One of my all time favorite things to do in San Diego County since I've been able to drive - a really long time ago - is to sit and/or walk on Del Mar beach and then go to Stratford Court Cafe on 13th and Stratford Court for breakfast or lunch. The food is more healthier and I love chatting with the owner, Teri. I haven't been doing this for many months this year because of my health scares and focus on the fat free vegan-like diet. I thought that incorporating these beach activities into my new routine would prove beneficial because I would look forward to hanging out at the beach at least once a week.
The day was so magical - the weather was in the low 70s with a bright blue sky and plenty of sunshine. The tide was up on the beach but I was able to walk on it for a while before crossing over toward the town and then to Stratford Court Cafe. I loved being able to see Teri at the cafe and order a healthy sandwich of whole wheat toast with red bell pepper hummus, thinly sliced cucumbers, beefsteak tomato slices, red onion, mixed field greens and a little bit of avocado. I enjoyed it so much and vowed to go there once a week whenever possible.
I think knowing what makes you happy and incorporating it into a new, healthier lifestyle is important. Maybe it's my "all or nothing" mentality but thinking that I can't do things that I love to just because I've changed the way I eat has made it a little more difficult to accept that I have completely changed the way I eat - not just transitioning or eating this way temporarily until the heart disease is gone. This is it and the more I do to support it going forward, especially by continuing to do things that I love in a more healthier way, the easier life will be.
FOOD
Knowing that I had made too much of the FF 'Super' Spaghetti Sauce earlier this week I decided to drop off some to my mother and brother. My mother is a regular eater and she told me tonight that she loved the sauce over macaroni (it was the only pasta she had on hand). I'm always happy when regular eaters like the fat free vegan-like food because I know my palette has already changed so I'm not the best judge of great tastes for regular eaters.
What I ate today:
- 'Bologna' soy protein sandwich with dill pickle relish, chipotle mustard, sliced tomatoes and butter lettuce
- Carrot, cucumber and avocado sushi rolls
- Jamba Juice's 5 Fruit Frenzy "Fruit Only" smoothie (no dairy or fat added)
- FF Vegan Oatmeal Brownie cookies (see my modified version of this yummy recipe below)
- Baked russet potato with FF "Super" Spaghetti Sauce
- Ultra thin pretzel sticks
- Crudite (carrots, celery, red & green bell peppers, poblano chile) w/FF dressing
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RECIPE
FF Brownie Oatmeal Cookies
(modified from the Fat Free Vegan website: http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/02/25/brownie-oatmeal-cookies/)
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup unbleached Flour
- 1/3 cup Turbinado (raw) Sugar
- 1/4 cup fine or baking Sugar
- 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats (can use steel cut/not quick, if that's what you have)
- 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder - unsweetened - non-Dutch processed
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp salt (can be omitted if on a sodium-free diet)
- 2 Tbsp powdered Egg substitute (I use Ener-G) - mix well with 4 Tbsp water before adding to recipe
- 1/3 cup Corn Syrup, light or dark (I used light)
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla (pure is best)
- 1/2 tsp Almond extract (pure is best)
Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350F
- Mix wet ingredients in their own bowl: mixed egg replacer, vanilla, almond extract and corn syrup
- In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, sugars, salt, baking powder, cocoa and oats
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the blended wet ingredients - stir until moistened (you'll know because the cocoa will be darker)
- On a silicone baking sheet on top of a baking pan (if you don't have a silicone sheet you can use a wax paper-lined or Pam sprayed pan), work with batter between 2 palms to form approx. 2 dozen cookies. "Form" takes a little extra work because you'll want to be sure that the batter doesn't crumble and that it's fully formed into a slightly flattened ball.
- Bake at 350F for 10 minutes
- Pull slightly cooled silicone baking sheet onto a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes
- Put in covered container or zipped baggy after cooled
- Enjoy!
Notes:
- The cookies are a little on the drier side but still have a good consistency especially with the slightly chewy oatmeal
- The flavor is more like dark chocolate (less sweet than milk chocolate, that is) so if you want to add a little more sweetness you could gently roll the cookie after being formed into sugar (especially the more coarse Turbinado sugar) and/or you can drizzle the tops of the cookies after they've cooled down with a simple FF chocolate icing (see recipe below)
Simple FF Chocolate Icing
Ingredients:
- 1/8 cup Cocoa Powder - unsweetened - non-Dutch processed
- 1/8 cup Powdered/Confectioner's Sugar - organic, if you can find it
- 1/8 cup Water or Almond/Soy/Rice Milk
- Touch of flavoring to taste (ex., vanilla, peppermint, orange, almond, hazelnut) - optional
- Pinch of ground cinnamon - optional
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients together at once with a small whisk or fork adding droplets of water/liquid to get desired consistency; if too thin you can always add more powdered sugar (it's hard to screw this recipe up...)
- Using a spoon, drizzle the cookies with the icing or you can dip the tops of the cookies into the icing for even more sweetness
- To serve as a very special dessert you can use warmed liquid with the dry ingredients and any flavored extract (ex., peppermint, almond, hazelnut, orange) - serve in a small open container on a small decorative plate with cookies and coffee - YUM!
- Enjoy!
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