Flashback Photos from Erie VegFest & Looking Ahead with Changes

Erie VegFest took place back on September 24th and I'm embarrassed I didn't post these photos soon!  So sorry!  The Shimmy Shack was a food truck that drove all the way from Michigan to participate!  It was a pretty neat truck!

Once again my parents attended the FEST with me - neither of them are veg - but they enjoy checking them out and have always been supportive of me and my adventures.  My father had the Southwest Burger.

My mom munched on little things all day for the most part.  The truck had a simple yet wonderful concept of doing a basket of fries that was made up of 1/2 regular fries and 1/2 sweet potato fries.

I opted for the Indian Lunch that day!  It was HUGE!

Area and regional businesses participated, too!

Eventho they were not vegetarian eating establishments they did offer vegan options!

I wasn't able to try a lot of them because they were pretty large portions.

The first VegFest I attended was in Buffalo 3 years ago and this vendor participated from Ohio!  She made and sold her own flavored vegan cheese spreads!  I remember them well!  When I saw them at Erie VegFest I knew I had to stop over and mention it to her.  Dad ended up buying 2 of her cheese spreads!  The Blue Cheese with Spirulina was exceptionally awesome!

Oddly...one thing Erie VegFest did BETTER than WNY VegFest was that Erie incorporated a Farmers Market type vendor space.  It was a small Farmers Market Vendor space but still more than Buffalo offered.  As you can see here my dad in his TyeDye and my mom in the blue short in the front corner.

We did end up buying more produce that day than anything else.

The prices were good!  The people were nice!  I also found Erie to have more INFO available overall.  Erie did focus more on gluten-free stuff than Buffalo did, too.  However, Buffalo offered way more food options but that isn't surprising due to the size of the two markets and the population.  PLUS...this was Erie's first year and Buffalo's 3rd.  I will say that Erie had a WONDERFULLY IMPRESSIVE first year!  I hope both markets continue to grow!

A QUICK UPDATE:

I have continued to sleep different, wear different under garments, and take B-Complex, B-12, D, and Chlorella Tabs without missing a day!  I've tried to stick to 1 cup of caff tea a day instead of 6 to 8 and I'm upping my herbal tisanes.  I am seeing and feeling a difference over the last 3 days and I hope it continues to improve.  Thank you all for the encouragement!

Warren County Fair From Different Eyes

I have at least 4 posts I will be doing from the Warren County Fair Week but I thought I would ease into it with a few 'behind the scenes' type photos to start.

This was taken Sunday Evening as I was just getting back from WNY VegFest.  The sky was so beautiful!  I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

I tried to get to sleep early that night because we had to get up around 3:30am to prepare for the Morning Show.  We did double air shifts Monday thru Friday that week!  Then all of the other festivities that went along with being a volunteer and board duties my hubby had that week, too!

We can't help but think of a friend of ours during fair time (and every day we are at work for that matter).
He's been gone for a few years now...I actually can't believe it's been that long!  He will always be missed!
 
This was his saying!  A friend of ours found this mug and gave it to Dale the first day of Fair.  He got pretty choked up about it.

We talked about our friend and co-worker often that week.  It would have also been his birthday, too!

Cancer is an awful thing.

This year we installed a park model that was found for a wonderful price.  It's in the backstage area for the entertainment who visit our fair.

This was a photo taken from the deck.  Many people worked on the space throughout the summer to make it look nice.

We had some wonderful feedback about it too!

I will probably have more photos of this space down the road.

This was my view from Monday after the Media Lunch was over.

WNY VegFest 2016!

LONG POST AHEAD from WNY VegFest 2016!

This was the 3rd annual WNY VegFest in Buffalo, NY.  It was at a different location this year...Delaware Park.  Each year my sister and I go and make it a Sisters Day!  My sister is NOT veg but likes to try all of the veggie stuff!  This year my parents came a long!  This is a photo of me, my dad, and sister!  We made the Buffalo News (Website)!  I'm originally from WNY and it's always nice to go back and visit!  Afterwards we attended my cousins daughters graduation party!

For the 3rd year in a row I was able to meet up with the Vegan Zombie guys!  I didn't think they were going to be there this year but they were able to go at the last minute!  Jon and Chris are always AWESOME!  I bought one of their hoodies this year!  The first year I bought a cookbook and a t-shirt and last year I bought another t-shirt of theirs!

Chris also gave me one of their rubber bracelets!  You can see the one I am talking about on Chris's left arm.

The VegFest t-shirt I was wear in these photo's was from last years VegFest.  I'm hoping to attend the Erie VegFest in September if all works out, too!

There was a new juice place this year!  Squeeze Juicery and their juices are AWESOME!  Since my parents have been getting into juicing when we are able I thought they would get a kick out of these!  For the most part they did!  I will say that Squeeze kept selling out of them so they MUST have been good, eh!?  We went a little crazy and bought several.  Of course everything that we bought that day we shared so we could all sample everything!

First up we have the 'We Got The Beet' with Beet, Carrot, Lemon, Ginger, and Apple.  Then the 'Espresso Love' and that had Cashews, Dates, Espresso, Cacao, Vanilla, and Sea Salt.  I don't think the Sea Salt was necessary - neither did my parents or sister.  We've never been a 'salt family'.

We ended up buying TWO of the Tiny Dancer you see here on the left.  'Tiny Dancer' had Strawberry, Kiwi, Cucumber, Pear, and Raspberry.  'Good Day Sunshine' was the other one and that had Turmeric, Orange, Lemon, Carrot, Cucumber, Celery, Pineapple, and Ginger.

My mom and sister liked the Tiny Dancer the best and my dad liked the Good Day Sunshine the best.  I liked all 4 of them for different reasons.

I will have to make a trip to one of their two locations SOON!  They are in Elmwood and Buffalo.  Check out their full menu HERE.

For a couple of years I have been hearing The Vegan Zombie guys talk about Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary.  So when I heard they were going to be at WNY VegFest this year I had to stop by.  I'm pretty sure they were there last year, too, because I tried their hot sauces.  This year they were selling the hot sauces, their hummus (which my parents bought), and their totes and t-shirts.  I bought one of their totes!

I was able to meet the co-founders and chatted with Peter for quite a while.  SUPER nice people!

They sold out of a lot of their hot sauces and hummus by the time we left the event which was only a couple hours in.  The proceeds benefit the animals at the sanctuary.

Last year I passed up the vegan ice cream so this year it was on my list of priorities that is for sure!  My mom and I got 2 servings and shared with my dad and sister.  Since we didn't want it in a cone we opted for the cup!  They served them in temperature changing cups that had the VegFest logo on it!  How cool is that!?

I was in my glory at this event because everything at this event is vegan!  It's nice not having to pick apart and read labels for once!

There were some vendors that I missed this year for one reason or another but there were new vendors that I enjoyed seeing, too!

There was at least 1 new food cart this year, too!

You could buy the whole menu for $25.  As tempting as that was - we didn't do it.  My Dad opted for their Bangarang Taco option, tho!

He seemed to really like them!  They had a crispy coated sweet potato, slaw, and a few other things in there topped with a strong ginger sauce.

My sister grabbed a Quinoa Bowl.  I remember her and I had those last year, too!  She really liked them - so much so - she got another one this year.

Mom chose the Veg Noodle Bowl.  It was a large serving for the $7 price tag.

This year it was on my list of priorities to visit the Indian Food Area and I was able to!!!

The establishment was called Dosa Place and it featured South Indian Cuisine.  I really like India Food but I wanted to try something I had not had a lot of experience with.  I opted for the Bonda and the Vadai.  The Bonda is a Potato Fried Ball with onion and spices.  It was great!  The Vadai was basically a savory lentil donut of sorts.  That was terrific, too!

I was surprised that my mom liked the Vadai, actually.  My Dad liked everything he tried that day!

My mom and I visited the Love Beets booth and tried all of their beet samples.  There was a BBQ that was nice - subtle.  My mom really liked the White Balsamic beets.  My mom LOVES beets!  Her and I do - my sister and dad don't care for them generally.

Last photo is the one chat we attended.  It was a group of families that rescued dogs from the Korean Meat Market.  Their stories were heart wrenching!


There are so many other experiences that we had that day!  And so much more food, too!  I remember my parents getting some Vega and Garden of Life Samples and my dad making smoothies the next morning!  I will be giving him some of my protein powder supply soon!  I'm thrilled he enjoyed them!  My dad also bought some Sunflower Seed Butter!  Wheatberry Bake Shop from Snyder, NY, was there and was selling a Vegan Pizza and it was WONDERFUL.  The owner was so nice!  We also grabbed a Lemon Basil infused water from them which gave my mom the idea to start doing that at home with all of the basil she has growing!  It was another great year at WNY VegFest!  I'm so excited that my parents came with us this year!  I hope to attend the VegFest in Erie next month, too!  Fingers crossed it all works out!

Vegan MoFo ~ Share Something Vegan with a Non-Vegan

I might be taking the easy way out with today's prompt for Vegan MoFo but trust me when I say I NEEDED to share this post.  The very important person I'm featuring in today's post is my sister Megan.  

My sister is NOT vegan or even vegetarian but has always supported my choices throughout the years and is the best sister ever!  I know many of us could say that about out siblings but I've always been close with my sister...growing up we never fought like other teens tend to.

Now that we are older there are certain things we do to keep communicating.  One being that we are Wildtree Reps.  My mother was the first one of the family to become a rep - then I did - then my sister - and finally my father.  It's a family thing but for different reasons.  Of course one of the main reasons for me personally is because of all the vegetarian and vegan options they offer.  Not all of their products are veg but LOTS of them are...most of them are, actually.  Anyways...my sister was always the creative one in the kitchen.  I wasn't.  I would take the easy way out when it came to food but since dropping dairy (after being lacto/lacto-ovo veg for 18 years) I started making the majority of my own food as you can now see on my blog.  My sister and I have made it a tradition to attend the WNY VegFest for the last two years.  It's been a lot of fun!  We've been able to meet up with some great people including the Vegan Zombie Crew (both years) and other YouTubers, Bloggers, Authors, Speakers, etc!

YEARS ago I attempted to coordinate a Vegetarian Potluck on a monthly basis and no matter which month or how many people (or lack there of sometimes) that showed up my sister always would!  Of course my mom and dad can be thrown into that conversation, too, I have been very lucky and blessed!

Another thing that we are able to do as Wildtree Reps is to go to a number of community events and festivals and I love walking around with my sister and checking out the other vendors.  We usually come across various animals that attend, too!  Here she is pictured with a random dog we came across years ago.  Funny thing is 2 Autumns ago both my sister and her husband as well as my parents were at one of these events and saw dogs from a regional shelter and ended up adopting them!  

Here is a photo of Megan with Atlas and my father with Lexi!  They are both much bigger now but you get the idea.

As you can see from the other photos I have posted my sister also has helped me with some of the things I do for work and volunteering, too!  We've also attended various concerts together, as well!  Like I said my sister isn't veg - she doesn't eat a lot of meat and does TRY the foods I make and has even made many vegan dishes herself.  She usually goes out of her way to make me something special during parties, too!  She recently made this jam made from Blueberries, Agave, Lemon Juice, and Chia Seeds just for fun!

Almost every holiday she at least TRIES the foods that I make and bring!  This one I did YEARS ago and it's a Maple Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole.  I even impressed myself with this one!

Megan's into a lot of alternative foods and that is what makes it FUN.  These last two photos are from the last couple of years during Thanksgiving.  They are photos of my plate to prove that I never go hungry (haha!)  I thought I would hop over and pull from my archives and share with any new visitors.  For more posts on my sister you could always type in the word "sister" into my sidebar search window, too!

I know this post was a little bit of a blabber fest but when my sister and I get together that is what often happens.  I love my sister Megan dearly and always will.

Vegan MoFo ~ Vegan Foods Inspired By 3 Films

The Vegan MoFo Prompt for today was to make or eat something inspired by a book or film.  I went back thru some of my faves and decided to do a collaboration!

First up...remember Gopher's Succotash from Winnie The Pooh?  I vaguely remember it since it's been so long since I have seen that movie but I do like Vegan Succotash so why not?  Here's a photo of one of the Vegan Succotash dishes I have done in the past.  I think my secret ingredient is a splash of Balsamic it seems to make everything better!

Next up is the Porridge mentioned in Beauty & The Beast.  I always 'assumed' that Porridge was like Oatmeal.  Well, when I traveled to The Breakers in West Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this year they featured this Vegan Porridge on one of their menus and it was one of the most memorial meals I've ever had while traveling!

The Porridge was made up of lentils and spices.

What you see on top is a single apple crisp with a dab of salsa.  I really must make some of this very soon.  Of course it will be my own version but something is better than nothing, right!?

And FINALLY...I chose the movie...Home Alone.

Remember when he gets the Little Nero's Cheese Pizza?

Well, here are a few vegan cheese pizzas I have enjoyed over the last few years!

First up...is the vegan pizza from Pizza Plant in Williamsville, NY.  YUMMO!  I love The Pizza Plant because of all of the veggie options they offer.

I also love their PODS and their Vegan Nachos!

I think I will have visit there again, soon!

Last year around this time hubby and I traveled to Tennessee and one of the places we went to eat was Mellow Mushroom.  It was my first time ever being to a Mellow Mushroom and I was completely stoked they had vegan options including this pizza!  They didn't skimp on the veggies either!

Comparing the two I think I liked the Pizza Plant Pizza better than Mellow Mushrooms but I do like them both and was so appreciative that both places had options!

And speaking of Vegan Pizza options...

I couldn't pass up another chance to plug The WNY VegFest!

This photo is a picture of the Vegan Taco Pizza that I had last year while visiting WNY's first annual VegFest in Buffalo!  We had so much fun that my sister and I went back this year.  If all goes well we are thinking about making it an annual tradition!

AND...a heads up...2016 I just might be going to TWO VegFests! I heard from organizers in Erie, PA, that they will start holding VegFest in the upcoming year!  YAY!

Since this Taco Pizza shown here was more 'fake meat' than cheese and veggies I have to say I like the other two options better but again am pleased they offered this at VegFest, too!

And, FINALLY...a Vegan Pizza that I have made all by myself!

If you have visited my blog before this might look familiar from a few months back.

It's the Vegan Mac & Cheese Pizza I tried making.

Sure...it needed a little work on the dough but I am always up front about my LACK of baking skills...this INCLUDES dough!    But they flavor was wonderful and I felt like I accomplished something because I did do it by myself!

So what do you think about my food?  And the films?

WNY VegFest - Part II - The Juices & Food!

Today's post is all about the juices and food we had at WNY VegFest on Sunday!  Be sure to scroll down for the speakers and other photos from yesterday!

As for the first photo in this post I HAD to give major shout outs to the folks at Ashker's Juice Bar in Buffalo!  They really pumped up VegFest full of color with their juices!  It was so awesome seeing so many people walking around with fresh juiced juices!  I really hope more juice business start opening up in the region!

Check out this first one...Heated Heart...with beet, carrot, lemon, sage, apple, and ginger!  It was SO tempting...I almost bought one but decided on a different one which you will see in a moment.

The one on the right of this photo is the one I opted for it was called Clean Greens and it had cucumber, kale, celery, apple, parsley, and mint!
It was FAB.

I wanted to try all of them!  As you can see there was a Zinger that had orange, lemon, carrot, apple, and ginger.  Then there was one called Golden Child and that one had gold beet, ginger, carrot, apple, and turmeric.

As you can see in the back there is a sign for their newest addition and I just HAD to get that, too!  That was the Watermelon Slushie and it had Watermelon, Lemon, cucumber, apple, and beet and it was AMAZING!

Here's a pic of me with the Watermelon Slushie with my green juice in tow.  We saved that for the upcoming speaker.  My sister and I both had some but I probably drank 75% of it to her 25%.  It was great!

My sister doesn't like watermelon - actually it doesn't like her.  My father has the same problem.  Not me...I could live off of it.  My mom and I usually treat ourselves when watermelon season is here.

We were sitting in a grassed area re-grouping before the speakers.  What you can't see in this photo is that we were watching and listening to one of the musicians on their outdoor stage.

The weather was great this year and I really think there were at least 5 (if not 10) times the amount of people at the event this year!

This was one of the first things we had when we first got to VegFest!  It was from a local bakery D & M Confections!  This is their Vegan Oatmeal Blueberry Banana Cupcake!  It was YUMMY!  My sister and I split this, too!

I don't usually eat sweets mostly because there are no local vegan dessert options near me and I'm certainly NOT a baker!

D & M Confections is located in Tonawanda, NY, and about 2 hours from where I live.  It's not a 100% vegan bakery but at least they have options, right?  I will say that THIS option was awesome!

The color was out of this world, too!

Taking a look at the Food and Food Trucks this year!  This place was there last year, too!  I was tempted by many of their menu items and probably would have ate more if I could but it seemed like we were eating and drinking all day!

The BEST part - at VegFest - everything is VEGAN - so I don't really have to think too much about what I can eat!  YAY!  I know this might sound silly to some people but where I live that isn't the case often!

There was at least 1 food truck that was missing from the previous year but there were many new food vendors this year which was AWESOME!  And some of them weren't even trucks but tents regardless the options were terrific!  There was a stand that did vegan nachos and another that had vegan ice cream.  I would have gotten some ice cream but didn't want to walk around and eat a cone.

Amy's Place in Buffalo was there with Amy's Truck!  Years ago I visited Amy's Place and LOVED it!  The truck stop was packed so we didn't grab food from there but I want to visit their location again, soon!

There were representatives from Strong Hearts Cafe in Syracuse, NY, at the event and I wasn't able to meet Joel but I saw him there!  My sister and I are planning a day trip to Syracuse with Strong Hearts Cafe in mind and top priority!  I'm sure we will find other things to do while we are there, too!  It's about a 3 and a half hour drive but I know it will be FUN!

One tent we did stop at for food was this place!  The SoHo Project!  The one guy was telling a fellow festival go-er that it was a proof of concept type food business.  The business helps their non-profit and the non-profit is to help animals.  I loved the idea!

My sister and I each had a quinoa bowl from here which you will see mine in just a moment.  We both opted for the Cilantro Lime Dressing.  Mine with WITH jalapenos and my sister's was WITHOUT.

My sister said it was one of the BEST quinoa bowls she's ever had!  In addition to quinoa it had black beans, avocado, corn, lime, cilantro, and lettuce!

We didn't get a "candy" apple but they sounded wonderful!

And here's what my quinoa bowl looked like!

All I want to eat now is variations of quinoa bowls!  They were so tasty!  I do make them often so it's not that much of a stretch to do them but it's nice to try other people's bowls, too, right?

So as you can see we had plenty to eat and drink during WNY VegFest!  It was bigger and better than last year and I know it will just continue to grow and I'm so excited about that!

I still have at least one more blog post I will be doing about VegFest so stay tuned!  I want to share many of the vendors that were there, too!

WNY VegFest - Part I - The Speakers

This past weekend was the 2nd Annual WNY VegFest and my sister and I attended because we had SO MUCH FUN last year! I have a wonderful sister! She's not a vegan or even vegetarian but has attended this festival both years now and even sat thru 2 of the speakers this year with me! I'm so grateful for her!

Speaking of which...here's a photo of her and I waiting for one of the 'chats' to begin. We did an official VegFest Selfie! Megan and I are 3 years, 2 months, and 1 day a part in age! How cool is that?

Last year was the first year I met the guys from The Vegan Zombie and I wanted to meet up with them again this year, too! Here they are! Jon (on the left) kept saying 'sorry' because he was distracted by the puppies from the puppy rescue on the other side of them. But who could blame them? They were super cute dogs! More on that in a future post I am sure! Then Chris (on the right) and I chatted about social media, T-Shirts, their road trip, juicing, and more! A few months ago I was going to buy a Breville Juicer but had seen Chris's posts on Instagram and totally had to ask which juicer he was using and I ended up getting that one instead. It's a SlowStar Juicer. I had told him on Instagram that I purchased one and he asked me if I used it yet and felt a little bad that I hadn't used it yet. His encouragement is greatly appreciated. I think between them and OPAL over at I;m Celebrating Life - I will be pursuing that more seriously around the 17th of this month. I ended up buying another Vegan Zombie Shirt and also bought a WNY VegFest T-Shirt at the festival's table, too!

This year my sister and I were able to attend 2 of the talks. The first speaker we saw was Karen Ranzi. I will be purchasing her book in the very near future Raw Vegan Recipe Fun for Families: 115 Easy Recipes and Health Tips for Energetic Living.

Another speaker we were able to see was Kristin Lajeunesse. I was lucky enough to meet her, too! I have been following her on Instagram for a while and we were chatting back and forth on there prior to her talk and meeting. She's super nice! 

Her book is Will Travel for Vegan Food: A Young Woman's Solo Van-Dwelling Mission to Break Free, Find Food, and Make Love, and is the founder of the award willing website, Will Travel for Vegan Food.

Not sure if you can see me in THIS vlog she posted on Instagram but I'm in the 3rd row back on the right behind a lady with a black tank top on and she's sitting by a guy with a black shirt and sunglasses on.

HERE is a list of the other speakers that were at the event. I was standing next to Vlad while in line for fresh juice and didn't know it was him until after he left. And I would have loved to catch Jane Esselstyn and Victoria Moran's talks but we were doing other things during those times. Another one I wanted to see was Jessica Meyers Food Demo which was living foods and sprouting and fermentation.

I will be posting more and more throughout this week on the adventures of WNY VegFest so please check back and let me know if you were there! And if you weren't there let me know if you've ever seen any of these speakers and/or YouTubers!