Getting Ready for Spring

     

    Spring is on its way here in Southern Oregon and I can't wait for the warmer weather. All of my flower bulbs have started to sprout, and the sun is starting to shine again. I have been starting to focus on cleaning and de-cluttering my house in preparation for some deep cleaning this spring. I hope to incorporate what I've learned from studying feng shui to make my house more livable and functional.

     On Monday I had an appointment with my therapist, and we had to update paperwork. After the appointment I went grocery shopping at Albertsons, and I scored lots of great deals!

    Later that evening I attempted to make vegan marrow bones using a left-over Brussel sprout stalk and it came out very delicious. you could really do this with kale, collards, or broccoli stalks as well.

Vegan Brussel Sprout Marrow

Ingredients:

    1 Brussel sprout stalk

    1 cup coconut oil

    1 cup butter Crisco

    1 tsp marmite

    2 tsp vegan rib rub

Instructions: 

    Cut stalk into small portions. boil stalks for 30 minutes. then roast stalks overnight on low temperature in the oven.

    Cut stalks in half lengthwise and poach cut side down in melted oil with marmite and rib rub for at least 10 minutes on medium low before flipping and cooking the back sides of the stalk for another 5 minutes.

    Transfer Brussel sprout marrow to a baking dish and bake cut side up at 350 degrees Fahrenheit basting every 5 to 10 minutes with oil mix, a.k.a. (vegan beef tallow)

Yield: at least 4 pieces

 

Vegan Lemon Pepper Instapot Veggies

Ingredients:

    2 yellow onions diced

    6 cloves of garlic chopped

    1 bag baby carrots

    4 medium potatoes diced

    2 tsp lemon pepper

    2 tsp lemon juice

    2 tsp veggie powder

    2 tsp rosemary

    1 tsp black pepper

    1/2 cup vegan butter

Instructions: 

    cook on meat and stew until pressure is released.

yield: 8 servings

 

Andouille Sausage Fried Rice

Ingredients:

    2 cups white rice

    2 tsp liquid smoke

    1 tbsp vegan bacon seasoning (see here)

    2 tsp mushroom powder

    2 tbsp minced onions

    3 tbsp hemp oil

    2 vegan andouille sausage (see last week's recipe)

    1 can drained black eyed peas

    1 cup tofu scramble

    1 can okra with tomatoes and corn

    1 tbsp andouille seasoning (see last week's recipe)

    1 tsp garlic powder

    1 tsp onion powder

Instructions: 

    Cook 2 cups rice with liquid smoke, vegan bacon seasoning, mushroom seasoning, and dried minced onion. refrigerate overnight.

     In a skillet sauté andouille sausage in hemp oil. once sausage is tender cut sausage into pieces and add it back to pan with drained black-eyed peas. seasoning beans and sausage with andouille seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder.

     push beans and sausage to one side of the pan and then add rice to the other half of the pan, fry rice to combine. 

    mix in tofu scramble and 1 can okra with tomatoes and corn until well combined.

 Yield: at least 8 servings 

  I made a delicious berry and sparkling wine cocktail to go with dinner.

Berry Sparkling Wine Cocktail

Ingredients:

    1/2 cup sparkling red wine

    1/2 cup berry sparkling water

    2 strawberries diced

    1 strawberry sliced for garnish

    7-9 blueberries crushed

    cranberry sugar (see here)

 Instructions:

    rim a martini glass using a strawberry top and cranberry sugar.

    add diced strawberries and crushed blueberries.

    fill glass halfway with sparkling wine, fill the other half with berry sparkling water.

    Garnish with a light dusting of cranberry sugar and a sliced strawberry.

 Yield: 4 cocktails

 For breakfast Tuesday I pulled an old breakfast meal prep of grits and muffins out of the freezer. 

 

    I don't remember exactly how I made it and I didn't record myself making it but from what I remember I made grits with vegan butter, vegan bacon, black eyed peas, and a gravy made with the aqua faba and crispy bits from frying vegan bacon and peas. Then I topped it with avocado, vegan sour cream, and sliced green onion. I remember the muffins were blueberry, apple, peanut butter oatmeal muffins,

    On Tuesday I went to the gym with my friend, and I focused mostly on abdominal exercises, and I did some bicycling for cardio.

    That Tuesday evening, I started this week's declutter by decluttering my makeup collection and getting rid of anything that was not cruelty free.

    Some of the makeup was hard to part with but I know I did the right thing and I managed to declutter a large portion of my collection.

 

 

    Then Wednesday I did some work focusing on cleaning and organizing my arts and craft supplies.

I know my job was not finished and I will probably return to cleaning and decluttering art supplies another day soon.

That evening I did some cleaning and cooking in the kitchen, and I made sweet potato biscuits and pickled onions.

Pickled Onion Recipe

Ingredients:

    3 minced onions

    4 oz red wine

    2 tsp sea salt

    1 tsp onion powder

    4 - 8 oz red wine vinegar

Instructions:

    add all ingredients to a pickle jar and shake and store in the fridge overnight before use.

Yield: 8 - 12 oz of pickles

 

 

Sweet Potato Biscuits

 

Ingredients:

    1 roasted sweet potato cut into chunks

    2 cups vegan biscuit mix

    1 tsp vegan steak seasoning

    1/2 cup vegan beef tallow (see above Brussel sprout marrow recipe)

    White Pepper to taste

 

Instructions:

    process sweet potato with biscuit mix and steak seasoning in food processor until flaky like pie crust dough.

    pulse in vegan beef tallow until dough forms a ball.

    shape biscuits with hands into circles and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes.

Yield: 6 biscuits

The biscuits were served with a mock lamb lentil soup I made back in November and kept in the freezer.

 

     I had just got to test out my new oven while making this meal prep. Unfortunately, I didn't record much footage of me making the soup.

Mock Lamb Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

    2 quarts veggie broth

    1 cup lentils

    1/2 cup rice

    1/2 cup soy curls

    1 can carrots

    1 can diced tomatoes

    1 small zucchini cubed

    1 cup shitake mushrooms 

    2 cups red wine

    2 tsp liquid smoke

    2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

    3 tbsp lamb seasoning

Instructions:

    add veggie broth and all other ingredients except canned carrots to instapot. 

    cook on meat and stew until pressure is released.

    add carrots and adjust seasoning as needed.

Yield: at least 14 servings

 

Lamb Seasoning

 

    Thursday, I went grocery shopping and got lots of yummy vegan tasty treats. I went to Grocery Outlet, Winco, Dollar Tree and Farmers Market.

 

    I made a sandwich using the vegan turkey bologna and sprouts. This brand of vegan bologna is the most realistic bologna brand I have ever tried.

    I loved all the vegan cheese especially the Miyoko's Smoked Gouda!

    Later that night I worked on decluttering my closet.

 

    Thursday night I also made more chocolate covered dates.

    Check out my Christmas blog for the written recipe.

    Friday, I made another sweet treat I had been meaning to make because I finally bought some Kraken rum, my favorite.

    I ended up making a healthier variation of a mincemeat pie by making vegan mincemeat baked apples with hard sauce.

    I enjoyed my apple with a couple carrot dogs and some Zapp's voodoo potato chips.

    I've finally been seeing impressive milestones in my flexibility which is a good sign I am getting closer to a healthy goal weight. Realistically a healthy weight for me should be somewhere between 220 lbs. to 250 lbs. we've still got a way to go but I'm getting there especially now with a vegan diet.

    I also got a ThredUp package on Saturday, but I am getting frustrated with the new fees ThredUp is requiring for sellers on their site so I will probably only be selling on Poshmark for now and won't be ordering from ThredUp for a while.

    I was pretty disappointed with my order also because only 2 items fit. but by the time I get my goal body most of the items should fit well.

    Later that evening I had a bit of a wine and cheese tasting with a couple glasses of Grove Ridge Merlot and the vegan cheese I had got. I was a little tipsy by the end of it all and slept extremely well that night. 

    This Sunday I am trying to take things super easy and have a really relaxing night of editing my blog and FitVlog to wrap up the end of the week.

    I managed to stay under calories this week but an unfortunate reoccurring theme has been going over sodium so I will have to be more careful next week. 

     Tuesday through Thursday were all high calorie days likely because I went to the gym, so my body wanted to build some vegan muscle.

    Wednesday, I ate the most. Fortunately, I had also just bought the groceries to keep up with my appetite.

    Thursday was the last day of my ravenous hunger, thank goodness, because the snacking was getting a bit ridiculous. 

By Friday my appetite was returning to normal, and I started to see a larger calorie deficit on my records again.

    Things start looking better Saturday and Sunday. Although I forgot to log the wine and cheese which I should have logged on Sunday.

    Overall, I feel I did really well this week especially since I finally made it back to the gym.

    I feel like I have made a lot of progress on my fitness journey since last spring when I became vegan, now I am looking forward to my veganniversary this spring and all the beauty that this spring will bring.