Merry Christmas!

Can't believe there's only one card left on the Advent Garland. We've enjoyed having a couple of extra days with Daddy at home. (That's Ryan, to you.)

Tonight, for supper, I made Pizza Bagel Wreaths. My sister Cary sent me this link for the idea.


For tomorrow, Ryan has requested cheeze fondue, and we'll eat up our veggie tree tradition, as well.

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I hope that everyone has a wonderful December 25th, whether you celebrate the holiday of Christmas or not! Those of you who do celebrate Christmas, may it be very merry. I hope you all feel very blessed today and every day. 

What a Hungry, Pregnant, Vegan Momma Ate Today

Breakfast: Cereal (mix of Puffed Millet, Nature's Path Whole O's & Flax Plus) with chopped walnuts, almond milk, and 1/2 of a banana, chopped

Snack: A couple of slices of Dr. Cow cheese and a few chunks of fresh pineapple

Lunch: Thai Salad from Matthew Kenney's everyday raw. It basically consists of lettuce, avocado, bell peppers, pineapple, cashews (with spices added), coconut, tomatoes (I used fresh, rather than sun-dried.), and Thai dressing (recipe also in the book). I shared this with my son.

Snack: handful of carrot sticks and a few Brazil nuts

Supper: Salad with romaine, baby romaine, Swiss chard, grated squash, tomatoes, and garlic stuffed olives. I also melted Daiya on top of some leftover Mango BBQ Beans (from Appetite for Reduction), then slid that whole thing right onto my salad. Bwahaha. So good. Topped with some Guacamame (edamame guacamole, also from AfR).

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The kids are always begging me to let them make a meal. Well, it's really sweet and wonderful, and I try to let them learn by doing as much as possible...but sometimes I just need to hurry, and sometimes I don't feel like eating exactly what they're making...and things like that.

This is a meal they prepared for us all once, about 6 months ago. It basically consisted of salad (lettuce with whole baby carrots), crostinis with melted Daiya and some olives and grape tomatoes thrown in there, and some pan fried tofu. We ate it. Every last, dry, loving bite of it.

Well, today they really wanted to make something. I told them I was too super busy to help, but they could make something by themselves. All I did was write down the recipe, open the can of garbanzos, pull out the appropriate measuring cups and spoons and pretty much left them to it.

Part of the reason they like to cook is that they like to play restaurant and serve one another. They take turns putting on the chef hats and aprons and taking the order of someone at the table. This was what they served: Bagel Crisps with hummus, rice cheese, bits of lettuce, and mustard. (There was an enormous, unfortunate amount of mustard on a couple of the ones the boys made for their sister; those went uneaten.) I tried a bite of their hummus (plain); it was good!

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Really fun giveaway (think: free vegan food) hopefully going up tomorrow! Get excited!

"Bliss"ful Dining

Last week, my husband was scheduled for a business trip in Dallas. He's had a lot of these types of trips this year (Arizona, California, Texas, North Carolina, etc.). We've had enough of his absence! He decided it would be great for us to go with him this time. He flew out one-way on Monday (so he could ride home with us at the end of the week), then Tuesday night, after the kids were finished with homeschool co-op, we made the 6 hour drive. He had meetings scheduled every day until suppertime (when he'd join us). But we found plenty to do while he was busy. Like eating.

The first restaurant we hit up was Bliss, raw cafe & elixir bar in the University Park area. I was really looking forward to this one. Ryan and I had eaten at the other location (which is no longer open) last year for our anniversary.

Rawsagna

slices of zucchini and tomato layered with basil pistachio pesto, sun dried tomato sauce, and pignoli ricotta cheeze

This was my 11 year old's choice. He laughed with glee when his plate was set before him. We liked the little green "flag" sticking out of the "cheese" on top. He's so funny and predictable; he always eats meals like this in layers. First, he ate the tomato with ricotta, then he ate the zucchini strips with sauce, then the mushrooms, etc. The salad appeared to be just a plain, ordinary salad, but it was delicious. I loved whatever dressing was on it. (Something creamy plus maybe some agave?)

Greek Wrap

tahini hummus, guacamole, olives, carrots, chipotle hot drops, and capers

This is what my daughter ordered. Everything was just so good. It makes me want to eat raw and only raw every day. I mentally stored away plenty of ideas from the menu to eat at home.

Chocolate Bliss

raw cacao superfood power blend, agave nectar, mixed tocotrienols, coconut, and cacao butter

The kids gasped with happiness when they saw these drinks arrive. They were soooo chocolate-y. I thought it tasted like straight chocolate syrup. My 6 year old said, "Oh, it's so chocolate-y, I can't take it!" But then he kept drinking it, of course. You can get shots of the different elixirs, which I would do, rather than try to drink a whole glass.

My 6 year old opted out of ordering anything else. He does eat plenty of raw food, but there was no food combination on the menu that sounded appealing to him. (He doesn't like avocado, tomatoes, or zucchini, which really puts a halt to things at a raw place.) He would have been more excited if I'd just picked up an apple, some baby carrots, and a bag of nuts from the grocery store. He ate a meal replacement bar I had in my purse.

Coconut Kale Enchiladas

marinated kale with nacho cheeze, pico de gallo, tomatoes, black sesame seeds, and a "dash of cumin"

My meal. I could definitely eat this one every single day. I'm going to order some coconut wraps ASAP (or maaaybe try to make them). I have wanted to for awhile. This entree was on the small side, but I ended up eating half of my son's salad and half of one of my daughter's lettuce wraps, which made it perfect.

Strawberry Cheezecake

with chocolate sauce

We took our dessert to go. It was well received. It was partially frozen (less so by the time we got to our hotel). I don't know if it's supposed to be frozen, or if it was just brought out from the freezer. I like my desserts cold, but I would have liked this more if it didn't taste like icecream. But I think that's what my kids did like about it.

(The bill for the food above was...$78. My eyes popped out a little when I saw it...but it is what it is.)

A couple of days later, I called in an order for pick-up. My plan was to get something like nut butter sandwiches for the kids from an organic deli two doors down when I picked up my food. But by the time we got there, they were closed. Fortunately, there was also a Jamba Juice in the same shopping center, so they made do with smoothies and Clif bars plus more snacks back at the hotel.

My to-go meal:

Amigo Wrap

chili spice beans, taco pate, guacamole, red onion rings, tomatoes, pico de gallo, lettuce, and cashew sour creme, served on a lettuce wrap

The sauces on the side were tasty but spicy, and I couldn't handle much more spiciness after my gazpacho (below). The wrap - there were actually two of them with one order - was delicious and inspiring to me to eat more taco lettuce wraps (with cashew creme and nacho cheeze) at home. I've also never made raw taco filling at home, which I need to do.

Pineapple Cucumber Gazpacho

Because I am a creature of habit when ordering at restaurants, I made myself pick one thing off the menu that I normally would not order. Uh, big mistake. There is not generally anything (vegan) that I can't eat, solely based on taste. I mean, I'm pretty (very) picky about ingredients, but as far as taste being the only factor, I wouldn't let something go to waste.

However, I couldn't get even half of this down. I was pouting as I forced down as many bites as I could. The pineapple cucumber combination was fine, but it's also blended with cilantro, olive oil, green onion, and cracked pepper. I didn't like the overall taste, and it was sooo spicy. Despite my determination to eat my $9 soup in spite of...I had to throw it out.

Our visit to Bliss last year

Dehydrator

I've had some people ask me about my experiences with dehydrating. I really don't have a lot so I was hoping someone else who has more knowledge on the subject could jump in.

I have had my dehydrator for about a year. I had been thinking about buying one for awhile, but I didn't really know which one to get. I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on something that I may or may not end up using often.

I ended up buying this Nesco at Wal-Mart. The only reason I chose this particular model/brand: it's the only dehydrator I could find when I went looking. I'm such an immediate gratification kind of person. When I set my mind to getting something, I don't like to wait. So, no, I didn't read reviews on it or anything before I purchsed it. It cost around $30-40. I like it just fine, I guess, but I don't have anything to compare it to. The thing I like least about dehydrating: the noise. None of us here are fans of the roar. I have to turn it off when we're eating or just desiring a few minutes of peace and quiet.

So..I've showed you my chips

and my eggplant bacon.

I have also made Matthew Kenney's Blueberry Pancakes (from everyday raw). This is what it looked like before I took it off the sheet. I guess I used wax paper rather than parchment paper here, and that was not a wise choice. It was very difficult to get off the sheets. I think there is a difference in baking wax paper and regular wax paper. I have no idea which one I used, and did we just eat wax?

So my pancakes weren't as pretty once I peeled them off. We did like these. I don't think that I would make them again. I thought they tasted more like a cookie, and they were really too sweet for my liking (I didn't even use near the amount of sweetener that it called for.) I recommend this recipe only for people who are SERIOUS about choosing raw over cooked. I prefer cooked pancakes and choosing raw in other areas.

The next thing I want to make out of his book is "tofu" out of cashews and coconut meat, among other things.

I experimented for all of you who do not have a dehydrator. (The ingredients to these pancakes are primarily water, pine nuts, bananas, and pecans.) I poured two circles on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at my lowest setting (170) for part of the day. They also turned out. (They had slightly more of a "cooked" feel since that was the lowest temperature my oven allows.)

I only actually ended up with one pancake out of the oven. I had to take the cookie sheet out of the oven for awhile (while it was still batter-y) to cook something else. My 5 year old comes walking into the room, holding a bowl of something and a spoon. "Yum, this pudding is really good!"

I've put kale (lightly oiled and salted) in the dehydrator several times. I still haven't made cheezey sauce kale chips I always see around, but I really want to!

I probably prefer my fruits fresh and juicy. I might also prefer my kids to eat them that way, as well. However, they LOVE dehydrated fruit. The main reason I like to make dehydrated fruit occasionally: it's less messy and a quick snack for on-the-go. (Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even bother with it.) I would much rather them eat dehydrated fruit in the car or in their bedrooms, etc.

Speaking of dehydrators...look what mine has seemingly done to my counter. I have this amazingly long, beautiful countertop in my 2 1/2 year old house. I did wonder about the heat of the machine discoloring the counter; however, I kept checking on it, and that didn't seem to be a concern. I had no idea it would melt the glue. I hope I'll be able to fix this gap and make it good as new. I'll have to start dehydrating in our homeschool room. :0

Please give me any advice or thoughts you have

about dehydrating and dehydrators!

Which dehydrator do you recommend? Is the Exalibur 3900 the absolute best? Do you use it more if you can leave it on the counter all of the time? Do you think the Exalibur would create the same kind of problem for my countertop? Are all dehydrators loud, or is it just mine? What about the teflex sheets - I assume they are safe since everyone seems to use them - are these made just for the slide out square (rectangle?) trays? Do these make a big difference/improvement over just using parchment paper?

What are your favorite foods/recipes for the dehydrator? Should I even dehydrate fruit or just let my kids eat it fresh everytime?

Thanks for any advice or thoughts you have!

We Ate Mexican-y Last Night with a Lot of Raw

I've mentioned that I'm trying to get out of this rut and recapture a love for cooking. I think that when you have kids, sometimes - in a way - cooking can start to become a chore. Don't get me wrong. I really love doing cooking projects with them. My kids are so much fun, and they love it.

Like this one from quite awhile back (when my daughter was still in onesies...she's wearing my Martha Washington cap from my 6th grade Constitution play because we couldn't find the third chef hat)...I originally posted about using the Arrowhead Mills Organic Brownie mixes here.

And I happily love to nourish them with home cooking. However, it's not always fun to cook when you are constantly stopping to break up fights, help out in the bathroom, and listen to, "I'm hungry!" repeatedly, etc. I don't like to talk while I'm cooking. I like to cook the same way I like to clean - all by myself. Deep down, I really am "thankful in all things," and I know there will come a time I'll miss the little interruptions...sigh.

I say all of that to say this...I had the most enjoyable meal preparation time last night. I think Child #1 was on the computer, and #2 and #3 (Thing 1 and Thing 2) were upstairs or something. (I TRY to arrange something like this every time I want to cook alone, but it doesn't always work out this way.) I got to just mill around, enjoying my nice big kitchen. I feel like if I drank wine (I don't like wine.), this would have been the perfect time to do so.

I didn't think I had enough avocados (I only had 1 big one plus another half.) for regular guacamole so I just chopped the avocados and added chopped tomatoes, garlic, salt, and salsa. Trying to be "fancy," I put it in a cereal bowl and turned it upside down on the plate.

I am a little embarrassed to say...this was one of the first times I've ever made homemade refried beans. (I am so pathetic.) I'm really excited about it, and YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST: I am never buying canned refried beans again. I don't buy a lot of canned food, anyway, because it freaks me out, but refried beans are one of the things I always pick up in a rush. I liked mine much better, anyway. This time I just soaked and cooked the pinto beans and put them in the food processor with some spices. I was trying to keep them relatively benign for my 5 year old.

I put them in a casserole dish with Daiya and set it in the oven...mmm.

Finally, I just made a salad with lettuce and some parsley and beet greens I needed to use up, plus chopped bell peppers, olives, and salsa.

The night before, I made some of Matthew Kenny's Golden Tortilla Chips for the dehydrator. I wrote about trying his Eggplant Bacon recipe here. The chips were another successful raw venture. They mostly consist of thawed frozen organic corn, water, and flax meal - plus onions and spices.

The negative is that it takes 12-24 hours in the dehydrator.

(I think I took them out at about 18 hours.) My whole family ate them really well:

10 thumbs up.

I didn't know if there would be enough chips, so I made some extra ones by baking my Food for Life Gluten-Free tortilla shells. I brushed a little olive oil on the kids' chips but left off the extra fat on Ryan's and mine.

As soon as she started eating, my 3 year old daughter asked for some "mustard and ketchup." The kid loves mustard and ketchup. I squirted a little mustard on her plate but drew the line at ketchup. She was dipping her chips in the mustard; she wanted more and was mad because I told her she had to dip them in her beans and guacamole, not mustard. Poor, deprived child.

A few giveaways I'm mentioning: Vegan Backpacker is having a giveaway for a Secret Society of Vegans t-shirt and badge.

Vegan Crunk is having a giveaway for Soap Nuts Laundry Soap.

Love Veggies and Yoga is having a giveaway for a $100 gift certificate to CSN Stores.

And get excited because I'm going to be having a fun vegan food giveaway, sometime during the next day or two!

Eggplant Bacon

I first heard about Eggplant Bacon from the fabulous Sheri at Green and Crunchy. The recipe is in Matthew Kenney's book, everyday raw. She raved about it, which caught my attention. I thought, "Bummer; I wish I had the recipe." Then it dawned on me...I HAVE that cookbook. I'm a little slow at times.

Anyway, this whole dehydrating thing is a lot of work. I think maybe you just have to get used to it and get into a pattern. I also have to get used to the roar of the machine and waiting so long for my efforts to pay off. I'm always sneaking bites or cutting it off hours before it's recommended.

This recipe basically calls for slicing eggplant, marinading it with different ingredients, and dehydrating. I didn't use the chipotle chili that it called for because I was afraid it would make it too spicy for my kids. I also only let it marinade for 1 hour, rather than 2-3 hours, because I wanted to get it in the dehydrator before I went to bed.

I loved it so much, I'll definitely make it again soon. I'll play around with the spices more next time, too, and maybe buy the chipotle next time to go in it.

This got 8 thumbs up from my family. (Once again, my middle child didn't like it. I was really surprised because I thought he would be the one to eat it up. He generally likes crunchy foods.) My 10 year old snacked on it like crazy.

The best way to eat Eggplant Bacon is by itself so that it retains its crispiness. I put it on a sandwich, and it became rehydrated. It was still yummy, just not crispy. Next time I make it, I'll try it in a salad.

My sandwich: Food for Life brand Gluten-free English muffin, melted Daiya, hemp seeds, artichoke/onion mixture leftover from my Artichoke Pie preparation, mustard, and sliced tomatoes.

My review of these English muffins? The first time I bought them, I let them go bad before we finished the pack. They seemed hard and dry, and I was not impressed. However, I've bought them 2 or 3 times since; I guess they grew on me. Call me crazy; I just like dry, tough bread. Really soft bread loaded with additives and preservatives honestly seems so peculiar to me now. :) I'm the same way with tortilla shells. I always choose the Food for Life gluten-free tortilla shells for myself, as well, and they are also pretty dry.

served with split peas and broccoli

Kristen from Kristen's Raw is having a giveaway for a complete set of her ebooks!

I have one of her ebooks, which I love, so this is a great prize!!!

Muffin Tin Monday: Patriotic Theme

There continues to be no theme this summer for Muffin Tin Mondays.

I chose patriotic theme because we won't be able to do it at home next week.

I made red, white, and blue kabobs.

RED: grape tomatoes, apples, and frozen strawberries

WHITE: lightly stir-fried tofu cubes and cauliflower

BLUE: blueberries

I asked Sissy why we were having a red, white, and blue meal; she had no clue.

So, apparently, it was a learning experience.

I cut the star out of a Ozery Bakery Breakfast Pitas (They had the Breakfast Muesli flavor.). The kids really like these a lot. They usually eat one warmed with Earth Balance stuck inside when we need a quick breakfast on-the-go.

I got the wooden party picks from Pier 1. A bag of 24 were only a couple of dollars.

The pinwheels really work.

Have a Happy 4th of July, if I miss getting to say that next weekend!

This Was My New Year's Resolution Post

Note: This was my New Year's Resolution post, January 2010, on my other blog.

I'm reposting an edited version of it over here, as I am constructing this blog.

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to start eating more fruits and vegetables. Like REALLY start eating MORE. (To get healthy and to help me lose 15 lb.) I know I probably eat more (fruits and veggies, that is) than the average person (since everything I eat has to come from the ground), but honestly, it takes some work for me. If left to my own taste buds, I could survive on cold cereal and sandwiches. Top it off with a handful of chocolate chips. It's not that I don't want to eat more fruits and vegetables. I really do like them. I absolutely love a good salad or a good smoothie. There are many hindrances, though, like:

1) I'm a lazy cook.

and

2) I don't like going to the grocery store. (Once I'm AT the grocery store, I like it; I just don't like GOING. Because I'm also a lazy driver.)

Fortunately, I do have the natural desire for my family and me to be as healthy as possible. And if I read (and then research) about something that ISN'T good for me, that's all it takes. I don't want it anymore. The thought of eating something artificial or with trans fat, etc. sounds gross to me. I'm not tempted in the least.

Although it does have it's problems (socially, I can imagine I'm not the most fun person to hang out with, ha), I'm relieved I am OCD about food. Because if I wasn't, I don't know what would prevent me from stopping through Burger King like every day to get fries. And I have enough trouble losing weight the way it is. I'm just saying, I KNOW it's hard - all of it...losing weight, eating well (but we need to do it anyway!). I'm going to be trying my best.

This was our stash from Whole Foods last Saturday. Doesn't it just look beautiful? We bought much less processed/boxed food this time. I have a very bad habit of buying produce and letting it get buried and rotten in my fridge because I'm tired at night and reach for frozen Amy's burgers instead. I'm proud to say we ate almost all of it this week (and what little remained - juicing carrots, a couple of limes, etc. - is still fresh). One of the things that really helped was spreading it all out like this to dry (to keep the fridge stuff from going in wet and molding).We even had to go back to the store several times throughout the week for more fruits and veggies.

We've been having lots of smoothies and salads, and we've also made "spring rolls" using rice paper wrappers. If you have never worked with these, they're really cool.

They are hard like a chip and have to be soaked in water for about 20 seconds. Then just fill it with veggies (we used raw swiss chard, celery, broccoli, carrots, and avocado...and I chopped everything in the food processor ahead of time hoping it would make it easier to chew for the kids) and roll it up. The wrapper sticks together. It's such an amazing texture.

Dash, at first, asked if it was food, which is funny and totally logical. They're just like rice noodles, though, if you've ever had those. Totally plain and nothing weird (ingredients: rice flour, tapioca flour starch, salt, water). These can also be fried, if you prefer, but we haven't tried that yet.

On the side: Kristen's Cheezy Hemp Sauce, which I've mentioned before that we love. Also: brazil nuts, which are high in selenium and good for your prostate.

Those of you who have one of those.

The kids like it when I tell him why a food is good for you. I guess I must have told Dash once that brazil nuts are good for your prostate and had to explain what a prostate is, because he announced at dinner, "Daddy, Brazil nuts are good for your privates."

We've also been making lots of juice.

Fresh juice just smells so ALIVE. (NOT like dirt or whatever it is my Mom says it smells like. update: She says that isn't juice altogether that smells like dirt; it's only beet juice.)

We had QUITE a bit of excitement this week with the arrival of our new Blendtec blender.

Muffin Tin Monday: Dips

We're linking up again with Muffin Tin Mom and sharing what we had for lunch today.
Click on one of the links above to see other families' muffin tin meals. If you're wondering why we eat out of muffin tins - well, they're perfect little compartments for kid size meals, it's easy clean-up, and it's about making lunch a little more fun for them.

We decided to have a "dip day." Here is Tornado's tin - what he used as his dippers (keeping in mind he is 9 so his 3 year old and 5 year old siblings had slightly smaller versions): red bell pepper strips, apple slices, celery and carrot sticks, toast strips, Tofurky sausages, cherry tomatoes, tater tots, broccoli, cauliflower, and multi-grain chips. (The other two had the same things except Dash didn't have tomatoes, and neither of them had bell peppers or celery.) They didn't quite finish everything so I just stuck their tins in the fridge for an afternoon snack.

And here are the dips. They were talking nonstop about what was what. "Now what is this one again?" Tornado suggested I should have labeled everything. He's always good for ideas.

Starting at the top left corner: ketchup, cashew butter dip, Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce, vegan ranch. Next row: walnut pate', vanilla yogurt with fruit spread drizzled on top (this was a favorite), peanut sauce (Tornado said it was too spicy; Daddy said it was delicious.), and guacamole.


Recipes: CASHEW BUTTER DIP - I just mixed cashew butter, applesauce, and agave nectar. I thought it was yummy. Tornado agreed, but for some reason, Dash and Sissy didn't want to try it. I'm just going to but the rest on a sandwich for them later.


CHEEZY HEMP NACHO SAUCE - Visit Kristen's Raw for the recipe. We make this a lot, and we love it!


WALNUT PATE' - HERE IS THE RECIPE I used. It's basically just blending walnuts with one teaspoon each of lemon juice, olive oil, and tamari plus spices. I'm going to start making this all of the time. The kids liked it, and I did, too!