Things I'm Lovin' Lately

Vivacious Vegan from Adventures from Nutritarian Vegan in Midwestern America so kindly awarded me with the Stylish blogger Award. The bad news...VV is leaving the blog world. :( I hope she comes back one of these days!

In order to fulfill the duties of this prestigious award I must:

1. Make a post & link back to the person who gave me this award.

2. Share 7 things about myself.

3. Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.

I find that it is difficult to come up with 7 more things about myself that you don't already know. So instead, I'm going to mention 7 "things" I have especially liked lately.

#1

Alamo City Salt-free Citrus Pepper. Would also like to try their Chili Lime or Lime Pepper, etc. I'm a big fan of citrus flavor in general. And also, incidentally, citrus lotion, shampoo, bubble bath, etc.

#2

Sunja's Kimchi. Especially on wraps. This is my wrap with kimchi, greens, carrots, tomatoes, and chia seeds. I'd bet money there was some melted Daiya hiding under there somewhere.

I've eaten a lot of wraps lately on my gluten free tortillas, which are my favorite. Even though they're a little tough, I love them still.

another random wrap with avocado, rice, black beans,

cooked Kabocha squash, Daiya, and kimchi

#3

Hail Merry's Chocolate Miracle Tart...it really is a miracle.

It's hard to get a picture to do it justice. The ingredients are cocoa, coconut oil, maple syrup, almond flour, and salt. The only downside is the $4.99 price tag. I've tried finding a recipe that would equal its creamy wonderness, but I haven't quite achieved an exact match yet. Anyone have somethin' for me to try?

Update: Since I started writing this a few weeks ago, I think I have finally eaten my share of chocolate tarts. Don't get me wrong; it took me many, many months to get tired of these. I always go through cycles of being obsessed with one dessert at a time. I had the Lemon flavor tart the other day, and it was a nice change.

#4

I saw these Pom Wonderful Fresh Pomegranate packs at Sam's Club. I have always loved pomegranates, but this was a healthy-lazy girl's dream: pomegranate seeds all ready to eat. And usually when I eat from a pomegranate, it's one seed at a time as I make my way through. When you put a handful in your mouth at a time, it's bursting with juicy wonderment. I hope they have these next time I hit Sam's, or maybe I'll ask another store to carry them.

I also really liked the pomegranate seeds on my oatmeal. (Also included: apples, walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, grapefruit, and raspberries.)

Speaking of Sam's Club and raspberries, they have had the BEST organic raspberries (see above). I rarely ever buy fresh raspberries because I'd only buy organic, and those never look so fresh. These were the freshest, brightest, plumpest organic raspberries I've ever seen.)

#5

That Pickle Guy's Olive Muffaletta. It is a raw mixture of minced olives and vegetables plus spices (and oil, which is the bad, bad thing). The jar makes these claims: Great on everything! and Habit Forming! Have Plenty. I can't say they are exaggerating. I love it on sandwiches.

#6

Another hit for Hail Merry. (I really love everything I've tried from this company!) Red Bell Pepper Macadamia Nut Dip.

There was just something about it; I couldn't get enough.

#7

Coconut Secret brand raw Coconut Aminos. I was interested in trying it after I saw it on Bitt of Raw's blog. I was going to order it online, then one day I gasped with excitement when I saw it newly sitting on the shelf at my Whole Foods. I like the taste of it; it is a nice alternative to Bragg's or soy sauce.

#7

A version of Kristen's Raw Cherry Chocolate Bomb Shake. I use frozen bananas, almond milk (or whatever "milk" we have available), frozen cherries, and Vega's Choc-o-lot Shake & Go Smoothie Powder (pea & hemp protein plus veggie based). The cherry-chocolate combination is so good.

See how I applied a Michelle-like technique of sneaking more into my list. Hopefully, everyone is reading this part and not just assuming I can't count.

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That's my list, and here is my version of the States Traveled Map that has been floating around on your blogs. This has been good for me to look at. Especially during my "My life is so boring; I don't ever get to do anything, wah wah" moments. I think my new resolution for this year is to be able to fill in one more white state. Which one should I try?

As for passing on the award, let me think about that and get back to you. I have a couple of ideas, but I don't think I can come up with 10 new ones. Let me look around.

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Here is a fun read! Quarry Girl attended the Natural Foods Expo in L.A. again; I always look forward to her thorough recaps of the latest, greatest vegan products on the market. Still no health(ier) biscuits in a can or squeezey cheeze for me, but there is some other great-looking stuff! I know my kids will want to get their little hands on some vegan Peeps.

Missed you guys!

Vegan MoFo: the one where I got an award

I got an award! To accept this award, I need to list 7 strange or obscure facts about myself. I received this award from Michelle, who has a great list. She's indeed strange (in a good way!)...I mean, she has a duck...and a pig. And other things just running and flying around her house. And she wants to get a moped for her and her husband, with a sidecar for her duck. She is altogether endearing for more reasons than just her choice of pets.

So this is what she said about me: a vegan girl with a VEGAN husband!!! if not for anything else, go check out her husband...you won't be disappointed. i think she is raising her kids vegan also, so that's neat to read about. i enjoy her sense of humor. :)

She's totally after my husband. And then it suddenly dawned on me, as I was looking back through her blog...our husbands are very similar looking. We apparently must have the same taste. Which is funny because she and I aren't exactly opposite-looking either.

I'm really happy for my husband when he gets female attention. I think he's a babe, and it's good for people to receive positive feedback, ya know? He doesn't think he's a babe...especially since the declination of his hair. (Bless his heart...that "bless your heart" was especially for you, Michelle.)

So I hearby dedicate this award to my herbivore husband. Ryan.

And his hair.

God rest its soul.

Did you come by my blog to read about food today? I apologize for the shift in conversation. Here are a couple of food pictures to tide you over.

Here is the salad I had for supper one night this week: greens, chickpeas, zucchini, quinoa, carrot strips, celery strips, grated beets, and pumpkin seeds. For the dressing, I used a mixture of vegan caesar (light on this) and salsa.

And "What little piece of vegan heaven is that?" you might be asking...you'll have to come back tomorrow to find out.

Onto my list (maybe not all strange but hopefully a little bit interesting):

1. The coolest places I've ever visited are the Egyptian pyramids and the biblical holy land spots in Jerusalem.

2. I've actually peed on the Sinai desert. I couldn't hold it any longer, and...we were in the desert. I had to pee so bad I was actually crying. I ran off the bus to the desert, and a group of girls followed me because I think they had to pee (urinate? which is better to say?), too, or just wanted to protect me out in the wild or something. I was so annoyed that they came with me because I like to have a little privacy. So I got stage fright and couldn't go; it just wouldn't come out. I got back on the bus, nearly panicked at this point, wondering if I could die from holding it in that long. Fortunately, the bus made another stop after awhile, at a check-point or something, and I immediately darted back off for a sec on my own.

3. I left my friends (including my date) at a Nelson concert in highschool to sneak through the crowd toward the stage. I touched one of their hands.

Here's a picture of them, in case any of you young ones don't know who I'm talking about. I'm sure they were much cooler, you know - dressed much cooler, posing much cooler - the night I saw them...or else I couldn't possibly have been screaming as loud or as long as I was...right?

4. I stuck a raisin up my nose when I was really young, and my mom had to take me to the doctor to get it removed. I still remember the shine of the light in my eyes and the doctor looking down over me.

5. I don't like the taste of alcohol. At all. I've never had more than a few sips at a time. I can't really understand how so many people enjoy it. I sometimes think everyone must be pretending to like it because of peer pressure. :) Don't even get me started about coffee; blech. I occasionally do wish I enjoyed these liquids; I feel like I'm missing out on this big party going on.

6. I sometimes believe (Okay, I don't really believe this; my behavior just seems to indicate that I believe this.) that inanimate objects have feelings. I often turn a stuffed animal upside down because I think it can't breathe. Or if I choose the second jar of pasta sauce in the store, I'm afraid I hurt the first jar's feelings. Please don't stop reading my blog.

7. I went to the same high school as Don Johnson. Not at the same time, of course. But he's related to practically all of my friends in some way and comes back regularly to visit. Maybe more impressive than that: Brad Pitt grew up in our nearby town, the "bigger" town in our area, where we hung out. And I think...deep down, I know we could have been friends had we met. I think we would have connected. I just KNOW it. I can feel it.

I was going to pass this award on to blogs I've newly discovered through Vegan MoFo...but it was really too hard to narrow it down. And I wouldn't want to leave anyone out and hurt anyone's feelings...I mean, did you read the part where I can't even hurt inanimate objects' feelings? If you are reading this right now, that means you're one of my favorite bloggers (of course) so consider yourself awarded. I would love for you to post 7 obscure facts about yourself.

gratuitous vegan husband parting shot

Sandwiches and Tacos Make Me Happy

Rose very "sweetly" gave me the Happy 101 Award. According to the rules of this award, I list 10 things that make me happy and pass the award on to other bloggers.

Okay, so besides all of the obvious stuff like my family,friends, and rainbows - here are some of the little things that make me happy.

1) head rubs

2) Libraries. And bookstores.

3) Watching t.v. shows on dvd in bed with my husband. A couple of our favorites are Friday Night Lights (sooo good!) and Prison Break (I talked about that here, including my Michael Scofield cheesecake.). Right now we are on Season 5 of 24. I really love romantic comedies so I can't believe I'm so into that. I'm such a pacifist and generally don't like violence in movies, but I find myself yelling, "Shoot him!" when someone is remotely a threat.

4) unexpected phone calls and emails from family and old friends

5) My new necklace makes me happy! One pendant for each kid. (It looks weird because I erased my kids' names from the picture.) My blogging buddy Kristi made this necklace for me. Check out her Etsy shop - she makes cute stuff and her prices are very reasonable.

6) I love to eat citrus fruit the regular way, but I also really love to eat it like this - pull every little bulb of juice apart one at a time. I love the way it feels on my tongue. The other day, the kids and I sat and ate a grapefruit almost entirely this way.

7) This is random, but my oldest son (who is my healthiest, non-picky eater) likes it when I make him a plate of lots of different foods. He calls it "extra stuff." When I ask him what he wants to eat, he says, "I want a plate of extra stuff." And it's just one of things about his quirky personality that makes me smile. This is example of one of his recent "extra stuff" snack plates.

(Breakfast pita with Earth Balance, bell pepper strips, a Brazil nut, pineapple chunks, strawberries, and olives.)

He finished it and said, "More extra stuff, please!"

(bell pepper, olives, almonds, tomato chunks, and dehydrated pancake pieces)

8) Watermelon alone makes me happy, sure, but what REALLY makes me happy is when my parents buy us a watermelon. My mom brings it over, already cut up in a container. I am lazy about cutting things up, so I love it when she does that for me.

9) Sandwiches make me happy. This one is melted Daiya and warm tomato sauce, peppered Tofurky slices, tomatoes, and red bell peppers. I ate this version of sandwich a couple of days in a row because it was so good.

10) Tacos make me happy! This particular one was pretty random, but I don't care because I just love tacos any which way. I think it was just lettuce, steamed broccoli, salsa, and Gardein strips.

I would have passed this award onto Rose, Michelle, Blessed Mama, Jessica, Stacy, Carissa, Shenandoah Vegan, Ali, Michelle, Jessica & Lima, Averie, Marja, and Andrea - because reading all of your blogs makes me HAPPY...but I think all of you already received it - AND some of you received it two or three times; I don't want you to go and get a big head or anything! I mentioned some of my newly discovered blogs (including Heather's) last time with the Versatile Blogger Awards...I'm going to pass Happy 101 to these other blogs that make me HAPPY.

I've Got a List for That - My sister's blog: her life through lists - she's funny and entertaining. She will just LOVE it that I gave her an award...or maybe not.

VEGeneration - I love Diane, and she loves taking pictures of food. From every angle. :)

Tofu Mom - You might enjoy her recent post about buying groceries on a budget.

Ashley's Green Life - She's very sweet and has been "greening" up her life.

Disposable Aardvarks, Inc. - She makes very fun vegan Bento lunches for her kids.

Vegan Dance If You Want To - I think I'm naturally drawn to the blogs of people who live in NYC because I can live vicariously through.

Okay, so once again, there ARE more blogs that make me happy (a few already just popped into my head), but I only have so much time to sit here. It already takes me 2 days to write a blog post because I do it in 5 minute intervals. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!