Paleo Shamrock Shake

Generally, this diet has definitely made me want the nasty processed stuff less than usual. But the thing that always gets me--

LIMITED EDITION HOLIDAY SPECIAL ONLY GOING TO BE AROUND WHILE YOUʻRE ON A DIET AND YOUʻLL ALWAYS WONDER IF ITʻS GOOD

in bold.

A while ago it was the Oreos in every possible new flavor... And I love Oreos. So that was killing me. I caved and ate the lemon, birthday cake, and berry ice cream flavors probably all in the same week.

I started seeing the Shamrock Shake pop up and I thought, oh no. Here it is. Another thing that Iʻm going to have to wait a year for. I adore holiday themed foods. Especially holidays like St. Patrickʻs Day which have very little meaning whatsoever. (Sorry, Irish peoples, if I just offended you.)

To try to talk myself out of it I looked at this: Whatʻs Really In That Shamrock Shake?

Ok, so maybe itʻs not such a good idea.

Iʻm sure even a homemade just pain olʻ icecream shake would be better than that.

So I made my Paleo Version. And Yes, itʻs healthy. I mean, spirulina is some seriously natural food coloring and freaking good for you too.

Iʻve also seen a couple of versions using avocado, which is a fantastic idea. Thatʻs what Iʻm going to try next. Maybe just frozen bananas and avocado and there will be no need for ice cubes. I also like coconut milk but I wasnʻt so sure about coconut milk and mint together.

I really like dates. So good.

This is all it is. Blend it together. Really well. The straw is optional. Be careful with that mint. I prefer not to drink toothpaste.

Waialua Bakery

Waialua Bakery is one of my happy places on this planet. Waialua is a town that’s one more stop over, but this bakery is smack dab in the middle of Haleiwa. I’m not sure what the origin is on the name, and I’ve never asked because I’m just way too busy eating when I’m there to worry about any such details.

Luckily enough, this happy place is a 25 minute drive away from my house, because otherwise Waialua Bakery would have all my money and I would have all of their food. Every morning. For the rest of my life.

If I ever figure out how to make their Passion Pleasure smoothie, I will be set. The smoothie has just the right touch of papaya and some creaminess from frozen yogurt. I get serious cravings for this smoothie, and I like to think I can make a pretty good smoothie myself. There is no other smoothie that can make me drive half an hour and plop down $4 with a smile on my face. Really.

Every time I come here, I get that smoothie, a sandwich, and a cookie. I don’t care if it’s breakfast. That’s what I’m getting.

The sandwiches are packed with lovely veggies and the sprouts runneth over. I always get the home made bread and spread with hummus. The sandwich is a crunchy, moist mess that I inhale as quickly as possible.

Amaya eats more than her fair share of my sandwiches. Even stuffed with all those vegetables, this is a flavor that cannot be denied.

(but I do recommend asking them to leave off the mustard and vinegar. Just in case.)

This has to be followed up with a cookie. Or two. Our favorites are the monster (peanut butter oatmeal with m&m’s) and the Wonder bar which is a cookie addict’s dream: cookie crumbs are combined with chocolate and coconut and more butter and probably something else gooey and gorgeous, all pressed into a bar. It’s hard to describe. It’s a Wonder bar. With good cause. I like to wolf this down before anyone asks me to share.

Amaya got lucky and had two Monster cookies. With ice cream in between. I jealously eyed her dessert while she ate every last bite.

Oh, if it could be summer every day.

Oh, it is. In Hawaii.

Waialua Bakery

Google Maps

66-200 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, HI

On the right corner of the Malama Market parking lot, tucked behind Spaghettini

Open 9am-4pm Monday-Saturday

Good for: breakfast, lunch, snack

Favorite Eats: passion pleasure smoothie, Wonder bar, roasted veggie sandwich

Little Foodie? Baby, toddler, kid, teenager, and adult friendly.

FYI: Some vegan options, easy to take out, beach casual, outdoor seating. Even though it’s called a bakery, there are no doughnuts here. Mostly cookies, fresh breads for sandwiches, and a few breakfast baked goods.

Yelp Review

This is a series of posts about food on the North Shore. Stay tuned.

Lessons from a Smoothie

Yesterday I started my job all over again. After a semester of maternity leave, I’m back in the high school classroom where chaos and order try to coexist, and when it doesn’t, guess who wins.

Not me. Ha.

There are lots of hard things about leaving my babies and going back to work. Mostly I’m trying to focus on my goal of doing without wasting time complaining about it (except a little. I complain a little).

When the kids poured into the room and all sat on the back row next to their friends, I felt a little like the babysitter. Y’know, how you tell the babysitter that you always stay up past 10pm and eat ice cream for dessert because Mom and Dad always let me. Except substitute “This has always been my assigned seat and we always chew gum.” 

Yeah, Right.

I made my negotiations and played tough but fair teacher to classes of smirking students. I gave my speeches about getting A’s and not making excuses and that fun is not just a word that describes parties.

And then I had my culinary class. And to me, fun is a word that describes cooking.

Culinary 1 is not actually just a cooking class, but is about the food industry, nutrition, and a whole slew of things that have very little to do with cooking. Certain other factors involving practicality, location, time, and money reduce that even further.

Despite this, I’m planning on making it as real as possible, and I’ve already made a couple of promises. To show some good faith on my part (and requiring some show of responsibility on their part), I brought ingredients for smoothie making. I went through my cupboards and fridge and basically brought anything that could possibly be called good in a smoothie. Here were my thoughts:

1. It’s hard to make a bad smoothie. Possible, but harder.

2. Experimentation is easier and faster with a smoothie.

3. It requires almost no skill.

I had each group create a recipe with my list of ingredients, and then they were able to “test” it out in my blender. Mostly, they were just too watery. Somewhat edible.

I learned more from watching them make smoothies:

1. Most of them don’t know how to read or use measuring cups and generally have no concept of volume.

2. Most don’t know that vanilla and baking cocoa don’t contain sugar.

3. They don’t have much experience with taste.

After scanning their "favorite foods” and foods they hate from a questionnaire I gave them, I’m pretty sure my ideas about good food and theirs are a million miles apart.

For example, “Hot Pockets” is not something I would say if someone asked me what I knew how to cook.

As we were coming up with recipes and blending, I was surprised at how quiet everyone was. At my school we have quite a few big jokers. Classes are talkative and generally you have to keep a lid on things. Most teachers keep their mean faces for order’s sake. But in my room, today, they all acted like kids who were being allowed to help in the kitchen for the first time.

I guess that’s what was happening, but I didn’t realize that they were nervous about it.

I’ve got a plan in my head for Momofuku Ginger Scallion Noodles next week. Almost no cooking, knife skills, and simple recipe are the pros. Yet I’m worried that kids who are used to bottled spaghetti sauce are going to hate it.

Then I’ll lose all credibility as a person who knows about food.

Kids are definitely the worst critics, as you can see from Amaya’s face.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie (adapted from a student recipe)

A group of students actually did create this recipe, but I’ve made adjustments as the original had way too much peanut butter and milk. The cinnamon was an interesting touch, I thought.

• 2 bananas, frozen
• 1 Cup milk
• 1 vanilla pudding cup
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp honey
• dash of cinnamon (optional)

Blend together and serve. You may need more milk, depending on your blender and desired consistency.

Learning to Cook Again

Much like having a kid, Project food blog has been all about getting me out of my comfort zone.


Jake and I were married for 6 years before we had Amaya. We were practically living a hip bachelor's life. I remember when we lived in the city we would hop down to the corner ramen shop just because we felt like it. Or we would go to a movie that started at 9pm. We would even occasionally stay up late talking with friends.
Oh, we were so young.

We had the silly idea that this might continue when we had a kid. We thought babies just slept all the time and hardly cared about anything except loving you.

It's funny how something as simple as labor and 8 pound baby changes everything.

When I did start cooking again, much much much after having her, every baking project gave new meaning to the word "project". She refused to be left alone in her chair while I patiently sifted and mixed. She hollered to be picked up and played with when I just wanted to eat something that required a little saute-ing instead of microwaving. I spent many nights cooking with her strapped in the baby carrier. As she got older her hands got too close to the hot stoves and sharp knives.

We brought her to restaurants and left terrible impressions. I distinctly remember one difficult dinner which climaxed into a glass of spilled ice water all over the table and the floor. Her frustrated cries echoed through the dining area while we argued whether or not we should get dessert (I'll give you one guess as to who thought we should).

Now she's much easier at restaurants. Mostly. And we're a little wiser. But she's still just as wiggly and whiny while I cook. She's like me; the smells and sounds of cooking make her think she needs to eat. Now. Unfortunately, her mother is the slowest cook in the world. So she starts opening the fridge, rummaging through the cupboards, asking me for candy. The only way to keep her quiet is to let her in to my place of peace: the kitchen.

I generally don't like cooking with anyone unless it's just about me helping them. If I'm in charge, I hate thinking of things for them to do. My brain is running through the processes and splitting it up with someone who isn't just completely in sync with my thought pretty much ruins the whole experience for me. Jake and I can work side by side when we're making a meal we know all the parts to by heart. My mom and I found a syncopated rhythm when she was here last. But generally, it's so hard for me to turn a cooking process into a conversation rather than a monologue. And when I'm cooking with my daughter, that's exactly what I have to do. Even worse, I have to monitor what she is doing, because she's good at finding a way to mess up my vision of food.
But that's what having a kid is all about. Including them in your space even though they mess it up a little. And then you figure out that the little bit of inconvenience is much more interesting.



When I'm old and she's still young, we'll be cooking Momofuku dishes side by side, and I'll probably talk about these days like it was a new discovery for both of us. I probably won't remember that I scolded her for eating the baking powder. I'll probably think we loved every minute of it.

The one thing I'll remember that I know will be true, is that she learned how to cook from me.


Superfood Smoothie
If you’re familiar with Odwalla Superfood, that’s what this tastes like. Exactly. Clean, pillowy thick, and unidentifiably fruity. I think the strongest fruit is mango once you know it’s in there. I’ve substituted nectarines and plums for peaches with the same result. We experimented and made it into popsicles. Yes! Who doesn’t like a green popsicle?

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 peach, sliced and frozen
• 1 Cup mango puree (frozen is better)
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 tsp Spirulina

Blend up all the fruit first, then add the Spirulina (while running the blender). Blend more, and serve. If you have to add juice, I would say apple juice. Just a touch. (This is unnecessary if you have the super cool blender that your mother-in-law left you when she moved, you lucky dog.)

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