Making big strides...

Today, we made the hour and a half drive to the big City where there was a Whole Foods Store and a Trader Joes. I got lots of GREAT Vegan items at Whole Foods! I feel like I have so many items that I really don't know how to prepare or what to make out of them, but I'll find some recipes, I hope!

I really loved the produce. It was FRESH! The tomatoes were red, and not a dull pale orange color, like the ones at the Wal Mart Super Center. (The main grocery hub in my town.) It was pricey, but I finally felt like I was buying QUALITY food that I would actually eat, instead of buying gross, barely edible produce that by the next day when I take it out of my fridge, it's already bad and I don't eat it!

I made homemade pasta sauce tonight, SPICY, I love it, and spaghetti w/some crusty bread I got at W.F. it was wonderful. I was planning on having eggplant with it, but the eggplant that was in my fridge that I bought only a few days ago at the local Wal Mart was utterly disgusting. So, I counted the pasta sauce as my vegetable, as there were lots of tomatoes in it!

All in all, aside from dragging my husband and two kids all over the place all day long, it was a very successful trip. I'm so glad we went. I think I'll be repeating it about once a month, or more, if we have time. We also liked getting out of our little town and feeling more urban for a day.

Here are some foods that I am the most excited about:

Fruit Smoothies in the mornings w/my oatmeal

Clementine oranges for my sweet snacks

Hummus w/Pitas... MMMMM! - also one of my 2 year old's favorites!

Coconut Oil- to make vegan cupcakes and other things!

Some things I bought but don't know what to do with are:

Asparagus- used to hate it, thought I would give it another chance because it is so pretty

Seitan, temphe, tofu (I don't know how to make ANY of them taste good.)

I think I am just going to play it by ear and see what recipes I can find and what looks good when I open the fridge. I usually plan out what I am going to make ahead of time, but the great thing about vegan cooking is it doesn't take that long to whip up dinner! Well, maybe when I have more practice and get more advanced, I'll take longer and make more involved recipes... I'm going to try and keep it simple for now, though. Wish me luck! If anyone has tips for me, I'd appreciate them!

Thanks,

Wannabe