Tofu Dip

Over the weekend I bought toby's tofu spread. After literally eating half the container (I got the lite version- so it's ok) I decided I had to make my own. So, I did.

 Ingredients: 
-firm tofu (pressed)
-vegan mayonaise
 -parsley
-celery
-nutritonal yeast
-garlic salt
-spices
-anything else you want (I added zucchini to my last dip!)

 Method: 
-press your tofu until most of the water is out
-throw everything into a food processor and mix!
 -enjoy with chips, crackers, more celery, or by the spoonful

 I love this with celery and also with corn tortilla chips... delicious and so high in protein. feel free to play around with the amount of spices and mayonaise- I don't have exact measurements since I just keep adding in things until it tastes good.

So simple and easy, it takes less than 5 minutes- just make sure to eat it within 4 days... which won't be a problem :)

University of Colorado at Boulder

I'm not sure how much I want to go into detail about the reason I'm transferring as I try to keep many personal things off this blog- but I think it'd be good to get it out there my thoughts so there is not any confusion as to why I'm transferring.

I posted about my father and my trip to Boulder, seen here, which was actually to see the school and the city and see if I wanted to attend. I didn't mention that in my post since I wasn't sure if I was going to attend.. but now that I am, I can share that we really only went to see the college.

Boulder

There are many reasons I'm transferring Universities this year from NYU to CU. I do not dislike New York City, I just love mountains and nature more than I enjoy city life. If you know me in person, or have read my blog for awhile you may know that I'm really passionate about climbing, running, cycling, and love hiking and exploring. I do like the hustle and bustle of the city, as well as the opportunities they present, but I value peace and serenity more.

NYC with my dorm on the right

I'll miss NYC, but I'm excited to go to school in a city that offers a surrounding of mountains. While at NYU, I felt as if I was trapped in a bubble of people and had no space to myself or a place to be quiet. Simple things like running on pavement, breathing in car fumes when I cycled, and dealing with disgusting situations (such as the street dirt or people partying in the streets and leaving messes) really made me an unhappy and angry person (just ask my freshman year roommates). I came home four times throughout the year, and wrote posts about experiencing nature (running on dirt, tons of hiking for my birthday at home, Yosemite when I came home for thanksgiving, and trad climbing in Yosemite). Just from those four posts alone, one can see that I am very very into nature and activities in nature. After those trips I was happier, felt lighter, and was more at peace. My escape while at school used to be climbing, and then after my shoulder injury became cycling- especially after I joined WE Bike.

WE Bike

WE Bike shirt worn proudly

To put it bluntly- I'm excited. I'm excited to have the opportunity of hiking, meeting people who share the same passions as me, and to be able to finally experience the typical college lifestyle (campus, sports teams, an orientation even!). When I was deciding whether or not to transfer, I kept telling my friends at school how many climbing clubs there were at CU compared to NYU- not that that number is a deciding point... but it was proof that there could be more people I would share interest with. (fyi- there are 3 clubs at CU, and 0 at NYU. that doesn't include clubs for hiking, cycling, backpacking... just 3 for climbing alone)

I will miss things about NYC, but hardly anything about NYU. I'll miss the friends I became close with, the food, my family on the East Coast, and feeling the rush of adrenaline while biking through 2nd Ave traffic. Going into my transfer, I know that Boulder is no where near "perfect" and I can and probably will find flaws within the process or the school- but overall I think I'll be a happier and calmer person when surrounded by a place I want to be in, and with people who also want to be there.

Lula's vegan ice cream.... you will be missed the most

Academically, I'm pretty set on studying sports nutrition, or a variation of that. At NYU I would have majored in nutrition as an undergrad. At CU I'll be majoring (possibly) in Integrative Physiology with a focus on exercise physiology (the study of how stress affects the body). With a degree in that I can go to grad school or dietetics school for nutrition, or focus on physical therapy or studying the body and possibly going into medicine. Essentially, I will undergrad in the "sports" side of sports nutrition, and go to graduate school for the nutrition side (just a plan... I may or may not stick to that!)

Another cool thing about CU and this program is that I can get a Bachelors AND a masters in 5 years total (4 years from now, since I've already completed a year), which is about the time length that multiple academic advisors told me that it would take to graduate from NYU with just a bachelors. How is that for awesome!?

vegan gluten free mac and cheese... with a twist!

I used to love mac and cheese, the gooey cheese, the soft pasta... However, that's typically NOT edible for me... To make a vegan, gluten free mac and cheese that's somewhat healthy has been on my mind for awhile.

Well, today, I tackled that problem with three main ingredients.

1. quinoa pasta
2. polenta
3. nutritional yeast.

See where this is going?

Ingredients:
1. 1/4 box Quinoa Pasta
2. 1/4 cup Polenta (corn grits)
3. 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
4. salt
5. pepper
6. optional seasoning

Method:
-boil the pasta (or any other pasta) as directions, but slightly slightly undercooked (should still be edible at this point if needed, but could be a bit more cooked)
-put the pasta to the side
-boil 1 cup of water, add the 1/4 cup of Polenta
-lower heat and stir occasionally for 4 minutes
-at this point the Polenta should be mostly together, but not quite.
-add the 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, stir for 45 seconds-1 minute
-add seasoning, salt, pepper, and cooked pasta
-stir everything together in the pot for about 1 minute
-remove from stove, spoon into a bowl and let sit for 2-4 minutes*
-enjoy!

*You could also probably bake this, although I didn't since I was hungry!

I cooked 1/4 of the box

cooked quinoa pasta

beginning of polenta cooking

nutritional yeast added!

pasta into the polenta mix

gooey and delicious!

Yum! I think I may try baking this next time.. and if I have a friend I'll just double the recipe!!
I'm off to study more chemistry.. It's been a busy week and a half since school started

Juicing, LA, and other big news

As I type this, I'm drinking a juice made from kale, an apple, and two tangerines. I'm in bliss... I never thought I'd fall in love with juicing as much as I have, but man oh man ever since I acquired a juicer from one of my favorite people last Tuesday I've been going crazy. I also have been continuing on my salad June, but I have so many other things to speak of.

My usual concoction is kale, apples, and another bit of fruit. I love the rainbows the juicer makes as well, even in the compost section.

not all of this is kale- only 4 oz. is.

I'll start posting recipes as soon as I'm less busy with life.

Speaking of life, this past weekend I was in Los Angeles for my older sisters graduation.

UCLA graduation

the twin and I on the beach enjoying the breeze

Still have the sling on myself, but I hope to get it off this Friday!!!

Of course while in LA I ate TONS of good eats.. starting off on Friday for lunch with a salad and this..

gluten free vegan chocolate cake from Real Food Daily

then Friday night

gluten free vegan kale onion aioli pizza

then Saturday night

quinoa vegan mac and cheese

vegan "cesear" salad with tofu croutons

sweet potato fries

And a little treat Sunday morning before flying back to the Bay

raw, gluten free, vegan, mango crepe

I had a great weekend of food, and enjoyed seeing UCLA and my sister graduate! I had to come back early to wake up for my 8 AM chemistry class that started here at UC Berkeley on Monday... and will continue four days a week for 7 more weeks. I'm pretty swamped with work and such, but hope to pass with at least a B.... so I can bring it to University of Colorado at Boulder next semester. 

That's right- I'm officially transferring (and hiding it at the bottom of this post for a reason). I have many many reasons that I'm transferring, which I will expand on in a later post. All I know is that I'm excited, and thrilled to be able to be near nature, mountains, and a real college campus. I'm going to orientation in little over a month, then move out of Berkeley end of August in Boulder. 

For now, I'm looking forward to mountains and hiking... after I finish all this chemistry homework on my back. 

Quinoa Salad and Salad June Day 5-10

I finally switched up my salad variety after eating my generic plain salad for many many days. I went home this weekend to walk a 5K with my father, so I made a huge huge quinoa salad after going to the farmers market.

Ingredients:
-1 cup dry quinoa
-2 cups vegetable broth
-crimini mushrooms
-kale
-bell peppers
-green onions

Method:
-boil the quinoa and vegetable broth together
-throw in sliced mushrooms
-simmer the quinoa until fully cooked
-throw in chopped kale
-cool completely
-toss in bell peppers and onions

finished product! so good!

Feel free to add spices to the quinoa mix, it may jazz up your salad. I plan on eating this until it runs out.. then figuring out my next salad move. For now, it's relaxing from a long day of work.

Salad June day 4

Here's day four of salad June! I will admit, even though I am a vegan, I am a horrible salad maker. I usually just throw together vegetables and rarely use any sort of dressing. Since I'm going to be eating salads all month, I went ahead and bought raspberry vinaigrette from Trader Joe's to top off salads. I like fruity dressings, although I don't know why..

farmers marker spring mix, red bell pepper, yellow zucchini, black beans, rice crackers crumbled, and vinaigrette. 

Hopefully through this month I'll learn a lot about salad making, although no promises! I am thinking of an apple, chocolate mochi salad.. but that sounds a bit weird. Does anyone have suggestions for easy salads?

Salad June day 1-3

If you read ohsheglows you'll notice that Angela started a salad month for this month of June. I mentioned this to my older sister Irene, and we both decided to do it together! I can use a few more veggies in my diet, so this will be a good challenge for us. Here are the salads for the first three days of June!

June 1- whole foods salad

June 2&3- homemade salad for dinner, and then breakfast

Going backwards a bit since I haven't had internet at my apartment, last weekend my older sister came home for Memorial Day, and we went out to brunch with my parents in Berkeley. We went to Venus, which is a local, sustainable restaurant located in downtown Berkeley.

Dad & Blackberry lemonade

vegan stir fry, home fries, corn tortillas

It was great to see my older Sis, and I enjoyed the company and help with moving into my apartment.

Speaking of my apartment, I live in walking distance of a huge hill to hike up. When you get up to the top, you can see the whole Bay, San Francisco, and lots of Oakland and Berkeley, which I showed pictures of in my last post.

Also very close to my apartment is the Greek Theatre, where I saw The Beach Boys on Friday night with my twin and mom. It was awesome!

Now I'm all caught up with my life and what I wanted to share. I'll be posting a lot about my salads hope everyones had a great two past weekends :)