Love Day

I made breakfast for dinner the other night and it was super tasty. I haven't made a tofu scramble in forever, and I've missed them! This  had potatoes, tofu, onion and kale and was spiced with turmeric, nooch, and salt and pepper. Doused with a little hot sauce and served on a slice of Ezekiel toast. I'm almost all the way gluten free, but I do keep a loaf of Ezekiel bread in my freezer for those random bread cravings. I'm having a hard time finding gluten free bread, and I know that sprouted bread is easier on the old digestive track. But it is a very rare treat.

I made a delicious batch of tomato-y lentil kale soup and had dinner for breakfast! I served it with my bargain bin rice crackers. These crackers are really tasty with a nice crispy texture. They hold up really well with soup. I wish I would have gotten two boxes of these since gluten free crackers can be pricey.

Speaking of bargain bins, last night I tried this garlic basil coconut rice I found on sale for $.99 a box! It wasn't as coconut-y as I was hoping, but it had a nice flavor and went really well with some oven baked tofu and of course sriracha! Another item I wish I would have gotten more of.

I'm really enjoying roasted dandelion tea lately. It's so good for you, and it's a nice replacement for coffee. It tastes excellent with this hazelnut creamer which I also found on sale. I still can't believe that I am caffeine free! If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be caffeine free, I would have laughed so hard. It feels good to be free of all of my vices.

Here's Kanye catching some rays. She is a little sun worshiper. She gets it from me, I have always and will always love the sun!

And for Valentine's Day, here is a cute cuddle shot of Etta and Kanye. I am surprised I got this picture because Etta usually moves as soon as she sees me trying to get a picture. I must have been super sneaky!
In some more good news, Coffee Mate is now making vegan coffee creamers! It's very easy to feel hopeless, especially with Agent Orange as our president, so these small little things matter. It's not enough, but it is progress.
Happy Valentine's Day! I think we all could use a day focused on love!

Beanboozled

                     
                             
Melissa McCarthy killed it again as Sean Spicer. I never would have pictured her as Sean Spicer, and now I can't imagine anyone else playing him. Saturday Night Live is really killing it lately, and I feel like we so need it.

This couch was given to me used, and the previous owner's cats had started the shredding, but it has been Afro/Brutus's mission in life to finish the job. Well, early this morning mission was accomplished! She's just so proud of herself!!

I made a really tasty brown rice and green lentil salad with kale, parsley and red onion. I made a lemon mustard vinaigrette and had some for breakfast in Romaine cups. I love rice and bean salads because they're good warm, room temperature or cold. And they always taste better the next day.

This popcorn is one of my new favorite snacks! It has the perfect amount of seasoning, and it isn't too greasy. It's also a lot cheaper than many other bagged, flavored popcorn. Trader Joe's really is the best!

I was craving curry, so I whipped up a quick garbanzo bean and potato curry and had it over Jasmine rice. So warming and filling. Not to mention so cheap! Beans and potatoes and rice are really a person on a budgets best friend. All it takes is a decent spice collection and some imagination and you won't get bored. Beans beans the magical fruit!
Happy Sunday!

It's Caturday!!

I figured I'd start this Caturday off right! Here is Joan in her favorite spot, the heat vent in the bathroom. She loves to be warm. I just know she would love a fireplace. Maybe one day sweet girl.

Here's Roxy waiting for me on the kitchen counter. She just loves to "help" me when I'm cooking. The only animal product this vegan consumes is cat hair!

I ran in to Natural Grocers yesterday to pick up another salted almond butter chocolate bar while they are on sale. I couldn't resist checking out their clearance section and I found some excellent deals. I've seen that GoodBelly juice for awhile now, but I never want to pay the full price. This was on sale for $1.75. It has four servings, so that's quite the deal. The flavor is cranberry watermelon which I thought was kind of a strange combo. It's okay, it's like a juice, but it has a cornstarch thickened consistency. I still prefer kombucha for my probiotic needs. And the gluten free crackers were a steal at $1.75 a box. Gluten free crackers are double the price of gluten full crackers, so this made my day!

I had a long day yesterday, so I wanted something simple and quick for dinner. Vegan sushi to the rescue! Simple avocado and baked tofu rolls. This is seriously one of my favorite things to eat. I love making them too. I feel accomplished and fancy, even though there's nothing to it. I had a nice amount of wasabi in the soy sauce which was nice for the old sinuses!
Happy Caturday!

Finding Those Deals, and Eating and Drinking Your Greens!

I was strolling through the grocery the other day, and something told me to check out the freezer section where they have veggie burgers. I try to avoid that section because I really want gardein, and all of the veggie burgers I like have gluten in them, but I went with my intuition and strolled down the aisle. They had these Chez Marie spicy black bean burgers on clearance for $1.61 a package, and each package has four burgers! I've seen these burgers for awhile, but they're normally pretty pricey. They're vegan, gluten free and contain ingredients I can pronounce. They also had the Hampton Creek dressings on sale, so I just had to try the Just Caesar.
I made a nice big salad with Romaine, kale, red onion, and sweet mini peppers and tossed it all with the Just Caesar and topped it with one of the patties.

The dressing is AMAZING!! I don't know how Hampton Creek does it, but they are absolutely brilliant! This is tangy without being too tangy, it is seriously drinkable. The cashier was looking at the bottle, and she mentioned that she loved the FYH vegan ranch, and I told her she had to try the Just Ranch because it seriously is the best ranch ever. I love meeting random people who are vegans and sharing food tips, it really makes my day! The burger is okay, it has that dry and mushy texture that Hillary's burgers have which isn't my favorite, but they have a nice spicy flavor. Honestly, I would never pay full price for them.
One of my tips if you're on a budget is to check every aisle, even if you don't need anything from it. Some stores like natural Grocers kind of move their sale/clearance stuff to a specific area, other stores just leave the items in their normal spot. Smith's puts stickers that say Woo Hoo on their sale stuff which is nice because they're very eye catching. About two or three weeks ago, I found a container of Treeline cashew cheese on a Woo Hoo sale for $1.99!! I love that cheese so much, but at nine dollars a container I never buy it. I've found that looking for deals at the grocery is like thrift shopping. You just have to be patient, and be somewhat flexible. Anyway, there is my budget shopping tip for the day!

Here's one of my favorite smoothies. Spinach, banana, frozen pineapple and ground flax. The pineapple and banana make it taste like a delicious tropical drink, and you can really put a lot of spinach in there! Don't mind all the random junk on the floor in the background, cats. Everything is a toy to them!
Before I sign off, it's been a great week for vegan ice cream! First, Ben & Jerry has come out with two new flavors, and I saw on twitter yesterday that Breyers has secretly launched a vegan ice cream!
Here's the blurb! I see this as not only great news for ice cream loving vegans, but a step in the right direction for animals. These corporations do everything for profit, so obviously they see a demand for non dairy ice cream, and want a piece of the action. I feel like almond milk makes a really great and creamy ice cream, so I bet it will impress non vegans just like the Ben&Jerry's has. In these very dark times, it's nice to see glimmers of hope and light!

I'll leave you with my two little cuddle muffins, Afro and Etta. This is their normal spot every morning!
Happy Friday!

Hauls, Deals and Cats

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring-like day. I love how the snowy mountains are peeking in the background. I still can't really get over the beauty of the mountains all around me. It was so refreshing to have the temperatures in the fifties, and see the sun. I loved every second of it! Spring has always been my favorite season, and I know it's still winter, but yesterday reminded me that spring will come.

Lemon, red and sweet onion,sweet mini peppers,gold potatoes,avocado,spinach,popcorn,tofu,frozen pineapple,lemons,russet potatoes

I figured out how to rotate my upside down pictures so I can show my haul from the other day! I'm getting so techie!

Parsley,sugar,chocolate,olive oil,gluten free crackers,brown rice,olives, pepperoncini peppers,pad Thai sauce,BBQ sauce, white beans,coconut oil and vegetarian gravy mix, kale and nosy kitties

Smith's had the Pad Thai sauce on clearance for eighty cents! It's vegan, and surprisingly not full of scary ingredients. I haven't had Pad Thai in forever so that will be a real treat. I also scored on the brown Jasmine rice, two pounds for $1.29!!! And Natural grocers had the Annie's sweet and spicy BBQ sauce on clearance for $1.99!! I'm very lucky in that Smith's, Trader Joe's and Natural Grocers are all in the same vicinity of each other, so it's very easy for me to hit up all three places and score the most amazing deals. Natural Grocers is kind of pricey, but the have a clearance section that is pretty amazing.

This is one of the chocolate bars I got on sale and just WOW! This is in the top three best vegan chocolate bars I've tried! It has a perfect chocolate to nut butter ratio, and the perfect amount of salt. I highly recommend this! If you have a Natural Grocer's in your area, run don't walk because they're on sale!!!

I made this delicious pepperoncini hummus. I got the recipe from a YouTube channel that I love. Here is the recipe if you're interested. The only difference in mine is that I used white beans cause that's what I had!! If you like pepperoncinis you will love this!!

I'm using these crackers to dip. I think I mentioned that I am avoiding gluten as it is really bad for hypothyroidism. Gluten free anything can be really pricey, including crackers. These were on sale at Smith's, and I was pleasantly surprised when I read the ingredients to see they aren't full of scary, toxic ingredients. I'm not saying they are a health food, but they aren't that terrible either. And they have a nice, light texture. Pretty dang tasty to be honest.

I've been letting Afro come out on the deck for supervised visits. My neighbors have a big dog who also hangs out on the deck so we have to be careful. She's gotten a little big for her britches though. When I come home, as soon as I open my door she just strolls on out like she owns the world.

And now she's taken to meowing loudly and scratching at the door if she feels like she's being deprived of her outdoor time. Roxy has decided to be her partner in crime.

She also lays in front of the door alternating between giving me the side eye, and sad face. She's a handful outside because Brutus always comes out, and she tries to sneak to the stairs. She is just such a pill, but I love her so!!

Greens, Veggies and Grain Salad

Yesterday I made a delicious grains and greens salad with some brown Jasmine rice I found at a great price. For some reason the picture downloaded upside down, and I almost scrapped sharing, but I actually wrote down the recipe as I made it (which I rarely do) so I'm going to share it anyway because it's really delicious!!

                                                        
                                                        Greens, Grain, and Veggies Salad

• 1 C. dry brown rice
• 6 mini sweet peppers diced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 C. chopped parsley
• 1/2 small red onion diced
• 7 green olives, sliced
• 1 Cup Lacinato kale, shredded

Dressing- 1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar, Juice of 1 Large Lemon, 1 large clove garlic, minced, 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Salt and Pepper to taste.

While your rice is cooking, make your dressing first so that the lemon and garlic can really come together and flavor the oil. Chop all your veggies and place in a large bowl. Shred your kale and if you want to leave it raw add it to the veggies, or add it to the rice during the last ten minutes of cooking, which is what I did. Let the rice cool for ten minutes or so, then add to the bowl with your veggies and herbs and stir in the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste, and you have a delicious lemony, garlic-y salad with lots of flavor and crunchy textures!! Kalamata olives would probably be amazing in this too!
I had some of this for dinner with lemony garlic potatoes from Veganomicon and it was a really tasty meal. Very garlic-y and lemony which are two of my favorite flavors. I would show you my dinner picture but it's super upside down and is headache inducing! Wish me luck figuring out this upside down issue!

Where is that Squirrel?

What I Ate

I figured I would do a what I ate post. Even though my meals haven't been the most exciting, they're still tasty.

I had some leftover lentil soup, so I added a little quinoa and made it into a chunky stew. I do not have the gift of cooking fluffy quinoa, so I'm just going to use it for soups and such. I'm throwing in the towel! I have tried for years to make fluffy quinoa, I have tried every method Google has spit out at me, and it's just never right. I also had a random crispy taco shell so I used that for dipping. Lentil soup is one of my favorite things to have for breakfast!

I made this delicious pink grapefruit and carrot juice. I usually like to add ginger, but I didn't have any fresh. This might sound like a weird combo, but it's actually really tasty. I don't have a juicer, but it's easy to make juice with a blender and either a nut milk bag, or a mesh strainer.

For dinner I made a Thai green curry with baked tofu and lots of cilantro. This So Delicious culinary coconut milk is seriously the best coconut milk EVER. You know how sometimes light coconut milk can be a little watery? Not this one. Even though it's light, it still is thick and creamy. A few weeks ago Natural Grocers had these on a super sale so I stocked up. Plus I like that it isn't in a can. This was so delicious and satisfying!
I didn't take a picture, but for dessert I had a few squares of blackberry sage dark chocolate from Endangered Species. Smith's has their chocolates on sale. I usually go for the lemon poppyseed, but I am obviously not the only person who loves that flavor as they were sold out. The blackberry sage is still really amazing.
Speaking of dessert, I saw on either Twitter or Instagram(or maybe both) that Ben&Jerry's is coming out with two new vegan flavors!! Cherry Garcia and Coconut seven layer bar!!!!! Here is a little article about it!! I used to love Cherry Garcia so this is exciting! I hope someday they make a vegan version of Phish food!! This is really great news, and it shows that there is a demand for non dairy ice creams!!

How cute are these two? Totally hugging and loving on each other. Melts my heart every time!!

Spices, Condiments and Cats!

I figured I'd start a Monday morning post with some cuteness. Etta is not thrilled to have been woken up by Kanye wanting to play, but like a good auntie she went along with it. Don't you just wanna get Kanye's belly?? I love how it's only striped in the very center!

Makes oven fries soooo tasty!

So amazing on spinach salads!

These are two of my favorite spices/condiments ever! I can't believe I've never had the peanut vinaigrette before! If I but dressing at Trader Joe's, I usually go for the Goddess dressing which is on a shelf by the oils, and this is kept cold. At my Trader Joe's it's actually next to the bagged lettuce. It's peanut-y with a kick of vinegar and a little spice. It's definitely not too spicy but it is soooo amazing. And the 21 seasoning salute is so amazing on oven fries! I feel like they need less salt when I use this. I used both of these for a super simple but rally tasty dinner.

I had a little bit of leftover tofu so I baked it up with a few potatoes and sprinkled it all with salt, pepper, and the seasoning salute and served it with some spinach drizzled with the vinaigrette. I dipped my fries in Just Ranch, and the tofu in spicy mustard and sriracha. This was a super simple but really tasty meal. Sriracha and spicy mustard taste really good mixed together. Life would be so boring without condiments!!

And this is why I can never properly make my bed! I just never have the heart to make them move. An unmade bed used to drive me bonkers, but I've learned to just go with the flow. What can I say, these girls pretty much rule this apartment!! Not included in the bundle is Kanye, who is currently sleeping in the closet on an old fleece.
I'm sure a lot of you saw this, but if you missed it, Melissa McCarthy did a spot on, absolutely hilarious Sean Spicer skit on SNL, and it made me laugh soooo hard. I'm finding that in order to stay on top of the disaster that is Trump's presidency, laughter is very important to balance out the depression and anger. Anyway, if you haven't seen it, it is sooooo worth eight minutes of your life! Here's a link.
Happy Monday!!

Food and Cats!

Happy Sunday from Joan. I was snapping some pictures of Roxie being a prim and proper lady, and Joan got super jealous and demanded to be photographed!

There's a squirrel that lives in the tree behind my apartment, and he/she has a taunting relationship with my cats. It will stop and look in my window until someone sees it. Sometimes he/she stands on it's back legs and I swear it looks like it's flexing it's muscles. It's pretty funny, and it definitely keeps them entertained! This weekend has been very mild and springlike, so I opened my windows to let some fresh air in and it made for some very happy kitties!

I have been avoiding gluten, and processed foods which has been a struggle, I swear gardein taunts me from the freezer aisle, but I saw these the other day and had to get them. When I lived in Seattle I made homemade pupusas and really fell in love. These are vegan and gluten free, and really had pretty normal ingredients. They are super tasty with a little hot sauce sprinkled on top. If you see these, I really recommend them.

tofu, apple cider vinegar, bananas, avocado,soy sauce,dark chocolate,lemon, cilantro,crushed red pepper, and nori wraps

Here's a little mini haul from last week. I've been drinking two tablespoons of ACV in a glass of water daily. It's supposed to be good for really anyone but especially hypothyroidism. It takes a little getting used to, but I've adjusted to the taste and really don't mind it. It has probiotics in it as well, and a bottle of Bragg's ACV is only one dollar more than a bottle of kombucha and makes many servings so it's a money saver as well. One of these days I plan on getting back into brewing my own booch.

I made these yummy sushi burritos the other day, filled with rice, avocado and baked tofu. I've become obsessed with sushi burritos. They're so much easier than regular sushi, and much more forgiving. I put lots of wasabi in my soy sauce. I love the burn! I also read somewhere that nori is good for hypothyroidism so it works out well.

Here is a bowl of delicious lentil potato soup I made. I spiced it with a little turmeric, crushed red pepper, thyme and dried fennel. So filling and delicious. Lentil soup has been a staple in my kitchen for as long as I can remember.
I'm going to leave you with Miss Roxie who is truly a prim and proper lady. (Ha Ha)

She wouldn't look up at me, she was very deep in thought. But she's so dang cute!
Happy Sunday!

Hot For Food Does it Again!

                                           
I came across this video the other day and wanted to share it. Since I've been taking time off it seemed like the perfect way to dip my toe in the blogging pool again. I know the Super Bowl is coming up at some point. I'm not really a sports fan but I know a lot of people are, and this seems like a great treat to please vegans and non vegans alike. It might even make some people fall in love with Brussels sprouts! I really love Hot For Food's recipe?! videos. That is how I learned to cook, and how I cook on the regular. Just seeing what I have on hand and going from there. Some of the tastiest things I've made have been a little of this, and a little of that. I plan on making these as soon as I figure out a gluten free alternative to panko or breadcrumbs since I'm avoiding gluten and all. :(
When I make them I will be baking them since I have a serious fear of deep frying. All that oil bubbling just seems too dangerous. Especially when you have nosy kitties who like to hop on the counter and "help" with cooking. I feel pretty confidant these will be delicious oven baked too.
As I said, I miss blogging and for awhile my food was very boring, so I felt like what's the point. My food is still more boring than I would like, but I love to cook, and I love to be creative in the kitchen, so I'm slowly getting inspired again. I miss gluten like you wouldn't believe, but like everything else in life you learn to adjust.
I also feel so sad, angry and helpless over the happenings of the first week of that man who is our unfortunate president. I mean, I knew it was going to be bad, but this is worse than I ever imagined. I feel like we all need to pay attention and speak up in whatever way possible. Speaking up is our right, and our duty.
Before I sign off, (my toe is pruning) I just want to say that two things that are really bad when you have hypothyroidism are gluten and caffeine. I have been a caffeine junkie for so many years. I started sneaking coffee when I was twelve! When I got caught, my step-dad told me it would stunt my growth, and I just didn't care. I also had a bad addiction to energy drinks when I was at my worst and unhealthiest. Even though I gave up coffee several years ago, I still drank a healthy amount of green tea. Over the past two months I have weaned myself off of all caffeinated teas, and now I drink only herbal. Mostly Rooibos and Dandelion. It's been tough, but I am so proud and actually feel great. It feels great to not be addicted to anything. I am free for the first time! Small accomplishments!
I hope you are all doing well, and I will be back on a regular basis soon!