The Promise of Noms to Come

I have been MIA! We are having huge issues with our internet that began when we moved back in June. We are going on a month without internet in the apartment so I am online much less often. What has happened in that time?

Drake the cat has been helping us set up the nursery.

• We have eaten delicious homemade food- without the internet, we have spent a lot more time cooking and baking.
• I bought and fell in love with the Peas and Thank You cookbook. Everything has been delicious and I am saving these meal photos for a separate post.
• I re-visited an old cookbook- College Vegetarian Cooking. It is simple to vegan-ize all of these recipes and with most we have had great luck! 
• I stopped eating dairy after having cheese for a few months. The exception right now? Nutella. :o/
• My diet has become a lot more raw and heavy on fruits and veggies in an attempt to do a low salt diet because my blood pressure is starting to send up some red flags. 
• Second trip ever to Whole Foods. Worth the two hour drive! My only qualm is how expensive the buffet food was, but it was delicious, especially the Indian options. 
• Our old slow cooker broke and my mom has given us hers! Lots of slow cooker meals in our future for yummy fall food especially now that I am working again. 
• I have been planning many blog posts and I promise to upload them soon!

Cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

I think we are finally over our muffin-phase. These are peach cobbler muffins!

Not the prettiest food, but hubby loved this slow cooker chili with TVP!

Deodorant Options

One of my favorite and a much more established vegan blogger Eco Vegan Gal recently made this blog post  regarding natural deodorants. I have been very curious about this myself and have been on the search for a natural deodorant that works for me.

For years, I used Dove deodorants. They worked very well for me and my sensitive skin. Because they don't mention being aluminum-free, I have to assume that aluminum is an ingredient. Can cross that off of the list.

Next, I tried Tom's of Maine deodorant for sensitive skin. Aluminum-free, check. Fragrance-free, check. This product gave me a horrible rash. It gave my sensitive skin a very painful reaction.

Then, I tried Lush's Aromaco. Aluminum-free with vegan and organic ingredients. However, it's the only Lush product that I deeply dislike. You take the solid in your hand and rub it over your pits. I expected it to soften from your body heat like a massage bar, but it stayed solid so you have to rub rub rub. Its harsh edges break off and are wasted and the friction starts to hurt. I also found it to be ineffective i.e. smelly pits. I was so disappointed!

Then, Eco Vegan Gal to the rescue! At her recommendation, I picked up a Crystal deodorant at my first trip to Whole Foods. So far, I love it! I got the rolly ball kind and it has kept my underarms smelling fresh. It applies easily and lasts throughout the day. 

I'm sticking with Crystal for now, happy to have one more carcinogen-free product on my body.

Whole Foods and Blog Title

Happy Weekend!!!!!!!!

Today, I drove two hours to receive a pre-service teacher award (yaay!) but we got lost and were forty minutes late (boo). Then, on the way home we took a wrong exit and ended up near a Whole Foods so I went for the first time ever. I'll get into it more later, but now I live in a very VERY rural place. Where I used to live had no Whole Foods but two large organic stores that are not chains and one is a cooperative.

So, yeah! Whole Foods! It was packed with people! Unfortunately, it was not packed with many actual whole foods. The produce was mostly out of season. It was a grocery store that happened to have mostly organic items but not like the kind of organic store I am used to. Very few bulk items. A little bit but not much local.

Also, Whole Foods was not very vegan friendly. I was expecting for it to be peppered with vegan choices clearly labeled, or else have a vegan section. Neither. I was really hungry and wanted to eat in the little cafe area, but it looked like the only vegan option was salad. No thanks. I asked the bakery if they had any vegan options and I was SOL. So disappointing!

Still, I am really happy with some of the freezer finds!!! I always read great reviews on vegan blogs but am not able to get these items for myself because I don't want to order food online that requires refrigeration. I will show you some of these soon when I chow down. Among them are flavors that are new to me of Coconut Bliss and So Delicious. I try to do mostly homemade food, but since I have so little time in the evenings, I am a sucker for something I can just heat up.

Have you been wondering about the blog title? I will explain the sub-heading. Back when I very first starting reading vegan blogs, I kept seeing the name of this restaurant pop up that is two hours away from my house. I decided to tell my hubby/partner about it at a time when I was REALLY sleep deprived. Sober, but ridiculously tired. So, I began to tell him about the "blegan vogs" I've been reading. The name stuck.

I never once pulled an all-nighter in undergrad, but it is a way of life now that I am getting my master's and dual teaching certification in 11 months. It all ends June 4! Ian has been keeping me fed and sane.

Photography by Jim Jarrell