Let Me See Your Tootsie Roll
I don’t normally have the urge to attack the Halloween candy leftovers - Milk Duds, Nerds, Snickers bars, eh no thanks. I’ve always thought that unless people started handing out bite sized Chocolove bars or something like that, that I was safe from temptation. But this year is different, I’m having a total Tootsie Roll meltdown. I literally want to pick through the whole pumpkin in the kitchen to find every last one. I think the only thing that is actually keeping me from fulfilling that urge, is that my co-workers might notice a Tootsie Roll mountain on my desk (or at least the wrappers).  :)

A New Spin on Green Beans
I feel like every time I eat green beans, they are either in some sort of Asian inspired dish or served alongside Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners.  Since I had a huge bag full of them that I needed to use, and wasn’t feeling the Asian or holiday cuisine, I decided to try something new. Instead of just serving them as long, boring old beans, I went a little crazy - slicing and dicing them with a little a little lemon, olive oil. garlic and salt and pepper.  After it was all said and done, I  served them up with a sauteed tofu and mushrooms. Yum.

Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Shredded Oats Cereal Bars
When I was in college, my cousin Alyse used to always bake as a method of stress relief. She would come over with plates full of snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies and of course, the famous DREAM BARS.  Her dream bars weren’t just any old dream bar, they were pure bliss. Decadent. Delicous. And ooey-gooey. Sometimes, I didn’t know whether to hug her or slap her for bringing those heavenly snacks to my apartment. At yoga tonight, we started reminiscing about the old Dream Bar days.  So of course, as soon as I got home, I just had to make dream bars - I was in baking adventure mode. What I ended up with were rich and delicious little squares

Making the Best of a Monday
After the last two blissful birthday weekends, starting over again on Monday was difficult.  I had to fight with myself to get out of bed - but nonetheless, arrived to start bootamp a bit earlier than usual so I could try out some moves with my new exercise bands before campers arrived. After our workout, I decided to reward myself with a tropical smoothie. Check out the beautiful, juicy papaya… Papaya, banana, shredded coconut, vanilla soy mi

Sconetastic!
I’ve never made scones before and to be honest, I’m not all that crazy about them; but since Bryan loves them, I decided to give them a try.  They were really easy to make and they turned out pretty delicious if I must say so myself. Ingredients: 1 egg 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1/3 cup raw turbinado sugar 4 tsps baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup butter 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries 1 cup vegan chocolate chips 1/2 cup soy or almond milk Extra milk or water as needed 2 to 3 tbps soy or almond milk to brushing tops