Now you don’t need an expensive espresso machine to make your own espresso all you need is your favorite espresso blend or dark roast coffee and a stovetop espresso maker.  I got mine at Winners (Canadian version of TJMaxx or Marshalls)  for only $15 or you can get it directly from Bialetti (or if you wait until August 10th you can buy it in my OpenSky store) and it is so easy to use.  You fill the base with water then place the insert in and fill with coffee; screw on the top and place it on your burner and when the top fills it’s ready! So easy right?

At this point you can make yourself an Americano, drink as espresso or create a hot/cold latte.  I love to make lattes with mine and the best part I can add as much or as little non-dairy milk as I want and I can control the calories.  I love to use unsweetened almond milk which only has 40 calories per cup. A tall soy latte at Starbucks is 130 calories versus the 30 calorie latte I can make at home- so why drink my calories and spend $4 on a latte when I can have it at home for $1 or less and only 30 calories? No Brainer!

Now if you want even better espresso and would like to spend a little bit more money you can get a Mypressi Twist which you can hear more about on Tina’s OpenSky.

Source

I can’t wait to go to the Farm Sanctuary and visit our turkey that we adopted last fall! Isn’t Rhonda cute?

Source

Now decisions, decisions where will we eat? And which of the vegan wineries should we visit? and what else should we do! If you have ideas I’d love to hear them!

Q: What did/are you doing for your birthday?

I can finally officially announce that I have partnered up with OpenSky to open my very own store! Now all of the products that you see on my blog can finally all be found in one place. My store will be filled with products that I love and use regularly and recommend that you try out yourself.

So let me tell you a little more about OpenSky:

Ayala’s Herbal Water-

Blendtec- ultimate blender

Bodum French Press

Fiesta® Dining Pieces- which you can see all over my blog in different colors (like the mug above or the plate below)

Chia Seeds- my new love

Now these of course are just a few of the items that you will see in my store which opens on August 10, 2010!

I will keep working on adding more items and stay tuned for promos and other specials that I will be working with the great team at OpenSky to bring you.  Also if there are any times that you would like to see in my store let me know and I’ll see what I can do! I want bring back the authenticity and relationship to shopping by providing you with quality products that I know you’ll love just as much as I do!

• Cucumber Salad with Peanuts & Chili
• Thai Summer Rolls
• Tempeh Lettuce Wraps with Mango Ginger Sauce
• Pad Thai

All of these recipes are from:

School Update:
My program at IIN is going really well and soon we will receive our Certificate to See Clients, which is really exciting. This certificate signifies that I have been approved by the school to start seeing clients. Now until that time I am practicing health histories which is the first step in the starting the process of working together. The health history is always free and if you are interested in having one or would like to learn more please contact me at lindsay@cookingforaveganlover.com

About and hour in I got antsy and decided that I would try out the new Couch to 5K iPhone App that I had purchased last night.  The Hubz decided he would go swimming and we headed out to the bike path which is conveniently behind our place and right on the lake *swoon*.

So I successfully completed day 1 of C25K and I LOVE IT!  I think that this is one of the best app’s that I have ever purchased never mind that it’s the only app I have ever purchased. Three things that I love about it are:

• You can add play list right to the music section of the app and they start when you start the workout.
• Before each interval starts there are 3 beeps and then it tells you to run/walk so you never have to look at the screen to see what you need to do next.
• When you reach the half way point it lets you know so that you can either turn around like I had to or just so you have a reference point to how long you have been going.

This program is really great for me because I was running and then for various reasons you can go back to read about I just drifted away from running.  I signed up for a run in September and I am so excited to do it and use this app for my training.  The Hubz has even decided that he would like to try it after he met up with me after swimming and saw/heard how enthusiastic I was about it.

All the running and extra speed walking I did worked up an appetite and so we came home and made yummy wraps and had coconut water and Brad’s Raw Chips-sweet potato.  The wraps had sauteed portobello, avocado, spinach, green onions and a little hot sauce in them, and some cilantro in mine.

Hubby scrapped out the insides of the coconut and I will use it later to make some “chicken” burgers from Ani Phyo’s new recipe book.  Now it’s back to the work station to get down to business.  Then we are off to  run errands and to the movies with my GF to see Inception!

I also tried out some new products before I headed to work that Auromere sent me to sample.  I have been on the look for a new natural toothpaste and was delighted to find a tube and a few sample sizes in my package.  The toothpaste is licorice and although the flavor wasn’t my favorite for toothpaste I felt that it did a good job cleaning.

After a crazy day at work and staying 2 hours later than I had intended I came out and cooked- the only thing that chills me out after a busy day. I decided to make some skinny pizzas on these new flatbreads that I found at the market yesterday. I topped them with a tablespoon of spicy peanut hummus, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed napa cabbage, sauteed zucchini and onions and a little thai basil. After baking if for a 10 minutes I topped it with a spicy hoisin drizzle and a mix of chopped green onions, cilantro and thai basil.

See that pretty beverage next to my skinny pizza it’s a wonderful skinny mojito- now when you read the recipe you might say mojito? right but where is the rum!?! Rum is just too sugary and besides we didn’t have any only a really nice bottle of vodka from our anniversary trip to Maine.

Skinny Mojito (makes 1 serving)

Ingredients:

• 12 mint leaves
• 1/2 lime, quartered
• 1T agave nectar
• 1.5oz vodka
• ice
• club soda

Directions:

Place mint and lime in the bottom of a cup and muddle together.  Top with the agave and then fill the cup to the top with us.  Pour over the vodka and then top with club soda.  Gently stir together and enjoy!

Hubz and I are now going to relax and catch up on NCIS: LA and enjoy a snack of grapes for me and crackers and hummus for hubby.

]]> http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/23/a-day-of-posts/feed/ 3 http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/22/afternoon-delight/ http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/22/afternoon-delight/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:09:43 +0000 cookingforaveganlover http://cookingforaveganlover.com/?p=3418 The Hubz and I had a busy unplanned afternoon and were in need of a little relaxation and a trip to the wine store and then out for a glass of wine and appetizer.  The wine shop downtown is great with a wonderful selection of wines and a very knowledgeable staff.  The husband purchased a bottle of wine for our anniversary there (which we have yet to drink) and the staff helped him then to find a vegan bottle.  I looked around for a bit for awhile and tried to figure out on my own what was vegan via barnivore but gave up and decided to just ask.  I was directed to a wonderful malbec which I will add to my wine collection and try at a later date. (I apologize for the iphone photos)

After purchasing wine we went out for a glass and appetizer at Three Tomatoes on Church Street.  It was a beautiful night so we sat outside. We ordered the Antipasto Verdure: grilled artichoke hearts, cippoline onion agrodolce, eggplant caponata, imported olives, fresh mozzarella (argodolce is a sweet and sour sauce).  This appetizer was so good and came with warm baguette and olive oil and garlic.  We sat and sipped our drinks, wine for me and beer for him, and caught up on the day.

Now it’s home and back to work we both go- yes a 9pm.  We will be working tonight but tomorrow night we are going out to a movie now what to see… Inception or Salt?

Since I didn’t blog this morning I also neglected to photograph my breakfast of Me & Goji cereal with banana and coffee. However I did get a photo of lunch which was simple and yet healthy and delicious: spinach salad with mushrooms, chickpeas and balsamic and of course my Earthlust bottle filled with water.

So as my blog title says ….I am having a bad hair year and I finally made an appointment to get my hair cut- you are probably saying yeah so, what does this have to do with healthy living or veganism?  Well it has everything to do with healthy living! By taking care of ourselves and doing things that make us feel great and present ourselves well is all part of a healthy lifestyle.  Now apperance is something that has taken a back seat for me in the past few years, and no it is not everything and I am not trying to be vain but it does make a difference.  Since I started my IIN holistic health counselor program I have been reminded that things like taking care of yourself are important and since I will be starting to see clients in the near future I think I should look the part.  That all being said I am having a hair crisis- I have no idea what to do! My hair is long and a mess and needs to be fixed so do you have any suggestions on new looks?

Q: How often do you get your hair cut? or do other things for yourself?

I also did Day 2 of Wii EA Sport Active More Workouts 6 week challenge after work yesterday.  I am loving it so far and there are great features that the original EA Active did not have such as being able to pick your level of difficulty- beginner, intermediate or advanced.  I went with intermediate and it is kicking my butt!  I also love how there is a warm up and cool down that was not really part of the original.  Today is my “rest” day for the program however I am going to make time for a different workout possibly yoga?  We still haven’t located the plug for the elliptical so that is out until we do or maybe I will utilize the bike path that runs behind our place, oh the possibilities! What will you do to be active today?

Source

After a late night I still managed to get up at 5:40 only 10 minutes after my alarm and got right down to business.  I made coffee and got a box unpacked in the kitchen while I waited for it to brew.  Then it was time to finish my David Wolfe module for IIN….still not sure how I felt about it.  What are your feelings on David Wolfe? Have you ever heard/seen him speak? While I worked the Hubz got breakfast together yummy cantaloupe and cereal with goji berries and cranberries!

Now I am off to cross things off my list:

• Coffee
• Breakfast
• David Wolfe Module
• Blog Post
• Work
• Healthy Living
• Hannafords
• Asian Market
• Workout
• Dinner
• Module 9
• Bed with a Book and if I can fit it in another blog post.

What’s on your agenda today?

• 1 large onion, diced
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1/2T oil
• 2-3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup yellow split peas
• 1/2t paprika
• 1t cumin
• 1t granulated garlic
• 1t Italian seasoning
• 1/2t chipotle chili powder or hot chili powder
• dash of cayenne
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup mild salsa or crushed tomatoes
• 2T nutritional yeast
• 2T fine cornmeal (not polenta or grits)
• 1T tomato paste or tomato ketchup

In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat the oil and then add in the onions and peppers and sautee for 5-7 minutes until softened and getting a little color.  Add in the paprika, cumin, garlic, Italian seasoning, cayenne and chipotle chili powder and stir to coat.  Stir in the first two cups vegetable broth, tomatoes and split peas and bring to a boil; turn down and let simmer for 25-30 minutes until the split peas have started to soften some. Add additional broth if the split pea mixture begins to look dry.  Sprinkle over the nutritional yeast and cornmeal and stir in to thicken the dish; the split pea mixture should come together well if it still seems too wet to put on a bun you can add more cornmeal.  Serve on buns, bread, over rice or pasta!

I was craving sloppy joes tonight and thought I had lentils to make them with but I couldn’t find them (we still are unpacking) so I decided to try something new Spicy Sloppy Split Peas! I put the sloppy split peas on a bun with dijon mustard and baby spinach and had sauteed purple cabbage and baked sweet potatoes on the side.

Tonight I plan on getting some school work done as well as attempting to do a little more unpacking so we can get all settled in.  However first I will enjoy one of my new yummy raw cookies.

Raw Almond Super Food Cookies

Makes 12-15 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw almond butter
• 2T agave nectar
• 1/2t cinnamon
• 2T cacao nibs
• 2T goji berries
• 1/4 cup shredded dried coconut
• 2T chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Mix the almond butter and agave nectar together.  Stir in remaining ingredients; the batter should hold together if it doesn’t add more coconut.  Scoop out tablespoon size cookies and place on a wax paper lined sheet pan.  Cover the cookies and place in the fridge.  These do well for 5-7 days in the fridge however you can freeze them and take them out shortly before you want to enjoy.

Ariel decided she wanted to try it as well

This morning I attempted to get up and do my workout but it just wasn’t happening; my body wouldn’t cooperate.  So I enjoyed some more strawberry mousse, a raw cookie (recipe to come) and a mug of coffee.

Okay now lets get down to business I know you are all wondering what this giveaway is because who doesn’t love to try new AMAZING products? I know I do so I was delighted when I asked Seventh Generation if they would provided me with a variety of their eco-friendly cleaning products to review and giveaway and they agreed.  Now I might be biased because Seventh Generation is a Burlington based company but I really love their products.  I find that there are a number of eco-friendly cleaning products that are just okay and then there are some that are good but Seventh Generation is (so far anyways) the best that I have ever used.

I received the Healthy Home Starter Kit, which is also what Seventh Generation will be providing to the winner of this giveaway.  The kit includes:

Some items are missing as the Hubz put them away before I could photograph and I have yet to locate them...hmm that could be a problem!

• Disinfecting Multi-Surface
• Disinfecting Bathroom
• Disinfecting Wipes- 35 ct.
• All Purpose Cleaner
• Glass Cleaner
• Shower Cleaner
• Toilet Cleaner
• Tub&Tile
• Natural Paper Towels
• Seventh Gen Recylced Bag

I honestly love everything but my favorite have the been the disinfecting wipes and the Natural Paper Towels which I just purchased 3 more of because they were on sale at the co-op.  These products do a great job cleaning and I don’t have to worry about nasty chemicals that can harm my body or our fur babies.  Now I just tried a few of the many products that Seventh Gen has to offer so I would make sure to check out their site to see what products would be most useful for you.  Now to jump start this we are going to have a little giveaway fun to enter see instructions below.

The winner of the 7th Gen Giveaway is: Ashlei!

To enter giveaway (open to US residents only): Deadline July 23, 2010 at 8am. CLOSED

1. TO ENTER: Visit the Seventh Gen Site and answer the following questions:

• • Visit the products page and tell me what product you are most interested in trying.
  • What is Seventh Gen’s mission?
  • How many laundry products does Seventh Gen make?
  • How many wipes are in a tub of Chlorine Free Baby Wipes?
  • What is one of the 7 Acts of Seventh Generation?

Additional Entries (leave a separate comment for each of the following to be counted):

1. Join Seventh Generation Nation! It’s free! (leave a comment)
2. Follow SeventhGen on Twitter. (leave a comment)
3. Tweet “I want to win @cookveganlover @SeventhGen Giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-Sx” (leave a comment)
4. Become a fan of Seventh Generation of Facebook. (leave a comment)
5. Follow @cookveganlover on Twitter (leave a comment)
6. Become a fan of Cook.Vegan.Lover. on Facebook (leave a comment)

The Worlds Most Unhealthy-yet free- dinner ever! Vegan Burger with potato chips and diet cola....I cringe as I type this but oh well...it was good after a night at brew fest

Now it is Sunday and I have been busy attempting to unpack as well as having to run to the office to get some emergency items done. We got quite a bit done today however there is still more to do boo! I can’t wait to be totally moved in.  I am happy to say however we have gotten back into our active mornings and finally eating at home.

This morning I knew we had a lot to do so I decided to make a yummy and filling breakfast

Polenta topped with Tex-Mex TVP

Ingredients: (makes 4 portions)

• Polenta
  • 1 cup corn grits polenta
  • 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast
  • 1t salt
  • 3 cups of water

• Tex-Mex TVP
  • 1.5 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup TVP
  • 1/2 large onion, minced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup salsa- I used my Salba Mild Salsa sample
  • 1t cumin
  • 1T nutritional yeast
  • 1t paprkia
  • 1/2t garlic salt
  • 1t chili powder
  • 1/2T oil

Directions:

• Polenta
  • Bring the water to a boil and stir in the corn grits polenta, nutritional yeast, and salt.  Turn down to low and continue to stir until the polenta has thickened.
• Tex-Mex TVP
  • Bring the vegetable broth to a boil and stir in the TVP; turn down and simmer for 5- 7 minutes. Saute the onions and garlic in oil over medium-high heat until translucent. Add in the cumin, paprika, chili powder and salt and stir to evenly coat the onions and garlic.  Pour in the TVP; it should be soft and expanded some- there should be a little left over vegetable broth.  Stir the TVP and onion mixture together and add the salsa and nooch.
• Assemble
  • Take 1/4 of the polenta and put it on a plate, top with 1/4 of the TVP mixture and then 1/4 of an avocado.  ENJOY! Other suggestions: add your favorite hot sauce, fresh diced tomatoes, pickled jalapenos or cilantro to add even more flavor to this dish.

After breakfast I tried out my new sneakers and walked a few miles to the Short Stop to redeem my free iced coffee ticket. Then it was off to work for an emergency that had to get taken care of.

After running to work we headed to Bed, Bath & Beyond to pick up some organizational items, the natural food store for a few items and then home to make some lunch- a recipe from Ani Phyo’s Raw Food Essentials- Pad Thai!  Since the only kelp noodles I had were still frozen I made the recipe with zucchini noodles, cabbage and carrot noodles on a bed of baby spinach.

After recharging with this lovely raw meal it was time to get down to work and unpack our place.  We gave ourselves 20 minutes to relax, check e-mails and twitter then it was time to get unpacking.  We did pretty well over 2.5 hours of unpacking the place but unfortunately there is still more to do- we need more furniture so we don’t really have places to put things…like books.

I attempted to  write this post earlier but my blog has been down all afternoon so, what would have been a separate dinner post is going to be wrapped up into this post. Dinner was simple (see below) since it is a million degrees in our apartment and I’m exhausted.  Enjoy!

Tomato & Cuke Salad, Trio of Dips (leftover TVP from breakfast, Spicy Peanut Hummus and Salba Mild Salsa) with Salba Blue Corn Chips and Carrot Sticks, Lastly, Olives & Caper Berries

The Salad That Will Make Your Friends Say "WOW"

This simple salad will impress your guests:

Ingredients:

• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 large cucumber, sliced
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 2T olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

First place the balsamic and shallots in a small sauce pan on high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium low  and reduce by half.  Set aside and let cool slightly while you prepare the remaining items.  Create a bed with the spinach for the tomato and cucumber to lay on; alternate the tomato and 2 slices of cucumber until all is used.  Down the center top the cucumbers and tomatoes with the balsamic shallots and then drizzle the remaining sauce over.  Drizzle the olive oil over and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Then it was time for beer:

Finally our friends got through the massive line to get in and then we had ….well more beer obviously!

Don't worry he hasn't been double fisting all night he has mine as well

and what would Brew Fest be without friends in lederhosens?

and of course what goes better with beer than Alec’s Spicy Pretzels?

Unfortunately the night ended abruptly after waiting in line for a our last beer, getting up to the front just after our men and being told they couldn’t serve anymore. BOOOOOOOO!

The men showing of their success of getting the last beer of the night

Laura showing sad face with our last tickets of the night

It was a fun night and now that I’ve had my green juice I am ready for the market and iced coffee!

]]> http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/17/vt-brew-fest-2010/feed/ 4 http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/17/somethings-brewing/ http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/17/somethings-brewing/#comments Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:38:49 +0000 cookingforaveganlover http://cookingforaveganlover.com/?p=3339 At Vermont Brewers Festival!

Prior to heading to VT Brew Fest my parents met us at our new place bearing gifts aka mail that arrived at their house.  To our delight Salba Smart had sent me a number of items to sample.  We dove right in with the tortilla chips, the BBQ Crisps and my parents had some of the Cheddar & Sour Cream Crisps.

Some other goodies we have yet to try:

More Brew Fest Posts to come…..

Since it’s been crazy around here and we have done a lot of eating out (we haven’t had any food at home) I feel like my body is lacking the nutrients that I get from when I cook/uncook at home.  So for lunch I made a nice salad of spinach topped with apple slices, fennel and pecans.

In that cute little nut butter jar is my dijon agave dressing which is to die for!

Dijon Agave Dressing:

• 2T olive oil
• 2T coconut vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1T dijon mustard
• 2t agave

Put everything in a jar and shake! This is enough for 2 small salads or 1 huge salad.

Also I encourage you all to take a minute and Support the Walk For Farm Animals:

]]> http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/16/more-hours-in-the-day/feed/ 3 http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/15/guest-post-caitlin-of-operation-beautiful-healthy-tipping-point/ http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/07/15/guest-post-caitlin-of-operation-beautiful-healthy-tipping-point/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:10:36 +0000 cookingforaveganlover http://cookingforaveganlover.com/?p=3322 My name is Caitlin and I blog about my healthy lifestyle at Healthy Tipping Point.  About a year ago, I recognized a need in our community for a way to stop Fat Talk, or negative internal self-talk.  As Jillian Michaels said, “Fat talk is transcending….  It affects your reality and damages you professionally, personally, and physically.”

To help end Fat Talk, I launched the Operation Beautiful website, which is becoming a book on August 3, 2010 (if you want to order the book, it’s available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble,Borders, and Indie Bound).  The mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for other women to find. The point is that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. You are enough… just the way you are!

By posting these notes, girls, women, and even men are redefining what “beautiful” means and focusing on their internal qualities for validation.  I think we spend too much time, energy, and money chasing an unrealistic ideal of perfection.

So, what do we really mean when we say, “I’m so fat”?  We  actually mean that we are FULL WITH AN EMOTION. Oftentimes, it’s shame.  Or sadness.  Or fear.   Why do we express our inner turmoil by hating our bodies?  Because that’s what Fat Talk and society tells us to do.  Don’t admit you’re scared, just feel fat!  Don’t admit you’re lonely or depressed, you’re just fat!   We can deal with ugliness, we cannot deal with weakness.  The next time you feel the urge to say, “I’m so fat,” think about what you REALLY mean. By berating your body, you aren’t doing any favors.  But by honoring your emotions, you’re living a happier, more honest life.

If you wouldn’t say it out loud to a friend, why would you say it to yourself?

Maybe right now you’re thinking: “But a little guilt can be a GOOD thing!” or “Guilt is a normal reaction to indulging!” But, if guilt was healthy or “normal,” it would be PRODUCTIVE and it would make you HAPPY.  Do you find yourself feeling guilty over food a lot?  Well, then — you’re repeating the same actions over and over again, and clearly… Guilt isn’t productive, it doesn’t work, and it only serves to lower your self -esteem. Guilt is a waste of time and takes away from productive things you could be doing with your time — meditating, studying, sleeping, calling your friends on the phone, and more.

For tips on how to stop Fat Talk and begin to see yourself in a more positive light, check out Change the Way You See, Not the Way You Look.

If you’d like to spread the message of positivity and hope, post an Operation Beautiful note!  Take a picture of your note and email it to me at seebriderun@gmail.com, and I’ll post it on the site for thousands of others to read and enjoy.

Join me on the quest to eliminate Fat Talk in all its nasty and evil forms from our lives!  Remember, it starts now… and it starts with you.

I’ve posted this video about Fat Talk a few times before, but not recently.  If you haven’t watched this before, please do! It’s so powerful and I cry every time:

I know this post is short and sweet but I am off to bed because I have to get up early to head to an out of town meeting that is going to last all day.  Also yes that is mayo on the board behind my tofu burger it is the standard tray of condiments that comes out but don’t worry no we didn’t eat them just the mustard and ketchup.

Today is moving day again…but this time we actually get to move into our new condo! We are so excited and are hoping that we will have internet tonight so I can actually do a good blog post.  Alright blog you later but in your spare time check this out…because something exciting is coming!

<iframe frameborder=”0″ src=”http://www.somethingexcitingiscoming.com/badges/?size=270×128″ height=”132″ width=”272″>Your browser does not support iframes. But you can still <a href=”http://www.somethingexcitingiscoming.com”>visit the Something Exciting is Coming Countdown Clock</a>.</iframe>

Something exciting is about to come to Cook.Vegan.Lover. but I can’t tell you much about it now but check the badge below!

However if you click the badge above and enter your e-mail you can enter to win a prize…..I just can’t tell you what!

Our first stop was Prospect Point a this great lookout where we took a few photos and shared a Lara bar.

Next stop Roundtop Shelter (almost to the summit of Roundtop Mountain) where we enjoyed Nuttzo with jam and beautiful view.

Most repulsive smelling place ever---the outhouse- no we didn't use it

After hiking a yummy grilled tofu sandwich and baked sweet potato fries were in order…however hunger made me forget to take a picture.

So if you haven’t heard my good news over twitter yet here it is: WE’RE FINALLY MOVING! Yes, we finally found out that we can move into our new condo on Tuesday which is great because living in my parents second living room just isn’t working for us.  It’s been nice staying with them just not their living room as well as driving an hour+ to work every day. I do have some bad news though….my camera battery died- BOOOO- and I can’t seem to find my charger because it’s probably packed up in all of our belongings.  However thanks to my job I have my iPhone so I will be able to take some mediocre iPhone photos until I find my battery charger.

However I have some photos thanks to our rental agencies website of our new place, well not of our place but of other condos in the same complex to give you an idea of what it will look like before it is filled with our belongings.

So these photos are an example of what our place looks like but are not exact.

Living Room

Kitchen with a dishwasher! Love it!

Master Bedroom from the Bathroom view

Master Bathroom with view into the guest bathroom (yes there is a door between the two bathrooms as well as access to the guest bathroom from the hall it's a little awkward but we don't mind)

Now it’s time to get down to school work and enjoy my coffee.

Anyways back to business, it has been crazy hot here….like nearly 100F.

When it is this hot out raw foods/salads are the perfect thing to cool you down.  Lunch today is amazing, refreshing and cooling- Massaged Kale Salad, Sauteed Portobellos (cold) and brown rice salad.

We also had it for dinner last night

Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale, washed and ripped into large pieces
• 1 avocado
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2t garlic powder
• 1t salt
• 1/2 pepper
• dash of cayenne
• 1T nutritional yeast

Directions:

Place everything into a bowl and then take your (clean) fingers and massage everything into the kale for 2-3 minutes; until evenly coated. Let sit for 5 minutes. Taste for seasonings and serve!

Brown Rice & Veggie Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked, day old brown rice
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/3 cup green onions, sliced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• Dressing: (whisk together)
  • 1T dijon mustard
  • 1t agave
  • 2T red wine vinegar
  • 2T olive oil

Directions:

Toss everything together and serve.  However this is best made at least 30 minutes prior to eating so that all the flavors can marry.

Alright Bloggies this is short because I have to get back to working.

Q: What is your favorite salad?

So why am I writing this post and telling the world? I received a wonderful gift from Earth Mama’s today and I just felt like I should post and let others know that things like this happen even to healthy people and that there are great resources out there to deal with losses like ours.  I was originally going to do a post for Earth Mama’s about their tea but when I lost the pregnancy I let them know that I would no longer be doing a post and that the shouldn’t send the product to review.  They sent me the most kind and caring note back expressing their sympathy for our loss and to my surprise I received a few wonderful items today: Harmony Tea and Seeds of Hope.

Update: I just found out at I have extremely low progesterone which may be the reason why we have had issues staying pregnant; http://www.buzzle.com/articles/low-progesterone.html Do you know of any natural ways in which to increase progesterone levels?

Banana Bread Protein Pancakes

Serves 3-5 people

Ingredients:

• Dry
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup AP flour
  • 2T Living Harvest Hemp Protein Powder
  • 1t cinnamon
  • 2T baking powder
  • 1t baking soda
  • pinch of salt
• Wet
  • 2 bananas mashed
  • 1+1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1t vanilla
  • 1T canola oil
• Agave Glazed Fruit (for more than 3 people add more fruit and and extra tablespoon of agave)
  • 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 cup raspberries
  • 3T agave nectar

Directions:

Preheat a griddle.

In a small bowl blend the wet ingredients until mostly smooth; it is okay to have some small banana chunks. In a large bowl whisk all of the dry ingredients together.  Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in and stir together.  At this point you can add a little more non-dairy milk if you like your pancakes thinner otherwise it’s time to cook.

Spray the preheated griddle with cooking spray and drop 1/4 cup of pancake batter on it. Cook 3-5 minutes on the first side and 1-2 on the second side until light and fluffy.

Top your pancakes with the agave glazed fruit and enjoy!

Since the weather has been crazy hot the past few days I’ve decided to keep it light and make some cooling coconut yogurt parfaits.  This morning I even made my dad a greek yogurt parfait since he was up bright and early with us. I layered coconut yogurt, strawberries and a blend of oats, chia seeds and flax meal.

Strawberry Coconut Yogurt (hubz)-Passionate Mango Coconut Yogurt (mine)-Oikos Blueberry Greek Yogurt (dads)

Q: What have you been enjoying for breakfast?

A couple of months ago, the fine people at Sodastream sent us a Sodastream Jet Soda Maker and a whole host of flavours to sample.

As someone who used to drink way too much soda, the soda stream is definitely a great product.  While the upfront cost may be a little intimidating, it doesn’t take long for it to be paid back. When you take into consideration the cost of the flavours and the cartridges it works out to about $0.25 per can of soda or $0.25 per litre of soda water.

It’s also wonderfully convenient.  It’s nice to be able to make some seltzer to mix a drink or some soda to go with your meal whenever you want.

We were also provided with many different soda and water flavourings.  The flavours were similar to those of mainstream soda brands.  One good thing about adding your own flavouring is that you are able to control how much you add.  I found this great because it would allow me to control how sweet the soda was.  My favourite soda flavours were the cola and lemon lime.  My favourite of all though were the  “MyWater” flavourings.  These flavours are made from natural ingredients. With a little drop of the flavours, you could add a little punch to your drink.

There is a lot less sugar and calories in these sodas than commercial sodas (and they have no High Fructose Corn Syrup), but this comes at the expense of combining sugar with the artificial sweetener Splenda to keep the calories low.  To avoid the artificial sweeteners, you can stick to the MyWater flavours or by coming up with your own flavours for the sparkling water.

Overall, I think the SodaStream is a great value for people who drink a lot of soda and seltzer.

Disclaimer: SodaStream provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Once we arrived and checked into the hotel we were hungry and decided to head to The Pulse in Somerville for dinner which you can read all about here. Since we were not satisfied or full from our meal at The Pulse we walked down the street to Joshua Tree for a beer and sweet potato fries.

We woke up early the next morning and decided to head to Watertown to the Deluxe Town Diner for some yummy vegan pancakes.  However when we arrived we saw a new breakfast wrap filled with tofu, soy cheese, veggie sausage, avocado and black beans and we both decided to go with that and coffee.

The food was really good but the homefries were a bit cold and the coffee was some what watered down.  The service was slow and my bottomless cup of coffee was bottomed a number of times.  I loved the atmosphere though; it is an old diner and still seems to have the original fixtures which brings you back to a different time.  Overall the food was really good and their pancakes are delicious as well.

Rating:

• Value: 4/5
• Food: 4/5
• Atmosphere: 3.5/5
• Vegan Friendly: 2.5/5

After breakfast we headed out to The Container Store where we picked up some great items to organize our new place and then we were off to Ikea where we found a great new dining room table. I can’t wait to show you all when we finally move into our new place and put it together. After hours of shopping we decided to have a quick and super inexpensive lunch at Ikea; we both got the organic pasta with marinara sauce for only $2 each! It wasn’t the best food but it did the job.

After Ikea we headed home which felt like forever so we stopped for iced coffee and finally made it to my grandma’s where we made dinner and got ready for our garage sale which was extremely successful.  The rest of the weekend has been spent relaxing.

The cafe is a small cafeteria like place with table service, we were greeted and seated immediately as there was no one else there.  After looking over the menu we decided to ask our waitress which two items she recommended and based on her recommendation we went with the BBQ Seitan with slaw and cornbread and the Veg Burger with a mixed green salad.

At this point we are seeing the food and thinking wow this looks pretty good….however our eyes were deceived.  The seitan was like eating a sponge, the texture and consistency was awful and I couldn’t finish my half it was that bad. The bbq sauce on the seitan was like sweetened tomato paste, the cornbread was dry, and the slaw was AMAZING. The slaw was the highlight of both dishes which is pretty disappointing considering it is just a side.

As for the burger it was was bland even with the chipotle mayo which you couldn’t even taste.  The burger was mushy and with the bun and tomato there was a real lack of great texture, it needed something crunchy and more seasoning.  The greens were boring and under a few leaves we found a piece of tomato and red pepper.  There was dressing on the salad leaving it very bland as well; just a little lemon juice, salt and pepper would have made the salad 100x better.

The food was disappointing, the prices were expensive ($13 for a veggie burger? come on) and to top it all of the seating was horrible.  The dining area has two levels that are separated by a railing; we were seated on the lower level.  A group of 3 people came in and were seated on the upper level right next to us so the only thing separating us was the thin railing.  The group then proceeded to look down on us and watch as we ate which made both of us extremely uncomfortable.  To top it all off we were the only people in the cafe so there was no need to seat someone so close to us.

Overall I would not recommend or visit this cafe again. I found that there was as lot of hype on the internet over this place due to the pure fact that it was vegan. All though it is vegan the food and prices were not worth the visit, especially with a number of great vegan friendly restaurants nearby. To top off the whole experience both the Hubz and I left hungry since we were unable to finish our food.

Ratings:

• Value: 0/5
• Food: 2/5
• Vegan Friendly: 5/5
• Atmosphere: 1/5

California Benedict (serves 4)

• 1 avocado, sliced into 16 slices
• 2 cups arugala, divided
• 4 whole wheat english muffins, toasted
• hot sauce (optional)

“Eggs”:

- 2/3 block of tofu sliced in 2 then again into 4 triangles

• 1T nutritional yeast
• 1C vegetable broth
• 1/4t chipotle chili powder
• 1/4t cumin
• 1/4t garlic powder
• 1/2t dried thyme
• 1t red wine vinegar
  • Mix all the ingredients together and place the tofu slices in the mixture to marinade for 30 minutes.

Hollandaise Sauce:

• 1C non-dairy milk
• 1T lemon juice
• 3T nutritional yeast
• pinch cayenne
• 2T vegan margarine
• 1T cornstarch
• 1/2C vegetable broth
• salt and pepper
  • Blend all the ingredients together and then place in a small sauce pan over low heat.  Whisk occasionally to create a smooth sauce.  Heat until thickened and then remove from the heat until ready to use.  Warm the sauce gently before serving- you may need to add a little more non-dairy milk to thin the sauce.

Putting it all together:

Top each side of the english muffin with 1/4 of the arugula and place 2 slices of avocado on each side.  Top with 1 piece of tofu and the drizzle with the hollandaise sauce.  If you would like top with a few drops of hot sauce.

After breakfast we were feeling pretty full so lunch was light just a wonderful coconut milk yogurt parfait which was delicious and very pretty to eat.

Dinner was per the request of my hubby who was craving some spicy delights- tempeh bites.  I decided to make three variations a Chipotle BBQ, Sriracha Hoisin, and good old Frank’s Hot sauce. I served it with a little sweet corn guacamole and bean and veggie salad.

Guest post by Bianca Phillips

http://vegancrunk.blogspot.com

Hey y’all! Bianca here from Vegan Crunk. Lindsay asked me to write a guest post, so here goes. If you don’t know me, I’m a Dirty South vegan from Memphis, Tennessee. I’m currently working on a cookbook of veganized Southern classics and comfort dishes. I’ve been vegetarian for almost 16 years, and a vegan for five.

Having spent so much of my youth as a vegetarian (beginning at age 14), I can honestly say that I never really missed meat. Maybe for a few weeks after giving it up, but I don’t remember the transition from omnivore to vegetarian being very hard. Much harder was the move from a lacto-ovo veg diet to veganism.

But unlike most people, it wasn’t the cheese that held me back. It was the eggs. In my pregan days, I loved eggs … incredible, edible eggs. Fried, scrambled, boiled, made into an omelet — it didn’t matter. After transitioning, it took me a hot minute to get used to the idea of never having another deviled egg or a cheesy, fluffy omelet. That was, of course, before I realized what a wonderful stand-in tofu makes for eggs.

I started with Tofu Scramble:

Though it lacks of the fluff of scrambled eggs, tofu scramble makes up for it in the presence of fresh veggies. It’s more nutritionally complete, and oh so comforting. Here’s my recipe:

Cheeze Eggs

—————-

3 Tbsp. soymilk

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. celery salt

1 cup chopped vegetables, optional

Non-stick cooking spray or 2 tsp. oil

1 lb. extra-firm tofu

Blend soymilk, soy sauce, and spices in a small bowl. Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray or use a couple teaspoons of olive oil to sauté veggies (if using) for 3 to 4 minutes. Crumble in tofu and add spice mixture. Cook several minutes until any water from the tofu is absorbed and tofu is hot.

After discovering the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen blog and Vegan Brunch, I began making vegan omelets:

Dare I say that I think tofu omelets taste better than their eggy cousins? And this is coming from a self-professed egg lover. Click here (http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/09/vegan-omelette-for-one.html) for Susan V’s yummy omelet recipe.

Finally, I got all crazy and decided that if tofu could make better-than-eggy scrambles and omelets, how would the bean curd fare in a deviled “egg”? After a little experimentation, Tofu Deviled Eggy Bites were born:

I’ve served these at parties to non-vegans who declared that they actually taste very much like actual deviled eggs. The secret is black salt — available at Indian markets. Here’s the recipe:

Tofu Deviled Eggy Bites

——————————-

1 pound extra firm tofu

Half of a 12.3-ounce package of firm silk tofu (about 1 cup)

1 cup canned Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp. vegan mayonnaise (like Vegenaise)

1 Tbsp. yellow mustard

1 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. black salt (plus about 1 Tbsp. more for spreading on “egg whites”)

1 Tbsp. dill pickle relish

1/2 Tbsp. red onion, very finely minced

Black pepper, to taste

Paprika, for garnish

Fresh chives (optional, for garnish)

Drain water from the extra firm tofu. Wrap in several layers of paper towels and place on a plate. Put something heavy on top, like a jar or book, and allow to press in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

After extra firm tofu is pressed, cut it in half. Then cut each half into four quadrants or squares. Slide a knife on the side of each quadrant to cut three squares from each. In the end, you should have about 24 little squares. If these instructions are too confusing, just cut into bite-sized squares and aim to get about 20 to 24. Set aside.

Place the silk tofu, beans, mayonnaise, mustard, turmeric, and one teaspoon black salt into a food processor. Process for about a minute or until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in relish, onion, and black pepper. Set aside.

Pour the other tablespoon of black salt into a small bowl. Using your fingertip, rub a touch of black salt on each white firm tofu square. Top each square with a dollop (about one teaspoon) of the yellow silk tofu mixture.

Sprinkle with paprika and top with chives.

Makes about 24 bites.

And now we say ‘GOODBYE’ to our old apartment:

Goodbye kitchen with no counter space and no hood over the stove….

Goodbye bedroom I will miss your wonderfully large his and her closets….

Goodbye double living room/dining room with your painted shut windows…..

Goodbye office; whoever claimed you could be a second bedroom was crazy….

Goodbye ridiculously small bathroom….

Goodbye porch with the gross carpet you served us well-for storage that is….

Goodbye big ugly blue house it was an okay 2 years but it is time to move on.

Now we are living with my parents until our new place is ready which is nice but it’s hard not having our own space since my parents downsized a few years ago when I moved out and their house is really meant for 2 people or a weekend visit but right now it seems it may be a few week visit.  One of the benefits however of living with 2 other people and a father who loves nutbutter is having a wonderful supply of jars for Oats In A Jar. This morning my dad made the coffee and I made OIAJ for the two of us.

OIAJ: (serves 2)

Requires 2 mostly empty nutbutter jars

• 1 cup of oats
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 cup water
• 1t cinnamon
• 2t chia seeds
• 1t raw sugar
• 2T maple syrup
• 1 banana, sliced

Bring the oats, almond milk, water and cinnamon to a bowl and then turn down to low until the oats are thick.  Stir in the chia seeds, sugar and maple syrup.

In the bottom of each jar put 1/6th of the banana and then top with oats do this 2 more times and you are ready to eat!

With the help of my parents the 4 of us were able to clean the place and be on our way in just over 2 hours which was great.  We then stopped to have a picnic on the way back to their house, our temporary home.

White Bean and Avocado Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1-15oz can of white beans, drained, rinsed and gently mashed
• 1/2 an avocado diced
• 1 small tomato, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
• 2T reduced fat Vegenaise (or your favorite vegan mayo)
• 1/4 of a lemon juiced
• salt and pepper to taste

Makes enough filing for 4 sandwiches.

With my sandwich I enjoyed a Polar seltzer and for dessert an O’Cookie .  I was sent these to sample and the sample included 2 non-vegan and 2 vegan packages so my parents enjoyed some of the non-vegan and my hubz and I the vegan.  The favorite from my dad who tried both a vegan and a non-vegan was the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat which unfortunately is not vegan.  The vegan flavor we tried was Dark Chocolate Raisin Oat – it was good and I love how tiny the cookies are.

Moving Day 3.2 is still to come- I’ll try posting this evening if the internet is working at my parents house.  We are only on part 3 of the moving process and I am hoping that we don’t have too many more. *Dreaming of moving into our new place*

When we arrived at my parents house after hours of moving boxes and cleaning I was delighted to see that a package from Divvies Bakery. Inside the box I found a number of goodies that of course will be blogging about them but I’ll start with this wonderful treat.

Okay before I enjoyed one of these wonderful cupcakes I first had dinner. For dinner we had swiss chard and chickpeas, brown rice pilaf and steamed broccoli.

Finally it was time to enjoy a yummy cupcake topped with frosting and sprinkles.  These cupcakes were delicious! They were so moist and the frosting was fudgie goodness.  I love that these are vegan and are made in a nut free facility which is great for those who have nut allergies.

The internet is so slow here I will finish blogging with Part 3 of moving days.  Nightie Night!

For the last few weeks I have been trying out the Vanilla Almondilla Vega Shake & Go Smoothie and I have come to the conclusion that I like it sometimes.  I know you’re going how can you like some just sometimes? Well in the case of this Vega Shake & Go Smoothie I really didn’t like it as a shake & go smoothie.  I appreciated the simplicity of adding 2 tablespoons to one cup of water and shake to create a smoothie filled with

• Two servings of veggies
• 2500 mg Omega-3-6-9
• 11 g complete protein
• Only 100 calories
• 1 billion probiotics cultures

However the flavor was just off for me.  I felt that the smoothie was just too sweet and it over powered the drink.  I alternatively used the smoothie powder in my one hour oats and I thought it was great because the bland oats helped to balance the sweetness.  I also found the smoothie powder great when added to a blender with water, spinach, banana and flax meal.   Overall I did like the Vega Shake & Go Smoothie however the forms in which I enjoyed it was not in the intended “shake & go” style.

Disclaimer: Vega provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

I also enjoyed a fresh squeezed organic orange juice because it’s delicious and I’ve been trying to crowd out coffee.

Breakfast was delicious and I had a wonderful time chatting with my dear friend who is on her way back to Denver tonight boooooo. Now I’m off to work! Blog you later!

Q: What did you have for breakfast?

For the 1 hour oats:

• 1/3 cup regular oats
• 3/4 cup unsweetened hemp milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon Vega Vanilla Shake and Go
• 1 tablespoon vanilla hemp protein
• pinch of salt

Directions: Mix together the above ingredients in a bowl and place in fridge overnight.

To make this wonderful parfait I whipped up some banana soft serve (banana and hemp milk blended until smooth) and some almond drizzle (almond butter with warm water to thin out).  I layered the oats, banana soft serve and almond drizzle and topped with cacaco nibs.  DELICIOUS!

After our morning of oats, farmers market, post office and the selling of our portable washing machine we headed up to my little cousins graduation party.  We enjoyed some Tofurky sandwiches, veggies, strawberries, pita chips and hummus and BBQ Pop chips. After we socialized, ate and played a few “games” of ping pong we headed home to finally relax.  However before we are able to sit in relax I made soup and salad for dinner with yummy Sweet Potato Beer Bread and of course write this blog post.

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 vegan chicken bouillon
• 4 cups of water
• 4 cups of kale, bite sized pieces
• 2/3 cup of Westbrae  NaturalsSoup Beans, or use the beans of your liking
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper

Directions: In a pot heat the oil and add the carrots and onion until soft.  Add in the water and vegan chicken bouillon bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in the soup beans and the kale and cook until the kale is wilted, then stir in the nutritional yeast.  Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of green beans
• 2 cups of beet greens
• 1 cup seitan cut into small pieces
• 2T cornstarch
• oil for frying seitan
• Sauce:
  • 1T sesame oil
  • 1T soy sauce
  • 1T brown sugar
  • 2t sriracha, or hot sauce of your liking
  • 1/4t chili flakes

Directions:

Toss the seitan with the cornstarch, fry until crispy.

Mix the sauce together and set aside.

In a wok or large sautee pan add 2 tablespoons of water and cook up the green beans until tender.  Make a hole in the middle and stir in the sauce and beet greens.  Stir in the seitan to coat.

Serve with rice.

One of the benefits of moving has been the pantry challenge and it has been going great for us. We have been cleaning out the refrigerator, freezer and cupboards and I’m proud to say our fridge and freezer are almost empty.

Yesterday we picked up our first CSA and I am excited to see what dishes I can come up with using all these yummy ingredients.

Creamy Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta

Seitan Sandwich, Roasted Potatoes and Steamed Kale w/nooch

Bio
JL began her vegetarian-to-vegan journey in 2002. Four years ago she made a conscious decision to change careers and find balance in her life, which meant she could finally explore interests outside of work. Those include volunteering for nonprofit organizations, enjoying all kinds of red wine, taking up knitting and running a few half-marathons and triathlons each year. Then she began eating vegan; she became obsessed with cooking. When she’s not making grocery lists, training for a half-marathon or trying just one more recipe she found on a vegan blog, she goes to work as an administrator at a community college and teaches a course on nonprofit management at a local university. JL lives in metro NYC with her husband and two cats. You can find her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JLgoesVegan or in the blogosphere http://jerrilynn.tumblr.com/ where she’s taking baby steps to find her blog voice.

EVERYBODY HAS A STORY
At the age of 36 I quit eating meat. Almost. I was in Kenya for work. We were in a small village in the Rift Valley. There was a celebration held in for an auspicious occasion and my colleagues and I were guests of honor. Early in the day an elder from the community brought a goat to the site of the celebration—a truth demonstration of generosity.  The goat was presented and subsequently killed and boiled. That evening, we were offered the goat for dinner. To refuse it would have been an affront (or so I told myself?) Essentially I met a goat, shook his hand then ate him. I became a vegetarian.

Not exactly. I become one of those—I‘m a vegetarian, but I eat fish—people. That went on for nearly four years. Fish was my crutch. I didn’t eat fish at home but had convinced myself that eating out would be too difficult so I should just order fish. I ate out a lot. On a vacation four years ago, after eating fish to the point of ridiculousness, I decided it was time to be a real vegetarian. I gave up fish.

During this span of eight years I had somehow morphed from a 36 year old couch potato who smoked a pack a day and would eat half a bag of fun size Baby Ruth candy bars in one sitting to a non-smoker, 20 pounds lighter, gearing up for her first marathon in 2005 at the age of 40.

Fast forward to January of 2010, age 44. I run. A lot.

May 2010, just after a 5k Race in 26:30; not a bad pace for a couch-potato-to-runner turning 45 in two months

I compete in triathlons. I eat vegetarian and pretty healthily at that. But somehow every November and December I would find myself nursing a post-race season injury. Less exercise and holiday feeding frenzies = chubby JL each January. This year I received an email from my local yoga studio about a cleanse workshop. I had never done a cleanse in my life, but it intrigued me. I met with Jill of Hera Wellness who led an extremely informative workshop explaining a variety of cleansing methods. And I was off, a 14-day cleanse of clean eating (no processed foods), no coffee, no caffeine, no sugar, no dairy, no wheat, no wine (what?! no red wine?! I survived) and, in the middle, three days of Master Cleanse. At the conclusion of the cleanse I felt fantastic and became a cleanse convert. I continued eating the same healthy way (but resumed red wine and a cup of coffee a day) and I continued to eliminate dairy and wheat from my diet. Suddenly I realized that the only animal based foods in my diet were honey and eggs. I realized I was an egg away from being a vegan.

For six months I have been eating vegan. I have never felt better. I had my annual physical with my general practitioner about 5 months into my new vegan diet. I told her to indicate in my file that I was eating vegan. She scrunched up her nose and asked “Why vegan?” I described a typical day of eating and she concluded that I may be one of the healthiest eaters she knows. Four days later she phoned me with my blood work results. She began the conversation by saying “Keep eating the way you’re eating.” My already decent cholesterol from a year ago (174) was down to 128.

How did I go about making the transition? I am a planner. I love a good spreadsheet. I knew I couldn’t go into this without really thinking it through; I consulted with my nutrition counselor and with her guidance, and the vegan blogosphere, I equipped myself to do it right. As a result of reading many, many (many! blogs) I purchased several books

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Kristen Suzanne’s Easy Raw Vegan Dehydrating

THRIVE (both The Vegan Nutrition Guide and Fitness) by vegan Ironman Brendan Brazier

Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

The Simple Little Vegan Slow Cooker

Vive Le Vegan!

The 30 Minute Vegan

Skinny Bitch in the Kitch

The first vegan blog I stumbled upon was Cook.Vegan.Lover! After reading Lindsay’s blog I kept clicking links and finding more and more great blogs to read.

Best Vegan Blogs Directory

Blissfully Vegan

Bryant Terry

Choosing Raw

Andrea’s Easy Vegan Cooking

FatFree Vegan Kitchen

Happy Vegan Face

Hungry Vegan

It’s Easy Being Vegan

JulieMorris.Net

Kiss Me, I’m Vegan

Manifest:Vegan

No Meat Athlete

Oh She Glows

Plate+Simple

The Quantum Vegan

SuperVegan

Meet The Shannons

The Kind Life

Vegan Appetite

Vegan Pandemonium

Where to start with all of this great information on the web? Most mornings, before going out for a training run, I sit down with a cup of warm water, cayenne pepper and lemon or a cup of half-caf/ half- decaf coffee and I read, read, read. Each time I stumble upon a recipe I must try, I cut and paste it into a Google document (I have 192 recipes, but who’s counting?) Then, when out and about I may find one of the new ingredients because it’s on my iPhone. (Medjool dates, Bragg Liquid Aminos, chia seeds, dulse flakes, nutritional yeast)

I used to eek through preparing a meal. Boca cheese burger on a wheat bun, steamed veggie, a salad. Now I’m obsessed with vegan cooking. I plan my meals. Each Saturday my husband and I hit the farmer’s market and my local health food store for most of my organic produce and “hard to find” items, and Trader Joe’s for the rest. On Sundays I move into the kitchen, turn my stereo on full blast and just start cooking. I try out new recipes with tofu, TVP and tempeh. With lentils and beans. Soups, stew. Veggie burgers, collard and kale salads, quinoa a zillion ways, chutneys. I purchased a L’Equip dehydrator and make “raw” kale chips, flax crackers and sunflower seed bread.

I take pictures of my food.

Grilled yams with homemade rhubarb chutney, grilled sesame-miso tofu and grilled asparagus

They say the journey is the destination.  I have been on a vegetarian journey and have finally arrived to eating vegan. Note I say eat vegan. I now find myself confronted with what it means to be vegan.  The journey continues.

Did you know that CSN has tons of great products for every room in your home? One of my favorites are these Bathroom Vanities which I could only dream of having one day in our own home.  However the ones in our new apartment are a huge improvement over our last two places.

I have a couple products that I have my eye on, I will have that review for you soon!

Three Bean Burgers

• 2 cups of black eyed peas, kidney beans, and chickpeas
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2-3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2t chili powder
• 1/2t cumin
• 1/4t garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1T hot sauce (I used VT Pepperworks Chocolate Chipotle)

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mash the beans up and add in the spices, chickpea flour, panko breadcrumbs and hot sauce. Form the patties into 1/4 cup patties and bake for 10 minutes on each side.

Carrot Fries

• 5 large carrots, sliced into thin strips
• 1t Montreal Chicken Spice

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Toss the carrots with Montreal Chicken spice and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Sauteed Kale

• 1 head of Red Russian Kale, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2t salt
• 1/2t garlic powder
• 1T nutritional yeast
• pepper to taste

Heat a sautee pan over medium-high heat and add in the vegetable broth and kale.  Sautee until the kale begins to wilt and stir in the salt, garlic powder, nutritional yeast and pepper.

This weekend I have been having major cravings for vegan grilled cheese so both Saturday and Sunday morning I had a yummy vegan grilled cheeze and a Bubbies pickle.

After a yummy breakfast it was time to head to the farmers market to pick up the items for our pantry challenge. I found a number of great items from Pete’s Greens organic produce stand and some snap peas from another organic farm stand. We also headed to another farmers market where I picked up some more organic produce.

• Pak Choi $2.50
• Red Russian Kale $2.50
• Red Bliss Potatoes $1.50
• Purple String Beans $1.75
• Snap Peas $3
• Garlic Scapes $2
• Strawberries $6
  • Total: $19.25 ( I also cheated a bit because we needed bananas for banana soft serve and lunches so I bought $4 worth of bananas from the grocery store)—New Total: $23.25
• Q: How is your pantry challenge going?

Saturday lunch was baked sesame tempeh with roasted broccoli and Alexia waffle fries with a sriracha aioli.

Dinner on Saturday was leftover tempeh with pak choi and curry noodles, unfortunately so hungry that I forgot to take a photo.

Lunch today was wonderful.  My parents came down to help us pack and brought green beans, potatoes, broccoli and mushrooms which I made into a lunch along with the beans I cooked up. We had balsamic roasted broccoli, soy roasted green beans, mashed potatoes with mushrooms gravy and a trio of beans.

Dinner was great as well- I used up the last of the beans I cooked up and formed them into bean burgers which I baked in the oven along with carrot fries (my new obsession) and then I cooked up some kale with a little garlic and tossed with a large pinch of nutritional yeast.

Alright Bloggies I am exhausted after this crazy weekend so I am going to catch up on some episodes of Parenthood and enjoy an evening treat.

So over the next few weeks the Hubz and I are going to be crazy busy with moving and various events. I am taking this busy time as an opportunity to feature a number of different guest bloggers who will be covering a number of different topics. I will be blogging whenever possible and will keep you up to date on the pantry challenge but for now enjoy the upcoming guest blog posts.

xo. Lindsay.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello Cook. Vegan. Lover. readers! My name is Lauren, I’m a blogger and I chronicle my journey towards healing Crohn’s disease through a high raw vegan diet, on my blog, Ginger is The New Pink.  I’ve had crohn’s for 5 years and became a vegan shortly after diagnosed and noticed a huge difference in my symptoms. I am now pregnant with my first child, due in November and staying vegan, or healthy hasn’t been much of a challenge at all.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I felt great for 2-3 weeks, I was eating well, exercising, meditating, doing all my usual “rituals.” Then came the morning sickness. Or as many call it, “all day sickness”. I found myself not hungry or wanting to eat at all. Exercise.. ha, and anything else that involved moving from the couch, out of the question. I’ve seen a lot of people leave veganism at this time. They tend to crave more bland protein foods like eggs, fish, or chicken, but not me. I had no cravings, and leaving veganism was never an option for me. I got through this time with lots of brown rice and other grains. My doctor assured me that the baby would be healthy because of how I ate before I became pregnant. Phew! What a relief! I knew my mostly veggie, high raw, vegan diet would help the baby thrive, while I couldn’t.

My dear pug Ginger got a lot of use out of my rebounder!

Luckily this phase did pass. At around 10 weeks my appetite started coming back and I was craving kale again! Happy day! Since then I’ve started working out again, doing prenatal yoga, cooking, un-cooking, and just all around enjoying feeling good again! I was so happy to be able to provide my baby with the right nutrients and vitamins I know he/she will thrive on. My doctor questioned my diet at first, but when she realized how much I knew about veganism, and what I should be eating for the baby, she stated that I knew more then she did about nutrition! Score for vegans! I do take a B12 shot once a month, vegan DHA oil, a vegan prenatal and a few other supplements as “insurance.” But I am pretty confident that as long as I eat a wide variety of fruits and veggies and make sure my protein is a little higher then normal, that I will be fine. For iron, I use spinach daily in my green smoothies and Sunwarrior protein powder has made it very easy to make sure I am getting enough protein. Normally, I am not a protein gal, I feel that I get enough protein from different vegan sources, but with pregnancy, I have been extra cautious.

Green Smoothie with spinach, mango, DHA oil, Sunwarrior protein, Maca Powder and Almond Milk

Now I am 16 weeks and loving ALL vegan food! I’ve even been eating more raw then ever. The baby seems to have a fondness for watermelon and kale! I’ve been having some minor aches and pains and exercise definitely helps improve that. I can’t imagine myself eating junk at this time. My baby is thriving on my diet! When he/she comes into this world I will teach him or her to be kind to all living beings, and why would choose not to eat animals. Most children don’t even understand that the chicken they are eating is the same chicken that they learn about in school. I feel it’s very important to educate my child on this, hopefully when he or she is old enough to make his or her own choices he or she will remember kindness and appreciate all that I have taught them about empathy towards animals and the environment.

HEAVEN!

Kale Salad with cherry tomatoes, raw pickles, raw sauerkraut, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, avocado, olive oil and lemon.

Thank you Lindsay for letting me share! I hope you all stop by my blog and watch as my pregnancy progresses, I promise vegan food only! Lots of love to all your readers!

• 1 Frozen Banana, broken into pieces
• 1/4 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup original almond milk

Put everything in the blender or food processor until it is a wonderful and smooth blend.

]]> http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/06/10/raspberry-banana-soft-serve/feed/ 2 http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/06/09/rant-alert-and-dinner-out/ http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/06/09/rant-alert-and-dinner-out/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:26:34 +0000 cookingforaveganlover http://cookingforaveganlover.com/?p=3070 Just as we were arriving home we received a call that the lady who was supposed to view our apartment an hour earlier had pushed the time back.  We said it was fine that she went in that we would hang out on the bench in the front yard so that she could have a chance to check the place out.  It was a nice treat for our indoor kitty because we let her come out and rub her face in the grass- she was in heaven.  Everything was going fine and about a half hour later we decided that it was time to bring the kitty inside and we expected that by then the lady would have seen enough and be leaving. BOY WERE WE WRONG!

She proceed to tell the rental agent about 30 things that she would like improved or changed if she were to move in.  My husband and I were sitting in the living room going ARE YOU SERIOUS! Anyways this went on for another 30 minutes and then finally the Hubz told them that they just had to go…but they didn’t go far they hung out in the yard for another 20 minutes. Maybe I’m too rigid but I think after 30minutes of viewing an apartment that the potential renter had already viewed the week before is just rude.

Okay rant over.  Since the viewing ended up going way longer than we expected I just wasn’t feeling like putting together dinner so the Hubz took me out to the Skinny Pancake for vegan crepes; I had the vegan crepedilla and the Hubz had a vegan monster and a Harpoon brew.

After a delicious dinner we came home to enjoy a little Netflix and I had a Pomegranate Seltzer Mocktail and the Hubz had a sour beer.

Q: When you look at a new place to rent how long do you generally spend looking? Do you make certain demands/request before you agree to take the rental space?

I started my morning out with something I haven’t had in forever OATMEAL! I used to eat it daily but it’s been a few weeks since I have had myself a nice bowl of warm creamy oats with chia seeds, cinnamon, stevia, flax meal and a banana of course.

For lunch I cooked up some brown rice and topped it with leftover sliced Korean BBQ tempeh, 5 Spiced Garnet Yams and some soy glazed brussels sprouts all topped with sriracha of course!

Hubz and I are now off to watch a movie- Q: What are you up to today?