What my Vegan Baby ate today!

Lately I have been watching “what I ate today” videos on youtube. I think they are interesting and fun to watch. Since I don’t make videos though I thought I would do a blog. And since I’m always talking about what I eat I thought I’d tell you what my baby ate.

My daughter is almost one and a half and still happily breast feeding. In between nursing though this is what she ate today, in our mostly real food vegan home!

  
  

She also had some of my banana date shake, more cashews, and drank water through out the day. ( I just didn’t take pictures of that. )

It was a good eating day for her, some days she’s not as interested in solid foods. But she loved all her food today and is happy.

There you have it! What my vegan baby ate today! Let me know if you like this kind of blog. I could definitely do more!

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 19:14

Some December Foods!

Oh the holiday season! How busy things get, and so few blogs are written! Even now this will be a quick one.

I wanted to talk about some of the things we are eating now. All these things we were eating before going vegan and now we haved changed them to be vegan. If they weren’t already. So not a lot has changed in ways. But its been delicious!

 
  
  
  
  

 Lots of fruit, vegetables, and smoothies! Plus some tasty meals! Im working on keeping my focus on real foods, and staying plant based. We definitely have strayed a bit from that because we have been trying different things that are vegan.(Not everything vegan is healthy!) Its been fun experimenting, and Im sure we will more. But mostly I want to stick with plants as much as possible!
I’d like to say I have interesting posts coming soon. But to be honest with a baby and Christmas coming up Im having a hard time finding time and insperation. Hopefully the New Year will bring both!

In the meantime I hope life finds you all heathy and eating delicious things!

Merry Christmas!

Our first Vegan Thanksgiving!

Our first Thanksliving, as some vegans call it, was awesome! We went to a breakfast where we had vegan cinnamon rolls, fried potatoes, granola, and fruit. Super delicious and fun!

Then for the main meal of the day we made veggie “chicken” patties for our meat replacement. Sweet potatoes, yams, green beans, carrots, and cranberry sauce!

It was all really good and completely satisfying! Not to mention we had the great feeling of knowing we didn’t take part in the killing of 37,000,000 turkeys (I believe thats the number I heard). Or harming any other animals!

Our family’s of course still had “normal” thanksgiving foods which made things weird. But over all we had a good day with delicious harm free foods! For which I am very thankful!

  Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Ephesians 5:20

Something New (kinda)

We have been living on a mostly real food diet for almost 7 months now. Id say 60% to 80% of the time. Which for such a dramatic change thats not bad in my opinion. If we never ate at our family’s houses our percentage would be higher but we like our family’s so we eat with them a couple times most weeks. 😉

At home we have pretty much been vegetarians. I bought a small bag of chicken tenderloins once in the last like four months and there are still a couple in the freezer. We eat meat when we arent at home and someone makes it for us. But over all we aren’t big meat eaters.

Today I watched the documentary Vegucated. And for me that was the push I needed to go vegetarian. Possibly even vegan someday, but one step at a time.

I can’t say I’ll never eat meat again. But for now Its what we are going with. As well we want to cut back on all animal products.

So that will mean even more new and different foods! Im really excited to start this new chapter in our eating habbits. And conveniently enough we had a vegetable and fruit reboot planned for next week. Which will give us some time to think about our next steps.

I’ll be sure to blog soon to tell you how the reboot is going!

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 

James 1:2-3

Making unreal desserts Real!

I love baking! I have been baking for around seven years, mainly cookies, but I have dabbled in most desserts. I still bake cookies sometimes, but since switching to real food it hasn’t been the same. Cutting out white flour, sugars, and chocolate chips changes the baking game. Using whole wheat flour, raw honey, and pure maple syrup instead makes desserts very different. I have gotten better at baking delicious desserts in the past months the more I have tried and discovered what works. I have stayed pretty determined to make real food desserts taste great. And I have succeeded.

Today I wanted to make an apple dessert. We had apples that weren’t very crisp so I thought the best way to use them would be in a tasty dessert. And a tasty dessert is what I made!

For the first time I made apple fritters! And they are almost completely made of real food! One of the things Ive learned about baking with real ingredients is all whole wheat flour doesn’t make for the best desserts. Some things yes, bread, pancakes, cake, brownies, biscuits. They can all be made 100% whole wheat and be great. But I had a feeling the apple fritters would be better with half whole wheat flour, and half all purpose flour. Which is what I did and they were so good! I also used pure maple syrup instead of sugar. And coconut oil instead of canola.

This is the recipe I used but with the changes I mentioned. I also only made half a batch.

I was going to make some kind of honey glaze but they were so good on their own I didn’t feel a need to!

 
Next time I might use all whole wheat flour so they can be 100% real. But I figure even with half all purpose flour they are still so much healthier then apple fritters you could buy at the store! I really like finding unreal recipes and changing them into real food recipes. (Or mostly real in this case.)

What about you? Do you stick to all real ingredients when you make desserts? Go half and half? Or just go all in with the sugar and white flour? Honestly sometimes I miss the days when I did go all in! But Im having fun figuring out how to do desserts Real.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Psalm 128:2

Creativity With Mushrooms

This past week while picking up a few groceries I decided to buy some white mushrooms. I thought, hey if I buy mushrooms I’ll come up with something creative! And I did.

For years I didnt even buy mushrooms because my husband didn’t like them. But I had a craving for them awhile back so I bought some. I told him if he didn’t like them he didn’t have to eat them. But he did like them, and has continued to like them all the different ways I have used them. 🙂

This week I made a mushroom gravy over mashed potatoes! Totally delichious! A simple mushroom potato soup, also very good! And for the first time I made homemade pizza! Whole wheat crust, a homemade white sauce, white cheddar cheese, bell peper, red onion, and sautéed mushrooms! It was wonderful! And definitely inspired by the mushrooms!

   

If you haven’t used mushrooms lately or ever, I’d say give them a try! Because you can do a lot with them!

Let me know if you try out a recipe with mushrooms this week, or if you have a favorite mushroom recipe!

Meatless, Real Food, Biscuits and Gravy!

    
Ahh Saturday morning. After a long week finally a day to sleep in a little, relax, and have a delicious breakfast!

This morning I made biscuits and gravy for the first time. Ive always had them with sausage in the gravy, but decided to make a meatless one. As well as a real food one. It turned out really good and I will definitely add it to the Saturday breakfast rotation. Or possibly even for dinner sometimes. Im a big fan of having breakfast for dinner. Leaving the sausage out actually made them a little less breakfast like anyway. So it can really work for any meal.

What you’ll need

4-6 biscuits (Preferably whole wheat)
2 T. Butter
2 T. Whole Wheat Flour
Salt
Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Onion Powder (optional)
1/3 cup Chicken Broth
2/3 cup Whole Milk (or a bit more for a thinner gravy)

Servings: 2 -plus enough to share with a baby-

To start with I had left over whole wheat drop biscuits from last nights dinner. I planned this out on purpose to make breakfast easier this morning. You can make whatever biscuits you’d like to go with the gravy. Or if anyone is interested I can add my biscuit recipe to this post.
For the gravy I melted the 2 T. Butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Once it was fully melted I whisked in the 2 T. Whole wheat flour and the seasonings. I didn’t measure them, but I did mostly salt and pepper, with some italian seasoning and onion powder. Next time I think I’d do more of the italian and less onion. But the seasoning is up to you. Once that was mixed together well I added the 1/3 c chicken broth, ( I use Kirkland’s Organic chicken broth ) and 2/3 cup milk. I whisked that for a few minutes until it looked thick enough and then it was done! I poured it over the crumbled up biscuits, and we enjoyed it with a side of bananas and blueberries. It was fantastic and I am already looking forward to making it again!

 Let me know if you give it a try, what you did different, or what your favorite go to Saturday morning breakfast is!

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9

Creamy Potatoes with Red Onion!

Last week I got these adorable little potatoes at the fruit stand.

I don’t know what they are called but they are little and yellowish. Most importantly though they were the base of a fabulous new meal I created! I was thinking I wanted something kinda creamy for dinner but I didn’t want to make pasta. Then I thought, who says creamy sauces only go on pasta? And thus the idea came to me!

What you will need for this meal
10 Small Yellow Potatoes
1 Small Red Onion
1/4 Cup of Butter
1 Cup of Grated Parmesan
1/2 Cup Half&Half
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning

Chop all potatoes into four pieces. Put them in a 3 quart pan and cover with water.

Boil for 10-15 minutes. While they boil chop up your red onion. Once the potatoes are soft you should be good. Drain them and keep them in the pan.

Put back on the stove on a medium heat, maybe right under medium. Add your chopped onion and butter.

Add 1 teaspoon each of Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Garlic Powder. Mix up and let cook for 5 minutes. Stirring about once a minute.

Then add your Parmesan, (I like to grate mine fresh but pre grated would work too.) and half and half. Turn off the heat and mix well. Then move your pot to another burner, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Then serve it! My husband and I really enjoyed this meal, as did our daughter. We had it with raw corn on the cob but a green salad would also make a nice side. I’d say this made enough for 3-4 servings, and only took around a half hour to make. I wasn’t timing myself though. 😉 If you decide to give this one a try let me know what you think! Or what you did different!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
Psalms 118:1

A Summer Time Smoothie

Okay you could make this in the Winter too. Watermelon is just better in the Summer. So I’d recommend it more when you can get a beautiful watermelon! Which is now!

I was planning to have a smoothie today and then remembered I had watermelon. I had never put watermelon in a smoothie, but I looked it up and found a recipe. Changing it a little of course because I never leave anything alone.

-About 2 cups of diced Watermelon
-About 2 1/2 cups Spinach
-A cup of frozen Blueberries
-One medium sized Banana

Blend until smooth. I would recommend not doing what I did. I put it all in to get the cool picture, but it made it hard to blend. Blending the watermelon and spinach first, and then adding the other fruit would probably work a lot better. I also think using a frozen banana would have been a better idea. It turned out pretty thin. I like my smoothies a little thicker. But that would be up to you. It tasted fantastic though! I will definitely make it again. How it looked though when it was done… Not so beautiful!

But the taste is what counts right? 😉
Happy Blending!

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

(Part Two) What We Made

Last time I posted I told you about the groceries we bought. Which you can read about HereThis time I’ll show you what we made!

I am a lover of cereal! But since switching to real food its all oatmeal and granola. Oatmeal is a bit easier so we eat a lot of it! Adding more seeds this week made it even better!

   
Oats, almonds, flax, chia, and pumpkin seeds. Then blueberries and whole milk! Fantastically delichious!

 
Green smoothie! – Spinach, Whole Milk, Avocado, Chia and Flax seeds, froxen banana, and frozen blueberries!

 

I had a prep day and bagged strawberries and blueberries to freeze.  As well as prepped berries and celery for snacking on. And sliced up red onion, tomatoes, and bell peppers for sandwiches.
  
One of my very favorite foods lately! A toasted piece of homemade whole wheat bread. Buttered, topped with sliced almonds, cheese, tomato, red onion, bell pepper, and spinach! It is so good! But pretty messy to eat!

 
Sautéed mushrooms, spinach, and red onion in a cream sauce over whole wheat pasta! An invention of my own that turned out wonderfully!

 

Fruit bowls! Simple and tasty!

   

Sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, and a fresh salad with homemade dressing! The salad and corn were great! But I hated the sweet potatoes or yams or whatever you want to call them! Maybe I made them wrong but they were not good.

 

And lastly banana pancakes with a homemade berry syrup! And fried potatoes!

Of course we ate more then this but this was some of it. Tonight we are having lentils and rice and then back to the store to buy this weeks groceries! Its been a very tasty week!

Also our farmers market opened today so I got to go down and pick up some of our veggies and fruit! Locally grown beauty!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-13