Vegetarian? Oh Look! Bacon!!!

"That's no Fun" or "That sucks".
     The common response i've got when telling my friends and family that i have decided to become a vegetarian. This has been a long and hard decision to make. Even with the mixed "Good for you"'s and "better you than me"'s I've made a firm choice and plan to stick to it.
     This has nothing to do with saving the cows or the inhuman treatment of pigs. This is me trying to be heathy. I've allergic to more things than i care to remember. All the chemical's in meat, the so called 'fillers' don't like me much or i should say, my body doesn't like them. Being sick all the time or not feeling well because of the meat i ate was starting to get old and the enjoyment of eating meat was beginning to be out weighed by the day or two of feeling icky that would follow.
     I haven't gone full vegetarian yet. I am still working on cutting dairy and eggs out of my diet. Once i find a suitable replacement for protein, something else to put in my coffee and a cheese replacement, then i will be good to go.
     I never realized that eating a bunch of raw veggies could keep me as full as it does. I find my self eating much less and i stay fuller longer. The same is not true when i saute' or roast the veggies. Mushrooms, wheat germ, bell peppers and parshnip make a great breakfast saute'. I currently scramble eggs into that a few times a week but i am cutting that down.
     I'm trying out lots of great veggie saute's for lunch and dinner that even my hubby likes! (that's saying a lot coming from a man that didn't eat veggies when we first got married) So, I'll find some super yummy Veggie Saute' and let y'all know about it and how to do it.
   

A little cookie twist

First post in my quest to have a more positive blog. I hope you enjoy!

Some thing most of my friends know about me is that I Never follow a recipe. I'm always adding or adjusting. I love to experiment with food.

Recently I made an all-time classic Quaker Oats Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Of course I tweaked it a bit.

I followed the recipe on the bottom of the lid, but changed a few things. For starters I didn't add the Raisins... this changes the cookie altogether. I added an extra 1/2 tsp of Cinnamon. Then I chopped up an apple into little cubes 

(not looking for perfection here)

(notice my totally awesome Wolfgang Puck Knife)

;)

Fold in the apple bits and bake as normal.

It's also fun to sprinkle the top of the cookies with a little cinnamon sugar mixture right before popping those bad boys in the oven.

The finished product!

A sweet and tasty alternative to an ordinary classic and it only takes a little extra effort!

Failing Sucks!

I'm a trier. I try lots of things. Sewing for example, I love doing it, I'm not good at it. Cooking, love it, not good at it. Writing, I've got this blog, which I'm not planning on it being great, but I had a few other 'platforms' that i really wanted to make even a small impact with. All it ended up doing was making me feel dumb and talentless. I felt how much the world didn't want to hear what I had to say, even if I was trying to make change for the better.

I am so willing to try but I get discouraged easily and give up. I've noticed this more and more lately. Many women I know, especially the stay at home moms, are so craft and artsy and I try to do some of those things and realize I'm no good or no one likes what i do and it crushes me to the point of depression. I'm not saying this to make anyone feel bad for me. I don't even feel bad for me. It's more like I'm made at me for being so stupid and giving up so often. As a women in my mid twenties most people would think that I've found my self and understand me and my own personality. This, however couldn't be farther from the truth. It's almost the opposite. The older I get the less I know about me and who I am. I've been struggling to find my self worth.

The more I dig into God's word the more I feel my stresses about my self fade. I'm quickly realizing how much I need God right now and how much his love and guidance has kept me from depression. I haven't struggled this much with depression sense I was a freshman in high school. Then it wasn't so bad, I had wonderful friends that would keep me in check and help me out of my personal pit of despair. Now, I feel so alone. Away from friends and family that are stronger then me. I'm having to stand on my own, leaning on God and my husband for support. (with our trying to stress the hubby out too)

The good news is my spout of laziness is over and I'm aware of my pathetic state now, I can effectively and swiftly dive into God and fix this. I'm sick of letting my downfalls bring me down.
Here's to letting God determine my worth!