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How To Soak Quinoa In A Blender Bottle

Confession: My quinoa obsession has not ceased and shows no sign of weakening.

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That would be a salad with spinach, kidney beans, tomatoes, vinegar, and sprouted quinoa.

Yes, my quinoa love might have not gone away, but it’s sure been changed. You see, the only stovetop around here is 2 flights of stairs down. And when it’s in the 90’s like it’s been all this week, slaving over a hot stove hasn’t been appealing. Luckily, I’ve found a new, no-cook way to enjoy my beloved quinoa.

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The only equipment you need is a blender bottle. Simple, right? I figure most people who are reading this blog will have one of these or something similar readily available. To start, rinse your quinoa in the bottle(or not. I’ve completely skipped this and it still tastes fine) and cover it in about twice as much fresh water.

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When you’ve got your quinoa soaking, put the cap back on tight and put it somewhere in the room where it can just sit.

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(I had it hanging out with some raw nut cheese I’m also making. It’s like a raw haven in here). After 12 hours or overnight, lightly loosen the top of the bottle and pour the water down a drain. The cap should be loose enough that all the water will drain out but none of the quinoa or “tails”. When it’s all done, it looks like this:

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You can eat this just as is and put it in cold salads. Any uneaten quinoa should be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Have you ever tried quinoa? Like this? And if you haven’t still, have I convinced you yet to do so?

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A Healthier Crispy And Cereal Giveaway

I have a bit of a sweet tooth for what is called “organic junkfood”, in case you haven’t noticed. Things like vegan, all-natural Snickers bars and overly-sugary granola bars have such appeal to me. So anytime I can make an old-time favorite natural and even slightly healthy, I’m game.

In our HLS swag bags, we got a coupon for 1 free box of Erewhon cereal. I love their cereals that I’ve tasted because they’re gluten-free and whole grain while still being tasty. So when I saw their cocoa crispy brown rice puffs—chocolaty cereal with an organic label—I knew what had to be done.

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Better Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients:

  • 1 box organic crispy rice cereal
  • 1 cup natural no-stir peanut butter*
  • 1/2 cup honey(no substitutes)

*Natural no-stir varieties are the kind that have added palm oil or palm kernel oil. Smart Balance, Earth Balance, Jif, and Skippy all make this variety. To replicate this, you can use 3/4 + 2 tablespoons 1-ingredient peanut butter and 2 tablespoons coconut oil.

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Add the honey and peanut butter to a very large bowl. Gently melt it in the microwave until the honey is thin and the mixture can be emulsified. After doing so, add a box of crispy rice cereal and fold until the whole mixture is sticky and congealed.

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Press the crispy rice into a 9 x 11 baking pan and press down to form an even layer. Refrigerate for 3o minutes. With a sharp, serrated knife, cut to form 15 single rice crispy bars.

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I think it’s always magical when you can take a childhood favorite and make it just as good, only natural and healthy. These bars are gluten-free and whole grain with organic ingredients, healthy fats, and only honey as an animal byproduct(other recipes will have you using gelatin or butter). And with mix-ins like chocolate chips, raisins, and peanuts, the possibilities are endless!

A Cereal Giveaway

Erewhon has agreed to let a U.S. reader try one of their cereals, too! Just do any of the entries below and let me know in the comments.

1. Take a look at their cereals and tell me which you might get if you win.

2. Commenting telling me your favorite junk food.

3. Enter my CSN giveaway also going on right now and comment letting me know you have.

I’ll pick a winner on Friday when I also pick a winner for the CSN giveaway. Good luck!

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School And The Lunchbox Project

School is upon us. How do I know?

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I’ve bought books.

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I’ve gone grocery shopping.

I’ve ran along the beautiful East Providence path.

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And I’ve experienced what it’s like to cook chicken and potatoes in a dorm kitchen and carry it 2 stories.(It’s not as good without fresh rosemary. Let’s fix that.)

But really, why do I need to be reminded that school’s back when The Lunchbox Project is doing such a wonderful job? To quote OpenSky:

The Lunch Box provides schools with free, tangible tools to transform school lunch from highly processed foods to made-from-scratch meals using nutritious, fresh ingredients. It contains tools for real change including school-tested recipes with nutritionals and training tips, financial modeling guides, budget templates, downloadable, customizable calendars, and training videos.

Reminds me of Jaime Oliver’s School Revolution, no? I’m all for helping The Lunchbox Project  and OpenSky in this campaign. OpenSky currently hopes to raise $20,000 over the next week. To do so, they’ve pledged to donate $1 for each item-specific sale. One of these items(and the one I have in my shop) is Artisana’s raw almond butter.

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Raw almond butter is exactly what it sounds like. Unroasted, unsalted almonds ground into a creamy butter. I’ve tried to make it before in my food processor and it’s just not as creamy as Artisana’s in. It’s perfect for school because most have no-peanut rules to protect allergic students.

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I never had any food allergies growing up. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to have to avoid gluten in 7th grade. But I did practically live off of Lunchables—not exactly that nutritious. So the mission of The Lunchbox Project is near and dear to my heart.

What could you make with raw almond butter? Well, a raw banana dog for one…

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That is, a banana with raw almond butter and a sprinkling of sea salt. 100% raw and peanut-free. How nutritious and delicious is that? I understand raw almond butter isn’t in every student’s budget(I got mine as a sample to blog about and support The Lunchbox Project). But I also wouldn’t write such a salesy-post if I didn’t really believe in the cause. That real food can be cheap food is a fact I live by; my dinner, for instance, was less than $2. Why can’t we give our children that? If you’re looking to support a good cause and get almond butter in the process, here is your chance.

What are signs for you that school is back in session, whether you’re a student, parent, or other?

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Moving Day

They say(you know, the proverbial “they”) that the best part of moving day is when it’s all done. Well, I’d have to agree with that for the most part. But finally seeing where I’ll be living for 8 months and being pleasantly surprised with the situation wasn’t bad either.

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We loaded up 2 cars(plus 4 people) to make the trip, and everything ended up fitting. Once we finally got there, I eagerly got my key and made my way to the dorm. All I knew was where it was and that it was a single, which I expected to mean that it would be the size of my closet.

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Not so. This place is HUGE(at least in terms of dorm-standards, anyway). I’m all moved in, and it still feels a little empty. There’s a big spot on the floor that’s bare where I’m going to put a yoga mat when I get one. Yes, I could easily do sun salutes in here without bumping in to anything. Here’s what it looked like after everything was made.

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Some things don’t quite work yet, like the television, and the internet is spotty. But I’ve pretty much got the layout down. There is so much drawer space, I’ve filled the bottom one completely with cooking equipment like a pan, food processor, etc. There’s still a lot to do but I’d say 95% of the hard stuff is done, and I’m totally up for relaxing the next few days.

After all that I was starving for dinner. I ran to the dining hall, avoided all the lines by only eating from the salad bar, and made a bowl when I got back to eat while finishing unpacking.

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In there were zucchini shreds, mushrooms, tofu, and soybeans dressed in olive oil. Honestly I scarfed it down fast enough not to taste anything so I have no clue how it was, but it did the trick.

Any awful awful dorm room stories out there you want to confess? Go ahead—get all your pent-up rage out on your 2 annoying roommates in Junior year; they’ll never see this.

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Picnicking At Waterfire

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Yes, that’s how you spell picnicking. I know because I googled it…

Anyway, yesterday we drove down to Rhode Island for a special event. No, I didn’t get to move any of my things to the dorms; I couldn’t get my key because returning students aren’t supposed to come until today. Ugh, what a waste. Anyway, what we drove down for was to go back to school shopping with friends and then have a picnic at Waterfire.

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Waterfire is an event held every other Saturday during the Summer months where the city puts bonfires on the river that runs through the town and has boatmen continually burn them from dusk until midnight.

After shopping(I got 1 lowly plate; I couldn’t find anything else I need!), we spread out a blanket and had an honest to goodness picnic.

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We bought the food from Whole Foods, since we didn’t really have any produce at home to begin with-Ha! I think I ended up eating more than 1/2 a chicken along with all the kale and a few scoops of grilled vegetables. It felt so good to eat fresh, real food after only having cereal and grains all morning.

As we ate, things slowly got darker…

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And darker…

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Until it was time.

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I don’t think pictures can really capture the experience. Even from where we were standing, you could feel the heat from the fires, and there was a nice scent of smoke in the air. The whole city was full of life.

What was your college town? Any fun traditions?

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