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...

As soon as it snows it is officially pancake season! Yay! Oh wait.... It is ALWAYS pancake season! Triple yay! Just looking at pictures of pancakes makes me want some! Look: Topped with some melty peanut butter and Tastefully Simple blueberry burgundy jam. Oh the benefits of living with a consultant! Whoever thought it was a good idea to combine blueberries and burgundy wine is a complete genius! Get. It. I ate half this jar for research purposes only! *cough* moving on.... Whole Foods dinner..... What is it with shopping for food that makes me too tired to cook? So I didn't even try to fight. Stuffed faux turkey with olive oil mashed potato and faro stuffing. Oh that farro stuffing is so creamy and delicious. steamy That fabulous Italian store Merante Brothers Market in Washington county  still sells the sundried tomato risotto. And my family was nice enough to bring me some when they went there. What sweeties! I made some for lunch tod...

Can you believe what is happening outside? It seems like only a few days ago I was saying goodbye to the last wave of the tomato harvest. Waving goodbye to the beautiful leaves of summer as they beautifully decayed in splendid shades of yellow, orange and red. And now it looks like this outside. Beautiful! Right? I need some coffee.... Oh there it is! Tall skinny blonde with soy milk... With one pump of vanilla. Yum! This calls for a big bowl of soup! 1/4 cup of quinoa, 1/2 zucchini chopped, 1/4 cup chopped kale and 1/4 c pepper sauce (pinjur or salsa) 1) throw it all in the pot 2) let it simmer until the quinoa is done 3) warm your insides! Look at the creepy snow outside! Now it's time for chocolate truffle bar. 1/4 c cocoa powder, 4 T sweetened vanilla coconut milk, 1t coconut oil 1) mix the ingredients in a bowl then place in baggie and pop it in the freezer 2) after a 3 or 4 hours (or overnig...

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...

Accidental chili! With avocado! Exclamation point!   I have been craving chili like crazy. And you know how I love accidentally creating things. So I was going to make more lentil soup.   Like this:     Using this:   Pinjur by Konex Foods   But I added too much in my zealousness to get more veggies in. And it amazingly turned into chili (see pic above). When I tasted it and realized how much it tasted like chili I did the only natural thing you do when you realize you have accidentally made chili..... grab an avocado!!!!!   Get you some!   I got this accidental chili starter at Big Lots. It's loaded with: peppers, eggplant, tomato paste, garlic. Some of the best things in the world! It tastes great on bread, on sandwiches, in soup, as a chili, on pasta or just on some rice.   Side note: It's from Bulgaria. I suddenly want to go to Bulgaria and eat things. Who knew they had such y...

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...