Packing...

I hate packing. It is not fun... making sure my bag is under 50lbs. Not an easy task.

 Thank goodness my brother is a light packer and I can fit some extra stuff into his bag.

And thank goodness for my matching carry on - that I can stuff a bunch more crap into :) Especially snacks and healthy ones like this that I am stocked up on...

I know I overpack... but considering how cold and windy it is supposed to be in California when I get there, I took out a bunch of shorts and replaced them with jeans and sweatshirts.... blah. I am praying for sunshine not rain while I am there.

I had a package of sprouted tofu that I needed to use up so I made my favorite tofu stirfry, I had to throw in whatever was not getting used... spinach included.

I am freezing the leftovers and will be enjoying the rest when I get back.

I am off to get some sleep... long day of travel ahead of me tomorrow. Have a great week and hope to be blogging as soon as I am back in Milwaukee.

Cousin Melissa & I

The lovely JOJO <3 Love her...

Going to miss some friends while I am gone but surely will be returning soon enough ;)

Nichole

Snowtoriously Snowed In

Hey everyone! Don't ask where I came up with "snowtorious" but since I am snowed in for most likely the next 24 hours it seemed right.

We got about 1 foot of snow on the ground already and it was snowing all morning. I went in to work early and there was definately a calm before the storm, since it stopped snowing from around 2-4pm (in Waukesha County anyway) but we are supposed to get another 9-14 inches until about noon tomorrow (Wednesday). There are 50 mph winds and it is quite crazy out there right now. There are snow drifts about 5 feet deep in my back yard.

I attempted to take a picture outside not too long ago and this is all I got.

Way toooooooooo windy....

All the snow is stuck in the screens to the windows, so you can barely even see out the windows and doors.

What a great night to blog, watch a movie and eat some delicious vegan food.

Tonight I made Tofu Stir Fry & it turned out great thanks to my tofu press.

It was my first time buying and cooking with Bamboo Shoots - they tasted great in the stir fry and I also added in bean sprouts to the brown rice - amazing.

I made a Veganized Version of Stacked Vegetable Lasagna yesterday evening got the recipe from Alyssa at fashionfitnessfoodie.

Layered in the pan...

Olive oil - coat your pan

Cauliflower (trimmed and sliced through the diameter into very thin slices) - this is the bottom layer

Thin Slices of Eggplant on top of cauliflower

Portabella mushrooms

Red Onion slices

Zucchini slices

Add tomato slices

Top with Cheese (I used Daiya Vegan Mozzerella Shreds)

Pour sauce over this and more cheese. I also used a little bit of salt & pepper, and Italian Seasonings for more flavor.

Alyssa let hers sit under the broiler for 10 minutes, but that didn't seem to work to well for mine. The Daiya started to (almost) burn, so I baked it for about 15 minutes at a low temp of about 350 degrees.

Besides I wanted the cauliflower to be soft.

This was a great dish and definately something different. I enjoyed it and plan on making it again in the future!

I hope you enjoy and let me know if you decide to make it!

Nichole



Fueling on Plants, Lunching at Work

Hello Bloggies!!

I hope your 2011 goals and intentions are going strong. I have been doing really well by staying active, eating healthy and trying to get as much GREEN into my diet as possible.

I like to start my day off with a a very GREEN shake in my Vita-Mix. 

Jammed pack full of greens - Spinach + Kale

I absolutely LOVE Amazing Grass products, they make me feel, well amazing! I make sure a scoop of Amazing Meal is in my smoothie as well as the Wheat Grass powder I just purchased from iherb.com

When I have more time or am real hungry I opt for some oats instead.

Rolled oats cooked on the stovetop, splash of almond milk, walnuts and coconut butter

SCRUMDILLYUMPTIOUS!!!!

Sometimes I fit in my workout before work and others after work. Do you prefer a AM workout or a PM workout? For me I guess it always depends on the day and my mood. Also if I am rushing to get to work, or if I overslept you better believe I am working out in the PM :)

Here is a yummy salad that I created last week:

Kale, Cuke, Spinach, Carrots, Tomato + Sunflower seeds

I have also opted to bring my lunches to work from now on, I am eating leftovers from tofu to chili to stirfry. We have a microwave at work so it definately works out nicely.

Re-heated Vegan Chili, I think next I am going to add tofu to my chili.

Savory Sweet Potato Soup

re-heated Tofu StirFry

Today it's a "TST"

Tofu, Spinach, Tomato Sandwich

I baked some tofu this weekend and have some leftovers - I thought why not on a sandwich??

I warmed the 3 slices of tofu in the microwave and placed on my pre-made and brought from home sandwich, complete with Ezekiel bread, Veganaise, yellow mustard, spinach & tomato.

This was way good! I will be posting the tofu recipe soon!!

I hope you have a wonderful week!!

Nichole

Some Amazing Tofu & Stir Fry

When I first decided to go vegetarian (almost 2 years in January) I started to explore other options and meat subsitutes. I have always like tofu just didn't know how to make it properly. I knew that tofu would absorb the flavors that you are cooking with and conform to that dish (mostly). The first time I attempted to make tofu kind of ruined it for me for long time. I hated it, I choked it down and threw away all the leftovers that had any tofu touching it, or I feed it to Kujo. One of the two.

Well my friends I am happy to say that I made some fabulous Tofu Stir Fry that I can seriously brag about. So fabulous that I have to share the recipe.

Tofu Stir Fry

• 1 Package Extra Firm Tofu
• Light Soy Sauce
• Ginger
• Onion
• Green Onions
• Vegetables of Choice
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Garlic
• Garlic Powder
• Cooking oil of choice, I used olive oil

Try to get rid of any excess water in the tofu by pressing it.

Chop into small cubes (bite size).

Get your oil, soy sauce & garlic heating up to get the flavors going.

Season tofu with garlic powder, red pepper flakes and ginger (just enough to cover the tofu).

After a few minutes I tossed in the mushrooms and onion - just because I like them cooked well, not raw or crunchy for that matter.

I believe the real trick here is to let the tofu cook awhile, about 20 minutes (over med-low heat) until its browned, that's when it becomes the most delicious.

Add in the remainder of veggies that you want and stir fry for a few minutes or until cooked to desired consistency.

Enjoy. I did multiple times. For dinner and lunch until it was all gone. I bragged and even showed pictures of it on facebook. haha yea I did. It was that good.

Nichole