EAS Peak Giveaway

I have a little vegan game I like to play- it's called "show the world how easy it is to avoid animal products." I get a certain sense of pride when friends I have dined with several times don't find out I'm vegan until much later. It helps banish one of the many stereotypes tied to the way I choose to eat.

As a vegan there are only about two places I have trouble getting a good meal: bars full of fried food and little diners who have never heard the word vegan before. Every time I visit my grandparents we visit one of those diners. I usually order an unsatisfying salad and they think I eat that way all the time.

Recently I started getting creative! I ordered a wheat sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced almonds and ketchup. I also got a side of fruit. Feel free to get creative when ordering out!!

I was home visiting family to celebrate my mom's and brother's birthdays. (Happy birthday guys!!) Never one to miss out on dessert, I made sure to pick up Purely Decadent in Mocha Almond Fudge.

Who says vegans are missing out on anything?!

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Removed EAS giveaway text due to BlogHer advertising policy.. Contest closed anyway :)

The What and Why of Different Diets

This post on diets and relationships sparked some great discussion today! Make sure to check it out and add your own thoughts in case you missed it. I also added my response toward the end.

The discussion has me thinking about how we all have such different diets and reasons behind them. For some added perspective I’ll be showcasing small pieces written by different people with different diets and their own personal reasons for the way they eat and the way they live. It should be really interesting!!

I rushed around like a mad woman today. A full day of work, a late dinner with Ryan and a ton of little to-do’s and I somehow forget to photograph all my food. Oh well, at least I got the good stuff :)

Ryan and I now work together at lululemon. And Whole Foods is still just a few miles down the road. Yes, it is a dangerous equation in every way! Tonight we decided to grab dinner at Whole Foods after a day or working together. I got a fantastic plate that included my beloved yucca fries and a massaged avocado kale salad. I loved the salad so much that I’m recreating it in my kitchen tonight!

This morning began with a banana and an English muffin with homemade almond butter.

Lunch was at work- the last of my Sweet Shepherd’s Pie. I froze two servings when I made the recipe to enjoy later. This dish was amazing and I will definitely make it again soon!

Are you interested in reading about other’s diets and their personal reasons behind them?

Hunger Buster Bars + Diets and Relationships

I'm still experimenting with bars that I can easily make at home with few ingredients that will satisfy my hunger on-the-go. I had a homemade larabar flop last week, but this week I thought I'd give an oat-based bar a try before I remake the larabars (and actually follow the directions!).

Hunger Buster Bars

I tried to find some recipes but nothing suited what I was looking for so I decided to create my own! I'll be the first to admit recipes are not my strong point, so I find my methods extremely comical. I pulled several ingredients that I thought might be in my bars and then used the number 2 for measurements. In a bowl I added:

- 2 mushed bananas

- 12 chopped dates

- 2 T ground flax

- 2 T almond butter

- 2 T protein powder

- cinnamon + vanilla

- 1 c. rolled oats

- .5 c. whole wheat pastry flour

- about .3 c. water

I mixed everything together really well, spread the mixture in a baking glass and baked at 350 for 17 minutes.

Thankfully I had the girls to help me with clean up.

The bars made the house smell delicious!!! (I cut my batch into 6 bars.)

The final product was dense and not very sweet, but I love it. It is super filling, too. The base is very oat-y and the chunks of dates and baked bananas are nice sweet surprises. If you need a sweet bar, definitely add a bit of sugar to yours or blend dates and add that to the mix. Also, maybe I should have added baking soda or baking powder? They need some work, but I think it can become a good one!

I'll experiment more next time because I'm definitely making these hunger busters again!

I feel so behind with you guys! I posted the metric century race recap yesterday, but lots of food has happened since then! Here's a bit of what I've been fueling with:

Banana Cherry Soft-Serve: process 1-2 bananas until a whipped consistency. Add 1/2 c. frozen cherries and process for 1 minute. Enjoy!!!!

I discovered how amazing dates are when dipped in almond butter. My goodness.

A reader asked me what my favorite % chocolate is. I love anything above 70%! Darker the better :)

Oh yes. By the way, I totally enjoyed my kombucha and cookie together.. as inspired by this post.

How Much Does Your Diet Affect Your Attractiveness?

There was quite a stir on Twitter tonight!

I responded to a retweet: Why? RT @SaraASR RT @sup3rmark: Nothing disappoints me more than finding out a cute girl is vegan

And then I asked my followers the question: Does a person being vegan/GF/raw change the way you think of them? Or would it if you were to date them?

There were some really good responses, but most people said another's diet wouldn't affect their feelings as long as they're not pressured to change their own diet.

I follow a vegan diet, but David eats meat. He only eats organic chicken since watching Food Inc., but there's still raw dead animal in my kitchen on a regular basis.

I've been a vegetarian for almost 10 years, so I didn't eat meat even when we started dating. Almost one year ago I went vegan to ease some stomach troubles I was having (a decision that was later reinforced with knowledge of factory farms and health).

From the beginning we didn't force our diets on one another. Now I'm educating myself more every day about the power (good and bad) of certain foods. I see my family suffering from diseases that could have been prevented or better managed through diet. Knowledge is power and my knowledge keeps me from sitting back and watching David not take care of his health. As a result I definitely encourage him to include more fruits and vegetables into his diet while educating him on how great they are.

I'm also working on showing him how a meal can be complete without meat (or with less of it).

For the logistics side, we do often make our own separate meals. Right now we're so busy that we don't get to eat many meals together. When we do I usually make a vegan meal and then he might add some meat on top of that. I can't handle raw meat or actually touch any meat at all, but I don't have an issue with him cooking it near me. It's all about compromise :)

So what do you think? Does a person being vegan/GF/raw change the way you think of them? Or would it if you were to date them?

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Kitchen Nightmares!

I need to confess Kombuchas are taking over my kitchen. That’s a good thing (other than the fact I’ve spent $50 on them in two weeks), but it’s pretty crazy considering a few months ago I couldn’t stand one! (Can you tell the green one is my favorite!?)

I enjoyed one as I ran some errands mid-morning. I had some fun redeeming a gift card at Bed Bath & Beyond, getting dog food, picking up essentials at Target, grocery shopping at Whole Foods and finally picking out some bike gear at our local Orange Cycle! Whew!

I was starving for lunch by the time I got home from all my shopping. I enjoyed last night’s leftovers. I was so excited to get in the kitchen and play with my food processor! I bought my heavy-duty, extra large food processor off Craigslist for $45- and it retailed for much, much more! I think this is an appliance that many people buy and never use (shame!), so you can find some cheap ones in your area.

Homemade Raw Almond Butter

First up was almond butter! AB is sooooo easy to make at home. I just can’t bring myself to fork up the money for the store bought version! All you need to do is put almonds in your food processor and blend, occasionally scraping the sides. Really!

I like to spice my version with any of the following: cinnamon, vanilla, turbinado sugar, cocoa, flax. I wait until about halfway through to add the mix-ins.

It’s fun to watch the almonds turn into a rich, creamy butter right before your eyes. Plus, warm, fresh almond butter is so yummy! I store mine in an old AB container.

Homemade Larabars

Boy was this a delicious thing gone wrong! I’ve been known to be impatient and to have trouble following directions. Sadly, I was both when trying to recreate Angela’s version of Banana Bread Larabars.

Mistake #1: I took out the bananas before they were done. I had to leave and didn’t want to wait until later to finish drying the naners so I went ahead with the mushy naners. Too mushy :(

Mistake #2: Accidentally leaving the food processor on for about five minutes when the almonds should have only been in for one! It turned into nice baby food ;)

The overall taste was incredible. They tasted just like banana bread- and like the real Larabar! Unfortunately my mistakes led to a way too mushy bar. They’ve firmed up a bit in the fridge, but I know it’s nothing like they should be! No worries- I will definitely be making this again! And maybe following the directions next time? :)

There was also some raw almond milk in the mix, but I think I’ve humiliated myself enough for one post. We’ll save that story for next time!

Honestly, I make a lot of mistakes in the kitchen but I am okay with that. I’m moving into new territory with lots of raw and homemade foods and that means I’m experimenting a lot. I’m having fun while doing it, so who cares if it takes me a few tries to get something right! I think venturing to create foods in my own kitchen is already cool!

Do you experiment in the kitchen or do you prefer following recipes?

Exploring in Savannah

Wow, Savannah is a fun city! It’s perfect for a vacation with its cobblestone streets, cool shops,  little restaurants and street life. 

This one day trip to Savannah was planned on our way back to Florida after a few days in Williamsburg, VA. It was nice breaking up our driving into two days. Plus, I got to explore a new city! The city was so beautiful. I wish I would’ve brought my big DSLR instead of my little point and shoot! It’s okay- I’m already thinking of when I can come back!

Savannah has tons of quaint and fun restaurants. Skyler’s Restaurant drew my mom’s attention for lunch. We entered through a cute hotel, went down two sets of stairs and found the warm little restaurant.

Oh, servers. When I warn you I’m going to go off the menu and create my own salad and list all of my requests, please don’t just write “salad” down on the menu and then give me something very different from what I ordered.

Since I’ve been eating a ton of food and few veggies, I was looking forward to eating a salad. Below is what I got after (nicely) re-requesting the bell peppers, tomatoes and sliced almonds. Lettuce and a few cucumbers won’t satisfy my appetite!

The salad was delicious with the balsamic dressing. The almonds definitely completed the salad.

The salad was delicious, but not enough to keep me full for long. I dug into my Trader Joe’s snacks as soon as we got back to the car!

I also enjoyed some delicious coleslaw made with olive oil and vinegar. So much more refreshing than the mayo version!

With lunch in our bellies we were ready to walk to the market!

LOL- Apparently Savannah did a very good job of celebrating St. Patty’s Day yesterday!

We pet all the horses and the market. These babies were so soft and snuggly. Maybe I need a horse along with the cats and dogs? :)

The family was planning on stopping for ice cream. I wanted something sweet (but don’t eat milk-based desserts), so I snuck in Cafe GelatOhhh! to check out their vegan options. They had a slew of dairy-free gelato flavors!

I ordered chocolate and raspberry. Oh my goodness. It was actually so delicious that the whole family ditched their ice cream and ordered gelato! Yum!

I can’t wait to visit Savannah- and Cafe GelatOhhh!- soon!

What is your favorite city to visit? Have you been to Savannah?