Green 'n' Golden

So I made some brownies on 4/20 and they had some extra special ingredients…

…but not that kind of ingredients. Don’t worry, guys, I would never. These extra special ingredients are the extra healthy variety: chia seeds, flaxseeds, buckwheat, bananas, and peanut butter, plus some cocoa powder because you can never go wrong with chocolate, especially when peanut butter is already involved. When I first made these bars on a cookie sheet, they had the thickness and consistency, approximately, of a cookie cake, but I wanted them to be a bit more substantial. Since I already had peanut butter on hand, I decided to try cutting them into squares and making peanut butter sandwiches with the brownie bars, in order to double the thickness and simultaneously add some more extra peanut butter in addition to that already in the recipe. These were great snacks not only right out of the oven, but also after being refrigerated overnight, and made a perfect on-the-go, high-protein breakfast option that lasted almost a week.

Peanut Butter Banana Sandwich Brownie Bars

• 1 cup peanut butter for batter +1/2 cup or so for making sandwiches
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp flax seeds
• 1/4 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup honey

Mash bananas, add peanut butter and honey, and mix the wet ingredients well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, and mix until you have a very thick batter. Grease a cookie sheet and spread the batter evenly on top of it. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350°F, let cool, and cut into squares. Make sandwiches out of the squares by spreading peanut butter on half the squares and placing another square on each of the covered ones.

Happy Friday! It’s a bit late, but I’m finally publishing last week’s weekend update, and a fabulous weekend it was, too. I caught up with old friends and met new ones, ate at old favorite restaurants and discovered new ones, and I saw both a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a Pulitzer Prize winner speak within a 24 hour time span.

I spent the weekend in Chicago, first for a national conference for GlobeMed, a global health organization composed of chapters from fifty universities, each of which partners with a healthcare organization in the developing world to raise money for its operations. My chapter’s partner is a public health organization in Laos, and we fund their malaria education programs. At the conference, we heard talks from doctors, public health workers, and other social activists that work in the developing world. The highlight was the keynote speaker, Leymah Gbowee, a social worker and mother who mobilized the women from her Christian congregation as well as the local Muslim mosque to nonviolently protest for peace during the Liberian Civil War in 2004. She was a passionate and inspiring speaker, warm, funny, and so, so strong, emphasizing the power of individuals to go out and change the world. She’s a pretty good example of that: her group actually did stop the war. Oh, did I mention she won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize? Pretty amazing.

After the conference at Northwestern ended on Sunday, I headed downtown to meet my Spanish class to see a play, The Happiest Song Plays Last by Quiara Alegría Hudes. On the way from the L stop to the theater, I found this intriguing gem of a restaurant at the intersection of State and Lake Street. I was looking for somewhere to eat before the play, so I walked into the ever so creatively named Protein Bar and was immediately impressed.

The mark of a good restaurant, in my book, is not being able to decide what to order. This happens so infrequently when eating out at your typical chain restaurant, but here they had an entire menu section on quinoa bowls, another on burritos, and another on hearty salads–basically my food groups. The restaurant is not vegan, but has many well-noted vegan as well as gluten-free options, making it a great place to stop with a group with diverse eating preferences. For my first time visiting, I decided on the Vegan Original burrito, filled with quinoa, black beans, tofu, lettuce, vegan cheese, and salsa. I also opted for avocado, for which you do have to pay a bit extra, but it was a bit extra well spent.

Hurried snapshot in the midst of eating…not the greatest quality, but you get the picture.

The burrito was very satisfying as well as tasty, able to hold me over until I got back to campus around 9 pm that night. I also ordered a chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie called the Wrigley Peeled, one a variety of Chicago-themed drinks including the Millenium Perk (with espresso), the Red Line (strawberry banana), and the South Açai’d (pretty self-explanatory).

The original Protein Bar, as I learned from their website later, opened in 2007, and already has 7 Chicago locations, with three more in the works, and has recently expanded to a location in Washington, DC. I’m sure I’ll return to one location or another over the summer, and this is what I’m eyeing next time:

I almost got this, but decided on the quinoa burrito instead. Next time though!

Oh, and the play was wonderful. The third in a trilogy the playwright based on her cousin Elliot’s experiences in the Iraq war and as a veteran, as well as on his Puerto Rican family’s life in North Philadelphia, it swung from heartwarming to heart-wrenching to hilarious. In this installment, Elliot is filming a docu-drama on the war in Jordan in the midst of the Arab Spring while his cousin Yaz deals with  love and loss back home. The characters communicate through text and video chat during the play as well, adding another modern touch. After the play, my class attended an question-and-answer session with Quiara Hudes, the playwright, along with her cousin Elliot and the actor who played him. It was an interesting dynamic, as real-life Elliot had just seen this play based on his own life for the first time, and it was fascinating to hear from all three of them.

Sadly, this weekend doesn’t look to be nearly as eventful as the last, but I am planning on finally hitting up the brand new Whole Foods that just opened in Mishawaka (the town over from South Bend), getting some ingredients, and finally doing some cooking! So stay tuned for a new recipe coming on Sunday.

Hitting the books and working the arms: Harry Potter books are totally underrated dumbbell substitutes.

I ran a half marathon a few weeks ago, and I found myself the next day not only with the expected sore quads, but also with almost equally aching shoulders. Clearly, I had been slacking in my upper body workouts (by which I mean, just not doing them…). So, when I was home for Easter last weekend and had some free time, I decided to get working on that.

I probably should have come to this resolution at school, where I have access to a state-of-the-art rec center, but I had to make do with what I had in the house. I use my brother’s 12.5 pound weights for bicep curls and shoulder presses, but for other exercises, like arm circles and raises, I need something a lot smaller. At the gym I’d use 2.5′s, but without any weights of that size in the house, I have come up with the solution (rather ingenious if you ask me) of lifting Harry Potter books. Clocking in at 2.7 pounds, Order of the Phoenix makes a perfect stand-in, and as part of a family of avid Potter fans, we own multiple copies of each of the last three volumes in the series.

I therefore call this workout the Dumbledore’s Army boot camp routine, consisting of two to three sets of 10 reps of the following, while lifting the books:

• Arm circles, clockwise and counter clockwise
• Around the world lifts, bringing your arms from your sides all the way over your head
• T lifts, bringing your arms from your sides to shoulder level
• Front lifts, holding your arms in front of you and lifting up
• Outward front lifts, same as above but with your arms brought slightly out to the side

I did this workout after a morning run, before which I fueled up with this lovely chia seed energy pudding, which to fit our theme I’ll call Felix Felicis.

Fun fact: the ultra-running Tarahumara tribe have used chia seeds for fuel for centuries! They provide quickly digestible simple fats and sugars.

• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• strawberries on top

The night before you want to eat this (or a few hours before would work too), combine the chia, almond milk, and cocoa powder, stir until the chia seeds are evenly distributed in the liquid. Leave in the fridge overnight, top with fruit if you want, and enjoy!

Hey there blog world, it’s been awhile! Yes, college has gotten the best of me yet again. I’ve been busy with midterms, papers, club meetings, event planning, general socializing, you name it, but what doesn’t happen much is cooking. The presence of just one kitchen, and a rather understocked one at that, in my 300-or-so-person dorm is certainly an impediment, but the lack time for shopping and preparing dishes is the main culprit. Last month, however, I had a lovely hiatus from the daily grind on an alternative spring break trip to Washington, D.C. for a seminar class on the U.S. healthcare system. While there, we visited policy makers, health clinics, and think tanks to hear their perspectives on the Affordable Care Act and the future of healthcare in the United States. As an aspiring doctor, it was fascinating, and I learned so much!

Almost as crucial to our successful stay in the nation’s capital was the pursuit of cupcakes. D.C. seems also to be the nation’s capital of cupcakes, with shops dedicated to these miniature (or not) delights popping up in nearly every neighborhood. Georgetown alone had three “cupcakeries” within about a half-mile radius. The best part of all this? Nearly every shop we visited had a vegan option or two! Here I’ll profile my two favorites, Sticky Fingers Bakery (exclusively vegan!!!) and Baked and Wired.

Baked and Wired provided my second cupcake of the trip and probably my overall favorite. The shop itself is an adorable hipster haven, selling fair-trade coffee in addition to a plethora of quirky cupcake flavors including a bacon-topped one (not my personal choice, but props for the creativity?). It was right after marveling at that culinary oddity that my eyes fell on a true beauty. Chocolate and peanut butter have long been my absolute favorite flavor combo, and seeing any sort of chocolate peanut butter ice cream, cookie, or other dessert tends to plunge my normally disciplined mind into momentary food lust. This naturally occurred when I saw the decadent chocolate peanut butter cupcake smiling up at me from the display case. What I saw next on the colorful, hand-drawn label absolutely made my day. “VEGAN.” It was fate; who cares if I had just downed a carrot cake cupcake at Georgetown Cupcakes? That was like dinner. It had carrots. This had to be mine, though I did save it for after my real dinner. Baked and Wired did not disappoint. I had actually forgotten how good cake could taste, and this cupcake basically renewed my faith in all things sweet and rich and delectable. Well done.

I remembered to snap a picture midway through gorging myself. It got 17 well-deserved likes on Facebook.

And all this was before I even experienced the amazing vegan heaven on earth called Sticky Fingers Bakery! I didn’t actually have a cupcake here, but rather an absolutely fantastic brownie topped with coconut frosting. Outstanding. I heard the cupcakes were top-notch, too, as most of my friends opted to keep the cupcake streak going. We went to Sticky Fingers after lunch, but I wished I hadn’t eaten when I stepped in and saw that in addition to a full array of desserts, they also offered quite a lunch menu featuring quinoa salads, veggie hummus wraps, vegan cheese quesadillas, and veggie burgers, among other things. Although, since we went to Busboys and Poets, a very vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurant for dinner (and some awesome coconut ice cream for dessert), I think I did okay for the day. In summary, don’t be surprised if I take off for DC when I graduate.

See all these lovely morsels of goodness? They’re all vegan. Every last one.

Oh yeah, I was going to post a recipe! We also did a lot of our own cooking in DC, if you can imagine that. In an effort to utilize the last of our ingredients on the last night, we did a bunch of baking, too, and I whipped up this peanut butter cookie recipe. It was a hit, receiving the ultimate compliment: “How is this vegan? It’s so good!” I mean, I guess I’ll take that as a compliment…

Cookies!

4-ingredient Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 extra-ripe banana
• 1 cup peanut butter

Place in 1-2 inch balls on a cookie sheet, bake for 10 minutes, and you’re golden! (as the cookies should also be at this point). They really are that easy, and the peanut butter and banana basically take the place of the egg, butter, and sugar. You could even substitute whole wheat flour if you’re really going for healthy cookies. I can’t wait to make these again!

This recipe was inspired by my favorite dish at California Pizza Kitchen, the Thai Crunch Salad (hence the name). This uses quinoa as the base instead of Napa cabbage, so it’s a more filling, protein-packed entree, but it retains the flavors of cilantro, avocado, and Thai peanut sauce that I love in the original.

Thai Crunch Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1.5 cup frozen edamame
• 1 cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¼ c unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Cook quinoa in water, bringing water to a boil and then simmering 10-15 minutes.  Cook edamame according to package instructions and add to quinoa when finished, along with other ingredients and dressing.

Dressing

• 2 tbsp natural almond or peanut butter
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ cupwater

Combine all ingredients but almond butter and water and mix well.  Add almond butter and stir into liquid, adding water as needed to achieve consistent and creamy texture. Mix evenly into quinoa.

This can be served warm or refrigerated, but since I made it ahead of time for a dinner party, I served it chilled and it was great. The recipe serves at least 8.

Hello internet, I’m back after two busy weeks! Lots of working, commuting, visiting, running, and, yes, cooking have gone by, yet I haven’t managed to come up with anything to post on here. Shameful. Mostly, I think, it’s that I need to get more in the habit of photographing my culinary creations. Don’t worry, I’ll work on it.

Anyway, this weekend I tackled a thirteen-mile long run, after which I needed a hearty, protein-filled meal to refuel the tank, so I made this spicy and delicious quinoa salad for dinner. The best part: it only takes 20 minutes to prepare!

Quick and easy, this tastes even better than it looks!

Curried Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup raisins

Cook the quinoa in the water with the spices, bringing to a boil and simmering 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the pepper and tomato and prepare all other ingredients. Add everything to the pot when the quinoa is done, and voila! Dinner is served.