Vegan Pancakes

In our home we can pretty much guarantee that we'll have either pancakes or waffles on the weekend. They're fun and easy!
I can't remember where I got this recipe but it's completely vegan and the pancakes turned out very yummy.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 TBS Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/4 cup Water
1 TBS oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. I sifted the flour only but the original recipe calls for sifting of all dry ingredients.
2. Add in wet ingredients and stir together.

Going Vegetarian... AGAIN

I'm so excited!!! Thanks to Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet and my best friend Rosell I've made the decision to become a vegetarian again. Actually, I'm going full Vegan. I gave up beef, pork and chicken in 6th grade but never dairy. Dairy was the hardest thing to eliminate because it's in practically everything. I've never really liked seafood so that wasn't a problem. Then in high school I started eating chicken again. Well, I just don't want to do that anymore and I'm re energized to start over.

I'm so optimistic because there's been TONS of vegan and actually GOOD tasting products out since I was a kid. Check out some of my goodies.
I can't taste the difference between this and the real thing.

Thank God for this because I don't drink my coffee black.

Better then butter!

I had this cheese on my pizza at Brixx and I'll be trying it at home maybe on some nachos.

Haven't had the chocolate chips. I'll be making pancakes with them this weekend so I can't wait!

These cookies are sold at Starbucks (where you can now make any drink with soy!)


I highly encourage everyone to read her book and you can also check out her site thekindlife.com Here you can find much more info and vegetarian places in your area. I hope to keep sharing my discoveries and soon recipes.

Hola!!

I've been MIA ever since a little piece of heaven came into our lives.


I introduce to you Luna Jolie Doyle (Caballero). She melts my heart and makes my soul smile.

She was so scared at first but her puppy stage is definitely out in full force. She weighed 3.5lbs at her last vet visit. We have no clue how big she'll get because we don't know about mom or dad. We do know mom was the Maltese and daddy was the Yorkie. I saw her brother and he was all white and not as cute. Luna is the apple of mommy's eye!

BEST Chicken Enchiladas

According to my husband and I'll admit they were pretty darn good.

Ingredients:

* 1 pound skinless chicken breasts
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
* 1 green pepper, sliced
* 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
* 12 corn tortillas
* 1/2 cup low-fat Monterrey jack cheese, shredded


Sauce

* 2 cups chopped tomatoes
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 red Serrano chili pepper (seeds removed), finely diced
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* Dash salt and pepper, to taste


Instructions:

1. Boil the chicken breast until cooked through. Remove from water, cool, and shred with two forks.

2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add onions and peppers and sauté until onions are translucent.

3. In a medium bowl mix together the shredded chicken, sautéed vegetables, and black beans. Season with cumin, garlic powder, and hot sauce. This is the filling for the enchiladas.

4. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until finely diced.

5. Coat the bottom of a 9- by-13 inch casserole dish with about 1/2 cup of the sauce. Microwave the corn tortillas for about 30 seconds to soften them. Fill each with about 1/2 cup of chicken filling, wrap and place seam side down in the casserole dish.

6. Once all tortillas are filled, top the dish with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree F oven until the cheese melts.

7. Garnish with additional cilantro, chopped scallions, and nonfat Greek yogurt.

Serves: 6

Nutrition Content (per serving): 360 calories, 13 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 48 g carbohydrates, 11 g fiber, 16 g protein, 130 mg sodium, 160 mg calcium

No yolk!

Whenever I eat eggs which is not often, I usually do one whole egg and one egg white to make a scramble. I always heard and read that the yolk is bad and all fat. Well, maybe not according to research I read today. Read the following:

Number One: The cholesterol in eggs has virtually no effect on the cholesterol in your blood.

Number Two: The fat in the egg yolk is mostly monounsaturated fat, the same kind found in olive oil. Yes, you heard that right. Of the 5.3 grams of total fat in one large egg, only 1.6 grams are saturated.

Number Three: Many of the nutrients that make eggs so incredibly healthy are found in the yolk. Examples: Lutein and zeaxanthin, two members of the carotenoid family that are beneficial for eye health. The yolk also contains choline, which is important for brain health -- and vitamin D.

The idea that eating eggs is bad for your heart is a myth. No study has linked egg eating to greater risk of heart disease. In fact, quite the opposite. According to an article from Harvard Health (a publication of Harvard Medical School), "The only large study to look at the impact of egg consumption on heart disease ... found no connection between the two."

Research has also shown that eggs eaten at the start of the day can reduce your daily calorie intake, prevent snacking between meals and keep you satisfied.

However, not all eggs are created equal. Stay away from scrambled eggs at open buffets. While the cholesterol in eggs poses no real harm to you, when that cholesterol is "scrambled" and then exposed to air and oxygen for a long time (like on an open buffet), it becomes damaged. That's not something you really want in your body. Better to poach, soft or hard boil. If you do scramble eggs, eat them quickly and don't let them sit around all day long.

Just some food for thought...

Off to the races

Local racing has begun here in NC and I see many of our weekends spent at the track. Well, hopefully not EVERY...but it was a lot of fun this past weekend. It's always fun when you have good friends, food, and drinks. *note to self: BRING EARPLUGS AND A BLANKET!* I was freezing my tush.
Racing is a pretty big deal for Justin and we hope that real soon he'll be behind the wheel.

My first herb garden

I'm tired of buying herbs like basil and parsley only to use a little and throw away the rest so I've decided to plant my own herb garden. I started with basil, parsley, and cilantro. I had 3 little pots that Justin drilled holes into them so the water can drain. I used regular potting soil and seeds that I bought at Lowes. I cut out the label from each packet and taped them to the front of each pot. I filled the pots with soil and spread a couple seeds, pressed down the soil, and watered them with plant food in the water. Voila!



I also bought and planted a Geranium into a bigger pot. Pink flowers!


Someone else was enjoying the outdoors this afternoon. We live for these beautiful spring days :)