Author: Lindsay Ingalls

Oh Oats I Missed You

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I used to eat oats all the time but lately I’ve been having soyogurt, scones and green juice but finally yesterday I returned to my old friend oats, if only it could have been oats in a jar.  I also had oats this morning as well and I think tomorrow OIAJ will happen.

On Monday I got home from work to find my Easy Lunch Boxes sample had arrived and I couldn’t wait to try them out.  My husband and I bring lunch everyday to work because it’s healthier, cheaper and easier than going out for lunch, besides the fact that we don’t really have time to go out for lunch during the work week.  I have to say one of the hardest things at our house however is finding containers to pack our food into. The Hubz We are notorious for leaving our tupperware at work or in the car so it is nice to finally have some new ones.

I went right to work putting together my lunches for the week and because they stack so great I could just stick them in the fridge and grab them when I head out the door.  This makes like so much easier because I don’t have to get up in the morning and make lunch or do it the night before they are all ready to go.  I also received a cute purple lunch box that fits the containers perfectly- I think this is my first real lunch box since elementary school. If you check back later today I think there might be a giveaway post for your own chance to win these eco friendly lunch boxes.

For my lunches this week we have some fruit, salad and the most delicious GF vegan raw sprouted crackers from Livin’ Spoonfuls I have ever tasted.  I tried the coconut curry yesterday and they were amazing I am sure I will post more about these later.

Dinner last night was delicious and filled with healthier versions of two of my favorite things- chili and quesadillas. I know I have blogged about these before but Maria and Ricardo’s Low Carb Tortillas are my favorite tortillas for a few reasons  they are low in calories, fat and carbs and are made with ingredients that are all natural.

In my quesadillas I put some scallions and a serving of cheddar Daiya cheese- I couldn’t hold myself back from buying it the other day when I saw that it was on sale for $2 off.  We tried the mozza a few weeks ago and I decided that a sale was a good excuse reason to try the cheddar;  I think I am a bigger fan of the cheddar so far.

To go with our quesadillas I made up some chili with kidney and black beans that I had soaked the night before and I added a bunch of great veggies to it including mustard greens.

Beans and Greens Chili

Ingredients:

  • 1/2T olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1.5 cups cooked kidney beans
  • 1.5 cups cooked black beans
  • 1T tomato paste
  • 2 t cumin
  • 1 t paprika
  • 1/2 t oregano
  • 1T nutritional yeast
  • 2t chili powder
  • dash of cayenne
  • 1t garlic powder
  • 1t onion powder
  • 1/2t salt
  • 1/4t black pepper
  • 3 cups mustard greens, chopped
  • 1/4 cup scallions, sliced
  • 1T chipotle hot sauce or 1t chipotle chili powder (optional)

Directions:

In a medium pot heat the oil over medium-high and add in the onion and carrots; saute for 3-5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute.  Add in the vegetable broth, tomato paste and beans and bring to a boil; turn down to medium low and let simmer for 15 minutes.  While the beans simmer mix the cumin, paprika, oregano, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder salt and pepper with 2T of water to make a paste. Stir the spice paste into the beans and then top with the mustard greens and cover; let the greens wilt. Stir in the greens and scallions.  At this point you can eat as is or if you want you can add in the chipotle hot sauce or chipotle chili powder- I think that with the beans and greens this smoky flavor and heat is a great addition to the chili but it is yummy without it as well.

Mother’s Day Brunch

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Happy Be-Lated Mother’s Day! Yesterday I spent all morning in the kitchen preparing a wonderful Mother’s Day brunch for my Mom and G-Ma.  We had originally planned to go on a picnic however when snow, yes SNOW was predicted for the weekend we decided to bring the party inside. It was just as well because I love to cook up a feast for everyone.

Roasted Apple Scones

Tomato Basil Scones which were served up with a Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Scallion Spread

Baked Sweet Potato Hash and Homemade Tempeh Bacon

Mushroom and Onion Tofu Scramble

Mustard Greens Salad with Radishes, Tomatoes & Cucumbers with Italian Dressing

A lovely fruit plate that my momma brought

Everyone loved the food and even went back for seconds-that’s always a good sign or they were just being polite.

After we ate I gave my Mom and G-Ma their gifts which included these cute Okabashi sandals for my mom.

“Okabashi was founded in 1984 to produce, sell and distribute quality, healthy footwear in the United States. Every shoe, sandal and flip flop we produce is carefully designed for both personal and environmental wellness. As you look at our sandals, flip flops and shoes, look for the features of each product while noting that every one is made in USA and comes with a two year guarantee! Back in 1984, there were many other companies making footwear in the USA; Okabashi is the only one left that mass produces sandals and flip flops, and we are growing.”

I actually received these sandals as a sample however unfortunately they were about a centimeter too short for me so I decided that they would be great for my mom.  They are so comfortable and did I mention you can wash them in the dishwasher? I know I am not sure why I would but it’s a fun fact! I really was tempted to wear them a little short but since these ones didn’t fit me the Hubz said that I should give them to my momma and I could order myself a pair….in the next size up of course!

Q: What did you do for Mother’s Day?

Recipe Post: Spinach Artichoke Dip

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Friday night the Hubz and I stopped at the Co-op for a few necessary items for Mother’s Day Brunch and while we were there we picked up a mini loaf of local bread.  When we got home neither of us was in the mood to cook anything too crazy so I rummaged through the cupboards and fridge trying to find ingredients to make a quick and easy healthy meal.  I found a bag of frozen organic spinach, a jar of artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes; the perfect start to a spinach artichoke dip! For parties I like to make this really creamy spinach artichoke dip which is delicious but not the healthiest since it includes vegan cream cheese and vegan sour cream so this is a great alternative.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/2 small onion diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 cup of quartered artichoke hearts
  • 10 oz of frozen spinach
  • 1/4 cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened original almond milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable broth mixed with 1T arrowroot
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1T favorite hot sauce

Directions

In a skillet over medium high heat the vegetable broth and add the onion and garlic; saute until soft.  Stir in the artichoke hearts, spinach, tomatoes and almond milk and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the nutritional yeast, vegetable broth/arrowroot mixture, salt, pepper and hot sauce.  Cook until the sauce has thickened and is bubbly- if you’d like it thinner add more broth or almond milk.  Serve over pasta, with bread, rice or crackers.

Recipe: Caramel Corn

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Last night the hubby was craving something sweet and I thought how about some caramel corn?  I remembered a little while back that Mama Pea had posted a recipe for Caramel Kettle Corn and I was inspired to create my own version.

Caramel Corn

adapted from Mama Pea’s Recipe

In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil over medium heat. Add brown rice syrup, palm sugar and salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove caramel from stove CAREFUL IT’S HOT! and carefully pour over popcorn. Quickly toss together so that the popcorn is evenly coated.

And the Verdict…….

The crazy eyes say it all….NOM NOM NOM NOM…..GOOOD!

Q: What is your favorite way to eat popcorn?

Green Mountain Coffee Tasting

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This evening Hubz and I headed out to the Green Mountain Coffee Visitor Center at the Waterbury Train Station for a tasting of Green Mountain Coffee’s limited edition Spring Revival Blend. We began with a nice reception filled with a variety of yummy looking goodies most of which were unfortunately not vegan.

Aren’t all of these desserts beautiful? I wish that they had been vegan but at least they were nice to look at.  Among the beautiful desserts and other savory dishes we found one we could eat, a mushroom bruschetta- it was amazing!

After the reception it was time to get ready for the tasting which you could view live on UStream. We sipped some water and waited around at the nicely decorated tasting tables.

Wasn’t Hubz looking pretty sharp in his new(ish) shirt?

Hubby and I both really enjoyed this coffee and the Hubz isn’t event a coffee drinker! Here is the UStream Video and you can hear my muffled comments which were kindly repeated by our hosts.

We were sent home with a few goodie bags that included a sample of the Spring Revival Coffee to try at home.  I also received one bag that had K-Cups for the office.  Inside the bags there was this awesome fair trade coffee sticker as well as information about the coffee and World Fair Trade Day (May 8, 2010).

Also included were step by step cards on how to do your own tasting at home as well as information on everyday brewing.

Since Green Mountain Coffee was kind enough to send me home with an extra bag of goodies I thought who better than to give it to but one of my readers? So if you would like a chance to win a Green Mountain Coffee bag of goodies which includes a bag of ground Limited Edition Spring Revival, a fair trade coffee sticker, coffee tasting cards and a few informational pieces keep on reading to see how you can enter.

To enter: (Please enter by noon onMay 8th, 2010 – World Fair Trade Day)- GIVEAWAY CLOSED! – THE WINNER IS ENTRY #11: ANGIE BISHOP

There are a number of ways to enter however for each to qualify you MUST leave a SEPARATE comment for each individual entry.

1. Visit the Green Mountain Coffee Site and let me know of something new you learned or a coffee that interest you.

2. Follow Green Mountain Coffee on twitter

3. Become a fan of Green Mountain Coffee on Facebook

4. Follow me on Twitter.

5. Become a fan of Cook.Vegan.Lover. on Facebook.

6. Tweet about this giveaway “I want to win Fair Trade Ltd. Ed. Spring Revival @GreenMntCoffee on @cookveganlover  http://wp.me/pFVWo-J0”

7. Blog about this giveaway.

Lucky Wednesday

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Lots of luck has been coming our way this week.  We were approved for a new apartment which we will be moving in to July 1st and I can’t wait.  The place is so nice and has a huge kitchen with a great layout.

This morning I realized I didn’t have food for lunches so we picked up lunch on our way to work at the City Market Co-op in Burlington.  To our delight we each purchased a can of Zevia for 29 cents each.  Crazy right?  They were on sale for 79 cents and then I found a coupon for 50 cents off a can. So a great deal to go with my salad of spinach, roasted tofu, roasted broccoli and chickpea salad with balsamic dressing.

I also snacked on these glorious organic strawberries.

After work I met up with a girlfriend for a drink while hubby went to his softball practice.  By the time softball practice was over it was late so hubby and I picked up some dinner from On the Rise and we came home to a number of great treats in the mail.

For dinner we enjoyed a seared tempeh wrap and a tempeh lettuce and tomato sandwich.  They were both delicious with an Anchor beer and for dessert a vegan blondie.

Q: How has your Wednesday been?