Not so Vegetarian Vacation

I had a fantastic vacation in South Florida with my cousins. We started off the vacation right - we went on the beach right away.

Later that night we hit the Blue Fish Company in Pompano Beach for some dinner. We had scallops, amongst other things but no pictures of food this night, I think we were too hungry!

We also had a great lunch at Aruba Beach Cafe, they had this delicious bread brought to our table with honey butter.

Crab Nachos, Peel and Eat Shrimp and Seafood Soup

Even though the crab nachos were way too cheesy there were still good. We even got a side of black beans to add on top of them.

Seafood is soooooooooooo good in Florida.

We went to Miami on Saturday for some sun in South Beach and stopped for lunch at the famous Ocean's 10........

Fish Tacos

Greek Salad

Tuna Sliders were great - had seaweed salad and wasabi mayo on them.

A lot of drinking while on vacation......

Lots of sunshine....

(Huevos Rancheros)

My cousin Haley's yummy cooking...

Views of the Ocean...

Lots of DRESS UP!

Nights out with good eats and family...

So sad to leave..........

Coming back to Wisconsin after 6 days of fun in the WARM sun.. is well, depressing. It should be in the 60's most of the week... which is a good thing... I guess?!

Nichole

Oh So Sweet...

Eats that is.. oh and what a beautiful day it is going to be, 80 degrees in Milwaukee!

I have quite the list of interesting eats to share for this past week, as you will see I have been busy in the kitchen as of late.

I made some fantastic Vegan Banana Walnut Pancakes for breakfast on Sunday. I used a pancake mix that was vegan..

There were instructions on making pancakes on this "mix" but I switched it up a bit...

I used 1 mashed banana in place of the 2 eggs

1 T of coconut oil in place of canola oil

The recipe also called for sugar, I put a small amount of Agave Syrup to sweeten it up a bit but I think next time I will skip this because it was not needed! Also added small handful of walnuts (went very well with the banana)

Combining... Stirring....

Cooking... these were simply THE BEST pancakes I have ever had, so moist and delicious. I think I have outdone myself :)

I topped them with some Earth Balance and Real Maple Syrup and they were a slice of HEAVEN.

I tried Angela's Vegan Overnight Oats, and I could see myself doing this a lot in the summer. Cold oats, you say? They were fabulous and I loved every bite.

1/3 Cup Regular Oats

3/4 Cup almond milk

2 T Chia Seeds

1 ripe banana (mashed)

1/4 pure vanilla extract

Combine these ingredients cover and place in fridge overnight.

Top with syrup, nut butters, nuts... etc! Serve them cold.

Soooo quick and easy... I loved them!!

I re-created the Garlic Dill Wrap from Steaming Cup from last week's post at home with hummus, spinach, tomato, carrots and cukes in a whole wheat wrap.

All rolled up..

SUPERB! This is great lunch for summer...

Vegan Spaghetti with Nutrional Yeast

and ezekial pasta!

I used Boca's vegan soy crumbles with a organic tomato sauce, garlic, onion, zuccini, peppercini, and mushrooms. 

Lastly... my final dish to share, I was craving some fries... so I opted for Sweet Potato Fries.

MY GOODNESS these are to DIE for!

Such great flavor... I used oilive oil, italian seasonings and sea salt, pepper. Baked at 425 for 40 minutes or so, I like mine crisp so I kept turning them and baking them longer.

I have some good news to share, my kitchen remodel is almost finished.... here is an updated picture to gander at....

I spent all last weekend priming and painting and re-painting... the new tile floor is going in and shortly will have my kitchen back and let me tell you it's been a long time coming!!!!

Nichole

Quinoa Bars

After taking a short break from the gym (this past weekend + Monday), I have been back it at pretty hard. Tuesday evening I did 40 mins of the eliptical, 20 minutes on the stairmaster, weights and abs. Wednesday I did about the same + some core work with Jackie Warner on demand. Thursday (this morning) I have yet to hit the gym but I did a last chance workout with Jillian Michaels and that was a great start to my morning.

I had this delicious salad Tuesday night...

-Mixed Greens

-Cucumbers

-Sunflower seeds

-Garbonza Beans

-Bean Sprouts

-Spinach

-Pea Pods

topped with Wildtree homemade Italian dressing

This salad seriously filled me up for hours!

I also am dealing with a sick puppy at home, he has been acting "different" all day yesterday, sleeping a lot and not his normal wild self. He seems better today but it is scary thinking something could be wrong with your pet because they hide sickness and pain so well so when you can tell something is bothering them, you know it's really is.

Poor Kujo Mujo :(

On a lighter note I had lunch at a different place today close to my work in downtown Waukesha. It is called The Steaming Cup and it is a wonderful little cafe right in the heart of downtown Waukesha.

(no we don't have that much snow right now)

I ordered the Garlic Dill Wrap minus cheese w/ fruit for a side. This was delicious!!

This was made with a garlic dill sauce, carrots, lettuce, onions, cucumber, tomato & sprouts.

I really enjoyed the tomato basil wrap with the veggies it gave it that extra flavoring that was right on point. I don't think the "dill sauce" is vegan I am sure it has sour cream in it, maybe next time I can opt for mustard or another vegan option???

I also bought one of these to enjoy with my lunch since they looked fabulously organic...

Oskri Quinoa Bars

I thought I might enjoy this crunch after I enjoyed my wrap. Truth be told while this is good, it is a little sweet for me. It reminds me of carmel popcorn (which I love) but I think the rice syrup adds quite a bit of sweetness that is just a little much for me.

If I am ever craving anything sweet this will surely do the trick! It is Gluten Free, and VEGAN. Very crunchy and it would be good for dessert after any meal.

They also had chocolate Quinoa bars as well, I think I will try that one next!

Nichole

Spring has Sprung!

I hope every one had a very HAPPY EASTER!

I enjoyed my Easter with family, food and lots of little cousins! My uncles and aunts have lots of little ones and it's so exciting to see how much they grow each year and how they change. I love them dearly.

For Easter dinner there was a ham served along with a potato casserole, broccoli casserole, baked beans, rolls, pasta salads and fresh veggies (provided by me). I did not have any ham but I did have small samples of the potato and broccoli casseroles which were really good. I gave up quite a bit for lent so I was happy to indulge a little bit with birthday cake as well.

I also went to a my first Brewer baseball game of the year on Saturday. We tailgated at 11am and it was pouring rain, not a fun time. We went into the game around 12:45pm to get our seats for the game at 1pm. The sun came out around 2pm and even though it was quite windy it was great to have the sun out after all that rain.

((in our BREWER gear of course))

I have been enjoying lots of these to keep me healthy and building those muscles...

1 banana

1 scoop vanilla SPIRUTEIN protein powder

2 handfuls of raw spinach

frozen mangos

unsweetened almond milk

1 T flax oil

Yummy!!!!!!

Nichole