"Bacon" recommendation, Vege hubby(?) and vent about my neighborhood Walmart

Ok, so I picked up a couple different kinds of cheese and am going to be trying them out. I've also found a new recipe tonight so I will have pictures and recipe coming sooN!!

Well, a few changes have, in my world, gone a little crazy. First off, 10 year old daughter insisted on seeing the video Earthlings which has brought her an entirely new perspective. She is now more aware of the things she puts in her body. She's not gone full veg as the pork chops someone made the other day called to her(ugh), but it's a MAJOR step in the right direction. And, you know what, that's not even the crazy part! Let's discuss my meat eating, carnivorous husband who hasn't eaten meat in like a week now!! I mean, WOW!!! And he's doing it not just for me, he's doing it for himself and the world around him too! I am absolutely flabbergasted!! He thought that Vegan food would be yucky, but so far he's been nothing but impressed so we are off to an awesome start there!

Which brings me to a new question in regards to everyone's favorites and suggestions. Hubby loves Bacon. He wants to do this bacon explosion thing he saw on YouTube but we are looking into Vegan alternatives to that.

What would you say is the best Vegan "bacon" out there? While I'm asking, what about the "sausage"? These are 2 things that even back in the day I could only eat if I was "in the mood" so I am not the best judge on this. If you have ideas and comments on the different varieties, that would be great. I could pick up a couple different ones and he can have a pre-(no)bacon explosion taste test! And I could post the results right here!

I'm making another trip to Whole Foods in the next week or so(that place is absolutely AWESOME!!). There are so many different things to try. I walk in there and I feel like a kid in a candy store. Now if only the closest one was 80+ miles away, it would be even better. I do have to say that our HEB Plus store(only 40 miles away) has a great variety and I have been pleasantly pleased there. Our Walmart in Hillsboro, Tx(12 miles away) is well, CRAP!! The prices are a good 10% or more higher than any other Walmart within 300+ miles and they have no selection of anything! When asked about why the prices were higher than the Walmarts just 25, 30, and 40 miles away, the guy flat out told me(his words) that they have no competition and therefore will charge whatever they want. So much for being super! They can kiss my butt. The money I save by driving a half hour rather than 10 minutes beats having to deal with that jack@$$ and his screwed up way of thinking!! How exactly is that going to bring him customers? I've made it my life goal to send everyone to Waco, Corsicana, or Cleburne instead of Hillsboro. At one point, regular milk there was $4.50 a gallon and everywhere else in our radius was $2.29 or $1.99. At the time, milk was a major deal for us, going thru 2 gallons a day. Now we have milk for some, soymilk for some, and you know what?!? Hillsboro, Tx Walmart isn't going to be profiting in any way as we bought that in WACO!! So, HAH!!! Someone needs to tell that guy to get with the program!

Wow, not sure where that vent came from, but boy do I feel better! HEHE!

Back to work. I've got several clients that one things done TODAY!!

Talk to you soon. Till then, Live, Laugh, and Love

Cheese please?

Ok, so since removing myself from the whole meat eating fiasco some people prefer, I have actually never felt better. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. I may only be one person but how much meat does one person generally eat in their lifetime? The only answer is TOO MUCH! Myself and my vegetarian 3 yr old will do what we can to fight for the rights of everything living thing on this planet(minus the fly that kept trying to land on my eyeball this morning and refused to go out the window and eventually committed suicide by vegan").

So, I'm on a quest and I need people's suggestions. I have always been a big huge cheese person and that is still my big weakness. My question to my readers is what kind of Vegan cheese do you prefer and why? I have done a lot of research and there are so many different kinds and different styles and I am at a loss.

Any help on this would be a huge deal for me! Also, any recipes you want to share would be great too! I'm fighting a strong desire to cook knowing that today I just don't have time with things to do for my clients and the Fall Festival for the kids at school and my house needs a major cleaning, but hey, I WANT TO COOK! Don't I always get what I want? Well, no, but I can try. :)

Ok, there are phone calls to be made and things to be cleaned and I still have to figure out what I am wearing tonight so I will end this here. But be assured that I will be doing some cooking tomorrow and pictures will follow! You've been warned! LOL

I look forward to hearing from you!

Till then, Live, Laugh, and Love!!
Amy

Late as usual

Ok, well, so of course I'm getting a late start to my posting for the Vegan Mofo 2009! It's what I do, don't ya know! LOL.

Ok, well, the last few weeks for my family have been quite interesting. They are not taking to the idea of going Vegan well at all. I get the doesn't this burger look good thing or "mmmm, meat!" alot. That's partially my fault as I can't bring myself to show the kids the Earthlings video. It affected me so much but they are young. Are they too young? I know that it would be good for them to see, but at what age do you show something like that? Particularly to a bunch of omnivores who have really known no other way?

My husband is pretty much a lost cause. He says that he has no problem with it and will eat whatever I fix, but to not expect him to run out to the Arby's. We went to Chipotle the other day and here I am ordering a vege burrito and Mr I-Have-No-Respect walks up to the poor little girl and asks for a cow burrito. I mean the look on her face said it all. Jaw dropped, sad look in her face, she really truly reminded me of that one particular cow in that movie that stays with me every minute of every day. I wanted to hurt him. It was cruel and showed how big a jackass some people can be.

I got into a philosophical debate with my nanny's boyfriend the other day as well. Trying to explain things and show him WHY is pretty much a lost cause. He's 19, from a small town, and an Xbox junky. Need I say more? Well, he says he goes by what the Bible says about it. I calmly explained that the Bible is completely subjective and should in no way be leaned on for anything(sorry folks). It was written by humans and therefore in no way explains how things should be for Earthlings. If it had been written by a cow, would it say it was ok to eat humans? NO, it wouldn't. Cows don't eat MEAT!! They do nothing to harm anyone else on this planet! And that goes for most, if not all, animals that the human race uses as dinner! It's something to think about and if I can get just one person to just think about it, maybe I can do some good.

If anyone should have any ideas on what to do about the kids, that would be fabulous. Do I share the video or do I just keep going as I'm going and gradually "fix" things with their diets? What age would you say is right to show that video? I want them to see, to understand, but I don't want to damage them.

On a brighter note, I fixed what the family says was a pretty good meal. See the picture above. It's not the best picture in the world but for being a camera phone(my 14 yr old trashed ours during one of her fits before getting sent to live with her sister). Plus its not the best lighting in my itsy bitsy kitchen but you will get an idea of it.

I just started throwing things in so no recipe to share but I can give you a list of ingredients.

EVOO
pesto
zucchini
summer squash
mushrooms
diced jalepeno
garlic
splash of italian dressing
splash of tabasco
whatever pasta you prefer

Do whatever you like with the ingredients. Want more of something, add it. Want none of something? Remove it. I was just throwing in what was in the fridge. I like to experiment. Will I be able to get it "just right" ever again? Probably not but that leads to more experimenting! :)

Well, I have a couple of tests to take for school so I best be getting to that. Plus I have no idea what we are having for dinner yet and I've got a few things to do for clients so I'd best be getting to it.

Till next time, LIVE, LAUGH, and LOVE to the fullest!
Amy