Fizzy Paint

We love our neighborhood library. I have started working there a little bit. Just one day a week. Maybe more in the future but for now it is summer and I have both kids at home with me most of the time. Before I was a stay at home mom, I worked in libraries for years. I love to read and be around other people who love to read. So it is nice to be back in that environment.

We love art classes at the library, for sure. Every week, a different theme. This week it was fizzy paint. The teacher added some baking soda to paint. The kids finger painted their designs.

Then she sprayed their paintings with vinegar, and they fizzed up.

An experiment, but also art. Fun fun.

Mighty Miso Soup from American Vegan Kitchen. Orzo in miso soup, why not? I also added wakame because I love it and it's so good for you. Reading about the history of New Orleans and reminiscing about our vacation.

Poboys

Today I tried a Suja Elements Macachino. I wonder about the cancelling-out effects of consuming maca and caffeine together. It was delicious though.

Dinner: American Vegan Kitchen's seitan poboys, with lime-infused cole slaw, on kaiser rolls. Now this is a sandwich my friends. A very fast dinner since I had a frozen batch of the seitan on hand.

A girl and her pup.

A boy and his Lego creature.

Nutcracker 2014

This Christmas I decided to start a new tradition of taking Olivia to see the Nutcracker ballet.

She loves to dance and we have watched Nutcracker clips on Youtube many times, so she was excited to see it in person. 

When we walked up to the Long Center, she had to pose on the red carpet.

She loved the life-sized Nutcracker in the hall.

It was a huge theater!

This was our view. Yes, we were up high! But we had a perfect, unobstructed view of the stage. I took this picture before the show started. They showed commercials on a huge screen. At showtime, the screen went away and the dancers took over the stage. I didn't take any pictures then, because I was paranoid about my flash accidentally going off!

It was a beautiful production. Olivia enjoyed the first two acts, but after the intermission, her 4-year-old attention span was being tested. We ended up leaving about ten minutes early. I just found out that there is a more kid-friendly version put on by a different ballet company, so we may try that next year.

For dinner I made the Buffalo Tempeh from Appetite for Reduction, and served it on ciabatta rolls with the Cole Slaw from American Vegan Kitchen. What a combination! I love the lime tartness of that coleslaw, and it provided just the right amount of coolness with the spicy tempeh.

Tonight we will do our usual Christmas Eve traditions of reading Twas the Night Before Christmas and watching Love Actually. 8 is a lot of legs, David! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Sunrise

One benefit of the 6:30 wake-up...

Jackson is an early riser by nature.

Olivia, not so much.

While Jackson was at school, Olivia helped me make some Seitan Breakfast Strips from American Vegan Kitchen.

After thinly slicing the seitan, we sauteed it and it was all ready to be used in a couple more AVK recipes.

The Seitan Poboys are fantastic. The seitan is crispy and chewy, the way I like it, with lots of flavor. The coleslaw was the star for me, however, with a splash of lime juice contrasting the creamy mayo. I will always add lime juice to coleslaw from now on! We ate these on kaiser rolls.

I also made a batch of Loaded Baked Potato Soup, which was awesome. Tami's recipes are never bland. I love the addition of broccoli and chickpeas to this soup. I topped it with chives and more of the seitan strips. I still had plenty of seitan strips left over to freeze; I will use them another time to make more poboys.

Taters

I wanted to make something really comfort-foody this evening, and American Vegan Kitchen's Tater Tot Casserole certainly fit the bill. Bonus: I got to use my cute blue casserole dish, which I rarely dig out of the cupboard.

The base is a blend of TVP, portabello mushrooms and other veggies, and of course it's topped with tons of tater tots. When Tony came home and saw what was for dinner, he asked if we were having the Duggars over. But I'm sure this was tastier and healthier than anything Jim Bob and Michelle could cook up.

Pretty in pink and serious about her coloring.

Santa Storytime

Hope you had a lovely Christmas! We just got back from visiting family and we are still getting settled in. 

Before heading out of town, we attended storytime at the rec center with two special guests...Santa and Mrs. Claus!

We started with crafts.

Then, after a story, the kids lined up to discuss their Christmas lists with the big man.

Olivia went into quite a bit of detail.

Afterwards, I made wraps for lunch. The wraps included Baked Falafel from Appetite for Reduction, Tzatziki Sauce from American Vegan Kitchen, Tofu Feta from Vegan on the Cheap, plus lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and kalamata olives. 

The folks at Cocozia sent me a generous sample of their product. I like drinking coconut water from time to time. It's "nature's Gatorade," great for rehydrating after exercise, high in potassium and magnesium. Compared to other brands I've tried, Cocozia has a light, neutral flavor, not super coconutty, and not too sweet, which I appreciate. I'm not looking for a lot of added sugar in my beverages. Cocozia is also organic and non-GMO. I wasn't paid to endorse or review this product, by the way, but I'd have to say it's probably my favorite brand now.

Coconut water makes an excellent, healthful base for fruit smoothies. I blended one up for me and the kids with frozen raspberries and strawberries, acai powder, walnuts, and a handful of kale.  I never thought to throw nuts into a smoothie before, but the walnuts were an excellent addition. Besides being full of heart-healthy fats and protein, walnuts taste great paired with strawberries.

Merry merry!

Swim Class

Jackson has been taking swim lessons for the past few months. Tony usually takes him while I go to yoga, but tonight I went as well so I could see how he is progressing. We have nearly come to the end of his class. It was awesome to see all the new skills he has learned. He loves to be in the water and we want him to feel confident and safe. 

For dinner I made a recipe from American Vegan Kitchen, Tempting Tofu Dippers with Pineapple-Pomegranate Dipping Sauce. We love these crispy little tofu tenders and their sweet and sour sauce.

We also had a quinoa salad with tomato and feta, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, baba ganoush with smoked paprika, and pita bread.

Off to the park to enjoy a sunny, warm afternoon!

Bird Watchers

This morning I made some "binoculars" for Jackson and Olivia. After breakfast, we went out in the backyard and did some birdwatching.

Scanning the trees...

He's spotted something!

Later we snacked on some Bora Bora bars that I found on sale at Sprouts. Bora Boras are one of my favorite bars.

For dinner I made the Fork and Knife Reubens from American Vegan Kitchen.

The dressing was yummy, but I didn't care for the seitan. It had too much of a moist, "meaty" texture. It's just a personal thing. I like seitan when it's kind of dry and tough, or else sliced very thinly and sauteed until crisp. I don't like it so much when it is trying to resemble actual meat. Tony the meat-eater, on the other hand, really enjoyed it.

Do you like meat substitites that are like real meat?