chilly Saturday!

these are the breakfasts that make me want to get out of bed in the AM.  I do like to be up early, but it's even better with a bowl of overnight oats or a green smoothie to eat =)

This green smoothie was collards, ginger nub, dates, raw almond butter, blueberries, banana



This is how I keep my ginger in the freezer when I don't use it all up fresh.  I think I actually got the idea from overhearing a Rachael Ray show ;)  I give it a little peel and cut up into nubs, lay out on a plate or something flat to freeze then add to a bag.  You can leave the peel on if it's particularly fresh, thin and shiny. 



mmmm, big glass of nutrition!



I've also been making lots of overnight chia oats.  I mean we have 15 pounds of chia around!  I've been going by Angela's Easy Vegan overnight oats on Oh She Glows.  It only takes a minute before you hit the pillow at night to stir these up.  I picked up some unsweetened coconut kefir and have been using that as my liquid, yum and probiotics! 



so I change the liquid to coconut kefir and the vanilla extract to a few dashes of vanilla powder, and I use big bananas.

mash your banana first, then stir in everything else and place in fridge overnight.  This is what it looks like in the PM



and in the AM with a scoop of raw almond butter



or a ripe champagne mango



or raw almond butter and fresh strawberries



here's about half the chia bottled up for the freezer



A few weeks ago I won these coupons from Heather Eats Almond Butter and Turtle Mountian, the makers of So Delicious.



They will be great for picking up more kefir and we do love the coconut milk ice cream as well ;)  We tried a new flavor this week and it's our favorite hands down, Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl. 

continuing with my love of all things nut/seed butter...a snacky of apples with Pepita Sun Butter.  This is a good snack for me in the afternoons or even while I'm getting dinner ready, I like my good fats!



A few weeks ago I was also able to see Gene Baur talk about Farm Sanctuary, the farmed animal rescue and sanctuary that he co-founded.  He's a really warm guy and gave such a nice talk with photos of gorgeous animals that have been saved and living a good life at Farm Sanctuary.  There were also many photos that made me cry, he talked about how his activism, how the sanctuary got started, and the factory farming industry in the US.  I did take my book that he was kind enough to sign for me.  I am in awe of his life's work already and how passionate, kind and generous he is.  It is so affirming to meet folks like this.  





Here's the horse catpower behind this blog.  Maggie loves to sit with me while I post and often lends her helping hand on my arm for extra support =) 



I met up with a great girlfriend for lunch this week on a gorgeous sunny/rainy day.  We sat outside at Panera and chatted for a couple hours and enjoyed our dose of vitamin D.  This is what I get there, I did forget to ask for the dressing on the side this time, their classic salad.



and a homemade salad with Averie's Tahini Dressing.  I LOVE this dressing.  This time I doubled it and used about 3/4 the amount of sweetener, and used maple syrup instead of agave.  I also add more ground ginger, such a great idea Averie, I love it. 



and my comfort food, brown rice noodles with mushrooms and peas and cheese sauce from  Fatfree Vegan Kitchen.  I did add the extra mustard and onion powders.



I made Dreena Burton's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies from Vive le Vegan! to take with dinner to my brother and sister in law that just welcomed our new little niece home.  These cookies are hits each time I make them.  I used all spelt flour and they turned out great, she gives you the measurement for the switch in the book.



I know that I mentioned this on Facebook, but Glass Dharma was offering their original straws buy one get one for the month of April in celebration of Earth day.  This was too good for me to pass up ;)  I did end up ordering the wrong straws, so they're thinner than I planned on, but I'm sure we'll love them anyway. 



our glass straws, now we have enough for company to use too =)



Have a great Saturday, I'm off to meet up for the Great Strides walk this morning, must dress warm.