From time to time, I get this NEED to bake. It’s like a primal urge – and there’s really no stopping me. Deep down, there’s just something so satisfying about mushing things around in a bowl, putting them in an oven, then magically pulling out a tray of fragrant warm delicious comfort in less than an hour. Especially with the cool turn of fall nipping at our heels, I’ve got to admit: I’m looking at you, oven.

One thing I’m not so into, however, is comprising excellent energy, health, and the fit of my favorite jeans simply for the sake of being compliant to my flavor-fueled urges. So I cheat. I use a medley of tricks and sneaky substitutions to make my baked recipes something that are… dare I say… beneficial. One of my favorite baking facelifts is to replace eggs with “superseeds” like flax or chia, which are full of omega fats, fiber, protein and minerals. I swear: your muffins don’t know the difference.

The egg replacement formula:

2 Eggs = 1/3 cup water + 2 Tbsp ground flax seed powder or chia seed powder
Simply combine the water and the seeds, and wait for 15 minutes to form a thick gel.

Wanna see how it works? I made this little video with Navitas Naturals, my superfood company crush, who offers an organic sprouted flaxseed powder and sprouted chia seed powder.  Of course, using a coffee grinder to mill whole flaxseed or chia into a fine powder will work just as well.

Green Mango Dessert Smoothie

Is it a smoothie or is it a dessert? The Vega Sport Protein Powder with its 20 grams of protein, high quality ingredients, and a smooth viscosity pretty much rocks in this recipe, but another vanilla hemp or rice protein will work too. You can increase protein powder to two servings and add a little extra water for a more traditional smoothie result and less of a dessert.

2 heaping cups frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup hemp milk
1/2 cup water
1 scoop vanilla flavored Vega Sport Protein Powder
touch of white stevia, to taste (optional)
2 Tbsp shredded coconut (optional)

Blend mangos, hemp milk, water, and protein powder together in a blender until completely smooth. If desired, boost sweetness with a touch of stevia, to taste, and blend again. Serve in a bowl and top with shredded coconut. Serves 2.

Healthy benefits: High protein, low sugar, gluten-free, fiber, chlorophyll

Yet there’s something about this blend, with its thick frosty creamy mangos and sweetly inviting flavor that makes it more than “just a smoothie.” I make it a little extra thick, throw it into a bowl, and eat it with a spoon as a quasi-sherbet-like dessert. So is it a smoothie? Is it dessert? Unnecessarily complicated semantic questions like this demand unpronounceable answers, don’t you agree? Therefore, I think this treat is best summed up as a smoossert.

By the way, I’m kinda in love with Vega’s new Sport Protein Powder — 20 grams of protein, high quality ingredients, and a smooth viscosity when mixed up into drinks. Another hemp or rice-based vanilla protein powder would probably do the trick here too, but the Vega blend pretty much rocks.

Green Mango Dessert Smoothie

You can increase protein powder to two servings and add a little extra water for a more traditional smoothie result and less of a dessert.

2 heaping cups frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup hemp milk
1/2 cup water
1 scoop vanilla flavored Vega Sport Protein Powder
touch of white stevia, to taste (optional)
2 Tbsp shredded coconut (optional)

Blend mangos, hemp milk, water, and protein powder together in a blender until completely smooth. If desired, boost sweetness with a touch of stevia, to taste, and blend again. Serve in a bowl and top with shredded coconut. Serves 2.

I follow the rules of natural food. Does it grow out of the ground? Has it been used for a long time? Does it taste good? “Miracles” aside, does it have genuine health benefits? In the case of many potent superfoods, the answer is a simple, exciting, delicious yes. Which means, in my mind, let the party with the ancient gatherer foodies of Amazonian tribes, 6th century Chinese monks, and Mayan astrologers begin.

Recently, I shot a few informational videos for Navitas Naturals to talk about the benefits of a few of their superfood products. The videos turned out pretty fun, and are a great 101 on how to use these “new” foods. Here’s one on goji berries.

There’s something weirdly curious about peering into the diets of other people. As if finding out some deep, intimate secret, it seems as though we are physiologically predisposed to participating in a kind of dietary voyeurism.

The interest, actually, is everywhere. Like the rock star opening up her fridge on an episode of Cribs.  Or Michael Phelps’ daily 5-digit diet making international headlines. Or Obama’s feeding habits which adorned the news during his campaign . . . like seriously, EVERY night. Even just some random “food diary” blog entry – I know you’ve looked. I seriously doubt the same level of interest would have come from documenting, say, what type of toothpaste any of these people use.

Time Magazine’s “What The World Eats” caters to this curiosity. The photojournalistic selection is from the book “Hungry Planet”: a study of families from around the world, revealing what people eat during the course of one week. Each page is a fascinating portrait of a family posing next to their entire weekly food consumption sprawled out before them. Also included is their country of origin, weekly monetary expenditure, and a favorite meal or family recipe.

Sneaking a look at another family’s diet AND peering into another culture’s habits? I’m so in. There’s the Italian family: almost cliché with the piles of breads and pasta; or the African family whose simple bags of rice make an American grocery store seem like a different planet. And then there’s the family from North Carolina who’s processed pile of crap will, if you’re like me, embarrass you as an American whether your diet resembles theirs or not.

Don’t be afraid: I’m keeping my high horse tied up for this one. But I can’t help but be aware of the morbid contrast. We live in a country with a subsidized food system, an average budget far greater than most places in the world, and have the ability to get just about any type of food (at any season of the year, and from any part of the world) that we could possibly want. At the same time, the average American table is so littered with bright logos, crinkly bags, and waxy packaging that it barely looks like food at all.

It’s fun to look at what other people are eating, but I believe this honest series of photos serves as a perfect opportunity reflect upon our own choices. Many of us are trying to live and eat more consciously, more naturally, more locally, and more green. In the eyes of a camera, what would your diet look like?