Author: Lindsay Ingalls

Cheater Indian Food and A Maggie’s Giveaway

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This morning to my surprise I wasn’t as sore after our hike yesterday as I thought I would be.  I was however hungry for a big bowl of southwest style cheezy grits which I enjoyed and forgot to photograph.  Hubby had a bunch of work to do this morning before we head out for the night so we went to our local coffee shop for some chai lattes and ended up splitting a bagel with hummus during our 4 hours there. Feeling a little hungry and knowing that we would be hungry soon we decided to save some money and eat at home before we headed out.  Since our fridge is practically empty except for hot sauce and other condiments I decided to make some Patel’s Organic Chickpea Curry Meal aka cheater Indian Food.  I steamed up some frozen brussels sprouts to go with it.

Hubby and I are headed to Costco and then we’re off to a concert.  So I will leave you with this great giveaway from Maggie’s Organics. Maggie’s Organics is a great company here is a little blurb about them:

“Maggie’s Organics was founded in 1992 on the premise that workers should be treated ethically and that clothing should be durable, affordable and constructed of environmentally sustainable materials. Today our line of organic and fair trade socks, legwarmers, tights, scarves, loungewear, tees, baby clothesand fashionable tops feel as good to buy as they do to wear!” Source

They recently sent me a great pack of their sport socks which come in fun colors and are super comfy.  I love these socks and wear them all the time now.  Maggie’s is giving TWO of you the opportunity to win a three pack of their sport socks.

To Enter by April 30th, 2010: (Open to US Residence Only)

Please leave separate comments for each entry.

1. Visit Maggie’s Organics website and tell me what product interest you the most. (Leave a comment)

2. Follow Maggie’s Organics on Facebook.

3. Follow Maggie’s Organics on Twitter.

4. Follow Maggie’s Organics blog in a reader.

5. Tweet about this giveaway @cookveganlover.

Hike Recap

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Hubby and I woke up this morning and headed out for a hike. Hubby has been begging me to go on a hike since the snow disappeared but the weather hasn’t been great so when we woke up to a bright sunny day it seemed perfect. We stopped in at Onion River and picked up some shot blocks and Gu.

We started on our hike and at first it was pretty hard especially since I have been nursing a cold. We hiked for awhile and then decided to share a piece of XoBiotic chocolate which unfortunately was a little stale but we ate it anyway.

One of the fun things about our hike is that the trail we picked was a historical trail with little things to stop at each way.  Below is me pretending to tumble into a 27 foot well from the 1800s.

So our hike started out pretty well and then we decided to go to the top of this summit and went down the otherside.  About 40 minutes later we decided that we were going the wrong direction so we turned around and went the other direction for about an hour and 20 minutes.  Then again we decided that we were probably going to wrong direction.  Finally I spotted a trail that might get us back to where we started.  To my delight we found a headed up the trail and at the end of it were 2 Bud Light cans that we had seen earlier in the day and I yelped with joy.

Neil was pretty excited too. We were no longer lost.

After our 5+ hour hike that should have taken ohhhhh 2.5 hours, if we hadn’t have gotten lost, we headed to The Alchemist for some beers and delicious food.  When we got there they weren’t serving a full menu so we started with Genius Waters, beers and pretzels with spicy mustard.

Then we got a second beer, sweet potato fries to share and each ordered a tempeh sandwich.  Our eyes were bigger than our tummies though so we only ended up eating half of our sandwiches.

Now we are hanging out at home relaxing our bodies and drinking tea.

Q: What did you do today?

Trading the Beach for the City

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Hey Everyone!

I’m so glad it’s finally Friday and the weekend is here! I am finally feeling better so this weekend will be great.  I also started a cleanse which is making my body feel wonderful.  The good people at Garden of Life sent me their Raw Cleanse kit to try out as well as their raw prenatals; no we are not pregnant but I am preparing my body for the future how ever far that might be.

Anyways I am on Day 2 of my 7 day cleanse and it feels great already. Basically there are three steps that you take each day for 7 days and it helps cleanse the body and aid in digestion. Now powders are the most appetizing but if you over look that and consider how your body feels it’s worth it, so far.  I will update you again in a few days and once I have completed my 7 days.

Also news that I am so excited for we ARE going to go on a vacation this year but it just isn’t going to be down south we have traded the beach for the city. You are probably asking….well What city then?

WASHINGTON DC! Now I haven’t been there in like 10+ years and it will be hubby’s first time so I would love suggestions of places to eat, shop, see, drink, ect.  So please send any suggestions my way. Thank you in advance.

Q: Are you a city person or a beach person?

Happy Earth Day!

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Happy Earth Day! How are you all doing?

Yesterday I came home to some yummy treats from Blue Diamond Natural.  Unfortunately a few things aren’t vegan such as the almond butter with honey, the Lime n’ Chili almonds and the Salt n’ Vinegar almonds so I brought them to work for the boys to have.

Last night was great at our house.  When we got home we did a 30 minute super clean which I find is always successful; basically we run around the house picking up as much as we can or doing dish or laundry and then we are done for the rest of the evening.  One of the hardest parts of working full time, going to school and commuting is having the motivation to come home and do house work so this helps us to be productive and then we can relax.  Last night we relaxed with some homemade pizza and caught up on Tuesday night’s episode of LOST!

Seriously best pizza I’ve had in a long time!  Now I didn’t make my crust but there is this great little pasta company who also makes whole wheat pizza dough and they sell it in the freezer section of the co-op.  All I have to do is let the ball of dough thaw out and it’s ready for me to roll out and top.  Last night I topped this crust with salt free tomato sauce, marinated artichokes, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, minced garlic, a sprinkle of nutritional yeast and Italian seasoning.  It was delicious!

This morning was all about the oatmeal with banana and almond butter because it had just been too long.

So last week I posted about self-care and about making time for yourself.  How is that all working out for you? Have you taken time for yourself this week?  I just ordered a few things from Amazon for my own self-care that are inexpensive (only a couple dollars each) and are easy daily things you can do for yourself. They are:

  1. Hot Water Bottle: This is an inexpensive treat for your body;  just fill it up with warm water and place on your stomach for 15-20 minutes each evening.  The heat from the water bottle brings more energy and blood circulation to the digestive organs.  The heat is also comforting so jump into bed and place on your tummy before you head to sleep and it can relax your body and aid in a better sleep.
  2. Tongue Cleaner: This strange little thing is super inexpensive and aids in fighting cavities and bad breath.  It also helps with cravings by cleaning the tongue of leftover food which can cause you to crave food when you aren’t hungry.  Two other advantages to cleaning your tongue is that it improves the taste of food and enhances kisses.
  3. Hot Towel Scrub: Now I know that all of you must have a hand towel and/or wash cloth and this is an easy thing you can do every day.  Basically wet a towel/wash cloth with warm water and ring it out; then spend 5-10 minutes gently scrubbing your body.  This is great for relaxation, circulation and detoxification and it rejuvenates the skin.

Q: What have you done for yourself this week?

Boo

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So after staying up way too late last night researching places to go/stay, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not going to happen this year. We won’t be packing up our beach bags and heading anywhere warm anytime soon. I guess we will just be enjoying some local vacations this year to NYC, Boston and lots of camping.  I am ready for our NYC trip Labour Day weekend though, even though it’s months away.

This morning was pretty unproductive since I stayed up way too late and haven’t been feeling well (bad idea) I am exhausted today and just feeling pretty crummy.  I can’t wait to go home and crawl in my bed and sleep. This morning I had one large coffee at Speeders and snacked on a Odawalla Bar. Then I had to run all over town and find a ‘Get Well Soon’ card per the request of my boss.  I’d never imagined it would be so hard to find a nice card that wasn’t humorous, religious or too girly (the card was for a firefighter).  Finally I found a nice simple one at Barnes&Noble and then it was time to get down to business.

Q: How’s your morning been?

A Cold, Red Curry and A Vacation

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I had to take a day off from blogging because I am slightly under the weather.  We had a work meeting yesterday and the place was damp and cold and I came home with a sore throat and a cough.  I hung out in bed all last night and have been lounging around today.  I think my rest, miso soup and fresh green juice has been helping but I’m not 100% yet.  I did get a workout in this morning and a walk this evening with hopes of sweating out some of this cold.

Tonight I made some red curry tonight because what’s better for a cold than something nice and spicy.  Not much of a recipe to tell basically sauteed up some onions and peppers; added the red curry paste; add 2 cups vegan chik’n broth; bring to a boil for 8 min; add bokchoy and a can of light coconut milk; serve over udon noodles.

Now hubby and I are hanging out on the couch with our MacBooks (romantic right) doing some vacation research.  We have almost settled on Costa Rica but are also considering other Puerto Rico and other countries in Central America.  It is a lot of work trying to figure out the place that has everything we want for the right price!

Q: Where is your favorite place to travel?

Lazy Sunday and a Greek Feast

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I decided to take the morning/afternoon off from blogging today so that I could relax with the husband and grocery shop and watch movies. It’s been a lazy Sunday around our house and I am happy to finally have a lazy day. This morning I started off with a bowl of oats topped with cinnamon, Sunbutter, banana and a couple drops of chocolate chips. I haven’t had oatmeal in many days and it was nice to be back in my routine.

This afternoon we did some grocery shopping and hubby requested that I make some banana soft serve with strawberries for an afternoon snack.  He sure had a great idea because this was yummy!

Ingredients:

  • 3 small frozen bananas
  • 8 strawberries
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
  • 1T raw almond butter

Blend this all together and enjoy.  You can make this completely raw if you substitute raw almond milk.

Dinner was the exciting event of the night.  We have been trying to cut back on eating out so hubz and I decided to do themed date nights in.  Tonight we did a Greek feast in memory of our trip to Ft. Lauderdale last September where we had the best Greek food. For our feast I picked up some marinated mushrooms, artichokes, and olives.  I then made some lightened up Greek which included skordalia, hummus, oregano & lemon roasted potatoes and some tomato, tofu, onion salad with Drew’s lemon herb dressing.

Hummus

Ingredients:

  • 1T lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup chickpea liquid
  • 1-28oz can of chickpeas
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 cloves of garlic

Blend in a food processor until smooth and top with paprika and chopped olives.

Skordalia

Ingredients:

  • 1 large potato, boiled
  • 3 cloves of chopped garlic
  • 2T olive oil
  • 1T white wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper

Toss in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Lemon and Oregano Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 1 large Yukon Gold Potato Sliced
  • 1/2 the juice of a lemon and 1/2 a lemon sliced
  • 1t oregano
  • salt and pepper
  • 1T olive oil
  • 3 cloves of minced garlic

Preheat oven to 425F. Place potatoes in one layer in a roasting pan and sprinkle with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and oregano.  Place the lemon slices on top and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Now I am stuffed and am enjoying a nice pom-vodka spritzer and watching New York, I Love You. Q: What are you doing this evening?