Giveaway Winner!

The winner of my Oh! Nuts giveaway is...



Comment # 38- Elizabeth Jarrard.



Congratulations! Just send your mailing address to my e-mail (sdearborn18@yahoo.com) and I will send it in to Oh! Nuts so you can receive your $25 gift card!



Thank you everyone for entering, I hope to have another giveaway soon!



I'll be back soon with product reviews and food. Bye for now!

Down Candy Cane Lane

Hey everyone. Quick post tonight as I have a bunch of homework to do. I start school again tomorrow and have been procrastinating on all the work I was supposed to do. Oops :)

This may look like your average Banana Soft Serve, but underneath that creamy layer of goodness, is a bowl of Fudge Brownie Oatmeal. Oh yes I did. All I did for the oats was mix 1/3 cup oats with 1 cup water, cook, then add 1 tbsp cocoa powder and 1 pkt. stevia. The mixture of the hot and cold was heavenly and the flavors were just perfection! Chocolate + Banana..how can you beat that?!

On Friday I woke up with a strong urge to make Pizza, so that’s exactly what I did. I used this pizza dough and rolled it into a large oval. Then I baked it at 350* for about 10 minutes. I took it out, added my toppings (marinara sauce, shredded carrots, broccoli, garlic, and tons of seasonings), then baked it for about 10 more minutes. The result was a scrumptious breakfast pizza. The crust was the perfect cross between chewy and crunchy and while it looked thin, it had a nice doughy center. I just might be making breakfast pizzas more often!

Finally, I wanted to share with you loves my new favorite tea. Candy Cane Lane from Celestial Seasonings. At first I didn’t think I would like mint tea, but when I drank my first sip of this..I fell in love! It’s not too minty and it’s got a hint of carob that makes it rich and comforting. I bet it would be delish mixed with coconut milk.

You only have until Dec. 8th to enter my Oh! Nuts giveaway! Click here to find out how to enter :)

Thanksgiving Recap!

Is everyone stuffed? I actually think I did really well this year. I wasn’t anxious or anything and I listened to my body when I was full. I really enjoyed my meal, which was catered by Borrowed Earth Cafe, my favorite raw restaurant. Before I heard they were doing a holiday menu, I was baffled at what I wanted to make for thanksgiving, but I am so glad that e-mail popped into my inbox because the meal was well worth it. I spent the evening alone but that’s okay, I got some reading done and relaxed. I also ate my meal over the course of the day because it was so much food, which I actually liked better than sitting down to one big meal.

First up: Raw Soup. It was fresh, had a lovely texture (smooth with big veggie chunks), and had a nice herby flavor. I didn’t think I would be a fan of raw soup since I love heated soup so much, but this was really tasty.

A couple hours later I had the Kale Salad with Borrowed Earth’s house dressing. Ugh, this dressing is so good, I wish I had the recipe! Its sweet, creamy, and goes great with any vegetable.

The main meal consisted of a ‘Turkey’ Loaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy. The turkey loaf was a little bland but the topping was creamy, delicious, and full of fresh herbs. The mashed potatoes were smooth, light, and had just the right amount of spice. The gravy however, was my favorite part. It just brought everything together.

On the side was a small serving of Cranberry Sauce. It was very tart with just a hint of sweetness. I’m not a big fan of cranberries, but I really enjoyed this side.

And of course you can’t have Thanksgiving without Pumpkin Pie! This raw pumpkin pie was so scrumptious. The spices were perfection (heavy on the cinnamon, loved it!), the texture was very light and airy, and the crust was sweet and crunchy. I’m still debating if I like the raw or cooked version better. They are both so delicious! I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving full of good food and great family!

Don’t forget to enter my Oh! Nuts giveaway! It ends Dec. 8th so make sure to get your entries in. You really don’t want to miss out, the stuff I’ve seen on their website looks phenomenal! Click here to enter!

My First Giveaway!

I am so excited to be hosting my first giveaway. Sam from Oh! Nuts contacted me wondering if I would like to host a Holiday Giveaway on my blog, which of course I said yes to! I’ve received products from this company twice before and absolutely adore their products and their service.

Depending on which holiday you celebrate, you can pick from Hanukkah Gifts or Christmas Gifts and the winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to use at Oh! Nuts.

There are 3 ways to enter:

1. Go to the Oh! Nuts Hanukkah Gifts page or the Christmas Gifts page and choose your favorite Hanukkah or Christmas gift. Leave a comment on this post with the name and URL of the gift you love the most.

2. Go to the Oh! Nuts Facebook Page, become a fan, and post on the wall the URL and name of your favorite holiday gift. Also make sure to write “I am here via La Belle Vegan”.

3. Follow @ohnuts on Twitter and Tweet:

"Win a free Hanukkah Gift from http://bit.ly/6nIsCi Follow @ohnuts & Retweet to enter.  "

OR you can Tweet

“Win a free Christmas Gift from http://bit.ly/537HNp Follow @ohnuts & Retweet to enter.”

I’m also going to give an extra entry to whoever links back to this giveaway on their blog!

I will be picking a winner on December 8th so make sure to get your entries in before that!

A Little R&R

Okay so I know you all don’t want to hear about it anymore but…

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I saw New Moon Saturday night and it was SO GOOD. I’ve read the books, loved them, HATED the first movie, but this one was such an improvement. Better direction, better acting, better eye candy ;) I’m Team Edward all the way but whoaaa Jacob in this movie is smokin’!!!

This break has been so good for me so far. I’ve been sleeping normally, cooking a bit more, and working out more than I do when I’m in school. I get really cranky when I don’t workout so not having the time during the week really brought down my mood. What’s your favorite way to get rid of stress and relax?

Oh my, this bowl was glorious. Strawberry Cacao was the flavor I decided on and I’m so glad I did. Do you ever have trouble deciding what flavor oatmeal to make? I do, all the time. But this bowl included 1/3 cup oats,  1/3 cup coconut milk, 2/3 cups water, cinnamon, 1 tbsp cacao powder, pinch of salt, 1 pkt stevia, 1 spoonful ground flax and wheat germ, and a scoop of strawberry fruit spread. The sweet stevia just brought out the rich chocolate flavor even more and the strawberry spread complemented the flavors nicely. I also loved the crunch from the wheat germ and flax.

Here’s a snack I’ve been having regularly for the past couple weeks. Apples + Cinnamon. It’s insane how many apples I’ve been eating, but I just can’t get enough!

With this dough, I made Mini-Breadsticks for lunch. All I did was thaw the dough for a couple hours, leave the dough at room temp for about 20 minutes, roll small pieces into breadstick shapes, and bake at 450* for 15 minutes. Simple and so delicious.

I also put this monster to good use…

With some Sweet Potato Fries! I also had an un-pictured salad to get some greens into my diet.

Starting after Thanksgiving, I will be abstaining from Orange Foods! My feet and palms are already orange and I just can’t take it. I also think it will let me expand my everyday eats by trying new veggies and new recipes. I’m going to try and go until the end of the year, but we’ll just see how long I last ;) Got to start after Thanksgiving though because that day is nothing without some pumpkin pie!

Orange Balls

Today is the official start of my Thanksgiving Break! A whole week off is just what I needed right now. I was starting to slack a bit and get a little overwhelmed, but it’s all good now. I’m ready to sleep, relax, and get some stuff done at home that I never had time to do.

This morning I started my day with Gingerbread Spice Tea with a dash of Coconut Milk while browsing through Living Raw Food for some recipe ideas. A pretty boring breakfast in comparison to what I had last Sunday…

Pancake Sunday, inspired by HEAB!

I had 3 pancakes topped with almond butter and maple syrup. I haven’t had maple syrup in a very long time (I always use agave) and it tasted so scrumptious! Nothing is better than pancakes with fresh maple syrup.

The pancake recipe is the Banana Cream Pancakes from Eat Drink & Be Vegan. I followed the recipe exactly, except for using gluten-free flour instead of spelt. They were really simple to throw together and had the perfect texture. Not too doughy and thick, and not too thin either. The taste was heavenly! Coconut and banana are such a perfect combination and the vanilla just brought everything together. The perfect way to spend a Sunday morning.

This is a lunch I had a couple days ago, Tempeh “Chicken” Salad (original recipe here, I used HEAB’s variation here) with Sautéed Broccoli. Now, I’m not really a big fan of tempeh, or at least I don’t buy it enough to experiment with it. I bought this on a whim and when I saw Heather’s recipe, I just had to make it. I ate about half of the recipe and wow was it delicious. A little tangy, a little earthy, I would definitely make this again!

I also had some Sweet Potato Fries on the side. Oh and don’t worry, they were smothered with ketchup after this picture was taken :)

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to receive a package from Oh! Nuts. I’ve gotten products from them before and absolutely love their company. The bag of orange balls I received from Oh! Nuts this time, was Pumpkin Spice Malt Balls. Now, I do not know if they are vegan, but I put that aside and just enjoyed them anyway. Oh. My. Gawd. I couldn’t believe how delicious these were! They had the perfect amount of pumpkin spice to them and the layer of chocolate inside was so smooth and rich. The malt ball center gave it a nice crunch and butterfinger-like taste. It took a lot for me to just stop at two! Thank you so much Oh! Nuts! My family adores them just as much as I do so we will probably have to order more for the holidays!

Now here’s someone you haven’t seen in a while…

Bloo! He has gotten so big and is getting a little weirder everyday. Case in point: he decided to sleep in this little blue bin. I have no idea why, but I walked upstairs and there he was. Silly kitten.

I have decided to keep this blog…for now. I’m going through a lot of changes and want a blog to reflect that. I may just redesign this one, or I may start fresh. It won’t be for a long time though so no worries! You can always find me here!

Right now I’m listening to Pandora and eating some soup for lunch (review to come!). Be prepared for more frequent posts this week since I will finally have time. I also have a VERY special meal planned out for Thanksgiving that I am very excited to eat and show all of you!

Old Favorites & New Inventions

Hey chickadees! Are you all enjoying your weekend? I really haven’t been able to relax but it’s all good..Thanksgiving break is next week! Anyone have any plans? I think we’re just many dinner and having a few family members over. Do you have any special Thanksgiving traditions you do? We don’t have many, except we MUST make pumpkin pie!

My favorite oat combination is back in my life. Peanut butter pretzel oats, or in this case Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Pretzel Oats. I just love the salty pretzels paired with the sweet chocolate and almond butter. Makes for the perfect combo. If you haven’t yet, you must try this!

I don’t have a picture of the actual soup, but the Organic Split Pea Soup from Trader Joe’s is absolutely fantastic! Just the right amount of spice, the texture is creamy and smooth, and the serving size is just perfect for one person. Split Pea soup is my very favorite soup but sometimes it’s a pain to wait for it to cook. With this soup, it only takes a couple minutes to heat it on the stove, and it tastes just like it’s homemade.

Another oatmeal combination I’ve been loving is Pumpkin Pie Oats. For this huge bowl (I was very hungry) I used 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 cup pecans, sprinkle wheat germ, and a scoop of Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter. Tastes just like a pumpkin pie, but much healthier!

While shopping at TJ’s the other day, I saw a plethora of new items. The one that caught my eye first was this Ready to Bake Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. It was in the refrigerated section next to the hummus and was only 99 cents each! It’s also vegan and it’s so simple to make. I separated the dough into 8 pieces for mini pizzas or breadsticks. I was going to have a mini pizza for lunch but had another idea in mind involving this…

Smooth and Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. This is the second Smooth and Creamy hummus I’ve tried from TJ’s and I have to say, it’s the best hummus I’ve bought from TJ’s so far. I was going to spread it on my pizza crust for a Hummus Pizza but then…

I ended up with this! I call it a Hummus Puff. All I did was stretch 1/8th of the pizza dough into a long rectangle, spread hummus over it, and roll it up. Then I baked it at 450* for 15 minutes until crunchy and browned. I also had roasted asparagus and steamed zucchini crescents.

Here’s a close up shot of the inside of the Hummus Puff. Layers of soft dough and warm hummus rolled together = heaven! I can’t wait to experiment with more combinations. This was a little small for one meal but it would be perfect for a snack. I know it’s what I’ll be eating for the next couple days.

So I’ve been thinking about doing a whole new blog. It would still be about food and daily occurrences, but I want to add a little fun and clean up a little bit. Maybe get all my recipes together and add some new features. What do you all think? Should I stay right here, or try something new? Any ideas for a new blog name?

Product Review Post!

Long time no post huh? I’ve been super busy with school and everything that I’ve just not had time. Things that have been going on…Halloween was a blast. I went to a party, hit up McDonalds, then my friends slept over. I didn’t eat anything at McDonalds…except a fry *hides head in shame*. I haven’t had anything from that so-called restaurant in about 2 years, but I don’t feel guilty about it. I was living in the moment and one fry won’t kill me.   

I got accepted into California State University Los Angeles! I’m beyond excited to go out there and while I’m still applying to other colleges, I’m so happy I got in. That just makes me one step closer to getting out there!

While I’ve been away, I’ve had multiple new products to try. I thought I would just combine them all into a monster post to make everything a little easier. First up…ice cream :)

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This is Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Ice Cream in Vanilla Island. Bliss is right! This stuff is just perfection. Rich is the first word that pops into my head. It tastes just like dairy ice cream! The texture is spot on and the flavor was full of sweet vanilla. Since I haven’t had store-bought ice cream in a long time, this was almost too sweet for me. But I quickly got used to it and enjoyed every last bite.

Here is my favorite way to eat the ice cream...on top of oats! The ice cream melted into a pool of luscious tropical cream and paired with the pecans and dark chocolate, it tasted like a decadent s’more.

Up next is a product I just bought today, Trader Joe’s Smooth and Creamy Classic Hummus. I have seen this brand around the blog world, but only found it today. The consistency was definitely smooth and creamy and it has a pleasant lemony undertone.

I put it on top of a Salad for lunch today. Included in the salad was a grilled portobello mushroom cap and Tasty Green Beans. The green beans recipe was fabulous. I have never had leeks before, but they will be part of my weekly grocery purchases from now on.

The next product I sampled was from Nutridel, which makes crunchy, gourmet, vegan cookies. This company is great and I was smitten from the first time I laid eyes on their website. Nutridel’s products are 100% natural, contain no additives, preservatives, artificial colorings, flavorings, or sweeteners. They are packed with seeds, grains, nuts, fiber, and sweetened with molasses. They are also low in calories. They are vegan and come in four flavors: oatmeal, flaxseed, almond, and pecan. The flavors I was so lucky to receive were almond and pecan.

The first flavor I tried was the Almond. First off, the texture is glorious. Now, I’m not a fan of crunchy cookies, but these were thin and perfectly crispy. I absolutely loved the chunks of almonds and the almond extract really made this cookie special. It just gave it that little oomph that almonds alone couldn’t have done.

The Pecan flavor was my favorite out of the two. It was a little less sweet, and had a nuttier flavor the the almond cookie. It had the same great crunch and was easy to break apart without getting crumbs everywhere. I would definitely buy these cookies again and I can’t wait to try the other 2 flavors. I would give them two thumbs up!

The final product I will be reviewing is Matter of Flax, Flax Crisps in Italian flavor. I absolutely love flax crisps and haven’t been able to buy them from the usual restaurant I go to. I saw these at Whole Foods and immediately placed them in my cart.

These chips were delicious! A nice crunch, just the right amount of seasoning, and a decent amount of crisps in each bag (I hate when you buy chips, only to find the bag half full!). I ate them plain most of the time, but also used them in salads, as seen in the picture above.

Hopefully I can get back to posting regularly soon. I’ve been having some trouble with food lately but I’m getting through it and staying healthy. I need to get out of this food rut and start cooking again!

Enjoy your weekend! xoxo

Edit to add: Chocolate-Covered Katie is having a “Your-Choice Giveaway!”. You could win a magic bullet..or a spiralizer! Click here to enter. Also, check out this post and spread the love <3

Straight From the Garden

Trader Joe’s Garden Patch Veggie Soup.   

How I love thee. Let me count the ways.

With baked potato and carrot fries.

With roasted asparagus (which was tossed in coconut oil, s&p, and roasted at 425* for 15 minutes) brown rice, and red pepper flakes.

With sautéed kale (tossed with olive oil, and s&p) and a hummus (3-layer from TJ’s) + spinach sandwich dipped in ‘til the bread gets soggy.

I finished 3/4 of the carton by the end of yesterday and today my lovely mother bought 3 more cartons for the rest of the week. I’m officially obsessed with this soup. It’s not too tomato-y and it has a pleasant green taste that is not overpowering in the slightest. It’s high in iron, low in calories, and has 2 servings of vegetables per serving. I highly recommend this soup when you’re not in the mood to make your own. Though I have to admit…this is better than any vegetable soup I’ve ever made!

As you all know from my last post, I’ve been sick since Saturday. It’s been miserable. I was going to go to school today because we had a field trip to the Shakespeare Theater but I woke up feeling gross so I had to miss it. I hate missing out but I’m glad I stayed home, ate my soup, and rested because I feel a lot better now. Not 100% but getting there. Thank you all for your well wishes, and seriously…go buy that soup!

The First of Many Lasts

No captions of the food today, I have something else to share at the end of this post. Just enjoy and if you have any questions about my meals, don’t be afraid to ask! :)

Last night was my last high school football game. It was an away game, and it was pouring rain. The temperature had to be below 40* and in addition to the amount of rain coming down, it was coming down sideways. I had on 4 layers…a tank top, underarmor, a t-shirt, and a big hoodie. I also had gloves on and a my hood up. It was beyond freezing. The rain did not stop all night and I looked like a little blonde ninja with only my eyes showing. We hid in the bathroom during halftime, cheered on our boys, and watched as our team ended in defeat one last time. I might have complained, but I was not leaving. I wanted to see them play up until the last second. Afterwards the boys high-fived the other team and came around to the chain link fence to be congratulated on their great effort one last time. As all the guys fist-bumped or high-fived their fans, we were there offering encouraging words of support while their faces showed signs of pain and sadness. Afterwards we went to a favorite restaurant, cured our empty stomachs, and enjoyed this event for one last time. There were no grumpy faces anymore, only smiles and loud laughter.

Sure I’m sick now, with an achy body and a sore throat from all the screaming I did at the game…but I’m not complaining anymore because those are the memories I will remember forever. Now I’m going to sleep and sleep some more, enjoy your weekend everyone!

~S~