Adventures in Midwestern America

Tasty Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna

2012-01-16T18:33:00.000-08:00

Hello bloggy peeps!

How has everyone been? I hope everyone has had wonderful holidays and has spent alot of time with those they love!!
I have been busy settling in our new house and trying to decide what to do with all the extra things we have gathered over the years.
I have been trying to learn more about low carb dieting and I have discovered that it is really confusing. They really have no idea how to make vegan low carb....I am guessing it would be like ETL except with protein....? I don't know, it is confusing. Has anyone had any experience with low carb vegan?

I was going to go into low carb with a new mind set, but I find after being a vegan for so long I cannot. It is difficult for me to even think of eating meat. My oldest daughter has no problem at all, of course she has always been a meat eater, but Kaiti and I are struggling. We have been eating alot of stir fry and veggie trays. Everything just tastes so unappetizing. I guess the ETL, changed my taste buds. I haven't even written on the new blog, because lets face it.....the food would be vegan. No one would read it. My first recipe over there was vegan. UGH!!!

Well here is what I made for dinner. I thought you might like to see what we had for dinner

Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna

2 large eggplants, thinly sliced into wide strips
2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1 small batch homemade spaghetti sauce or your favorite jarred sauce
1 pkg.organic extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. salt to taste
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. oregano

1/2 recipe of italian sausage
12 oz. frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced thinly, also lengthwise

Place the tofu's in a large bowl along with the spinach and remaining ingredients minus the sausage and tomatoes. Using your hands smash everything together, you can use a food processor if you like. When everything is mixed the way you would like it start assembling your lasagna.
Place about 2/3 of your sauce down top with your noodles. Then place your eggplant on top of your noodles with 1/2 of your ricotta mixture and all of the sausage mixture, cover with more noodles, continue until you have reached the top of the pan ending with the sauce. Finish by placing some thinly sliced zucchini over sauce and then top with tomatoes.

Sausage

1 1/2 cups prepared tvp with browning seasoning and fennel

1 tbls. red pepper flakes

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp. cracked black pepper

1 tbls. yellow miso

1 tsp. italian seasoning

1 tsp. oregano

Mix everything together, taste to see if seasonings are right.

Tasty and totally soul satisfying!

I need your advice, opinions, whatever......Something.If there are low carbing vegans or gluten free vegans, shout out!!!

Until then,
Viv~

Follow me!

2011-12-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

Hello bloggie buddies!

I know I have been MIA for quite awhile, but if you are still out there, I want you to know...I MISS YOU!

If you are still out there waiting for me to blog...I am still here.

For those that read my blog, you know that I have become a flexitarian. I have started a new blog that will follow me through new recipes that include meat and some new things like exercise, gardening, our new house, kids and weight management. I hope you pop over and share my new way of eating. I am going to leave this blog up for those that are new or would like to copy down my recipes. There will still be plenty of vegetarian, vegan and ETL foods included in my diet. I have eliminated all gluten and whites....ie. flour, sugar, potatoes, rice and most beans etc.

It seems that I process food better with out starches.

Totally weird, right?

I truly hope to see some of you at my new blog so we can chat again. I know that you know I have struggled with my illness alot and have tried numerous ways to alleviate the pain I have. I think I have finally figured it out. It might help you too!

I will be back to my goofy self, telling stories and sharing products I love. I will take you on field trips to asian markets and some cool organic stores I have found in my absence. I truly hope you come, and if you don't, know that I understand.

Here is the link to my new site

http://foodiegirlrockslowcarb.blogspot.com/2011/12/hello-and-welcome-to-midwestern-foodie.html

Until then~

Stay cool veggie friends!

Viv~

Hummus for snacky nights and a few fun surprises!

2011-09-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hello bloggie peeps.
I am hoping that you are all enjoying this lovely cool weather we have been given over the past few weeks.

I figure I would start you off with some goodies I have been fooling around with. I have been really snacky lately, I mean really snacky...

I guess it is due to the fact that I have been much busier than I usually am this time of year.
I have really been craving heavy foods. Pizza, dips and chips, Mexican yummies, the works. But I know that to keep my figure and to be able to indulge, I would have to find a happy medium.

The first recipe I am going to give you was a whim, just to see if I could replicate the flavor of pizza. I think I did pretty good!

Pizza Hummus .

1 1/3 c. cooked or 1 can of Chickpeas
1/3 cup tahini
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 jar of Roasted red peppers, in water
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
salt and pepper
oregano to taste
basil to taste
Fennel seed to taste
paprika
1 tablespoon San Marzano tomato paste
Blend everything together in a food processor. Serve with vegetable dippers. This would be great on a super thin pizza crust with some fresh veggies like arugula and tomatoes!

Guacamole Hummus

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 garlic clove
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 1/3 c. or 1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped
2 smallish Roma tomatoes, seeded
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
coarse salt & fresh ground pepper

Combine garlic clove with cilantro leaves and jalapeno in the food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the chickpeas and avocado, continue processing. While the processor is running, slowly pour the water into the mixture. Add lemon juice and continue until smooth. Season with salt & pepper and toss in tomatoes to make a chunky mix.
Serve with homemade baked tortilla chips or my favorite, cucumber slices!!
Feel free to omit the cilantro if you do not like it, or even replace it with parsley!

Sour Cream and Onion Hummus

3 c. cooked chickpeas, 1/2 cup liquid reserved from your cooking water
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
Kosher salt

Put the chickpeas, chickpea liquid, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, dried onion, onion powder, granulated garlic and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Puree until smooth and creamy.
Serve with any chip you like or veggie dippers!! I make my own baked pita chips and serve it with fresh cut veggies.

I really thing you are going to like these recipes! They are Yummines!!!!

So are you ready for some fun news??

My family sold our large colonial house and are currently renovating a little bitty cottage on the north side of town! With only 1 child at home it seemed silly to have a 5 bedroom house. Plus, the heating bill is murder!

It has two bedrooms, dining room, super tiny kitchen, fabulous mudroom and a living room with a cute little bay window. We are thrilled to have found this little diamond in the rough.
In the rough is an accurate description.
It has been vacant for over a year and had been used as a rental since 1996. Last year a tree limb fell through the master bedroom roof!!!!
I know you are probably wondering what the appeal is, right?
1. We have always wanted to live in a cottage home.
2. We love history, this main house was built 1n early 1900, and back portion of the home was built in the 1940's.
3. Chris and I love to renovate and this was way too good to pass up!
4. ARE YOU READY??? We only paid $11,500 for it!!!!!!!
The owners of the home are a lovely older couple my husband and I have known for years. They asked us one day if we would be interested in a possible rental home and asked us of we wanted to look at it.
Chris and I went to take a look and I instantly fell head over heels in love with it. It was filthy and a mess , but the bones of the house were solid and it had possibilities!!! It was everything we always wanted in a cottage, including beautiful hardwood floors!
Three weeks later, we signed the papers and started renovating it three weeks ago!!!
~
Our second fun surprise is..Our local Co-op wanted to buy our house to expand their operation, they made us an offer we couldn't refuse and so we bought a house and sold our house all with in 3 weeks! Crazy right?
So, over the next few weeks we will share with you some fun pictures and stories of our new house adventures!!!
I look forward to share pictures, stories and additional goodies with you!!!!
Hugs,
Viv~

Pickled Vegetables and Hi I am back!

2011-06-24T05:01:00.000-07:00

Hello bloggie buddies,
Have you missed me as much as I have missed you? I hope not! I have missed everyone alot!
I am so glad to be able to come back and show you what I have been up to!

So for the past few months I have been making modifications to my diet, working out what works with my system and what doesn't. I was having irregular blood tests when I left and I was fearful that I was going to have a complete breakdown in my body's defenses. It has happened twice before and I was hospitalized for a week when my body flared.
I figured it was best to just stop going forward and possibly just sit this one out and wait.
Here is what I have discovered.
While I enjoyed eating on ETL, having a lowered immune system and a frail body is not a good combo when you also have psoriatic arthritis with mutilans and spondilitis. My body had started feeding on my reserve fat stores and was weakening me to the point of exhaustion. My poor body could not build any energy because I was not consumming enough fats, my doctor was becoming increadingly alarmed at my blood work. At first I just bumped up my nuts and avocado consumption, it seemed to help, but then I had a body meltdown. I was put on three different mdications to try and help calm my body so I would not have a flare and also to try and help boost my vitamin D and proteins. My SED rate was of the charts.
To be honest with you, I was scared out of my mind that I would die. Two of my close friends with my disease have been hospitalized in the past year and almost died, I did not want to be in that position.
So with my doctors watching my every move, insisting that I stop being a vegan, I started reincorporating foods I used to eat. I had to build up my strength fast or face the inevitable, hospitalization. These are the foods I started with.

Cold pressed olive oil
Raw Butter
Organic Eggs
Organic Lean chicken
Seafood ie. shrimp

I did this for about a month and then started backing off of the meat and dairy once again and started all over on my healthful vegan ways. I gained 5 lbs back and I also started getting some color back in my complexion.
In my quest for health, I was unknowingly breaking down my system.
I now feel confident and healthy.
I have since adopted a more flexitarian diet.
I feel better than I have in a long time.
I want toshow you how I eat and explain flexitarianism so that you will understand what being a flexitarian means.

What is a Flexitarian?
Flexitarians maintain a diet that consists primarily of fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and lugumes. The flexitarian (flexible diet) diet is actually very similar to a vegetarian diet except that meat, fish, and poultry are eaten minimally as a protein supplement. Whereas a carnivore plans his meals around a main course of meat the flexitarian considers meat to be an occasional add-on to his meals.
Flexitarians tend to be nutritionally-savvy individuals who are serious about their health as well as their personal ecological footprint. Animal products are generally considered to require more of the earth’s resources for production than plant foods. Therefore, flexitarians enjoy increased health benefits from eating a more eco-friendly, plant-based diet while reaping the satisfaction of treading more lightly on the earth by consuming less meat!

My daily lifeisn't much different than it was when I left, what is different is I am combining acombo of different diets into one to make it fit my illness and my lifestyle.
Here is what a day looks like for me.

Breakfast
20 oz. banana, flax seed, walnut and strawberry smoothie
1/2 cup raw oatmeal with raisins
2 cups coffee with a non dairy creamer

Snack
2 oranges
Organic hard cheese
Flax seed crackers

Lunch
Huge wedge salad with 2 roma tomatoes, vegan ranch or "blue cheese" dressing with cucumbers, radish, onions and bell peppers
Some type of soup
Avocado veggie club sandwich on rye bread

Snack
Air popped popcorn with a sprinkle of olive oil, spike, dill and sea salt

Dinner
Pasta or rice
Veggie stirfry, or baked veggie casserole (I have been on a tomato kick lately)
Possibly some tofu or a gluten made meat, or even some organic meats. (I still struggle with meat consuption)
Pickled veggies for digestion

Pretty simple stuff huh! I will occasionally use some cheese if I feel myself getting weak or irritable, I also try to use only organic when I do consume anything outside of the vegan "norm" ie. cheese, eggs etc.

I thought I would throw in a recipe too to get back on track. I have been making alot of pickled things lately, but this is one of my favorites

Quick and Easy Pickled Vegetables
Ingredients:
•1/2 pound green string beans, ends trimmed
•1/2 pound yellow wax beans, ends trimmed
•2 large carrots, peeled, cut into 4-inch long by 1/2-inch thick sticks
•2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch thick sticks
•1 head cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets
•6 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
•3 1/2 cups cider vinegar
•1 cup sugar
•1 tablespoon kosher salt
•4 cups water
•1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
•2 bay leaves
•1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
•pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
•4 cups water
Preparation:
Add all the trimmed vegetables, except the garlic, into a large, stainless steel mixing bowl or stockpot (must be made from a non-reactive metal). Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a large saucepan (non-reactive), and bring to a rolling boil over med-high heat.

Carefully pour the boiling liquid over the vegetables, and make sure all the ingredients are submerged in the brine by using some large plates or glass platters to hold them under the liquid.

When the vegetables have cooled completely to room temperature, wrap tightly plastic wrap (leave the plates on the container, so the vegetables remain under the pickling liquid. After refrigerating for at least 2 days, the pickled vegetables can be taken out of the liquid and served. They will keep for about 5 days submerged.
Totally YUM~

This is not the end but the beginning of something wonderful

2011-03-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

As I begin to write this it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you I am leaving the blogsphere. It has been a pleasure to spend the past year with you, to meet you and become friends. Everyone I have met has been very dear to me and each of you have helped shape me into the healthy person I am today. To say I will miss you is an understatement, but I will be around, reading your blogs and leaving my comments. I just have some medical things I need to take care of and it is going to take up alot of my time. I am not much for saying goodbye, my mother used to say it sounded to final, so I will leave you with this. Until I see you again, I will hold each of you in my heart. Love and many hugs, Vivacious Vegan

Cajun beans and a New Ranch Dressing

2011-03-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hello friends ,

I hope everyone is loving this warm weather we are having today.

I have been taking the warm weather as a sign that I should start spring cleaning. I have been sweeping and mopping, wiping down baseboards and removing spider webs and dust from the ceilings...

Winter, I am glad you are gone!!!!

My house smells and looks like spring. Gone are the heavy curtains and in their place beautiful lace curtains have taken their place. Tons of spring flowers and pale crisp colors surround me daily. I am happy! My favorite part of spring is listening to the birds sing early in the morning while I prepare my morning smoothie. I used to start every morning with a pot of coffee, now it is a huge pitcher of green smoothie! Can life get any better? I don't think so!

So today I was rummaging in my pantry to try and figure out something for dinner. Kaiti was off spending the night at her friends house for two nights , so I was alone. I decided on making me some cajun bean jambalaya with okra over brown rice. Then the door opened and in walked Kaiti and her friend. They informed me they had more fun at our house and were going to stay here tonight, oh and by the way they were starving. So dinner became lunch.

With all the hulabaloo I didn't think to write the recipe down, because I was not going to post it, but it was so pretty that I had to take the picture. Which led me to posting it for you!Since I do not have a recipe for this, I will just give you basics until I can recreate it for you.

Cajun bean Stew

I used, 1 red bell pepper diced, red onion diced, 7 stalks of celery sliced, and 4 garlic cloves sliced. 2 cans salt free black beans, 2 cans salt free pinto beans, 1 large can crushed tomatoes, 1 can diced tomatoes. 2 tsp. cajun seasonings, 1 tsp. cumin, 2 tsp. parsley, 1 tsp. cracked black pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp. garlic powder. I cooked the veggies in a little water until tender and then added the remaining ingredients. Cook for about 30 minutes and serve over brown jasmine rice with okra.

So I decided that for dinner I would throw together a quick homemade pizza and salad for the kiddo's and myself. I was talking to Alicia the other day and she suggested I try making ranch dressing with cashews. Here is my first try. I have to admit, I was not hopeful...But it turned out great!!!
Creamy Cashew Herb Salad Dressing
Makes 3/4 cup

Ingredients:

½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, or two days if you forget them...
½ cup water
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 tablespoons dill, dried
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping tsp. dried parsely

Directions:
Combine everything in the blender and puree until smooth. The mixture will thicken in the refrigerator. It took quit awhile for the dressing to get smooth. I soaked my cashews for 2 days, mainly because I forgot about them until today. I thought that this dressing was awesome and I will be using it alot during the summer for salads and dressings!! The possibilites are endless, I am going to add some avocado and salsa in my next batch for a southwestern style topping for salad!!!
Here is our pizza, I made a homemade sauce then grabbed a whole wheat pizza crust topped it with yellow peppers, red onion, olives, sautee'd mushrooms and baby spinach. YUM!
Since I haven't posted a baby picture for awhile, here is Evangeline Lily. She says Hello!

XOXO

Viv~

The ETL diet, why you should do it!!!

2011-03-10T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Bloggie Buddies

Once again I fell off the blogsphere so to speak....I really love this time of year and I have been busy digging potato beds and stripping out old plants and replacing them with new fresh ones.

I thought long and hard about this post and that is why it has taken me so long to write it. Actually, I have rewritten it twice.

I wanted to make sure that I could connect with every single one of you, my most wonderful readers.

I want you to know that I changed my life with food. I stopped a disease that would have killed me. I can hardly look away from that sentence....

I STOPPED A DISEASE THAT WOULD HAVE KILLED ME.

How many people can say they stopped disease? I didn't believe it when I started the ETL diet, I surely didn't believe for the first 6 weeks. I was in hell everyday, EVERYDAY!

I hated the food, I hated the way I felt, what was happening to my body and especially the whining from friends and family about the food choices I was making.

I was the butt of most of the family jokes at holidays. Until, I lost 67 lbs last year.

Then I started getting the concerned looks. The are you eating enough comments and finally the disdain and hateful jabs about being a health freak and a food snob.

Ah, I love family and friends so much!!

I just smile when they throw out their ludicrous jabs. I smile ALOT!

I smile because they are obese and disease ridden.

I smile because they refuse to listen to reason.

I smile because there is nothing I can do to help them and I know our time is short together.

I want to share with you all the reasons to think about giving ETL a try.

ETL can prevent and even reverse the following conditions...

Heart disease

Obesity

Cancer

Psoriatic Arthritis

Crohn's

Lupus

Migraines

Varicose veins

Joint stress

Chronic bad breath

ADHD

Psoriasis

Diabetes's

High blood pressure

Hypoglycemia

Cellulite

Fibromyalgia

Eat To Live is a totally sound, medically proven way to dramatically change your health.

The following was taken directly from Dr. Fuhrman's website written by Dr. Fuhrman himself.

Why Eat to Live?
The nutritional quality of my Eat To Live program is effective even for those who have previously been unable to lose weight. However, Eat To Live is not only for those who are overweight, but also it's for anyone who wants to protect their health.

You will learn about the diet-style that I call Eat To Live because you want to:

maximize health and longevity.
reach your ideal weight.
reverse disease such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful medical interventions.
raise healthy children, safeguarding their future against autoimmune disease and cancer.
My book, Eat To Live was designed for those who are not satisfied with mediocrity and want to maximize their opportunity for a positive health outcome. Most people are addicted to the toxic Standard American Diet and are committing slow suicide with food. Thinking about change is difficult. With time, these changes will come easily, and you will eventually prefer this style of eating. Many people might not wish to make such dramatic changes in their lifestyle.

The problem is this: Making moderate changes does not lead to dramatic health achievements and reversal of diseases.

Moderate changes simply don't work. The typical outcome, where adults are put on medication and see their health deteriorate as they pass the age of 50, must be expected. The typical advice begets the typical results where half of all Americans die of heart attacks and strokes, and more than 25 percent die of cancer.

Authorities advise moderate changes, for they fear more substantial improvement in dietary habits will be rejected by the masses: they are right. The masses are addicted to dangerous eating practices, and it is not easy to stop old habits in today's toxic food environment.

Understanding the addictive nature of unhealthful food, how to recover from these addictions, and removing troubling symptoms and cravings that induce overeating is an important distinction in the methods I explain in the membership site and in my book Eat To Live. This is not about measuring portions and trying to eat less food. It is about choosing the highest quality foods that can remove your food addictions and about having you lose your desire to overeat.

I strongly disagree with those who think that you must be satisfied with maintaining an abnormal weight, because trying to lose too much is impossible, or that gastric-bypass is the only sure answer. It does not matter if you have failed every diet you have ever tried in the past. My methods have enabled thousands of individuals to lose large amounts of weight. One statement which I continually make to my patients is, "Do not simply control your diabetes. Let's get rid of it!" If you are ready to receive an education in human nutrition and to be coached to achieve world-class health, you are in the right place.

You choose to Eat To Live because you have made the decision never to have a heart attack. It is for those who are not satisfied with merely reducing their risk a little. You will learn that drugs, surgery and medical care are insufficient to protect you against a medical tragedy. You Eat To Live to avoid the need for medicines, to avoid the need for medical intervention, to avoid invasive surgery, and to avoid the medical tragedies that are so prevalent in our society. You decide to Eat To Live because you realize life is valuable and worth living fully with your full mental faculties and physical abilities maintained into your later years.

I Eat To Live. Why? Because I enjoy eating lots of great tasting food that guarantees my favorable low cholesterol, freedom from heart disease, protection from cancer, and maintain my youthful vitality into my later years. I have learned that good health is your greatest wealth. That is why you should Eat To Live, too.

My Honest Opinion about ETL.

When I first started reading about ETL, I was pessimistic to say the least. After I started the plan I was even more pessimistic about it.

Because lets face it, this diet takes every single food you love and tells you it is bad, then tells you that everything you ever thought was healthy, ie vegan living is also mostly unhealthy and you should stop eating that way too.

I was shocked to find out I was a high junk food vegan. I looked at other vegan blogs compared to my own and thought that I was the healthiest out of the blogs I read, and then it hit me.

If I eat processed food, if I ate out alot, if I was still drinking soda and strawberry soy milk, I was a junk food vegan.

Now you all know how I like to have a good rant and I love to go on and on, and stand high and mighty on my soap box about fast food and obesity and childhood diabetes, but today I just want to say this.

I have a debilitating illness that should be crippling me right now, yet I walk 4 miles every day.

I should be covered in horrible plaques that cover 90% of my body, but my skin is shiny and soft.

I should walk with a limp and have curled in hands, yet I can run and brush my own hair with ease.

I should be partially bald because I am on a cancer preventive medicine that can make your hair fall out, but my hair is strong and thick.

I should be unable to write this post because my fingers are stiff and I cannot get out of bed.

BU.....

Here I am doing all of the things I cannot do, because someone told me my life could be different, because someone cared enough to say, STOP, your killing yourself and helped me change the way I thought about food and health.

It is hard. Your family will protest.

Your friends will complain. You will cry and whine alot, especially if you are anything like me. Then one day you will wake up and look at yourself, or at your blood tests, or your family and the change will be dramatic. You won't remember the old you, you will not believe the changes you made. You will enjoy your food and so will the people who doubted the plan.

It is unbelievable that something so simple as changing your food can stop catastrophe in your health, and yet most people will never stop eating to kill themselves.

I will leave you with this thought,

Please, for your health and for the health of your children and those that you love and that love you, think about becoming a nutritarian, it will save your life.

Loving thoughts sent your way,

Viv~

XOXO

Coming soon: A discussion about ETL and why you should be doing it!

2011-03-07T08:08:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!
Sorry for the MIA status lately, but you know me, I am very busy!
I will make this post short, as my next post will be in length and discuss with you all the benefits of the ETL lifestyle and I will share with you some other books I have been reading.
I want to discuss some amazing things that I have discovered about immune deficient diseases and the ETL lifestyle.
I miss you all and I am looking forward to posting my next blog!

XOXO
Viv~

Life Happens and I got behind on everything

2011-02-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

Sigh...

Ok, I should start by apologizing for my lack of blogging and I should also state that the soup competition is on hold for the time being.
We have been experiencing some amazing catastrophes in the Vivacious household.
Our plumbing under the house had to be totally replaced a few weeks ago, due to a cold snap that broke three major pipes under the house.
We had floods in two rooms, I am still catching up on laundry, it was awesome....
Then somehow the water caused our electricity to short out and we were without power for two days.
Our brakes went out in the van followed by the water pump and replacing a new tire that got a screw through it when Emma borrowed it to move her things, thank goodness we have road hazard insurance.
Now we are dealing with Emma's new house issues.
Last month Emma found and fell in love with a small farm house across town. It has vinyl siding a newer roof and central heat and air. So Emma bought a 112 year old house for $13,000 without really thinking it through, so her father and I have to keep running over to repair things for her... like her furnace, water pipes, gas stove, faulty electric wiring, windows...etc.
To say we are exhausted would be an understatement. Emma has also gone back to work, so I babysit 7 days a week.
Just writing this is exhausting...
We have been eating out alot more than we should and I have gained and lost 2 lbs. back and forth over the course of three weeks.
Also since Emma and her husband Chris both work at City Buffet, that is where we eat most often. It is super easy to veganize there and even better, I can ETL.
Evangeline gets to see her parents and I can drink as much hot green tea as I like. This has been the highlight of each week...can you tell?

In other news, Kaiti has lost 14 lbs. She is struggling a bit so I have been switching her between healthy vegan foods, and ETL, I think we will be ok.
I really need to go finish up my cleaning before I get my granddaughter today.
I hope everyone is enjoying their Monday.
Sorry about the venting, but I want everyone up to speed on why I have been MIA.
XOXO
Viv~

The snow melted and I have pictures!!!

2011-02-14T23:10:00.000-08:00

FINALLY I WAS ABLE TO UPLOAD!!!!!!
YAY!
I will keep this short as it is 1:30am in the morning and I am sleepy! But coming up next is Blessed Mama's soup here!

OK here we go!! This is a miss mash of two days put together for you!!!

It was below freezing so I wanted something really really warming so, I threw together a really delicious root vegetable bake. It contained, parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, brussel sprouts and zucchini with some organic all purpose salt free seasoning, cracked pepper, and minced garlic. I covered it with aluminum foil and baked it for 45 minutes at 450 degree's! So uber YUM!
My daily treat! 3 dried prunes and two brazil nuts for selenium. A most excellent combination of foods!

Here is the beginning of our snow storm. All in all, we had over 12 inches of snow. This is the view from our front door.

Lunch was the roasted veggies I made the previous day, rolled into collard greens with my homemade chipotle hummus with spicy mustard.

This is the back door of the house facing toward the seed Co-op

My daily green smoothie. Don't you love my hand popping out of my hubby's flannel jacket?? It was cold out!

Finally I have pictures of Millie's delicious 16 bean soup which I found here

Nuestra Cena Vegan American & Latin Cuisine's

16 bean soup

(1) 16 bean blended bag of beans by Goya

(1) 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. dried chopped onion

1 tsp. Tabasco sauce

1 T. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 T. olive oil

6 garlic cloves (minced)

5 cilantro sprigs (chopped finely)

3 envelopes of Jamon (artificial ham flavoring)

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 can of tomato sauce

In a large or medium size cooking pot mix in all ingredients, then boil the soup until soup creates a nice sauce. Always check to see if more salt or additional spices may be needed to savor your desires. Serve with your favorite toasted bread smeared with some non dairy butter...enjoy.

Here is what I did:

I could not find 16 bean mix so I used a 15 bean blend. I picked my beans and then brought them to a boil. Turn off heat and let set for 1 hour covered. After the hour is over, drain and recover the beans with fresh water to cover by at last 3 inches. Cook until tender, about 1-2 hours depending on heat range. I then proceeded with the recipe.

I used 3 cans of organic fire roasted tomatoes and 2 tsp. of smoke flavoring to substitute the ham flavoring. I omitted the oil, salt, ham flavoring and basil, and I used a 1 entire small can of tomato sauce, instead of just half.

I am heading to bed, I hope you really like the soup I did!!!

XOXO,

Viv~

I am covered in snow in the middle of the midwest, where internet service hates pictures!

2011-02-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Once again living in a small town without adequate cell tower coverage to power my computer has failed to put out any pictures. Honestly, I am kinda pissed. Pardon my french. I expect it to pull it's weight. If I do not have enough service to be able to pull images, I have a problem as a blogger. I explained this to my service provider and they basically shrugged their shoulders at me. ......Sigh....
But anyway.....
On to a somewhat mini blog.

I did make Millie's 16 bean chunky tomato soup. It was delicious. I really am excited to share it with you and tell you what I did. I will continue to attempt until I have the pictures for you!
You are my main concern in this blog and I want you to see what I see. It is very important to me.

We were hammered with well over a foot of snow for the past two days. Finally, today the snow stopped and we have some sunshine. I have pictures of the snow storm to share with you eventually. LOL
~
Coco is really enjoying the snow and plays out in it like a puppy, not an 8 year old dog. She bounds through the snow like a sled dog, while Chi sits on the front porch, too grown up for such displays of frivolity....smile

Coco has really come out of her shell and likes to dance around the house when I get home and is now allowing me to pet her face and touch her ears. I feel very privileged that she is allowing me to love her. She sleeps next to me at night. Chi thinks since Coco is in the bed with us, he has to lay right between Chris and I. Overall, he is behaving quite well with her.
He has alot of patience with her and I think overall enjoys her even though he has been the only dog for 12 years. Coco loves to irritate Winston, Kaiti's cat for some reason. She generally gets herself in trouble at least twice a day. Winston even tried to bite her two days ago....He is not messing around with her.

Our pipes have frozen on average about twice a day for the past 3 days. Chris is in the basement more than in the house when he is home. We have insulated pipes and heat wrap too, but people it is freezing here!!!!!

As I am rambling on here to you, I can hear the ice and snow melting outside my window. Hopefully soon the signal will allow me to get out these pictures for you and the recipe.

I hope everyone is nice and warm today!!!
Until tomorrow,
XOXO
Viv~

Food I have eaten lately and a name change

2011-02-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hello Bloggie Peeps!!!!

I wanted to share with you some things I have been eating lately. Before we get to that I wanted to let you know that I will be making Millie's 16 bean chunky tomato soup tomorrow for lunch! Be sure to check that out!!!

So on to my meals and snacks.
Since I am a nutritarian, I like to eat super nutrient rich, healthful foods that not only provide me with a sense of well being, but protect me from free radicals. Having a lowered immune system I am in a constant state of paranoia when I am out in the public. Eating the nutritarian way gives me a buffer between air born pathogens that could possibly attack my system and take me down for the count. Call it the New generation of Health Insurance!!! I am always prepared for cold season now!!!

Here are some of the goodies I ate last week.
Mixed berry green smoothie. I had this two days in a row for breakfast. Loaded with spinach, banana, mixed blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, ground flax seeds, ginger, and cinnamon.
My Southwestern black bean taco salad with chili flavored raw jicima!! Super simple, romaine lettuce, raw fresh white corn, tomato, green onion and my black bean refried beans. Served with salsa, and some sliced avocado. This was soooo good!

Strawberry soft serve. Kaiti and I eat this almost every night. Super simple again...2 banana's small handful of strawberries, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup organic soy milk.
HOLY COW! This is living!

Throw together salad...Just romaine, onion, cucumber, and avocado topped with salsa.

Green Dragon Bowl Snow peas, green onion, coleslaw mix with carrots, beans sprouts and extra firm tofu in a spicy sauce made from garlic, low sodium soy sauce, and hoisin.

My version of Vegan Epicureans salad found here I made pickled cucumbers, gardinera and tomato over romaine salad. TASTY~

LOTS AND LOTS of clementines and tangerines, apples, blackberries, pears, cantaloupe honeydew and pineapple.

My oriental soup loaded with snow peas, bean sprouts, onions, garlic, tofu and mushrooms. The broth is a light asian broth with soy, red pepper flakes, and ginger.

~
I hope you have enjoyed looking through last weeks meals!

I know I did! I am heading downstairs now to make some chocolate soft serve!

YUM!

XOXO

Viv!

Super Bowl Sunday!

2011-02-06T16:34:00.000-08:00

PUH NUH NUH NUH NA, HEY...PUH NUH NUH NUH NUH NUH!
It's SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!
Super bowl Sunday!

I have a load of food to share!!! I hope you came hungry!!!!

Here is Coco! She smiled just for you! Sorry about the shoddy picture, I shot it under the table at dinner....LOL
And....Chi, looking for Daddy to give him a little nibble..He was denied sadly. Do you like his coat?

Evangeline was here too and had some tummy time. She is 2 months old today!!!

~
I wanted to make something ETL, and appealing to my family at the same time, so I went with chili with 3 different beans!
For a topping, I made guacamole and pico de gallo. On the side some baked corn chips!
Wanna see how to make this for your family?
Lets get rolling!
Super Chunky Guacamole

2 large avocado's, scooped out and mashed
1/2 lime, juiced
2 jalapeno's, minced (I used canned, the store was out of fresh)
5 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Mash your avocado with a fork in a bowl, pour your lime juice over and mix well. Place remaining ingredients in and toss to combine. Let chill until ready to serve.
Pico De Gallo

6 Roma tomatoes, diced
3/4 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbls. Minced garlic
2 tbls. cilantro
1/2 can or 2 jalapeno's, minced

Mix everything and place in fridge until ready to use. Try not to use before 2 hours, the flavors meld better.
Dr. Fuhrman's Tofu Ranch dressing
Serves 4,
I think it served alot more....seriously.

6 oz. silken tofu
3 dates, pitted
1 clove garlic
1/4 c. chopped green onions
3 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. fresh squeeze lemon juice
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. dill
1 tbsp. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (found at Whole Foods and other natural food stores)
1 dash cayenne

Add all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.
~
Ok, I really just made this next recipe on the fly. I will give you the basics to the best of my abilities.

Vivacious Vegans 3 bean chili

2 large onions, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 lb. button mushrooms, cut each into 4ths

1 large can pinto beans, drained and rinsed several times

2 cans no salt black beans, do not drain

2 cans Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained several times

2 cans diced tomatoes, no salt added

1 can no salt tomato sauce

2 cups water

4 tbls. no salt chili powder

1 tsp. Chipotle pepper powder

1 tbls. minced garlic

1 tsp. garlic powder

Water saute the onions, peppers and mushrooms until tender, add the chili powder, garlic powder and chipotle powder. Add beans and tomatoes. Cook until all flavors are melded together, about 30-45 minutes over low heat. Top with 1 full tsp. of guacamole and 2 tbls. of

pico de gallo and a lime wedge! You can serve with chips if you wish.

I cut 6 into triangles and baked them in a low oven until crispy, then turned off the oven and let them just rest there, until I needed them. I highly recommend a fresh corn tortilla that only uses corn.

They are fantastic! I think I ate 4 chips total and I was really happy.

The finished dish with garnish.

The food spread minus the chili, it was on the stove.

And of course my tea...I swear it is attached to my hand at all times. This time it was green jasmine!

YUM!!!

What did you do for the Super Bowl?

What food did you make today?

I am hoping your day was good and you spent the day doing something that makes you really happy!

XOXO,

VIV~

The Vegan Tummy's, Cannellini bean soup with garlic and an Award!

2011-02-05T18:22:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank Tiffany over at como water for awarding me with the Stylish Blogger Award! What an Honor!!!
In order to fulfill the duties of this prestigious award I must:

1. Make a post & link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they’ve won!

7 THINGS about ME:

1. I was classically trained as a ballerina/tap dancer

2. I have read every Harry Potter books 1-7, at least ten times each...

3. I know alot of useless information, like this:

Greenland sharks are blind, due to a parasite that attaches itself to their eyeballs. They live in the frigid arctic waters and were only discovered 10 years ago.

4. I am of German/Irish Descent

5. I am a clean freak and cannot go to sleep if my kitchen is messy, meaning if there is a dish in the sink..I have to wash it, dry it, and put it away.

6. I am an only child and was raised by a single mother.

7. I play the cello.

And the next Awards go to!

1. http://veganepicurean.blogspot.com/

2. http://acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com/

3. http://thevegantummy.blogspot.com/

4. http://vegetariancyclist.blogspot.com/

5. http://veganjoy.blogspot.com/

6. http://thehealthseekerskitchen.blogspot.com/

7. http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com/

8. http://veganandsoforth.blogspot.com/

9. http://elilaiann.blogspot.com/

10. http://theveganmouse.blogspot.com/

Well lets start this blog about soup shall we?
But, might I interest you in admiring my handsome boy for a moment? Yes, Yes.....look at him! He is adorable! And yes, this ladder sits in my yellow room year round just for Mushu....I am so whipped. LOL

This is my late night dinner of an orange, banana smoothie. Yes I know not a great dinner, but sometimes you just want something light. This is just 2 whole oranges, 2 banana's, 16 oz. ice and enough water to make it move.

So, The Vegan Tummy sent me two different soups to pick from for this competition, since I am such a fan of garlic I had to try the Canenellini bean soup with garlic.

As you can see, I made my own substitute for the commercial broth!

Isn't it pretty?

The Vegan Tummy's Cannellini Bean Soup with Garlic (original version)
1 - 2 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced (1 Cup)
6 C. water
3 vegan bouillon cubes
2 medium sized russet potatoes, diced (1 1/2 - 2 Cups)
1 C. chopped cauliflower
1 whole bulb of garlic, separated and peeled
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs thyme
4 15.5 oz. cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 t. white pepper
1/4 C. parsley, chopped
cheesecloth and kitchen string

In a large stock pot, saute the onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add water and bouillon cubes and bring to a simmer. Tie the garlic, bay leaf and thyme in a piece of cheesecloth and place into the simmering stock. Add the potatoes and cauliflower and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the cheesecloth bundle and discard. Add the beans and puree half the soup in a blender then stir back into the pot. Add the parsley, pepper and enjoy!

What I did different.

I made my own broth.

I omitted the oil and water sauteed the veggies.

I omitted the potatoes, as I rarely eat them.

I kept all the garlic and blended it in with the beans.

I used an immersion blender in the pot instead of pouring my hot soup in the blender.

This soup is really good and was enjoyed by vegans and omni's alike. I think I will roast the garlic next time to bump up the flavor since I use no salt or oil. I will make this again!

I am really enjoying this competition alot. It is exciting to try soups I might have never tried and the prep work is right up my alley!

Next week I will be featuring three soups!!! So stay tuned!!

Viv~

Vegan Heartlands Minestrone

2011-02-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Bloggie's, I am excited to say SOUP MONTH is on!!!
I have eagerly been looking forward to starting this contest and here we are!!!

Chris is also very excited about all the soups that you have kindly supplied me with! We will be eating them for lunch every few days!

~
Before I start this contest I will need to remind you that I eat and cook ETL style so, with that said I must tell you that I use no oil, vegetable broth cubes, commercial broth, margarine, processed gmo products, like "better than sour cream or soy cream cheese", sugar or vegan cheese. I make my own broths. So if I make your soup it will be slightly different.

With that said, lets GO!

I started with Vegan Heartlands Minestrone!!
To see the original minestrone go Here

Vegan Heartland Minestrone recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup uncooked pasta
3/4 cup frozen veggie mix
1 cup canned chopped tomato mix
3/4 cup cooked kidney beans
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried basil
Place all the ingredients in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer until the pasta is cooked and the veggies are heated through. It takes about 20 minutes.

~ Changes
I used cannelini beans which are white kidney beans, as all the ones I found around here are full of sugar, I also used a frozen winter mix vegetable with zucchini. I topped mine with some homemade walnut nooch parmesan.

Matthew is new to the blog sphere so I was excited when he suggested that we try this soup!
What I discovered was this is a very simple soup with clean lines and hearty vegetables.

I made the above salad to go with the minestrone, it was a quick throw together, but delicious. When I have a better idea of what my ratio's were I will post it..I promise!

For my snack I had a small bowl of cantaloupe. Eating melons out of season is just not worth it, but sometimes the body wants what the body wants. Hopefully, I will not crave anymore out of season fruits.
Dinner was a simple mushroom ragu over spiralized raw zucchini noodles.

Tomorrow I will be posting another soup!!!

Until then

Bon appetite!

Viv~

A little about Kait and reduced fat peanut butter

2011-01-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!
Well since it is monday, I should tell you that it is starting of that way. Once again my computer has failed me and I only got two pictures up for you today. The weather is jacked up here and my computer just cannot stand inclement weather I guess...Touchy thing! I am seriously thinking of buying a faster newer version of my Dell...(do you hear that computer? That's right, I will replace you....you better work for me!!!!)
~
This morning I got up and made my youngest daughter Kaiti a smoothie for her breakfast!
I used 1/2 cup of orange, 1 banana, 1 large handful of spinach (remember, I have large hands) and 1/2 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of ice and 1/2 cup water, I whipped it up in the Ninja. She drank about half before she had to head off to school.
In her haste to leave she left her water bottle...sigh...she always leaves something behind.
Kaiti is going to have to be coaxed into this way of eating, because she has always been a junk food vegan and then she went back to eating chicken, then vegan again..
Please send some good vibes this way that she will be able to stick to it!
Did I tell you my entire family have decided to Eat To Live? Yes, they have and I am thrilled. I was especially thrilled when my husband, whom I nagged incessantly finally agreed to try it!!!!
Even Emma, my junk food baby (she is 20) is going to start ETL as soon as she can!
She will be joining us for dinner every night until she can grocery shop again to get her goodies. Her main question was "Is it expensive?" I told her in my opinion, it is the cheapest way to eat.
~
So back to Kaiti. I didn't want to scare her to death with anything she would consider funky. I have already sprung an oil free salad dressing on my family last night to see how they would react. Chris was less than thrilled but he ate it, and both the girls liked it. I will post the salad dressing tomorrow! I packed a spinach and carrot salad with the leftover dijon herb dressing from last night, 2 sliced pears rubbed with lemon and a water. Kaiti is not a big school eater, she would rather talk to her friends at lunch, but she promised me she would eat her lunch for me and I trust she will.
Kaiti is very open to veganism, her main problem, in my opinion is she is a teenager in a school filled with cow and wheat farmer children. All these kids eat meat and potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and if you go against the grain so to speak, you are a freak.
Sadly, my daughter already thinks she is a freak. She is an avid reader and a brilliant artist, she wears funky clothes and listens to Swedish and Japanese rock. I told her she is exceptional and that someday she will be ok with other people thinking she is a freak, because she will know who she is...She is wonderful and perfectly made!
She thinks I am a freak too....LOL, and a hippy. But she loves me anyway, so that is all that matters to me.
I am a hippy and a freak too!
I will proudly wave my freak flag!!
I listen to african and french music! Ha Ha!
Ok enough about us, lets get to the peanut butter, shall we?
Ever since I read from Alicia that you can make All Natural Organic peanut butter reduced fat, I have wanted to try. If you would like to see where I got this idea go here Here is what I did.
I dumped off all the nasty oil on the top of my peanut butter jar, be careful not to lose about a 1/4 cup of peanut butter in the trash can like me, then scoop out all the peanut butter into the food processor. I washed the glass jar so the reduced fat PB wouldn't get any oil residue back into it. Honestly, I wouldn't try this in a blender, even a vitamix. It is thick!
I started by adding about 1/2 cup of water into the food processor and then processed it with the peanut butter. It turned into a huge lump, so I added more water until I had added roughly
1 1/4 cups of water total to get a really a nice smooth peanut butter. That is 1 1/4 total including the 1/2 cup previously. It turned a really light tan color and is light and smooth. I tasted it and was surprised how airy it was. I am pretty sure this is the best peanut butter I have ever had. I wish I had known about this years ago, as I have never been a peanut butter fan.

I really think this is the way to go with peanut butter and I have no plans to ever go back to the stirred in oil type. I might even eat this on an apple...maybe.
~
I did alot of cleaning yesterday and I mopped and dusted, did laundry and moved around the dining room getting ready for the cabinet. It takes up one whole wall, so I turned my table the opposite way of how it usually sits. I like it this way and I wonder why I hadn't thought of it before?
Well I am off to take out Coco and then start some beans soaking.
~~~~
Since tomorrow is February, I am gearing up for the soup competition!
I am going to start off with Vegan Heartlands Minestrone soup! I am excited to see who's soup will win!
The winner will be named February 23rd!
Good Luck!

XOXO
Viv~

An ETL chinese dish and a new addition

2011-01-30T14:21:00.000-08:00

First of all, I hope all of you are having a fantastic weekend with someone that makes your heart sing!
I have been cleaning and I found an awesome CD at Hastings, our local book/music store. Walk the line, soundtrack featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon! It is cute and fun to clean to!!! We have been getting ready for round 2 of the buffet/hutch mishap that I wrote about in a previous post, that I cannot find. But it is beautiful and black and large and will hold all of my most favorite china and crystal. It is going to be delivered to me on Thursday and I promise (fingers crossed) that I will take pictures of it, if it is in one piece this time.

I have been going through my kitchen and sorting out spices that are out of date, things we no longer eat and basically just spring cleaning the cabinets. I finally threw out all of my salt....It nearly killed me. I loved it so much....boo hoo....

On Thursday I received a called from a friend who took a dog off of freecycle (frecycle is a place to get free things) about 2 months ago. The dog was rescued from an abusive home by a couple and then given away twice, due to "issues" that no one could deal with, like messing in the house, being skittish, and generally just old and under foot. Well, my friend is good hearted but she isn't very responsible when it comes to caring for animals and she likes to take animals she can't handle only to get rid of them a few months later, it drives me crazy... This time she said she could not handle her, due to her illness', large boxers, and 4 children, so I said I would take her...
Little did I know what I was signing up for........

A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE AND CUTENESS!

This is Coco... She is 6-8 years old.

Her full name is Shimmy Coco puff and she is a llhaso Apso. When I got her she was actually grey and her coat was matted and she smelled horrible. She came in with ear mites so bad that her skin was being eaten and caked with blood and filth. Her "natural color turned out to be this beautiful fawn color with white. She has a lovely under bite that makes her look like she is smiling. She is good tempered and a happy dog. Amazingly, Chi my chihuahua, likes her, the cats cuddle her and she goes potty outside. She even listens to me and let me tend to her poor ears without biting or running away. At night she curls up on the bed next to Chi, Chris and I and watches TV, then dozes of and snores the cutest snores. I think she was meant to be ours, I am just sorry she had to suffer so, I am grateful we found her.

I think she is finally happy. She has found her forever home and we love her very much!

This morning was the usual green smoothie. I used 2 banana's, 3 leaves if kale, 1 whole orange the I peeled, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tbls. flax and 16 oz of ice and a splash of water. This makes two nice size smoothies, I drink less than Chris. I use a pint jar and uses a full 20 oz glass for his.

Later I was hungry and just wanted veggies. For my snack, I had about 1 tbls. of guacamole with some carrots and cucumber!

Kaiti requested chinese for lunch, how could I deny my child something so healthy? I couldn't...silly! I instantly thought...CHOP SUEY! Even though I have never made it, I though it can't be that hard, so why not make up something new, it might be terrific!

Here is what I did.

Chop Suey

5 carrots cut on the diagonal

3-4 cups bean sprouts

2 stalks celery, cut on the diagonal

2 baby bok choy, sliced thinly

1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly

1 tsp. hoisin

1 tsp. garlic chili sauce, with no salt or sugar

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

5 raw whole almonds, chopped

In a large skillet, water saute your onion, carrots and onions until crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Add in your bok choy and stir for about 2 minutes or until wilted, toss in bean sprouts and sauce. Stir fry until all the vegetables are crisp tender an the sauce is mixed well. Serve over rice if desired. We ate ours as is. Top with chopped almonds.

I found this at the asian market, it is made without sugar or salt!!!! BONUS!

Here is the finished product.

It was crunchy and satisfying. I will definitely make this again! Served over some brown rice would be perfect. It is totally ETL approved and I am sure it will become a favorite go to meal for us in the future. Total cook time was about 30 minutes and it served 3 nice size portions.

Well I am off to make dinner now and finish mopping our yellow room. The last room to be mopped today! YAY!

I still haven't decided what I am making for dinner, I am more lax on the weekends. I am thinking a huge salad and maybe some risotto...

WHAT ARE YOU MAKING FOR DINNER?

HAVE YOU ADOPTED AN ANIMAL LATELY?

Talk to you all soon!

Viv~

Sunshine Smoothie's

2011-01-27T05:44:00.000-08:00

Good Early Morning, bloggers! I hope you slept well!

Since I am up so early I thought I would make some sunshine in this dark over cast morning by making me a sunshine smoothie!
~
I did my usual morning ritual... you know, kiss the cats, let the dog out, trip over the cats, talk to the cats, kiss the cats, feed the cats, turn on my morning music (this morning, I am listening to french music), kiss the cats, push the cats off the counter, let the dog in, kiss the dog, give the dog a treat, bundle the dog up in blankets on the couch, remove the cats away from my smoothie, kiss the cats, hold the cats..The usual.
~
If you would like to hear what kind of music I listened to this morning I have a sample for you here !!
~
I was dragging on the floor this morning, blame the late night Bones Season Two marathon Chris and I had, or the late night reading of Eat to Live...(by the way, if you haven't bought the book yet, go get it!) It is life changing and is great for reference and for reassurance.
~
But I could barely function this morning, so I made me an eye opening smoothie!!!!

Sunshine Smoothie!

2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice or 3 large oranges cut up, skins removed

2 bananas, frozen and sliced

Th ow everything in a blender and whiz around until nice and smooth!

ENJOY!!!

I like to have a full fruit smoothie once a week, not only does it elevate your mood, but it helps with bowel function, fights disease, and gives you huge vitamin boost!

Here are some facts for you!

BANANAS
Bananas consist mainly of sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) and fiber, which makes them ideal for an immediate and slightly prolonged source of energy

Reducing Depression
Bananas contain tryptophan, an aminoacid that can be converted to serotonin, leading to improved mood
Anemia
Bananas are relatively high in iron, which helps the body's hemoglobin function
Constipation and Diarrhea
Due to their content in fiber, they help restore a normal bowel function. In addition, diarrhea usually depletes your body of important electrolytes (of which the most important is potassium, contained in high amounts in bananas). They also contain pectin, a soluble fiber (hydrocolloid) that can help normalize movement through the digestive tract.
Eyesight Protection
Research published in the Archives of Ophthalmology has proven that adults consuming at least 3 servings of fruit per day have a reduced risk (by 36%) of developing age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.
Healthy Bones
Bananas are an exceptionally rich source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound that nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria produce enzymes that increase our digestive ability and protect us from unhealthy bacteria infections. Thanks to fructooligosaccharides, probiotic bacteria can increase both in number and functionality, increasing our body's ability to absorb calcium.
In addition, green bananas contain indigestible short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that are very nutrient to the cells that make up the mucosa of the stomach. These cells, when healthy, absorb calcium much more efficiently
Healthy Kidney
About 190,000 cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed each year.
Research published in the International Journal of Cancer has shown that daily consumption of whole fruits and vegetables, especially bananas, is highly protective to kidney health. The results show that, over a long timeframe (13.4 years), women eating more than 2.5 servings of fruits and vegetable per day cut their risk of kidney cancer by 40%. Among the fruits, bananas were especially protective. Women eating bananas four to six times a week halved their risk of developing the disease compared to those who did not eat this fruit. The conclusion of the study is that frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables, especially bananas, cabbage and root vegetables, may reduce risk of kidney cancer. This is because bananas and many root vegetables contain especially high amounts of antioxidant phenolic compounds, while cabbage is rich in sulfur, necessary for effective detoxification of potential carcinogens.
Blood Pressure
Bananas are extremely high in potassium (about 4673mg), yet very low in sodium (1mg), thus having a perfect ratio for preventing high blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Heartburn
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood-sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Smoking
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. They contain vitamins B6 and B12 they contain, as well as potassium and magnesium: these substances help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Ulcers
This is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicle cases. It also helps reduce acidity and reduces irritation. Bananas stimulate the cells on the internal stomach lining to produce a thicker mucus (which protects against acid). Additionally, bananas contain protease inhibitors that help eliminate bacteria in the stomach that have been pinpointed as a primary cause of ulcers.
Nerves
Bananas are high in B vitamins that have been shows to improve nerve function
Mosquito Bites
Many people report that rubbing the inside of a banana peel on a mosquito bite is very effective in reducing itching and swelling
Stress Relief
Bananas are high in potassium, which helps normalize the hearth beat and regulate the body's water balance. During periods of high stress, our body's potassium levels tend to be rapidly depleted: eating bananas is a healthy way to rebalance them without using drugs
Stroke Risk
According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can reduce the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%

ORANGES!!!!!

Orange is one of the most favorite fruit in the world. Orange is loaded with vitamins, and the most abundant vitamin in orange is Vitamin C. This powerful vitamin protect our body against harmful elements.
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Orange is Beneficial in the following cases :

•Asthma
•Bronchitis
•Tuberculosis
•Pneumonia
•Rheumatism
•Prevent kidney stone
•Helps lower cholesterol
•Helps prevent diabetes
•Arthritis
•High blood pressure
•Persons addicted to alcohol have found that the desire for liquor is greatly reduced by drinking of orange juice.
•Consumption of large quantities of oranges will decrease the outpouring of mucus secretions from the nose.

Nutritional Contents of Orange :

1.Betacarotene, another powerful antioxidant that protects our cells from being damage.
2.Calcium that helps protect and maintain the health of our bone and teeth.
3.Folic Acid for proper brain development.
4.Magnesium helps maintain blood pressure.
5.Potassium helps maintain electrolyte balance in the cells, and is important in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system.
6.Thiamin helps to convert food into energy.
7.Vitamin B6 helps support the production of hemoglobin that carries oxygen to all parts of the body.

Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm.

•Vitamin A : 190 I.U.
•Vitamin B : Thiamine .08 mg.;
•Vitamin C : 49 mg.
•Calcium : 33 mg.
•Phosphorus : 23 mg.
•Potassium : 300 mg.

Do you like that I give you all this information?
Do you think it is too much to read?
Would you like me to continue giving you facts about what you eat?

I found all this information for you here and here !!!

It's my 1 year anniversary!!!!

2011-01-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

Guess what??? I have been blogging for an entire year! Yes, this is my 1st blog anniversary!
I didn't ever realize it had been a year!

In January last year I wrote what I consider my favorite post. It was called You know your a vegan if...and by far it is still my absolute favorite!

So one year later, here I am with a new list!
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YOU KNOW YOUR A VEGAN IF....
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1. You know your a vegan when you look at a picture of tofu and you start salivating.
2. You are constantly looking for new burger recipes, you get excited when you see this burger, and actually clap for the picture....
Clap clap clap clap!!!!

3. You stopped using plastic before it became the "eco" thing to do. You knew those high numbers meant something and it made you nervous, so you took them to the dump for proper disposable and they stared at you like you were purple, but they took them anyway.

The next year, they started a real recycling center because you nagged them all the time.

4. You have more produce in your fridge than a fully stocked grocery store.

5. You still have a hidden tattoo that says VEGAN and still no bumper stickers Shhhhhh....

6. You take one look at Joaquin Phoenix and think WOW, Veganism is sexy!

7. While you no longer want to paint women's fur coats with red spray paint, you still stalk them down the aisles of Wal-Mart occasionally for fun!

You may even own my own faux fur and love it. It doesn't mean you want to wear an animal, it just means that they make you really warm and you are so skinny you're constantly chilly.

8. You now know the best places to eat 500 miles in each direction.

9. You have outgrown your Isa Chandra Moskowitz cookbooks and are writing your own.

10. And finally after years and years of being a vegan, you cannot imagine eating any other way,
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So here is my new list! It is a little older, a little wiser and a whole lot more fun!

I hope many of you can relate and enjoy my little list!

How was your day?

Does anyone out there have spring fever yet?

XOXO

Vix~

Thank you to all of the vegan bloggers who take such beautiful pictures for me to borrow on google.com

Thank you for Joaquin Phoenix for being so sexy and compassionate.

Thank you to me readers, you make me so happy with your comments daily!

What I ate today!!!!!

2011-01-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

Well guess what...

My computer hates me again and I cannot load my pictures yet again. I was able to get my snack on and that is when she stopped working....

So I figured that this shouldn't be a complete waste of post.

I thought I would share what I ate today, I do not have the pictures to show you...iso I guess it is imagination time..

I woke up not very hungry, but I was thirsty so I made some apple lemonade. Very thirst quenching.

It is easy too!

Take one apple and core it. Juice it with 2 lemons, a handful of parsley and 1/4 tsp. garlic.

Throw everything in your blender and add 16 oz. of ice if desired. Blend up and enjoy. This is awesome in the summer time btw. If you are just starting to juice, you may need some additional sweetness, feel free to add some stevia to your taste.

For lunch I was thinking something hot, due to the weather is so darn cold out, but once I got in to the fridge, I was called to eat some of the Monster salad I had the other day with a little lemon and pepper on it. I would say I ate about 4 cups of salad. For desert I ate some fresh anjou pear slices

Dinner was a hodge podge of what was in the fridge. I ate about 1/4 cup of this I made Sunday except I made it over about 2 tbls. mashed garlic cauliflower, a bite of broccoli pepper stir fry, 1 whole cucumber that I sliced and then sprinkled with lemon pepper and a small salad of spinach and mandarin oranges and red onion.

About 7 pm. I was snacky.

Dessert was some frozen banana slices sprinkled with carob powder and cinnamon and dipped in peanut butter, because I was too lazy to make soft serve.

This has to be my new favorite treat.

When I was a kid my mother made chocolate covered banana's as a treat in the summer. I will not tell you this reminds me of it, but I have to tell you I enjoyed this just as much.

The picture is the actual amount I ate for a snack,

I think I have about 1/4 tsp. organic peanut butter that was made low fat by removing the oil from the top and then adding in water until it is light and fluffy.

It is awesome to see how much oil comes off the top of the peanut butter. If you hate the all natural and organic peanut butters due to the oil, try this it works! Drain off the oil, place the peanut butter in your food processor and add about 1/2 cup water gradually until you reach the desired appearance of your peanut butter (this is based on a small jar. 28oz. jars can take as much as 1 1/2 cups of water) Your peanut butter will be aerated and most probably will not fit back into the original container. I place mine in a large wide mouth glass ball jar with a lid. It is delicious and easy to make plus you can make it even healthier by removing it and placing it on glass.

What did you eat today?

I eat alot and still manage to lose weight, isn't that weird?

Do you have issue's about keeping weight on?

When I was chunky I would hardly eat and never lost weight. Now I eat tons and rarely gain weight, unless I eat out for a week, then no more than a pound or two.

Would you like a demonstration on how I reduce the oil in my peanut butter the next time I make a batch??

I am glad Monday is over, it has been tiring. This cold weather is just murder on my body. It makes me slow and uncomfortable in my skin. Come on Spring!!!

See you all tomorrow!

XOXO

Viv~

DON'T FORGET TO SEND IN YOUR SOUP RECIPES BEFORE FEBRUARY 1st!!!

Monster Salad and Marinated mushrooms

2011-01-22T09:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday Saturday...Saturday Saturday....Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday !!!
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Ok, so maybe you can't hear the Elton John song that is stuck in my head, but today is Saturday and here in the Vivacious household, it is cleaning day!
Yes, I am excited that it is cleaning day. My house seriously needs it too. Since I have been struggling with my tooth, I have been neglecting things like laundry, and sweeping, window washing and general straightening.
I am also getting ready for the spring time garage sale in my town. I am going through all my clothes that are too big. I have a huge pile get rid off.. I will miss all my workout clothes, especially since I have to go out and buy new ones. My youngest daughter is sad that I will no longer being wearing too big pants, as she likes to try to pull them down any chance she gets, since they are so baggy...LOL Teenagers are weird.

I was reading Vegan Epicurean here and she was showing off her tiny teapot. That reminded me that I have one too that I bought at Goodwill last week. It normally retails for $24.99, but I got mine for $4.99!!! You can't beat that! Isn't it cute? I love that is has a mesh straining basket inside for loose tea like roobioos! YUM!!!

It is painted in a lovely deep plum color and the design on the side was deliberately not filled in, so it is the original raw clay.
I have an addiction to marinated mushrooms, blame my Italian step mother or my uncle, but there are always some in the house. Before I started eating so clean, I would just pop these in some italian dressing and ta-da instant goodness. Now that I do not eat oil, I make them homemade. I have not figured out a decent enough recipe to share with you yet, but these had potential. I used balsamic, and tarragon vinegar, minced onions, minced garlic and basil. It was not love at first bite, but I am hopeful I will get a really good batch soon. Stay tuned for that!

Alot of you have been sending in some super tasty sounding soups and I am so excited to start trying them. Next week I am going to start the soup testing! I cannot wait!

Last night I was just famished, I had to do alot of errands and there was no time to eat. So I came home and made a monster salad with the intent to eat all of it.

Here is what I used..

Monster Salad

2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 tomato, chopped

1/2 container grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 onion, halved and sliced very thin

6 baby carrots, sliced

1 cucumber, sliced thinly

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 large bunch of italian parsley, chopped

Place in a huge bowl and top with salad dressing.

Dressing

Tarragon vinegar, garlic, dijon mustard, cracked black pepper

I have no exact measurements on the dressing, I whisk as I added everything in and then mixed it through my salad. It was delicious. I ate almost half of it myself and Chris finished it off later when he got home from work. I think he is getting used to no oil dressing finally.

I use to love conversation hearts in a bowl for Valentines Day, but....since I do not eat sugar anymore and I think they might of had gelatin in them, I thought I would use these.

I found them at Target in the dollar bin for a dollar a piece.

How cute, right!!

They are miniture pillows.

I placed them in one of my larger milk glass bowls and set it on the table in the dining room!!!!
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Do you decorate for Valentines Day?

What do you buy for loved ones instead of candy?

~
Don't forget to leave me your favorite soup recipe to help me get my husband to eat and enjoy soup for meals!

I hope everyone is enjoying their day and doing something that makes them smile, even if it is just cleaning!

Viv~

The 111 in 1/11

2011-01-19T21:35:00.000-08:00

I was recently reading the tiny sprout blog here and she did something called the 111 in 2011 and I really loved it. It was a list of 111 things she wanted to do in 2011.

I thought why the heck not! So I am doing it too and then passing it along.

This list is all about possibilities and believing in the future, opening your heart and being a little naive and childlike.

Don't we all need this now?

Here is my list

1. Really start to exercise, don't just talk about it

2. Learn to listen more and talk less

3. Be more open to my husbands idea's

4. Put down the cell phone when I am with people I love

5. Travel to Wichita at least twice a month

6. Go visit my mothers grave and tell her all about my blog. Read to her.

7. Do not cut my hair, even if it drives me crazy

8. Wear high heels for no good reason

9. Visit my friends more

10. Blindly love...

11. Eat more chickpeas

12. Go to the library once a week and talk to the woman that works in the book store

13. Stop eating out

14. Stop buying things I do not need

15. Start saving money to go on a cruise to the Bahama's

16. GO to the Bahama's

17. Collect as many seashells as I can

18. Read all the classic books Chris bought me for Mother's Day last year

19. Make a new book list of must have books

20. Eat outside more

21. Plant a garden

22. Work in the garden

23. Heal myself the best I can

24. Try to get off Remicade

25. Drink more tea

26. Have friends over for dinner

27. Stop being anti social

28. Smile at the neighbors...maybe....

29. Travel to Wamego and visit the Oz Museum

30. Go to Oklahoma Zoo

31. Spend loads of time at Kanopolis Lake this summer

32. Swap fat clothes for skinny clothes

33. Get up early

34. Go visit my father and take the Amtrak, just cause it is fun

35. Do not eat italian beef, just because my father begs me.

36. Toughen up

37. Try to enjoy 4th of July for my husbands sake

40. Make kale chips in the dehydrator

41. Make homemade lemonade every week

42. Buy a Johnny and June Carter Cash Cd

43. Dance around the house like I did when I was 20

44. Don't fret

45. Learn to make a vegan healthy version of Dutch letters

46. Be a better wife

47. Send more cards through the mail

48. Remember every ones birthday and buy them a present

49. Laugh out loud, even though my laugh is too loud

50. Eat brown rice... no really, eat it

51. Go to Overland Park, Kansas and visit all my friends

52. Go to Kansas City and kiss the brass pig

53. Be a better person

54. Go to nursing homes and sing folk music with my daughter for fun

55. Read more Biography's about people who interest me

56. Just read. period

57. Finish my book and send it to the publisher

58. Sing louder

59. Go to Church

60. Reconnect with people I miss

61. Make Indian food

62. Make African food

63. Make Irish food

64. Make my own milk from rice, almonds and soy

65. Buy a new used car

66. Re become a hippy

67. Inspire someone

68. Make my daughter smile

69. Be open to change

70. Learn to crochet

71. Keep fresh flowers in the house spring until fall

72. Buy all my veggies and most fruit at the farmers market this year

73.Chase my husband around the house more often

74. Stop snapping at people when they don't answer me quick enough

75. Be patient

76. Be still and know

77. Be pretty everyday, for no other reason than for myself

78. Talk to people about health, don't be afraid.

79. Get my degree to be a vegan dietitian

80. Learn Mandarin Chinese

81. Relearn German

82. Go to the Tulip festival

83. Be more assertive, in a good way

84. Allow my oldest daughter to be herself

85. Don't be ashamed of my scars

86. Let people take my picture

87. Celebrate New Years, don't go to sleep early

88. Watch every chick flick I want

89. Buy every chick flick I want, second hand, of course

90. Wear outrageously flouncy skirts

91. Read War and Peace

92. Actually use this list

93. Stop rolling my eyes at my husband

94. Dance with the stars and work out

95. Paint the house this year

96. Carpet the house this year

97. Keep my toenails painted

98. Throw out all the old dank junk in the basement and shed

99. Take better care of my teeth

100. Go window shopping alone, and take that time to remember my mother

101. Celebrate all the holidays

102. Do silly stuff with my daughter

103. Have date night with my husband no matter what

104. Watch for rainbows

105. Believe in myself

106. Take lots of pictures

107. Take lots of baths

108. Paint the living room and bathroom.

109. Stay away from negative people

110. Spend more time on the front porch

111. Stop and find beauty in the little things.

There is my list! What are your hopes and dreams this year??

I thought it was cute and made me smile, I hope it does the same for you!!!

Don't forget to send me your soup recipes before February to help me out with my hubby! You can win a cute prize!!!

Viv~

Check out my new look!

2011-01-19T17:59:00.000-08:00

Hi bloggies!
How are you today?
I started out today like I usually do. With a smoothie! What a shocker right. I don't think I can focus with out one anymore. I made my usual garlic smoothie, apple, garlic, kale, frozen banana, ground ginger, cinnamon and flax seed, followed with a splash of water and some ice. Pretty isn't it!
This is Chris' favorite smoothie believe it or not and he will practically turn in circles to get one...lol

I have been laying around for the past few days after having my wisdom tooth removed on Tuesday. Normally I wouldn't be such a baby, but the tooth broke and then I bit my cheek and it got infected, so I feel awful. Not to mention the snow and freezing rain that is pelting us these past three days.

My psoriatic arthritis is really playing havoc in my achilles heel on my right foot.

It makes me limp like I am 90...or a pirate...lol

I am loading up on garlic and smoothies, eating loads of vegetables trying to combat the cold and the arthritis! I am counting the days until spring...

So, I changed up my blog a little to entertain myself tonight, check it out and see if you like it and let me know your thoughts!

I think it is cute with the colored silverware and just a basic design.

I am in need of soup recipes, my husband is not a soup eater, but he is going to try to go vegan in February. Most of you eat alot of soup, like normal people. I eat soup almost everyday for lunch, it is simple, cheap and filling. Chris is not normal, he thinks soup is not filling.

So here is what I need friends.

Soups that are hearty and healthy, inexpensive and tasty!!!

I know it is alot to ask, but I am desperate for something to feed him for lunch and my food is WAY to clean for him. I need to lure him into the vegan lifestyle with hearty delicious soups that are healthy, and since I read almost every single one of you, I know you all make delicious healthy food!!

How about a little competition?

To make this fun, I can spotlight the soups I try and put them on the blog! Please send me a recipe or link to your favorite soup. My family will test them and our favorite soup will win a prize!!!

Does this sound fun?

The prize will be something fun and exciting. I won't tell you what it is (because I don't know yet), but you will like it!!!

Start sending me your recipes either on my blog or e-mail me. I will start this Soup Fest February 1st and it will end February 21st.

I am so excited!!!
Viv~

A Tutorial on Homeamade stock

2011-01-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, Ladies and Gentleman!!!
The stock tutorial is finally here!
I have finally managed to upload all the pictures to show you how easy it is to make your own stock for everything from soups to base sauces!

I started my day with a strawberry banana smoothie. Mine is smaller than Chris'. He needs more calories than I do, so he gets the big cup.
Like this!

Here is what I made today,

Field green strawberry banana smoothie!!

2 big handfuls of field green salad mix

2 frozen banana's

2 Brazil nuts

2 tsp. ginger

2 tsp. cinnamon

Throw everything in your blender, add 1 1/2 cups of water and 16 oz. ice and blend until smooth. It was really yummy. Chris did let me know it wasn't sweet enough, but I liked it just fine. I suppose you could add 1 tiny scoop of stevia if you like.

Well, shall we get onto the Stock project?

I make stock whenever my freezer container overflows with leftover veggies that I have tossed in there all month long. The vegetables can vary from just onions, celery and carrots to a whole menagerie of goodies like the following broth.

I clean out my fridge every week and decide what stays and what is getting to old to use. That way, I never find surprises in the back of the fridge. If a veggie is getting limp or past it's prime, but can still be used, it is destined for the stock bowl in the freezer. I place everything in there and then when I am down to only a few jars of broth I grab everything and make a new batch.

Here is what I had.
(The potatoes, did not get used this time)
1-2 cups spinach that I froze last month
2 onions, cut in half
1 bunch of celery, getting a little limp
1 pound of cremini mushrooms that never made it to a stir fry
1lb. carrots, I have 7 lbs. in my fridge right now...
2 cups peas, frozen
1 lb haricot verts, frozen
organic garlic, if desired

Here is my secret to making super easy broth. USE YOUR CROCK POT!!!!
You heard me right, it is that simple.
Put everything in your crock pot, chop your onion, leaving the skin on, chop the mushrooms in half, chop the celery and carrots. Throw in a little garlic if you like. No need to peel anything, just wash them really good and toss in the pot.
Cover it with water and put on before you go to bed at night. When you wake up, your house will smell terrific and you will never have to adjust temperatures, turn it off if you go to town, or stir it.

When you get up you will find this waiting for you!

Here is the fun part! Prep you area, get a large bowl and strainer. Set it up in your sink so if you spill, it won't make a huge mess.

Drain all the broth from your veggies. The bowl beneath will catch all the yummy goodness and you will have all the veggies separate to make into a base if you like!

The Broth

Using a ladle and a funnel, pour the stock into ball jars when cooled slightly. If using the vegetables, you will want to remove the skins from your onions and throw them away. Add all the veggies to your food processor and run until it is smooth, like baby food.

This is a 1/2 base, 1/2 stock combination for cassoulet or a bean and pasta soup.

Stocks to put up

#1 Base only, used for 14 bean soup

#2 Heavy broth, not diluted

#3 Broth and Base, 1/2 & 1/2

#4 Light broth, diluted by half

#5 Base only, for cassoulet

Leave enough room so when broth expands it doesn't explode in your freezer, I leave about an inch and a half of room below the rim. The sixth jar is homemade spaghetti sauce I made last month.

This is so simple anyone can make it, even if you have never made a stock in your life and don't know your way around the kitchen, you can do this!

You will never buy store stock again. You can control the flavor, the depth, the type, and whether or not you want to add salt. I never use salt in my broth anymore. I find that I do not need it. I never thought I would say that...LOL

I promised you I would share my shopping items I planned to buy on Friday. Here they are.

I bought this cassoulet pot at our area Goodwill store for $5.99 and it was made in France!

Here are some other goodies I bought.

(From the top)
A lime juicer

A lemon juicer

A hand held spiralizer

Measuring spoons

Measuring Cups

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I hope that you enjoyed my tutorial and it will inspire you to make your own stock soon.

Would you like me to show you how to make more homemade convience goodies at home?
Do you make your own stock?

What type of Vegetables do you use?

Viv~

Green smoothie and Apple pie oatmeal

2011-01-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

I will start by saying I hope everyone is staying warm if you are up north like I am, it is darn cold outside people! I am dressed in layer upon layer. No joke.
I haven't been doing anything too exciting lately. We are planning on heading up to Wamego, Kansas to see my husbands family this weekend. I am going to have to prep for staying with meat eaters who like to pick on me mercilessly about my food choices. All the while they suck down their Dr.Peppers and eat their dead things then tell me how poor their health is.
SIGH....It is enough to drive a sane person over the edge..

I am thinking about packing a soup and salad lunch for me and Kait, making sure to have enough for everyone else too. Chris' father is planning on making pork and spanish rice. I will not be able to eat the rice due to the bacon fat he uses in it, but I remember it was my favorite dish before I was a vegan. Now I cannot even fathom why people start out a dish with fat....LOL
We wish me luck that I do not open my mouth and start a literal food fight like the last time I was there with Margaret, Chris' sister. It was really bad....

Anyway, moving on to my food!

I am not a huge oatmeal lover. Especially since I gave up sugar. I loved it laced with sugar and raisins as a child. As an adult it wasn't bad either, but since I am health conscious now, I care about what I put in my body.

I started making pie flavored oatmeal after I saw Vegan Epicurean making blueberry topped oatmeal here

I give you Apple Pie Oatmeal
I took 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1 large fuji apple, 3 walnuts that I chopped and probably a full heaping teaspoon of cinnamon on top to start my "pie".

Next I added 1 cup of cold water and mixed it really good. Now, you can either use boiling water over your oatmeal or you can microwave if you are not into the nuking of it...lol

I nuked mine, cause I am lazy. Usually I am not, but I was cold. don't judge me....lol

Microwave for about 1-2 minutes then cover the top with a plate and let sit for about 2 minutes until the oatmeal is ooey gooey and the water is soaked up. You can sprinkle some stevia over it if you want a sweet oatmeal, or you can be like me and just eat it plain and boring.

I really liked this alot. It reminded me more of a strudel than a pie and it was really filling and made me warm and content.

I made my usual morning smoothie late today, but it was my usual breakfast smoothie for Chris and I.

Viv's Green Smothie

2 banana's

2 handfuls of kale, stripped from their stalks, (I have big hands btw, so I figure it was probably 3 cups full.)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

2 tsp. ground golden flax seed

16 ounces ice

1 1/2 cups water
Throw everything in your high speed blender and whirl for about 2 minutes. Done!!

YUM!

Tonight Kaiti an I braved the snow to go out on our evening walk. It really wasn't bad until we were heading home and the wind picked up and was heading right for us..I thought my cheek bones would literally fall off..

Even in the winter I try to get out and walk not only for health, but for fun too. Nothing is more enjoyable to me than to be outdoors.

What is your favorite outdoor winter activity?

What do you do to warm up?

Tomorrow, I have a strawberry banana green smoothie planned and some fun shopping with my hubby for things I need in the kitchen.

Would you like to see what I buy?

Viv~

Spinach Smoothie

2011-01-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

I was unable to upload any of my smoothie pictures for you this morning. The snow here must be interferring with my computer signal.
The weather man here in Kansas reported that we should be getting any where from 3-5 inches of snow.
He was actually right this time. Our yard is coated in heavy snow, perfect to make a snow man in!
My daughters car threw a belt last night at 11pm in Hutchinson, which is 40 minutes away. My husband talked her through getting home, but now he has to go work out in the snow replacing it. I am hoping it is not a hard belt to replace like the timing belt. Oh, Chris just told me it is the serpentine belt and will not be fun, especially in the cold...Poor guy!

Since I knew Chris would be out in the cold I decided to start him off with a smoothie and then flood him with peppermint tea afterward to keep his blood flowing.

Here is the smoothie I made today

Spinach Smoothie
3-4 cups spinach, I eye balled it, this is a guesstimate
2 brazil nuts
3 frozen banana's
2 tsp. golden flax seed, ground
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
water
16 ounces ice

Throw everything in your blender and then turn it on, let it blend until you have a uniform green color. Stop machine taste to see if it needs anything. Mine needed more water. Pour into your favorite smoothie glass and WALA, breakfast is served.

Chris is on his final leg of his cold. The coughing has started and the phlegm is working it's way out. Tomorrow I am going to do a clean sweep and get rid of any nasty cold spores that could still be lurking.

Well that is all for today bloggie peeps. I am going to go crawl back into bed where it is warm and watch Bones season 1 all over again....
Ciao,
Viv~

Is it time to throw out your plastics, your wax papers, your plastic cling wrap and say good bye to BPA

2011-01-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

What is BPA?

BPA - PLASTICS and FOOD CONTAINERS

Why are plastics and food containers harmful to us?

What is in plastics and how do these toxins affect us?

What exactly is Bisphenol-A (BPA)?

How does it affect me my family?

What products contain BPA and what should I throw out without going overboard?

Let me assure you that by reading this article and making some simple changes in your life you will provide a safer environment for your family, if only by educating yourself on this topic. I am not a professional doctor or scientist so what I have attempted to do is pull down relevant research from the internet and attempted to decipher the lingo and make it easier for the non-scientist to evaluate. There are an extraordinary amount of products that contain BPA at a variety of levels and it is up to you how far you want to go to remove BPA from your house. I will provide you with an idea of what BPA is and what affects it has on you and your family according to recent studies. I will outline key items, which I refer to as my hit list, which you should consider not purchasing and/or remove from your house immediately.

Products to stay away from

Hard clear plastic, usually indicated as a number 7 plastic on the bottom, that contains BPA.

All plastic numbered 3 and 6. Number 3 (PVC) and Number 6 (Polystyrene) are also known to leach harmful chemicals

Canned foods, especially canned formula, that are lined with BPA

Plastic toys

What should I replace them with?

I have switched almost all of my plastics within my kitchen to glass. Glass is a safe alternative and rather than diving into every plastic container/bottle and their contents, I found switching to glass easier. Glass baby bottles are gaining traction in the market and are a great alternative to the standard plastic bottles. Two manufacturers of glass bottles are Evenflo (however you need to use silicone nipples instead of their standard rubber nipples) and Born Free. Born Free also offers BPA free plastic bottles for those who are concerned about the potential of glass bottles breaking around their children.

As for toys, try keeping your eye out for natural wooden toys with lead free paint rather than plastic ones (they tend to be around the same price and most are conscious enough to be lead free as well). We provide natural wooden toys made by Plantoys on our website and I’m sure you’ll find a few more brands through the web.

BPA- What is it?

BPA is an abbreviation for Bisphenol-A. BPA is an ‘ingredient’ used in the chemical compound that lines the inside of food containers such as canned goods and cartons for liquids like milk and juice. It also is the major building block in Polycarbonate plastic. Plastics with the number 7 on the bottom of the container.

How does it get into me?

The bonds in BPA are prone to leaching (falls apart from its parent compound) into the foods contained within the can/carton or plastic container. This takes place over time and can be accelerated with heat.

How Does it affect me?

BPA acts as an environmental estrogen and once it is ingested it can disrupt proper hormone functioning, alter genes and interferes with normal physical and behavioral development.

My children come first!

The effects of BPA will be more pronounced in children because they are growing and developing at such a rapid pace. We as adults have mature brains (most of us anyway) and bodies. Therefore the interaction of BPA and our hormones/genes are dulled in comparison.

The case against BPA

The commentary to follow shows that the debate is still out regarding BPA, however research has proven at least some adverse affects of BPA ingestion. Obviously it is in the best interest of major plastic and food container manufacturers to quell this debate although in recent months it has hit the forefront with respect to our children. Hopefully over time the corporations producing these toxic products will bend to the pressure.

Two Researchers, Fredick S vom Saal and Claude Hughes, from the University of Missouri have concluded the following:

‘In this commentary, we document for the scientific, public health, and regulatory communities that exposure of experimental animals to "low doses" of BPA, which result in tissue levels within and even below the range of human exposure, has been related to adverse effects in a large number of recently published studies.

A recent case-control study reporting that blood levels of BPA are related to ovarian disease in women (Takeuchi et al. 2004) adds to our concern. A large number of in vitro studies show that effects of BPA are mediated by both genomic and nongenomic estrogen-response mechanisms, with disruption of cell function occurring at doses as low as 1 pM or 0.23 ppt (Wozniak et al. 2005).

Although the focus of most studies of effects of BPA has been on its estrogenic activity, recent reports indicating the potential to disrupt thyroid hormone action (Moriyama et al. 2002; Zoeller et al. 2005) mean other modes of action must also be considered. Very low part-per-trillion doses of BPA also cause proliferation of human prostate cancer cells via binding to a mutant form of the androgen receptor expressed in a subpopulation of prostate cancer cells (Wetherill et al. 2002), although BPA acts as an androgen antagonist in the presence of the wild-type androgen receptor (Lee et al. 2003; Paris et al. 2002) and can also block testosterone synthesis (Akingbemi et al. 2004).

A comprehensive document containing all of the low-dose BPA references, as well as information concerning mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, sources of exposure, and exposure levels in humans, is available online (Endocrine Disruptors Group 2005).

Our current conclusion that widespread exposure to BPA poses a threat to human health directly contradicts several recent reports from individuals or groups associated with or funded by chemical corporations [Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (APM) 2005; Gray et al. 2004; Kamrin 2004; Purchase 2004]. For example, a recently published report on BPA prepared by a panel convened by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA), which was funded by the American Plastics Council (APC), concluded that "the weight of the evidence for low-dose effects is very weak" (Gray et al. 2004). However, the charge to the HCRA panel, which was to perform a weight-of-the-evidence evaluation of available data on the developmental and reproductive effects of exposure to BPA in laboratory animals, led to an analysis of only 19 of 47 available published studies on low-dose effects of BPA. The deliberations of the HCRA were in 2001-2002, and accordingly, a cut-off date of April 2002 was selected for consideration of the published literature.

It is regrettable that the relevance of the analysis was further undermined by a delay of 2.5 years in publication of the report. During the intervening time, between April 2002 and the end of 2004, a large number of additional articles reporting low-dose effects of BPA in experimental animals have been published. The result is that by the end of 2004, a PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD ) search identified 115 published studies concerning effects of low doses of BPA in experimental animals.

The last U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk assessment for BPA was based on research conducted in the 1980s [Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) 1988]. The most recent risk assessment of BPA was based on a comprehensive review of the scientific literature conducted in 1998 by the European Union, with some selected articles added through 2001, at which time few of the 115 low-dose BPA studies had been published [European Chemicals Bureau (ECB) 2003].

I hope this has helped increase your awareness of the concerns surrounding BPA and that you will use this information to continue your own research. Developing your own conclusion as to what change (if any) you need to implement is extremely important. Remember, a lot of people pass on information they have ‘heard’ but by doing your own homework you can weed out ‘folk lore’ from the truth and therefore make educated decisions regarding your children and family.

Plastic Wrap

Beware of that cling wrap. Consumer group Choice, suggests we start avoiding plastic packaging for fear it could be potentially hazardous.

Of concern are materials containing polycarbonate - used to make food storage containers and bottles - and epoxy resins, used to line tin cans, Choice said.

Both have the potential to release bisphenol A, which has been linked to increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Choice has called on the industry to phase out the use of such materials, and until then, introduce mandatory labelling.

"PVC is used to make the gaskets that seal glass jars used for foods such as pasta sauces," Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said.

"There are safer alternatives, which should be used instead... But they insist on using cheap materials and lack of knowledge from their consumers.

Wax Paper

When you use wax paper do you stop to think of what the wax is made of? Most wax paper has a petroleum based formula on it. I am scared to death of things like this. Therefore I only use all natural soybean wax paper.
Made from unbleached paper and coated with 100% natural soybean wax, it's ideal for wrapping foods without affecting flavor. Conventional waxed paper is coated with paraffin wax – a petroleum based product. Soybean wax is clean, safe, non-toxic, biodegradable, and comes from a renewable and sustainable resource grown by American farmers, giving them an economical use for their soybean surplus.

Unbleached paper
Totally chlorine-free (TCF)
100% natural soybean wax
Compostable
Minimum waste
Unbleached recycled cardboard packaging
Vegetable-based inks for printing
Non-toxic glues
Cardboard packaging biodegradable but should be recycled
Ideal for food preparation
Excellent for wrapping sandwiches and other foods
Use for separating cookies or cookie dough and pre-cooked meats or burger patties
Lines and protects kitchen surfaces and helps keep microwave clean
Microwave safe
Suitable for vegetarians and vegans
~

I have almost no plastic in my house and we never eat from anything that has been heated in plastic either.

I try to eat at places that have paper cups or I bring my own. I rarely if ever keep foods that come in plastic in it's original container. I remove the food and place it in glass.

I do not use hardly any wax paper and I never use plastic wrap.

The only exception I have with plastic is my husbands munch packs. They are made from BPA free materials. I ask that he does not reheat in them, but he is a man and probably does it anyway.

I am not saying you have to dump all your plastics, you do not have to do like I did and throw everything in the recycle bin and then stand there with nothing to put food into. Just slowly wean yourself off of relying on plastics.

How much plastic do you use?

Does anyone know where to get glass lunch containers made with heavy weight glass like Pyrex?

Cleaning out your fridge Smoothie

2011-01-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday ladies and Gents!

I hope everyone is lazing around in pajama's today and getting absolutely nothing done...

Isn't that was Sunday's are for?
So, I woke up with thoughts of organizing my refrigerator, and sorting through all of my bake ware, as I have way, way too much. Now that I am on ETL, I barely use any of it.

I started out just fine on the cabinets and then took a break to organize the fridge when I came across the most pathetic looking tangerines and lemons ever...

There was even one tangerine that had totally died and was black on the inside..oops.

What? I have been busy, don't look at me that way.....lol
~

Being frugal and not liking to be wasteful I sorted out all the good fruits and pitched all the not so great looking ones and set to making Chris and I a smoothie.

This is so funny, my husband has never ben a health food guy. I mean he loves salad and fruit and even brussel sprouts and spinach, but smoothies always freaked him out.

He would say things like, "I do not want any algae, garlic, sprout smoothies... thank you!"

I would argue that it was good for him and you could not taste the health part of the smoothie, but nothing worked.

I should also tell you my husband is a meat eater....sigh....and he smokes....double sigh....

So, I finally got sick of his unhealthy ways and told him 2 weeks ago that if he wanted to be stupid and smoke, I would have no choice but to put him on a very strict vegan diet to counter act the smoking.

I also told him I was taking away his goodies, like cookies, cakes and donuts.

He smirked at me...SMIRKED. Then I told him he was getting chubby....He stopped smirking.

I told him with his family health history, it was only a matter of time before he developed diabetes, high blood pressure, or end up breathing through an oxygen machine. I made him a deal...Eat my way or else.

He said he was going to keep smoking, I said fine....then we will start running like we used too...

He smirked again.

He knows I cannot run like I used too, due to my illness, I smirked back, and said, "at least I can run"....HA HA....

Two weeks later and Chris has a smoothie everyday.

He is still smoking but he has cut down to 5 a day. I honestly believe he will quit.

~~~

So today I am in the kitchen looking through the fridge and I hear rustling behind me...

Chris thought he heard me making smoothies, so he came to get one.

I said "what are you doing?" He says "waiting for my smoothie"...sigh, men.

He is getting to be like my cats when they hear the cat food bag open.

Here is our healthy Smoothie.

4 tangerines, halved
5 lemons, halved
3 frozen banana's
3 cups of kale leaves, trimmed off of stems
1 bunch of parsley, that looked slightly limpish
water
16 oz. ice
1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Loaded up and ready to go~

Blended up and ready to drink!

My smoothie glass, it is a small ball jar. My smoothie glass of choice! Perfect size and easy for me to handle due to my arthritic fingers and hands!!!!!

I just had to show off this plastic glass I found at Target. I know, I know, you probably feel off your chair when you read I bought plastic, but listen to this!

Totally BPA free, the straw is attached, so it doesn't get lost. It is insulated, so it doesn't sweat! $6.74 marked down from $9.99, I will be buying more of these bad boys on Friday when I am in town!

Do you have anyone in your family that is resistant to being more healthy?

Do you still use plastic at your home?

Are you as bossy as me when it comes to the health of someone you love?

Tomorrow I will post about all the hazards of plastics, wax papers, and plastic wraps!!

Until then

Tchua

Viv~

A midnight snack and Peppermint tea

2011-01-08T22:57:00.000-08:00

I bought this little bottle of hot mix veggies so I can try and duplicate it at home. If you have never had pickled hot vegetables, you are missing out. Inside of this bottle is cauliflower, carrots, jalapeno, green olive and pickles. YUM~ I love love love this!

With my little snack I thought it would be nice to make Chris and I a nice cup of peppermint tea. I found this at Wal-mart during Christmas break.

The flavor is light and it really soothes a sore throat. Sadly this is the last box they had in Wal-mart until next Christmas, it is seasonal. So we will be back to plain ol' peppermint soon.

What is your favorite late nigh snack?

What tea do you drink when you feel under the weather?

A month full of menu's and a view of my town

2011-01-07T07:21:00.000-08:00

Hello Blogsters!!!! I am proud to say I finally have finished next months menu and I am psyched!
I have had several readers ask me what I eat and how do I decide what to serve each month.
I thought it would be fun to share my method and madness for organizing and shopping for a months worth of meals! Type A much....lol

First off when I decided to try ETL , it took me forever to get everything organized and to get my brain focused on a new type of food. I was so used to eating like a junk food vegan that I was not accustomed to cooking without oil, without margarine, or processed foods. I liked my unhealthy ways but my body didn't at all.
I would say it took me about 4 months to get situated and comfortable enough to start writing down my recipes. I mean really, I was a successful caterer for Pete's sake. I hated ETL for about 4 months straight and then things settled down, and my mind settled in.

I started liking the foods I ate without loads of margarine and sugar. I gave up soda again and again, but I can tell you, this time it stuck, I can not stand the stuff. When we go out to eat now I almost always drink tea or water.

Once you get it, it is hardwired in your brain. It will never leave you, when you go out to eat you can figure what you can have within seconds and then from there, make an educated choice of your meal.

Each and every month I go through a notebook that has all of my successful meals I have made for ETL.
I have never read Eat to Live, but a friend gave me the basics and I went from there.
I attempted at first to redo my already vegan recipes into ETL.
Some worked and some failed miserably.
Next I started experimenting with what sounded good to me, friends recipes and a few books that I found at my local Goodwill and book store. If it was appealing and my family liked it, it went into The Book, to be written out in long hand so I can read it. Most of my recipes are scribbles until I go over them at least thrice...lol
The menu I am going to write out for you is a combination of new recipes, tried and true recipes and my families favorites.
I make a menu out of a standard large desk calendar that I can write on and keep on my recipe desk. (Everyone has a recipe desk right?) I have my own little office just for cookbooks and recipes right off the kitchen, so I can work undeterred.
I have smoothies, breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners planned or 30 days of the month.
Yes, that is what I eat everyday. It goes like this...

7am-smoothie
9am-oatmeal
12 pm -lunch salad or leftovers
4 pm-snack of fruit and nuts
8 pm- Dinner
~
I know you are going.... really? She really is this anal? Honestly...who does that?
ME....I do.
Hello I am Vivacious and I own hundreds of notebooks with test recipes, hundreds of recipes cut out of magazines, billions of post it note with idea's on them...

I am only going to give you a month's worth of dinners, because honestly...there is not enough room on this page for all of it.
~
This is February's menu
1.Kidney bean stew with spinach salad or veggie tray
2. Black Bean Chili over baked sweet potato wedges
3. Vegetable rice enchilada's in chile verde
4. Navy bean soup with vegetable tray
5. Lentil Soup Italian salad
6. Taco soup guacamole salad
7. Zucchini noodle Lo mein with green beans and mushrooms
8. Taco style salad with Raw jicama chili fries
9. Mushroom/green bean unfried rice made with couscous
10. Southwestern hominy soup, an adaption of Vegan Epicureans
11. Falafel salad with baked poppy seed pita crisps
12. Eggplant noodle squash lasagna with homemade red sauce
13.Stuffed acorn squash with brown rice pilaf
14. Pad Thai salad with cucumber pickle salat and hearted beets
15. Walnut Lentil loaf, with puree of cauliflower and parsnip
16.Shepherds pie topped with colcannon/cauliflower potatoes
17. Seitan chops with tomato okra topper over brown rice
18. Jambalaya with corn salsa topping
19. Cincinnati style tvp chili with avocado salad
20. Black bean stuffed chili relleno over Mexican rice
21. Peasant soup with cabbage noodle, with brown jasmine rice
22. Sesame encrusted baked tofu, zucchini and bell pepper over w.w. orzo
23. Cabbage rolls with brown rice
24. WW Nooch alfredo with spinach and cremini, tomato pizza, veggie tray
25. White minestroni with massaged kale salad
26. Black beans and brown rice, with turnip greens
27. Homemade spaghetti sauce with winter mix veg, over couscous
28. Chickpea Mediterranean sauce over collard green noodles
29. Old fashioned style porcupine meatballs over celery root puree, with broccoli
30. Chickpea cutlets with roasted root vegetables
31.Forbidden rice soup with leek and cauliflower, vegetable tray
You will notice I made a menu for 31 days in Feb. when it has only 28, that is just in case I decide against a certain meal I can switch it with something else and not have to run out and buy new groceries.

I buy 1 month in advance for my groceries and then I shop weekly for run of the mill items like cat food, toilet paper and fresh veggies.
While we were out shopping today I thought I would snap some pictures of my town for your viewing pleasure.

Welcome to Nickerson...
They are putting in a new water main all through town.
Gotta love the rubble.
Entering town you can see the grain co-op across from my house..This is the long distance view.

Our hometown grocer. I buy most of my fruits here.

North West Main Street

South west Main street

The co-ops behind my house....

This is at the beginning of the street form my house. You gotta love dirt roads!

Close up of previous grain co-op directly in front of my house.

I hope you are excited about my month of menu's and enjoyed looking at my tiny town.

When I said Adventures of Veganism Midwestern Kansas, I meant it!
~
Do you make up menu's at your house too?

What is your families favorite meal?

A light lunch

2011-01-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

Today started like it usually does.
I drag myself out of bed, down the stairs, put the dog out, bring the dog in, talk to the cats about their evenings activities and head straight to the fridge to make a green smoothie for Chris and I. This morning was slightly different as Kaiti my youngest child was home sick today with a cold. I usually make enough smoothie for three of us.
I made my standard smoothie of kale, frozen banana, orange juice, garlic and lemon. I just added a little extra of this and that WA LA..Smoothies!
I had a half of apple left over from the smoothies so I sliced it for Chris and gave him 4 raw Brazil nuts to go with it. Brazil nuts have been shown to help protect men from getting prostate cancer, so I make sure Chris has 2-4 daily.

Chris' snack with his smoothie
I have been consuming more and more tea as the weather gets chillier. I like to drink an organic green tea powder that actually releases it's powder into the bottom of your cup, you can see the sediment if you really look.

It is the best tea I have had in awhile and I drink between 6-10 cups a day. Not only does it help with lowering cholesterol levels it has been proven that is has reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent.

University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

For no other reason drink it because it tastes good, it warms you up in winter and gives you an over all sense of calm.

I had two cucumber that needed to be eaten in the fridge. This is how I started my decision on lunch.

I thought I wanted to dip my cucumbers in a light Dijon vinaigrette

Country French Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup Tarragon Vinegar

2 tbls. red vine vinegar

1 tbls. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. Country french herbs blend

dash of freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

Whisk and eat.

But then I realized I had some baby beets and baby butter beans calling to me from the fridge...Salad maybe?

Baby butter bean salad with beets

3 cups organic fresh mixed baby greens with frisee
1 cup spinach
1.5 cups no salt added baby butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup sliced baby beets, cooked peeled and sliced thinly
1 cup baby carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced thinly
1/3 green pepper, diced small

In a pretty serving bowl, add your lettuces and spinach, toss to combine. Top with celery, green pepper, and carrots. Place sliced beets and baby butter beans on next.
Whisk vinaigrette and pour over entire salad, mix well with two spoons. Serve immediately.
Close up shot.
And finally lunch is served.

I really liked this salad, it was light and yet filling. I think this would be especially good in the summer when beets are abundant here in Kansas.

The vinaigrette is quite delicious and covered the salad really well.

WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR LUNCH?

Viv~

The benefits of Buckwheat honey

2011-01-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Good evening Bloggie peeps!
If you are a vegan that eats honey this is the type for you. It is loaded with yumminess and is actually good for you!!!
Here is the post I promised you earlier today

Buckwheat honey's full-bodied flavor isn't for everyone, but once accustomed to it, some people say they fall in love with its lingering aftertaste. Its dark color and taste are reminiscent of molasses, and I have read it is a favorite in Europe.

Darker honey like this, is said to contain more antioxidants.

Antioxidants provide a defense against free radicals, and are said to help fight heart disease, cancer, and other maladies. Buckwheat honey is also a great source of iron. Other benefits include:
Higher in mineral content
No fat or cholesterol
Provides quick energy
It can be stored without refrigeration

Some studies have even been done in regards to this powerhouse food.....

Research done at University of California concluded that eating honey boosts antioxidant levels. This was a small controlled study of 25 people who ate between four and ten tablespoons of buckwheat honey everyday for a month.

The amount consumed was dependant on the individuals size. The honey could be eaten in whatever manner the participants wanted as long as it wasn't baked or dissolved in a hot liquid. The result was that antioxidant levels went up in all of the people participating. Researchers concluded that the honey had as many antioxidants as:
Spinach
Apples
Strawberries
Oranges

Another study conducted by Penn State College of Medicine, determined that small amounts of buckwheat honey administered before bedtime helped relieve nighttime coughing in children when compared to the cough suppressant dextromethorphan (DM).

DM is no longer recommended for children age five and under because of its ineffectiveness and adverse side effects. The Penn State College of Medicine study determined that honey controlled not only the frequency of coughing but also the severity, and participants including adults and children experienced better quality of sleep.

How to Find Local Buckwheat Honey
Buckwheat honey is not a common honey and may be hard to find locally because it is produced mostly in the northern plains as an early summer crop. The long growing season available to Missouri lets farmers there grow buckwheat as a double crop following the wheat harvest. It is most commonly grown in:

Minnesota
Missouri
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
Eastern Canada
Another reason buckwheat honey is harder to find is that buckwheat itself is being planted less and less as a crop.

To help find the market closest to you, the National Honey Board provides a convenient Honey Locator's to help find suppliers in your vicinity. It is also available online.

If you are interested in finding honey in your state please check out this site .

How to make your own High Pulp Orange Juice!!!

2011-01-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

I must first apologize for the poor quality of my pictures, I started in the morning with this little project and then life happened, so I ended up finishing at about 7 pm. LOL

I love high pulp orange juice and normally I buy it, but with the cost of almost $4.00 for a half gallon I thought I might try it myself and control the amount of pulp plus, by making my own I can guarantee that there are no hidden ingredients like sugar of chemicals in my orange juice.

Did you know:

The pulp of an orange contains flavonoids which are currently still being studied but are thought to help prevent cancer, cardiovascular diseases and hold antinflamatory and anti allergy properties? Its still an ongoing study and started with a scientist named Linus Pauling. Linus Paulling also stated that Vitamin C could be one of the leading cures in heart disease. When I read more on this, I will post about it. My mother had heart disease and it eventually lead to her death, I wish I had known about the link between vitamin C deficiency and heart disease then.

Higher pulp orange juice contains higher calcium and is an advantage, particularly to older women, or those with lactose intolerance especially in minimizing osteoporosis. Differing opinions regarding health benefits of Vitamin C 100% RDA should perhaps be given credence, the opinion of expert opinion with Linus Pauling's credentials cannot be ignored. Higher carbohydrate content may be significant in overall calorie intake either desirable during high intensity training or undesirable if you are following a low carb diet. Shall we get on to the fun part and make some OJ?

I separated my oranges from their skins for two reasons, 1st reason my juicer is older and bogs down if given too much skins and 2ND. I forgot I had a high powered blender sitting in front of me that would have done the job...LOL

My next purchase is going to be a higher grade juicer, this one was very inexpensive and it shows. It will bog down alot if I try to process too much and the holding bucket is tiny. I had to dump my bucket twice before the whole process was done. I had an extra Simply Orange container and thought, why not use that until I can get a glass bottle with a lid for our orange juice? Recycling has always been one of my strong points. Humility, not so much....lol

Here is the finished product.

I used 15 oranges for 1/4 gallon of juice...I also threw in about 1 cup of pulp for added fiber and vitamin C.

Doesn't seem like much, but when you think of all the scary things that are not in it, it really is worth it. Use organic oranges if you can. Try to buy in bulk, I bought 20lbs. at Wal-Mart right before Christmas. Homemade orange juice tastes so much better than purchased and it is better for you in the long run!!

Later today, I am going to post the health benefits of buckwheat honey! See you then~

Hugs,

Viv~

Super Health Smoothie

2011-01-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

Hi fellow bloggers,
How is everyone this chilly winter evening? I am sitting on my sofa in my PJ's, curled into a super soft blanket, writing this post for you while my daughter watching The Vampires Assistant on DVD. It is a cute movie and I recommend it, although smaller children should probably not view this film as it has some frightening scenes and a few bad words.
As you know I have been suffering a cold.
I must have caught it while Emma was in the hospital...You gotta love a lowered immune system!
Not~
I wanted to really start my mornings with a smoothie and thanks to my Ninja Blender now I can!

I wanted an all natural, no fillers kinda smoothie and I wanted something that would shock my system enough to force this cold out of me. I think it has done the trick, as I started expelling some mucus and finally I started to cough and work out some phlegm that has been plaguing me.( I know this is probably to much info, but you should know what it will do for you, right?)

I know this sounds so intriguing you want me to show you how I did it right....?

Super Smoothie

2 handfuls of washed and torn kale
1 Rome apple, washed and cut up, do not peel
2 frozen banana's cut into thirds
1/2 tsp. minced garlic, I buy mine already minced and organic
2 organic lemons juiced
1.5 cups homemade high pulp orange juice, I make my own and will be featured as tomorrows post
Throw everything in your blender or food processor, blend until smooth add ice if desired.
I think it looks like Christmas in a glass. The garlic was present but not overwhelming. This recipe made enough for Chris and I to have two small ball jars full. I was worried that the garlic would be too forward and Chris would turn his nose up at it, but he happily drank his down and said it was quite tasty...YAY me!

I was impressed by the fast acting effects of the combo of whole foods in this smoothie. I could actually feel a warming in my system and then my nose started running and the mucus just let go. I unclogged within 8 hours and when the coughing started and the phlegm broke up, I knew I would make this again and again. Chris noticed also that his plugged up sinuses let loose. The headache that was plaguing him left and he was more mentally alert, did I mention I shared my cold with my family???
~
Hopefully this will pass soon and we will be back to our normal rowdy selves.

I will post tomorrow how I make my high pulp orange juice for smoothies!

XOXO

Viv~

Super easy smoothie!

2011-01-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

Hello Bloggers!
How was your holidays? I hope they were wonderful! We enjoyed alot of family time and watched tons of Christmas movies together, ate too much food and basically had a blast together. Isn't it nice when you want to spend time with family!
The above picture is of a painting I found at our local goodwill store for only $13.00, what a steal right?
I just had to share it! I put it in the kitchen because I had the perfect spot over the stove. Cute huh!
For Christmas my dad sent my family all gift Certificates to Target, my favorite discount store. There I found the Ninja!
~
The Ninja blender is like a vita mix without the $500.00 price tag for people who do not have loads of cash laying around...lol, it was priced at $100.00, has 1000 watts of power, 6 blades and is a breeze to clean.
I bought this bad boy for smoothies and sauces, and let me tell you it is super fast and it impressed me right off. I have never had a smoothie this smooth outside of a Jamba Juice! I am sold! I highly recommend this blender, especially if you have a hard time handing over $500.00!

My very first smoothie I made was an orange, banana, strawberry smoothie. Plain and simple.

The above picture is the Ninja 5 seconds in...

One minute later...Super smooth smoothie, here is what I used.

Healthy OJ, Banana, Strawberry Smoothie

3 banana's

1 entire pkg. frozen strawberries (this was a small bag)

2 cups high pulp orange juice and 1.5 cups of ice

I threw everything in and let it do it's thing. it reminded me of an Orange Julius, like they have in the malls.

Here is the finished result, delicious and nutritious! No added sugar or fillers, just yumminess in a cup!

I can't wait to share with you what I made next, but that is for another post!
Have a great evening!

Hugs, Viv~

Happy New Year!!!!!

2011-01-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy New New Year!
I hope everyone's New Year Eve was awesome!!!
We has an uneventful New Years Eve. My entire family settled in to watch the fifth season of Bones one of our favorite television programs and then we went to bed early since my husband had to be to work at 6am the next day.

For years before I became vegan, my family and I would celebrate New Years Day with Ham and Beans. My mother had a secret for making them that would cut cooking time in half and she passed that knowledge onto me. Since I no longer eat ham I wanted something that reflected my mother but was healthy for my family. I settled on Cassoulet.

The Origins of Cassoulet are varied by whom you ask.

Here is an excerpt from this website Here
The history of cassoulet is a history of Languedoc. One legend places the birth of cassoulet during the siege of Castelnaudary by the Black Prince, Edward the Prince of Wales, in 1355. The besieged townspeople gathered their remaining food to create a big stew cooked in a cauldron. Apocrypha aside, a more appropriate historical question can be asked: Is the prototype of cassoulet the fava and mutton stews of the Arabs, as suggested by Julia Child and Paula Wolfert (but denied by Waverly Root)? Was the Languedoc the northern limit of the cooks, if not the commandos, of ‘Abd ar-Rahmān I and the yakhna bi’l-fūl? Etymology alone provides some circumstantial evidence pointing to the celebrated cuisine of the Arabs as the provenance of cassoulet, already having made its mark on the beans stews to the south in Muslim Spain of the twelfth century.

The word cassoulet derives from the earthenware casserole it is cooked in, the cassolle or cassolo, a special vessel made by the local potteries from the terre d’Issel, Issel being a village in the vicinity of Castelnaudary. The word cassolo comes directly from the Spanish. But where does the Spanish word cassa, meaning “a receptacle for carrying liquid,” from which it derives come from? The explanation given in Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion to Food, who used John Ayto’s The Diner’s Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 1993), claims the word casserole has a complicated history. It starts with a classical Greek term for a cup (kuáthos) progressing to the Latin word cattia which could mean both ladle and pan, and then becoming the Provençal casa that transforms into the Old French word casse that gives the words today cassolle or casserole. This is indeed complicated, too complicated and in fact incorrect. Although my Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary gives the same etymology, a more convincing explanation is given by Joan Corominas (1905-1997), Professor of Romance Philology at the University of Chicago and author of the definitive four-volume Diccionario crítico etimólogico de la lengua castellana. The English word “casserole” does indeed derive from the French word cassolle which in turn derives from the medieval Occitan word cassa. But this word is related to the original Spanish word cassa which also gives the modern Spanish word for the casserole, cazuela. All these words come directly from the medieval Spanish cassa, which is not derived from the Latin. Where does the medieval Spanish word cassa, meaning “a receptacle for carrying liquid,” come from? Possibly, Corominas argues, it comes from cacherulo, a Mozarab word meaning a casserole. Mozarab was the language spoken by the Christians living in Islamic Spain in the twelfth century. Cacherulo in turn is a word derived from the Arabic qascat, a large shallow earthenware bowl or pan. On the other hand, it may be derived from a proto-Hispanic word, but it doesn’t derive from either Latin or Greek.

In talking about cassoulet we also should not forget the proximity of Catalonia and the close historical association of Languedoc with the Aragonese-Catalan Empire. Cassoulet has much in common with the bean and sausage dishes of Catalonia’s northernmost province, Roussillon, with its l’ollada, that in turn is related to the escudella of Catalonia. This, of course, leads us to the olla of Castile and Cervantes. The bean in all these early bean stews must be the fava bean or hyacinth bean, because Phaseolus vulgaris--the white bean so closely associated today with cassoulet--did not appear in Europe until after Columbus’s second voyage in 1493, and one of the first references in Languedoc to this bean is in Clermont-sur-Lauquet in 1565, by the name monges.

The life of this famous bean stew begins in Castelnaudary. The cassoulet of Castelnaudary, a pleasant village in the Aude along the Canal du Midi, is certainly the oldest of the three cassoulets, the other two being from Carcassonne and Toulouse. Some authors speak of a fourth and fifth cassoulet, but in reality you can speak of three or a thousand. The Castelnaudary version is the most rustic, using only water from Castelnaudary and the produce of the Lauragais. In older times the cassoulet was simmered in a cauldron over an open hearth fire of gorse wood collected in the Montagne Noire of the region. During hunting season the Carcassonnais will throw several red partridges and some lamb shoulder or leg into their cassoulet. In Toulouse it is enriched with confit of goose, pork skin, and saucisses de Toulouse, a simple pork sausage with a distinctive flavor.

A proper understanding of the importance of cassoulet to local cuisine can be captured by a famous saying: Le Cassoulet est le dieu de la cuisine occitane. Un Dieu en trois personnes: Dieu le père est celui de Castelnaudary, Dieu le fils est celui de Carcassonne et le Saint-Esprit qui est celui de Toulouse. (Cassoulet is the God of Occitan cuisine. A god in three persons: God, the father, is that of Castelnaudry. God the son is that of Carcassonne, and the Holy Spirit is that of Toulouse). Anatole France, writing in the late nineteenth century, described cassoulet as having a “taste, which one finds in the paintings of old Venetian masters, in the amber flesh tints of their women.” He claimed in his Histoire comique that the cassoulet he ate at Chez Clemence on the Rue Vavin, a favorite establishment in Paris, had been cooking for twenty years, the water, beans and meats replenished daily.

Where does one find the best cassoulet? Undoubtedly the best will be found in the kitchen of a farmer’s wife. One French authority declared that a good cassoulet could not be a restaurant dish under any circumstances. Opinions of cooks and chefs are strong on the composition of a cassoulet. Some chefs say that mutton and confit can’t go together. Other cooks look down on the bread crumb crust, saying that it is a restaurant invention done to make it look better.

No matter which cassoulet you make, it is important to follow several important rules. Use the very best ingredients. If you are traveling in Languedoc, you couldn’t bring back a better souvenir than the best medium-size haricot beans you can find, such as the lingot de Lavelanet or the haricot beans of Mazères, Pamiers, or Cazères.

The water for a good cassoulet is quite important. It should be hard and calcareous, which allows the beans to maintain their shape better. Also, patience is required. There is much preparation, and the cooking is long, with the fire being adjusted if necessary.

Lastly, you should know about the so-called secret of the seven skins: a film develops over the cassoulet while it cooks. This skin or film must be broken seven times to make a perfect cassoulet, culinary folklore instructs.

I am really a nerd at heart and I love information behind the food.
Even though the traditional cassoulet is served with a variety of meat, I thought why not make it vegan.
I am sure other people make vegan cassoulet. But, I am new at this so it is exciting to me!

Vegan Cassoulet
2 medium white onions, leeks are traditional
1 longish celery rib, sliced
1 carrot, diced

1 turnip, diced
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. french country seasoning
Pepper
3 cups cooked Navy Beans
1 can diced tomatoes
Vegetable broth approx. 2 1/2 cups
Italian bread that is stale, crumbled into tiny bits, then toast in oven for 15 minutes until light brown, or panko bread crumbs
Parsley for garnish
Cherry tomatoes, halved for garnish

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
In an oven-safe pot, water saute' the first four ingredients in 1/2 cup broth, saute' until crisp tender.
Add the thyme, bay leaf, french country seasoning and pepper, stir, then add the beans, canned tomatoes, and 2 cups of broth. Bring to a simmer.
Put in the oven and cook for 20 minutes without a lid.
Remove from the oven and top with halved cherry tomatoes and breadcrumbs. Increase the temperature to 400 degrees and return the pot to the oven to brown the breadcrumbs, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired.

Reactions to my cassoulet.
While I love bean dishes, my meat loving husband was less than thrilled, The girls both loved it. I like it but I felt that it lacked in the robust flavor I thought it would have. I think I will experiment with this dish a little more and possibly roast the veggies before I add then to the cassoulet.
Will I make this dish again? Yes!

New Years: A Time For Resolutions

2010-12-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

Auld Lang Syne
Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne

~
~

New Years has always been a bit of a let down for me. For years I would throw a gathering of friends and family with food and drinks. We played games, talked and made resolutions for the coming year. Resolutions that no one kept, let alone remembered the day after.

I would attempt to follow the list I had made out the weeks before New Years in the hopes that I would at least accomplish 1 of them. I have never been able to fulfill a list of resolution I have made yet.

This year will be different.

This year I will make a list and stick to it. I will share my list with you and you can keep me on the straight and narrow..

My New Years Resolution

1.Get into shape. Just because your skinny doesn't mean you are in shape. I have several area's that need some lift...lol

2. Eat out less, meaning only eat out once a month

3. Be more organized. For those that know me, I know you are thinking is she kidding, but yes even I need some more organization.

4. Spend more quality time with my husband. Have date nights

5. Read more. I have really been neglecting my favorite past time.

6. Be more attentive to my family and friends. How many times have you sat with someone while they talked about their day and you did not hear a word of it? I do it all the time and I feel horrible. I am really going to stop what I am doing and start listening with my full focus.

That is my list, small and relatively easy.

Here is my question for you? What are some of your New Year Resolutions?

See you next year!!!

Garlic and Psoriatic Arthritis

2010-12-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

10 Reasons For Adding Garlic To Psoriatic and Rheumatoid Arthritis Diets

Garlic can reduce pain and inflammation in people with PA and RA.

Garlic inhibits the formation of free radicals that can cause joint damage .
Garlic is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and may protect against some cancers.

Garlic has cardiovascular benefits. It can reduce blood pressure and cholesterol which help to protect against atherosclerosis which means a reduction in chance of heart attack and stroke.

Studies have shown that eating both cooked and raw garlic together provided a better health benefit than eating either cooked or uncooked garlic alone.
Garlic promotes a healthy immune system.

Garlic has antioxidant properties.

Odorless form is less effective than natural garlic.

Garlic has vitamins B6 and C.

Garlic has the minerals selenium which helps regulate thyroid function and immune response and manganese an anti-oxidant.

A very simple Chinese soup with cabbage noodles

2010-12-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

I am sick. There I said it. I am so hard headed that often I tell myself I am not ill, so I can continue on my usual daily. But this cold has stalled any progress I was gaining before I caught the darn cold.
I am miserable and since I am the only one that can cook in my household,( Chris had to work) I made a really easy soup that would not only feed my family, but make me feel good too.
My mother would make homemade chicken noodle soup when I was ill as a child. She would boil a chicken and pick it, make noodles from scratch and dice all the veggies small so I could swallow them. Since I am sick, I made my own rendition of chicken noodle soup, minus the flour noodle with a little Asian flare.

First I cannot stress enough to use all organic produce. It is really worth the extra cost.

I diced up 4 stalks of celery, 3/4 bag of baby carrots, 1/8 of a large cabbage and 2 medium onions. I water sauteed them until tender. Next, I added a full teaspoon of cracked black pepper and 4-5 cloves of garlic that you minced, let set for at least 3 minutes to get the most nutrients out of your garlic.

Next I sliced about another 1/8Th of the cabbage again and made them into noodles.

Add onto the top of your cooked veggies and add your prepared vegetable broth. With a dash or two of light soy sauce.

My vegetable broth is pretty straight forward. I use whatever veggies I have laying around. This broth had,

3 onions that were chopped skins left on

1-1lb. bag of carrots washed and chopped, skins left on
1 bag of celery, washed and chopped with leaves left on

2 tbls. cracked black pepper
1 dash of dill

Throw everything in a huge roaster, like you would bake a turkey. Cover with water and set over a low heat and let come to a simmer. Let all your veggies break down. I left mine for most of a day, watching so it didn't cook down and adding water when needed. When you are ready, pour your broth into a strainer to separate vegetable from broth. If desired, use a hand held blender puree the vegetable and add back into the broth. This would make a great base for a veggie risotto. I always puree my veggies and add them into my stock.

My finished soup. Aren't the cabbage noodles cute?? I served some organic jasmine rice in Kaiti's bowl and ate mine plain with a green onion finish.

This is a picture that Kaiti took, she is really interested in photography and loves to help out with the blog.

I am hopping to be rid of this cold before New Years as I have a lovely meal planned to share with all of you.

Question:

What do you eat or drink when you are sick?

Mushroom: A book review and a talk about health from a reformed junk food junkie.

2010-12-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

Recently I was book shopping in town. I found a wonderful book that I had passed over several times before, because lets be honest....mushrooms don't seem too exciting. I mean even the book cover was plain.....But look inside!

Chinese Mushroom soup

Mushroom Bruschetta

Hot and Sour Noodle & Mushroom Salad

Mushroom Brioches

Mixed Mushroom Pizza

Mushroom Burgers

Mushroom & Bean Chili

Garlic Mushrooms

Not only is this book filled with visually stunning pictures, it is mostly vegan, and what isn't vegan, can be made vegan fairly easy.

I try to buy all of my books used. I know that probably sounds strange to some people, but if I can pay for $20.00 for 5 like new books, instead of $50.00 for two that is my kinda deal. Hastings Book store occasionally has this book deal and when they do I stock up! It is not unusual to see me walk out with 15 books at a time.

Here is what I picked up this time.

Really interesting read, actually healthy food based on a custom eating plan. Very ETL approved!

This book really surprised me, it is not as filled with seafood as I thought it would. Alot of the recipes are easily converted to veganism.

I hesitated to put this in my post. We have family with prostate cancer. It is a truly important subject with me and I am not one to take any type of cancer lightly. I have intimate knowledge of cancer and life threatening disease and so I take my health and the health of my family very seriously.

Eating is something you have to do, you should take it seriously. Would you feed your children Mc Arsenic Nuggets, if it was the latest craze? Would you change your diet if you could live another 30 years? While that may sound funny to some, and even more absurd to vegans, vegans can eat unhealthy foods too.

I cringe at the thought that I ate as a junk food vegan for as long as I did.

Think of it this way, like I do.

I use to smoke.... alot. I was also a vegan.

My children had to sit in the back of my car while I smoked. So what if the window was down, so what if I never smoked in the house. I smelled. I stunk. I quit smoking and now I cannot stand the smell of smokers.

It is disgusting, it is unhealthy and it causes cancer.

Third hand smoke is more lethal than smoking, did you know that?

Food is just as damaging as smoking, or drinking for that matter.

Those who drink an entire of bottle of wine with dinner, in my opinion have a problem.

If you eat huge portions of food, vegan or not you are going to die early, you are robbing those that love you years of time together. Just because it is vegan does not make it healthy.

Tofutti cream cheese is deadly, so is Better than Sour Cream.

If you must eat things like this, make it yourself. Use organic tofu. That way you will not be subject to harmful GMO'S.

Make a vow to yourself this coming year that you will do what it takes to make healthy resolutions and stick with them. YOU ARE WORTH IT!

With that said. I am very interested in feeding my granddaughter healthy vegan fare that tastes good and is going to give her what a growing baby needs.

Yes she is only three weeks old, but if I start now, think how informed I will be in three months!

This is not a vegan book, but the recipes are so intriguing I know I can make them healthier and vegan.

~
~

I am not perfect. I learn something new everyday. I struggle to fight against my own inner monologue telling me it is ok to cheat.

Just eat a damn twinkie, it is vegan after all.

I ate the twinkie btw...Then I suffered terrible pains. Was it worth it? NO..

Will I talk myself back into trouble, most probably yes.

I love food..

It is a never ending struggle to maintain. I will triumph! You will too, I just know it!

Only I can have a week this bad, and it is only Tuesday!!

2010-12-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

Hello bloggies! I am hoping all of you have been enjoying your holidays!!! We have really been busy in the Vivacious household.
A new baby, Christmas and Birthdays, not to mention guests popping in and out to see Emma and her new baby and all of the usual things that have to get done.
I am not surprised that I have caught a cold. Having just got a Remicade Infusion, I am susceptible to all kinds of bugs.
Luckily I just caught a cold. Along with a cold, my right wisdom tooth broke while we were out eating Saturday and is now causing me the most annoying pain I have ever been in. It is kind of like a great pressure near my ear canal, that obviously has now caused an ear infection, probably due to the swelling and pressure of the tooth. So my sinuses are draining down the back of my throat causing throat irritation. I hesitate to talk the pain is so annoying!
Has any one had this type of experience, I hate to think I am all alone with this.

This is my favorite coffee mug, wait I guess I should say tea mug as it has had nothing but tea in it since I bought it. Tonight it has a lovely organic cold remedy tea in it....
I felt a little better so I made me a snack that I usually eat in the afternoon. I had 1 medium banana sprinkled with some organic cinnamon powder, 1 large orange, peeled and separated and some peanut butter to put on my banana for some extra protein as I have eaten very little the last few days. Soft foods are good. My dentist is on vacation until Monday, January 3rd and not even available to take emergency calls as he is in Vermont skiing with his family. BTW, his on call dentist is sick....ONLY ME! LOL

So it is 11:37 pm and I am settling down after a long night with a crying baby. We walked her, rocked her, sang to her, pleaded with her, smelled her, changed her, cuddled her and nothing worked. She cried and cried and cried.

She cried so much Emma called the doctor. I said she probably had to burp, that her tummy was slightly distended, I even looked up colic on the web for Emma, I told Emma not to worry, babies do this sometimes.

After two hours of non stop crying, Emma was near hysterics, crying and saying she was a bad mother, and my husband.....He was calmly watching Toy Story 3 without a care in the world...(he put on subtitles)....MEN!

SHE BURPED..... And went to sleep

And so did Emma... and now so am I.

Goodnight

Early Morning start with thoughts of Tofu in my head!

2010-12-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Bloggers! I am hoping everyone slept well.

Have you ever thought about a food so much you make up recipes in your sleep? Sadly, I am that person....LOL

Last night I went to bed with thoughts of a highly spiced baked tofu with a crunchy topping of maybe radish and cilantro......

I want something meaty and yet light, filling, but not loaded with empty calories and still be satisfying. So I am thinking...maybe a teriyaki wasabi glaze with sesame seeds over a bed of brown jasmine rice with the radish and cilantro topping.

How does that sound? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

I hope every one is enjoying the Christmas break, I know we are!!!!

Chinese food and a Chinese baby...

2010-12-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Today Emma and Evie and I went to have some Chinese food at City Buffet.
Emma's husband Chris is the head sushi chef and he also cooks on the hibachi!! We get the best and freshest California roll you can get!
~
If you haven't tried a california roll yet, get out there and find one ASAP!
A California roll is delicious, filled with pickled daikon radish, avocado and cucumber, wrapped with nori and then sticky rice...Chris makes the best, if I do say so myself and he uses tons of vegetables in all of his sushi too, not just the vegan ones!

Here is Chris diligently preparing rice balls for the dinner service. He hand molds all of his decorative sushi and then slivers the vegetables over it in an array of colors and flavors!
~
When we arrived Chris told us he had run out of nori wraps and could not make our rolls. So sad, but he did make me a delicious stirfry vegetable dish with green pepper, bean sprouts, celery and carrot, mushrooms and zucchini in a spicy garlic and pepper sauce!
Super tasty and totally vegan! He even cuts the oil in half for me!
(incidentally, I took a picture of my lunch with my phone and sent it to my friend and forgot to take one for my blog....duh!)

After we finished our lunch, we headed over to Wal-Mart to pick up some boxes to finish wrapping presents.
~
Emma got Evie all dressed up!
Evie is 2 weeks old! Isn't she cute!
~
We had a spit up incident and had to change her cloths, but she was happy about it.

Silly little baby! She is totally asleep in the cart at Wal-Mart...

Still totally asleep, I am hoping that since she smiles so much in her dreams we are doing an ok job so far.

Hoping you enjoy your evening

XOXO

Viv~~

Oh Cookies! Beginning the baking for Christmas and a book review.

2010-12-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

Happily I was able to get back to the blog sphere and post some of the baking I have gotten done. As you know I am busy with a new granddaughter, and today is my youngest daughters birthday!!!
Kaiti requested we go to the mall and eat at her favorite Chinese restaurant, luckily they have a wide selection of vegan food for people like me! I ate an egg roll and my favorite rice!!
~
Tonight Kaiti requested egg in toast and fruit salad for her dinner, as she is more vegetarian than vegan. She asked for lemon bars for her dessert and I am making a special punch that I will give you the recipe later in this post.

Here are the three goodies I made last night!!!!!!
I created these (so I thought) about 5 years ago for my husband. They are white chocolate (not real of course, does anyone know where you can get a real vegan white chocolate?) pecan chips, and cranberries in an oatmeal cookie dough!!!!!
The recipe is everywhere now, even vegan versions.
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These are about the size of a silver dollar. When I went vegan, my cookie size started dwindling too. Just like my waist line......lol
~
Snicker doodles, I make mine a little different than traditional recipes, I make mine out of a sugar cookie recipe and then roll them in cinnamon sugar. Emma hates snicker doodles, but loves these!

Haystacks!!!!

These are so easy, just melt a bag of butterscotch vegan chips and pour over a large bag of chow mien noodles in a large bowl, mix and drop by tablespoons onto parchment paper.

Since I am not much of a sweet eater and never have been a fan of chocolate, I do not find the lure of goodies too hard to resist this year, I cannot remember the last time I ate a cookie, and cake is almost non existent in our house.

Last night I was caught tasting a haystack by my husband, who then tried to take a picture of me and put it on my blog to show you, even I eat sweets on rare occasion, just in severe moderation ........lol

This is actually the only decent picture of our tree in the living room, no matter how I took the picture it always came out fuzzy....??....

We are enjoying ourselves this holiday season, we have eaten out way way too much, visited friends and family often and listened to hours and hours of Christmas music.

Some of my favorite Christmas music is the classics sang by Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and of course, the Chipmunks!

Hours and hours of dancing to jingle bell rock and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas with a baby have made this season extra special!
~
Having a new baby around, I am constantly on the look out for healthy recipes for when she is ready to start eating. I happened to stumble upon this book in a bargain bin, for $5.00 and thought, for that price it was worth the risk.

Healthy Meals For Babies and Toddlers.

By, Valerie Barrett

Delicious and nutritious recipes for your children, from weaning to starting their school years.

Contents:

Introduction

First Tastes

Establishing Solids

Encouraging Self Feeding

New Tastes and Textures

Tasty Adventures Joining Family Meals

Index

The pictures in this book are lovely and vibrant. The writer comes across as knowledgeable and thoughtful in her writings. Her attention to detail is well thought out and skilled.

My favorite thing about this book is within the first five pages she includes a vegetarian and vegan diet plan for your baby. She does not throw out that she had to include this in her book, but adds that a vegetarian diet it is a perfectly healthy way to raise your baby. She also includes several recipes and suggestions for vegan and vegetarian children.

Here are some of the recipes she included that I think you would enjoy!

Quinoa and vegetables

Spring vegetable Risotto

Pastina with butternut squash

Hummus

Beet Dip

Falafel with Carrot salad

Fruit Dippers made with yogurt

Fragrant Creamy Rice

Vegetable lasagna

Smoothies

Warm Pasta Salad

While this is not a vegan or even a vegetarian cookbook, I find that it is thoughtful, intelligent and endearing to it's many readers.

I am hoping to make most of these recipes for my granddaughter when she takes her first bites!

All of Evangeline's food will be homemade and organic.

Being the hippy mother I was, my youngest daughter never tasted soda until she was 7 or 8 years old, and it was organic. My healthy ways fell off for a number of years, but with the way our food is treated compared to 15-20 years ago, I feel it is imperative that we do all we can to ensure the successful eating habits for our children and their children.

Are you ready for a totally addictive punch that is almost healthy???

Ok, ok so it isn't, but it tastes good!

Lemon Pineapple Punch

1 Frozen cont. Lemonade concentrate

1 Frozen cont. pineapple concentrate

1 2 liter bottle of 7-up, or sprite

Pour all into a large pitcher and mix well and ice and serve. I had this at a wedding reception last month and loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JUST FOR FUN SUNDAY!! Please answer each question for fun!

So, what is your Favorite holiday treat?

My favorite Treat would have to be eggnog shakes with a little nutmeg sprinkled over the top.

What is your Favorite Holiday dinner item?

This one is tricky....I would have to say my favorite holiday dinner item would be scalloped corn.

What is your Favorite Christmas song?

My favorite song would have to be Judy Garlands "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" It alwasy makes me cry.

What is your Favorite holiday Memory?

My favorite holiday memory would have to be growing up in Iowa, and waking up to a white Christmas and finding the house all toasty warm, the windows all fogged up from the oven, smelling holiday food and finding a brand new Radio Flyer Sled just waiting for me to take it out!!!

What do you do to incorporate old traditions into your family?

Hopefully, I have incorporated all of the old traditions into my home. We have the same holiday menu each Christmas, Santa Clause visits the small children and leaves stocking full of old fashioned goodies!! (please refrain from berating me if you are against Santa, It is all for fun and I do believe in the Risen Christ Jesus)

We play board games with each other, watch old Christmas movies, cuddle and laugh all night long!

I am really looking forward to hearing everyones answer!

A new baby and Christmas cookies!!

2010-12-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

This is my oldest daughter's new baby. Isn't she a doll? I am just thrilled with this new addition to our family!

Everyone is wrapped around her little finger, wouldn't you be too? She was brought into this world Dec. 6Th. She weighed 8 lbs. and was 20 inches long.

DO YOU LOVE HER MOHAWK? ME TOO!

So we are entirely blessed this holiday season! Almost all of the Christmas shopping is done, the menu is planned and the cookies and candies are finally starting to get listed.

We are making the following:

Cookies

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Peanut butter, chocolate dipped cookies

Chocolate chip pecan cookies

Snicker doodles

Oatmeal cranberry pecan cookies

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Candy

Haystacks

Almond bark pretzels

Rocky road

As I am always so busy lately, I will include our Rocky Road recipe for you know in case I am not back on before Christmas!!!!

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Rocky Road

1 pkg. vegan chocolate chips

1 pkg. vegan butterscotch chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 pkg. vegan marshmallows

1/2 large jar roasted peanuts

In the microwave or in a double boiler, melt the chips and peanut butter. In a large bowl, add the peanuts and marshmallows. When chocolate mixture is ready, pour over the nuts and marshmallow, you do not want the marshmallows to melt. Stir and pour into a greased or parchment paper pan 9x13.
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Let cool and then cut into 2x2 inch pieces.

Wishing all of you the happiest of holidays!!!!!!

Winter Salad and Pain

2010-12-04T00:33:00.000-08:00

Today I made a tasty little treat! I made a apple mango pomegranate salad with mint. It was really tasty and super easy to make!

There really is no recipe, but here is one anyway

Winter Salad

1 large gala apple, peeled and chopped
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 pomegranate, seeds removed
3 mint leaves, sliced thin

Toss everything together and serve immediately.

So it is 2:50am and I sit here aching and wondering how it is that I can go to sleep with my joints swollen. I am a map of pain tonight. It starts with my right middle toe, then traveling to my left knee, which branches out to both hips. My left elbow is twitching and both my wrists are swollen and finally to my index finger on my right hand followed by the right middle finger and then of course my left 4th finger....Why am I telling you this? Everyone else is asleep.

Psoriatic arthritis is a bitch. . .

I am at wits end...so here is my question to you.

How I can reduce the swelling in my joints so that I can get some sleep? My Internal Medicine doctor put me on amitiptyline for my chronic pain, he started me at 10 mg, but my rhuemetologist bumped it up to 25mg; due to my lack of sleep. Now I am forgetful and shaky......

I make a joint juice that has lemon, apple and parsley in it for a reduction in swelling and I have bumped up my calcium after my blood work came back twice with low counts.

Any suggestion's would be most appreciated!

Why is eating such a sore subject?

2010-11-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Does your refrigerator look like this?
Because mine does.
There is not a scrap of processed, fast or easy on any of my food. There is no meat in my food, no oil, no margarine, no sugar, no white, no ketchup, or salt.

Just plain food.
Just plain food.

Why does this excite some people and infuriate others? Why does there have to be a division of what I eat. Why do I have to draw the line between what others eat and if I choose to read them or talk to them or associate?

A fellow blogger came out of the vegan closet and told on herself. She eats meat. SHE EATS MEAT. She has since been cursed at, villianized, spat upon, thrown out and threatened.

Someone actually threatened her life because she ate meat. I am apaulled at this...

How absurd is that. How unreal and insane is that, to threaten another persons life over food.

Some will say, this makes perfect sense over a living, breathing creature. She has no right to make a decision if the cow she wants to eat will live or die.

Here are her reasons...

She claims health reasons are why she decided to eat meat.

She claims her doctor told her do this or become more ill.

She claims that she made the choice of herself over another living creature.

I do not agree with some of her excuses and to tell you I read her would be a lie, but I used to read her everyday. I use to hang on every word she wrote. I used to hope she would read my blog. She is the main reason I started my blog, I loved her fruit pictures. She really knew how to make tangerines look great. lol

Then she became a zealot.

I am not much for zealots. I have no time to be a zealot over anything. I cannot tolerate up in your face people let alone an in your face ethical vegan. I am about as vegan as you can get, unless you count the woman who married her goat. I eat more healthy than anyone I know, other than Alicia .

I have saved animals, I have tromped through rain and mud, to save the bloody abused dog from the insane owner. I love animals. I hate abuse. I hate the way we look at animals in the food industry. But, I am not going to say I abhor eating animals and eat a real cheeseburger while writing a vegan blog! (I do not know if she did this, I just threw it in.)

There is nothing that will insight a riot faster than religion, politics and food!

Food being number one.

All people are crazy over their food. I have been seriously ticked off over what people have said about my food. That I am a crazy hippy and I will move into a commune any day...

If I found the right republican, christian commune where I could just be married to my husband, where my children wouldn't be victimized, where we all ate healthy untouched, ungenetically modified food and wore hemp dresses, I would sign up...*sigh*

Here is the whole point of this post, if there is any point at all...

No matter what other people choose to do with their life, it really is their life and just because we choose to be a small part of that by reading their blog does not give us the right to abuse our right to voice our opinion.

She changed her lifestyle, she made a choice for her. Is it right for me, no. Is it right for you, maybe not.
Do some feel victimized and jilted by her betrayal? Yeah, but they will just have to put on their big girl panties and move on.

Better yet, it is not better to forgive and forget, that way you can just delete her from your reading list.

I did a long time ago...

I didn't even know until my friend and I were texting back and forth.....

I was stunned at her admission of guilt. I was amazed at her lack of knowledge about veganism, outside of animals. I was shocked that she never questioned her doctor.

I am happy I let her go..

I like my food, I like my health and I like knowing that I am smart enough to be a vegan.

Disclaimer: If you find what I wrote offensive, remember...she ate a cow

If you fall off the wagon, run as fast as you can and hop back on...or it will leave you behind!

2010-11-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

Being a vegan can be hard at holiday time. Being anyone is hard at holiday time. Cakes and cookies, eggnog's and ciders, wine and mixed drinks, buffets and Aunt Marge's, trying to feed you. It is difficult to be good at the holidays.
The Christmas song "you better watch out you better not cry, you better not eat a third helping of your Aunt Ester's sweet potato pie because it will go straight to your thighs", was not joking! We all gain weight at this time of year, unless you are holed up in your house without any friends or family, talking to your cat Chester who could care less what you looked like as long as he can't see the bottom of his bowl.

I fall off the wagon with regular regularity....LOL

I like to eat pie...There I said it. "My name is Vivacious Vegan, and I cannot walk past a strawberry Rhubarb pie with out sampling"...

I have given up alot in my life. Pie is not one of them. I gave up coffee too, for about 3 months, but happily it is back where it should be...In my favorite coffee cup next to me as I write this post.

I occasionally eat whatever I feel like, bean quesadilla's with soy cheese and boca burgers, french fries and pizza....

*Alicia, did you just gasp?*

I think it is healthy to be bad once in awhile, especially if you are restricted in your life by medical conditions that prevent you from having a "normal life".

I eat Chinese food once a week. I eat California rolls with sticky rice.

My point is this, Eat to live, do not live to eat...but, should the situation arise...

when your

Aunt Maude comes home for the holidays with your absolute favorite pistachio dessert, indulge in it for three minutes and then walk away.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! I will say it again...Thanksgiving is just around the corner! There will be loads of yummies. Eat all of it, but don't eat all of it. I plan on having a little of everything, and I will have no guilt at all, because I know I can stop whenever I want!

I am mainly writing this for me, but if anyone needs a little back up, here it is. If you find yourself swooning over the dessert table and you are getting misty eyed, come read this post.

Here is my Thanksgiving Day menu, please share yours with me too!

Roasted acorn squash soup with toasted seeds and pomegranate seeds

Relish tray

Vegetable tray

Cracker tray

Roasted turkey (for the meat eaters in my life) with Stuffing

Alicia's porky seitan cutlets with a mustard maple glaze

Homemade dressing

Deconstructed green bean casserole

Corn and mushrooms

Sweet potatoes dusted with Cinnamon

Mashed garlic potatoes

Deviled eggs

Pumpkin pie

There you have it, easy and tasty!

I cannot wait to hear what everyone will be making!!!

I know this is early, but with my daughter having a baby sometime around Thanksgiving, I do not have much time.

I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-10-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogsphere!
Guess what, my oldest baby got married!
Sept. 14th, 2010 Emma and Chris Xu became a family.

We have been a little busy here in the midwest. We have had family coming in from other states, wedding parties and showers, fashion shows and food drives. To say it has been hectic would be an understatement.

I will not make this a long post as I have another one to get ready, so I will leave you with these pictures!

I hope you enjoy!
Chris and Emma at Carey Park
Chris and Emma at the boathouse

Chris and Emma at the boathouse

Kaiti dancing goofy in the fountain!!!

Chris and Emma Xu in front of Emma's favorite fountain in Carey Park.

Watermelon Smoothies

2010-09-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Bloggers! I have been busy today working on Emma's wedding, cleaning the house for the reception and making grocery lists for next month.The above picture is one of Chris and Emma's engagement pictures.
Remember the watermelon I cut earlier last week, well, I finally used the last of it up making smoothies yesterday. Chris was mowing and as I cleaned the house I thought that we needed something refreshing. It was really tasty and very few ingredients.

Watermelon Smoothie

8 cups seeded watermelon, cubed

2 cups of ice

Throw in a blender and blend

Drink and enjoy!

Talk about easy and fast. I loved this smoothie, but Chris said that it was lacking something, but this comes from a man who eats little debbies everyday. I though it was perfectly sweet and was so crisp and refreshing that I drank two!

Today I made orange banana smoothies again and left out the soy milk, I like it even better this way so I will only make it like that from now on!!!!

The house is really coming along and Chris and I have been busy outside getting the yard. We are setting up Christmas lights in all of our bushes and along the side walk for the reception. We will play crooner music like Michael Buble`and Frank Sinatra. We have dozens of candles to place around and on the front porch on the ceiling Chris placed hundreds of icicle lights. It will be a beautiful night full of love and happiness!

I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and I will talk to you tomorrow.

Banana Orange Smoothies!

2010-09-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

Hello! Happy Weekend!
I am hoping that everyone is enjoying this wonderful weather!!!

Yesterday I went grocery shopping with Chris. After we had been shopping for what seemed like hours we had finally made to Aldi's. Chris was horribly thirsty and thought he needed to get a drink. Now, Aldi is not known so much for convience, as it is for inexpensive food and I wondered if he could find a cold drink in the store. Chris found a Bolthouse smoothie over where they keep the cheese (rolls eyes). It was strawberry banana and when Chris asked me to try it, I was hesitant. But loving him as I do, I did and I was surprised....

I was surprised at how disgusting it tasted. It was sickening sweet and they laced it with apple juice. GROSS! Anyway when I got up to the cashier he asked if we had tried the drink, and I said yes, told him my opinion of it, and then proceeded to tell him how to make a healthy unsugared smoothie. I gave him my banana orange smoothie recipe.

Banana Orange Smoothie

Serves 6

3 large banana's

2 cups fresh orange juice

2 cups ice

1 cup milk of choice, I prefer almond or soy for this to make it super creamy.

Throw everything in a blender and process until smooth!

This is a delightfully smooth fresh tasting smoothie. It is not overly sweet and has just enough orange to really wake you up in the morning!
This is one of my most favorite smoothies, I hope it will be yours too!

Fried rice and banana smoothies

2010-09-08T11:16:00.001-07:00

Hello Blogsters.

I do not have any pictures today, sorry.

I am very busy and trying to get multiple things done at the same time, so you can imagine what it is like at the Vivacious household.

Emma is getting married and moving out next week.

The following month I have a baby shower I am hosting and have out of town guests staying at my home for 4 days. I am also switching the house from summer decorations into fall and trying to put together an extra guest bedroom for the inlaws to stay in during their trip.

Of course we have the usual things to do too.

Mowing and car repair, decorating Emma's new house, my best friend just started foster care for two young boys, not to mention I am babysitting for my friend who just adopted a brand new baby 3 months ago. Hectic Hectic Hectic!!!!!

I think that is enough excuses for today, I am sure you get my drift.

This morning while I talked (Ranted is more like it) on the phone to Alicia, you can read her here.

I made Emma a two layer white cake with home made strawberry frosting for a dinner party, fried rice for Chris and I's lunch, prepped veggies for dinner and cut up a cantaloupe and cleaned out the chest freezer. I am sure Alicia appreciated all the noise in the background. I especially liked it when Ali, stopped in the middle of her sentance to say " are you beating eggs" in a quizzical tone! I almost laughed out loud. I still cook meat and a normal "SAD" diet for the majority of my family. I am the last hold out now. Kaiti still eats a mainly vegan diet but she succumbs under the pressures for teenagedness and McDonalds.

I wish I had thought to take a picture of our lunch as it really was quite lovely. I do not know why I wanted a banana smoothie to go with an asian dish, but Chris and I thought it was delicious!

Fried Rice
2 cups day old brown rice or in my case 6 days (it was fine don't freak out)
3 cups of celery, carrots, broccoli, onion and water chestnuts
4oz. cubed leftover marinated tofu from a seperate dinner

1 large garlic clove, minced
Soy Sauce or Tamari

Water for pan frying

Heat your skillet to an insane heat.

Add water and all veggies and stirfry for two minute, dump in rice and cook until heated through. Splash in some soy sauce. Add tofu and cover for three minutes to heat through and serve.

Ridiculously simple. I like a higher vegetable count to my rice as I do not eat rice very often and prefer the veggie crunch to the texture of brown rice. I actually hate brown rice...

Served a hungry man and a cupful for his wife.

Banana smoothies

3 large banana's

1 cup of almond milk (homemade is best)

1 tlbs. oatmeal for froth

Throw everything in a blender and whip for about 30 seconds. Throw in a handful of ice (unless you have froze banana's) Serve at once. This made a large glass for Chris and a small ball jar size for me.

WELL I HOPE EVRYONE IS HAVING A GREAT DAY AND I WILL TALK TO YOU TOMORROW!!!

JUNK FOOD VEGANS and FRENEMIES

2010-09-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

There has been much debate over the blogsphere on what makes a vegan a vegan. Some yell out the love of animals, while others scream health, health, health!!!!
I am somewhere in between.

I love animals, I do not want to see an animal hurt or abused. I do not want to have to think about where my food comes from and has it been neglected or tortured. Therefore in my opinion I am a vegan. I came to veganism through my disease. I have been told I am not a true vegan because I did not become this way on my own merit. I say that is ridiculous.

In my opinion it really does not matter how we all got here, it just matters that we are here and that we stick together, because there are alot of big bad companies out there trying to undo the changes we are making.

Here is where I either make sense or piss people off....
You all know I pull no punches and that I say what comes from my heart, so I hope that no one takes this personally, as I am not attacking anyone of you, just stating facts.

VEGANISM is just as bad for you as meat eating if done wrong. The entire picture above me is vegan, it has as much saturated fat as a cheeseburger if eaten in the right quantities and can cause diabetes's and heart disease. Some people think that due to them not eating meat and being vegan they can load up on garbage and be healthy. THAT is so not true...

I know alot of obese vegans, hell I was one one of them. I know what can happen if you still eat the same things you ate before coming vegan.

It doesn't matter if you take away meat, you will find a substitute. Gravy can be made vegan. Hell, I made Chicken and dumplings vegan remember?

Having a family and transitioning into veganism is hard. It is a safe bet to make foods they will remember eating as a meat eater. Macaroni and cheese, pizza and Boca burgers come into play when you start out. But after being a vegan for years there has to be a point when you go.....I CAN DO BETTER!

People try to lure you away from, and some people try to drag you deeper into veganism. It really is your own decision whether or not if you want to save animals and be healthy. There should be no separation of the two. IMO, health should be on every ones mind. If you have children, there should be no way you would feed your child something that will kill them 30 years down the road.

If you do not know how to prepare healthy vegan, go buy a cookbook, if you cannot afford a cookbook, go to the library, there are hundreds of vegan cookbooks there.

I am not going to spout that my way of eating is better, I am not going to say that I do not like junk food or home style cooking. I love gravy, and "meat loafs" I adore rice dream and cookies, and cakes and candy.

But, I have to be a role model for my children. Statistically America is more unhealthy now than ever before in history. That is crazy!
I can understand people in the 1950's not knowing about health, they were led around like cattle back then, but today with everything we know and everything we have seen over the past decade as far as disease is concerned, WE should be the healthiest people on the planet.

Next discussion....

FRENEMIES

People smile in your face when you say you are going vegan, then they are going to pat you on the back and say good job and we support you....

Until....they feel threatened by your choices.

We all have felt the sting of rejection from our friends and loved ones over the changes we made when going vegan. Should we still feel the sting within our own community?

Should we create a wall of indifference between what a true vegan and a false vegan should be?

Can we not meet in the middle and say hey, I like you, you are like me and we eat the same things!

I am a health vegan...I choose my path with the greatest of care. I stayed up late reading about veganism and what that would entail. I listened to other vegans talk about the cruelties inflicted on helpless animals and the atrocities that our own society commits in the name of food production.

I have watched and will continue to watch the video's of the crimes against animals as a reminder that I can make a difference.

But....I also know that experiments on animals save people. They cure people and they stop disease. I have a life threatening disease. My children have a 40% chance of carrying the same strain that I do and therefore could possibly contract my illness and it will end their lives prematurely too.

Can I sit here and tell you that I would not risk an animals life if it could save my own child.....NO, I cannot.

But I can tell you that when and if they legalize experiments on people that I would be the first on at the door to sign up. I would risk my self to save someone else.

If we, as human beings can stop the inhumane torture of any creature shouldn't we be willing to step up?

I support stem cell research on people, I also support abortion for children and women of rape and incest.

We are all different. We all make our own choices in this life. Let us not step away from each other and turn our backs on our own KIND. We are all in this together.

Healthy or fat, vegan or vegetarian, black, white, American, or Israeli.

Inside we all look the same.

I do not want to separate the classes of vegetarians. I also do not want to call myself something different so I can appease a set group of people.

I will do whatever is in my power to stop an uprising amongst our family. Because that is what we are. We are our own nuclear family set up in blogdom, visiting and sharing our recipes, talking to each other about our lives and dreams for our families. Very picturesque, don't you think?

I accept all of you.

EVERYONE SHOULD ACCEPT EACH OTHER.

There I have said my peace.

If I offended anyone It was not my intention. I have not spoken out directly about anyone in our community. It was not my intention to start any wars within the community either.

The coolest way to cut a watermelon

2010-09-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

I do not remember when I started cutting our watermelons like this, but I do remember my husband telling me I was the most brilliant woman EVER!

If you cut your watermelon like this... every piece has a little handle to hold your watermelon so your fingers do not get sticky, and personally I think it tastes better this way too!

As I have yet to see watermelon cut his way anywhere on the web I am going to think I came up with this way of cutting and that I am a genius!

After cutting our watermelon I had 4 gallon ziplocks filled with delicious deliciousness...lol

If you cannot fathom how I cut this I will tell you!

HOW TO CUT A WATERMELON

Wash your melon really well and make sure it is organic if possible.

Cut the ends off and then slice into rounds.

Once the watermelon is cut into discs, halve the discs and cut off the sides and then slice each half into thick slices. Now you have the coolest way to eat a watermelon anywhere!

I thought I would share my squeeze Mushu, as he takes a nap over the chair in the dining room, it is exhausting doing nothing all day.....

I will easily eat 1 gallon bag of watermelon a day for breakfast or snacks throughout the day!

Hope you try this, you will love it!

Coffee Coffee Coffee Coffee

2010-09-05T04:46:00.000-07:00

Of all the things I have given up coffee is not one of them.
Do not get me wrong, I know I should try to get rid of coffee and I did for about 3 months.... I am soooo not a happy camper without my coffee. I am a glad addict. I would walk over hot molten lava for a cup of deep rich organic, fair trade Sumatra........Ahhhhhh!
~
In my olden days of junk food, I wanted nothing more than a hot rich cup o' joe and a slice of lemon pound cake, so much so that I stole Starbucks Lemon pound cake recipe (ok, I found it on the web) and ran out of the store like a maniac and went home to make it vegan!
I hesitate to share my recipe with you......It is so good and I cannot convince myself to make it. What if one of you made it and then decided to tell me how rich and moist it was....
The thank you's would pour in and I would have to think of the thick dense sweet cake for hours.....
Oh what the hell, everyone deserves this recipe, it is the BOMB....Eat it I tell you!

Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake for vegans

1-1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
Equivalent of 3 eggs ( use whatever you like)
1 c granulated sugar
2 T soy margarine, softened
1 t vanilla extract
1 t lemon extract
1/3 c lemon juice
1/2 c vegetable oil
Lemon Icing
1 c plus 1 T powdered sugar
2 T rice milk
1/2 t lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt in a large bowl. Use an
electric mixer to blend together egg substitute, sugar, margarine, vanilla, lemon extract
& lemon juice in a medium bowl. Pour wet ingredient into dry ingredients &
blend until smooth. Add oil & mix well.

Pour ingredients into a well-greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes
or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Make the lemon icing by combining ingredients in a small bowl with electric
mixer on low speed. When the lemon loaf is cool, remove it from the pan &
frost the top with the lemon icing. When the icing has set up, slice the
loaf into eight 1-inch-thick slices.

Makes 8 slices.

I know you are salivating now aren't you!!!! Well what is Sunday morning without coffee cake?
Even though I do not indulge anymore, that is not going to stop me from sharing with you my recipes for the most delicious coffee cake ever!
I give you......

Big Crumb’ Coffeecake with Rhubarb
Adapted from The New York Times 6/6/07
Made vegan by me.

For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) margarine, melted
1 3/4 cups cake flour (I was out and used all-purpose and it worked great)

For the cake:
1/3 cup vegan sour cream
2 egg substitutes
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour (ditto on the all-purpose flour–worked just fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons softened margarine, cut into 8 pieces.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

2. To make crumbs in a large bowl, whisk sugars, spices and salt into melted margarine until smooth. Then, add flour with a spatula or wooden spoon. It will look and feel like a solid dough. Leave it pressed together in the bottom of the bowl and set aside.

3. To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg subs. and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add margarine and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

4. Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

5. Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

It would be very irresponsible for me not to tell you all of the damage coffee can do to a persons body, not to mention the sugar coma I just set loose on all of you. SO, here goes....

Some are trying hard to show the beneficial effects that coffee has on our health, others see it as the devil's beverage. Others say it's rather a bogus. Read on and decide for yourself who's right!

1. Some say that the energy boosting effect of the morning coffee is only in your mind and you should sleep more. The caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms accumulating overnight, but does not make people more alert. Only people who do not regularly drink coffee will get a 'push-up' from caffeine, while the British Coffee Association insists that regular drinkers do feel more alert.

Regular coffee drinkers swear that their morning caffeine wakes them up, and in case they don't take it, they feel they have no energy and will surely be less efficient in their activities. Researches show that a first caffeine intake does not make the individuals more alert than those who do not drink coffee are.

Others insist that moderate coffee consumption of four to five cups per day is perfectly safe for the general population and has a beneficial effect on alertness and performance even in the case of regular coffee drinkers.

Caffeine, the main active chemical of coffee, blocks adenosine, a chemical that makes you naturally drowsy, increasing concentration and reaction speed. But the long term effects can be really tricky. Once the temporary stimulation stops, the brain cells start needing caffeine for stimulation and a sudden neural sluggishness installs.

2. Caffeine has been found to prevent cognitive decline in the elderly women. Women aged 65 and older who consumed over three cups of coffee (or the same caffeine levels in tea) daily scored better over time on memory tests than women who drank one cup or less of coffee/tea daily did. The memory benefits of the caffeine rise with age - coffee drinkers being 30 % less exposed to memory impairment at age 65 and 70 % less over 80. Still, caffeine consumers did not have lower rates of dementia.

Caffeine seems to slow the dementia process rather than prevent it. Why caffeine has a slightly different effect on women than it does in men is a puzzle.

Caffeine has been found also to protect against Parkinson's disease and depression, and this could be linked to its inhibiting effect on adenosine receptors. Depression is eased because caffeine increases dopamine, the "happy feeling" hormone, in your brain.

3. Italian researchers found that coffee defends against blepharospasm, an involuntary eye spasm which makes patients blink uncontrollably, which may turn into a severe vision impairment, and in severe cases, this can make the patients functionally blind (despite intact eyeballs) as they cannot impede closing their eyes. One to two cups daily have this effect. The blepharospasm onset age was delayed by coffee drinking, with 1.7 years for each extra daily cup, and this could be due to caffeine's effect on the adenosine receptors.

4. Everybody knows the laxative effect of coffee. Brewed coffee also contains soluble cellulose fibers, which help the body absorb vital nutrients, keep a lid on cholesterol and fight constipation. The amounts are of 0.47-0.75 grams of fiber per 100 ml. Freeze-dried coffee came out on top. Men consume on average about 38 g of fiber a day and women around 25 g. A 240 ml cup of coffee could contain as much as 1.5 g of fiber (3.2 cups means 5 g of fiber).

5. High coffee consumption (more than three cups per day for years) increases loss of bone mineral density. Caffeine is a mild diuretic, speeding up the urination cycle, but "steals" calcium which is lost through urine. Long term, heavy caffeine use leads to a rapid development of osteoporosis.

6. The effect of coffee on the cardiovascular health is controversial: some say it's good, others that it is a risk factor. Caffeine blocking adenosine constricts the brain's blood vessels. The heart beats rate increases, muscles tighten, the blood pressure booms, blood vessels near the surface constrict and more blood flows to the muscles.

Researches show that blood pressure and heart rate spurred in healthy sedentary adults drinking two cans of caffeine containing drinks daily by up to 11 %.

But if you're going to practice sports, the heart beats can increase up to a dangerously high level, while triggering extremities shivering and nausea. On the long term, the unnatural heart racing is unhealthy, and can trigger heart conditions.

7. Caffeine causes sleep disturbances. Don't even think about drinking coffee or other caffeine containing beverages before sleep. And remember that the alkaloid needs 12 hours to be completely eliminated from your body.

8. A new research has found that coffee could cut the risk of skin cancer. 6 cups of caffeinated coffee daily lowered the likelihood of developing skin cancer by 35 %, while 2-3 cups lowered it by 12 %. Caffeine is believed to impede cells dividing in the tumor, or to work as an antioxidant. One research found coffee and exercising fight against sun-induced skin cancer by 400 %.

Other researches suggest that coffee could be beneficial also against breast cancer.

9. Coffee fights gout symptoms! The beverage lowers uric acid levels on short term, easing the most common and excruciatingly painful inflammatory arthritis in adult males. Drinking 4-5 cups of coffee daily significantly decreases the risk of gout by 40 % and over 6 cups per day by 59 %. Tea (which contains caffeine) has no impact on gout incidence, thus other chemical than caffeine induces this effect; the main suspected being the phenol chlorogenic acid, a powerful antioxidant.

10. Two cups of coffee reduce significantly post-gym muscle pain. Caffeine consumed one-hour before going to the gym induces a 48 % decrease in pain; those who drink caffeine before the near-maximum force test have 26 % drop in soreness. Caffeine boosts endurance, and one study discovered caffeine to decrease pain during moderate-intensity cycling. By blocking the receptors for adenosine, released in response to inflammation and implied in pain sensation, coffee could have this effect. Caffeine seems to be more efficient than conventional pain and soreness reliever drugs, like naproxen (the active ingredient in Aleve), aspirin and ibuprofen.

11. Caffeine mixed with acetaminophen (paracetamol), one of the most common painkillers used in the US and Europe could harm your liver. The caffeine was discovered to triple the quantity of a toxic byproduct, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), produced by the enzyme that breaks down the acetaminophen. Still, the effects would be determined by the daily consume of 20-30 cups of coffee.

12. Caffeine gets women in the mood for sex, especially in moderate amounts and when the women are not heavy drinkers. The chemical is also known to increase excitability in men.

Interestingly, female rats that received the middle dose of caffeine had quicker return visits to the males than the highest dose tested.

13. Researches show that the consume of unfiltered coffee increases the level of cholesterol. Why? Because coffee contains a substance called cafestol which triggers the rise of cholesterol levels. The cafestol blocks a receptor in an intestinal pathway crucial for cholesterol regulation, and is the most potent food chemical to do this.

By pouring hot water over the ground coffee, the cafestol is extracted. The same thing happens when the ground coffee is boiled in water by several times, like in the case of Turkish coffee or Scandinavian brew, or a paper filter is employed, like in French coffee. If the coffee is made without the filter, the cafestol remains in the prepared beverage.

A cup of unfiltered coffee contains up to 4 milligrams of cafestol that can raise the cholesterol level by 1 %. The espresso coffee contains cafestol, as it is not prepared with a filter. Still, this type of coffee can increase less the cholesterol if you use a small cup. Less espresso means less cafestol, probably just 1-2 mg per cup. Still, 5 cups of espresso can raise the cholesterol by 2 %.

Decaffeinated coffee contains cafestol, since removing caffeine does not influence the other compound.

14.Coffee was found to remove 78-90 % of the heavy metals dissolved in the tap water, like lead or copper, because the ground coffee has the molecules not electrically charged or negatively charged, attracting the heavy metals, which are positively charged. Stronger coffee removes a higher amount of the toxic heavy metals. Instead, tea removes just one third of the same amount of lead and has not effect on the copper.

15. Coffee can kill you! Just as any other drug, in small amounts, caffeine (and coffee) is a stimulant. But the coffee plant synthesizes the alkaloid with the purpose of killing�its natural consumers. The grazer eating too much coffee will die. We, too, may be killed. The uncontrolled heart beats are the prelude of a heart attack.

Over 400 mg of caffeine (found in 4-5 cups of brewed coffee) can cause caffeine intoxication. Some even snort caffeine powder, which results in a more rapid and intense reaction. The symptoms are just like those induced by any other drug: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, face flushing, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.

Deadly coffee doses have not been tested on people, but in rats the average lethal dose (LD50) of caffeine is 192 mg/kg: 50 % of the rats died after consuming this quantity. In humans, however, the value would be linked to weight and each one's sensitivity, to about 150 to 200 mg/kg of body mass.

So, you have to drink 80 to 100 cups of coffee very quickly to die... This also varies with the coffee variety, and cup size, as this determines how much caffeine enters your body. Actually, cases of death caused by coffee drinking have not been reported yet (at least from rapid drinking; the chronic effects are another story) but caffeine pills (just 2 g) are much more effective and have been proven lethal.

Researched from this source!

So there you go. Two awesome bad for you recipes and a load of information on coffee....Now that I have made you hungry and enlighted you, I am off to make a pot of fair trade Sumantra!!!

Early morning Kale smoothie

2010-09-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Bloggers!
I am hoping all of you are enjoying this cool weather we are getting! I woke up today, read some blogs I have been neglecting and went for a 4 mile stroll. When I got back I decided I needed somthing cool and refreshing as my walk had been. Enter the kale smoothie. If you haven't tried kale yet, you really should give it a go! Kale is so healthy and good for you that it really is a shame not to eat it, or in this case drink it!
I love, love, love colcannon, kale truly makes this dish outstanding and being of Irish descent it really is in my blood to eat hearty foods that will stick with me all day, and it used to....On my hips, and my midsection, and my arms too!
Now I make a more nutritious colcannon using cauliflower and parsnip as the base.
Not too shabby!
I think I will make some colcannon tonight along with some sliced tomatoes and possibly corn on the cob!!

I am having a kaley day! LOL

Kale Smoothies

1 bunch of washed and trimmed kale (any type will work)
4 granny smith apples, cored
4 tbls. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 Nectarines, pitted.

Throw everything in your vitamix and whirl for about 2-3 minutes until everything is blended. You can add stevia if you wish, but I usually just use older nectarines for the increase in natural sugars.

I usually follow this up an hour later with a cinnamon apple raw oatmeal. So tasty, and good for you!
Hope you try it!!

What do I eat?

2010-08-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Bloggie Peeps!
Some of you have asked me about my progress and how I feel about the Eat to Live lifestyle.

I try to be brutally honest about how I feel regarding this lifestyle choice and also about my progress.

So here is the entire scoop....

In the beginning I hated the E2L plan...It is one of the most brutal things I have ever done in my life. I whined and groaned, felt sorry for myself and had little pissy fits daily!!
I drove my family crazy and everyone literally told me to just shut up and eat my regular foods... NOT A VERY PROMISING SOUNDING START! Jump to a month later......I was still whining......
How about today?
I am totally adapted to eating E2L I have lost more than 46 pounds and most of my detox symptoms are behind me.

So what do I eat?

Raspberry, goji berry, banana smoothies
Loads of seedless watermelon

In the mornings, I like to eat citrus fruit, it is a great breakfast. I follow my fruit coarse an hour later with oatmeal usually topped with cinnamon, fresh shredded apple and nutmeg.

Korean soup with rice noodle and tofu once a week

Marinated baby bok choy.

We eat alot of Chinese food. It doesn't hurt that my daughter is marrying a sushi chef either, but we get the freshest California rolls around. We eat, soba noodles, and broccoli, boatloads of rice, overcooked chinese cabbage in a soy broth and lightly braised mushrooms with crisp green beans.

The things I have given up:

SUGAR

FLOUR

OIL

BREAD

PIZZA

COOKIES

CAKES

CHIPS

POP

POTATOES

GRAVIES

SAUCES

POISONOUS GMO LACED SOY PRODUCTS ie.. TOFUTTI PRODUCTS

I also stay away from frozen soy ice creams and processed foods.

My definition of processed foods are alot different from what most people think. I will not eat any food that I do not know the ingredients. I do not eat homemade processed foods ie. raw nut meats. I eat olives sparingly and rarely more than two at a time. I do not eat any sauces like ketchup or vegenaise anymore either.

I am really strict with what I eat. I do not consume any dates or raisins. I eat nuts very sparingly. I do not drink processed nut or soy milks.

I take folic acid, vitamin c, vitamin e and vitamin d. All are vegan and organic.

Most of the foods I eat are organic or low on the dirty fruit and vegetable list. I try to eat only in season produce and fruits. I avoid any questionable fruit or veggies.

I still eat a ton of veggies everyday, I also have a huge salad for lunch each day.

I eat a pound or more of vegetables and a pound of fruit each a day.

I still experience pain daily and I still struggle sometimes with cravings, but they are not like they use to be. The positive things about this way of eating far outweigh the negative aspects.

I can barely keep weight on and I eat more now than I ever have before. I am healthier than I have ever been in my life and my blood work at my last Remicade was amazing...

My doctor was amazed!

I hope that this encourages those of you that are thinking of E2L to give it a go, for those struggling, I hope that it gives you hope to continue. For those of you that stopped the E2L lifestyle, I hope you know I understand how hard it was and know that I still support you!

I will see you later, I have to go eat some grapes that are calling my name...lol

School is back, and so am I!!!!!

2010-08-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

My summer has been spent entertaining my children, running errands and basically chilling out. Just a plain old midwestern summer.
I do have to report I just recently discovered ebay which is kinda awesome and terrible, all at the same time! I have bought more movies in the last month than I have in the last 5 years, all for less than the price of 4 movies at full price!!!
That is what I can saving money and a good way to recycle, as all of the movies I bought were used!!

I thought I would let you know what I have been eating this past summer and to let you know that I will be back to make more yummy food for you!!!

First off, the food I have enjoyed this summer.

Fresh grilled corn on the cob
Tomato's with sea salt
Loads of salad!!!!
Watermelon, I average about two seedless a week
Nectarines
Homemade chinese stirfries and rice
Cabbage rolls
Rice paper rolls with mango, kale and jicama, one of my new favorite yummies!
Oriental soup with rice noodle
Ciabatta veggie sandwiches with veggie tray
Veggie Trays
Spicy marinated veggies and olives
Brown rice pasta tossed with fresh tomato sauce with Mushroom pate
Fresh smoothies with in season fruit! Try nectarine!!!

I am really excited to start back blogging with you! I have missed you all so much and I am looking forward to making delicious recipes to share!

Spring Salad

2010-07-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Iowa, I always enjoyed going to our local Hy Vee grocery store. It wasn't grand in the scheme of our town, just a small town grocery store with small town people inside.
My favorite part of going to the store was I got to ride on the bottom part of the take out carts pushed by the sackers.
These were huge double trayed carts that could easily hold 12 sacks of groceries.
I wish I could find a picture for you, but unfortunately they are as antiquated as I am..lol
My mother was a true house wife. She made all of our bread from scratch, made homemade spaghetti sauce, and ice cream, lemonade and cakes. I miss going to the store for our monthly stock ups of flour and sugar, canned tomatoes by the gallons. The grocery store had specials in the summer, like an entire loaf of bread sliced and filled with the most delicious ham imaginable, all for $1.50. There were at least 10 sandwiches in that bread bag. I would beg my mother to let us have a bag and go to the park and have a picnic, and often she would comply with my begging. I thought it was brilliant and it fed my mother and I for the entire week. The only accompaniment we needed was mustard and some chips!!
While we didn't get it very often, it sure was a treat for an 8 year old kid!

So today I have decided to make my favorite Hy Vee salad.
It is called Spring salad and it is my absolute favorite salad.
It is not E2L standard, nor is it overly healthy. But.... it is....comforting.

I do not have a picture of it, as I have not made it yet. But I will give you the recipe so you can make it if you like. I highly recommend it!

Spring salad
1 box large sea shell pasta, cooked al dente
1 large cucumber, washed and sliced thin
1 head of broccoli, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
Your favorite ranch dressing, I use a vegan ranch pkt with sour cream

Toss everything in a bowl, pour over ranch dressing and stir to combine. Let chill for about 3 hours. Serve with grilled boca's, lays potato chips and some crisp watermelon, and think about your childhood!
I have not been to a Hy Vee in years and I am sure it is not vegan, vegetarian or E2L friendly, but the thoughts and memories of shopping time with my mother there, lingers on.

And other news....
I have decided that I am going to reintroduce my regular vegan foods back into diet. While E2L is great for weight loss, and I have lost a total of 26 lbs. It is doing nothing for my disease and is playing wildly with my blood work and my pain levels. I have followed the plan to the letter, without cheating or substituting.
I am not ashamed for calling it quits, nor am I unhappy with the results of the plan. But, with my situation in life I am tired of giving up and not getting better. I want something good to eat and comforting, not plain unappetizing nourishment. I can hardly stand food anymore and I have no appetite for anything at all. I ate my favorite pasta the other day and it was bland and lifeless to me.

I know you all will support me. I have the greatest followers and friends here. I am still going to stick to healthy foods, but sometimes a girl needs a cookie....ya know!

I promise to blog more, now that I am not obsessing about food 24/7 and I will be excited to make you some great school time treats and fall meal plans soon!

Looking forward to talking with you more,
Vivacious!

The Utimate Snack.....Popcorn

2010-07-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

My Name is Vivacious and I have an addiction.....POPCORN
I have been making the same popcorn for the last 5 years....It is simple, it is delicious and meat eaters and vegans both love it.
I don't have a name for it, I just basically make it. My kids call it that popcorn stuff with the nutritional yeast and herbs thingy, my husband just eats it...

Popcorn stuff with Nutritional yeast and herbs thingy
or
Herbed Noochy Popcorn....

Pop enough popcorn to fill a 15 cup roaster
1/4 c. nutritional yeast powder
3 tbls. spike
1 tbls. dill weed
While the popcorn is popping, mix your herbs and nooch together. Directly after popcorn is finished popping add your seasonings and with your hands make sure the coating is on each popped piece. Or be lazy like me, and in a large paper sack, shake the popcorn with the seasonings.
This will feed about 8 people. If you are watching what you eat, this will feed an army and two naval destroyers....lol

You can adjust the seasonings to your liking, you can add different herbs.
I have made fennel rubbed popcorn, rosemary, or sage and cinnamon together,(not recommended...it was a thanksgiving thing)
I have even made a spicy teriyaki popcorn.
Try adding in peanuts or pecans, some dried fruit for fall, macadamia nuts and cinnamon!

Popcorn is the perfect canvas for cravings. There are very few calories, tons of flavor and it is filling!!!

While I only make popcorn on Saturday evenings when we watch movies, it is a guaranteed hit with family and friends!
I hope you try it it is delicious!

Summertime, and the living is easy!!

2010-07-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,
I am hoping all of you are enjoying your summer and doing something fun with those you love!

We have been having a lazy summer around here in Kansas. We have been swimming and shopping, grilling veggies and having family and friends stop by. The weather has been crazy here in Kansas and if any of you follow the weather report you will know what I am talking about. We will have several 100+ days of heat and then two days of 70 degree weather followed by thunderstorms and humidity. Ah Kansas.......bleck!

I thought I would stop by and let you know what we have been munching on here in the Vivacious household.
Lots of fruits and veggies, some breads and a lot of iced tea and fresh lemonade.
We are averaging about two watermelons a week here. I use them for fruit juices, salads and boba teas...YUM~
The sunflowers are in full bloom here and walking amongst them gives you a feeling of utter bliss!

We have not gone camping yet(as I hate the outdoors, or more accurately, bugs) but all of our friends have all gone at least twice!

My new favorite way to eat tofu is grilled with a balsamic reduction glaze with a touch of red pepper flake. Served with grilled bok choy!

Going to the farmers Market is so much fun on Saturday mornings, you never know what they will have! Krehbiels has the best produce in Kansas.

Grilled corn on the cob! No butter necessary, and topped with a cajun pepper rub! Delish!

Tons and Tons of grilled veggies!

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Oh, Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But until that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With your daddy and mammy standing by

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Super foods

2010-06-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogsphere! Have you missed me?

I have been busy writing my book, entertaining this summer and hanging out with my family. We are gearing up for the fourth of July and our house is in full swing. The buntings are hung, Red, White and Blue bows are strung, Uncle Sam would be proud!

I wanted to give you some information on super foods, so I put it into a nice display to show you what different things you can enjoy that will benefit your health!

Herbs

Spices

Nuts

Sea Vegetables

Grains

Super Sprouts

Beans and Legumes

Fruits

Incorporating each of these super foods into your diet each day will benefit your health and wellness trifold.

Dramatic, intentional eating can change your entire molecular cell structure. What was once diseased, can begin to repair itself, and it can also stop some signs of aging and also regrow damaged cell walls.

Even if you are a meat eater, you can start a change in yourself that can add years to your life, undo harmful cell degration, erase bone calcification and stop the growth of some cancer cells.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of information!!!!

Until next time!

Meal for Monday

2010-06-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogsphere!

I am leaving you a short post about my menu today with a few recipes.

Enjoy

Breakfast:

Recipe

Banana, Walnut and Cinnamon ice cream

2 frozen Banana's

a small handful of black walnuts, use english if you prefer

two big dashes cinnamon

Add bananas and cinnamon to your food processor, when the consistency of ice cream add in walnuts and pulse twice.

Second Breakfast:

4.5 cups dbl. strength green jasmine tea
2 oranges

Snack:
California roll with wasabi (made with brown rice and grated cauliflower, celery, cucumber and pickled daikon radish

Lunch:

Cabbage rolls

Recipe

1/2 head green cabbage, shredded

12 cabbage leaves, par boiled and trimmed
1/2 pkg. extra firm tofu, previously frozen, chopped so it resembles rice (???) just fake it with me.
1 medium onion, grated
1 small green pepper, minced

garlic powder to taste

onion powder to taste
cracked black pepper to taste

2 cans tomato sauce ( use organic if possible) mixed with 2 tbls. parsley and pepper

Mix shredded cabbage, tofu, onion and green pepper together. Season liberally with spices. Roll mixture into cabbage leaves. Pour tomato sauce over cabbage mixture and bake for about 1 hour in a 325 degree oven. Serve with a fresh spinach salad with a tbls. onion/garlic hummus.

Snack:

Kale chips with red pepper flakes and garlic

Dinner:

"Cream" of Broccoli soup

Country Mustard baked tofu

Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers

I am getting ready to go to for my Remicade tomorrow. I am a little excited about seeing what my blood work says. I am hoping to see a dramatic drop in my RH factor and also an increase in calcium and protein levels. I have been pretty strict in my food regimne and I feel mush better this month before my remicade than I did the last time. My back pain is less painful and I am not as exhausted as I normally am when I am eating alot of vegan junk food!

Thank you for all the kind thoughts about my last blog. It means so much to me!

Hoping you have a nice week.

I am still here

2010-06-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Hello friends.

I just wanted to drop a line and let you know I am still here and I am also still plugging away at the E2L Diet....

To say I am happy about the diet would to be lying, but if you ask me about the results I am ecstatic. I have lost a whopping 13 lbs. in 3 weeks.
My plaques have all but vanished and I my hair is insane. It is this huge thick mane of hair that I haven't seen since I was 16 years old.

I have received some well intentioned e-mails. I appreciate all of the letters I get from my followers, you all mean so much to me.

I have also received some not very nice e-mails from people who think that I am a quitter, a whiner, and bad mouthing the E2L diet.

I am not a quitter, I am still doing the diet.

I am not a whiner.

This diet is hard, especially if you have given up as much as I have in my lifetime, and as far as the E2L diet...IT WORKS.
If you do not know about my illness, but would like to see what my skin normally looks like please look here .

Now, for the reasons I am not happy about this diet.

I live a very restricted life. I do not go to crowded places often, I do not visit sick relatives and I do not under any circumstances go to the hospital if someone is ill. I am immune deficient, what that means is, I can catch a staph infection quicker than you can say, OH NO......
So you can imagine what my life is like.

I have contracted staph twice in the last three years. I have been bed ridden twice in the last two years. I have had my body lock up on me and I was unable to assist myself to the bathroom for 6 months. My body is no picnic. I used to talk 13 pills a day to maintain my body and my mind. This disease is very emotionally destructive. Three of the 13 pills were depression and anti-panic attack meds.

So 9 years ago I stopped all meds, became a vegan over night and I have maintained my illness thus far. But.....I still had some plaques, and I am in constant pain from my Psoriatic Arthritis. I have spondilitis and mutilans associated with the PsA that are slowly deteriorating my spine and hips. There is no cure.

When Alicia told me about eat to live, I was skeptical.

I had already drastically changed my lifestyle. I became a vegan for health reasons, not animals. I was given a premature death sentence and I was going to fight it all the way.

I have given up all of my favorite foods for my illness.

Now I had to restructure my entire life again for my illness? Was I willing to once again start over from scratch?

The answer is yes.

But am I going in quietly?

NO!

Alicia told me when she first started the E2L diet she was like a small child stomping their feet and having temper tantrums all the time. I cannot eat this way she screamed!

I also feel the exact same way. I love fresh fruit and fresh veggies, but on this diet I am having a hard time chewing so much.... lol

I have received e-mails from people telling me how easy they transitioned into E2L and how they love the food..

Now....
Either they are lying or they are cheating, because I am not transitioning well, I am less than thrilled with the food and I am so not thrilled with the lack of salt.

I am following the straight plan. It is the most restricted and it is difficult to chew so many vegetables and fruits in one day.

I eat several pounds of raw and cooked vegetables and fruits everyday.

I also eat beans and some grains.

I am not on a 85/15 plan.

I do not cheat. I do not use oil.

I do not eat bread, margarine, meat, meat substitutes, sugar or dates.

In the beginning I tried the whole date/nut bar thing.

In my own opinion, it is just another way to sneak sugar back in your diet, and I felt it was defeating the purpose of detoxing my body.

I do not go over any of the specified regulations of this diet. I am hard core, all the way......

I drink 8 bottles of water a day. I drink 4 glasses of double strength green tea in the morning and two in the evening.

I thought you might like to See what I eat in a single day.

Here is my daily food regime: this varies from day to day, this is today's.

Wake up: Double strength green tea, I drink this all morning long.

Breakfast smoothie: Banana/strawberry with flax

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon and apples

Snack: Celery and apple slices with 1 oz. homemade cashew butter

Lunch:

4 cups romaine and spinach salad with the following toppings

radish

tomatoes

celery

cucumber

scallions

broccoli

stone ground mustard, vinegar dressing

1 tbls. red pepper hummus

Snack: 1 grapefruit and 1/4 cup pistachio's

Dinner:

Vegetable soup: onions, celery, green beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, cabbage, tomatoes, fresh tomato juice.

Snack: popcorn with chamomile tea

I try to stay as close to natural food as possible. I do not try to recreate foods I used to eat. I do not eat all raw. I have mainly been eating alot of organic watermelon and cantaloupe for snacks. I also have been on a grape fest... Lots of grapes

I walk three miles a day. I also swim three times a week and I am doing crunches and some cardio dance, when I feel like it.

I hope to be an inspiration to those of you that are struggling. I am being honest in my struggles, in my pain and in my temper tantrums. It is who I am. I am not going to sugar coat my dietary changes or the hardships I am facing. It might be simple for some to eat this way. For me it is not.

This is the hardest diet I ever tried.

I am making amazing progress. I feel the changes. I see the changes.

I am hoping for a cure. I think I might have found one.....

If you would like me to let you know what I eat, I would be glad to post my menu's. I am not ready to post recipes yet.

When I feel more self assured I will start posting my pictures again.

So.. Why is there a picture of an angry cat on the top of this blog? Because this is the way I feel most of the time lately and it cracks me up!!!!

I hope it cracked you up too!

The beginning of the End?

2010-06-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

I am discouraged.....
Unhappy.....
Disappointed....
Disgruntled.....
and sad

I miss my food. I miss blogging about my food and listening to people wanting to make my food.
I miss the connection of people enjoying something together and just being happy.

I have lost 12 lbs, and some of my old clothes fit. I bought a bikini.
I don't care....

I hate the food
I hate the bland
I hate that my family will not eat any of my food and they sit around reminiscing about my mashed potatoes.

I dread eating now. I rarely eat. Food has no appeal for me at all. None....

I never have anything to blog about. I think the food is ugly, I think the meals suck, and I wouldn't want anyone to eat what I made.....EVER!

This is a good plan.
This plan works.
This plan saves lives.
I do not know if I can do it.

I am being honest.
I hate this food.
If I continue this plan I am going to stop blogging.
I am not being melodramatic.
I am being honest.
I cannot show food I hate, to people I care about.
It does not taste good.
That I would not feed to my dog.....not that he would eat it....

I need a little support here in my hour of need.
I am seriously thinking about eating a cheeseburger, and I am not joking!

Apple Pie for the apple of my eye!

2010-05-31T18:21:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter is pregnant and craving foods that normally I do not allow. But, I have been there and sometimes you just need to eat what you are craving.
Emma loves my homemade apple pie and since today is Memorial Day, I decided to make my sweetie, a sweet of her own. I had an abundance of apples, probably a bushel at the very least. What better way to use up apples that have lost their spark than to put them in a pie!
If you would like to make my homemade pie you can find the recipe here

Emma has never made a pie from scratch before, so I thought that today would be the perfect time to teach her! So the apple pie in the picture above is all Emma!!! You go girl!
We made three pies together this afternoon! One will go to my best friend Felissa, one for Chris to take to work and one for my family.

While I will not indulge in the pie with my family, I did enjoy making it. Some of the best times in my life have been in the kitchen! I am hoping to pass the love of cooking onto my daughters, so that when they grow up some of their favorite times will be in the kitchen too surrounded by people they love!

Emma is so proud of her pie! And I am so proud of her!
~
Hoping your weekend and Memorial Day were full of joy, and time spent with those you love!

Almost Raw Burrito Casserole

2010-05-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Casserole, sounds homey doesn't it!

I was craving mexican today and normally if I was pressed for time and wanted mexican, I would make my tried and true burrito casserole, but not anymore.....
Raw burrito's?.....Can it be done and if it can, would it be tasty?
I paced back and forth and then finally decided I wanted to try to make raw burritos. I was skeptic and nervous, but I charged forward!
I made them like I would my casserole with a twist....

Almost Raw Burrito Casserole

For the filling

1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 medium vidalia onion, diced
1 jalapeno, veined, seeds removed and minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, diced

Mix together and chill until ready to use.

To make the Chipotle Pico

Chipotle Pico

3 large tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
2 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 can chipotle peppers, do not drain. Use the sauce.

In a blender add all ingredients, add a little water to make things move, toss in 2 cloves of roasted garlic in while it is blending. Let set for about 30 minutes to develop flavors.

Cashew lime sour cream

1/2 cup raw cashews , soaked overnight
1/4 cup of water (approximately)
juice of 1/2 lime
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. salt or to taste

Throw everything in your food processor and blend for eternity or until the cream becomes velvety without any chunks. You can strain it also if you like.

Taco'd Nut meat

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3 tbls. water

In a food processor use the pulse button and pulse until you get the desired "meat" like texture..

You will also need
1 large head of Swiss Chard, cleaned and trimmed
1 bunch fresh basil, rinsed delicately

Assembly:

Take your swiss chard and lay out flat. Spread with 3 tbls. nut meat, then top with your veggies and end with some shredded basil. Wrap up burrito style. This is easier said than done, mine kept springing open. Roll up and stick in a 9x13 casserole dish. When you have used all of your leaves and fillings, top with the chipotle pico and then drizzle with your sour cream. Top with basil to make it pretty....

This took for FRIGGIN ever to make, and my family was less than receptive at being served a cold meal. Although.....they all ate it and I thought it was delicious! The nut meat was surprisingly like "meat" and startled my youngest daughter....lol

I would not attempt to make this as a quick week night meal. This is definately a special day, or weekend meal, and preferably not when you husband decides to take apart your dishwasher to check out the lime build up. But that is another story entirely!

In other news....I have lost a total of 7 lbs. since Monday...I know right!
I know that it is probably water weight, but 7 lbs. is 7 lbs. in my books, so a BIG WOO HOO HOO HOO for me!
Shall I tell you my weight? Well, before I was on steroids I weighed 140lbs, on a 5'6 frame, so I am relatively slim, but add 40 lbs from the drugs and bed rest for 6 months and BOOM..... hello 40lbs....that would not budge no matter what I ate!
So I am thrilled!!! Ecstatic even!!!
So my weekend is looking up in more weighs than one....?
I hope everyone is enjoying themselves this weekend!

What are your plans for Memorial day???