Perfection

Yes, you did read right.

Today

was

perfect

It all started with a little family gathering after church this morning. My in-laws decided to get baptized today during the service, so we all headed to their house for some treats and reconnecting.

I had a small piece of my vegan crumble coffee cake and some fruit to hold me over until Veggie Fest!

It was so great to chat with family and catch up. There was talks about the wedding, honeymoon, and bailing husbands out of jail (oh family... let's hope the husband doesn't make it into that category any time soon - hah!). There was also lots of play time with the younger cousins and nieces. I love having little kids around - they make everything so much more fun.

In case you're wondering, the coffee cake went over pretty well! They are actually starting to realize I will not tell them what's in it until they've at least tried it! :) I also came out of the blogging closet a little bit.. I've been discovered. When asked why I never mentioned it before, I simply said "it was my little secret". I'm glad to know some of them have been reading it though!

Mommasita picked me up and we headed out to Veggie Fest!! Veggie Fest is the "biggest, free vegetarian food festival in the country". Now, normally I feel like an anomaly, an outcast, and just plain weird for my lifestyle choices. I could totally relate to Emily today when she talked about her friend's bachelorette party. Today, I kind of felt liberated. I loved being surrounded by other people who appreciated vegetarianiasm, vega products, CSA's, and natural dog treats (okay, you'll see in a minute why this is important).

I was so excited to finally get there! It was raining and definitely chilly when we arrived, but we perservered through the weather and I am glad we did! It stopped raining and when the sun finally came out, it was boiling!

woohoo!!!

 I was very happy when on arrival, we stopped by the Nature's Path booth and recieved tons of free samples and a super cute reusable grocery bag!!

Mommasita and I paroosed for a while before we went and got our food tickets. We each got 10 (1 ticket = $1) and hit up the food booths!

I had my first experience with Indian food! It was sooo good! I never knew Indian food was so gluten free friendly! I won't lie, I really don't remember what this was called, but they were brown rice veggie pancakes. Does anyone know what these are called? Alonside my veggie pancakes was an awesome coconut sauce to dip them in!

i could probably eat you every day

I pretty much got my fill of veggies on that dish, so I decided to try something I had never tried before: fresh coconut water. My goodness, you all are not lying when you say this stuff is good.  I can definitely see how it can rehydrate you after a long work out - it is pretty thick and very refreshing! The woman at the booth told me to come back when I ws done drinking it so they could crack it open and I could eat the flesh. We never made it back though because we had something else really delicious in store!

First, we hit up the Vega booth where I tried a number of their bars and shakes. I've seen the Vega products floating around on the blogosphere for some time now and have really wanting to try them. You all know I give my honest opinion around here, and to be blunt, I was not impressed. Most of their bars tasted the same and I didn't enjoy the vanilla almond vega shake as much as I hoped I would. Am I willing to dish out $23 for a package of it? Sorry, but no.

Has anyone every tried aroniaberries? There was a booth which had some - the stats on them reminded me of acai berries. The man said they were full of antioxidants. I tried one - they were very tart, but pretty good!

Next up was a real treat - Mommasita and I split a dessert from Raw Creations. This was an organic raw/vegan dessert that was aboslutely to DIE for!

Carrot Cheesecake? I realllly want to try and recreate this! That is how good it is! The ingredient list was solid: dates, cashews, carrots (gotta love the veggies in desserts!), coconut flour... It was super filling, but gone really fast! We both enjoyed this a lot!

sorry for the shadow - I was just so excited!

 Do you all remember my big dog Chagall? Well, if you've forgotten about him, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with him pronto! He is wheat intolerant (possibly one of the reasons why I love him) and we are always on the hunt for new treats!

Enter in natural dog treats.

These were awesome - I say this because I tried one. Yes, I did. How could I not? The ingredient list was normal: garbanzo bean flour, oat flour, vegetables, parsley, onion, garlic. The woman didn't even think I was crazy. Conversation below:

Me: So, have you tried these?
Dog Treat Lady: Of course, we make them all!
Me: Are they any good? Can I try one?
Dog Treat Lady: Go ahead! They kind of taste like an italian style crouton!

They really did! Mommasita jumped on the bandwagon after I had one and agreed they tasted good. I even got mad at her for taking the last bite!

There were also Clif bar tastings (the new minibars are gluten free!).

apple pie variety

There was a CSA booth from an organic farm up in Wisconsin as well. I have been wanting to take advantage of a CSA for a while now, but wanted to wait until after the wedding. It comes out to be about $20 per week for amazing organic produce. Am I crazy or is that not totally worth it? I spend more money on vegetables at farmer's markets and grocery stores alone! The husband agreed we could do it! I am pumped! We are "trying it out" for the fall season, but have a hunch it will become a regular thing for us around here!

 We also went to Whole Foods where I got a bunch of loot! I forgot to take a picture - I apologize.

Tonight was filled with simple eating and lots of housework! I quickly ate a salad, sweet potato, and some more veggies.

The husband and I actually made progress on the house! His office is put together, the deck is cleared of construction, and 2 weeks worth of laundry (:gasp:) is finally done. Time to put my feet up and relax! I am currently enjoying some fruit, raisins, and Justin's chocolate almond butter. Where has that crack in jar nut butter been my whole life???

Like I said... absolutely perfect.

Question: Do you ever feel like an outcast based on your lifestyle choices? How do you deal? I definitely do, but I just go with it! I am who I am - people can choose to accept it or not!

PS: I said veg 14 times in this post. I'm all about the veggies! (whoops... make that 15 times)

fact and opinion

Definitions:

Fact: something that is true; reality; something that exists

Opinion: a personal view, attitude, or appraisal

Fact: I have spent 31 hours in the car over the last 4 days, and I have driven 1910.23 miles on my road trip to Savannah.

Opinion: That is way too long to be in the car over the course of 4 days.

Fact: The Monteagle grade mountain range is en route to Savannah.





Fact: Mommasita attempted to take a picture with the mountains behind me. Epic fail.





Opinion: The mountains in Tennessee are the most stunning portion of the drive.






Fact: Coffee is a caffeinated beverage.




Opinion: Coffee is most enjoyed after driving from Chicago to Savannah straight through the night.





Fact: I brought all of my daily essential eats with me on my trip.





Opinion: Although this was a HIGHLY reccomended call on my part (especially if you have allergies, food intolerances), oatmeal is most enjoyed at home reading blogs instead of in a hotel lobby.



Fact: This almond milk comes in juice box size.




Opinion: While great for traveling, it was much too sweet for my liking.





Fact: Justin's nut butters come in fun squeeze pack sizes

Opinion: Read the caution statement above - I agree.

Fact: Cashews and raisins are healthful food choices.

Opinion: It is okay to have gone through both of these bags within four days.

Fact: The Old Savannah Cotton Exchange building was completed in 1887 and was designed by William Gibbons Preston

Opinion: I think many pirates fell down these steep paths.

Fact: Bay Street is located along the river and was a marketplace for many merchants in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.

Opinion: Those cobblestone roads must have hurt riding in a carraige.

Fact: Fiddler's Crabhouse is located along the river on Bay Street in Savannah.

Opinion: It is delicious.

Fact: I ate shrimp on Saturday (::gasp::!! - sidenote: the only reason I am a "vegetarian" is because I refuse to eat factory farmed meat. For more information about factory farmed meat, the book Eating Animals is a great book to read. This shrimp was freshly caught, which I felt much better about.)

Fact: A traditional low country boil includes shrimp and sausage, boiled potatoes, cabbage, and corn.

Opinion: My dinner was better than the original.

Fact: There is a store on Bay Street called The Peanut Shoppe, which is stocked with many different kinds of nuts.

Opinion: If I would have eaten one more "sample", I would have been accused of stealing. This store ROCKS!!

Fact: The sidewalk is made up of oyster shells.

Opinion: The sunset on Saturday night was beautiful, despite the fact there were no fireworks (the newspaper said there was!) that night.

Fact: My trip was short lived in Savannah.

Opinion: People in the south move at a much slower pace than my Chicagoan personality would like to allow.

Fact: We retrieved BIL's (brother in law) children in Savannah.

Opinion: Everything takes 3 times as long with kids in tow.

cutie patooties

Fact: Melissa at For the Love of Health is having a giveaway that ends July 11th!

Opinion: The Lasenza headband and workout socks are by far the cutest things EVER and I really hope I am a winner winner chicken dinner!

Fact: I have not been able to read blogs for the past couple of days.

Opinion: I missed the blog world.

xoxo - time to catch up and then head to bed!!

Question: What is one fact and opinion message from your holiday weekend?