Pigs in a Blanket

I love when you find a recipe that you once loved and it's been Vegan-ized. I found Vegan Pigs in a Blanket, so I gave it a try. This takes some time, but is a great classic dinner. To balance the time spent making the Pigs in a Blanket I made the side salad last night and let it marinate over night. It was so easy, just chop up some veggies you love (cucumber, yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes, and onion) and toss them in balsamic vinegar.

Pigs in a Blanket

2 c whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 c vegetable shortening
1 c water
1/2 TBSP applesauce
1 package vegan hot dogs (cut each one into 3 pieces)

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add in shortening and mix with blender. Make a well in the center and pour water and applesauce in, stir until well blended.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface. Tear off a small ball of dough, flatten it out, and roll around a hot dog piece.

Place onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 mins at 450 degrees.

Yummy!!

Taking the Time

Tonight I had a wonderful experience. I went to a mindful eating cooking class and it opened my eyes to so many things.

How often do you eat and not even bother to stop and really look at the food, or take the time to truly taste what you are eating? We order something we "love" and then eat it so quickly we can not even enjoy it. Take time to slow down, smell it, look at it, enjoy all the flavors as you taste it.

We have lost sight of the purpose of food. It is to nourish our bodies and minds. Think about what you are putting into your body. Think of all the things that your body does for you without you even asking it to. Do you ever thank it for all it does? We do not treat our bodies kindly. When thinking of food we have become obsessed with calories, carbs, good for you, bad for you. Think about what is the energy of the food you are eating? Are you giving your body what it need to do it's job or are you trying to be healthy by giving it the lowest calories possible, empty calories with no nutritional value.

Love your body, thank your body. Fuel it with all the wonderful things that it wants.

It's nice to be back

After a week long hiatus from cooking we have finally gotten back on track. I decided to make our first meal an easy one to prepare, a "meatloaf" with garlic broccoli and sweet potatoes. It was a delicious way to start the week!!

David is not a fan of broccoli and he loved it tonight, ate 3 servings!!! Give it a try!

Garlic Broccoli

1 TBSP Olive Oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 c broccoli florets
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c water

Place oil and garlic in skillet on med heat and cook for 2 mins. Stir in broccoli, salt, and water. Cover and increase heat to high, when you hear a strong sizzle, reduce heat to low and cook 2-3 mins, stirring frequently.

I was recommended a new place to try, Foundation Grounds, and it did not disappoint. It is an adorable coffee house/cafe/bakery and they have a vegan friendly menu. I got the Tempeh Salad Sandwich with a side salad. It is like a chicken salad sandwich with cranberries and raisins in it, yummm!! The Balsamic Dressing on the salad is the best I have ever tasted, you have to try it if you go.

They had a selection of vegan desserts, so of course I had to get some!! I got a cookies n cream cupcake and a pumpkin muffin, the muffin was outstanding-you wouldn't even be able to tell it's vegan. I also heard they have the BEST vegan chocolate chip cookies.

On a side note

Side dishes can make or brake a meal and finding easy quick ones can be difficult. Tonight for dinner we had Sesame Roasted Asparagus and it was wonderful!! Give it a try:

1 lb fresh asparagus, ends removed
2 tsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP sesame seeds, toasted

Toss asparagus, oil, salt, and sesame seeds until coated. Bake for 10-12 mins at 475 degrees.

Interesting tip I read: to determine where you should cut the ends off asparagus hold both ends and bend, it will snap where it should be cut.

Newton's Law

Making dinner tonight was so frustrating. Everything that could go wrong, did! I was making a new stir-fry recipe that I had found. Simple enough, right?? Not so much, I had Tamari instead of Tahini, when I grated my ginger I used the wrong side and it didn't grate, I forgot to use the sesame oil, and so on. But guess what, I just kept going and it actually turned out pretty good. David even said it's a keeper!! I will definitely try to make the recipe again, but I will also keep tonight's version. If you want to give my version a try it was super easy (without all the mistakes, haha)!

1 small onion, chopped
1/2 block firm tofu, cubed
4 large button mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup bean sprouts
Tamari (quantity depends on how much you like)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Saute onions, tofu, and mushrooms in oil until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and red peppers and saute for 2-3 mins. Add the tamari, bean sprouts, salt, and pepper, saute for 1-2 mins. Serve over brown rice.

This doesn't make a huge quantity, enough for maybe 2 people.

Dollars and Sense

One of David's biggest concerns with going Vegan was not what are we going to eat, but how much is this new lifestyle going to cost us? This was a valid question to which I did not have the answer, nor could I simply look it up. Now that we have been Vegan for 3 months (yay!!) I am able to answer this question.

I have compared our eating out and grocery bills pre-vegan and post-vegan. Surprising to the both of us we have saved money with our new lifestyle. Not only are we now filling our bodies with wonderful, and usually organic, foods but we are saving money doing it! When I shop at the grocery store I mostly shop in the produce section, with a few exceptions. But I no longer shop in the meat, dairy, or processed foods section.

You are probably thinking, "Of course they are saving money, they don't eat out any more." Not true! We are eating at home more than before because the whole point is to try and be more healthy, but we still eat out often.

Here is a perfect example: This is the sandwich I had at Einstein's today for lunch. It was super yummy and my whole meal only cost $3.20!!!!