Side Dish-a-licious

This is not an exact recipe. I just threw it together one night and my 17 year old son, S, said "You found a way to make me like collard greens!" He and my husband both loved it. Just combine Birds Eye Steamer Bag Southwestern Corn and some frozen chopped collard greens and microwave until desired doneness (5-8 min. I like the corn still a little crunchy) then I added a little smart balance butter spread and Bragg liquid amino ( to taste-maybe a tsp) for added nutrition and salty flavor. * If you are watching your sodium intake like I am then try Bragg Liquid Amino's-it is similar to soy sauce, but has much less sodium. I have found that less is more though- if you use too much the taste is a little off* I would love to include a picture because this dish is very colorful and healthy looking, but I am still cameraless...hint hint C! I hope you enjoy it!

Free Cakes for Kids

I just found this site http://www.freecakesforkids.com and I think it is a great idea! I plan to start a chapter in my community if one isn't already started. If anyone ever reads this blog please check out this site and maybe donate to this worthy cause.

Why I went Vegan.....

My sister K had been going through a lot of medical problems over the years....from thyroid disease to not being able to keep certain foods down...mainly meat! Well her daughter had been a vegetarian since her early teens I believe, so not eating meat wasn't new in their house. After giving up meat and researching she gave up dairy as well....Or as Marilu H calls it: BOVINE SLIME.....Well K became so much healthier, happier, and skinny bitchier, that it made me go hmmmm! It wasn't until I found Marilu Henner's book Total Health Makeover at a thrift shop intending to give it to K that I seriously thought about it. I started reading the book and it further inspired me to give it a try. Even though Marilu promotes FOOD COMBINING which is a little difficult for the beginner I found it very informing and entertaining enough to keep me reading and researching. So, even though I am not a strict vegan, I am basically trying to eat as healthy as possible and maintain a healthy weight and enough energy and therefore sanity to get me through Nursing School ( instead of taking prozac!). I have continually maintained that if I get a BigMac attack.....look out McD's- here I come! But, so far I haven't had the craving- which I used to get rather frequently....I had already given them up because of hereditary hypertension, but every once in a while........ATTACK! I don't miss dairy as much as I thought I would...the only thing that I haven't found a great substitute for is runny, melty, cheese for pizza or enchilada's....the vegan shreds just get crunchy! I'll keep looking though. Suggestions are very welcome!

Cheryl's Wedding Sample

This is what I did today. I made a sample cake for a wedding in November. The bride-to-be absolutely loved it. She wouldn't even taste it until she got home to share it with her fiance. They called me later to say that it was delicious and they are very happy with their choice. I think that it is always a good idea to make a sample cake for any new customers, this way we can make any changes before the big day! I am currently cameraless so this image is from my cell phone and was a last minute thought as the bride-to-be was leaving with it. I did sample the cake trimmings and the icing even though they are not vegan, but I had to taste test for quality control. I am also out of practice with my baking and decorating. It has been fun planning this wedding, and revives my dream of someday owning my own bakery....move over ACE of Cakes!!! Yeah right! They should have named that show EXTREME cakes. I will also be making a Large Mouth Bass grooms cake using fondant. Even though I have very little experience with fondant, I am looking forward to trying this cake in particular, because I am going to try to make it worthy of Duff or even Food Network!!! Wish me luck!

Newbie

Wow! I am new at this blogging thing. I wanted to add a comment on fatfreevegan.com about her awesome double layer pumpkin cheesecake and the next thing you know I'm signing up to have my own blog. I don't have a lot of time to devote to this, but I suppose that it would make a great journal into my vegan foray. It's been a little over a month since I quit eating meat and dairy....I am still allowing myself seafood- I need the brain power for school! I originally lost 6 pounds when I started eating vegan, but then I found soy icecream! I can't resist putting a scoop of vanilla in my fresh frozen fruit smoothies instead of just soy or almond milk! Converting wasn't about losing weight, I was just hoping for that extra bonus. It has always been about eating healthier. There is so much that I want to do and try (recipes) but I need to consider time and budget. Changing your entire kitchen and shopping habits isn't easy, but I am finding that it is worth it. My wonderful husband and children have always supported my experiments with food and they appreciate healthy food. Vegan sort of threw my husband for a loop, after all he is a meatcutter! He has loved almost everything that I have made so far....even red lentils with pav masala spices! We used to try to grill {meat} at least once a week....enough to last the week. We have always prefered charcoal and it always seemed that you were finished grilling your meal just when the coals were perfect so we started "grill for the week" night and while we ate that nights dinner He would be grilling/smoking other meats. I am rambling, but the moral of the story is we still do that and he and my son who are not willing to give up meat just add to whatever vegan meal I make.
As for the reason that I decided to try veganism....I will blame/credit my eldest sister for that, but that is a story for another day.