If You Like Pina Colada and Gettin' Caught in the Rain

I have to admit, I have a total weakness for pina coladas. Yes, I know they are sickeningly sweet. But the combination of coconut and pineapple along with the cool, creamy sweetness of the concoction just gets me every time. But it probably goes without saying here on HGK that drinking a pina colada is like a once-in-a-decade event for me. It helps that I live in Cleveland and not Saint Something or others.


I spent much of my weekend experimenting with NuNaturals Stevia products. I had some real highs and some real lows. If replacing the sugar with stevia in a recipe was easy, everyone would be doing it by now, right? Well, it's not that simple. I'm learning as I go.


I'll share my successes with you. My failures? I'm sharing them with the garbage pail.


I've been making batches of oatmeal, four servings at a time, and refrigerating single servings so that I have a healthy and convenient breakfast every day. Oatmeal is like a blank slate, and we can get really creative with the ingredients we add to it.


I began yesterday's batch with a pioneering spirit. Inspiration struck. I wondered what would happen if I included the flavors in a pina colada?

It was a risk. It could have been a bomb.

But it wasn't. It's phenomenal, one of the best original creations I have ever made.


Pina Colada Oatmeal
serves 4

Print me!

1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups water
2 cups alternative milk, I used unsweetened almond milk
2 small very ripe bananas (fresh or frozen), cut into 1/2" slices
1/4 cup partially defatted, unsweetened coconut (I get this at Whole Foods and my local Indian Market)
2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
1 Tbsp coconut extract
optional: sweetener-8 drops NuNaturals Liquid Vanilla Stevia drops (or to taste) or 1 Tbsp maple syrup

Place all ingredients into a large pot (I use a stock pot to avoid the boiling over that always occurs with a sauce pan). Bring to a boil.

Lower to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes.

Taste. You may not need any additional sweetener. Sweetened with liquid stevia (I used 8 drops) or maple syrup if desired.

Do you like pina coladas? Or do they totally turn you off?

A Check in WIth You and Blondie Bites: A Sweet Treat for Your Weekend

Good morning! I'm so excited for the weekend ahead because I have almost NO plans. That means lots of time in the kitchen and behind the camera, which is total fun for me.

Last weekend we had four families over to our house for a pot luck. I wanted to make sure that there was one "alternative" dessert that was "relatively" healthy. And who doesn't love a blondie? So I decided to go out on a limb and adapt a dessert recipe that had beans in it. My track record with beans in baked goods has been pretty hit or miss. Sometimes I like the results, other times, not so much. But the recipe was so intriguing, I had to at least give it a try.

I also decided to keep the portions bite sized (well, maybe 2 or three bites), because even though I eliminated the oil and used the least processed form of sugar on the market (sucanat), I find it's easier to manage my own sweet tooth when portions are small and predetermined.


Blondie Bites
makes 48 "bites"
adapted from a recipe at Chocolate Covered Katie

Print Me!

1 cup quick oats
2 cans canellini or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups organic sucanat (it sounds like a lot, but it's only 1/2 Tbsp per "bite")
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 (or 4 if you have that many) 12 cup mini muffin pans by lightly spraying with nonstick cooking spray. If you don't have mini muffin pans, use a 9"x13" baking pan.

Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the "s" blade and process until "smooth." (It may not get totally smooth, but the ingredients should be well blended.) Right into the food processor bowl, stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon 1 Tbsp of batter into each cup. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove bites from pan (they will be gooey on the inside), spray pan with non-stick spray and refill muffin cups with second half of batter. Bake for 20 minutes.

If you don't have mini muffin pans, spread batter into a greased 9"x13" baking pan and bake for at least 25 minutes (I haven't done this method myself, so I don't know an exact baking time, but it will be significantly longer).

The results were a success! Everyone liked these blondie bites (kids and adults), but not in a way where you would just want to keep eating one after another (if you know what I mean). I'd say they are a safe way to go if you want to bake a sweet treat.

One thing that I have found over the past many months experimenting with healthier baking has been that I can eliminate all of the oil or butter or Earth Balance in any baked good with no ill effect. I simply substitute all of the oil in a 1:1 ratio with unsweetened apple sauce, even if there is already apple sauce in the recipe. This has never failed me. I keep individual unsweetened apple sauce containers in stock in my kitchen (my kids love them) and each one is 1/2 cup. I never have a half-eaten jar hanging around my refrigerator growing mold.

My next experiments are going to revolve around eliminating the sugar in baked goods. The nice people over at NuNaturals sent me the most generous box of their products to test and try and I just can't wait. There's a virgin donut pan in my baking drawer just calling my name!

But what is going on with you? Where are you on this journey?What is coming easy to you? What are you struggling with? 

No matter what is going on with you and your food, I hope you are not beating yourself up over it.

Grasshopper Vegan Overnight Oats and the Premiere of Fat Chef on The Food Network

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I rediscovered the Chia Seed and along with it, the Internet recipe sensation Vegan Overnight Oats. With the help and guidance of my new friend Lani Muelrath, I quickly saw that Vegan Overnight Oats cannot become an everyday breakfast option for me (too high in calories) but as a treat on the weekend, maybe even lunch on Saturday, well, they're perfect! 

This version combines my some of my all time favorite flavors--mint and chocolate--with the creamy, chewy taste sensation that is VOO. Plus, with the addition of 1 cup of frozen spinach, we can get more greens in our bodies. It's a win-win situation!

Grasshopper Vegan Overnight Oats
serves 1

Print me!

layer A:

1/3 cup regular oats (not steel cut)

1 Tbsp chia seeds

<1 cup alternative milk, like almond or soy

1/2 scoop Amazing Grass Green Superfood Chocolate Drink Powder or 1/2 Tbsp raw cacao

1 tsp maple syrup

1/8 tsp peppermint extract

layer B:

1 large frozen banana or 1 1/2 small frozen bananas

1 cup frozen spinach

splash of alternative milk

1/8 tsp peppermint extract

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients for layer A and refrigerate overnight or for 1 hour.

In the morning, prepare layer B by placing all of the ingredients into the canister of a high speed blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade. If using the blender, blend the ingredients and tamp them down until the mixture is even and creamy. (This takes a few minutes as the spinach is more difficult to blend than banana alone.)  If using a food processor, process and stop to scrape down the sides often until the mixture is even and creamy.

Layer the overnight oats mixture with the banana soft serve and eat immediately.

Did anyone catch the premiere of Fat Chef on The Food Network?

Ironically, the first episode took place in Cleveland, OH (where I live). In my opinion, it was pretty painful to watch. First, my heart was bleeding for the two "contestants" who were totally out of control with their diets. Fried food, fast food, candy and cookies, day in and day out. The male chef, Rocco Whalen, owner of Farenheit Restaurant, was consuming 8000 calories per day. The female, Kimberly McCune Gibson, 5000. Of pure garbage.

But the worst was the diet recommendations that the trainer on the show gave them. IMHO, they were totally unsustainable in the long run and only set people up for ultimate failure at keeping weight off. And it's not just about the two chefs on the show, it's about all of the thousands of people watching the show and hoping to discover the key to being healthy.

What were the weight loss recommendations on Fat Chef? Eat small meals of lean (ie animal) protein and  vegetables every four hours. Oh, that, and exercise ridiculous amounts every week, which is totally unsustainable in real life (like when the cameras stop following you 12 weeks later).

Sure, a person being followed by cameras can stick to this plan for 12 weeks, and they would pretty much guarantee a major weight loss, but WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THEIR LIVES? Do the producers of the show even care?

No mention of high volumes of low calorie plant foods like salads, smoothies (not talking about the fruit laden ones here, just the truly green ones), soups, sauteed greens, beans or whole grains. Just some pork and steamed cauliflower with a side of celery sticks.

In Rocco's own words, "Thanksgiving sucked," he says bluntly, "but it put me to the test at the hardest time of year. And the carefree side of things, carefree in eating whatever I like. I miss that, too. Being able to eat a poached pear with softly melting blue cheese over it, topped with a port wine drizzle, and being able to enjoy some whenever I wanted to . . . "

That is no way to live!

Thanksgiving shouldn't "suck!" Come to my house for a plant based, no-oil Thanksgiving!

You don't need to be hungry all of the time in order to lose weight. You don't need to punish your body with exercise.

It's unsustainable (Rocco says he's now working out two hours a day. Holy sh!#.). Why is the real knowledge about these issues being kept from people?

And what about the customers that these two unhealthy chefs serve their disease promoting food to day in and day out? Are they changing their menus as a result of this intervention? Do they see food in a different way? If they did, they would certainly want to share that knowledge with their customers. Outrageously delicious, healthy, low calorie food does not have to come in small packages, but I don't think that either of the chefs learned that from their experience on the show.

I'd like to follow up with these two chefs and see how they are doing maintaining their weight loss after the taping was over. Oh, I live in Cleveland, I guess I can hunt them down!

Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats

Lately I've been wondering how to get more chia seeds into my diet.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with these strange little seeds, yes, they are the seeds that grow the grassy "hair" on a Chia Pet from the 70s. But they are also an incredible source of omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds. And it has another advantage over flax: chia is so rich in antioxidants that the seeds don't deteriorate and can be stored for long periods without becoming rancid. And, unlike flax, they do not have to be ground to make their nutrients available to the body. Chia seeds also provide fiber (25 grams give you 6.9 grams of fiber) as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.

Another advantage: when added to water and allowed to sit for 30 minutes, chia forms a gel. Researchers suggest that this reaction also takes place in the stomach, slowing the process by which digestive enzymes break down carbohydrates and convert them into sugar.

Chia has a nutlike flavor. You can mix seeds in water and add lime or lemon juice and sugar to make a drink known in Mexico and Central America as "chia fresca." As with ground flax seeds, you can sprinkle ground or whole chia seeds on cereal, in yogurt or salads, eat them as a snack, or grind them and mix them with flour when making muffins or other baked goods.

I find them tasty and an interesting addition to my diet. I happen to really like the consistency of them in smoothies and puddings. For some people, it will take a little getting used to. For others, it might be love at first bite. And for some, you just might never become a chia lover. But if you have never tried these little buggers and you are up for some nutritional adventure, I highly recommend getting a bag of 'em.

Chia seeds are all the rage amongst a group of healthy bloggers. Somehow, a recipe for something called  Banana Soft Serve Vegan Overnight Oats emerged. I made my first parfait about a year and a half ago. It was love at first bite, but somehow I forgot all about it until I saw it again this weekend on Pinterest, just as I was pondering how to get more chia seed into my diet! Ka-Bam! There are tons of awesome recipes out there on the web for this done up with different flavors. It's so much fun to experiment with!

I made a chocolate cherry version but I'm already dreaming up my next one . . . peppermint patty.

VOO: looks strange, tastes good.

Chocolate Cherry Vegan Overnight Oats
serves 1

Printable Recipe

layer A:
1/3 cup regular oats (not steel cut)
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 cup alternative milk, like almond or soy
1/4 scoop Amazing Grass Green Superfood Chocolate Drink Powder or a chocolate protein powder
1/2 tsp maple syrup
layer B:
1 large frozen banana or 1 1/2 small frozen bananas
1/2 cup frozen cherries
up to 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder or high quality cocoa powder (not dutch processed)
splash of alternative milk

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients for layer A and refrigerate overnight or for 1 hour.

In the morning, prepare layer B by placing all of the ingredients into the canister of a high speed blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade. If using the blender, blend the ingredients and tamp them down until the mixture is even and creamy. If using a food processor, process and stop to scrape down the sides often until the mixture is even and creamy.

Layer the overnight oats mixture with the banana soft serve and eat immediately.

Do you have chia seeds in your pantry? Have you ever made Vegan Overnight Oats?

Super Immunity Sneak Preview: Super Seed Oatmeal

Hi everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Labor Day Weekend. Sorry I've been so MIA lately. Between my oldest daughter's pneumonia and my family and I taking a short road trip to Buffalo, New York for a wedding, blogging was no where in my days.

The wedding was lovely, the bride and groom so in love. It has been my first venture into standard American food in quite a long, long time. Food was pretty out of my control, but I know how to handle that. Find out who is in charge and ask them for all of the veggies on the menu and none of the other stuff! A lot of the food tasted to me the way I remember airline food tasting. Could it be that the food was that bad? Or is it just that my taste buds have changed so dramatically over the past two years?

White bread tastes remarkably similar to cardboard.

As usual, I did my best to remain Plant-strong, only indulging in the dessert. And it was really, really good dessert. There were no cardboard tasting red velvet cupcakes.

The other thing that has been keeping me so busy is making my way through a new book that I agreed to review. I was contacted by the kind people over at HarperCollinsPublishers and asked to review Dr. Fuhrman's Super Immunity, which hits bookstores on September 20th.  Read it and test recipes I figure, what could be more fun than that?

And I was right!

So before I present you with the full review (and I have to do that by September 26th), here's a sneak preview of one of the recipes, tweaked a bit by me. Super Immunity does not have a lot of recipes, so I'm guessing that the recipes in the book are really special. If this recipe is any indication, we are in for a lot of great food. I give this oatmeal an A+! Positively addictive.

Super Seed Oatmeal

based on a recipe from Super Immunity by Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or other nut milk of your choice, can be vanilla flavored)

1/2 cup steel cut oats

1 apple, diced small

1 cup frozen mixed berries

1/4 cup currants

1 tbsp raw sunflower seeds

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 tbsp ground hemp seeds

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a larger pot than you think you need (otherwise this will boil over), bring nut milk to a simmer. Add oats and stir. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, checking on it and stirring every once in a while. (I don't walk away from the pot for very long, I have a history of oatmeal messes.)

Meanwhile, as the oats are cooking, place all of the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl. When oats are ready, pour on top and fold well.

Divide into two bowls. Eat one now and refrigerate the other for tomorrow's breakfast.

This recipe is so spectacular, I have already made it a second time. I have a feeling that I am going to be presenting you with a lot of sneak previews.

Have you tasted hotel/catered food lately? What was your impression?

Breakfast Duel: Green Smoothie vs. Oatmeal

Ever since reading The Healthy Librarian's completely inspiring blog post about her 15 month transformation on the Esselstyn plant-based no-oil diet, I have been rethinking my breakfast.
It's not that there's anything wrong with a green smoothie, it's just that after eating the same thing for breakfast for about two years, I'm kinda sorta ready to mix things up a bit.

And Debby (The Healthy Librarian) reminded me that I have options. Specifically, this incredible and easy concoction of savory, cheezy, nutrient dense oatmeal. Make it once and have breakfast for 3-4 days. How nice is that?

Get the recipe for Cheezy oats here. This is so wonderful, and makes a great, speedy dinner too.

Oatmeal seems to keep me fuller longer than my green smoothie does. So I'm seriously considering going on an oatmeal tear. It's a lot more comforting too with the cold weather just around the corner.

Ellen Darby, the Healthy Eating Specialist at my local Whole Foods has this to say about oatmeal:

"[Here] is my 32-year-49-mornings-out-of-50 OATMEAL breakfast:

For the first 29 years, I used regular Quaker Oats and for the last three years have been using steel cut oats. Either is fine � I just don�t recommend using quick oats � especially the packaged, flavored quick oats. I will share my procedure for steel cut oats: (if you choose to try, adjust the water-to-oats ratio to taste)

 � I use 1-1/3 cups water. Boil water.
� Reduce to simmer . (very important step: twice I wound up with overflowing water/oats and a very tough pan to clean!)
� Add 1/3 cup steel cut oats
� Set timer for 20 minutes
� I use that time to take my shower, check my e-mail. You may choose to walk your dog.
� Remove steel cut oats from heat
� Add frozen fruit to pan (I usually rotate between blueberries and raspberries) Fresh fruit is absolutely fine!!! I choose our 365 brand frozen because I love berries, but they mold so quickly � this way I don�t have to worry about it)
� Add 1 heaping teaspoon natural peanut butter. Yes, almond butter is fine. This may sound strange at first but try it, you might love it. The nut butter gives you protein and good fat -- which leads to long lasting energy.
� Empty oats, berries and peanut butter into bowl.
� Spoon on two tsp. maple syrup.
� Put on six almonds. (I mention, ONCE AGAIN, that I am a food-a-holic. If I didn�t program myself to add SIX almonds, I would be putting on handsful!)

 32 years and I still look forward to breakfast every morning. (especially when it�s the raspberry-rotation!) The combination of the salty peanut butter with the sweet maple syrup and the crunch of the almonds is just so darn delicious. Yummmm, I get excited just thinking about it. And the extra benefit is that it keeps me full for hours. Great way to start the day."

I've tried Ellen's oatmeal variation and I can say that it is awesome. PB&J in a bowl!

What is your breakfast preference these days? Are you a green smoothie devotee or an oatmeal devotee? Or is there something big I'm missing out on?