Three Cheers for Spring!

Today is the first day of spring! I feel like I made it through a battle or something. Winter took more of a toll on me than I even realized. As soon as it started consistently staying in the twenty five degree and above range, I felt like someone gave me a shot of 100 proof happy. Spring is when I always feel inspired to make changes/resolutions, not so much the New Year. It was actually last spring that started the ball rolling for a lot of positive changes in my life. Spring is when I started really looking seriously into juicing more, Raw till 4, and no-poo. And all of those things started the wheels in my head spinning, which eventually led to me picking this blog back up. I know my fur family agrees with me, as there have been a few days where I have been able to open some windows and get some fresh air in, and as they say the crowd goes wild!  I love the smell of the early mornings in spring. You hear the birds chirping, and everything has the sheen of dew, and it just smells so full of life and fresh. Even walking through a concrete jungle smells fresher in the spring. And if you live somewhere that had a rough winter, there is a lightness in the air, and in people's attitudes. Everyone is so damn happy to be not wearing boots anymore! I feel like a huge cloud has been lifted from over my head. What I'm trying to say, is I love you Spring!
I've been eating more fruit, and even though it's still a little on the cool side, I've been drinking more smoothies, and I notice a marked improvement to my energy and mood. My creative juices have been flowing more in the kitchen too. Last night, I made a red pepper pasta sauce, and I made Raw sunflower seed "parmesan"! I improvised, and it turned out great, first try. Thanks spring! I threw half a cup of  raw sunflower seeds, a little more than a fourth cup of nutritional yeast, and a hefty pinch of sea salt in a blender, and pulsed until a fine, "cheese like" consistency. I suppose if I had roasted the sunflower seeds the taste might have been a bit richer, but I liked letting the nutritional yeast be the star flavor. Be generous with the sea salt if you try this, remember parmesan was a saltier cheese. The sunflower seeds made it a heftier substitute than just nutritional yeast alone. It really had a very similar texture to parmesan, and I love it. I will be adding this to salads, and on top of soups. Also, with summer coming up, it would be a great addition to vegan pasta salads! Yay for warm weather foods!
This is a great vegan parmesan substitute for people with nut allergies, and also sunflower seeds are tons cheaper than nuts, so it's wallet friendly too!
I hope everyone has a little extra spring in your step today!