first vegan dinner!

I am a slacker!  I have been super busy, so I didn't get a chance to tell you all about my vegan dinner I made for me and Brian on Tuesday night.--well, I thought it was a delicious success! I was very proud of myself and very thankful for Aunt Connie's wonderful recipe. I made vegan stuffed peppers stuffed with Black Bean and Quinoa! ( which I am finding to be one of a vegan's BFF's). When I informed Brian that we were having these for dinner, he responded with "oh ok....will there be a side? Pasta or something?" I must say ;however, that he is very supportive of my vegan journey, but he has not jumped on the train with me with both feet yet. He has always been interested in healthy eating, and I am sure if i give him a few years, he will be loving it just as much as me! ( fingers crossed). SO--here is the scrumptious recipe for these bad boys!

Black  Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

(My favorite AC recipe)

2 tblsp olive oil ( or veggie broth)

1 Medium Onion Chopped ( 1 cup)

3  cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tblsp Chili Powder

1 Tsp salt

1-15oz can Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup Quinoa

4 Large Red Bell Peppers ( I used green because they were what I had)

15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tsp pure maple syrup

Saute onions in oil for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic. Stir in chili powder and salt. Add the quinoa and 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Simmer (boil) for about 20 min. Preheat oven 350. Cut tops off the peppers and remove all of the seeds. Boil peppers 5 min and then drain. Combine beans and maple syrup with cooked quinoa mixture. Stuff peppers. Stand upright in baking dish. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Bake 15 minutes.

So I gave his wish and added a side of pasta! I figured if he is going to eat my vegan stuffed peppers- I would throw in a little side of pasta!

The delicious inside!

thank goodness white wine is vegan!

I am glad that I could share with you one of my favorite recipes!

BRIAN'S VEGAN DINNER REVIEW-

He gave these peppers a B-. The reason for the grade is because he said he wasn't "used" to eating things like this. ( Brian is a chicken fingers and french fries type of guy). He did however say that he would give them a try again, and that if he was jumping on the vegan train, I would need to cook these ALOT.

So- yesterday was not a very "vegan friendly" day for me. BBQ at the boyfriends place. That's ok. Like I said, there will be Ups and Downs :).

fully stocked!

Today was an adventure! After work, I decided that I wanted to check out this little corner health store in my town. I drive by it everyday, and I have always been meaning to stop, and today was THE DAY! I walked in and was just overwhelmed by the amount of nuts, seeds, beans, protein powder and couscous I saw. This little food store, "HealthWorks" has every "health nut" essential!

I got so many goodies here! Including VEGAN RAVIOLIS! I didn't even know there was such a thing, but HEALTH WORKS has it

                            

 I got some flax seed ( an Aunt Connie Vegan staple!), some veggie cheese, soy turkey, raisins, and dried bananas! The prices were pretty reasonable, but I am sadly finding that it is going to be EXPENSIVE to be a successful vegan, but part of my journey will be learning how to be a vegan on a social worker budget! After I left this little corner store, I walked down the street to this quaint little produce market in my town. I hit the jackpot there! LET ME TELL YA! I got-- 4 bell peppers, a bag of  6 organic apples, carrots, a bag of potatoes, fresh green beans, bananas, fresh organic peaches, oranges, hummus, spinach, and romaine lettuce
 all for UNDER...yes UNDER 15.00 $. I couldn't even believe my eyes! So needless to say, I WAS PUMPED!

                                      

I was proud of myself today! My kitchen is fully stocked with some vegan essentials all for under 40.00 ( not too shabby) I am still learning everyday, and its going to be a challenging, yet FUN journey! 

I am cooking for Brian tonight ( the boyfriend <3), and I am making Aunt Connie's famous Vegan Stuffed Peppers! I will share the recipe with all of you tomorrow, and I will show pictures, and also give you Brian's "Vegan Dinner Review". Get Excited.

Today I fell in love.....

I know, I know. You are all probably saying "Carly, how many times have you tried this? Why in the world are you doing this, YOUR CRAZY!."---Yes I know, I have tried to "be a vegan" like 10 times already, and have failed, failed miserably, going right back into a carnivorous life.--but today I am taking the plunge! As of today, I am going to use this year, to be my journey to veganism!!

Ok so, here is the deal--
My aunt and uncle have been vegans for about 3 years now, and it is always something that I have admired about them. I just found it fascinating that my aunt could make something taste SO DELICIOUS yet at the same time, that something is SO HEALTHY! Growing up I put healthy and disgusting in the same category, but since I began living with my aunt and uncle, my aunt opened my eyes to this world of healthy and yummy being in the same category! When I went to college, my aunt and uncle decided it would be a good idea to go vegan. I was not pumped about that by any means, because that meant when I came home on breaks, I had to also eat vegan. Gross city. But over time, I began to really enjoy my aunts vegan cooking, and I enjoyed even more what my aunts vegan cooking was doing for my meat eating body. I felt awesome. I felt awake, and alive, it was like my body was saying "thank you thank you thank you!!" Since my first vegan experience, I became interested in learning more about it. Lets just say, that my aunt was SO excited, because I was the only one of her kids that didnt throw the vegan idea out the window, I embraced it. I tried to go vegan over night a few times while I was in college, eating nothing but veggie burgers, and pasta, resulting in weight gain and sickness. Needless to say, I was discouraged! I still however had this drive in my heart to become a vegan, and do it RIGHT! When I graduated, I started to experiment more with cooking, because now I finally have my own apartment with my own kitchen! My aunt has given me great books to read ( The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone, has been GREAT inspiration), and cook books to find yummy vegan recipes.So that is where I am at this very moment. ---

I am going to take this year to transition into a vegan. I am hoping to learn more about myself, my body, and my health. I am hoping to continue to gain appreciation for this lifestyle, and find ways to make vegainism fun! I will share with you my "ups" and downs of becoming a vegan. I will share with you great recipes, and not so great recipes. I invite you to come on my journey to veganism! It will be fun. It will be exciting, it will be interesting for sure. So come and join me, as I go from zero-vegan in one year!

PS. the reason why i titled by blog, today i fell in love is because there is this cute little "green" cafe down the street from where i work, and there was a sign outside that read "VEGAN CUPCAKES."  For those of you who know me, you should know I am a SUCKER for a cupcake. So, I pulled in. I bought my vegan chocolate cupcake and I went back to my desk at work. I took the first bite, and I was in heaven! THIS CUPCAKE WAS THE BOMB! It put an instant smile on my face. It really made my day. So that was it for me. I said to myself "this is it, if veganism tastes this good, COUNT ME IN!"