Carlitos

While my mom was in town we went out to eat at this fabulous Mexican restaurant on State Street, Carlitos. I had always heard it was great but never got around to going. My mom got all excited when I told her I was thinking we should go here, she's all "Ooh yea we can get a margarita". Now, my mom never drinks and I have only been 21 for a month now (exactly!) so it was a special occasion for both of us. As we both take our first sips simultaneously I go, "It's so strong" and she goes, "It's so good". My brother burst into laughter, with my mom and I following, we're quite a loud bunch :)

The food was so great, we we're all so amazed. My brother ordered Popcorn Shrimp Tacos, my mom and I shared the sizzling faijitas dish with Grilled Mahi Mahi. I haven't eaten fish in months, it was a nice change. I needed some serious protien after our 20-mile run that day. Then we ordered mango sorbet, a wonderful light dessert to end our night. I really went all out :)

Looking for a nice restaurant with healthy food, this is a great place! Home-made corn tortillas are naturally gluten free and delicious! Many of their dishes are vegetarian or even could be adjusted to be vegan. I post a lot of restaurants because I know it's harder to eat healthy out but really if you know where the good places are then it becomes simple and enjoyable to eat out.

Enjoy,

Dani

Asian BBQ Tofu Skewers

When I was home for summer, my Mom made these incredible BBQ'd tofu, onion, and mushroom skewers. She found the recipe in an issue of Sunset Magazine. The Asian noodles and marinade definitely made it blog worthy :-) Ingredients

• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 10 to 12 ounces nigari tofu*, cut into 1-in. cubes
• 16 small fresh shiitake mushroom caps
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 green onions, cut into 1 1/2-in. lengths
• 12 ounces dried soba noodles
• 8 radishes, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup reduced-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons wasabi paste
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Preparation

1. Heat grill to medium (350° to 450°).

2. Mix soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil in a bowl. Add tofu and marinate 10 minutes.

3. Heat a large pot of water to boiling. In a bowl, toss mushrooms in oil to coat.

4. Drain tofu, reserving marinade. Slip cubes onto 4 metal or soaked wooden skewers, alternating with green onions and mushrooms. Thinly slice any leftover onion.

5. Boil noodles in water until al dente, 4 minutes. Drain; rinse well with cold water. Divide noodles among dinner bowls and garnish with radishes and sliced onion.

6. Oil cooking grate, using tongs and a wad of oiled paper towels. Grill tofu skewers, covered, turning once, until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Set skewers on noodles.

7. Mix marinade with broth, wasabi, lemon zest, and juice and serve on the side.

So before this I had never had BBQ'd tofu and now I love it! It was so wonderful that way, I've made tofu a lot of different ways too and it's one of those things that has to be done right in order to be good. If you normally don't even like tofu I would try this way of eating it because it's so great! The marinade really soaks into the tofu which is important because tofu is so bland by itself. Oh and no matter what you can not skip the soba noodles.

Enjoy, Bianca

p.s. Check out the photography skills that went into this photo! We're trying so hard to get better at pictures but it's not quite one of our strengths here.

Pizza Guru

My sincere apologies for not posting in almost a week! Bianca and I had the busiest weekend with my mom visiting and our 20 mile run! Many posts to come so keep checking up on the blog.

Friday night we had an amazing night out to dinner with some girlfriends. We went to this pizza place on State Street that serves vegan and gluten free pizza. I can not believe I have never been to this place, it was so great! The gluten-free crust is delicious, I don't think anyone would ever even know it was gluten free. They have so many different pizzas to choose from. I had the Pizza Nirvana that had eggplant, zuchini, and bell peppers. It was delicious! Bianca ordered the same but with goat cheese (pictured above).

The environment is really fun too. We sat at this big picnic like table and talked about the Lord. I love time with sisters :) Community is so valuable and important if we want to do this life with Jesus long term. Seek Him and He will provide the way towards family.

Hope everyone had a blessed and full weekend.

In His love,

Dani

By Him All Things Were Created

I got this adorable "pincushion" plant at Trader Joe's last week and as I was looking at it today, it reminded me of how amazing God is. "For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). I connect to the Lord a lot through nature and I am continually amazed at how intricate God made everything. From this little plant to our amazing bodies and everything else. It trips me out.

After I became a believer, nature became so much more interesting and incredible. Living by the beach, I love to go out the the cliffs and just look at the vast ocean that God created. It puts into perspective how big He is and how small we really are.

Take a break, go outside, take a deep breath, look up and around at all that God has made for His glory and for our pleasure.

In His name,

Bianca

Sri Lankan Kale with Coconut and Mustard Seed

Hello everyone!

I went to an incredible Sri Lankan restaurant in Santa Cruz right before coming back to Santa Barbara. My Dad and I tried an assortment of vegan dishes, but my favorite one was a coconut, mustard seed Kale amazingness. I asked the lady there how to make it and she gave me some very specific directions.

What you will need:

Head of Kale

1/2 white onion

1 Tbs olive/grapeseed oil

2 tsp black/brown mustard seeds

Dried coconut shreds

Directions:

1. Cut the Kale into strips lengthwise with long strokes. You do not want to chop it or else it becomes bitter.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add mustard seeds and onion. Saute for a couple minutes.

3. Add the Kale and cocunut and saute 6-8 minutes. Do not overcook it or else it will become bitter.

4. Enjoy!

Love,

Bianca

Armenian Dinner

Bianca and I were incredibly blessed to eat dinner with Nanor last week. She prepared all these fabulous Middle Eastern dishes, Bianca and I were in heaven! Everything was so flavorful, she used a lot of Cumin and Red Aleepo Pepper. Bianca and are dying to get to the middle eastern market and get our hands on some of that pepper!
The first dish from the top is Vosbvo Kofta, then the Aboor, then Mujadara and then a dish of fava beans. My favorite was the Vosbov Kofta, I absolutely loved it, Nanor suggested to pair it with a little balsamic vinegar. Bianca loved the Aboor the most which Nanor says is usually everyone's favorite.

Vosbov Kofta a.k.a Kofta with Lentils
From Nanor's Grandma

2 cup red/orange Lentils

8 cups water

salt

2 cups small Bulghur (#1)
Cumin, Red Aleppo Pepper

Oil

1 1/2 minced onion (divide into two parts)

1 bunch parsley

Cook the lentils with 8 cups of water and some salt in an uncovered pot on high (or medium) and stir occasionally... Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the mixture looks like a soup.. You may need to add more water sometimes...

• When cooked, turn it off and add 2 cups of small bulghur (#1)
• Leave for 15-30 minutes until bulghur is soft.
  
• Add the spices: Cumin, Red Aleppo Pepper (and salt, if necessary) and Knead the mixture with your hands.
  

• While the lentils are (remember we don't cook the bulghur) being cooked, saute 1 minced onion in oil.
• Add the sauted onions to the bulghur mix and knead.
  
• • 
    

  • Chop and mix together the parsley and the other 1/2 onion
  • Add them to the mix as well and knead together.

You can arrange the kofta in a cake like shape like Nanor did or into little tiny oval shapes.

"Aboor" (Bulghur and Vegetables)
From Sevan Balabanian

1 meduim/big onion diced

2 big zucchinis (cut into little pieces)

1 cup of green beans

2 cups of bulghur # 3 (the bigger kind)

1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce

2 potatoes (cut into little pieces)

oil

Saute the onion in oi, add beans and tomatoes, let them simmer for about 10-12 min, medium heat, add salt, add zucchini and simmer 5 min, add potatoes and simmer for 5-7 min, add bulgur (and water if it looks dry). Simmer on low heat for 5-7 min.

Mujadara

From Grandma

Cook together:

1 cup brown lentils

2 cup water

salt

Cook until it boils, then lower the heat.. let it simmer for 10-15 minutes until all the lentils are cooked. Add to the mix:

1 cup big bulghur

2 cup water

add sauted onions.

Thanks Nanor and anoosh ella, which means enjoy!
<3 Dani

Whole Foods Lifestyle- Drinks!

So I thought to go along with the last post on whole foods I would do a post on excellent drink choices! Equally as important and obviously going to be a question when transitioning to eating this way. I'm not including water on this list because it is so obvious that drinking water is essential, but I will say make sure you are drinking half your weight in oz a day. So if you weigh 120 lbs you should be drinking 60 oz a day.

Healthy Drinks

Freshly pressed Vegetable and Fruit Juices: The benefits of drinking fresh vegetable and fruit juices are ten fold! They go on and on, but I completely understand that a juicer is required and college students don't have the time either. However, know for later in life and for when you happen to be somewhere that makes fresh juices be sure to get some!

Tea: black tea, green tea, white tea, roobois, herbal the list goes on and on! If you aren't already into tea you will be! If you think you don't like tea that's ridiculous because there must be thousands of different tea flavors on the market and you are bound to like one of them. Also, ice tea is great for summer time, check out this post. Lots of teas have medicinal purposes as well which is great! Buy loose leaf preferable, it's so much better. Coconut Water: The water inside the inside of a coconut is super healthy, I literally believe it's God form of rehydration for athletes! It contains tons of the four types of electrolytes, all that are lost during vigorous exercise. Bianca and I drink them on our long runs.

Kombucha: A fermented tea that is often drunk for medicinal purposes and is usually raw! It contains millions of probiotics which are healthy bacteria that promote digestion. This drink is very strong and taste highly carbonated, try and few different flavors before giving up!

Wine: Wine has medicinal purposes if drunk in small quantities. The Bible points to wine as a natural way to help with infirmities and has been enjoyed for centuries. Be sure to buy organic!

Milk Alternatives: There are listed on the previous post.

Happy drinking,
Dani