Hello, There, Pretty Girl

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Spicy Chicken Patties (Boca)

Chipotle Black Bean Burger (Morningstar Farms)

Grilled Chicken Patties (Morningstar Farms)

Chicken Tenders (Morningstar Farms)

BBQ Riblets (Morningstar Farms)

Vegetarian Fish (I've yet to find this - got any recommendations?)

Chicken (Not!) Breast

Pretty much anything from May Wah Healthy Vegetarian Food, Inc.

well, those plans went down the drain. . .

Remember me talking about how I wanted to buy a plain tin box and make my own old-school lunchbox? Well, turns out, I couldn't find one anywhere, so I went ahead and bought a Coraline one ($22 at your local Hot Topic).

<- Isn't it just adorable?

Tomorrow is my first day of school, which means I'm spending today finishing up summer assignments and prepping my materials.

I love the new-school-year hype. Buying new supplies and just feeling ready to go - I guess it'll wear off by lunc tomorrow. So that's why I'm taking an extra-cute lunch.

I bought this adorable little Dyno Box ($5.49 at Wal*Mart) Sandwich Container. There are also bread-cutters shaped like dinosaurs as well. I love how this container has baby dinosaurs in it too. *Que awwwe moment*.

I think tomorrow I'm going to make a Tofurky Sandwich (I would love to try out Turtle Island's Hickory Smoked Tofurky Deli Slices - however, none are available at Wal*Mart) with a cheese slice and some spicy brown mustard. Yum yum! Along with my sandwich, I'll pack some Del Monte Fruit Chunks (Grapefruit!!!) and a bottle of water. I'll include a picture with that tomorrow.

So, cheers! And wish me luck and school!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

I want a guilt-free Manwich, please!

Remember the days back before you cut rotted corpses out of your diet, and your mommy would make you Sloppy Joes? MMM.

Well, with Lightlife's Smart BBQ, you can relive those delicious - if not cruel - days of BBQ'd morsels spread over your face. If you want, you can add onions and other seasonings and make a Manwich! Yum-yum.

I had bought this with some Not Dogs in early June, and it was sitting in the back of the fridge, just asking to be prepared and become a nom-nom.

When I first bit into it, I thought there had been some mistake. It even has those occasional chewy large bits you can find in pulled pork. It tasted SO real, not something I've come across often in my Meatless Adventures.

I actually recommend eating it without bread, because that way you can fully savor the barbecue-simmered "shredded veggie protein".

The powerful taste in this little package made me eager to sample more of Lightlife's work.

My Rating:

trials and tribulations of VEGGIES!

Okay, so you already know I'm a Vegetarian. What you don't know is: I hate most veggies, and (most) salads disgust me.

Yeah. I don't like squash, celery, cauliflower . . . okay, I mostly hate everything BUT broccoli, corn, potatoes, and peas. I am a very picky girl, so its more difficult for me to be vegetarian and get full/get the nutrients I need.

But, I'm a very artistic, creative teen. I design clothing, make music videos, write stories, do photography, and a bunch of other stuff. Now, I'm going to make LUNCHES!

In an old-fashioned lunch box, to arrive at a later date. The first project of Veggie Creations will be making my very own ~~metal~~ tin lunch box. That way, no one else in the world has one just like mine. I might invite Avery over and we can do that together, I might get her a plain ~~metal~~ tin lunch box and we can both have them. The won't match, but they'll be twins. Like, uhm, fraternal twins.

Anyway, this was inspired by Katy. She bought an adorable Hello Kitty metal lunch box on our mission trip, and I thought, hmm. If only I were to have a cute little lunch box, I might be motivated to make lunch everyday.

I'll take regular lunch to school for the first week or so, and then when Avery can come over we'll start taking our very own special-designed lunchies. YAYYY!

Now that I've sidetracked once again (I think I have ADD) I'm going to finish talking about said lunches.

I intend upon including plenty of nutrients in each meal. So I'll have to have protein (nuts, beans, or a type of egg), fruits (I prefer pre-sliced fruits in cups and extra light syrup), veggies (the ones I like), dairy (yogurt, cheese, milk, an ingredient in other foods), and grains. Also, water or juice (most often water.) OR MAYBE SOUP! If you can't tell, I love soup.

All of the Food Blogs I have seen are Vegan-oriented. This is mainly a Vegetarian (Lacto-Ovo, at most) Food Blog (but not even a Food Blog at all.) But from time to time, I'll see a Vegan meal that I'll like and use it.

On the completely opposite note, when not stressing out over what to eat, I am being tackled by accusations that my tofu REALLY IS chicken. So, most of my meals will not include "Veggie Meats". From time to time, I'll include these in my lunch box because I have the appetite for a Veggie Burger or Buffalo "Wings".

I'm busy "designing" my very first Back To School lunch, and I intend it to be a "Meats and Cheeses" meal.

Countdown until School (and, resulting lunchie-muchies): 8 days.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

will this turn into a veg*an food blog?

OH NOES! ATTACK OF THE VEG*AN FOOD BLOGGZZZZ!!!!!!

*nomnomnom*

We all are dead from ze vicious meat-free food-blog.

So, we all know I can't cook worth a shit. Well, I can make a pretty mean Mack 'n' Cheez (yes, I really did mean to spell it that way.) Bring shells to boil, pour in cheese, and pepper until the cat sneezes (which is super-batman because I don't even own a cat.)

Now, the difference between me and all the aforementioned Food-Bloggers (not that they aren't brilliant in their own right) is that I am a teenager trying to keep up a 4.0 GPA (of course, the mastermind behind Vegan Teen Cuisine is, naturally, a teen.)

I don't have time to sit back and make a four-course meal before school so I can get full at lunch, packed with the nutrients I need.

To tell the truth, I haven't started eating exactly "healthy" yet. But I'm meaning to, starting the First Day of School. And so far, I've had trouble. I've been looking for quick recipes that:

- I can make in the morning,

- That will stay warm until lunchtime, and

- That taste like sweet mouthgasm-y goodness.

And I don't have time to sift through 20-something pages to look for sandwiches and the like. ARGH!

So I've decided to post my own tried-and-true recipes here from time to time, and repost things I like from other sites. Yeah, this blog is going to get huge, remember, I still put up the monthly playlists, occasional nonsense, and the rare "holy-crap-let-me-forward-this-to-everyone-i-know!" inspirational/tearjerking beauty.

And I'm going to segue to the meat-talking business.

I effing hate bacon.

This segue happened because I happened on Vegan Teen Cuisine and something very, very bad happened *shudder*. She made BACON COOKIES (no pigs were harmed in the baking of this DISASTER, but many, many Lindseys were. . .)

Bacon is fruitless (and I'm not talkin' grapefruit here.) Bacon has no purpose. I think I was damaged by the fat pieces on one when I was younger.

I would rather eat 100000000000 tomatoes (another food I hate) than ever, ever touch a piece of bacon.

My dog has a piece of bacon every morning.

Isn't the carnivorous monster just adorable? (Please do not lecture on his eating habits - I have no control, I'm a 15-year-old, REMEMBER?! I would change his diet if I could.)

I've tried and tried, but my pep talks on being a vegetarian are to no avail. He just . . . loves his disgusting bacon.

So, as I've segued enough, I'm gonna end this with: I may post recipes once-or-twenty but overall, this isn't just a Food Blog.

P.S. I promise to tag those entries with "vegetarian" or "vegan" according to the animal-less-ness of the product.

P.P.S. For those of you wondering what type of Vegetarian I am, I'm a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian. I will never lessen or add to this diet. I eat eggs (not much anymore), I drink milk. I have heavy-duty reasoning and I don't want anyone to try and convert me. I don't do the convert-y thing on anyone . . . except my puppy.

super-awesome veg*an recipe sites/food blogs.

Yeah, I've just stopped changing the number. I'll add them when I feel like it.

Just click the links to discover endless recipes for the vegetarian body. Don't say there's nothing to eat!

An added bonus: Veggie123

read me on webook?

A few months ago, I discovered something thoroughly amazing. A website where you could post the novel you were working on, or collaborate with other authors, and get feedback on your work. This little gem of a site is worth its weight in gold, because since I started "webooking", I have felt generally better about my work, and gotten a healthy dose of constructive criticism along the way.

You can check out my projects here and give some feedback if you wish.

Since I now feel the need to brag, I'm going to post my two all-time favorite feedbacks.

This is an excellent start, but it still needs something in my opinion. Clearly you are going for a "short punch", and I can appreciate that, but consider this:

First, suggest that something terrible happened to "cap off" your otherwise good vacation.

Then, spend a bit more time in description of arriving at the parking garage, and the father "wending his way" down to a chosen parking spot. (This will allow tension to build a bit.)

Thirdly, consider adding the mother's voice, and let that voice suggest the terror SHE sees which prompts the kids to "hide". As it stands, it's just a "do it because mom said so" moment, and therefore lacks in verisimilitude.

I REALLY like the music in the background (for your main character), and would have liked to see that developed just a bit more.

Very nice start. Your writing is clean and crisp.

See, that was EXTREMELY constructive.

And. . . for the kick of all-flattery:

I absolutely love the concept of this: the idea is original, the structure interesting, the writing punchy and unique and the characters are coming to life. Myra, especially, is very three dimensional and I love the way you convey her through the blog entries. Would love to read more and see where you take this! :D

A special "thank you" to Webookers RikScott and emmalea_21 for their insight into A Reluctance To Fly and The Blog Of Myra Monopoly, respectively.