Juice Fast, Day One (Juice 2)

It was hard at my morning bible study... The ladies always bring the most delicious (and bacon covered) dishes to share.  I was able to resist and make it to my second juice of the day.

Green Juice

4 kale leaves

1/2 bunch of spinach

1/2 bunch of parsely

1 roma tomato

3 celery ribs

2 oranges

5 strawberries

** My motto is juice what you like.  I tend to eat these on a daily basis anyways.  I don't like the flavor of cucumbers juiced but others do.

Juice Fast, Day One

Today I started another juice fast.  I have completed many.  My first was in 2011 after watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  My husband and I completed a 7 day juice fast which ended with our baptism (which was kind of cool).  We lost some weight but I think we mostly started to taste our food again.  Sometimes we eat so much processed foods that we forget what real food tastes like.  Our energy was higher but eventually we went back to our old ways of eating.

We have done a few days here and there but never reached the full benefits (in my mind).  It is hard.  Being cut off from eating for 7 days is rough but after the first few days you begin to feel better, have more energy and realize that you don't need coffee to be awake through the day.

I plan on blogging about this fast... so you can see what I drink and I will try to put my moods as the days go by!!

Vampire

1 beet

1 apple

3 oranges

4 strawberries

3 carrots

Cookie Success!

We aren't a big sweets household.  We try to limit our sweet intake to once a week.  My husband's family is from Mexico and when we get together pancito (mexican sweet bread) is usually on the menu).  I have a few that are my favorite and really want to find a sub that I can bring and share.  But today I wanted chocolate (which is extremely rare since I don't really like it).  I decided to make chocolate chip cookies since we all like those.

I flipped through my Happy Herbivore cookbooks and found this recipe in the Happy Herbivore Light and Lean book.  I had all the ingredients on hand (something I love about being plant based) and went to town.  They took about 5 minutes to put together and 12 minutes to cook.  I was able to serve my sons, 6 and 4 a delicious treat that was not loaded in processed ingredients and was semi-healthy for them.

My 6 year old loved them and asked me to make them everyday.  But my incredibly picky 4 year old loved his.  I am so proud that I finally found something (granted it was a cookie) that he liked.

Thank you Happy Herbivore!  We are loving our plant based journey!

She also has a video of her making these cookies on her youtube channel... Click Here!

New Spice Drawer!!

I have been trying to make a spice drawer for the past year.  I had a few small jars in a drawer but the bulk of my spices were in my cabinet.  I kept forgetting what I had and turns out I had 3 jars of thyme.  So I decided to make the move.

I had about 7 of the cute little jars I mentioned and decided to make them my prototype.  I painted the tops with chalkboard paint.  But they weren't enough.  So I went to purchase more and I couldn't find them anywhere.  But I remembered that I had a ton of Ball Canning jars left over from our wedding centerpieces.

I went to work.  After it was all said and done I ended up painting 23 jar lids with chalkboard paint and turning two drawers into spice drawers.  I am so proud of myself.  Since becoming plant based I cook about 99% of our food from scratch and make my own spice blends.  I have also been purchasing my spices in bulk as needed and this seems to be not only a time saver but also a money saver.

I feel more organized when I cook... but the first thing my 6 year old did was wipe away the words...!!

Vegan Disneyland!!

My husband and I have decided to celebrate every other one of our sons birthdays at Disneyland.  They eat got a 1st birthday party complete with frosting smothered all over their faces.  But for their 2nd, 4th and now 6th birthdays we took them to Disneyland.  Who knew how expensive and exhausting birthday parties are?!?

This was our first trip with our new family diet.  While my husband and oldest son still eat some meat, they are mostly vegetarian.  I tried to pack an array of snacks that would not only save us money but also keep us on our plant based diet.

Snacks

• fresh strawberries (from the farmers market)
• grapes
• sliced cucumber
• roasted garlic hummus
• sweet red pepper hummus
• pita bread
• jello (pre-packed)
• goldfish crackers
• life cereal
• cherrios

We also brought a refillable water bottle to save on all those sugary drinks.  But we did decide to eat one meal at the park and have dinner at our hotel.  The only restaurant choices were IHOP and Denny's.  Since Denny's was right next to our hotel we stopped their for dinner.  I searched on my phone for vegan options at Denny's and found this website, Vegan Restaurant Hub.  I saw that the veggie burger was on there so I went with that.

I ordered it on a whole wheat bun (usually they are vegan) along with ketchup, mustard, grilled onions, avocado & pickles.  I ordered it with the seasoned fries (which I don' know if they are vegan)... but I would have to say for my first meal out being plant based, I think I did pretty good.

Our hotel was under renovations so we got a breakfast bag with a water, apple, blueberry muffin and granola bar.  I ate the apple for breakfast and snacked on the remaining fruit we had.  But we all started to get hungry.  We were at Disney California Adventure that day and I had to try to find a place for us to eat in the park.  While searching on my phone I came across a blog called The Very New Vegan and she listed a place called Award Wieners that had a vegetarian mushroom and pepper cheese steak.

The only options I changed was that I asked for it without cheese (to which the waited replied, then it would just be peppers and mushrooms?... yup) and I got it on a gluten free bun.  I was a little irritated that he asked me if it was for allergy or personal reasons because to me it doesn't matter.  Any who!  It was absolutely delicious... super oily but super good.

My 6 year old did want a hot dog so he got one... which used to be a daily food item for him.  He was perfectly happy to eat it with his rare bag of chips.

I have to say that we concurred Disneyland without eating too much (actually loosing weight) and I was able to stick to my new love of vegetables!

Dear Muesli...

I think I love you.  I am completely addicted to Happy Herbivore's Muesli recipe.  It is from the Happy Herbivore Abroad cookbook.  I have been having this for breakfast for the past week and it completely fills me up and takes almost no time to make.

My first few times having them I topped it with honey and frozen blueberries.  But that quickly depleted my blueberry stash.  So I started to experiment... bananas and honey are super delicious.  But then I remembered that I had shredded coconut in my pantry.  That quickly topped the bananas.  Then I found a lonely mango on my counter and threw that on with some honey and coconut.

I cannot wait to see what else my dear muesli can handle!

Italian Night!

I really love the ease of preparing a simple meal.  Spaghetti and Meatballs is a hit around here.  My 6 year old loved the turkey meatballs I used to make for him.  I almost had to hide them just so my husband could have a few.  But our days of eating and purchasing meat are behind us.  I wanted to find an alternative and the Happy Herbivore did not disappoint.

In her cookbook, The Happy Herbivore Cookbook she has a recipe for Spaghetti and Meatless Balls.  They are made from a soy based meat-like product which I had never tried before.  I was amazed at how they cooked up and looked just like meatballs.  I also loved that my hand weren't covered in meat that require scalding hot water to clean.  I made a simple salad of romaine and a power greens combo I found at Costco.  I topped my salad with garbanzos and pickled beets.  I opted not to put oil on my salad and just put balsamic vinegar.

My 6 year old ate all the meatballs!  I did grab two before he scarfed them down.  They tasted similar to a meatball but they just weren't for me.  I think after almost a year of being a vegetarian I just don't want to eat meat... nor anything that resembles it.  But this would be a great transition from carnivore to herbivore!  I love that I have a meatless alternative for my son that he loves!!

Leftovers shine again...

Last Friday I made Pumpkin Chili and it was delicious.  The recipe said it made two servings but I was able to get 3.  I had a second serving over the cornbread I had made.  It was definitely great the second time around... and not as spicy.  But I had about a cup of it left and didn't know what to do.

I searched my pantry and found a lonely potato.  Sadly this was a white potato and not a sweet potato like I wanted but it worked.  I cooked but the potato and opened up that bad boy.  I covered it in my leftover chili and added some avocado for good measure.  And it was amazing.  Thank you Happy Herbivore for the amazing recipes!

Viva La Sopa!

My husband's family seems to have this at every meal.  This is sopa (pronounced like soap with an a at the end).  It is a tomato and pasta soup that it out of this world!  After many years of marriage I have finally mastered this soup and serve it to my family about one a week.  The only problem?  The pasta is first browned in oil and the broth contains chicken bouillon.  My mother-in-law would often added spinach to it and on occassion queso fresco.  The queso fresco was my favorite part.  If you chop it into chucks and put it in the hot soup it would stay in chunks but get all melty and delicious.  Ah!!

Now that we are making the shift towards being plant based I have been trying to figure out how to make this without oil and animal products.  I set up to make a recipe that I could share.  Over the years I have never done any measurements and even still just kind of wing it.  My 6 year old son loves this soup plain with no avocado.   I added the avocado to give me the feel of the cheese that I miss so much!

Mexican Sopa with Avocado

8 roma tomatoes, cut into fourths
1/2 tsp granulated onion (sub for 1/4 fresh onion)
1/2 tsp granulated garlic (sub for 1 clove of garlic)
1 vegan bouillon cube
8 oz any kind of pasta

1. Add tomatoes, onion and garlic to blender.  Add enough water to cover the tomatoes.  Blend until smooth.  Grab a large bowl and place a colander inside.  Strain the tomato mixture through the colander.  You want to give it some shakes to get all the liquid out.  Set aside.

2. Heat a large pot on the stove.  Add the pasta and toast the pasta, constantly stirring.  You will want it to be a light brown.  Make sure that you stay close... it can burn very quickly.

3.  Once the pasta is browned add the tomato liquid.  Be careful... this will steam and boil quickly.  Add the bouillon cube and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil and then turn to low and cook for about 15 minutes.

4.  After 15 minutes check to see if the pasta is done.  If you need more water add some now.  Check the flavor and add some salt or more bouillon to taste.  Top with chopped avocado or leave plain!

** This broth is the great beginnings of any sort of vegetable soup.  Add your favorite and go crazy.

Waffles Anyone!

As you can tell by now I pretty much make all my meals out of the 4 Happy Herbivore cookbooks.  I love that her recipes are simple to follow, don't have any weird ingredients and take very little time to prepare.  I also love my Forks Over Knives cookbook but that is reserved for when I need my inner chef to come out.  Those recipes tend to be time consuming and require a little more experience (luckily my dad used to be a chef)!

Before the New Year I tried out Happy Herbivore's waffles.  My 6 year loves to have anything that helps get maple syrup into his mouth and I didn't want to keep serving him Bisquick pancakes.  So I found the recipe called Courtney's Waffles in Happy Herbivore Abroad.  My son gave them two thumbs up.  I love them too.  The recipe makes enough for 4 waffles which is great because you are never left with a ton of leftovers.

I had them for breakfast the other day and topped them with blueberries and syrup.  What a great way to start the day!!

Vegan Friendly

When I first thought about becoming a vegan the word scared me.  The thought of not being able to find anything to eat and having to eat alfalfa sprout sandwiches just made me sad.  I love food.  I love to eat it.  So how in the world was I going to limit myself...

Turns out I am not missing out on anything.  I have reached my first week of being plant-based.  I feel great (even though I caught the stomach flu from my darling son).  I have lost almost 5 pounds but the sickness skewed that a little too!

I was out doing my grocery shopping and realized that I hadn't eaten anything for breakfast.  Sometimes just getting the kids fed and dressed and to school on time is all I can do.  Today I forgot my breakfast.  But while out at Sprouts today I found a vegan superfruit muffin.  While it wan't oil free it sure was delicious and a better option then ditching my new diet (as in the food I eat, not some fad).

I was full and happy and back to shopping in no time!!

Where to start!

I know one of the hardest things about becoming plant based for me was where do I start.  I am sure many people feel overwhelmed just like I did.  I wanted to make the transition after watching Forks Over Knives almost 2 years ago but I was just scared.  I thought, ugh I am going to have to eat only salads... you know, rabbit food!

But some how about 8 months ago I found the Happy Herbivore.  I first purchased Everyday Happy Herbivore, Happy Herbivore Abroad along with the Forks Over Knives cookbook.  But they both sat unused on my shelf until November 2013.  I decided to make the change.  I had some great recipes in front of me and was going to start using them.  I got Happy Herbivore Abroad for Christmas and purchased The Happy Herbivore Cookbook for my birthday present.

Lindsay Nixon, the creator of Happy Herbivore, has a great website for meal plans.  She gives you a complete menu, shopping list and recipes for an entire week of meals for an individual or family.  I started buying those and ate from them for a few weeks.  And being vegan was awesome.  I wasn't hungry.  I ate a ton of food and I was satisfied.  Plus I lost a few pounds.

So I started digging into her cookbooks.  I noticed that I was cooking from scratch for my family, using real ingredients and not using packaged, anything!  I prefer her books over the Forks Over Knives cookbook because you don't have to be a chef.  My father used to be a chef, so when my chefty side needs to come out I go to that cookbook.  Her ingredients are easy to find and most meals are on the table within 30 minutes.

I urge you to get her books.  If you need a place to start this is the best one.  My husband and kids love her food and I am so happy to serve them something that is healthy, fresh and homemade!

Another great breakfast!

I just bought some tofu from Costco and wanted to make a different version of the Mexican Scramble from earlier this week.  I tried the Happy Herbivore's Basic Tofu Scramble.  It had the same flavors as the Mexican but minus the cilantro and enchilada sauce.  I guess I wanted to see if I liked it plain... and it was delicious.  I served it with a side of black beans (I had some leftover from the Mexican Scramble) and some sliced tomatoes.

I think I am going to love this new change!

Pumpkin Chili + Classic Cornbread

Last night for dinner I made the most amazing and spicy pumpkin chili and classic cornbread thanks to my favorite vegan chef, the Happy Herbivore.  In her new cookbook, Happy Herbivore Light and Lean she has some super quick and delicious recipes.  Within 20 minutes I was able to have this dinner cooked and on the table... can't say that too often about chili can you?

My husband is not a fan of this chili so I guess I will be having the second portion for lunch today.  No worries... it was so good I don't mind.

My new breakfast!

I like tofu.  I am not a huge fan but I have been known to buy it, fry it and serve it with veggies.  I have tried, on my own, to make them into scrambled eggs.  It has never turned out.  Until I met the Happy Herbivore and her Mexican Scramble.

It was a delicious blend of flavors that combine to make a great substitute.  Even my husband who vowed he would never eat tofu tried it.  He didn't mind it.  I added the black beans and served mine with corn tortillas, sauteed onion and sliced tomatoes.

This is a dish that I would mind having again... which I did for dinner and then lunch the next day!!

New Year, New You

This is the year that I become plant based.  I have struggled over the years just to become a vegetarian and now I feel that I can conquer the most "extreme" and go completely plant based.  I know that it will seem very extreme to those who aren't interested but as was said in Forks Over Knives, a heart bypass is extreme!!

I hope to post pictures of the foods that I eat.  Mostly to show you that being plant based is more than just salads and rabbit food.  Plant based dishes are delicious and loved by omnivores and herbivores alike.

New Years Eve we were invited to my aunt's house and she was serving Posole.  Which is one of my favorite Mexican soups and is made with pork.  So I opted just to pack my dinner and eat it with them.  I planned on making an Indian dish called Aloo Gobi from Happy Herbivore Abroad.  It is a dish of potatoes and cauliflower in an Indian spiced tomato sauce.  I served mine with brown rice and whole wheat naan bread.  I plan to try every single item in all her cookbooks this year.

The posole smelled amazing but my dinner was delicious and satisfying.  I loved it so much and even had leftovers with my omnivore husband the next day for lunch.  He really enjoyed the flavors and said he wouldn't mind having it again.

This is a picture of my husbands plate (he doesn't like brown rice so he got white).  It was so yummy.  I can't wait to make it again!