Winding Down from the Weekend

Hellllllllllllo world! Happy Monday :) Monday is never an easy day for me, getting up out of bed is always the hardest on a Monday. I find that a sweaty workout really helps me get through a slow case of the Mondays :D
I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was jam-packed and busy like it normally is. I helped out in a benefit with proceeds going to a good friend on mine on Saturday. It was a great success, lots of people showed up the only bummer was the weather - cold and rainy - so no outdoor activities were able to be done. There was a large bounce house for children but since it was cold and rainy not many kids were participating. I was excited about the bounce house, but I wasn't going in there in the rain in my 4 inch wedges. I have some pictures that I will be able to post later on from the event. Other than that this is what I brought - and there is one tray leftover! (I am eating lots of raw veggies this week).... better to have too much than not enough! :)

I also brought 2 dishes of a Ranch Pasta Salad that were not pictured.

Working on eating those veggies up before they go bad (with hummus of course).

On Sunday I threw together a simple recipe using ingredients I had on hand and that I needed to use up. This dish is very similar to Averie's Cheesy Taco Casserole. With a few of my own adaptions.

Spicy Taco Bake

2 Cups Cooked Rice (I used a box of Spanish Style Rice)

1 Jar HOT Salsa

1 small can of green Chiles

2 cans of beans (I used black and pinto beans)

1 C Vegan Sour Cream

3T of Taco Seasoning (I made my own using a mix of garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin & salt)

Veggies of your choice: I used about 2 peppers (combo of green, red and yellow)

1 onion

Carrots (approx. 2-3)

While the rice was cooking, I combined all the other ingredients in a bowl and mixed it together with a large spoon. I enjoyed eating a couple spoonfuls... I can stomach raw onion though.

Once rice is done cooking (per directions) combine with the rest of the ingredients.

I placed into a large 9x13 baking pan and let cook at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.

I enjoyed this by itself and it was spicy enough no hot sauce was needed! You might like it in a burrito/taco shell or wrap. It is delcious either way and totally vegan!!!!

Hope you enjoy it! I really did. Especially the leftovers.. yummmmm

I can't wait to update you on my garden seedlings - more have sprouted and they are looking lovely. So exciting. Looking forward to How Does Your Garden Grow Tuesdays the lovely Cara at Chic Meets Healthy came up with!

"No matter the weather - always bring your own sunshine"

xo HUGS xo

Nichole

Garden Virgin

Happy Friday world! Hope you are planning a fun or relaxing weekend ahead. I am very busy this weekend with a benefit for my girlfriend, Jojo. She is 4 months pregnant and just 2 months ago her fiance was struck and killed by a drunk driver. We are having this benefit tomorrow at a bar she bartends at Sheperd's.
All the proceeds are going to her and the baby. I have never planned a benefit like this and it definately does take some planning. A group of girls including myself collected donations for items to be raffled, are cooking food for the event and will be donating our time during the event. I am bringing raw vegetables and a ranch pasta salad tomorrow. Lots of pasta and veggies in my house right now :) Hopefully I make enough. If you live in the area and would like to attend that event please let me know and I would be happy to give you the details.

I made this delicious Quinoa Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms the other day when I was in the mood for a healthy italian inspired dish.

It first the first time I got to use my spiralizer!!!

It took my a minute to get a hang of it but once I did - it was kind of fun ;)

If you want to make this you will need:

1 C Quinoa

1 jar tomato/spaghetti sauce

1 T Garlic minced

1/2 onion minced

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 C water

1 T Italian Seasoning

1/2 C mushrooms

In medium saucepan place Quinoa, garlic and onion and toast for about 5 minutes or so. Add in the water,  spaghetti sauce, mushroom, italian seasoning, and salt and pepper bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until water and tomato sauce is absorbed by quinoa. 

Spiralize your raw veggie for raw veggie pasta!

Toss Quinoa mixture on top of your "noodles" and serve.

I sprinkled mine with nutritional yeast and a little bit of vegan butter. I always loved butter on my spaghetti when I was little and thought it was just as good in this!

What I have been reading...

Learned some interesting info about composting - which I just started as well :)

I thought these greenhouses looked easy to use..

I planted ALOT on Monday, May 9th. I know I am a little behind but hopefully my plants do well... 

Add water and the pellets expand! Interesting.

Here is my set up.. 3 greenhouses and another 4 trays of seedlings.

Day 1 (May 9th)

May 12th (broocoli and basil)

More broccoli and 1 spinach I spy...

May 13th

Grow Plants Grow!!!!!

Wish me luck :) I will need it!!!

Nichole

Heat Wave

There has been a heat wave in Wisconsin. It has been really warm this week and this girl is NOT complaining. Bring on the heat :) The warm weather has me addicated to Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding lately.

I use 2 T of Chia Seeds

3/4 C Unsweetened Almond Milk

10 drops Vanilla Stevia

Add in ideas - fresh fruit!

I always feel so refreshed after chowing down on this for dessert or breakfast!

Lots of greens into the Vita for a delicious green smoothie :) Nothing tops a sweet smoothie packed full of greens. Makes me feel great all day long.

I have a super healthy and delicious recipe that I will be sharing later today or tomorrow...

Quinoa Tomato Sauce w/ Zucchini Noodles

Eating the leftovers for lunch.

I hope you are enjoying sunny warm weather wherever you are!

Took this picture while walking the dogs 2 nights ago...

Nichole

Back to Business!

I am proud to say that I am back on the right track. Last week went fairly fast and I even like to say my mood has improved quite a lot!! It is amazing how a little exercise can go so far.

Nothing but smiles :)

Saturday I had a great workout followed by this super green monster!

After coming back from a week long vacation I really had no motivation after coming back to this yucky weather we have been having lately. Thank goodness the sun is (finally) shining today and it was all weekend :)

This was taken from my office window in downtown Waukesha. The grass is green but there are no leaves on the trees yet!

I am eating lots of greens (sorry about the horrible picture).. these are greens (Rainbow Chard, Kale & Spinach) being cooked down for Green Goddess soup.

I also made Emily's Black Bean Hummus for my little cousin's 4th Birthday Party! I whipped this together in no time and it was a huge hit, even the kids liked it. I brought carrots & tortilla chips to serve with this.

I also made my cousin Haley's at the Soup Goddess Black Bean Soup (pics to come)! I really enjoyed this soup and have apparently been on a black bean kick!!!

Baby Silas had a fun time at the birthday party this weekend too! He is getting so big & so handsome <3 LOVE!

I have been jamming to a new playlist during my workouts and I had to share!

1. You Used to Hold Me - Calvin Harris

2. Here We Go - Beldina

3. Hold On - Rusko Feat. Amber Coffman

4. Lights (Bassnectar Remix) - Ellie Goulding

5. Starry Eyed - Ellie Goulding

6. Big Fat Bass - Britney Spears Feat. Will I Am

7. Ghosts n Stuff - DeadMau5

8. Move For Me - DeadMau5 & Kaskade

9. S&M Remix - Rihanna & Britney

10. Dirty Talk - Wynter Gordon

Besides this playlist I have been rocking out to Girl Talk's album All Day - pretty random mixes but it defiantely can keep your attention - google it, there is a free download out there and it will be a fun & upbeat listen for anyone who likes rock & hiphop.

Alyssa at FashionFitnessFoodie gave me the Versatile Blogger Award and I have to give out 7 random facts about myself... sounds easy enough?? haha

Here goes nothing...

1. My 2 dogs had 9 puppies 3 years ago (I did not try to get this to happen - just bad planning on my part)

They were some really cute puppies... my aunt has one of them and a couple other friends took some so I get to see them all grown up from time to time :)

2. I am a huge Red Hot Chili Pepper fan, I scored front row tickets a couple years back when they were in Milwaukee right when their album Stadium Arcadium came out.

3. I was inspired to start my blog after I became a vegetarian and my cousin Justine started Confessions of a SAHM (she isn't currently blogging right now - but I hope she returns someday).

4. In 5th grade we hatched baby chicks and baby ducks. Some people in class were able to take a baby home to take care of it overnight and on the weekends until they were ready to go back to the farm. I got really attached to my baby duck and it wouldn't even sleep unless it saw my face! My grandparents had a farm and I ended up being able to take it to their farm to live his life out there. For awhile he was still very friendly with humans, he would come into their home and swim with us in the pool. After a few months went by eventually he had bonded with the other geese and was afraid of us :(

5.  The first time I made tofu it was in a stirfry and I ended up throwing away the leftovers because I couldn't even stomach it. I am not sure if that was me not being used to it or not knowing how to cook it, but I am sure it is a little of both.

 

6.  When I first became a vegetarian a little over 2 years ago I lost about 15lbs - however this was due to healthy lifestyle changes as well, not just food.

7. My bedroom is decorated "old school hollywood style. Lots of James Dean & Marilyn Monroe pictures. Black & Silver decor.

Have a great Wednesday!

Nichole

Stuck in a Rut

Hey friends. I haven't been feeling all that well lately. Since I got back from vacation I have been seriously stuck in a rut. Not working out, not eating the best, drinking too often, sugar binges.... etc. I have started to notice my attitude, outlook, sleep habits, and eating habits starting to evolve into a way I wasn't proud of. After all it has been a whole month since I have been back from California. Well enough is enough and I need to stop making excuses & get back to business. If I can make an excuse, let me tell you this - I have been to 4 funerals in April and I believe we got a total of 5 days with sunshine (maybe less)? Needless to say it has been quite the depressing, ugly month. However I am ready to get back to the correct swing of things that worked for me.

I am back to drinking my hot lemon water in the morning before exercising on my eliptical for 40 minutes. (Today was day 2)
I am back to my clean eating ways and have cut off drinking alcohol (excessively during the week).

I made some delicious detox soup and hope I feel better in a week or so and can get back into weight lifting soon.

Don't let these cute faces decieve you. The one on the left (Kujo) thought it might be fun to chase some geese while I was walking him on Easter and pulled me down and hurt my shoulder. It's been really sore for about 3 days now and seems to be getting better. I am hoping so since I am eager to lift some weights :)

I made some really delicious tofu yesterday - all I did was let it marinate for 1-2 hours in Teriakyi and Honey - (after pressing water out + slicing) and baked at 425 degrees for 25 minutes - flipping once.

I love the leftovers on a sandwich!!!! Veganaise and mustard, tofu and spinach - yum!

Wish me luck in the next couple weeks that I can get back on track and keep my progress updated here :)

Question: What do you do to help you get out of being in a rut?

Baby Silas says "Hi" <3

Nichole

Spring Tease

Happy freaking Tuesday. The weather here is absolute crap. All day hail storm. Someone pissed off mother nature and it was not me! haha Thanks for coming early spring and teasing us here and then leaving us so abruptly.
Today was very somber for me. I had a family funeral to attend and the weather did not help the mood. At least I stayed dry in my new rain boots. Love these bad boys. I wore them out on Friday night, it was severe rain as well, not sure why I ventured out in that but at least my feet stayed dry.

What a conversation piece these turned out to be. Everyone wanted to comment on them and talk about them, touch them... strange... odd.. maybe they just haven't seen rainboots before???

Anyways, moving on I had a fun weekend with my girlfriends. We went out downtown Milwaukee and hit up some of the local establishments..

It was a very good time!

Last week I indulged on some new make up from my 2 favorite places :)

MAC pigmet in Rose

MAC shadows in Cranberry and Mythology

Bronzer by Too Faced, Eye Shadow by Too Faced, Smokey Eye Kit by Sephora (LOVE!)

Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara... LOVE.

I love makeup and I definately have a collection but I always like to try new styles as well so you could say my collection is building! :)

I made some interesting vegan fare as well lately. Recipes to come soon.

Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Pine Nuts

Vegan Sheperd's Pie

I have some Teriakyi Tofu in the oven & it smells delicious!! Have a great night :)

Nichole

It's FRIDAY!!!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!! I am excited for this weekend!!!! I get to hang out with my girlfriends all weekend since the boyfriend is out of town. I was going to go with him  but had to work and was unable to find anyone to watch my pooches.

So sweet....

I ordered a couple few pairs of shoes online from Macy's because they were having a great shoe sale. I got some rain boots...and some high heels... I wasn't thrilled with all my purchases at first so I was going to take some back but after trying them all on - I loved them all in their own unique ways... so I am keeping them all :)

I went to the mall with the intentions of returning some items but instead purchased a bunch of makeup.

Sephora just so happened to be doing free express makeup applications so I had a smokey eye done. This is really drastic for me and I never go this dark when I do my own makeup.

However I did buy the "Smokey Eye" Kit they used and hopefully I can re-create this dramatic look this weekend when I am out with friends!

I also dined at PF Changs (first time since I have been a vegetarian) and let me tell you that I was pleasantly surprised! They have lots of vegetarian options and they are so famous for their chicken lettuce wraps - they also have Tofu lettuce wraps ... they were delightful. I don't think my meat eating boyfriend would know the difference... honestly.

Looks like chicken... too bad it's NOT! hahaha

I also enjoyed some coconut curry tofu and veggies with brown rice - yum! Would love to re-create this sauce at home.

I can't wait to try more of their Tofu dishes!!! Good job PF Changs.

CHEERS to a great weekend!!!! Even though weather here is crap (40's and rain) I am going to make the most out of it and bring my OWN sunshine wherever I go! And I hope you do as well!!

Nichole