How are you doing today bloggie friends? I am doing great and have had a super productive day from lots of raw dessert making escapades to crossing things off my to-do list. Changing the sheets, going grocery shopping, chopping veggies, changing diapers, and paying bills isn’t exactly glamorous, but at least when you’re done you feel like ahhh, ok, I’ve accomplished something. I also got in some solo time on my yoga mat and that was great. On the weekends and on Mondays I go to yoga at a gym or studio but the rest of the week I practice on my own and it’s a nice balance. I like having 20 minutes on my mat with no agenda, no pressure to keep up with a class and a teacher, and simply going with whatever my body wants or with whatever I feel like I’d like to, well, practice. That’s why they call it yoga practice, right?
I am really glad you enjoyed my Mailbox Finds & Product Info Post yesterday. It’s nice to know that you enjoy these types of posts. I don’t get too terribly detailed with my reviews, because I just don’t have the time, and because I don’t want to bore you all either! Yesterday there was everything from Coconut Oil
to Hemp Products
And thanks for your feedback about hemp products. Sounds like alot of you have tried it but are kinda….meh. with hemp. If I find something amazing, I will holla back! My Friend Bitt gave me her recipe here for Hemp Brownies. When I think about sitting around eating hemp brownies I also want to start playing some Grateful Dead, get in my VW Bus, with a cloud of smoke following behind me, ahem! and scents of patchouli wafting through the air. haha! Seriously Bitt, thanks for your hemp brownie recipe and I plan to try it!
Anyone have any other hemp recipes that you love which don’t involve garlic or onions?
to Raw Vegan Haircare
Lots of ladies want feedback on this so when I get around to using it, I will report back. In the past, “natural” shampoos never really leave my hair feeling clean. It takes the SLS (sodium laurel sulfates) chemical cocktail found in traditional shampoos to really strip the grime off my hair. What can I say, I like how the chemicals work for me in beauty products.
I am also on a 10 year quest to get off Lancome’s Mousse Eclat foaming face cleanser, but still haven’t found something that’s: affordable AND doesn’t break me out. Suggestions welcome!
But products aside, I loved hearing your dating disaster stories!!!! Ohmygod, classic! Loved them all! And if you didn’t have a chance to chime in yesterday with your disaster story, chime in now or over here. Keep the good stories comin’!!! haha! My dating past was riddled with some Creepy McCreeperton’s and Scary Larry’s. Suffice to say, there were plenty of moments where I was high tailing it across parking lots, like my life depended on it, in 4 inch stilettos in an effort to not have to endure another creepy moment with random dates I was on. As I alluded to yesterday, thank god I got married young because the dating world is rough out tthere!
I know I said that it was a postal holiday on Monday so you’d be safe on Tuesday from a long-winded Products Finds kind of post…well, it wasn’t a UPS holiday and look what I received!
The Twins, Lori and Michelle, of Twin Cakes Bakery (and their blog is Pure2Raw) were gracious and extremely generous and sent me a huge sampling of their products!
Raw Snack Bites which are My Personal Favorites!
And something I have been coveting for months now…their Brownie Bites! And they are every bit as fudgy, chocolatey, and delicious as I had envisioned!
Their Brownie Bites remind me a little bit of my own 5 Minute Recipe for Raw Vegan Chocolate Donut Holes
Lori & Michelle Support themselves with their bakery and if you have the occassion to support their business, either for your every day eats or for a special occasion, I highly recommend their products!
Everything The Twins make is raw, vegan, free from gluten, wheat, peanuts, egg, dairy, soy, corn, potato, and yeast. And yes, it tastes amazing. Just because it’s “free from” many things, one thing it’s not free from is taste! If you’re curious about their story, you can read Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here.
I haven’t sampled everything I received, I’m trying to make it last! And I gave Scott some nibbles of things, too. I am not a huge fan of onions or garlic and am enjoying their onion-free flatbreads, and of course the sweet treats! Scott, has enjoyed some of their products too. For some of our partners or friends and family, it’s necessary to remind them that this food is not going to taste like Fritos. Eating raw, vegan food can be a bit of an acquired taste, and I love how Lori & Michelle are making awesome eats and trying to bring this kind of food to the masses through their online bakery!
Here is their info: twins@twinscakesbakery.com
I cannot thank these awesome ladies enough! Their blog is Pure2Raw and they also were kind enough to do a guest post here on my blog when I was in Aruba over the Holidays: One Pot Gluten Free Vegan Mac-N-Cheese! That’ll keep you warm in your tummy!
Moving Along…
I told you I was busy in the kitchen, being super productive…
Dinner involved spiralized Zuke Noodles
For spiralizer info and what I have, where to buy it (the best $29.99 you’ll ever spend!) check out this post)
To the noodles I added the Vegan Soy-Free Peanut Sauce I made Here
Diced & added some other veggies: cukes, red peppers, tomatoes, carrots, sugar snap peas, asparagus..use whatever you have in your veggie drawer.
And voila, an awesome dinner!
Scott says that he would never know this wasn’t “real pasta” after I tossed his whole plate together and micro it for 45 seconds, just to take the chill off. That’s high praise coming from Mr. Meat & Potatoes 10 Years Ago! For anyone who thinks that their significant other, family members, or even you, could never or would never eat high raw vegan food and enjoy it, there’s always the possibility that if you try it, you’ll love it!
Another Greenery Bowl: Mixed Field Greens, Cukes, Tomatoes, Asparagus, Brussels, Sugar Snap Peas
Dessert was a Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Snowball for Scott
And No Bake Vegan Rum Cake Balls for me
You can Never Have Too Many Rum Balls!
And, If you want to See All My Balls, this is the Master Balls & Holes Compilation Post.
Yoga Today is Floating. I told you I just wing it some days, whatever I feel like practicing, I just do it!
Skylar Today: Happy (she’s happy most days though, and I am truly blessed to have such a little joyous person in my life!)
Tip of the Day:
1. A Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Bar Recall!
2.Streamline and Tidy Up! Many of us set New Year’s Resolutions (I do not, and explained here that I do set New Year’s Intentions; because an intention cannot be “broken” whereas a resolution can be) but now that we’re 6+ weeks into the New Year, step back and reflect upon that which you intended to change.
How are you doing with things? Have you started? Have you made the Changes? Are You On Track with Things? Or have you totally fallen off the wagon, or never really got going in the first place?
Well, where ever you’re at, doing things like:
Cleaning your desk or workspace because a tidy desk equals a tidy mind!
Reorganizing your office or area of your house where you spend alot of time because it will allow for a more efficient flow and groove.
Empty your car and wash it because it’s just so much nicer to drive around in a clean, organized car.
Many people have suggested that by tidying up some of this environmental “stuff”, we are making way for brighter and better things to come into our life. As a side benefit, your diet may also clean up when your external world and clutter cleans up, too!
Questions
In my post I mentioned that 10 years ago when I met Scott, he was Mr. Meat & Potatoes, but by leading by example, cooking in new, different, and healthful ways, and making the food taste great, I have helped not only myself stay on a high raw vegan path but also have helped him make more plant-based food choices. Do your partners, friends, family, parents, eat like you do? If they don’t, do you try to “convert” them? I never overtly try to convert; rather I simply do what I do, I love it, and if people see the joy I have from eating this way, then maybe they’ll be interested enough to give it a try! What’s your take on others in your life who may not “get it” when it comes to your “unique” food choices?
Are you organized and clutter-free? Or, are you more prone to piles of this and that laying around and being less-than-streamlined?
I am totally, completely, an organized neat freak. I admit it! I cannot think straight unless things are clean, neat, and tidy. I’m not obsessive or anything, but I am just a neat person. My sister, on the other hand, is totally messy and chaotic, which makes me think that certain traits like this are genetic but that’s a whole other topic!
Are you neat or messy? If you’re messy, do you wish you were neater or more organized or do you embrace your inner randomness? haha! Any tips from your messy-to-neat people? I’d love to hear them & pass them along!
And the food recall that I just mentioned from TJ’s…Do you think our food supply is safe in the USA? I do not, at all! Salmonella and e.coli outbreaks everywhere, GMO’ed food, you name it, not exactly safe. Does this worry you? Or just carry on in blissful ignorance because you feel like there’s nothing you can really do about it? Thoughts please!
Stay Tuned For an Overnight Protein Oats Recipe and Vegan Energy Bars…
love that I can see your daughter peeking from the stairs in your yoga photo! so precious!!
Ive pinned a number of your recipes and am thrilled to see so many raw vegan goodies… thank you!!