Winners!

And the two winners from my coupon giveaway are.....

DOMESTIC DIVA!!!!

....and.....

LINDSAY!!!!!

Congrats, ladies! Please email me your full name and address, so I can get those out to you right away.

Eat smart,
T.

My new juicer and a mini giveaway! [CLOSED]

No. I don't have a juicer to give away. Hahaha...I wish. Hey, Breville, if you're listening....I'd gladly do a juicer giveaway for you :)

Anyway, look what I recently got:

(photo from the Breville site)

It's the Breville ikon Multi Speed Juice Fountain. And it's awesome!

Yup, thanks to Cashback bonuses and 20% off coupons, I was able to afford this thing.  And summer here (95+ degrees) is the perfect time to get one.  I've only had it a few days, so I'm still on my carrot based juices. I've made carrot-apple-ginger juice, carrot-apple-celery-cucumber-ginger juice, and carrot-beet-ginger-spinach juice. All delicious! The one with the beet actually wasn't as sweet as the ones with the apples. And there's always lots of pulp leftover......I hate to throw it out. But I also hear that if you save it, you should use it up within a day (or maybe freeze it).

In honor of my new juicer, well ok, and because I had several coupons leftover from the NOLA VeggieFest 2011, I'm going to do a mini giveaway today. I've got some cool coupons, from Coconut Bliss to Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seeds, so if you'd like a few, there will be TWO winners! (ONLY OPEN TO U.S. ADDRESSES) Don't forget to leave your email address in your comment(s) if it's not available on your profile!!

Rules:

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment here with your favorite juice recipe or a link to your favorite juice recipe. OR you can tell me what the heck I can do with my leftover pulp.

Extra entries (leave another comment for each, here):

1. Like my Facebook Page AND leave a comment there telling me you want to enter this giveaway.
2. Tweet about this giveaway (include @TanyaTheViolist)

This giveaway will close on Sunday, July 17th at midnight CST.

Winners will be chosen by random.org 

Good luck :)

Eat smart,
T.

Bob's Red Mill Giveaway!!! [CLOSED]

Hiya....hope you've all had a good week. It's gotten pretty darn cold down here....it was 29 degrees the other morning!!! Brrrrrr......at least I can keep warm in the morning with my hot oatmeal :)

Speaking of oatmeal, I've got an amazing giveaway for you. I contacted Bob's Red Mill a while back to see if they'd be interested in doing a giveaway for my readers and they agreed! I've never done that before, but I really love that company. (And it doesn't hurt that they carry my whole oat groats that I MUST have in the morning) Please check out their website and you can follow them on Twitter too!

Look at all the awesome stuff I ordered from them:

AND.....they offered to send me some free samples. I thought for sure they'd be tiny little 4 oz packets or something, but nope....FULL sized bags:

I made the 5 Grain cereal a couple of times and topped it with my usual dried fruit and nuts...but replaced my usual agave with the date sugar.  The cereal is really chewy and has a great flavor. I mean, you really feel like your eating a healthy bowl of whole grains! The date sugar was good.....it wasn't as sweet as agave, but then again, I didn't put on a ton.  I bet it would be good in baking, in place of regular raw sugar.  I'll have to try it. I have yet to try the Steel Cut Oats....but I'm going to make them tomorrow!!

(5 Grain Rolled Cereal)

(date sugar)

I used the 10 Grain Flour in my Whole Grain Bagels and they were great! I still have some left, so I'm excited to use it in my next whole grain recipe! Maybe pizza dough!

Anyway, back to the giveaway.....THREE lucky winners will receive a gift pack including Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Brown Flaxseed, 10-Grain Hot Cereal, and Nutritional Yeast!!!

Here are the rules for the giveaway:

Mandatory Entry:

(please leave your email in the comments, if it's not public)

1. Tell me what your favorite whole grain is and how you usually use it.

Extra Entries:

1. Tweet about this giveaway and include @TanyaTheViolist and @Bobs_Red_Mill (once per day allowed & please leave a link to your tweets)

2. Follow me on Facebook.

3. Follow me on Twitter. (leave your Twitter ID in comment)

4. Blog about this giveaway and leave a link.

Leave a comment for EACH entry (incl EACH tweet).

Open to U.S. & Canada Residents (and overseas APO addresses only)

Giveaway will end on January 31st, 2011 at Midnight CST.

.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Eat smart,
T.

Tasty Bite Giveaway!!! [CLOSED]

A few months ago, the folks over at TastyBite sent me a box of goodies to try.  I haven't even gotten through all of the stuff yet! It's good, quick, easy to make Asian foods (mostly Indian).  And they have a ton of vegan foods!! I did a post about some of the items here. The other day I tried the Thai Lime Rice. Heated it up in the microwave very quickly. I served it with one of my own Indian veggie dishes and it really brought out the coconut and lime flavors of the rice!

So......they sent me a second box of all this stuff, by mistake. I asked if I could give it away, and they agreed. Here's what you'll win in this giveaway:

A whole box of goodies! Here are the rules for the giveaway:

To enter this giveaway:

Leave a separate comment for EACH entry & leave your email if it's not public!

Mandatory entry:

Visit Tasty Bite's website and tell me which product you'd love to try!

Extra Entries:

1. "Like" my Facebook page AND leave a comment there.

2. Blog about this on your blog and leave a link here.

3. Tweet about this giveaway including @TanyaTheViolist

4. Follow me on Twitter

5. Follow me via Google Friend Connect.

ONLY FOR U.S. RESIDENTS!!!

Giveaway ends on January 5th, 2011 at noon CST.

GOOD LUCK!!

Eat Smart,

T.

Tomato Hummus, Sweet Rice patties, and upcoming giveaways

Sitting here with some coffee and freshly baked whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I'm ready to write a post.  And on top of that, it's 78 degrees outside!

Just got back from a friend's birthday lunch (Happy Birthday, Dave!!) at Emeril's.  Will be posting about that in the next day or two.  Back to work tomorrow, for a few days before we are officially off for the holidays.  My goal for this break is to get back to sprouting.  I know, it's a small goal....baby steps......

I had a coupon for an Eden product, and so I bought a can of garbanzo beans in the store the other day (I tend not to buy cans anymore, but these are BPA free).  So I thought I'd make some hummus, and as I was making it, I realized I wanted to make it more interesting than plain ol' hummus.  Here's a recipe I came up with (for some reason, it DOES taste like there are olives in it, but I still like it-I hate olives-S also thought there were olives in it!) Weird.

Tomato Hummus:


1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/2 tomato
2 tbsp tahini
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1 tsp of minced garlic

1 tsp Creole Seasoning (or cayenne pepper, black pepper, plus salt)
2 tbsp sundried tomatoes (soaked for about 10 minutes)
1 tsp olive oil (optional)
1/2 cup chopped/sliced zucchini (optional, but I like it!)
1/4+ cup water for creamier texture


Put everything but the water in a food processor and blend well. You still may have little bits of sundried tomato in there, but that's ok.  Add the water as necessary for creaminess and blend.


I'd like to talk a little more about coffee on my blog, because I love the stuff (as I do beer).  While in Atlanta earlier in the year, I went to Trader Joe's and found this:

It's REALLY good!  I love it...not too strong (I'm not so into French Roast). It's a nice breakfast coffee. And I'm almost out. Booooo. Hey TJ, wanna send me some more?

On another note, I won some great stuff from Lindsay over at CookVeganLover blog during her 12 days of giveaways.  Thanks!! Can't wait to try all this stuff from Lucini:

Speaking of giveaways...I will be doing a Tasty Bite giveaway very soon! That will be a whole box of goodies (yes, they sent me two by mistake, so I'm giving one to you!).  AND....I've contacted Bob's Red Mill and asked if they'd like to do a giveaway (this is my first inquiry to a company about this kind of thing) and they agreed! They're a great company and I just made an order there for my oat groats, whole wheat flour, etc...so check them out, because there will be THREE winners for that one :)

Stuff I've been eating:

(Roasted potato wedges with rosemary and Creole Seasoning)

(one of my Indian dishes, you can find them here)

(this morning's all whole wheat oatmeal choc chip cookies)

(Sweet Brown Rice patties with edamame)

Recipe:

Leftover sweet brown rice (seasoned with Seasoned Rice Vinegar) and Vegan Furikake. 

Mix together and form into patties. Brush on soy sauce.  Fry up in a skillet.

Will be crispy on the outside, but still soft and sticky on the inside.

I think that's it.  I need to go enjoy the warm weather and do more walking, although I'm pretty sore from yesterday's lower body workout! Oh, and of course I need to finish my cup of coffee and cookies first :)

Eat smart,

T.

Winner of my $65 CSN giveaway!!

First, a little recipe.  I made this a while ago....and then I made it again recently, replacing some items.  Did not come out quite as good the second time, so I'm going to stick with my original!  The second time around, I didn't have enough queso, and so I used 1 cup of almond milk and some nutritional yeast. NOPE.  The casserole didn't hold together.  So make sure you use ALL queso and make sure it's thick enough, otherwise it won't hold together very well :)

Cheeezy Broccoli Rice Casserole:

3 stalks celery, chopped or sliced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped

3-4 cups chopped broccoli (small florets plus chopped stems)
1 green pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
5 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups of my vegan queso (or any thick queso)
salt to taste
water for saute pan

In large saute pan (make sure it's deep enough...all of the ingredients are going in there), add 1/4 cup water, celery, and onion.  Cook until soft.  Add the broccoli, pepper and tomatoes. Cook an additional 5 minutes. (If you're going to bake this, there's no need to cook until soft. If you're not baking this, but eating  right out of the pan, cook them until desired softness) Add more water as needed, so it doesn't stick to the pan. Add the brown rice and mix it up.  Add in the queso and mix until well-combined.  Add salt as desired. Spread in a greased/oiled 9x11 baking pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until the top is browned and a bit crisp.  OR eat once combined, without baking!


Remember that awesome soup I made the other day?? Here's a picture. It doesn't do it justice, but I made it twice and it's sooooo good :)

I guess that's it........HAHAHAHA just kidding!

The winner of my CSN Stores giveaway is......

Lindsay: "I follow you on twitter" 

Congratulations!!! 

Ok, NOW that's all....

Eat smart,

T.

CSN Stores Giveaway!! [CLOSED]

Ok, folks....here it is, the ultimate CSN Stores giveaway:

A $65 gift certificate to any of CSN's stores!!

These guys carry everything under the sun, from toys, to luggage, to furniture, like counter height stools! This is a perfect time to get your holiday gifts.  They've got an amazing cookware selection for all sorts of pots and pans, kitchen gadgets, and appliances you could ever want.

Look what great finds they've got:

Organic Baby Rattle

Go Green Glasslock container set

Blendtec Blenders!!!

...and tons more cool stuff.  You'll be stuck browsing CSN Stores for hours! I always am.

The rules to enter the giveaway:

Mandatory Entry: 

Leave a comment here telling me what your favorite (or least favorite) thing is about Winter.

Extra Entries:

1. Tweet about this giveaway and include @TanyaTheViolist 

2. Follow me on Twitter

3. "Like" my Facebook page and leave a nice comment there

4. Add me to your blogroll

5. Blog about this giveaway and leave a link
6. Follow me via Google Friend Connect

7. Go to my music website, find the audio clips and tell me which tune you liked the most!

Please leave a comment here for EACH entry and include your email address if it's not accessible via your profile. Open to the U.S. and Canada only. 

Deadline: Sunday, December 5th, 2010 at Noon CST.

Good Luck!

Eat smart,

T.

Eating Tasty Things

So I ran into a slight glitch with my CSN Stores giveaway. Not to worry....as soon as it's fixed, I will let you know! Oh wait, I just got the email from them.....as it turns out, I will post the giveaway later this evening!!

And while I'm on the topic of giveaways, I will be having a Tasty Bite giveaway next month!

I recently won an awesome totebag and cookbook from Kathy over at Healthy.Happy.Life. blog!

And check it out....Kathy's got her own recipe in there!!

Thanks so much, Kathy!!

On to more stuff I've eaten in the past week or two:

Chocolate Banana Soft Serve with a cocao/agave sauce and crumbled brownies

Kidney Bean Chili

Chocolate Zucchini Bread (absolutely amazing!!)

(used soymilk instead of coconut, 1/3 cup oil, 1 1/2 cups sugar & whole wheat flour)

Cauliflower and Couscous a la Lemon

Roasted Veggies with Tomato Sauce

Green Smoothie for 2 (see below)

Creamy Cauliflower Bake

Brownie topped with Purely Decadent Ice Cream

Green Smoothie for 2:

1 1/2 cups cold, filtered water

1 apple

1 carrot

3-4 large kale leaves

2 stalks celery

Blend in a high speed blender. Has just a hint of bitterness (from the kale).

Coming up: A CSN Stores giveaway, a Tasty Bite giveaway and my Kale and Carrot Salad recipe!

Eat smart,

T.

My CSN product review: Zojirushi's Mr. Bento

So when CSN contacted me a few weeks ago about doing either a review or giveaway, I thought I'd do a review this time, since I'd already done a couple of giveaways.  I always drool when I go to their cookware site, because I pretty much want everything there. But I found this cool "lunchbox" type container made by Zojirushi. And since I already own a Zo rice cooker and bread machine and LOVE them both, I thought I'd try this thing out!

Zojirushi's Mr. Bento Stainless Lunch Jar:

(photo from www.cookware.com) 

We often have to take food to work with us and this looked like the perfect thing to use, especially with the bag that comes with it. It has both a handle and a shoulder strap.  It's very Japanese, in that the containers are all quite small, but we were able to fit my food into the large container and S's into two of the smaller containers. And of course, our dessert fit into the tiniest container! 

All of the containers stack perfectly one on top of the other and are BPA-free (yes, I emailed Zojirushi directly to ask). They are also microwaveable, although I don't usually have access to a microwave at work, so I haven't tested that out.  The bottom two containers are supposed to keep your food either hot or cold (but not both).  My potato salad was still quite cold by the time I ate it, around 3 1/2 hours later. The bottom container is supposed to be for soup, but I just put more potato salad in it.  We don't eat a ton for lunch, but I suppose this would be better suited for one person. Maybe down the line I'll get another!  I was able to put a little apple on top of the whole container in the bag and close it up.  It also comes with a spork (not plastic!). I just added another fork of my own, as there's still room around the edges of the container inside the bag.  And all around the bag, on the outside, there's a pocket (though you can't close the pocket). I put a bunch of little salt packets in there (S loves salt).  You can pack some napkins in there too. And the containers were super easy to clean by hand. They are NOT dishwasher safe.

So I love this thing! But I think maybe I need my own :)  Well we do have another lunchbag we can use, if we need more space, I suppose.  Zojirushi is an awesome brand and they offer a few other kinds of these lunchboxes. So go check out CSN's cookware site, as they have them all.  And ordering there is really easy too. Lots of their items come with free shipping and it's very fast!  Go get your Mr. Bento :)

Giveaways:

Hurry up, there's still time to enter Bitt's Emmy's Organics giveaway, but it ends today!

A Vegan Essentials gift card giveaway!

Coming up: Chocolaty Baked goods

Eat smart,

T.

Black Bean Polenta Bake and more good stuff.

So we went back to work today. I guess the summer can't last forever. Oh well.  It's a busy week and then there's a quick trip to Atlanta.  I'm not sure how I'm going to fit in my workout schedule with this work schedule. It's more difficult because I can't really exercise before I play (I'm a musician, if you didn't know) because it makes me very shaky....so that kind of eliminates workouts/walking before a rehearsal or a concert.  So when??  I can definitely workout on days when we only rehearse in the morning...which is usually at least once per week.  And then on the day off I can do it.....ok that's 2 days.  Hmmm.....I guess it'll just vary from week to week.

No farmer's market this week...

Now for that recipe.

Black Bean Polenta Bake:

3 cups cooked black beans

1 head broccoli, chopped
1 1/2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup pureed/strained tomatoes
1 cup cornmeal
3 1/2 cups water
garlic, onion powder, chili powder, creole seasoning, cloves, black pepper, salt

Place the black beans in a bowl and mash them up pretty well.  They can be a little chunky. Mix in some chili powder, onion powder, cloves (1/2 tsp), black pepper, garlic powder, and salt.  Mix well. Set aside.


Place 2 1/2 cups water in a pot. Bring to a boil.  Place the dry cornmeal in a small bowl and add in some creole seasoning.  Add the rest of the water (1 cup) to the dry cornmeal and stir.  When the pot of water is boiling, turn it down to low and slowly stir in the cornmeal.  Stir constantly for about 3-5 minutes. It will thicken up.  Then turn it off and cover. 

Put the chopped veggies in a large bowl and add the pureed tomatoes to them, along with some garlic & onion powder, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix well.


Spray a large casserole dish/pan with oil.  Layer the black bean mash on the bottom...use it all.  Spread it out evenly.  On top of that, layer the veggies.  Finish by adding the cooked polenta to the top.  It won't be totally flat on top or anything, but that's ok.  Do your best to cover all the veggies.  (Optional: add some vegan cheese on top of the polenta.)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, then turn the oven UP to 400 and bake another 20 minutes.












I guess that's it for today's post.  It's still hot....where's Fall?? Don't forget to see the cool stuff I got in the care package swap!

And PLEASE please please give me suggestions here for good raw/vegan restaurants in Atlanta and Manhattan.  I'm so surprised nobody's given me any.....with so many bloggers in NYC! Times running out!

Giveaways:
Kristen over at Kristen's Raw is giving away a whole set of her eBooks!! Check it out.
The Vegster has an awesome CSN Stores giveaway too!

Eat smart,
T.