They might of choked Artie...

..But they ain't gonna choke me!
Haha, that's a family joke. Someone always says it when we are having artichokes during the holidays.

We aren't very exciting for New Years. We are like an old couple.. we don't go out to a bar with friends.. and we don't go to any parties.. we go to my in laws house! Haha! T and I started "going out" on New Years day, so we always went out to dinner and celebrated our anniversary. Now that we are married (going on 3 years) we don't really celebrate our dating anniversary. This year marks 8 years together! Yes, we started dating when I was 16 (almost 17, my b-day was a month away), and he was 18 (almost 19, his b-day is a week before mine). I can't believe how time flies! Anyway, at my in laws, we make a nice dinner (we use to have lobsters pre-vegan days).. and we watch a movie and hang out. Last year my little brother in law got to Wii so we played that for a few hours. I ruled at the bowling! :) This year I think we are going to make a creamy white bean soup..mmm, can't wait!


I know I always say I have a new favorite smoothie.. but THIS is my NEW favorite smoothie: frozen pineapple, frozen durian, banana, coconut water, chia seeds, flax seeds, bee pollen, and goji berries. YUM! So creamy and delicious! The bottle in the picture is a beer bottle with a Buddha on it. T gave me a single rose and used it as the vase. Cute idea!
I couldn't resist at Whole Foods the other night when I saw tangerines with the stem and leaf still on. I bought 4 of them and they are so sweet and full of flavor! Yum!
Last night I made a big salad (of course) and a steamed artichoke. I love having artichokes just steamed with garlic, olive oil and lots of seasonings. I added some raw Parma at the end. Artichokes are my second favorite veggie, broccoli rabe is my first! :)

What are your New Years plans? I hope you have a great one! Have fun and be safe! I will see you in 2009! :) Hugs!

My Christmas Round-Up

Last night T and I went to Whole Foods. He had got me an $100 gift card as part of my Christmas gift and I wanted to get some beauty products. So here's what I ended up getting: A natural blemish stick, Jason's Thin to Thick shampoo and conditioner (being on Prednisone thinned my hair out A LOT), Avalon Cream Shave Lotion, Rose scented incense, Yogi Tea-Green Tea Rejuvenation, Peace Keeper clear nail polish, a natural bristle toothbrush, an Organic Body Polish Scrub, and some natural Wintermints.
Today we went to an Italian deli for lunch. I was planning on getting a salad somewhere else, but when I saw an artichoke salad on the menu, I couldn't resist. This was lettuce, grilled zucchini, roasted peppers, baby marinated mushrooms, hot peppers, garlic, grilled eggplant, and artichoke hearts. I put my own balsamic vinegar dressing on it when I got home.
We also stopped at the Asian Market earlier today. I wanted to get a durian, but they were all old and had mold on the outside (gross, I know). So disappointed, I picked up a Young Thai Coconut, and 2 fruits that I forget the name of, but they resemble grapefruits, and then I saw frozen durian!! Not the same as the fresh, but I will settle. I have never had durian, so I am a little mad that my first time having it, it is frozen.. oh well. I tried it and I actually liked it! Haha! I have heard so many things about the smell that I was sure that I would like it. But it really wasn't to bad. But then I looked up frozen durian online and I read that it's not a strong and a lot milder because it had no skin. Darn! I need to try a fresh one soon!

In my last post I forgot to mention my Christmas gifts! T got me the 5 tray Excalibur Dehydrator! Also, besides that and gift card he got me a Coach Purse, Wallet, and Sunglasses! My in laws got me the stuff below: A knitting kit (we are determined to learn), Zoya gold nail polish (this is the best "natural" nail polish out there!!), John Masters Organic face mask, Suki lip/cheek stain (I love Suki, they are a great natural makeup company), Suki mascara, Dior bronzing powder, Dior Mascara, a Dior eye shadow pallet (I try to where only natural makeup but Dior and Chanel often make an appearance on my face..ha), and This Crazy Vegan Life by Christina Pirello (LOVE her cooking show!). Not pictured: A Victoria's Secret Robe, slippers, Victoria's Secret Pjs, a Victoria's Secret Hoodie (it has a peace symbol and a heart in "bling" on the back), 2 Skinny Bitch workout DVDs, 100% Pure fruit pigment lip gloss, and Alterna Hemp Organics shine conditioner.

I wanted to tell everyone to head over to The Chocolate Covered Vegan's blog and leave a comment on this post. She is doing a wonderful, generous, sweet thing and donating 20 cent for every comment to the ENOUGH Project, an organization trying to help end genocide in Sudan and other areas. Please go comment!! It doesn't cost a thing.. she is doing all the spending..!!

Also, I wanted to let you all know about something I am doing that you can help out and do as well. Keep all your Christmas cards and send them to the St. Jude's Ranch. They have a recycled card program, the children participate in making the new recycled cards by removing the front and attaching a new back made with recycled paper. You have until February 28th to send them out, so get going!

St. Jude's Ranch for Children

Card Recycling Program

100 St. Jude's Street

Boulder City, NV 89005

It's a Wonderful Life

Hey Everyone! I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I sure did! We had a great time at my in laws. We actually just got home! I think this was my favorite Christmas yet. I didn't drink this year (I actually gave up drinking because of my Crohn's in July, I don't think I'll ever drink again..), and that's why I think I enjoyed it so much. I actually got to experience it without being wasted..haha! After everyone left we stayed up and watched a movie called The Tiger and The Snow. It was really good, I just love Roberto Benigni! Life is Beautiful is one of my favorite movies ever!

This is a picture I took at my house of a rose T brought me home last week. I just love this picture since the tree is in the background.
This was a meal from earlier in the week. All green! Sauteed garlicky kale and zucchini and broccoli roasted in the oven. I had an appointment for a manicure so I made this in a rush, but everything turned out great!

Another meal from earlier in the week- Roasted acorn squash and a big salad with raw salsa and raw parma on top. The squash was so good, nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Does anyone else eat the skin of the squash? I only eat it if it's organic.. but I have always done this. It's really good!

This is Ginger and my mother in laws pug, SueShe. They were pretty beat from the party so they watched the movie with us. They were laying in my brother in laws legs. Ginger always annoys SueShe, but in the end they always love each other!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope your day is filled with lots of love and happiness! Thank you all for all your kind words and support the past couple of months. I am so happy I started this blog and have the opportunity to talk to such wonderful people like you!

Peace on Earth!

Love,

Lauren

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree...

I hope everyone had a great weekend. T and I finally finished our Christmas shopping! I am so excited for Christmas. T and I celebrate Christmas together on Christmas Eve morning. We wake up and open our gifts and have breakfast. Then, we go down to T's parents house on and go to mass together then have dinner. After dinner T and I head over to my grandma's (Naunee) for an Italian Christmas Eve, we open all of our presents together, they have a big fish dinner (like I said we eat at my in laws). Then we go back to my in laws to sleep and wake up early and open more gifts! T has a 13 year old brother, so it's mostly all about him. My mother in law really spoils us! She gives us a $500 limit and tells us to make her lists. So I know most of my gifts. I will post pictures of everything since I asked for some vegan things! We have a big party (my family even comes) at T's parents house on Christmas day. Friends, relatives, lots and lots of food (we are Italian and all), it's so much fun! Our friends usually stay late and hang out. My mother and law and I usually don't have many options for food. This year we decided to make something we could eat. So even though no one else is going to eat it (especially since she is also making eggplant parm and other non-vegan items) we are having broccoli rabe and rice pasta, a big salad and roasted potatoes. Yay! Can't wait!
Above is my co-op box from this week. Here's what I got: Jonagold apples, yellow onions, russet potatoes, 2 acorn squash, 2 green peppers, grape tomatoes, kale, broccoli, carrots, romaine lettuce, a lemon, Valencia oranges, 2 avocados, zucchini, bananas, and 2 Italian kiwis.

The other night I made lentils. I added potatoes, carrots, a jar of tomatoes and lots of garlic.. I usually make them this way, this is how my mom and Naunee always made them. Italian style.. yum!

Lauren's Lentils

You Need:

1 bag of dried lentils

Vegetable broth or stock

1 jar of crushed tomatoes

6 cloves of garlic

2 russet potatoes (cut up small)

4 big carrots

1 small onion

Olive Oil

Pepper, Italian seasoning, a bay leaf, hot pepper

Saute garlic in olive oil, add chopped onion, let cook until translucent. Add potatoes, carrot, and a little broth. Let cook until soft. Add lentils, crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, and all seasonings (I sprinkle them freely). Bring to a boil. Bring down to a simmer, add about 1.5 cups of vegetable broth and some water (make sure lentils are covered). Let cook about an hour. Stir often. If you see the water is going down to much and the lentils aren't cooking just add more water or broth. I like them thick though, so I don't add to much. But you have to stir them often. When cooked add more olive oil and stir in more seasonings. Enjoy!

**Note: I try not to use a lot of salt in my cooking, feel free to add some if you think it needs it. But the broth pretty much covers that in this dish.**
Friday we ended up getting hit with that snow storm. We got about 4 inches and a ton of ice! YUCK! But, we still got to go out to dinner with my brother in law and his girlfriend and the place was very accommodating. The chef even gave me a special menu where she highlighting what was vegan and told me she could put anything highlighted together to make something. I told her I wanted a bunch of veggies with the herb rice. It turned out delicious! So much flavor! Roasted veggies and sauteed spinach with a very flavorful rice! YUM! I also had an arugula salad that had potatoes in it and a Dijon mustard dressing. Mmm! By the way, this was Ginger in the morning when it first started snowing. She was investigating!

Today, after Christmas shopping T and I stopped at Whole Foods for lunch. I made a big salad with lots of raw veggies and roasted brussel sprouts, curried cauliflower, roasted sweet potatoes, olives, and a falafel. I love just adding random things to my salads at the salad bar! :)

Don't ask me why this picture came up sideways... grr! Anyway.. tonight I made sprouted grain pasta with tomato sauce and artichoke hearts. T and I were watching Lidia's Italian Kitchen (he loves her..haha).. and we saw this recipe on her "Vegetarian Rome" episode. It turned out really good. But very very very filling! T and I are both stuffed right now! I used fresh artichokes and it really made a difference.

Okay everyone, I probably won't post again until next weekend sometime (I did set up a special Christmas message to post).. but as for real posts I will be MIA! Have a great holiday everyone!!!

Let it snow?

***Edited to add Escarole and Beans "recipe"***

Brrrr... it's really cold here! We have a winter storm warning for tomorrow afternoon and as much as I love being snowed in, I am not looking forward to it! We are suppose to be going out to dinner with my brother in law and his girlfriend as our Christmas presents to each other. We decided to skip the gifts and enjoy doing something together instead. We are planning on going to a restaurant that serves only local ingredients. I called last night to make sure they could accommodate me. The hostess spoke with the chef and she told me to call back Friday before we come in and I will speak with the chef and we will come up with something. Let's hope it doesn't turn out like my last experience with this.

Being that the weather has been colder I've been having soup at least 2 times a week. Every other dinner is usually a big salad. So I am still eating about 90% raw most days. This is a soup I have posted about before. But it's mine and T's favorite so I make it a lot in the winter. Escarole and Beans, a traditional soup in both of our Italian families. I sprinkled raw parma on top for a little cheesy taste. YUM!

Lauren's Escarole and Beans

You need:

2 heads of escarole

2 cans (or 1 bag of cannellini beans) I use the can because the others take to long

Olive oil

5 cloves of garlic

Vegetable Stock

Hot pepper, Italian seasoning, and ground pepper to taste

Heat a good amount of olive oil in a big pot. Slice garlic into small pieces and cook in olive oil. Add escarole, drizzle with olive oil and a add a little bit of vegetable stock. Let escarole cook down, cover and stir occasionally. Add white beans, drizzle with olive oil and add the rest of your vegetable stock. Season to taste. Let cook until hot. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!

I have a new favorite smoothie. Frozen pineapple, frozen mango, a banana, spinach, coconut water, goji berries, flaxseed, chia seeds, and bee pollen. This is so delicious.. and tropical.. even when it's freezing outside!

And finally a picture of our Christmas tree! Sorry it's not such a great picture. It was at a bad angle since our dining room table is nearby and I didn't want it in the picture. We have a red and gold theme going. I love gold! All the fixtures and light switch plates in my house are gold. T has been changing them all this week. He also just did the crown molding and painted this room. You like? We also have blinds on the way.. a Christmas present from my parents.

Here is one of the roses from the bouquet T gave me the other night. So beautiful and it smells amazing! I love "stopping and smelling the roses" every time I walk by.. Hehe!

My co-op box is coming today. To bad we aren't going to be around most of next week. I am going to put everything in green bags and hope for the best!

By the way, I haven't updated on my health in awhile. That's because I am feeling great! I don't want to jinx it, but the Humira seems to be working. And I should be off of Prednisone by Christmas day! Yay! All of the side effects are going away too. I am almost back to being me again!

A little bit of this.. and that..

So on Sunday I had a great massage then I did some Christmas shopping and made a wonderful dinner. T was home in time for dinner and I made him a Morning Star Chick'n Pattie. He said it was good. Not great, but good. Last night I made him Morning Star Buffalo Chick'n Wings and he loved them! He said he would eat them every night of the week! Score! Looks like this vegetarian thing isn't going to be that hard for him after all!

At the spa they have some great natural products. The oils are a little pricey so I didn't get any, but I did get this little soy candle. I LOVE Pacifica! This is Tibetan Mountain Temple. Smells wonderful and made from soy wax! No chemicals here!
Dinner after the spa was kale sauteed with lots of garlic and olive oil with raw parma sprinkled on top; sweet potato fries with unsweetened ketchup (which is really tasty by the way), and a homemade Whole Foods veggie burger that I've had in the freezer for a few months. This veggie burger has only a few ingredients, mostly millet, quinoa, potatoes and some other grains. They are my favorite veggie burgers. They serve them in the Whole Foods Diner I blogged about here. But I got this one at the prepared food counter. I enjoyed it on a whole wheat bun with avocado, artichoke hears, tomato, sun dried tomato, lettuce, and some raw salsa. What a mouthful! Yum!

Last night T and I went to Trader Joes to get a few things. Here's what I got (T's things aren't included): ground flaxseed, organic sprouted grain parppadelle pasta, holistic natural dog treats (for Ginger of course!), HUGE olives, artichoke hearts, frozen mango, frozen pineapple, frozen berries, and frozen organic strawberries. Sadly, frozen fruit is the best way to have flavor in my smoothies since fresh berries are harder to come by in the winter in NJ.

One last thing from Trader Joes. T insisted on buying me these gorgeous flowers. They were called "Candy Dish".. a beautiful arrangement of mixed flowers. Isn't he the sweetest?

We decorated our tree last night. I promise to take a pic and post it in my next post! :) Almost a week until Christmas!! We aren't done shopping yet! Ahhh!

The perfect weekend..

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I have a little time this morning to post because T went to the Jets/Bills (he is a Bills fan) game with a friend. So I am all by myself, all day! But don't worry, I will be busy! First, I am going for a massage at the spa. I know, here I am complaining in my last post about money and I am going to do something extravagant like getting a massage. But... every year T for Christmas gets me a gift certificate for the spa (along with other stuff.. he spoils me..hehe). This year he gave it to me early since he was going to be gone all day and because my joints are so sore from the Prednisone. Isn't he just great? After that I am going into town for some Christmas shopping! I have a 20% off coupon for Banana Republic burning a hole in my wallet! I am going to get some things for T.. since he is so good to me! :)

I am sure you are all sick of coming to my blog and seeing boring old salads. But it's the main staple of my diet right now. I am not really into making gourmet raw dishes, I am really loving the simplicity of a huge salad for dinner. Of course I spruce it up with lots of different goodies every time! The one below has mesclun, avocado, sun dried tomatoes, cucumber, artichoke hearts, pumpkin seeds, cherry tomatoes, and carrots.
Here's another salad with some baked yellow squash on the side. The squash turned out really good. I coated them with olive oil and tossed them in a bowl with sea salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and some salt free Mrs. Dash and then cooked them for about 40 min on 350 in the oven. They were nice and browned in the end. A little crunchy almost. MmM!
Friday night T and I had a special date. We went out to the country to our favorite farm (see this, this, and this post) to get our Christmas tree! Along the way we stopped at my FAVORITE health food store to get dinner (they have a little mini deli with a kitchen inside) and some other treats. I felt like I needed some good vegan "fast food" so I ordered the Tempeh BLT with avocado, lettuce, tomato, and vegan mayo on a whole wheat wrap. Boy did this hit the spot! I felt so sinful eating this!! Haha! I was never a mayo fan, but with the crispy tempeh it was really amazing. My mouth is watering thinking about it..

T ordered a turkey burger which he said was really good as well. By the way, T told me his New Years resolution for this year.. DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

HE IS GOING TO TRY OUT VEGETARIANISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!!!! He said he isn't going to go vegan yet, because he wants to have options (he like Morningstar brand products) but he never eats eggs and barely has cheese. So he will pretty much be vegan anyway. His only problem, he gets lunch out everyone. He usually eats turkey subs and things like that. There aren't many vegetarian options for him. Plus, he doesn't eat bad, so he wouldn't eat pizza everyday. But we are going to work it out. I told him I would make him something and bring it to him or he could pick it up. I hope he sticks with this!

Okay back to food. Here's what I picked up at Basil's Bandwagon: Raw Parma, unsweetened ketchup, tri-colored quinoa pasta, Vermints Gingermints (I love the Wintermint flavor, the ginger is just okay), raw pignoli pizza crackers, and 2 flavors of raw truffles-peppermint and dark cacao. T and I shared the peppermint truffles (it's 2 per box). It was pretty good, the mint was a little to strong though. I like a more subtle mint flavor with my chocolate. It reminded me of a York Peppermint Pattie. I can't wait to try the other flavor!

At the farm they had a drive through Christmas light show. T and I enjoyed our truffles are we drove through the many light displays. It was really a wonderful night. Not sure how well you can see this picture, but this was my favorite of all of the lights. It's the Nativity scene.

Our tree it up, just not decorated yet! We plan on doing that during the week. I will be sure to post a picture of it when it's all done! :) Have a nice Sunday everyone!

Great Christmas Gift Idea!

This year T and I are trying to cut back on spending so much money on Christmas gifts. Buying a house this year and my health care bills plus the economy.. blaaaah! I felt like I wanted my money to go to something meaningful. I wanted to adopt a turkey for Thanksgiving but T and I agreed that we would save the money and do something around Christmas time instead. So when I got an email from The Defenders of Wildlife about adopting an endangered species for Christmas I couldn't help but think about the kids in my life. What a great idea for a gift! Especially since the adoption comes with a stuffed animal! :)



WildlifeAdoption.org



This is from there website:



"Adoptions are a wonderful way to protect endangered wild animals and share the importance of conservation. They make the perfect gift for the Holiday Season, birthdays and other special occasions! Or, get one for yourself and support Defenders' wildlife-saving work.
Adoptions for any budget, starting at just $20."



I adopted a penguin for the little girl I watch and a wolf for my 2 year old cousin. I think it's a wonderful gift that gives back. And the prices aren't crazy! They get a little stuffed animal of the animal you choose to adopt, a personalized certificate, a photo and a fact sheet. All for a $25 donation. You can also give a higher donation which come with other fun things as well. Also, they have free shipping until the 16th and with the code HOLIDAY at checkout you get an extra 15% off! I just love this idea for a gift for any kid (or adult!). I feel like my gift actually went to something important. Check it out, let me know if you decide to go for it! :)

This was a picture T took on his fishing trip in Pennsylvania over Thanksgiving weekend.

Hearty meals and Yummy treats!

Sunday night T and I both craved a nice hearty soup. So I decided to throw together some things I got from my co-op box and whatever was in the cabinet. I came up with a really delicious thick stew. I sauteed some broccoli and potatoes and threw them into the food processor with a little vegetable stock and some canellinni beans. Then on the stove I heated up garlic and onion and added more potatoes, cannellini beans and carrots to it. Then added the rest of the vegetable stock and some collards and let it cook. In the end I added the stuff from the food processor stirred it all in and added some olive oil to loosen it up. It came out really hearty! Stick to your ribs, cold weather kind of meal!
I picked up some fun goodies at the health food store this week.

Here's what I bought:

• Chamomile Tea, I love having this before bed, I've been sleeping so well!


• Raw Makery Raw Curry Stix-I had bought the garlic flavor before and they were so good I had to try another flavor. I don't like the curry ones as much, but they are still very tasty. Only problem, $10 a bag! Ouch!


• Raw Nori Bites- These are so delicious! They are small bites of raw vegetable cracker with a sheet of nori on the back..yum!


• Yogi Tea-Stomach Ease, this is great to drink after eating, especially if you get indigestion or heartburn, I love this stuff!


• Nori Snack- These are little pieces of nori on a sesame seed stick. Sweet and salty. The whole container is only 100 calories! How great is that?
  

I had some pineapple left over from the other night so I decided to juice it. This was pineapple, orange, grapefruit and spinach. So refreshing! I just LOVE grapefruits, I am so happy they are in season right now and the prices are so great. They are definitely one of my favorite fruits. No sweeteners needed for me!

Last night I made Delicata Squash stuffed with garlic, brown rice and gluten free bread crumbs. These turned out delicious! I was a little nervous when I got them in the co-op box because I wasn't sure what to do with them, but after some research I saw a few different bloggers had made them recently so I decided to put my own spin on them. On the side, fresh organic spinach sauteed in lots of garlic and olive oil. When I get spinach from the co-op it is 1,000 times better then the grocery store. Maybe because it's so much fresher (doesn't come in a bag, has tons and tons of dirt on it).. I don't mind though, it's worth all the cleaning!
Okay, I am off to workout! I am getting stronger and stronger everyday. Hopefully I will be back to my normal workout routine before Christmas (I should be done with Prednisone by then). Maybe even back to a yoga class! ;)

Disappointing..

Well, dinner last night was a disappointment. When we told our waiter we were vegan he was ready and prepared. He said it would be no problem and they could make anything vegan, and he would talk with the chef and see if they could come up with some options. My mother in law and I were so excited since we actually had "options!" He came back and told us that for an appetizer they could make any salad vegan, while we probably would of ordered a salad anyway, we were already feeling like it wasn't going to go as we thought. He told us to order The Market Salad because it was really big has walnuts, tiny potatoes, apples, and lots of stuff in it. When we got it, there were 3 apple slices, about 4 walnuts, and a few tiny potatoes on a very small bed of lettuce. It left a lot to be desired and we were hungry!

Next time he came back from the kitchen he told us the chef came up with something and wanted to know if it sounded good. He said they would make us zucchini flowers, zucchini, peppers, carrots, and some other root vegetables in a tomato sauce with some grilled asparagus on the side and we could have pasta with it if we liked. We told him it sounded wonderful and opted not to have the pasta. We also asked if they could add some broccoli raab since it is our absolute favorite, and he wrote it down and said sound excellent! So our mouths were watering again... only to be disappointed. What we got was some peppers, zucchini, and carrots in a tomato base. With 3 spears of asparagus on the side. It was the smallest pile of vegetables we'd ever seen. No zucchini flowers, no root veggies and most importantly NO BROCCOLI RAAB! So we at every last morsel and ordered some fruit for dessert (that was another tiny portion and the pineapple tasted like pork and we were positive that it was on a cutting board with something). Our entree cost $26! So you can understand the outrage with the portion size.
The rest of the family got nice portioned normal meals. My mother in law and I are both very tiny and we assumed when we said we were vegan and he saw how small we are that he figured we didn't need much to get by. Boy was he wrong!

We had some Chamomile tea and went home and went to bed hungry (it was 10:00 when we finished dinner). So that was that.. disappointing..
Here's a meal from the other night. I have been craving kale so I made some with garlic and olive oil with sweet potato and potato wedges. The sweet potatoes were really sweet and delicious. The potatoes were a little dry since I didn't have any ketchup. But a great simple meal all in all.

Friday night I made myself a huge salad! T wanted pasta and I just didn't feel like something so heavy. I used mesclun, sun dried tomatoes, olives, cannellini beans, carrots, artichoke hearts, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. For dressing I mixed olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Grey Poupon, and honey. The avocado got all mashed up with the dressing and it was really creamy. YUM!

Dessert Friday night.. fresh organic pineapple I got from my co-op box. I sprinkled some goji's on top for a little extra antioxidants.

Speaking of my co-op box. I forgot to take a picture before putting everything away so I will just tell you what I got: apples, cabbage, delicotta squash, green peppers, yellow squash, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, collard greens, spinach, oranges, bananas, and a pineapple. I have some interesting things on the menu this week, so stay tuned!

Looking forward to the weekend!

Hey Everyone! Everything is going great here, lowered my Prednisone to 35mg from 40mg. Not much of a difference but I am lowering again on Monday and Tuesday T gives me 2 Humira shots..ouch! Can't wait! ;)

I've got a great weekend ahead and I am really excited! Saturday is my father in laws 50th birthday and we are going to a really nice restaurant that David Burke is the chef at. We've been before he took over and the place was fanominal, so I can't imagine how it's going to be now. The other problem, last time I went I was still eating fish and dairy (my pre-crohn's days). But when my mother in law made reservations, she told them that we are both vegan and they said no problem, they accommodate anyone. So I am excited to see what they come up with. Hopefully we won't be stuck with a plate of steamed veggies!

The other night I made some butternut squash in the oven with pumpkin seeds on top. This came out so delicious. It roasted up so nicely and I broiled it for a little to get the extra toastiness it needed. We enjoyed this with a big salad on the side. Perfect meal!
I hadn't made pasta in a quite a while so I thought I'd make T happy and whip something different up. The picture doesn't do it justice, since it was rice pasta, it looks so bland. But T picked it up at an Italian specialty store and it was imported from Italy. Who knew they were into rice pasta? I made with edamame, peas, artichoke hearts and olives. Lots of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil on top, decadent!

Another smoothie for ya: banana, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, bee pollen, goji berries, pro-biotic powder, coconut water, ginger, raspberries, blueberries, marionberries. Filled with antioxidants, definitely a great way to start my day!

Last night I wanted to make a different salad then the normal. So I added anything I had! Haha! This was mesclun, sprouts, apples, walnuts, olives, left over pasta with peas and edamame, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and for dressing- apple cider vinegar, honey and olive oil. YUM! The salty, sour and sweet made the perfect combo. Who knew apples and olives go so well together?

Well, I get my co-op box today. Hopefully I will get some good stuff for next week meals. I'll be back with an update on Saturday nights dinner probably Monday. Till then, have a great weekend everyone!

Back in action..again...

I am feeling better again. The day after Thanksgiving I felt a lot better. I am not sure why I had a little relapse. Perhaps to much raw garlic..ugh.. I can't even think about it..chiiilllss..

Anyway, I took a little raw break (mostly wasn't eating anything at all), but I am pretty much back now. I am going to take it easy though. We are having a few cooked things with our salads this week and some pasta too (I really miss pasta). But I don't have much of an appetite so nothing grand.

Below are the raw tacos I was talking about last week. I used Ani Phyo's recipe and added avocado and diced tomato then rolled them in romaine lettuce. Doesn't look like much but they are incredibly filling. I couldn't finish them.
Here's a picture of them all rolled up and ready for my tummy! Mmm.. I just love rawcos!

This was a juice I made at some point before I got sick. I think it was pear, ginger, romaine, and lemon. Really refreshing and nice!

Lunch one day was caraway flavored raw crackers with avocado, sprouts, sliced tomato and sea salt and cracked pepper. The crackers tasted like rye bread, I definitely don't miss bread at all!

I have been eyeing one of my favorite magazines (my other fav is Body+Soul, but I get the subscription) at the health food store for weeks. The only problem is, it's a European magazine so in the US it's $8.00! I always give in, end up buying it, and feeling a little guilty. But last week I got a nice $27.00 rewards coupon on the mail from the health food store and you better believe this was the first thing in my cart! ;) No guilt here..

I am suppose to start weaning from the Prednisone this week. I am a little nervous. I think the Humira is kicking in though. I have to wait until next Tuesday for my other 2 shots. So wish me luck with the weaning.. it gets painful!