Adventures in Eating - 30 WHOLE Days

May 1st I'm embarking on a new eating adventure. I'm participating in Happy Herbivore's 30 WHOLE Days challenge.

I'll admit, even as a vegan I eat lots of junk food. My favorite meal is vegan hot dogs on a white bun, with Bush's vegetarian baked beans. I love sweets and have been able to veganize all my favorite cookies and cakes.

I stopped eating animals not for health reasons, but because I don't believe that animals were put here for us to exploit, torture or kill for money. It's a rebellion against corporate greed. So, admittedly, I haven't been concentrating on making the most healthful of choices.

Since entering in the veg lifestyle, my attitude has been "I've given up enough" when it comes to food choices. I'm hoping this challenge will help change my perspective. I'm really anxious, but I'm also curious to see what happens! I'll be keeping a separate page on my blog that will detail the 30 WHOLE Days challenge as I go through it. Here is a link to all the other bloggers who are participating in the challenge as well.

Week Five: Great American Ball Park

I am lucky enough to work for a company that still funds outings for their employees.

This Saturday I went to the Great American Ball Park to watch the Reds game. I actually watched little of the game - I mostly chit-chatted with coworkers and enjoyed free food and drinks! I even smuggled in a couple veggie dogs from home so I could participate in the ballpark nosh.

Great American Ball Park is very cool. The painted steel construction reflects the style of the bridges spanning the Ohio river that can be seen from several areas of the stadium. The open architecture allows fans to watch the game, see the river and view the surrounding skyscrapers from their seats.

The only thing that could make the ball park even better would be a light rail to take fans into downtown and back from the surrounding areas of the city.

Pictured below is my "Sunday Scraps" casserole. I usually make a version of this every Sunday, and this time I remembered to take pictures. I take all my leftover veggies from the week, cut them up and put them in my favorite Le Creuset dish to bake. It's always my favorite meal of the week.

I've been eating so much over-processed junk food lately - I'm really going to try to make better food choices this week.

I just finished watching Food, Inc. and it made me grateful that I've made the decision to be vegan/vegetarian. It also opened my eyes to all the other things that I eat without questioning what it's made of and where it comes from. I signed up for fellow blogger Happy Herbivore's 30 Day Whole Food Challenge that begins on May 1st. I'm hoping it helps me get focused on eating the good stuff and ignoring the junk!

Week Three: Homemade Soap

I'm lucky to have a friend in the soap business. This weekend she invited me to her charming house for a "Mischief, Mayhem, Soap" party.

Each soap was simple, beautiful and decadently scented. She offered several varieties including Lavender w/ Salt, Green Tea, Rosewater, Calendula, and several types of shaving pucks. It was hard to choose a favorite, and I ended up walking away with six bars!

I'm thankful for the Handmade Crafting/Do-It-Yourself Movement. I love the idea of art created for and by the masses as a part-time hobby. An everyday object such as a bar of soap becomes extraordinary simply because it's homemade. Many do-it-yourself artisans live the dual life of an 8 - 5 office worker by weekday/crafter by weekend. For me, crafting is a great way to balance the benefits of life in the rat race (the pay, health insurance, etc) with my artistic, creative sensibilities.

This weekend, I also attended a housewarming party of a co-worker. She mentioned that there would be a fire pit, so I made vegan S'mores mini-cupcakes for the occasion.

These cupcakes involved several steps, including cutting and dipping individual graham cracker squares into melted chocolate and letting them cool. It was quite a production, but I loved how they turned out decoratively. The extra effort was worth it, as they were both adorable and delicious.

Andrew kept me company in the kitchen during this process. He helped by taste-testing after each step. He also decorated his own cupcakes for the first time!