BEST VEGAN TOFU SCRAMBLE EVER!

Where has this recipe been? I have been trying various tofu scramble recipes, some were so over loaded with spice that it was just to much. Others were boring.... this one takes the cake!

All credit goes to Vegicano... here is the link to his recipe

Tofuevos – Tofu Scramble

1 package of firm tofu – drained
2 TBS Soy Sauce
1 TBS Vegenaise
1 TBS Almond Milk (or non-dairy milk)
1 Heaping TBS of Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric (for color)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
pinch of cumin
salt to taste

Canola oil – for lighly frying the tofu

1. Break up (drained) tofu with your hands (in smallish pieces) into a medium sized bowl.
2. Add the rest of your ingredients to the tofu.
3. Using a rubber spatula incorporate all of the ingredients thoroughly.
4. Taste your tofu. Adjust your salt level.

At this point your tofu as is should taste good. Salt to taste – If you need your adjust your seasonings to your liking this is when you should do it.

5. Heat Canola Oil in a skillet or rimmed pan. Add your tofu and cook until heated throughout.

This is when you decide how you want your tofu. For a harder ‘scramble’ allow tofu mixture to cook longer and brown evenly. For a softer scramble – heat throughout and eat!

Being Vegan and 35 Weeks Pregnant

Here we are, 35 weeks along and baby is growing healthy and big! We had the 28 week glucose test where they check your iron levels as well. Its interesting looking at the other 2 pregnancies and
I feel like with each pregnancy I am healthier and more aware of eating and living better. So waiting for the glucose and iron levels to come back I didn't have a doubt in my mind they would be ok.

Me on the left with another prego friend :)

With the first baby I was vegetarian and thought I was a healthy person and didn't  have much to worry about. The only issue I had was LOW iron levels! I had to take Floridix for my iron. But  it was ok after that. At that time I was still cleaning with some chemical cleaners in the house, wasn't making my own laundry soap, etc... I was walking a lot but not running yet.

Baby #1

Baby #2 I was all like "I got this!" No worries! I'm a runner! I eat clean and from our garden, more organic then not, made my own laundry soap, used my own cleaning products, did juicing the whole 9! I was vegetarian and on the verge of vegan by that point. Again a healthy pregnancy and no issues but some low iron levels for a short time, this time it wasn't as bad. The cure for the low iron was cooking in a cast iron pot and eating my greens with some citrus dressing. Also the molasses with cream of wheat was yummy too :)

baby #2 (37 weeks)

So come baby #3 life was pretty much the same as baby #2 but this time I was full on VEGAN! The crazy part is I wasn't trying to eat high iron foods but more of what my body wanted. It wasn't cravings so much as when I would go eat breakfast or lunch I would 'listen' to what my body wanted. Maybe one day it was a fruit salad, another day some leftovers from the night before, perhaps a tofu scramble... I found the best recipe for that!!! Will share it later....  but either way I was eating what my body wanted. It was satisfying and yet filling in the gaps of what my body needed. My running was much improved too! Right before baby #3 was decided on I had just finished my first half marathon.

My running had to be put on the back burner for a bit. This one decided to drop at 31 weeks and running with a baby that low is not comfortable at all. Picture a 25lb bowling ball sitting low in your pelvis, then run with that there... you get me??? Yeah so come post baby I am looking forward to getting my running shoes back on and getting back into a routine.

Review of the Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon by Sara Forte

This book is amazing! I was unaware of the Sprouted Kitchen and their other book before I got this book for review. So I would have to say I went into this book completely open minded and with no expectations.

First the Look and feel: I love a good cookbook that gives you a taste of the food via the pictures before you even get to actually taste them in person. This book did exactly that, the feel of the book was warm and inviting. No pretense for fancy dishes or high expectations, from you, the chef. 

The types of food: Let me warn you my fellow reader this is NOT a VEGAN book. There are a lot of recipes that are vegan or can easily be changed to be vegan. But don't think this is a 100% vegan book, its not, nor do the authors claim it to be one. There are some dishes that are made with lean meats but that can be changed to tofu or your meat substitute if you wish.

The recipes: I tried a variety of them on the family, from the Spanish Chopped Salad to the Slow Roasted Veggies and Soba to the Lentil and Rice bowl to the Hippie Bowl to the Ginger Apple Crisp. Every single one I would make again! That is rare.... I chose some recipes that were a weird combo of ingredients in my book and thought "this will be interesting...." but every time the flavors won us over. Even my super picky 5yr old tried the dishes and liked most of them, that was win in my book!

Time: The time some of these dishes take was a bit more then I was thinking, but its mostly just preparing different parts of it then placing them all together. I got wise to that fact after a couple of recipes, so I would make extra brown rice for another night. Or pre-cut some veggies for the next day. But over all once I got the idea of the book the recipes didn't take that long.

The verdict: 5 out of 5 forks!!!
I can't wait to try more from the book and see what their other book has as well

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

My review of The Chia Cookbook by Janie Hoffman

I tried to get into this book and had hoped it would help me with my aversion to chia seeds. The pictures are great! Recipes easy to follow and very diverse. The only issue I had was that no matter what I tried chia seeds still gave me the creeps. This has nothing to do with the book but is my own personal problem. It would have been a great book if I liked chia seeds...


I received this book from Blogging for Books, the opinions given are my own.

Cleaning a Pack and Play to save a few $$

I am always looking for ways to save a few dollars (or more), this was one of those times...

Pinterest oh how I have a love/hate relationship with you!  All these brilliant ideas and recipes, yet most sit in my pin board as gentle reminders of how busy I am and how I will never get around to doing most of them. Thanks... thanks....

Since baby #3 is coming along in August we took all the baby stuff we had left out of the attic the other day. One major thing was the Pack and Play, don't worry I checked to see if it had been recalled. Since it had not and this thing had been with us for over 5yrs now and NEVER had a good cleaning. It. Was. Time. You know how much poop, pee, spit up and dirt this thing has seen??? YUCK!

So the pins I saw said to soak it in the tub with HOT water, laundry soap, baking soda a vinegar. The amounts varied for each pin,  but I will tell you what I did.

• 1 Cap full of laundry soap (I make it my self, if you want the recipe just let me know)
• 2/3 cup of baking soda
• 1-2 cups of vinegar

Then you let it soak for 30 minutes..... set the kitchen timer... flip it to the other side for 30 more minutes.
You will note from the pictures I didn't fill the tub up all the way, this was because our pack and play had a lot of extras on it that needed cleaning so I knew it would take 2 tub fulls. Why waste water right?

This was the first batch, main pad, the 2nd level basket thing and the accessory tray.

 

After you soak it for the 60 minutes total, quickly take it outside. I say quickly because it will drip everywhere!!! Then rinse it off with your hose and let the beautiful sunshine dry and 'bleach' it for you.

I'm so glad it was a sunny day because everything dried within a few hours and looked way better!

Sadly I didn't take any major before pictures of the whole thing, but once I was about to wash the main frame I took close up shots of the arms. So same procedure here too, hot water in the tub, laundry soap, vinegar and baking soda. 30min, flip 30min more. Rinse outside, dry.

BEFORE

AFTER!!!

BEFORE

AFTER!

After my experience I would recommend others try it as well!! It came out great! Considering the age and wear on our pack and play I thought that if I ruined it then no major loss. But this thing is a good a new and ready for the new baby.


*if you try it an ruin yours please don't come after me with an angry mob!*

Mellow Mushroom Sanford, FL Review

*This is my restaurant review for the new Mellow Mushroom in Sanford, FL. They did not pay me to write this, all of the thoughts are my own.*

Monday April 27, 2015 was an epic day. The long awaited opening of Mellow Mushroom in Sanford Florida. Very rarely can I find a restaurant that serves VEGAN food, let alone in Sanford or the surrounding area. This place is legit and will cater to the needs of a vegan and even the gluten free pizza dough is vegan! Score on all accounts for someone like me.

In the past the vegan cheese (soy based) the chain used was busted as not being 100% vegan, as it had casein in. But thankfully they have changed over time to Daiya brand cheese which is 100% vegan.  So vegans of Sanford rejoice!!

On to my review.... the night was in a summary 'a comedy of errors' you will soon see why.

We decided to go opening night, why not right? We arrived at 6:30pm The table wait for the 4.5 (baby is the 0.5) of us was 30 min and not bad we thought so we put our name down. They have a 'fancy' way of telling you when your table is ready by texting you and letting you know. Which it great when you have kids! That gave us time to go to the near by pet store and hang out for 30 minutes until the table was ready for us. Run around the store..... got the text and time to go back.

We were quickly seated out on the patio by a friendly host, out server Sam arrived and was very nice. We ordered out drinks while the kids played with the kids menus and the youngest colored on the table.... good thing its only crayon.

Our server came back in pretty good time and took our food order. I let the others go first since the 'vegan thing' has thrown off many waiters in the past. I ordered a pizza I had gotten in the past at another Mellow Mushroom and remembered liking it so lets see how the new guys do. The Thai Dye Pizza (Vegan version)

Olive oil and garlic base, curried tofu, Daiya mozzarella cheese, Roma tomatoes, onions. Topped with fresh basil, cucumbers and a sweet swirl of Thai chili sauce. And the vegan version has no butter on the crust or Parmesan cheese.

My partially eaten pizza below...

When I first told Sam the server I was Vegan, she immediately said "Ok great! My brother is vegan so I totally understand!" Which I have to tell you is nice, not having to explain your eating habits to a server is a nice break. Before I could explain the no butter etc... she told me "Ok so the Thai Dye with vegan cheese, tofu and I made a big note no butter or Parmesan cheese on the crust." Yes perfect! This may turn out to be a nice night after all! or was it......

So begins the comedy of errors... I understand it was the first official opening night to the public, but they were not that busy. Empty tables were here and there, no huge wait line out side and it was after all a Monday night. But we after we ordered our food we waited... and waited.... and waited.....

The server came by to check on us, reassured us it wouldn't be much longer, the head waitress (I assume) came by with her head set and asked if we had gotten our food. "No still waiting"
... its now been 45min since we placed our order, other tables have gotten their food, we sit hungry and waiting. The kids we really good thank goodness! That would have made the waiting worse!! Finally the kids got their food!! Still missing the oldest ones side dish but the head waitress, as I will call her, came out right after and said his side would be out. My pizza and my husband's was on its way as well. So more waiting....

The kids are enjoying their food, saying how good it is and yummy in their tummy.... while the baby in my belly is having a fit there is no food for him or her! Ah the server comes out with a pizza!!  For my husband.... (insert grumbling under my breath) what are we at now 1hr since we placed our order??

His pizza came and our server again apologized up and down and said my pizza was only 10 more minutes. Something happened in the kitchen with it, maybe it wasn't made to be vegan we aren't sure but the new one is in the oven and in 10 minutes it will be out. Ok, ok... its been an hour what is 10 more minutes.

Our server comes by again, "I am so sorry! I keep checking! This is crazy though I will get a manager over here, this is just to long to wait" I agree! I pull out the pregnancy card "Yeah it is a bit long to make a pregnant woman wait for her food" I say with a smile, as my hands rest on my stomach.

The manager comes to apologize and tells us he will comp my pizza and part of my husband's pizza since we have had such a long wait. He offers to bring me a salad which I quickly say "YES!" Salad comes, still no pizza....

By this point the kids are done, getting antsy and my hubby is half way done with his pizza. My pizza is still MIA! It's now an hour and a half and the salad is not enough. We need to get a to go box for my pizza because this is to much.

Here comes the server... empty handed. "Well you won't believe this, I was watching them make your pizza and they put butter and Parmesan cheese on the crust! I was so mad!! I yelled at them and told the cooks 'she is VEGAN!' so they have to make another one. It's going to be 15 more minutes". (if you are keeping track this is pizza #2 and now #3)

By this point I would have taken the pizza and just not eaten the crust, or eaten the pizza box.  But I did appreciate her looking out for me so I said "ok..... I guess I don't have a choice".
More waiting.......

The manager came over and told us how sorry he was and hands us this.

$15 gift card for all the problems we had, a nice gesture since my pizza was free and part of the hubby's pizza and now the gift card. He really did show he cared and wanted to make sure we came back and didn't leave as disgruntled customers.

So after the 15minutes of waiting for the RIGHT pizza we got it in a to go box and she gave us the 'bad' pizza they were going to toss that had the butter and Parmesan cheese on the crust.

I was so hungry and ready to go it was now 9pm and I still only had eaten a salad, the apples left by the littlest one and was ready to eat my pizza! We get in the car and I see this..... (not the missing pieces)
Do you see something different between these 2 pizzas??? They are both Thai Dye pizzas, the left one was my correct pizza without butter, but its missing quite a bit more the that. Curry tofu? Basil? Cucumbers? Thai Chili sauce??

Ugh....

But it was such a fiasco I just didn't care and we walked home with a couple of free pizzas.

In summary: We will go back, I will prepare the server for the problems we had and make SURE it doesn't happen again! The staff was great and really seemed to care, that made the difference in how we felt about the over all experience. I could have been mad and made a scene but it was their opening night so I will give Mellow Mushroom in Sanford a pass card this time. Good food, great location, fantastic vegan options.

One vegan mom's dislike of slow cooking

Slow cooking, not my strong suit. You think it would be! Mom + busy + home + healthy family = slow cooking simple
Think again... I have had a recipe for weeks that I bought all the ingredients for, got the recipe and had it on my menu for the week . It just sat there, waiting, staring at me. Why? You ask?

A typical night for dinner means I get my 'alone time' while cooking. Yes you read that right!! Once my hubby comes home I start thinking about what item on my menu I will cook tonight. Curry? Italian? Rice? I don't feel like cooking? So that means in under an hour dinner will be prepped, cooked and ready to eat. All in a relative silence of my kitchen while the kids and daddy play in another room.

Slow cookers on the other hand require me to start thinking about cooking around say noon, the peak of mommy and kid time. They get cranky for lunch, I'm breaking up fights, teaching how to share every 5 minutes and you want me to think about dinner too???? Right......

There sits my slow cooker, all by itself....

Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of having dinner done in plenty of time and making it in a large batch so that leftovers are a sure thing. But the time frame is what gets me! My days are busy enough and cooking/prepping a meal just does not fit there.

How can I change that? I want to be more 'ready' for dinner and not have to think about it. But I don't want to have to do it at lunch time or mid afternoon. For now the slow cooker is a game I won't play to often. I won't sell it at our next garage sale, but it sure is going to be lonely in the cabinet.