Day 1 of Shinmas

Its already the first day of Shinmas and I've got so many entries! In reality my birthday is in a little over two weeks, but I'm the type of person who wants to have my cake over several days and not feel guilty over it because everyone else is celebrating as well. Today we've got a lovely blog and a heartfelt story from two people who have recently contacted me - feel free to chime in any time!
The first posting spot is from my friend "Ignatz" who has been really into featuring his blog. He's just starting out with his beautiful blog and has a lot of great recipes even though he's quite the busy guy.

Here is one of the most suiting recipes I've found for this post and it also happens to be one of my favorite ways to prepare apples.

If you want to check out this blog and his recipe - here's the link!

http://ignatzziller.blogspot.co.nz/ http://ignatzziller.blogspot.co.nz/

The second person to message me last night had presented to me something that I haven't dealt with a lot on my blog. This has to do with animal welfare - their names are "Lou and Bill" and they are often called the Green Mountain College Oxen and they are from Vermont. After research I see two different sides that are both overtly-complicated and yet simple to explain (nothing is truly easy when lives are hanging in the balance). The debate between the two sides is that they want to slaughter these oxen, aged about 12 years, and serve them to the community instead of living out their old age. They have been battered and injured over time and people believe that the $300 a month needed to take care of them is un-necessary and that instead they should be used as food. On the other hand, these are 12-year old animals that have been living out their lives on the campus and that many people consider as "one of their own". I can see and understand both sides but as I feel it - why not just let the poor animals live out their lives and have fun? These animals were not 'raised' for meat
and I believe that no animal should just be treated as property, and so that's why I decided to sign this petition on www.change.org/.

It has also been stated that a sanctuary has offered to take in both Lou and Bill on their own behalf, but the school refuses to do so and instead wishes to continue the the slaughter.

If you wish to save these animals from slaughter you can click this online petition: http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/green-mountain-college-springfield-vermont-stop-the-slaughter-of-bill-and-lou-the-2-oxen-at-green-mountain-college 

If you wish to learn more about Lou and Bill you can any of the links click here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-friedrich/green-mountain-colleges-f_b_1967361.html

http://www.boston.com/news/education/2012/10/10/oxen-from-college-farm-slaughterhouse/BwDzvpIyREhVloN8tt4RZL/story.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-schmitt/green-mountain-college-oxen_b_1987920.html

Some of these links conflict each other to show you the different sides so feel free to look at all of them.

Happy (day one of) Shinmas! ^^

 

Apple Pie Larabars (No-Added Fat, No-Added Sugar)

To be honest, I'm not a fan of most bars - whether it be Lara, Luna or Cliff (although I prefer the latter). Normally they're too high in sugar and calories and quite low in the protein that I want after an intense workout - plus they rarely taste like the description. Although the sugars are normally natural from dates and the like, its still quite a lot of ingredients for me - and so I've chosen to make my own variations of things that I loved both as a kid and now. This truly tastes like an apple pie - and its very quick to make with no added oils!

(Ingredients)

• 1/4 cup of Homemade Date Paste
• 1 1/2 cups of Old-Fashioned Oats (replace with Walnuts if you wish)
• 1/2 Chunked Green Apple
• 2 tsp of Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of Cardamom and Coriander
• A few Squeezes of Agave Nectar
• Vanilla Rice Protein Powder (optional)

(Directions)

• Place your oats in a blender with your spices, blend but allow some oat pieces to remain whole and then combine with your date paste and agave nectar in a bowl. If it has not come together and stuck, slowly add water to it and then fold in your apples.
• Place into a dish lined with parchment paper and dehydrate at 150 degrees for about 15 min to one hour but do not allow it to become like baked oatmeal.
• Cut into squares, serve and enjoy - add some stevia around top for texture!

Tree Trunks' Apple Crepes (Adventure Time)

I feel like this is one of the cutest breakfasts ever! I folded the crepes/apam balik like "elephant ears" for Tree Trunks and then steamed them so that they wouldn't brown for the picture. The filling is filled with plenty of fresh apples. ginger, raw sugar and peanuts! What more could such a lovely little elephant want? On the side I just decided to make a checkered apple for obvious reasons and to decorate I also added some grapes.

Tree Trunks Pandan Crepes Recipe:

1 batch of Apam Balik

1 tsp of Pandan Extract (to the liquids)

Filling:

1/2 small Apple

A Handful of Minced Peanuts

2 tbl of Raw Sugar

1 tsp of Cinnamon

1/4 tsp of Minced Ginger

Make everything according to the recipe and simply don't allow the ears to brown fully. If you wish for them to be more sturdy you can fully brown one side or you could brown both if you're cooking them for your children. Fill them before they are totally solid but after they get a bit of cooking around the rim. Serve with your favorite fruit and enjoy!

Mickey and Minnie Valentine's Bento

This is my retro version of Mickie and Minnie for my bento on Monday (I made it Sunday night). I think its one of my cutest and most simple bentos - the meatloaf made this one especially filling and had little crunchy and chewy bits of roasted cauliflower rounds and leaves. It was absolutely delicious and I fell in /love/ with it! You'll also notice the cloves and heart shapes that I've carved into the apple which are supposed to represent the saying "When one door closes, another door opens.".

Mickey and Minnie Bento Ingredients:

Roasted Cauliflower Stem and Pressed Leaves

Roasted Potatoes

Chickpea Meatloaf with Spaghetti Sauce

Apple with Lemon Juice and Cloves

Broccoli

Carrots

Radish Slices

Spinach

I hope you enjoy! ^^



Raw Vegan Fruit Cake

Delicious, fresh, moist and fruity - these tasty little snacks are quite healthy too. They're easy to make and great for kids!

(Fruit Cake Ingredients)

• 1 cup of Base Flour
• 4 tbl Coconut Oil
• 3 tbl Raw Sugar
• 1/2 Juicy Apple (your choice)
• Chopped (dried) Pineapple, Cherry and Cashews

(Directions)

• Mix together, form into balls and place into the freeze for thirty minutes.
• Let them defrost for a moment and serve for Christmas or any time.

I hope that you enjoy this quick snack!

Granola!

I'm not eating hay anymore - I promise! It's just some simple granola that I mixed together. And you can change it to what you like - if you like more sugar or crispness then add more brown sugar and agave nectar, if you don't like apples then you can take them out. I'll just show you my ha- granola recipe for reference.

(Granola Ingredients)

• 1/2 Green Apple diced
• 1/2 Red Delicious Apple diced
• 1/4 Cup of Ground Flax Meal
• 1/2 Cup of Oats
• 1/2 Cup of shredded Coconut
• 1/2 Cup of Wheat Germ
• 1/2 tsp Iodized Salt
• 1 tbl of Coconut Oil
• 1/4 cup of Raisins
• Enough Sugar and Agave Nectar to sprinkle

(Directions)

• Mix the ingredients together and place them onto a greased baking sheet.
• place them into the oven at 200 degrees, mixing them every 10 minutes or so to keep them from going.
• Once they crisp and brown up then you can mix it one last time and place it into a bowl to snack on.
• Enjoy!