Wednesday, January 31, 2018

A Book Club Brunch and What I Ate Wednesday (A Day of Vegan Eats)


As I said in this post about our last book club meeting, the book club that I enjoy with my sister-in-law Connie and our friend Sarah is mainly about food and conversation. It's just great, girls-only fun and time to catch up on each other's recent activities. We eat a vegan brunch and all of our goodies are made with spelt flour.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

What I Ate Wednesday (A Day of Vegan Eats)


As I was preparing the photos for this What I Ate Wednesday post, I realized that all my meals look pretty darn healthy. But this is just a look at highlights from the week, and I certainly don't photograph everything. Had I been photographing my food from Friday night through to Sunday, there would have been a few more (delicious) snack items, like a vegan chocolate caramel bar, organic jelly beans and a couple of vegan peanut butter cups.

The kids wanted to go out to some shops on Friday night, so we stopped at the health food store to load up on snacks while we were out. It's easier for me to find vegan snacks there, although the kids would have been happy to go to a convenience store or the like. All of this is just to say that I believe in balance. My strategy (if you want to call it that) is to have healthy main meals and enjoy a few treats in between now and then. Actually I prefer homemade treats best of all, but sometimes I don't get around to making them. One healthy snack we do love is hummus, above. I made some this week to enjoy on a fresh baguette with tomato slices. I use this hummus recipe from Oh She Glows.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Loaded Vegan Nachos With Easy Scrambled Tofu


With the big game coming up soon (and let's be honest, I don't watch football) it's a great time to think about stuffing your face with appetizers. I might even watch a little bit of football if somebody puts out a selection of tasty, plant-based treats. And the awesome thing is that tasty doesn't have to mean completely free of nourishment.

Nachos are the perfect example. Load up tortilla chips with a whole bunch of delicious and mostly healthy toppings and you have yourself a game-day snack that will satisfy the munchies and offer up vitamins, minerals and fibre too! It's a win-win (although the game won't be). Nothing beats nachos with a whole load of traditional toppings - except maybe nachos with scrambled tofu on top. Yep, scrambled tofu. Stay with me.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Books To Help You Restore Balance (With A Giveaway)


When it comes to January, I am of two minds. On the one hand, I am so, so tired of winter and the lack of sunlight. On the other hand, I appreciate the desire for change and improvement that comes with the new year. The Christmas decor has been neatly put away in the basement, I am in the process of organizing my house (it's a never-ending process), I am taking my vitamins and other supplements regularly (see this post for more information) and I'm cooking healthy meals more often.

A key part of improving health and wellness is examining our mental health status. And with the aforementioned winter doldrums, January is the perfect time to do just that. The dark, extremely cold days can be so depressing. It can be serious business for some people and seeking a mental health professional or reaching out to loved ones might be called for. But if you just need a bit of a boost, I think books are a great resource. I recently received a few DK books that are geared to restoring balance for yourself and your loved ones. Read on to the end of this post to enter for a chance to win two of them.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

My Winter Supplement Routine and What I Ate Wednesday (A Day of Vegan Eats)


As I write this post, the sun is shining through the trees in my front yard. I feel such joy when I see even weak rays of sun shining on six inches of snow. If you've never lived in a climate with a long, snowy winter and a lack of sunshine, I'm not sure you can understand how downright depressing it can be. This winter has been especially cold and it makes it all the more tempting to just curl up with a blanket and hibernate. Not always possible, of course, and not only that, it's not the most healthy approach. We humans need exercise and sunshine to flourish.

We bought a spinning bike and an elliptical trainer from a gym that was downsizing in December. I have used the elliptical exactly twice. (I won't use the bike because that type of position bothers my cranky old neck.) The first time I used the elliptical, my head immediately started to hurt. My headache lasted three days. (A sign of how out of shape I am?). The second time I started off more slowly and it went a lot better. My sister-in-law and I are planning more walks outside when the temperature gets closer to zero too.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Vegan Brunch Recipes From The Edgy Veg (With A Giveaway)

Ginger Kombucha Mimosa recipe from The Edgy Veg
Photos: Brilynn Ferguson

I've always loved the idea of getting together with friends and family for brunch - a leisurely, long meal packed with breakfasty goodies, eaten after sleeping in until 10. My mom tells me that her grandmother (in Nova Scotia) used to have people over for brunch every week after church. "They were poor people, but the baked bean pot was filled, tea biscuits made, teapot on (no coffee)," says Mom. "Probably eggs (from their own hens) and homemade condiments (beets, pickles, chow-chow). Oh yes! Always homemade bread." The coal stove kept everything warm as extended family and neighbours casually dropped in. Sounds like a beautiful way of building companionship and community, huh?

I'm definitely not that industrious. I am not efficient enough at cooking for crowds to get a weekly gathering going. But a nice brunch for the family and a few friends now and then would be lovely. I recently received a copy of  The Edgy Veg: 138 Carnivore-Approved Vegan Recipes. I was invited to share a couple of recipes with you and I settled on two fantastic brunch recipes - a vegan eggs benedict and a mimosa with a difference. Read on for the recipes, and enter to win a copy of the book.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Starting A Vegan Diet and What I Ate Wednesday (with a day of vegan eats) #Veganuary


Seeing as our thoughts turn to healthy eating in January, I felt it was an appropriate time for me to resume my What I Ate Wednesday posts. Additionally, January is known in the plant-based eating community as "Veganuary," a time when people are encouraged to try (and hopefully permanently adopt) a vegan diet.

I was a vegetarian for almost 20 years before switching to a vegan diet. Sometime within those two decades I also stopped drinking cow's milk. I did, however, eat milk chocolate and cheese pizzas. When I went fully vegan a few years back, it wasn't a big transition for me. In other words, I can't speak with any personal experience about going directly from a meat-eating diet to veganism. But I can tell you I've never regretted making these dietary changes - not for a single moment.