Hello muffins!
I hope you are all enjoying your week so far! After some difficulties with WordPress im totally back and ready to go. I’m glad you all are still going strong on the Ab-Solutley Fabulous Challenge, I still can’t believe that it’s just about half way over.
Review Alert!
When I saw these at Target I immediately grabbed a couple.
These snacks by the Funky Monkey Snack Company are delicious! The Funky Monkey Snack Company (how fun is that to say by the way? :)) is all about making fresh and healthy snacks using real fruit that has been freeze-dried.
Each one ounce bag contains a full serving of fruit, and contain around 50 calories. Plus they come in a bunch of fun names such as Jivealime, Purple Funk and Pink Pineapple. They are also free of un-natural sugars, preservatives and colorings like most pre-packaged snacks out there. Did I mention that they are also raw, vegan and gluten free?
I sampled the Bananamon and the Carnival Mix…
Bananamon – I love these! They are crunchy, sweet and oh so cinnamony. They aren’t to banana-ey either which is the problem that I have with some commercial banana chips. LOVE!
Carnival Mix – This flavor was good. It was filled with bananas, papayas, pineapple and apples. It was actually really tart which surprised me. This flavor was delicious though, just expect a little kick from the papayas and the apples.
The verdict would I buy them again? A big fat yes, these things are serisouly addictive. If you get the chance pick some up you will love them!
Have you ever tried these?
For my home ec class we are having to put together a cook book of recipes that we can use when we move out and get a place of our own. I am on the hunt for the five perfect recipes for each of these categories…
- Main Dishes
- Sides
- Salads
- Desserts
- “Family” Recipes
I am curious to hear some of your favorite recipes that you have collected. What are some recipes that have become permanent staples in your kitchen?
Tonight we are going out to celebrate my friends 18th birthday! I still cant believe that I am old enough to have friends that are 18. My own eighteenth birthday is going to be coming up in just about three months. WOW! I am a little anxious though, we are going to Buffalo Wild Wings. Ugh. Sometimes I can feel pressured by my friends to “just eat a little meat” or to “have a bite of cheese, it wont hurt.” Sometimes I get a little frustrated because I wish my friends would just understand that this is a lifestyle I have chosen, and it’s not a special diet I am using to lose weight, or make a statement.
Even though they know that I am vegan, they don’t respect me and always end up choosing the most un veg-friendly of places and are unwilling to compromise. I have never been to BW3’s either, but I am hoping that they will be accommodating!
Wish me luck tonight! 🙂
Michal ♥
Question of the day – How do you deal with friends and family members who can be unacceptable of your healthy habits?
guidedcompass.wordpress.com 
You can get a vegan salad with balsamic vinaigrette at Buffalo Wild Wings. And french fries. That is about it. I was forced to eat there over the summer 😦
It is hard to deal with people who always want to eat at the “meatiest” place. I was just talking to some coworkers about it yesterday. I just keep arguing with them until we go somewhere I can eat too…
Oh man, such a deep question. In the end though I started a blog to keep myself motivated and surround myself with/give others support! The people around us might not support, but there ARE people out there.
I’ve realized though that a positive and patient attitude is the way to go! It’s hard, but worth it.
Sometimes it’s hard when the group is going somewhere that doesn’t offer a variety of foods that I’d order, but that almost always happens when we’re celebrating someone’s special day. I have to remind myself that on that day it’s not about me, it’s about them, and they should be able to choose the place they want. Just make sure that when your day comes around that you pick the place that will make you the most comfortable, and you’ll probably enjoy it tenfold when you end up having such a large selection of foods to order from. 🙂
aww have fun tonight girl!! i love wild wing cafe! whoo!! i think that is the same hting? i dk! i HATE WINGS THO..yuck!!
your reviews sound GREAT! i must find that product!
My eating habits are always looked at as strange, although it’s getting less and less as I fight my ED. It’s hard to deal with, especially when most people spent a lot of time telling me to “just eat”. It’s hard but now I just don’t care what people think. If I don’t want to grab a burger from McDonald’s, I shouldn’t have to just to please others. This is a good topic to bring up. -Kylee
Have fun at your friend’s celebration! My brother gives me crap all the time. I think you just have to roll with the punches, as my dad says…at the end of the day, it’s your body, and they’ll get over it once they realize you’re not going to change 🙂 As far as desserts for the cookbook- Super Charge Me cookies from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan!!
Okay, I’m totally going to go look for the funkys tomorrow! Must always check out new stuff, right?
You’re going to enjoy making the cookbook, eh? I have to have tofu in my area, because it’s the most useful food ever! Sautee, stir-fry, tacos…So much to choose from! My fave is probably the recipe I have on my blog and combining tofu with chickpeas to make eggless eggs! 😀
OMG!!!! I am TOTALLY in the same spot as you right now!! My friend is teasing me about me being vegan, and how he can’t do it and blah blah blah blah blah. (LIKE I CARE!!!!!) Argh, I hope you find/found something that was vegan! Just ignore your friends and move on; that’s what I’m planning on doing; sitting and eating lunch doesn’t make me happy, so from tomorrow on, I am NOT going to sit with them. Why spend time with someone who totally doesn’t respect you? I’d rather be away from them and know that I’m a better person they’d ever be!! (just to tell you girl, YOU ROCK!!) 😉
When it’s a friends b-day, it’s always there choice of where they want to go and I don’t expect them to accommodate me and I’d prefer they don’t. I can usually find a simple appetizer or ask for a salad. Good luck!
Aww, sorry to hear about your friends not being the most accommodating in regards to you being vegan. I’ve never been to that restaurant, so I’m not sure what you can order, but just do your best and enjoy the company 🙂
My diet isn’t as restrictive as yours, but I still get some weird looks from my family members sometimes. I just brush them off and do what works best for me 🙂
Uh I hate to hear that your friends pressure you to change your eating. It’s pretty hard for me around friends and family too. My whole family eats pretty crappy so I’m alone to fend for myself. It is harder when you don’t have support but just stand your ground, girl! You don’t have to change your lifestyle for anyone! Back in college BWW was my absolute favorite – omg! I could put away like 16. SAD! I love those cinnamon banana chips. They are perfect in banana oatmeal!
I know what you mean about people critiquing your diet or seeing you as weird. My family is usually pretty nice about it but they still kind of treat me as the “crazy health nut”. Eating out is the hardest if you’re not prepared. I would be sure to bring some snacks in your purse tonight in case there is nothing to eat. I hate that feeling. maybe next time you can persuade your friends to go somewhere serving omni and veg food…so you’ll both be happy. Of course it would be awesome to introduce them to a vegan restaurant or something (if you have one near you) so they can see how delicious and fun this type of cuisine can be…but it doesn’t sound like they are that open to that at this point.
I shared this recipe with a blogger who loves pineapple fried rice, is forever eating it in restaurants and posting photos of it, making me drool. So I made up my own recipe, which I now make once a week. Help yourself to it.
It starts with three cups leftover brown rice, and leftover a few days is best, so it gets a bit dried out. When I cook the rice initially, I don’t add salt because I swear it makes it mushy. So use salt to taste in the fried rice recipe. Lately I’ve been adding about 3 tsp. sugar just to keep the pineapple sweet. The salt tends to draw the sweetness out of the pineapple.
Use a little peanut oil to saute the veg, and veg broth to moisten the pan while cooking.
You need a small onion or a couple of shallots, sliced, about a cup of combined shredded carrots and cabbage (I use the grocery store bagged prepped slaw for this–no dressing!), an inch or two of ginger root minced, a small hot pepper minced, a bunch of garlic minced, bunch of snowpea pods, half cup peanuts or sliced almonds, can of pineapple tidbits drained. Mix 3 tablespoons tamari sauce with the 3 tsp. sugar and 2 tsp. curry powder. I know, sounds funny but works great.
Saute the onions, ginger and minced hot pepper in the oil. When the onions get soft and translucent add the cabbage and carrot. Let those cook down a few minutes, then add the rice, garlic, tamari-sugar-curry mixture. Did I say to use a huge pan? Use a huge pan. Stir and turn everything until well mixed, adding broth as needed to prevent sticking. Salt to taste. Add red pepper flakes too if you like. Finally, add the drained pineapple tidbits, the snowpeas and the peanuts. Stir and turn just to get the snowpeas heated and a little glazed. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro for extra vitamins.
It’s so delicious. This recipe makes dinner for one for two nights in a row, or a side dish for about four.
Michal great review but I am really here to thank you profusely for the give away gift that I got today….OMG you totally and completely outdid yourself…love the vegan shampoo/chapstick, the incense, and the food…OMG what is that slab of stuff with choc on it? It looks like a pb rice krispy treat w. chocolate?!!! OMG i havent even cracked the cellophane on it b/c i wanted to thank you. And the take me on a date balls…totally delish, i took a couple on a date already 🙂
I will be blogging about it in the next few days but seriously, thank you soooo much…you are amazing. and your notecard, melted me. Thank you. I feel the same about you!
love,
averie
xoxoxo
have a beautiful day, Michal!!!!!
I couldn’t understand some points of this article, but I guess I only need to learn a bit more about this, because it definitely seems interesting and kind of though-proviking! By the way, how did you first get become interested with this?
Do the best you can do! I hate when people give a hard time about eating preferences. I want to try those fruit bite things!
Keeping my mouth shut around family members can be tough. I just care so much about people I love so talking about health and food can be a tough topic. I try to led by example 🙂 And I just do what I know what works for my body and just be happy with it!
ah i totally understand, i hate having to order side salads or fruit plates and raw vegetables because it is all that i can have at certain restaurants! however, i have a few definite staples, such as ezekial bread or wraps for all different combinations, hummus as of late, a variety of fruits and vegetables, and of course oatmeal and puffins and such, although that doesnt fit into your categories very well! good luck though, hope you have a good time!
My friends aren’t very supportive of my diet either. Buffalo Wild Wings isn’t that great of a choice for vegans…tell me what you get, just in case I have to go there sometime! I wish you luck 🙂