This and That – An Update on Life Lately

How about a life-y things type update? It’s been a while! I’ll start, and you can fill me in on what’s new with you, if you’d like. Don’t mind the occasional blurry iPhone photo below (they secretly kill me).

1. June Challenge

For the month of June I challenged myself to 1 smoothie a day and 1 salad a day. So far it’s going strong and I’m packing in more veggies and fruit (check out the slew of smoothies, smoothie bowls, and parfaits taking over my Instagram lately). And chocolate for good measure. Want to join me? This smoothie bowl below is going in the next cookbook. Adults and kiddos alike are going nuts over it. I’m having so much fun coming up with summer breakfasts lately…

2. May fun.

May was a fun and busy month! There was my first Mother’s Day and birthday celebration, a visit from my mom, another visit from my mom and stepdad, celebrating my Grandparents 50th anniversary (!), and a lot of baby milestones in between (we now have a crawler on our hands!).

3. Morning Sing Songs

As it turns out, Adriana loves to sing when she’s in a good mood. Check out this video I shared on Instagram last week (turn on the volume). I have no idea how she hits some of those notes! I certainly can’t (a reality she knows all too well). We’ve had some challenges with teething and other developments this month, so these sweet, happy moments are all the more appreciated! I may or may not watch this video before bed every night…girl kills me.

A video posted by Angela (@theglowspot) on Jun 5, 2015 at 4:47am PDT

4. Organic CSA

An easy way to get more veggies into your diet? Support a local CSA (community shared agriculture). We just had our first delivery yesterday. I had forgotten how exciting it is when the loot arrives! It takes all of my restraint not to tackle the delivery person. Since we don’t have a veggie garden in our current backyard, I figure this is the next best thing. It’s already helping me break out of cooking ruts. Random question – what would you make with this loot? The first thing I did was sauté the mushrooms and throw them over a salad. The second thing I did was make collard wraps (SO GOOD). A new obsession has formed…

5. Kitchen Adventures

The state of my kitchen lately (on a good day). Note: only one drawer is open Eric! I’m currently wrapping up the recipes for my next cookbook over the next month or so. The kitchen reno that we did last summer is definitely being put to good use! It’s easily the most used, loved, and enjoyed room of the house.

6. Current state of mind.

Image via heyokreal.

I feel like I could write an essay on this topic, but I’ll save that for another day.

7. A couple press things

I recently found out the University of Guelph (where I pursued my undergrad studies) included me in their alumni spotlight. See: University of Guelph Alumni feature

The Oh She Glows Cookbook was #1 on the Globe and Mail Bestseller list (Food and Cooking) again last month. Thank you all so much for your continued support! It’s making me all the more excited for cookbook #2 in 2016. There are so many awesome recipes I’m dying for you to try (I seriously think I’m going to have to host a big kick-off party with all my fav recipes or something).

8. Updated blog header + pictures

You might have noticed an updated blog look for the summer (or until I get bored of it again). Eric took a couple updated photos of me and I added those to the sidebar, About page, and Before and After page. It feels like just yesterday when our photographer Dave Biesse shot my last headshots for the cookbook, but as it turns out, that was 2 years ago already. Slow down time!

So there’s a random update. Much more to share, but this is a good start.

Ok, tell me about your plans for June and this summer. Any exciting work/personal projects or travels on the horizon? Also, what would you make with my CSA loot?

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Christine (The Raw Project)

9 years ago

Love the new header, very festive for summer. And such a great quote. My kitchen looks like that a lot too especially after playing dueling chefs with hubby.

Melanie

Hi Angela, I love your update posts. Just a quick question for you that I don’t believe you have addressed before. I am a relatively new vegan (less than a year) but sometimes I find it difficult and I “cheat” sometimes by eating things including dairy/egg ingredients (but never meat). It is satisfying in the moment, but afterwards I feel guilty and get mad at myself for making that choice which results in unnecessary self-loathing. Just wondering if you ever dealt with this when becoming vegan, or if you are ever tempted to sway off your vegan diet, and how do you deal with it? Anyone else can feel free to comment as well. Thanks!

Kathy

Reply to Melanie

Hi, Melanie! I’ve run into that problem as well, and it does stink how we can beat ourselves up about it. I reframe it – a), behavior change is always hard, and transitioning to a Vegan diet is a HUGE transition…so kudos on how far you’ve come in just under a year’s time! And b) I’m eating a heck of a lot healthier than I was as a carnivore, so every good step is in the right direction.

Here’s a couple things that have helped me. Take whatever sounds do-able for you, and you can delete the rest: :)

Know that you will lose the cravings for dairy eggs, milk and cheese over time, and most likely your body will eventually not be able to process it because it’s “foreign.” I’m now not able to “snitch” on any of that without having bloating and several other uncomfortable symptoms, so it’s just not worth it. I talked with a long-time Vegan who’s also a bakery chef/nutritionist, and she forewarned me. According to her experience/study, many who transition to eating Vegan will become lactose-intolerant (or may have been all along and didn’t know it).

Planning is key. We’ll go for the “old stuff” when we’re low on energy, stressed, feeling overwhelmed or just out of kilter. It’s the body’s natural way of compensating to make us feel better. So advanced preparing for those times helps. I won’t go to the grocery store really hungry because I might buy that cheese pizza or shredded mexican blend on impulse. I find that even with just prepping for our meals and planning the menus. “Who has time to eat Vegan?!” I’ll say. “I have to work, look after my family and keep up a house!” So we’re setting aside time to browse recipes/plan meals (a folder with ones we want to do and pick them out weekly) and one physical time to chop up/prep foods for that week – usually a Saturday or Sunday. Angela’s got a lot of great advice on her blog and a listing of freezer-friendly meals, ready-to-go snacks, etc… I won’t keep dairy in the house and if I’m going someplace new (restaurant, party where I don’t know people), I’ll check the menu (if available) before going or ask if I can bring something to share. It takes the pressure off eating what I don’t want to eat and doesn’t sacrifice my goals.

Like you said, it lasts momentarily when we indulge. It’s the majority of our (Western) culture who eats dairy; while the awareness of ease of finding Vegan foods is growing, it is still a novelty in many areas. And we realize we’ve eaten something that’s not healthy for us and feel like carp because the whole foods always are best for us.

-For cheese, we look for Daiya shreds on sale and keep one of each in our freezer. I haven’t used their slices much – I haven’t had much luck with it and other brands so I just use the shreds. I also buy nutritional yeast in bulk at a local whole-foods-type/organic grocery store (it’s a cheesy-tasting powder loaded with B vitamins and other minerals and very good to eat as a vegan). Most bulk places that carry it have it in large flake or small. You can use either. It’s great mixed with toasted sesame seeds as a parmesan substitute (check out, “1,000 Vegan Recipes” – it’s called “Parmesio”-hello, Italian recipes!). I use straight NY as an equivalent ounce for ounce with shredded/grated cheese in recipes.SO good.

AT HOME:
So, if I’m craving a Velveeta-like sauce, I can whip up one (I use a recipe from, “The Idiot’s Guide to Gluten-Free, Vegan Cooking,” or “Happy Herbivore”). If I want plain ‘ol melted “cheese,” we have the shreds (just take what you want from the frozen bag and then put the bag back in the freezer-stays better longer).

For milk substitutes, I rotate different types so I don’t get bored (I used to drink milk like it was going out of style). I haven’t made Angela’s recipe for homemade oat milk yet d/t time, but I want to. So, we rotate hemp milk, flax milk, rice milk, almond milk and for splurges coconut or cashew. It’s fun to try to make them and Angela has done at least two or three kinds on her blog, in her first cookbook and the recipe bundle.

For eggs, the options are a lot more limited, namely Soy/Tofu. It scrambles up a lot like scrambled eggs but will be watery. Press it first and buy the extra firm variety. There’s something called ener-g egg replacer that I’ve heard of, but I don’t know how it works. Haven’t tried. I eat limited amounts of Soy for myself, but it is great as a, “I really want ‘eggs’!” every once in a while. Those who like Soy and can eat it in larger quantities use it for a lot of things dairy.

Hope this helps. It’s a long post, but there’s a lot I’ve learned. It was soooo helpful to have people who I could ask who’d been there before. My transition took about 4 1/2 years but it’s paying off in so many ways, and I love what it’s doing….for me, the planet, and everyone/everything in between. Good luck!

Sagan

Love the June challenge! Smoothies + salads = the best.

Congrats on your cookbook; that’s awesome news!

nica

enjoying ur blog thus far! :) very informative and entertaining at the same time. :)
i blog here: https://shalloweuphoria.wordpress.com/

angelaange

I would love to have that smoothie bowl recipe for the summer to enjoy with the kids. Book won’t be out for a while, right?

Krista

The smoothie challenge sounds great! Angela, Do you typically use protein powder? If so, have you tried the Arbonne protein powder? It’s made with plant protein. I’m a nursing mom trying to find a safe protein powder, I was wondering if you have used it and liked it or have a favourite.

The Vegan Junction

That breakfast “smoothie bowl” looks delicious – love the colour and look forward to the recipe! And that looked liked a nice box of organics, food just tastes better when it’s local!

juliana katuku

A very nice article, thank you for keeping us updated.

Margaret @ Veggie Primer

I enjoyed this post – blurry iphone photos as all. :) I especially enjoyed the shot of your kitchen – good to know I’m not the only one who makes a mess. ha ha

I like the idea of include a smoothie and a salad a day into your meals. I imagine this is a good way to stay on track with healthy eating. I might have to give it a try myself!

Jennifer

Don’t forget about us, old people, on facebook. I don’t instagram so I’ve missed a lot of your yummy smoothies.

jen p.

where can i find the recipe for that yummy looking smoothie bowl?? it looks amazing… ;-) plans for june — let myself and my girls (i have an 11 and 14 year old…it really does fly way too fast) sleep in!! lots of reading, lots of cooking together, and lots of sunshine!

Lia

Hello,

I just signed the petition, “President of the People’s Republic of China: STOP THE YULIN DOG MEAT EATING FESTIVAL.”

I think this is important. Will you sign it too?

Here’s the link:

http://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-people-s-republic-of-china-stop-the-yulin-dog-meat-eating-festival

Thanks,

LIA

Hi, Angela! I’ve not tried Collard greens that I can remember, so you’ve piqued my interest! I’m working to add more greens and reduce any pre-packaged gluten free/vegan breads thanks to the high glycemic index, calorie count and low nutritive value. So your idea for those as wraps sound great!

I credit your cookbook/blog/FB with introducing me to things like buckwheat groats, hemp seed, raw cacao powder, cauliflower as a sauce (YUM!) and who knows how many other wonderful nutrient-dense whole foods. I’m sure the next cookbook, just like your blog, will continue to do the same.

…and in the meantime, I’m trying very hard not to blow through all of the recipes in your bonus recipe bundle and the recipes I have printed out. Must pace myself…I finally received it and as usual, every recipe looks incredible…I think we “ate” our way through the first cookbook in about 5 months. :0 lol

Happy Summer and so glad you, Eric and your little bean are enjoying it! You all deserve it for the good you spread to people around the world.

Farha - faskitchen

haha.. I love that quote, only that I have few more things to add and I don’t know how to do it all.. thoroughly enjoyed reading ur post

kelly

Love this post! I’m in the process of renovating my kitchen. I’m loving your countertops. What are they and do you love them?! If there’s a of post on your kitchen that would be awesome. Thanks! Kelly

Celeste Tanit

Hello Angela…sorry to use this format but there is no email address on your website for contacting you. Just read your cookbook and wanted to say that it would be nice to give credit to the ‘Mother of Green Smoothies’, Victoria Boutenko, who was making them a full decade (1999) before your discovery. It is so easy to change an ingredient and make a recipe one’s own but with a trend like Green Smoothies, it’s nice to honor Victoria and the Raw Foods movement which, while not a new concept, took a leap in knowledge and popularity about 15 years ago. I’m not sure of the publication date of Victoria’s book “Green Smoothies” but it was around that time…revised editions have come out since.

Val

Just taking a moment to say how much I enjoyed this new cookbook….new to me , and at 57, at the other end of child rearing… I am patiently waiting for grandchildren to enjoy. I remember being so bloody tired juggling two kids when I taught fulltime …and trying to just take better care of myself. Cooking was a dreaded chore for me. You have so many solid management techniques and wellness strategies both in your cookbook and in your blog. I commend women who know the importance of that life balance early on… Thanks for sharing so much more than recipes .

Alyssa Copple

Hi Angela,

Thanks for sharing your stories and awesome recipes. I really enjoy this blog!

Alyssa

Becky

I’ve never seen food look so appetizing than from browsing those completed recipe pics on your site. The best, icing on the cake is that I can be confident that even the icing is a healthy option. I’m a baby boomer, 4 grown children, was one of those earthy crunchy moms….birth assistant, breastfeeding, homebirth etc….you get the picture. Miss it all. My youngest son, now 27 has been a vegetarian for 10 years. The first several years were hit or miss with knowledgeable options. Too much soy at first….then years of lots of raw veggies, then years of eliminating gluten, GMO, soy (for sure) etc. However, he has developed a sever leaky gut which seems to have effected his focus and thought process as well. It was recommended by an ethnobotanist, Dawn Combs, we met at the Mother Earth Fair in PA, that it’s not that uncommon that too much fiber can slough off the membrane in the intestinal lining causing leaky gut and preventing absorption of nutrients, often resulting in a form of starvation. Sooo, she recommended, not eating meat, but trying to sip on bone broth, from grass fed, sustainably and lovingly raised cows, chickens, and steaming the veggies for now until the gut is healed. She went on to say that the bone broth has the nutrients that the body desperately needs to heal the intestinal lining. Has anyone had experience with this?

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