Another Day - Another Dip!

This past weekend was weird.  I was OFF.  I couldn't really tell you WHY I was OFF I was just...OFF!  One of the things that happened hasn't happened to me in 20 years.  Apparently I had an asthma attack.  Scared the crap out of me.  Just when I think I have won a personal battle something else seems to pop up!  My sleep is getting better.  I was able to FINALLY sleep in bed - haven't done that in YEARS so that is pretty awesome!  I was able to get many of my aches and pains under control - so I'm thrilled about that!  Next up I am going to try and lose a couple of pounds - I think!  Between getting a bit lazy and going with convenience items and winter weather and not moving around much I have gained more than I am comfortable with.  So that's my next mini goal.  I will be doing more salads, soups, RAW Foods, etc.  I think I gained weight because I wasn't preparing almost 100% of my own foods and dropped back into vegan convenience items - as well as NOT doing as many RAW FOODS like I was prior to last year.

Anyhow...today the only photo I have to share with you is the one you see above!  Not overly exciting but it's a Cashew Cilantro Dip that I made for the Broccoli Potato Fries I found a while back.  They were pretty YUMMY and they almost tasted CHEESY but they were clearly marked VEGAN and GLUTEN FREE!

Cashew Cilantro Dip & Salad Dressing

1 C Cashews

1/2 C Water

2 T Lemon Juice

1/4 C Cilantro

1 T Apple Cider Vinegar

1 t Wildtree Garlic Galore (or Minced Garlic)

1 Powerful Squirt of Dijon Mustard

Pinch Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Optional Sprinkle on top Smoked Paprika 

Everything in the high speed blender.  It was a little thin but after refrigerating for a while it thickens naturally.  This is also a great Salad Dressing, too!

I had a few kitchen fails over the weekend, too, or else I would have posted more.  I am not giving up on the cracker appetizer!  I am going to experiment with them more and if I can get them to where I want them I will post about them at a later date!

Creamy Hemp Italian Dressing, Pineapple Vanilla Smoothie, Cacao Pear Smoothie, and Selfie Day

Happy Wednesday LOVELIES!  I have some tasty items to share with you today!  First up...take a look at the salad I had last night!  It contained Iceberg Lettuce Mix - it was the only lettuce I had on hand at the moment - as well as - fresh sugar snap peas, carrot slivers, red cabbage slivers, corn strips, and I topped it with Creamy Hemp Italian Dressing (recipe below) and sprinkled smoked paprika on top!  

Creamy Hemp Italian Dressing

1/2 C Hemp Seeds

1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 C Lemon Juice

2 T Wildtree Italian Seasoning

1 T Wildtree Garlic Galore

Pinch Black Himalayan Sea Salt

Here's what it looked like in the bowl, too!

I found out almost TOO LATE that yesterday was National Selfie Day!

I swear I take the WORST Selfies!

I still need new glasses!  I still haven't gone to get my eyes checked since switching from contacts to glasses again!

This was my smoothie yesterday - it was Pineapple Vanilla - recipe below:

2 C Pineapple

1 C Almond Milk

1 Scoop Garden of Life Vanilla Flavored Raw Protein & Greens

Easy Peasy...RIGHT?  Yup!

And this was TODAY's Smoothie...Cacao Pear Smoothie - recipe follows:

2 C Sliced Pears

1 C Almond Milk

1 Scoop Garden of Life Cacao Flavored Raw Protein & Greens

Vegan Thanksgiving Foods, Furkids, and Vegan Ranch Dressing

I took a few days off from the 'net' and now I'm back!  Kicking things off with some of the Vegan Thanksgiving Foods I gobbled up last week...from top the clockwise...Garde'in Holiday Roast, Acorn Squash, Wildtree Stuffing, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole, and in the center are Sweet Potatoes!

My attempted at the Tater Tot Casserole was a last minute discussion but turned out pretty good.

Wildtree makes a boxed blend of Stuffing Mix and my mom made it for me.  It's heavy on the rosemary but it totally works in the blend for the stuffing!

I have to say this year has been the first year I have ever had Leftover Vegan Turkey Sandwiches.  With Just Mayo on top - it was YUMMERS!

One thing I did this past weekend was re-do my cookbook sections.  I have a slew of old vegetarian cookbooks in another section that I don't really use much but didn't want to throw away.  These are my newer ones, my all-time favorites, and such.  I'm so glad I did this!  Now I have to jump in and try something I haven't tried yet from them!  There are many of my favorites missing from these shelves...ones that I have borrowed time and time again and SHOULD probably add to my collection.

Cricket has been pretty high strung lately perhaps it's the change of season (not sure).  Regardless I can't stay mad at her long...I mean...LOOK at this...could you?

She's still only 4 or 5 pounds and doubt she will get any bigger than she is now because she IS 2 years old.  We and other vets and shelter people thought that we was a chihuahua and rat terrier mix but I think because of her size she's probably more like a toy rat terrier and chihuahua mix.  Regardless we adore her!

The cuteness doesn't stop there...

Look at the brothers!

Paco and Riley were bonding more than usual this past weekend, too!  Paco continues to do well and we are VERY thankful for that.  Riley is in the middle of another ear infection but we are used to that happening and always have medication on stand by.

Charlie has been pretty good with the exception of him biting me the other day.  This isn't out of the ordinary for him...he's moody because he was a feral cat.  Again...we LOVE him regardless!

I know this isn't a great photo nor does it look overly appetizing but I had to share it with you and will definitely be doing it again and again so hopefully at some point I can get a better pic!

What you see here is Vegan Ranch Dressing that I made and it's my BEST attempt to date!

1/2 C Just Mayo
1/2 C Coconut Almond Milk
1 tea Onion Powder*
1 pinch Garlic Powder**
1 tea Dill***
2 T Nutritional Yeast
Black Sea Salt to taste

*I used Wildtree Absolutely Onion which is now Organic and Vegan (the old version contained Whey Powder this version doesn't)

** I used Wildtree Garlic Galore

*** I used Wildtree Dill Dip Blend

Vegan Pizza Party & LATE Weekend Giveaway

What happened to the weekend giveaway? Keep reading!  I am including this past week's giveaway at the bottom of this post!  Before we get to that I figured I would show you my vegan pizza I made on Saturday Night!  Hubby went to Pittsburgh for the Steelers game and I went to Buffalo for the Bills game.  More on that in a near future post.  Hubby left for Erie to meet up with his brother on Saturday afternoon and headed for Wegman's in Lakewood and grabbed some Daiya Cheese.  I then went over to my parents and made some of the Wildtree Pizza Dough that happens to be vegan and then added Sauce, Daiya, Onions, Peppers, and spices to it.  My parents had some of the vegan pizza and enjoyed it, too!

The first photo is before I baked it and this 2nd photo is after it came out of the oven.  We added some more spices to the top, too!  It was tasty!  I ate 3 pieces.  BUT...it was VERY thin and I hadn't eaten much on Saturday...a little but of grits but that's it.  We put the onions and peppers in between the sauce and the Daiya!

After making and eating the Vegan Pizza my mom and I made 3 different raw vegan desserts and I will be sharing those with you in future posts as well!  It was fun spending time with my parents this weekend and then on Sunday when we went to the game I got to see my sister, too!

I wish I had more veggies to add to the top of this but it still turned out yummy!

And here's a close up of a slice.  In case you were wondering I used a Wegman's Marinara that also happened to be vegan.  The spices were Wildtree Spices.  We sprinkled a little bit of the California Garlic Pepper and a bit of the Spicy Chipotle Ranch...yes...both vegan!

I've been hungry for soups so I will have soups on tap this week at some point among other things.

Sometimes when I indulge in vegan packaged convenience foods or vegan junk foods I sometimes will take a supplement...or if I am on the road for a few days to fill in any holes I may put upon myself.  I really like some of the Garden of Life Products that I have seen come across me lately - more specifically their sister company MyKind Organics which is a Certified Organic Whole Food Vitamin Company which is also vegan.  This is the company that Alicia Silverstone is the spokesperson for.  Today I am posting about their Women's Multi 40+ Vitamins.  They are allowing me to give a bottle of them away.  If you are a US Resident and would like to win these please leave me a comment along with your email addy.  I will choose a winner sometime Wednesday!  A little disclaimer...I was not paid to post this offer, however, Garden of Life allows me to do giveaways on my blog in exchange for honest reviews, recipes, and link-backs.

Thanksgiving Plate - a Little Late...

I know I am a little late posting this years Thanksgiving Plate but here it is. 

From top - clockwise - my sister's roasted squash that she did with grapeseed oil and cinnamon - Wildtree Stuffing veganized - some Thai Curry Rice I made with the help of Wildtree's Thai Green Curry Sauce (also vegan) - mashed potatoes I made with Almond Milk - and my mom's first attempt at homemade Cranberry Sauce.  It was VERY flavorful!  Then there is the dinner roll in the center!  Woot!

Everything was tasty!  Usually I prepare more dishes for myself but with everything going on this year I didn't think ahead like I usually do but I certainly wasn't lacking for food!

My Sister (Nearly) Veganized Her Party...

Yesterday my sister had a Norwex Party at her house.  She sent me a text message earlier last week that she was going to make a vegan taco dip and asked me a few questions because she was going to use our Wildtree Taco Blend for it.  My sister isn't vegetarian let alone vegan but she enjoys trying the foods - and if you are a reader of my blog for a while - you may remember she and I went to the WNY VegFest in August and had a BLAST!  Anyway...when I got to her house yesterday - before the party - not only did she make the taco dip vegan - she made this cold bean salad and it was awesome!  With this she used Frozen Corn, Canned Black Beans, 2 Avocados, 1 Tomato, Onion, and some Wildtree Garlic Galore.

Here's what the Vegan Taco Dip looked like!  And here's what she used for this recipe...both of these dishes made HUGE batches...enough for a Vegan Potluck!

1/2 container of Vegan Sour Cream
1 container of Vegan Cream Cheese
10-ounces Salsa
3 T Wildtree Taco Blend
(these ingredients mixed well)
Next layer...
Shredded Lettuce to cover
Tomato
Sliced Olives to cover
Daiya Cheese - Sprinkled on top

My sister really did spoil me yesterday!  I had a fun time!  The best part...she didn't tell anyone the dips were vegan...and no one asked!  Everyone loved them!  The only thing that wasn't vegan was she made the Wildtree Onion Dip with real Sour Cream (it also has dairy in the dry product) I just didn't eat that one item but the rest I did!  She had a large raw veggie tray, too!