Yellow carrots (I got SO sick of these frickin' carrots! I've barely touched a carrot since.)
• Apple and peanut butter

• Baked kale chips
• Trail mix (mid-morning snack)
• Hard-boiled egg
• Pizza on pita bread with homemade pizza sauce, broccoli, and chickpeas

• Cantaloupe and raspberries from the farmers market :)
• Leftover Hawaiian pizza

• Sweet corn from the farmers market; grilled brussel sprouts
• Cantaloupe and raspberries
• Pinto beans with homemade taco seasoning
• Whole wheat tortilla with spinach, avocado, and cheese

I heated up the bean mixture separately, then added it to the tortilla.

And that's it. And I'm a little disappointed in myself, because I know I had some cooler lunches that I just didn't have the ambition to take a picture of. ;) But that's a glimpse of what I was eating this summer.

Buon appetito!

Ireland: Food & Drink

Whenever people ask me about my trip to Ireland, I respond, "It was amazing." If they ask for more details, I mention how the people are incredible, the scenery is breathtaking, pubs are unbeatable, and the food is fantastic.

Hawaiian Panini at the Strand House Cafe in Dingle

Let me put this into perspective for you. I live in a college town in South Dakota. 95% of the restaurants here are either chains or locally owned sports bars and pizza places. To be in a country that valued fresh, organic ingredients from local sources was surreal. I cherished each plate set in front of me.

In America, restaurants give you giant platters of grease, cheese, fat, and salt, and their business relies almost solely on the human weakness for junk food. In Ireland, restaurants prepare creative dishes from delightfully fresh ingredients, and they give you a satisfying amount that treats your taste buds with interesting combinations of textures and flavors.

When I ordered the Hawaiian Panini at the Strand House Cafe, a pile of greens accompanied the sandwich on my plate. I love salad, but I balked a little when I saw the bell pepper strips, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and small heap of potato salad at the top. Peppers and tomatoes still sit on the list of foods I'm working to acquire a taste for, and, well, potato salad has never even been on that list. Yuck.

However, I tried it. And you know what? I liked it. This potato salad tasted worlds better than any of the bright yellow monstrosities I had tried back home. I took a second bite--still no gagging. I finished the entire thing, and wanted more. The flavors were subtle, light, and pleasing. It wasn't overly salty or soaking in vinegar or mayonnaise. It was divine.

Then I tried the peppers, even though I knew thought I hated them. And I liked those, too! I ate the entire salad. And the panini. And then I teared up.

No, seriously.

Organic peppers at the market in Howth

Some of the other foods I tried and ended up loving were brussel sprouts, glazed turnips, mutton, chutney, pesto mayonnaise, muesli, soda bread, quiche, and brie (chicken-cranberry-brie panini? YES PLEASE!).

As for what I didn't like? Guinness. Sorry, Arthur, but your beloved brew did not hit the spot with me.

Free samples of Guinness at the St. James Brewery in Dublin

At one point in the St. James Brewery, the words "There's poetry in every pint of Guinness" were written on the wall. I liked that line, even though the sample they gave me during the tour was terribly unpleasant. I still understand the meaning behind it, though. The poetry is in the deep flavors of barley and hops, and the smoothness of the drink. I could appreciate that; I just couldn't appreciate the aftertaste. In fact, I turned down the free pint they gave us when we reached the top floor (a glass room giving a 360-degree view of Dublin). 

The 360-degree viewing room at the brewery

I will also add that the insane popularity of Guinness surprised me. Some people assume Minnesotans just sit around eating lutefisk all day, but I can assure you that I have never even seen lutefisk, and I've only met one person who has actually tasted it. I wondered if Guinness in Ireland was a similar misconception. Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not. Guinness was everywhere--on t-shirts in every store, on neon signs on every pub, on every bar counter, and in the hands of tourists and locals alike. The Irish love their Guinness. This is a mystery to me, but I find it endearing nevertheless.