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...

Healthful eating tips. It's not rocket science, but it helps a ton and saves the dough you need for more important things like.... Avalon's Thrift Shop $1 sale! And going on month long missionary trips in Italy. :-) Eat more whole (unprocessed) foods. Think outside of the box. Literally! If it's not in it's "whole" state then it's processed. I'm not saying you can never eat, but choose the whole (a baked potato with fixings) over the part or the processed (fries, mashed potatoes) and you will likely be getting something more nutrient dense and filling with less calories. Eating healthy does not have to break the bank account . If it's out of your budget (protein powder) then buy something else (tempeh, tofu, quinoa) or the cheaper version( dry beans vs. more expensive (albeit convenient) canned beans). If you'd like to expand your health food repertoire, don't go buy a whole bag of it. Get a small amount from the bulk foods se...

Red Lentils and Kale on Olive Pane Do you ever get meal inspiration from something you read? There are some literary works that purposely attempt to inspire hunger, but there are times when my culinary imagination is set afire accidentally. This particular meal was inspired by my Bible reading and research. Can you guess what I was reading about? I'll give you a clue: Twins, Birthright, Red. Got it? You guessed it! Our Sunday lesson revolved around valuing spiritual things and we were discussing the experience of Jacob and Esau at Genesis 25: 27-34. Well, while I was reading this it popped into my head that I had some red lentils in the cupboard and the idea sort of grew from there. I made the red lentils and added kale in the final minutes of cooking along with a sprinkle of lemon pepper and sea salt. Finished with a drizzle of oil. Interestingly, I found out that this olive Pane, which I bought as a splurge item is $3 cheaper at Whole Foods than...

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...

  So it was a really freezing morning last Saturday, but I got up and did some early morning witnessing. Got to talk to some groovy people. And check out the awesome sunrise.   In warmer news the brown rice rotini is back! Covered in Udo's oils and a healthy sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Oh yum baby! Perfect dinner on a cold wintry night. $9? Oh yeah! Especially when you have some cute new boots to keep your feet warm and your calves are looking tight with a healthy sized wedge.   Thanks Forever21!   These have great grip on the bottom. What? You know I cannot buy shoes that aren't practical...At least they can be cute too. :)       Ending on a random note...   A few weeks ago my family and I went to the Heinz History Center and yes I took more pictures, but I thought this one was super cool.   After we had walked through the whole center mum, bro and I too...

How could you ever get tired of tofu scramble? There are so many variations. Savory, sweet, and pretty much any cultural adaptation you can imagine... I don't eat tofu (or any soy products) often, but it's nice ot have a block on hold in the freezer for the occassional cravings and for a quick breakfast or dinner. I just drain it of any liquid its packed in, rinse it cut the block into four and then freeze. No other prep needed. And freezing it makes the tofu chewier in texture, so it doesnt need to be cooked as long. Just flash fried (cooked in a very hot skillet) to brown it. If you have any questions about Tofu feel free to email me or put it in the comment section in below. How much do you love it when the mushrooms are fried? Tuscan Scramble 1/2 block tofu crumbled (mine was frozen but nuked to thaw) 1/2 c frozen kale, thawed 1 cup sliced baby bella 1/4 c onion sliced or diced 1 t salt 1 T ...

 So, really embarrassing story to share...... I know the month is going rather quickly (didja notice?) But Wednesday I thought it was going at a "week for a day" type pace. Got to work and was looking at the calendar and thought to myself "I cant believe its the 22nd already!" But that just didn't seem right so I looked again and it said "Friday 22nd" It was actually "Wednesday the 13th" but someone thought it would be fun to switch the calendar and not switch it back. Great coworkers :-/ But anyway here are some of the goodies in my surprise Freewill bags: In other news..... The cactus is blooming! A delicious lunch I had the other day....... Auntie Person wanted to go to Sam's after the Sunday meeting and I would have died or bought a 50 pound bag of crackers if i went to Sam's hungry, so I suggested we stop for lunch at Green Mango (yay to having two centrally located Green Mango's) I had...

Okay so its 4 more days until spring, but the weather is decidedly summer-like. Im definitely not hating the warm weather, but I'm worried we will have a blizzard in April as payback. Am I the only one worried about that? Probably...lol I really want to pop on my awesome healed sandles purchased in the dead of winter!!! Recent Eats The Health Starts Here Mediterranean Crunch Salad from Whole Foods was out of this world yummy.  Very simple ingredients, but the flavor profile was complex. But more on that in a minute.... Nooched out Quinoa topped with sauteed mushrooms celery and spinach. This was surprisingly delicious dish born of desperation. Two basic elements combined deliciously: Part 1(bottom): 2 T Nutritional Yeast + 1 T Udo's Oil + 1 cup cooked quinoa and a sprinkle of Spanish sea salt stir all ingredients together Part 2 (top): 3 chopped stalks of celery + 1/4 c frozen spinach + 1/2 cup sliced baby bell...