All Hallows Eve Marks the End of Vegan Mofo

Happy Halloween! Today also marks the end of Vegan Mofo. I’ve had a lot of fun going through the ABC’s of Vegan Goodness with you!! I hope you enjoyed this series of posts and perhaps leaned a little somethin’ somethin’ along the way. I’m a wee bit behind on my blog reading, but I’m so happy to have encountered so many fantastic vegan bloggers this month! I’m going to cover some of the last few letters in this final post.

W is for Weight Watchers + Veganism
I think my posts in the last few months can speak for themselves. Weight Watchers and vegan food can really live in harmony together. I think that we can all benefit from more fruits and veggies, whole grains, healthy fats and animal-free sources of protein. Vegan or not, by choosing these Filling Foods, you’re making a conscious effort towards a healthier lifestyle and that is what it is all about!

Someone was asking me earlier this week if I still count Points and the answer to that is YES! Am I better at it some weeks than others? Absolutely. In general I try to choose the Filling Foods whenever possible, because I know that due to the good stuff they contain (water, fiber & sometimes protein), they’re going to be wholesome, nutritious choices that are going to fill me up and satisfy me longer. If you are a vegetarian or vegan who is following the program and attending meetings, we do have an additional worksheet for you with some guidelines to ensure that you’re getting everything that your body needs.

X is for Xanthan Gum
Joey and I were having dinner last night and he asked, “What the heck are you doing for the letter X?” To which I replied “Xanthan gum”. He then burst out laughing. I guess he didn’t expect me to have something good??

Xanthan gum helps bind everything together in gluten free baking. Hooray! I used it this week in some mini banana chocolate chip cuppins for our office Halloween potluck.   They were a big hit! I also brought some black bean & lentil salad which also went over quite well and a bunch of the gals in my office were looking for the recipe.

Gluten free vegan food is accessible for everyone!! Amongst the meatballs, chili, and other fare, there weren’t a whole lot of options for me so I was happy that I brought what I did. One of my coworkers made these really pretty cookies which I shared with the kids at rehearsals because there were so many left over.

Spooky!

Y is for Yams… aka sweet potatoes
Yams, sweet potatoes, whatever the heck you call them, are delightful. This week I enjoyed some sweet potato goodness in some kugel (along with some baked falafels, tahini dressing, greens and a chocolate chewy bar from Sweets from the Earth) and in fry form

They were oh-so-delicious! I usually prefer to make my own at home, but I couldn’t resist a few with my dinner on Thursday night. Definitely a yummy decision on my part!!

Z is for Zombies
Of which I have none. I do have a reluctant kitty dressed as a princess though?

Before:After:

Isn’t Iris precious?? While she was a pretty good sport about her princess costume, she absolutely knew that something was wrong and that she didn’t feel happy or comfortable. She was much more content playing with the string ties after I took it off. You can’t say I didn’t try!

Tomorrow is the beginning of November, which means only 61 days until the new year (and only 19 days until Annie)!! I’ve got some really exciting stuff coming up this month and I’m looking forward to getting back into my usual blogging flow. This week I’ll be talking about making November count as well as sharing some exciting news about my posts for the week of November 9th – so stay tuned!

Happy Halloween!!

...To keep your balance you must keep moving

Smart man, that Einstein...

With November 1st on Sunday, it means there are 61 days left until 2010. Wow!

What do you hope to accomplish before we say goodbye to 2009?

What are you going to do this month to make that happen?

Is that something you can do? Will you do it?

I can't wait to hear what you're planning!! I'm going to detail my November goals in a post early next week along with my October results. Send me an email if you would like your activity chart for October to be included.

Truly Unbelievable Vegans

See what I did there?

With the objective of getting through the entire alphabet by Saturday, I’ve combined the next three letters to talk about some vegans I adore. I thought it would be fun to spread a little link love to vegans who inspire me through their blogs, cookbooks and initiatives on this planet, so here we go! (I’ve created an Amazon Store that features many of the lovely authors I’ve highlighted in this post, so be sure to check it out!)

Sarah Kramer truly is a “vegan cookbook superstar”. She is the author of 4 cookbooks including the first vegan cookbook I ever bought “How it All Vegan”. She’s cute and funny and the recipes are lovely for vegans and non-vegans alike. I made the black-bean & lentil salad from “La Dolce Vegan” for a potluck at work today!

Gena from Choosing Raw needs to get going on a cookbook, or maybe just a book about life and eating in general. Her posts are thoughtful, passionate and accessible for all. I love her simple approach to food. The day frozen bananas were introduced to my blender, creating banana soft serve was pure heaven and I have Gena to thank for that! Want a taste of Gena’s point of view? Check out her fantastic post from earlier this week called What Food Is Not; it will absolutely get you thinking.

I first encountered Jae Steele when I borrowed her cookbook “Get It Ripe” from my local library. I fell in love with the recipes like the gluten free blueberry buckwheat muffins and really enjoyed her culinary point of view. This summer I had the pleasure of testing recipes from her upcoming cookbook Ripe From Around Here which focuses on the importance of local food. Conveniently Jae lives in Toronto, which meant whatever was local to her, was also local to me! Recipes like the phad thai (to feed an army), curried split pea soup, roasted ratatouille, and pear ginger amaranth crumble brought joy to my kitchen and I can’t wait for the book to come out so that I can easily access all of the recipes whenever I want.

Some of my other favourite vegans include:

• Dreena Burton – I probably make a recipe from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan nearly every week
• Lazy Smurf – and not just because I won her recent giveaway! She has some awesome food pictures and I love hearing about life as a vegan in Texas
• Angela – Oh She Glows is just a beautiful site, period. I didn’t even realize for the longest time that Ange was actually vegan!? She loves food and is incredibly sweet, what’s not to love?
• Isa Chandra Moskowitz – How could I make a list of vegans and not include the creator of Vegan Mofo herself? Veganomican is a staple in my kitchen. I also recently enjoyed a copy of Vegan with a Vengeance that I borrowed from my local library. It’s going on my wish list because it was full of amazing recipes and inspiration! Such yummy vegan goodness!
• Hannah Kaminsky – Bittersweet is such a gorgeous blog. Hannah is such a talented gal behind the camera and in the kitchen and her book, My Sweet Vegan is a fantastic resource as well.
• Lisa – Another Torontonian vegan I found as a result of the recipe testing. Her blog is an awesome resource full of recipes, links and pictures of fabulous vegan (and sometime raw) goodness.
• Meghan – Although not strictly vegan, I use more of Meghan’s recipes that anything else in my kitchen including those from my time in her cooking classes as well as from her blog (banana –chocolate cuppins are also joining the pot luck party today). She’s another one who needs to get on with writing a cookbook!!

I could go on and on here folks, but I’m going to leave it at that. I’m constantly updating my blogroll with blogs I love and will continue to add books to my Amazon Store as I come across them.

I have to thank all of these bloggers and authors for providing me with daily inspiration in my kitchen. I learned awhile back that focusing on the foods I can (and want to) eat, makes meal time a lot more fun. These lovely ladies ensure that there’s a lot of love in my kitchen and fantastic food on my plate at every meal!

Which bloggers or authors do you look to for inspiration?

What Will You Do Today?

An important reminder courtesy of our friends at Lululemon. I’ll be back tomorrow with some Vegan Mofo goodness! I want to end the month with a bang so we’re going to talk about some good stuff…

Finding a Grounded Place

Between a full time job, part time job, 2-3 shows/year, choir, Joey, friends, family, cooking, eating, sleeping, dancing, yoga, exercising and blogging, it’s a huge understatement to say that I’m a busy gal. And I’m not going to lie – it’s not always easy.

I always feel like I’m on the go, checking my calendar and figuring out where I can ‘squeeze’ in time to see Joey or friends or have a nap. Last weekend before having brunch with Lori & Joey, I had a bit of a mental breakdown because I had brunch, zumba, grocery shopping, and cooking on my to-do list before rehearsal, but realized I didn’t have enough time for everything, yet didn’t know what to cut out. There were tears before I decided that I wanted to hang out with Joey & Lori, that I needed to grab some food and make some dinner and that unfortunately my favourite classes (zumba and BodyFlow) were just not going to make the cut.

Time management has a lot to do with prioritization – what is going to be best for you in this moment? This question has been seemingly challenging for me to answer lately because I feel like I’m running around like around in circles. For example, here’s this week:

This weekend was super busy so I feel like I’ve been going non-stop since Monday October 19. As a result, there are things that are definitely slipping, like housework, laundry and Joey time. So what is right for me now??

Rehearsal ended up being cancelled tonight which has meant some extra ME TIME!! I’m hanging out with the kitties, watching So You Think You Can Dance and plan to do a little journaling before going to bed early.

On the days when I feel like it’s never going to end I’m taking time to smell the flowers and enjoy the beautiful sights of fall….laughing with these beautiful gals who I’m spending a lot of time with as we gear up for our big show….

and talking to Joey who tells me that it’s all going to be okay. I love that. 

I feel like my posts are following a pattern of time management, balance and taking care of yourself – but it’s a huge focus for me right now! I’m sorry if I seem like I’m repeating myself. Writing this blog is something that I do because I love to connect with all of you and reading your comments brings me down to a grounded place.