Good Morning!

Everyone, 2013 was not a good year for Vanana Banilla blogging, however it was a wonderful year otherwise! So many things happened in the world and to me but I will not include all the details in this post as that would be tedious and take another 2 years to explain. But have no fear! All those nuggets of treasure will be sprinkled in throughout the coming posts... My interest in food continues, but shifted quite a bit. I've been eating simpler foods, trying to reduce the amount of processed things I eat, and cutting out other items that haven't made me feel well. Unfortunately, this means less and less baking and I've cut out caffeinated coffee completely from my diet. However, I along with David have embarked on a journey of sprouts, kale salad, roasted sweet potatoes and we continue to eat the foods that come from the farmers we know and love in the area. Putting considerable effort and thought into the food I purchase and consume leaves my body and mind feeling happy and balanced.

After a dinner party on Thursday to support The People's Community Market (if you haven't heard of this amazing project in Oakland, please check out their website and donate if you can! It's truly inspirational, and I'm so proud to know that something like this is happening in my community) we were left over with so much shredded carrots from the epic kale salad we served. Having done the hard part of shredding all the carrots, I got the idea to make Morning Glory Muffins. I love these muffins because they are full of super delicious and healthy ingredients, and if you include fresh, in season fruit, you can cut out a portion of the sugar and they still taste great!

 One happy morning glory muffin customer :)













And another of sunflower sprouts.

 If you want to make these at home, it's so easy and what's great is they add texture, flavor and health to almost any meal! Put about 2 handfuls of raw sunflower seeds or any other seed in a mason jar with water to cover. Let it soak for 1 day. Every day strain the old water and wash with clean water. Within a few days, you'll have these little guys ready for snackin'.

Enjoy!

Yael