What’s in my belly!

I don’t have a recipe for you today (oops, I do have a recipe for you, just kidding!!)   but I DO have some good eats as of lately!!

There has been some pizza – which has a hummus base, and VEGGIES galore!

I even sprinkled some daiya cheese on top! (I’m totally not used to the cheese flavor on pizza, it was kind of weird)

*drools*

And then there was some OVER NIGHT OATS – I finally jumped on the band wagon.

drizzled with maple syrup and cashew butter!

IT tasted like a runny cookie… in a good way!!

 

Just for the record, I’ve TOTALLY been keeping up with the 31 at 31 post!

LOTS of fresh juice and green smoothies have been drank!

And I’ve been eating TONS of salad, because I am currently obsessed with a new homemade salad dressing.

At the bottom of my salad bowl (without the salad in it) I mix together;

REALY YUMMY SALAD DRESSING

Either 1 tsp tahini or cashew butter

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar or balsamic

1 tsp lemon juice

Splash of soya sauce

A wee bit of either fresh garlic or garlic powder

Italian Spices about a tsp!!!

MIX it all together and then put all the salad ingredients on top… Mix until all coated!

_______________________________________________

Oh and what else?

How cute is my puppy?!!?

He doesn’t like having his picture taken at all…

To bad I couldn’t get him to “smize” aka – smile with his eyes!

 

Anywhoo… Those are the highlights of what’s on my plate lately!! 

What has been the best thing you’ve been eating lately?

Foooooooooodie!

So even though I haven’t been blogging up a storm… I have been cooking!!

All this time in school has made me realize something.   Cooking is my Zen!! 

Here are some things I’ve been whipping up in the kitchen lately… No recipes, just winging it!

 

*Que Jack Johnson*   First there were some banana pancakes whipped up for a yummy breaky!

So awesome!!

Then there was the homemade Mexican feast!!  

Mexican beans, rice, pico de gallo, fresh corn tortillas!! YUM!!

I wrote down the recipe for this stuff, so will post soon!!

This was a yummy meal!! Dave didn’t even complain about the lack of meat!

 

With our adventures to Salsa and Salsa’s in Mazatlan, I’ve been inspired and I made some fresh red salsa!   (full recap of this excursion coming soon!)

And then there was the… Pho Noodle Soup..

This was a meal inspired by a friend at school.  She cooks up the broth, and cuts up the veggies on the weekend, to be ready for the week!! Brilliant.  This one included a broth full of lemongrass & red curry!  SO GOOD and a new staple in our kitchen, especially for those rushed nights!

And yet another bowl of my “mac and cheese” the sauce includes; red pepper, carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, nooch, cashews, garlic, apple cider vinegar and salt!!

And of course my favourite meal of the week (that I have eaten about 5x since)

Sushi Salad!  I AM SO IN LOVE!!!!! It’s fantastic for school lunches too!! YUM!

Well there is my roundup!! Hope you enjoyed it!

I can’t wait for school to be all over so I can cook up a storm ALL weekend long, every weekend!!  haha

I literally have over 200 recipes I can’t wait to test out and about 5 cookbooks I haven’t even peaked in!! 

Dairy Free Goodies (Guest Post)!

Well guys, 

It’s official… I’m a married women!!   Now I am writing this post 2 weeks early, so I have no details for you (yet)!!  Our wedding was yesterday, and I’m sure it was perfect!! 

Thanks to Christin for this guest post!! I love her blog and she just seems like such an awesome positive person!!   (Plus she has GORGEOUs tattoos!)   This is a great post all about dairy free alternatives!!  Enjoy!

_______________________________________________________

Hello lovely DFB readers!  I'm Christin from Purple Bird Blog

I'm thrilled to be guest posting for Jessica!  I am so happy I discovered her blog as I have a sensitivity to cow's milk and try to remain mostly dairy-free (with some goat cheese on occasion), and I am especially trying to stay true to this for the new year as I vow to honour my body better.  I would like to talk about a few of my favorite dairy substitutes.

Earth Balance is a vegan margarine that is an excellent replacement for butter.  I use it on toast, in baking... really in any situation that calls for butter and have always been pleased with the results.  The flavor really is very rich and buttery.  I did all of my holiday baking with Earth Balance and everyone loved all my cookies! 

Almond Breeze is by far my favourite non-dairy milk out there.  I love all three of the unsweetened varieties (plain, vanilla, and chocolate) and use them for anything and everything that calls for milk, from recipes to a big bowl of cereal.  The flavour and creaminess just can't be beat!

The So Delicious coconut milk line of products is just outstanding.  I use the kefir in smoothies and overnight oats, and I use the creamer in my coffee or to add a thick creamy texture to rice, soups, etc.  They have a ridiculously tasty line of ice creams as well, and their yogurt is outstanding. I can't say enough good things about these awesome products.

Nutritional yeast, besides being a nutritional powerhouse, imparts a lovely cheesy flavor that I can't get enough of.  I use it in sauces, to make kale chips, and sprinkle it on pretty much anything.  A favorite snack of mine is nutritional yeast and peanut butter on a sweet potato!  Another cheese substitute I love but don't have a picture for is the Daiya line of shredded cheeze.  It actually MELTS, which is a huge deal to me sometimes when I'm really craving cheesy flavor AND texture.
Being dairy-free is so much easier with all these wonderful products on the market! 
I don't feel deprived when I can eat mashed potatoes made with Earth Balance and Almond Breeze,

lasagna made with Daiya cheese,

or overnight oats made with Almond Breeze and So Delicious kefir.

And a dairy-free post wouldn't be complete without mentioning my favorite pizza, Amy's no-cheese pizza (which I sometimes eat with added goat cheese, but lately I've just been loving it the way it is!). 

Thanks for letting me ramble, and please feel free to check out the shenanigans on my blog including my adventures in cooking, being a massage therapy student (while working full-time as a medical transcriptionist!), and showcasing plenty of ridiculous photos of my two dog fur-children! 

Have a great day, everyone!
*********************************************************************************************************************Christin
http://purplebirdblog.wordpress.com/

Some crazy blogger recipes!

Hey guys!!

So I don’t know how many blogs you read a day, but my average is around 45ish, while I don’t FULLY read all of them, I do scope out recipes and I’ve found some good sounding ones for you guys!!

CINNAMON SUGAR BACON – not that I am a big bacon eater, but hey it sounds interesting!?

Creamy (dairy free) Avocado Pasta – this one sounds amazing!  What could be better than avocado and pasta?

This doesn’t have so many recipes – but a whole bunch of vegan food from a backpacking trip to Egypt! Very interesting stuff!

I’m not just picking one recipe off this blog because there are too many amazing ones,  come check out my new favorite recipe inspiration blog!

Chocolate Swirl Raw Vegan Cheesecake Bars – HOLY YUM! Perfect for Valentines Day! 

Roasted Parsnip Soup (CREAMY with no dairy) with Mushrooms – the picture of this soup makes me drool!

Spicy Vietnamese Lemongrass Tofu – YES PLEASE! This sounds like a fantastic recipe!!

 

And lastly, for a little pick me up today… watch this video, it will be your highlight! 

Thank you to one of my classmates for posting!!

How many blogs do you read every day?!

Do you think you’ll test out any of these recipes?

Tina’s “Rad” Waffles – a must try recipe!

Tina is a very lovely girl, that I used to work with!  She is beautiful, sweet, wonderful and makes the CUTEST babies ever!  And she reads my blog, which makes me love her that much more! :)  hehe

Here is a picture of us when I went back up to the Okanagan this summer for a visit! 

She sent me the recipe “Tina’s Rad Waffles” and told me I must try.

So today, the day I should be madly studying for my Psychology exam – I decided that making waffles (one of mornings longest breakfast foods) was a great idea!
Pour some syrup on me…. 

the babies were insanely good


Tina’s “Rad” Waffles - if you are doing Weight Watchers they are 4 points each! 

I made a few tweaks just because I didn’t have the stuff on hand today… and well I’m in my PJ’s with no intention of leaving, so deal with it ;)  hehe

Here's the original recipe, but I made some changes....
2 eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cups almond milk
1/4 cup canola oil I used 1/2 a 1/4 cup… what is that!?
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce and a wee bit more to make up for the other 1/2 a 1/4 cup of oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract – used cinnamon because I was out of vanilla *tear
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flax seed meal – flax and I are not friends, so I used Cha cha cha chia seeds instead
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup all-purpose coconut flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon agave
1/4 teaspoon salt
Plus I added about 4 TBSP Maca powder – just for fun!

Tina – don’t hate me for having NO ingredients in the house! These really were amazing!
Mix it all together… Spray your waffle maker – and ….
GO!

Waffle making extravaganza it is….
 

Steam and Buddha…. wooooooooooo awhhhhhhhhhhhh

It made 9 glorious, nutty(chia seedy), delicious waffles!
Better than any restaurant waffles I’ve had!

For the topping I melted 1 tsp of coconut oil and mixed with almond butter… drizzle  and then 1 tbsp syrup and strawberries!

Wowsers, these were awesome!  (and guess what?  The coconut flour is SUPER high in protein, so I’m sure these will keep me full for awhile)


And Tina said they freeze well too.

Thanks for the awesome recipe Tina, keep them coming!!
and thanks for reading my blog… it means a lot!!

Now what to make with delicious waffles… delicious fresh juice of course!

Kale, 1 apple, 1 orange, 1/4 beet, 2 carrots and 3 key limes(skin on) wow… those key limes give it a great punch!

This lovely twitter lady gave me the idea to use key limes, and I'm glad she did!!  http://twitter.com/SaywardBC… ps she’s awesome to follow, she has all the details on basically every giveaway out there!

OOOOhhhhhhhhhhh…. awwwwhhhhhhhhhhh

Look at all the pretty colors!!!!!!!

Ok… I’m off, if you see me on facebook, twitter, email or anything of the sort, between now and 12… don’t talk to me…
 
Ignore me completely or you will be to blame for my big fat F in Psychology!  hehe

Ciao… ps… pass this recipe on, because it’s really fantastic!
Jess

FAQ and some embarrassing pictures!

How are you guys doing today??
It’s rainy and yucky here but all is good!

I am soooooooo happy with all the entries to my giveaway!
Still a few days to enter!


I’m also super happy, as I think my new probiotics are working their magic.
Click here for more info on them. 
This is the second time now that they have saved me from ickiness!

I had a few questions asked in the past few days and I decided to answer them on the blog so everyone can know the answers!

Q. What are you taking in school?
A. Right now I am taking Psychology and in September I will be going to school to become an education assistant (short term goal) and one day (long term goal) do my Child and Youth Care degree (think Social Worker, but a little more fun and only with youth)   another long term goal is something in Nutrition, as it has always been something I wanted to do!    Mainly though, end goal is to work with teen girls developing self esteem.

Q. Why Dairy Free Betty if your name is Jessica?
A. I have been asked this a few times, so now is story time!
I went to a super small school for high school, and we had a little “love triangle” going on…
which really resembled the lives of the characters in the Archie comics!
 
So we each got our nickname and went on out way.  
Mine has just stuck over the years,
and I couldn’t think of another good blog name on the spot, so that’s what it is!! 

I kinda resembled Betty back then didn’t I?

Awwh to be 15 again! :)
(Source)



I have been a very bad food blogger the last day or so and haven’t taken many pictures (bad bad bad) But I did have this bad boy for breaky… yum

Sneaky little kale poking out!!  
Kale was definitely my fav veg of 2009…
Especially since I grew it in my garden…
this year I am going to double or even triple the batch!!


I also had more of this yummy banana/chocolate goodness



Not sure if you have noticed or not, but meat hasn’t been making much of an appearance lately in my life?
I am finding that right now I am not craving (or wanting it) I’m feeling really satisfied with what I’m eating…  Not that it won’t come back soon, it’s just taking a little break!

Pssssssst.  Did I also tell you that I am doing a cross border exchange with the
lovely Elizabeth from On Tap Today.
I had sooo much fun making up her little package I hope she loves it!  
Here is a sneak peak of the package I sent her.

I would be really interested in doing another one of these Marchish if anyone (near a Trader Joe’s) is interested!

Just leave me a message and we’ll figure something out, and if there are a lot of you then I will figure something else out! hehe

Last but surely not least… thank for for telling me your silly “make me laugh” stories on the Giveaway post.
A few of them had me chuckling all afternoon!

Here is my question of the day!
What was your favourite veggie of 2009?

Plus I promised you some embarrassing pictures (of my teen years only!)  Enjoy

Orange hair… really?

Ciao guys, have a great night!

As long as my stomach continues to hold up, we are heading for THAI food tonight YUM!!

xooooooooooooo  Jess