Keeping my butt in check

Not a whole lot to report on. I did ok eating wise yesterday, even though it was a date night. I only drank about 1/4 of the shake for breakfast, and then I had like 5 small squares of the leftover orange tofu for lunch--no rice. I did split some fries with the kids once I got home, and that was really my only bad thing. On date night, I had a grilled tofu wrap which had rice in it so it was filling. I had 2 pieces of my avocado roll, but brought the rest home for Andy to eat. The side was taro root chips with salsa so I brought that for lunch today.

I've been researching the whole blogging thing and ebooks. I'm very dumb about it, but thinking very strongly of doing this. If I just compiled all of my original recipes (that are in my head and not on paper--except for the one my 20 year old submitted for his 3rd grade cookbook ages ago), and maybe create a few more, I think I'd have enough for a starter vegan recipe ebook. Cooking has always been fun for me, but in the past 6-8 months, it's really become a passion. It probably won't be until the first of the year before I actually do something concrete about it, but I thought about buying a journal to at least put the recipes in my head down on paper.

Plus, my husband and I have talked about me possibly retiring early (in 10 years). We both are very fortunate to have an individual pension plan thru work and I'll have enough points by then to take partial benefits. We'd have no mortgage or anything at that time. He said if I do this, he wants me to have a hobby, and is very encouraging of the blogging/ebooks thing. I've also planned friends and co-worker's Disney trips in the past and he wants me to continue to do this.

Anyways, tonight I'm making vegan corn dogs. And, believe it or not, Geoff has never had one....in all his 43 years never one single corn dog. My brother was kinda shocked by this revelation. He said he thought since my husband was German that he'd have tried anything with any sort of frank in it...but no. He must've been deprived as a child....or had really good authentic food and didn't have to rely on frozen corn dogs while his parents were at work ;) However, Geoff is a mustard (and pretzel) connoisseur so we have PLENTY of exotic mustards to dip the dogs in.
 
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Yesterday the eating was ok. I had a hashbrown, and half cut tea for breakfast, leftover taro chips and salsa for lunch, and a pack of peanuts for snack. Then I went home and made vegan corn dogs. These were a hit, but I think I'll do the batter differently next time. Winnie and her boyfriend even ate them.
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I made a shake today for breakfast. It has blueberries, pineapple, almond butter, silken tofu, and protein powder...
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I doubt I drink all of this. I've drank a few sips so far and it's ok, but it'll be a miracle if I even drink 1/2 of it.
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I get to leave work early so I'm going to battle the supposed afternoon thunderstorms in Knoxville and get groceries since I have a few ingredients that are exotic. I also have a slew of new recipes to try so my weekend will be filled with tackling the fridge to get it organized like the pantry, laundry, and cooking....but at least I'll be home so Annie Bean will be a happy camper.
 
This weekend I did ok eating, and a miracle happened last night----I GOT ON THE DEVIL'S MACHINE!!! It felt good, but was I was drenched in sweat and sore last night!!

Anyways, back it up to Friday night--
I made vegan tempeh piccata with warm asparagus and potato salad
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This was just ok, but the asparagus and potato salad was amazing!

Then on Saturday night I made a vegan Indian trio: Saag Aloo, Chana Masala, and Vegetable Biryani with Garlic Naan bread
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This was all really good! I wish the naan bread was a bit thinner (my husband had bread duty while I did the other three), but it was still had a really good taste! I think next time I make this, I'll invest in one of those triple warmer crockpot type of things.

Then last night I made vegan calzones--this was my absolute favorite of all 3 recipes! It had a sundried tomato pesto inside, and the crust was nice and light. Cooked up brilliantly.
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I also cleaned the fridge, finally, so that's done :)
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So today I'm working 12 hour shift at work and then going home to make my vegan grilled cheese, once again, at Winnie's request. Tomorrow I will be taking the day off so I can go to the doctor with my husband to get his arm checked out by the orthopedic surgeon.
 
Oh, and I forgot to mention...I'm toying with what to name my blog. Everything is still in the planning stage at this point, but I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row so I can jump right in when the time is right. I'm shooting for the first of the year after Andy's boot camp graduation, but sooner would be nice.

Anyways, I'm thinking of A Southern Vegan, Southern Belle Vegan (not that I'm a southern belle, but a nod to Belle from Beauty and the Beast), or Weirdo Southern Vegan....just because when I tell people I'm vegan around these parts, I get looked at like I have 3 eyes and extra limbs. I think I'll go ahead and plunk the $ down for the host thing and the domain name after we return from Hawaii.

Also, I think I've narrowed it down to either the MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro for a laptop, although I'm leaning towards the Air. I think the Pro just has too many bells and whistles that I won't need. I don't really have one at home, and mainly use my work computer or phone. Hubby and daughter each have their own, but I don't really want to screw theirs up.

On the plus side, I already have a very good Nikon DSLR camera with a food setting that I can use for the pics. I rarely use it except for kids' senior pics, or vacation pics, but I should really put it to use for the pics on the blog.

I'm actually really excited for this since it'll give me an outlet....and a reason to create more recipes. I've been writing down all the things that I fix now, or have in the past, that are of my own creation and I've got 20-25 things. Now some of those things are really old, and I do need to veganize them to see how they'll work, but that'll be fun. I also have ideas for lots more recipes. I found my Mamaw's old peanut butter cake recipe so I plan to update it. I'm super excited about trying that one out! I haven't had it in forever, but I can still remember how it tasted.
 


So Monday night I made the vegan grilled cheese and asparagus. Winnie ate 2 of them! And they're pretty big sandwiches!!

Yesterday was Geoff's appointment. He has pinched nerve in his neck, and it's degenerative. He was ordered 12 rounds of PT, then reevaluation. After that would come MRI and injections, and the last thing would be surgery. We're hoping the PT keeps the pain at bay for a long while.

We ate a late breakfast at First Watch. It was yummy. Then for supper I made Thai chickpea burgers with sweet and spicy sauce with smashed potatoes with avocado and garlic aioli. These were both from a recipe. The burgers were just meh, however, the smashed potatoes were awesome!
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And I drank way over my water! I was guzzling it all day yesterday!
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Today is another 12 hour marathon day here at work. Afterwards, I think we are having date night? No clue, really, but I'm craving a salad like nobody's business--and I NEVER crave salads. Chips or fries, yes, but salads? NO.

Tomorrow, since it will be a nice and normal day, I'm hoping to get on the devil's machine once I get home, and try to get back in a routine. With this week's crazy schedule so far, I've just not had a chance.

My husband and I were talking about the blog yesterday, and he sounds pretty excited about it also. He was looking up office furniture for me as I was cooking supper because I mentioned I'd like to have something to put laptop on, and have a side that I could put my sewing/embroidery machine on so I can toss my old sewing table out. He found some pretty neat desks, but I think it's something we'll need to actually go to a store and look at in person. He said he liked Southern Belle Vegan, or Vegan Momma Bear (he calls me momma bear) for a name. We were able to spend all day together yesterday without worrying about work, and it was just super nice and relaxing, even though we did have the dr appointment thrown in there too. He's such a good man. I'm so blessed.
 
I know I've not posted on this in a very long while, but wanted to update....

The trip to Hawaii was a huge success! I rocked that bikini with all my flaws and no one ran for cover, no one hid their children, no one made fun of me, and I didn't embarrass the husband.

Still going forward with the blog next year, and creating recipes for an ebook.
 

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