"Five Star" Muffins

In keeping with my vegan attempts for the month of March, I made a batch of completely vegan and gluten free sweet potato muffins. The key ingredient in these is Chinese five-spice powder, which in my mind I keep accidentally calling "five star" powder. After making these, I think it's fair to call them "five-star" muffins : )

"Five Star" Muffins

adapted from "It's All Good" recipe

2 sweet potatoes (or 1 really large one)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

3/4 cup good quality maple syrup, plus a little extra for brushing the muffins

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups gluten-free flour (and add 1 tsp xanthan gum* if the flour doesn't include it). You can also use regular/whole wheat/spelt/whatever flour you have on hand if you don't mind the gluten. 

2 tsps baking powder

2 tsps baking soda 

1 1/2 Tbsp Chinese five-spice powder (I found mine at Whole foods; it's a blend of cinnamon, fennel, cloves, star anise and white pepper, and really takes these muffins to the next level.)

1/2 tsp fine sea salt 

*This is a binding agent to hold food particles together, making it the ideal substitute in gluten-free baking. It's a tad pricey but a little goes a long way.

Wrap your sweet potatoes in a dish towel and microwave until soft (about 8 minutes). Cut in half and allow to cool. 

Meanwhile, whisk together your wet ingredients (olive oil, milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract) in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Mix together your dry ingredients (everything else) in a large bowl and set aside.

Peel the skin off of the sweet potatoes and place into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Using an electric beater, whisk the ingredients together until blended. Add in the dry ingredients until everything is mixed.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Prep a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners and spoon the mixture into each section. Bake for 12 minutes, then baste the top of each muffin with maple syrup. Bake for another 5 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Note: like many homemade baked goods, these have no preservatives and therefore will dry out/get yucky quickly when left out. Keep these in a sealed container in a dry, cool place and transfer to the refrigerator after a day or so. They should then keep up to 5 days. You can also freeze them and defrost as you need. 

Diary of a (Partial) Vegan: Week One

Veganism has its moments. One minute you are feeling extremely pleased with your dietary choices, the next you are mid-bite into a Twix and realize you’re an idiot; that has milk in it. My biggest tool for my successes this past week has been planning. I mapped out my major meals for the week and grocery shopped appropriately for a vegan lifestyle. However, I’m unable to control the lingering non-vegan items in my pantry/fridge/freezer. There were eggs taunting me from the refrigerator door and chocolates on the top shelf of my pantry that I swear were whispering “eat me” every time I walked past. By the middle of week I started feeling bored with my vegan meal options and subsequently turned to eggs and dairy to expand on my choices. And on Friday I completely fell off the bandwagon and had a chicken wrap for lunch. 

I'm not a nutritionist, but I do know that there are many factors to consider when you eliminate major food groups from your diet. Important things like protein and even fiber from grains (if you are trying to also watch calories and not eat bread/pasta/etc. all the time) can be compromised by following a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. I will admit, some poor planning on the nutrient side led me to lack energy and have some unpleasant stomach aches during the first few days. Everything is a process, and I'm learning now how to be conscious of the nutrients I get from a meal based on what kind of diet (no gluten, no meat, etc.) it follows.  

As I explained here, my 22 day challenge is to be vegan as much as possible. A brunch with fellow blogger Steph of Steph's Spot on Sunday was an exception, and that aforementioned Twix incident may have happened a few times (this is what I get for keeping a candy jar on my desk for my co-workers). I’m lucky enough to be making these food choices voluntarily, versus having health issues dictate what I can and cannot eat. Because of that I can decide at the start of each day what to eat to keep me happy and healthy. 

Overall I am enjoying the way this foodie challenge is going; it’s showing me that cutting out meat from your diet is not as hard as you might think. Going into week two I will continue to try and eat vegan whenever possible. My main focus though has shifted towards developing ways in which I can incorporate vegan/vegetarian meals into my everyday lifestyle.

On to week two! 

Spring Scarf Swap

Happy Saturday! I've got a fun event for you all today: a Spring Scarf Swap! I'm pairing up with my favorite blogger friend Steph over at Steph's Spot Blog!

Here’s how it works: To enter, leave a comment on this post with your name & email address. You can also share your social media info (twitter, instagram, blog, pinterest etc.) so the person you’re paired with can get some ideas of what you might like. You’ll be randomly paired with another entrant, and you will shop for and send them a new spring scarf - we are suggesting a price point $20.

We will accept entries until Monday, March 31^st then Steph and I will randomly pair up the entrants and post the pairings on our blogs Tuesday, April 1^st. You’ll have until Tuesday, April 15^th to do your shopping and get your scarf in the mail to your partner. And don’t forget to show off your new scarf via social media using our hashtag #SpringScarfSwap!

Please be respectful of others; your sign up means you are 100% committed to participating. 

If something happens and you are no longer able to participate PLEASE reach out to one of us immediately. We don’t want anyone left without a scarf!

Brunch: Chicago Public House

As previously mentioned, I recently joined the Chicago Food Bloggers organization. This is a fantastic way of combining my love of eating with my new hobby of blogging. I’m truly excited for the opportunity to share my passion for food while meeting great people! I attended my first ever Chicago Food Bloggers event last weekend with my gal Christine of apartmentpants.

The event was brunch at Chicago’s Public House. As a lot of us bloggers have been mentioning, who knew Public House served brunch? I think brunch must be a city thing because I definitely have noticed I am more jazzed about it now that I live downtown!

Unfortunately life got in the way a bit, and Christine and I arrived halfway through the event….not the best way to kick off our first event as members! Nonetheless we made the best of our situation and sampled a few of the tasty dishes Public House was serving up. Behold:

Chicken and Waffles: southern fried chicken, caramelized waffles, hot sauce, maple syrup

I've never had "chicken and waffles" before. While I was excited about the seemingly genius combination of savory and sweet, this was a pass after the first bite. The chicken was tough to cut and the waffles weren't anything special. 

Parfait Pint: granola, greek yogurt, fresh berries

This was lovely. The granola wasn't overly sweet and the fresh berries were yummy. It's always good to have something semi-healthy on the table! 

Doughnut Fried French Toast with a cream cheese glaze, seasonal market jam and fresh fruit

I was surprised by this dish. I usually chose savory over sweet but was hooked after one bite. The French toast had just the right amount of crunch around the edges and the cream cheese glaze was heavenly. 

Crab Cake Benedict: jumbo lump crab cakes, garlic spinach, poached eggs, hollandaise

This was my favorite dish. The crab cakes were delicious with just a bit of a kick. All of the flavor combinations pulled together wonderfully. I would not hesitate to order this the next time I brunch at Public House! 

Overall I was impressed by the setup of the event. From the moment we walked through the door the staff was friendly and accommodating. They gave us a handy sheet that detailed the menu as well as space to write comments, document that the dish had been photographed and sampled, and cute hashtags for each dish! There were serving stations set up with mini sized dishes for all of the bloggers to try. 

Public House clearly marked the names of their dishes and arranged full size plates for us shutterbugs to go crazy. And I literally cannot handle how cute this mini cast iron pan is-

I really enjoyed the environment that the bloggers created. It’s fun to be in a room full of people who also have a habit of taking snaps of their food : ) I can’t wait for the next event and to hopefully meet more fellow bloggers! Visit Chicago Public House at 400 N State St, Chicago, IL 60654 and check them out here.

Note: I attended this event as a part of Chicago Food Bloggers and free of charge, however the opinions in this post are solely my own.

Spring Fashion Pinspiration

We're in that weird phase that is a Chicago March-some days it's lovely and others make us think the cold weather will never end. We're all looking ahead to short sleeves and bare legs, but fear of freezing holds us back in our fashion choices.

So I turned to Pinterest to pick out some fun Spring looks to inspire me during this transitional period!


I absolutely LOVE cropped pants-these outfits are simple yet professional. I especially love the red pants!

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The accessories make this outfit.

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Paired with a tan trench this would be a killer Spring look. 

A great way to jump into spring is to banish black from your outfits! I adore pairing unexpected colors together like this:

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If you tend to dress more neutral-based, a great way to "Spring-ify" your wardrobe is to pick a softer base color like navy blue or grey.

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A touch of leopard to keep things fun : ) 

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And you need casual outfit ideas too! 

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LOVE this sparkly tank to add some pizzaz for a date or drinks with the girls.

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A jean jacket adds an air of effortless cool to your look.

I snapped a quick selfie of my winter meets spring outfit at work yesterday. I love a good pop of color! 

What outfits are you most excited about breaking out for warmer temperatures? 

22 Day Food Challenge!

Who remembers all the hubub around the holidays, when Jay-Z announced he and Beyonce would be going vegan for 22 days? The reasoning behind the number of days was because experts say it takes 21 days to break a habit. Apparently Queen B has been at it again, as I heard on the radio a few weeks ago. This led me to think about the idea of a vegan diet and if it was something I could do for 22 days. While I have my own set of thoughts relating to the consumption of animal products, I would not consider myself one to go vegan for ethical reasons. I'm merely intrigued by the idea of cutting out a large number of foods, and the effect it can have on your overall health. Alright: challenge accepted.

But then I thought about the technicalities of this temporary lifestyle. No animal products means no dairy, eggs, or honey* for goodness sakes. That means no chocolate. No sliver of butter with my sweet potatoes. No whey protein in my morning smoothie. Eating out would be a nightmare. I'd have to be that person that is asking a million questions about how something was prepared. And first and foremost, I started getting nervous that eating vegan would just be a path to carb overload.

I've therefore decided that I'll be embarking on a modified vegan/vegetarian/pescetarian lifestyle for the rest of the month. Basically, I will cut out all meat and also abstain from fish, dairy, eggs etc. as much as possible. I'd like to try and make at least 3 days each week completely vegan. I'm going to blog about my experiences, which of course means giving you new recipe ideas! 

 

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Today is day one and so far, so good. I made an avocado and cacao smoothie for breakfast, had a mid-morning snack of an apple and a few almonds, and brought some beet soup along with celery and rice crackers for lunch. Dinner is going to be my new favorite meal, buckwheat soba noodles and tofu (my mouth just watered in anticipation of this dish. SO good). And all of my recipes today are thanks to this fantastic cookbook.

Have you ever eliminated particular foods from your diet? What was the result?

(*I totally get that vegan means no animal products and this isn't just limited to animal flesh. However, I have an argument against this one. First of all, I buy honey from the farmer's market; these bees were not put in any form of distress to acquire the honey. Secondly-I hate bees. They are the worst.)

San Diego

Tell a Chicagoan they get to go to California in March and it's like a dream come true for them.

I was lucky enough to be able to spend 4 days in San Diego for work, which included a weekend exploring the city! I was excited to break out my camera to document my adventures. It rained a ton but that couldn't damper my spirits.

A wonderful way to start my Saturday!

Little Italy Mercato (Farmer's Market)

A hodge podge lunch from the stalls

One of many adorable small shops in Little Italy

Balboa Park: a treasure trove of museums, open space and beautiful architecture

Natural History Museum

Botanical Building

The small yet charming Museum of Art

Let me take a selfie

Strawberry Lemonade and "The Big Bowl", tropical fruit and shrimp, at Queenstown

Room service ginger salmon and spinach : )

 Vitality Tap Green Smoothie on Sunday

 The San Diego Zoo

Sleepy koala

The most amazing fish taco at Oscar's Mexican Seafood

One highlight of my time in San Diego that I wasn't able to capture in photos was visiting Seal Rock in La Jolla. Dozens of California Grey Seals congregate here! I recommend going for a stroll along the paths by the reefs, then rooftop dining at Eddie V's. Margarita, market oysters, wild mushroom salad with warm goat cheese, pacific ahi tuna, glass of red and chocolate cake. You'll roll out of the restaurant but be so happy with life : ) 

I've been to a few places in California, and San Diego is by far my favorite city. I'd absolutely love to fly out there, spend a few days then rent a car and drive up the coast. As with every trip I take, I return home happy to be back but ready for my next adventure. 

Have you ever been to San Diego? What did you think of the city?