New Year, New Post

Decided today I wanted to do something fun, like blog! Woohoo! Occasionally, over the last couple months I will grab my camera, and snap a picture of what we are eating. Check out some of our vegan meals.

This is the only surviving picture of Thanksgiving food. This was the second vegan Thanksgiving my mother-in-law and I put together. I made The Chew's Daphne Oz's Mushroom and Kale Stuffing. Next year I'm going to revise it a bit, and make it the day before so all them flavors will develop overnight. 

I made this soup after a long rainy day of running errands and being out. We needed something warm and nourishing. I made miso soup with cubed tofu and kale dumplings, it made us feel warm and right. This dish was meant to be healing, not necessarily filling. So before bed we had almond butter, jelly sandwiches. 

The girls told me I was the best Mama ever for making this dish. Two of their favorite things, miso soup and dumplings. 

A poor mans meal: Fried potato tacos with spanish rice and steamed broccoli. This has been what I have been making lately when I don't feel like cooking and just want to eat fast food. We don't eat fast food in this house so this is the next best thing. I fry the tacos in safflower oil (NOT sunflower oil). Safflower oil is a great high heat oil and perfect for frying food in. It does cost more than other oils but it's so worth it. You eat these and you don't feel like you have eaten heavy fried food. 

This is another meal I made after a long day and not much food in the fridge. Barley casserole from The Kind Diet with sauteed zucchini and sauteed cabbage. The girls were not down with the barley casserole, but Daniel and I love it. The girls did, however, devour their veggies,which made me realize we have gone so far in our veggie journey. Hurray! 

Omelet and potatoes from Vegan Family Meals. The omelet was pretty good, but wasn't super satisfied with the inside texture. The potatoes were Divine. My brother-in-law made them to shear perfection. They were tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and dill. I love anything with dill. 

Enough of the food, check out my kids! How cute is this chunky monkey eyeing herself in the mirror? 

Christmas morning, reading a new book, old school Curious George. They love this guy. 

When I was little, all I wanted was a white Christmas. Now that I'm older and have kids, I just want comfort! It was raining all week at home, but we didn't suffer through it because we were visiting family in Palm Springs! It was in the 60's but it felt like 75-80. Loved sitting by the pool in the sun watching the kids play. Now, that is a vacation.

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone.

New Years Day we went to the Rose Parade. Now, I ordinarily don't believe in waking up early, and crowds and traffic, but this is the Year of the Family for us. So I figured I'd start it out right. It was so much fun! A new family tradition. 

Daniel getting creative with changes.

The people in front of us had toddler chairs and offered them to Thérèse and her cousins. Everyone is so sweet for having woken up so early.

Our big five month old! It's not fair how fast they grow.

We are excited about the new year! Daniel got a teaching position and is planning on taking only one class at a time to finish up his credential. So we are looking forward to a little more normalcy in our lives. 

After lots of fun vegan food over the Holidays, I'm excited to get my family back on a loosely based Superhero diet. The kids have been eating much less cheese and eggs, they no longer exist in our house. Love that. 

I want to give a shout out to mi amiga Brittany. Her blog is great. From her I learned how to make my personal much loved lentil and rice tacos. (I fry the tortilla and add Veganaise to mine. Yes, I fry anything I can!) Today I was really impressed by her honest story regarding her conversion to a plant based diet. They eliminated so much pain and medication just by changing their diet! Something to think about now that a new year is starting up. I love the concept of taking charge, taking your health into your own hands and living life feeling your best!