Posts by admin:
- Exterior Pockets
- Interior Pockets
- Zippered interior divider
- Detachable shoulder strap
- Organizing your craft, work, or kid stuff with your personal items is just another day at the beach with Namaste’s Laguna bag.
- The Laguna has 5 metal feet on the bottom and strong magnetic closures at the top.
- PVC-free and animal-friendly faux leather
- 1 pound Gimme Lean Sausage Style
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ounces (1/2 cup) dry rotini
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, crushed
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes
- 14 ounce tomato sauce
- 12 cups water
- 2 Rapunzel bouillon cubes (vegan, low salt)
- 4 cups chopped spinach or kale, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 flax “egg”
- 2 Tablespoons flax seed meal + 6
- Tablespoons warm water
- 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free AllPurpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup dried sweetened cherries
- 6 Tablespoons homemade Nutella
- 1 cup cashews, toasted
- ¾ cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons powdered soy milk
- 6 Tablespoons organic cocoa powder
- 10 Tablespoons agave nectar
Namaste Handbag Review {Vegan}
February 20th, 2012
Namaste! I am not a big yoga person but this post has nothing to do with yoga. Namaste Inc is a family-owned and operated company located in Los Angeles, California. They offer products and accessories that are not only fashionable, but also hip and innovative.
When I was registering for baby products before the baby arrived in November, I really wanted to buy a diaper bag that looked nothing like a diaper bag and also fashionable. I no longer was going to be carrying a purse but only a wallet and some cosmetics.
When I came across Namaste Inc. I knew that I wanted to go with one of their totes or handbags. I saw on their product page a link describing a category of bags for Mommy stuff. While there were a lot of colorful options for different occasions I was not convinced until I came across the set of bags under ALL Hangbags and Totes.
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Mori-Nu Tofu Giveaway *Chocolate Pudding included*
February 16th, 2012
Happy Thursday! Why is it happy, because the weekend is coming up! I am very happy to share a giveaway with you today that I know many of you would enjoy.
Last week I share with you how I made a most delicious chocolate pudding. I had little to do with it because it only required TWO ingredients. Tofu and a Low-Fat Pudding Mix. Sad I know right? No indeed not! For a new mom like me, I find that this type of preparation is ideal! I have recently started being in the kitchen now that the baby is getting older but in the evenings when I think about the baking I could be doing, I ignore it to work on chores I was not able to get done during the day.
Chocolate PUDDING comes in for the save! (Can I say this in a Bill Cosby voice?)
Mori-Nu Tofu has been one of my favorite products because they make the best vegan omelettes like this Portabella and Chorizo Omelette:
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| Chorizo Tofu Scramble |
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| Baby Bella Mushroom and Zucchini Lasagna |
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| Sun-Dried Tomato and Leek Quiche |
All in all, I have never really been one to use tofu in my desserts like my fellow friend Amber @ Almost Vegan. You should check out her Tofu desserts:
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| Photo permission from Almost Vegan |
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| photo permission from Almost Vegan |
Mori-Nu has been generous to donate a GOODY bag filled with 6 packages of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu and 2 packages of Mates plus a tofu cookbook
1. Comment below telling me your favorite dish to prepare or eat with tofu.
2. “Like” Opera Singer in the Kitchen on Facebook AND Mori-Nu on Facebook and comment below confirming you’ve done so. (Bonus: “like” my FB post about the giveaway.)
3. Follow Opera Singer in the Kitchen on Twitter AND Mori-Nu on Twitter and comment below confirming you’ve done so.
4. Tweet the following message and comment below confirming you’ve done so:
I entered to win a free @morinut0fu variety pack from @singerinkitchen ! #Giveaway #win here: http://bit.ly/w6bzwb
5. Subscribe to my blog by email (at the top of the right-hand sidebar), RSS feed, or Google reader and comment below confirming you’ve done so. Let me know if you already subscribe.
6. Pin the Chocolate or Vanilla Pudding giveaway on Pinterest.
This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and the giveaway will be closed February 20, 2012 at midnight EST. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
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Valentine’s Day Dinner at Soup Spoon Cafe
February 15th, 2012
I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day yesterday. Even though any day of the week can be a time to show love and to shower each other with gifts, Valentine’s seems a perfect day to be out in the streets with the rest of the world, right? Well, at least we do not live in a BIG city because it was not too bad of a day.
After having the baby in November, having some alone time has been difficult. Going on dates is practically absent seeing as we do not have family in town. We have had church family volunteer as well as friends at the college. We decided we would take up one of our friend’s offer to come and babysit Julianne.
Did I feel weird? Not as hard as it was last month but the fact that she decided to start crying like never before made me wonder if she KNEW we were going out to dinner. Luckily, our dinner reservations were for an hour and a half later after our friend came by so we stayed behind to calm Julianne and to see what was going on. We were nervous we would have to stay home because it was VERY peculiar that our daughter started crying like she did. Eventually, she calmed down and we were able to head out to dinner. Whew! I was mentally prepared if we had had to stay, either way, we urged our friend to call us if she started up again, which she never did.
We headed out to one of my favorite local joints in Lansing. Ryan had never been to Soup Spoon Cafe before so AFTER I convinced him that the restaurant did not only serve soup, he told me it was a fine choice for him.
I do not know if you remember, but I wrote an article of the vegan and vegetarian options that this place has several months back that appeared in the Lansing State Journal. Check out the article HERE. I also wrote a little blip about them in BlogHer pin-pointing them as a healthy restaurant. They sell a lot of local foods and since moving to Michigan, I love supporting local businesses. You can scroll all the way down the article to read my description of Soup Spoon Cafe.
I was really excited about going in the evening because I had never had dinner at this cafe. From what I had heard, the owner wanted to create a more sophisticated ambiance for folks during dinner which meant a great selection wines, cocktails, and beers. They sell all local beer so I was very excited to try one.
This was probably the most delicious dark beer I have had. It was creamy, smooth and so delicious after having one piece of chocolate. Either way, even though I was ordering pasta, I decided to go with beer and not wine. Hey, what can I say, I am a true Michigander. 🙂
Ryan and I had eaten pretty light and healthy all day so that we could keep our calories for the evening without really OVERDOING it. That was the key. We ordered the Naan Pizza of the day which consisted of naan as the crust and pesto as the sauce with grilled chicken, pine nuts, parmesan, and fresh tomatoes. It was a delicious appetizer!
Even though the owner remembered I had done a piece of vegan and vegetarian options, he did tell me that although none of the dinner dishes were vegetarian or vegan that they could be prepared especially for me. Well, I decided to try something off the menu since I have been eating meat.
I ordered the Chicken Marsala, which had tons of mushrooms and chicken. It was very fresh and once I mixed the whole dish together, I could taste the creamy garlic sauce. YUM!
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Vegan Lasagna Soup
February 13th, 2012
Give the Gimme Lean sausage a try even though you could use regular sausage, try making it with this. It is healthier and tasty. Lots of recipes ask for sausage and ground beef but to cut back on calories I just added the one pound of vegan sausage and it was hearty enough.
Optional Mixings
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Nutella-Swirled Cherry Bars (Gluten-free)
February 10th, 2012
Here is another recipe to add to your Valentine’s Day dessert options. This bar is almost decadent and almost like a blondie but is has chocolate, cherries and lots of flavor. It is also vegan and gluten-free!
You can make these gluten-free with store-bought Nutella as well if you do not have the time to make your own.
If you have any yummy recipes like this or meals you are making, post it on the recipe round-up post but clicking on the heart below. It will direct you to add a link of your recipe at the bottom of the page.
For Brownies
Homemade Nutella(make the night before)
Homemade Nutella
For Brownies
