Granola Di Alba

           Words can not even describe how delicious granola is. It has the ever perfect essence of crunch, chew, and sweetness that fills your heart with great warmth. I had been looking for that "perfect" granola recipe for days and nothing seemed to jump out of a blog through my screen. So I decided to just wing it. Not always a good approach, but one worth trying. Let me just say, I am more then 110% grateful I went with my gut instinct on this because it turned out like a charm! Enjoy this little delight on top of yogurt, ice cream, non-dairy milk, oatmeal, smoothies and whatever else you can come up with!

Granola Di Alba

1 1/4 cup puffed millet

1 1/4 cup roasted buckwheat

1 1/2 cup kamut flakes

1 cup sliced raw almonds

3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1/4 cup golden flax seeds

1/2 cup pure maple syrup*

1/2 cup brown rice syrup 

3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

3/4 cup dried pears

1/2 cup dried currants

1/4-1/2 dried ginger

1/4-1/2 sea salt

Preheat your oven to 350 F
Mix the grains, nuts, flavorings and syrups all together. 
Lie across a lightly greased baking sheet or on top of parchment paper ( just beware you might be peeling it off like I had to ha)
Bake for 10 minutes and stir. Bake for another 10 minutes and stir once again. This time add all of your chopped dried fruits. Place back in the oven roughly for another three minutes. 
Let cool and break apart. 
Oh, and of course. Enjoy : )

*If you want a sweeter version add more maple syrup and less brown rice to equal a half a cup. Over all you should have four cups of grains, two cups of nuts, one cup of syrup and two cups of fruit. Try your own variation next time following these simple guidelines!*

* Try a gluten free version by swapping kamut flakes with quinoa flakes, buckwheat flakes, or G.F. oats*

Day 4

                 So this shall be my lil' update about the detox. Monday night I ended up snacking on snap peas, and eating oatmeal for dinner full of nuts and blueberries. It was a fun evening though, Ben and I went over to my sister Stacy's house for a good o'le game night! We tried a new game called "Things" and I have to say it's pretty entertaining. It is more fun with more people though, we only had four and a half (a cute little nephew of mine named Drake).  Overall on monday,  I was really hungry. My sister said she was the same way once she gave up gluten, we figured that was most likely the cause of my chronic hunger ha. Then towards the end of the day gradually a headache began to emerge from having no caffeine. As the days go on I am honestly not missing my Starbucks dry soy cappuccino, but I am missing my daily coffee in the morning and evenings with my mum. The smell, the warmth, the comfort. Coffee is one of the most relaxing foods known to man. In my opinion... 

Any-who, Tuesday I was on a role, in the morning I busted out this green smoothie right after my run. 

 Green Smoothie

Serves 2

1 cup kale firmly packed, stems removed and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and coarsely chopped

1 large ripe banana coarsely chopped

2 1/4 cups water

Blend all ingredients together, add more water if too thick. 

About 113 calories per serving

Overall tuesday was a greeeattt day! I woke up with a cup of hot water and lemon, spent time with God, ran, cleaned, gardened and worked. I have to admit I felt pretty accomplished. And on top of that I noticed I had a good amount of energy! 


Yesterday I worked all day, and missed exercise, but i stuck with the diet the best I could. I noticed I have been drinking more caffeine-free tea as a means to hold me over without my coffee. Infact, I treated myself to a chamomile tea with steamed almond milk at a local coffee shop. Deeeliicious! While I was hanging out in SLO with my man the clock struck ten and my stomach started to rumble... This wasn't a good sign because I get a bit.. well...grumpy, when I am hungry. So he insisted I eat, and at that hour my healthiest choice, with no other options, was Chipotle. I was able to avoid all allergens but soy. : (

Today I had some more oatmeal, an apple, a pear, handful of walnuts, and a new vegan protein bar I came across at the health food store. It was surprisingly really good and packed with 11 grams of protein and free from gluten, dairy, soy and added sugars! I'd say it's a winner! hah 

Also after finding this new probiotic in one of my magazines, I ordered it last week and was able to pick it up today. I'm really excited about it, it's free from soy, milk, eggs, corn, wheat, gluten, preservatives and artificial flavors! Plus it's once a day and the pills are a good size, not that ordinary "horse pill". So now all I have to do is test it out and tell you fellow people the verdict! 

Scrumptious Blueberry Muffins

 These muffins reign supreme above all other muffin recipes, hands down. They're filled with lush fresh blueberries, and topped with a butter cinnamon-sugar topping that melts deep down into the light texture of these divine breakfast pastries. To simply say... they are superb! 

Blueberry muffins
Inspired By Vanilla and Lace Makes 12
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/3 cup almond milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the streusal topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup earth balance
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the applesauce and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup earth balance, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. (You may not use all the topping)
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Harvest Party Muffins

I finally succeeded and made a pumpkin pastry! I'm so excited. Pumpkin is my absolute favorite to cook with and yet I rarely get the chance, so this evening I finally made sure to put aside time and bake. I made Harvest Muffins! I call them this because I have a major desire to throw a harvest party, I mean how splendid and blissful does that sound? To sit outside on a wooden table, decorated with deep warm sunflowers, surrounded by green meadows in the Autumn air... awe, it just sounds too lovely! At least it's a fantasy of mine. Maybe one day I can live up to my fantasy; I suppose we shall see.

 But these muffins were made for my dear friend Jordan up in Oregon, so I hope and pray they'll continue to be fresh and moist by the time they reach her mouth! 

My muffins are inspired by Post Punk Kitchen's  recipe for pumpkin muffins, just a bit revised to a healthier version : )

Harvest Muffins

 Makes 12 muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 

Spray a nonstick spray on muffin pan, or use paper cups.

(I personally cut squares of parchment paper for a fun touch.)

1 3/4 cup Whole Wheat White Flour

1 1/4 Raw Sugar

1 Tbl baking powder

1/4 Sea Salt

1 Tsp Cinnamon

3/4 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/8 Tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 Tsp Nutmeg

Sift dry ingredients together in one bowl. 

1 cup Pumpkin ( I used organic canned)

1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/2 cup Apple Sauce

2 Tbl Molasses 

 Stir all wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.

 Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together

1/2 cup Fresh Cranberries Chopped

1/2 cup Walnuts Chopped

 Fold in cranberries and walnuts

Fill muffin tins about full, the batter should be mostly used up. 

 Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Enjoy with a good cup of morning joe to start your day!