Soup Night

I don't know about you, but I had a major case of the Mondays this morning.  It was tough getting out of bed.  My husband and I started our day with a Vitamix smoothie and we headed off to work.  One of the highlights (and I'm not just trying to justify the purchase) was drinking out of my $32 dollar water bottle (so worth it).  I drank a lot more water today than I have in a long time.  

When we got home we hit the gym together and then had dinner.  I said this dinner really doesn't go together too well, but thankfully neither of us are picky.  

I threw together a dish with mixed frozen veggies and vegan buffalo chicken since I was craving spicy food, though my husband corrected me that you can't crave something you eat all the time.  I don't agree!  I also have a new obsession (pictured above).  It's one of my summer favorites before my vegan days, the classic combo of tomato, basil and mozzarella.  As wonderful as many vegan alternatives are cheese is hard to replace, I'll admit it.  I decided to substitute mozzarella with extra firm tofu.  I pressed it first to get the water out and then sliced it up.  I tossed it in with tomatoes and fresh basil from our "garden" and topped it off with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.  I think I'm going to be making this a lot come summer time and hopefully we will have our own tomatoes to add!

We did have some leftovers as well (and obviously bread).  We had a quick visit with my parents yesterday and my mom had soup waiting for us.  I think I ate two and a half bowls in one sitting.  My mom has made a non vegetarian version of this before and she was kind enough to make a veggie version especially for us.  Even my dad was eating it!

Ingredients

• 1 onion (chopped)
• 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 32 ounces of vegetable broth
• 2 cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 cans of chopped green chills 
• 1 pound of veggie sausage (my mom used LifeLight)

First sauté your onion and garlic.  Once this is cooked add it to the crockpot with the veggie broth.  Then add your canned tomatoes, chills, and vegan sausage.  My mom said she cooked this for awhile in the crock pot, I would give it at least a couple of hours.  The great thing about this soup is you can really play around with it.  You can add vegan cheese, tortilla chips, more broth and additional veggies!  I definitely see this soup in our future!  Happy Monday!

Weekend Warrior (Not)

 This has been a weekend of complete generosity and kindness.  My mother-in-law watched the boy so we could attend our friends' awesome post-Christmas ugly sweater party (they're spectacular hosts), my parents stored all our Christmas decorations in their basement AND made us soup, and my husband earned some major hubby points.   He always takes good care of me (and I like to think I take pretty good care of him!) but this weekend he did so much.  He cleaned and organized our entire apartment (it looks amazing), he drove us everywhere (we did a lot of driving), and he didn't mind that I bought myself a $32 water bottle at Whole Foods.

I've mentioned before that I would love to be able to do all my grocery shopping at Whole Foods.  Now I do love that place, but I don't know if my frugal self could ever buy something I know I can get cheaper other places.  I do love to wander around Whole Foods and they will have deals if you look out for them.  I bought Gardein chicken scaloppini (I can't find it anywhere else) and that was $3.99 which is an excellent price (obviously it was on sale).  However, there are some item I get at Whole Foods that I can't find anywhere else…

The Beast Burger:  My husband and I tried the Beast Burger awhile ago so I can attest that it is amazing.  It's not your average veggie burger.  It's juicy and honesty it tastes like real meat.  It was so close to meat that as a vegetarian it was almost concerning.  I recommend this especially if you're a meat eater who is looking to be a little bit healthier, I think it's a better alternative than a turkey burger, especially if you love that beef flavor.  One burger is 260 calories and 23 grams of protein.  

Seitan.  Dining out at vegetarians restaurants has introduced me to seitan.  I've had some delicious dishes (black pepper beef at Grasshopper in Allston especially).  I've a little surprised it is not as easy to find as tofu and tempheh.  Seitan is wheat gluten, the main protein in wheat.  It's a great alternative if you want to get away from soy based alternatives.  I'll make sure I post what I end up doing with these.

Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Flavor Squares.  I grew up on Cheez-its.  Well not really, but we always had them in the house.  I'm pretty sure my parents have a box of reduced fat Cheez-its in their cabinet right now.  They are delicious and the ultimate snack food if you ask me.  As a vegan, however, they are off the table.  I love Earth Balance, and I always have their butter in my refrigerator.  Their cheddar squares are great, and I will always want to munch on them, vegan or not vegan.  

I also bought a new basil plant since my other one was not successful.  Still getting the hang of this whole "gardening" thing.  Here's to another healthy week!  

Back to the grind...

It's back to work for the hubby and me.  It's been an amazing (and long) vacation.  We got to spend time with our family, we relaxed (and slept in), and ate some amazing food.  Too much food…As much as I love vacation and the holidays, I'm looking forward to feeling back to myself.  

My husband and I went on a little tour of New England this vacation.  We're lucky that we live between two cities with lots of things to do (and lots of great places to eat!).  For this blog I would like to start pointing out some of these place.  After all, vegan restaurants are so scary right?

My emergence as a public vegan has been so far so good.  When we eat at home we never miss out.  Eating out, however, can become a little more interesting.  My family and I went out for breakfast this morning and I have to admit I was missing the omelets, not so much for the eggs but for the veggies inside!  I wish every place could make a tofu scramble.  

But I prevailed and later (as a last hurrah) my hubby and I split a pizza sans cheese with broccoli, garlic, onion, and jalapeños (you know you want to try it).  And yes we ate the entire thing...

I've packed a lunch containing a copious amount of broccoli for myself and am ready to get back to the grind.  I look forward to sharing my recipes, rants, and ravs with all of you in 2016!

Happy New Year!

2015 was an amazing year for me.  I made some positive strides in my career, got engaged, moved, married one of the best guys ever, and taught my dog to sit with a chip on her head.  Oh and I started this blog…

I hope everyone had a good New Year's.  We stayed in for the evening, which is probably my favorite way to spend that particular evening.  I made a plethora of snacks along with some rocking vegan pho. If you've never had pho before you're missing out.  It's a Vietnamese soup, which I loved back during my days as a carnivore.  I made a vegan version with zucchini noodles, and I don't want to brag but it was pretty amazing.  When I make it next time I will share my recipe I will be sure to post it.

Today we are laying low.  I'm making some more English muffin bread and finishing the margaritas we made last night (I know pho and margaritas are a strange combo, but we're strange).  I'm also reflecting on the year ahead.  I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions.  I think we can all strive to improve ourselves, but I'm not about to make an unattainable goal for myself (i.e. exercise seven days a week and never eat bread…no thank you).   The way my family and I eat is always on my mind.  Food is fuel, and it directly effects how we feel and function.  It's easy to lose control (especially if there's chocolate covered pretzels in front of me), but we should always be conscientious of what put in our body (and indulge here and there of course!).  Here of some of my goals for the new year...

• Be a better vegan:  My husband and I eat 100% vegan at home.  I never buy any groceries that contain animal products.  However, that doesn't stop me from scarfing up smoked gouda cheese at a wedding.  I will strive to eat 100% vegan all the time.  
• Eat more fruit:  No explanation needed, I hardly ever buy it unless there's a request.  Fruits and veggie the way to go.   
• Back to budgeting:  I have slacked on this.  I always budget for our groceries every week, but with the holidays and parties it has been difficult.  Obviously if we're hosting a party or people over for dinner I'm going to need to dish out a little more cash to feed our guests.  Our social obligations are winding down, and I would like to stay more true to the budget I have allocated for our groceries.    
• Be more conscious of the personal/household products I purchase:  I've already have been working on this.  Following a vegan lifestyle means you not only don't consume animal products, but you also need to look where all the other products you purchase come from.  I have started buying Seventh Generation and Method products for cleaning products. I feel better cleaning with products that are not tested on animals and are better for the environment.  I especially love the Method products (they even make body wash) because all their cleaning products some in different scents and they all smell great.  I am also relieved Bath and Body Works products are not tested on animals as well.  
• Gardening:  Yes I know, I don't have a yard, but I have a balcony.  I also have an apartment that gets a lot of sun.  My husband bought me a book for Christmas about gardening in small spaces.  I can't wait to test some of their suggestions out in the spring on our balcony. For now I currently am trying to grow some herbs indoors.  I have a mint and basil plant right now in my window.  I'm also trying to keep this whole gardening thing as organic as possible. Speaking of that…
• Going organic:  I know going organic is a little controversial.  Is it necessary or not?  My husband has always pushed for buying organic veggies.  I've seen a lot of documentaries and heard a lot of podcasts that have convinced me that I should try to buy organic products when they are available, even if they are a little more expensive.  I've already switched over to organic frozen broccoli at Trader Joes (it tastes so much better!) and have been making baby steps since then.  

We'll see how this all works out for me.  I'm looking forward to posting more recipes on here and hopefully some budding plants as well.  Happy New Year everyone!