Surprises at Dollywood!

Check this out!  It's part of my lunch at one of the places inside Dollywood!  I had their Salad Bar which also included a Mac & Cheese Bar.  I asked them if I could do it with no meat or dairy and the wonderful lady who was doing the custom mac n cheese orders went back to the kitchen and found the olive oil and did mine vegan style!  I thanked her multiple times for the special treatment!  This is what we came up with!  Macaroni in Olive Oil with tomatoes, green onions, read peppers, onions, mushrooms and it turned out yummy!  A special shout out and THANK YOU to Dollywood!

One of the many things I enjoyed about Dollywood was the friendly ducks throughout the park just waiting to greet passerby's.  Everyone who worked at Dollywood treated them like guests of the park...they were completely free to come and go as they please.  There were many natural places for them to frequent including ponds and streams.

Another neat part of Dollywood was the artisans and their demonstrations.  This guy was one of the blown glass guys.  Everything they make during the day goes into the last part of the process to cool over night and then it's available for sale the next day in the gift shop next to the demo area.  I posted a bunch of photos of me over at the Travel Blog if you want to check it out and I will have a lot more from Dollywood in the very near future.

Vegan MoFo ~ Vegan Foods in the Cabin

While on vacation at the Cabin we decided to eat-in.  This was my dinner earlier.  Roasted Red Bell Pepper stuffed with White Rice seasoned with Wildtree's Garlic & Herb.  On top just a little bit of Daiya Cheese.  We also roasted up some zucchini and added Wildtree's Opa! Greek Seasoning.  It was wonderful!

Thanks to the local Kroger here I was able to find more vegan options than I thought I would.  The Daiya Cheese was at a super low price, too!  Only $1.50...I couldn't believe it!  Since I didn't want to overbuy I will be using these 4 ingredients quite a bit so I will be seeing what I can do with what I have.  I've posted a few things over at the Travel Blog if you want to check it out...it's heavy on the photos...and mostly about WonderWorks so far!  It was FUN! 

Winner...AND Another GIVEAWAY...Awesome Apple!

First I would like to say CONGRATS to the WINNER of the Wheatgrass Flavor of Garden of Life goodness!  Nicole was the winner!!!!  Thank you all for participating...but...wait...there's MORE!  Yup!  You GOT IT...another giveaway!  This time it's the APPLE Flavor of the Garden of Life RAW Perfect Food - it's organic - it's green - it's SUPER food!  And it can be yours!  All you have to do is comment on this post between now and Monday night!  I will draw one of the comments as the winner and contact you via email if you have indeed won...remember to let me know your email addy, tho!  Thanks!  US Shipping Addresses ONLY for this giveaway!  If you aren't into powders I will have some more giveaways next week you might enjoy, too!  Stay Tuned!

What Goes Into Perfect Food RAW?

Young cereal grass juices such as Barley, Alfalfa, Oat, Wheat, and Kamut are some of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. The green juices in Perfect Food RAW are grown organically, harvested at their nutritional peak, immediately juiced and dried at low temperatures. The RAW, organic cereal grass juice powders contained in Perfect Food RAW are loaded with chlorophyll and trace minerals for energy and support of already healthy blood sugar levels.^†1

Each serving of Perfect Food RAW contains over 17 nutrient-dense veggie juices that are freeze-dried using a gentle process that maintains nutrient potency and freshness.

Perfect food RAW also contains over a dozen organic raw sprouts. Sprouting is a term that refers to the process where you unlock the nutrient potential within a seed and is a great way to increase the digestibility of seeds, nuts and legumes while maintaining their raw nutrient density.

Finally, Perfect Food RAW contains a host of live probiotics and enzymes. Enzymes are present in all raw foods and enhance the body’s ability to digest and assimilate the nutrients our food contains while probiotics are key to the optimal function of our digestive system.

What Can You Do With the APPLE Flavor? 

Well...here are a few things I have done in the past...

* Apple Berry Smoothie
* Sweet Avocado Walnut Layered Fruit Dessert
* Strawberry Peach Banana Smoothie
* Cran Blueberry Smoothie
* Apple Adventure Smoothie

For an extra entry...when you comment...let me know what you want to try it with!  Good Luck!

Contest/Giveaway - Wheat Grass Perfect Food RAW - from Garden of Life!

Yesterday I announced a Contest for the GoL's Chocolate Cacao RAW PROTEIN and it's going really well!  You still have a few hours to enter - check it out!  TODAY I have another giveaway/contest that I think you will LOVE just as much - if not MORE!  It's the Garden of Life Wheat Grass Perfect Food RAW.  You may have seen me post about using this product before in a few of my recipes including the Tropical Wheatgrass Smoothie I blogged about earlier today.

Yes...I've been a blogging fool lately!  I have 4 posts today so be sure to scroll down!

Other blog posts in the past I've used this product for are...

* Creamy Vegan Gnocchi Sauce
* Super GREENS Pesto from last week

* Cheesy Protein Crackers that I used my dehydrator for
* Basil Pesto Spinach Snacks that are also dried

* Fruit Seed & Nut Protein Balls I did a while back

So...how do YOU win this product from Garden of Life from my Blog?  Just leave me a comment below with an active email addy for you and if you are the winner I will contact you.  I will choose 1 winner Friday around Midday!

Additional chances to win?  Just comment on any of my other 3 blog posts for TODAY!  Here are direct links for the other 3 blog posts today...

* A Few of My Fave YouTubers (and upcoming crafting project!)
* Vegan MoFo for today - Midweek Wrap-Up
* Updates on the Furkids as well as new Feathered Friends & Finders-Keepers

Vegan MoFo ~ Midweek Eats Wrap-Up!

One of the posts from yesterday was about my NEW Favorite Creamy Vegan Tomato Sauce!  Yes...fresh is BEST but if you are feeling lazy or just want to give this one a whirl - it's darn right amazing!  So here is what I did with the sauce and it turned out terrific!  I did Brown Rice Pasta and mixed veggies.  Veggies were...Asparagus, Broccoli, Carrots, and Green Beans.  Also in the mix there were mushrooms and I added about a teaspoon of Hemp Seeds for the heck of it.  YUM!

This was one of my dishes from the end of last week!  Again Brown Rice Pasta but a different kind and the veggies were peas, corn, broccoli, carrots, and I think a small amount of edamame.  With this one, tho, I used Wildtree Wasabi Ginger Sauce for the flavor and it was GREAT!

And FINALLY...this wonderful SMOOTHIE.

Another spectacular attempt if I do say so myself!  Here's what I used...

2 C Coconut Water
1 Banana
1 C Frozen Mango
1/2 Lime

1 Scoop of Garden of Life Wheatgrass

(optional) Fresh Mint OR NuNaturals Mint Stevia

I have to say that this is the BEST Wheatgrass related I have had to date!  Thanks GoL!

 

AND...speaking of Garden of Life...you still have time to enter the contest for their Chocolate Cacao RAW PROTEIN...click here!  And stay tuned...I will have another giveaway starting today and ending FRIDAY.

GIVEAWAY ~ Garden of Life's Chocolate Cacao RAW Protein ~ Vegan MoFo!

Hey Gang!  I have the very first of my giveaways happening today! 
WHAT am I giving away?
The Chocolate Cacao Flavor of RAW Protein Powder from Garden of Life!
WHY am I giving it away?
Because I think it's awesome & Garden of Life said I could!
WHEN am I giving away this wonderful prize?
RIGHT NOW...This is a SHORT entry period because I have TONS MORE PRIZES on tap!  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below saying you want to win and how I can get in touch with you to let you know if you are the winner!  US Residents ONLY for this giveaway, please.  I will be choosing 1 winner from all those who commented Thursday morning at 8am EST.

In case you haven't seen some of the things I have done with Cacao and/or this GoL product check out these blog posts below - if you comment on any of these posts in ADDITION to commenting on this original post your name will be 'added to the hat' an extra time for another chance to win...

Cinnamon Cacao Almond Milk was a good one!  And SUPER EASY!

Avocado Cacao Mousse - recipe listed was done with regular cacao powder but I have also tried it with GoL's Cacao Flavored Powder.

The Celebrate Shake I posted a while back can easily be converted to use this product in place of Cacao and/or Maca Powder.

More recently - you may have seen my Chocolate Plum Shocker Smoothie which I absolutely ADORE!

Another winner was the Chocolate Mint Milkshake I did a while back!

How about the Cinnamon Chocolate Smoothie I posted about?

Or a twist on the Super Sweet Avocado Treat?

So....HURRY UP and enter to win in COMMENTS below...I'll choose a winner on Thursday Morning at 8am EST...Again, PRIZE is...Garden of Life Chocolate Cacao RAW PROTEIN!!!!

Vegan MoFo ~ Vegan Findings

I had a late post yesterday and it explains a few things that will be happening over the next few weeks so be sure to check that out!  Today I have a few things I want to post including a GIVEAWAY later today so be sure to check back!  First I wanted to post a few things that I have found pretty AMAZING the last week or so and thought I would post it as a part of my Vegan MoFo stuff!  First up this WONDERFUL Jem Organic Raw Chocolate Superberry Maqui Camu Sprouted Almond Butter.  I can't say enough about this and I got it over at The Raw Food World.  Check out the first clickable banner on my sidebar and it will take you to their site.  It's rich, it's the perfect pouring or dipping thickness, and it delicious.  The berry notes are at just the right level of flavor without being too over powering.  Since I don't have dessert foods ofter - because I'm not a baker - and I can't find anyone who is a vegan baker locally - I grab things like this when I have a sweet tooth.  Oh!!!!  And what are those grapes there?  Why...they are Cotton Candy Grapes!  YES...Christine told me about them like 2 years ago and I finally found them in my region at Wegmans!

These are out-of-this-world sweet!  What a treat!  Truly 'natures candy'!  Some people have complained that they are too sweet for their liking but I just LOVE them.  I'm so grateful I was FINALLY able to find them - even if I had to drive 45 minutes to get them!

While I was at Wegman's I found this TERRIFIC Vegan Sauce!  I LOVE making my own but I have to say this is the BEST Vegan Sauce I have had that was store bought!  Later today I will be posting a recipe from last night's dinner!  The flavor is this was stellar!  It was truly tomato and basil and creamy and YUMMY!

Vegan Mofo ~ Super GREENS Pesto

I've mentioned before just how AWESOME our Basil Plants are doing on our Rooftop/Container Garden...well...I was FINALLY able to do something with the FRESH Basil!  I think I will call this Super GREENS Pesto!

Here's the recipe:

1 and a half C Brazil Nuts
2 Handfuls of FRESH Basil Leaves
2 tea Lime Juice
Splash of Grapeseed Oil (I used Wildtree's Lemon Flavor)

1 T Nutritional Yeast

1/2 C Water

Optional - but I used these add-ins pictured above - and they were AWESOME:

1 tea GoL's Wheatgrass Juice Powder
Wildtree Lemon Pepper to taste

You can see my FULL Plate for dinner that night, too!  I had White Rice with Pesto on top, Pine Nut Hummus and Raw Crackers, and mixed veggies!

One of the reasons I LOVE the GoL Wheat Grass is because of this...

Our CERTIFIED ORGANIC Greens are sustainably grown by our family farmers here in the USA. We harvest before the grain buds (to prevent gluten from forming) and then juice at the farm immediately after harvest. Our juice is gently low-temperature dried and powdered onsite locking in its nutritionally dense, organic goodness. The end result is highly bioavailable and many times more concentrated in nutrients, including Chlorophyll, than whole leaf grass powders, putting the GREEN IN YOUR GREENS!†

Vegan MoFo ~ Cheesy Corn Grits Broccoli

Sometimes when I stock my pantry I grab items that are on sale and then not really know what to do with the product.  I have to admit corn grits isn't something I do a lot with but after I did this dish last night - I will be doing more in the future with this product.  The corn grits I bought were Bob's Red Mill's Brand and YELLOW Corn Grits.  Here's my recipe for this yummy comfort food.

1/2 C Yellow Corn Grits
2 Cups Water

1 C Broccoli (in Ninja/Food Processor)
2 T Nutritional Yeast
2 to 3 T Earth Balance

Optional Add Ins:
Sprinkle Wildtree California Garlic Pepper
Sprinkle (on top) Parma! Vegan Parmesan - Garlicky Green Flavor

Other Add In Ideas that I didn't Use in the Photo Above:
Spray (or two) Bragg's Liquid Aminos (if you want it a bit saltier)
GoL Perfect Food RAW - Green Super Food (if you want to get more 'greens' in there)

A few reasons I enjoy GoL's Green Super Food:

• One serving of Perfect Food Super Green Powder is equivalent to 140g of fresh grass juice.
• Excellent source of natural Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene and a good source of natural Vitamin C.
• Contains spirulina that supports healthy immune function.^†
• Contains algae and cereal grass juices that provide a natural source of alkalizing minerals.
• Select ingredients in Perfect Food Super Green Formula are produced through the Garden of Life proprietary Poten-Zyme^® fermentation process to make the nutrients more available to the body.
• Includes a Probiotic Blend to support digestive health.^†
• Supports healthy carbohydrate metabolism.^†
• Great for those on low carbohydrate diets or people who are unable to eat enough green foods.
• Perfect Food comes in two easy-to-use forms: Powder and Caplets.

Mailtime Monday...on Tuesday!

I LOVE getting mail!  I always have!  It could be a package or just a simple letter...I just LOVE it! 

Yesterday I received this neat Tea Box from Tea Box Express and I will be doing a Full Length Review over at Sororitea Sisters in the near future.  Tea Box Express is a monthly subscription service for tea lovers.  Each month you will get a featured tea and a few other tea related or tea themed items in your box.  This month Teatulia was the featured tea.  I have had this black tea from Teatulia before and it's a good go-to black tea.  The box is very well done with lovely 'thoughts' and things to make you smile along the way.

One of the other things that was featured in this month's box was tea honey.  No...this isn't vegan.  I will be giving this to my husband - he's a honey fan. 

Another item that I will be sharing because it's NOT vegan is this cookie.  I decided to pass this along to my mother in law.  This cookie was HUGE...like one you might see in a specialty gift shop that is a couple dollars each.

I do really like the tea bag holder or the spoon dish - I guess you could use it either way.  It's sitting on my desk at work, actually.

And you can see the teapot themed stir stick on the bottom of the one photo - it's really neat, too!  Eventho I use Agave I think this would work well with honey or a honey alternative or if you are one of those people who have a milk or milk alternative in your tea and just use it as a stir stick - it's still super cute!  Since I drink all of my teas straight-up with no additives I will most likely be using that for decor OR if I have guests over.


Another piece of HAPPY MAIL I received yesterday was a coupon for an Earth Balance item valued at $6.99 - I won it last week over at the VeganMoFo site!

Chocolate Plum Shocker Smoothie

This is my 3rd post for today so be sure to scroll down for more Vegan MoFo Fun, too!

Check out this vegan smoothie I made for snack last night!  I have decided to name it "Chocolate Plum Shocker".  Here's the recipe...

2 Plums
3/4 of a Banana
1 Scoop of GoL's Chocolate Cacao Raw Protein
2 C Coconut Water
2 T Agave Nectar from Wholesome Sweeteners
3 Drops of Vanilla Stevia from NuNaturals

This was EPIC!  This has to be in my Top 5 Smoothie attempts thus far!  The flavor was WONDERFUL!

A few more reasons I like this product...

It’s not only what RAW Protein contains, it’s also about what it doesn’t contain – there are no fillers, no artificial flavors and no synthetic ingredients and it's gluten-free and dairy-free.

So for those looking for highly nutritious, nutrient-dense, easily digestible, high quality protein nutrition, look no further than RAW Protein from Garden of Life.

Easily Digestible?  YES, Please! 

Vegan MoFo ~ Rare Breakfast & Raw Vegan Cheese Sauce

For today's Vegan MoFo Post I wanted to blog about these two photos and NO I didn't eat them together! First - I have a breakfast bowl from the weekend.  I had crackers, figs, and sprouted and flavored nuts.  The reason this is rare for me is because it's very unusual for me to find FRESH figs in a store in my region.  I actually found them a few weeks ago at Orchard Fresh in Orchard Park, NY.  They were still FRESH because of my Berry Breeze.  I will be blogging about my Berry Breeze often because it works and I LOVE it!  So...I was super excited about this fresh figs and have been snacking on them since I bought them but also savoring them because I don't get them often.

As for this photo of the Raw Vegan Cheese Sauce I made I have to tell you I adore it!  The base recipe was from one of Philip McCluskey's books.  I posted it on Instagram and tagged Philip and he responded.  He's so nice!  Very encouraging!  Since I stayed quite close to his recipe and didn't stray much I won't put the exact recipe here on my blog but I will tell you that I used the following ingredients it in...Nutritional Yeast, Hemp Butter, Lemon Juice, Basil, Garlic, and Turmeric.

Again...I will be blogging throughout the day today and I encourage you to visit again!  This is my 2nd blog post of the day so far so please scroll down, too!  Thanks so much!

Tropical Dream Smoothie

I have a lot to post again today but I figured I would post a few things separately.  First up...this smoothie.  I'm calling it Tropical Dream.  

1 C Coconut Water

1 C Frozen Mango Cubes

1 Scoop of Garden of Life Vanilla Protein

WHY am I including this product in my food intake for today?  Mostly because I was looking for a creamy vanilla and I knew this would do the trick AND because of the Probiotic Potential.  I am going to try and 'up' my probiotics a bit every now and again.  This seemed like an easy way to throw it in a drink.  Other 'perks' of this product are...

• Provides RAW organic sprouted protein and live probiotics and enzymes
• Excellent source of protein – 17 grams and 33% Daily Value
• Contains Vitamin Code RAW Food-Created Nutrients™ with their unique Code Factors™ intact, enabling natural recognition by your body
• Increases the protein content of meals – just add to food or beverages
• Suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets
• Good for those on low carbohydrate diets
• Alternative to soy and animal protein powders
• Good for those with gastrointestinal sensitivities to milk, whey and other protein sources
• Easily digested – supports digestive health and function with live probiotics and protein-digesting enzymes†
• Mixes well – great in shakes, smoothies and other beverages

Vegan MoFo ~ Succotash & Scrambles

This is my 3rd post of the day today - scroll down for come updates on Paco and some Herbs I am considering a purchase or two on.

As for today's Vegan MoFo post...here it is!  Succotash & Scrambles, folks!

First up is this vegan Succotash that I made about a week ago or more for a potluck type picnic.  It contains a splash of Wildtree Garlic Dipping Oil (Grapeseed Oil Based), Sweet Corn, Sweet Red Bell Peppers, Lima Beans, and Basil.  At the end I added about 2 table spoons of Balsamic.  It was fantastic!

Next up I used leftovers to make this scramble not so long ago.  I had some leftover broccoli and some leftover salsa.  I mashed up some extra firm tofu that I 'browned' in a frying pan and there you have it...a meal all on its own!

Questions of the day...

What was the last thing you put in your scramble?

What's the last type of bean you cooked with?

Have you ever dried your own herbs?  If so which ones and for how long? 

Vegan Mofo ~ Leftovers & Multiple Dishes

Since I didn't blog yesterday - today is my first Vegan MoFo Post of 2014!  Happy Vegan MoFo!

I have a lot of things to blog about but want to hold off on the updates on Paco since we have another appointment later today.  I do want to THANK everyone who has sent well wishes, vibes, prayers, thoughts, and such!  I appreciate it so much, thank you! 

Jumping in with this first post for Vegan MoFo - I want to talk about using left overs as well as using a food that I have used in a multiple dishes this past weekend.

It officially started with a Chickpea Salad that I had made using Chickpeas, Chipotle Vegan Mayo, and Pickle Relish.  Even tho I don't have a photo of that - it was simple and it made a large batch.  I had a couple of sandwiches out of it as well as a side dish.  I then decided to take it one step further and made this mash out of it...I added the leftover Chickpea Salad to cooked zucchini and tomatoes that I did on stove top with a little Garlic Grapeseed Oil and a little Dill.  I combined the leftovers with the newly made dish here.  That was another meal.  From there I made some baked tofu as you can see in the first photo.  I used Hemp Oil and some Wildtree California Garlic Pepper as the seasoning.  It turned out pretty awesome. 

I snacked on the baked tofu.  But then I added it to the leftover mash combo for another meal idea. 

But I didn't stop there!  I then cooked up about 1/4 C of Red Quinoa and added the final leftovers to yet another meal.  You can see this photo below.  I have to say I was very impressed with myself.  Getting multiple meals out of leftovers but also creating new meals as well as new leftovers and then new meals from those leftovers!

I am not the best at re-thinking meals using leftovers.  I usually just use them as-is and eat them as straight-up leftovers.  But I want to take that to the next level.  I know we shouldn't eat the same thing over and over - we need to get a diverse diet with different foods and different food combos.  But at the same time I don't want to waste food.  That's another reason why I want to push myself in the leftover department.  This may be a sub-category to my 2014 Vegan MoFo Adventure.  But I want to stick with my annual theme and blog about new-to-me foods and recipes, too, so you will be seeing a lot of that here on my blog this month!