Tag: Vegan

• Exploration

  Posted at 10:49 AM by Brittany, on March 28, 2013

  One of my goals this year is to spend some quality time exploring my state. Having lived in Washington my entire life, I feel it’s time to really start appreciating all the beauty around me. Seattle is always an easy go to being that it’s only an hour ferry ride away, but there are still plenty of hikes, lakes, mountains, and restaurants that I want to explore!

  

  The trees in this city are different than in mine. Only an hour of separation, but completely different landscape. There are also new to me wildlife parks that make for great afternoon adventures.

  

  The sun was in hiding for the first part of this wildlife trek, but eventually made an appearance.

  

  There were birds, ducks, snakes, turtles, and lots of foliage to see. I’ve become a pro at identifying skunk cabbage, and could continue living contently if I never had to see or smell that stuff again..blech. Another smelly substance left me in fear every time packs of geese flew over my head.

  

  No body likes poop hair.

  I have walked so much this week that my legs feel as if I have run a half marathon everyday. It’s been a welcomed change from the constant running, and giving my knees a break every couple days has been nice. While I LOVE running in new areas, I find that walking helps me appreciate the scenery around me more.

  

  Spring time is a perfect time to start exploring, but I need serious fuel when it comes to hours of exploring. Spring time also means BRING OUT THE BBQ!

  

  Pre BBQ

  

  There aren’t many sights more beautiful than grilled veggies. Match made in adventure heaven.

  Q: Do you ever explore areas close to home, or do you prefer adventures further away? I like both, but close to home is easier to do on a whim! 

  

  | 56 Comments Tagged Adventure, BBQ, Exploring, Food, Grill, Running, Spring, Vegan, Walking, Washington

• Spring Eggs

  Posted at 9:28 AM by Brittany, on March 26, 2013

  Spring has sprung!! Sorry to all you east coasters that are still getting inches of snow, that’s rough. Over here in the north west it’s been sunny sunny sunny.

  

  It was so sunny on my run yesterday I felt wildly overdressed. It’s almost time to bust out the running tanks, my favorite! I feel like a cartoon in this picture.

  Spring means flowers, sun, birds, birds mating, and Easter for those of you that celebrate. I’d be lying if I said Easter didn’t make me think of candy, eggs, and searching for money in a giant yard. As I get older I am trying to appreciate the real meaning behind Easter, with maybe a chocolate egg or two. Before I went vegan my go to chocolate egg was none other than the Reese’s egg.  The thick PB center was far more delicious than their regular PB cup. Any holiday Reese’s was divine.

  Last year I tried to give my love to another, which was a terrible mistake. Nothing compares. Sorry TJ’s, I love you, and I love your candy, but your choc eggs suck. Since Easter isn’t complete without chocolate covered eggs. I made my own! I was inspired by this recipe, and if you want a non vegan version give it a try! They also have more pictures, and better egg shaping skills.

  

  Before you judge my egg shaping skills, I’ll have you know that no matter what the shape..everything goes in and out of the same place. So deal with it.

  Chocolate PB Eggs

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup PB (I used chunkaayy!)
  • 2 tblsp Earth Balance butter
  • 1-3 tablespoons almond milk (depending on texture)
  • 1.5 cups of semisweet or dark (dairy free) chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

  Mix together the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until it becomes a nice workable dough. Form the dough into egg shapes, or dinosaur turds, and place in the freezer for about an hour.

  I used the stove to melt my chocolate chips and coconut oil, but a microwave would work too. Dip each egg into the melted chocolate and place on wax paper.

  

  I put mine back into the freezer to set up. The coconut oil will make these melt quick at room temperature, and I like my treats cold anyway. This made about 16 sm/med eggs. Which were gone in two days..between three people.

  These were delicious, and I think it’s time for another sugar detox!! Would you believe I pulled a muscle in my neck reaching for a cupcake?? I did pull a muscle, I’m not sure how, but I’m going to pretend it’s a sign to cut back on sugar…again. HA!

  Q: Favorite Easter time treat???

  

  | 50 Comments Tagged Easter, Reeses, Running, Spring, Sun, Vegan

• Food for Days

  Posted at 9:06 AM by Brittany, on March 24, 2013

  Yesterday I made my way to Seattle for tons of free stuff VegFest, a vegetarian food festival with lots of samples. This was my first time attending VegFest as a vegan, but I was pleased to find out that 95% of the food was vegan friendly!

  

  The day started off gray, but that didn’t stop hundreds of people from piling onto the ferries going across the water.

  

  I saw that Scott Jurek was in town and was really hoping to see him at VegFest, but no such luck. I did however score big in the food department. Hundreds of samples to eat, and plenty more to take home. All for an $8 entrance fee. Score.

  

  Beet, fennel, quinoa salad.

  

  Two bags FULL of loot.

  

  The final haul, all sprawled out.

  The best new-to-me find at VegFest was vegan whipped cream that tasted JUST like the dairy version..pumpkin/apple/berry pie here I come! After stuffing my face with tons of delicious vegan food, it was time to play tourist in the city I adore.

  

  What’s a trip to Seattle without Starbucks?

  

  

  

  Pike Place market has amazing spring flowers this time of year, and of course delicious produce! The daffodils were everywhere.

  

  

  Spring has SPRUNG! The sun also decided to come out for the rest of the day. HOO-rah.

  

  I tell ya, the day would have been rough without this guy..

  

  Snacks, water, and extra clothes. The day was great, and to top it off I found $0.63 cents over the course of six hours. I’m not even kidding (super rad, right!?.) I’m up to $1.13 on my coin counter. I’m well on my way to that free donut. By the end of the day I was ravenous all over again. Food for days will last for..maybe five days.

  Q: What big city do you live near or in, and how often do you visit?? Seattle, and I visit as often as I can! 

  

  | 55 Comments Tagged Adventure, Food, Seattle, Spring, Vegan

• Speechless

  Posted at 12:09 PM by Brittany, on March 20, 2013

  I thought about incorporating this treat into another post, but then I decided the only way to do justice to this cupcake is to give it a post of it’s own.

  

  I had so many reasons why I needed to make these cupcakes: free time, chocolate craving, experimental bones in my body, a cat that likes peanut butter, and a new Wilton piping set I was given for my birthday!

  

  I don’t know if I should be embarrassed or proud to say these cupcakes left me speechless.

  

  A rich chocolate cake, with cookie dough icing. Oh and have you guessed yet…they’re vegan.

  Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes

  For the cake:

  • 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup raw sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup cold water

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. The ingredients must be mixed in the right order to achieve the correct texture. First, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and mix well.
  3. When the dry ingredients are mixed, stir in the vanilla, vinegar, and olive oil. Then pour the water into the mix and stir well.

  This should make 15 regular sized cupcakes.

  

  For the icing:

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • Pinch salt
  • Chocolate chips to top the cupcake with

  Mix these ingredients together in the order they are presented.

  I wasn’t sure how this cookie dough texture would hold up in my piping bag. I’ve never used a nice piping set before, but I am happy to report it was a success!

  

  Just to be safe I didn’t mix any chocolate chips into the dough. I didn’t want the piper to get clogged because I don’t mess around with small chocolate chips. Go big or go home. I added 5-6 chips per cupcake for a nice ending decoration.

  

  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a cupcake platter calling my name for lunch.

  Q: Cookie dough icing yay or nay? Ohhh yay for sure. Cookie dough anything please! 

  

  | 68 Comments Tagged Chocolate, Cookie Dough, Cupcake, Food, Recipe, Vegan

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 9:23 AM by Brittany, on March 9, 2013

  1. I have eaten the exact same lunch the past three days and I am officially obsessed.

  

  Spinach, kale, broccolettes, and sweet potatoes. Topped with mustard and nooch.

  I dream about this bowl.

  2. I have competition. When asking my (autistic) sister if she had a boyfriend her reply was, “*****. He is a good guy.” Well that’s odd, ***** is my boyfriend. Hahaha.

  3. I have FINALLY finished Scott’s book.

  

  I still want to be his best friend.

  4. I haven’t had sweets in too long. I lost count. I would shank someone for some Snackimals right now.

  5.  I went urban hiking yesterday. I didn’t know that was even a thing. It’s what you call walking around town, I guess it sounds cooler to call it urban hiking. Weird. The sights were still as good as a mountain hike though.

  

  6. I love the smell of cleaning products. It’s bad. Citrus smell, bleach, Ajax, laundry soap, cat litter..nothing like chemicals to awaken my senses. Who needs drugs when you can smell cleaning products…….JOKE!

  7. I’ve owned my car for 5 years and have yet to change the wiper blades, until yesterday. This may seem like no big deal to my desert friends, but I live in a state that rains..a LOT.

  

  With a combination of discounted blades at Costco, and an insisting family, I bought the blades. I also wanted to use them as ninja sticks.

  

  Fortunately for me I didn’t have to put them on.

  Now it just needs to rain.

  8. I have found the next half marathon I am going to run. Super jazzed.

  9. Sitting in a coffee shop reading a book, people watching, or blogging is one of the most relaxing things ever.

  

  10. I have found the most amazing app for my cheap frugal ways. I have this habit of picking up change when I see it on the ground. I get wayyy too excited when I find pennies, nickles, and dimes on the ground. Don’t even get me started on finding a quarter. I decided to track how much change I find starting from the beginning of March. I found at least $1.50 from January to February. Laugh away, that will buy me a free donut!

  

  So March hasn’t been a big payday yet, but I’m holding strong for the day I find those quarters! My friends won’t be laughing at the end of the year when they see I’ve found $5.00 for free!

  Q(s):

  • When’s the last time you changed your wiper blades?
  • What’s your weekly confession?

  

  | 63 Comments Tagged Confessions, Food, Half Marathon, Random, Running, Vegan

• Three Way “Cheese” Sauce

  Posted at 9:09 AM by Brittany, on February 22, 2013

  You know something is good when you use it not once, not twice, but three times in less than a week. I have found the most amazing “cheese” sauce recipe for my vegan friends, and those of you that enjoy vegan foods. I did not alter this recipe ONE bit, I left it completely alone..it is perfect. With that said you can find this nacho, movie theater like “cheese” sauce by clicking right here. Using water, cashews, nutritional yeast, red peppers, lemon, corn starch and spices…you get this.

  

  OH my gosh I died. I seriously died. My vegan body died and was reborn, all at the same time. I enjoyed this recipe with chips the first time I ate it. The very next day I made some mac and cheese.

  

  There are greens under these shells, but the shells steal the show.

  
  

  I have no complaints about this sauce. Not a single one. The ingredients are amazing. The third time, I made an enchilada/lasagna like creation. I love Pinterest.

  

  Before making that enchilada/lasagna, I earned my meal by going on my first hike of the year. It was COLD.

  

  Creep

  Despite the cold, the views were gorgeous.

  

  Maybe if we wore pants it wouldn’t have been so cold. Owell, I love my state!

  Q: Have you started hiking yet this year?  

  

  | 37 Comments Tagged Green Mountain, Hiking, Recipe, Vegan, Washington

• Dance Party

  Posted at 4:16 PM by Brittany, on February 11, 2013

  When I was in elementary school, birthday celebrations were almost more exciting than meeting Santa. Kids would bring treats to class, and the last 15minutes were reserved for an in class party. These days birthdays seem to come and go without the blink of an eye. I usually like to keep my birthday on the low down, unless I get free stuff..then it’s time to party.

  

  I think I may have talked about The Veggie Grill once or twice before..it’s safe to say I am obsessed. It just so happened that I received a, “welcome to grill club” and a, “happy birthday” coupon all in the same week! This meant a free meal (for birthday) AND a free dessert (for joining grill club.) All I had to do was give my e-mail address..SOLD!

  

  One of those plates was free, along with the carrot cake. Vegan comfort food never tasted SO good. Happy Birthday to me. Along with eating my weight in food, I bought myself some birthday party pants earlier that day.

  

  My life is so black and white..time to add a little color.

  $10 dollar pants on sale at H&M, dance party indeed.

  Q: Do you have a big celebration for your birthday? Mine is on Friday, but I have a half marathon on Sunday and want to take it easy the few days before! AKA I am a grandma and will probably bake some cupcakes and fall asleep by 10pm. 

  

  | 70 Comments Tagged Birthday, Food, Free Stuff, Half Marathon, Hot Pants, Vegan, Veggie Grill

• Stick With What You Know

  Posted at 8:56 AM by Brittany, on February 8, 2013

  Confession: I have been running in the same shoes for a year now. Any running expert will tell you shoes need to be retired anywhere around 500miles of usage (I’m looking at you dad..shoes from the 1990’s!.) Oops..I think I exceeded that. I can’t help it..I’m as frugal as they come! I finally..FINALLY went last week to buy some new shoes, but it didn’t go so smoothly..

  I had no specific shoe in mind, I just wanted a new pair. I have to admit I was partial to Brooks for a few reasons. Number one being I reverted back to my high school days of being a brand snob, and Brooks are just “cool.” They also make vegan shoes..double cool. Oh and my boyfriend runs in Brooks, and so does Scott Jurek..triple cool. I’m telling you now..what an awful way to base your shoe choice. You can possibly guess by now I ended up buying a pair of Brooks.

  

  Brooks Ghost 5..what a GORGEOUS shoe.

  Gorgeous as this shoe may be, after a 4mile test run something wasn’t right. Just my luck that with a prettier running shoe would come problems. Any shoe I’ve ever worn that was “pretty” (heels, fancy flats, studded flippy floppys) ended up causing PAIN! NO PRETTY SHOES! So despite Brooks awesome reputation, pretty shoes, and catchy slogan..I had to take these vegan shoes back.

  

  I decided to buy another pair of my old shoes, but no one had them in store so I had to wait a WEEK and order them online. I ate a lot of cookies to pass the time and drown my sorrows.

  

  I also had to put 11more miles on my old shoes, which really ended up hurting my knees. My left knee still hurts. Ugh..never waiting a year again! I did have a good run with my running partner despite the knee pain, and the views were awesome too..but nothing is worth hurting your body!

  

  1896 Olympia Brewery. I need a beer to sooth my funky knees!

  I am now coming to the falling action of this story. Yesterday I received my new shoes. There is something magical about seeing the UPS or FEDEX truck outside your door. Oh so magical.

  

  Aesthetically these shoes are awful. Absolutely AWFUL. They look like they were colored by a 5yr old, funny that they have similar colors to the Brooks. Physically..these shoes were like running on CLOUDS! I AM SO HAPPY with these shoes! I took them out for a run IMMEDIATELY and could have cried I was so happy. It was such a good run I even found some chachachaangge.

  

  That’s a whopping $0.11 cents, and I sure did STOP running to pick those coins up!! I can’t get to Disneyland without money people!

  The moral of this long story is: STICK with what you know!! The tread difference on the bottom of these two shoes was embarrassingly pathetic. I was LONG overdue for a new pair, and I am stoked to have my beloved Asics. I am now partial to Asics because they WORK FOR ME, this is how you should choose a running shoe! Maybe one day I will run in some Brooks, but until this shoe is discontinued I will stick with what I know!

  Q: What do you run in and whyyy!?

  

  | 68 Comments Tagged Asics, Brooks, Disneyland, Free Money, Half Marathon, New Digs, Run Happy, Running, Vegan

• Donut Daze

  Posted at 9:43 AM by Brittany, on February 6, 2013

  One of my all time favorite donuts has always been the apple fritter. The cinnamony appley goodness just melts in your mouth and is hard to pass up with a morning cup of coffee.

  

  I was inspired by a recipe that is sure to excite not only your taste buds, but your body will be empowered to go for a run. Seriously..sugar rushes and coffee highs make for great runs (5miles and under.)

  

  Apple Fritters 

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • dash of salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tblsp Earth Balance Vegan Butter
  • Equivalent of 1 egg ( I used Ener G egg re-placer.)
  • 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk, plus more if needed
  • 1 cup chopped/diced apple. I used a honeycrisp.
  • For the glaze-1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tblsp almond milk or more. Start with 1tblsp.
  • Coconut oil for frying

  Mix all the dry ingredients together, and then slowly add the wet ingredients MINUS the apples. Mix together until well combined, but not over beaten. Gently fold in the apple pieces. Once the oil is ready (when a test drop of dough floats to the top of the oil, a drop of water sizzles, or a piece of white bread browns in 60 seconds) place 3-4 balls of dough into the oil. Watch for browning and once the underside is browned flip over and fry the other side. Once the golf ball sized ball is completely browned they are done. I used a basic frying pan with enough coconut oil to cover about 1/3 of the dough. Once the donut is dried off, paint or dunk into the glaze.

  

  These are the best donuts I have ever tasted. Partially because they are homemade, and everything tastes better when you make it yourself. You can’t even tell they’re vegan. Make these now. This batch makes about 14 medium sized donut balls, and they were gone in two days. I was in a donut daze.

  

  Q(s):

  • What’s your favorite type of donut? Apple fritters, maple bars, and ANYTHING filled with creamy goodness.
  • Donut or doughnut? Why can’t we just pick one way to spell this word!? 

  

  | 80 Comments Tagged Baking, Cooking, Food, Pinterest, Recipe, Running, Vegan

• Cravings

  Posted at 7:28 PM by Brittany, on February 3, 2013

  Usually my food cravings are so spot on that it takes less than 10 minutes for me to make some magic happen to satisfy my needs. The other night I wanted grease, and carbs. Solution? Cheesy tots.

  

  I don’t think I stopped to breath while I ate these. Daiya cheese has found a new way into my heart. Craving satisfied. Then yesterday something horrific happened. I was craving..nothing. Not a single thing sounded good to me..NOT even cupcakes or cookies. Oh the horror! So my dinner consisted of a random throw together. I would have gone to bed hungry, but I needed to eat something for my longer run today.

  

  The saddest part about this gorgeous looking mish mash, was that it was just MEH to my taste buds. Such a rough life I know. Speaking of rough, in my last post I mentioned that I judge other runners apparel. Check out this atrocity that hit the streets today..

  

  Green pants, grey top, PINK gloves, ugly shoes that are a YEAR old. Judge away friends..JUDGE AWAY! My shoes are so far gone it’s not even funny..more on that in a future post. I am officially the epitome of what I “judge.” Inefficiency at it’s finest running in shoes that will KILL my legs. New shoes are ON THEIR WAY.

  My knees HATED me today on my 11 mile run. On the upside I had my HOT running partner with me, and I tried a new energy gel.

  

  I have been obsessed with chia seeds for at least 4 years now. I have heard AWFUL reviews about this product, and it sold so poorly that Manfriend got all of these for free from his work. I also got some freebies from Liz (thanks again L!) I LOVED them. I have to try them again to judge the endurance aspect, but I didn’t mind the taste and I was already used to the gel like consistency of chia seeds in liquid. I think Scott Jurek would approve. Shot Bloks still have my heart though.

  After this run it took me a few hours to find my hunger beast and while I struggled finding a craving, the stars have realigned because I was willing to shank anyone with a cupcake. I didn’t get a cupcake though, instead I had Chipotle. My intestines will thank me later.

  Q: What do you do when you crave NOTHING!? 

  

  | 52 Comments Tagged Cravings, Food, Random, Running, Vegan

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• BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalistic nomad striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long hikes, deep connections, exploration, and lots of potatoes.

• If this blog does not meet your standards, please lower your standards.

• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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