DIY Orange Julius {a healthier version}
Posted: June 17, 2013 Filed under: Food Porn, Recipes ♥, Sweet Tooth | Tags: Beverages, citrus, DIY, Home, orange, Orange Julius, recipe, summer 1 Comment »yeah, I crave mall food every now and then. i guess.
we recently moved the the suburbs which means more mall shopping for us.
i rarely indulge in the trash served at the food court, but then again, i’m rarely at the food court….
however, who can walk past the Auntie Anne’s without wanting one of those damned cinnamon & sugar covered pretzels?
and ooey gooey Cinnabons are a weakness for me ….so good yet so nasty
Orange Julius – it was one of my favorite treats as a child, but hard to come across these days.
regardless, as an adult I am aware of the ingredients in those sinful treats – a considerable amount of dairy and sugar!
not necessarily something i want to put in to my belly…
i’ve seen a few recipes here & there for home made Orange Julius, each one a little different than the next.
below is my recipe, different than the rest.
healthier, vegan, & dairy-free
Homemade Orange Julius
What you need:
- 1/2 cup sweetened vanilla almond milk or coconut milk
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1/s tsp. vanilla
- 2 tsp agave nectar
- 1 cup ice
What you do:
- Blend all ingredients together until smooth & frothy
- Serve immediately.
Dandelion CommuniTEA Cafe – Orlando, FL
Posted: June 15, 2013 Filed under: Food Porn, I am herbivore., Living & Raw Foods, Peace, Quinoa, Restaurant Spotlight, Sweet Tooth, Travel Junkie | Tags: Dandelion Communitea Cafe, Florida, gluten-free, healthy, organic, Orlando, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian Leave a comment »We’ve been there before, several times….. the most memorable time that grandma was with us.
Grandpa always agrees to take me to one of my (our) favorite vegan restaurants ever.
Dandelion Communitea Cafe
^^ we fell in love with the “Tea Of The Day” – a passionfruit blend sweetened with agave nectar^^
^^ grandpa sipped on the Chai Cola which Grandma fell in love with on her visit ^^
{you can see a photo of Grandma & I drinking the Chai Cola in this post}
^^ Soup Of The Day: Mushroom & Potato Bisque ^^
{heaven}
^^ Grandpa & I crafted a Salad topped with banana, quinoa, carrots, broccoli, raisins, and a Coconut Peanut Dressing ^^
^^Chris had the Buffalo 66, cashew encrusted tempeh tenders with buffalo wing sauce and bleu cheese ^^
^^ VEGAN CUPCAKES! Tiramisu & Mixed Berry Marble ^^
grandpa’s new favorite food: oysters on the half shell
Posted: June 14, 2013 Filed under: Food Porn, Love, Peace, Restaurant Spotlight, Travel Junkie | Tags: Cherry Pocket, Florida, food, oysters, photography, restaurants, seafood 1 Comment »When I visit Grandpa (used to be: when I visit Grandma & Grandpa), he always takes me to one of his (our) favorite restaurants, Cherry Pocket. It is a complete dive bar in the middle of a white trash trailer park neighborhood. No, it is not vegan-friendly. It doesn’t matter. I go there because Grandma & Grandpa have always loved taking me there. I have found joy in visiting the place and the food is damn good. Plus, I eat seafood every now and then, and Cherry Pocket has damn good seafood. (blackened grouper = melt in my mouth)
The theme of this post is “OYSTERS.” Chris & I LOVE LOVE LOVE oysters. We don’t eat them often because we are rarely at restaurants that serve oysters on the half shell and they are EX-PEN-SIVE – especially in Chicago.
Chris instantly loved Cherry Pocket when he found oysters on their menu, they were CHEAP! $9.95 for a dozen – that’s practically free! We talked Grandpa in to slurping an oyster and he immediately went for a second, topped with all the fixins – horseradish, cocktail sauce, and lemon. We may or may not have ordered a second dozen.
You see, Grandpa has only eaten sushi a few times in his lifetime, I guess sushi wasn’t so popular back in his day. He said that most of his friends his age wouldn’t even consider trying sushi, let alone oysters. We debated whether or not Grandma would have tried them had she still been here. Grandpa doesn’t think she would have. I do. She was always down to try something new. With 3 of us at the table slurping oysters, Grandma would not have wanted to be left out – she always enjoyed being a part of the “in-crowd.” Plus, she always enjoyed a new experience, (especially the vegan restaurants I’ve taken her to.)
After our meal at Cherry Pocket, Chris begged and begged for more oysters so we hunted down another restaurant, Gary’s Oyster Bar & Seafood House. The food at Gary’s isn’t nearly as tasty & fresh as Cherry Pocket, but the oysters rocked our world. We ordered two dozen as soon as we sat down.
During our visit, grandpa said “It seems like our entire weekend revolves around eating.”
Damn right, Grandpa.
Life is good when you’re eating good.
Day Trip: Vero Beach
Posted: June 13, 2013 Filed under: Love, Peace, photography, Travel Junkie | Tags: beach, family, FL, Florida, Orlando, sea, summer, vacation, Vero Beach 1 Comment »
words of wisdom
Posted: June 12, 2013 Filed under: Inspire Me., Love, photography | Tags: family, Florida, Grandpa, Grandparent, History, inspiration, journal, Photograph, quote 3 Comments »
“Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come. But: we have this moment today.“
These words were found in a journal my grandmother kept, a journal no one knew about until after she {recently} passed away. Page after page, filled with heart-warming quotes of inspiration and good energy. No one will ever know where she originally found this material.
Even though my grandmother has left this earth, I felt her existence in Florida this week. Grandpa’s home is still filled with many of grandma’s belongings including items such as hair products and cute little pink Q-tips. I borrowed grandma’s hairspray and very carefully put it right back in the cabinet where I found it. I used her cute little pink Q-tips in hopes of connecting to a part of her existence. In the refrigerator, I found a batch of candies grandma {attempted} to make and although no one will ever eat them, neither grandpa nor I had the courage to throw them out.
^^ the funeral home put this beautiful journal together, which includes obituary, condolences, and photos. grandpa had a special copy made for me ^^
^^ the Florida sun ^^
^^ grandma’s journal… ^^
A difficult pursuit, I read through grandma’s journal wanting to copy down every page. The words unambiguous, every phrase and quote relevant to what I needed to see. More important than copying the journal, I took on a silent task of preserving each and every word written. Had I had courage, I would have asked grandpa if I could some day have that journal, but I wasn’t so bold.
^^ grandpa also gifted me with grandma’s wedding ring ^^
^^ this is a photo of my grandma as a child with her parents (i can only assume, she was adopted which makes things complicated) ^^
^^ this is a photo of my grandmother & the baby version of ME! ^^
^^ my favorite photo shows my mother, her brother and sister as children – so cute! ^^
^^ another photo of my mother with her siblings and grandmother (my great-grandmother) ^^
“Laugh a lot and all of your wrinkles will move up where they belong!” – grandma
♥
around the web: fluffy cows, an adorable kitten, and more
Posted: June 8, 2013 Filed under: Inspire Me. | Tags: adorable, animal, blog, camp, Camp Wandawega, cute, kitty, read, vegan, web Leave a comment »♥
good material on the web lately, check it out:
Inspired by the book Eat, Pray, Love, Dana wrote a blog about her own journey
Check out the gorgeous photography in the Camp Wandawega Yearbook
Anthropologie does Weddings: B inspired
Ben & Jerry’s will stop using GMO’s
Cute, cute, cute Fluffy Cows
This adorable kitten refuses to leave the bath
How to veganize any dessert
30 of the craziest bridges in the world
♥
a Collection of Citrusy Recipes
Posted: June 6, 2013 Filed under: Food Porn, I am herbivore., Living & Raw Foods, photography, Recipes ♥, Sweet Tooth | Tags: citrus, Cook, family, Florida, Haines City Florida, Home, orange, quinoa, recipe, recipes, salad Leave a comment »T minus 29 hours, Chris and I arrive in the Orange/Sunshine State. Chris & I are going to Florida to visit Grandpa, This will be my first time down since grandma passed away, and this will be Chris’ first time visiting Haines City, FL where my grandparents have lived for many years. Although I am still very sad and wounded by grandma’s passing, we are beyond excited for the trip. (so is grandpa!)
We won’t plan to do much on this trip (besides relax and offer company) but I do know that we’ll eat good and we plan on taking a trip to the beach!! Chris wants to ask grandpa about the “olden days” and I want to share memories of grandma.
Grandpa says he has something “special” to give me when I see him…..
I imagine that he picked out a piece of grandma’s jewelry he would like me to have.
**excitement**
To celebrate our upcoming trip to Florida, I share a collection of Citrusy Recipes that I enjoy.
Orange-Brûléed Grapefruit / Citrusy Quinoa Salad / My Favorite Kale Salad
Citrus Sea Salt / Fresh Squeezed Citrus Margarita / Sparkling Blood Orange Spritzer
