Happy Mail & Crazy Color!

A bit more of back-log-blogging before I start posting about my WNY VegFest Adventures from the weekend.  I have some HAPPY MAIL and Crazy Color to share with you right now!

First up...Happy Mail from NuNaturals!  They repackaged the Oat Fiber and sent some more of the flavored stevia and syrups!  I will be doing more with these in the very near future that is for sure!

You may remember a few months ago that 52 Teas was doing a KickStarter Campaign to change hands from Frank to Anne.  Well, it happened and the new owners have taken over 52 Teas and sent the KickStarter perks to those you participated!  Here are the reblends I received and I am super excited about them!

PLUS the company will remain vegan and organic!  Woot!  Congrats and THANKS to Anne and her daughter for continuing this label or great teas!

I have already tried their Pancake Breakfast Black Tea and LOVE it!  I think it's more bakey-crusty tasting than before and I'm LOVING that!

This morning I received a surprise in the mail from OPAL!  She hand-made this amazingly beautiful knit hat and also send some embossing folders for my Cuttlebug Machine.

I really MUST get back into scrappin' and paper craftin'!

Maybe after fair is over :)

Again a HUGE Thank You to OPAL for these!

The hat will surely come in handy for the cold winters here.  She knows I LOVE LOVE LOVE hats!  And she's incredibly talented!  She is brilliant with fiber crafts!

In other news...

The rooftop garden is going very well!  We didn't do as much of a variety of things this year but what we are trying is doing well!

We started these peppers inside several months ago and actually these three peppers were indoor and window sill gardening attempts.  We didn't take these outside.

These are SUPER HOT!!!  I like spicy but I will be using these in moderation that is for sure!

They are about the length of my finger so they are pretty small but pack a powerful punch!

And I have been blogging about how we are gearing up for fair time and this is where this next photo comes into play!

This year we are going to have a Prize Wheel and here is what it looks like.  My father let us borrow it from his work and DH altered it.  Doesn't it look COOL!?  What CRAZY COLOR, eh?  Sure is colorful!  And we already have a LOT of prizes to giveaway!  That is above and beyond all of the travel mugs we are given to pass out from a local company and this year we also have about 300 bags of chips to pass out, too!  There will be 4 concerts in 5 days so that is where most of my time will be spent once radio life is wrapped up for the day!

Current Vegan Eats & Winner Announcements!

Hello there!  Before we get into all of these vegan eats - even some RAW Vegan Eats...I wanted to announce the winners of my last contest which was the NuNaturals $70 Prize Pack!

Linda K from the USA

Brenda P from Canada

Suituapui from Malaysia

Ashley R from USA

Thanks so much to everyone for participating the feedback was AMAZING!  Congrats to all of the winners!

In the first photo you will see a dip that I did a while back!  My thought behind it was to incorporate Mesquite Powder because I recently received a slew of it in an order from The Raw Food World and I wanted to start experimenting with it.

In this dip I used Cashews, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Red Bell Pepper, Garlic, Apple Cider Vinegar, Mesquite Powder, and Parsley.

Check out the entire recipe HERE it's one of the featured recipes over at The Raw Food World NEWS Recipe Section.

In other news I recently acquired like 20 pounds of bananas for FREE from a local produce stand! How awesome is that!?  They had a SLEW of over ripe bananas and they were due to get more in the following day and asked me if I wanted them!  Of course, I jumped at the opportunity even tho I'm not a fan of bananas I have been trying to incorporate more and more of them in my smoothies because I know how GOOD bananas are for you!  I shared a few pounds with 2 of the girls at work and went home to freeze the rest of them!

I also found a new-to-me flavor of Naked Smoothie at a nearby store.  I REALLY liked this flavor and grabbed it while traveling for work the other day!

Not too long ago I threw together a Farro Dish!

It was similar to the one I did HERE but I didn't have any artichokes or pine nuts to add to it this time around.

Before I get to my next few photos I wanted to let you know that this weekend my sister and I are going to the WNY Veg Fest in Buffalo!  We had so much fun last year we decided to make it a priority to go again this year.  I've already contacted Chis from The Vegan Zombie and he and Jon will both be there again!   This year I think I will make up some cards to pass out for my site!  I really want to start networking more with people in the Tri-State area and more online!

Here's a Mediterranean Chickpea Salad of sorts I did this past week!   Here's what's in it...

2 C Chickpeas
1 C diced tomatoes
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1/4 C Parsley
1/4 C Chives
1 T Oregano
3 T Balsamic
Sea Salt/Pepper to taste

I loved the way this turned out!  It was so yummy!

Question of the Day...what's the last dish you made using Chickpeas?

And FINALLY...some raw vegan ice cream...

What it contains:

4 Frozen Bananas
5 T Almond Milk
1 C Frozen Strawberries
3 to 4 T Nut Butter of your choice

For the Nut Butter I used Jem Organic's Super Berry Maqui Camu and it was wonderful!

I blended the Frozen Bananas first (with the Almond Milk) and then added half of the nut butter.  I blended the strawberries separately and added both mixtures into a large glass dish and mixture by hand because I wanted chunks of fruit.  I then added the remaining nut butter.  It was great!

My Blissful Camping Journey Begins

Because of all the goodies I have been sharing and contests and giveaways I have been slacking on my other posts but I have LOTS to share! Over the next couple of weeks I have LOTS going on so I will be schedule-posting a lot of things and when I get back from fair week in a few weeks I will have many more posts to share. 

Special THANKS to every who entered the NuNaturals Giveaway!  I will be choosing 4 winners today and will announce them later today in a separate post!  

As you can see above I have something new to tell you about!  Yup!  We bought a camper!  We do have an older camper that is 'planted' up in the woods near my husband's family's land but that has been there since we bought it YEARS ago and will remain there.  This recent purchase is the one we will be 'babying'.  For the most part we will be storing it at the fair grounds and doing a lot of camping there.  Maybe next year we will branch out and take it places but for now we have a plan and that plan involved being at the grounds most of this year.  Hubby's on the fair board and I've been helping when I can.  Last night I stained a wishing well and over the weekend I stained a few decks near the Entertainment Office and Radio Booth.  Saturday there was a show and I worked the food booth, too!

Friday Night and again on Sunday I took Cricket with me over to the grounds.  She really enjoyed it.  Hubby's aunt/uncle's dog Abby was there and the two of them played a while.  Before going back on Sunday I took Cricket over to my parents house and she played with their dog Lexi.  She was quite active this weekend.  I took her into the camper for the first time and as you can see she approved!

The fair is less than 3 weeks away and it seems we are living and breathing everything fair!  Not only is Dale on the fair board we are there full time there for work that week, too!  One of the things I will be posting about is my adventures in mostly vegan food that week like I did last year but this year I will be there even more than previous years so I am sure I will have more to share this time around!  That and the music!  We have 4 concerts this year!  AND new to the radio booth we will have a prize wheel!  AND we always pass out 3 or 4 thousand Whirley Mugs and this year we will pass out about 300 bags of chips for free, too!  Yes...it will be a busy one!  OH!  And I almost forget...this year I will be Dale's co-host on the air each day! 

I'm sure I will have more pictures and posts from the fair grounds before, during, and after that week.  In the meantime I thought I would also show you a neat pic of one of the mushrooms I saw last weekend!

$70 NuNaturals Prize Pack Giveaway!

Since other giveaways have been going so well as of late...I thought I would give you another opportunity to win some goodies thanks to my friends at NuNaturals!

I will award ( 4 )  participants ( 1 ) one bottle of each of the Vanilla Stevia Liquid,  a 50 pkt box of NuStevia No-Carb Stevia Powder packets, PLUS a bottle of the New COCOA SYRUP, & a bottle of the New Mint Cocoa Syrup.  Each winner will receive all products PLUS A FREE BONUS PRODUCT.   Retail value of $70.00!!!!

This contest is open to ANYONE IN THE WORLD!  They will ship to any country but CAN NOT SHIP TO P O BOXES.

In order to qualify for this drawing PLEASE...
* "Like" NuNaturals on Facebook & Let me know in your comment that you did this
* Leave a comment on this post and include your email addy & country

Whether you win this contest or not they are extending a discount to anyone reading this!

DISCOUNTS on all orders placed on their website :  www.nunaturals.com can use DISCOUNT CODE ;  BLG1215  upon check out and you will receive - 15% DISCOUNT on your ENTIRE ORDER. This discount remains  EFFECTIVE UNTIL  December 31, 2015. 

REMEMBER...there will be 4 winners for this giveaway and I will choose them on Monday, July 27th, 2015 - to be eligible you must do the actions mentioned above in BOLD. 
Thanks and GOOD LUCK!

 

Peppermint Water - Ah-HA Moment - and a WINNER!

First of all - I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the giveaway over the weekend for the Chocolate Covered Mulberries and the Chocolate Covered MacNut from Medicinal Foods!  The interest was OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Having said that...the winner of this delicious prize was...
LiberTEAs (aka Anne)
CONGRATS!!

Now...for the rest of my post today!  Ever had one of those AH...HA!!!  Moments?

Well, I had one recently when it came to the water you see here.  It's simple peppermint flavored water.  Those who know me - know I LOVE water and I LOVE peppermint!  I usually grab a bottle of this Metromint when it's on sale but last week I tried NuNaturals Peppermint flavored Stevia in filtered water and it tastes JUST LIKE IT!

All I did was use 2 drops of this NuNaturals Peppermint Stevia in a glass of water - so what is that - like around 10 ounces or so - it just 2 drops is all it takes!  The flavor was AMAZING!

I did do a taste test using 3 drops and I think you can start tasting the Stevia a bit more than the Peppermint.  But at 2 drops you are getting that subtle refreshing minty goodness without going overboard with the mint or the Stevia!

So just a little tip and trick from me here at My Blissful Journey!  And another simple way to use NuNatural's products in  your daily routine!

Things Have Been Pretty 'Cheesy' Lately

Over the past couple of weeks things have been pretty cheesy!  Of course there are no actual dairy products in the cheesy recipes I show you here today and I apologize in advance but these are lacking actual recipes, too!  I literally threw them together and only wrote partial recipes or didn't write up a recipe at all! 

I will tell you this about the first photo you see - as a thickener I used a bit of NuNaturals Oat Fiber.  It worked quite well.  I also used nutritional yeast, garlic, onion, Bragg's Liquid Amino's, Turmeric, Coconut Milk, and a few other ingredients.

As for this 2nd photo - I used Corn Pasta.  I used about 1/2 package of Daiya Mozzarella, 3 T Earth Balance, 1/4 C Nutritional Yeast, 1 t Paprika, 1 t Garlic Powder, 1 t Onion Powder, 1 t Mustard Powder, 1 or more cups of Almond Milk, 1 t Turmeric, and Black Sea Salt to taste.

This turned out pretty wonderful, too!  Incredibly creamy and cheesy!

As you can see I have been using more more Turmeric in my recipes.  This is the Turmeric I use from The Raw Food World.  I LOVE it! 

For this last photo - I made some Cashew Cheese and topped it with Cajun Seasoning.  I used 2 C Cashews, 2 C Water, 1/4 C Lemon Juice, 1/2 C Nutritional Yeast, 1 Small Onion, 1 t Avocado Oil, 1 t Dried Garlic, 1 t Bragg's Liquid Amino's, 1/2 t Turmeric, Pinch of Cayenne...and topped with Cajun Seasoning to taste.

I had LOTS of this Cashew Cheese Left over and used it for Nachos, as a dip, some in other sauces, and MISC recipes that needed a little more creaminess!  Which one looks/sounds more up your alley!?

Morning Mash-Up Smoothie

Just a check Smoothie recipe this morning because I have some scheduled posts and other posts to get to thru - out the day!  I think I will call this one my Morning Mash-Up Smoothie!

Recipe:

1 Banana (frozen)

3 Dates
1 Scoop GoL's Marley Raw Protein
1 C Almond Milk
1 squirt of NuNatural's CocoMint Syrup

You know I LOVE my Marley...but the Coco Mint really kicked it up a notch!  YUM!  Stay tuned for more posts today including a giveaway!

CocoMint Ice Cream (Nut Based)

I took a stab at making Vegan Ice Cream last night and it turned out great!  I will say it's treat that you shouldn't over eat as it's nut based and very rich, creamy, and fulfilling. Here's the recipe I came up with...

1.5 C Raw Cashews

1 C (or more) Almond Milk
3 T Coconut Oil
1/4 C Maple Syrup
3/4 tea NuNaturals Cocoa Mint Syrup
1/2 Scoop Garden of Life Chocolate Cacao Raw Protein

Prior to freezing this - yet after blending everything in my Vitamix - I added some Coco Mint Swirls with more of the NuNaturals Syrup.  It was wonderful.  It was butty - like a Cashew Butter flavor because of the Cashews and Almond Milk Combo for the base but it was a nice Chocolate and Mint flavor thanks to the GoL and NuNatural's combo!  I will definitely be making this again and with more flavor combos, too!  YUM!

Participating Post...

Virtual Vegan Potluck

Happy, Healthy, Green, & Natural

Real Food Wednesdays

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.

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! 

Chocolate Mint Milkshake - VEGAN!

Better late than never, eh!?

This is yet another foodie related post from DAYS (or more) ago that I am just getting around to posting!  It's a simple smoothie and it turned out pretty darn tasty!

1 C Coconut Milk

1 Scoop GoL Chocolate Cacao Protein Powder
4 or 5 Drops of NuNaturals Peppermint Stevia
2 one-inch Chunks of Banana

I have to say I am REALLY enjoying the peppermint stevia liquid from NuNaturals.  I can totally see myself using this often.  Many of you know I am a MINT Freak :)

I would like to do a Lemon, Cucumber Mint one soon or maybe a Watermelon Mint.

I still have YET to play around with making my own vegan ice cream!  I MUST try this in a VEGAN Chocolate Mint Ice Cream!

In My Kitchen ~ April

I thought I would get a JUMP START on the IN MY KITCHEN ~ April Edition!  A few items of interest in my kitchen for this upcoming month are highlighted in this post!  Let me know what you think of them - if you have used or done and thing with any of the items listed or if you have any questions.  Questions help me think of future posts - so I ALWAYS welcome them!

First up...

Dried items!  If you visited my blog last week you saw that I accepted Opal's Dehydrator Challenge.  I REALLY enjoyed that adventure and her and I have been trying to put together a weekly blogging Linky to get more people to BUST OUT their dehydrator!  Let us know if this is something that would interest you!  We would LOVE more participants!  One of the many things I hope to do with my Excalibur Dehydrator this month is to dry more fruit and herbs to use in my teas and tonics.  I would like to start off with citrus!  Another item in my kitchen as of late is TEA.  Well, I always have tea with or around me - pretty much throughout the day and evening.  One of the companies I have been into lately is Pelican Tea.  WHY?  Because it stands out in the sense they use peppers and spices to add a HOT KICK to their tea flavors and blends.  I think this really sets them apart from many/most other tea companies!  They have some really interesting flavors and I hope to review some of them over at Sororitea Sisters soon!

Another item in my kitchen is the 'growing of the herbs' attempts.  I will say that I am somewhat disappointed in the Chives and Parsley.  I don't think they are going to sprout.  That's ok...I won't give up...I will be trying to resprout another batch soon!

On a more positive note...

The Basil has sprouted!  YAY!  I LOVE Basil!  I hope it continues to grow!  I started it from seed but I will most likely be getting a starter plant at some point, too, but I know I will use it!  I use a lot of Basil!  I will probably be getting more starter plants for herbs as well.

I have been buying more Dates lately, too!  That is one thing you will find in my frig most of the times any more.  I get them from my local herb lady.  I have been using them in my Vitamix when I made Salad Dressings and Smoothies.  I have also been using them in my Breakfast Bars when I try and make them in my Dehydrator.  A little bit goes a long way and I appreciate them much more now that I am older.  I'm NOT saying I didn't like them when I was younger it just wasn't something we had a lot of fresh in the house growing up..so maybe it's like my 2nd Childhood when it comes to dates?

These little gems may have been in previous posts but I cannot get enough of them!  RED Lentils!  They are my FAVORITE Lentil, after all.

Lentils are one of the worlds HEALTHIEST Foods!  They are a Fiber ALL-STAR!  They are Heart Healthy!  They are an energy booster!  They help stabilize blood sugar!  They are a good source of Iron, Vitamins B1 & B6, Protein, and Magnesium...among others.

I have been getting into my NuNaturals Products again and will be having a giveaway in the near future of some of their products!  If you would like to receive updates on when that is going to happen in addition to any new posts on my blog - sign up for my email alerts. 

On of the many NuNaturals Products I'm intrigued with is this one.  Oat Fiber.

It's a way to add more fiber to your diet.  I don't think I have a problem with that but I'm interested in this product as a whole and also interested in possible passing a bit of this on to my mom and dad as my father is trying to increase his fiber intake.  

NuGrain™ Oat Fiber is naturally produced from food-grade oat hulls through a proprietary process. This is a chemical-free process, turning organic hulls into various organic fibers. Oat fiber has many uses in baked goods, adding to smoothies, porridge, smoothies, and other recipes where you want to boost the fiber content of the foods your eat.

Substitute 3 tablespoons NuGrains™ Oat Fiber for every 8 servings per recipe. For example if recipe yields 24 cookies and serving size is 3 cookies, then substitute 3 tablespoons for flour in your recipe.

What's in YOUR Kitchen for April!?  Let me know in comments!

Happenings & A Raspberry Vanilla Smoothie

I had FULL intentions of posting yesterday but the day ran away from me!  I'm looking forward to a few days off on Monday and Tuesday and hope to do some scheduling of posts to keep the site active.

A while back Tammylee poked that I needed to update my profile pic on the crafting sites and Facebook.  My default Profile Pic is years old.  But I have to say - I don't often like the photos I take of myself nor do I take many.  I always seem to be the one behind the camera and not in front of it, I guess.  I'm NOT Camera Shy but there certainly aren't a lot of recently photos of me.  More specifically ones I would or could use as a profile photo in a semi-serious situation.  I belong to a lot of writing, radio, and voice over sites as well so I should look into changing it soon, eh!?

My foods have been overly simplistic this week!  Mostly smoothies, salads, mono-meals of fruit, maybe a veggie sandwich or two.  I did 'cheat' and had a Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwich using Daiya Cheese the other day...and I have had Tempeh twice this week.

I'm sprouting more Radish Sprouts as well as a Salad Mix.

Another interesting kitchen experiment tidbit - I'm going to start trying to grow Celery soon!  Yes...in my kitchen!

A Smoothie I had the other day is pictured here!  Very simple...

1 C Raspberries
1 C Almond Milk
1 Scoop of Garden of Life Vanilla Protein Powder
1-inch chunk of Banana

It was tasty!  I also received a shipment of more NuNatural Products yesterday and I will be messing around with those soon!  I was intrigued by the Oat Fiber as well as the Tagatose which is a naturally-occuring sweetener found in fruits and veggies.  But I'm super excited about the Peppermint Stevia Flavor!  YAY!

PS - Fantastic Food Friday has MOVED - check it out HERE!

Foods, Fiats, & Furkids

Where to begin?  LOTS to blog about today!  Some recaps from the weekend as well as some other stuff!  I guess I will start with food!  Yesterday I had a light food day.  Not only because I was busy but because I wasn't overly hungry.  I had a Raw Day - which was nice!  But it was VERY simple.  I had a mini meal of Coconut Water and Aloe Chunks and a whole grapefruit.  Last night I had a MASSIVE Salad.  Lettuce(s), Tomatoes, Radishes, Cashews, Sprouts, etc.  I topped it with a salad dressing that I will post below about along with some Nutritional Yeast.  The sprouts I sprouted myself and blogged about that previously as well.  In addition - I added a few raw sprouted chickpeas that I also did myself - in my kitchen.  A few days ago I started sprouting some Radish Sprouts that aren't quite ready yet.  Speaking of Radishes, tho, I found some at the Erie Whole Foods Co-Op that were semi-local and gorgeous!  I could resist and HAD to pick them up for $1.99 per bunch.  They were HUGE and featured 4 different colors.  I used one of the Red ones in this salad.

This is a photo of the Homemade Raw Vegan Salad Dressing I made that you can also see on the salad in the photo above!  This was incredibly flavorful and SO EASY to make!  Here's what's in this Creamy Orange Dressing:
3 Mandarin Oranges
1 Avocado
1/4 C Lemon Juice
3 T Grapeseed Oil
1/4 C Water
2 T Basil

And speaking of EASY food and beverage prep...I discovered a neat way to make a glass of Lemonade!

8 to 10 ounces of water
1 T Lemon Juice
A few drops of NuNaturals Lemon Flavored Stevia

So easy and so tasty!

I've also been focusing on 'waste-not-want-not' type things in the house - especially in the kitchen!  After making the dressing above I saved the peels of the mandarins and put them in boiling water.  The aroma filled my kitchen and it was wonderful!  I also added a pinch of cinnamon.

I also made a few lunches a head of time last night.  This was one of them.  A simple Veggie and Rice Noodle Teriyaki Stir Fry.  I used frozen veggies - here - because there isn't much to choose from in the area of fresh right now.  I used Wildtree Teriyaki Sauce to taste.  I really like their sauce because it's not very salty at all - and - of course - it's vegan!

Multi-color peppers, peas, asparagus, corn, carrots, etc.  I even topped it with more sprouts!

Saturday - hubby and I took a drive in HIS new Fiat.  Yes...that's right...we now have TWO Fiat's!  They are even the same year but his didn't have a previous owner where as mine did.  His is a 'stick' where as mine is an 'automatic'.  We found out that his gets about 4 miles more HIGHWAY than mine does...which is kind of cool!  So...I average about 40 and he goes between 40 and 44 highway.  It was a fun drive!  We swung by the shop in Erie to have them check his breaks and it wasn't a big deal - they fixed a slight noise - and they chalked it up from it sitting on the lot previous to us buying it.  After that we were on a mission to find a good Indian Restaurant.  You see...my husband hasn't been a fan of Indian Foods and I am.  BUT...this place...he really liked so I was so happy!  We ended up in Niles, OH, and went to Bombay Curry & Grill.  Everyone was so nice and there were many vegetarian and vegan things to try!  We ended up both getting the buffet so he could try anything he wanted for a nice variety and I could see exactly what it was before eating it!  For the two of us - this bill was only $17.  AWESOME!

The 'furkids' have been doing well!  I woke up yesterday to this photo op!  Lately I have had to put this green blanket on top of my pillow and he will either sleep by my head or burrow underneath the blanket but on top of the pillow.  In this photo he wedged himself in between the pillow and the sofa arm rest and under the blanket!  So silly!

 And as I was getting ready for work the other day - the other two pups were 'cheek to cheek' and I don't mean the ones on their faces - in this photo - ready to lounge for the day while I went to work.

Charlie's doing real well!  It looks like the sore on his tail is getting better and he's been fairly nice.  As many of you may know - he's a pretty feral.  We are still missing Gabby and always will - but she's with Sammy now!  One day - we will be reunited!

In My Kitchen ~ January

I jumped on the In My Kitchen wagon in November and I think I may have skipped December!  Oops!  But I'm not going to let that stop me for January!  I have a lot to share with you about my Kitchen Adventures!  Looking back to that first post many things have changed!  I mentioned in that first post about wanting to upgrade my dehydrator and I did that last month!  I even gave it a name!  Another update since that last post has to do with Maca.  I mentioned I wanted to do more with my Maca stash and I have...a few desserts and smoothies.  And finally...my Garden of Life Products I have been having fun with - almost on a daily basis!  So much so that I hope to have some REALLY exciting news to report in the near future! 

Moving ahead to a new month and a New Year...what are some of the utensils that I cannot live without?  Well, it may be simple, but, my all-time favorite is wooden spoons.  Any kind, really, but today I would like to narrow that down to these smaller scoops that I like to use for loose leaf tea, matcha, and other things!  I really love them!  I also obtained some plastic funnels over the last month or two.  Can you believe that up until recently I had never had funnels for pouring food related items into other containers?  Now that I have been reusing a lot of my glass jars I have been using these almost every day!

Speaking of Tea...Tea is a staple in my kitchen and my life everyday.  You can read a lot about that over at the Sororitea Sisters site that my friend Anne and I co-founded.  But I not only drink tea...I use it for crafts and more recently revisited a childhood use of washing my hair with it.  More on that down the road.

A few new products to my kitchen include...The Spaddy and the Spaddy Daddy...as seen on Shark Tank.  I will be doing several posts about these products in the future!  It's a neat little tool that helps reach the bottoms of bottles - such as condiments - and make-up containers - like foundation, for example.  But one thing I will be playing around and posting about is my attempts to use this product with small compartments of my Bento Boxes.  Which brings me to my next item In My Kitchen for January...Bento Boxes!

And let's not forget about my NEW obsession with EcoJarz and many of their products!  I started blogging about them last month and continue to LOVE them.

The last In My Kitchen I posted a few of the healthy snacks I had be into at that time.  This time around I've decided to include - various home made Kale Chips that I have made in my new dehydrator, some of my new favorites including Coconut Chips from Trader Joe's, and some seasoned Cashews that I have been making at home, too! 

(And it just occurred to me that I think I forgot to post about these so I will try and do that in the near future, too, they are a very tasty and healthy snack with very little time and effort involved).

In my freezer this month I've been pretty hot on frozen fruit - mixed berries and Mangoes - but also I challenged myself to get into frozen bananas more and have been able to handle about a half of one in a smoothie.  I'm pretty proud of that - for some one who has always HATED bananas! 

This past weekend I was able to SCORE some FRESH Blackberries and Blueberries as well!  They aren't local this time of year - of course - but I bought them anyways and they were tasty.  If you scroll down to the previous blog entry before this one you will see a vegan smoothie recipe I made with the Blackberries!

I have been getting back into various grains, again, including Farro - which I posted about in the previous blog post as well!  YUM!  And have also been tinkering with my NuNaturals Products again - thanks to Christine for the encouragement there, too!

And here's a REAL Shocker...I attempted to BAKE...read more about this HERE.

I could go on and on with things happening in my kitchen as of late but I think I will end it with this next item...that I have YET to try...but am super excited about...Chocholistic.  Raw Vegan Chocolate...among other things...but a full review on that, soon!