Vega Shake & Go Smoothie Review

The very kind folks over at Vega sent me a sample of their newest product to review.  Now if you've been reading here for any length of time, you'll know that I do not use protein powders or "nutritional" supplements. I am a firm believer that the only healthy nutrition comes from whole plant foods, not from pills or powders. Protein powders are not whole foods, they are heavily processed and refined, and I avoid them.

 I am regularly offered products to try. Most of them are vegan junk foods full of highly processed soy, so I turn them down. I was willing to try the Vega smoothie because it was formulated by vegan ironman Brendan Brazier, who is a proponent of vegan whole foods. I recieved this simply for review, I make no profit from it. And as I've mentioned in the past, I will not recommend products I do not believe in. I do not like to give bad reviews, but I will not compromise my integrity.

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Spinach Dip

 

After nearly a week of frustrating computer problems, I believe I've finally gotten everything under control. On Friday I decided that since I had everything working correctly, I was just going to have some fun. So I joined in the bloggers' quilt festival on my other blog, where hundreds of bloggers were sharing their favorite quilts. I visited a lot of talented folks blogs, but haven't made my way through all of them yet ;) As time allows, I intend to!

It is going to be in the upper 80's all week here,  so I got a craving for some cold spinach dip. The spinach dip most people eat is loaded with mayo, sour cream and cheese. The vegan versions I've run across use tofu. Since neither of those options does it for me, I came up with a nearly fat-free, dairy-free, soy-free version that I really enjoy. It makes a great quick snack, or if you are like me, you can make a meal of it. It's a satisfying, cool, energizing meal on a hot day.

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Cabbage Potato Pie

Happy Monday everyone!  I want to get this posted early, since I have tons to do today. This is a simple, but filling meal. It was fun to make and it has a nice presentation. I had a green cabbage, a red cabbage, and some potatoes to use up, and I was inspired by the quiche I bought at my son's school last week. I wanted to make something pie-ish, but vegan. This is one of the meals I came up with. I also made a variation of this which was delicious, and I will post it later this week.

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Lentil Stuffed Peppers with Pine Nuts

After two solid days of a raging migraine, I am feeling much better. Unfortunately I am behind on everything, so this will be a short post. I hope you all had a very happy Mother's day! And are having a great week!

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Five Minute Fruit Salad

I have mentioned before that my oldest son has had cancer and is mentally impaired. He goes to a special school, where they teach daily living skills and some vocational skills.  Today was their spring craft sale, where they sell items made by the students, plants grown by the students in their greenhouse, and foods prepared by the students. The money they make from the sale goes back into the program. These young adults put their heart and soul into all that they do, so no one has to pull my leg to get me to support them.  I bought a lovely little sage plant, some decorated tile coasters, and imagine my delight to find they were selling vegetarian foods. I bought the spinach and mushroom quiche above, not something I would normally eat, but I had to support the program, especially since they had only meatless items! So I get a break from cooking today. This will be dinner, along with a nice big green salad and a luscious fruit salad for dessert.

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Kale Smoothies and A New Blog

My kale is in full bloom, the bright yellow flowers are so cheery. I grow it to eat, but I would happily grow it just for the flowers. They attracted a bumblebee to my yard and I was so excited to see one finally. Of course it was gone by the time I got the camera. Isn't that always the way?!

My girls are taking AP exams this week, so it is more important than ever to start them out with a good breakfast. Of course in my house that means green smoothies packed with nutritious goodies ;-)

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Pasta with Pesto and Veggies

I had a busy and productive weekend, but not a lot of time for cooking.  On Saturday I went to a quilt show at a local church, this was the first show I've been to in years. I tend to be very shy, but was made to feel so welcome, I never even thought about it.  I really enjoyed it, I had forgotten how much fun crafty people are! There were some amazing quilts on display, now the wheels are turning in my head, lots of ideas are playing around there.  I am also considering starting a craft blog when time allows. After the show I came home inspired to work for a few hours on a quilt that's been half done for a few years. Now it's three quarters done ;)
For dinner I threw together a quick meal of pasta and veggies, so I could hurry up and get back to work.

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