The Vegan Slow Cooker!

Hey My Chocolate Covered Cherries!

Thanks for all of your comments on my last post. Homemade Protein Powder is definitely something I enjoy – so much cheaper than that stuff you can buy! Also, thanks for all of your love and support with my Driver’s Ed. I’ve only been driving for less than a week and I feel like a lot of it is coming 100 mph and I need to grab it all at once. I have those feelings that I need to be a perfect driver RIGHT NOW, but I haven’t even been driving for very long. I JUST started, and I’m already getting those feelings – those thoughts – those wantings. But right now, I am just going to take it one day at a time.

Remember when I received The Vegan Slow Cooker from Kathy Hester?

She had sent me a copy (free of charge – she did not pay me) to review and I absolutely LOVE it!

This quote is so right! I love how much time slow cookers save me. I just throw everything in my slow cooker, set the timer, and POOF! Dinner served!

The recipes are so amazing and SO easy to make!

Remember that Vanilla Cranberry Quinoa I tried?

And that Lentil and Split Pea Soup? 

AND that Chocolate Valentine Dream Oatmeal? The recipes were from her! If you want to read how I rated them, click here.

I had the oatmeal (like, 1/3 of the recipe – the batch is HUGE) as a yummilicious part of my lunch! WITH peanut butter on top of course. I love how easy it is to cook steel cut oats in the slow-cooker! SO much easier than having to stir them in a pot for an hour. Because of this book, steel cut oats and I can have more dates.

Some of the other recipes that caught my eye have included the following:

The Apple Sage Sausage

Perfect Pizza From Your Slow Cooker

I mean — just look at that!

Wholesome Chocolate Chip Banana Bread – this one I love! I never would have thought to make bread in a slow cooker.

And the Pumpkin and White Bean Lasagna.

Some others included the:

• Spanish Quinoa
  
• Carrot Cake and Zucchini Bread Oatmeal
  
• Holiday Sweet Potato Casserole
  

and brownies, and granolas, and pasta dishes, and so much more!!! I am just drooling at that list. AND, they are all VEGAN with many of them Gluten and Soy-free, too!

I would TOTALLY recommend this book to you. I’ve read many slow-cooker books, but this one is by far my favorite. I love how easy and simple the recipes are – my sister (who doesn’t cook very often) could definitely make these. We have really enjoyed the recipes we have tried so far, and we can’t wait to try more of them!

Kathy Hester is also the amazing woman behind Healthy Slow Cooking, aka: she has a blog! Go check her out. You will not regret it.

I used to always be afraid of using the slow cooker.

But this book has changed everything.

Now,

You could call me a Vegan Slow Cooker.

When you first started driving, did you have any struggles with certain aspects of it? I know I need to work on my checking my mirrors when I brake, right turns (which I’m getting better at), and changing lanes.

Do you have a favorite food to make in the slow cooker? I’m really loving making oatmeal, quinoa, and beans!

Do you tend to stay up late even if you shouldn’t? That is one of the things I am working on. Going to bed at a decent hour (10pm is my goal), prioritizing and using my time well, and driving are the parts of balance in my life that I am focusing on right now.

xoxox

Homemade Protein Powder!

Hey my Absolutely AMAZING Chocolate Chip Bananners!

Thanks for all of your comments on my Finger-Lickin’ Peanut Butter Hummus Dip! I have really been enjoying the dip – but I haven’t been really eating it as a dip. I like dipping carrots into it, but right now I am trying to do an orange-detox because my orangeness is not getting any better, especially with getting up to 5 carrots a day (and that’s just CARROTS, not including the other orange foods….), it’s getting a little out-of-hand. This orangeness is not balance, and since that is what I am striving for, I am going to focus on the other colors of the rainbow for a while (since my body apparently has enough vitamin A to last an eternity). Anyways, I’ve been just eating the dip with a spoon. Best way to eat it I think.

Ok, time for some Homemade Protein Powder!

One of my readers reminded me that I had promised to share how I had made my homemade protein powder, which I mentioned in June. Here is how I make it! I grind up a ¼ of a cup of dry roasted soy nuts with a tablespoon of cocoa powder (or carob powder for more sweetness), a dash of cinnamon, and a packet of stevia. I grind it all up in my blender until it is all powdery. It has a nutty kind of flavor that I find works best when combined with oatmeal. I haven’t made that in the longest time, since I buy my own protein powder now, but I make it if I run out.

What’s been going on in my life?

I had my first driving lesson this morning! We started out in the parking lot practicing my turning the wheel. Then he got me onto a divided highway and then out to some rural roads. We did lights, drove up to speeds of 65 mph (which is pretty high since yesterday when my mom took me out to practice driving, I never left the parking lot and NEVER drove higher than 15 mph; so going from 15 to 65 all at once was actually pretty exhilarating – very scary at first, but now I love it!), went through the neighborhood roads at 30 mph, and practiced turning smoothly. He did save me a few times, but for my first drive, it was fun! He told my mom that I know 80% of what I need to know to be a good driver, and since I never drove before (the week before, when my mom took me to the parking lot for my first practice, was the first time I had ever sat in the driver’s seat and turned the key to even START the ignition), I wouldn’t have any habits to have to break. The things I need to work on include the following: backing up in a straight line, changing lanes (with checking the proper checking mirrors in the right order), and parking straight. So now, I just need to PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!

I went to a dance this last weekend.

And you know that squirrel in the movie Over The Hedge when he gets that caffeine in his system?

Yeah, that was me –

Just I didn’t have the caffeine and I was STILL pinging around like him. I was jumping around and being crazy the entire night. I had such a great time.

I made dinner! This is the Vanilla Cranberry Quinoa I made! It tasted alright. I’ll have to keep using quinoa is other ways, but I love how easy it was to make in the slow cooker. My family gave it a rating of 2-3 stars.

We had some Split Pea and Lentil Soup (which I made). Now this – THIS was AMAZING!!!!! It was sooooo delicious! My family gave this a 5+ rating! Gosh, I am telling you – the flavor was incredible! I have never had a more delicious split pea and lentil soup in my LIFE!

For my snacks for the past few days, I’ve been having my Finger-Lickin’ Peanut Butter Hummus Dip – eaten with a spoon. It is a little rich, but very yummy. For you guys who like sweeter desserts, I would definitely say to up the maple syrup and stevia a little bit in this. The sweetness is perfect for me, but if I were serving it to others, I would up it a little.

Another adventure with STEEL CUT OATS! This time, it’s in the form of oatmeal! Chocolate Valentine Oats that is. I really like it with the Peanut Butter on top – without the peanut butter on top, it’s a little bland, but the nut buttah adds a little kick and makes it delicious. So this one: about 4 stars.

On the side I had me some roasted cauliflower and a veggie burger. The savory from the burger and the simply incredibleness of the flavor of the roasted cauliflower– they complement each other SO well! 5 stars here!

Now I’m off to go have a date with the 8lbs of Strawberries I have in the fridge (I love my Daddy). And then I’m babysitting this afternoon, and this evening I have another driving lesson – this will be my first night-time lesson. I’ll have to tell you how it goes!

Ever tried making your own protein powder? I love how high in both protein AND fiber this one is!

Sweet or Savory? Peanut butter, roasted cauliflower, and that veggie burger (which I swear smells like a sausage patty) are making me say SAVORY!

Do you like to use a slow-cooker? I love how you just throw everything into the pot, set the timer, and dinner is served!

xoxox

The Exclusive Insider’s Look Into My Life! Part #1

Good Day My Darling Ladies (and Gentlemen?!)

Oh my gosh. You guys are the sweetest Readers EVER!!! Thank you for all of your wonderful comments on A Balance Life Is! Kitties are one of my favorites, and that kitty showed what a balanced diet is perfectly!

All right. I promised you in my last post the Exclusive Look Into My Life,

and

HERE

IT

IS!

note: This is an average WEEKday for me. My life varies a lot, so this is just an average overview.

The EXCLUSIVE LOOK!

Wake up 5:15am

Snack (Meal#1) :

Almonds (or some other kind of nut)

Early morning scripture study class

(where we study the scriptures and have some fun!)

Workout!

45-60 minutes, give or take.

The hard part is picking which one to do! Go Run, Ride the Bike, or do an INTENSE workout video.

It’s hard to pick JUST ONE because I love them all so much! I always follow them with some stretching (don’t want sore muscles!).

Shower! Get ready for my day.

(Meal #2) Eat Breakfast at around 8:30am-9:30am (varies by the day):

Either Oatmeal, Pancakes, PIZZERTS, or Avocado on Toast!

An Almond Joy OIAJ is one example.

I had an apple with this.

I like to do the Sudoku, Word Jumble, Cryptogram, Crossword puzzle, and other word games — like Bananagrams —  that we get in our daily newspaper while I eat breakfast.

How about you?

After Breakfast, I check my emails and a little blogging.

SCHOOL / CLASSES

12pm (Meal #3) Lunch:

Either a Salad, a Sandwich, a Wrap, some Soup, or a BIG plate of veggies with a protein (veggie burger, beans, or something) and a fruit (apple, banana, mango, kiwi, pear, or whatever).

My Daddy made some Split Pea/Lentil soup (well, it’s more like a stew)!

YUM!

He used Split Peas, Lentils, Carrots, and some other stuff. REALLY good!

I have a piece of fruit on the side with my lunch as Dessert Jr.

——-TO BE CONTINUED——

Do you read the Newspaper everyday? Do you do the Puzzles in them? I don’t read the newspaper, but my mother does. My sister likes the comics, and I like the word puzzles.

What is your favorite way to eat beans? I like my Daddy’s Beans!

Coming Up:

–A New Goodie!

–Part #2; in this upcoming post, I’m going to not only finish up showing you my life, but also discuss how I incorporate Baked Goods into my diet.

xoxox,