Quinoa Vegetable Salad.

I am generally guilty of eating a lot of wraps and sandwiches for lunch. And of course these things can be awesome (and they usually are), but when I kept seeing this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to check it out. The original recipe comes from The Garden Grazer, and it can be found here. Through this recipe, I also found the blog itself to be wonderful, and I would highly recommend looking at it! But back to this delicious recipe. I changed it just a little from the original, so I would recommend taking a look at both to see which suits your tastes!

You will need:
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
1 can of garbanzo beans (mine was 14oz)
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 bell pepper (I used green because it was what I had at the time)
1 can of corn, rinsed and drained
4 green onions (more or less to taste!)
2 tbs olive oil
1.5 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp dried basil
feta crumbles to taste (omit for vegan diets, of course!)
fresh ground pepper to taste

To do:
Cook your quinoa according to these instructions, if you have never done it before. Meanwhile, make your dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice, and basil. Set it aside. Chop the veggies into small pieces, drain the corn and garbanzo beans, and set aside. Combine everything, including dressing, into a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. Add feta, if desired. Season with fresh ground pepper, and mix again.

I have had this in the fridge for five days now (I just finished the last of it) and it kept just fine. Make a big batch and eat on it for a while. Yum!

Why I am a vegetarian.

I was not raised on a vegetarian diet.

I have been a vegetarian for about eight years. Being 20 years old, that is creeping on half of my life.

I don't have a suavely-formulated philosophy to back up my dietary choices. This post is not meant to persuade you to go vegetarian. While I would love for everyone to go vegetarian, I know this will never happen. I'm not being pessimistic. I am simply noting that we all view the world differently.

While I compare human trafficking (which many of us will immediately label as "wrong") to the way that factory farm animals are treated, you may not see it that way.

While you may be "pro-life," yet have something dead on your plate, maybe you see that as perfectly fine.

You'd never eat a dog, would you? How is your pet dog any different from the cow you just ate?

You may watch documentaries like Food, Inc., and say, "Oh my God, I'll never eat meat again!" Tomorrow, it will probably still be on your plate.

This I have come to terms with.

And I am trying to understand all of this, just as you are attempting to understand the way I see things.

I just think every life is beautiful. Whether it's a millionaire here in the United States who owns a restaurant or two, a child in Kenya who is fetching water for her family, or a mouse rooting through my family's trash. They are all beautiful lives.

I am a vegetarian because I share approximately 80% of my genes with cattle. (source)

I am a vegetarian because it takes 2,500 gallons of fresh water to produce one pound of beef, and over 3,000 children die everyday due to lack of access to fresh water. (source)

I am a vegetarian because worldwide, 60 billion animals each year are processed for human consumption, not including fish. (M.C. Appleby, Ed., et al, Long Distance Transport and Welfare of Farm Animals, Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International (CABI), 2008.)

I am a vegetarian because the "need" (to many people) for frog legs has left our world with 120 less amphibian species over the last several decades. (source)

I am a vegetarian because 870 million people in the world do not have enough to eat, and the US alone could feed 800 million of them with the grain it uses to maintain its livestock used for meat production. (source)

I am a vegetarian because I can't read the facts about how factory farm animals are treated without crying, which is why this list ends here.

I am a vegetarian because those pigs on that truck did not do a thing wrong.

I am a vegetarian because as a child, I was taught to be kind.

Thrift Store Curtain, or Cloth Napkins?

Yesterday, while looking around at our local thrift store, I found a valance-type curtain for 75 cents. My boyfriend Mark was in need of some place mats and cloth napkins for his place, so I hoped there would be enough material to meet those needs.

For the cloth napkins, I followed this tutorial. They turned out great.

For the place mats, I used the same concept to sew the napkins, but used one of my own place mats as a guide for measurements. They are a little thin, as I didn't have a nice fabric to line them with (in the future, I will definitely do that), but I am pleased with how they turned out. I had enough leftover material to make a nice little lavender sachet, too.

All of this for 75 cents? Thrift stores are the way to go.

Now, for an update. It has been a week since I transitioned to the "no shampoo method." It isn't easy, when you're used to shampooing daily. However, I am getting better at it, I think. I've been using a solution of water, baking soda, and a drop of tea tree oil every few days, then rinsing with apple cider vinegar. My hair is really long, so I don't think the ends are getting quite enough hydration. They are feeling very, very dry. I am looking to see if I can find any alternative solutions.

As for my face, the oil cleansing method, so far, is going well. I have not noticed a big change in my skin, other than not having to moisturize as often. More updates to come.

A more natural cleansing routine...

Today is May 1st, and today is the day that I am officially changing my personal cleansing routine.

I've been experimenting for a while, and I have settled on my decision:

1. For my face, I will be using the oil cleansing method.
2. For my hair, I am going shampoo-free.

Why try these methods, you ask? Look here and here.

Wish me luck!

Potato Taco Salad.

This meal is easy. This meal is delicious. This meal is filling.

A layer of small, chopped potatoes (but you could use larger chunks!). A layer of beans. Topped with vegetables. Yum. This serves one, but uses a big recipe of beans, because I like to save them for leftovers. Adjust accordingly.

You will need:

1/2 cup small chopped potatoes (cooked and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little garlic)
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes and chiles
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced or whatever
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tbs taco seasoning
2 tbs orange juice
vegetables to top (I like using fajitas--made with peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.)

To do:

To make the beans, use a saucepan on medium heat, and saute the garlic and onions in a bit of olive oil. Add beans, tomatoes, orange juice, and seasonings. Cook on low to medium heat for 30 minutes or so. Meanwhile, you can saute some peppers and whatever else you'd like for fajitas. If not, use fresh vegetables--it's up to you! Put the potatoes in the bowl first, followed by the beans in vegetables. Dress with sour cream, Sriracha, cheese, etc. Enjoy!

All-Natural Shoe Deodorizer.

A moment of honesty: my feet smell pretty bad... sometimes. Mom has always told me, "If you would just wear socks, then your feet wouldn't smell."

Wearing socks isn't always practical. One of my favorite pairs of shoes is from the Green Toe line made by Simple. Unfortunately, this brand went out of business about a year ago, so they are no longer made. Bummer.

But either way, I love these shoes, and I will do whatever it takes to keep them smelling fresh. Here's my recipe for a natural deodorizer. I put it in a mason jar with a parmesan cheese shaker lid. Saw that on Pinterest once, so I had to find a clever use for it.

What you need:

Lavender, eucalyptus, and tea tree essential oils (or whatever)
3/4 cup baking soda
1/2 cup organic cornstarch (arrowroot powder would work well, too)

To do:

Mix the above ingredients until there are no clumps. Shake into offensive shoes. Leave for a few hours or overnight. Voila.

Recipe Review: Chickpea Bajane

 

(source)

Tonight, while I was over at Mark's place (by the way, we just celebrated our one year this past Wednesday!), I decided to try this new recipe.

How I stumbled upon this recipe is actually interesting in itself. I was at work a few weeks ago, and someone left a copy of this recipe by one of the printing stations. You can find the original recipe here.

I love anything vegetarian, as you know, and this seemed especially delicious, so I gave it a try!

Changes I made:
- unsalted vegetable broth (and I salted the recipe instead, although lightly)
- frozen spinach instead of fresh (so I added it along with the fennel and carrots)
- cooked the quinoa longer (it did not at all seem done after 15 minutes. I probably cooked it closer to 25 minutes)
- cooked the chickpea mixture longer after adding the final ingredients (probably 5 minutes)

Verdict:
This was totally different from anything I've ever made before, flavor-wise. The fennel (which I usually don't care for) was not too overpowering, but in the future, I would probably use less anyway, and more carrots. Would I make this again? Definitely! I will probably tweak it, though, so suit my own liking a little more. It was absolutely delicious, however, and I would definitely serve it to guests.