So I hate wasting food, but I also hate eating the same thing again. And sometimes I make a recipe I don't particularly like. Like last week I made some homemade hummus and I still had a lot left but I was all hummus-ed out so I thought I could make a soup out of it. I put some vegan bouillon in and some tomato paste and I called it creamy tomato soup.
I ate it with some crackers for lunch today.
Not too exciting but I had an organic gala apple, boiled potatoes with hot sauce, and a Tofurky ham sandwich with tomatoes, spinach, daiya provolone, mustard and Just Mayo. Oh and Squirrel Nut (?) bread. It's my favorite bread right now.
Right now I'm brushing with auromère toothpaste. This flavor is fresh mint. I always use Ecodent's vegan waxed floss. If you're new to being vegan or just curious I didn't always have my body products vegan until I learned about animal testing and the harmful effects of some ingredients in mainstream products. And it still took years for me to make the complete switch because I thought it was too hard. If it sounds too hard for you don't worry about it. Just stick to the main agenda: no meat, no dairy, no eggs.
If you are curious, I'm not sure if Kroger has vegan brands but I know Whole Foods does. Sometimes they're more expensive, sometimes the same price. You could even buy some from vegan websites like veganessentials or vegan cuts. I enjoy finding alternative vegan products. I remind myself to be on my own journey but care about myself and others (including human animals and non-human animals) and deepening that creates a deeper love/light in me.
So we ate dinner at 10:30 last night before going to Midpoint Music Festival (pretty cool indie thing with venues scattered about OTR, Cincinnati that lasts for 3 days.
Elephant Walk is pretty cool, too because you can get carry out until 11 pm. It's half Indian and half Ethiopian. Me and Bakersfield got yellow split peas and Fasolia which is green beans and carrots. We also got lots of injera which comes with it. These dishes are vegan as you probably guessed. It was really good. I really like the different flavors you get with Ethiopian vegan food and how veggies are the major player.
Btw, I saw there is a new vegan magazine at my local vegan store, Park+Vine called Driftwood. I skimmed through it and it's fucking amazing. It talked about vegan tattoos and vegan writers who use gentle activism in their writing! Dude. This is my work! I think I've found my calling. Now only if I could get this pesky physics degree out of the way or incorporate it into my writing. Mondo stressed out here. Thinking I should try my hand at science writing.
Also just did round 3 of hot yoga. I really like it still. Just noticed that after hard workouts it's really easy for me to reach for something fatty and sugary. Going to have to bring healthier snacks. Ha. I did bring an apple but forgot about it.
Giving up tv again. No netflix and no youtube. Starting tonight. I already quit coffee for a month now. I saw this new chocolate drink at PV (park+vine) that has 10mg of caffeine per T. Should I get it? What will happen? The world may never know because I have no money.
I'm trying the new Daiya Mac Alfredo and it is delicious. I ate mine with some collard greens I had as leftovers. I am really leaning on these flavorful quick meals right now at school. It's easier to be healthier when I am not so stressed out. But I try to at least get lots of greens. For breakfast I usually still have a fruit smoothie or oatmeal.
I just started hot yoga and I love it. I don't think it's a substitute for cardio. I might need to look that up.
I love that you sweat so much. It makes me feel like I'm cleansing. I'm going to try to do it 4 times a week.
I mostly go to Findlay Market and Park+Vine for my groceries while I'm in school. It means a lot to me to support small business. One of the reasons is because I feel like if all there was was corporate business, how could a lot of people follow their dreams?
Got some delicious raw blueberry pie at Loving Hut. One of three vegan restaurants in Cincinnati. I also got a salad and some grilled dumplings. The almond ginger house dressing is my fave.
These were fun to make. Kinda messy because my collards weren't perfect.
I used two collard greens and cut down the large vein going down the middle on each one. Then I put my rice, beans, hummus, tomatoes, and soy crumbles on top of them in the middle. I folded up two opposites sides and then rolled the other ends like a burrito. It tasted pretty good. The hummus stuck it all together. Good way to get more greens in.
Good times! No vegan food when I checked online. And I ate dinner beforehand so I really just concentrated on beer. Hefe Weiss by Weihenstephan was my favorite. Weihenstephan beers were all vegan-friendly on Barnivore but I didn't see this exact one.
Right across the street there is this house that has bunches of cherry tomatoes just hanging over their fence and onto the sidewalk so every now and then over the past two weeks I've been grabbing low hanging fruit. Ha.
I put them in salads and add them to my pasta sauce. They're so fresh and tasty. I can always tell the difference between garden tomatoes and store bought ones.
I guess I need to introduce myself to the neighbors. And stop stealing their tom toms. ;)
This documentary was great. It was directed and about the son of the author of "The China Study". His father Colin T. Campbell was also in it and they were at the showing! Nelson Campbell talked about a whole foods, plant based lifestyle and how he started a program called Plantpure. People ate this food and got great, healthy results. He also touched on other issues like supporting local farmers and how the meat and dairy industries pay a lot of money to keep people eating their product. And they have a big stake in politics, too. It was really great. I recommend it. It was really heartfelt. I'm going to watch "Cowspiracy" this weekend.
Danny made this for us for dinner. It was really good. I was in the mood for lentils. He used spices from a local place called Colonel De's. Some of the veggies were local, too.
Tomorrow we are going to watch PlantPure Nation at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. We're pretty excited.
This is my third time going to this place. It is so healthy. And pretty much all vegan except for two elixir shots that have local raw honey. And you have the option to swap out coconut nectar in the smoothies for honey.
This time I got the bombay bowl. It has coconut milk and sweet potato curry with sprouts on quinoa.
It was really great. I like having dinner without the food coma.
What I ate monday?
Today I have no pictures.
But as a vegan I ate some oatmeal with peanut butter and jelly and chia seeds.
Then I had a spinach salad with cherry tomatoes and tofurky ham with some balsamic dressing.
I also had my leftovers from York St. Cafe. Some white pita and hummus.
And then I went to an event where people had created their own phone apps. One was called Veganati. It will help people connect with other vegans. Right now it tells you where vegan options are.
While there I had half of an avocado veg wrap and a half of a peanut sauce wrap. And some red bell pepper, cukes, and cauliflower. To drink there was some green tea which I accidentally drank because I have given caffeine up and some apple cider with wheatgrass in it.
For dessert I had some chocolate cake.
I ran half an hour today and did some crunches and pushups. Hopefully, my body will acclimate some more to not having coffee. I feel crazy tired at school.
Signing off.
Greer Elk
I love baking. The biggest reason I do it though is because growing up if my family ran out of dessert I was just not capable of going without and would rummage through the cupboards to see what I could make. Sometimes it was chocolate chip cookies but mostly peanut butter cookies. When I got older it was "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World". And my mom loved the green tea cupcakes.
And today as I'm almost 30, I still bake up stuff when I need dessert. Mostly, I only crave chocolate stuff. And I almost always have everything I need to make chocolate cake. My go-to egg substitute is flax seed, but I think I need to try Vegg. I'm slowly working to create the perfect decadent chocolate cake.
So last night at 11pm after studying all day, I baked a cake because everything (any place I could get vegan dessert in walking distance) was closed and I needed something sweet. I almost had everything except I used Earth Balance shortening for the icing and it's not so good. It has a waxy feel. I should have used Earth Balance butter. I recommend using the recipes in "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World". The icing recipe turns out better. Well, I have to get ready to study again. Blah.
WOTD is Kronecker Delta.
