Hummus Sammy!

I Love Hummus. I made a big batch the other day and threw this sandwich together. Chickpeas are high in protein and I definitely can use protein! It was supposed to be garlic hummus but my food processor chose to not even touch the garlic cloves. I found them still whole in the hummus!

Whole wheat pita
Hummus ( a VERY generous amount)
cucumbers, sliced
tomato, sliced
red onion, sliced
red peppers, sliced
avocado, salted
shredded carrot and broccoli stems
cilantro
drizzle with lime Juice

It's sooo good! I crave this all the time now.

Super Mario Brothers Birthday Party!

I Love doing theme parties for the kids. They love it and I think this might have been the last time I will be able to do a Combo party for the 2 of them. I have a feeling their likes are really going to clash come next birthday. Not sure i'll be able to convince Emma again that a Super Mario Party is kind of like a Princess party. Don't think she'll fall for that one again. Princess peach is cool and all but, she's no Disney Princess!

I started prepping for this months in advance! It was impossible to find decorations locally so I turned to the web! I found these templates online and went Bonkers making them. So fun and easy to make. http://www.chicaandjo.com/2010/05/13/super-mario-brothers-characters/

The balloons on the backs of the chairs was inspired by the battle mode in Super Mario cart.
Apples because that's what Yoshi eats.
And chocolate gold coins for decoration.

I also used the goomba template to make all of the mushrooms.
Printed the coins on card stock and cut them out.

I made my own templates for the cloud, Flower power and coin blocks.

I found the idea for the king Boo balloons online too. These were a little harder to do as I had to free hand draw all of the faces on the balloons with markers.

power star cookies! found this recipe to make star cookies from allrecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-ever-chocolate-cutout-cookies/detail.aspx

I used a sugar icing recipe and colored the icing with Tumeric.

I made the eyes with chocolate.

Birthday Cake! Made and tested this cake: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/178/Chocolate-Cake
I changed it a little, I added 1/2 cup apple sauce, quadruple the chocolate and used 1 cup of dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup of light brown sugar. It was good! Very rich and a little on the crumbly side. (Not a very good idea with the little ones.)

Made Butter icing for the cake and colored it with Tumeric. Can't believe the intense yellow color it gave the icing! And No, it did not flavor the icing. It tasted like icing. I don't let my kids eat artificial dyes so I was quite limited to what kind of cake I could make for them!
The eyes on the cake are thick pieces of Black licorice.

Of course it was a Pizza Party! That's what Mario and Luigi love most!



We got the kids' costumes from buycostumes.com as well as dessert plates, Mario goody boxes and mario stickers for the goody boxes.

I made a ton of these goody bags and served popcorn in them. So cuuuuute!

Can't wait to see what I'm in for when they turn 5!!
I have a Funny feeling I will be planning 2 separate parties! Yikes!

Halloween 2011

Well, I can honestly say that this is the first year I have NOT eaten any Halloween Candy! Hahaha, I can't, it's not Vegan! I was feeling so left out that I had to make these. Yum!

The recipe is simple, just 72% dark chocolate and organic peanut butter. Set in a silicone ice cube mold and put in the freezer. Voila! now I don't feel so left out.

We don't usually get dressed up to go out for Halloween. Actually, I believe we have only done it twice! This year we did it again. I was perusing buycostumes.com and fell in LOVE with their He-man costume; no wait...not the costume but the wig! It is hilarious! That wig is the reason we went out as He-man and She-ra.

We had fun, hopefully it will become tradition?

The kids had a blast too! They always do. Luckily there was no snow for Halloween so we were able to trick or treat all night. Every year the holidays get more exciting for these two. Can hardly wait until Christmas!

Coffee grounds

We are landscaping! Yay! finally almost finished. It feels good!
I had heard that coffee grounds are great for the garden so I did some research and found these interesting tidbits about coffee grounds in gardens.

~Coffee Grounds are full of nutrients that acidic plants love! Especially fruits and Vegetables.
~It repels cats from using your garden as their own personal litterbox!
~Earthworms love coffee! Caffeinated worms get the job done faster! hehehe, kidding. but seriously, worms love coffee grounds so the more compost the more worms you will attract.
~use it for slug control. Slugs don't enjoy coffee but they Love to munch on your garden plants so keep them out.

Starbucks has had a program in place for years. They give it away for free! That's right, free. My hubby is so proud of me. (lol)
If they dont have any in the bin at the front of the store, just ask. They'll get you some. It also helps to know someone "on the inside" ;)

I can hardly wait to get some more for my strawberry hanging baskets too!
I forgot to do my strawberry plants! Oh well, guess i'll just have to make a trip to Starbucks today! Oh darn...

I feel so Deceived!!

Since becoming Vegan I pay MUCH more attention to the ingredients listings on food. I am absolutely disgusted by what I have learned. All these years I thought I wasn't eating beef or pork but apparently, I was so!

Chewing Gum

Glycerin, a main ingredient in chewing gum is derrived from fat. usually animal fat but it can be made from vegetable fat. if a product has glycerin in it it will almost always be made from animal fat, unless it specifically says it doesn't.

Stearic Acid

Fat from cows, sheep, etc. (could be dogs and cats from shelters). Most often refers to a fatty substance taken from the stomachs of pigs. Can be harsh, irritating. Used in cosmetics, soaps, lubricants, candles, hairsprays, conditioners, deodorants, creams. Alternatives: can be found in many vegetable fats (ie. coconut).

Lanolin

Lanolin Alcohols (Sterol, Triterpene Alcohol, Aliphatic Alcohol). Wool Fat. Laneth-5, -10, etc. Lanogene. Lanosterol. Isopropyl Lanolate. A product of the oil glands of sheep, extracted from their wool. In many skin care products and cosmetics and in medicines. Some cosmetic companies won't use it because it commonly causes allergic contact skin rashes, and also they consider it to be a cheap filler. Vegetable sources are thought to be better moisturizers; lanolin is too greasy, waterproof and sealing - skin can't breathe.

Gross, I had no clue!

Jello, Marshmallows, vitamins, gummy candy, etc
So upsetting...
Gelatin Sometimes Gel. Protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments or bones with water, from cattle and hogs. Used in shampoos, face masks, other cosmetics. Used as a thickener for fruit gelatins and puddings (Jello-brand desserts). In candies, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, yogurts. On photographic film as a coating and in vitamins as capsules. Sometimes used to assist in "clearing" wines. Alternatives: algae and seaweed (carrageen/ Irish Moss, algin, agar-agar, kelp), Gelozone, used in jellies, plastics, medicines, pectin from fruit, dextrins, locust bean gum and cotton gum. Marshmallows were originally made from the root of the marshmallow plant unfortunately advanced manufacturing processes and improved texturing agents eliminated the need for the gooey root juice altogether.

Shellac (gum, candy)

You know that shiny coating on candies like skittles? Or the sprinkles on cupcakes and ice cream sundaes? Well, they get that glaze from the secretions of the female lac beetle. Also known as shellac, its also commonly used as wood varnish!

It's never ending! we have No idea what is in our food! How do these people get away with this deception? I know I am boycotting these products. Ewwwww.

Getting the kids to eat their vegetables

My kids hate Veggies! I don't blame them, really I don't. I didn't like vegetables when I was younger either. The only way to eat them was if they were smothered with Cheese. Not just any cheese...it had to be Cheese Whiz! Urg.

I came across a shoothie recipe today http://peacethroughhealth.ca/ and thought this would be a great way to sneak in some "Bedgables" (as my kids call them.)

I thought it was going to go over well when my Son announced "it looks like there's chocolate in there!" What a brilliant idea! I threw in some cacao chips too.
They both took one sip and were totally disgusted! I thought it was good!

I'm not giving up hope. I KNOW one day they too will love "Bedgables".

Vegan in training

I have decided to go Vegan! It just seemed to naturally be the next step. It was bound to happen sooner or later!
I haven't had red meat or pork since 1999.
We recently did a 10 day raw vegan diet. It was easy and I loved it! I felt great being on the raw food. My skin started to glow, my skin got better and I felt better. Don't know that I could be 100% raw but I will certainly try!
I look forward to the challenge of coming up with delicious recipes. I love to cook. Love to make food yummy!
I could also use more compassion in my life. I need to be more compassionate for people and for animals.
I promise to never judge anyone again because when ever I do I seem to somehow end up in those shoes!
I am also tired of chasing skinny. I have struggled with my weight and body issues since I was a pre-teen.
Had a brief stint with anorexia when I was in high school and have struggled to maintain since then.
In 2007 I gave birth to twins. Full term twins. My body was a mess, I didn't ever think I could get my pre pregnancy body back. But I did, I did better than pre-pregnancy. It took a very Long time and a lot of work. I exercised every day, there were days I would excercise 2 or 3 times a day. Working out became a new obsession and now I'm hooked. I'm not as hard core as I used to be but I really enjoy excercise.
So I think I'm going to blog about my transition from vegetarian(?) to Vegan and life in general as well of course.
I know what my friends and family are thinking. They all think I'm nuts. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to inspire someone.