Happy Herbivore Abroad – Another QandA with Lindsay Nixon and Giveaway!

I’m a big big fan of Happy Herbivore, Lindsay Nixon. Her cookbooks helped me make the transition into a vegan diet, and recipes from her two cookbooks are some of my favorites.

I’ve also had the pleasure of interviewing her during blog tours for Happy Herbivore and Everyday Happy Herbivore.

More on the giveaway after the interview!

How does Happy Herbivore Abroad differ from HHC and EHH?

HHA is international themed and has a lot of me in it — personal stories and such. You won’t find that in my other books. This book is so personal, and I really love that about it.
You are a world traveler! What destinations have influenced your cooking the most?

Living abroad and traveling throughout Europe has really shaped me as a person, which I’m sure has translated to or effected my cooking and approach to meals/recipes in some way. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific country or even city that has influenced me more than the others — I think all the experience together have influenced me.
What are some of your favorite places that you have visited?

Many of the places I traveled to were so different from each other you can’t really compare them to have favorites. How can you compare the mountains to the desert, for example? There were places with mesmerizing vistas that I could stare at for days, but then there were other places, with no vistas, but such beautiful architecture… or a culture that was so rich and vibrant it was intoxicating… I guess if I had to pick, I’d say Germany, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands…

What are some of the biggest challenges you face for eating vegan abroad, and how do you deal with them?

As with domestic travel, you have to have patience. I’ve never had trouble finding vegan fare (anywhere in the world) but it wasn’t always the most convenient choice. A little creativity and persistence is key.

You are going overseas – what’s in your carry-on bag?

I take my backpack on board as my carryon — which as all my clothes and toiletries in it. In my purse I have my passport, peepers (eye shades) and ear plugs for the ride, my kindle, money, chap stick, a few snacks for the plane and important papers – like travel reservations.

Would you like to win a copy of Happy Herbivore Abroad? Enter below! Giveaway is only open to U.S. and Canada. Giveaway closes at midnight on Dec. 28. Winner will be chosen at random.

Enter to win Happy Herbivore Abroad!

Vegan Wings at Graveyard Tavern

D played a show at The Basement (the venue underneath Graveyard Tavern) on Saturday night, so we took advantage of the opportunity to go upstairs and check out the mythical vegan wings that I keep hearing and reading about. I was not dissapointed.

Now, I don’t think I can really remember what an actual Chicken Wing tasted like, but these little nuggets were wonderful! They came with a side of fries and vegan ranch sauce. Either they gave us the wrong sauce, or their idea of ranch is along the lines of horseradish sauce. But, it was still a good pairing for the wings.

It’s $8 for the wings/fries combo. I could have shared them, they were quite filling. But a good option for a night out at the bar.

Graveyard Tavern is having some big 12/21/12 apocalypse party, so go get yourself some vegan wings and party down!

A Very Vegan Hanukkah – and cookbook giveaway preview!

Saturday marked the last night of Hanukkah and we celebrated with our annual family gathering hosted at my sister’s house. It was a great night exchanging presents, spending time with family, and enjoying some yummy vegan versions of our favorite Hanukkah foods!

Let’s take a little tour of my plate, shall we?

At the bottom right of this delicious plate, you’ll see my mom’s famous potato latkes. Mom makes the best latkes in the world. Seriously. I’ve never found any that stand up to hers. And, it’s family tradition that my sister and I help mom fry and flip the latkes on the stove before dinner. So they are fresh! Never frozen! If you don’t come out of Hanukkah dinner smelling like vegetable oil, then it’s not a real Hanukkah dinner! and of course, served with apple sauce and Tofutti sour cream.

Moving to the left, you’ll see the maple roasted Brussels sprouts that I’ve started to make for everything. I don’t even think my family likes Brussels sprouts. But I do. So I make them.

Next, you’ll see my veganized Brisket! It was so easy, and turned out delish! I based the recipe on my mom’s traditional brisket recipe, which calls for  one packet of onion soup mix, two bottles of chili sauce, water (fill up the two bottles and add that to the pot), potatoes and baby carrots, but substituted Gardein beef tips in place of the brisket meat. I also threw everything in the slow cooker and set it on low for the day.

My aunt made a yummy salad and left the cheese on the side for the vegans. My Brother-in-Law also made a vegan peach pie, which was pretty tasty too!

Mom also brought her yummy mock chopped liver, based on this recipe. It gets better and better each time she makes it, and it was yummy to begin with! All the taste without the guilt or the cholesterol!

It was such a great night and we all rolled ourselves home and slept well with full hearts and tummies.

Giveaway Alert!! On Monday, December 24, I am excited to be participating in The Happy Herbivore’s 31 Days of Giveaways for her new cookbook, Happy Herbivore Abroad. So please check back in on Monday to read a Q&A with the Happy Herbivore and enter to win a copy of the book!

 

A Very Kali-Like Year

Kali is a Hindu Goddess who often represents change. Now, on first impression, Kali is a pretty scary lady. She wears a necklace of skulls, she’s got blood dripping out of her mouth, she’s blue. . .

But, Kali is misunderstood. She represents change, but not slow gradual change. She represents destruction that pushes you out of your comfort zone and creates change. She symbolizes letting go of the past, to make room for a new, purposeful and bright future ahead.

2012 has been a very Kali-like year for me. We were forced out of our rental home, but it made way for us to find an even better home, with a fenced yard for our puppy. I had a great opportunity at work to take on new challenges that definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone, but made me a better professional. I attended a retreat with my fellow yogis (the theme was letting go, very Kali-themed), and worked through some feelings I had held onto for way too long, and was finally able to accept and let go of some resentment, anger and grief I was feeling over a lost friendship. I went through a horrible ordeal in the hospital, but it helped me prioritize the things that are important in my life, and reminded me that life is short and to take advantage of opportunities presented to me and to also appreciate all of the blessings in my life.

As hard as 2012 was, it was also a catalyst for some great things to come. I have some very clear goals in mind for 2013, but I’ll post about those later. I’m optimistic going into 2013, and excited to see what it will hold.

Namaste.

Final Resolution Check-in

So we are nearing the end of the year and let me tell you, I’m SO ready for 2012 to be over. It’s been a weird year, with some amazing experiences, and some pretty crappy experiences. Now, I hope the world doesn’t end on 12-21-12, but I am ready for the dawning of a new age, and a new year.

Let’s see how I did in 2012 with my resolutions. I made 30 resolutions for my 30th year. Pretty bold if I do say so myself:

1. Eat only vegan/plant strong – I’ve been 98% plant strong. I haven’t had ANY animal flesh of any sort, but I have had a few dairy slip-ups. But they are never straight up. Usually in baked goods. No excuse I know. But I’m keepin’ it real and being honest on the blog.
2. Pick out our wedding photos for the album – Photos were picked. Album was approved. I hope to have it before we’ve been married 2 years. We’ll see if that happens. Update: We are supposed to have this in hand this month. Again, we’ll see if it happens.
   
3. Procrastinate less – I haven’t been able to procrastinate, too busy. So that’s a good thing.
   
4. Learn a new musical instrument – Nope. Not enough time this year. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all.
   
5. Perform in public – I think I did quite enough damage during my 30th birthday Karaoke extravaganza to fulfill this resolution.
   
6. Stop negative self talk – I’ve been doing really good. I think Yoga helps a lot with this.
   
7. More positive self talk – See above.
8. Exercise everyday at least 30 minutes and try for 60 minutes three times a week – hahahahaha. What a lofty goal. Although, I do yoga at least twice a week and I can stand on my head now.
9. Go on an exciting vacation – This year I did Berlin, Columbus, OH, Raleigh, Los Angeles. And on Sunday, I’m taking a week off and going to Florida with my mom, sister and nephew.
   
10. Spend more time with my nephew – I’m excited to spend a week with him!!
    
11. Take River to obedience class – We actually did this one!! An obedience trainer came to the house. It was great and we have some good tips to help River work on his people skills.
    
12. Floss more – Well, now I have to do it much more often, and I will because. . .
    
13. Go back to the dentist – I went back to the dentist. I’ve never had a cavity in my life, but my gums are horrible. I’m currently halfway through the torture of correcting this problem. I will floss forever and ever. It sucks getting olde sometimes.
    
14. Drink more water – I’ve been good, I could do better. Update: I could still do better.
    
15. Eat more salads – Well, I was doing great until I landed in the hospital and they told me not to eat as much raw veggies.
    
16. Pay off my student loans – DONE!!!!!!!!!
17. Complete Dave Ramsey Financial Peace (at home version) with Dallas  - We need to finish. Everyone started traveling. We’ll get this done! Update: I really don’t think this will happen before the end of the year, unless we watch a bunch at the beach.
    
18. Take on new challenges at work to continue to develop as a professional – For the past three months, I ran our department while my boss was on maternity leave. It was such a good experience and such a good learning opportunity. Definitely challenging at times, but a good challenge!
    
19. Stop using credit cards – oy. This has been an expensive quarter. I’ve stopped using it now, but I did have to rely on it for a few things.Update: With hospital visits, vet visits, and other costs popping up, this has been the most expensive year ever. So sadly, it required breaking out the credit card.
    
20. Stick to my budget – See above. We’ll get back on track in 2013.
    
21. Rediscover my love of running – Yea, not gonna happen this year. Can’t do it all can i?
    
22. Participate in another Team in Training event – not yet. This quarter year has been busy.
23. Take a fun class (language, cooking, painting, etc) – YOGA!!! YAYY!!!
    
24. Try more vegan/vegan-friendly restaurants in Atlanta – Wrecking Bar is a continued favorite. Dough Bakery is also a constant in rotation.
    
25. Blog consistently – Heck yeah, vegan mofo! Update: vegan mofo was interrupted by my stint in the hospital. So, more blogging to come, and some fun things in the works for december.
    
26. Include more photos on my blog – I’m getting better.
    
27. Attend Vida Vegan Blogger Conference (if they repeat in 2012) or another blogger conference – I’m going to VVC in 2013!!
    
28. Try stand-up paddle boarding – Didn’t happen, maybe next year.
    
29. Go to a music festival with Dallas – YAY!! We went to Hopscotch Music Fest in Raleigh. It was awesome.
    
30. Take yoga classes – 12 months of yoga and going strong! I love it!!

So, not too shabby for a lofty goal. I’ll be posting my resolutions for the new year later this month.

Vegan Thanksgiving 2012

I hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving break, full of yummy food and good times with family.

We had TWO Thanksgiving meals (on the same day) this year. Everything was so good, I should have worn stretch pants. Also, I’ve successfully regained all the weight I lost during my stint in the hospital, which was probably needed.

Thanksgiving #1 was at my sister-in-law’s house, and would be mostly un-vegan. However, she did go out of her way to get us vegan desserts, and her mother-in-law made a delicious cranberry salad. Since we were cooking anyways for Thanksgiving #2, we just made double batches of our sides.For the main dish for Thanksgiving #1, we brought the Gardein Savory Stuffed Turky. Since D and I would be the only two eating the fake meat, it was a perfect serving size!

Thanksgiving #2 was hosted at my aunt’s house. I’ve mentioned that my mom is vegan (I’m so proud!), and we also had some vegan-curious eaters, so I wanted to bring a Turkey alternative that all could try. When I heard that Gardein had a new holiday roast, and that our local co-op grocery had them on-sale, I snatched one up for our dinner.

We also helped out and brought a couple of side dishes: Twice-baked potato casserole, Green Bean Casserole, and some maple-roasted Brussels Sprouts. Of course, some family members wouldn’t touch the “vegan sides.” Oh well, they missed out, and more for me.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

The whole spread

Sorry for the blurriness. I may have had a couple Thanksgiving cocktails by the time I took these.

We had TONS of leftovers. In fact, I still have a whole other potato casserole in my fridge. I always feel like I have too little, or too much food.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Pinterest-Inspired Dinner

I, like many other bloggers, am addicted to Pinterest. I use it mostly to pin recipes, and yoga poses that I aspire to be able to do.

I wanted to find an easy, quick and healthy dinner to make after work on Monday night, so I perused my Pinterest board to see what I had pinned. I was instantly inspired by this Spaghetti Squash recipe.

Courtesy of Dashing Dish

We had an amazing spaghetti squash dish during the yoga retreat, and I’ve been craving it ever since. I had heard about cooking spaghetti squash in the microwave, and since I like anything that’s quick and easy, I decided to give it a go.

I really didn’t do anything fancy for “my” version of spaghetti squash:

• Poke LOTS of holes in the spaghetti squash and nuke for 8-10 minutes (10 was too mushy, 8 was still hard in spots, so I’d try 9 next time.)
• Cut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and scrape “meat” into a bowl with a fork.
• Dump squash into saucepan
• Crumble package of favorite brand of soy crumbles
• Pour in tomato sauce of choice
• Heat up on stove
• Top with some Nooch and enjoy!

Sure, it’s not gourmet. It’s basically what I do with actual spaghetti, but healthier and even faster.

What’s your favorite way to make spaghetti squash?