It's SPRING!

The beginning of spring meant one thing in our house...
LILLY'S 4th BIRTHDAY!!
Like any cat, she totally milked her special day by loafing around in the sun and doing tighty-tucks on the dining room table. 

What a spoiled girl. 

In addition to lilly's (or as adam lovingly calls her, a watermelon on stilts) birthday the week has been filled with school work and prepping for MIAMI. Ultra Music Festival is right around the corner which means dancing to great music in the sun for three days! So, don't expect to hear from me. :) 

I did make some dishes this morning to last us for the next few days. One, was a repeat-Cucumber Dill Salad. A friend told me how delicious she thought it was, which made me crave it, so I whipped that up for lunch. The second dish was a newbie... 

Sweet Potato Noodles with Jerusalem Artichoke Dressing (from Raw Food)

• 1 sweet potato

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp water
• 1 jerusalem artichoke (aka sunchokes), I had no idea what the hell these were, but they were easy to find in whole foods produce department. They look like big gingers. 
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1/2 yellow or red bell pepper
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• pinch of salt
• chili flakes, to taste

Make sweet potato noodles by using a grater. Put the jerusalem artichoke in the food processor and process. Add the water, walnuts, raisins, and pepper. Pulse until smooth. Add lemon juice, salt and possibly more water to taste. Pour the dressing over the noodles. Garnish with chili flakes if you want some spice. I endorse this recipe-it was YUMMY! 

Onto cycling to work out my tight ass muscles from a killer training yesterday with LA....

So, far this week is 3 things..

One

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This was last year:

My dad will pick the nose of anyone. :) 

And my mom and her friends will out-drink you. :) 

This is this year:

What a bummer. At least I won't be killing brain cells this year. :) 

This is my mom this year. She doesn't look that happy. Maybe I should be thankful I am not there! :) 

Two

This week is MS Awareness Week!!! This is near and dear to my heart. 

To me, MS= two things.
1. A daily annoyance for the past 5 years, that tends to rear its ugly head at dumb times.
2. A constant reminder of my strength.

So, that was me telling you all (even after living here for almost 3 years, I can NOT say/type y'all) that I have had MS since I was 19. For anyone that doesn't know what it is go here. This is in no way a pity party. I have had my fair share of struggles (double vision, lack of coordination, blurry vision, can't walk/write/or take a bath alone, tingles, headaches, etc.) BUT I have been LUCKY. I attribute this to:

• my sarcastic attitude (which is my version of a positive attitude
• my humor about the situation 
• my stubborn-ness  
• a wee bit of good fortune
• and perhaps, the most important, exercise (at my favorite place, SYNCStudio) and healthy eating 

Everyone has battles, and MS is mine.

I try to do everything I can to stay healthy, I exercise practically daily and eat a hell of a lot better than a lot of people my age, but I can't control this damn MS completely. So, here is my shameless plug. The National MS Society has fundraising events throughout the year and one of them is at the RBC Center on April 9th. The MS Walk is a fabulous event that raises money to fund MS research. I will be walking with the team, Master Striders. If you want to join the team, go here. It would be really cool if anyone wants to donate some money (like, $1) or walk with me! Especially because raising money to find a cure (or other medicines for MS) would mean I wouldn't have to inject myself with some crazy meds every other day.


Three

Tuesday night was a food preparation extravaganza! 

First up was the Waldorf salad (from Raw Food). I haven't had the pleasure of eating this one yet, but it will be my lunch for tomorrow. :)

For anyone wondering the black 'noodle' thingies are the arame. 

• 2 carrots, cut into rounds
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 1 red apple, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup arame, soaked for 10 minutes (found this ingredient at whole foods in the asian section)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 3 tbsp clover sprouts
• lemon juice and olive oil, to taste
• 1/4 cup walnuts

Peel and cut the carrots. Toss the celery, carrots, apple, arame, raisins and sprouts in a bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and olive oil. Garnish with walnuts. 

Next, I made Pad Thai with a BOMB almond sauce (from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen). The sauce really was the best. Adam was complaining about the loud noise from the food processor grinding the almonds, and he immediately apologized when he got a taste of the sauce. :) 

Noodles:

• 1/3 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp Nama Shoyu
• 2 zucchini or yellow squash, julienned
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• meat from 2 thai baby coconuts, julienned (if you don't want to use these, add an extra zucchini)
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts

Fresh Thai Herbs:

• 1/3 bunch of basil, chopped
• 1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 bunch mint, chopped
• 2 thai red chilies, seeded and chopped

Almond Sauce:

• 2 tbsp minced ginger
• juice of 4 limes (8 tbsp)
• 3 tbsp pitted dates
• 3 tbsp Nama Shoyu
• 1 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup water, as needed

Toppings:

• 1 cup mung bean sprouts
• 1/3 cup almonds, sliced

To make noodles, marinate onion in Nama Shoyu for at least 5 minutes. In a big bowl, combine zucchini, bell pepper, coconuts, and sprouts. Add the marinated onions. Set aside 2 tbsp of fresh thai herbs and a tbsp of red chiles for garnish. Place the rest of the herbs and chiles in the bowl. To make the sauce, blend the ginger, lime juice, and Nama Shoyu until smooth. Add almond butter and enough water to make a thick, creamy sauce. To serve, toss noodles with sauce and toppings and garnish with herbs and chili. 

Last up was Marinated Portobello Steak and Brazil-Broccoli Mash with Mushroom Gravy (from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen). Yes, this really is raw! 

Steak:

• 4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup Nama Shoyu
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Mash:

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup brazil nuts
• 2 cups broccoli, chopped

Gravy:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup mushrooms, any kind
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

To make the steaks, in a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and set aside for 1-2 hours to marinate and soften. To make the mash, process the garlic, pepper and salt into tiny pieces. Add brazil nuts and process into a powder. Empty the powder into a bowl and set aside. Process the broccoli slowly while adding the brazil nut powder back in. To make the gravy, blend all the ingredients until smooth. To serve, slice each mushroom into thick strips and serve on top of brazil-broccoli mash. Drizzle with gravy. YUMMMMMM!!!!

It's a MADHOUSE!

School has resumed, so life has gone from relaxin' and chillaxin' to a chaotic madhouse! But, I am okay with that, because I am a creature of habit and I LOVEEEEE routine. 


My love for routine has rubbed off on my girly-man, Cliff, because it is 7am and he is meowing at me to play fetch. Similar to how he does every morning. I am almost positive I have created a fetch monster. As for my favorite girl, Lilly, she is being a big brat. I think she knows it is her birthday week (yes, week) and she is taking full advantage of it. Meowing, jumping in front of me when I am walking, and prancing all over the counters. What a major smarty pants! Her actual birthday (she is 4)  is March 21st, but we started celebrating on Sunday by giving her 3 toys, a fish, a mint flavored stick-y thing, and some cardboard on a wire (we are high spenders I know). The toys kept her attention for about 5 minutes. Figures. I think she was more pumped about the special wet food we got her for her birthday! What a fattie.... 


On to other news. 
I have become a bosu ball and balance champion of the world! No, seriously, I have noticed quite a big-ass change in my strength, balance, and performance in my training sessions. In secret, I brush my shoulders off every time I get home after training. :) It all has to go to the wonderful and thoughtful training from Mrs. Leigh Ann Yeager! Not only does she know her shit, but she is super motivating! Thank you, LA! 


And on to shopping....I have gone on a bit of a shopping binge (at least it's not food, right) this past week. I found jeans (with a waistband, button and zipper-Adam is thrilled) and some fun shorts, amoung other things. All this is fully justifiable because we are going to Miami in a few weeks and I want to look fly (and prance around in my sick new legs and shoulders-again, courtesy of LA).  I would advise anyone who wants to save money NOT to go to anthropologie, free people, lucky, aldo, or j.crew. Buuuuutttt, if you want some sickity, sick clothes, I would go to those stores. :) 


Now, sunday it was beautiful here! It was so sunny on sunday morning, that I went on a cooking spree! And, I remembered to take a picture of one of the dishes! Score! 


First up, was a wrap, which didn't wrap that well. But it was good either way. 
Italian Herb Collard Wrap (from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

• 2 large collard leaves, ribs removed (now I just sliced these, and made a salad since the wrapping wasn't happening) 

Fillings:

• 1 batch Sunny Dill Cheeze (recipe below)
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 bunch rosemary leaves, chopped
• 1 bunch oregano leaves, chopped
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

According to Ani, you should be able to spread the cheese on the collard leaf, top with the fillings and roll. But this was beyond my abilities. In all seriousness, the salad I made was yummy! 

Sunny Dill Cheeze:

• 2 cups sunflower seeds
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 bunch of dill
• 1/2 cup of water, as needed

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Add water as needed to make a creamy texture. 

Here is a pic: 

The dill cheeze isn't pictured, because in my hungry stupor I forgot to pack it to take to school. :( 

This is on the lunch menu for today...
Broccoli Salad with Raisins (from Raw Food)

• 1 large crown of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 carrots, coarsely grated
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces
• 1 apple, cubed
• 1/4 cup raisins 
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Coat the broccoli with olive oil and salt to soften it. In a large bowl, add the other fruits and veggies to the broccoli. Sprinkle with raisins, sunflower seeds, and lemon juice. 

This was lunch on sunday, and it got great reviews (even from the non-raw food eaters in the house)! 

Asian Cashew Curry (from Raw Food

Salad:

• 1/2 head of crispy lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup wild rice, soaked
• 1 green apple, cubed
• 2 inches of leek, cut into rounds
• 1/4 small head of cabbage, cut into thin strips
• 2 celery stalks, cut into rounds
• 1/4 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces

Soak the wild rice for 3 days. Honestly, this was a big pile of BS. I soaked that damn rice for 5 days, and it was still hard. The rice was omitted from the recipe. To make the salad, just toss all the ingredients in the bowl and top with the dressing (below). 

Cashew Curry Dressing:

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 yellow bell pepper
• 1 inch of leek
• curry, turmeric, tamari and lemon juice, to taste

Blend the nuts into a flour-like consistency. Add the pepper, leek and half the water. Blend until mixed. Add a little water at a time until a creamy consistency is reached. Season to taste. 

It is now time to make a smoothie... 

I can't think of a title for this one (so I will leave it like this)...

So, my spring break has been wonderful. I am currently experimenting with sprouting (the first batch is alfalfa) and soaking rice (for 3 days, yes, 3 whole days). The kitchen has turned into quite a sight, but it is fun to try some new techniques. So, my thursday night consisted of sprouting, soaking, and timing cliff to see how quick he can play fetch. Currently, the time to beat is 7 seconds (and I launched that damn toy all the way through the living room and down a flight of stairs). My spring break might not consist of excessive partying in Cancun, but I can say that I am getting A LOT of homework done, papers written, cooking, cleaning, and relaxing! Plus, my real spring break is two weeks away when Ultra Music Festival takes place in Miami. I just bought an outrageous dress for the event, and I am VERY, VERY proud to say I will be the gaudy Italian. :) I just need to find some equally fab-u-lous shoes and a bag, and then I will be good to go. 


Since I have a bunch of time on my hands, I have been making lots of food! I want to start posting pictures of each dish, but I always devour the food before I remember to take a picture of it! I promise (pinky swear) that I will try to remember to take pictures! :) 


My effort to calm down has been working. Taking a breath, stepping back, and thinking about how unimportant some things are has really helped. So, now when I am panic-y about everything I have to do or Adam's rotation next year, I think about what a great life we have and how thankful I am that we are both healthy and happy (most of the time).There was a slight tantrum the other night because I was starving, so I got a bit hangry, but thats besides the point....


This first recipe is delicious, BUT I definitely spilled the dressing all over the cookbook, so now it is crusty and smells like garlic and ginger good-ness. :) 
Creamy Cabbage Coleslaw (from RAWvolution)
Salad:

• 1/2 cup peeled and shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup shredded radish
• 2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
• 2 cups finely shredded red cabbage

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp nama shoyu
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1-2" piece of ginger, peeled
• about 1 1/2 cups olive oil (and no, that is not a typo)

In a large bowl, combine all the salad ingredients and toss to mix. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor. Process. Then, slowly add the olive oil and continue to process. Pour over the salad, toss, and serve. 

Easy, quick, and good. 

Fennel Salad (from Raw Food)

• 1/2 fennel bulb, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 bunch of arugula 
• seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate
• 5 walnuts, coarsely chopped 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss to mix. This is only one serving, so you may need to double, triple, or in my case quadruple. :) 

Ok, I hate parsnips with a passion, so I was a bit leery of this recipe. However, this one is a definite keeper! This recipe is two servings...

Parsnip Couscous (from Raw Food)

• 1 parsnip, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cucumber, cut into slices and then quartered
• 2 pears, peeled and chopped
• 2 large portions of crispy salad greens (pick your fav)
• 1 avocado, cubed 
• 3 tbsp walnuts, chopped, for garnish

Dressing:

• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• pinch of salt 

Put the parsnip in a food processor and process until its grainy. In a small bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients to make the dressing. Toss the other salad dressing ingredients together with the dressing and serve on a place. Place the parsnip couscous on top of the salad and garnish with walnuts. 

This one was money in the bank, and I am sure this recipe will be made over and over again. 

Walnut Cranberry Squash 'Rice' (from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

• about 1 lb of butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2" cubes
• 1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds (I used regular cumin, which worked fine)
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup walnuts, crushed
• 2 tsp sea salt

Put small batches of the squash into a food processor and process into small pieces. Put the processed squash into a mixing bowl and add all the other ingredients. Toss well and serve. Keeps 2 days in the fridge. 

I have been making a conscious effort to make more smoothies, and so here are some ones I tried this week. The recipes are all from Green Smoothie Revolution. 

Apple Green Smoothie

• 4 cups romaine lettuce (this was okay, but next time I am going to try using a lettuce with a bit more nutrient value than romaine)
• 4 fuji apples
• 1/2 cup dates, pitted
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3 cups water

Favorite Green Smoothie

• 3-6 leaves of any kind of kale
• 1 banana
• 1 apple
• 1/2 inch ginger root
• 2 cups water 

Turkish Grove

• 2 cups of kale 
• 1 pear
• 3 figs
• 2 cups water 

Have a great night everyone! 

Take a Chill Pill!

That, my friends, is what I am attempting to do. 


I am sure many of you are sick of me bitching and moaning about how life/school has been busy, and now you don't have to listen to (or read about) it anymore! This is for two reasons:

1. It's SPRING BREAK! 
2. I am taking a chill pill, going with the flow, and refusing to freak out when things don't go according to my to-do list. 

Just so you know what a lofty goal this is, here is an example of my slightly up-tight (let's call them special) tendencies. 

• I plan my day by the hour. That's right, I have a written list of everything that happens EACH hour of the day. It makes me feel organized (and not neurotic at all :) ). 
• Ashley came over to eat the other night and she was worried about putting her bowl in the dishwasher in the right place. 

Eeekk, just typing that makes me feel like a psycho. 

All this revelation has been spurred by the fact that it is almost the end of this 30-day Raw Food Challenge and I need something new to work on!! 

What?!?! What?!?! End of the challenge? Can you believe it? 

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is over this Sunday (ish). Never fear, I will be continuing this food plan for a while. Why? Let's compare and contrast. 

Before: 

• Fatigued, napping for 1-2 hours daily, and having 2-3 cups of coffee per day. This is all with 8-9 hours of sleep. 
• Major cranky pants. 

After: 

• Not, I repeat, NOT fatigued. NO naps. Maybe 1 cup of coffee per day. 
• Happy camper. The crazy high-strung lady that was beyond flustered and slow in front of me in line at Starbucks didn't even cramp my style. I actually felt sorry for her because she seemed so panicky. 

Now, keep in mind this isn't some miracle diet. My body just responded favorably to it, and I like the food, so that is the real reason I am sticking with it. I will also be sticking with the blog, posting recipes and posting cat pictures. Even though every time Adam sees a picture of the cats on the blog, he reminds me that I am the "creepy cat lady," but I am okay with that. 

Ok, sorry for the raw food tangent, but raw food is the whole reason for the blog. As for staying calm, cool and collected, I am going to try that for 30 days now. Seriously. Eating (mostly) raw for 30 days has made me feel like I can do anything for 30 days. Imagine that! 

How will I do this? I am not sure, but the plan for now is to take a step back, breathe, and let go. Please pray that I don't spontaneously combust. I am all Italian and German you know, and we tend to be a wee-bit stubborn and impatient. Hopefully the prospect of spring (along with all the sunshine) will help keep me smily and chipper even when I am not either of those things. :) 

Now on to some mouth-watering raw food recipes. 

Yellow Squash Pasta with Olive Tapenade

• 1 yellow squash
• 2 carrots
• Sun-dried tomatoes, to taste (and those puppies are good, so I add quite a bit!)

Tapenade:

• 1/2 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• black olives, to taste
• lemon juice, to taste
• salt and dried herbs to taste

Using a veggie peeler, peel the skin of the squash and carrots and discard. Continue peeling the rest of the squash and carrots until you get to the seeds of the squash. Mix together the tapenade ingredients and add to the carrot and squash pasta. Top with sun-dried tomatoes. Easy, fast and GOOOOOOD!!!! 

Don't know what to do with the seedy core of the squash? Don't worry, make this recipe:

Yummy Pasta Leftovers

• 2 squash or zucchini leftovers, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into small pieces
• 1 pear, cut into small pieces
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 10 purple grapes, halved 
• 1/2 cup white cabbage
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1/4 cup walnuts, halved

Mix the zucchini, pepper, pear, celery and grapes together in a bowl. Add the cabbage strips and the avocado. Sprinkle with walnuts. I just ate this for lunch today and it stood up to its name, it was quite yummy! 

Since it's break I will be on a cooking spree this week, so be on the look out for more raw recipes!! 

A Morning Zinger

That was what the smoothie I had this morning was called (and just in case you haven't caught on, the recipe is below). This morning was quite a zinger, so the smoothie was well fitting. My alarm went off and cliff jumped up on the bed to cuddle and be my little spoon. Poor timing buddy. So I threw the cover off on him and left him, thinking he would get up and start meowing (or play the dreaded fetch game). But the cuddler just stayed and slept (for 2 hours, I might add) like this...

What a little man! 

The other zinger, actually happened yesterday, but I am still thinking about it this morning, so it counts. Just for background information sake, my brother is in film school and working on his final project, which is a movie he creates, films, edits, the whole sha-bang. This is taking place at some run down house in GA. There are 15 people on the cast. My parents offered to bring food for them each weekend for two weekends in a row. The first weekend of parent food was this past weekend. Keep in mind that all I have heard about for the last week (at least) is the menu they are planning, the food they bought, etc. So, yesterday (morning, in fact) my dad (who I love and adore) calls in a panic. He wants to know what a natural sugar is, so that he can give the crew a sugar boost in the afternoon. Below is the convo (or something like it) that occurred:

Me: Well, if you want a natural sugar give them fruit. That is easy and they wouldn't have to stop filming.

Dad: What other natural sugars are there? Someone said candy. 

Me: Candy is not a natural sugar, are you (CENSORED) crazy? 

Dad: Maybe those energy drinks, what are they 5 hour energy or red bull? 

Me: Stick with the fruit. 

Dad: I think I will get 15 energy drinks and some candy bars. Thanks! Bye! 

And I wonder why I constantly have dreams that include people not listening to me! 

Oh, and here is my mom (whom I also love and adore) on the film set. This is what she looks like without her whiskey and canada dry. 

Adam has described my family as a sitcom and he likes to just sit back, watch us and enjoy. This picture made me VERY VERY excited for their visit in April. 

As for the diet, I came to the realization that, even though the word 'raw' implies that the food is healthy, raw brownies, raw larabars, and raw fudge are not. I knew this already, but I didn't want to acknowledge it. Major bummer. So, those are all out of the house. Well, after the new bars that Ashley and I made have been eaten...

The cooking spree that took place last night yielded: mediterranean dolmas, mexican 'rice', ranch dressing, walnut dressing, the bars (PB and J and Mango and Cranberry), and some bean-free olive hummus. And this all was made in about 1 1/2 hours. Give or take a little for wine breaks. :)

Recipes:
Morning Zinger Smoothie (from Green Smoothie Revolution)

• 1 bunch of dandelion greens
• 1/2" ginger
• 1/2 pineapple
• 2 peaches
• 2 stalks of celery

Mediterranean Dolmas (from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 2 tbsp olive-oil
• Collard leaves for wrappers

Mix all the ingredients (except the collard leaves) in a bowl. Put a portion of the mixture in a collard leaf, wrap up and eat. Pretty, pretty okay.

Mexican 'Rice' (from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

• 1 acorn squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and cut in cubes
• 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
• 2 tbsp yellow onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt

Put the cubed squash in a food processor and process into small pieces of 'rice.' Put the squash in a mixing bowl and add the other ingredients and mix well. Keeps for 2 days in fridge.

Ranch Dressing (from Raw Food)

• 1/2 cup cashew nuts
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 sprig basil
• 1/2 sprig dill
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• pinch of salt

Blend cashews to a flour-like consistency. Add half the water and mix. Add the spices, lemon juice and salt. Add a little water at a time and blend until desired consistency.

Walnut Dressing (from Raw Food)

• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp tamari
• basil, to taste
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/4 cup water

Blend walnuts to a flour-like consistency. Add the other ingredients and add extra water until you reach the desired consistency.
***This dressing was used on a salad with butter lettuce (from the Raleigh Farmer's Market), avocado, walnuts, tomato, and cucumber. It was AWESOME!

Bean-free Black Olive Hummus (from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 cups zucchini, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup kalamata black olives, pitted and chopped
• pinch of paprika

Process sunflower seeds into a powder and set aside. Process zucchini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and tahini until smooth. Slowly add sunflower seeds back into the food processor. Process until mixture reaches a hummus consistency. Pour into a mixing bowl and top with olives and paprika.

Now, my friends, it is time for SCHOOOOOOOLLLLLL!!