The perfect fruit

Top 5 Reasons Why Avocado is the Perfect Fruit

5. Avocados act as a "nutrient booster" by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene as well as lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.
4. Avocados contribute nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, including 4% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) for vitamin E, 4% vitamin C, 8% folate, 4% fiber, 2% iron, 4% potassium, with 81 micrograms of lutein and 19 micrograms of beta-carotene.
3. Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit.
2. Avocados contain more potassium than bananas.
1. The Aztec word for avocado was ahuacatl, which means "testicle tree". Seriously!!!

Top 5 Ways to Eat an Avocado

5. Cut in half, fill each hole with Goddess Dressing, and top off with Sriracha.

4. On a bagel!

3. In sushi!

2. Mango Avocado Salsa!

1. With Mexican food!

fajitas...

enchiladas...

tacos... (these are from Cha Cha Cha)

tostadas...

and last but never least...

NACHOS!!!

So my new saying is, "an avocado a day keeps the doctor away!" Good thing they just lowered the price to $.69 at Fred Meyer! xoxo Chelsea

Bruschetta bellissimo!

Oh, the age old question - is it broo-sket-uh or broo-shet-uh? The first one! I will never forget this because bruschetta was my fall back meal in Italy, and for my first meal I was corrected very loudly for mispronouncing it by a waiter who mocked me in a New York accent! This was only fitting after my repeatedly-setting-off-the-alarm-in-the-bank-ordeal, but I still turned red as tomato!

After getting lots of local yummies at the farmers market this weekend (tomatoes, potatoes, basil, apples, cilantro, onions, peppers, zucchini, garlic, kale, and some more tomatoes), Jesse couldn't wait to make bruschetta for dinner! He even set everything up all pretty-like so that I could take a photo for "my blog thingy." Sorry for the crappy quality photos, I left my camera at a friend's place!

Chop up all your veggies (and your apple... it's good, I promise!) and have some vino!

Mix it all up in a bowl with olive oil and balsamic to taste
*If fresh garlic gives you heartburn like it does me, roast some garlic ahead of time!

Now, drizzle some olive oil on your baguette, and toast that baby up!
If using roasted garlic, "butter" your baguette with it before popping it in the oven.

Fresh, local, and quick dinner is served!

A VeganMoFo survey!

I saw this fun survey on VeganShizzle, and couldn't help but take it myself! I added a question to the bottom, and you should do the same!

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
Hazelnut! Chocolate almond is a close second!

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
A good soup now that the weather is cooling down, an apple/pear crisp or cobbler, and whatever is next to test for Vegan Crunk!

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Popcorn is gross!

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Every pancake I ever made until I tried Isa's basic recipe in VWAV.

5. Favorite pickled item?
Hot peppers!

6. How do you organize your recipes?
I stick loose recipes under the spoon and fork sorter thingy in a kitchen drawer. There are so many I can barely open the drawer... maybe I should organize that someday! Put 'em in a binder or something.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
I live on the 3rd floor of a 100 year old apartment building with no outdoor space or modern things like a garbage disposal, so trash by default.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
guacamole, dark chocolate, and mussaman curry!

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
A few doors down lived Besta and Papa, the sweetest old couple in the whole world. Their grandkids were my age and visited often, so I spent a lot of time at their house. When I spent the night, Besta would make us Norwegian pancakes in the morning :) RIP Besta and Papa!

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
I really like the Tempt Hemp stuff, in whatever chocolate flavor, as well as Coconut Bliss. My teeth are very sensitive to cold, so I don't eat icecream very much.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Japanese rice cooker that Phanny gave me!

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Cilantro

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
The Higher Taste, a Hare Krishna gave it to me when I was a teenager.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Strawberry freezer jam! Nothing compares to its deliciousness!

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Desserts seem to be the way to go, so brownies, cupcakes, cookies.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Tofu!

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Breakfast because then it's the weekend!

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Jar of walnuts, jar of brown rice, jar of lentils, jar of quinoa, VWAV, french press, coffee bean grinder, Tapatio, red wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce (we have very little storage space in our kitchen!).

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Corn, black bean Gardenburgers, blueberries.

20. What's on your grocery list?
We don't have a car, so I do frequent visits to many grocery stores. Tortilla chips, bagels, veggies, almond milk, nooch, tofu, and I need to get over to Food Fight and try some Daiya cheese!

21. Favorite grocery store?
Trader Joe's. I love a good deal!

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
This is not really my area...

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Vegan Crunk probably! Though I have about 30 that I read regularly.

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Vegan truffles from Missionary Chocolates.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Does a $20 bottle of Rose marked down to $9 count? I'm really a penny pincher, so I can't think of anything else!

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?

Yeast! It's weird!

27. Favorite food cart?

I love Saigon Kitchen at PSU and eat there at least once a week, but Asaasse Ital is a new favorite as well.

28. Top 3 favorite cuisines!
Thai, Mexican, Lebanese.

Have a great weekend!!! xoxo Chelsea

Happy VeganMoFo!!!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since the last VeganMoFo! I miraculously posted every day last time, but am sticking with the VeganMoFo goal of posting every weekday for this time around. I'm so excited to read all of your awesome blogs, try out recipes, spend more time at the farmers markets, and take lots of fun vegan-centric surveys (and maybe some freezer-tag???)!

And now, for the first day of the Vegan Month of Food, I present - a post on vegan makeup! Say, what?!? I know, I know, you can't eat it, but...... long story short, some jerk almost hit me on my bike yesterday, and swerving to avoid him, I crashed. Nothing major, but when I woke up today my body was wicked sore! So I left work after an hour and a half and laid around all day feeling sorry for myself, checking my Facebook, and eating Tofurkey brats. You all know the brat is where it's at, so I thought I'd share my recent love for Urban Decay Cosmetics instead.



A month or so ago, I saw a post on the PPK including a coupon code for like 30% off your entire order at Urbandecay.com! Urban Decay is a cruelty-free company, but only about half of their products are vegan, so make sure you see the purple paw print before ordering! Being the thrifty, glitter-loving vegan that I am, I couldn't resist some new lip stuff. I managed to limit myself to three: lipstick in Gravity (reddish purple), Ultraglide lip gloss in Gash (dark red), and XXX Shine lip gloss in Joyride (glittery bright pink).

Lipstick: B+. Long lasting and applies evenly, but without being thick at all. The only negative is that it isn't as shiny on the lips as it appears in the tube.

Ultraglide: C-. This gloss loses big points for being way too sticky! I can only wear it when my hair is pulled back, or try to discreetly peel the stray hairs off my lips all day. Not cool! It also isn't as shimmery as it appears in the tube.

XXX Shine: A+! I loooooooove this stuff! It's pretty, has visible glittery-shimmer, and gets bonus points for the minty freshness it gives the lips upon application!

Another thing I love about Urban Decay - each package states after the ingredients list: "We don't do animal testing. How could anyone?" Agreed!