Where Has the Time Gone?

Hello, everyone! It's been so long! How are you? What's new? I can't believe how long it's been since the last time I posted anything. I know everyone has life get in the way of things...work, health, other obligations, etc. - you name it. I'm not going to make excuses, but I am going to try to do a better job of posting as I try to get my health back on track (more on that in another post).

Previously when I have posted, it was in the context of Vegan MoFo (the month of vegan food for anyone not familiar). As I continue to post from here on out my goal is to incorporate information related to different health issues, nutrition topics, and of course I will also get back to posting about *yummy* vegan food.

So to get things started, I’ve decided to begin with the yummy part and in a few days I’ll hit on some of the other stuff. So, what did you have for lunch?

For us it was a wonderful Tofurky Turkey Rueben. Note that when I use the word 'wonderful', I do not use it lightly, so these sandwiches definitely had the *wow* factor! I have been craving one of these sandwiches for a couple of years now and *finally* had one the way I wanted it: a couple of piece of toasted homemade rye bread piled high with sauerkraut and Tofurky turkey slices, topped with homemade Russian Dressing. Allow me to say: OH MY GOD. I was in Rueben heaven!! I highly recommend this sandwich to anyone out there looking for something good to eat, if you have been in a rut...or if you haven't been in a rut - you still need to make this sandwich. And devour it.

So, click ‘here' for the rye bread recipe – I found it over at the VegWeb website…

For the Russian Dressing, I mixed 3 TBS of Veganaise with 1 tsp of ketchup (non high fructose corn syrup, of course) and added about 1 – 1.5 tsp relish.

Sorry there isn’t a pic to post…we ate the sandwiches way too quickly to get one – they were that good!

Stay tuned for more info later…and, if you have any topics you think would be good ones to address, please email me and let me know!

Take care and happy eating!

-omnivorenomore aka danielle

The Great Pumpkin Attacked My Chocolate Chip Cookies...Oh, My!

I have been doing a lot of baking lately and it's mostly been focused around cupcakes. The other day I decided to shake it up a bit and bust out some cookies. But, not just any cookies, my pretties, but the most kickass pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I have ever had! Ok, ok...they are the only pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I have ever had, but I can assure you I WILL be having them again! (And soon!)

These soft little pillows of pumpkin goodness had just the right amount of sweet and savory. Never did I imagine I would like pumpkin in my chocolate chip cookies, as I am pretty much a CCC purist, but the balance was perfect. No, I did not come up with the magic formula myself, but my new hero, Kris Holechek, author of The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes: Amazing Cookies, Cakes, Muffins, Pies, Brownies and Breads , did. And boy, did she ever!

If you have not checked out this particular cookbook, I highly recommend it. Her recipes are not extremely complicated nor do they call for eccentric vegan ingredients, but they combine things you already have in your cupboard to create what appear to be some tasty morsels that I cannot wait to get my baking mitts on. Tomorrow may have to be a day to test out another one of her recipes...I have some left-over pumpkin that needs to be used sitting in my fridge and that is just not good...

Happy MoFo, all!

It's About That Time!

Hey everyone!!! Guess what. It's about that time again...yep, you guessed it, Vegan MoFo! (Um, that's Vegan Month of Food for the newbies...) I am very excited at the opportunity to tell you about everything I eat, drink, and think about that is food related...well, most of it will be food related, I'm sure. I can tell you are excited, too, lol!


Another thing I am excited about is that my best friend, a carnivore, is attempting a vegan diet thanks to Vegan MoFo. (I would like to think just a little bit because of me, too, but whatever works!) How cool is this??? So, as a favor, I ask you to consider following her blog, Michelle's Munchies. She is known for her kick-ass gourmet sugar cookies, and trust me, they are good! (I can't eat them anymore now, but back in the day...nom nom nom.)


If you at any time have considered eating more plants...now is the time! Let the countdown begin!


BTW, Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!

Cupcakes Take Over My Kitchen...

I have a sweet tooth. If you know me you know how much of an understatement that is...throughout my years I have always been on a quest for that satisfying bite, that one that beat out all others in the perfect combination of yum and satisfaction. Once I became vegan; however, it became much more difficult to just go out and buy something that would satisfy that craving once it hit. So what's a girl to do???

Start baking, that's what! I have become a label reader, as anyone who has made a major transition in their diet knows exactly what I'm talking about. I have tried to eliminate processed foods from my diet. I no longer buy snack cakes or cookies in a package. (Sometimes I will buy a bakery treat as long as I am able to assure that it is vegan.) This does NOT mean that I have given up yummy treats...I have them. I just make them myself. Amazing how much different something fresh baked tastes, without the preservatives and other crap that is added. I control the ingredients...I like that.

Yesterday I was craving strawberry cake in a bad way. So after looking through many many cookbooks and at many recipes online, I decided to make Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing...all VEGAN of course! I did a little combining of recipes and came up with a great end product. My husband's response, after his first bite, was, "These are good!" If you knew my husband you would know that these words are not delivered easily...especially as he is an omnivore! Oh, to win the respect of an omnivore...that's what I live for in the kitchen! (Not to mention the fact he has always been the chef in this family and has that annoying ability to throw stuff together in a pan and have it taste great...) But I digress...

I settled on the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. The only change I made was adding fresh cut strawberries to the batter prior to baking. I wondered as to whether or not it altered the consistency of the batter too much but end result: I like them. For the icing, I used this recipe. As I said earlier...they were GREAT!

Here is a pic of the finished product. I'm not very good with the icing application...as you can see...but fortunately that doesn't alter the taste! Now, if you'll pardon me, I need to go eat a cupcake. Nom nom nom!

Hello!

Hello, my friends, both old and new! I am excited to be entering my first post on my new website. This is something I have wanted to begin for quite a while. As I kept thinking about when and what to write about, I found that I kept procrastinating. However, at a recent lunch with my husband, Thomas, I had a fortune cookie that basically said now is the time. So, here we are...



I have several goals for this site, and I am sure that they will continue to change over time. My main goal is to inform, inform everyone reading, about making healthy choices be they in regards to your food, your exercise, your health care--anything is fair game! I'll even inform about restaurants we frequent here in Austin, TX, as well as different recipes I've tried from some of my favorite vegan chefs and fellow vegan bloggers. Be forewarned...sometimes my culinary dishes equal culinary disasters! (I'm a novice chef at best!)

So, if you have an idea on a topic, do not hesitate to contact me and I'll get right on it! Thanks, everyone! Here we go...

Cheers,
Danielle