Me Being Yucky

Prepare yourselves for a gross picture of me post-workout! I like how I hardly post pictures of myself on here yet I feel the need to share this atrocity haha:

I figured if everyone else was doing it then it was only fair I did too. And no I generally don't wear makeup to work out but I had been out and about-usually I look MUCH more disgusting if that is at all possible!

After my hour of circuit training I was too warm for my usual oatmeal breakfast so I prepared this delicious concoction:

• silk plain yogurt


• strawberries microwaved with some jam


• kashi heart to heart cereal

So good! I was so happy to find a big tub of that yogurt-only $3.79! That is one thing I have missed since going vegan-and it gives me a nice protein boost! And yes I always eat out of those Pyrex measuring cups-it is nothing to be ashamed of!

Nuts 'N Berries Dessert Tea

In an unplanned yet beautiful string of events I ended up with this concoction which tasted just like a nuts and berries drink. The drink usually has Frangelico hazelnut liqueur,Chambord raspberry liqueur and cream in it-delicious yet alcoholic and definitely not vegan. What happened is I brewed up some of this:

and I just so happened to find some of this on sale at Peter's Cornucopia(hazelnut flavor):

With a packet of Sugar In The Raw it was heaven in a mug! I highly suggest this combo. I actually bought the Celestial Tea Fruit Sampler which also contains Country Peach flavor-I see peach cobbler tea in my near future! You should try it-not to mention it tamed my sweet tooth for about 40 calories. If you can think of any other combos make 'em known!

What To Do With TVP Nuggets

TVP,when prepared just right can be really delicious! The granules are easy-tacos,sloppy joes,meaty pasta sauce-basically just sub for ground beef. The chunks however-are a little trickier.I actually used to hate them until I learned how to make them right! These chunks(for lack of a more appetizing word-nuggets maybe?)taste just like the beef in beef and broccoli. First-get a pot of water boiling and add 2 cups of the dried TVP nuggets:

Be careful because these LOVE boiling over! Simmer for about 10 minutes and check for doneness. They should be soft and moist throughout-if they are still hard in the middle let it go a bit longer. Drain.

Gather the ingredients for the marinade:

• 1/2 cup mirin


• 3Tbs. soy sauce


• 2 cloves minced garlic(or 1 tsp. minced)


• 1 tsp. sesame oil


• 2 tsp. chili paste


• 1 Tbs. vinegar


• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger(I forgot to put that in the pic-oops)

Whisk all ingredients together and stir in TVP nuggets. Marinate for a few hours,stirring occasionally. When you are ready:

Heat up about 1 Tbs. of olive oil and dump everything in the pan. Fry,stirring around often until the nuggets start to brown. They should soak up all the marinade after a bit. Add a little water to deglaze the pan and cook until browned to your liking.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the finished product! I served it on a bed of couscous laced with olives,lemon and olive oil,broccoli and green salad. Really delicious dinner! I am thinking of doing skewers of them at our next BBQ.

How Lucky Am I?

Look what I have in my fridge! A whole carton of iced Panera coffee! This could be dangerous...but at least it saves me a little bit of money. Every afternoon I get a major jones for some coffee-especially when it's hot-I want iced coffee! I just put some cubes in it,some soymilk and stevia and I am a really happy girl :)

On to the pizza...

Check out this vegan Italiano masterpiece! We used a Spano crust,fra diavolo sauce,olives,banana peppers,spinach and mushrooms. I will even reveal my "big secret" to making vegan pizza taste so good-even to meat eaters. Fennel seed! It gives it a "meaty" taste-sausage usually has  fennel in it so it gives it that illusion. Everyone who tastes our homemade pizza is surprised how good it is. Another secret-we serve it with Kraft Creamy Italian Dressing for dipping-yup-it's vegan!

I Have A Sauce Addiction!

Okay-again with this sauce! I am ADDICTED to it! Ryan's sister got this for us and I have been putting it on everything. This is how it is described on Pampered Chef's website:

Red raspberries and habanero peppers create a unique, sweet and hot sauce. Add a kick to grilled, broiled or roasted meats, such as duck, lamb and poultry. Pour it over cream cheese or warm Brie, or mix it in a vinaigrette for salad.

I am definitely going to try the salad dressing idea-perhaps with some walnut oil?

Brand New Shiny Mat!

Look what I FINALLY broke down and bought today! The pink one was just about dead. Every time I worked out there were bits every where. I got my use out of it though-I have used it almost every day since September so I can't complain! The purple one is actually the same mat,just different color. They are the plain jane Danskin ones-I am curious if the more expensive ones are worth it-are they?

On another note-I happened to be at Wal-Mart today for my eye appointment($176 for contacts-PUKE!)-and I thought I would pick up a few cucumbers for a salad tonight-none to be found! Weird. Also no zucchini-there must have been a mad rush or something.

What kind of mat do you use? Are the expensive ones worth the money?

Yoga Pup

Mulder loves yoga-we once watched a Martha segment on working out with your dog and he has been wanting to do it ever since-lol.

Dinner was spinach,salad,sweet potatoes and tofu fingers with a new sauce Ryan's sister got us from Pampered Chef-Raspberry Habenero-OH EM GEE delicious! Sweet and really different-weirdly addictive.