This is my 50th post!

When I started this blog, I told myself that I would try to create 50 posts before the end of the year.  It’s only October and I’ve already done it!

To commemorate this occasion, I wanted to take a look back at the way I was cooking and eating a year ago, before I made a commitment to get healthy, and before I was inspired to create this blog from reading other wonderful healthy living blogs.

I used to keep a recipe blog, also called Thyme Bombe, so I was already taking pictures of my food regularly.  Here’s a peak at some of the things I was cooking and baking back then:

Scallops sauteed in butter with smashed sweet potatoes and roasted carrots

Pulled-pork tostadas with cheese, guac, and sour cream

Roasted vegetable tagliatelle in pistachio cream sauce

Panko crusted pork tonkatsu

Chocolate and candied bacon bark

Cheddar crackers

Nutella cookies

This stuff is not terribly unhealthy, albeit a bit rich.  The problem was that I was eating rich meals every day and baking sweets once or twice a week.

I used to get really excited about roasting a whole lamb shoulder and making gravy out of the pan-juices (sorry, no picture!), now I get really excited about this:

That is a salad with sliced avocado, golden raisins, dulse, pistachios, carrot miso dressing, sesame seeds, and seaweed flakes.  YUM!

And that’s the real difference; that I’m now excited by healthy, whole, nourishing foods as much or more than I ever was about meat juices and cheese sauces.

That doesn’t mean I never eat rich food anymore, (I’m posting the recipe for those Nutella cookies at some point cuz they’re insane!!), I just make more healthy choices more regularly.

What do you think, can I get 50 more posts up by the end of this year? I accept the challenge!

October 22, 2010 Alayna Discussion 3 comments

In an effort to cut out a bit more dairy from my diet, I decided to try out a product that I’ve heard about all over the blog world:  Daiya, which is a vegan cheese substitute.

I gotta tell ya, the words “cheese substitute” make my spine tingle.  Nevertheless, I gave the mozzarella style a go in one of my favorite preparations, the grilled cheese sammich.

The grilled cheese has become my go-to dinner for nights that I either don’t have anything planned to make, or just can’t make myself cook anything.  It’s a versatile dinner as you can add any number of vegetables and/or condiments and make a unique and tasty sandwich tailored to your cravings for that evening.  Paired with a salad or soup, and it’s no less impressive than something you spent an hour cooking.

I tried my first vegan grilled “cheese” with just a smear of apple butter, one of my favorite simple combinations.

I was a little put off by the smell of the “cheese” in it’s packaging.  It was kind of salty and acidic; reminded me of parmesan but not in a good way, kind of like a half-melted and wet hunk of parmesan.

It was a little unpleasant to the touch; a bit wet, slightly oily.  The strands separated from each other better than real cheese though, which made it easy to sprinkle on the sandwich evenly.

I prepared the sandwich in my usual manner; non-stick olive oil spray in the pan, press the sandwiches while cooking with a heavier pan weighting them down, flip once and done.

The Daiya passed the first test in that it melted well and held the bread together as well as regular cheese.

The real test is taste though, right?

I gotta say, I was astounded at how good this is.  If I was served that sandwich and no one told me the cheese was vegan, I wouldn’t have thought anything was different about it. It is a little creamier than regular cheese, but not Velveeta creamy, so it doesn’t come off as one of those oily processed cheese products. And the ingredient list doesn’t have a single thing on it that I’ve never heard of or should be wary of.

I am thrilled that I can use this product to replace some of the dairy in my diet without sacrificing any of the pleasure in my beloved grilled cheese. I never intend to eliminate dairy entirely, but I want to treat it as more of a junk food and really save it as something to eat only at restaurants or on special occasions.

What is your relationship with dairy these days?

October 20, 2010 Alayna Discussion 5 comments

Starting the day off with a piece of vegan pumpkin bread covered in apple butter, and a banana with cinnamon and tupelo honey.  A little oolong on the side to wake me up.

Today I am determined to not laze around the house in my pajamas all day just because Jeff is home.  He’s gonna undoubtedly be on his laptop all day working on his various personal projects and it would be so easy to just snorgle up to him and not move for a few hours.

Instead, I will make a list of things I must accomplish today and withhold from myself any snorgles until they are complete:

1. brush cats– they are not smooth and shiny
2. clean all bathroom surfaces
3. finally scrub the hand-wash dishes and put away
4. vacuum living room rug
5. go on a run or long walk
6. schedule a frickin’ hair appointment already!

I am so overdue for a haircut.  I don’t know why but I usually go a year between haircuts. I’ve had a really hard time finding a stylist that I like, no one wants to give me the haircut I ask for, they all seem to either think they know what I want more than I do or just can’t produce what I’m asking for. I need a stylist who can look at a picture of a style and recreate it, and so far I haven’t found one.

It doesn’t help that I’m a bit scarred from my last hair appointment, which was on my wedding day.  My stylist totally screwed up my bangs 3 hours before the big moment and I had to go home and fix it myself. Since then I thought I’d just let them grow out cuz I was too scared to have anyone touch them again, but they’re driving me nuts at the length they are now and I really want a cute, fun haircut!

Ok, time to get work done!  Initiate Snorgle Avoidance Mode!

Well, maybe just one…

He’s just asking for it.

October 20, 2010 Alayna Discussion Comments Off on On the itenarary…