Vegmom Moments

EXTRA GREEN GOODNESS

Yesterday was our first Big Walk toward the 1/2 Marathon since we missed a Saturday from the Snow.  That put us at 8 miles with 32 degree temps.  We did pretty good finishing in just about 2hrs as we planned.  The next few weeks we'll increase speed slightly, but that's for another blog post....

Knowing Yesterday was such a big fast Walk, I needed to prepare... More Green Goodness and Extra Nutrients... Not to mention keeping sick bugs at bay from work and school...Keeping my soreness down and avoiding cramping etc.  This Green Goodness had everything I needed.....

Greenandcrunchy posted her layered smoothie, and I tried to do the same but my picture is less then beautiful...Either way, you get the idea :-)

Started with grabbing lettuce from our indoor Garden:

My Layers have:

Coconut water, for hydration, calcium absorption, magnesium to keep away Veg's migraines and Potassium to keep away cramping along with all the other good stuff.

Spinach, Kale and lettuce Greens - for Nutrients and happy Spleen... Happy Spleen means happy Blood and no bruising.  Vitamin K, A and C, calcium and iron, great for immune and energy and blood and vision and skin and bones.   Also makes for a happy liver which means natural detox...  Keeping all the goodness flowing and cancer meanness away... And can't forget the fiber....I'm loving my greens, especially the drinkable ones!

Hemp Seeds - for those Omegas

Goji Berries- for their Antioxidants and energy

Banana - to make our smoothie Creamy but also some great potassium which helps with leg cramps.

Grapes - for their fiber and sweetness

Kiwi - for potassium and flavor and green goodness

Apple - Well because it keeps the doctor away of course

Dates - Fiber and Sweetness

And filtered Water Ice Cubes... Because I need some Icy stuff!

 

Blend Mr. Vita-Mix.... Blend with all your might!!

And that is some GREEN GOODNESS!!!  Enough fruits and veggie intake for an entire day.... . What a great way to start the day!! 

Enough for Me, Hubby and Veg....  And there was still some left at the bottom, so I added a little more liquid and turned it in to Juice... Figuring I'd have green juice for the next 2 days... Ummm NO!!!

My boys wanted seconds and thirds...  I decided to have seconds and thirds... This was some GOOD green goodness and we finished EVERY last bit within an hour.

Today, I made the same and didn't even bother with the juice!  We just drank it ALL up this morning! *smile*

Gulp Gulp Gulp.... 

OK, totally off topic, but just found this blog... Check out Lunchbox Limbo Lunchboxes... How cute are they?

FOOD PREP MONDAY

I spent Monday night prepping food for the remainder of the week so I could grab and go... Some raw, some not so much... but allll good, all Vegan and all easy!!  I didn't have too many hours left in the night, so my goal was to whip out as much as I could before crashing in to bed....

Here are some quick and easy items that will or have hit our bellies since Monday's Prep:

Beet Salad - 2 beets (peeled & washed) and a chunk of onion.   Chop chop chop both with Mr. Vita-Mix.   Pour in a bowl and stir in a TBS of Apple Cider Vinegar.  Easy, tasty and full of good red root nutrients.

 

Some Hummus for dipping, spreading, and mixing.... -  1 Can of garbanzo beans drained and rinsed, 2TBS Tahini, 1 TBS Olive Oil, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1 or 2 cloves garlic and 2 tsp cumin (more or less to taste).

Mix Mix Mash all ingredients in Mr. Vita-Mix (or blender/food processor) of your choosing, and Voila!

 

Modified  Waldorf Salad --- I didn't have Walnuts so I made do...And it came out sooo good!

Mix together in a bowl, chopped apples coated with a little lemon juice,  a bit of chopped onion to taste, raw sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, a little olive oil and a little Apple cider vinegar.    Mix and eat, or put in the fridge and eat when cold.  Yum!

 

Made some Banana pudding... Just Bananas in blender (Mr. Vita-Mix) with a little vanilla and a little lemon juice.   So easy and so good!

 

Some Potato Salad... this one sounds gross but is really good, its a modified version from the Vegan Lunch box cook book, since I only make enough for a couple of us, I don't need a full version. 

In the bottom of a bowl, I put a little mustard, a little apple cider vinegar, a little olive oil, some chives, and garlic salt.  Mix all together.. Then add a chopped up baked potato and some chopped onion.  Coat the potato and onion with dressing... Eat warm or put in the fridge and eat Cold. 

 

Made some more Chick Pea Patties and popped them in the oven while making other things: 

ingredient list here

 

Some more Hemp Nacho Cheese (no cheese) sauce:

Original Story and recipe link here

 

Can you tell Mr. Vita-Mix was very busy???

 I Chopped some Carrots and apples... great for throwing in our lunches, grabbing for snacks or topping a salad.  I realized that we will eat more fruit and veggies, if they are cut, washed and in the fridge waiting our greedy hands.... 

On Tuesday Hubby chopped cucumbers, peppers and more carrots, so we are prepared to throw salads together at a moment's notice for at least 5 days.

 Veg wanted Stir Fry, so I made a big pot of Short Grain brown rice to have on hand at dinner time for my growing boy... Makes it much easier for adding to lunches in the morning as well.

My Fridge was VERY Happy!!

Our Bellies have been very happy too!!

Whoop!  Almost forgot the Kale chips... Can't forget the Kale Chips...

Oh sooo good!!  Original Kale chip story and recipe link here

 

So there ya have it!!  I started the Kale in the morning, and let it do its Dehydrate thing all day.  But for the rest of my prep..... That happened AFTER Veg went to sleep and was all done and cleaned up in a couple hours. 

Allowed for quick Lunch making, on the go snacks, and faster dinners.... A Win/Win for all....Now, if I could just be this prepared EVERY week, we'd be all set!

I'm getting there though! :-)

BANANA AND MR. VITA-MIX

Mr. Vita-mix loves bananas... You see they are soft, easy to blend, and can be made in to everything from Pudding to Popsicles....

And Today, he did all of the above:

First was Smoothie.. A super super green smoothie:

 

Blend Mr. Vita-Mix - your not quite done yet....

I don't like the green speckles.. In case you were wondering..

 

Then there were bananas... a whole lot of bananas:

 

Mash Mash Mash... and pour then freeze:

 

But your not done yet... Oh No!!  We want some pudding!  Add a dash of lemon juice to keep the color, a dash of Vanilla for some flavor.... And VOILA!

 

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix... You are done for now!!

VEGAN HUMMUS PATTIES AND MORE

My next Food Goodness to post about this week is not raw but is Vegan, and I have no exact amounts.... But I must share...

It all started long ago (last year) in a far away land (my office) when a co-worker suggested I use mashed Organic Garbanzo beans (chick-peas) for taco meat...

This was a simple recipe....  use a potato masher on 2 cans of the drained/rinsed beans.  Then add to the bowl a packet of taco seasoning (I use simply organic) and a little lemon juice and a little garlic.... Mix all together....

We have used this in Spaghetti for a Mexi-flare, and tacos, and bean dips, and.... well... everything that requires the texture.... So last week when I made the spaghetti for hubby and Veg, I had extra taco'ish garbanzo beans left...

And I had the brilliant Idea to make chick pea patties..  Although i had no idea what they would taste like or how to make them, I just started adding stuff to the bowl.....

Thick cut Oats, raw sunflower seeds, onions, pepper, hemp seed, flax seed, garlic salt, all seasons salt...  And I mixed it all together.   I kept adding the above ingredients till it was like an oatmeal cookie dough consistency.  . then I started to make patties... RUH ROH!!  They didn't stick together. 

So I made the executive decision to add some Olive Oil.  Just a little and enough to make the patties stick.  Then I formed the patties and put them on a cookie sheet.

I baked them at 350 until they were crispy on the outside and still a little soft on the inside.....

Then I took a picture... which somehow was deleted from camera (user error) and so you won't see any prep pictures....

The point of this is story is that they were Very Very Very good, and you should make your own Vegan Chickpea patties if you like that kind of thing....  They were nutty and grainy, and beany, but with a mexi flare from the seasoning, and they were just SOOOO good!

Fast forward a few days.... and to my surprise...  this same co-worker said... "Hey, did you know if you mix 1 part hummus to 1 part mashed black beans, and some garlic salt.. then spread on bread, you can make ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwiches with out the cheese"

Ooooh... and so I did...And I took a picture.  But it somehow got deleted (that user error) Both Veg and his Daddy drooled after eating this and asked for more.  Their taste buds, I tell ya... they are a changing!!!   Hubby kept saying "this is so strange but sooo good"  I have to give them both credit for sticking by me and giving stuff a try....

And there was some of the mix left..... I remembered my Chick Pea Patties, and followed the same recipe above but used the hummus and black bean mixture instead of just the chick peas...

 I'm thinking they could be made in the dehydrator too, to keep them less "baked" but I don't have those no stick sheet things, so I have yet to make such creations.

The next batch, was more moist, and we made sandwiches out of them.  Then I took a couple pictures that I didn't delete.. So here ya go:

Put some Vita-Mix hummus on the grainy bread, then lettuce, kale, and finally two patties, torn up to fit.

Folded bread in half... And Voila!!! 

A yummy Vegan, hummus, black bean, flax, hemp and oat sandwich!!!

The goodness continues:

Next day we ran out of Bread from all the stuff above... But Veg wanted Nut Butter and Jelly.....  So I grabbed some tortillas...

Why not? Worth a try... After all, this is the year of no plans, going with the flow, trying new things.... And so I made, Tortilla Sandwiches....  First he wouldn't touch it..."thats gross"

Then hubby had one and asked for more... then Veg said "Hmm, Ok, I'll try it"  And he did....  And then Veg asked for them in his lunch every day....  Success!!!!!!  And less bread to boot...

 

I didn't want the chips to get soggy, so we put a container of chips and a container of nut butter and jelly.. then he dipped and dunked his chips for a nice Snacky part of his lunch.

So there ya have it.... 3 New tries in a 5 day span.... Who knows what I will make next???  The possibilities are endless now that my eyes and tastebuds are open to so many wonderful things.

VEGAN HEMP CHEESE

Ah, so much goodness in one week (And its only Monday)... I must share!!! 

Starting with Kristen's Raw - Vegan Cheesy Hemp Nacho sauce.... Yes I said Vegan... It has no cheese, no dairy, no animal products... and its RAW!  As in, its NOT COOKED!!   But its creamy, its cheesy, and its GOOD!! I'm still shocked that it can possibly taste so good and kicking myself for not trying it sooner!  OH SO GOOD!!!

Last night I pulled out my "new try" ingredients from the weekend and whipped up a batch:

By looking at it, I wasn't so sure... Then I dipped a blue corn chip (yes chip not raw but it was all I had near by) and it was soo good, so I dipped a carrot... Yum... on to more exciting things.. as in anything I could dip.....

Hubby had a potato baking, so I poured the cheesy sauce on there.  He was like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???"  and I was like.... "TRY it and TRUST ME".... Ugh... he whimpered... but he loved loved loved it! 

I took some for lunch today.  Dunked raw kale, raw carrots, and some raw macadamia nuts... What?  I ran out of veggies...... I was a dunking fool!

 

Then it dawned on me that for the first time in several years my no-dairy Vegman could have his long time wish of Mac and Cheese....  (Kristen if your reading this, cover your ears/eyes)  I got him some elbow noodles just as his favorite from before nix'ing the dairy.... and made him this special creamy treat... 

No throw-ups-  no migraines - no ear infections.... Just creamy cheesy no cheese goodness, and he was in all his glory:

 

For me... and hubby, we had vegan lettuce wrap taco's for dinner:

Romaine Lettuce for the taco, some mashed black beans, the hemp cheese sauce, salsa and onions... 

I Will make this again and again, only have more veggies handy the next time... in two days, i've gone through so many vegetables it is rediculous....

I put the chips out for Hubby to make nachos for himself.  Imagine my surprise when he put the chips down and grabbed a piece of lettuce instead. 

He said "That actually looks kind of good"

And then said "This is too wierd, why am I eating this?"  as he was biting in and asking for seconds.... BECAUSE IT'S GOOD!!!  Next thing I know, he was grabbing petals from the onion and dunking it in the cheese sauce and eating it straight from the onion...

Ha ha ha... I think I'm starting to convert him more and more to the bright side of food goodness.

 

I've already made another batch as someone at work asked me to bring it for her tomorrow, and I have my lunch already scooped out in bowls... Hmm?  Wonder if you can eat too much of this stuff?  Maybe I'll find out.

Thank you Kristen for such a great and versitile recipe.  I think this will be a weekly addition to our home.

WHO PUT THAT SALAD IN MR. VITA-MIX?

Me Me... I did, thank you very much!  And it sure was tasty!

When preparing foods,  I tend to cut a bunch, since I'm already in cutting mode.  So each of the next several days, I can dip in to my pre-washed, pre-cut, pre-prepped stash....

In some cases, I just throw it all in Mr.Vita-Mix for a yummy dose of Green goodness.

In this case you see a LOT of stuff... Including Romaine Lettuce, Cucumbers, Carrots, Bananas, Apples, Kiwi, Cranberries.  And I wanted it a little creamy'ish like a milk shake.   So I added some Frozen Bananas to the mix.

Oh, I'm still using Coconut Water as my Liquid... Its seems to be full of great things like Magnesium, Potassium, Electrolytes... Good for hydration during the summer sweaty months.  But I find it good now for the winter dry skin months.  I hope its actually good for us and not just a claim, because I use it almost every day.  (not so tasty straight, but good in a smoothie of goodness like this one)

 

 Delicious, as NeeNee would say!

VITA-MIX DRIP

I don't know if this is just me, but Mr. Vita-Mix is out to get my counter... No matter what I do, how fast I react, or if I scrape the top after pouring... Mr. Vita-Mix leaves a drip.

Always, Every day, without fail, I GET A DRIP!   Counter, Floor, Table.... Somewhere I will get a single drip... Just one... not many, not a bunch, just ONE SINGLE DRIP!!

Here it comes:

Look close... see the drip on the tip of the spout..

And there it goes, splat:

 

Veg now laughs at me...  We have a challenge going to avoid the drip and so far Mr. Vita-Mix wins 9 out of 10 times!    

Some day I will outsmart the machine... *Maybe*

KALE THE NEW GREEN

I ran out of spinach... how can it be??  How could I run out of spinach...  How can I have a Green Smoothie without the spinach....I need my Green goodness...  Really I do...

There are things in life we want, and things in life we need!  I NEED GREEN SMOOTHIES!!!   I wandered the fridge, the freezer, the cabinets.. Could I find anything green???  

Then I saw it... this wonderful green goodness staring at me in the back of the fridge:

 

I wasn't sure if it would do the trick, or be too bitter... It was purchased to make "chips" (will post about this later)

And so I needed lots of sweet to offset the taste, just in case.  I filled Mr. Vita-mix to the Brim with goodness.

Added the Kale, some Romaine, Grapes, Apples, Pear, banana, and dates... (coconut water and ice)

Yes, he is full from the counter to above my cabinets....... I'm telling you, IT WAS FULL!!

 

Hi There Green Goodness... we are going to Drink you now!

 

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix!  Look how bright..  It was full of color, and tasted even better!!  The Kale filled in so well, that I didn't even go buy spinach.. We've been Kale'ing it all week!  And I can't complain a bit!

A VEGAN MEXI-FIESTA

Our Annual Mexi- Fiesta was another great one...

I had to combine a little Raw with some not so Raw.  But all Vegan and Delicious.

The Bean Dip with Veggies on top:

 

Mr. Vita-Mix Guacamole:

 

Mr. Vita-Mix Hummus (yes I know this isn't mexi, but it tastes great on a burrito in place of sour cream, so there):

We also made some Brown rice, not pictured here, and Veg got a little stir fry since he doesn't like our Mexi Dips... Hubby and I munched on the Mexi stuff.   He went through a bag of Tortilla Chips.  I used the sprouted grain tortillas and made burritos.  YUM!

And Some Steamed Broccoli for the Vegman (his favorite):

Some Yummy No Dye, Organic Candy Canes:

 

Which I used to make this Delicious Cocoa Mint Green Smoothie Dessert... (Mr. Vita-mix can mash some candy canes, let me tell you)

 

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix.. I think this one goes to the top of my Favorite list... I'll have to fight Veg over the last of the candy canes to make some more of this goodness.... OH MY YUM!!!

Of course our day had other things like Apples, Pears, Pomegranates, and such... But if I took a picture of Everything, I think my Hubby would be calling the picture police to come take me away.

He just doesn't understand Blogs... But then again neither do I.

Hope you had good food where ever you may be!

FREEZING BANANAS

We freeze A LOT of bananas these days... I've mentioned before all the wonderful raw treats we use them for.  But as the days get shorter, cutting and storing the bananas can take some time....

Well THIS is how I cut and freeze the bananas:

Hubby decided he would be quick about it and go this route:

 

The Smarty Pants.. IT WAS GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!

Cut a huge amount of time off the chopping and slicing... But then when I'm ready to put them in Mr. Vita-Mix, they just break in chunks so easily...  And I can keep track of exactly how many bananas I'm using at a time...

Perfect... And Mr. Vita-Mix is happy too... Hello little banana chunks!  I see you down there....

Now make me some Yummy Ice Cream, will ya??

NO NEED TO EAT OUT AGAIN?

Ha, as if WE would stop eating out??  Well we can pretend...

Today we all decided not to leave the house and it left much time for napping, Scrapbooking (caught up through mid-2009, yippee).. and a little bit of food...

Throwing some dinner together on a cold rainy day, we ended up with a small bowl of Vegan Chili.  Yes Cooked, but to make myself better, I threw some raw Spaghetti Squash on top... Yum!!

Anyway...  While eating this bowl of goodness, Hubby LOVED it.... Veg LOVED it.... I'm actually sad, that they liked my Chili so much, because it is the only thing my Hubby cooks.... and now he is off the hook... they will only want mine from now on...  Phooey... wishing, I had made it not so good...

Well, they started talking about all things I've made that they like and how they don't have to eat out any more...

Veg then chimes in and says "We even have our own Smoothie King, right here in the house"

I thought he was talking about me, so I said "Hey, I'm a Smoothie Queen, thank you very much"

And he said "No, I was talking about Mr. Vita-Mix"

Ahhhhh!  Yes, he would be a KING! 

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix, I haven't said that lately.... He has given us, Ice Cream, Green Smoothies, Shakes, and Nut Butter this week.  Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

MORE VEGAN THANKSGIVING GOODNESS

My theme this year was "Pumpkin".. I purchased the cutest little pumpkin and was determined to do something with it... Not sure what..

I started here:

 

Scooped out all the stuff, and separated from seeds...

Hubby was like "you know your supposed to cook that, and the stuff will come out easier?"

And I was like... "that kind of defeats the purpose of having Raw Pumpkin in our smoothie if I cooked it... Not so much raw then would it"  Knowing all of my creations wouldn't be raw, I wanted at least the smoothie to be all fresh whole food goodness.

So I started with my scooped pumpkin guts and a little filtered water.

 

Then divided that in to three parts...

First our Raw Pumpkin, cranberry, apple, spinach, Green Smoothie:

 

And man was it GREEN!

 

Then our Not so Raw Pumpkin Pancakes:

 

And the star of the Show, Mr. Pumpkin Turkey pancake with Cranberry eyes and raw walnut feet:

 

The rest of the Pumpkin Guts, got blended in to an awesome fresh Garlic Hummus..(thanks to Mr. Vita-mix). and then poured back in to the cute little pumpkin for serving:

All of these were my new tries for the week, and all of them were quite tasty.  The Smoothie was a Little TOO pumpkin'y so we will try lighter on the orange stuff next time. 

But this little strange concoction was my favorite.  I mixed some of the Hummus with some organic short grain brown rice, and dried organic cranberries.... It was soo good and filling. Only 1/2 of a small bowl was enough to fill me up.

And so there you have it... Some of our Thanksgiving food... We also had lots of fruits and veggies that day...

As for this week coming up, I'm looking forward to lots of fresh salads, and some more Green Smoothie Goodness.  I see some Avocado in my future also... It is in the fridge staring at me.

Heading off to bed for an early back to work Monday! 

Hope your weekend was a great one!

A SATURDAY VITA-MIX CREATION

Yesterday morning, I had the house to myself...  So I made an ultimate Peanut Buttery, banana, and cacao concoction...  I added a little spinach to the mix... But since I was alone, decided to go a little crazy....Are you ready.... Coffee Powder...

OH MY YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix

 

 

EVEN THE DOG LIKES MR. VITA-MIX

The Spunk-meister has figured out, that when I get ready to pull out Mr. Vita-Mix,  a Banana can't be far behind... And where there is a banana, there is a Spunk... HE Loves bites of Banana...

And he waits for it...

 

And waits.....

 

He was right... There was banana... and he got his bite...

Much more stuff was added too.. See...

 

At this Point, Spunk-meister is no longer interested... He goes along his merry way...  Until Veg stops him and decides this is a perfect time to brush the dog's teeth.....  Get those bananas...

I how ever must enjoy this organic raw goodness...  I MUST....

Blend Mr. Vita-Mix... Blend Away...

 

A little more please....

 

Ah, that's better.... 

And, here is some Green Juice... Yummy Ummy cold Green Juice!! 

Thank you Mr. Vita-mix

THE MOSTLY RAW PIE STORY CONTINUED....

A few days ago I posted about my attempt at a mostly Raw Pie... ..  But after being in the fridge over night, it didn't get solid enough.. turned in to a soupy pudding pie.

 

Several of you suggested putting it in the freezer... I was worried it would get too icy and not so much creamy...Didn't want a Slushy Pie...

But then I did it... Introduced Pie to Freezer... And the Pie Was happy!

 

As were our bellies!!!  Oh My Yum!!!  Give it a try..  I don't have exact measurements, but all ingredients are listed in the original post. 

For all those Raw Foodies that know more then me, what are your Raw Pie tricks?

PEANUT NANNER CAROB SHAKE

This is not Raw goodness, but it is my special Non-Raw Treat.   Hubby created his concoction while I was on vacation and when I came home he surprised me with this goodness.  He said it took him a while to get the perfect combo. 

Now we make them about once a weekend.

The Fixins:

4 or 5 Ice Cubes, 2 ripe bananas, and an over ripe sliced frozen banana, handful of carob chips, Two or Three TBS of Peanut Butter, 1/2 cup of vanilla soy milk and 2 TBS of Vegan Vanilla So Delicious Ice Cream.  (amounts are approximate and can be increased or decreased as needed)

Sorry for the dark photo, but OH MY YUM!!! 

Creamy, Thick, Peanut Buttery Goodness.....

Thank you Hubby, and Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix!!!

 

P.S. My difference between a Shake and A Smoothie is the liquid we choose.  If I use a Juice or Water, then I usually call it a smoothie.  If I use Ice cream or Soy Milk then I usually call it a shake....

Does that matter?  No!  They are both just blended goodness!

RAW CHOCO GUACO PUDDING

I got this amazingly easy recipe from Green And Crunchy and had to try it today... 

The Fixings...

An Avocado (minus seeds and skin), a dibble of water and a tsp of Vanilla, 4 pitted dates and a TBS of Cocoa or Cacoa Powder.  I go light on the chocolate because of the migraine triggers for the Vegman.  But when I get some more carob powder, I'll use plenty of that. 

Her recipe also invited some other yummy tasties to the dish, but I stuck with the basics for our first try.

 

Mash Mash Mash Mr. Vita-Mix...  And Voila!

Seriously some really good really nutritious Pudding!  And Raw and Vegan and.... did I mention good...

Yes, the thought of Avocado pudding really grossed me out.. but with the other stuff added, you can't even taste it.... Really!! 

Veg saw me making it, and was like "Mom, what in the world are you doing?"  I told him to trust me and he did.. .And he ate EVERY LAST DIBBLE and Dabble... More more, he'd say, until it was all gone!

Thank you Green and Crunchy for this great recipe... Yum Yum Double Triple Yum!

MR. VITA-MIX STRIKES AGAIN

 
First the Mean (Imean tasty) Guac... turned a little too thin this time, so I used it mostly as salad dressing... YUM....:

Green Smoothie Goodness in the making:

AHHHHH, and the Smoothie Goodness... Perfect consistency... Perfect Taste... Perfect Color!

Just Perfect!!!

Frozen Bananas and Strawberries.... Ice Cream (without the cream) anyone???
 
 

I decided to make a mostly raw pie...But didn't have a recipe, and so just used all my favorite ingredients.  Hoping I would find some Goodness:

The Crust Fixin's are Dates, Coconut Shreds, Raw Macadamia Nuts and Raw Walnuts

All Mixed and mashed ready for the pan:

Ah, doesn't this crust look Yummy!  I wanted to just stop here and eat every bit... But I waited, patiently..

 Now for the pie filling fixin's... Dates, Coconut Shreds, Bananas, a dabble of lemon juice, and a dibble of vanilla:

All mashed and Mixed... Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix

And here.... Drum roll please.....  My Mostly Raw non-cream Pie banana/coconut Concoction:

ONE Problem....  it didn't harden like I hoped... so while eating this delicious goodness, it is more like pudding (as in eating with a spoon and not a fork) and crunchy nutty crust... And I'm OK with that!  So Tasty!  

Veg had a whole bowl of this for breakfast (fruit, coconut, good fatty nuts, protein and nutrients)  Plus his green filled smoothie (lots of nutrients and immune boosting power)... Granted if your a food combiner, this is NOT for you... 

And if you like pies that you can eat with a fork, this is NOT for you.... Guess I will be looking for more ingredients to make it a little more thick... If I find the perfect recipe, I'll post it here.
 
But Mr. Vita-Mix has provided many delicious treats this week...

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix!

MEAN QUAC

i made some Raw Guacamole care of Mr. Vita-Mix... It was Soooooo Good, and yet it had a mean streak. 

Last night, hubby was going to eat left overs, and a little water (lemon) had condensed on the top.  So he went to the sink, to pour out the dribble of water (lemon), and PLOP, his whole helping fell in in the sink.

Today, I had some in my Tiffin... My Tiffin fell over, and bits of the quac juice came out the sides of the dip container... which left Guacamole on my Raw trail mix.... Ewwwww.....  Sorry but dried fruit and quac just doesn't go well together.

So I took the top and set it on some work papers while cleaning up the other tiny mess, when someone came in my office.  45 minutes later, the someone leaves, and my phone rings.. meeting after meeting.. and then, I went to pick up my Tiffin container..  IT is GLUED to the paper... NOT COMING OFF!!!

Finally had to tear the paper and will need Vinegar to get the paper OFF my tiffin!   

When the day was almost over, I decided to eat what was left of the Guac from my lunch, and PLOP on to my shirt!  GROWL!!!

Mean Mean Guacamole!!

But on a good note, Hubby dehydrated and also froze me some fruit while he was home today.

Dinner was light and easy, so I had time to prep salads for tomorrow, And I tried to make a Raw coconut banana Pie .. with concocting my own recipe.  IT is sort of hardening more like SOUP then pie... but I have pictures of all this goodness and will share them soon.

Now I shall go talk (not really) to my refrigerating soupy pie and ask it to please get a little harder so we can eat it tomorrow. 

(I snuck a spoonful and man is it tasty)  Shhhhhh!

SOME RAW FOOD AND NOT SO MUCH

It was a good food day here at the Veg house... So I'll get right to the Nitty Gritty!  

Silk is back with their Pumpkin Spice Soy Milk.... And my first container of the season happened to have this recipe for Pancakes... 

• 1 Cup Flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Pumpkin Spice Soy Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 2 Tbs Oil
• 1 Egg

Mix wet ingredients in one bowl, and dry ingredients in another... then combine and make on a skillet or how ever you make pancakes at your house...

Well I doubled the recipe, vegan'ised it with banana to replace the egg, added some baking soda to make them a little more fluffy, and cinnamon for added flavor... and got these:

We also made a batch with carob chips.  Ended up with 3 plates full of pancakes, and I have not a SINGLE pancake left at the end of the day.  My boys devoured EVERY last Nibble....  And we decided this was a great kick off to Silly Apple Pumpkin Week...  It was also decided that I MUST make them again on Silly Apple Pumpkin day...   And so off to the store for more Pumpkin Spice Soy milk...

Mr. Vita-Mix was busy making delicious Green'ness this morning also:

I finally figured out my perfect Consistency...  7 Ice Cubes per 1 1/2 cups of liquid per glass full...  So if I need two glass fulls (one for me and one for hubby), I need one full tray of ice + 3 cups liquid... Then all the fixin's I desire.  This one was PERFECT!  Not too thick, Not too liquid, and awfully delicious.

Apples, Pineapples, Ice, Coconut Water, Coconut shreds,  Spinach, Cucumbers, Banana, Grapes and Elderberry.

 

For my lunch, I made my first Vita-Mix Raw Guacamole:

OH MY YUM!!!!!!!!!   Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix...  And Sooooo Easy!

The gunk from 2 Avocados, 2 Tablespoon lemon juice, Handful of grape tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, some garlic salt and cumin to taste.  There was enough to last a couple days...

That is until Hubby got home... and he had some for lunch and for dinner... So I probably will have just enough to take with me for one lunch.  But oh it was sooo good!  I will be making more for certain!

Veg opted for a  Muffin Tinner (tin+dinner) tonight....

Fresh Apple Sauce, Carrots and Butternut Squash chunks, lots of Broccoli, Cucumbers, the final pumpkin spice pancake, some Celery with Peanut Butter and Carob chips "ants on a log"  as Veg calls them for dessert...  Nothing fancy, but he liked it!

And after the Vegman went to bed, I started prepping this weeks food....

Hello giant salads:

 

These lonely left over lettuce leaves from the Farmer's Market will make it in to my smoothie in the morning:

 

And my fridge....  pre-prep shelves....Salads, lettuce, carrots, Fresh Guac, Raw Banana Pudding, onions, and grapes.

And so there ya have it...  Some Raw food, and some not so much raw food.... Some prep for the week and some that didn't make it the week...

But all really tasty, really Vegan, and Really delicious!

A GREAT DRIVE

Veg and I set off on a journey... and it was quite a good one... We hit some Fog..

But thankfully it was after day light broke or I would have been in a pickle

We saw lots of these:

 
 
And the colors changing were quite a site:

The sky looked like this the whole way:

And at some point we saw this sign... Tell me?  While going 70+ on the interstate with a bridge coming up... If you saw this sign and had a large truck, WHAT YA GONNA DO ABOUT IT?

I had to say good bye to Mr. Vita-Mix... sigh sigh sob sob
 
 

But ate good on the road, so I can't complain:  This was my front seat stash.. Veg had his own back seat stash to munch.

And I don't think my Back Seat travel partner minded the lack of Mr. Vita-Mix either.
 

It was a good travel day!  
 
 
  
 
 

RAW BEET SALAD

I finally found something to do with my Beets, and and and it uses my favorite thing in the kitchen... Apple Cider Vinegar..

(is it still raw if I used ACV?  not sure...)  But anyway.. here is the pretty picture... YUM!!!

And here is the recipe  (its the one with beets, onions and ACV)  Super Easy, and Mr. Vita-Mix did the job in two seconds.

Only thing I learned from this was not to use as much onion next time.  Everyone will want to stay away from me when I chow on this for lunch.. but man was it tasty!!

Yay... who knew I would like raw beets?
 

SUNFLOWER SEED MILK UPDATE

A few days ago, I posted about my Sunflower Seed Milk... here is what I've done with it so far..

Yummy Dessert Smoothies, with the Raw Milk, Carob Chips, Raw Peanuts and Banana:

And Breakfast Oats Cookies, with not raw oats (of course) but raw sunflower seed milk, raw almonds, some Cacao Powder, hemp seed and banana :

Sorry nothing glamorous or exciting.. but sure does taste yummy.  I'm still learning about this type of eating, after all.
 

CASHEW "CREAMY" PASTA SAUCE

Veg wanted Noodles for dinner and I was in no mood to make something else, and so noodles he got... but then I decided I wanted some too...noodles=cooked...and so I have to balance with the Uncooked....(this is how my brain works these days)

Insert Raw Cashew Pasta Sauce and Raw Veggies....next time I could eat just the sauce and veggies... the noodles ended up not sitting well on my belly (or maybe it was way way way too much garlic and spice that was the problem....I will adjust that next time also)

So I took some of these:

  

And some of these along with herbs, lemon juice, Olive Oil and seasonings:

 

Gave them to Mr. Vita-Mix:

Poured on Pasta for some creamy alfredo'ish goodness:

Added Veggies:

 

And YUM!!! will last a couple days.. way too much for one setting... Of course the Vegman can't eat cashews, so his pasta was sauce'less....  But still yummy with veggies.

SOME SUNDAY FOOD

Mr. Vita-Mix was busy today:

Green Smoothie to start:

We're running low on ingredients, so this one had:

Spinach, Peach, Coconut Water, Coconut Shreds, Pineapples and Strawberries.

What is one to do with so many Raw Sunflower Seeds?

Make Raw Sunflower Seed Milk, Of course...  With some water, a little Vanilla and a little Sweetener.

Very Good... could have used a tad more water then the book called for.  But otherwise, it was really good.  I'll be using it this week on anything that calls for milk.  Yum!

Hubby saw my Sunflower Seed Milk and said "WHY?"..... 

Why not?

And some Hummus Anyone??  I finally made a good Hummus!... Should I say Mr. Vita-Mix made some good Hummus....  Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix. 

I see you down there creamy hummusy goodness.... I've never been able to make an edible hummus... After my last try, I gave up for life.... (until today)

It actually made A LOT of Hummus...  Glad I halved the Recipe... Eek!

Garbanzo Beans, Tahini, Water, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Garlic Clove & Cumin... It is cooling now, but even warm, it was Sooooo Good!

After the Hummus, Mr. Vita-Mix got to take a rest.

When ever we have a late lunch, Veg requests a light Dinner.  And today was no exception... Insert the Muffin Tin (that isn't tin):

Pomegranate Seeds, Sliced Pear, Carrots, Broccoli, Potato, Homemade Granola w/ dried fruit and walnuts.

In usual fashion he went for the Broccoli first, then went clockwise until every bit was gone... My Sleepy Boy went off to dream land with a full and happy belly.

Of course that makes me a Happy Mom!  Now if we could have just avoided the tantrum that happened prior, I would have been a very Happy Mom then too..

MY RECIPE JOURNAL

Wow I got tons done today..  Straightened up an area of the house that was bugging me, 3 giants loads of wash, cleaned and put away.. All our finance stuff up to date, a card for NeeNee, and even all our Christmas gifts ordered for the kids in our family... 

And and and.. I updated my Recipe Journal with all my recent Raw or Vegan finds.....  What is a Recipe Journal you may ask??   I shall show you... 

There, Now you know what it is?? hee hee....

OK, so a couple years ago, I decided it was a PAIN to go through all the cookbooks to find that one favorite recipe that I forgot which cookbook it was in. 

OR going through all the pages of a cookbook to find the one page I was needing...

OR going through a 1000 sheets of paper printouts to figure out what I felt like making that day.... 

OR digging deep in to the hole of my brain to remember how I made that one little thing... that I really wanted but couldn't remember all the ingredients I used.

And I couldn't stand my cluttered cabinet FILLED with all this stuff...

Surely you've been there and know what I'm talking about....

If not then ignore this post and move on.... *smile*

Well it was such a waste of time and I started to just stop looking and got in a food rut and got annoyed.... Until I thought up a Recipe Journal.... Think of a Scrapbook for Recipes.

The beginning is full of a list with all my favorite foods that don't require recipes, so I could see at a glance when I needed inspiration.  And then the next pages have the names of each of my favorite cookbooks and page numbers of the recipes I like out of those books:

(Ignore my handwriting please)

Exhibit A:

Further in to the book,  I have cut out the pieces of recipes that I printed from the web or from emails etc. And folded them up and taped to pages to fit in the book.  All other papers got recycled and OUT of my cabinet.   The ones that made it in to my journal are only tried and true and likable... So it contains our own rating system.

Exhibit B:

And then there are the recipes that I try and concoct or make my own.  There are many of these... And some pages are really messy, where I add more ingredients or take away as time goes on. 

These are the ones, that if I get hit by a bus.. Hubby could still recreate all their favorite things...

And so now you know what a Vegmom Recipe Journal is...

My journal is pretty full as you can tell... Now I'm adding all the Raw food stuffs... and its getting really full... I may need another journal:

But my recipe cabinet is well organized....  And I have no Recipe Stress...  Yay!

And a very productive day, Double Yay!!

THINKING ABOUT IT

I have a friend that is considering eating more Raw foods, she has already switched some things in their diet... Like making Raw Banana Ice Cream and dropping the dairy alternative.  Starting with Smoothies filled with goodness, and other little things here and there.. Which I think is Wayyyyyyyyyy  Cool.....  Go Friend!

And my Mom, she went to a FRUIT MARKET today... Really, and came back with tons of fruits and veggies for her consumption, way more then normal.... GOOoooooo MOM!

I, however MISSED the Farmer's Market today *sigh sigh sob sob*  By the time we got there, everything was sold out.  But its OK, I had a great Vegan mostly Raw lunch at the local Veggie Restaurant.  And then we went to a local historical museum to learn more about Veg's choice for his School Project... So all was not lost on the farmer's market, but my Fridge is going to be VERY bare this week...

NOW... All that said, I was SOooooooooooooo Hungry today... Some days I get full and want nothing more... some days, I can't stop eating... I NEED FOOD....and because the Food I NEED is so good for me, I don't deprive my body of said food.  What I feel like, I eat!   And this is what I was trying to tell my friend.  Its really not so bad as just eating apples and carrot sticks all day (although sometimes I like that)  There is SOOOoooo much more!!!

And so I thought I'd lay it ALL out here from a huge eating food day... Any Real Raw Foodies will cringe... Non Raw Foodies will get a good glimpse in to how EASY it is to eat what you want and when, but be healthy at the same time... In my case I'm not a Raw Foodie for real... I just eat more raw foods... And to my MIL, if she read this, she would see how much I'm really eating... Crazy!  And she thinks I'm starving myself!

And by the way, I lost another pound (11 total) and my pants are getting some sag in them... YAY!!  Now on to the food tour:

Raw Breakfast 1 - Watermelon (lots of watermelon)

Raw Breakfast 2 - Raw nut mix with some dried fruits

1/2 raw lunch 1 - Gigantic Vegan Chef Salad with, broccoli, romaine, carrots, sprouts, cabbage,  marinated tofu, tomatoes and cucumbers.  Also 2 small spinach bread rolls.

Non raw lunch 2 - Back home after 1/2 a long day, I was hungry again and cold from the rain... Hubby's Vegan Chili seemed in order....  Because my lots of mini meals appetite doesn't require a LOT of cooked food per sitting any longer.  I used the smallest bowl in the house and it was JUST enough to warm me up and feel good.  Can't believe I used to devour giant bowls of that stuff.. Just a small bowl was plenty.

Another hour passed and I finished the rest of the watermelon...

Late Afternoon Raw Snack  - Green Smoothie for the whole family....  This sucker was HUGE....and packed full of everything I could find in the fridge/freezer... Mission was to give Veg some super energy and hydration for his late Soccer game.   Blueberries, Pineapples, Cucumbers, Peaches, Banana, Coconut water, Coconut shreds and spinach.

Mission Accomplished, he went WILD!  And man was it good.  As in probably the best Smoothie Mr. Vita-Mix has ever made.  We all drank and drank.... While a vegman ran around the house like a loony bird... (maybe smoothie packed a little too much energy)

Then Soccer and then back home.... Some how I got hungry again just in time for dinner....

And then it was dinner time... Veg wanted Noodles... He always gets to choose on soccer nights, so I made 1/4 box of penne noodles, and we each had a small bowl with some organic pasta sauce and basil from my herb deck.

And he wanted chocolate soy milk, which I don't buy anymore.  But Mr. Vita-Mix came in quite handy... I made a 1/2 Raw, 1/2 not Raw drinking dessert of all goodness....  OH MY YUM!!

Carob chips (taste like chocolate but no caffiene), A Bunch of Raw peanuts plucked out of shell from last weeks farmers market, 1/2 banana, and Coconut Milk.....and a few filtered water ice cubes.

It was thick, it was sweet, it was extra Peanutty and somewhat chocolaty or should I say Caroby....  So No CAFFEINE was harmed in the making of our late evening drink.

In between all that mess of the day, I drank  water, unsweet tea, more water, had a few Raw Macadamia Nuts and some Raw Jacama for munching here and there.....

Sooooooo here we are at the end of the day....  I've probably eatin' more food in the past 12 hours then a normal human being should consume.  I don't feel full or stuffed or greasy or oily or gassy or tired or headachy or sinusy.... All those things that a Standard American Diet likes to provide me...

And I'm certainly NOT depriving myself of Food in any way.... As you can tell...  I'd say this day when totally broken out was 75% raw foods and 25% cooked.  Giver or Take.....

Some days are more raw and other days are more cooked, but the ratio for my body to feel good is always more on the raw side.  When the pendulum shifts, I get skin breakouts, head aches and start feeling yuck...

I try to keep the pendulum on the RAW Side as much as possible.

And so there ya go!!  Easy, Right?  So if your thinking about eating more raw foods... Give it a try!  Its really not so hard.  Especially if I can do it! 

Update:  It's 10:25pm in my neck of the woods, and I'm starting to feel a little sleepy... Going to sleep I shall do... Those of you who know me well, answer this question?  WHEN IN MY LIFE HAVE YOU EVER FOUND ME GOING TO SLEEP BEFORE 1AM LET ALONE BEFORE 11PM....  The pendulum has shifted folks....I'm a new me!  Good Night!

PEANUT PEANUT BUTTER

Went to the Farmer's Market today because it is Saturday and that is what I seem to do lately... (pics of finds later)....  Well I found a special surprise on this Saturday... Raw Peanuts still in shell and fresh and local and did I mention Raw...

It is quite hard to find peanuts in this area that aren't boiled, roasted, cooked, salted, you get the idea...

But there they were... pounds and pounds of fresh plucked peanuts.....  I got a pound from the very nice guy and then thought I best go back for another pound so I could make Peanut Butter.

When I told him what I was going to do, he said "Your going to make Peanut butter with my Peanuts?"

<Yes I am!>  I replied with a smile

"How you gonna do that?" he asked with his nice guy + accent voice.

<With my fancy blender!!>  aka Vita-Mix

"So your just going to throw these raw nuts in your fancy blender and get some Peanut Butter?"

<Yes I am!>

"Aren't you gonna cook'em?"

<Nope, going to blend them just as they are (minus the shell)>

"And your gonna get Peanut Butter just like that?"

<Yup, I sure will> I say with a smile

"Well, thats just the strangest thing I've ever heard"  he replied

I smiled some more and thanked him for this great Farmer's Market find.... He said he is there every year at this time and has never heard of anyone making Peanut Butter from his raw peanuts.  But admitted that he learns something new every day.  *smile*

Leave it to me to be the strange one???  Oh Yeah?  I'm always the strange one, what else is new?

Hee Hee.... Stay tuned for pics of some Yummy Peanut Butter... Maybe I should take some to the Farmer's Market next Saturday for the nice Farmer Man?

.......Now... I realize, I have to shell 3 Cups worth of peanuts...  Whose bright Idea was this anyway??? 

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!

CABBAGE - NOW WHAT?

Veg went to the store with me the other day and picked out a cabbage.... Why?  I don't know...

What will I ever do with a Cabbage?..... Hmmm???   Ah!!! 

Meet Mr. Vita-Mix and some water little Cabbage Buddy!

 

Drain water...

 

Add dressing of choice....

 

Yummy Cole Slaw... and fresh and good!!

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix...