First Day of School

Today was Jackson's first day of 1st grade, and Olivia's first day of kindergarten! Jackson is kind of jaded already; once he found out his best bud was in his class again this year, he was fine with going back and didn't have much to say on the subject. Olivia, on the other hand, has been super excited all summer. 

After dropping them off, I went home and creepily hugged on Monster for awhile. ("You're still my baby! You'll never grow up!") The house felt so quiet. I walked on the treadmill and did yoga, then I had to get out and run some errands. I stopped by Trader Joe's, mostly just to pass some time. Of course I found a few things.

I also stopped by the Asian market to stock up on noodles.

It was hard not to buy this tray. I mean, it has some flowers on it.

For lunch I fixed myself a nice salad, blending up the Caesar dressing from Plant-Powered Families and tossing it with romaine lettuce and homemade garlic croutons.

At pickup, Olivia reported that her first day was "AWESOME!" and Jackson said his day was pretty good as well. Also, he lost a tooth in the cafeteria! It has been wiggly for a month and of course it comes out on the first day of school!

After an exciting day, a simple dinner of rotini with marinara, and lots of fresh basil.

Pierced Ears

Olivia has been asking to get her ears pierced for some time. Her pediatrician recommended waiting until age five so that Olivia could better understand how to care for the piercings and keep them clean. Well, Olivia is five now. And at her recent wellness visit, she got her ears pierced! She was very brave, and now she is counting down the days until she is allowed to change out the studs and wear earrings that express her personality. For example, she informed me that she really wants a pair of taco earrings. 

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that Olivia and I always seem to pick up a few goodies while we are out running errands. Here are some recent treats.

Buddha's Brew kombucha. I couldn't pass up Tangerine and Sea Salt!

Kosmic Kombucha in a more traditional flavor, Ginger Spice. I love both of these local kombucha brewers! Don't make me choose! Haha.

From Rabbit Food Grocery, some mozzarella Teese to try on pizza, and a vegan raspberry zinger (the company, Dillos, also makes vegan Twinkies!)

Also from Rabbit Food, some gelatin-free gummy worms and fruit chews (you can see the kids had already torn into them when I snapped this pic), and Big Island Organics gingerade mate. This drink was super-heavy on the ginger if that's what you're into (and I am!)

From Trader Joe's, Goddess dressing, Mandarin orange faux chicken, some very Gardein-esque chicken tenders, baby carrots, and sliced watermelon.

Soccer snacks: peanut butter dark chocolate Kind bars, juice pouches, and mandarin oranges.

Chips ahoy! First, two new Kettle flavors, Pepperoncini and Red Curry. 

And some local Paqui tortilla chips, in roasted jalapeno and grilled habanero flavors. 

Chillin' on the Whole Foods patio, one of our frequent hangouts. Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery maple donut and Suja green juice for mama (they cancel each other out, dontcha know!) Lavender donut and apple for my shopping buddy.

I feel like this post needs to end with some Jackson to balance things out.

Vegan MoFo Day 21: The Pumpkining

It is that time of year where pumpkin-flavored everything starts to find its way into my pantry. Olivia and I popped into Trader Joe's this morning and came home with pumpkin bagels, as well as hummus salad dressing.

 The bagels are delish smeared with Follow Your Heart cream cheese and apple butter.

And of course hummus salad dressing was made for me. Easy salad of iceberg, spinach, dried cranberries and pepitas.

We also brought this home.

Olivia's and my love of Brussels knows no bounds, and she'd never seen them on the stalk before.

We roasted them with a little olive oil, maple syrup and dijon mustard until they were nice and caramelized. I admit, I will snack on these cold, right out of the fridge.

We also stopped by World Market. I eagerly await their Halloween offerings each year. They always have cute stuff. I grabbed a couple of bags of pasta.

I also bought these tortilla chips, mainly for the Mark Ryden-esque baby vampire on the package.

Aww.

Plus, a treat for mama -- sugar free Torani pumpkin pie syrup.  Now I'll make my own PSL's; no need for Starbucks' 500-calorie version.

For dinner, a Pinterest find -- Spicy Peas Curry with a side of garlic naan. I loved the fresh tomato flavor in this pea curry.

A rare moment of sibling love, captured on film. Love my two little pumpkins.

Breadmaker

While on spring break from school, Jackson was my frequent sous-chef. One morning we made our own pita bread, using the recipe from The Garden of Vegan

He rolled out all eight pieces himself, and was quite proud of his efforts.

We ate it all up along with various packaged Indian entrees from Trader Joe's. A mini-Indian buffet, at home.

Burritos (Kind Of)

Jackson's spring break was last week. We had a couple of nice days and a lot of chilly, gross days. The latter were spent wrapped up like burritos watching movies.

We did venture out to see a movie at the theater, too -- Jackson and Olivia's first 3-D movie. The goofy glasses improved their moviegoing experience by approximately 200%

They also indulged me with a trip to Trader Joe's, so you'll be seeing a lot of convenience food-based dinners in upcoming posts, much like tonight's TJ's cheese ravioli with...ummm...Costco marinara, HEB salad mix, and Annie's Goddess dressing!

St. Paddy's 2014

Hope you had a festive and leprechaun-free St. Patrick's Day! We wore our green, so we were safe from their pinches.

Dinner was Trader Joe's veggie burgers topped with greens, Veganaise, dill relish, ketchup and mustard on whole wheat buns. This was my first time buying TJ's veggie burgers and I love them! I think they're the best frozen burgers out there.

We also had sweet potato fries, not pictured. But just a few, because we had to save room for dessert -- carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, a tester recipe for Kristy's cookbook. I can't give away the recipe, but these cupcakes contain a lot of grated carrot -- just how a good carrot cake should be!

Chillin', knowing their gold is secure for now.

2013 Remnants

New Year's Eve was lazy and indulgent. We were in our pajamas early, and we watched Downton Abbey (almost caught up!) and The World's End (my favorite movie of 2013) and ate junk food until the ball dropped. Then I promptly went to bed!

I made arancini, risotto balls filled with gooey fontina cheese, rolled in panko and deep-fried. Dangerously good.

We dipped them in Costco-brand marinara sauce. Love that stuff.

I also sampled some Trader Joe's treats given to me by a friend. Dark chocolate caramel with black sea salt...this was one messy and decadent chocolate bar. Even better was the Sipping Chocolate. This chocolate drink is thick, almost syrupy, and not very sweet. Instead of sugar, you get true chocolate flavor. It's a great bedtime treat...I can practically feel all the tryptophan entering my system and making me sleepy.

We kicked off 2014 with lunch at Chuy's. 

Guacamole soft tacos, simple and perfect.

After the usual holiday excess, I'm trying to eat right in January. Oats for breakfast most mornings, topped with bee pollen, chia powder, maca powder, you name it.  Sometimes I'll also throw in hemp seeds or chopped Brazil nuts. Maca powder is a new experiment for me. It's an adaptogen, meaning your body uses it as needed to fight stress (not just emotional stress, but anything that's taking a toll on the cells.)  I feel like it definitely gives me added energy.

Goddess Noodles with Tofu and Broccoli, Isa Does It. The recipe actually calls for tempeh, but I subbed tofu for no reason. The more broccoli I get in me, the happier I am, so I give this dish a big thumbs-up.

Jackfruit BBQ, made with the Barbecue Saucy from Get It Ripe Around Here, topped with cole slaw and pickles, served on onion rolls. I whizzed the jackfruit in the food processor first, so there wouldn't be any big, tough chunks. Then I simmered it in the sauce for about 20 minutes and it was good to go! I love how light jackfruit is. It's great to chow down on a big, tasty BBQ sandwich and not feel totally stuffed afterwards.