Thursday, December 24, 2009

Granola, Walnut Pumpkin Loaf and Three Varieties of Hummus

Thank you for all the positive words about my pretzels-they were a hit!

How has your week been treating you? Are you taking some time off? I worked my usual schedule but have Friday (obviously) off. I also got to work from home Wednesday & Today vs. going into the office.

On holiday weeks, do you guys stick to your normal workout schedule? I try to as much as possible. This week I actually ended up doing a little more because I had some additional classes at the gym I was subbing:

Monday: Taught 5:45 AM Body Pump and 4:30 PM Body Pump (got to the gym a little early for each so I ended up running/walking around 4 miles on the treadmill too)
Tuesday: Taught Body Attack
Wednesday: Taught 5:45 AM Body Pump and 6:00 PM Body Pump (little treadmill action again beforehand)
Thursday: Went to the gym with Josh and did up 6 miles on the treadmill
Friday: Off
Saturday: Teach Body Step
Sunday: Off

Are you guys doing any of the holiday cooking or did you make any foodie gifts? I put together a little foodie package for my parents consisting of two different kinds of granola:

A pumpkin walnut loaf:



Doggie Cookies (for their lab):


And a specialty dipping olive oil & pistachios:


I also made up three different kinds of hummus to eat as an appetizer on Christmas. To get started, I prepared some dried chickpeas:



Then I made up Caroline’s Artichoke Hummus:



and a Black Bean Hummus, that ended up as more of a puree:



All together now:

All will be served with fresh veggies and pita chips. And tomorrow, I will be making up a cauliflower and broccoli bake.

And for some laughs- a hilarious video. Merry Almost Christmas !!!!

44 comments:

Unknown said...

yummy!! Everything looks sooo fantastic!! mmmm... I love those little flower bowls!!

I'm serving hummus tonight too, if people like it or not! ;)

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

A Brock and Cauli bake...YUM
And normally I am SUCH a girl into sweets :) but thanks for the link to caroline's artichoke dip. I missed that one of hers.

Merry Christmas Erica!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xoxoxo

vanillasugarblog said...

am I the only one that thinks those doggie cookies look kinda good? LOL
I love artichoke in my hummus along with some black olives.
Hey girl Merry Christmas to you! I hope Santa is really good to you.

kilax said...

Your foodie goodie bags LOOK SO GOOD! Nom nom nom!

I do try to stick to my workout schedule, it keeps me going. I like to fit in extra stuff too.

I have today and Monday off. It's nice you get to work from home. Yay! Happy Holidays!

Molly said...

all that hummus looks delicious! i'm a little jealous over here! :)
have a great christmas!

Tricia said...

The hummus looks great!

I've actually managed to run more this week. My husband has been off some with holiday so he has been watching my son and I'm free to run.

Merry Christmas!

Abbys Vegan Eats said...

OOH broc and cauli bake?? YES please! Your walnut bread looks fabulous.. what a wonderful gift.

Enjoy your holiday, Erica!!! :)

Anonymous said...

Pretty hummuses. I always want to pluralize hummus as "hummi."

Have a Merry Christmas.

The Purple Carrot said...

Oooh, I wish I could come and sample your hummus, Erica! Ha. They sound great. I'm especially liking the spicy hummus, I've never made that and I bet Erik would love it.

Have a very Merry Christmas!!! :)

Anonymous said...

I haven't made any edible gifts, but I really should - I definitely enjoy those most. I'm sure your parents will love theirs - looks delicious.

I don't really have a set workout schedule right now, but I have worked out a couple times this week and plan to tomorrow and Saturday.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Jessie (Vegan-minded) said...

You can't go wrong with hummus. All three varieties look great! Happy Holidays! :)

Bec said...

that pumpkin bread looks so good :) Merry Christmas!!!

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas Erica!!

the pumpkin loaf looks yummy!! as do the hummus dips and granola!! YUM YUM


happy holidays!!!!!

Julie said...

merry christmas girl :)i'm so glad we've became such good bloggie friends and i hope you and josh have a WONDERFUL holiday :)

by the way i totally love that hummus dish haha

Pam said...

Scrumptious goodies!

Glad you liked the award!

Merry Season's and enjoy!

Naomi(Onefitfoodie) said...

wowww everything looks delish! I love spin offs on hummus, that way i can really eat it eeryday and not get sick of it!

merry xmas!

Unknown said...

YUMMY :)

Thinking about you! Merry Christmas, darling!

xo Rebecca

Dawn Dishes It Out said...

Everything looked delicious! Love the doggie treats!!!!!

Merry Christmas to you, Josh and your families!!!

Lauren said...

Merry Christmas my love! Wishing you and your family a blessed day. You are a true angel in my life and I am so grateful for your friendship!

Love you Erica!

fittingbackin said...

Look at you girl with your awesome holiday workout schedule and great eats!! Nice! I'm trying to do cardio for sure but i've fallen off of the ST wagon. Hopefully I can get back on it!

Anonymous said...

i bet that spicy hummus was a HUGE hit :) looks delicious!!

have a very happy holiday!

Maria said...

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a great holiday. We sure did. We relaxed, went to our friends house, and now we are going to watch a movie. I took today off but will workout as usual tomorrow:) Love all of your eats! Enjoy the weekend!

Esi said...

Hope you had a very merry Christmas!!

Bridget said...

YUM!!! I want to try all your hummus's!! I really really need to make granola, its been way too long. The broccoli cauliflower bake sounds delicious!
Hope you have had a Merry Christmas!!

homecookedem said...

Gorgeous hummuses (hummuses? hummus's? hummi? haha?!?)! That artichoke hummus looks particularly delish!! :)

BroccoliHut said...

Totally digging the hummus spread!! Glad you got to try the artichoke kind--it's one of my faves:)

Nicci said...

Loving all the hummus you made. I think the first thing I'll make with my new food processor is Hummus!

Merry Christmas

Anonymous said...

Doggie cookies?! You're so perfect :)

Britt said...

Yum, those hummuses look awesome!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!!

Paula said...

I love, love, love hummus. I have made eggplant hummus. I would love to try the three you made. Cool serving dish!

Krista said...

Everything looks great! Especially the pumpkin walnut loaf and artichoke hummus. I love artichokes!

I bet your parents loved that basket of goodies...

HEAB said...

I've been dying to make Caroline's Artichoke hummus forever. In fact, all her hummuses are on my "to-make" list.

Everything looked wonderful. Hope you had a great Christmas Erica!!!!

HEAB said...

P.S. Loved that you made your parents' pups their own cookies. You're a girl after my own heart. :)

Paige (Running Around Normal) said...

Wow look at you go! That foodie basket sounds delicious, and that was so nice of you to do. I lovvve making doggy treats:)
Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

ooo all your eats look AMAZING girl!! i gota look up that hummus recipie!! :) have a great night!

chrystad72 said...

Looks so awesome!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday!

megan said...

Your food gifts look great! I would love to get a gift like that - nice and healthy too! :) Hope you had a great Christmas!

lizzy said...

you had me at hummus! they all look wonderful and i bet they all tasted AMAZING! :)

Katie said...

Food gifts are the best! And three kinds of hummus?! Yum!

I TRY to keep my normal workout schedule, but we haven't had very good weather and the gym was closed for the holidays :-( Good for you for keeping it up!

Hope you had a great holiday :-)

Aggie said...

I love your foodie gifts! This year was the first time I gave foodie gifts, I bought some spice jars and gave away homemade mixes of rosemary salt and bbq spice rub. I want to make all of your hummuses!! (is that a word?)

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!

Lori said...

I try to take Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off for sure. I just try to focus on the time with my family. Otherwise I still try to keep the workouts up as normal. This year, I'm not doing such a good job though. Hectic holiday, but likely because it has been our first one after officially being back in the US so everyone wants to see us. :)

Your hummus looks great. I'd love all those flavors. So glad you made the cookies and that Frank enjoyed them. Poor Macy's been sick over Christmas. Hoping her meds kick in soon though and she's back to herself. Have a great week!

Holly said...

MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS! i hope you had a wonderful weekend eating and spending time with loved ones. lots of love to you!!!!

K from ksgoodeats said...

Doggie cookies!! I love it! My aunt makes cookies for my dogs - us dog owners are weird ;) For example my cousins didn't send US a Christmas card. My cousin's dogs sent our dogs a card!

JMay said...

These all look so tasty, great blog you have here :-)

I will def. be back!

xo.