Egg on my Face

Good Morning My Friends!
Well it is with a great deal of egg on my face that I am writing to you today. Or to be precise, parmesan cheese on my face. My sister-in-law emailed this morning to get an update on my personal Vegan Week challenge...and er....well, I have to be honest, it's not going great. I was doing fine all day yesterday; green juice for brekkie, Sun Warrior smoothie post-workout, and a huge delicious sandwich of toasted organic rye bread, sliced artichokes, spinach, vegan mayo & sprouts. No worries. Then suppertime rolled around and it was game over. Brown rice pilaf with peas, steamed brocoli w/ Earth Balance and roasted baby brussel sprouts. I couldn't resist at the end and topped those sprouts with parmesan cheese. Okay? There, I said it. I just couldn't bring myself to eat the 'vegan parm topping' I had purchased earlier in the day. One taste of that vile sawdust-like stuff and I just about yakked. Although with that said the parm topping was NOTHING compared to the soy cheddar 'cheese' brick I bought over the weekend. The Bean and I sampled it as soon as we got home and then it went into the compost almost as quickly. It was soy disgusting. Imagine what orange silly putty might taste like and you'll be close. Yuck.

So here I am, feeling like a goof, I was all geared up to try to be vegan for a week and I couldn't even last a day. It is what it is, and I'm not going to stress about it. Why did I even want to give up le fromage in the first place? I am lucky that I don't need to, so why deny myself. Denying stresses me out. So if you have been successful with the veganism, I applaud you! And if you're like me and couldn't hack it, well whatevah. Let's move on!

We had the best Halloween ever this year. Earlier in the week I had discussed with the Bean the notion of a replay of last year's Halloween, where we did some trick or treating but then I 'bought' her candy from her. She got to pick a couple of pieces of candy that she really wanted and then the rest of it went into the garbage, and in exchange she had a few bucks to buy herself a toy. She was on board with the idea again this year, which was great. Needless to say it was terribly cold and rainy on Sunday night so instead, the three of us went shopping with her money and she bought herself a toy, and we also picked up a few board games. So rather than trudging through the rain for an hour or two we cozied up by the fire and played KerPlunk and Mouse Trap for a few hours...it was the best! No sugar-shock for the little one, no cranky aftereffects, and we had a wonderful time together. We all win!

But the weekend wasn't completely without treats. I found a double chocolate chip cookie recipe (Raw) and tweaked it a bit, the cookies were decadent and glorious. If you don't have a dehydrator you can make them in your oven- just put it on it's lowest setting and while the cookies are inside, crack the door of the oven so it doesn't get too hot. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
-1 cup pureed zuchini
-1/3 cup Agave (or Maple Syrup, adjust quantity to your sweet tooth)
-1/2 cup Coconut Butter
-1 cup Ground Flax Meal
-1.5 cups Old Fashioned Dry Oats
-1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
-1/2 cup chocolate chips (I belong to the 'More is More' school of chocolate chips, so add more if you like, I always do)

Directions:
Mix together the pureed zuke, agave & coconut butter in a food processor or with beaters. In a separate bowl, mix together the oats, flax meal, cocoa. Combine wet and dry ingredients & add chocolate chips. Spoon heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets or dehydrator trays. I dehydrated the cookies for a few hours at about 105 degrees. For an oven I would leave them in the oven at the lowest setting for 2-3 hrs with the door ajar. Depends on how moist you want them, so just check on them. These are really chocolatey and satisfying. And healthy, so enjoy!

So what's on the go the rest of the week? Here's the menu:
-Brown Rice Pilaf with Brocoli & Roasted Brussels (last night)
-Southwestern Corn & Black Bean Quinoa
-Brocoli-Cashew Stirfry, Sesame spinach, Cucumber salad
-Dirty Rice & Beans (possibly with Turkey Sausage for the Bean and Brad, sans saucisson pour moi)
-Cauliflower,Chickpea & Tomato Curry

Anyone ever bake with Coconut Flour? Whattaya make? I bought some at the Bulk Barn this weekend and am looking forward to trying it out. If you have something yummy to share I'd love to hear it!

Ok well I gotta run for now, many errands to take care of so I'm out. Thanks for letting me admit my defeat, hope you don't think any less of me. You ever say you were going to do something and then just couldn't?

xoMelissa