Memorial Day Weekend Part 1

Hey Love Bugs! I hope you are having a wonderful LONG weekend (for those in the U.S.). We've been super busy, having a great time and getting things done! :) I have to split the weekend into 2 posts, so more on Wednesday. 


Tomorrow I have a colonoscopy. This isn't my first one, so I know what to expect, but for some reason I am super nervous! My sister will be watching Baby A, and I plan on giving her a few pumped bottles because I don't want the laxative I have to take to effect her. Although, I read it is fine (and my doctor said so). Wish me luck! 


Anyway, going back to last week, I made a delicious new salad. I used Mustard Greens because my Whole Foods was out of organic kale (blasphemy!). I was a little nervous to use them the same way I use kale (massaged with olive oil, lemon and herbs), but they turned out delicious! Super spicy!! Probably not for everyone, but I don't mind. I added cooked quinoa, chickpeas, avocado and raw kraut. 

I also tried a new kombucha last week by Kombucha Brooklyn. I found it to be kinda watery and not fizzy at all. GTs is still my favorite!

I made another mustard green salad, on a different night, with avocado and radishes from our garden. On the side I had a sweet potato that I topped with coconut oil and ground pepper. Coconut oil is amazing on veggies, reminds me of butter, but without the ick!

On Friday night we had dinner at the Osteria restaurant inside of our Whole Foods. I ordered gluten free pasta with Puttenesca Sauce. T and I both found the portion of pasta to be way too much (he had the same thing). So we had to take home more then half of both of our dishes. 

I ordered a side of broccoli rabe in garlic and olive oil (would of ordered this with a salad if I knew how much pasta they were going to give me!). I think I'll do that next time. The broccoli rabe was delicious!

My favorite weekend breakfast: chocolate rawnola! This time I topped it with raw freeze dried strawberries, almond milk and fresh banana.

And a little tease for my next post.. someone went swimming! My Facebook friends already saw the pictures (and video!). I won't be posting them all here (or the video), so friend me!

Have a wonderful day all!

Hungry Lady

Hello Angels! I hope you all had a great week!


A little while back, I made a delicious "Cantaloupe Slushie"--Kristen makes these often, so I had to try! So simple, you just blend together a whole cantaloupe and ice. Mmm! Thanks for the idea, Kristen!

For dinner one night I made a Sunshine Burger on a gluten-free English Muffin with hummus, avocado and a roasted tomato. On the side I had a Bubbies Pickle and baked sweet potato fries.

For lunch one afternoon, I made a delicious kale salad topped with (what else), a Sunshine Burger and of course some Bubbies and hummus. 

I tried another flavor of Ciara's Komboost (locally made). This was the Mango Berry. I found it to be a little too sweet. I really like the Peach Bellini flavor the best!

I haven't made lentils in awhile (I think I ate them too much while pregnant and I got sick of them). But this meal was a nice change. I added kale, carrots, soy-free miso and celery. They turned out really good and I am definitely back on lentils!

And finally, a delicious breakfast I had one morning: Chocolate Rawnola topped with raw freeze-dried bananas, fresh organic blueberries and almond milk. Delicious!

This weekend we are planting our second harvest for the garden. I ate up all the kale, lettuces and radishes, so now it's time to plant our cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes.. etc. Have you planted yet? There is nothing like picking your own produce! :) Have a wonderful weekend (and long weekend if you are in the U.S.)!

More Weekend Dining

Hey Lovers! Thank you for the bottle suggestions and for the anniversary love! <3 Yesterday Baby A turned 6 months old! Wow, can you believe it? Time sure is flying!


Over the weekend, we went down to the shore for my Mother-in-law's birthday. We got down just in time for lunch so we hit up our favorite health food store. I had a collard wrap (sprouts, purple cabbage, carrots, tomato, raw cashew mayo)...

And some raw veggies with hummus. They make the hummus fresh and it was really tasty! 

For dinner we went out to celebrate my Mother-in-law's birthday. I informed the waiter that 3 of us (bestie/future sis-in-law, my mother-in-law and I) were vegan and he had let me know that the chefs would "hook us up!" Ha ha, that's what I like to hear! I ordered the Florida Salad: spinach, avocado, jicama, sunflower seeds, orange and grapefruit slices with a citrus vinaigrette. I am a HUGE grapefruit fan, so this salad was a must! So good!

For my entree, I ordered escarole and beans. The original dish was served over  penne.  But since I eat gluten-free , I asked if they would give it to me without the pasta and maybe double up the portion. They definitely did! This was amazing! It wasn't like a soup or a sauce, more like a stew. Yum!

I can't believe that I ate at 2 vegan restaurants this past weekend and wasn't served a lettuce leaf and told it was my "vegan meal!" LOL! Sadly, when the chef doesn't know what to do, they are afraid to add a little flavor. Sometimes I think they assume vegans don't eat much-- hence the small portions. That is why I always make sure to tell the waiter to "double up on the veg" or that they don't have "skimp on the veggies!" What are your experiences when eating at non-vegan restaurants? Gena had a great post on this topic recently! Have a great day all!

Anniversary Eats: Sushi, ABC Kitchen, and Cocoa V!

Hey All! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Thank you for all the kind comments on my "5 Years" post. My wedding was such a magical, beautiful day. 5 years has flown by, seems like yesterday! ;)


Anyway, on our actual anniversary (May 19th, which was Thursday). T, Baby A and I went for sushi! Obviously, Baby A didn't eat anything (still exclusively on the boob!). I on the other hand had a salad with mango and jicama...

And a cucumber/avocado roll and 2 avocado rolls. I actually ordered these with black rice, but the waitress apparently wasn't listening! ;) I didn't think it was necessary to send it back, so I enjoyed the treat of white rice! Ha ha, I am living on the edge!

On Friday night, T and I headed into NYC for dinner at ABC Kitchen. ABC Kitchen has been raved about by many of my friends (especially Erica!). It is a local organic restaurant (not vegan) with a beautiful atmosphere filled with recycled decor, candles and has that whole "fairy tale" feel to it. 

T was happy to go to a "non-vegan" place. He eats chicken, fish, dairy and white meat (unfortunately). I am not looking to change him, he has gone vegetarian in the past and since he cooks his own meat (which is maybe twice a week) and really doesn't eat much dairy (just protein powder and occasional cheese), it doesn't effect me. He also agrees with Baby A being raised vegan. So compromise it is! He he! Anyway, he said he had the best meal of his life at ABC Kitchen and we have eaten at a lot of 5 star restaurants together (and he has even spent 3 months in Italy). So you can imagine how good it was!

I ordered the Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad. Served with micro-greens, sunflower seeds and a lime-citrus dressing. This was so delicious! Carrots have never tasted so good!!! The waiter informed me that they would leave off the sour-cream and croutons so it would be vegan and gluten free! I wanted to lick the dressing off the plate when I was done! It was that good!!! 

When T made the reservation he informed them that I was vegan, so when our waiter came up he said "I hear you are vegan.., our chef has a special vegan dish!" When my meal came, I was happy to see a nice size portion! From left to right: a maitake mushroom, asparagus, roasted carrots with basil and bok choy with ginger. Everything was cooked perfectly and the flavors were amazing. I was completely satisfied after this meal!

After dinner we wanted some vegan dessert (although, our waiter at ABC Kitchen brought us over a mini -cupcake with "Happy Anniversary" written in chocolate on the plate. T obviously ate it!). So we headed to Cocoa V, a vegan wine and chocolate bar that the owners of Blossom opened. I had a cup of chamomile tea..

T had a slice of chocolate cake (it wasn't gluten-free, so I didn't get to taste!). He said it was really good!

We shared a peanut butter cup (yum!)..

And I had half of a "Butterfinger" bar. This tasted exactly like I remember Butterfinger's tasting! I only had half because I was pretty full and I wanted to take some home to enjoy this week.

So that was our anniversary! We had a fabulous time (even took a pedi-cab to the restaurant! LOL!). I think more date nights are in order! My parents really enjoyed spending time with Baby A. The only issue was, she doesn't like drinking pumped milk from a bottle. My Mother said she barely ate because she wanted the boob only! Any breastfeeding ladies out there that have dealt with this? We are in a wedding in July and she is going to have pumped milk pretty much the whole day. I am really nervous!

5 Years

5 years ago today, T and I were married in The Bahamas. One of the best days of my life (tying with the day Baby A was born). I am so lucky and feel so blessed to be married to my best friend and the love of my life. Here's to many more years of wedded bliss! <3

It was a Radish kinda day

Hey Everyone! I hope you are having a great week! Thanks for all the early anniversary wishes. Tomorrow is our actual anniversary, but we are going out on Friday night. I will post pics and maybe even a wedding picture or 2 on Monday! ;)


Also, I wanted to let you all know that my sister posted her gluten-free, vegan lasagna recipe in the comments of my last post. I will re-post it at the bottom of the post.

Anyway, we are still harvesting our early crops from our garden. Here are some radishes, we have a ton! Expect my salads to be radish heavy! Ha ha! We will be planting our tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, etc. in a few weeks. Can't wait!

Speaking of the garden, I wanted to try our kale cooked, so one night I made it with garlic and olive oil along side a baked sweet potato that I slathered coconut oil and ground pepper on. I must admit, I like kale raw a lot better. I was very disappointed that I wasted it by cooking it! Oh well! I'll be having a lot more raw kale in my lifetime! ;)

I picked up these freeze-dried bananas at Whole Foods to add to my raw granola. They are raw, vegan and gluten free. Nothing is added, just bananas. They also make strawberry and mango!

And finally, a delicious smoothie I made one morning: banana, almond milk, mint, chocolate Sunwarrior protein, cinnamon, spinach, Greener Grasses, Maca and Dulse flakes. Yum!

Finally, here is my sister's delicious gluten-free, vegan lasagna recipe:
-1lb of cashews soaked over night in unsweetened almond milk (or water or another milk substitute) plus a pinch of salt

Drain and then blend cashews in food processor adding:
2tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. milk substitute
3 tbs. apple cider vinegar
1tbs. of herbs (I used fresh basil)
1 tbs. agave (could use less)
1/3 c. chives
1 tsp. black pepper
salt to taste

I added olive oil (about a tbs) and a whole bag of organic spinach (the green looked prettier :)

Gluten free, vegan brown rice lasagna noodles (boiled)

Marinara sauce

The recipe makes a LOT of "cheese" I made two 9x9 lasagnas, and gave some cheese away (its yummy on crackers too!)
Assemble as you would a traditional lasagna and bake for about 40 minutes at 350.




Have a great Wednesday all! I'll be back tomorrow with a special post! <3

Busy Bees

Happy Monday! As always, the weekend flew by! We had so much to do that I feel like I didn't even get a chance to breath! Oh well, I guess that's what the week is for! ;) Anyway, on Friday afternoon I made this green juice: romaine, kale stems, celery and lemon. I didn't realize that we were out of apples until I already started juicing, so I doubled up on the lemon.

A little while later I enjoyed this Lydia's Organics Raw Bar. I found it a little hard, but on the package it says you can moisten it to make it softer. Maybe I'll try that next time.

For dinner we went to the restaurant in our Whole Foods, before doing our grocery shopping. We usually do the salad bar, but it was nice to actually sit in a restaurant setting. The place is attached to Whole Foods and had many vegan and gluten free options. I ordered gluten free pasta with smashed cauliflower, garlic, sun dried tomatoes and fresh herbs. The cauliflower was like a cream sauce. Really yummy!

On Saturday, it was back to Whole Foods for some lunch! I made a big salad with raw kale, avocado, hummus,  roasted potatoes, green beans and broccoli.

Saturday night we had my sister and her boyfriend over for dinner. She brought gluten free vegan lasagna made with cashew cheese! Oh my gosh! This was so delicious! I am getting her recipe soon, I promise I'll post. Although she said she mixed up a few recipes she found online. On the side I made a big salad.

And for dessert I made Judita's Raw Fruit Tart from her new book Going Raw.

This was a hit! So delicious! I love how you can change up the fruit depending on the season. The organic strawberries I used were out-of-this-world!!!! I think I'll make it for the Fourth of July since it looks so patriotic! And come peach season, I definitely plan on making it with fresh peaches! Oh and with apple or pear in the Fall! Perfect seasonal tart!

On Sunday, we went to lunch (we like having lunches out on the weekend, obviously) at a place in town. I ordered a cup of white tea..

A fruit bowl..

And a salad with sprouts, avocado, tomato and onion.

So that was our busy weekend, along with all the eating we had some shopping to do (Thursday is our 5 year wedding anniversary and Sunday is my Mother-in-law's birthday!). Friday night we are going to ABC Kitchen in NYC to celebrate our anniversary. My parents are babysitting, it will be our first night out since Baby A was born! Eek! ;)

Sunshine for The Soul

Hello Love Birds! I hope you all had a glorious week! I sure did, the weather has been a-mazing! I've been spending a lot of time outside with Baby A and Ginger. I am even sporting a little tan. I love being sun-kissed! 


In my last post, I was asked about the variety of kale that we are growing. It is red kale, not sure why it doesn't look or feel as rough as the kind you buy in the store, but I am not complaining. The flavor is all there! :) Speaking of my garden. I harvested lettuce for lunch all week.

Less then 20 minutes after harvesting the lettuce I had this lovely salad: Sunshine Burger, hummus,  Bubbies. YUM! Doesn't get any fresher then that!

Last weekend at the health food store I picked up this WildBar. They are raw, vegan and organic. Oh and super tasty! So chocolaty  with  little spice.

I decided to try a new variety of Kombucha. Ciara's Komboost caught my eye at Whole Foods last week. I was super excited to find out it is made locally! Although a little higher in sugar then GT's Kombucha, it was super tasty. This flavor was Peach Bellini! Mmm!

One day for lunch I was SUPER hungry! I whipped up this big plate of goodness: romaine, carrots, celery and 2 different brands of raw crackers with hummus. I sprinkled everything with Nutritional Yeast and Cumin. 

And finally, dessert! I picked up some Cashewtopia Raw Vegan ice cream last week at Whole Foods. This stuff is expensive so it is a rare treat! Also, I never eat ice cream in the Winter, it just doesn't appeal to me. Now that the weather is warming up I couldn't resist when I saw they had a Mint Chocolate flavor! So good!

Have a great weekend!