So this is (Christmas &) the New Year...

*Sigh* I just love the holidays. I've seen family and had a pretty good time this year. It was a good end to what has actually been the worst year of my life. I was in a serious car wreck in May that has left me with neck pain and back issues. My mother's health fluctuated between bad and worse. My grandfather died in July and I battled various health concerns the whole year. I really hope that 2011 has some better things in store for me and my loved ones.

Aurora opening her present of gourmet doggy treats ^_^

Over the Christmas break I've even gotten to rest some which I really needed due to my health issues + 2 jobs + being a full time student. I'm very blessed to be able to spend this time with my loved ones and get to eat lots of delicious food. And of course I'm also blessed because my boyfriend and family always spoil me with their gifts. Here's some of the highlights:
a vintage Disney Alice in Wonderland thermos from my boyfriend.
bento box set with Alice in Wonderland drawings by a Japanese artist, also from the BF

two Hello Kitty bento boxes with HK bento accessories from my mom


Babycakes cupcake maker from my grandma


Ninja blender and food processor from my mom

I'm so excited to try the bento and kitchen stuff out!
I'm actually working 4 p.m. until midnight on New Year's Eve which kind of sucks. My boyfriend is at home alone and I was supposed to go out to eat with my family, but my job got in the way of any celebrations. To cheer myself up, I've been thinking of some things I want to happen in the new year.
For my New Year's resolutions/intentions/wishes/hopes, I want to:
1. Utilize my bento boxes and accessories as well as the wonderful cookbooks I got for Christmas
2. Actually use the Ninja and Babycakes and not let them collect dust in the kitchen.
3. Be more considerate of those close to me. Usually I'm almost too considerate of others but the rough year I had made it to where I was in a daze and wasn't always aware of how I was acting or the feelings of others.
4. Graduate in May. I'm supposed to and only health problems stand in my way. If I can push through them, I graduate on time and can continue on with life.
5. Address my health issues more vigorously than I did this year. I had a hard time with everything that went on in my life so I wasn't able to focus on taking care of myself as well as I wish I could have.
6. Find a better doctor if mine continues to be a pain.
7. Be true to myself and not hide my feelings or pretend for the sake of others.
8. Stand up for myself.
9. Learn to relax! Take things in stride and not be such a worry wart!

I'll leave you with some pictures from our Christmas meal (yes, there is lots of meat in the picture. My mom and I are the only vegans in a family of wannabe carnivores).
I had roasted veggies, lentils, saffron rice, green beans, corn, and homemade dark dark dark chocolate vegan fudge for dessert =]

Happy New Year!!!

Columbus trip

I recently went to Columbus, OH to finish my Christmas shopping. As I've said before, Columbus is only 2 hours from me and has a lot more to offer than my city. I went to Easton mall and got a lot accomplished but it was a grueling weekend of walking tons and shopping til I dropped. I ate at P.F. Chang's while I was at Easton (I always do when I visit) and was severely disappointed this time. I found out from my waitress that their tofu has wheat germ added to it. This makes very little sense to me and since the tofu is no longer gluten free, I couldn't partake in it. So instead I got the Buddha Bowl off of the GF menu which came to me as a big bowl of steamed broccoli. It had a couple mushrooms and carrots in it, but it was mostly broccoli. I love broccoli but I didn't want a whole bowl of it. I got the GF soy sauce on the side and dipped the veggies into it. The brown rice was also undercooked so it was kind of hard and chewy. It was a very bad experience.

I also ate at ZPizza. They have Daiya cheese and GF crust. I ordered mushrooms, zucchini, black olives, and artichokes as my toppings. This is what my pizza looked like:


You can't tell from the picture, but they didn't really cook the veggies and mushrooms. Despite this, the pizza was pretty good. The crust was better than expected. Not to bash ZPizza since I appreciate them offering Daiya and GF crust, but I have had a much better GF vegan pizza in Washington, D.C. at Pete's A Pizza. But Pete's doesn't have Daiya, they carry Teese which is my second favorite vegan cheese.

I went to Whole Foods to buy specialty foods because I only have a very tiny health food store where I live. Our store carries very little and consists of 3 aisles of food and some fridges. While at Whole Foods I looked (longingly) at their baked goods and came across these cupcakes, some of which were vegan but not GF:

So cute and festive!

I also visited a locally owned health food store, The Raisin Rack in Westerville, OH which is a suburb of Columbus. They have a food bar, salad bar, complete cafe menu, and smoothies. They had a lot of GF and vegan offerings so I had breakfast here before leaving to go back home. I got a really good tropical smoothie and the food bar.

No Columbus trip would be complete without a visit to Pattycake Bakery. I've mentioned them on here before because they are completely vegan and have GF offerings. I absolutely love them and so do my non-vegan friends and family! While there I picked up some of their Marry Me Blueberry Muffins (not GF) for family and my boyfriend. For myself I got a Buckeye Bar, Cranberry Almond cookie, and raw truffles. Delicious!

I'm really looking forward to Christmas. I get to see all of my family and my boyfriend is a wonderful gift giver. This is my favorite holiday and time of the year. I've already been watching Christmas movies that I love, such as The Year Without Santa Claus. I'm a sucker for claymation =]

Candida, stuffed peppers

I have been ill for what seems like a very long time. Last summer (2009) I developed severe stomach and digestive issues. I had problems before then but it seemed that they worsened drastically at this time. I thought I had the flu at first even though it was the middle of the summer. But after one week went by...then two...then four...I figured that maybe something more serious was wrong. I started seeing doctors about it and was diagnosed with epstein-barr and chronic fatigue syndrome in October when I was so ill that I could no longer attend class or get out of bed. I ended up getting a medical incomplete for my semester (luckily!) and was able to finish my work and continue on with my education. The b12 shots for the epstein-barr didn't help me the least little bit. I was disappointed because the doctors said there was nothing else to do except rest and get the shots. I discontinued them because I felt they were a waste of time.
My digestive issues continued on during all of this and I had multiple doctors tell me it was just stress or IBS. I started seeing another doctor (of alternative as well as traditional medicine) and he took over control of my thyroid medication (I found out I am hypothyroid 4 years ago and have been on medication since as well as completely overhauling my diet and exercise programs) and testing for digestive problems. He found that I'm allergic to gluten and have a problem with candida overgrowth. He has raised my thyroid medication to my dismay and the anti-candida diet is incredibly hard to stick to. My thyroid levels are good and I don't have extra weight on me (I lost the weight I had gained initially due to the condition within 4 months of discovering I had it).
But I still feel awful most of the time. I'm troubled by sugar cravings, fatigue, depression, and many digestive complaints. Gluten complicates these issues but I am still not 100% cured by removing it from my diet. I cannot currently follow the anti-candida diet (due to other health issues I'm not discussing yet) and I feel that this is keeping me sick. I'm trying to at least cut back on any added sugar (I usually only consume agave or brown rice syrup anyway), fruit juice, and dried fruits until I am able to fully attempt the anti-candida diet. This is going to be difficult with the holidays and my mother not understanding candida, but I'm giving it a shot. I will still post goodies on here though =]
Sorry to seem like I'm whining, I just wanted to give a look at where I'm at in my journey towards health. I know I have made amazing strides, but I still have a lot of work to do and it's difficult because of the area I'm in and my alternative doctor can be a bad listener at times.

On a brighter note, I have a recipe for stuffed peppers! I apologize because I don't have exact measurements, but it's simple to figure out I swear!

Brown rice, cooked
Whole bell peppers (I used 4)
Tomato or marinara sauce
Olives
Black, kidney, or pinto beans (canned or already cooked)
Spices (cumin, southwest, red pepper, salt)
Veggies of your choice
Cut the tops off of the peppers and stuff them with the rice, beans, and veggies. Place in baking dish and cover with sauce and olives. Bake in oven at 350 for about 45 minutes, checking often.

Spicy Coconut Rice with Tempeh, Spicy PB &Co.

When I was out of town on a trip last weekend, I found a flavor from Peanut Butter & Co. that I hadn't tried yet:



This PB is far from traditional like their flavors tend to be, but this flavor was even more out there. They suggest that you use it on veggies since it has things like cayenne pepper in it. So after having it in my cabinet for a week, I finally figured out what I wanted to do with it. I wanted it in my coconut rice. I like my coconut rice sweet and spicy which I know makes it different from normal coconut rice, but that's how I prefer it. This is the recipe I came up with and my partner used it to make the dish for me...

1 C brown rice
1/2 C light coconut milk
1 tbsp peanut butter (you can use the spicy PB if you have it or the urge hits you)
1 tsp stevia/sugar/sweetener of your choice
1/4 onion, chopped
Frozen veggies (I used cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, peas)
1/3 pkg tempeh
cumin
southwest seasoning (omit or replace if you don't have this)
turmeric
salt, pepper
oil or spray for pan

In a saucepan, heat oil and onion until it is translucent. Add frozen veggies and let those start to thaw. In a pan, heat some more oil and add the tempeh cut however you like it (I like mine in bite size pieces). Add the listed spices to the tempeh as it cooks. Now add the coconut milk and PB in the saucepan with the veggies. After getting the PB melted and mixed add the rice and listed spices as well as the sweetener if you are using it. Once everything is done, combine the tempeh and the rice with veggies in a bowl and enjoy! This made 2 servings for me but it makes 1 big serving if you are really hungry.



This is an awful picture just like all of my rice bowl pictures (and all food pics, for that matter) tend to be. But I swear it was really yummy!

More animals! And Thai food

I'd like to introduce you to the rest of my beloved animal family =]

Akuma:


Aurora:


Odin:


So I live with three medium/large dogs. Akuma is very attached to my partner, Aurora is very attached to me, and Odin is equally attached to both of us (and anyone who will pet him...) Needless to say, it gets pretty insane around here. But I love them <3 and they all love Kitty so it's all good!

I also ate at a Thai restaurant that recently opened in my city. I say city but really it's more like a town. I live in Huntington, WV. If you've heard of it it's only because of the We Are Marshall movie with Matthew McConaughey, it sort of put us on the map. But even with a major motion picture about my town and the university in it, our finest dining still tends to be the Olive Garden. Vegetarians have a rough time at restaurants and with the locals, much less a vegan who is allergic to gluten. I have to worry about cross contamination but since I don't live near anything resembling a vegan restaurant or gluten free raw places, I'll take what I can get. But the Thai place is exciting, new, and nice. And it has tofu! Like I've said, if it's a special occasion like I'm eating out, I'll get tofu especially if that's my only option like it is at the local Asian places. I got the Panang curry tofu with vegetables and panang rice. It was really good curry and the rice was super delicious and different. Annnnnd yes that's a bite I'd already taken out of the rice ^_^

And just for some awwww factor, here's a picture of my baby cousin and her happy face fried rice:

:)

What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?

Caesar salad. I ate it every week before going vegan.

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?

Brussels sprouts

What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?

Seitan. Now that I have to be gluten free, I don't feel so bad about it but I hated it long before that.

What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?

Water

What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?

Cookies

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?

No raisins in savory dishes. Seriously people are always doing that. And I love raisins, I eat them straight. But not in my stuffed peppers.

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?

Hummus or dark chocolate

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?

Mac n cheese

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?

Dark Chocolate, almond butter

Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?

I'm a big snacker. Rice cakes with nut butter or apple butter, hummus and carrot sticks, popcorn.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?

Tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, olives, banana peppers, onions

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?

Peas, any type of berry

What is the best salad dressing?
I put hummus on my salads most of the time

What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?

Apple butter with tahini or almond butter

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?

Miso

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?

I'm partial to chocolate anything

What is your favorite kind of cookie?

Oatmeal raisin, pb chocolate chip

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?

rice veggies & tempeh or beans

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?

No one in my household is vegan and therefore they won't eat anything that I do. Except for the cookies

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?

1 hour

How many fingers am I holding up?

8

What kind of things are you doing for VeganMofo?

Reading lots of blogs

Cabbage rolls, a recipe from another blogger

I'm feeling a little bit better now as I've been trying to drink my fluids. I still haven't had a huge appetite but I'm still eating of course. I made cabbage rolls and a special treat from another blogger, Averie's No Bake Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls with High Protein option

For the cabbage roll filling I used brown rice, tofu, and mushrooms seasoned with basil, onion, and garlic. I put tomato sauce on top of the rolls with some green olives. Delicious! You can make them in the crock pot or oven and it's very simple.

For Averie's "cookie dough" balls I did use the high protein option because my protein intake hasn't been what it should be since I came down with the flu. Her recipe seriously tastes like cookie dough, it's seriously addictive and delicious.

Sorry that I don't have any pictures but cabbage rolls are ugly and I couldn't get a good picture of the balls.