Getting Into the Holiday Spirit

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diet, vegan cookies, vegan cookies invade the cookie jar, Vegan Holiday, vegan recipe, vegan runner, weight gain, weight loss

Christmas has definitely hit our household hard. Not only do we constantly have Cleveland’s 24/7 Christmas music on the radio but we have been baking up a storm for the holidays. Basically I come from a large German-American family that could possibly fill two households but we all cram into one tiny farmhouse way out in the country. That means it’s more than necessary to have enough for a few armies, of the adult and child sense.

Last week my husband and I were commenting it felt strange how fast December was steamrolling past us. I guess everyone says this each year but it really did feel like we were missing something this year. Normally I’m decking the halls and singing all the Christmas songs with so much gusto that the hubby politely putting on his headphones closes his office door and hides away for a while away from me. He means it in the top most respect and to be with all honesty, I most definitely deserve it. LOL

This weekend, we turned the Christmas spirit up on high and got to the kitchen. Thanks to Vegan Cookies Invade the Cookie Jar Cookbook I got year we had lots of inspiration. I made an entire list of around 8-10 cookie recipes and have a few more in my back pocket if we have some more time. This weekend the hubby and I managed to rock out Chocolaty Crinkle Cookies, Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles and Orange Agave Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Hubby got to his baking bread mischief too. For his advent calendar this year I got him to skip the German Advent Chocolate Calendar for 24 surprise presents, one present for each day up until Christmas. Some days he got some vegan candy but other days he unwrapped special presents such as British Top Gear DVD’s, clothes, and throughout the whole week has been unwrapping bread baking supplies. Each one was suggested by the top chefs and also the makers of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, his ultimate favorite cookbook. So, that meant that he was urgent to use all his presents to make some bread. He finally decided upon Vegan Challah, made with no eggs but bananas. Yum! We have made this recipe a few times and have loved it each time. Mmmm He made two large loaves, one for home and one for his family on Christmas. Totally delicious!

We washed down all the sugar we ate and carbohydrates with a healthy dose of Christmas movies. It was a blessed time and really is one of the true meanings of Christmas – called family time.

What gets you in the holiday spirit?

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Review & Recipe

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cupcakes, PPK, vegan diet, vegan party, vegan recipe, weight gain

This last weekend was full of adventure and mouth-watering delicious food. It wasn’t all from my kitchen this time; it was from our amazingly generous neighbor, Nida. She was uprooted as a child from Jordan and moved to the states so she is Jordanian-American. In her kitchen, she cooks generally Middle Eastern foods. It is an ethnicity I have never really had the chance to learn but now I am getting crash courses from her family. Even her adorable 16 month old baby teaches me new Arabic words, so cute! So when she ran over to our house on Friday night, so thrilled (seriously, she even forgot her shoes!) that her baby’s Obstetrician-Gynecologist was coming for dinner the next night, we knew we couldn’t pass down her excitement nor her home cooking.

It was a crazy Saturday for us but we knew that we had to meet this amazing woman that deals with specialized births for difficult pregnancies whom we had not stopped hearing about since we met our neighbors. Nida is very passionate about her baby and anything dealing with her so the doctor that brought her into the world is like a second god to her, if she weren’t a 7th Day Adventist Christian, I would wonder if there was a shrine to this wonderful doctor. It got to around three hours before we had to be at their house for the celebration and the husband and I finally got outside to exercise. We ran 5k and then walked another 5k back home. Quick showers were taken and then rushed to make these Isa Chandra cupcakes for the party. Anything from Isa Chandra at the PPK is worth taking to a party – you need to check out her website and purchase her vegan books. Yum!

These fluffy white cupcakes were so easy to put together we managed in less than an hour. Sure there was a lot of running around but we managed to handle it without screaming at each other. That means it was a success! Haha We did use Whole-Wheat White flour (instead of enriched white unhealthy flour) so they were a bit more dense but still fluffy. Yum! The hardest part was trying to stuff the ganache in the freezer and the cupcakes in the fridge to cool them down so we could pour over the top of them. It was like a Hollywood Comedy show in our household. Did I mention that during the whole course of taking showers and making cupcakes our neighbor was running over tossing things in our kitchen because there was no more for her ten-army’ worth of food? I think she was so excited she went over board and came over with a few large dishes about twenty times in two hours time. It was hilarious!

Thankfully we got the cupcakes done and they turned out great! The kids at the party didn’t really care for them that much, I’m guessing because they do have more of an “adult” flavor due to the healthy flour instead of the enriched, highly processed kind. But that’s okay because there were many cupcake tops licked that night which is always funny to watch.

All in all, I would highly suggest this easy recipe but wouldn’t suggest making them in an hours’ worth of time. It works out but I’m sure our blood pressure was elevated to an the extreme. The party worked wonderfully and we all had a great time getting to know each other and sharing food.

You can find the original recipe at: PPK  Note:  The photo again was done in a quick manner on my iphone.  The cupcakes were “gaunached” and then we flew over to the neighbors for the party.

Good Carbs VS Bad Carbs

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diet, healthy foods, nutrition, vegan diet, veganism, weight gain, weight loss

There are so many people that want to point the pointing finger to carbs lately that I want to showcase this website article from WebMD that helps describe carbs into more detail than what generally people know already.  It’s called Good Carbs, Bad Carbs: Why Carbohydrates Matter to You and is really something that can help you learn how Carbs are good for your body, especially when you work out and are trying to lose weight.  A healthy balance of all foods is the best method for weight lose, it helps one to not “cheat” and/or give up.

Black Bean Brownies Recreated

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beans, diet, healthy foods, healthy recipe, vegan food, Vegan Holiday, vegan recipe, vegan recipes, weight gain

Natalie, this one is for you because I know you love your bean brownies. This recipe was originally from Happy Herbivore but then (of course) I went and revamped it to the taste-buds of my husband. He so has a sweet tooth – but at least this recipe is a little healthier since the base is made from black beans. Seriously, it sounds very bizarre but you won’t be able to tell the difference. Yum!

Black Bean Brownies – Recreated
Makes around 12 brownies

15oz black beans, drained and rinsed
2 whole bananas, must be extremely ripe to make the brownies sweet
⅓ cup maple syrup (original was agave nectar but I found it’s not strong enough)
¼ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
¼ cup raw sugar
¼ cup instant oats
½c dark chocolate chips (vegan)

Topping Mixture:
¼ c chocolate chips
¼ c unsweetened coconut shreds
4 tbsp raw sugar
1 tbsp orange zest (optional)

1. Line a 8×8″ pan with parchment paper and set aside. (Note: you can also spray the pan but to reduce stress of getting the moist brownies of out the pan I find that just lifting the parchment paper and baked brownies out of the pan all at once is so simple. It saves a lot of screaming.)

2. Combine all ingredients, except the oats topping and chips, in a food processor. Whirl until smooth. Stir in the oats and dark chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Pat the full pan on the countertop to remove any bubbles that may have gotten trapped.

4. Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the brownie dough. Gently press down on the toppings to assure they set in place.

5. Bake approximately 30 minutes in a 350F oven. The brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Important step: Allow this to completely cool before slicing. Enjoy!

New Cobbler Recipe Coming Up

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diet, eco-friendly, exercise journal, healthy foods, healthy recipe, my workout, vegan, Vegan barbeque, Vegan BBQ, vegan breakfast, vegan diet, vegan dinner, vegan food, vegan menu, vegan recipe, vegan recipes, vegan runner, veganism, weight gain, weight loss

So excited!  I’m making a Mango and Peach Cobbler as I type – it’s setting in the oven, not making itself.  haha  It smells so amazing!  Two hours in the gym tonight running, biking and lifting weights I think I deserve a little fresh fruit cobbler, right?  It’s all about moderation and I’m taking advantage of it tonight.  Mmmm  If only I could let you all have a bite, I’m sure we would be instant friends!  I’ll do the next best thing tomorrow, share the recipe.  For now, I’m taking my fatigued body and going to go check on the amazingly scrumptious smelling cobbler.  Until tomorrow.  I hope you all have a wonderful night in the Northern Hemisphere and a wonderful day in the Southern Hemisphere!

Photo Fun & Coffee

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diet, eco-friendly, vegan, vegan runner, weight gain, weight loss

Just a few weeks ago, Canon finally found my DSLR 60D in their warehouse and sent it off.  Go ahead and read the issues my husband had while purchasing through Canon Direct here.  Just now I’m getting to the software and am having the worlds’ best time.

Ten years ago or so my parents bought me my first official Canon SLR since I was the High School’s Main Photographer.  Delighted I didn’t have to use the schools’ camera anymore, I got to test the waters with my first professional camera.  Hooray!  I had beginner canon cameras before but when you go to a professional camera, there is no turning back.  Well, at least without biting, waving of legs/arms and other forms of temper-tantrums.    Unfortunately when I left the nest to go to university, my photographer father held the camera captive so I have lived without a major camera for years.

Thankfully my fantastic hubby gave me the Canon 60D for our 6^th anniversary this year.  Isn’t he wonderful?  (Sorry, he’s taken – and I’m not giving him away!) I’m not much of a person to want things but this camera is something that I have had my eyes on for a long time now.  He knew that it was something that would really be treasured.  Secretly I think he loves all the photos that I take.  Additionally it gives me something to do as he drags me along to his hobbies like car races and motor shows.  Lol, love yah babe!

So, I’m sitting in a Caribou coffee with me reusable coffee mug (gasp!  A starbucks one..haha) and reading the Canon Software manual off a CD.  Compared to the software that used to be available, this is amazing!  Basically you can take a terrible photo and make it look wonderful!  But then again can you take bad photos with a 60D?  *head shaking* I’ve taken some photo deliberately with bad lighting and other faults just to test the waters with the software.  One photo was so dark it was hard to see the contents within it.  Thanks to the software, I edited it and now it’s a beautiful photo of our elephant, aka cat.  So amazing!  I would go into more detail but I’m still learning the lingo of everything.  Haha I promise, I will post some examples and other information later once I know more myself.  J

As for the coffee part…  Today my husband and I fell short of energy after waking again early due to our neighbors.  Hence, we didn’t have the patience to make our own coffee at home.  We fell to the lure of accessibility to Starbucks and Caribou.  My husband had Starbucks on the way to work and I traveled to Caribou Coffee for working refuge.  On earth day we took advantage of Starbucks free coffee if you brought in your own reusable mug.  So we figured we should fall into the habit of doing so starting today.  Delightfully we found that it is cheaper!  Hello discounts!  Starbucks sold my husband his coffee for $1.50 USD and mine was $1.25 USD at Caribou.  That’s about $.50 USD savings each.  It’s so easy.  Just stumble into the coffee house and say “please coffee” or some other form that you can manage.  They will fill it up and you have a cup of coffee to go.

 

Basmati Rice Burgers with Pinto Beans Recipe Review

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diet, eco-friendly, healthy foods, healthy recipe, vegan, vegan diet, vegan dinner, vegan food, vegan menu, vegan recipe, vegan recipes, vegan runner, veganism, weight gain, weight loss

BBQ season is in full force right now in our household, which can only mean one thing – vegan burgers.  Hooray!  My husband thinks Christmas is not only in December but also for the entirety of the summer months.  He loves BBQ’ing so we absolutely love trying out new recipes.  This last week we tried a new recipe, Basmati Rice Burgers with Pinto Beans.  After my days in Japan, I love just about anything that deals with brown rice.  Normally we would prefer to purchase white rice but Korea and Japan came out new brown rice crops that tastes very similar to Asian white rice.  If you’ve never had Asian rice, you need to find an Asian store nearby and try out a small bag.  You will notice that it is much more sticky and heavenly than dry American brands available on the market today.  Look for Korean or Japanese, not Chinese or Indian as these have difference textures.

Here I am rambling again, sorry about that for those of you still here with me.  Before going for a run outside, we made these brown rice and bean burgers.  The recipe comes from Neal Barnard: The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook.  I would never post a recipe without the authors permission but this recipe has been posted on the internet in different places.  I’m not sure if these writers have gotten permission or not but here is a link to get the recipe yourself at the Become a Healthier You Website.

The verdict was split right down the middle.  My husband found the recipe to be delicious.  He stated it was moist but not overly done that it was mushy.  Personally I did not prefer the recipe over other vegan ones that I have made in the last few months.  It did not have enough flavors for me.  But then again my negative opinion to this recipe could have originated from the preparation process.  It contains ¾ c panko (finely ground breadcrumbs), which just adds more calories for not a large difference in taste.  I also found that the burgers were very hard to keep together throughout the entire process.  In fact, we ended up frying the burgers instead of placing them on the grill.  I had to place a good amount of oil in the pan to fry the burgers so that they would create a hard outer crust that would keep them together.  The recipe called for cooking spray but it would just not work out.

Unfortunately this 280 calorie burger was just not up to par for me.  The husband really liked the flavor but I have a feeling it was more due to the fact that it was fried heavily with oil instead of the healthier burgers I tend to make him.  Additionally, he was disappointed that he couldn’t use the BBQ.  So, I think in our household we are going to pass on this recipe all together.  If you decide that you want to make it, please try to use 1.5-2 cups of pinto beans to make sure they stick together.

 

Stressed Stomach Muscles

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diet, eco-friendly, exercise journal, healthy foods, my workout, running, vegan, vegan breakfast, vegan diet, vegan dinner, vegan food, vegan menu, vegan recipe, vegan recipes, vegan runner, veganism, weight gain, weight loss

Lately I have been working hard out in the gym however it does have its downfalls.  Severe stomach pains have plagued my body and it’s hard to do such simple tasks as standing up and yoga.  With each pain I’m reminded that I have to stick with the plan of exercising and eating healthy.  It’s an unfriendly reminder of sorts…

My soon-to-be six-pack has changed my eating habits the last two days.  I’ve decided to reduce fat content and protein while increasing liquids.  Additionally, I’m trying to steer away from processed foods and increase whole fruits and veggies.  Not that most of you want to know, but I’m trying to clear out my system to release some stress on my stomach muscles.  Hopefully that will help out.

Breakfast I feasted on a sautéed bowl of veggies and rehydrated bean curd.  I’m testing new ideas with the dried bean curd (found at Chinese store) and this was my first breakfast stir-fry trial.  Tasty!  It included peas, corn, re-hydrated bean curd, cabbage, cherry tomatoes and some spices.  Yum!  I also had some homemade toast with vegemite and fig/sesame seed jam.

 

Chinese Dried Bean Curd

Snack:  Frozen Ice Treat – 100 calories

Lunch:  Chopped Romaine Lettuce with cherry tomatoes, Trader Joe’s Baked Teriyaki Tofu and that’s it.  My sugar level was a little low, so I had one piece of Dark Chocolate (vegan).  I also had some Organic Garden of Eating Whole Grain Baked Tortilla chips (it’s made with millet, quinoa and so on).

Dinner was made by me tonight (I know I’m a softy- it’s husbands’ week to cook).  I prepared Caulipots (Appetite for Reduction) but then I realized my husband had some leftover French fries that needed to be eaten and out of the fridge.  So, I put the Caulipots in a sealable container and placed it in the fridge for Wednesday.  At least it has already been prepared and I don’t have to worry about it.  Then I prepared Brown Rice and Pinto Bean Burgers.  Both were simple enough to prepare, just time consuming with all the waiting between steps.  I placed a burger on a homemade burger bun for my darling man.  For me, I prepared a smoothie of freshly cracked open Thai coconut water and meat, strawberries, a little almond milk and some fresh kale.  It tasted amazing!  For the husband I made the same thing but added a frozen banana and a large tablespoon of vegan protein powder.  He said it tasted like ice cream.  *happy dance*

(Sorry, I’m sitting in a Panera bread drinking coffee as I type this blog entry.  I unfortunately do not have my camera and regrettably forgot to transfer the photos from my camera.  I’ll get to it tomorrow when I have the camera.  Sorry about the inconvenience.

Snack:  a little Kashi cereal since my stomach started to grumble.  I was hoping for no snack but it didn’t turn out that way…  grrr

 

Exercise:  Unfortunately I had to listen to my stomach first and skip the workout.  The pain just getting up and down is so strong, I just wanted to give it a break.

Let the Workout Continue

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diet, eco-friendly, exercise journal, exercise log, healthy foods, my workout, running, vegan, vegan breakfast, vegan diet, vegan dinner, vegan food, vegan menu, vegan runner, veganism, weight gain, weight loss

The weekend was very calm so I knew that the first part of the week would be a good one.  The husband got up before I did; yeah, I had to double check there weren’t pigs flying out my window.

He began to make his own breakfast since it’s his week to do meals.  Unfortunately he forgets about me, so I have to make my own breakfast and lunch.  But, at least he is trying to make a few dinner meals on his own.  Note to you all out there, it’s great to have your spouse make meals every once and a while.  Not only does it give the main chef in the house a break but it also gives your spouse a small glimpse of all the hard work done every other day.  It stresses my husband out to have to make a meal but I think it’s good for him to make something that he has picked out.  Husband made himself some cold oatmeal cereal with some Organic Whole Grain Cereal sprinkled on top, a little homemade almond & coconut butter, a peach diced up, and organic coconut milk.  For me, I had baked tofu, cherry tomatoes from our own plant, and a sliced peach.  Mmmm

Lunchtime came so fast.  I was so completely busy with work that I didn’t have time to think about what to eat for lunch.  So I took advantage of the leftover mock pepperoni and made a mock taco salad.  Yum!  It is an instant favorite in our household.  Additionally I had a homemade Oatmeal Raisin cookie, one little piece of dark chocolate and a frozen Popsicle.  I went a little crazy with the snacking, I wasn’t very happy with myself.  I was still a bit hungry, but I went ahead and drank some English tea to reduce my urge to eat more.  Drinking lots of fluids helps me reduce my food cravings.  Only problem with my plan is that it makes me also have to use the restroom all the time.  Lol

I took to the gym before my husband came home.  I have come up with a plan that I want to workout at least a little before my husband comes home to assure that I get enough time to do the work that needs to be done.  Then my husband meets me at the gym or we meet outside to run in the hot heat.  Today though, he met me at the gym since we had severe thunderstorm watch and it was lightly sprinkling.  Workout:  2 hours in length.

Again it was the husband’s turn to make dinner while I did some work on the computer.  He made a questionable dinner of quinoa and chickpeas.  The recipe seemed to be missing something though, flavor.  My husband also gave me a plate of lettuce and a sliced tomato.  (haha, nothing else on it)  I ended up not eating much so we again had to have some stove popped popcorn and English tea as a snack.  He agreed though too about not enjoying the meal, thank goodness it wasn’t just me.

Workout today:

4 miles in 49 minutes on spastic treadmill

5 miles in 30 minutes on bike

30 minutes weight lifting

10 minutes stretching/yoga

3  sit-ups (my stomach muscles hurt so bad I couldn’t do anymore)

Weekend in Review

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diet, eco-friendly, exercise journal, exercise log, healthy foods, my workout, running, vegan, vegan breakfast, vegan diet, vegan dinner, vegan food, vegan menu, vegan runner, veganism, weight gain, weight loss

I know, I know, I’m a day behind but nevertheless it’s here.  Unlike the past few months, my husband and I had an uneventful weekend.  Actually, we didn’t even venture out to any community event or tourist attraction.  Hard to believe, I know, even for me.

The weekend for me starts on Friday night after I finish my last article for the week.  Amazingly I was on fire, kinda like the Northern states right now, so I had a little free time.  The weather was very questionable outside and the skies were threatening anyone without shelter.  So, after my husband called to let me know he was going to have a meeting around the time he normally comes home – I took advantage of my free time.  I took off to our gym to do a little workout.  About an hour into the workout I received a call from my husband stating he was going to be delayed yet again.  Now I don’t love my husband being gone but I do love the chance to get a 1 ½ hour workout- hooray!  My workout:  30 minutes running, 30 minutes weight-lifting, and 30 minutes biking.  I also managed to do some yoga (right in the gym baby) to stretch as a cool-down.  For dinner:  Mock Pepperoni Pieces over a bed of salad.  Simple but delicious!  After dinner we headed off to one of our local Panera Bread Restaurants for a little work on the free wi-fi outside the house.  We treated ourselves to sugared drinks:  Husband=Iced Green Tea, Me=Lemonade.

Saturday was another one of those un-inspired days.  We took off to Cleveland’s famous farmer’s market to get a bunch of fresh produce.  We are a little unhappy with the choice of farmers’ market in the area.  If you have ever lived in Cleveland, you know what I mean.  It’s hard to find fresh produce from a local farmer, especially at the Cleveland Farmer’s Market.  Some vendors actually have fresh Ohio produce but double the price compared to other imported options they have, very disappointing.  Hence, we generally do not purchase from there for this reason.  It’s inflated prices for non-organic imported produce.  We left with some flavored couscous, kale, peaches and a few potatoes.  When we returned we ended up working a little and then taking naps.  It was husbands’ week to cook meals (probably will last a day or two) so he took off to do about 3 hours of cooking (he takes longer since he’s a very precise thinking and doer). I took off to the gym for 2 hours, which he was thankful I got out of the kitchen.  I never leave him behind when I workout since we are partners in workouts but when he’s busy, I get my own freedom.  My workout: 30 minutes running, 45 minutes biking, 30 minutes weight lifting, and some yoga stretches.  Dinner:  two different kinds of Indian Curried Lentils.  After dinner we settled in for a nice Japanese movie calledダーリンは外国人 (My Darling is a Foreigner).

Sunday:  We woke up early again thanks to our loud neighbors, so we had a little spare time.  The husband, who becomes easily addicted to things, wanted to return to The Root Café in Lakewood, Ohio for some vegan pastries and locally roasted coffee.  It is a funky café that only sells locally grown organic produce; all of their goodies are done in-house.  The prices can get a little high, especially for entrees but we do enjoy the coffee and atmosphere.  We sat for about three hours working on some things that needed to get done, such as purchasing my 7 year old nieces’ birthday present and a little present for my husband too.  Then, I took my handsome man to Lake Erie to play around with my new camera.  I love my camera!  Thank you honey!!!  I took around 70 photos of him and also the boats playing around on the water.  It was perfect.  Afterward we took an unusal trip to Five Guys Burger joint for lunch.  Unfortunately they do not cater to vegetarians now vegans but they do have an option to toss vegetables on a bun.  Hopefully they will soon realize not everyone wants animal flesh.  We had an unhealthy meal but we don’t do it often so we were okay with it.  We didn’t even manage to eat one small fry together so I guess we are changing our minds on fast-food.  Needing to walk around, we took to some shops to walk around.  A trip to Robek’s Smoothie to get a Zen Berry (the only vegan option on the menu) and we were off to our house.  We headed to the gym right away.  We weren’t feeling like working out but we went anyways.  Unfortunately we only spend about 30 minutes lifting weights together.  Normally we don’t workout on Sunday’s so we weren’t disappointed with only 30 minutes.

Next was dinner which again was the husband’s duty.  We weren’t hungry after the junk food we ate at lunch so we decided on mock taco salads.  We had leftover mock pepperoni, a little leftover vegan re-fried beans and some salad each.  The husband also had some homemade Almond & Coconut Butter on homemade bread.  We topped the evening off with some stove popcorn and a good cup of English tea.  It was uneventful but sometimes that is what we all need.