Breathe and Reboot

Sorry for the delay in posts, Veggies.  My computer is a little under the weather and it's going to take me a few days to sort everything out.  Your patience is greatly appreciated.  If you see my patience, please tell it to call home.

-♥ J :)

They say it's your Earth Day...

The Earth is what we all have in common.

-Wendell Barry

Happy Earth Day, Veggies!!!

Time to shut down the computer and go hug some trees.

-♥ J :)

**Heart shaped Earth photo courtesy of treehugger.com.  The others are courtesy of my husband.

GT'S KOMBUCHA…how do I love thee???

No, seriously....how do I love GT'S KOMBUCHA???  It is excessively bubbly, very stinky and has a weird, gooey thing living (I think..like…literally living…) in bottom of the bottle.  It also tastes like vinegar.  Nevertheless, I love it so.  I love it with unconditional, arms wide open, look the other way, reckless abandon.

GT'S KOMBUCHA purports to provide every health benefit under the sun and I would drink one everyday if I could.  But I can't.  The one thing I don't love about GT'S is the price.  They are a whopping $3.50 a piece.  That's a nice treat once in a while, but drinking them regularly would cost as much as my monthly cell phone bill.

While doing this $2.36 Challenge I can't fit even one itty-bitty GT's into my budget.  But I need my fix...

Man of My Greens

I should preface this by saying that, even though I have been teasing him about not being on board with this challenge, I have been blessed with a very accommodating husband.  He has very few requirements when it comes to food. As long as there are no beets, olives or oddly textured slimy things in a meal, he is quite content. He is also the type of person who could eat the same thing for breakfast for a year and not bat an eye.

His pleasant disposition has made the $2.36 challenge (I really need to come up with a catchier title…) MUCH, MUCH easier. Cooking a big honking batch of something and spreading it out over a couple of days has really helped me squeeze the pulp out of every last dollar. John's game plan for this week is pretty similar to mine, but with a few adjustments....

Guest Post: Happy Healthy Pregnant Belly?

The internet has been buzzing with vegan pregnancy news this week. With two high-profile vegans giving birth in the coming months - Alicia Silverstone and Natalie Portman - it got me thinking about how a vegan-mom-to-be has a pretty big choice to make when it comes to her diet during the 9-months of eating for two.

Plan of A Snack

Me: "You really should go easy on that chocolate bar. We only have two for the whole week."
Him: "Why are you being so unreasonable?!?!"

-Overheard in my living room last night.


Ok.
$98.91.
Whole, organic, vegan food.
One week. Two people.
Let's do this!!!
(Cue inspirational music!)

I have devised a plan.
And that plan….
is this:

Guest Post: Viva La Food Revolution!

From the moment I saw the commercials a few weeks back, I knew that I wanted to write about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

Especially since this season hits close to home - literally. The fantastic Mr. Oliver brought his campaign for sane food to our very own City of Angels.

Welcome to Los Angeles, drive-thru capital of the world!

So, after last night's episode, write I did. I wrote a good long page all about the evils of packaged foods and how dire the situation is for our nation's children. Don't get me started on the flavored milk debacle. Or the dairy lobby. Or the meat industry. And on, and on.

And then, I put it aside and opened a fresh page.

Organic, Vegan Meals…$2.36 a pop.

Me: "You can't get the Sweet and Savory."

My husband stared at me blankly.
He looked down at the bag of delicious, chocolatey trail mix in his hands.

Him: "Why not?"

Me: "It's not on the list."

Him: "What list? What are you talking about?"

Me: "I'm trying to see if we can eat three meals a day, for a week for less than a hundred dollars and the Sweet and Savory is not an essential. Besides it's not vegan."

Him: "I'm not a vegan."

Me: "I know, but this week you are going to eat vegan, too."

Him: "What?! Why?! Why are you doing this to me?!?!"

I will spare you the lecture that I then proceeded to unload on my husband.
The lecture included a commentary on the great food divide that is growing in this country and this ARTICLE and the fact that more than 50 million people are what is known as "food insecure" and are not sure if they will have enough food to last the week let alone concern themselves with all the luxurious trivia we debate over like "in season" and "locally grown" and "organic"…which, by the way, should NOT be a label or a description because ORGANIC is the way ALL FOOD SHOULD BE GROWN and not a privilege for those can afford it…and we can not ask people to change their eating habits if the system makes it literally impossible for them to do so and those of us who do have the luxury of choice need to fight for the weaker amongst us and demand food equality for all and if we truly want to see things change we need to…as Gandhi said… be the change we want to see in the world.

I carried on all the way to the canned goods aisle.

I'll just give you the cliff notes...

Guest Post: Good Morning, Millet!

Breakfast demands (non-negotiable!): quick, filling, gluten-free, vegan, tasty

The solution: left-over millet? Hmm......

I know you may not wake up craving the left-over grain from last night's dinner, but trust me - it can be a great way to start the day. It's already cooked, it's versatile, and with a few easy toppings, it meets all our morning meal demands.

Here's what you'll need:

Guest Post: Bag it.

If you look at the driver's seat of my car, you'll see evidence of snacking - remnants of nuts, the odd raisin or two, and maybe even a whole cracker. It's not something that I'm proud of.

I car-eat. A lot.

I carry food and water with me everywhere I go. No, I'm not preparing for the apocalypse, although my dad would be proud if I was. I just don't like to get caught with my pants down, snack-wise. If I get too thirsty or hungry, I get....um....cranky. (And that's putting it politely.)

For Christmas this year, my best friend Erica** gave me these:

Bringing Home Baby

We have a very special new addition in our house.

She is 20-1/2" tall, a healthy 10 lbs. 9 oz., and she blends like a Mo-Fo.

Meet…Ruby!

My New Vita-Mix!!!

Gaahh!!!

I am so giddy with excitement I can barely stop blending things long enough to write this.  So far I've made broccoli and lentil soup…broccoli, lentil and avocado soup…a banana, almond butter, cacao smoothie…banana, blueberry, orange juice smoothie…dijon vinaigrette dressing…avocado raw-vegan ceasar dressing….I'm a woman possessed!  My poor husband has been eating pureed foods for three days straight.  I'm actually glad I'm stuck at home with a cold because that means I get to stay in and blend juice all day.

Let me tell you about my little sweet-pea Ruby.  Ruby is quite the overachiever.  She turns everything into yummy, blended loveliness in record time.  She chops, juices, purees, grinds.  She can make nut butters and heat soup!  And cleaning her is super easy.  No parts to dismantle.  Just squirt her with some dish soap, fill with warm water, blend on high and rinse.  I am so in love.

I'll be sure to keep track of all my blending adventures and post the ones that I think turn out the best (e.g. the avocado raw-vegan ceasar…AMAZING!).  Today, in honor of the cold that I am battling, I will leave you with my favorite smoothie recipe. This recipe is so cheap and easy it's ridiculous.  Not only is it my go to cold remedy, but it's pretty much my breakfast all summer long.  When my friend Erika was pregnant with her son she couldn't get enough of this smoothie and…well…her son turned out friggin' adorable(!!!).  Coincidence????  Well, maybe.  Erika and her husband are very attractive.  But it's still a really good smoothie.

Blueberry Lemonade Smoothie

You will need:

1 1/2 cup frozen organic blueberries

1 and 1/4 cup water

Juice of one whole lemon.

Half a packet of Nu Naturals Stevia.

Makes 1 serving.

Put all the ingredients into Ruby… I mean...a blender.

Blend and drink.*

* I like to add 1 tablespoon of chia seeds to this smoothie.

(But, full disclosure, I'll add chia seeds to anything standing still…)

Any berries can be substituted for blueberries.

Just make sure they are frozen and (if possible) organic**.

Agave or (a touch of) maple syrup can be substituted for Stevia.

If you add more water to the recipe it turns it into blueberry juice!

Much love, my Veggies!

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Yes, that is me cradling my blender.

Don't judge me.

-♥ J

**Non-organic berries are often listed in "The Dirty Dozen" foods that have the highest pesticide residue.

Guest Post: You Are What You (Don't?) Eat.

"Ninety per cent of the diseases known to man are caused by cheap foodstuffs. You are what you eat." -- Victor Lindlhar, Author, You Are What You Eat: How to Win and Keep Health With Diet,1942

You are what you eat.

There's no denying it's a popular phrase, uttered by moms and nutritionists alike over the last 70 years. It's a pretty well agreed upon notion.

So why are we vegans and vegetarians defined by what we don't eat?

I almost quit coffee this morning...

But then I didn't.

The battle rages on....

- ♥J

Cheater, Cheater Cheese Eater

My name is Jen and I'm a vegan.  Kinda.

If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago if I was a vegan I would have most cheerily, most virtuously responded: "Definitely!!! Totally a vegan. Yup, that's me."  "Oh, about ten years. "  "No! It's not hard at all. You should really try it. It's amazing. It will change your life."

But I am about to share a dirty little secret with you.  Blow the whistle on this whole veg eatin' operation.  I am about to go all Norma Rae on your be-hind…..

Truth, Justice and the Pursuit of a Healthy Belly

Happy Bellies Make a Happy World.