Food(less) Journey

I'm Back Internet!! That is still the most commonly asked question I hear when people find out I'm a plant based foodie. The simple answer to that question is "Food. Specifically plant based foods". But the concept of a food being "plant based" is somewhat foreign to the American Public. And that's okay. Each one teach one. A plant based diet excludes eggs, meat and dairy, but includes everything else. Fruit, vegetables, and grains in all their marvelous varieties. I could tell you what I eat, but isn't it easier to show rather than tell? So, here are a few of my recent meals. Most of my meals have been eaten at home lately, but the last four items are at local non plant based restaurants. Pittsburgh is secretly a veg based paradise. The items I show aren't even at one of the many vegan exclusive restaurants in the area. But enough chatting..... Sanoma Gluten Free Flatbreads Dairy Free Fire Roasted Veggie Pizza Van's G...

What do you eat for breakfast? In Italy it was tea and a pastry Or leftover pasta... What's for breakfast? Common vegan question #13. Cracklebred topped with nutbutter, jam, dried fruit and nuts.. Cracklebred topped with Fakin' bacon, tofu eggs...   Scrambled tofu with tempeh bacon and a side of whole wheat toast..     Pancakes for one topped with maple syrup or warm fruit compote..   Oatmeal with coconut butter, peanut butter and strawberry rhubarb jam Oatmeal with nut butter, nuts and dried fruit, jam, etc.. Rice and vegetables.. Leftover pasta... Cold cereal and almond milk... Puffed Kamut with soaked Goji berries and maple syrup  Loaded sweet potato... Sweet Potato with peanut butter, dried cranberries and sliced almonds    My favorite especially when Im trying to control cravings is a smoothie. To add protein my favorites are protein powder, hemp seeds, nutmilk base and/or nut butt...

strange angle of the city Okay so I kow this is not the best angle of the city or the most popular. BUT (That was a big but in case you missed it..lol) I love how the slope of the off ramp illustrates the slopes and hills found all over the area contrasted with the apparent flatness of the downtown area. Something about Florence that reminded me of home was this juxtaposition and now that I'm home this reminds me of Florence. But it is something I love about Pittsburgh: constant altitude changing. Driving around you don't always get a sense of how much you are going up and down hill, but when you walk as much as i do you feel the change in your calf's (or is it calves). Bridges just get on already I almost got fussed at for holding up the entry line trying to take pictures. Oops! I'm a photography nerd, what can I say? For the best view of the city exit from this tunnel and prepare to gasp. I know people who will take the ...

Bad salad! Go to your room and think about what you did!! I thought this would be a good salad combo. Romaine topped with chickpeas and hummus. However there weren't enough veggies and it needed some fat. The good thing is it became the base of a better salad. But I didnt get a pic of it. But don't fret! I got a picture of the beauty below: Pasta salad with brown rice rotini, kalamata olives, chopped tomato, cucumber, carrot chips and greek dressing. Things I forgot to mention...   I went to the $1 sale at Avalon an extremely happening resale shop.  I was able to score quite a few great items. Quite a few were brand new, which is always nice when you are on a (tight) budget. Just a few tags Also went to a very chic Milkshake shop with the fam. But they didnt have soymilkshakes so they don't get a free plug from me. But look at the awesome ceiling. It was a very cute shop with loads of candy. More Natu...

This Weekend was my Circuit Assembly. It was a ridiculously wonderful weekend! SO much wonderful instruction and spiritual food! Assemblies and Conventions always help me with refocusing on what is really important and with setting big goals. And last week was rather stressful so I was definitely glad to be going and spending time with spiritually minded people for two full days in a row. And I was blessed enough to be able to volunteer in two different departments. I love helping out in the coat room! You get to talk to so many people coming in. After the Saturday session we went to Whole Foods for dinner. I bought the candle cafe mac and cheese because it was on sale and there was a coupon, but i also bought the Harrys Samosas just in case it wasn't that great. Good thing I did. That mac n cheese was nothing to write home about. I wouldn't buy it again even on sale and with a coupon. There wasn't enough cheese and the shredded cheese on top of it didn't blend ...

Hello Blissmo! But first a major aside about my old frienemy salad.... Im really not a salad person generally.I think I had too many bad salad experiences when i was new to not eating meat. I don't ever crave a "salad" per ce. I do get cravings for things like Sumi Salad which is like cole slaw but without all the heavy dressing, or avocado salad which is also a lettuce-less cousin of salad. But I bought  a load of veggies and some lettuce to make a salad for dinner for the Zone visit last Saturday at Coraopolis.   I never did put lettuce in the salad because after I chopped the veggies there was no room in the lunch container. I had to smash down what was in there to get it to close as it was. Yellow pepper, avocado, cucumber, tomato, chickpeas and carrots (Whole Foods had them labeled as  juicing carrots. they were sweet crisp and yummy). Sprinkle of Italian sea salt and drizzle of olive oil. So, I had lettuce wilting in the fridg...