Giveaway Winners!

Hey everyone! Today I woke up and the sun was shining again which is such a nice feeling :) This is going to be a quick post but I wanted to announce my giveaway winners!

Using the random number generator (and excluding Ingrid's post because she opted out very graciously), congrats to numbers 8 and 1! Sophie and Sage please e-mail me (xvavaveganx@yahoo.com) to claim your prize, a bag of the Beanfields Nacho Bean and Rice chips! Congrats ladies!

As promised, I finally tried the Nacho flavor of these chips:

Let me tell you, these chips are amazing! They are savory and cheesy which is surprising with the notable absence of nooch in the ingredients! Another reason that these are far superior to Doritos (minus the whole lack of nasty ass dairy and chemical products)? Notice the lack of radioactive orange glow to the chips and eventually your fingers after you eat them. That stuff is a reminder for the rest of the day that you filled your belly with something that just doesn't occur in nature. I'm so glad that Beanfields chose me to try these products and that I could pay it forward! I hope you ladies like them as much as I do!

Have a great day everyone!

Product Review and a Giveaway!

Hey everyone! Hope you are all well. I'm very excited that tomorrow is Friday. Last night was a bit rough for me, I couldn't fall asleep at all! I finally fell asleep at 4 am and woke up before 7. Surprisingly I had more energy today than I anticipated I would.

Last night I got home from my long day at work and was greeted by another very happy surprise!! Let me show you ;)

A box full of Beanfields Bean & Rice Chips!  I was contacted by the company and asked to sample their chips. I was pretty stoked and said that I would be happy to and they sent me this huge box with bags and bags of chips! Right before my pantry challenge, ha!

Beanfields products boast some pretty cool nutrition facts! First, they are made entirely of rice and beans, therefore the are gluten free (and also corn free). Also, if you recall I've mentioned a few times that rice and beans combine to form a complete protein (one of the reasons it is one of my favorite foods!) and one serving of these chips provide 4 grams of complete protein as well as 4 grams of fiber.  If all of that wasn't a good enough reason to try these chips, VegNews named them Best in Show for Best New Vegan Snack Product. Sold!

I believe the Nacho flavor is the most popular and the one that was mentioned to me when I was asked to sample and review this product but they were kind enough to send me a variety of flavors. I received large bags of the Nacho, Sea Salt and Pico de Gallo flavors, and snack sized bags of the Nacho and Pico de Gallo flavor. I was pretty amped about the nacho flavor (think vegan doritos!) but I really wanted to tear into the Pico de Gallo chips so that's what I did. 

Isn't it purdy? I needed a small snack anyway so I ate the snack sized bag of Pico de Gallo chips. Let me tell you, these chips pack a ton of flavor! If you like Bar B Que chips you will LOVE these! You get a smoky flavor right off the bat and sure enough there is natural smoke flavor in the ingredients. These chips were really tasty and indeed filling. I'm really looking forward to trying the other flavors!

This is where YOU come in! I requested some extra bags so I could do a giveaway and they were nice enough to oblige! Not pictured are two large bags of nacho flavored chips! Two of you will get a bag of these chips to try, which I thought was pretty cool of them. If you want to try them please just comment below with what your favorite snack food is! I'll take entries through Monday, April 23 and will select the two winners Tuesday morning. I will also post my review of the Nacho flavor on Tuesday so the lucky winners know what is coming to them :)

Thanks again Beanfields for your generous snack delivery! Can't wait to taste the rest of the flavors and share what I think with all of you!

Oh, before I go I've been meaning to ask if anyone watches the show Impractical Jokers on TruTV? I've been watching it for a while it is one of my favorite shows! It is so hilarious!! If you can check it out I definitely recommend it, and that is what I'll be watching tonight.

Hope you all have a great night! Yay for Friday!

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED*

GIVEAWAY Winner!!

Hey everyone! I'm just popping on to share the giveaway winner with you!!

I had to go old school with my picking because I had a few comments that were not entries so I just did the old numbered pieces of paper deal. I pulled lucky number 4! Congrats Ingrid!! You won a sampling of my holiday baking this year! I'll probably start baking in a week or two so sit tight! In the meantime, please e-mail me your address at xvavaveganx@yahoo.com.

Congrats to Ingrid and thank you all for reading and entering. I'm sure I'll host another one soon so please keep checking back!

Have a great Sunday night!

Keeping Promises & A HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!

Good afternoon everyone :) I hope you are all enjoying this gorgeous Sunday. It has been unseasonably warm the past few days, I feel like it is spring! So beautiful.

I woke up super early this morning. I was at Whole Foods when they opened and I accomplished a lot before most people even crack their eyes open. I decided that I would finally fulfill a promise I made a while ago.

I love baking. My biggest problem with this business is that I have a hard time accepting payment for the things I bake. A tradition I have is that I'll bake my friends and family treats to suit their taste on their birthdays. In March I made Alicia Silverstone's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups from The Kind Diet. The birthday boy was kind enough to share with some other friends and they were a big hit. So much so that I get asked to make them on a regular basis by one of my other friends that tried it. I kept promising I would make them, the latest time was that I'd make them for him for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving came and went and still no peanut butter cups. I felt guilty so I made it my project for today.

I made them minis by using a mini muffin tin. They made A LOT. Like 3 dozen a lot. I gave him most of them but kept some to give out to a few others. 

I packed them up in this holiday tin because it was the only one I had :X They are 3 deep, I think I got 22 in here. 

I ran them over to him and he was so surprised and happy! It felt good to follow through on a promise. I can't wait for the holidays! I love spoiling people with yummy vegan treats! :)

Speaking of which, I've decided to host another GIVEAWAY of yummy vegan baked goods! I'll put together an assortment of treats that I'm baking this year for one lucky winner! All you have to do is comment on this post and tell me your favorite holiday treat! I'll choose the winner on December 4 using the random number generator thing. When I bake my treats mid December I'll send over an array of goodies, so the winner will have to sit tight, but trust me, it will be worth the wait! Good luck!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED*

Vegan MoFo Day 31: Peace out MoFo!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone!!! I love Halloween so much but haven't indulged in any treats today because I'm preparing for my 30 day cleanse that starts tomorrow. Go figure, I finally get through MoFo (which was so daunting, I can't believe I posted every day!) and I plan a 30 cleanse to document. I probably won't be posting every day but I will definitely post a lot to show you what kinds of meals I'm cooking for this cleanse. I'll detail it for you in tomorrow's post as well.

I may not have eaten a treat today but I still received one!! The lovely Molly over at Vegan Flower hosted a giveaway for an AMAZING skull apron (it has skulls AND it is pink...couldn't be more perfect) as well as The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook AND I WON!! October has been such a lucky month for me! This is the second giveaway I've won and let me assure you, I NEVER win anything. I'm SO excited, this is by far the most perfect Halloween treat I could ask for! Thanks again Molly!

I grabbed the photo from her blog so I could show you what I won :) Yay!

As I said before, I have been trying to get ready for my upcoming cleanse so I took some time to prepare some veggies for the week...

Why hello there spaghetti squash. How you doin?

Check out the yield on this bad boy! This is a HUGE tupperware container full of it!

A giant tray of roasted veggies. This particular mix has zucchini, mushrooms and eggplant. Noms.

Make sure you stay tuned to see how I use all of this and all of the other clean eats I have planned :)

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe Halloween! To all my fellow MoFoers out there, congrats on a job well done and thank you to everyone for your support!

Last but not least, the final round of the Holiday Baking Bracket!!! Choose one from each of the two brackets please :)

Happy Halloween and have a great night!

Vegan MoFo Day 16: I Won(!), Veganversary, and Cookies for Breakfast!

Good morning everyone! I'm going to warn you, today's post is going to be so full of awesomeness and happy things that confetti and glitter and balloons may shoot out of your screen! I can't be responsible for the mess ;)

I woke up feeling MUCH better than I did yesterday and saw the sun shining and felt the brisk cool autumn air as I went out to grab a cup of coffee.  Then I decided to check out the results of some giveaways that I had entered and to my total surprise I WON!!!! I am so thankful that Celyn at Miso For Breakfast popped in here to comment on a post because that led me over to her amazing blog. What did I win you ask?

A copy of The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen! I am SO EXCITED! I've wanted this book for a long time but never picked it up so I can't wait to read it and maybe class my cooking up a bit ;) Thanks again Celyn!!

Now, let me explain that this win comes at the PERFECT time. Today, my friends, is my 2nd Veganversary! 2 years ago today I made the decision after being a vegetarian for 8 years to take the next step and go vegan. I have not looked back. I'm happier and healthier than I have ever been. I'm more adventurous and creative in my cooking and eating. It was the best decision I've ever made. Next month I'll be 10 years meat free...2 of them being vegan. I'm debating a tattoo commemorating the milestone. I'll let you know if I decide to go for it!

So, breakfast is the only meal that I have today to really celebrate this milestone and my very first giveaway win...so it should be good, and special. What better way to celebrate than with cookies for breakfast!! No silly, not actual cookies, but how about Chocolate Covered Katie's Cookie Dough Oatmeal Cake?! All of the deliciousness of an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie without all of the calories and fat...eaten right out of the oven.  Count me in!!

Here are the dry ingredients all mixed up. I decided to add a few walnuts and a sprinkling of coconut. Yeah, that's just how I roll ;)

Here it is all ready to go in the oven. Katie gives a lot of leeway in the recipe so I decided to use the mashed banana instead of applesauce, 1 packet of stevia as the sweetener, no added fat and you better believe I put in that cinnamon ;)

Here it is right out of the oven with a few chocolate chips and walnuts sprinkled on top. Doesn't hurt right? ;) Look how beautiful it is, AND it makes the house smell like fresh baked cookies. So amazing.

I decided to take a second while I was devouring this warm bowl of yum to take more pics. Yes, that is the bamboo fork that goes with the spoon (I have a knife and chopsticks to round out the set too). This meal was so delicious. I think next time I may try pumpkin instead of banana and I may drop the oats down to 1/3 of a cup to see if it is more gooey. It was drier than I like my oatmeal so we'll see how that works. Oh and one last thing, don't be like me and forget to spray the ramekin! Whoops! Luckily it wasn't too bad and I was able to scrub it clean but I'm sure life would have been easier if I had greased it properly.

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Finally, check out this amazing nail color I have on right now! It is bright pink and a little glittery. Can't wait to get those pink gloves on with these nails :)

OK I should stop rambling and finish getting ready for work. I hope you all get to enjoy this beautiful Sunday! I may be at work but at least I'll be outside to enjoy the weather.  Later kids!

Giveaway WINNERS!!! (and a few meals!)

Hey guys, just back here with the giveaway winners!! I was only going to do 2 winners but since only 3 of you commented on the post (well three of you that weren't making weird comments about colorful abs??!) I figured what the heck, you are all winners!!! Congrats to Shen, Food Feud, and Michelle!!! I'm planning on a few goodies for you, so please e-mail your address to me at sarah_shmuel@hotmail.com.

Can't wait to bake some treats for you ladies! The power situation threw a little wrench in the plans because  I don't have the kitchen to myself anymore but I'm going to try and get everything made this weekend and have them in the mail for you by next week.

Yay! first giveaway in the books! :)

Now some updates. Today was sort of business as usual.  We had no power at work still (and we still have no power at my house...yikes!) so I had the day off...if it still isn't back tomorrow I'm gonna bring some work home though.  Can't afford too much time off.

Had a sick workout at the gym with my trainer today. Been feeling pretty good lately :)  And I love every minute of it!  I can't wait until I get the 3 yoga DVDs that I ordered in the mail so I can get back on that train and re-gain some of the flexibility and balance that I had worked so hard on before!

Onto some eats. Breakfast was a big ol' bowl of watermelon which wasn't too interesting so I didn't photograph it.

Lunch was some delicious vegan hot and sour soup. I LOVE this stuff, my mouth was on fire!

Ask and you shall receive! Another chopped salad for post workout dinner. 

Un-pictured snacks and coffee :)

See you all tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to introduce you to the furry crew I'm caring for this week. And I think I see some Thai food in my future. YUM!

More Raw Meals and a GIVEAWAY!!

Today was another day of raw eatin...I'm not gonna lie, I doubt I'll do 100% raw after the end of this week.   I'm finding it a little more difficult than I expected...I think part of it is because of my crazy schedule and workout routines.  I've found it takes longer for my muscles to recover after an intense workout and while I feel like I have a lot more energy from eating unprocessed foods, I'm missing the grains and more substantial recovery meals.  I'm going to stick out the rest of the week but after that I'll go back to eating some cooked foods, mainly after exercise.

That said, check out the eats!

Breakfast: A pile of watermelon and a banana

Midmorning: I couldn't deal with another migraine so I had an 8 oz cup of coffee that was half decaf half regular :(

Lunch: Yummy salad with greens, raw corn, sun-dried tomato, cucumber, carrots and broccoli. Noms.

The rest of the day I just snacked on some raw treats including dehydrated kale chips (totally overpriced from Whole Foods...got the Bombay Ranch flavor and it is so savory I can't eat more than a few at a time), baby carrots, raw nuts and this yummyness:

Homemade citrus (lemon juice and orange zest) larabar :) So GOOD!

OK so Shenandoah Vegan made a great suggestion and I think it is time for a giveaway! I love to bake and since I am going to have access to my brother's big beautiful kitchen in 2 weeks, I'm going to bake some treats and share them with 2 of you!! All you have to do is comment on this post by Sunday, August 28 and tell me your favorite holiday to bake for and why :)  I'll use that random generator thing to choose 2 winners to receive treats I'll bake the week of August 29 :)  Good luck!!

And by the way, I LOVE baking fun, creative treats for halloween which happens to be my favorite holiday! I also love the winter holiday season because everyone is so festive and I love making a huge variety of yummy cookies to share with everyone!

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED*