Chicago Marathon Val

Don’t those look mouth-watering!??! But we will get to this in a minute.

Backtracking, I wanted to share my new favorite addition to my kitchen…. my Excalibur 9-tray Dehydrator!!!

I can’t believe I am finally the proud owner of my very own dehydrator. According to the information that came with the product, this is why the Excalibur is superior for living foods:

” With the Parallexx Horizontal-Airflow Drying System and an adjustable thermostat, Excalibur Dehydrators are uniquely suited for drying raw foods while retaining the highest food qualities.  The adjustable thermostat allows you to control the air temperature, and the rear-mounted fan provides fast and even drying.  With these two features, the dehydrator is able to keep the food temperature low enough to preserve the enzymes while raising the air temperature high enough to dry the food quickly, preventing mold and bacteria from growing.  Most stackable dehydrators are poorly designed with no temperature control, or fan to properly circulate the air, and they dry from the bottom up.  Excalibur’s adjustable thermostat has been specifically designed to create a proper fluctuation in the air temperature.  As the air temperature fluctuates up, it quickly evaporates moisture from the surface of the food.  Then as air temperature fluctuates down, moisture from the center of the food moves to the dryer outer surface.  This proper flucatuation in temperature also helps to keep the food temperature very constant throughout the entire dehydrating cycle.”

I made three things in the dehydrator yesterday, and the first one to finish was my raw tortilla chips!

Raw Tortilla Chips:

- 1/2 c. flax meal or ground flax seed

- 1/2 c. ground pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

- 1 Roma tomato

- 2 T. water

- salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

- Blend all ingredients together in FP until it becomes an even consistency.  Then spread onto the mesh tray in a thin layer.

I dehyrated it at 105 degrees overnight.  I don’t have the “after” picture, but they tasted great! I’ll put that up the next time I eat some.

This morning’s juice was an interesting combo, courtesy of my CSA:

- collard greens (a LOT!)

- a couple carrots

- small piece ginger

- 1/2 lemon

- 1/2 appleI thought it looked cool with the rainbow-like layers

I was a bit worried that the collard greens would make it taste too “severe” and bitter, but I liked it!

Then I was off to spinning…. which of course rocked my socks off.  It was tough today… LOTS of jumps, but I left feeling invigorated as always! I also did another 10 minutes on the reclining bike and spent a few minutes on legs.

During spinning, my mind kept planning new recipes. This is great, but…. I have other things to do today besides back!! I’m scheduled to be back at work next Wednesday and our living room is cluttered up with my work stuff that I’m trying to get organized.

I told myself that I wasn’t allowed to bake or cook until I finished cleaning… apparently I have no sense of self-discipline when it comes to the kitchen!! I got home and within minutes had whipped up an awesome new recipe.

I had had cornmeal on the mind for a few days now since I have SO much of it sitting around my pantry, and I also had an avocado that was on its last leg, soooooo I came up with this:

Vegan Coconut-Oil Cornbread Muffins

- 1 c. cornmeal

- 1 c. WW flour

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1/2 c. agave nectar

- 1 c. applesauce

- 1 c. unsweetened almond milk

- 4 T. coconut oil

- First mix dry ingredients and then stir in wet ingredients.  Bake at 325 degrees in lined muffin tins for 20 minutes.

Lime Custard Topping:

- 1 very ripe avocado

- 1 T. water

- 3 T. agave nectar

- 1 T. lime juice

- Blend in FP until of an even consistency, and then put in fridge to thicken.

These turned out AMAZING!!! I literally had 8 tiny muffins for lunch…. EIGHT!!!! Not the most balanced meal I know, but they had some good ingredients in them so I don’t feel guilty for this one bit

***
I’m going to go attempt to actually do some work for a few hours… and then tonight it is off to Tru, which is known to be one of the finest restaurants in the world. I feel so honored to be able to attend tonight’s dinner as a FoodBuzz Publisher!  Can’t wait to tell you all about it later!!  

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