Pizza Party!

Happy Monday! I say that with a smile because I am DONE!!

Moving on.

I’m sorry about not being able to comment on my blog.  Something wacky is going on and I have no idea what?  I’m trying to install a new comment section so I can reply to your comments too, so if you want to comment, please come to facebook!

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By now everyone should know about my love for PIZZA!

The hubby has been gone for the whole week but I was lucky enough to have one of my BFF’s in town visiting and we had an AMAZING TIME!  She kept me busy!

One night we decided to do a PIZZA party and fun happened!

The one thing that I love about this friend – whenever we are together we laugh bunches – just like we did when we were 15.  On top of that, she is a photographer,  foodie and works with kids – so we have lots in common.

Anyways, pizza making was no different – we had a great time!

 

Our pizza’s were very different – but they both looked amazing non the less;

T’s included Italian salad dressing as the base – mushrooms and cheese!

Mine was hummus base – zucchini, onion, mushrooms, artichoke, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes – Herb de Providence.

So good!

Who says pizza with no cheese isn’t good?  When the hummus cooks – it gives the feeling of cheese to the pizza – at least the creaminess!  

This pizza is awesome cold too!!

I’d share the crust recipe (the BEST crust recipe I’ve found) but it’s found on the back of the pizza yeast jar!

Hope you enjoyed!

ps. Wednesday I’ll have up all my Trader Joe’s goodies!  Rumour has it that the hubby brought me back TONS of goodies! SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!

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!

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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/

Grainy Tabbouleh

Ready for a super easy recipe!? 

READY… Set… Go……………

Grainy Tabbouleh

Cook up your favorite grain (I’ve used bulgar, millet, quinoa and even rice)

Chop up a bunch of parsley

A few tomatoes

Some garlic if you like?

Mint if you have any…

Toss it with some salt and pepper

Add in “sour”  - such as lemon juice or balsamic vinegar (my fav)

A little bit of sugar

And for a crunch a few sunflower seeds!

 

Volia!

Easy peasy – and if you can have dairy – you can add some feta which is SO GOOD!  *sniffle*

I ate it in a bowl and also on my hummus pizza!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY for it being Wednesday – the week is 1/2 over!!!!!!!!!!!!  

 

Enjoy!

A red, lazy Sunday!

So I had a knock on the door today...   11am on a Sunday - Guess who it was!!

THE POSTMAN! (poor guy, working so much right now) 

He delivered something super fun.

take a peek inside!!

Lots of Starbucks RED Christmas goodies from Kris @ Iheartwellness! 

LOVE it... so super fun!! 

Inside the little dove package was a GIFT CARD!!

THANK YOU KRIS. you are fantastic!!

What a great Sunday Christmas Surprise! 

Rewind to yesterday.

I tested out yet another Amy's Soup!

(sorry it's blurryish and flashy)

We love Minestrone Soup in this house.

It was full of lots of goodness and very tasty.

I prefer my home cooked stuff, but this was a very close second!

Then I went to Starbucks for another fantastic visit with a WONDERFUL friend.

She was just home for a super quick visit, but it was great as always.

I brought my camera to snap a picture (we don't have one since we were about 16) but I forgot! 

Then I did some last min running around,

with an expectation to pick something up for dinner - FAILED

way to busy out there.

So we ordered pizza!

I got whole grain crust with assorted veggies, no cheese...  Good and pretty healthy

And amazingly enough, it didn't bother my stomach at all !! YIPPEE

Then I packed up some treats

And we headed over to our friends place to play games!

We played this one, so much fun!!

Sorry for the flash!!

A hit for sure, and there were some good scandalous answers (from unsuspecting people too!)

What are your favorite board games?  We could use some new ones!

I've spent all of today just puttering around.  My goal was to clean up my "Zen Room"

EEK!  I'm not even sure what happened in here.  Not very Zen like that's for sure. 

It just became the "catch all" while I was organizing Christmas

Close the door- I haven't gotten to it yet, but I will!

Now I'm just hanging out... with my hot lemon/honey drink...

Watching "Must Love Dogs"

So yummy!

Don't forget to enter the STARBUCKS giveaway! 

I will leave you with some "Holiday Wisdom" from the cup I got from Kris!!

"We invite YOU to LISTEN to your DESIRES and to RENEW your HOPE.

To SEE the world not as it is, but as it COULD be.

Go ahead, WISH.

It's what makes the holidays the HOLIDAYS.

Off to create a gingerbread house with my hunny! 

Stay tuned for pictures!! 

Jessica

Dairy Free Treats and a weekend review!!!

Hope you guys had a great weekend!!    I layed pretty low all weekend,  we tried to go out shopping but my energy lasted about an hour... just long enough to get some treats -  YUM...

I had NO idea that Junior Mints had no dairy!!  YAHOO - that being said, if your allergy is super bad, they may have come in contact with some dairy, so beware.

Candy Canes of course  and one of my favorite treats.   German Gingerbread cookies!! I love them!! I held my breath when I was reading the ingredients! 

Even though I was super tired, I still made some delicious food this weekend!!   

Minestrone  Soup and Cornbread!

 

It was sooo good!!  So soul filling!!  The cornbread was sweet and cornbready!! :)

Then I took most of Sunday off,  we laid on the couch the whole day watching stupid tv shows...

We decided to order pizza for dinner!!  (Yes I can still have pizza)

I ordered a small Classic Italian - ham, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and green olives.

HOLD THE CHEESE... here is what is left over... It was great!

The pizza shop told me one day that they actually use a separate tray for the cheese free pizza's. 

That made me happy!!

 

Anyways, I am finally feeling better, which is good because all 3 of my work contracts start this week and I have my meeting tomorrow about getting my school paid for!   Keep your fingers crossed for me!!