Food – Page 2 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Food July 15, 2015

Healthy Pineapple Basil Lemonade Recipe

As I mentioned on Monday, we’re doing a health food cleanse right now, which involves lots of all-natural foods (i.e. no chemicals, preservatives), fresh juices and oodles of water. The last item on that list is the toughest for me. I wish more than anything I was one of those people who happily drank a gallon of water a day, but I’m not. Give me a gallon worth of La Croix though, and I’d down it quickly.

In order to drink lots of water, I typically flavor it with fruit. While we were in St. Petersburg in May, we drank tons of fruit-infused lemonades (they were on all the cool restaurant’s menus!) – see a photo here. I imagine there was quite a bit of sugar in the drinks, but I decided there didn’t need to be, as fruit is so sweet naturally.

City Guide July 9, 2015

Durango City Guide

In 2012, my parents bought a home in Durango, much to our dismay, as we were rooting for a lake house in Austin. We are now so glad they ignored our pleas, as this old-timey city has definitely won over our hearts (and the lack of Texas humidity is a huge bonus). Durango has everything you could possibly need in a getaway city – great food and drinks, amazing views, fun activities, good shopping (well, not high fashion), and perfect weather (ahem, except perhaps the freezing cold winters). We’re fortunate enough to live just two streets over from Main Avenue, which is where most of the restaurants and shops are found. Given that most things in Texas are driving distance, it’s nice to be able to walk to dinner. We also take advantage of the proximity to the mountains and Animas river, and spend the days outside hiking, biking, rafting, running, etc.

If you’re looking for a fun Colorado vacation spot, I highly recommend making a trip to Durango. And if you come, I suggest trying some of the following restaurants, juice bars, ice cream shops, parks and adventure centers. If you have already been to Durango, am I missing anything?

Food and Drinks

Carver’s Brewing Co.: This brewery is a favorite in our family, as it’s just two streets over from my parent’s house and the food is delicious. I typically order the Sesame Seared Ahi Stir Fry (substitute tofu for Ahi) or the veggie burger without the bun and a salad versus fries. Both options are delicious. Sasha normally gets the Tatanka (buffalo) burger and also loves it. They have big to-go beers called “Growlers” (discounted refills), so naturally Sasha and Dad have to drink one or two of those to prove their Colorado manliness.

Food May 19, 2015

Summer Salad Combinations at Salata

At the first signs of summer, I immediately start adding berries and watermelon to our dinner salads. Sasha and I even have an inside joke about it, as he will ask every single day what we’re going to be eating that evening, knowing that the answer will be “summer salad.”

Our meal times tend to involve a big bowl of vegetarian salad, and then Sasha will add meat to his and Isla’s dishes. In order to keep things interesting, I try to vary up my “summer salads,” so that we’re not eating the same thing day in and day out (although, as a creature of habit, I wouldn’t mind it!).

Three delicious summery salad combinations include:

Berry-Balsamic Salad: combine fresh spinach with blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, almonds and feta and top with my favorite dressing: balsamic vinaigrette.
Spicy-Sweet Tropical Salad: a lettuce blend topped with mango, pineapple, red onion, green pepper, jalapeno and pumpkin seeds, finished off with mango dressing.
Mediterranean-Inspired Summer Salad: combine watermelon, cucumber, radish, feta, chickpeas and falafel with a bed of kale and drizzle with lemon vinaigrette dressing.

Food March 12, 2015

6 Helpful Resources for Healthy Eating

healthy I’ve been a vegetarian since 6th grade, and I’ve been cooking my own meals for many of the last 16 years. I would have to use the word ‘cook’ very loosely, as I started off my veggie years by microwaving a couple of black bean burgers for dinner. Over time, I started to look for more exciting recipes to ‘change it up,’ as there are so many meals you can eat, you just need a little inspiration from time to time. I have a number of amazing recipe and cookbooks (some shared below), and have used the internet to find a number of recipes that we use regularly, including The Forest Feast and Oh She Glows.

Not only do I peruse food blogs for main courses, but I also use a number of sites to find healthy vegan desserts. As I’ve mentioned before, my friend Mara of Hook, Thread and Tinker bought me Rawsome Vegan Baking for Christmas, and I’ve tried almost 70% of the recipes so far. It is amazing. McKenzie recently bought me Deliciously Ella‘s new cookbook, which I’m so excited to dig into. Her website is amazing, and I’ve already tried and fallen in love with her Banana, Pumpkin Seed and Almond Granola Bars.

Today I’m sharing my favorite 6 websites for healthy recipes: The Forest Feast, Naturally Ella, Minimal Baker, Oh She Glows, Deliciously Ella and This Rawsome Vegan Life. Do you have other sites that you reference for recipes? Please share!

forestfeast2

1 The Forest Feast: My good friend, Brittany, recently bought me The Forest Feast cookbook for my birthday, and after oogling over it for ages, I’m so excited to own a copy. I love Erin’s website, filled with delicious recipes with categories like food, drinks, entertaining and traveling. Check out the website and buy a copy of the book!

Favorite recipe: Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Food February 25, 2015

Healthy, Raw Vegan Oreos

My sweet friend, Mara, bought me an incredible raw, vegan cookbook for Christmas, and I have been cursing her every week for it (only kidding!), as I cannot stop myself from making these delicious desserts. In all seriousness, this book has saved poor Sasha from enduring the millions of healthy baking recipes that I tried to invent in my head for years – apparently there’s actually a science to these things and the recipes cannot just be winged like cooking!

I’ve been making most of the recipes following the exact instructions in the book, but yesterday I decided to go a little rogue on Emily’s ‘Raw Chocolate Cookies Sandwiching Vanilla Cashew Cream’ recipe and I’m so glad I did, as the result was phenomenal. I’ll call it the healthy, gluten free, refined sugar free, raw vegan Oreo (catchy little name, right?), or perhaps just vegan Oreo for short.

I’ve got to warn you, these will make about 6 cookies, but they won’t last more than 6 minutes (especially if you’ve got guests over)! These are definitely my new ‘go to’ items, although I won’t stop making my other healthy vegan favorites (Black Bean Brownies, Brownie Bites, Mini-Cheesecakes and Chocolate Beet Brownies).

Cookie Ingredients

3/4 cup of oats (gluten free if baking for someone with Celiacs or gluten intolerance)
2 1/2 cups of pitted dates (I use these which you’ll find next to the raisins and other dried fruit at the grocery store)
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of melted organic coconut oil