Vegmom Moments

PLAN OF THE DAY

Had today off work.. but after a weekend of family fun time (bowling, roller skating and board games) exercise, good food, good sleep and crafts, (check out the cards I made here) I wasn't sure how I would make today any better....

Until Veg and I realized it was Sunny and 50 degrees outside... We had to implement a P.O.D (Plan of the day)...

On my List - Some house chores, Errands, Grocery Shopping, Game Playing, Smoothie Making, Food Prep

On Veg's List - Park, Tennis, Basketball, Smoothies, Lunch and Game Playing...

Guess who won?  We both did.... On our P.O.D we put all items in to action.  Worked together, played hard, and had a blast filling every second of the day!!!

Tomorrow, I shall go back to work, yes this is true!  But the Memories of an awesome weekend will keep me smiling....

And so will these.... Yum to Kale Chips!! Thank you Mr. Dehydrator!

DEHYDRATED KALE CRISPS

All I can say is OH MY YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!   I've seen them floating around the web in blog world for a while, and I thought... Ewwwww, dehydrated greens...  But then, I needed a new Raw food try for the week... and saw some Organic pretty Kale bunches at the store... Hmmmm... Why Not?

 

I got three bunches...  One turned in to smoothies.  The other two.... well they turned in to Dehydrated Kale Crisps.  Using a version of this recipe.   OH MY YUM!!

Started with washing and drying, then cutting the bigger stalks.. this took much longer to clean, then I thought it would.  (paranoid of bugs)  But I cleaned, and I chopped....

 

Then put them in a big bowl with Olive Oil, Sea salt, Lemon Juice, and Agave Nectar....  And "massaged" as the recipe said for many minutes... Had to do this in two batches as my bowl wasn't big enough.  So I "massaged" the kale, until my fingers were annoying me, and I thought... THESE BETTER BE GOOD!!

Finally, they were ready for the Dehydrator:

 

4 glorious trays of green goodness (PS. I've been told you can do this in the oven too):

 

Now, I must add, that no one in blog land has ever warned me of the STINK that comes from this dehydrator while Kale is inside.... It is like Stink times 100... our entire house STUNK not a pretty fruity smell, or even a veggie smell.... OH NO, It was like cooking broccoli smell.... and I thought....  These things better be good!!!

8 hours later, the smell went away, and this goodness was waiting for me..... Notice the missing bits... those were already in my tummy... What?  I had to test them before giving to my family.  It is only the right thing to do?  Right?

MAN were these things GOOD!!!  I mean really really good!

 

I packed some in a bowl for immediate consumption.  And the rest with the Food Saver to keep them fresh and crispy for days to come:

 

But this was a silly thing... Because one by one these bags were devoured...

Hello down there little Crispy Kale... I'm going to eat you now!  Run Run...

 

The first day they were a little extra sweet and I thought, I won't add as much Agave next time....By the second day, they were perfect... not too sweet, not too salty, and I won't change a thing about the recipe.

Veg and I went to town... (mostly me)  But between the two of us, and two days, this is all that is left:

 

Really!!  In two days we went through 2 full bunches of Kale...  Still considered Raw because of the dehydrator (I think) and so we got all that extra green goodness straight in our bodies.   But man did they taste good.  I would seriously NEVER reach for a bag of potato chips or pretzels if I had these handy.

And I will be making them again... as in MANY TIMES again!!  As in... GET ME some more KALE! 

OH MY YUM!!!!!!

LOOK WHAT HE DID

Hubby was very busy yesterday... Look See... Yes, we ate it too fast for pictures... but you get the idea:

He taught himself how to use Mr. Dehdrydrator and Mr. Freezy Contraption....And did a pretty good job..  I have lots of saved goodness waiting for me to use.

Thank You Hubby!
 

RAW FOOD LUNCH AND LOTS OF HUGS

Today was intended to be a "Visit three different Grandma's" Day.  This means driving all over creation during normal circumstances.  But add in some Yummy Raw Food Goodness and a Cider Mill... and our driving continued to be all over creation....

YES, RAW FOOD!!!  We found a restaurant on happycow that I think Melissa suggested we go to a long time ago... (whom just had a baby... Congrats Melissa)..

Called the Red Pepper Deli in Northville Michigan.. (sorry can't find website)... It was a TOTAL Deli, as in small tables for eating in, but mostly a carry out place.  And the food choices, juice, smoothies, desserts, almost all RAW, and Vegan.... OH MY YUM!!!

We Dragged NeeNee with us to this delicious little eatery....  I walked in with my Giddy Self, and told the lady at the counter "They don't make these places where I come from!"  And she said "Then how do you know to eat this way?"  :-)  Blog land!  hee hee

My Raw walnut Taco, was soooo good and filling, even had to bring some home, so I could save room for dessert:

NeeNee got a Raw Pesto Pasta... I had to explain to her that there would be no "PASTA" in the Pesto PASTA... that it was going to be Zucchini noodles.. MAN was it good!!!

NeeNee Liked it too... But don't tell her because she won't admit it.  I have proof though... she ate every last bit...

Veg's lunch was quite Yummy too, while not raw, it was brown rice and raisins, and butternut squash soup along with some dehydrated pumpkin seed crackers (at least I think they were pumpkin seed):

We got some Cashew (dehydrated) Crackers to go for our trip back, along with some Banana Leather... OH MY YUM YUM YUM!!!  I'll have to make these with Mr. Dehydrator at home.

And then I saw Mr. Vita-mix times 3 behind the counter and HAD to order a smoothie.  I was FORCED to do so.  It was calling me, I couldn't control myself....  I went with the Coconut/Pineapple concoction.. 

Well, Veg wanted a nut free dessert.... And they happened to have something that fit the bill.

Raw Coconut Cream Pie:

 

He had bites before I could even snap a photo...  OH, WAS THIS GOOD!!  I will be trying this at home for sure!

So while it was true that we drove all over creation......It was sooo good... Veg and I both got lots of hugs from different loved ones today... not the kind of hugs that bother my germophobe self.. These were nice friendly family hugs that are worth a million bucks.    We also got some good pictures, to keep these memories strong for my Vegman.

I'm so glad that he is at the age where he will remember this trip forever and always... And because of that, I'm throwing in some extra special goodness... He has requested 4 Cider Mills... and 4 we shall do... After today we are at #3...  And so there was raw food goodness... Three Grandma Visits.... AND A cider mill with Play area... A perfect day!

And Yet again for the 4th day this week, my little Luv Bug took a car siesta between stops... I really really really wish he did this at home...  Something about the cold air... Yeah, thats it! :-) 

And did I mention it was Ccccccooooooooollllllddddddddd...... I'm talkin' December weather cold in October kind of Cold!

But were loving it!   Every Single Bit!!!

MONDAY FOOD PLUS SOME

I didn't get Saturday Farmer's Market Pics of food, but our new try for the week was Butternut Squash.. We have decided that we like it in Smoothies, we like it Raw and cold, cut in to chunks.. (sorta crunchy, sorta Pumpkin flavor... kinda tasty)  But only Hubby likes it in Dehydrated Chip form.

I also didn't do Sunday Fridge Picture, because there wasn't anything to show yesterday... BUT TODAY, I have a LOT TO SHOW... We were busy home bodies... I was busy.... and there was some Kitchen fun going on...

Mr. Vita-mix put on a great show and Mr. Dehydrator is still going strong... Veg said "I like Mr. Dehydrator, he gives us lots of good food" 

I would have to agree....

And so here are a whole lot of photos.... Enjoy!

I call this one, The Berry Fruity Veggie Coconut Stay Healthy Smoothie...

It has Coconut Water and Coconut Shreds, Spinach, Banana, Elderberry, Echinacea, (flu is going around these parts, and we will avoid it.... yes we will, by golly by gosh)...  Blueberries, strawberries, apples, grapes, peaches, Ice and Butternut Squash...

It was a Hit... Veg and I drank ours ALLL LLLLL up!

Mr. Vita-mix made me some Delicious Nut Butter... Almonds, Walnuts, and a dribble of Maple Syrup:

Thank you Mr. Vitamix... It will last me a little while too....  WooHoo!!

 

Mr. Vita-Mix also made some Banana Pudding (Veg's favorite).... 

Bananas with a dribble of Vanilla and a tiny bit of lemon juice to keep the color.... In the fridge this went...

You may be able to tell a Banana theme today....  Here I am Pouring some Banana Popsicles... Thank you again Mr. Vita-mix... Very helpful!

And these babies went in the Freezer ....

I made Granola (again..)  Note to self, don't add more peanut butter....Trying this made the results not so crunchy and way way way too crumbly....  Dear Self...Stick to the original Recipe!!  OK Will Do!

But these are Still MIGHTY GOOD... just a little messy!

Next came some Breakfast Oat Cookies for Tomorrow, using my fresh nut butter, bananas, oats, cocoa, hemp seeds, and almonds....(I really want to eat mine now... but I shall wait)

Mr. Vita-Mix also made us some Coconut Bites... With Coconut Shreds, Walnuts, Macadamia Nuts and Dates.... OH MY YUM!!!

Mash it good Mr. Vita-Mix, I see my goop down there!

Thank You, Mr. Vita-Mix, that was perfect!  And these were DELICIOUS!!!

Veg and Hubby liked them a little too much... next time I shall hide some for myself.  *smile*

I put a couple on the dehydrator also to see if I could make cookies...

There was some cutting and freezing going on... Thank you Mr. Food Saver

Peaches, Bananas and Strawberries.... These will make their appearance in the form of Raw Vegan Ice Cream some day soon...  Oooh Patience!

And some Cutting, cleaning, and Fridgerating.....

Did I mention that it was a busy Kitchen Day today???  We will eat GOoooood this week!

And now.... For Mr. Dehydrator...

Tray 1 - Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash chips:

And here they are all dried... They are good, but could use salt or something.  Hubby liked them more then Veg and I did. 

Trays 2, 3 and 4:

Peaches, Apples, Strawberries, Raspberries, some Coconut Cookies...

And Veg wanted to Experiment with a piece of watermelon and Grapes to see what they would do...

He ran down EVERY HOUR as the watermelon slowly frizzled up to a tiny piece of sponge.... It was quite fun... The Grapes surprised me though... Its been almost 12 hours and they've done Nothing!

The Strawberries and raspberries and everything else.... OH MY YUM!!!

Here are the Peaches and Apples:

Veg and I made some Trail Mix to grab during the week:

Cereal, pretzels, Macadamia, Walnuts, dried fruit, Dark Choco Chips and Granola...

Problem was... he grabbed a bunch today!  So I had to refill it for the week....

And last picture of the day.... Garden Update:

Look how big the little baby Chard is getting...They are one week old now....  Soon they will be Walking and off to school... Or not... But they are almost big enough for me to thin already... And how will I ever choose who to keep and who to destroy.. Poor little Chard...

This Gardening is hard work...:-)

And so there ya have it.... A Monday Food Prep Day!!  And a week full of eating to follow!! 

Ooooh ... Happy Labor Day!  :-)  Hope it was a good Food day and everything day where ever you are!

DEHYDRATOR - IT WORKS

Funny, my Mom commented that we will need another space for my kitchen gadgets... When it comes to the Dehydrator, she was Right!!!

The contraption is a little noisy... and blows hot air and lets the most glorious of fruity odors in to the air....  While I was OK with all this, thanks to Mamasweeds for posting her experience.. I was prepared. 

But the Hubs couldn't stand the noise for 8-12hrs straight... And so he set me up a dehydrating station in the basement:

Peaches, Apples, bananas, pineapple chunks, and Cherries....  We tried a few of each to see if we liked it before wasting much food....

Verdict... none of us could wait the full 12hrs... did anyone really think that we could???  Patience is not a thing you will find in my house.

In fact every couple hours Veg and I were checking and Testing our yummy creations.  They did finish earlier then expected though.   I got one bowl of banana chips (not pictured) and this bowl with everything else:

There is a whole section of the instruction book that tells how to store your dried fruit long term....

Yeah, We won't be needing that section...  I'm pretty sure our creations won't last two days.  The peaches are my favorite, in case you were wondering!  Oh my Yum!!

Yes, a real peach takes much less prep time to eat and is equally as delicious..... But it will be so nice to have these treats for lunches, snacks and on the go days when a real peach isn't feasible.  Today's lunch has a little of both.

The weekend family decision is that we will be doing this several times a month... I'm OK with that decision!  *smile* 

DEHYDRATOR PART TWO

Thanks to Hubby for buying and returning the other Dehydrator that wasn't quite to my liking, we purchased this new one today... I believe it is still on the Cheap Side, but higher quality then the other cheap one...

It has a better heating/fanning thing-a-majig and will dehydrate (supposedly) in 6-12 hours vs. the 24-48hrs of the other.  It also looks safer to me and is made out of unbreakable (supposedly) parts.

Best part is, it is Smaller, and will take up less space, then the first that was brought home.   It will actually fit in my cupboard when not in use.  It also had a better book with much better instructions and now the trick will be if it truly works....  Haven't tried that yet!

While I don't like the idea of using plastic, the Metal fancy version is near $200.... and right now, I'm trying to find ways to save money, not spend.. 

(hard to tell I'm trying to save with all my purchases of late, but they are all with the good environmental, healthy, and money saving intentions)

And so in the spirit of something low cost that will hopefully bring many tasty treats... I introduce you to.....

Mr. Dehydrator... I think he and Mr. Vita-Mix will get along just fine!

DEHYDRATOR PART ONE

Hubby had to return a product three times due to broke status, and the warranty claims that on the third time, they give your money back.

Hubby took gift card that he received yesterday to the store to purchase a new non-lemon gaming toy. 

Hubby found that the price has now gone down considerably and had money left over on his card.... Did he get another game to go with his toy??  NOooooo

He called me and asked if I wanted my Dehydrator?? WHAT??? REALLY!!!  Of course, Yes, and Thank You!

What a sweet Hubby... He brings me home this brand new dehydrating toy.

Then I read the paperwork, takes 24-48hrs to dehydrate even banana chips... Meaning I have to leave this thing on while I sleep and while I'm gone and I'm not so happy about that.  I also had many safety, cleaning, and operating concerns. It was just all around not something I would use... After Hmm'ing and Ha'ing I finally had to tell the Hubs that I wasn't going to keep it.  *mean mean wife*

So he is going to return it for me today.  If by chance he gets cash back, then I shall go somewhere else to get a better version of the Dehydrator toy... If they give him credit, then we can use it for something else.

A Win Win!