Tis the Season for Soup and Head Colds

3 hours of sleep, a morning of work/running errands with the babies, and the beginnings of a cold call for soup. We make a LOT of soup here (outside of summer months), so that's your warning. I'll try to pick different varieties to share with you, though. :)

I remember the first time I got sick after eating vegan and thought I was doomed without chicken noodle soup (check out my previous post Sick Day ). This particular soup was just 'throw what you have together and get it in the pot'. I like to think of it as a type of 'white trash'  if you will (in good humor of course. Because if you aren't white trash, you just cringed and if you are white trash, you just got a little proud).

Now - off the eat, put the babies down for naps and get some sleep.

PS - Do you like seeing 'real time' cooking or would you rather I had everything prepped and washed ahead of time? Please let me know!

Ingredients (approx.) - Remember you can play with your ingredients! Anything that is a 'must have' I have put an asterisk next to. However, you can adjust the portions as available.

• 3/4 of leftover onion*
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 large carrots*
• 3 mushrooms
• 2 roma tomatoes
• kale
• chickpeas - or whatever beans you have on hand. I don't typically use chickpeas in soups because they are so hearty the sort of mess with the texture, but today they were calling out to me)
• salt
• water

Peanut Butter Time!!!

I LOOOOVVVVEEE peanut butter. My family loves peanut butter. So much so that I have a working relationship with our local health food store that I can buy a 30lb box at a 10% discount whenever needed (5 people eating pb every day adds up fast).

What's wrong with store bought? Even the kind that says 'Natural' usually has additional ingredients like palm oil (why?) and sugar (again...why?). Not to mention, it's SOOOOOOOO much better at home.

I always get raised eyebrows when I tell people I make this. If you can pour water into a pot and press a button, you can make peanut butter. Now - do it! :)

PS - I forgot to mention this in the video, but refrigerate after you jar it. Also, I make several batches at once so I don't have to make more every other day.



Intro to the Video Blog!

So, come to find out some of you actually are still reading this?! I am so happy - and sad that I haven't kept up better! But have no fear - I'm switching direction a bit to make things easier on everyone. I'm a slow writer - and a fast talker. Introduce: the video blog. I hope you like this, but by all means, let me know! This site is for you guys. And I apologize upfront, I swear I tried to keep this short. I really did. Hm...maybe I *should* rethink the writing thing...

 

The Taste of Spring

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR!!!!

Our CSA basket has been ordered. May can't get here soon enough! As if giving up the beautiful southern Georgia weather wasn't hard, leaving our favorite farm was pretty bad, too.

Having said that, it's at least in the 70's here and snowing elsewhere. So...I'm ok with the compromise.

Sweet Potato

 

Sweet Potato Nachos

Salads That Don't Wilt: #1

It's all about throwing together whatever you have!

 

Wheat berries, collards, chick peas, walnuts, sundried tomatoes, green olives, onion, carrots, artichokes, fresh basil, olive oil, salt and pepper

Let Them Eat Veggie Stock

Eating fresh food not only opens up a world of new meals to make, but I also find myself wasting less of the food by trying to use every last bite I can get out of an ingredient. I get that cooking may not be on everyone’s ‘passion’ list but some things really are more simple to make from scratch than making boxed macaroni and ‘cheese’. (Gag. Excuse me.)

I use veggie stock a lot in my meals for many reasons. Yes, I have plenty of boxed stock on hand but I also make my own quite a bit. Because I already use the basics on a regular basis (onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms, and friends) I wind up with little end pieces here and there that aren’t used in the main meal itself but seem like a waste to throw away.

For those little bits, I keep a bag in the freezer where I throw pieces in over time. When the bag fills up, it’s stock time!

Let’s cover the steps needed in this horribly daunting task:

Throw bits into a bag, located in freezer.

Because I assume you were going to throw these into a trash bag or some container *anyway*, I’m not even going to count this as a step.  

1. Remove bag from freezer, dump in pot
2. Cover with water to tops of veggies
3. Simmer for one hour. Possibly go get your nails done in the meantime
4. Let cool and strain liquid into appropriate container

 

Add salt, bay leaves, thyme or whatever else you want if you’d like it seasoned differently. It’s all optional (though I do at the very least recommend the salt).

Use in: rice, sautéed veggies, thinning out pesto for pasta, etc.

“But you still wind up with the chunks of veggies, except cooked!”

If you’re a hot kitchen mess like me, then you throw all the leftover cooked bits into your homemade marinara sauce as your ‘secret ingredient’. Best marinara sauce EVER.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnddddd……you’rewelcomeverymuch.

UPDATE: If you have bought your veggies from a grocery store, ***MAKE SURE*** to remove ALL stickers applied BEFORE cooking. Sometimes one sneaks by the best of us :(

 

 

Are Your Hormones Out of Wack or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

It’s clearly been too long since my last post, which in a way is good – I’ve been keeping myself busy with a number of little ‘projects’ and with my eating habits becoming second nature, I’ve had a little break from my food obsession (even obsessions deserve a break now and then).

Recently I celebrated my 6 month Vegan milestone. I envisioned coming up to this point that it would feel like such a huge deal, such a huge accomplishment. But the fact is, it just felt like a normal day. I was a little surprised by my own reaction and realized the bigger accomplishment: I’ve settled so well into my eating habits that it no longer feels like a project in itself.

Another food journey has begun, however; when I had my blood tested several weeks ago, I found out I have Hypothyroidism. Even though it’s not a huge deal, I was thrown off by the news and it took a long time to wrap my head around what it meant (I honestly had no idea what it was or that it was apparently so common). Being so unfamiliar with this disease, I had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that it wasn’t something I could ‘eat’ my way out of. Two doctors and a nutritionist later, I have a better grasp on it all and categorize it in a similar manner as allergies or depression; Some things you feed your body can certainly hurt the ailment but as much as you try, food may not provide all the relief needed.

The biggest shock I found was learning that some of my daily, beloved veggies could actually be causing my levels to spike even more (who knew that kale and I would have such a forbidden love affair?). While I’m not sure that all the foods listed as ‘problematic’ affect me in a negative way or that they need to be completely avoided altogether, it’s a slight curveball in my long term eating plan. The biggest kicker seems to be soy products, which thankfully I don’t consume much of since I already noticed feeling horrible after eating too much of (just another reason to trim down the processed foods!).

So, onward and upward. If anything, I need to get back to my obsession and find new recipes as it is. This just gives me a good excuse!

 

 

Hummus, Collards, Tomato, and Walnut Wrap

 

Redemption

This weekend we were out and about in DC and wound up at…(drum roll please)…Sticky Fingers Bakery! This is the ‘all items vegan’ place that won ‘Cupcake Wars’ on the Food Network. I had been wanting to try it out for so long and a cold, windy day gave us a perfect excuse to go and hang out.

Items ordered: BBQ Burger (The Boy), Black Bean Quesadilla (The Hubs), Rueben (Me), and Carrot Ginger Salad Wrap (to split). It was all Dee. Licious. It felt SO GOOD to be in a place that I didn’t have to create my own dish, question ingredients or leave feeling cheated by my meal and I loved how everyone loved everything that was ordered. This absolutely made up for last weekends restaurant fiasco.

Oh – and I didn’t even touch on the desserts. We each got a sweet treat before we left and I also tucked two little sumthin’-sumthin’s aside for The Hubs and I Saturday Night Couch Date Night (when you haven’t gone out on a date in – what? A year? – with your Hubs, you gotta make something work). The Stout & a Shot and Peanutbutter Fudge cupcakes were great. The Blueberry Muffin was fantastic. The Boy won the overall prize with his Little Devil cake. That is, until we opened our Date Night Brownie. O. M. G. Words cannot describe. But my husband said it best, ‘This is worth driving into DC for these alone’. It was the most fabulous brownie I have ever had in my life. My *LIFE*.

Of course we ate them before pictures could be taken, but we did get a mid-bite pic.

 

 

And here is a dish that was made the night before: Veggies and Peanuts with Rice Noodles.

 

 

 

 

Sadness with a Side of Cheese

Well, it was bound to happen…I had my first bad restaurant experience. It probably wouldn’t have been too upsetting, but in addition to the fact that we very rarely go out to eat, we went to one of our favorite restaurants thinking I wouldn’t have any problems finding food I would eat and love.

One of my favorite dishes I make (Stuffed Poblano Peppers) is inspired by a dish that I love to order at this particular restaurant. I knew it would need some things omitted but one of the things I love the most is the grilled vegetables it comes with, so I couldn’t wait.

It’s too long to get into details, but the bottom line was a combination of not having a great waitress to start paired with my being so disappointed by the entire experience that I didn’t even want to get into the complications of sending it back. Hubs was mad (such a good Hubs) because he so clearly heard me ask the waitress for ‘no cheese, sour cream, or anything dairy’, only to be given a plate coated with cream sauce and mozzarella cheese. But that’s a customer service issue and a whole different conversation.

Thankfully I had a nice batch of cashew cheese, black bean salsa and avocado waiting for me at home. Next time I’ll just stick to what I know best – salsa, black beans, avocado, rice and tortillas (hmmm, that sounds good right now). Another restaurant, another time. 

White Bean and Kale Soup with Toast

Simple Things

Call me a simple girl but of everything I make lately, I am always amazed at my soup. Up until recently I was always a ‘pot of water with bouillon cubes’ kind of girl. I later graduated to homemade chicken stock. It never occurred to me that I could literally chop up a bunch of vegetables, cover them with water and call it a day. Low budget, day-before-grocery-shopping, plentiful, easy to make, comfort food.

And while none of my dishes ever come out exactly the same, soup is always such a fun ‘never know what you’re going to get’ grab bag.

 

Sweet potato, asparagus, kale, lima bean, corn and wild rice soup.

One Meal at a Time

Today I had TWO…

count ‘em: not ONE but TWO

people ask me to pass along some vegan dish recipes to them! More than the number it was the different people themselves that shocked me. How awesome is that?!

Super awesome.

 

 

Pad Thai(ish) Dish

I Can't Hear Your Opinion Over All This Screaming

My co-workers seriously melt my heart sometimes. You would think working at a seafood restaurant and eating a plant based diet would equal in a lot of ridicule…or at least I did. But as I slowly let it be known that I didn’t eat dairy or meat, they began asking really intelligent questions and were open to my responses. We have ongoing, respectful conversations and it’s pretty cool being able to have an ‘adult’ conversation from two opposing view points.

These conversations are meaningful to me for two reasons: 1) it helps me to review in my own mind the importance of healthy eating and 2) I get the privilege of planting a seed in their own mind to develop a curiosity of healthy eating.

Maybe it’s just an act of getting older, but it seems that, especially through social media, there’s a lot of ‘screaming’ going on these days to try to get other people to listen to a differing point of view – or even a straight up fact. On the other hand, I see a lot of ‘over loyalty’ going on, where some people are more insistent in sticking to ‘their kind’ and ridicule everyone else that isn’t following the same trend they’re on.

I love that I have such an awesome range of friends that support me, challenge me, question me, have different opinions than me, have the same opinions as me, and most of all respect me.

 

Butternut Squash, Kale and Olive Stew

Tastes Just Like Chicken

One of my pet peeves is when people claim that something their eating claims to taste just like something else.

“This veggie burger tastes just like a real burger!”

No. No it doesn’t.

First of all, the person you say that to is going to find out pretty damn fast it’s a lie. And then where’s your credibility? Shot.

I tell anyone who chooses to eat a vegan dish, try not to think about the meal it may be mimicking. Instead, try to just close your eyes and taste the dish, decide whether or not you like it.

It’s funny how people assume if you eat a vegan diet that you have such limited options. Or maybe that’s just the way I used to think. But it’s really amazing how a whole new world of food opens up to you when you think outside the box. If you’re reading this and not on a vegan diet, I’m curious to know the last time you ate nutritional yeast, flax meal, chia seeds, cashew cheese, or even kale.

When you let go and just taste, you’d be surprised at how tasty vegan food is!

 

 

Quesadilla with Cashew Cheese

Making Vegan Look Good

I couldn’t be prouder of myself! When adopting a vegan diet, there is a very healthy way to go about it and a very damaging way. You have to pay close attention to your body, give it what it asks for, make sure you are incorporating more plant based foods than overly processed, and be willing to throw the ‘portion control’ idea out the window with a lot of foods you eat (unless what you’re daily diet consists of is Double Stuffed Oreos. There is a little common sense involved).

It was suggested by the Nutritionist that I saw to eventually get some blood work done, just to make sure there wasn’t anything I was depriving my body of (B12 and Iron tend to be the big ones). Annnnnnnnddddd…..(drum roll, please)…..EVERYTHING came back GREAT!!!

There are so many reasons I am thrilled about this: Showing that a proper vegan diet *can* be healthy, knowing I am feeding my family well, feeling like the information I have gathered on this journey has been on the right track. It’s just a great feeling overall! Go me!

 

toe MAY toe, toe MAH toe

Some of the people I work with are very patient and sweet to listen to me gush about different meals I make. They usually lead to good, quick conversations that I really appreciate and help me to think further into the choices I’ve made.

Co-worker: It must be really hard to grocery shop and find the sort of foods you need to eat. Where do you shop?

Me: I just shop at the normal grocery store. I go to the health food store to get a lot of things in bulk just because it’s cheaper.

Co-worker: So, you said last night you made a version of Eggplant Parmesan…I guess it’s just about making the type of meals you normally would eat and just learning to substitute out certain ingredients?

Me: (thrilled) EXACTLY!!!

It's the little things, isn't it?

Dried Tomato Skins

Tomatoes are a precious food to me, so when I get the opportunity to use fresh tomatoes to make my marinara, I hate throwing out the skins. Instead, I lay them out, dry them in the oven and grind them up to use later as a garnish or mix with olive oil to create a tomato paste.

 

 

Sharing the Love

My dear girlfriend that is ultimately responsible for kick starting me into my vegan diet has started her own blog, 'Mindful Living'. She focuses on small changes that make huge impacts and are very realistic. I admire her thoughtful words so much, I hope you enjoy her posts as much as I do!

http://peacefulcoexistence.wordpress.com/about/

Boundaries

Claiming to be ‘Vegan’ in itself is pretty broad: Do you only apply your veganism to diet? Purchases? Drinking? Every second of every day? Or do you give yourself ‘cheat’ days?

For myself it’s truly been a day by day experience. People like to ask me a lot of hypothetical questions, such as ‘But what are you going to do if someone holds you hostage and says the only way they would free you is if you ate chicken??? Would you eat it then???’

Sigh.

Everyone’s boundaries are totally different and personal. I know people who are strict with their food consumption and others who are a little more lax. For me, I understand that going out to eat or eating at someone else’s home will provide certain challenges and I’m ready to accept those challenges with a little creativity and reasonable compromise. Sometimes I may just decide to throw in the towel, though.

Today we went out to eat for lunch, which is a HUUUUGGE event for us. My husband suggested a place we love and I knew would have extremely limited vegan options. In the end, I decided on a crab cake. The horrors, right? And guess what – it was delicious. Not in that, ‘What have I been missing?’ way but ‘What a nice treat!’ sort of way.

That is another misconception – just because I choose not to eat dairy or meat doesn’t mean I suddenly think it all tastes disgusting. Shrimp tastes good. Chicago style pizza tastes good. But they make me feel so bad. And obviously there’s a reason for that.

I didn’t physically feel horrible after my meal but I didn’t feel great, either. Honestly, I like having a time or two like this, few and far between, and think is good for keeping me on track and reminding me why I love eating the way I do. I also know that I’m doing more good than bad in the overall scheme of things, which is the most important thing.

Pick Up Lines

Lately I’ve had a few conversations about my vegan eating that have had me walk away incredibly frustrated. Not because the individual had been argumentative or unwilling to listen to what I’ve had to say – rather, I had a few precious moments where another person was genuinely interested in learning more about an issue they had a differing opinion on and I came up shamefully short.

Nothing makes my day more than someone interested in my ‘alternative eating lifestyle’. I know people are especially intrigued because I am not what you would expect of a Vegan – I am not the red paint throwing, animals rights screaming, angry activist so wonderfully painted by previous extremists (because nothing makes someone with an opposing view want to listen to what you have to say like acting like a screaming nut). I love country music, drink my fair share of a variety of alcohol and work in a seafood restaurant.

Whenever someone asks me why I choose not to eat any meat or dairy products, I freeze. I just can’t find the words. Not because there are so few, rather because there are so many. Health. Politics. Environment. My daughters bodies. My Boys bodies. Self healing. Narrowing the chance for disease. I could elaborate on all of these and more. But I don’t have all day, and neither do they.

I feel like I need that ‘hook’…that line that keeps them wanting more, piques their interest and continues wanting to hear what I have to say. That line that allows me to sum up 5 months of research in one sentence and prove why that ‘health bar’ their eating isn’t so healthy. That line that makes them think, ‘Huh, maybe she’s on to something…’

Needless to say, it’s a work in progress. While I certainly don’t expect every single person to eat 100% vegan 100% of the time, I wish safe eating for everyone and wish more people had an interest in understanding where their food comes from. I can only imagine how much I *still* have to learn and hope to share these things with others down the road.

 

Black Bean and Quinoa Burger with Portabella and Cashew Cheese Sauce

 

 

Saturday Night Live

I have some rare 'Me' time tonight and thought I'd celebrate with a little somethin' yummy. A cupcake from an extra batch I keep in the freezer + 2 frozen strawberries + one last square of chocolate I found in my purse

EQUALS.....

Now I am taking this, my glass of wine, cuddling up on the couch and scaring myself rediculous with my favorite new show, American Horror Story. Happy Saturday Night, y'all!

Sick Day

To put it simply, I am not feeling well. The type of ‘not feeling well’ that normally would call for only one thing: Chicken Noodle Soup. Which clearly isn't an option. Obviously I knew there had to be a substitute for what I was craving, but off the top of my head I wasn’t sure what that was. The craving began last night right before I was to head off for (a very early) bed. My sweet, loving husband offered to go to the store and pick up some soup for me. Knowing that there are a lot of hidden ingredients that make things not vegan, I told him to simply look for a telling label on a soup item and get whatever he could find.

What he found was Black Bean Soup.

Now, I like Black Bean Soup. But when it’s 8:00 at night and you feel sick, that’s not typically a go-to. I believe it was all he could find (either the New Year’s resolution people or couponers seemed to have cleared the shelves), but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat it.

Today, feeling worse, I knew that I had to come up with something. And fast. A 25 month old and 4 month old don’t allow for much cooking time during the day. But thankfully what I was able to create was just what I needed.

I didn’t want anything other that a clear broth soup and I also wanted to make sure it was really full of flavor. I started with the bible ingredients of veggie stock: carrots, onion, celery and mushrooms (even if you don’t like mushrooms, I HIGHLY recommend using them in the base of a veggie stock).

 

 

After they sautéed for a bit, I threw in some water and added some kale. Now, here’s where I stopped thinking and just ‘did’. I felt like along with taste, I just needed any type of nutrient my body could get.  I have no idea what made me think of it, but I had this box of frozen veggies in the fridge that seemed to be a perfect match. A lot of Green Giant medleys have butter in them (booooooo) but even after a Google search, nothing seemed to point to anything dairy related in the mix.

 

 

Last, I threw in some endamame, chopped tomatoes, salt, more water, and barley.

 

 

 

The whole thing *maybe* took me 15 minutes. Simmer for another 20, and I was on my way to better health and deliciousness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday Survival

I went to bed an hour ago and yet…here I am. I am always behind on things as it is but for whatever reason tonight every detail on my ‘to do’ list is swimming frantically in my head. Clearly, a new post is long overdue, so at least I’m being productive.

I have to admit it, and I’m sure I sound crazy but – I am SO GLAD the holidays are over! At least when it comes to food. Lack of farmer’s markets and baked sweets have gotten to me. If you didn’t know, let me tell you now, eating vegan does NOT always equal healthy! I have had waaaaayyy to many processed flour, sugar treats and fried things lately. I am beyond eager to get back on track and very happy to be a self proclaimed ‘plant based Vegan’.

Speaking of the holidays, I will admit – I derailed Christmas night. We were invited to a family members house that we are becoming increasingly close with, but are still getting to know each other and we didn’t know anyone else that had been invited. Simply put, I wasn’t comfortable coming out as a Vegan and didn’t want that to become a main topic of conversation. Do I think it was worth it? Yes.

I had a game plan: certainly I made sure to eat well at home prior to leaving. As my dish to pass I made a generous serving of the green bean casserole from Thanksgiving and also brought mixed nuts, hummus, pretzels, mixed berry pie, and chocolate coconut cupcakes. Because, let’s be honest – should a meat eater look down on your vegan ways, you can usually stop them in the tracks with a good chocolate cupcake. Or at least confuse them.

This was a formal dinner affair, though, complete with a long table beautifully decorated and everyone shoulder to shoulder. I didn’t want to offend anyone by not eating their cooking (because I know *I* am sensitive when people won’t eat what I’ve cooked) so I dished up what veggies I could find, trying to take larger servings of the ones that appeared to have the least amount of butter pooled in them. Bottom line, everyone had a great time, I didn’t go hungry, and everyone loved the pie and chocolate cupcakes – never knowing they were vegan. As far as I’m concerned, it was a successful night!

To start the New Year, I made a late day breakfast dish. Maybe it was because I was so hungry, but it was goooooooodddd. How anyone could eat this and categorize Vegans as ‘boring’ is beyond me!

Cranberry, Kale & Wheatberry Salad, Oven Pancakes, Hashbrowns with Kale & Tempah, Biscuits & Gravy