2 Updates and Lots of Food

Hey All! Thanks for all the sweet comments on my last post! :)


Two fun updates: I know I mentioned before, but Ginger is The New Pink has a Facebook Page! I post relevant articles, pics, and other fun updates! You can "Like" it HERE!!! Also, you can now receive emails of my blog posts right when they go up, just add your email to the box on the right. I promise, NO SPAM! ;)


Anyway, to finish up the weekend, T and I had dinner at his mom's house on Saturday night. She made a big salad, brown rice and broccoli rabe. Yummy!

On Sunday, we went to a festival in town. We had lunch at a restaurant nearby. I had a salad that had radicchio, arugula, endive, cherry tomatoes and balsamic vinegar in it.

I also had a side of escarole sauteed in garlic and olive oil.

I started my Monday off with this delicious smoothie. I used 3 figs from our tree, almond milk, frozen banana, spinach, wheatgrass powder, e3live and chocolate Sunwarrior Protein Powder.

I adore Pure Bars, but I had never tried the apple cinnamon flavor... 

I am happy to report, I LOVE IT! Best. Flavor. Yet! ;)

For dinner one night we were going to have Buddha Bowls, but for some reason I was craving cooked kale (which is rare, because I LOVE RAW KALE!!!). I cooked it with olive oil, garlic, kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes. Then I added white beans and cooked quinoa. Perfect!

Have a great day all! XO

Some of the Weekend and The Yoga Festival

Hey Love Bugs! I hope you all had a great weekend!


On Friday, T wanted to make dinner. He make a broccoli/potato/bean soup. Basically he just cooked down the potatoes with garlic and added broccoli, sundried tomatoes, carrots, kidney beans, low sodium vegetable broth and spices. Then he blended most of it. This turned out amazing!!! He also made croutons with sprouted grain bread. I hadn't had sprouted bread in a long time, and I use to be able to tolerate it. Not anymore!!! Looks like no form of wheat works with me! Boo!

After the soup, I enjoyed a truffle.. or two..

No post is complete without some chocolate! ;)

On Saturday morning, T picked a bunch of figs from our tree!! We gave more then half away to family, so I didn't get a chance to make anything. Baby A LOVES figs!

After that, we headed to the shore to attend The Yoga Festival. I must say, I was a little disappointed. They had all these cool vendors on the announcement, and I would say half of them were there. :( It was pretty small! They did have a few vegan food stands and even a vegan cupcake stand! Too bad they weren't gluten free!

My sister and I shared a bag of pizza flavors kale chips to snack on. I love that they are called "Chippin' Kales" and it is a picture of kale in tuxedos. LOL! 

Since the Yoga Festival was a block over from The Twisted Tree Vegan Cafe, we went there for lunch. I started with the White Bean Soup! Sooooooo good!

Then I had a garden salad with a side of hummus. Yummy!

After that we headed back to The Yoga Festival to see if the missing vendors decided to show up. Unfortunately, they did not! But I did pick up raw macaroon from Good Karma Cafe's stand.

These were really good! They tasted like a cookie macaroon. If that makes sense.  ;)

Here is Baby A, T and I at the Yoga Festival.

And again, our little fam! 

More from the weekend soon! Have a great day! 

The Week Round-Up

Hey Loves, I hope you all had a wonderful week! The weather got sticky and humid again, so much for Fall! Boo! Anyway, I am super excited because this weekend, we are going to a Yoga Festival down at the shore. T, Baby A and I along with my sister, her boyfriend and some of our friends are going. They will have lots of vegan and raw food (that is what I am most excited about), live music, vendors, yoga (DUH!). I can't wait! 


Anyway, I have been obsessed with chocolate ever since I became pregnant with Baby A (anyone else start liking something more while pregnant and still like it when not?). I always LIKED chocolate, but NOW I LOVE IT! ;) Raw especially! So right now I am loving these Chocolate Raw Revolution Bars. This one had a raspberry flavor! Mmm..

I have been looking for these Amy's Sonoma Burgers for awhile. They are similar to Sunshine Burgers--soy free, gluten free, vegan. I was so excited when I found them over the weekend at the health food store. I'm not going to lie, they aren't as good as my beloved Sunshine Burgers, but they are pretty good. Better when cooked in a pan then in the oven. I found they don't hold together as well as Sunshine Burgers do.

Beside having them in a salad (obviously), I had them on a gluten free English Muffin with spinach, avocado, raw kraut and a Bubbies Pickles. On the side I had some Alexia Sweet Potato Fries (another new find). The sweet potato fries were really good, but I prefer to make my own since these had some preservatives in them.

Before the weather got warm again, I made a big pot of red lentils with celery, garlic, kale, carrots and white beans. I love having soups for dinner when it cools down.

Baby A and I took a few nice walks when it was still cool outside. This picture I took on Monday, when the weather was BEAUTIFUL!

I picked this very fragrant rose from my yard. Roses FLOWERS make me happy!

My sister went to the IIN Convention last weekend and sent me this Fall Spice Blend. This has cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and a few other warming spices in it. I added it to my smoothie this morning. :)

And finally, more lentils! This time on top of some raw kale. This is a great high raw-warm meal. I will be eating this a lot this winter.

Have a great weekend all! XO

Fall-in Adventures

Hey Lovely People! ;) I hope you all had a great weekend! Fall is in the air around here, and I couldn't be happier. This is my favorite time of year. We have so much coming up-- Baby A turns one on Thanksgiving this year!!!! Can you believe it? I can't!!


Anyway, we started off our weekend at Whole Foods on Friday night for groceries and dinner. I was very happy to see they had this new RAW coconut water, too bad it had a sour taste to it. My favorite is still Taste Nirvana.

At the salad bar, I loaded up with raw kale and veggies with chickpeas and a few falafel. Yummy!

On Saturday, we headed our west to one of our favorite health food stores and hit up some farms! ;) At the health food store I had a salad that was filled with fresh raw veggies, sprouts, avocado and a "housemade" veggie burger!

I was pleased to see they had this: Sorghum "Popcorn". Lauren had just posted about this and I was excited to see an alternative to regular popcorn (which tends to cause my Crohn's to flare). This was super yummy and just like the real thing! I only wish I bought more then one bag. 

I followed that with some Gingerade Kombucha. Mmm, so warming!

We stopped at a farm so Baby A could see the animals. We like to bring her to different places so she gets to see new things. 

The baby goat were so adorable!!! I wish they were roaming free though! :(

This cow was just a baby, so sweet. I couldn't help but wonder if it was going to be eaten in the future. :( I will keep positive and say no, it will live a happy long life on the farm! ;)

The farm had soy candles and I couldn't resist when I saw the scent "Hot Apple Pie". Smells amazing!

For dinner, T wanted to make vegan garlic mashed potatoes. I paired them with a kale salad. So yummy! T makes the best mashed potatoes. So easy too, he steams the potatoes, peels them, then puts them in the food processor with some roasted garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. So creamy! 

For dessert, I picked up this raw organic Fearless Chocolate Bar at the health food store..

I love the little bite it comes with! So cute!

Later that evening, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law stopped by with their pup, Bella. Ginger and Sueshe had fun with their cousin! ;)

Have a great day! XO

The Good Life

Hey Loves, I hope you had a great weekend! :) We had a lot going on, as usual. Including our annual block party and T running The Spartan Race. Baby A and I didn't go to the race since it was in PA, he said it was fun but tough. I'm thinking of doing Warrior Dash with him next year. He did it a month ago and said it was a blast. Have you ever done a mud run?  


Anyway, before the weekend started, I had this dinner of millet with black beans topped with raw peppers, raw kraut and avocado. 

Since T had off the whole week, we took a ride to Good Karma Cafe on Thursday and grabbed some lunch. I had Raw Nachos! These were so good. Raw Mexican food in my favorite!

I also had a "Live Lemonade"- Apple, Lemon and Ginger juice.

We had our lunch as takeout and brought it over to the marina and ate. Baby A enjoyed watching the boats. 

I also grabbed some raw cookies...

These were delicious! Cacao chips, sunflowers, buckwheat groats, sesame seeds, mmm, so tasty!

For dinner I made a HUGE salad with raw pickles, a Sunshine Burger, hummus, cucumber, avocado and cherry tomatoes.

Baby A and I shared cantaloupe blended with ice for dessert. She loved it!

I have more from the weekend, I'll be back soon! ;) Have a great day all!

Book Review: Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier

Hey Everyone! Today I bring you a book review of Brendan Brazier's new book: Thrive Foods. For those that don't know, Brendan is a a vegan Ironman triathlete who created the company VEGA. I was thrilled to receive a copy of his new book to review.  

In Thrive Foods, I was pleased to see an easy to follow guide filled with great information on Brendan's eating philosophy along with 200 delicious recipes. I don't know what to make first, I have bookmarked so many pages!!! :)

Brendan's 5 Thrive Guiding Principles :

1. Eliminating biological debt: acquire energy through nourishment not stimulation.
2. Go for high net gain foods: make a small investment for a big return.
3. Aim for high percentage of raw and low temperature-cooked foods.
4. Choose alkaline foods.
5. Avoid common allergens.

Pretty much the principles I follow as well!!! :) All plant based, high quality whole foods. 

I like how he discusses how our diets have an environmental impact, so it isn't just about health anymore, it's about eating sustainable food. I love that this book represents a mixture of eating cooked and raw. Or as some may say "high raw!" There is also a fantastic list of "must have" staples for your kitchen. Such a great book for someone interested in eating a vegan diet, but looking for facts. I found myself reading out loud a lot to T. He needs FACTS, "It costs 6 times as much to gain nutrition from chicken breast then it does from lentils." Take that T!!!! ;)

The recipes, as I mentioned, will blow you away! Some raw, some cooked, all sound delicious! There are even recipes from celebrated chefs such as: Tal Ronnen, Chad Sarno, Matthew Kenney and restaurants such as Millennium, Candle 79, Blossoming Lotus, Pure Food and Wine and MORE! Honestly, I haven't been this excited about a book in awhile. Usually, when I get a book with recipes there are a handful I want to make, but with Thrive Foods, I found myself bookmarking every page. I HIGHLY recommend getting a copy of this book for yourself and for your irritating friend that always wants to know where you get your protein! ;) 

The book is being released this weekend but you can pre-order it on Amazon now!

Also, check out Brendan's Facebook page where you can enter for a chance to win a trip for two to meet Brendan at
the Alive! Green Expo Lounge, surrounding the 63^rd Annual Emmy’s!!!  Also, receive a free PDF download of the intro and of 3 recipes here.

Have a great day all! XO


Vega on Facebook
Vega on Twitter
Brendan's Fan Page on Facebook

More From the Weekend and Beyond!

Hey Loves, I hope you are having a great week. As I mentioned, T is on his annual "staycation".. Unfortunately, the weather has been bad. Rain all day yesterday! BOO! So we haven't done anything too exciting yet. 


Going back to the long weekend, T and I had another date night (whoohoo, 3 in 9 months! Ha Ha!). We were still down at the shore visiting our family, so my parents took Baby A for an hour or so and we went to The Salt Creek Grille for dinner. My sister suggested going there because they have a few options that they easily make vegan for her. I started with the house salad (hold the cheese, please!). This had green apple, tomatoes, walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette. As usual, I added lots of ground pepper! ;)

Then I ordered the Stuffed Pepper which also came with cheese on top (I just told the waiter I was vegan and he got it!). This was stuffed with quinoa and black beans and on the side was spinach sauteed in garlic and olive oil! YUMMMMY!

There wasn't anything on the menu that I could veganize for dessert, so instead we hit up the famous "Lighthouse". I spent many of my childhood/adolescent Summers eating Italian ice from there so I was pretty excited when my sister told me that the ices are vegan. Although, I did double check with the girl working the counter. ;) I had chocolate and peanut butter ice! Tasted exactly as I remember!

We headed home on Sunday night and on Monday, it was raining, so T, Baby and I had lunch at Whole Foods. They had a premade kale salad with raw beets, carrots and peppers. I filled my carton to the brim! 

For dinner Monday night, MORE KALE! ;) We had Buddha Bowls: raw kale, avocado, tomatoes (from my sister's garden), olives and cooked millet with red kidney beans.

I made Baby A and I a delicious "mocktail" yesterday: cucumber and romaine. Mine was served in a martini glass, Baby A had hers in her new cup!

And finally, the people at Navitas Naturals sent me their new Power Snacks to sample. I am loving the Cacao Goji Superfood flavor! The Citrus Chia Superfood flavor is great too, I am just not too crazy about citrus in this kind of snack. But I love that they are raw, vegan, gluten free, high in fiber and vitamin C and contain no refined sugar! The perfect healthy snack for after my workout.

Have a great day all! XO