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.

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.

I got a VITAMIX!!!!

So here I was......wandering into Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up a 50% off Aerogarden (yes, it's my third one) and what do I see out of the corner of my eye????  A VITAMIX! Sitting on the clearance rack.  I thought it couldn't be.....no way....just when I had decided to go for a smaller blender and buy a big fancy food processor.....yup, there it was.  Sideways.....piled on top of other items.  I thought to myself, "Oh no! The 20% off coupons I have with me say NO VITAMIX!!!" So I snatched it up and brought it immediately to the customer service counter to see if they could hold it.  Sure enough, they said they could, for 24 hours.  I went and picked up my Aerogarden, and asked at the cashier if you can use a 20% off coupon even if it says you can't use it on that brand. You know what her answer was??  You can use it on anything. ANYTHING!  So I   pushed my cart all the way over to the customer service desk and asked to check out there, with my Vitamix. It was on clearance for $319.99! AND I used the 20% off coupon, so I got it for around $256!!!  OMG! Yes, it's the 4500, but that's ok.  It's still a Vitamix :)

Then of course, I brought it home thinking "I'm sure it won't work.  That's probably why someone brought it back."  I tested it.....3 times. It works!

Test one: cleaned it out with warm water and soap, as per instructions.




Test two: green smoothie

1 cup cold filtered water
1/2 apple, cored
~3/4 cup broccoli florets
~2 oz spinach
1/2 carrot, sliced
BLEND. Much better after you put it in the fridge and drink it cold.

Test three: fruit smoothie

1 banana, in chunks
1 cup blueberries
1/2 apple, cored
4 large ice cubes
BLEND. Really good!


Was so excited to share this great news with you guys! I've wanted one of these forever and didn't think I'd ever be able to afford one.

Our first farmer's market back home: baby okra(I knew the season would come), blueberries, nectarines, peaches, cucumber, plums, speckled butter beans, yellow squash, bell peppers, baby pink eggplant, & baby shiitakes.

Stuff I made recently:

"Tuna" salad sandwich out of the raw falafel recipe.  I just added celery, onions, and dill! So tasty:

Same thing, but without the celery and onions, stuffed in a pepper:

My Indian curry dish, with lots of veggies (no potatoes or chickpeas this time):

Cold barley salad (cabbage, broccoli slaw, red pepper, celery, cucumber, & balsamic vinegar, salt, garlic):

Isn't she pretty??? (see below)

Giveaway:
Check out LeslieLovesVeggies for a Pomi tomato giveaway!! I love that stuff :)
MamaPea is giving away a chance to win a cookbook! (can't turn THAT down)

Ok, I believe that's it for today's post.

Eat smart,
T.

Book Review: Vitamin D The Sunshine Vitamin and NOT meatloaf

A while ago, Rick over at Book Publishing Company sent me the Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin book to review.  My husband and I both read it and loved it.  I recently wrote a post about Vitamin D here and we both got ours checked and we were both deficient.  So now we are both taking a supplement every month.  That's the only supplement we take.  This book is written by Zoltan Rona, MD, MSc.  He first explains how Vitamin D works in your body and that, of course, the best source is the sun.  Not all of us live in a sunny location, so it's not so easy to get for a lot of people.  He goes on to explain the differences between D2 & D3 (which I also talked about in my post), one is vegan, one is not.  And of course he mentions sunscreen and the differences between UVA and UVB rays:

"It is important to realize that it is UVA light and not UVB light that is responsible for skin damage, aging, and wrinkles."

I love chapter 4!  He talks about all sorts of diseases that can be prevented/treated with Vitamin D.  It's really interesting and you can easily skim that part for particular diseases you may be looking for, from Cancer and MS to Acne and Autism! At the very end of the book he mentions a few concerns for women's health that can be helped by Vitamin D, including Preeclampsia and PMS.

Overall, this is a great read.  The book isn't too long and is not overwhelming at all....but gives really great information on this vitamin. Go out and get it!!

And now for my NOT meatloaf recipe!! (Don't get scared, but it looks like raw meat)

Tanya's NOT Meatloaf:


1 recipe of my black bean burgers with the following changes:
-add 1 small beet, cut in small pieces and a handful of chopped broccoli instead of mushrooms
-works better with cooked black beans that have been drained well & refrigerated, rather than canned.

Follow the directions for the burgers, but instead of shaping into burgers, put into a sprayed/oiled loaf pan and press down evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  (I have to admit, it tasted much better cold the next day!!)  Serve with BBQ sauce, or any other sauce.....or no sauce :)

We had it with a side of steamed green beans fresh from our friend's garden!

Question of the week: I'm saving up for one of the following two. Which one should I get?  I have a small 3 cup food processor that I use several times a week, and I have no blender, but the blender is a lot more expensive than the food processor.  Not sure which I would use more:

The Cuisinart Elite 14 cup Food Processor with 3 work bowls

OR:

The VitaMix TurboBlend 4500 Blender

Giveaway: Averie's having a Naturally Nutty giveaway on her blog...this stuff looks awesome!

Coming up: American Craft Beer Week celebration at the Avenue Pub!

Eat smart,

T.

A different kind of falafel

I found a recipe for Sunflower Seed Falafel on Hannah Kaminsky's blog: BitterSweet.  It's incredible.  I made it today (remembering to soak my sunflower seeds last night) and served it with some collard greens.  The flavor reminds me of another spread I used to make for sushi rolls.  I ended up eating some it raw, right out of the food processor, because it was soooo good.  In fact, I may prefer it that way.  It sort of reminds me of tuna salad, even though I haven't eaten the stuff in years (so maybe my taste buds are way off).  You could just serve it raw, by the scoopful on top of a salad or something.  And I think it would be great spread on nori sheets, with vegetables on top, rolled up and cut into rolls. I think I might use it for the latter the next time around.

The way I made them only made about 14 balls, but perhaps they were bigger.  Still, we only each ate 3, and with the greens, it was the perfect lunch.

Collard Greens:

Put a little water in a saute pan and add half an onion (chopped), some minced garlic and a little salt.  Cook about 5 minutes until the onions are soft.  Add the greens (chopped) and cook another couple of minutes, adding water as necessary, if it's too dry.  Add about 2 tbsp Vegetarian Worcestershire sauce and cook another couple of minutes.  Pretty easy.


I was going to make HappyHerbivore's Black Bean Brownies today too, but I've made too many sweets this last week.  I better take a break if I want to keep losing weight :)  But, I will make them....eventually.

I realized that I now use my little food processor almost every day! I have a Cuisinart 3-cup processor, which really isn't enough.  It works great when I want to make hummus or another dip, or maybe a small amount of sauce.  But for the falafels today, I had to do it in two batches.  And I know for the black bean brownies, I'll have to do it in 2 or 3 batches.  Am I lazy?  I'd rather do it in one, if I could.  I don't have a blender either.  I'm saving up for a Vitamix.....hehehe....no, I'm kidding.  That won't happen.  And sometimes I use the food processor twice in a day and I get annoyed having to wash it out so often.  I wonder if I could just get another container and blade for it.  Or maybe I just need a bigger processor.  Ok, I've done my complaining for the day. Well, at least online :)

Eat smart,
T.

Bread and Rice

Guess what?  I just tasted my first bread out of my new bread machine!  Mind you, it wasn't quite 100% whole grain, because I wanted to do a test bread....but it was mostly whole wheat with some high gluten flour added.  I also used demerara sugar, as the machine booklet called for sugar.....next time, I might try something different!

The bread is very good.  Slightly crispy crust....although the top of the bread (as you can see) was quite light.  Not sure why the top didn't darken.  I didn't use any oil in the bread. The inside is nice and soft.  And the size will be good for sandwiches.  Oh how I wanted to slather on some Smart Balance and let it melt right on there......but that's not on my current diet.  Well, I suppose bread isn't either, but who's counting??  :)  I've gotta decide where I'm gonna splurge.  I'll take processed wheat (flour) and calories over fat these days.

Oh and I have to say the machine was very quiet!  That's a big plus.

For lunch I made a simple rice salad, since I'd made a bunch of rice yesterday.

Tanya's Rice Salad: 


3-4 cups cooked brown rice (I used just a little white, since it's locally grown)
1-2 bell peppers, any color
sprouts and/or pea shoots
3-4 sticks celery, chopped
2-3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chickpeas (or kidney beans)
balsamic vinegar to taste
fresh dill & basil
garlic, salt, pepper


Mix all together! Done!


I'm not swearing by my measurements either.  So it's up to you.....if you want more veggies, add more.  Pour in the vinegar until it looks and tastes about right.

Well, we didn't get any rain from Ida.  In fact, we didn't get any rain from anywhere!  There was a rain storm to our West, and Ida to our East......neither hit us. Weird.  We got about 30 mph winds and that's about it.  Power stayed on too!

Stay tuned for more eats :)
Eat smart,
T.

Late to Market

Had to work this morning, so I didn't get to the market until almost 1 pm!  Luckily, there was still plenty of good stuff to buy: cucumbers, mustard greens, pea shoots, tomatoes, peppers, yellow squash, satsumas, brown rice, turnips, lettuce, Fairytale eggplants, meyer lemons, and key limes!

Yesterday, I picked the first red peppers off my Aerogarden pepper plants!  I've got 3 plants growing, 2 redskin and 1 carmen....both red and sweet.

And last but not least, my Zojirushi Bread Machine arrived today!!!  Yay!!  I've got a few days off coming up, so I'll definitely be posting about bread :)

Oh yes, I made my order from The Vegan Store and decided on 2 "cheeses": Daiya and Dr. Cow.  I'll let you know how those rate.

Eat smart,
T.