...and don't forget to breathe

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (wheat-free*)

2010-07-12T04:07:00.000-07:00

There is something oh so comforting about fresh-out-of-the-oven Peanut Butter Cookies. Even better when they are vegan. If you are not keen about turning on your oven in these warm summer months, then I have some tasty alternatives for you at the end of the recipe. The original recipe that I used and then vegan-ized can be found here.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

3/4 cup ground oats or Spelt flour*

3/4 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup natural peanut butter **

1/2 cup agave ***

2 teaspoons vanilla
1 medium sized mashed banana

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients then stir into dry ingredients. Mixture should be wet; allow to sit for about 10 minutes and the ground oats will absorb some of the moisture. Roll into 1.5 inch balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press cookies down with dampened fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until bottom edges begin to turn a slight golden brown.

*This recipe can also be gluten-free if you use oats that are certified to be gluten free. Also, if you are not worried about the wheat, then whole wheat flour is fine (I used Spelt flour in the picture)

**In theory, this recipe should also work with almond butter, but I have yet to give it a try. Will let you know when I have.

***Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a lot of agave. If you want to cut back a bit, you can go as low as 1/4 cup, then add a couple tablespoons of non-dairy milk to replace the moisture.

Some Oven-Free Alternatives!
We really like eating this as a cookie dough. I enjoy it topped on Raw Banana Chocolate Ice Cream. Also, you can leave it as cookie dough, shape into balls and roll in cocoa, carob powder or icing sugar (if you are not worried about the sugar). Cool finished balls in the fridge for roughly 3 hours before eating (or however long you are able to wait). Then enjoy!

Happy Baking.

Cheers!
-Laura

I've Turned Orange!

2010-06-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

The FIFA World Cup is upon us, and it is very evident here in The Netherlands. The Dutch team is orange, and there is no mistaking it. Our entire neighborhood is decorated with orange; orange flags, orange stuffed animals, orange horns..you get the idea.

Orange streamers weave across the streets from one home to another.

Even our grocery store has showcased all their orange vegetables, the bakery is selling their cakes iced in orange, snackfoods have been repackaged in orange and M&M's are available in a special Netherlands edition. It's incredible. It's everywhere.

So, what do you do when everyone and everything around you is colored orange?

You join them!

We put on our orange shirts (that we still had from Koninginnedag) and cheer. It is hard not to get excited when you see everyone else so excited. It's infectious. I love it.

I hope that you, no matter what color you may be sporting, are enjoying the World Cup.

Cheers!

-Laura

Blueberry Banana Whole Wheat Muffins (Vegan)

2010-06-21T01:37:00.000-07:00

I made these this weekend and. they. were.

wonderful.

I used this recipe as my base then added

1 Cup blueberries* (fresh or frozen, thawed first)

1 tsp cinnamon

*mix the blueberries into the dry ingredients, this will coat the blueberries and prevent them from turning your batter purple.

I love these muffins. They are soft, tender, fluffy and full of goodness. Hubby and I ate half the batch before the day was done so I decided that I better freeze the rest so that he could have some in his lunch next week. To freeze them, I individually wrap them in plastic wrap, then put them all into a freezer bag with the date marked on them. They will keep like this for 2-3 months, if wrapped properly. To pack them in my hubby's lunch I just take one out of the freezer in the morning, and he unwraps it at lunch, gives it a few seconds in the microwave and it tastes just like it came out of the oven.

What a yummy lunch time treat.

Happy baking!

-Laura

YW Value Table Cards

2010-06-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

After another brief blogging break I am back with plenty to write about. We made a last minute trip back to Canada.

It was wonderful.

Upon returning home, it was time to put together the YW in Excellence and New Beginnings Evening. What fun!

The tasks were delegated out and I was quite content with getting a creative aspect of it; the table setting. The previous year, they had done a great idea of setting a vase of flowers in each value color on the main table. At the end of the evening, the girls could come up and make their own Value Bouquet and we decided to do that again this year. They LOVED this. Combine the flowers with colored table cloths and some table cards and you have a great table setting for the front of the room.

Which brings me to the table cards. I made these with the intention that they would be used throughout the year as a table setting during our value themed months.

It is a little difficult to tell from the picture, but the value text is raised and mounted onto white corrugated poster board, which was then mounted on to folded, white cardstock. Tie a color coordinated ribbon around and voila!

The evening was so enjoyable and it was great to see the girls receive recognition for everything that they had been busy with during the last year. We have a very talented group of girls (and I am not the least bit biased).

Cheers!

-Laura

A Must See Video

2010-05-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

I had been thinking about my new post for a few days; not sure which of my drafts to edit to create a full post. Then, a friend shared this video with me and I knew that this is what I wanted to share with you this week.

It is a video about a very beautiful woman named Stephanie Nielson. Perhaps you have heard of her. She has been blogging about her life for 5 years over at NieNie Dialogues. It was in that time span that her and her husband got into a near fatal plane crash.

Their story is inspiring.

Enjoy the video.

With Love,

-Laura

When I am nervous my knees shake...conquering my fear of public speaking

2010-04-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

I was asked to speak in church this past Sunday. It was an experience that I am always grateful for, but that does not change the fact that public speaking makes me very nervous.

My first experience speaking in front of a crowd that I can remember was waaaaay back in 4th grade. I had a speaking part in a school play (and by speaking part I mean I had one, 4-word line) and I thought my heart was going to jump into my throat. When it came time to recite my line, I was so nervous that only a soft, shaky whisper emerged. The strange thing is that when I got off that stage, I was so enamored by the feeling of being on stage that I wanted more opportunities to conquer my fear. Consequently, I pursued many years of dance, drama and debate in order to improve my comfort level in front of a crowd.

I am happy to report that I have come a long way since those elementary school days. I am certainly not a professional when it comes to public speaking but I have learned to speak slowly, clearly and disguise the nervous shake in my voice. There is still one aspect that I cannot seem to control - my knees. When I open my mouth to speak, my knees start trembling.

So what's a girl to do?

Well, this girl always wears long skirts and prays that she will be standing behind a stand when she speaks.

Despite my shaky knees, I do enjoy the opportunity to improve my skills and abilities. Perhaps one day I shall have these knees conquered.

For those of you who find they have particular trouble with public speaking, I suggest you avoid listening to pieces of advice like "just picture your audience in their underwear" because those things do not work. Who wants that image in their mind anyhow? I will suggest checking out this list of tips for public speaking that was put together by Toastmasters International. It has been a great help for me to review this list when I am preparing for public speaking so that I know the important things to remember.

Believe it or not, public speaking can be a fun, enjoyable experience. Now if only I could communicate that to my nerves that send my knees into convulsions.

Happy Speaking.

Cheers!

-Laura

Please keep you hands and arms on the bicycle at all times...and enjoy a Vegan Banana Muffin Recipe

2010-04-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

I'm back!

After semi-disappearing from the blog for a month, I have returned. I guess I forgot to leave a message saying that I would be gone. But, that's in the past.

The last month has been full of adventures. Our Little Man has hit some very exciting milestones; including pulling all of the wetwipes out of the container. We also had visitors for a couple of weeks. It was exciting to be able to introduce others to a taste of the Dutch culture that we have come to love so dearly. We made sure that our guests got the full Dutch experience: cycling, market, canals and herring among many other fun things. That said, I have realized that I was not born to be a tour guide. It was fun while it lasted, but I am happy to be hanging up my tour-guide-hat until we have some more wonderful guests.

In other news:

Remember my plea for The Muffin Man to help my sad state? Well, it was answered! And it turns out that it is not a Muffin Man at all, but a Muffin Woman. Thanks to Gina over at Health Nuts Blog I made some fantastic (and healthy) Banana Muffins. Of course, I veganized it. If you would like to make the original recipe then go on over and check it out here. If you would like the vegan version then read on.

(please note: I cut the original recipe in half. The original recipe yields 2 dozen and that is just too much for our little family to eat. You could definitely freeze the extras, but we have a small European fridge which means there isn't room to freeze muffins. If you would like more muffins, feel free to double the following recipe.)

Vegan Banana Muffins

1.5 c. whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T ground flaxseed*
1/2 c. Agave (you could try out Maple Syrup too. If you are not trying to make them vegan, stick with the honey as called for in the original recipe as honey will help your muffins to stay fresher, longer)
1/2 c. applesauce
1/8 tsp. vanilla
3 T water*
2 ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°. In large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in nuts (if using). Pour into greased muffin pans. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Transfer to to a cooling rack. When muffins have cooled, store in an airtight container.
Yields 1 dozen muffins.

*The ground flaxseed and the water are to replace the eggs. Gina suggested that you could also increase the apple sauce to replace the eggs. Apple sauce is NOT an egg replacer, however, it would work in this instance since there are bananas in the recipe which will fulfill the role the eggs would have played. I used flaxseed because I like the nutty flavor that it gives to the muffins.

Final Thoughts

Hubby and I both really liked these muffins. They tasted like Bran Muffins with banana. They are sweet enough for a treat but healthy enough for breakfast on the go. We will definitely make these again! If you try them out, be sure to let me know what you think and head on over to let Gina know how much you love her recipe.

Happy baking.

Cheers!

-Laura

Lucky In Love

2010-03-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you combine this idea and this one?

This:

Thanks to the oh-so-talented-blog, Love Actually, I was able to put together something special for Hubby for March. Even though today is St. Patrick's day it is not too late to put something special together; I'm sure your lucky someone will appreciate it no matter what!

Cheers!

-Laura

Do you know the Muffin Man!?!?

2010-03-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Do you know the Muffin Man,

The Muffin Man,

The Muffin Man?
Do you know the Muffin Man
Who lives in Drury Lane?

Seriously, if you DO know the Muffin Man, please send him my way because I am so utterly helpless when it comes to muffins.

I just don't get it. I can bake cakes, cookies, squares, brownies, bread...you name it - but please, just PLEASE don't name Muffins.

I have tried so many recipes and they do not work for me. Too dry, too moist or too flat. I have had muffin tops that have fallen off and some that have fallen in, but NONE that have bounced back like the recipes say they should.

My most recent attempt was the worst one yet:

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

{Unfortunately, this is not what mine looked like. This photo is courtesy of this link.}

I have been wanting to bake these tasty morsels since we moved here and finally tracked down some Poppy Seeds to bake them.

The recipe went together effortlessly. The batter tasted divine. I filled the muffin cups and placed the tray in my preheated oven.

The magic began happening and they rose - oh how they rose. And the smell...amazing!

With still 10 minutes left in the baking time I went and grabbed a book for Little Man. I made it back to an awful surprise.

The muffins had shrunk and the tops were wrinkly.

What happened!?!?

Despite my disappointment, I let them finish their baking time and hoped that they maybe they would be edible.

Nope. Not edible. The outside was crispy...the inside dense, doughy and slightly hollow on the upper portion.

Definitely not what I was hoping for.

So, do you know the Muffin Man? Think he could help me!?!?!?

At least I can still bake a batch of cookies to enjoy.

Cheers!
-Laura

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

2010-02-18T00:54:00.000-08:00

You know that song about the cat that just keeps coming back? Well, that's what winter seems to be doing to us. Oh, how I thought that Spring was in the air. Things were warming up. No more frost. Beautiful green fields. We went away for a trip to Rome, and I had expectations that we would return home to flowers peeking through the ground. When we landed in Amsterdam, there were no flowers - just frost and ice...and snow. Guess I will have to hold off bringing my open-toed shoes out of storage a little bit longer.

In the mean time, I will make the most of the chilly weather and enjoy some Vegetarian Black Bean Chili. I love Chili. It is a perfect cold-weather-comfort-food. That said, I am quite picky about my Chili. It needs to be smooth, thick (but not too thick), deep flavor, full of good stuff and no meat. Unfortunately, I find a lot of vegetarian chili's are too....froofy. So I found one of my favorites and changed it up a bit! Unfortunately, my computer crashed so there is no photo to post, but I can assure you it looks and tastes delicious!

The original recipe, if you're interested, can be found HERE

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

¹/₂ cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 small bell pepper, seeded and finely diced (I used half red and half orange pepper)
1/4 cup tomato paste (four big spoonfuls)
1 15-ounce can black beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, undrained (or use two cans of black beans)
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies OR 2 green chilies, finely chopped (*See note)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
optional: cocoa powder **see note

Heat the water in a large skillet or pot. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook over high heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add tomato paste, beans and their liquid, chilies, cumin and chili powder. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until flavors are blended. (Insiders tip: Chili is one of those dishes that does get better with time. The longer you let it simmer, the stronger and smoother the flavor will become. 15 minutes is the MINIMUM time, but I usually leave it about 45 minutes.)

* I buy a jar of whole green chilies, that way I can add as much or as little as I want. You have more control over the spiciness of the Chili this way
**Yes, you CAN put chocolate in Chili. This will add a very deep, slightly sweet flavor to the chili. We love it, however, not everyone is a fan. If you want to try it out:
-add one teaspoon - stir - allow to sit for 1-2 minutes - taste - repeat if desired until you reach the amount that works for YOU.

Happy eating!
Stay warm.

-Laura

Dating Rx....prescription needed!

2010-02-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make.

Hubby and I never dated before we were married.

*gasp*

Crazy, right? Now, before you begin thinking that Hubby and I married as complete strangers, let me give our little 'Boy Meets Girl' story in 10 simple steps:

1: Boy meets girl

2: Girl and Boy become friends, then best friends (...this continues for over a year)

3: Boy leaves for an internship in Texas

4: Girl stays behind and continues University

5: Boy receives job offer to work in Germany

6: Boy realizes he is madly in love with Girl

7: Boy buys ring and hops on an airplane to visit Girl

8: Boy takes Girl to the mountains, gets on one knee and pops the question

9: Girl says "Yes!"

10: Boy and Girl get married 3 months later

Bonus Step: Boy and Girl hop on airplane and move to Germany 2 days after

wedding (a little ~~stressful~~ eventful)

Somewhere between when we met and when Hubby proposed, we fell in love. Because we were best friends we knew the good, the bad and the ugly in the other person and didn't want to live without it. Perhaps it was the time apart that allowed us to realize it. Since getting married, we have had fun "dating" each other as Husband and wife, but we have run into a problem:

We are running out of fresh, fun and romantic date ideas!

So, I thought I would put it out there for you all to see, hoping that you would have some wonderful tips or tricks on dates. A dating prescription, if you will.

When pitching ideas I ask that you please keep the following symptoms in mind:

- Dates cannot begin until after 7pm (bedtime for Little Man)

- We get around by bike

- Babysitters are nearly impossible to get as we don't live near family and all of our friends have small children of their own. The few babysitters available split their time between MANY families

-Due to the previous point, we will need more suggestions for 'Home-Dates' than for 'Going-Out-Dates'

Any websites, tips or tricks that you have to share would be greatly appreciated.

To get the ball rolling, here is a site that always has a few cute ideas. It's called Love Actually. I made their Valentine's Day Countdown which I LOVE and can be found HERE.

Thanks in advance for the prescription.

Love,

-Laura

Warm Chickpea, Spinach and Bulgar Salad

2010-01-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

Oh, how I love to bake....not cook. But, I am beginning to enjoy it more! This recipe was the brain child of trying to figure out what to do with the bits and pieces we had in the fridge before I did the grocery shopping. It is such a simple recipe, and filling! Hubby likes to take the leftovers to work the next day for lunch and eat them cold; I prefer to reheat it in a skillet. Whatever your preference, you will enjoy how easy this meal is. Be sure to let me know how it goes!

Warm Chickpea, Spinach and Bulgar Salad

1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup Bulgar
1 Can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 cups washed baby spinach (you can chop this up a bit if you would like, but I kept mine whole)
3 cloved garlic, minced
1 tsp Cumin
1-2 Tomatoes, diced (I used one, which works fine, but I love tomatoes and I think adding a second would be great!)

2 green onion, diced
pepper to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice

1: Put vegetable broth into small pot and bring to boil
2: Add Bulgar to pot, stir once, remove from heat and cover for 15 minutes.
3: Place large skillet on warm stove burner and fill with 1/4 cup water. When skillet is warm, add garlic and cumin. Cook for 5 minutes over medium high heat. Add chickpeas. Cook for 5 minutes. Add Spinach. Cook for 5 minutes. (**Note: keep an eye on your water amount, you may need to add a little bit more if your food starts sticking. You can use oil if you want, but it can make your chickpeas taste a little greasy)
4: When Bulgar is finished cooking; add Bulgar AND the broth that was not absorbed to the skillet. Mix together and remove from heat.
5: Add Green Onions, tomatoes, lemon juice and pepper before serving.

Happy eating!

-Laura

Learning to balance the little things

2010-01-25T05:44:00.000-08:00

I have a new goal.

It will help me realize how good I am at balancing things.

It's a simple goal.

But here, in Holland, it is the difference between arriving at my destination soaking wet or stylish and dry.

My goal is......

To learn to ride a bike one handed while holding an umbrella with the other hand, and still remain balanced.

Okay, so I just made a big deal out of something that seems pretty petty. But, next time you are out riding your bike and get caught in the pouring rain (which happens more often than I care to admit), I bet you'd wish you could do it too.

I have terrible balance. Wish me luck!

-Laura

Why I {heart} Holland

2010-01-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

Today I biked to Hubby's work with our Little Man to go for lunch. We have lived in Holland since September and everywhere we go I am continuously amazed by the people and places around me.

Here are some things that I love about living here that stood out to me particularly today:

I love passing the neighborhood school and seeing 25-30 adults lined-up outside....on bike...waiting for their child to get out of school. I love seeing moms bike their children to the grocery store in these:

{It's a Bakfiets (box bike)}

I love that we have a windmill in our neighborhood.

{yes, this is down the street from our apartment}

I love that when it snows they don't shovel the sidewalks. Instead, they clear off the canals, strap on their skates and away they go. I also love that it is January 20, the snow has melted and Spring is on it's way.

I love that I can look out our living room window and see this:

I love how friendly our neighbors are.

And I absolutely love seeing the look on our Little Man's face as he takes in all the incredible sights and sounds around him.

There is plenty more that I could list, but in the essence of time I'll just say:

I am happy to be living here with my two incredible boys; Hubby and Little Man.

(and I don't care how cheesy that sounds)

So, what do you love most about where you live?

Cheers!

-Laura

Vegan Artichoke Pizza with Cheesy Sauce

2010-01-18T03:09:00.000-08:00

DH and I looooooooove pizza. We love it so much that we dedicate every Friday evening to homemade pizza. Since I am a ~~foodsnob~~ slightly picky eater, we challenged ourselves to come up with a new combination of toppings each Friday. This challenge began in September and I can happily report that we have NOT repeated a combination yet.

There have been mighty triumphs that we cannot wait to try again and some monumental failures that we cannot wait to forget.

Our latest creation was Vegan Artichoke Pizza with Cheesy Sauce. We started with a Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza dough (recipe included; adapted from a recipe that an awesome friend passed along to me); used Vegan Alfredo Sauce for the base; and baby spinach, tomatoes, red onion and artichokes for the topping. The recipe that I used for the sauce was okay, but I think I will keep experimenting.

If you try it out, let me know what worked and what didn't for you!

Vegan Artichoke Pizza with Cheesy Sauce

1 jar marinated artichokes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 cup baby spinach, washed
1/4 cup vegan cheese sauce (I used this recipe, substituting half the water for soy milk, and adding cumin)
sprinkling of oregano
sprinkling of cayenne pepper
1 Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza (recipe below) or pizza crust of your choice

Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F). Spread sauce evenly over prepared pizza crust. Add oregano and cayenne pepper, as desired. Place layer of baby spinach, top with artichoke, tomato and red onion. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until crust is a golden brown.

Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza (makes two crusts)

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 packet dry yeast
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1-1 1/2 cups warm water
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine all dry ingredients in bowl of electric mixer. Using dough hook attachment, set mixer on low, slowly add water until dough forms a soft ball (dough should be slightly sticky). Continue to knead for 10 minutes in mixer. Pour 1 Tbsp of olive oil over dough and coat all surfaces. Put bowl in warm spot, covered with clean towel for one hour.

After one hour.... remove dough from bowl and place on lightly oiled pizza pan. Cut dough in half. Leave one half on the pan and spread out over pan surface using lightly oiled fingertips. Dough should be 1-1.3 cm thick. Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp Olive Oil over pizza dough surface. Place in preheated oven (200 C) for 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE! Remove and add toppings as desired.

What to do with the second half of dough:
If you don't need two pizzas then take the extra dough, wrap it tightly in a layer of plastic wrap, THEN a layer of tin foil and place it in the freezer. The dough will store in the freezer for up to 6 months. When you want to use it thaw it in the fridge the night before and then follow baking directions.
***TIP: Put your wrapped dough on the counter 1-2 hours before you intend to bake it. This will make your dough a little easier to work with.

Happy baking!...and eating.

Cheers.

-Laura

News from Haiti - Ways to Donate

2010-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Chances are, you have heard about the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti recently. Today, while reading the news I learned that somewhere between 45,000-50,000 people are estimated to have died. They are in need of aid. There have been many resources set up to donate money to humanitarian aid. Many countries have already pledged money to help:

Aid pledges to Haiti
Country	Pledge
Canada	$5 million
European Commission	$4.52 million
Spain	$4.52 million
The Netherlands	$3 million
Germany	$2.3 million
U.S.	$100 million US
China	$1.03 million

source: CBC News

If you are interested in helping there are many options. One popular choice is The Red Cross (donation form can be found HERE). There is also the LDS Humanitarian Aid Fund (more information can be found HERE). I particularly like this organization as "[o]ne hundred percent of all contributions are used to help the needy—the Church uses other funds to cover administrative expenses" (LDS Humanitarian aid website). If you would like to donate to this organization an online donation form can be found by clicking HERE.

Whichever way you chose to donate, you are helping! If you are unable to donate monetarily, you could pass along donation information to others. It is about awareness. Don't let these people be forgotten.

Love and prayers.

-Laura

Chocolate Chip Cookies....vegan style

2010-01-07T04:37:00.000-08:00

Show me someone who doesn't love classic chocolate chip cookies and I will show you someone who is completely crazy...seriously. Who doesn't love warm, moist, chewy, melty, chocolate chip cookies?

So, why do them vegan style? Well....the story goes like this....

Serving my family nutritional meals is very important to me, such that I have spent the last year scouring books to find how to serve my family home cooked, healthy meals that don't require me spending more time than I would like in the kitchen.

I found numerous books and internet resources on healthy living/eating that all said exactly what I expected to read; "eat a well balanced diet; low in fat, whole grains, vegetables, white meat and desserts in moderation"...pretty standard stuff. However, during my pregnancy the sight, smell and taste of meat or fish made me ill; anything with sugar gave me heart burn and, eventually, without intending to, we had become vegetarian.

Going vegetarian isn't an easy step to take, even if you plan to do it, so my search for nutritious meals got a whole lot harder. But, I love a challenge! (since then I have learned a lot more about nutrition and about how BAD meat and meat products are for you...not to mention how bad it is for the environment...but that's a story for another blog on another day..)

We loved having dinner guests over so that I could try out a new recipe and see what kind of reviews it got. Eventually, making vegetarian meals wasn't a challenge anymore and that's when I discovered these....

moist...chewy....and...wait for it...

gooey...chocolate chip cookies.

Yes, I know, there are hundreds of different chocolate chip cookie recipes and I had been making the one on the back of the chocolate chip bag since I was old enough to hold a mixing spoon. BUT, these were different. These had no butter, no eggs and no diary...also known as vegan. And they tasted just as good as (and possibly better than) their fatty, dairy counterpart. I was hooked.

So, I am going to save you a lot of trouble and just tell you...make these...your chocolate-chip-cookie-craving soul will love you for it (promise). There is even an option to make them wheat-free. These cookies are compliments of Dreena Burton, who has quite the talent for vegan cookies. You can check out the recipe by going to her blog here:
http://viveleveganrecipes.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html

Enjoy. And you are very welcome!

Cheers!
-Laura

Life isn't perfect

2009-12-14T00:44:00.000-08:00

Just in case you haven't heard; life isn't perfect.

Yeah, I know, that isn't news for most of you.

Well, I have decided that the fact that life isn't perfect is precisely what is so great about it. But, sometimes my inner perfectionist likes to forget and I become consumed by all the things that I could have done better.

That is where the importance of this blog comes in. I plan on blogging about my life as I attempt to keep an optimistic perspective on everything that happens AND try to maintain a balanced life so that I never forget the important things that matter most.

I would be happy to have you join me for my journey; to laugh with me at my mistakes and rejoice in all the triumphs. It's going to be a bumpy ride, but I have never been a fan of driving on the long, flat roads anyhow.

Here is a fitting quote to get me started:
"Make the choice to be happy." - Joseph B. Wirthlin

Enjoy the journey!
-Laura

...and don't forget to breathe

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (wheat-free*)

I've Turned Orange!

Blueberry Banana Whole Wheat Muffins (Vegan)

YW Value Table Cards

A Must See Video

When I am nervous my knees shake...conquering my fear of public speaking

Please keep you hands and arms on the bicycle at all times...and enjoy a Vegan Banana Muffin Recipe

Lucky In Love

Do you know the Muffin Man!?!?

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

Dating Rx....prescription needed!

Warm Chickpea, Spinach and Bulgar Salad

Learning to balance the little things

Why I {heart} Holland

Vegan Artichoke Pizza with Cheesy Sauce

News from Haiti - Ways to Donate

Aid pledges to Haiti

Chocolate Chip Cookies....vegan style

Life isn't perfect