Vegan MOFO 2012

I am taking part once again in Vegan MOFO! I will be blogging M-F and this year I will try to stick to daily themes. Here they are:

Monday: Weekend round up - grocery shopping, restaurants and more will be explored.
Tuesday: Tea time Tuesday - what is in my cup, because I love trying out tea!
Wednesday: Try something new, to help me break free from food ruts, I will explore new recipes.
Thursday: Good enough to eat - vegan skin care & DIY recipes.
Friday: Fast food Friday - veganizing fast food classics!

I already have ideas and I am trying things out! Please check back starting Monday! Have a great weekend!

End Of Watch

I am not one for doing movie reviews - I figure if you want to see a movie you will see it no matter what. I just had to share that this is one of my favorite movies of the year and want more people to go see it! Matt and I went and saw it on Saturday - not feeling so good (Matt just getting over a cold and me just feeling blah) we decided to hit the theater...
A few months back we saw the preview and I said I wanted to see it, if you know me, you know I have a thing for gang movies and TV shows. I am not a cop-action movie type person but it looked appealing. I do not want to give anything away but the acting is really good, the characters are very believable, the cops are not good or bad - just average dudes which we often do not see acted out or on the news and the chemistry between the lead actors makes it seem like a real friendship. You will laugh, close your eyes and may cry...Just go see it!

Oakland + Berkeley = A Day of Teaching, Food And Fun!

 Me telling Matt - don't take a pic of me plleeeasssee as I set up my first class!

I taught two classes in Oakland on Saturday - both on vegan body care using simple everyday kitchen ingredients. While the turn out & crowd was not what I expected (not to mention the second location was filthy) I sold some zines and taught two classes! So yay!

I made a destination check list of the hot spots I wanted to check out, eat and shop at. Well, we got up later than we thought and I was feeling rather crappy. So between my two classes we decided to eat lunch, first location - closed (Breakroom Cafe) and then we went to our usual place that told us that they were open but the kitchen was closed (Peeple's Donuts) we had little time so we searched for eats on our phone and went to Flaco's.

We got a plate of taquitos to share with an assortment of the avocado salsas. We both thought they were good - the crunchy corn bit was yummy and the salsa was yummy - the hot was really hot! The inside could have used a bit more working, essentially you get a piece of faux sausage with the corn wrapped around it. I would have like it crumbled with beans or something. It was good though and was washed down with strawberry agua fresca!

 Flaco's gave me enough energy to get me through my next class!

 We were supposed to go to SF after my last class to eat dinner but I was really drained. So we decided to go to Berkeley and explore! Matt was so happy seeing that his two fave movie/music stores were practically neighbors. I checked out a few stores and was ecstatic to see they had a Tutti Frutti serving vegan soy yogurt! After having a sample Matt and I got a few bites topped with strawberries in a cup to go. It was so good and creamy!


We headed off to dinner, finding alternatives but then seeing they were closed headed on our original route to Nature's Express. Matt ordered the Wild Wild West burger and I ordered the Cheezy Mushroom Chic-un  Melt. We were served our orders but they were mixed up, so I started eating Matt's burger and he was eating mine, we then realized the mistake and we both thought the food was great. I really liked my item! The fries were really skimpy in portion though, they combined our individual orders into one basket, I think they did this because they were out of a full serving of fries for each of us...No way is a full serving of fries 6 fries if that. We took a cookie to go, went next door and got a coffee with soy milk and drove home.

It was a fun day - long though and I was so tired. I am still tired! I am looking forward to going back to Oakland in a week or so to support Matt's film being shown at a film festival! 

You Go BOGO!

 

I really love these bars, they remind me of Lara bars but without the funky aftertaste. If you shop at Sprouts or Whole Foods pick up a coupon book this month because they are BOGO - buy one get one free with a coupon! I like free stuff! While picking up my Kit's bars last week at Sprouts I picked up free Giovanni conditioner - I needed to buy shampoo and again it was a BOGO deal! Love deals like these! This week I see Clif's Builder bars are BOGO at Sprouts and the vegan flavors are a fave of Matt's after the gym.

Couponing while vegan is not a surefire way to save loads of money. I do not stockpile products that go against my ethics or frozen crap just to save. I am lucky if there are a few decent coupons each week in the paper or in the ads. BOGO promotions are a good way to save, even better if you have a coupon.

Have you made any major coupon discoveries lately that helped you save big on food, personal care or home stuff? Do you coupon and if so what sites do you use?

I Love Cats & Toys!

When I was in the Disney Store a few weekends ago doing some shopping for a friend I came upon a giant plush cat. I asked who the cat was and was told Lucifer - how could I pass up a giant plush kitty with so much attitude? Mar approves of Lucifer!



Mar and Lucifer even have something in common - the butt hide! If I happen to want a pillow - Mar will flop on it. If I want a paper Mar will sit on it!Mar tends to go after my jewelry, not sit on it, I do not give him the chance - it would suck trying to retrieve a skull charm from Mar's poop, like my mom did with my sister's poo after she swallowed some change as a toddler...

So add Lucifer to the cool cat club! Mar voted him in!

Sept. 15 2012 - 2 Classes I Am Teaching

 

On Sept. 15 I am teaching two classes in Oakland, CA on DIY vegan cosmetics and body care. I will be showing/demoing how to create some awesome products from stuff from the kitchen. I have not worked on what I will be teaching yet but would love to do something fall related like a pumpkin body scrub! 

The first class will be at Rock Paper Scissors Collective  from 1 to 2:30. It will cost $5. You can find the details here. The second class will be part Bay Area LadyFest  and will start at about 3:30 - the cost for the class is free but to get into the fest you are encouraged to make a donation. 

I plan on bringing my Vegan Spa Day zine so people can purchase a copy. Also I am asking people to bring a clean jar or container so they can take some of the producs home that I will be making! 

If you are in the area please come out and say hi!

Gardein Products I Can Eat

For the longest time I was a Gardein outsider. People raved about the companies products but since all the products I saw in stores contained quinoa and amaranth I could not eat them due to severe allergies to both ingredients. Matt has been eating the tenders for lunch and I asked him if he wanted to try the mandarin orange bits and started reading the ingredients and saw they did not contain the ancient grain blend! I was so happy!

 

I tossed these with some steamed broccoli and served it over basmati rice. The dish was yummy but I wish the sauce packet was bigger. Next time I will serve it with a side sauce or something. Maybe add some Brags and chili sauce to the pan. I checked the ingredients of the Trader Joe's version and they contain quinoa and amaranth - to bad!

Another product I found to be OK for me to eat is the fresh beefless burgers Last night Matt grilled them for us. At first I thought they smelled like Boca burgers and I am not a huge fan of Boca burgers, not to mention one of my fave vegan burgers in a restaurant switched over to a Boca patty and I had it the previous night. However the texture of the Gardein patty remained moist with a touch of olive oil and smelled great. We served the burgers on a whole wheat bun, topped with melted cheddar Daiya, jalapenos and fresh organic avocado. To make the meal complete we ate them with crispy tots! Yummy! We plan on grilling the burgers again tonight and serving the patties with mac n cheeze - a fave childhood meal of mine!

So yay I get to eat a few tasty Gardein products now!