Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance, divided
1 1/2 lbs baby bella mushrooms, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped
One 4 ounce baking potato
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/4 cup almond milk (you could use soy if you want, but I like almond milk because it’s thick like whole milk whereas soy milk is kind of thin)

Directions:
In a pot, melt 1/2 Tablespoon of Earth Balance.  Add the mushrooms and sauté them until browned.  Transfer to a bowl.

Add the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of Earth Balance to the pot and add the onions.  Cook the onions until they are golden brown and tender.  Meanwhile, slice the potato thinly.  Return the mushrooms to the pot, add the potato, vegetable broth, and 1 cup of water.  Simmer for 10 mins.

Puree the soup in a blender and return to pan.  Stir in the milk and 1/2 cup of water.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat through over medium heat.

Serve with some awesome rustic whole wheat bread and maybe a salad.  This recipe makes 4 generous servings.

Enjoy!

Anyhoo, in the interest of keeping things real I wanted to make a confession.

Confession of a nutrition student…I can’t count calories!!  Seriously, I think I’m unable to do it!  I swear any time I try to count calories I GAIN weight!  I don’t know what it is, but my brain is just apparently unable to do it.  In saying that I’m also announcing that I rejoined weight watchers today.  I’m a lifetime member from way back.  I’ve gained a bit of weight back (too many vegan cupcakes this summer!!!) and I KNOW that the program works for me, so that’s what I decided to do.  Plus my acid reflux is back with a vengeance and for me it’s weight related.  When my weight is up it’s bad, but when my weigh is down it goes away. 

I’m not one of those people that can just eat healthy and I’ll magically be at a healthy weight (if you’re one of those people that can…more power to you!  But most of us aren’t like that).  I’m someone that needs some structure.  A plan.  And weight watchers is easy and realistic for me and it works. 

That just goes to show that it’s not only the quality of the food you eat (which in my case is extremely healthy) but it’s also the quantity!  If you take in too many calories you are going to gain weight.  Yes, even if you eat healthy foods.  So now I will try to focus more on controlling my portion sizes.  And now that my broken toe is well on its way to being mended I’m going to try to get back into the swing of working out again.  I’m going to restart my p90x and I’m also going to start running again- I want to do the 10K at the Cowtown this year!!!

And now I’m going to go re-organize my office- Laura has inspired me!

Later gaters!

What the heck is a Hatch Chili you say?  Well, I’m glad you asked!  A Hatch Chili is a seriously delicious chili pepper that is grown in Hatch, New Mexico.  It is kind of like an Anaheim pepper(which is actually bred from the Hatch chili).  They are harvested once a year- right NOW!  And if they don’t come from Hatch, New Mexico they AREN’T Hatch Chilies!!  So go and get some (might I suggest Central Market?  We’re having our Hatch Chili Fest right now!  I work there, can you tell?  haha!) and stock up that freezer- because they won’t be around for much longer!!

This recipe is some of the BEST rellenos that you will ever eat!  I’m not kidding.  This is better than any relleno that I’ve had at a Mexican food restaurant.  AND it’s VEGAN!  I don’t normally fry stuff, but once or twice a year I do and this is one of those times!  It just won’t get the same results if you try to bake it.  So splurge and give this a try!!

Here ya go…

Hatch Chili Rellenos

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces beer
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2- 1 cup Daiya Vegan Cheese, cheddar style 
6 Hatch Chilies, charred and peeled
Canola oil, for frying

Directions:
Combine 1 cup of the flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Gradually add the beer, whisking until the batter is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make an incision the length of each chile and remove the stems and seeds. Stuff the Daiya cheese into chilies, and close with a toothpick.

In a large deep skillet, pour oil until half full. Heat over medium heat until hot.

Dredge chilies in remaining flour, shake off excess, dip in batter, and fry until golden, approximately 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.

Try not to pass out because they’re so amazing!

First is this little beauty…

It’s the Artisana Cacao Bliss raw chocolate coconut butter!   And OMG it’s SO good!!!

It only has 3 ingredients: cacao powder, coconut butter and agave nectar.  That’s it!  It’s rich, chocolatey, and coconuty all at the same time.  I can’t get enough!!

My favorite way to eat this deliciousness is to just put a big ole blob right on my oatmeal!  Mmmmm!

Buy it now!

Or look for it in my shop!

The next thing I’m adding to my shop are the Coco-Zen Vegan Truffles!!  They are for serious chocolate lovers- strong dark chocolate deliciousness!  My favorite flavors are mint, and dark chocolate!  The Coco-Zen Truffles are made from organic ingredients and they’re also fair trade

They come in the cutest little tins!  Which are totally re-usable BTW!  These make a great gift for a chocolate lover or even a wonderful treat for yourself!

Buy the mint truffles now!

Buy the dark chocolate truffles now!

Or check ‘em out in my shop!

Anyhoo…  I’m about to post a few recipes and I’m going to be adding a few things to my shop this morning so check back in a bit!!

Have a good one!

I’m putting a new item in my shop and wanted to share some info about it real quick.  You’ve most likely seen this one before on the blog, I love love love it!

It’s the Artisana Coconut Butter!  LOVE this stuff!!  I like it because 1)there’s nothing in it except for coconut and 2)it tastes amazing!

What can you do with it?  Gosh, what can’t you do with it?! 

I love it with some preserves on a piece of toast…

Or on my oatmeal!

Or on a sandwich thin with a little chocolate PB!

Or on graham crackers (sorry, no picture- they won’t stay out of my mouth long enough for me to take a picture :))

Or as frosting on a chocolate cupcake- nom nom nom!

That’s just a few examples of what to do with it.  It seems a bit pricy but the jar is pretty big and it’s very rich so you only need a little at a time so the jar lasts for a realllllly long time!

Buy it now…
add to shopping cart

Or
shop for it in my store!

Catch ya later!

I’m only starting off with a couple of products, but I’ll add more as I go.

The first product that I want to introduce is this super cool tote! 

It’s the Envi Tote.  I have used the HECK out of this thing and I LOVE it!  It’s awesome to use for just about anything.  I mostly use it for groceries and farmers market trips, but once school starts up again and I basically start living in my car once again I think that it will come in very handy for that as well!

See?  How fun is this little thing?!

Oh and guess what?!  From now until August 16th if you order something from my opensky shop you get FREE SHIPPING!!  Just use the coupon code FREESHIPPING when you check out!

Check out the Envi Tote here!

Enjoy!

I thought it might be fun to go through a few of my favorite vegan products just for anyone who might be curious.  There will be many parts to this new segment, so stay tuned for more!

First and foremost my top two favorite vegan products are FRUITS and VEGETABLES!!  That being said, let’s move on!

Vegenaise.

I love it because it tastes just like mayo but doesn’t contain any animal products!

SO Delicious coconut milk creamer.

SO much better than soy creamer!  It adds a wonderful texture and flavor to your morning coffee.

Silk Almond Milk.

I love it because it is DELICIOUS!  WAY better than soy milk!!  It’s creamy like whole milk (not watery like soy) and it tastes amazing straight up in a glass.  And almonds are so very good for you!  

Whole Soy and Co soy yogurt. 

6 grams protein, low fat, great source of calcium!  Beats the PANTS off of every other soy yogurt out there!!  Soy yogurt can be hit or miss and this one is definitely a hit!  Favorite flavors so far are peach and blueberry.

Daiya!!!!

This has been my best find so far- it makes amazing mac and cheese, is perfect for pizza, and makes one heck of a grilled cheese!  Best vegan cheese hands down!

Maple Syrup

Love this stuff!  Amazing in oatmeal (and of course on pancakes!), but is also a good natural substitute for sugar.

Agave Nectar

Oh how I love thee!!  It tasted just like honey.  It’s wonderful in tea (hot or cold), smoothies, cereal.

Animal Cookies!

LOVE whole foods animal cookies!!  Most animal cookies have butter and/or milk in them (eww!), but not this brand- and they’re so yummy!

Whole Foods hamburger buns

One of the only burger buns I’ve found that are vegan.  They’re awesome too!

And last on the list for today…

Justin’s chocolate almond butter

Oh.My.Gosh.  This is waaaay better than Nutella!!  Way better for you too!  Enough said,

Hope you enjoyed part one!  More favorites coming soon…

Everything that will be featured in my OpenSky shop will be something that I have, use and LOVE!  Some examples of things I’ll have in my shop (AKA things I can’t live without) are good quality kitchen knives, a garlic press, my new favorite tote bag for the farmer’s market, awesome vegan products, and even a few big ticket items.  And since I get to hand pick all of the things that I sell in my shop I would love to hear suggestions from anyone and everyone for items that you would like to see in my store!

OpenSky is a better way to shop, where you only buy from people you know and trust.  It’s an online platform that will let me share things that I love with others.  Open Sky has been great to partner with and I have really enjoyed working with them to get my store open.

Keep coming back to check for updates on the store and make sure to check back on opening day for some super discounts and maybe even a prize or two!

The hubby and I went to a Michael Buble concert last night!!!  SOOOOO much fun!!

Our seats were so very nosebleed, but you do what you gotta do right?  I’ll sit just about anywhere as long as I get to hear him sing!   We went to see him in concert the last time he was in town too- I think I liked the last concert better.  The venue was much smaller though, so maybe that’s why.  The AAC is gigantic, and last time we were at the Fort Worth Convention Center.  It was still a good show though.  I didn’t take any pics- my camera is sucktastic and we were in the nosebleed, so I figured it wasn’t really worth it.

Today I’ve been cleaning the carpets in the house- they needed it so bad!  I also made some tortillas for dinner tonight.  We’re doing portabella quesadillas!  I would eat just about anything stuffed in a tortilla with some Daiya cheese! 

So I’m stuffin’ my home made tortillas with some sauteed baby bellas, onions, bell pepper, and a little diced zucchini for some extra flavor and nutrition.  Then you sprinkle with some Daiya, fold ‘em over and sear them on each side in your cast iron skillet (well, you could use a regular skillet too, but cast iron gives it a better sear I think).

See?  Delicious!!

Whelp… I guess that’s it for now!  Later gators!

Hey don’t forget that something exciting is coming!!  Click on the pic if you haven’t already and sign up- you could win something!