National Comedy Center Pre-View, Vegan Finds, Fur Kids, Niece, Selfies, Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

More and More and MORE stuff to share!  Still posting pics in 6's!  

A while back on IG I posted something about a Vegan HAPPY MAIL Exchange.  I haven't done anything with it as of yet.  There was a bit of interest.  I'm still considering it but haven't figured out how to organize it yet.  Maybe in the New Year I will take that step.  If you are interested in MAYBE participating let me know in comments.

I found some BITCHIN' SAUCE at the Erie Whole Foods Co-Op.  I have to say it was pretty darn tasty!  I used it on basically everything until I ran out of it.  

When they are on sale I have been buying Veggie Rings and Veggie Tots!  I have been able to find at least one of them at Tops but they have a better selection on Wegmans.

I have to get more photos of my darling niece Trinity, too!  And I've been obsessed with David S. Pumpkins since the first year the sketch was featured on SNL a few years ago!  Each Halloween I repost the video!  You gotta LOVE Tom Hanks!

A while back Erie Whole Foods Co-Op had Blue Sky Soda on sale so I thought I would try it and I enjoyed it!

One of my stops at Wegman's I grabbed some vegan sushi.  It had been too long!  I think it was the same day my parents and I stopped at a local brewery and they had their Halloween decor out!  The pumpkin was drinking a beer!  

In our travels I have been seeing more and more Dandies Vegan Marshmallows!  This year I think I bought the regular ones once and the peppermint ones twice.  I wish I could find the peppermint ones all year 'round!  I also found the seasonal flavors of Clif Bar at Wegman's!  Yum!  

I have to squeeze in photos of the furkids whenever possible!  Hope you don't mind!

Our closest Walmart has been getting more vegan options, too!  I found this Garde'in dish and it was surprisingly good!  I'm not much for fake meat but this didn't seem to have the effect on me that most fake meats do!

Here are more photos of the furkids!

I had made a Tofu and Tomato Dish a while back that ended up being so simple and so tasty!

I found Miyoko's on sale at Wegman's and couldn't pass it up!  YUM!  LOVE these pub cheeses!  Also found a Halloween Mug for super cheap so I grabbed that, too!

And speaking of Halloween and Fall...here are some more photos from around that time!  

Our Japanese Maple was a vibrant red this year while almost everything else wasn't as colorful due to the crazy summer we had.  

I was able to go Trick or Treating with Trinity and my sister and her husband.  It was fun!  The weather was mild but rainy.  She was Bell from Beauty & The Beast!

Filter FUN on IG...me as a zombie!

And some Cauliflower Pretzels I found somewhere while we were on a day trip.

These photos are 3 selfies - 2 of which were while voting - and the other one is another IG Filter.  What do you think?  Should I go GOTH more often?

Since we had a local Ollie's open I always look for Vegan Cookbooks.  I can usually find at least one per trip!  I recently found this Plant Protein Recipe Book and bought it for $2.99.

I have also been getting into these Kitchen LOVE cups.  They are great for meals on the go and most of the ones I have seen are vegan.  I think there were a few that weren't, tho.

And then another random Fall Photo!

My Aunt Kathy visited my parents in November and I was able to spend some time with them.  It was fun!  We went to the NEW National Comedy Center in Jamestown.  It's quite the experience.  So much so that I think I will dedicate a full post to it soon!  In the meantime above are a few photos from when we went.  The first one on the top was from the cartoonist nook of the museum.  The one to the right of that is when you first go in.  You create your own comedy profile and they give you a wristband and customize your entire trip!  The one with the motorcycle and green background was also in the entrance area.  That is Dan Aykroyd's SNL Motorcycle and you can read more about when he donated it to the center and the center HERE.  It's so weird that this center is getting so much attention.  Don't get me wrong...it REALLY deserves it!  But for lil old Jamestown, it's not a normal occurrence!  I recognize a few people in the photo at the link - which was featured in Newsweek!  On the outside of the building they have Jumbo-Trons!  Pretty cool!

Here are more photos from voting, Dandies Vegan 'Mellows, Kitchen LOVE, and Clif Bar.  As for the bras you see above that was the pre-tally for the bras our local Zonta Club Members shipped to FTG (Free The Girls).  We ended up shipping 408 bras with our first shipment!!!!  We have over 200 in our current stash now so I am sure we will be shipping again after the new year!  

Another thing I do each November - for work - is 8th Grade Career Day!  I go from 9 to almost 2 and spend it with a bunch of the 8th Grades in our county.  I set up a table for the radio stations and other businesses do displays as well.  The past several years I have done a 'Radio thru the Decades' sort of set up and they really seem to like it.  They love seeing the different microphones from the 1940's up to current...as well as the Records, Reel to Reels, Carts, CDs, etc.

Here is Cricket and Riley again!

Also more EATS...at Wegman's I found some Chana Masala on sale and Refried Black Beans from Goya that are VEGAN!  They were great.  Around that time I was doing a lot of LAZY meals so I took one of the cans of beans and made a Black Bean Soup out of it.  It turned out TASTY!  That's all that matters, right?

Then I found these Swapples!  I'm TOTALLY LOVING these things!  They are made from whole Yuca Root!  No Flour!  No Grain!  No Dairy!  No Eggs!  No Soy!  No Gluten!  YUP!  They are vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo, etc!  I have tried the Spinach Garlic one and the Tomato one and LOVED both of them!!!

I made Bianca's Recipe for Thanksgiving with the corn, peppers, etc in a nice vinegar!  It was YUMMY!  

Some other soup I made, another Kitchen LOVE cup, more furkid pics, and then there was a stop to The Dollar Tree!  I found these breaded veggies that were accidently vegan and they were pretty good.  I also found a 'tot' by the same company and those were NOT very good.

And I think I will make my last photo blast of the day be from this past Thanksgiving!  YES!  I'm still THAT backlogged!  SORRY!  Anyhow...the one photo is a Zonta Club informational sheet that we had on display while selling raffle tickets for a fundraiser we were doing the day after Thanksgiving.

The other photos are all from Thanksgiving!  Trinity got all dressed up with a new coat and matching dress underneath.  With the help of my mother, Trinity made us all hand turkeys.  She calls me AUNT JAJA!

Then you will see some of the Vegan Thanksgiving Foods I did this year!  From left - that is my whole plate!  I did Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing (from Vegan Zombie), Green Bean Casserole, Corn Casserole (from Bianca).  We also had yams and rolls.  Everything on my plate is vegan, of course!

3 New-To-Me Daiya Products & A44 Movie

Just a quick post today because I seemed to be running out of time again!  YIKES! 

Last week The Vegan Zombie passed his Kickstarter goal of $80,000 to start producing his VEGAN Sci-Fi Movie A44.  I donated a very little bit to the campaign on the last day!  Can't wait to hear about the progress!

I received my shipment from Vegan Essentials and over the next couple of weeks will be sharing with you some of the things I ordered. 

Today I have 3 Daiya items that were in that shipment, actually. 

First up is this 4 Cheese Style with Herbs Cheezy Mac.  Here, locally, I am able to get the 'cheese' packets and in Lakewood they sometimes have the other 2 macs.  I have been able to try them and they are ok but it's not something I buy a lot.  This was also ok...again...not something I would buy weekly...or even monthly!  But it's good for a treat or on occasion.  I did like the addition of the herbs to the mix.  The pasta noodles were a little strange but didn't taste bad.  Just different, really.

The other two items are these Cheeze Sticks.  I bought one of each as you can see.  The Cheddar Style and the Moz Style. 

So far I have eaten both of them as a snack.  Convenient for on the go.  I think they have more flavor than the block style cheeses.  I assumed they used the same base as their blocks and just cut it different but Daiya responded on my IG photo saying that it's their own recipe blend specifically for the sticks.  Interesting.

I have also tried these Cheddar sticks finely chopped and tossed and melted in with regular pasta noodles, almond milk, Earth Balance, and a bit of nooch.  It turned out pretty good for just throwing everything in.  I will say that the flavor of it melted is more of a sharper cheddar than I remember from Daiya's other products.  I think I like using this better than the shreds, actually!

I might be trying the same method with the Moz sticks later tonight and melting then pouring over pizza.  Or maybe I will just add the finely diced Moz to the actual pizza.  I haven't made up my mind yet tho.

All-in-all I'm pretty happy with the sticks!  I would buy them again if I saw them for the right price!  Now...if someone just did vegan string cheese and vegan cheese curds!

Questions of the day...have you tried any of these 3 products from Daiya yet?  What did you think? 

Did you hear about the Vegan Zombie's Vegan Sci-Fi A44 Movie?  Were you able to be a part of the Kickstarter?

Egg Trick Bagel & Tater Tot Casserole

Yesterday I was able to take a little time in the kitchen with food prep and such.  I've done Strong Hearts Cafe & The Vegan Zombie's Egg Trick Muffin before and have done my own variations.  This time around I used a bagel flat (basically a flat bagel round) instead of an English Muffin.  You may remember that I LOVE using a few tablespoons of salsa on my Egg Trick Muffins so I did that here as you can see it oozing out of the bagel hole.  Inside I just did the seasoned tofu round patty and Daiya Cheese.  It was tasty!  I have 2 more disks of tofu ready to go in my freezer so I'm sure I will be doing this again soon!  I will most likely be doing a side of Tofu Scramble with the edges of the tofu I didn't use.

For a closer look at the tofu egg part - I thought I would take another snap.  Since hubby has been really suffering with his ongoing sinus infections and pneumonia yesterday we had a quiet day at home.  We were able to watch Fantastic Beasts.  It was good!  On Saturday there was a vendor show at our local YMCA.  It ended up being a pretty good turn out.  We were there with our Wildtree stuff!

Now...on to my newest attempt a Tater Tot Casserole!  I told you I was going to do it!!!  And here is what I did!  This first photo is the casserole BEFORE it went into the oven!  Recipe...

Bottom Layer:
Chopped Broccoli & Cauliflower
Chickpeas
In the Middle:
Then I poured 1/2 box of Cashew Ginger Soup over it
Then I added a layer of Daiya Cheese
Top Layer:
Tater Tots - touching - edge to edge
Then the rest of the Cashew Ginger Soup
Then more Daiya Cheese

Sprinkled on top:
Hemp Seeds, Dried Onion, Fresh Minced Garlic, Turmeric, Smoked Paprika, Nutmeg

This next photo is the first piece I took out after baking it at about 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.  I think it turned out great!  As you can see the top vegan cheese layer didn't melt well and I'm sure it was because there wasn't any liquid on top to assist with the melting.

In this photo you can see that the middle layer vegan cheese melted nicely.  I think next time I will put more of the cheese in the middle and less on top OR make a vegan cheese sauce for the top instead of using the shreds and sprinkling them.  I have to say I was pretty tickled with myself on this one.  The only creamy vegan soup I could find at Tops yesterday was the Cashew Ginger one.  It worked pretty well.  I'm sure with a different creamy vegan soup it would change up the overall flavor and I'm looking forward to getting creative with it.  I know I will be able to get multiple meals out of this!  I'm considering making at least one sandwich out of it, too!  I will keep you posted on that if I attempt it!

Tater Tot Casseroles are so versatile and the possibilities are endless!  If I had more time to bake 1 each week I'm sure I could come up with many more ingredient and flavor combinations!

As for the rest of my weekend I had a bit of a hard time with my aches and pains - especially after standing for 7 hours at the vendor show.  My Sciatica kicked in - or what I was thinking was my Sciatica - now I'm wondering if it was Fibromyalgia all along.  Perhaps it's both!  Heck, I don't know!  But another thing I did find out in my research was Apple Cider Vinegar for the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia.  I'm pasting that info below.  It's pretty interesting stuff!  Makes a lot of sense, too!  One of my mini goals for the first part of this week is to create some of those ACV Drinks at home.  Not only will DH drink them - so will I!

While apple cider vinegar does not treat fibromyalgia per se, it has been reported to alleviate many of the symptoms experienced by those living with fibromyalgia.
These include:

Fatigue – Stress (both emotional and physical) causes lactic acid to build up in the body resulting in fatigue. The potassium in apple cider vinegar combats this.

Joint Pain and Headache – Apple cider vinegar keeps the body’s pH level slightly alkaline which helps eliminate joint pain as well as headaches.

Swelling and Inflammation – Apple cider vinegar may be rubbed onto visibly swollen areas. Consuming apple cider vinegar helps relieve inflammation in the body.

Gastrointestinal Issues – Apple cider vinegar contains pectin which helps sooth the colon lining. It assists with loose bowels by forming more “bulk” in the G.I. tract.

While rigorous scientific research cannot support any claims that apple cider vinegar fights or cures fibromyalgia, many anecdotal reports suggest relief and reduction from debilitating fibromyalgia symptoms. Source: https://www.wholesomeone.com/news-articles/apple-cider-vinegar-fibromyalgia

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!

Spinach Pineapple Lemon Juice!

I FINALLY did it!  I FINALLY started Juicing again!  Last night I grabbed my Slowstar Juicer and everything that came with it and went over to my parents house!  I did this for several reasons!  My parents have more kitchen space not only for storage, display, and counter space while actually juicing but they also have better lighting, too!  Another reason I decided to take my juicer over to my parents house is because my father has shown interest in juicing lately and when I mentioned it to my mother she seemed semi-interested as well.  I figured it was something we could do together!  The 3 of us!  I go over to their house at least once a week anyways so why not do something good for us while we are together, eh?

I have this juice that you see here!  It's a Tribest Slowstar Juicer.  I bought it over at The Raw Food World and you can check that out HERE.

I have 3 people that I would like to THANK for their Slowstar inspiration!  Chris over at The Vegan Zombie, John Kohler, and Linda & Jay Kordich.  You can click on their names for a video from each!

Now...on to the Green Juice you see at the beginning of this post!

It's Spinach, Pineapple, Lemon!

I took a large bag of organic spinach and juice it all!  I also juiced about 4 lemons and about a half of a pineapple!

With the lemons I left the skin and peel on.  This was hardcore LEMON...lucky for me...I LOVE Lemon!  I have LOTS of others juices on tap!  I will be posting over the weekend so be sure to see what else I have juicing!

Vegan MoFo ~ Re-Creating The Egg Trick Muffin

Here's one of the many versions of me re-creating Strong Hearts Cafe's Egg Trick Muffin.  I still have YET to visit the place I hope to within the next month if all the stars are in alignment.  You may remember this from THIS POST if you have been to my blog before.  If you click on that link you will see how I first learned about The Egg Trick Muffin...special thanks to the Vegan Zombie guys!

I rarely use 'fake meats' so instead I topped mine with salsa.  I have done it others ways before BUT I have to say that topping it with salsa takes it to a whole other level!

Have you tried an Egg Trick Muffin yet?  Whether it be FROM Strong Hearts Cafe or in your own?  If so what do you top it with?

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!

Tater Tots & Fiats!

Happy Friday!  Last night I literally threw this Tater Tot Casserole together!

I started with Spinach, Chickpeas, and Carrots.  I made a mild cheesy sauce with Almond/Coconut Milk, Earth Balance, and left over Egg Trick Seasoning (the recipe for that is from The Vegan Zombie Cookbook).  I then topped it with baked Tater Tots.  Next step - I covered it in leftover vegan cheese sauce I made with a combo of almond milk, Daiya Cheese, and spices.  Then I sprinkled Wildtree Taco Seasoning and Hemp Seeds over it!  This was pretty amazing if I do say so myself!  I think I just might have to make more of these!  Oh!  And I didn't bake this casserole either...stovetop!

Earlier this week I blogged about the Fiat Meet Up from last weekend but I nearly forgot to post these photos so here they are!

I really wanted to post these because you can see our new orange graphics and rims!

Yup!  That is our Abarth on the right!  I just LOVE the orange color!

We might adjust and/change the back a bit in the near future tho!

In case you missed the previous post - this was the Western NY - Southern Ontario Fiat Club and we went to the Grand Opening of the Erie, PA, Fiat and Alfa Romeo Dealership!

Here's another look at some of what we did with the graphics and rims!

We have the rims done first at a local tire store - they did a great job!

We had the graphics done locally, too, and I do like the sides the best out of everything!

We have a few things we hope to do in the near future with the club - one being European Car Day in Clarence, NY.  We may try to get to Pittsburgh for Fiat Freakout if we are able to for the weekend part of the meet up.

This weekend will be a Wildtree Weekend!  We will be at Chapman Dam State Park. 

Mango Cream Smoothie, Dijon Walnut Sauce, and Raw Vegan Eggplant Strips

One of the issues our household has been battling since we've been back from West Palm Beach has been Kidney Stones.  Hubby has battled with them for years now and now that we know he has Crohn's we have found that they are connected.  While looking for foods that help certain issues I came across how the might mango may help fight kidney stones.  We will be incorporating more of them in our diet to see how they can help him.  I recently made a Mango Cream Smoothie and it turned out tasty so I shared it on The Raw Food World News Site.  

If you have been to my blog in the past you may have picked up on me being a SAUCE type person.  Above you will see the photo and excerpt of the Dijon Walnut Sauce I did for raw vegan zucchini noodles.  It was very flavorful and creamy.

On the bottom you will see Hearth Healthy Raw Vegan Eggplant Strips.  I paired that with info on heart health - of course!   I made those in my Excalibur Dehydrator.

In other news - I FINALLY ordered a new juicer!  I opted for the Tribest SlowStar Juicer.  It's a Single Auger Juicer and Chris over at Zombie Gate/The Vegan Zombie was the one who twisted my arm to finally make the purchase.  His Instagram Juicing Photos are amazing!  I'm still waiting on the juicer to arrive but I'm VERY excited to jump right in!

New Favorite Vegan Breakfast ~ Egg Trick Muffin

Over the weekend I was FINALLY able to try and make the Egg Trick Muffin that the Vegan Zombie posted on their YouTube Channel a while back.  The Egg Trick Muffin is one of the BEST Sellers over at Strong Hearts Cafe in Syracuse, NY...a vegan restaurant...that I hope to visit someday!  Since I didn't have any vegan meat alternatives and I was out of Daiya Cheese - I decided to top it with Salsa instead.  I had that straight-up on Sunday - then for breakfast this morning I added some Raw Vegan Pepperoni - which I will be blogging about later today - to it and took this photo.  It's so yummy!  And I am not a HUGE Tofu fan...generally speaking...but this is GREAT!  I will be making this often!  For the recipe and more info check out the video below.  I made a variation of the seasoning for the tofu patty using GoL's RAW Super Greens and I think I will add this seasoning to my collection of to-go spices and blends that I have created at home.  I followed the recipe in the video (and in the Vegan Zombie Cookbook) and added about a half teaspoon of this to the mix!  YUM!

Healthy Vegan Friday's Participant

Vegan Zombie Crew - Part 2

HEY!  Check this out!  The Vegan Zombie Tweeted about this post!  Thanks guys! 
About a week after the WNY VegFest I sent a 'thank you' email over to the guys for taking a good 15 minutes or more to chat with my sister and I.  They wrote back!  YAY!  They also linked to the post linked above on their social media!  These guys are cool!

I've been waiting to post these photos but now seems like the perfect time!  Here's the book I bought from them when I met them :) And they signed it inside.  One of the first things I made was their "Cheese Sauce" and I put it on some mac...I used Brown Rice Pasta, actually...here's what it looked like and it was oh-so-tasty!

Another recipe that is in this book is one I did a while back based on an older video of theirs.  It was their Lasagna Rolls and they were super good, too!  But I was very excited to see they included that recipe in this cookbook!  I told my sister I thought she would really like that one.

Vendors of WNY VegFest

Most of this week I will be posting about the WNY (Western New York) VegFest that took place this past Sunday.  If you have been reading the other posts thus far you will see that I really had a great time!

Here's a silly photo of me in one of those character cut outs.  I think someone named this green guy in a purple suit "Cilantro Frank".

In this post I will be sharing some of the vendor tables we visited.  Everyone was really nice and fun to be around!  I made a few donations at a couple of the tables one being Ester The Wonder Pig.  Late last night I found that The Vegan Zombie posted a video about the WNY VegFest AND Ester The Wonder Pig so check out their embedded video at the end of this post.

Eventho I don't consume a lot of meat alternatives I was happy to see Tofurky be a large part of the event.  They are a HUGE Vegan company that is for sure!  I have tried some items I do like from them.  They had another guy that was wearing a HUGE Tofurky Box for the race which was pretty funny.  I guess it was the first 5k Tofurky Trot above the Mississippi from what I hear.

Of course anything chocolate will grab the attention of most.  This dessert company sold all vegan desserts at the event.  The corner of the building they were on was a little congested so we didn't stay long but I heard a lot of interest from vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.  I did hear someone ask if they were Gluten Free and these weren't bit some of the other items were Gluten Free.  I was just glad that you didn't have to ask if there were vegan options since everything there HAD to be in order to be displayed.  It's like you didn't really even have to think!  It was AWESOME!

Another great thing about the festival were all of the speakers.  Since my sister and I only stayed for a few hours because of our other obligations that day - we didn't stay for the speakers.  But here is a list of about half of the ones they featured that day.

Many of them sounded interesting!  MAYBE next year we can attend some of the talks, presentations, and seminars!

I really see this event getting bigger and bigger every year!  I still think they had WAY more people attend than they originally expected or even hoped for!  That's ALWAYS a plus, eh!?

Another thing that I liked doing during my time at the festival was donating food!  I grabbed a few items from my stash including some brown rice pasta, some individual protein powders, some tabbouleh, and some natural sweetener and donated it when we got there.

Food donations went to Food Not Bombs.  They gave out informational and free sample bags for those who donated something.  There were a few snacks in there including some veggie chips and a sample of a Raw Revolution bar.

Tomorrow I hope to have a post about some of the food vendors, too!