Vegmom Moments

It is a Fruity Nutty Lunch and Snack Day

My Lunch + Snack is in the Tiffin...  The Vegman needed snacks packed so his are in the Laptop Lunch Box.  It is a Good Food Day + Smoothie

In this Tiffin, we have...Blueberries, Dried Peaches, Eggplant Jerky and Raw Pecans.

Guess?

And um, pretty self explanatory!  *smile*

Can't forget this guy!  It wasn't as tasty as all my other smoothies for some reason... but still lots of green goodness.

Last but not least:

Nutty Krisp Treats, Raw Pecans, Local Blueberries, Fresh Picked peaches (these were little so there are two), some Dried Peaches (from our own dehydrator) and Organic Vegan Crackers.

These should keep my Vegman's belly full and happy!

 Have a happy day!!!
   

Vegan Eggplant Jerky

My friend and I were just discussing Eggplant, and what to do with them.  Suddenly it hit me... 

I remember seeing on a blog long ago (sorry can't provide credit as I don't remember where) a snippet about Eggplant Jerky.

Then I found a cute little Eggplant at the store Saturday... It had Jerky written all over it..... But of course I had no recipe, nor did I feel like researching.... So this is what I did..

• Cut the Eggplant in to strips and set aside
• Going for sweet and salty, I concocted the following:  Mixed  in a bowl, some Teriyaki Sauce, some Olive Oil, A dash of Bragg's Aminos, & Maple Syrup.
• Dropped the Eggplant in to the bowl and mixed in the sauce real good
• Then set them on our Dehydrator Trays.

They took MUCH less time to finish then I thought.  As in a few hours... But they were so good!  I started "testing" (I mean eating) them with in 2hrs.  And had to finally cut myself off from snitching until they were truly done.

Hello, little Eggplant Jerky: 

Seriously, these were really really really good!  And Soooo Easy.  Veg and I were fighting over pieces before they even made it in to the bowl. 

But we managed to save this many for another day:

Who knew Eggplant could taste so good?  As soon as we see these at the Farmer's Market, I will be stocking up for certain!

More Peppers

My Cute little pepper fell off the plant in our last storm..... And it was starting to look hopeless that any others would pop out of their flowers......But look who showed up today... 

 

3 Little Peppers.. For some reason they just aren't as cute as the first one, but they do look tasty....

Grow little peppers GROW!!!  

Farmer's Market Saturday

Found some of the most Delicious things today:

 

The Watermelon was so good, I just sat down with a spoon... Hubby and Veg then joined me (seperate spoons and chunks of course, because I'm freaky like that)  We went through and entire watermelon in approximately 15 minutes.

Not sure the other two will last till next week...

Raw Vegan Pecan Pie Cookies

There was a charity book sale at work today, and I ran in before a meeting started to see if there was anything good... first table, I see this book....

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  Had to have this book!!!  So I bought it!!!   But I didn't get home until 9:30 and wanted to make something..... Couldn't wait... MUST HAVE TREAT!

So I flipped through the pages to find much more then just Dessert Treats.  Cleaning tips, Kitchen tips, Even Fruity Moisturizers for thy face!  So much goodness in that little book.

And then I found the Pecan Pie Cookie Recipe.........It said to use for the holidays... and so I had to make up a Holiday... We will call today, "New no-cook book day" There!  Perfect...

I Happened to havePecans... I had Dates... I had Cinnamon... Orange Juice and a Food Processor!... I had everything I needed to make this Raw Vegan Goodness!  Seeeeeeeee.....

 

Chop Chop Chop:

Just about 5 minutes, start to finish and I had THESE...

 

OH MY YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Seriously, they taste like Pecan Pie.... And they won't last past tomorrow.  I can Guarantee that!

Think I'm really going to like this BOOK!

Hemp Milk Smoothie

I needed to use up the rest of that Yummy Hemp Milk I made last week, and decided a Smoothie was a good way to do it.

Hemp Milk, Spinach, Nut Butter, Carob chips, Frozen banana, Fresh Banana and a few ice cubes...

This turned out Soooooooooo Creamy, Green, thick and tasty!  Veg asked for Seconds, Hubby was mad we didn't save him more, and I drank all mine in what seemed like two gulps. 

Note to self:  MAKE MORE HEMP MILK!

Veggie Stars Aligning

So I'm not sure what is happening but within the past 24hrs I've heard/read the following statements...

My Friend's Hubby Caved on the Green Smoothies And child likes them too.. Wooohooo!

My Hubby's Friend, Decided today's lunch was a great chance to try a meat-less meal.  He ordered All Veggies and LIKED THEM.

My Dad called.. (Yes, the same person that wanted to drop me in a hay field to find lunch)... He told me that after a medical procedure has decided to try Juicing to heal his little Bod and lay off the Red Meats....  I'm excited and shocked...I mean this is HUGE!   Even if he doesn't do it, just the THOUGHT that he was considering it.  It is HUGE! 

My Hubby Shouted after eating his delicious dinner that he "Loves being a Vegetarian"... He actually said those words... Then said... "I can't believe I just called myself a Vegetarian"  *smile*  He continued with,  "I'm not sure what your doing to me, and I never thought I'd say this, but I Love this food"  Yippppppppppppeeeee.... I think laying off the dairy for almost 2 weeks, has started to shift his taste buds again.  And all the flavors seem so much more.......well......... Flavorful !!!  

I heard from local Starbucks that more people are asking for their Choco Fraps with Water instead of Milk... That I'm no longer the only crazy person.  Awesome and Vegan by the way (shhhhh, don't tell)

PS... if you like the Java Chip Fraps... Get them with WATER instead of MILK....  Save yourself the calories (and other milk yuck), Save the added expense of Soy, and give some Cow Udders a break... It tastes Sooo good, with water, why bother with the other stuff??

Then I just read a Blog from a Mama that is starting to switch to more raw foods, which is super cool.. Check out her Cute Etsy stuff by the way...

Even my Vegman chimed in today... "Mom, I've decided that I want to be like you when I get older.  If I'm healthy, then I'll be happy and I like being Happy"

Is it just me or is something happening out there?  Have you had new motivations lately?  Anything your going to try on the health frontier?

Personally, I'm looking forward to the morning, when I can have another one of these:

Yum!
 

Fruity Sunday

Going to schedule some posts again this week, as that seem to work well last week....  Although it is confusing... because I'm posting about today but you won't see it until tomorrow...

Anyway... This Post is called Fruity Sunday because we had the Peach Situation... But we also had a LOT of organic fruit from the store to wash and cut up for the week.

Hubby went to town on the Watermelon:

 

I snagged some to make a Slushy after my Run.... shhhh!!!.... (Watermelon and Ice.... OH MY YUM!  Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix)

 

Then I started washing, straining, cutting, sorting and creating....

 

 

Veg requested his Vegan Waldorf Salad, and that he did get....

Fresh picked apples, sliced and coated with lemon juice... Then mix in some crushed Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, Chopped Celery and coat with a tiny bit of Olive Oil and a dash of Apple Cider Vinegar.

Stick in the fridge and it will be nice and yummy for a couple days.

It was a Fruity Sunday for Sure, but the week will contain just as much goodness....... And I'm looking forward to every sweet delicious bite!

Lots of Peaches

Veg and I did some Fruit Picking today... Lots of Fruit Picking!

See:

Mostly peaches, but we grabbed a few apples from a tree near by .. Now I wish I had grabbed more of those apples... They were GooooooooooooooD!

Oh but the peaches... LET ME TELL YOU... They were REALLY GOOOOOOOOOODDDDD!

Some not as ripe as others, so they are in this bowl for a few days:

 

The rest are in the fridge ready for chomping... Or already in our tummies, or cut up ready for smoothies... 

As soon as this last batch is ready, they'll be cut up and placed in the freezer for many months of Raw Vegan Peach Ice "Cream".

But I have a feeling we will go back for more...LOTS More!!!  Only we will bring the Hubby next time, as he is better with the reaching then I am.  *wink*... Although, I did pretty good considering the Height Challenge?  And Veg was there routing me on the whole time....

"Get It Mom, I know you can do it... reach... oh your so close......."

He is always so helpful like that.... (OK, not always!)

A Couple Salads from Food Prep Sunday

Veg wanted Cucumber Salad. 

I just happened to have cucumbers from the Farmer's Market BUT didn't have any coconut yogurt.  So I decided to use the Hemp milk... And this ended up as a mostly raw vegan treat, that we both really liked:

Hemp Milk, Chopped Onion, Cucumbers, Dash of Wine Vinegar, Dill, Seasoning Salt, Agave Nectar and Garlic Salt.

Just mix all together and pop in the fridge to absorb all the flavor.  YUM!

 

Then we grabbed some potatoes from the garden:

 

Boiled them for a bit... And made some Vegan Potato Salad For lunch this week.

The dressing:

Olive Oil, Mustard, Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic Salt, Lemon Pepper and Chives.

 

We mixed the dressing, added the chopped potatoes, mixed all together and put in the fridge.

Veg helped mix the dressing, find the potatoes in the Garden, plus wash and then chop them.

 

He was Quite proud of his Veggie Goodness... "Mom, are you sure this is going to taste good?"

OH YES!!!  IT WILL TASTE GREAT!!!!!!!!!  *smile*

Did I mention this is a good food week.... I keep making myself hungry!

More From Food Prep Sunday - Desserts

 A food rut had taken over my Noggin, but no more... Oh No!!  Sunday, I had inspiration... Made some new stuff, and brought out some oldies but goodies...

I'm going to eat good this week and pack our bodies full of some delicious and nutritious fuel.

Up first:  The Breakfast cookie... I mixed Oats, with a Mashed Banana, then added the following: Home made Hemp Milk, Almond Butter, Goji Berries, Sun Dried Raisins, A dash of Cacao, A dibble of vanilla and a dabble of Cinnamon...

Spread on to three little plates, then cover and put in the fridge.  They will absorb all the wonderful flavors and harden over night... For a wonderful Breakfast cookie that I will devour....

These are Krispie Treats... The GOOD kind...  Mix Honey or Agave with Peanut Butter (or other nut butter), Dash of Vanilla and a Dollop of Cinnamon, then mix in 2 cups of Organic Brown Rice Cereal (full recipe is on the back of box)... Soooo Easy!!!    Just mix it all together, roll in to sticky balls (wet hands while working) and fill up a covered dish or eat right away. 

We didn't put these in the Fridge as they won't last long anyway.

I made them for the Vegman.... And he was in all his glory!!   I even got a "WOW, THANKS MOM"

And these... Kristen Suzanne's Cookie Recipe.......These are for me!! They have almond butter, so he can't have them.  They also have Cacao Powder, Coconut Shreds, Sun Dried Raisins, Vanilla and Sea Salt, & Agave Nectar... They go in the fridge... and another bigger batch went in the freezer....

OH MY YUM!

 

My only problem now is deciding what to eat first!!

Maybe I'll just skip all the nutty treats and go for this Cut Up Melon goodness... All Ready to be munched..

I LOVE Food Prep Sundays!

Busy Mr. Vita-Mix Day

Food Prep Sundays always mean that Mr. Vita-Mix stays very busy...

My first attempt at Hemp Seed Milk, went pretty well...

Hemp Seeds, Water, Vanilla and Agave... that's IT!  Some mostly raw Goodness filled with Omegas and other nutrition that I'll take!

 

Blend Mr. Vita-Mix... Blend with all your might...... Pour in to Pitcher Via this cool bag:

 

Save the Gunk for something else:

 

And put the Pitcher in the fridge to use for many good things.... YUM!!!

Now it is time for some Garden Fresh Salsa (no recipe, just throwing things together)...  All Veggies are from the Farmer's Market...

Zucchini, Tomatoes, Onions, Pepper, Carrots, Garlic Cloves, Lemon Juice, Cumin, Lemon-Pepper, Cilantro, Agave Nectar, and Garlic Salt.

 

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix:

Hubby said the Salsa was like nothing he'd ever tasted before, but it was really quite good!  I'll take that as a Compliment.  And it filled a big bowl + little bowl.  So I'll find uses for this all week.

Next up....Some Creamy Guac, that I will actually use for Salad dressings and creamy sauce on my wraps this week:

It tasted soo much better then I thought it would..... I didn't rinse the Vita-Mix from the Salsa, so it has all those seasonings and juices.  Then I added the gunk of two avocados, some lemon juice, Agave Nectar,Garlic Salt and pepper.

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix... Yum!!

Here was my Dinner Wrap:

A layer of the Guac, A layer of the Salsa, then Lettuce, Carrots and Cucumbers.

 

Soooo Good... And filling!

I've heard people say that they aren't going to buy an expensive blender just to make Smoothies.  And I don't blame them... You can make SOOOooo Much more!!  *smile*

Did I mention this is going to be a good Food week!!

Food Prep Sunday

Today's food prep was every thing from Avocado Sandwich Spread, to cut melons, to Raw Cookie Dough and non-raw krispie treats......Salads of all kinds, some Hemp Seed "Milk" and so much more!! 

Look at this Fridge (only partially complete)

Salsa, Guac, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Breakfast Oat Cookies, Potato Salad, Cucumber Salad..  I was busy beaver...

 

More Freezer Goodness, cut bagged and ready to go on a moments notice:

 

When you have a little hands helper in the Kitchen, things go Much Faster:

 

 

Love little hands helpers... Especially when they are so careful with sharp objects.

But things also go a lot faster when you make them fun... Take this watermelon for example:

 

That is A LOT of watermelon... And Veg was being so patient while I cut and cut and cut...so when My little helper started to get a little tired, I suggested he go get his microscope.  There are LOTS of things to see when cutting fruit....

And so he did!

 

The watermelon looked really cool.... LOOK, I made my camera do a trick through the lens of the Microscope... Now you get to see what a piece of Watermelon looks like all magnified.

Because I know you wanna!  *smile*

 

More food prep posts through out the week... Stay tuned....

I'm going to eat something good now...So many choices!!

Farmer's Market Saturday

So many good finds today at the Farmer's Market... I just Love Farmer's Market Saturdays!!

 

That is a Vegan muffin at the bottom for my Vegman... He was excited about that.  I was more excited for that Watermelon!!!

Oh My Yum!

Vegan Coconut Brownie Bites

Haven't made these in a while, but we were all craving them....Think ooey gooey energy bar, with out the wrapper or heavy processing....  And then mix in the texture of cookie dough and add the taste of brownies..  THAT is what these are like!!

New to the kitchen were Sun-dried Raisins and Chia Seeds...

We also had Dates (I used maybe 5 of them), Walnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Hemp Seeds, Coconut Flakes, and Cacao Powder

 

All layered nicely in Mr. Vita-Mix:

Blend, mash, mix... Scooped on to cutting board, and roll in to ball shapes, which go in the fridge.

 

Then I pop one at a time in to thee mouth and try not to eat them all in one setting!   OH MY YUM!

Have to say, I do like Macadamias much more then walnuts, but our store stopped selling them... something about contaminated batch, so I'm OK with not having them.. 

I also may Nix the Chia Seeds next time.  Its a texture thing.... but the new raisins were a hit.

Anyway, they are still so good and almost gone already.  Yum Yum...

Colorful Tiffin

Today's Lunch + Snacks were quite colorful...(either that or my new camera takes much better pictures)

As promised, here are pictures of my Wednesday Tiffin Lunch...

Container 1 - Morning Crunchies and afternoon sweets:

Fresh Picked Blueberries + Raw Organic Carrots + Raw Organic Farmer's Market Green Beans

 

Container 2 - The Salad:

Organic Romaine, Organic Kitchen sprouts (from my kitchen), Organic Peppers, Carrots & Raw Organic Sunflower Seeds.

 

Container 3 - Dressing and more afternoon sweets:

Organic Apple Chunks, Raw Organic Walnuts (which I threw on the salad) and more Raw Coconut Meat from our last Coconut.  (that stuff has lasted a long time)..

The Green Goo is the wonderful new Creamy Salad Dressing Concoction I've been making lately.

1/2 Organic Avocado Smashed, with a Dribble of Olive Oil, a Dash of Real Lemon juice to thin it out,  a squirt of Agave Nectar (or sweetner of your choosing), Dash of Garlic Salt and a Dash of Italian seasoning (or fresh basil)

I just mix it all together.  When it is time for lunch, I pour on the salad.... Full of goodness... And makes my belly full too.  A Creamy Dressing without the Creamy! 

OH MY YUM!

Food Prep Saturday

Not sure if it was the Farmers Market, or the Blueberry Picking today, but I got some motivation... And when I get motivation, everyone best just get out of my way.....

And so I bring you a Food Prep Saturday:

My Fridge looks like this currently:

Giant Salad, Sprouts, Cabbage Salad.. and the following:

Washed, cut, and ready to go, some local, some fresh, all organic and all delicious:

Celery Root, Carrots, Pineapple, Blueberries (Fresh Picked this morning) , Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes, Coconut Meat, Potatoes, Sprouts, Green Beans, And Cucumbers.

In to the freezer, went some Bananas, Pineapples, Peaches and Strawberries:

My Dehydrator is currently making the ultimate in Kale Crisp Goodness (I already snuck some.. shhhhh!)

 

Here are the blueberries up close from our hard work today... 

And two varieties of Green Beans from the Farmer's Market:

The flat ones are from the farm that Hubby helped work on, and she assured me today, they would be the best green beans I've ever had.  And she was RIGHT!  They are sweet, and delicious totally raw!

Great for snacking and that yummy crunch.  Hubby dipped his in hummus and kept sneaking them from my bowl.

Here is the celery root, cut in to chunks so I can throw it in smoothies.

 

This salad is so big, it will make my belly happy for a couple days:

Romaine, Kale, Cucumber, Carrots, Peppers, Sprouts and Sunflower Seeds

 

And there ya have it...  This will be a good food week.... I can tell.......Are you motivated yet??

Good Food Choices

While I'm still eating a lot more raw food then the average bear, my time to prep the food has been limited.

Which means my variety, has been limited....  And that means my food choices have not been the best.

But this week, I'm making a conscious effort to try new things again, as well as get my greens!!

So here are the events of this day:

Morning Green Goodness:

Spinach, Kale, Avocado, Celery Root, Banana, Fresh Coconut Chunks, Apple, Peach, Kiwi, Coconut Water and Ice...

 

Peach Goodness - Organic Peaches from the Farmer's Market... I do love Farmer's Market Season... especially when I can find peaches.

 

Awesome Salad Goodness:

Romaine, Kale, Carrots, Cucumbers, Sunflower Seeds, Sprouts, & Avocado Dressing.

My first batch of home grown sprouts are finished.. Veg said they taste like dirt.

But I kind of like them..And when thrown in his stir fry, he won't know the difference.  As for me and Hubs.  We'll eat them raw on our salads and by the handful.

Sprouts are Good for ya!  Or so I've been told.

 

Here is the Salad dressing I concocted today:

1/2 Avocado guts mashed, then mixed with a little olive oil, a little lemon juice, dash of Agave Nectar, sprinkle of Garlic Salt and some fresh chopped basil from my Deck Garden.

 

Do you see the GREEN Theme today???

Now these are NOT Green, but look what Hubby harvested from the real garden this week:

 

Anyone need some potatoes? 

<NO MOM - I won't eat those raw!  *smile*>

After all that Goodness, I accepted an Anniversary Dinner Invitation from my Hubby and our Kiddo...

That nice Dinner date consisted of Veggie Fajitas (not raw) and a shared Vegan Brownie for dessert.

It was a GooooooooD  Food day!!

As for the Anniversary.. It is #19, Which is just CRAZY Talk... Just Crazy! 

I can't believe I've been married to this  Wonderful, Funny, Annoying, Sweet, Aggravating, Loving, Strong, Silly, Caring Goofball for 19 Years...  Wow... I usually reflect on our anniversary and leave a nice blog post with all of that reflecting.. but for some reason... This year, I'm just saying WOW!

So I'll leave you with that!  Some Green Goodness and WOW!

Ah... Green Juice!

Look what I found at the Las Vegas Airport..... OH MY YUM!!!!

 

Fresh Squished even... Wheat Grass, Banana and Apple Juice on Ice....  A huge cup of Green Goodness... All is right with the world once again.  I have decided that I pretty much should not travel without Mr. Vita-Mix...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

I'm Baaaaaacckkkkk....  We decided to take an unplanned beach trip during our time off from work while the getting was good....  Found a deal we couldn't pass up, and off we went!!!

While gone, I had a little Birthday.. which is normally no big deal in our house, but I woke up in our hotel Condo thing, to a wonderful "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" greeting from the Vegman.   Which then Hubby said "OH YEAH, Happy Birthday"... Because he is sweet like that!

But both my Men from that point forward decided the day was MINE!  And I could do Anything I wanted...

SO I DID!  *SMILE*

Hubby snuck down to the resort Market and found me this card (could it be any more perfect?):

And this cute little Banana Muffin that we divided in thirds and chowed down....

 

This was the day I decided to take a solo jog on the beach, along with a very long relaxing walk.. which was followed by another day with jogging on the beach... (more on that to follow)

This was also the day, I discovered Watermelon at the beach concessions...  Sorry.. I ate every last bit before realizing a picture needed to happen.  Because maybe someone didn't know what watermelon looked like?....  <insert Hubby saying, "Why are you taking a picture of chewed up watermelon?">

But this was also the day, that I agreed to leave the resort... up until then, we stuck to walking distance entertainment...  You know like THE BEACH.... and other stuff like that!

On my Birthday however, we ventured out... (after the beach walking/jogging) and hit a little place called 

The SPROUT

 

Where we found THIS:

 

This Green Juice/Smoothie thing was something I soooo needed... It had been a couple days with out Mr. Vita-Mix at this point, and I was seriously going through withdrawal.

Just look at this Green Goodness!!!  OH MY YUM!!!

And some of these:

 

This Goodness for me:

And THIS of which Hubby ate.  His first experience with this kind of Veggie "Burger" and he ate it all up.

We also got to try some samples of Soup, which Veg LOVED, even talked about how great it was the rest of the day...  And a slice of "sushi" which was quite delicious....

Hubby got a Berry Smoothie while the Vegman picked a protein packed Peanut butter and Coconut Milk beverage.

This lunch date was Totally worth the drive from our comfy condo and worth every penny of the purchase price.   By the way... Hubby, ate their Energy snacks and said they were better then my Nutty Date bites... Oh sigh... How could it be??? 

In summary, If your Ever in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, be sure to stop by The Sprout!  OH MY YUM!!!!

Our next adventure, took us here:

 

Where we found some fixings to make our own smoothies back in the condo... (minus Mr. Vita-Mix, more on this to follow).... We also found lots of Organic fruit and raw veggies for munching the rest of the trip.

We had some more Beach Fun, some Pool fun, Some Awesome Vegan Veggie Fajitas for Dinner and then watched the sun go down...

 

And Really.... What more could a Birthday Girl ask for??  Start the day with Solo Beach Jog, Continue the day with two wonderful human beings, and end the day watching the sun go down...

Ahhhhhhh... and that was only ONE DAY.... Stay tuned for more adventure details as this Veg Family took on the Isle Of Palms.

Watermelons are Back

YAY!!  I was jumping for joy to find a USA grown Watermelon at the store this weekend.... Of course the whole thing is already in my belly...(I mean the red stuff is in my belly, not the skin).....

OH MY YUM!!!

A Raw Vegan Tiffin Lunch

I haven't posted pics of my Beloved Tiffin in a while so I caught a few shots yesterday..

Because everyone wants to see my Tiffin?  Right?  *smile*

1st we have, Yummy Crunchy Organic Granny Smith Apples and some Raw Macadamia Nuts

Then we have some Raw Hemp "cheese" Dip with Brad's Raw Chips.

 

And my third Tier had some more dipping crunchy favorites:

Carrots, Celery and Red Peppers!  All organic of course and quite tasty!

For those that think this isn't a plentiful day of food, I must share THIS:

Hello Green Goodness!!!

Shhh Don't tell the Vita-Mix, but I actually brought two BIG cups of this to work with me... Raw Green Goodness at its finest X2.....Yum!

A Shopping Day

If we run out of bananas there is a crisis in our home.. Some people need bread, some need ketchup, pickles or mayo... We just need our Bananas. 

We use them for so much.  And at the point they are gone, you KNOW it is time to go shopping....

Hi There Bananas.. Welcome Back:

I also refilled most of our "Bulk" section of the kitchen:

Oats, Raw Sunflower seeds, Raw Macadamia, Raw Cashews.

Banana chips, Dried Mangoes, Dried Cherries and Dried Cranberries.  Also some Goji Berries..

The Almonds and Walnuts still need filling, but the rest should get us by for a few days *wink*

Then we had produce.. Lots and lots of Produce:

 

Must Get in fridge... Look how pretty those greens are?

 

And my favorite drawer in the WHOLE house!  Don't those colors make you hungry?

I won't bore you with the rest of my Fridge details... but I can tell you.. There is some Goodness in that fridge! 

Here is Veg's Muffin Tin Dinner to start the week... Yes, he still likes these :-): 

Those Strawberries were organic and HUGE.. Bigger then the cups actually...  There is a TON of broccoli in those cups, but you can't hardly tell, and the bottom right contains Soy Nuggets Stir Fry.

 

This will be a good food week... :-)

Diamond Organics

I found this great post on Kristen's Raw Blog about staying Raw, while not in your own kitchen.  I then kept the links to delivery places handy.

Now my Mom is working really long hours and doesn't have time to get to the store.  And truth be told if she went to the store right now, there is no telling what she would get... (sorry mom) But I want her to keep eating goodness... Green Goodness and organic as much possible.

I want whats best for Me and my house worth of family, why would I want any less for my Mom... So I thought this was a great week to try out Diamond Organics, and send her some Green Organic Goodness.

Well... Well... Let me tell you... She got some goodness... overnight from when I placed the order.  Amazingly fast.  Great Service.  Free Shipping for the one I picked.  And Check out the pictures she sent me of her package:

 

Tomatoes, potatoes, kiwi, oranges, Brussel sprouts, beans, Lettuce, Greens, Mixed Greens, carrots, garlic, and more and more and more.... lots not even pictured here.

They even sent recipes.  And she said everything was fresh, and still cold, and deliciously organic.

Salads, Smoothies, Soup, she is set for the week.

Way more goodness, then I even dreamed of when making the purchase.  I will definitely order this again...

Thank you Diamond Organics, for putting a smile on my Mom's face!

A Green Foods Day and Some other ramblings

While I tend to have green foods these days with or without minor injury...I had lots and lots of it today, just because I was home and I could...

Of course this!  Actually - 2 of these: (the white froth is coconut.. yum)

Reason # 539 that I love having a Dehydrator (and am home all day to use it):

Kale Crisps... Ooh La La:

 

The start of a salad with raw asparagus by the way... my new favorite thing:

And the lettuce thrown on top...Look at all that green:

These... NOW THESE are not Green... they are supposed to be raw but I didn't have any raw nut-butter, so they are actually not raw, but Soooooooooooooo  Good!!!  Oh my...I didn't even know food could taste so good.  Really!! 

Before going to a mostly Plant based diet, my taste buds were so different.  Things that taste good, really really taste good.  Sensations in my taste buds that I didn't know existed.

The strangest combination of ingredients and NO Machines needed.  Just a bowl, a spoon and some very sticky hands, then a freezer..

Another recipe from Kristen's Raw - Dessert Book.

And this little guy...  The green thing... It is our little compost bin that we keep in the kitchen.  It has a filter on top to keep the smell down.  Veg is the Compost police.."It MUST go out once a week Mom, and we have to clean it every time"....

As much stuff as we put in this thing, we will actually empty more often, especially in the hot summer months coming soon.

We've already noticed a significant difference in that Big Garbage can having less contents.  In Fact, I think we only used two bags in that thing all week and one of them just changed out today.  And the one from today, was because we emptied all the other trash cans in to it for our Sunday clean up.

 

If you need a little compost bin, we found ours at For Small Hands. The site also has extra filters and books all about composting.  We've had it filled with stuff for two weeks (knowing our tumbler was almost in place) and no stench in our kitchen at all.  I was really impressed.  Not even the banana peel smell came through.

So there you go... Some Green and some not so green, but a very Yummy day to say the least!

Free Bag of Chips Decided

Well, the Vegman was super excited about getting to choose who we ordered a bag of Chips for.. and it was quite a process

.

He said the following at first glance of the comments:

"If they said "pick me" we have to take them off the list, because they are trying to encourage me"

Ha Ha.. such a smarty!  I thought for sure he would pick those first!!

He then said his NeeNee and friend AU don't count because I can send them anything anyway...  Little Stinker...

And so that brought us down to 6 people..  Which then he had to Eeny Meany Miney Moe...

From there he said he couldn't decide between the last two, and this required (his words) sending out two bags of chips.

So if I'm counting right, this means I have to send one to NeeNee, One to AU, and One to each of two people...

Bringing my total count of this endeavor to 4 bags, plus my own, plus shipping!  Hmmmm.... Maybe next time I won't ask the Vegman... this price tag is adding up!

Sooo... to those that the Vegman Picked... We have:

Jessica & Angel

I'll email you for your address.... Hope your all having a great Sunday!!

Green Goodnes For Healing

Once upon a time there was a Broken Toe... In life sometimes things just happen.. I get that, and I roll with the punches.  Even the ones that hurt.... However this is the first "injury" I've had since dibble dabbling in to more raw foods.  Since really feeling myself going through something and being in tune with everything else happening.

Watching it start to heal and how the rest of my body reacts has been pretty interesting...  In fact, I woke up at 3am feeling like.... well... uh....  A broken toe!  My whole body ached, my stomach was doing somersaults, I was cold and clammy and my foot had swelled up from the toe to the middle....

"Excuse me, Body, are you listening... Its a TOE!!"  Not arm, Leg, Stomach, Kidney... ITS A TOE!!!  Why did all the rest of me feel so yuck?

Body said back.... "Because I'm taking all the blood from the rest of your body and putting in your foot..."

Not really, but that is what it felt like in case you were wondering!

You'll notice in this very bad picture, that my toe is taped...that other part that is red/purple is my Foot!

Funny enough, this is 1/2 what it looked like at 3am.. It actually looks really good now... I've been soaking with ACV and Water cold wash clothes, I've used Arnica, Comfrey Ointment, and Tea Tree..  I drank Lemon water (help with water retention)... And it got better....

I even found my old crutches, and mastered those today, to stay off the foot...And yet 1/2 my foot is still rebelling.

Then it came to me.... I needed some Feel Better Goodness....

Greens, My Friend, How are ya?

YUP --- thats what I needed!!!

 Green sludge filled with Feel Better Goodness!!!  Now if I only had some chocolate... Hmmm?
 

Banana Fruit Roll Ups - Veg Style

A couple weeks ago I got the special inserts for my Dehydrator so I can make ooey gooey goodness..

First Try:  Banana Roll Ups...

I threw some Bananas in to Mr. Vita-Mix with a dibble of Lemon juice...  Mix Mix Mash and pour:

Then Dehydrated for about 10 hrs or so:

Pealed in to triangle sections and rolled them right up!

I put them in a Glass sealed container and they kept all week for our munching pleasure...  All three of us liked them and they passed the people at work test also.

Easy, Fast (the prep at least was fast)...  And Nutritiously Delicious without anything added.. I made two trays, and that was enough for about 5 days worth of ooey gooey goodness.

PS... Bananas smell so yummy in the dehydrator..
 

A Free Bag of Chips

I was talking with a friend the other day about Blogs and Contests. 

That I see people do contests all the time on their blogs and it is all about driving traffic, blah blah blah... But sometimes it is about driving awareness, and I'm just not there yet, as I'm not a contest kind of person.... and besides, after all these years, I still only have a couple people that check out this blog and I kinda like it that way!!

But But But.... We finished the last of the Brad's Raw Chips!  And I need to order some...

Then i thought, "ooh since I don't do contests, I could have a bag sent to someone".

Awareness...at its finest!   A little something to show that Raw Treats can be tasty!! And yes, I said one bag... I'm on a budget - sorry!! So before I place an order for myself, I'm thinking I'll order an extra bag for someone else... But Who?.

So here's the deal...Go to bradsrawchips.com and then come back here and leave a comment of the flavor you'd most like and why.   I'm thinking I'll collect comments until this Saturday.. that way. I can place my order sooner then later.

On Sunday April 25th I'll have the Vegman look at the comments and choose who gets a bag of chips!  I figure if no one comments, then I'll just send my Mom a bag of chips... Actually, I may just send her one anyway....:-)

Raw Lasagna

Another great recipe from one of Kristen's Raw Food Cook Books...

Today was one of Experimentation... I'll post pics of the other experiments after they finish.. *hint* banana fruit roll up and black bean brownies...  Exciting I promise!

But first This Raw Lasagna...

I couldn't figure out why the recipe called for Dehydrating the Zucchini strips for 45 minutes... But I followed the instructions and soon got my answer... They came out noodley.. as in flexible and a little gooey... It was the strangest thing...

 

I didn't have everything handy to make the recipe (as usual, since I don't ever know in advance what I will decide to make at any given moment)  so I Improvised...

The "cheesey mixture" is a raw macadamia nut base.. with some other yummy fixins... Mr. Vita-Mix has been busy today:

 

The spinach was frozen since I was out of fresh.. so I had to let it thaw:

Here is the layered finished product:

Doesn't it look like the real thing?  Can you tell that it is raw, vegan, totally uncooked, and utterly yummy??

 

I showed Hubby the recipe in the book, and he said "Nuh Uh, it has cheese on it"  I said "it is a raw no-cook book, and vegan, how can it have cheese"  and he argues with me for like 10 minutes.

Then he sees my creation.... "See, I told you it has cheese" He proclaims...

"If it makes you feel better to think that it is cheese from a cow, my Dear, then more power to ya!  But I can tell you there is nothing COW'ish in this recipe....  And the "cheese" you are seeing is actually from Macadamia nuts, so if you find something crunchy don't be alarmed"

<Hmm! Fine>  He pouts... his fork starting in to his slice of raw goodness....  he looks at me, he whines a little bit... He assures me that I've truly lost my mind this time......

He grumbles some more, and FINALLY, puts the food in to his mouth... he chews...he smiles... he DEVOURS!  THE entire thing and then fills up his plate with more as in 1/2 the pan full...

It would be another 30 minutes before he admitted to how good this was.... He would eat it every night if I would make it, he says... But maybe next time I could add some real noodles to his side... he adds...

Poor Hubby, he just doesn't get it!