The Best Clean Cookies You'll Ever Eat!

You know, as much as I like clean eating, and as great as it makes me feel, sometimes I still crave the not so good stuff for me. For instance, a good ol' Chocolate Chip Cookie! So all I have to say is THANK GOODNESS I found this recipe. I have seen many versions of this recipe, and I will be honest that it took me quite a while to actually work up the courage to make them, because their main ingridient is Garbanzo Beans which completely throws me off. But, if there is one thing that I have learned in the past year, it is that it doesn't hurt to try something new. Most of the time it works out in my favor- and this recipe was no exception. Based on the different variations I had seen, I threw this recipe together with what I had in my kitchen. They are so insanely good. Even better, is that hese babies are completely clean and dare I say healthy? Garbanzo Beans are a great source of fiber and protien, while being low in saturated fat and cholesterol, making these a homerun of a recipe. I used regular chocolate chips in mine, but you can make yours better by using Enjoy Life Foods "chocolate chips" or something similar. WARNING: Refrain from eating a 1/2 tray of cookies like I did.
HAPPY BAKING!

Chocolate Chip Cookies 
1 can Organic Garbanzo Beans- drained and dried
1/2 cup heaping with natural peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice)
1/4 cup Raw Organic Honey
1Tbls Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp Baking Soda
Chocolate Chips to your liking

Puree Garbanzo Beans in food processor or Vitamix. Add in PB, Honey and Baking Soda. Mix again. Stir in Chocolate Chips. Bake on light greased cookie sheet at 375 for 13-15 minutes. Enjoy!!

Tasty Tuesday: Pizza, Pizza!

I feel like I go throw cycles with my cooking- cycles where I try/discover/create a whole bunch of new recipes. Then I fall in love with those recipes and cook them on repeat for a month or two at a time, until I get bored and the cycle starts again.

In the past couple of days I have tried a few new delicious recipes. Here is the first... I will post the rest soon!

For a stay-at-home date night, Christian and I made homemade pizza and salad. Hands down, best meal I have had in a while. This flavor combination on the pizza should win whatever the Academy Award-equivalent is for food. It is finger- licking, forget that you are full and keep eating kind of good.  And the best part was that it was pretty clean! Buffalo Mozzarella, Caramelized Onions and Yellow Bell Peppers, Pancetta and Spinach all on a healthy whole wheat crust. To accompany the pizza, we made a salad that I like to call “The Kitchen Sink Salad,” because you basically can throw just about anything in and it would still be delicious. I have made a similar version with Kale, but this is made with a balsamic dressing as opposed to lemon vinaigrette, and it pairs perfectly with pizza! Although homemade pizza can be a bit of an undertaking (depending on toppings and if you make a homemade crust) it really was so much fun and a great date night activity! We had so much fun dancing around the kitchen, listening to albums, only to be rewarded with this tasty meal!

I found my recipe inspiration on LandonGilfillan.com, and changed it just a little bit by caramelizing the onions. I also cheated a little and found a decently clean Whole Wheat Crust at Trader Joe’s. Whole Wheat Pizza Crust rolled out and baked for 3 minutes before adding toppings.  Add toppings- Buffalo Mozzarella, Caramelized Onions, Yellow Bell Peppers, Pancetta and Spinach. Bake for an additional 8 minutes or until crust is cooked to desire. Serve immediately.

Here is how ours turned out. As you can see, we were so excited to eat that I forgot to take a picture of the final product until after we had dug in- It was just that good! 

Can't wait for you to try it! Xo, Mahri 

Love in Los Olivos

For our anniversary, Christian planned a nice little weekend getaway to the Santa Ynez Valley, wine country east of Santa Barbara. The only word to sum of the weekend is "perfect." We had the best time in recent memory, drinking wine, eating delicious (not-so-clean) food and just enjoying each others company.

Christian rented an amazing little house on Bernat Vineyard. Let me tell you, this place was AMAZING! 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, patio, deck- all that looked out over 10 acres of grapevines. The absolute perfect place to spend a romantic weekend away!

When we arrived on Friday afternoon, we checked into our little spot, popped open the bottle of wine and dug in to the cheese platter that had greeted us upon entry. We went to dinner that night at an awesome little spot called "Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe." Their seasonal menu consisted of all local, organic, farm to table ingredients, which if you know me, is right up my alley! They have hundreds of bottles of wines from all over the world (but specialize in local wines) and the atmosphere is exactly what you would imagine when you think of a restaurant in wine country: quaint and elegant, but cozy and far from fussy. Definitely a spot to check out if you travel to Los Olivos or any of the nearby towns.

On Saturday we hit up the tasting rooms on Grand Ave, the hub of the tiny little town. As this was the first time I had drank in a few months, I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Refugio Ranch and Sarloos & Sons were my favorite tasting rooms, but I had a great time at all of the ones we visited. We had lunch at this great sandwich spot called Panino. Our picnic style lunch was so delicious that my mouth is watering just thinking about it! It rained most of the weekend but I wouldn't have changed it for all of the sunshine in the world. We had so much fun running in the rain from tasting room to tasting room and the gloomy weather almost made the weekend more romantic!

There is just something magical about this place. Everywhere you go you feel like you are an old friend who has returned after a long time away, as you are always greeted by a smiling face. Everyone is so friendly and there is no denying how beautiful the area is. We are definitely going back! In fact, we were planning our return trip before we even left town!

Here are some pictures from the weekend! Cheers!

Alta Laguna Hike: Canyon Acres Trail

First thing on today's agenda (after sleeping in) was to get out doors and get active! Although he has lived in Laguna for almost 3 years, Christian has yet to explore much of this beautiful little town, and had never ventured up the hill to Top of the World. I hadn't been up there in years so it was nice to explore the park again and even more fun to do it with my favorite guy. The nice thing about Alta Laguna Park is that there are a bunch of different trails which branch off the main trail head, all of different lengths and difficulties. We decided to take the Canyon Acres trail, which is VERY steep at parts which makes for a great workout! And as a bonus, you are continuously rewarded with amazing views- to the west, the ocean and to the east the canyons and inland cities of Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. We were completed this one in just about and hour and were both feeling the burn afterward!

Here is a map to the park and the Canyon Acres trail that we chose to hike. Happy hiking!

The Beauty of the Bowl: Clean Eats for People Who Have No Time to Cook!

I am way overdue on a new post, so don't be surprised if a few go up over the next few days!

The past two weeks of my life have been dedicated to work; preparing and planning for my largest event of the year. Since this was my first go around with this event, it took a lot out of me: I have been breathing, eating and sleeping, Chapman. I am not complaining, because I absolutely love my job, it is just hard sometimes to give up your daily routine for multiple 12 hour days at the office. But that is over, for now! And I have time to return to the things I love like cooking and exercising on a daily basis.

During these whirlwind two weeks, it was important that I stayed committed to my clean eating routine. Especially since finding time to exercise had been particularly though. It was during this time that I discovered the beauty of the 'bowl': quick (less than 20 minutes start to finish), easy and clean meals that taste delicious! My new obsession started I basically was throwing a bunch of ingredients into a bowl and calling it dinner, but boy, did they turn out delicious and you can create so many variations that you basically could eat them for a month straight without getting bored!  They are a great substitute for easy meals where we often turn to carb heavy options such as sandwiches, burritos or burgers because you are in need of something quick.

Here are 3 of my favorite clean eating bowls...

Colorful Quinoa Bowl
* Cleanse Friendly

Colorful Quinoa Bowl

(Makes 1 Serving) 

1/2 cup Cooked Quinoa ( I like to cook ahead of time and have on hand for situations like this)

1/2 Small Sweet Potato, quartered

Handful of Kale

2 TBLS Dried Unsweetened Cranberries 

2 TSP EVOO

Garlic Powder

Pink Himalayan Salt 

Pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve!

Fajita/ Burrito Bowls

(Makes 1 Serving)

1/2 Cup Black Beans
Organic Chicken Breast or Skirt Steak marinated in a Clean Fajita Marinade or Salsa
Thinly Sliced Bell Peppers and Onions
Homemade Guacamole
Salsa

Cook marinated meat in skillet, until it is done as desired. Remove meat from skillet and set aside. Add the onions and bell peppers to the leftover marinade and cook until soft. Return meat to skillet and toss with onions and peppers.

Warm black beans and place in serving bowls. Top with meat, pepper and onion mixture and
then guacamole and salsa. Serve immediately.

Turkey Burger Bowl

(Makes 1 Serving) 

1/2 cup Lean Ground Turkey, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder, cooked through and browned.
1/2 Avocado, diced
1/2 Small Sweet Potato, quartered and steamed, seasoned with garlic powder, salt and a little cinnamon
Handful of Kale Leaves

Toss ingredients together and serve!

Happy Clean Eating!!

Weekend Recap: Shop Fresh, Shop Local

On Saturday, we woke up early and headed into town to the Farmer's Market. I have always loved the Farmer's Market because it reminds me of one of my favorite childhood memories. I grew up going to the Belmont Shore Farmer's Market with my grandmother when I would spend weekends with her and my grandfather. My grandmother has been a vegetarian yogi for over 40 years, so why I didn't catch onto the clean eating bandwagon years ago, I am not sure. My grandmother is the shining example of what clean eating can do for you overall health. She doesn't look at day over 60 and this woman just celebrated her 80th birthday! I digress... If you have one close, I HIGHLY recommend, making a visit. The whole experience is cool. Everyone one is friendly and can feel the sense of community right away. It also feels great to be supporting local small businesses who support the clean eating lifestyle. I left with a bag of the most beautiful, colorful and delicious, certified organic veggies that I turned into an easy, clean and satisfying dinner. Here's what was on that nights menu.

Kale Chopped Salad with Almond Crusted Chicken and Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette 

*Cleanse Friendly

1 Head of Kale, massaged
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 Large Haas Avocado
2 Heirloom Tomatoes
3 Purple Carrots (my new fave!)
1/4 Cup Organic Golden California Raisins

Almond Crusted Chicken Breasts
1 LB Chicken Breasts
1 Egg, Whisked
Almond Meal

Soak Chicken in egg batter, the cover with Almond Meal. Pan fry in light EVOO or Coconut oil.

Lemon Garlic Dressing 
The juice of 1 Lemon
1TBLS EVOO
3-4 Cloves, Fresh Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Blend in food processor until creamy. Serve.

Toss ingredients together with dressing and top with Almond Crusted Chicken.

Simple Clean Dinner: Boyfriend Approved

When I changed my cooking habits, by default, so did Christian (for dinner at least)! I am constantly striving to cook up healthy and delicious meals that are boyfriend approved. One of my favorite things about eating clean has been challenging myself to find alternatives or substitutes to unclean foods that I used to love. Enter, Explore Asian Mung Bean Noodles. These are an amazing alternative to pasta and are packed with a whopping 25g of protein and 11g of fiber. They are Certified Vegan, Organic, Gluten Free and Kosher. And Christian LOVES the way they taste. Some nights it's hard to cook a complicated meal... tonight was one of those nights! So we threw together this tasty dish that is completely challenge friendly and hit my craving for pasta. 

 "Pasta" with Grilled Chicken and Asparagus

2 chicken breasts, diced and marinated in EVOO, crushed garlic, salt and pepper
1 Bundle of Asparagus, spears cut into thirds
1 package of Explore Asian Mung Bean Noodles
1 TBLS EVOO
Crushed Garlic
** You can also toss in 1 Heaping TBLS of Pesto in place of EVOO ( I found a clean version at Mother's Market)

 Pan grill chicken. Boil noodles. When noodles are almost done cooking, throw in asparagus for remainder of the time. Drain noodles/asparagus. Add chicken, EVOO, garlic to noodles and mix. Light salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. 

Hey you! Go take a Hike!

The view from the top!

What can I say about my beautiful Laguna? I know that I was incredibly blessed to grow up in such an amazing little town. There aren’t very many places where, from almost any spot in the city you can see, or at least smell the ocean. Growing up in a beautiful place you sometimes forget to stop and appreciate what is around you. For most of my life I failed to realize that Laguna occupies some of the most beautiful open space preserves in the county. This year, I finally started exploring and appreciating. I can't believe that it took me this long!

As part of my health and fitness journey, I have started to make hiking a regular activity. And how lucky did I feel when I found the most amazing hike, right above my parents house? My mom has apparently been walking the trail for years, and I am  just ridiculously late to the party. Here are the details so that you can enjoy this treasure of a hiking trail!

From the head of this trail, you can do a more intense 4 mile hike out into the canyon, or a short 2 mile(ish) loop which I could do every Saturday morning. I have yet to explore the long loop, but plan on doing very soon! Here’s my handy dandy map to help you find the trail. Happy hiking!