My first Lulemon outfit! I was so excited I couldn’t wait to try it on.  Along with this outfit the Hubz picked out a bottle of wine (I’ve wanted to try forever) and my favorite trashy magazine.

I tried the outfit on and it fit great so the Hubz and I headed downtown to Lulemon (which I only learned that we even had one on Friday-so out of the loop) to go to a free yoga class.  So excited about free yoga classes on Saturday mornings at Lulemon!

The Hubz and I went to our first yoga class in months and it felt so great to be back on my mat with other people practicing all around me.  It is such a different feeling to practice with others then to just practice at home.  I honestly have no idea what type of yoga we were doing but it felt great, a little challenging at times but I got a good sweat on and left feeling relaxed (and hungry).

After yoga we stopped over at the co-op to pick up some lunch and sat outside and enjoyed our food in the warm weather.  After lunch we ran around and did some errands before having guests over for dinner.

Lunch of Sushi

And Salad

The Hubz and I shared the grilled veggie sandwich (sundried tomato pesto is vegan!), a Gus soda and a bag of Zapp’s Spicy Cajun Crawtators chips. Everything was delicious!

After our bite to eat we went for a walk to kill some time before our spa appointment.

Finally it was time to enjoy our spa treatment! Since there were no cameras or cellphones allowed I didn’t get any shots but let me tell you it was amazing! Here are some photos from the Jivana website:

Entrance

Entry and Massage Room

The Sugar Scrub Table

After the amazing Balinese massage I had a sugar scrub and left the spa feeling refreshed, renewed and so relaxed.  I decided to go with the lemongrass massage oil and body scrub and it really did smell wonderful.

After our spa appointment it was getting pretty late so we decided to go out for some yummy Asian Food.  We got the avocado roll to share and then I got a big bowl of tom kar soup with tofu, veggies and udon noodles. The Hubz got this great dish which was almost like a deconstructed sushi roll both amazing and ridiculously filling.

Q: What are you treating yourself to this year?

We headed towards Adamant VT because the Hubz has had this odd obsession with it here are a few facts about this village (via wikipedia):

• There is no true boundary to define the village, and as such there is great debate as to what constitutes residence. This is, however, purely theoretical as there is no legal, governmental or commercial status associated with residence.
• The village was originally known as Sodom from its inception in the mid-1800s as a granite quarry-town until 1905 when residents petitioned the state legislature for a name change.
• The village center is the Adamant Co-op, a general store and post office located at the junction of Haggett, Quarry, Center and Sodom Pond Roads. Founded in 1935, it is the state’s oldest co-operative.

The thing that interested the Hubz so much was the co-operative so we took a drive through back roads to this small, very pretty village and visited the co-op. Adamant’s mascot is the black fly so it is fitting that there was a huge sculpture of a black fly outside of the co-op/general store/post office.

After our stop in Adamant we headed down a back road to ….well we had no idea where…but we finally met up with a main road and stopped in Morrisville where we enjoyed our picnic lunch.

For our picnic lunch we enjoyed falafel chips with hummus, orzo salad and raw kale salad.

Q: What is your favorite dish to bring on a picnic?

However before we headed home we:

The boys fired up the camping stove and we had some yummy eats

veggie burgers and sweet potatoes

Then we took a drive to the Waitsfield Farmers Market where Neil and I enjoyed some black bean tamales that I unfortunately didn’t get a shot of.  We took a drive up to the top of Stark Mountain where we proceeded to take a ton of photos.

Then after hitting up On The Rise for a vegan roll up we went on a hike back at the campground.

Following our almost 7.2K hike we relaxed at the beach and caught up on some trashy mag reading.  Then it was time for dinner before the rain.

NO those are not mine or my hubby's cigarettes in the photo above

We enjoyed some brews while we cooked up some food; I heart Magic Hat and Wacko is a great summer beer.

Dinner was yummy lentil sweet potato tacos both soft and hard.

After dinner we roasted up some vegan marshmallows and topped the chocolate agave cupcakes that I made Emma for an early birthday “cake”.

Luckily we got our marshmallow roasting done early because then the thunder rolled in and the air grew thick and we decided to make a mad dash to get the entire camp picked up and go to our house….where it was sunny.

Now onto the giveaway: Earthlust sent me one of their stainless steel water bottles and guess what the sent me an extra one just for one of you lucky readers. EarthLust bottles are hand made from high quality #304 (18/8) food grade stainless steel, which is naturally safe unlined. They use non-toxic paints and BPA-free safe polypropylene #5 caps. I received one of the 13oz bottles and it is the perfect size to take every where with me.  I am thinking about investing in a 1L bottle for trips and such but the smaller bottle is great for everyday use.  I also love that they are unlined, unlike Sigg bottles which have a weird lining and make your water taste funny. Additionally, their bottles have some really great designs. So now it’s your chance to win this bottle (see below) isn’t it so cute?

How to Enter: Please leave individual comments for each entry. Entries will be accepted until April 17th at 8am.

1. Visit the Earthlust website and tell which bottle is your favorite. (Leave me a comment)
2. Follow me on Twitter (Leave me a comment)
3. Tweet about this giveaway (Leave me a comment)
4. Become a fan on Facebook (Leave me a comment)
5. Follow my blog in a reader (Leave me a comment)
6. Blog about this giveaway (Leave me a comment)

One feature I love about this product is how I can say everything that is on the package and how Tandoor Chef uses all natural ingredients so you can eat yummy food with out the gross additives.

Here is our yummy breakfast

The ‘rents and G-Ma finally showed up and we headed out to Morse Farms to see some sugaring and taste their maple syrup.  Unfortunately they hadn’t really started cooking the syrup when we arrived so we took a few fun pictures and headed into the store to taste the various syrups.  Before we left we went back to the sugar house to see the sap boiling.

Neil and his ol'buddy

Me and my G-Ma - LOVE HER!

After visiting Morse Farms we decided to stop for some lunch at Julio’s Cantina in Montpelier for summer yummy eats.  I got the veggie tacos which were filled with grilled mushrooms, onions, peppers, zucchini and summer squash and hubby got the veggie burger with his favorite fiesta fries.  After lunch we headed to Plainfield to visit another sugar house- Braggs.  This is my favorite of the two because it is smaller and I love their sugaring house. Neil and I went to get our yearly maple steam facials (haha) – it smells crazy good in the sugaring house and the steam is fun to bask in.

the 'rents- aren't they so cute? You can see the steam from the boiling sap in the back

I love mustard and I picked up a jar of this yummy Mustard today at Braggs

Once we got home Neil and I headed out to AT&T to pick up a cover for my work iPhone (per request of my boss) and I got a really fun dark pink one.  Then I cam home and had a great elliptical sesh and then a short power yoga sesh from yogadownload.com.  I had worked up a mini appetite after my workout so Neil and I shared a Jazz Apple sprinkled with a little cinnamon.  I decided that this was a perfect opportunity to try out my Biokleen Produce Wash which is great not only for washing produce but for cleaning your cutting boards.  I will be hosting a giveaway for this product soon! I really loved it  and to my surprise did not leave any residue on the apple.

Tonight we decided it was time to relax on the couch with a little bit of TLC’s Hoarding which my nice daddy recorded for us since we don’t have cable.  That show is crazy I couldn’t imagine living like that! We sipped on some new spring beer that I found at the Co-op Anchor Steam Brewing’s Bock Beer.  This beer was so tasty I think a new favorite.  We also decided to make dinner easy and had some more Tandoor Chef this time Pakora’s and Dal Rajastani.  They both were tasty however the pakoras were a bit dry for us.  Overall yummy though!

Question:  What did you do this weekened? Oh and what is your favorite cheater meal?

After work hubby and I decided to stop and get a beer to celebrate my successful first day of work.  Since it was dinner time we decided to go out (again) for dinner.  I don’t know what is up with us we never go out to eat this much, usually only once every 10 or so days but this week we have been bad about it- I blame the awkward days, poor planning and no real grocery shopping.  However this week will be filled with lots of home cooked meals as I went to the market yesterday and picked up lots of yummy produce.  Anyways we stopped at The Alchemist but it was packed and there was a 45 minute wait for a table so we left and walked next door to The Reservoir where we had some yummy beers, a huge plate of hummus, salad and grilled bread and a housemade tofu/bean burger YUM!

I was pretty tired out after my first day back in the working world so we spent the rest of the night home hanging out on the couch watching a little L&O.  Since we ate dinner so early we were hungry later on in the evening and decided to munch on some Veggie Medley Straws that I was sent to sample from The Mediterranean Snack Food Co. and they were super yummy! I also had another Inko’s White Tea this time Original.

Now I need to get myself in the kitchen and make breakfast and do some dishes before G-Ma and the ‘rents get here so we can go and see all the open sugar houses. Each year on this weekend the Vermont sugar houses are open for the public to come and visit and try their maple syrup and have sugar on snow with a pickle (to cut the sweetness) and a cider donut. It’s a been a tradition with my family to go and visit the sugar houses however since I haven’t been home for many Springs we haven’t all been out together. Neil and I went last year to the sugar house near our house but it was pouring and cold booo!

Last year wet and cold at Morse Farms

Hubby With his New Friend at Morse Farms 2009

Is there a family tradition that you do each Spring?

View from Half Way to the Top

At the top of the hill we always share a coconut water and then make our way through the wooded paths at Hubbard Park and down the otherside. When we arrived home we were hungry and ready to make our Breakfast Challenge #3 which was oatmeal. Now as most of you know this is my go to food so I was really excited about it. In our oatmeal went:

Serves 2: 1 cup multigrain oatmeal, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 3/4 cup water, 1T flax meal, 1T chia seeds and on top of each: 1 packet of stevia, 1/2 sliced banana and 1/2T sunbutter

Oh! and a big dash of cinnamon while it is cooking!

We then headed out to spend the day with the ‘rents and G-Ma as well as have lunch. We headed out on a ride on the back roads of Vermont (a favorite past time of my parents) in hopes of having lunch at Bailey and Burke’s in East Burke.  When we finally arrived to East Burke we came to find that restaurant was closed.  Across the street was River Garden Cafe which according to the menu had a veggie burger and black bean chili so we decided since at this point it was almost 1pm we would try it out.  To our disappointment the veggie burger was made in house and included eggs BOO! So hubby and I decided to go with the fruit cup to share and each ordered a bowl of the chili without the cheese and sour cream.  The fruit cup was okay nothing special for $5.  The chili came and I was so hungry I couldn’t wait to dive in but after a few bites I decided it was just not good enough to eat and hubby felt the same way.  I’m not often one to just not eat what I ordered at a restaurant especially when I’m going to have to pay for it and in this case we both were really hungry but it was just awful.  As my hubby would describe it “it taste like crushed tomatoes with 5 or 6 black beans”  this “hearty” black bean chili was awful so we went without.

Being in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont it’s hard to find much in the way of vegan eats so we decided to hold off and we ended up stopping at the Buffalo Mountain Co-op in Hardwick and found some really interesting kombu and wakame seaweeds from Maine as well as a package of vegan teriyaki jerky that we snacked on.  After returning to our car at 4:15pm we decided it was time to get on the road home and find something to eat.  We had decided to stop into our old favorite The Bee’s Knees in Morrisville but when we arrived and took a look at their menu for the day we noticed that their prices had gone up- $13 for a veggie burger! We decided that it wasn’t worth spending that much so we headed on our way and decided to stop in Waterbury at Ocha the thai restaurant.  Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of our food as we basically inhaled it as it came out since all we had eaten since our oatmeal at 8:30am was a small fruit bowl and package of vegan jerky.  However it was delicious we got fresh rolls, vegan pad kee mao and vegan tofu and broccoli with black pepper garlic sauce.

At least on our adventures through backwoods VT we got to stop into this ridiculously entertaining trading post which also serves as the:

JUST KIDDING!

Question: Have you ever not liked your meal so much that you just didn’t eat it while out at a restaurant? Did the restaurant still make you pay for it? That’s the one thing that bothered me – I know that we ordered it and you take the chance of not liking something but we had like 4-5 bites of our food and then told the waitress we didn’t like it and to take it away.  She still had us pay for it and the only thing she said was “oh well I guess it’s not your cup of tea.”

After spending awhile looking over the menu hubz and I finally decided on what we would order. I ordered the Sproutada:

Sproutada: toasted corn tortilla with brown rice, black turtle beans, chili sauce, soy mozzarella, topped with tahini dressed greens, snowpea sprouts, shredded carrots, fresh avocado and homemade salsa

and the Hubz ordered the Flavors of Mint Special:

Flavors of Mint Daily Special: roasted tempeh and asparagus over citrus braised greens and a peanut dipping sauce (their description was a little better but I forget what is actually said)

The food was delicious! Although the prices were slightly high you are paying for what you get which is not only delicious organic & local whole foods but a great experience. I also must say that although the plates looked small the food was filling and we left satisfied with our meal. We can’t wait to go back!

Also don’t forget to enter the Bodum French Press giveaway that ends March 5, 2010 at 8am.

A great alternative to mashed potatoes is mashed white beans they are creamy and delicious and you can put your own spin on them.  Last night I had leftover Tofutti so I added it to my recipe.

• 2 cans Cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
• 8-10 oil packed sundried tomatoes, chopped small
• 5 scallions, chopped small 
• 3T vegan cream cheese 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1t garlic powder

Add all ingredients to a pan over medium heat and mash with a potato masher.  Mix everything together and then heat until warmed. Enjoy!

If you want to check out  our yummy dining at A Single Pebble and Coffee Corner as well as what else we ate the past few days visit Eat. Live. Be Healthy. 

Don’t forget you have until 1/31/10 at 8am to enter to win Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil.

I have to say though I have created some great meals this week.  My husband commented on the fact that they were fun and different than we usually have and actually have tasted great. I’ll leave you with some of the items I made this week:

Southwest Grits - Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup 5 minute grits
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 t each of  garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and paprika
• 1 t cumin
• 1/4 t chipotle chili powder
• 1/4 cup frozen corn
• 3 green onions thinly sliced

Directions:

• In a bowl mix together grits, nutritional yeast and spices.
• Bring water to a boil, while stirring slowly stream in the grits mixture.  
• Turn the heat down to low and let cook this should take about 5-7 minutes, make sure to stir frequently.
• Once the grits are almost done add in the corn and green onions.
• To serve place grits in a bowl and garnish with green onion, corn and your favorite hot sauce.

Creamy Butternut Squash Penne - Serves 1

For dinner last night I took the bus into Burlington to meet my hubby after work for a date night.  We went to American Flatbread which is delicious.  I love their menu because it is simple – all they have are 10 signature flatbreads, create your own flatbread and a salad; however their beer menu is extensive – I’d say close to 100 different varieties as well as house made ones. 

Hubby had the Wolaver's Coffee Porter and I had Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde

We shared 2 small flatbreads- This one is Revolution Flatbread- housemade tomato sauce, caramelized onions, mushrooms and herbs

Our 2nd flatbread was the Roasted Tomato Salsa- house made salsa (wood fired tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, cilantro), corn and black beans

Let me tell you this was amazing food. The nachos were perfect they were sooo fresh and good! The chicken sandwich yum yum yum, their mock chicken is the best I have ever had. The mac and cheese really good too (my hubby and I would have liked some ketchup for it or hot sauce but it was good anyways). Lastly the super star of this dinner was the soul food plate which consisted of fried chik’n with ranch dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn bread; all of this was incredible the chik’n so good, the cornbread was sweet and yummy and the potatoes soo good the only thing that was meh where the green beans but that can easily be overlooked.

On sunday Neil got the Sweet chili burger with coconut bacon and i got the cobb salad. Both were really good. The coconut bacon which everyone was raving about was good however I felt that the coconut flavor was slightly over powering in my salad, it was great on the burger though.

Over all this restuarant is amazing and anyone who comes to Burlington….or VT in general should make a special trip here.

I had:
whipped ginger sweet potatoes- these were actually pretty good a little too gingery but good
brown rice- very over cooked
tofu stew- now this was really good their stews usually are
tempeh nugget- this was not good it was deep fried tempeh is some sort of black sesame seed crust and it was dry and boring
vegetable Indian lentils- these were okay the flavor was decent but they were super gummy they either needed to be less gummy or more soupy
chickpea curry- this was pretty good
salad with tofu dill dressing- I have to say I love this dressing
Artichoke heart salad- this is really good and creamy
Marinated Mushrooms- these were pretty good

for dessert we split:
a carob almond cup- kinda like a PB cup ….not made on site
a cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookie- this was alright it was kinda crunchy, I like my oatmeal raisin cookies chewy

Overall: 3.7/5
Service: counter service
Food Quality:2.5/5
Atmosphere:4/5
Vegan Options:4.7 (there is sushi)

Times Visited: 5

From the sounds of it you’d think I’d like it more…but it is just nothing special and super pricey.

Stone Soup
College St
Burlington, Vermont
This vegan friendly counter service restaurant has a great, always fresh salad bar, a number of veg*n friendly hot and cold sandwiches and fresh vegan baked goods! I love the vegan macaroons and the Vegan club sandwich!

Bee’s Knees
Morrisville, Vermont

http://www.thebeesknees-vt.com/

The Bee’s Knees is a small, locally run cafe in Morrisville, Vermont with a really welcoming, community oriented feel to it. They often have many different veg*n dishes including great salads and sandwiches. My favourites are the mock pulled pork (mushrooms and eggplant i believe) and the tofu breakfast sandwiches (I love being able to get vegan breakfast that consists of more than just homefries). The menu indicates which options are vegan friendly and which can be made vegan friendly on request. They have local music acts playing there fairly regularly as well.

A Single Pebble

http://www.asinglepebble.com/intro.htm

Classical Chinese cuisine in downtown Burlington. Offers many traditional Chinese dishes including many veg*n options including my favourites mock eel (made from mushrooms) and the Buddha’s Beef (made from seitan).

Ocha/Royal Orchid
Waterbury/Montpelier, Vermont
These two Thai restaurants are owned by the same family. Both restaurants seem to have very similar menus with slight variations between the two. They have many veg*n dishes and are willing to make changes to other dishes to accommodate veg*n customers as well. The menu is split into curries, noodle dishes, rice dishes and vegetable/stir fry dishes with your choice of tofu or meat. We usually start off our meal with the fresh rolls which is a soft rice paper roll with tofu, rice noodles and just a taste of mint with a nice light sweet and sour sauce for dipping. It’s a nice light and fresh start to the meal. The entrees we have had are the pad ki mao (my personal favourite, a wide rice noodle dish with thai basil and chilli), brocolli and tofu in a nice creamy peanut sauce, penang and massuman curries (personal favourites at home when my parnter cooks them and both very well done by the restaurants) and the pad thai (with no fish sauce or eggs). The pad thai is closer to a traditional pad thai than what people in New Brunswick knew as pad thai (spicy peanut sauce with rice noodles). While the Waterbury location seems to be a bit pricier, it also has a nicer atmosphere than the Montpelier location and I typically find the food to be a little better. Entrees are typically in the $10 range while the appetizers are in the $3 to $5 range.

Pacific Rim
Burlington, Vt
Pacific Rim is one of my favourite spots to eat when we’re in Burlington. It is a mainly Korean Asian restaurant in downtown Burlington. There is a good selection of salads/appetizers and main courses that are veg*n friendly. The food is fresh, flavourful and very affordable. They also have a good drink menu with asian takes on popular drinks and lots of ginger! It’s a very informal seat yourself sort of atmosphere with fairly decent service considering how busy things can get there.

Magnolia Bistro
Burlington, Vermont
Hidden away in downtown Burlington is Vermont’s only truly green restaurant, Magnolia Bistro. Magnolia focuses on eco-friendly, fair trade, local and organic foods and offers a twist on regular breakfast and lunch fare. They have many veg*n friendly options and the menu indicates what is vegan or can be adapted to be vegan. Some of the veg*n options you can order vegan french toast, substitute eggs for tofu in breakfast dishes or if you’re not in a breakfast mood go for a garbanzo burger. The food is fresh tasting, well seasoned and fairly affordable considering the quality of ingredients used.

Time to wrap up this entry as my bus home is due to arrive any moment. Hope that some of you can elaborate more on veg*n friendly places to eat in and around Vermont or even provide more insight on the places I’ve decided to mention!

Neil

Menu Options

small plates:

Vegetable Red Oil Dumplings

Six house made steamed dumplings filled with spinach, shiitake mushrooms, & seasoned bean curd, topped with red oil sauce.
8.25

Potsticker Style Dumplings

Five traditional hand formed dumplings served with a ginger vinegar sauce.
V

Cha Tzu Style Eggplant

Japanese eggplant dipped in tempura batter with a ginger hoisin sauce.
8.75egetable 5.95

Mock Eel

Braised shiitake mushrooms in a ginger sauce. a delightful, crispy flavor and texture.
8.95 (my favorite item)

Double Garlic Broccoli

Wok-fried Broccli in House Garlic sauce with cashew nuts.
9.25

Noodles and Rice

Cold Sesame Noodle

Lo mein style noodles with famous house sesame sauce.
Classic 7.95

Chow Fun Noodle

Fresh wide rice noodle.
Vegetable 16.95

Fried Rice

An exceptional version of the traditional dish.
Vegetable 8.75

Beijing Street Noodle

Wheat noodles tossed with fresh garlic, chinkiang vinegar, & soy. everyday chinese cuisine.
7.95

Capital Vegetable Noodle

Fresh and seasoned pressed tofu with diced chinese vegetables in a peking sauce over lo mein.
11.25

Copper Well Noodle

A very flavorful garlic, sesame seed, & chili sauce topping a lo mein style noodle.
7.95

Lo Mein Hong Kong Style

The ingredients in Hong Kong lo mein are layered rather than wok tossed. Traditional lo mein.
Crispy bean curd 14.25

Lo Mein

Mushroom 10.95

Vegetable Dishes:

Salt & Pepper Tofu Wok seared batons of tofu, tossed with red chili peppers, scallions, ginger, & garlic. 15.25

Many Mushroom Tofu Crispy tofu with straw, shiitake, & fresh mushrooms with chinese vegetables in a black bean sauce. 15.25

Orange Taste Bean Cake Crispy bean cake, chinese greens, & vegetables with orange peel in a pungent garlic sauce. 15.25

Buddha’s Sesame Beef Crispy seitan served with mixed vegetables in a sesame garlic sauce. A house favorite. 15.95

General Chou’s Mock Chicken Seitan showered in a red chili sauce, framed with broccoli crowns. 15.25

Sweet & Pungent Walnuts Battered walnuts, red peppers, onions, & bean cake glazed in a sweet and pungent sauce. 13.25

Double Garlic Eggplant Tender japanese eggplant braised with a special garlic sauce. 9.25

Chinese Greens Quick poached choys, then wok tossed to retain crispness and flavor. 7.75

Chinese Broccoli Poached with shiitake mushroom sauce. seasonal availability and price.

Yu Choy A very flavorful bright green chinese vegetable that complements all single pebble dishes. 10.25/td>

Hearts of Baby Bok Choy Served with braised shiitake mushroom. 9.25

C

Fresh Nappa A cri spy cabbage tossed in a cilantro & rice wine vinegar dressing. 6.95

Sichuan Spicy Cucumber showered with a garlic, chili, & rice vinegar dressing. 6.95

amazin food try it!