Thanksgiving 2009

November 27, 2009 · Filed under Raw Food, Raw Vegan · Tagged ,

Happy black friday to you all!

I hope that your thanksgiving was filled with delicious food and special moments with your family. Honestly right now I dont know if I am energized or delirious. After we wrapped up dinner yesterday we started to put out our christmas decorations, and then I hit the sack early so I could be up early for shopping!

Originally I planned on making Portobello mushroom “steaks” but they turned out completely disgusting! :( I was so disappointed because they were really expensive and they ended up being inedible. Silly mistake on my part though… I didnt know that the mushrooms would retain water like cra-zay so the underneath was all icky and slimy while the top was dry. Ick. I ended up stuffing a mini pumpkin at the last-minute with a sweet carrot puree.

Overall though I was really happy with everything, my first major raw vegan holiday went over really well. My family was totally curious about my food and lifestyle, and they all enjoyed my cupcakes (I was told they were super delish!)

All thanksgiving recipes will be posted within the next few days!

Cauliflower Mash

 Oh so good! They were perfectly flavored and had just the right consistency. They tasted even better with some sweet corn mixed in.

Ani Phyos raw oatmeal raisin cookies

 These were so scrumptious – easily my favorite part of the meal.

Ginger cupcakes with pb pumpkin spice frosting

I was so proud of how these cupcakes turned out. This was the first time I ever made frosting from scratch before, and I really just threw it together because I was lacking all the ingredients to make any of the recipes that I found. Who knew that having an empty pantry could result in such a delicious dessert.

Thanksgiving 2009 Plate

I didn’t really photograph it well, but it was tasty just the same. A hugh jass marinated salad completed my meal.

Ive got a special post thanksgiving zumba class tonight at 5:30! After that my night will go something like this…

  • Shower
  • Tidy up
  • Catch up on blogging
  • Jam to christmas tunes (it’s officially okay now!)
  • Hang out with Earth Mama :)

You all know what I ate for thanksgiving, how about you? What did you eat?

Michal ♥

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Thanks to you!

November 26, 2009 · Filed under Random · Tagged

I am so thankful to have met every single one of you. Starting this blog was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. I am honored to share my thoughts with a group of people who share such knowledge and a passion for health. You all continue to inspire me everyday! Thank you. :)

Thanksgiving re-cap to come later this week!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Michal ♥

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Ready…aim…

November 25, 2009 · Filed under Raw Food · Tagged , ,

Fire!

So it begins, the preperation for thanksgiving I mean. But before we begin Ive got two bowls of tasty heading your way!

I went to Chipotle last week with my good friend who was in town from college, and we of course we had to go to our favorite spot. The weather was so nice and warm that we were able to sit outside. It was so nice to see her and to catch up, I missed her so much!

Chipotle Goodness

I think I need a bigger bowl...

Huge salad with black beans, corn salsa, red pepper salsa, fajita veggies and double guacamole. I had every intention of  taking some of this home with me, but none survived. Oops ;)

My second attempt at making raw humus turned out much better than the first. The first time I made it, the consistency was almost watery and the flavor was just blah. This time it was perfectly flavorful and it has a nice and thick consistency. I flavored it with cilantro and green onions. Yum! Served in my favorite Rachael Ray bowl.

As you all know thanksgiving is tomorrow and Im getting all ready to go. Im picking up some final ingredients today and then ill be in the kitchen! I decided Im making spice cupcakes with homemade frosting for one of my family’s dessert. I really want to show them that vegan food is good food and I want to knock their socks off. 

My thanksgiving menu includes…

  • Portobello mushroom “steaks”
  • Cauliflower whip
  • Spiced Carrot Puree
  • Massaged Salad
  • Dessert of some kind (Katies fudge babies anyone?)

I know a lot of people are concerned with how they are going to handle the holidays. It seems like Ive read dozens of articles on how to avoid this, fear that and just about eat everything but what you truly want. The thing that I love about my diet (vegan, high raw) is that everything you are putting into your body is nourishing you. Unlike those following a more mainstream “meat and potatoes” kind of diet, I dont really have to worry about over consumption. I found a couple of articles which I found useful…

Over at Raw Food Nation they did a Thanksgiving recipe round-up featuring seven decadent looking recipes (how cute is that turkey?!)

Planet Green has ten tasty suggestions that you can serve as part of your thanksgiving feast.

A nice collectionof recipes collected that can replace all your old favorites.

An amazing spread over at Foods for Life, a complete menu from start to finish!

A general article which talks about handeling the stress and overeating which is often a result of the holidays.

A whole blog dedicated to being raw for the holildays!

And finally a vegans guide to surviving the holidays.

No school for me tomorrow! My thanksgiving break started and I cannot wait to just sleep in a relax a little bit, before the chaos that comes with the holidays begins. Is anyone else going shopping on black friday? I know I am!

Michal ♥

Giveaways

Shelby is having her first giveaway!

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Mail call!

November 23, 2009 · Filed under Random, Raw Vegan, Recipes · Tagged , , , , ,

Guess what makes any sunday better?

The arrival of a package - I love getting mail!

what could it be?

Last week I got an email from Robin over at the Lolidots Blog letting me know that I won her giveaway for an adorable apron by Flirty Aprons. I felt like the luckiest girl when she told me that I won, because these aprons are gorgeous! It came so fast too, it only took a couple of days. I cannot wait to do some serious cooking with this baby on. Perfect timing since Thanksgiving is this week. A big thank you to both Robin and the talented folks at Flirty Aprons.

nanna mess

A delightful pudding banana mess in my favorite mug, with raisins and chia seed gel.

Rapple Sauce

The other day I had a pound of the most delicious organic braeburn apples in my fridge. With my new little jar of apple pie spice I decided to give making my own raw apple sauce a go, and boy did it hit the spot.

Rapple Sauce

Ingredients

  • 2 apples
  • 1 large banana
  • 1/2 packet of stevia or sweetener
  • 2 tsp apple pie spice (or more to taste)

Assembly

Just pop everything into your food processor and give it a whirl. Blend until desired consistency is reached. Sometimes I’ll eat it chunkier like this… but others I let it hang out for a minute or two longer so its nice and smooth.

This recipe is totally versatile too. You can add other fruits such as pears, or add dates, raisins, cinnamon, a drizzle of agave, or anything else that your heart desires. Easy as pie!

me in my flirty new apron

Only two days of school left until Thanksgiving break starts – lets hope they go by fast!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

Michal ♥

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In with the new…

November 20, 2009 · Filed under Random, Reviews · Tagged , , ,

Have I introduced my new boyfriend yet?

Psh…Taylor Swift who? ;)

Last night I went to see New Moon with one of my best friends. The movie was amazing, waiting in line for two hours was totally worth it. Thank gosh I got my ticket weeks in advance though, I felt bad for the poor girls behind the ticket counter. There was a mob of girls literally screaming at each other trying to get the remaining tickets. Can you say cra-zay!?

Review alert!

I found a new flavor of Larabar and I was so excited to give it a try. The peanut butter cookie flavor is made with only three organic ingredients - peanuts, dates and salt.

This flavor is amazing! I literally am drooling just thinking about it. It was so peanut buttery and perfectly crumbly and moist. I wanted to take teeny bites, savoring it. But it was gone in three huge bites. I would definitely say that this flavor is one of my favorites, along with apple pie and cashew cookie. I went back to pick up a couple more and they were all sold out. Let’s hope they get them in stock again soon!

I also want to talk about new friends. I have met so many wonderful people through blogging and I wanted to give a shout out to my new friend Miho from Sagojyou Vegan. She is so nice, and really talented when it comes to creating things. Make sure you check out her blog :)

This weekend I am going but super busy! Tomorrow im dressing up like an elf for a pancake breakfast, going to work and working on making my christmas presents for my family. Sunday Im going to a pet fair which I am looking forward too. I get to play with animals all day long!

Im also happy to share that I got another college acceptance letter from one of my top choices! YAY!

What are your plans for this weekend, anything fun or exciting?

Michal ♥

Check out an awesome giveaway over at One Frugal Foodie.

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Guess who’s back?

November 19, 2009 · Filed under Random, Raw Food · Tagged , ,

Back again…

Michal’s back…

Guess who has pictures?!

Me! Finally right? My computer is still being a little funky, but I did manage to upload a bunch of pictures.

Let me take you waayyy back to the week before last. With my dehydrator I made kale chips for the first time. They turned out much better than I was expecting honestly. I just washed and ripped the kale into pieces, that drizzled in a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and added a little sea salt and pepper. Bam! The next morning I had 6 trays of delicious kale chips that didn’t even last me the whole afternoon.

They were so mind blowingly crunch-tastic Im happy I even managed to snap this icky picture. ;)

Round two with the dehydrator. Homemade sun-dried tomatoes. The finished product wasn’t as thick and chewy as the ones you can buy from the store, but they still turned out yummy. Their flavor almost reminded me of pizza. I just cut tomatoes, and sprinkled them with a little sea salt, pepper, and oregano.

Is anyone other than me having a hard time believing that it is only 8 days until Thanksgiving? I am having so much fun finalizing my menu, and can’t wait to get busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm. What do you have planned for your thanksgiving menu?

new hair

Me being silly as usual, but note the hair cut. Do you guys like it?

Tonight I have a graduation fair at my school. Im getting fitted for my cap and gown (oh my gosh!) and were having various speakers on financial aid, and about a zillion colleges coming. Finishing up my college applications has been keeping me pretty busy, but I am proud to say that I am almost done. Just a few stragglers that I’m trying to finish up. This semester is about halfway over too! It will be christmas before we know it :)

To come later this week, two new recipes and a new product review!

I also wanted to say a big thank you to Robin over at the Lolidots blog, I won their giveaway for an adorable apron from Flirty Aprons - which I have been drooling over. I can’t wait to get it in the mail!

I must have also had luck on my side because I also won 5 boxes of Yogaive organic apple chips from Veg is Sexy. YUM!

Michal ♥

Dont forget to check out Katie’s blog. With each click your helping her raise money for operation chocolate covered kindness!!

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Thats the way we roll…

November 16, 2009 · Filed under Quiz, Random, Thoughts, Vegan · Tagged ,

What a monday!

Today I had a horrible case of the monday’s I’m not going to lie to you. Between all three of my quizzes, and the gloomy skies I just felt blah all day. With a homework load tonight bigger than pluto I’m going to have to make this post quick!

As I was poking around one of my favorite foodie blogs I came upon this quiz… which I of course filled out!

Favorite food to crunch - crisp apples and warm kale chips

Favorite comfort food - a big ol’ bowl of banana soft serve

Favorite picnic lunch - a huge jass salad and a side of lovin’ the chickie pate

Favorite food scene in a movie - okay promise me you wont laugh. You know in the movie “Benny and Joon” where they are in the cafe and Johnny Depp sticks the rolls on the end of his fork and makes them dance? Yea… thats my favorite. Its makes me laugh every single time!

Favorite food related lyrics - I honestly can’t think of a legitimate food lyrics right now. The only thing coming to mind is ITS PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!

Best food smell memory - When I was younger my great-grandmother would make the most amazing seven layer cookie bars. She would only make then around christmas and I enjoyed them so much.

Best summer snack - Fresh berries. I so miss my bloobs!

Favorite winter snack – My raw oat meal topped with fresh berries. YUM!

Food that reminds me of the ocean - Starfruit (it makes me think of the little mermaid!)

Most likely to eat for lunch - Fresh fruit and a Larabar (any flavor!)

Least likely to eat for lunch - Anything overly processed or sugary

Food that makes me gag - Angel hair pasta. It’s too thin and slimy. Little little wormies. ICK!

Food tradition I love - I love the holidays in general. People are in such good spirits, and you get to enjoy foods that you don’t get to have all the time.

Food tradition I loath - Any holiday tradition that is meat centric. You can have a holiday without meat, it’s not needed to make the day special.

Favorite wild food - Berries! Bloobs, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries! Oh my!

Favorite medicinal food - Freshly squeezed veggie juice

Food that reflects my heritage - Im a little bit of everything. Italian, welsh, swedish, polish, dutch. Yada yada yada. I dont really think that I could pick just one food to represent me. I think a number of foods could.

Food most like me - Bananas. They have a little bit of tough skin on the outside but can still bruise easily. But once you get down to it they are nice and sweet. Plus they are versatile!

Favorite raw food smell - Cinnamon. It’s so warm and homey.

Soup or salad – Both ;)

Favorite breakfast food - Green smoothies. (With toppings of course!)

Favorite ethnic cuisine – Japanese. Even though I never really get to have it, its delicious.

Favorite vegan ice cream flavor - So Delicious pb flavor. Can you same holy yum?

Favorite type of chocolate – Honestly I have never been one for chocolate. Most are just to rich and blach for me. Occasionally I will indulge in a piece or two, but I dont really crave it.

Favorite beverage - A huge glass of carrot-apple juice.

Smooth or crunchy peanut butter - Smooth all the way. It’s easier to spread than the latter.

Food I hated as a child but like now - Fruits and veggies! When I was a kid you would literally have to pull my teeth to get me to eat veggies. Or dip them in pb or sugar. My how things have changed since my wee days.

Foods I loved as a child but I hate now - Little Debbie snack cakes. I used to be a huge fan of the strawberry shortcake rolls.

Weird food habits – As you may have noticed I like to eat my food out of huge mugs or bowls. I personally like the portability of a mug. You can take it anywhere which makes easy multi-tasking. Plus smoothies eaten in a bowl just taste better IMO.

All right this girl’s gotta bounce, I’ve got a zumba class in half an hour and homework to do. Hopefully tonight I can finally get my camera working in order again. Ive got tons of pictures to share. Including me with my new hair cut!

Michal ♥

And I leave you with a couple of giveaways…

A great giveaway from over at An Apple a Day.

Katie is having a fab giveaway for chocolate… what else?!

and be sure to head over to Katie’s blog where she is still raising money for two of her favorite charaties. Click away!

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Funday Sunday

November 16, 2009 · Filed under Random, Vegan · Tagged , ,

What a lovely Sunday!

First thing I am sad to say that my school lost our second playoff game last night, no more playoffs. But on the plus side I get my weekends back again YAY! :)

Mom and I went out and did a little christmas shopping early this morning after I went to the gym. I still can’t believe that christmas is going to be arriving soon. I love christmas, and I love christmas music! I was smiling ear to ear all day because christmas tunes were playing. Tis the season. After shopping all day we needed to take a little break, so we decided to stop in at Borders (as if we needed another reason!) and sipped drinks in the cafe.

While my mom chose to get a ginger bread latte with soymilk, a steaming mug of Tazo tea was all I needed to unwind. I chose to get an herbal infusion and mine was mambo flavored. It was a blend of rose petals, cinnamon, papaya and mango. How exotic. We talked and laughed and did a little reading.

After I got home I broke out my food processor and whipped up a couple things. I don’t have any pictures at the moment unfortunatly… my computer is still acting up. Everytime I try to import pictures from my memory card it makes me import all 400 hundred over again – unlike before when it would just import the new ones. Does anyone know anything about computers? If you think you can give me a hand, shoot me an email at michal.mymo@gmail.com

Also a fun little bit of news. I got the new december issue of Vegnews, and on page fifty-six at the top left corner is an ad for the Flaming Ice Cube’s online store! There is even a code for a free lip balm (I have three of them, they are really nice!) and a midnight fudge brownie.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day, I have two tests one in trig and one in spanish. Plus im scheduling a college visit and a job shadowing day – hopefully with a registered dietician!

Michal ♥

A couple giveaways…

Over at Living Fit there is a giveaway for a bunch of tasty treats.

Over at Eater not a Runner she is having a giveaway for yummy snacks from the healthy baking company.

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Just a case of bad luck…

November 15, 2009 · Filed under Food, Thoughts · Tagged ,

Ive been a baaadd blogger, could it perhaps be that it is friday the 13th? ;)

This week has been fairly busy, but I still haven’t been up to date on my blogging. One is being that my computer is giving me issues with uploading pictures, and two I just felt like I needed a mini vacation. But it is the weekend and I am ready to get in a little rest and relaxation, and some well deserved blogging time!

juice

A delicious glass of carrot-kale juice. A perfect energy boost to a lovely fall morning.

munch

An energy boosting green smoothie topped with Cascadian Farm cinnamon raisin granola.

This week though has been really fun. I have had reunions with old friends, delicious lunches,  and got my pre-ordered movie tickets (New Moon here I come!). I have pictures of all of these things… on my camera. :( I have also come up with a couple new recipes and product which I am dying to share with you all.

On a final note if anyone knows anything about computers, and thinks they could lend me a hand or wouldnt mind helping me out please send me an email – michal.mymo@gmail.com

Lets hope I can get this figured out soon!

Michal ♥

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Farm Sanctuary

November 11, 2009 · Filed under Random, Reviews, Thoughts, Vegan · Tagged ,

Happy veterans day to all of you veterans out there! Make sure that you go to Applebee’s or Perkins to get some free munchies.

Review time! A while ago I mentioned that I was reading Farm Sanctuary written by Gene Baur. I wanted to share my thoughts about this book and its author.

 

First of all I have to say that I really did enjoy this book, it was beautifully written and tells the story behind the creation of one of todays most prominent animal rights organizations – Farm Sanctuary - and it’s founder Gene Baur. The book is filled with stories of hope and compassion, as well as realistic pictures of what conditions on factory farms are like.

One quote that has resonated with me since I read it is this…

“We need to realize that not everything revolves around us…and recognize that we are part of our environment rather than apart from it, and if we aren’t careful. the consequences of our shortsighted, species centric actions would be catastrophic for many species, including our own?”

Wow. Just think about how true that statement really is. Our culture is generally a food centric one, and dependent heavily on animal products. Relationships are formed solely on the basis of food, and many only exist because of it. People treat food like a drug, eating and eating not knowing when to stop. Not only is this unhealthy relationship effecting our health (hello obesity!) , but it is effecting our planet. Any change whether adding more fruits and vegetables, or going vegetarian/vegan helps.

Gene Baur is really an amazing person, who has made it a priority in his life to help as many animals as he can. He uses this book to shed light on one of the many aspects of our culture that we try to hide. No one wants to think about where their meat actually comes from, but once you do you cannot ignore the inhumane conditions that many animals are forced to suffer through.

I would highly suggest picking up a copy of this book, it will get you thinking and ignite a spark within you to take action within the agribusiness industry. Wether or not your vegan or vegetarian, the well-being of animals is in everyone’s best interest. However, please know this post is not about an effort to convince you to take a vegetarian or vegan life path. It is intended to either remind or inform you of the sweet, gentle millions who are enduring extreme suffering even as you read this post with the hopes that you might be more aware when making your choices.

Of course I have to mention the Farm Sanctuary website, which is full of information aswell as stories about ambassador animals they have rescued and recipes.

Okay whew all done. Hope you enjoyed my review!

My agenda tonight is pretty simple, I have a zumba class and then I have trig homework and a project to work on. Ive got a big trig quiz this Friday YIKES! Oh and did I mention one of my favorite shows called ANTM is on ;)

Michal ♥

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