An Easy-Like-Sunday-Morning Type of Weekend

MMMMM... Sunday dinner = delicious!

This weekend was a very lazy, enjoyable one. It is always more enjoyable to be absolutely lazy when your partner has converted to partner in laziness for the day(s). Another wonderful thing about laziness is that you often find your inner kid and try some things you haven't done since childhood or things you wish your parents let you do as a child (like eat froyo for dinner or staying up late playing xbox kinect until the power unexpectedly goes out by a storm...not that either of these two things happened).

Weekend Movie Top Pick: Frozen...this may have been by default (the other movie we rented with our BOGO ended up going nowhere and I don't even remember the title) but Frozen was great and definitely worth watching! After hearing about this movie for weeks at Girls on the Run, I probably should've watched it a while ago. The one benefit to watching it weeks after the buzz was that we had no problem renting it at Redbox! I'm sure if we tried to watch this weeks ago, we'd have to travel half way around the county (maybe further) to actually find it available. 

Latest Style Obsession?: Crop tops! I'm absolutely OBSESSED and in love with them. I'm not exactly sure why I like them so much but I do. Crop tops are so summery and fun and pair nicely with high waisted shorts and skirts. I also discovered that my crop top goes nicely with my London Heart Skirt that I got years ago while studying/interning abroad (*at the time I had a difficult time finding the PERFECT top to go with it). Matching my nails to my skirt also makes me incredibly happy... mostly because it NEVER happens (because, well, I usually have more important things on my agenda than matching my nails to my skirt on a Saturday afternoon). 

Weekend Highlight: When I asked Matt to go on a walk Saturday morning, I was surprised to get an enthusiastic yes! We left the house to walk to our (my) favorite place to walk/run...The Lake! The last time we went walking we saw so many baby and teenage ducks at the lake, but we didn't have anything to feed them. This time, Matt made sure we were more prepared. He brought along his leftover popcorn to feed the ducks. This was something that I hadn't done since I was about 10 at Lakewood park in my hometown. It was so fun to relive a little childhood memory this weekend and I'm sure we'll do this again before we leave...especially because the fluffy baby ducks are adorable!

Just your average duck-feeding-lake-walking trip

Vegan Recipe Favorites: Today I'm posting two vegan recipes that I absolutely love (one breakfast and one dinner) to prove that vegans CAN indulge in yummy comfort foods!

Vegan French Toast: 

Pairs nicely with Coffee and Sunday Paper

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved breakfast foods! French toast was always one of my favorites. So, when I went vegan, I made it my mission to try to replicate french toast. I tried substituting apple sauce for eggs, nondairy milk for milk, and vegan bread for regular bread. The result was that it worked! Try it for yourself:

Vegan French Toast Ingredients:

1/2 cup natural apple sauce (*I always buy the individual natural applesauces to have around the house)

1/2 cup vanilla soymilk (*can substitute other non-dairy milk; if not vanilla flavored, add vanilla extract)

1 tbsp Sugar Shaker Mixture (*organic brown sugar, organic sugar, ginger, and cinnamon)

2-4 slices of your favorite vegan bread (*I used organic whole wheat vegan bread from Trader Joe's)

Vegan Butter

Maple Syrup 

Bananas and Powdered Sugar (*optional)

Vegan French Toast Directions:

-In a bowl, whisk applesauce, nondairy milk, sugar shaker mixture, and about a tablespoon of maple syrup until well blended 

-Melt vegan butter on skillet at medium heat (*for electric stove)

-Completely soak vegan bread in bowl until well coated

-Cook bread on stove until the bread is no longer soaked, but cooked to a golden brown

-Serve with maple syrup, bananas, and powdered sugar

Pittsburgh Salad Vegan Style: 

Can you believe this is vegan?

One thing that Pittsburgh is known for is adding french fries to salads (and sandwiches!) If you've never indulged in this wonderful treat, you're missing out! When I first when vegan, I thought that I would never be able to have these wonderful comfort foods again. I'm so happy I was wrong!

Pittsburgh Salad Vegan Style Ingredients 

Your choice of lettuce

Mixed Veggies (*Trader Joe's has a chopped, mixed container that is fabulous!)

Red Onion

Sweet Potato Fries

3 Vegan Crispy Faux-Chicken Strips (*Trader Joe's Brand OR Gardein Brand, sold at Target)

Goddess Dressing, or desired dressing (*Trader Joe's Brand or Annie's Brand is awesome!)

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Pittsburgh Salad Vegan Style Directions

-Bake Faux-Chicken Strips and Sweet Potato Fries to desired time/heat on packaging (approx. 30 min)

-Mix lettuce, veggies, and onion

-In a small bowl, mix goddess dressing with a tbsp of balsamic vinegar and olive oil to thin out goddess dressing. (*Goddess dressing is pretty thick and can be used on salad on it's own, but I prefer it a little thinner on my salad which is why I add the vinegar and oil)

-Once baked items are done, place on top of salad, add dressing, mix, and enjoy!