Kelp Noodles and Tofu!

Last week, I finally had the opportunity to experiment with the kelp noodles I picked up at the Gluten Free Fair! That's right, kelp noodles, as in sea kelp. Kelp is a type of seaweed that is packed with more than 70 minerals and 21 amino acids. They aid the body in digestion and increase metabolism as well as work to strengthen bones and teeth! They are relatively flavorless and if eaten cold offer a crunch whereas when warm offer a more typical noodle like consistency.
Here is the dish and the quick simple steps/ingredients to success!



Ingredients:
1 bag of kelp noodles
1 whole red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup of kalamata olives
1 container of firm tofu, chopped into eatable pieces
1 can of chickpeas
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoon of tamari

Cooking:
Combine the kelp noodles, chopped red pepper, kalamata olives, and chickpeas in a bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of tamari. Set bowl aside.
In a pan over medium heat, cook pieces of tofu in sesame seeds and remaining rice wine vinegar and tamari until tofu pieces are golden brown around the edges.
Add tofu into the bowl set aside, mix and enjoy!

Hope you find this to be as tasty, nutritious, and delicious as I did :)
xoxo AA

Robin- the Free Bird

Last week, I had the amazing opportunity to interview a new friend. I have been sitting with this post and the things I learned in my conversation with this awesome girl because this post is very special to me. Having had the chance to hear her stories, I wanted to ensure that I was able to accurately share them and make this one of my best :) Robin is her name- adventure is her game. This tough southern chick with a big heart and a funny accent, was visiting from Ole' Miss to see my friend Paige for the week. When I 1st met her, I thought she was a pisser and awesome- hence my desire to interview her. As our interview progressed, I came to realize how much more awesome this girl was than I had previously understood before we began. Here is a pic of me and my new bud post interview:



A few quick facts before we dive in:

• Inspired by: her Dad- he is a single dad raising 3 girls, never babied her, and refers to her as the "broken child" (I will explain later)
• Craziest thing she's ever done: went sky diving 2 Sunday's ago and would definitely do it again
• Greatest Quality: isn't scared of "almost anything"
• Studying: higher education, considering law school for immigration studies (already rocked her 1st LSAT attempt)

OK now down to the nitty gritty. What lit Robin's eyes up the most, and she seemed to speak so naturally about, was her willingness and passion to help orphan and disabled children abroad. Thus far, she has been to Belize three times and Peru once. In Peru, Robin stayed with a host family and worked at the only orphanage in the country for disable children. There, she met a little boy that she told me she hopes to go back and adopt from the shelter later in life. Through her experiences in this country, she came to realize of her gift of helping others- whether that be to care for the children or help them to see new, positive experiences, it was a gift she knew she wanted to share. On her trips to Belize, she worked on a small island with a program that helped to build a road to a school where children were able to learn a variety of subjects; the only one of its kind on the island. Due to the way land was formed around the area, a small ditch began to form yards from the school. On more than 1 occasion children on their way to school  had tripped and fallen into the water that had gathered in the ditch. Because of the stagnant nature of the water, a few children passed away after having come into contact with the ditch's contaminated contents. Committed to changing this, the organization that Robin worked with used the mud-like substance around the ditch as cement to create the 1st legitimate road up to the school. After 3 visits and many other helping hands- the ditch was completely covered up and the road finally complete, strong, and enabling more children than ever easy access to education. This was one of the most amazing personal stories I had ever heard, and I could see the level of gratitude and love in Robin's eyes as she explained every minute detail of the project. And don't think Robin didn't also whip these kids into shape on her down time! Offering to stay in what she referred to as a "box" (square cement room with a door and a bed)- the children came over to visit and hangout with her many times throughout her visit. Although it was recommended for each volunteer to spend a certain amount of time alone in their rooms because of the taxing emotional nature of the trip, Robin consistently kept an open door policy with all of the children. On a night out to dinner during her trip, Robin and another volunteer offered to treat 10 special children to a big meal. This being a very special occasion for the kiddies, Robin had hand selected the ones who had earned their special treat. 1 little guy snuck his way into the group and right into the middle of the table. "Let him stay!" you might be thinking to yourself, but this was a privilege for the other children that had been selected for dinner, and Robin immediately said "I see you there man, you were not invited to our dinner, please leave." She explained that situations such as this one were frequent, because unfortunately, many times, children tried to take advantage of American visitors.

Now that you know all of these amazing things about my new friend Robin, I am going to share with you the most unnoticeable part of her personality. Robin is in a wheelchair and has been ever since her family's vehicle was hit by a drunk driver when she was 7. Paralyzed below the waist, she was able to gain movement in her thighs through therapy. Now if you re-read my story above...you will be more than amazed by all of the wonderful, giving, daring, selfless acts Robin has already accomplished in her 20 some years of life. I am so inspired by this girl's soul and hope this story inspires all of you to get up, give back, and put a smile on that face. I am so grateful to have had the chance to sit with this amazing young woman and spend some quality time with her on her trip to the West Coast. I hope to see you again very soon- and wish you the best of luck in all of her amazing endeveors!

A few final notes:

• Cool Fact 1: she gets her tires at the bike store...because they are cheaper- and is currently sporting a pair for mountain biking wheels! 
• Cool Fact 2: she loves to go bike riding- either on her own bike or when our friend Paige pulls her from behind (apparently they have some great video footage).
• Cool Fact 3: she loves swimming and being by the water but hates the sand!

xoxo AA

Gluten Free Fair!

This weekend I had the awesome chance to attend a gluten free fair. To me...this was Mecca!! Walking into the rather small banquet hall, I had my reservations. Those reservations completely vanished when I hit up my 1st booth for a free sample. Chocolate chip cookies? I think yes :) Not only was the food delicious, but the people were wonderful, and for me, I think that was the best part. Because I am so new to the vegan/vegetarian/gluten free/dairy free/nutritionally packed world- I was overwhelmed with the friendly feeling and willingness of others to share their experiences. 1 of my goals at the moment is to learn how to make delicious gluten free, dairy free cupcakes. Luckily, many booths were geared towards just that. Each representative gladly shared with me the types of flours they used, what xanthium gum was, and what tasted best- after sharing my goal with them. At 1 booth, I encountered an older couple who had discovered how to make gluten free bread mixes with almost no loss in taste from a typical gluten filled loaf. I immediately supported their efforts after tasting an amazing buckwheat loaf and I am excited to bake my 1st loaf of bread! I was also able to find some kelp noodles- delicious clear noodles made from sea kelp and high in minerals. They are great in salads- and I will be posting a recipe once I am able to use them :) Hint- chickpeas, hot peppers, and tomatoes go best with just a little olive oil and salt! My favorite part of the day- seeing a fellow School of Integrated Nutrition member- on the main stage, teaching a class of people how to cook! Not only was she confident, cool, and collected, but also inspiring and cooking a wonderfully delicious and nutritious meal. I was able to snap a photo of her in action.



She kicked some serious gluten free butt! I will be sure to share my new food learnings and recipes from this fair here soon and encourage all of you to get out there and try something new! I am so grateful for the experience I had today with the wonderful and supportive community within the nutrition world and I so look forward to my many more experiences with others here on the West Coast who have a love for delicious food and a happy life :)
xoxo AA

Poly Italiano

For some reason this weekend, I have been repeatedly reminded of my Italian roots and travels in the beautiful country. On Friday night, me and my man in uniform went to one of the most authentic Italian restaurants I have been to yet here on the West Coast (to be fair, we haven't been to many Italian restaurants in SoCal yet). Caffe Calabria immediately sucks you in as you walk over the threshold. Located in the hip neighborhood of North Park, the restaurant is decked out with fake alley way windows, stringing lights, and legitimate Italian men bantering by the wood burning stove as they pop their fresh made pizzas in. Made to look like an old street in Calabria, the restaurant brought me back to all of my wonderful memories when I was lucky enough to explore 1 of my native country's (technically, I am 25% Sicilian, but who's counting). We ordered ourselves up some of these bad boys and delighted in their savory flavors and delicious toppings.



I will admit, this gluten free girl did indulge in a little gluten filled pizza dough last night- but you will notice that my pie still has no cheese! As we bantered with our Italian waiter, I was brought back to the Italian lifestyle. No reference of time, talking excessively to strangers, and eating for taste not for fullness. The food felt like a delicacy and I felt at home- but I think that is how the Italian culture makes most everyone feel.

In an effort to work off my calories this morning, I hopped on the bike and glided away in spinning class. To my surprise, today's teach just also happened to be straight off the boat. Giuseppe took us on a mild ride, cranking the Italian club jams complete with a disco light show on key...the entire class. Trying to understand his accent over the blaring music was nearly impossible, but I did understand 1 thing he said that I love: "Come on people, love your bodies." Why is it that so many times in our culture that we forget to love our bodies? We've only go one and so many folks in our culture either don't give it enough nutrients, or give it too much fat. It is so easy to get lazy with our workout routines and head straight to the freezer for our favorite jug of ice cream. When we take a moment to think about it- loving our bodies is quite possibly 1 of the most important aspects of life. A- because it's the only one we've got and B- because before anyone or anything can love our bodies, we must love it 1st! In digging up my Italian roots these past 24 hours, I remembered to give my body some love. The Italians have taught us so much about wine, cheese, bread, and olives- but they also have a clear understanding of a lifestyle that enables them to love on their bodies :) Ciao bellas!
xoxo AA

Dream Big, Banksy

Friends of the world! I am uper excited to be writing on my new blog- as you may notice, there has been a slight tweak in the name. This big city girl has moved to the healthy city- beautiful, sunny, full of love...San Diego :) So welcome, and enjoy the new ride here!
Stepping back to reality- I wanted to share some thoughts on dreams as they have been on my mind A LOT these days. The entire set of lyrics from "Empire State of Mind" as well as the phrase "Brooklyn- we go hard" first come to mind when thinking about dreams, but that may be due to my slight obsession with Jay-Z and my inherent association with a NYC attitude. Recently, I came across this photo (Banksy, as many of you know, my fave) and it really got me to thinking:



What is it about achieving our dreams that seems so scary to all of us? Really sit and think about it- not your standard dreams (find your prince charming, drive a sweet whip, make a ton of money) but rather dreams like "contributing to society" or "making a difference in the world" or "being passionate about work every single day." When we really consider how attainable these goals are, most of us are frightened and many of us tend to revert back to the "I suck" mentality in our minds. What is it that makes many of us feel that achieving the absolutely great is ultimately not within the realm of possibilities? This can be seen as true in our society of the so few "greats" that exist- from CEOs of major digital start-up companies to doctor's curing 1,000+ people in North Korea of Cataracs- why can't we all achieve such goals? We can...of course many of us may not have the skill set yet, but we could most certainly learn it given the opportunity combined with persistence and dedication. What is so damn scary about sincere bliss, happiness, and success? The chance that we might fail? Great news- most of the "greats" did fail at 1, 2, or 10 points in their lives- and that is what lead them to where they are. Much like the weed out process, they had to fail, keep going, and move forward. Similar in thought is a quote a certain special someone shared with me the other day: "It is always to early to give up." So instead of giving up, let's fail a few times. As of late, my goal is to light this fire inside me. Going, failing, picking up, moving on, learning, going, sweating....I know I can do it and I can't do it alone. So I am committed to making the attempt everyday to reach for it, and work towards my dream day in and day out. Because at least then I know I'll have made a solid go at my dreams- as appose to being too afraid to take just that 1st step :)
xoxo AA

Quinoa Stir Fry with Bok Choy and Chicken Recipe

Hello world! I wanted to share this delicious new recipe with you because not only is it savory and full of flavor, but is loaded with nutrients and can be cooked in a variety of ways to suit your tastes! Here are the main ingredients to get ya cookin' in the kitchen:

1 cup of cooked quinoa
1/2 cup Bok Choy (both the leafy green and the crunchy crisp white stems!)
2 full chicken breasts OR the vegan route: 1 container of hard tofu
1/2 chopped yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons or rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of soy sauce OR Tamari (Gluten Free!)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Optional add in!:
1 chopped red pepper

Start in a medium heat pan by sautéing the onions in garlic in a touch of olive oil. Add in the quinoa, veggies, and tofu and stir fry together until softer in texture. Add in the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame seeds and mix together into the all parts are combined! If you are using chicken instead of tofu, be sure that the chicken is cooked through fully 1st before adding in the other ingredients.

Nutritional benefits:
Quinoa is a super food! Loaded with vitamins, nutrients, and minerals
Boy Choy is a leafy green vegetable high in minerals and proteins
Red Pepper is high in alkaline, helping the body to break down acids more easily!

For more healthy, delicious, and easy recipes- keep your eyes peeled here!
xoxo AA