Giveaway: Lightning Bolt Bling

I went and did a bit of shopping over the weekend. I like finding cute affordable accessories that are good on their own or layering with different pieces. I scored a few of these lightning bolt necklaces - dainty and cute. I have one for me and one for a lucky reader.

Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: what is your favorite accessory? One person will be picked on May 28th and I will contact you for shipping details. Please let me know how to contact you! Contest is open to everyone!

Delezhen Jewelery Love

I have been on a real gold kick lately. It started with me buying a pair of Versace sunglasses that have gold accents. So now I mix silver and gold together and think nothing of it. I even try to grab gold more and mix it into my wardrobe-accessory-stash.

For our anniversary Matt did a little wishlist shopping for me after we agreed on not getting each other anything (besides cards and a 6 pack of beer I bought him)! Matt picked out a black onyx necklace from Delezhen that I had on my wish list. After handing it to me and me telling him that he broke the rules I opened it up all giddy like. I was so happy but then I noticed a pearl on the clasp and said that I did not know it contained non-vegan animal/sea life bits. I was sad, that I did not know it contained a pearl, so he contacted the shop owner and she said she can me a vegan version. We sent it back and in a week I had my new necklace! I have worn it a few times since I have gotten it - I really like the simplicity of it. Even though it is a simple design it is really eye catching and striking!

 

Let's Get Jammy With It

 

Lately I have been on a jam kick!  I make a batch every week and serve it up pretty much daily. It is easy, tasty and does not require a degree in canning.

Easy Chia Berry Jam

1 package of frozen berries of your choice (I like mixed berries or strawberries, make sure you buy organic when it comes to berries because berries are sprayed heavily)

about a tablespoon of water or a bit more

a squeeze of fresh lemon juice 

a hefty squeeze of maple syrup or agave

2 tablespoons of chia seeds

In a small saucepan place berries, maple syrup/agave, water and lemon juice and set the heat to a low medium heat. Stir and cover. Check back in about five minutes. Take the back of a fork and see if the berries are becoming unfrozen by squishing some against the pot. Mix in any juice you got out. Cover with the lid and cook for another five minutes. Squish more berries, by this time you can get most of them broken down into a nice mushy texture, keep breaking down any large clumps.Take the mix off of the heat and mix in chia seeds. Let cool for a few minutes, place in a clean jar (I use recycled food jars that have been cleaned). Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the jam set up and enjoy. You have about two cup of yummy jam at your call! Eat it up - it will keep for a week in the fridge!

No need for pectin in this recipe, chia seeds act like a powerhouse binder. You get a chunky seedy jam that is not full of sugary crap and is super fresh and tasty. I serve it up over oatmeal. The above photo was for Matt's birthday breakfast. Oatmeal, strawberry chia jam, a sliced banana, maple syrup and Hemp Hearts. Yummy! 

You can use fresh berries, it will be less cooking time. I find frozen berries are cheaper and fresher than what I find at the market sometimes.Trader Joe's has an excellent price on frozen organic berries!Shop around, try your farmer's market and the store, see what is fresh and on sale!

May - Pet Cancer Awareness PSA

Mar giving the middle claw to cancer! 

May is here again, time to talk about companion animal cancer. Please read up on the facts, check your companion animals for any sores that are not healing or bumps. I cannot stress enough that we just thought Mar had a boo boo on his tail, we thought it would heal and it was cancer.

Mar is a cancer survivor! Donate now and help other kitties and doggies stand up and win the fight! You can donate at Petco or online at Blue Buffalo.

Pile Of Reading Material

I have been on a lifestyle book kick lately. I have bought a handful of them and like at a salad bar it is easy to pick and choose the advice you want to take away from the books. I can't get behind all of the advice and while the books are plant based they are not 100% vegan. Oh and quinoa is a major book trend! I hate you quinoa! Food is trying to kill me!

Here is a rundown of the books, what I liked mostly. The points I did not care for in the books are all very similar: restrictive, stuff that is necessarily good deemed bad and way to much emphasis on detoxing.

My favorite out of the bunch is Relish by Daphne Oz. I did not even know who she was till I saw her in  Cosmo (I think) and liked her plate collection and her popcorn with coconut oil snack idea. I started watching The Chew (I was not aware of the show - though I do know the other hosts from various shows!). Relish is more like healthy, happy and fun living rather than diet and green smoothies. Daphne comes off as a way less pretentious Martha Stewart who also is a lot hipper. There are a few noted vegan recipes, some that would be a cinch to make vegan and day to day advice that puts a smile on your face.

Undiet by Megan Telpner was a purchase after I seen it on a blog tour. I like that it includes some beauty info - though the DIY beauty recipes are not vegan, and would not work the same if made vegan. It is a good source to show you how to clean up your routine in the kitchen and outside it.

Kimberly Snyder's The Beauty Detox Foods is good at showing you food to consume to address skin, hair and nail needs. It looks like a mighty book but I feel there is so much more that could have be said. This is the most 'diet-y' of the books and a lot of the food advice is not something I would live on day to day. There are a lot of salad and dressing recipes - perfect for upcoming warm weather eating!

Also over the weekend I got the new issue of Marmalade Umlaut - I skimmed through it in the car and read it on Monday. If you want to get your own copy or check out some vegan food action head on over to Food Feud today!

I have more books to talk about later. Then I am going to try to say no to books for a bit to cool my credit card! Books are so tempting - like vegan brownies!

Chipotle Sofritas & Tofu Tacos

After doing a walk through of the local Earth Day celebration as we chatted up some people/friends and I held a snake we headed out to Chipotle to try the new sofritas tofu concoction on the menu. I used to love me some Chipotle but I always felt shy (and I am not a shy person!) about asking them to wipe down the line and change their gloves due to contamination issues. I put my anxiety behind me and we ordered some food!

I got a salad bowl (minus the dressing of course! it is not vegan FYI) and had the corn salsa and fresh tomato salsa all up in the mix!

Matt got a burrito bowl with a flour tortilla on the side! He asked for extra tomato salsa and brown rice.

Verdict: it is good! The taste of the sofritas is something like a cross between a tofu scramble and soyrizo. Nice kick and texture. I hope this option stays around. A few years ago Chipotle tried out another vegan meat sub and it was very limited in release and did not stay long. I did not get to try it, but even if I could - it was Gardein so chances are I was allergic.
I know some people are complaining about not getting guacamole for free now on the veg burrito, this whole argument is dumb and kinda makes me mad. People stop being cheap, or simply do not eat out at places if you only can complain. If you are getting the tofu you are getting the good stuff, not some unknown GMO block  but Hodo tofu from Oakland. I heard on the news that the development for the sofritas took awhile to perfect and I hope it does stay around - another option.

 

Inspired by Chipotle I made  crumbled tofu tacos on Monday night for dinner. One block of the high protein extra firm stuff, crumbled and sauteed with a diced red bell pepper and one packet of taco seasoning prepared as directed from the package. I added salsa from the neighbor's garden, hand smashed guacamole and a side of rice! Not the same but a nice meal that was easy to make and not to pricey!

Vegan Carne Asada Frichos

To keep on the PMS food wagon this week I was craving salty and something Mexican inspired. I decided on vegan carne asada strips (seitan steak strips marinated in spices & citrus) but when I went to get tortillas my mind was like funk that! I walked over to the freezer section and grabbed a bag of thick cut steak fries. I believe I was inspired by something I saw online but made it vegan of course and added more fresh stuff. 

Fries topped with vegan carne asada strips fried with red bell peppers, 2 different types of salsa (hot red and verde), fresh smashed chunky guacamole, cheeze sauce and hot sauce! You needed to use a fork to eat this bad boy up! Dig in!