Sarah's Green Split Pea Soup & Santa

Hello, Having a busy morning between chasing after the kids, making breakfast, and cleaning. This morning we made Pumpkin Waffles from PPK website, they were fantastic. Of course anything Isa makes is awesome!

For dinner tonight we are having Sarah's Green Split Pea soup, from La dolce Vegan, By Sarah Kramer. I had some green split peas I wanted to use up and thought it would be perfect.

The soup turned out fantastic! It consists of green split peas, carrots, onions, potatoes,veggie stock, celery, and ect. and let simmer for 40 minutes and serve. I am more of a smooth type soup eater vs. chunky so I pureed mine. and it came out velvety smooth.

Last night we went to see Santa at the Indiana mall, in Indiana, PA and Kaylee was in a good mood when we left and when we got there she had taken a nap in the car, so I woke her up and put her in a little stroller and we went inside the mall and she saw Santa and started to fuss so I walked backwards toward him to set her on his lap and then she looked behind me and started to cry so I sat beside Santa  and put Kaylee in between us and was hoping the lady would crop me out of the picture. Kaylee would not even do that so I ended up getting in the shot. So Santa, Kaylee, & I wish everyone a Happy Holidays!

Chili & Southern sweet corn bread

Hi everyone sorry I have not posted in a couple of days, the weekdays are always so crazy to post, but on the weekends is when I catch up. But that doesn't mean that there hasn't been lots of cooking or events going on. First of all Logan lost his second tooth while eating fresh cut up pairs the other day. Here is a shot of him so happy! The tooth fairy did come and leave him some money!

Last night we had Chili & Southern sweet corn bread, the chili is the wendys chili recipe from copy cat.com you can see the recipe here I added portobellos instead of faux meat. and the Southern sweet corn bread is from Quick and easy vegan celebrations, by Alicia Simpson. It turned out fantastic!

The cornbread consists of cornmeal, all purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, fine sea salt, and ect. It turned out sweet and moist, more like a dessert cornbread. And I look for any time to use my cast iron skillet. Very easy to make basically you add everything together in a bowl, then add it to the greased cast iron skillet and bake. Will definitly be making this again.

Tonight I am having gardien chicken & Wendy's lentil & brown rice casserole, from La dolce vegan, by Sarah Kramer

I have made this before and La dolce vegan is one of my favorite books becauase all of the recipes are quick and delicious. This casserole consists of red lentils, brown rice, veggie stock, crushed tomatoes, and ect. I did not have any vegan chess for on top though, but it was still great!

Off to take Kaylee to see santa tonight, wish us luck, hopefully she is in a good mood and no tears LOL! and Logan and Gabe are going to the movies. We are not going to the movies because Kaylee in a movie theatre would be a disaster having her sit still!  Have a great night!

Oatmeal Flapjacks

Good morning! had some time this morning while getting ready for work, can't wait till Friday already! So I made Oatmeal Flapjacks, from Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food, By Alicia Simpson. I always seem to be making something from her books because her recipes are always so good.

The pancakes consist of whole wheat pastry flour, quick oats, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda , vanilla, soy yogurt and ect. They were very good, all i seemed to have was strawberry soy yogurt and was too lazy to go to the store to get vanilla so that is why they had a slight pink tinge to them. My only tip for making these is instead of using 3/4 cup of plain almond milk, try using only 1/2 cup of almond milk because with the 3/4 cup of almond milk + the 1/4 cup soy yogurt it made it too runny and less milk makes them a little thicker and much easier to flip over. my first 2 pancakes I did not picture because they were a mess! I ended up adding a couple more tablespoons of whole wheat pastry flour to the mixture to thicken it up a little and the rest turned out OK!

I also found this cute video on You tube I wanted to share, Isn't this cat adorable!

Have a great day!

Pizza Quiona Casserole

Hello everyone!! Hopefully everyone had a great weekend!! this morning was a busy morning but thankfully I had time to make pancakes, so I chose my favorite ones, Banana Pecan pancakes, from La dolce vegan by Sarah Kramer.  I love these pancakes!

Sorry I took the pic before adding the maple syrup.They consist of flour, baking powder,salt, cinnamon, non dairy milk, banana, vanilla and of course chopped pecans! I will admit I even had a couple for lunch too that were left over for breakfast.

For dinner I was in the mood for pizza and a fan of Natural Noshings blog even though its not vegan, she has great photography, When I found a recipe for Pizza Quiona Casserole, except I added non dairy cheese and much more veggie toppings,

It may not look the prettiest but it was very good, I made mine a veggie supreme,  by adding mushrooms, black olives, red bell peppers and onions and extra daiya cheese. Definitly will be making this again!

I was reading my copy of Self magazine during my lunch break today, and I really like Hayden Panettiere who was on the cover this month, I like her in the show Nashville and love all the good she has done for animals. But I was stunned to learn that she is eating meat again? In the article She says quote
 " I eat more than salad. I tried vegetarianism, but my body didn't respond well. I was low on energy, Now I make egg-white scrambles with veggies for breakfast. For lunch I have chicken or fish and greens, which are good for keeping your system working. I'm a fan of sushi for dinner, as long as the fish are not endangered. When I indulge, I try to do it in morning when I can burn it off. It's my responsibilty to be healthy and, no I'm not going to starve. I'm sorry-I can't be full on salad."

This quote really upset me, because it makes it sound like vegetarians eat just salad and that offended me.Please tell me if I read that right? but to me she could of ate more faux meats, veggies and healthy grains for energy and provide healthy nutrition, , and not make it sound like vegetarians eat just salad and starve. I hope to hear your imput on this.

Have a great night!

Italian eggplant casserole with cashew tofu riccotta

Hello everyone, Hopefully everyone is having a great weekend, it is beautiful outside just came in with Kaylee it is 55degrees outside which is nice for Pennsylvania in December. This morning I woke up and had some beans and corn left over from the tamales so I made them into a mexican tofu scramble it was very good!

Tonight I am having Italian eggplant casserole with cashew-tofu riccotta, from The Vegan Slow Cooker, By Kathy Hester. I have had lots of recipes from this book so far and It never disappoints me and I love slow cooker books because you can make and kinda forget about it till its done.
The recipe consists of  Eggplant, marinara sauce, cooked pasta, The cashew tofu ricotta consists of cashews, nutritional yeast, firm tofu, non dairy milk, and salt and pepper to taste and the steps are super easy.

 Layer the sauce such as marinara sauce then eggplant then tofu-cashew ricotta

 Repeat layers 2 more times till you get a total of 3 layers

 

Cook on low 6-8 hours

Put on top of cooked pasta and enjoy!!

Off to finish cleaning hope everyone has a great day!!

Why More Men Should Be Vegan

Hello everyone I have to split my posts again between two posts today, but my friend Lily McCann, emailed me an awesome article that she wrote a while ago and I truly feel horrible I did not get a chance to post it till now. But here is one of her articles I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Why More Men Should Be Vegan

It is hardly a secret that many men like to appear macho and, well, manly. They wear power suits or motorcycle gear and drive around in impressively cars, wearing designer watches. Or at least, they aspire to doing that. Oh yes, and they eat meat. That is definitely a macho thing to do.
The above paragraph could be described as a stereotype; perhaps even a rather clumsy one. Yet perhaps it also goes a long way to answering the question about why it is that you see far more female vegans than you do male. Salads and soya milk just isn’t macho. Yet it should be. For following a vegan lifestyle is about more than deciding not to eat fluffy chicks or cuddly sheep. It brings with it numerous benefits, from enhanced strength and stamina to a stronger heart, lungs and a better performance on the sports field and in bed.
Eating vegetables has been proven to increase metabolic rate, which helps the body counteract the slowing down that comes with old age. Cutting out red meat and dairy products can lead to greater endurance, stamina and a faster recovery rate after illness. In addition, vegans regularly report much higher energy levels when they ditch the meat and they expect to live long and healthy lives. Men are, by their very nature, providers. Having created a family and provided for them, it is only common sense to want to stick round for them for as long as possible.
Talking of greater endurance and stamina, another advantage to a vegan lifestyle is one that will certainly help enhance a masculine reputation. Men suffering from – whisper it – impotence can also benefit from a vegan diet. Studies have shown that eating too many meat-based foods with high fat content can curb sexual appetite and lower testosterone in the male body. This is because fat can clog the arteries that pump blood to the penis, as well as attack energy levels, making the whole idea of sex less appealing. So before you reach for the levitra prescription or packet of Viagra, try eliminating high fat meats from your diet to see what a natural approach can do for your virility.
The list of benefits of a vegan diet to a man’s health goes on and on. Vegan diets help you shed weight – and keep it off. Your immune system is strengthened by extra vitamin C and other nutrients found in fruit and vegetables, which cuts down those pesky coughs and colds that can impair performance at work. Another great advantage to losing the meat and dairy is that this can dramatically lower cholesterol levels in your body as cholesterol is derived purely from animal-based products. To counteract the cholesterol even more, try eating more oat bran and beans.
Do you believe in mens sana in corpore sano? In other words, a sound mind in a healthy body. We are, to coin another phrase, what we eat and everything we put in our mouths has an effect on how we function and grow. Animals are no different – and many farmed animals are force-fed growth stimulants and other chemicals. Not all these substances have left the animal’s system by the time they are slaughtered – which means they are transferred in turn to us when we tuck into a burger, roast dinner or steak. Nice…
Isn’t it hard to achieve a balanced vegan diet though? Real men work – and play – hard and need plenty of energy and fuel to keep them going. They also love their food and would hate to be reduced to just one or two limp lettuce leaf choices. All that is true, however it is perfectly easy to get everything your body requires through a meat-free diet. Protein, for example, is readily available in nuts, pasta, breads, soya and vegetables.
Nowadays it is easier than ever before to turn vegan. The world has cottoned on to the benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet and there are endless options out there in the guise of vegan ready-meals, recipe books, meat substitutes, such as tofu and other ingredients, restaurant dishes, drinks and snacks. Many global cuisines are compatible with a vegan or vegetarian diet, including Middle Eastern, African, Thai and Indian dishes. What could be manlier than a (meat-free) curry after work with the lads?
Time to switch to a vegan lifestyle, guys? Think about it – you can be a vegan and a real man. Your body, not to mention the ladies, will thank you for it!

Thanks again Lily for the amazing article!

You can read more of her articles:

http://www.ecobold.com/blogs/295-herbal-remedies-and-alternative-medicine-for-addictions
http://www.canadianmusicians.com/blog/2012/02/16/canadian-music-scene-spotlight-deadmau5/
http://www.lplg.net/the-right-diet-can-aid-a-recovering-alcoholic

Storylane

I had to do two posts today because I discovered Storylane, which works like a blogging platform but it is  social from the ground up. Your content can be categorized by you and then discovered by their fast growing community. It is so easy to join all you have to do is put your first & last name, email and your done then it lets you pick you intrests and then have fun! You can also sign up with facebook or twitter. It connects you with people, places, and ideas. You have to check it out it is so cool! Click here and check it out!

Have a great night everyone!