Hi Friends! How was your weekend? Hopefully fun and enjoyable! I have been a
busy girl. I've been
working, and when I wasn't at work, I've
cooked, cleaned, worked out, grocery shopped, ran errands, you name it, I've been
productive! But, not gonna lie, I wish I had gone to
HLS . When everyone was buying their tickets a few months back, I thought
, naw, I don't really need/want to go to that. Travel, expenses, time away from the family; I talked myself out of attending. But, as the time drew closer, I felt worse about my decision and
wished I had gone. And seeing everyone's posts on it, from
Gina, Gena , Gabriela , Susan , Evan , and all the other blogs I read regularly, well,
I wish I had gone. Sigh. Next year. Or,
FoodBuzz in San Fran this fall.
Is anyone going? So instead of chilling in my
hometown of Chicago (I grew up in Minneapolis and then moved to Chicago so seeing the pictures of Chicago was just icing on the
Torture Cake). No HLS for me, but I got
creative with a new tofu recipe.Averie's Green Tea & Honey Ginger Tofu1 12 oz. package of
pressed tofu 1/2 c Honey (Use Agave, Maple, or Yacon or a combination if you don't consume honey. See
This Post about Honey and Veganism )
1/2 c Brewed Green Tea (I sweetened my tea with sugar, but use unsweetened if you prefer; or use black, white, oolong tea. Or
use Kombucha in place of the tea.)
1 Tsp Ground Ginger1 to 2 Tbsp Apple Cider VinegarOptional: 1 to 4 Tbsp EVOO or another oil (I use it because it helps the tofu not stick to the foil and also prevents burning and drying out)
Combine all items to make the
marinade and add the
thinly sliced tofu to the marinade Line on a foil-lined cookie sheet
Bake at 425F for about 20 minutes, then
flip and bake for
5 to 10 more minutes. Watch it closely after you've flipped it and remove from oven once it reaches your desired doneness.
Voila! Tofu's Ready!
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container for
Grab & Go Snacks or reheat in the micro as needed.
I find that simply taking it out of the fridge and letting it come to room temperature after about 30 minutes is perfect for my liking. Not too cold and no need to reheat.
Green Tea & Honey Ginger Tofu
The flavor of this tofu is light, sweet, and although I'd love to tell you oh yes, you can totally taste the tea, it really doesn't impart too much flavor. But it's creative and fun and shows that you get really creative with marinades and not be scared to experiment!
If you missed any, here are
my recent tofu recipes: Sweet and Sour Honey Lemon Tofu Sesame Ginger Maple Tofu Mango Ginger Maple Tofu Pumpkin Honey Tofu The texture on this tofu was almost bread-like because I first froze the tofu, then thawed and pressed it before baking. Pumpkin "Bread" anyone?Everything is in my Newly Updated & promise to maintain it Recipes Tab From my Last Post...Thanks for the compliments on my
Progress Pictures ! You guys are too kind!
To see my Progress spanning the past 5 months or so, Click Here And I am glad to hear that most of you don't feel the need to make
extreme changes to your dietary or exercise choices just to
accomplish something from looking good in a
wedding dress to losing the baby weight to looking good in a
swimsuit on vacation. Yes, I think if we're honest,
most of us have done some of that in our past from time to time, but as we
grow, learn, mature, we realize
healthy is about doing something for life. Not doing something as a
fad or something
over the top that will cause
unhealthy repercussions later from physical symptoms to emotional fallout.
Sacrifice and goals are great! I am all about
setting a goal and doing what it takes to achieve it, but I
won't compromise my principles, dietary, exercise, veganism , my values as a whole , just to get there. Glad to hear
most of you are on the same page! And if you're not there yet and you're still trapped in an unhealthy cycle or are doing things that you know probably aren't good for you, just be patient with yourself and allow yourself the space to heal, change, grow, and transform. It will happen!And I had told you that I was in the midst of
re-doing Skylar's room . It sounds like there's a
love-hate relationship with Ikea . You
love the prices but hate the overwhelming nature of the
Big Box Retail Chaos and
lack of help. I totally agree!
Talk about
duvet and bedroom furnishings overload! The beauty of my timing in her
room makeover is that it's
back to college time and there are
tons of inexpensive bed-in-a-bag options right now at Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Over the weekend, I found these
pillows for $2.54 each at Target. I got 3. You can never have too many pillows.
Although I am a down pillow only girl and sleep with 8 pillows on the bed, yes, overload and I love it, these are perfect inexpensive kiddie pillows.
And of course, had to get the
waterproof mattress pad cover.She's not prone to accidents but she's only 3 so I'd rather be safe than cleaning pee off a brand new mattress sorry!
Dessert: No Bake Vegan Chocolate-Coconut-Chia-Oat Dessert Squares/Energy Bars These
just take a few minutes to whip up.
Freeze them and enjoy!
And if you don't have chia seeds, not a biggie, just use another seed or omit the seeds entirely. Topped with Powdered Sugar
Gym & Weights Workout Today From
This Tab :
Triceps/Biceps/Back and Abs. Used my Home Gym/FreeWeights & Bowflex Did
Abs with my
Exercise Balls from This Post Tip of the Day: My
Give Away for 3 Boxes of Cereal Many of their cereals are Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan, and of course, Healthy!
Questions1. Best Thing You Did or Ate this Weekend?Me = Time with the family, being super productive and getting a lot done.
2. How many pillows do you sleep on?As I said, I am a
pillow lover! There are
8 on the bed right now.
The softer, puffier, fluffier, and more I have, the better. They must be
feather pillows, too.
I have different types of pillows ranging from more feathers to more down and vice versa. I told you, I love pillows!
3. For the bloggers,
why didn't you go to HLS (I am assuming since only 200 people went) the vast majority of you didn't go. Was it
lack of money, time, planning, having a
new blog and not even knowing
you wanted to go? Or maybe you simply had
no desire to go? I admit, the #1 reason I didn't go was that I have heard from a variety of sources that these types of events turn into an estrogen-filled
popularity contest. I will just be blunt. I have heard there are
cliques and some
Mean Girls and some girls who think they are
all that and that there can be excess
drama. I mean, getting 195 women together and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize it could become a little bit over the top, quickly. I guess I didn't want to pay money and spend time traveling to something that reminded me of being
excluded from the 7th Grade Lunch table so I didn't go. But, I wish I had.
Did you consider going? Why or Why Not?4. Is anyone strongly considering
Food Buzz in San Fran this year, November 5-7th?
I am
considering it, but would love to hear who definitely plans to go as well!
5. Most "exotic" or creative marinade you've ever made or used?I'm kinda impressed by my use of Green Tea and tofu...haha! Do you have any
especially creative marinades or any old standby's?6. Do you make choices that you "regret"? Any major ones that come to mind?I admit, I
hate the word regret. It imparts a negative connotation for me. Rather than regretting something, I like to think that I made the
best decision I could have with the information I had at the time. Rather than beating myself up later on for making the choices I did, I remind myself
I did the best I could and
next time, I will
choose differently if the situation ever occurs again.
That doesn't mean that I don't
feel badly about certain choices, or that it doesn't cause me some
emotional pain or heartache with certain choices I've made in life, but I
try not to "regret" them. Regret and living in the past will eat you up. That stress and festering is not healthy and so I don't dwell.
Do you tend to live in the past, second-guess, or regret any choices? Off the top of my head choices I've made that I wish I hadn't but hey, you live and learn include: my Arizona real estate transaction, moving to Arizona in the first place, going to college in a freezing cold state when I could have gone to Pepperdine, not calling my Grandma more when I knew she was getting close to the end. What are yours? Stay Tuned For Bedding Options and Your Vote...
So instead of chilling in my hometown of Chicago (I grew up in Minneapolis and then moved to Chicago so seeing the pictures of Chicago was just icing on the Torture Cake). No HLS for me, but I got creative with a new tofu recipe.
Averie's Green Tea & Honey Ginger Tofu
1 12 oz. package of pressed tofu
1/2 c Honey (Use Agave, Maple, or Yacon or a combination if you don't consume honey. See This Post about Honey and Veganism )
1/2 c Brewed Green Tea (I sweetened my tea with sugar, but use unsweetened if you prefer; or use black, white, oolong tea. Or use Kombucha in place of the tea.)
1 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 to 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Optional: 1 to 4 Tbsp EVOO or another oil (I use it because it helps the tofu not stick to the foil and also prevents burning and drying out)
Combine all items to make the marinade and add the thinly sliced tofu to the marinade
Line on a foil-lined cookie sheet
Bake at 425F for about 20 minutes, then flip and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes.
Watch it closely after you've flipped it and remove from oven once it reaches your desired doneness.
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container for Grab & Go Snacks or reheat in the micro as needed.
If you missed any, here are my recent tofu recipes:
Sweet and Sour Honey Lemon Tofu
Sesame Ginger Maple Tofu
Mango Ginger Maple Tofu
Pumpkin Honey Tofu
The texture on this tofu was almost bread-like because I first froze the tofu, then thawed and pressed it before baking. Pumpkin "Bread" anyone?
From my Last Post...
Thanks for the compliments on my Progress Pictures ! You guys are too kind!
And I am glad to hear that most of you don't feel the need to make extreme changes to your dietary or exercise choices just to accomplish something from looking good in a wedding dress to losing the baby weight to looking good in a swimsuit on vacation.
Yes, I think if we're honest, most of us have done some of that in our past from time to time, but as we grow, learn, mature, we realize healthy is about doing something for life. Not doing something as a fad or something over the top that will cause unhealthy repercussions later from physical symptoms to emotional fallout.
Sacrifice and goals are great! I am all about setting a goal and doing what it takes to achieve it, but I won't compromise my principles, dietary, exercise, veganism , my values as a whole , just to get there. Glad to hear most of you are on the same page! And if you're not there yet and you're still trapped in an unhealthy cycle or are doing things that you know probably aren't good for you, just be patient with yourself and allow yourself the space to heal, change, grow, and transform. It will happen!
And I had told you that I was in the midst of re-doing Skylar's room . It sounds like there's a love-hate relationship with Ikea . You love the prices but hate the overwhelming nature of the Big Box Retail Chaos and lack of help. I totally agree!
Over the weekend, I found these pillows for $2.54 each at Target. I got 3. You can never have too many pillows.
And of course, had to get the waterproof mattress pad cover.
cleaning pee off a brand new mattresssorry!Dessert: No Bake Vegan Chocolate-Coconut-Chia-Oat Dessert Squares/Energy Bars
These just take a few minutes to whip up. Freeze them and enjoy! And if you don't have chia seeds, not a biggie, just use another seed or omit the seeds entirely.
Gym & Weights Workout Today From This Tab : Triceps/Biceps/Back and Abs.
Used my Home Gym/FreeWeights & Bowflex
Did Abs with my Exercise Balls from This Post
Tip of the Day: My Give Away for 3 Boxes of Cereal
1. Best Thing You Did or Ate this Weekend?
Me = Time with the family, being super productive and getting a lot done.
2. How many pillows do you sleep on?
As I said, I am a pillow lover! There are 8 on the bed right now. The softer, puffier, fluffier, and more I have, the better. They must be feather pillows, too. I have different types of pillows ranging from more feathers to more down and vice versa. I told you, I love pillows!
3. For the bloggers, why didn't you go to HLS (I am assuming since only 200 people went) the vast majority of you didn't go. Was it lack of money, time, planning, having a new blog and not even knowing you wanted to go? Or maybe you simply had no desire to go?
I admit, the #1 reason I didn't go was that I have heard from a variety of sources that these types of events turn into an estrogen-filled popularity contest. I will just be blunt. I have heard there are cliques and some Mean Girls and some girls who think they are all that and that there can be excess drama. I mean, getting 195 women together and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize it could become a little bit over the top, quickly. I guess I didn't want to pay money and spend time traveling to something that reminded me of being excluded from the 7th Grade Lunch table so I didn't go. But, I wish I had. Did you consider going? Why or Why Not?
4. Is anyone strongly considering Food Buzz in San Fran this year, November 5-7th?
I am considering it, but would love to hear who definitely plans to go as well!
5. Most "exotic" or creative marinade you've ever made or used?
I'm kinda impressed by my use of Green Tea and tofu...haha! Do you have any especially creative marinades or any old standby's?
6. Do you make choices that you "regret"? Any major ones that come to mind?
I admit, I hate the word regret. It imparts a negative connotation for me. Rather than regretting something, I like to think that I made the best decision I could have with the information I had at the time. Rather than beating myself up later on for making the choices I did, I remind myself I did the best I could and next time, I will choose differently if the situation ever occurs again.
That doesn't mean that I don't feel badly about certain choices, or that it doesn't cause me some emotional pain or heartache with certain choices I've made in life, but I try not to "regret" them. Regret and living in the past will eat you up. That stress and festering is not healthy and so I don't dwell.
Do you tend to live in the past, second-guess, or regret any choices?
Off the top of my head choices I've made that I wish I hadn't but hey, you live and learn include: my Arizona real estate transaction, moving to Arizona in the first place, going to college in a freezing cold state when I could have gone to Pepperdine, not calling my Grandma more when I knew she was getting close to the end.
What are yours?
Stay Tuned For Bedding Options and Your Vote...