Yoga Break and New Name

I have not been posting frequently. There, I said it. Well, I typed it. I was almost worried about it and then I remembered why I haven't been posting frequently. I am in Yoga Teacher Training and I am so close to certification. So close and yet a good amount of homework and practice teaching hours away. I have decided to focus all my extra time on my certification. My posts will be minimal until the first week in June as I complete my homework and teaching hours.

Connecting with my little vegan

There is a deep connection between yoga and being vegan. Yoga means to connect and when we eat we connect our bodies with the food we put in our mouths. Being vegan to me is to listen to my intuition and consciously eat the most healthful foods that cause the least amount of harm to anyone else including the Earth. When I eat, I am connecting to the idea of ahimsa. Ahimsa is seeing the connectedness of other beings to ourselves and feeling compassion and respect for them. It is important because this is the principle that explains that since we are all one, we certainly don’t want to cause harm to others (or eat them!).

I have so much to share when I get a chance. I am making a list right now so I don't forget.

- The Lucky 13's last teacher training cooking class
- Vegan food on a road trip with non vegan family
- Non vegan "friend" adding beef to my salad when I wasn't looking
- Our new wheat grass juicer!

We celebrated our Vegaversary at Park + Vine. We had brunch and it was fantastic!! We had two Danny's, a cinnamon roll from Sweet Peace Bakery and a side of vegan goetta. YUM.

The Danny- Tofu scramble, biscuit and gravy and potatoes, we added a serving of vegan goetta
 

Lastly, the Vegan Easter Dragon visited our place. I hear he is tight with Vegan Santa. He brought a very colorful, stuffed dragon who was guarding a small basket. You know how dragons like to protect things. The basket contained a few vegan treats and markers. Elena almost forgot to look for the basket once she found the dragon.

Vegan Easter Dragon
 

I am kicking around a new name that is less specific in hopes to attract more readers. Once I can devote more time to the blog, I would like to get back to more helpful information for families that are interested in or in the midst of a transition, recipes and requests. Any ideas, thoughts, etc. would be appreciated.

I will leave you with a recipe for a Chocolate Peanut Pie with a homemade crust. The pie was a block of silken tofu, a cup of peanut butter and a cup of melted vegan chocolate chips. So easy, melt the chips and then Vitamix it all up. Pour into the crust and chill for a few hours.

The crust was two cups of Nature Made Hemp granola ground into powder in the food processor and then mixed with 1/3 cup Earth Balance and a sprinkle of sugar. We pushed that into a pie tin and then cooked it for 6ish minutes on 350. Let it cool before using. We made this pie for Rebecca and Chris's Pi Day Pie Party.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

 

Namaste,
Christy

My Vegan Valentine

A few days before Valentine's Day, Elena informed me that she was looking forward to Valentine's Day because she loves our family's tradition of exchanging a lil something on special days. We always get up together on birthdays and the other holidays to give each other something small but that we really enjoy. I was thankful for the reminder because I had no idea Valentine's Day was coming up soon. I asked Jason to find a little dragon and a card for her. Elena and I set out to find something small for Jason. We ended up at Park + Vine as we needed vegan whipped cream for Elena's class party. They were making ice cream sundaes. At Park + Vine, we found the perfect sweet treat for Jason...a conversation heart cookie from Sweet Peace Bakery.

Be My Vegan Valentine!

Early Valentine morning, we exchanged our little gifts. I received the sweetest gift ever. Jason gave me a necklace from Christy Robinson Designs! The necklace is a baby goat made from recycled aluminum. The necklace is stamped with a lotus flower and the word "ahimsa". So sweet!!

Ahimsa Goat Necklace from Christy Robinson Designs

 

We decided to go to dinner as well to finish up our Valentine's Day or maybe we just wanted a reason to go back to Green Dog Cafe. Green Dog is a locally owned, environmentally conscience restaurant with lots of vegan options. Elena and I  shared the Green Dog Chili Fries and edamame while Jason had the Green Chow Chow Bowl. Oh my goodness, those fries were crazy good. I have thought about them often and I am looking for an excuse to go back.

Green Dog Vegan Chili Fries
 

Jason's Curry Chow Chow Bowl

Elena and I want to try brunch at Park + Vine soon so maybe on National Pi Day or Dentist Day, they are coming up soon.


To My Vegan Valentines,
Christy

Magic Cereal Dust Banana Muffins

I know, I know, it has been much too long to go without a post. I feel like my job is getting in the way of my life. If I could have those 40, well actually 45-48 hours back a week, I could get to everything. Ok, so on to bananas. I had 3 bananas that needed attention soon. They were soft and had brown spots so they were begging to be an egg substitute in some sort of baked good.

3 soft, brown bananas

 

I also had a bag of cereal dust that I had been collecting for a few months. Elena loves shredded wheat cereal, the kind of cereal that naturally breaks up into dust at the bottom of the bag. I had almost 1 full cup of the stuff so it was obvious what I had to do.

Almost a full cup of cereal dust

I had to make banana muffins and use the cereal to replace 1 cup of the flour! I added oats and cinnamon to stretch the dust to a full cup. I am not the best person to write down a recipe. I prefer general guidelines for ratios but I will try to include the recipe below...

2 cups flour (OR 1 cup of magical cereal dust and 1 cup flour)
1 cup sugar (vegan of course)
2 or 3 bananas
splash (not the best word) of baking soda
splash (still not right) of salt
splash (works this time) of vanilla extract
shake (more appropriate than splash) of ground flaxseeds
1/4 cup of Earth Balance

Damn, these muffins were delicious!




Magic Cereal Dust Banana Muffins!
 

This is a picture of my Gaga who is not vegan. I hardly ever see her and thought she looked most lovely in this picture so I included her! Love you Gaga. I should take her some muffins!

Coming soon- We had another compassionate cooking class in Yoga Teacher Training. I wanted to get the notes on what we made and the ingredients for this post so it is in the works. I can say that we enjoyed the best lasagna that I have ever had in my life, whole life including my non vegan life. Vegans do not eat bland, tasteless food.


To Muffins For Breakfast (and finding time to work on family's vegan blog),
Christy

Green Dog Cafe

We are always looking for new vegan friendly restaurants. It can be challenging to dine out however not impossible. It is nice to add another restaurant especially an environmentally conscious one to our list. Jason and I never have afternoons alone together due to our schedules however a few weeks ago we both were home on a Friday. We decided to go out for lunch and wanted to check out a new place. I googled "vegan restaurants Cincinnati" and Green Dog Cafe pulled up. Green Dog Cafe is a locally owned restaurant that serves food from local and regional farmers, composts their waste, and focuses on operating green as well. We were intrigued and decided we would check it out. Check out their website to learn more...Green Dog Cafe




Cilantro Pesto Quesadillas

We ordered the cilantro pesto quesadillas for an appetizer. They were incredible. I could eat these as my main meal. We both highly recommend them. Jason ordered the "Hey Perro" wrap and I tried the Green Dog burger. We both agreed that our next dishes were good however lacked a little something. The ingredients were fresh and the employees were delightful. We still had a wonderful time and good meal.

"Hey Perro" wrap

Green Dog Burger

My sandwich was too big to eat in a civilized manner. I was a mess after tearing into it. Even with the lack of spice and my giant sandwich, we both are excited to go again. We can always ask for a cup of the yummy salsa to spice up our meal next time. Elena has not been so we have to go back. We discussed saving this next trip to Green Dog Cafe for our vegaversary which is right around the corner.

To supporting local restaurants,
Christy

An Apple, Tofu, Kale, Beans a Day...

If an apple keeps the doctor away what keeps someone with their doctor? I loved hearing my daughter's pediatrician tell us "we are partners working together to keep Elena healthy. You have an intuition and connection with your child that I don't have however I have the medical expertise and together we can do a pretty good job". She has answered every question we have had and takes the time to make sure we understand why she is doing what she is doing, asking, etc. We love her. Elena and I were a bit anxious however for her 9 year well visit. This would definitely be the visit where the vegan diet would come up. We were not worried that she would talk us out of it however we were worried that she would not support us.

Our worries were unnecessary! During the visit, the doctor started to ask Elena how many servings of fruit she ate a day. Elena looked at me as if to ask if this was the best time to reveal her exciting news however she refrained.  She was then asked about vegetables, grains and finally...meat. She didn't ask about protein, she asked about meat. Elena looked at me, smiled real big and slowly explained that we were vegan and she ate tofu, greens, and beans to get her protein. She stopped and waited for the doc's reaction. She simply said that a vegan diet can be very healthy as long as you make sure to get your nutrients and stay away from processed foods. Fist pump! We didn't have to explain or defend our diet and she agreed it could be very healthy.

Elena's height and weight were right on target and she was told she was a healthy little girl. We left  happy however we left with something else as well. About 6 days after the well visit, we returned only for her to be diagnosed with Influenza B. Elena had the flu. It didn't stay too long and she is back to normal now. I truly believe she recovered so quickly due to the healthful, plant based foods she eats everyday.

Eat your apples,
Christy

Vegan Santa Brings Vegan Marshmallows

Snow, I think snow is cold and miserable however the kid loves it. She was dissapointed when we didn't get snow on Christmas but thrilled to see the 3 inches of the yucky stuff we received the next day. We bundled up in several layers and ran out to play, hike and most importantly, have a snowball fight.

Elena with her sled
 

After she was done with the sled and my snowman turned out goofy, Jason and the sled went inside and Elena started on a hike. It was gorgegous in the woods with the snow covering everything. We were alone and it was super quiet, very peaceful. We watched little birds fly around and watched a creek flow melting snow as it floated along.

Ok, it sucks but it is pretty

 

As we started to head back, Elena mentioned to me that our Santa was vegan. She doesn't believe anymore but likes to talk as if she does. She described our Vegan Santa at great length. He is good friends with Dr. Will Tuttle and Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, he recycles gift wrap and he treats his reindeer with respect. She said that if the reindeer do not want to pull the sled, he doesn't make them. Vegan Santa wouldn't want to eat the processed cookies and cow's milk (ew) that other kids leave out.  She then remembered that our Santa brought Dandie's Vegan Marshmallows and placed them in Elena's stocking. It was about this time that we were cold and so naturally the next thought was to go home and make hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Walking home in a winter wonderland

Elena walked me through the steps to make hot chocolate on our way home. She suggested almond milk, cocoa powder and vegan sugar. I suggested letting a candy cane melt in it and she later thought to sprinkle cinnamon in the pot as well. The result was one of the best mugs of hot chocolate that I have ever tasted.

All dry and ready to enjoy

Delicious cup of vegan hot chocolate


 

Stay warm and safe out there! I hope Vegan Santa visits you too.
Christy

Operation Vegan Gingerbread Man

Elena and I made gingerbread cookies! She could not wait and even shouted "let operation vegan gingerbread man begin" as we were gathering the ingredients. They were super tasty and very cute.

Fuzzy but cute Elena rolling gingerbread dough
 

She decided to make two gingerfriends and have them hold hands. They were later decorated in matching tank tops. The tank tops look more like bathing suits if you ask me. It was sad when the bond (or dark chocolate chip) that held the friends together broke. However they were consumed quickly afterwards.

Naked gingerfriends


 

Gingerfriends sporting tank tops and smiles

 

We decorated most of the cookies but kept a few plain. I will definitely make these again especially to pack in Elena's school lunch. We will not cover the lunch cookies in icing however maybe a dark chocolate chip here and there.



Vegan gingerbread candy canes

More of Elena's gingerbread creations
 

Merry Christmas!
Christy

Yogi Potluck

This past weekend was my December Yoga Teacher Training weekend. On Sunday, we decided to bring in a dish to share for lunch. We had so much yummy food including a broccoli "cheese" soup, cornbread, fresh veggies, apple cake and cupcakes. I brought tofu salad sandwiches with peppers, onions and celery. There was also hummus and bread with a oil and herb mix for dipping.




The Lucky 13 Yogis (love you all!)

Before we ate, we held hands and chanted together appreciating each other and the food that was made with love. We sat in a circle sharing our food and conversation. This is an awesome group of people going through an incredible experience together.

Colorful veggies from Mara



Lori's broccoli "cheese" soup

 

We are 5 months into our 12 month training. We have started teaching each other during our weekends together and are teaching friends and family outside of the training. Everyone is doing so well. I feel very fortunate to be a part of something so special.



Rebecca's plate full of OMazing food

An important part of our training is to learn and live ahimsa or the practice of causing no harm to oneself, other beings and the Earth. We have compassionate cooking classes learning to make vegan meals that are tastier versions of their harmful counterparts.

Now for dessert, Lauren's cupcakes...

and Diane's apple cake
 

What do yogis in training do on lunch break after they are full??

They hoop and study!

Namaste Lucky 13,
Christy 

Secret Santa Vegan Style

We decided to draw names for Secret Santas at work. We would buy three little gifts over 10 days and later exchange a bigger gift. Drew, our team "party planner" asked that we include a few suggestions for the little gifts. I think this may have been because everyone would have been freaked out if they drew the vegan's name. This might not have been the reason but I would bet on it. I listed candy canes, pretzels and vegan chocolate. I thought this would be pretty easy for most people to find. My secret Santa first left me candy canes, then chocolate and finally a big bag of pretzels. Thanks Secret Santa! My secret Santa turned out to be Josh who admitted he was a little nervous to have the vegan but he did a fantastic job.

Drew, our party planner

Josh, my secret Santa
 

In addition to the gift exchange, we had a food day. I don't look forward to food days because I can be stuck with very little to eat. Our theme was a barbeque so I decided to make baked beans. I was surprised to find out that Tony was making sure his pasta salad was vegan and Larry was making vegan brownies and curry rice. Very cool. A day or two after the party, Rob brought me tofu wraps. My team rocks!



Quinoa salad, pasta salad, baked beans and curry rice!

My meal didn't contain veggies but that's ok. I eat a ton of veggies every day. The gesture from the team was super cool however next time I think I will bring in a small veggie tray to make sure we all get some veggies.


Tony and Derrick

 

Tamiki and Larry (his vegan brownies were awesome)



Better picture of Tamiki and Angela



Kelli (in the front) and Angela (in the back)

 

Rob with an odd look on his face

 

I was hoping for a group photo but that didn't work out. I will definitely get a picture when our week vegan challenge kicks off. It has been delayed until after the holidays. We spend more time with our coworkers than our families. I am lucky to have a group of quirky, funny and caring people to work with all day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Team Stewart!
Christy

Grandpa's Vegan Birthday Chili

Elena and her Grandpa Thierbach have a few days between their birthdays so we always celebrate them together.  Grandpa Thierbach offered to make a vegan meal for Elena for her birthday. He made a wonderful, hearty chili and a salad and we brought a homemade chocolate cake and vanilla icing. He made me a copy of the recipe but I left it however I do remember a few of the ingredients: tomatos, onions, peppers, bourbon, chickpeas, ginger and vegan meat crumbles.

Grandpa's Vegan Chili

Elena and Grandpa's Birthday Cake

Elena received a cardboard castle to color that stands over 7 feet tall. It is awesome and will take weeks to color completely. I bought a new pack of markers and we work on it a little each night.
Grandpa received a few vinyl albums.

Happy Birthday Elena and Grandpa!

To many more vegan birthdays!!
Christy

Cheese and Sausage Nightmare

I had a dream last night that I was eating a sandwich with cheese and sausage. I was horrified but I kept eating it anyway. What the heck does that mean??!!

Good thing it wasn't real! I loved my peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast, salad and potato wedges for lunch and faux chicken patty, pasta and garlic bread for dinner.

To sweet vegan dreams,
Christy

Tempeh Bacon and Subpar Pumpkin Pancakes

I have been wanting to make pumpkin pancakes and tempeh bacon for months now. I typically wake up early and go into work on the weekends so I haven't had the opportunity to do this. If I didn't go to work then I was out of pumpkin or tempeh. I purposely stayed home yesterday morning to make pumpkin pancakes and tempeh bacon. The bacon was pretty tasty however the pancakes were reminiscent of a crappy pie I made a few weeks ago...subpar.

marinating tempeh...(new band name??)

The bacon...
I will start with the bacon because I was proud of how this turned out. I bought Lightlife Soy Tempeh
and cut in small, thin strips. I added it to a pan with olive oil, liquid smoke, tamari, garlic and pepper. I let the tempeh and marinade hang out for a bit and turned the tempeh over a few times to allow both sides to be coated.  Once the pancakes were declared a disaster, the same griddle was scraped off in preparation to cook the bacon. I poured a lil olive oil on the griddle and placed the bacon strips on the griddle about 3 minutes on each side. It crisped right up, just like bacon without the fear, death, misery or saturated fat (if you need a personal reason to refrain from killing animals for food when it isn't necessary).

tempeh bacon with tolerable pancake

We loved the bacon so much that we enjoyed it again for dinner in a sauteed veggie sandwich. I added kale, green onions, mustard greens, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, garlic and then lemon juice and zest to a pan. Once mixed and warm, we placed on toasted bread with tempeh bacon. Damn that was a good sandwich. No pictures, I ate it too fast.

The pancakes...
The pancakes were made from a box mix (first mistake). I asked Elena to prepare the flax egg that she KNOWS is one tablespoon of flax seed and 4 tablespoons of hot water. I am not sure what she was thinking though because her flax egg was a some flax and some cold water. Oh well, I used it anyway (second mistake). I added canned pumpkin to this mix which changed the consistency so I added more milk to thin it out (third mistake). Needless to say, I should have made the pancake batter from scratch instead of saving time with a mix. For some odd reason, two or three of them turned out while the remainder made a huge globby mess.

Big globby pancake mess

Jason was incredibly supportive as I beat myself up over crappy pancakes. Thanks cutie! I will just have to try again if I can ever stay home again on the weekend.

To experimenting and trying again,
Christy

New Family Traditions

Last year at Thanksgiving, we refrained from turkey and ham however dined on dishes containing butter, eggs and cheese. We were learning more and thinking about the impact of our decisions however we were not there yet. The holidays and family gatherings were the most difficult for me to refuse food I didn't want because I was afraid to offend loved ones. I wasn't comfortable enough yet to defend my preferences and found it easier to just give in. Many times Elena and I took food and then put it back when no one was looking.

This year we had our first Thanksgiving with vegan dishes. My mother in law embraced it calling it our new family tradition. She made turkey for the meat eaters and Jason bought a Trader Joe's turkey free roast for us. We brought vegan mac and cheese, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Linda made vegan spicy squash and onions and sweet potatoes. We took Earth Balance with us and everyone used it!



Linda, Elena and I on Thanksgiving

 

Dinner was wonderful. Jason's stuffing was the best I have ever enjoyed before! Everyone ate lots of food including the vegan dishes. Vegan Thanksgiving with the family was a success!

Loaded vegan plate...YUM



Spicy squash and onions with love

We all had a great time and made sure to remember family that were not able to be with us or those we have lost. We drank a toast to Brenda, Hop and those that are out of town with a wonderful wine made specifically in Aunt Brenda's honor.



Cheers!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is about appreciating what you have and spending time with loved ones.

Gobble gobble,
Christy