Wedding Menu

Our wedding is less than two weeks away! Ben and I are getting pretty excited to see everyone and to have the entire week to spend with family and friends. AND, duh, we are excited for the wedding itself! Oh, and of course, the FOOD. This post is all about the food. To save money, Ben and I decided to make everything ourselves or ask family members to help. The only thing that will be made by someone else are the chocolate covered almonds and the cupcakes, which we are getting from City Cakes. It's going to be a crazy week of cooking!

Ceremony Luncheon

Tempeh chicken salad sandwiches

Garbanzo tuna sandwiches

Veggie sandwiches

PB and J sandwiches (for the kids)

Green salad

Fruit salad

Chips and Salsa

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Vanilla cake with vanilla frosting

Sparkling juice

Reception Dessert Buffet

Chocolate cake balls coated in semi-sweet chocolate

Vanilla cake balls coated in white chocolate

Chocolate cupcakes with butter cream frosting

Vanilla cupcakes with butter cream frosting

Orange poppyseed cupcakes with raspberry butter cream frosting

Chocolate covered almonds

Almond butter blondies

Rice crispies

Chocolate chip cookies

Snickerdoodles

Lemon and lime water

City Dogs in Salt Lake City, Utah and an Afternoon Out

Ci-tay Dawwwwwwwgs! City Dogs, a local all-vegetarian hot dog cart, just got its name out big time by making it on to Peta's list of the Top Five Veggie Dogs. CONGRATS City Dogs! Awesome! In tribute to their awesome achievement, Ben and I decided to drop by and visit on a trip to Salt Lake City to get my hair cut yesterday afternoon. Surprisingly, Ben and I have NEVER been there before. I know, I know, crazy. The thing is they are open exactly when I am always at work or when Ben is at school. So we finally went.

I got the chili cheese dog with vegan chili and Daiya...

...and Ben got the Italian sausage dog which he topped with sauerkraut and mustard.

We also wanted to get a side of potato salad, but they were out so we opted for chili instead.

It was such a fantastic day to be outside, so we sat down near the cart and ate our food in the shade.

In the end, I would have to give City Dogs a 3/5. I really hate to do anything less than 4/5 since they are an awesome local food stand run by a cool dude, but I just wasn't that impressed with the food. I thought the dogs were pretty plain. I am really surprised that Cyber Dogs in Seattle (which is AWESOME) only got an honorable mention and City Dogs made it into the top 5. That being said, next time I am in Salt Lake in the afternoon and want a cheap lunch, I am probably doing to drop by City Dogs again :)

After our visit to City Dogs, we still had some time before my hair cut appointment so we decided to waste time at one of our favorite places in the world, City Cakes.

Here is me, pre-hair cut! Look at those loooong locks. (After hair cut pic to come soon.)

Ben and I weren't too hungry since we had just eaten our hot dogs, so we shared a piece of cheesecake. We have tried most of the things on their menu, but this was a first for the cheesecake. We both enjoyed it immensely :) Though, the blackberry and little dot of frosting on the top really didn't belong.

Easy Meals

Below are some of my all-time favorite easy meals.

Roasted vegetables with Tofurkey Italian sausage. Divine, and so easy. Basically I just chop carrots, an eggplant, zucchinis, and baby portobello mushrooms and toss them in a little oil and a ton of spices. I bake them at 350 until they are softened and then chop up a Tofurkey Italian sausage and throw it on top and broil for 5-10 minutes until it is crispy. YUM.

The 'Mexican plate.' Basically all I do is heat up some re-fried beans with a little water and nutritional yeast, saute some bell peppers and onions in spices and some tamari, and then plate it with some pre-made guacamole and salsa. YUM.

Recent Things

Life update!

First off, we got three little tomato seedlings from my mom. She started them a few months ago in her house and then we transplanted them into pots on our porch last week. Hopefully in a month or so we will have a couple of tomatoes! We want to get a planter box eventually, but for now these pots from our collection in the garage will do. And just in case you were wondering--that's Daggett in the background.

Next, wedding presents! I am seriously LOVING the amount of stuff we have been getting in the mail lately. I am going to have to do a wedding present post some time soon, but a recent highlight is a huge griddle we got. MASSIVE. So far we have made pancakes two times. First, regular pancakes with tofu bacon (we also got a tofu press, btw!!). Second, chocolate chunk pancakes with salsa tofu scramble. YUM. I am IN LOVE with this griddle.

Minty Chocolate Cookies

About two weeks ago, Ben and I made Mipa's (from Alien's Day Out, a blog I completely adore) minty chocolate cookies. She makes all kinds of treats and this is the first recipe I have tried of hers. I have to say I was a little disappointed. Though I still love her and her blog, these cookies were just not my cup of tea. The chocolate cookie was bland and not sweet enough, and drizzling them with frosting like she suggested didn't help. I think that if they were sweeter, I would like them a lot more. They were pretty cute though!

Buuuut in the end I ate them like in the picture below--COVERED in frosting. It helped the not-enough-sugar problem, but the chocolate taste just wasn't there.

Trip to Rochester, New York

This is the big, over-arching post that chronologes my entire trip to Rochester. As most of you who follow my blog know, almost two weeks ago I traveled to Rochester, NY on a business trip for four days. Highlights of the trip include: eating at The King and I, eating at The Owl House, and my long walk around Highland Park and the Mt. Hope Historical Cemetery. Below are links to blog posts about all the places I ate and a bunch of pictures of the trip.

National Coney Island Express - 3/5 stars
The King and I - 5/5 stars
The Owl House - 5/5 stars
Natural Oasis Cafe - 4/5 stars
Eco Bella Bakery - 4/5 stars
Sticky Lips Pit BBQ - 0/5 stars
John's Tex Mex - 3/5 stars
Mediterranean Grill - 3/5 stars

Tunnel in the Detroit airport that changes colors.

Plane snacks. For those of you who don't know, all of Delta's complementary in-flight treats are vegan! I also always get a tomato juice. Gotta keep that veggie count up when traveling!

Tea from Tim Horton's. I hear Tim Horton's doughnuts are some of the best from Ben who used to eat them in his non-vegan days. I had to check out their place, but all I got was a cup of tea.

Frederick Douglass memorial statue in Highland Park

The last of the lilacs in Highland park. Two weeks before I was there they had an international lilac festival. The park still smelled like lilacs!

Entrance to the Mt. Hope Historical Cemetery. Frederick Douglass is buried here! Unfortunately by the time I found his grave it was too dark to take a picture.

Walking around the Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Walking around the Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Walking around the Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Mediterranean Grill in the Detroit, Michigan airport

On my flight home from Rochester, I decided to try something new at my stop in the Detroit airport. On the way out I had stopped by the Coney Island Express, and though it was decent I thought I would try out one of the many other options. So I decided to stop by Mediterranean  Grill, as it was the closet thing to my departure terminal.

I got the toasted almond salad to go (I think that is what it was called) and I was a bit surprised at what I got. I was expecting toasted almonds and rice and maybe some veggies mixed in. What I got was a bed of hot rice and cut up noodles with lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes on top with some kind of Mediterranean oil and spices dressing. It was good, just not what I was expecting. I did like that it was warm and I liked the dressing on both the veggies and the rice. The chunks of cucumber were a bit big, but other than that it was fine.

Overall, I would give the Mediterranean Grill a 3/5. They have multiple vegan options and this one really wasn't bad, but it was nothing to rave about.

John's Tex Mex in Rochester, New York

Jeez, I know I went on this trip like a week and a half ago but I'm STILL not done with all the posts about food. After a very disappointing meal at the Sticky Lips Pit BBQ I went on a long walk through some parks and then was hungry again. So I called John's Tex Mex and ordered take-out and dropped by on my way back to the hotel. I ordered the avocado salad (right), a vegan empanada (below), and a small burrito (not pictured). The guy on the phone was super helpful and walked me through the many vegan choices, AND their prices were super cheap.

When I got back to my hotel I started with the avocado salad. It was pretty plain--just ice burg lettuce, guacamole, and chopped tomato in a deep fried tortilla shell--but not bad. Next I had the empanada which was great. It was super greasy, but I loved the creamy corn filling.

After the empanada, I moved on to the burrito. I had a few bites of it and then I was not only full, but totally spiced out. When you order a burrito from John's it comes with rice and then you choose your beans and four toppings. I made the mistake of choosing both salsa AND jalapenos. Way too hot.

The outside of John's. I stole this from their Facebook.

In the end, I would give John's a 3/5. They have a cool little place downtown and a super friendly staff. They also have a great vegan menu, but it's all pretty standard. Yummy, though! I would love to try more of their options.

Exercise Goals: Weeks 24 & 25

It's been two weeks since my last exercise goals post. Last week I got back from Rochester on Friday afternoon and was dead to the world until Monday morning when I dragged myself to work. I worked myself to a pulp in Rochester and paid for it that weekend :p I was sick all week this week and STILL have a stuffy nose. So, needless to say, I didn't have the best week for working out. 

Last week I worked out once before my trip and then once in my hotel room! I had every intention of continuing my P90X routine on my trip but as I got more and more exhausted it just didn't happen.

I took this week off to recover and yesterday did the P90X yoga routine to try and get back in the groove. It felt good, and I am sore today.

One awesome thing that happened is that I got a $250 Applause Award at work. Go me! Applause awards, however, only come in the form of gift certificates (not cash, which I would have spent on wedding stuffs). So, I was forced to buy myself something and not just blow it on the wedding. I did end up buying two people thank you gifts off of Amazon, which was nice, but I spent the rest on exercise stuff! I am so stoked. I got Brendan Brazier's two books titled 'Thrive.' One is a vegan nutrition guide and one is a fitness guide. I am most excited about the nutrition guide. Though I have been following my personal trainer's nutrition guide for the last month and a half or so, I'm not seeing any kind of results. I just don't think the high-protein low-carb thing works for a vegan like me. But I have already started Brazier's book and I am really hoping his diet can work for both Ben and I! We are going to get on it as soon as the wedding craziness is over :) I am really exited.

I also bought some stuff so that I can do all of the P90X workouts, not just the ones that don't need equipment. I got a pull-up bar and resistance bands. Since money wasn't an issue (gift certificate, hell yes!), I got top-of-the-line stuff and I am SO excited to use it. I even got an extra pair of handles for the resistance bands so Ben and I can workout together.

Sticky Lips Pit BBQ in Rochester, New York

Sticky Lips Pit BBQ is the one place I ate in Rochester that I was actually really disappointed with. I assumed they would have at least ONE vegan thing or one thing that could be veganized because they had multiple vegetarian items on their menu.

Unfortunately when I got there, after talking to the kitchen manager, I found out that nothing on the menu was vegan since everything had either butter or eggs in it and couldn't be taken out (the veggies were pre-sauteed in butter and the faux meat was a mix that had eggs). If I had a car I probably would have just left right then and returned to The Owl House. But I knew calling a taxi to come get me would be at least half an hour and I was hungry.

So after really talking it through with the kitchen manager, I determined that I could get the tofu steak with just BBQ sauce and no grilled vegetables and a side of french fries. He seemed to know exactly what veganism was and assured me that there was no dairy products in the fries, the BBQ sauce, or the tofu.

I got my meal very quickly, but it was small and plain. Basically all it was was a large block of tofu grilled on the grill on one side with BBQ sauce on it and a side of fries. After talking to the waiter I found out the fries weren't even freshly made but came out of a box, pre-frozen and pre-oiled.

Near the end of my meal I decided to check out the BBQ sauce just out of curiosity to see what kinds of nastiness I was putting in my body. I knew nearly all BBQ sauces had HFCS in them so I just wanted to see if my suspicions were confirmed. It was worse than I thought. Not only did the BBQ sauce have corn syrup in it, it also had honey and WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE. For those of you that don't know, Worcestershire sauce has anchovies in it. But, because on the ingredient list it only said Worcestershire, I am sure no one thought twice about it NOT even being VEGETARIAN. One the MENU it said it was VEGETARIAN!

So it was pretty disappointing all around. I think the only thing on their menu that is vegan are the fries, and I think probably only two things are vegetarian. What a joke. The deco was pretty cool and I did like the atmosphere, but I was severely disappointed with the food and the integrity of the restaurant. Plus, they charged me $10 for a slab of tofu and some french fries. Whatever. I ended up going to John's Tex Mex about an hour afterward to get some real food. 0/5 stars for lying about things being vegetarian and for only having fries as a vegan option.

Eco Bella Bakery in Rochester, New York

On my third day in Rochester I dropped by Eco Bella Bakery for some dessert and to grab breakfast for the next day. Eco Bella is an all-vegan all-gluten free bakery.

I got a peanut butter and chocolate frosted brownie, a 'Mound' (coconut covered with chocolate), a blueberry oat bar, and a banana macadamia nut muffin-top-cookie-type thing. All were tasty and I couldn't even tell they were gluten fee!

Overall, I would give Eco Bella a 4/5. I liked everything I got, but I think City Cakes in Salt Lake is better, so I have to reserve that 5/5 :).

Brownie for dessert

Mound for dessert

Bar and muffin top for breakfast in the airport

Macadamia nuts in the muffin top

Recent Wedding Purchases

For Ben

Vest - J. Crew

Tie - Amazon

Shirt - Express

Jeans - Levi's

For me

Necklace - Etsy

Shoes - Alloy