Veganniversary!

Today is my one year Veganniversary!


That's right! I have officially been vegan for one whole year. I am so excited that my journey to become the healthiest version of myself has brought me here. Even though I became a vegan because I wanted to lose weight, it has become so much more than that to me. Being vegan is no longer just about the weight loss or the fact that I never have to worry about my cholesterol ever again. Being vegan has changed how I see the world.

I never thought I would become an animal rights vegan, but when I look into the eyes of a dog or a cat or even a chicken, I don't know how I couldn't be. Animals are living breathing beautiful creatures just like us and they deserve the same respect and treatment that we give to each other. Choosing not to eat animals because you believe that they deserve to live is a hard concept for a lot of people, and I understand that. And I don't judge anyone that chooses to eat animals, but having educated myself on our food industry, I know that I won't ever again.

But that education has brought me farther than just choosing not to eat meat or dairy or eggs, but to a point where I'm beginning to understand just how much damage we do to our home just through our lifestyles. It's hard to give up things we think should be everyday parts of our lives, but learning how those things affect the Earth has made me reconsider some things. My family may choose to call me a hippie liberal (even though I'm pretty sure my siblings don't know what either of those words mean) but I don't really care. I've learned that how I live is something that I should be able to live with, it doesn't matter if others think I'm extreme. If I don't want to use disposable tampons anymore because that's actually an incredible amount of waste and they aren't good for your body, than I won't. If I want to only eat herbs that I have grown organically on my back patio, than I will. And if I don't want to kill the mouse that's been eating my spinach, than hey, I guess I've just made a new friend.

I don't want this post to seem like I think I'm better than people who aren't doing these things, because trust me, I AM MOST DEFINITELY NOT. I still love watching TV and taking showers that waste a ton of water and I drive to work even though I should bike. I'm just saying I like how being vegan is turning me into someone that I like.

This whole blog was meant to help me on a journey to fix my health, but not just my physical body, but my mind and my heart as well. I have always struggled with lacking self confidence and not loving myself. But now I'm starting to see why liking myself might not be such a bad thing. In fact, it's a good thing. No, scratch that, it's a great thing. Because when I like myself, I'm happy. And when I'm happy, I'm better to the people around me and to my environment. And when I'm better to those around me, I like myself. It's a beautiful cycle.

So happy 1 year veganniversary to me.

I love who I am becoming, I love where this road is taking me, and I love being vegan.

I hope that all of you are having some beautiful, wonderful, self-loving thoughts and realizations to start your year off as well.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Peppermint Sugar Cookies plus link to my Ginger Peppermint Steamer video!

School is over!

After a year of being out of school, it was so good to start it all up again. And even though I was only taking one class, I loved being back in that atmosphere and devouring new information.

I know, I'm one of those few weirdos that actually loves going to school.

But the semester is over and for the next month I am going to enjoy making holiday themed recipes in the kitchen and sharing them with my loved ones. Which includes you, my dear readers (who I am still pretty convinced just consists of my grandma, my mom, and friend Krystal).

So I am back from a lengthy sabbatical from my blog. I have however, been keeping up with my young and budding YouTube channel. So if you have not seen my recipe videos, please, jump on over here, and take a gander.

But enough with the jibber jabber. You are here for a very delicious and wonderful holiday delight:

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of salt
3/4 -1 cup of Earth Balance buttery spread
1 tsp of vanilla extract
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of raw sugar
Egg Replacer for 2 eggs
2 Candy Canes

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. 
2. Beat together the Earth Balance and sugar and vanilla. When that is completely mixed add the egg replacer.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. 
4. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients into the wet ones. 
5. Takes the two candy canes out of their wrappers and place them in a ziploc bag. Seal the bag and then beat the candy canes with a pan, or whatever else you around that is heavy.
6. Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop or your hands, form little round cookies on a baking sheet and press them down slightly. Sprinkle your candy canes over the top of the cookies (make sure to have some big chunks to put on them as well).
7. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes. And then try not to burn yourself when you want to scarf them down immediately!

These peppermint cookies pair really well with my Ginger Peppermint Steamer: watch the video!

Don't forget to check out my Vegan Holiday Drinks playlist on my YouTube channel as well! 

Happy Holidays!

Easy Vegan Spinach Pasta

Homemade Pasta!

Even though it was my sister who got to spend this summer in Italy, that doesn't mean that I can't love love love Italian food as well.

Fresh pasta is normally not vegan because it has egg in it.

I like to have pasta with that has extra flavor added into it.

So this is my version of fresh spinach pasta that has totally been veganized!

Follow the link:

(there's a tip on how to make sundried tomato pasta as well as in it)

EASY VEGAN SPINACH PASTA

Keeping a Patio Garden

Being healthy is more than just what happens in the kitchen. It involves what goes into your body, what your body does, what you do with your mind, and who you let into your heart.

Today I wanted to share with you something that is healthy for my body but also healthy for my mind. 

Life can be stressful. Work is exhausting. Your boss frustrating. School long and tiresome. Everyone needs a retreat. 

Having a healthy and happy life involves learning to see the good in all those frustrating things, but sometimes your mind just needs a break. 

One of my retreats are my Friday mornings. After having my butt kicked at the gym for an hour at 6am, I bike home in the nice cool air and then cuddle up all stinky and gross on the couch with a giant smoothie and watch the Project Runway I tapped from the night before. 

It might seem silly, but it's my time. Time before my boyfriend gets up. Time before I have to be at work. Time when I get to have time by myself. 

And that's important. Never underestimate your alone time. It's a good, healthy sign. 

There were days when I never wanted to be alone because that meant being alone with my thoughts. But as I get stronger and healthier, I enjoy that alone time more and more. 

But my daily retreat is my garden. 

On the weekends I get to spend more time in it, rearranging, planting, pruning, and letting my my senses overload with the wonderful smells and the feel of dirt between my fingers. 

But every morning I get to go out and water. I take that opportunity to collect myself before the day begins. Watching nature is soothing and healing. 

Keeping a patio garden is a great way to have cheap organic produce whenever you want it. 

But it can be hard to upkeep if you are still learning like me. 

So in my video I share with you some easy, and inexpensive tips for keeping a patio garden. 

1) Know where your sun ☀️ is.

2) Elevate your garden

3) Thrift Store Finds 

4) Cover to Protect 🐭

(In this photo, you can see I've already started to take the cover off for the day) 

5) Hang your food

So here's the link to that video: 

5 Tips for a Patio Garden

But since you, dear reader, came to my blog, I've reserved 2 bonus tips just for you! 

6) Use hardware cloth to protect delicate plants

I've used hardware cloth (like chicken wire) to protect these snap peas and artichoke while they are young. Mice also enjoy these plants, but I found not as much as celery and greens. So all I needed to deter them was making little cylinders of a cage to help the plants grow while they are young. For the snap peas it also worked as support for them to climb. 

7) Use dish soap and water to get rid of aphids

You can see that this romaine has little white dots on it, those are aphids. 

Since my garden is organic, I couldn't use a pesticide to get rid of them. I tried using ladybugs, but most of them just flew away. So put a couple drops of liquid dish soap and some water in spray bottle. And spray the underside and tops of your plants leaves where you have an aphid problem. The ones that are on your plant will die. (If you aren't keen on killing things, like me, I did this at night when the least amount of aphids are there.) More aphids won't land on your plant because they can't stick to the leaves with the soap on it. All you have to do is keep this up for a few days and the aphids will go away. And then just be sure to wash your produce well before you eat it.

I hope you all like my garden as much as I do and use these tips to have a beautiful garden of your own. 

And remember, getting healthy is as much about what's in your mind and heart as what's in your stomach. 

Vegan Enchiladas VeganMoFo Day #15

My family loves enchiladas. I remember so many Christmas' where my Grandma would make enchiladas for Christmas dinner, and I would always pick the olives off of them.

So for the last day of the Vegan Month of Food 2014, I thought I'd share my vegan enchilada recipe with you!

Follow the link below to see the video!

Vegan Enchiladas!

How to Open a Coconut and Make Raw Coconut Milk VeganMoFo #14

put the lime in the coconut and shake it all up...

Fresh Coconut is a delicious, fun, and healthy treat!

For any athletes out there reading this, coconut water is actually better for you than Gatorade. Coconut water is the perfect solution for anyone looking for electrolytes after working out.

Today has been a beautiful day that started with some much needed and loved rain!
With the official start of fall just three days ago and the rain this morning, we are finally getting into my favorite season!

Autumn!

Beware the pumpkin filled recipes coming soon :D

But for today's video we are making fresh raw coconut milk and I'm going to share with you a part of my world when I get to run in the beautiful rain!

Follow the link:

How to Open a Coconut and Make Raw Coconut Milk

(raw coconut milk with some added pineapple)

Mango Colada VeganMoFo Day #13

Fruity alcoholic  beverages are fun.
They are sweet, yummy, full of empty calories, and leave you with awful headaches the next morning.

That being said, they are still delicious.

Lucky for us, many fruity alcoholic beverages can be made without alcohol and with fresher healthier ingredients.

So this is my version of a healthy raw Mango Colada!

Follow link below to watch the recipe!

Mango Colada