House Full of Sickies

Just a quick update to let you all know I haven't forgotten about you. Work on the room has had to stop for a while, as well as cooking, due to the stomache flu making the rounds here, one by one. I was third to get it. It's been 3 days now and I'm just beginning to feel better. My daughter came down with it last night and since this is finals week, she missed two final exams today. Not a good time to be sick! Two of the kids still haven't gotten it, and while I hope they don't, I am not holding my breath. So no food posts till next week, and hope you all stay healthy!!

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Tea and Creativity

As I wrote a few weeks ago, our last guinea pig is now gone. The library/office was once also my craft/sewing room, but I gave that up 7 years ago so that our small herd of cavies could have a comfy home. We built them a cage that took up nearly an entire wall in the library, and it went through many renovations involving adding ramps and upper levels. It was great fun. Now that the cage has been dismantled, I am reclaiming my craft/sewing space and redoing the whole room. I am in the process of deciding on a paint color- it's a tough choice. I've narrowed it down to two opposite colors; one is bright, creative and artsy-fartsy, the other subdued and relaxing. The one I like best keeps changing, depending on what mood I'm in.

I am also looking for a new desk. After using a right-handed desk for 25 years this lefty has had enough! I've been shopping around and found something at IKEA that would work. But I don't really love anything I have seen at the furniture stores. I love old things. I love things with a history. So I've started browsing around at antique shops. I think I could live in one. I never knew how much fun antiquing is. Those who know me may be shocked- this could actually turn me into a shopper! While I was looking at old shelves, tables and cubbies that could be used for yarn storage, I came across the awesome tea strainer spoon in the photo above. For the sum of $3.81 I got the coolest tea accessory ever. Even though I made no progress on shopping for the room, I came home extremely happy and made myself a cup of tea.

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Spinach Mushroom Tortillas

While I sometimes enjoy making complicated dishes, I don't always have hours to spend in the kitchen. Today, with the glut of fast, processed food,  people think you have to spend all day cooking in order to eat healthy. Good vegetarian or vegan food doesn't have to take lots of time.

This was a yummy, filling and fast meal that I threw together to clean out the fridge. It is also my submission to  The Healthy Cooking Challenge  at Alicia's wonderful blog Vegan Epicurean. This month, her challenge is to make a family favorite recipe healthy and vegan. Years ago, these tortillas would have contained meat and cheese. Now they are much healthier, and they taste better too.

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Rainbow Lentil Soup

 We all know it is crucial to get plenty of fruits and veggies in our diet. It is also important to ensure variety,  we need all of the different color groups to ensure that we don't miss out on any nutrients. This soup is a simple way to get a large variety of them in one meal.

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Avocado and Red Pepper Soup

This week has been very busy at my house, so I have been cooking the quickest things possible. Fortunately, vegan food is very fast! While not necessary for this recipe,  using my new vitamix blender also speeds things up. So here is a fast, simple soup that is satisfyingly rich and creamy.

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Brussels Sprouts with Orange Miso Sauce

 I like to combine colorful, nutrient dense foods in simple dishes, and todays breakfast was no exception. I know , I'm weird, who eats brussels sprouts for breakfast? I do. And this dish comes together in about 10 minutes, so it's great if you are in a hurry.

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Label Reading 101

The biggest mistake that shoppers make when buying food is reading nutrition labels. Too many believe that the marketing gimmicks on labels are scientific fact. Labels scream "healthy", "natural", or "0 trans fat". Yet in fact the ingredient list often contains partially hydrogenated oil which is trans fat, is certainly not natural and has never been healthy.

The FDA allows products to be labeled 0 grams trans fat if there is less than .5 grams per serving. So some companies lower the serving size of their product until it falls within these guidelines. The amount the average person would consume could easily be double or triple the stated serving size. At the end of the day after eating a number of "no trans fat" products, one could easily consume significant amounts of it. The American Heart Association suggests that you limit your daily intake to less than 2 g., even though it admits there is no safe level to consume.

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Just Five More Minutes

How many times have we said that as we hit the snooze button? The ugliest sound in the world is the incessant beeping of an alarm clock on a cold, dark morning when you haven't gotten enough sleep. Crawling out from beneath those cozy covers is torture when your body is craving a few more hours of zzzzzs. Sleep is essential to good health, yet according to the CDC, 29% of American adults get less than 7 hrs. of sleep per night.

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