Cool & Spicy

There's some weird stuff going on at my condo complex. For the past month, there have been construction workers tearing apart balconies, roofing, fences and patios -- and just this week they got to me. So, grilling is now (and will be for the remainder of the summer -- err!) off limits because the patio that I do have is covered with tarp and plywood. I also no longer have a fence, which means that every person that walks by my unit can get a glance inside my first floor, which as you can imagine, freaks Henry out (I do pull my curtains most of the day, but little Henry is too smart for that and finagles his head next to the window). So, while trying to distract Henry from the contruction workers, neighbors and their dogs I needed to make some lunch, so I went with a couple of tried and true's: a blueberry banana smoothie and quick and simple curry rice.

Smoothies are personal, but this is my go-to mix when I need something to cool me off -- it's easily adaptable, so use your favorite flavor combo. Loaded with antioxidants from the blueberries and potassium from the banana, it's a good workout recovery drink too.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

1/4 cup fresh blueberries (you can definately use frozen here)
1 frozen, then slightly thawed banana
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 dash of cinnamon
1 sprig of mint for garnish (optional)

Place the first four ingredients in your blender or magic bullet and blend until desired consistency is reached; mine took about a minute. Enjoy post-workout or to cool off with the spicy dish below.

Oh, P.S. I sometimes add a tablespoon of peanut butter.

There's an Indian dish that I really love: vegetable biryani. Most recipes that I have seen for the dish involve myriad, hard to find spices and a cooking time that I just didn't have today, so I go for my quick and simple version. I often cook up a batch of brown rice each week to use as I please, so this recipe assumes you have some sitting in the fridge too.

Lazy Eatah's Vegetable Biryani, or Quick and Simple Curry Rice (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

serves 2 as a side dish, or 1 as a meal

1 cup of cooked brown rice
1/3 cup coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons red curry paste (I used Thai Kitchen, which says gluten-free on the label)
1 loosely packed cup of sliced yellow onion
1/2 cup frozen peas (or pretty much any vegetable you have on hand)

In a skillet on medium heat, add the coconut milk and the curry paste. Whisk together the two until they have thoroughly combined (the coconut milk will turn redish). Add the onions and simmer for a few minutes. Next, add the rice and stir until combined (the rice will now take on the color of the curry). Lastly, add the peas and cook for another minute or two.

Enjoy!

Deconstructed Veggie Roll & PB Banana Sorbet

Due to the hot weather I was debating whether I should do my run outside today or at the gym. I chose the gym because of the air conditioning, and boy am I glad. It's not as hot outside as it has been in the past few days, but running five miles in this heat would have probably done more bad than good in the short term. This past Saturday I raced a 5k with my sister (who gave birth a little over two months ago -- blows my mind too, I want to be like her) and we both went our separate ways after the race. Well, we both later realized that we had killer headaches for the rest of the day (which made me Debbie Downer for a bit since I was at a graduation party). We drank tons of water after the race and were peeing clear (TMI, sorry) but still had horrible, horrible headaches. We realized later it was the nutrients that we were missing, so the next day when we had an outdoor soccer game in the 94 degree heat we loaded up on the electrolytes, care of Gatorade. This just reminded me how important keeping your nutrients in check is when you're working out.

So, after my run and core workout today, I chugged my water, had some Gatorade and scarfed down these two dishes:

Deconstructed Veggie Roll (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Wild rice, which is actually a grass is relatively high in protein. It's the most nutritious rice I've discovered, too.

salad:
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice (sushi rice or brown rice would work well too if you're not a fan of wild rice on its own)
1/2 English cucumber, seeded and sliced
1 carrot (or 5 baby carrots) julienned
3/4 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 sliced avocado

dressing:
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons wheat-free soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 tablspoon grapeseed oil

Put all of the salad ingredient, except the avocado, together in a bowl and combine. Whisk together the dressing and add to the salad. Serve immediately, or chill and serve later. Garnish with the avocado.

Peanut Butter Banana Sorbet (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

This dessert really hit the spot. Bananas are loaded with potassium which, in addition to sodium, you can lose a lot of during workouts, so eat up!

2 ripe, frozen bananas, slightly thawed
2 tablespoons almond milk
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 teaspoon agave nectar

Place all of the ingredients in a mini food processor, blender, or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides to evenly incorporate the ingredients. Serve immediately or place in the freezer until ready to serve.

Minature Banana Bread Loaf

I've tried quite a few gluten-free, dairy-free banana bread recipes in my day and none could compare to my dear Mom's banana bread. It was so good that when she sent a loaf back with me to school in college, and I had to hand it off to my friend to bring it back to my dorm because I had to go to tennis practice, there was only half left when I got back to the dorm. And I really couldn't blame her; my Mom's banana bread is good.

Fast forward to a few years later, and I'm trying to replicate that moist, sweet, loaf. I've had a few failures, including a loaf that crumbled to the touch, but alas! I have found a winner, and it's basically my Mom's recipe -- modified gluten free.

I should also mention my slight obsession with "little" cooking tools. The notebook above is the size of a checkbook, so yes, the whisk is really the size of a fork, and the mini-loaf pan (I have four of them) makes a loaf slightly larger than a regular-sized muffin. This banana bread worked perfectly in my mini-loaf pan, but it also turned out well in a regular sized loaf pan -- just adjust your cooking time.

That's Henry -- eyeballing my loaf. Bad Henry.

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Banana Bread

2 teaspoons vanilla (make sure it's gluten-free; I use Nielsen-Massey Vanillas)
3/4 cup sugar (I had vanilla sugar on hand, so I used that)
4 very ripe, mashed bananas (I freeze over-ripe bananas and pop them in the microwave to defrost them when I want to use them)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups of your favorite gluten-free flour (I use a mix of superfine brown rice flour, tapioca starch and potato flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, mix the vanilla, sugar, bananas, oil and eggs. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients.

Grease either your mini-loaf, or regular-sized loaf pans and fill just before you reach the top of the pan.

Bake until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf. It took about seventeen minutes for my mini-loaf pans, and about thirty-five for my regular-sized loaf.