YUMATHOOOON!

i had some extra potatoes... and as they say, if life lives you a potato, make a salad!
or, i said that to myself! :)

recipe inspired by my friend, Cody Forrest, who made this super amazing vegan potato salad once and i ate all of it.

boil potatoes, the usual. let 'em cool, cut 'em up. big bowl. put a bunch of dijon mustard on it. i got some course ground because it looks cool. chopped scallions, fresh dill, olive oil, salt. i almost put half a lemon of juice, but then i didn't. maybe i should.

add stuff until it tastes great! don't overdo it at first, you can always add more.

oh! i am also going to make some pumpkin cupcakes with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. yuss. fall. brb.

THANK THE LORD.

 Long Beach Vegan Eatery. i approve.

there is a vegan place within walking distance from my apartment. SCORE.
i went there for the first time yesterday.
chikin parm sub. first off, this was the biggest freaking sandwich i'd ever seen. $9.95, i had just assumed it  was normal expensive vegan pricing. this thing though, was a honker. breaded chikin smothered in a chunky marinara and melted daiya cheeze on it in a ciabatta sub. yes, the ciabatta was perfectly toasted. masterpiece. needless to say, i ate the entire thing. but actually i was slowing down at the end which says a lot considering the size of my stomach!

today! burrito. beans, chikin, daya cheeze some other things i can't remember right now. i called it in so i wouldn't have to wait for it there, then called back thinking that some mac&cheez would be good too. little did i know how humungo the mac was. and the burrito!! this is seriously bigger than any chipotle burrito, and i know their burritos quite well. this beast must weigh 5 lbs. and the burritos always come with homemade tortilla chips and their homemade salsa which is also huge! must be 8 oz of salsa!! and i guess the mac comes with garlic bread?? this is a ridiculous amount of food, for $15. and it smells AMAZING.

time to eat yo.

update! i have devoured half of this burrito and am way stuffed.
blackbeans and refried beans, salsa, daiya cheddar, chikin strips, rice, wrapped up in a huge tortilla and grilled on both sides. holy. kdsanfoeiahras. and i can eat a chipotle burrito no problem. this has to be double one of those. 

hey, i like potatoes!

potato ballllsss!!!!

boil some taters, make sure to cut them into big pieces before boiling. (it's quicker)
sautee some spinach and minced garlic in a pan on the side. either use some white wine or olive oil or water if you want it to be low/non-fat.
chop some scallions and basil.
once the tatoes are all boiled (still on the firm side) mush all of it together.
roll into balls!
place on cookie sheet. it's pretty important to spray the pan so your balls don't get stuck.

taadaaa!


also!  tonight i ran out of wheat pasta, so i boiled some potatoes and treated them like pasta. a bit of olive oil drizzle, garlic powder, salt, black pepper. SO good. i didn't even miss the pasta. and quite filling!

soon, i will make a potato salad methinks!

kombucha!

best way to start the day!
i recently switched from coffee to tea. it's been a little rough.  i can't seem to drink enough tea to keep myself awake!
today, i have had about half of this kombucha bottle and i feel awesome. naturally energized, thinking clearly, happy, and calm. that's the sort of energy i want to have everyday.

today....!!

i went to trader joe's and was so tempted to buy a the vanilla date smoothie from ReJuice, but thought. oh.my.goodness! i am going to trader joe's! they most definitely have all of the ingredients, and i know all the flavors! oh man! I AM GOING TO MAKE MY OWN.

tadaa!

i don't have a picture though. because i didn't have my computer. but here's a picture of what it could have looked like! haha.

.banana
.vanilla soy ice cream (any sort of ice cream would work, tj's just didn't have other kinds of non-dairy vanilla)
.dates
.almonds
.water
.ice

yum to the max.

also, today, i watched the food network for a bit because, my parents have a television, and Paula Deen was on! i'd heard a lot about her, but never actually watched her show. she is quite a character. would not use any of her recipes, but she's hilarious. and i could totally use some ideas from her.
she made this cheesecake with pecan praline goo ontop. yo, i could totally make a vegan version of that. maybe next week. but it's going to happen. :)

when in doubt! bake a cake.

 well.....
my attempt at making vegan cupcakes was a fail.
because i'm stubborn.
i hate butter and buttery products. they just gross me out.
so, i tried to make frosting with a banana base.
i'm dumb.
this was the result. after probably 20+ minutes of beating it. (below)

 

a lovely overly-sweetened banana goo. 

  

 the cake part turned out super though! 

i used unbleached white and wheat flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, a bit of apple cider vinegar, almond milk, cinnamon, and canola oil.

i ended up drizzling some of the banana goo ontop and that turned out as an awesome glaze sort of thing. 

today i took half of the goo and tried to revive it as a frosting. i added half a container of tofutti cream cheese. it definitely got thicker! but not fluffy in the least bit, so i added some flour and made it into a 

cake.

oh! the stirfry at the top is what i made for dinner. i make healthy food too sometimes! this is halved baby bella mushrooms, chopped scallions, halved brussel sprouts, chopped broccoli, and immitation chicken strips sauteed in soy sauce and a bit of olive oil with minced garlic.

what to do with the rest of the goo... dump it all ontop of the goo-cake i made? oh dear.

don't go back to sleep!!

he's so stoked.

i woke up this morning ten minutes before my alarm went off.
got on facebook, because, well, unfortunately it's become a routine for me. but see here! today it provided inspriration.
i'm part the Yogis Anonymous group and everyday "Ally" has reflective words to say.
today, it was all about DOING it. Living life like you are alive. think about that for a few seconds.

this weekend it was hot. i didn't have all too much to do and ended up watching tv for the majority of it. just, laying on the floor. feeling like a butt. i might as well have been a rock.

i don't have any excuses for being lazy. god. why am i wasting my life away! the sun is shining! my life is still young! i have health and have been blessed with so many reasons to be happy.

"Hey!!! There's so much light and so much truth, don't go back to sleep!!!" Because being awake and aware feels amazing. It's not all happy feelings and dancing through life with a loopy grin on your face. Some of it is brutally painful. But being accountable for yourself is freaking awesome. Being responsible for the energy you're contributing wherever you go is a totally natural high. Spreading love because you feel so much of it inside is the greatest feeling I know, and anyone can do it. Get high on whatever is true for you, get stoned on spreading light wherever you go and making this world brighter because you've been here. Don't go back to sleep!!! Happy Monday. - Ally

and in the words of my good friend Leigh, "Gotta do it up!"

today is the day!

switching my morning beverage to tea.

waking up in the morning to enjoy time. to sit, to contemplate. 

being active! 

exercise and stretch to begin each day with a positive mantra.

making music because i love it. 

today me and the rockster went on a jog. both of us were huffing and puffing by the end but boy did it feel good. showers after any sort of exercise make you feel infinitely more cleansed than just rolling out of bed and hopping in. 

both of my private teachers told me this past week that i should start running on a regular basis to help expand my lung capacity. 

here i go. 

it's time. the time is now. 

make it so. 

 

of all yum.

THIS. is a sandwich i want to eat everyday.
ReJuice in Santa Monica is an all vegan organic handmade juice and food spot.
this is their heirloom sandwich.

thick slice of juicy heirloom tomato
on top of sliced avocado and fresh whole basil leaves
sliced sweet onions
basalmic vinager
olive oil
all on a toasted ciabatta bread
and garnished with a bit of freshly ground black pepper and sea salt.

SO. worth buying.
delicious, fresh, satisfying, super flavorful. if you're in Santa Monica, go to ReJuice. it's on Pico.

also i had their vanilla/date smoothie which is fantastical.

this heat is so dumb i want to punch it in the face. and make a smoothie.

i guess i've turned into one of those people who puts vegetables in their smoothies.

antioxidants, omega-3s, vitamin C and cruciferous vegetables, what else could you want in a smoothie?

yesterday i noticed my dad's voice had dropped half an octave since the last time i'd seen him. time for antioxidants and lots of fluids!! in this weather, no one wants to be drinking a hot tea. smoothietime.

bananas, frozen blueberries, raspberries, almonds, broccoli, a clove of garlic, water and ice.
yum.

next time maybe i'll try kale, mango, lemon, pineapple.

the hm sort of food.

well. okay. not to say this place was entirely bad, because we only tried a couple of different items. a place called Roots Gourmet in Long Beach. super tiny homey feel, organic schtuff. nice people. pretty good-looking stuff.

i got this sandwich called "The Vegan" which was a typical portobello sandwich. portobello, sweet onion jam (??), tofu, bit of lettuce, and a slice of tomato. but that's all it was! i got it on an "herb focaccia" bread which was hard and oily like a crouton. i sure didn't taste the herbs. the onion jam, which first off, okay, why can't you put real carmelized onions on your sandwich? it really doesn't take very long to make.. the jam tasted onionish but was very thinly spread. the tofu was a slice of firm tofu fried in some oil, no flavoring at all. the whole thing had such little flavor, it just tasted like a mouthful of oil. that's not what i'm looking for in a vegan meal.
less oil. more flavor.

my friend got their "Caprese" not vegan, but looked delicious. typical caprese sandwich with mozzerella, tomato, lettuce, and pesto. he said his was also bland. on a caprese?? where's the basil! caprese is one of the simplest delicious sandwiches to make, how in the world do you make a bland caprese?! geelawee. maybe they forgot the basalmic? or garlic? can't make a caprese without either of those. it's just not right. 

the sandwiches looked appealing. nice presentation, but the taste did not match the aesthetic.
my thumbs are down.

just floatingg..

root beer float!
so! coconut milk vanilla ice cream and organic rootbeer! c'est simple, et tres délicieux.

i just want to keep eating it!

alright. last night i made some vegan pizzas. i looked at a pizza dough recipe for ideas. i didn't feel like going to the grocery store to buy yeast like you're supposed to use in pizza dough so i figured,
"hey! baking soda rises, why can't i just use that?" so i did.

mix baking soda in warm water.
add a bit of olive oil, and add flour by increments. i used whole wheat.
the more flour you add the harder it is to mix, you sort of have to put your hands in for the kneading. unless you have a cuisinart mixer and are opposed to hand goo. i think hands are the way to go.
rip it in half. ball it up and roll it out on a wooden board or a plastic one. make sure there is a thin layer of flour on the board for flattening out your dough. and sprinkle dough on your mush as you go so it won't be sticky.

once you have your dough all flattened out in your desired pizza shape, put on cookie sheet and bake for just a few minutes.

the dough recipe suggested if you wanted to use wheat flour, to only use half wheat and white for the other half. but... me being me. why would i want to use white flour?? very few nutrients. just empty carbs. i'm going full throttle with my wheatiness.

i got some immitation mozzerella cheese, and tomato sauce, and some shredded cheddar daiya cheese. then i put some broccoli, mushrooms, garlic, and immitation chicken on top. yum.

it turned out pretty well i think. but the whole wheat crust turned out suuper filling. and maybe a bit bland. and i probably could have piled on the toppings more.

 













tonight! i made vegan mac&cheese for the first time!
once again i looked at a couple recipes for guidance, but didn't follow them exactly.
it turned out to be pretty simple.

make pasta like any other pasta you would. in a bowl next to it mix flour and olive oil. the two recipes i based my creation off of used different methods for the cheese sauce. one of them used vegan butter and non-dairy milk and nutritional yeast, the other used vegan sour cream and daiya cheese. hmm.. so i used olive oil, flour, almond milk, and daiya cheese. :)

so yes, heat and mix the oil and flour first. it makes this weird paste, but then you add the milk and keep stirring. i suggest to add the milk partial-cup at a time. then add the cheese half way through the milk adding, then finish adding your milk. 
this is when it starts getting gooey and more cheese-like. daiya takes a bit longer to melt than dairy cheese, but just be patient. 
i also added some diced garlic, oregano, salt and freshly ground pepper.

once your pasta is cooked and drained, mix in the cheese sauce! but don't pour all of it in at once because there might be too much cheese for pasta. 
also, i found that adding more garlic powder on top was yummy.

oh! also i used tri-color vegetable pasta, hence the colored pasta in the picture. :)

hello to the world!

i! am beginning this blog because i thought it was a good thing to do. and maybe sharing my thoughts with others will help me develop them. i type in all lower-case because for some reason i find it more appealing. not necessarily to read, but it's more fun to type this way. :P

my first thoughts are, "oh man! i could make this a vegan food blog! wouldn't that be super!" and then my second thought is, "well, i could never just keep it to that. my mind is much too much of a wanderer to stay on one subject for a blog." so, i'm thinking this will be primarily food, but also lots of ponderings and maybe some pictures of cool things i do!

this past week i came up with THE best vegan grilled cheese sandwich.
unfortunately i didn't take a picture, because i was too busy eating them, but maybe my description will give you a nice mental one.
.Dave's Killer Blues Bread (it's this super awesome whole wheat, animal product-free bread with lots of grains and organic things)
.vegan cream cheese spread thinly on each slice
.Daiya shredded mozzerella-style cheese
.sliced baby bella mushrooms
.strips of immitation chicken

toast it altogether. and it is wonderful.
but! i was too busy eating it to eat anything else though, and after a few days of mostly these not-so-low-fat sandwiches, my body said, "hey. stop that. i need more raw food. you're dumb."

so today i indulged on a bunch of broccoli with hummus, and baby bella mushrooms. cool water and some black iced coffee. mm. i feel cleaner already even though it's just been a day of eating healthier.
also!
today i made vegan cookies! and apple chips! and popsicles!
cookies:
.diced apples
.2 bananas
.oats
.water
.baking soda
.salt
.brown sugar
.whole wheat flour

apple chips:
one of the easiest things ever.
.wash and thinly slice apples
.place on cookie sheet
.sprinkle cinnamon/brown sugar, or even just plain!
.bake until crispy!

popsicles:
i made a mixture of odwalla juice, almond milk, and diced apples and put them in an ice cube tray. never done this one before, but how could it go wrong!