New Blog Feed!

So I recently took the big plunge and switched from wordpress.com to the self-hosted wordpress.org.

AHHHHH!!!!

Yes it was scary but I did get through it relatively unscathed.

The one huge mistake I made was I inadvertently made it so that my old blog feed didnt’ transfer to my new blog feed.
At least, I don’t think it did!

Anyway, if the new feed isn’t showing up in your reader, please sign up here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/eatrundoyoga/wayG

You’ll know if you are still getting the old feed because you will not have gotten last night’s post on the Extra Life Food Preserver.

Thanks for sticking with me through this!

I’m Still Here!

Wow what a weekend I just had!

As you know I’ve been noticeably absent from my blog for the last few days.
We started our new yoga teacher training program at Flow Yoga and I was so busy both getting ready for it and then teaching it!

So today has been Recovery Day.
I took a long nap this morning,
and then a shorter one this afternoon.

It’s so odd to me to nap in the middle of the day. Especially during the week!
I really had to work at shaking off the feeling that I “should” be doing something constructive.
Even though I worked all weekend!
What is THAT all about?

How about you? Do you feel OK taking a break (or nap!) in the middle of the day?

Vegan Coconut PB-n-B Stuffed French Toast

Oh. My.

I’ve really outdone myself!  

I decided to participate in Vegan Appetite’s Food Network Friday.
The challenge was to “veganize” a recipe from the Food Network’s website for Banana Stuffed French Toast.
We had the option to add or omit ingredients as we like.

In my opinion, what goes great with bananas?? Peanut Butter of course!
AND…I had some canned coconut milk that was leftover from a curry I made a few days ago.
AND…I had a carton of So Delicious’ Vanilla Coconut Milk Beverage (which by the way I am CRAZY about!)

So you see it was a no-brainer.

And thus Vegan Coconut Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast was born!

So how to make eggless French Toast you might ask? There are actually tons of recipes for vegan French Toast. I started out by looking at Vegan with a Vengeance’s vegan “Fronch Toast”  recipe. I had made it before and the use of chickpea flour is just genius. Thank you Isa! From there it was simple.

Vegan Coconut Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast
Makes about 4-5 thick slices

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of Italian bread (purchase this UNsliced)
• 1-2 ripe bananas
• peanut butter (natural please!)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk from a can
• 1/2 cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk Beverage
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• dash of salt (optional)
• vegetable or canola oil
• maple syrup
• toasted coconut (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat over to 375.
2. Cut off about 2 inches or so from the end of the loaf of bread – do whatever you like with it!
3. Cut a slice of bread about 1.5″ wide. Make a slit down the center of the slice  but only from the top going straight down so you leave the sides and bottom intact. Basically you are creating a “pocket” for the stuffing. Repeat for 3-4 more slices.
4. Place the bread on a cookie sheet into the preheated oven. Let bake for about 3 minutes – you want the bread to feel dried out and slightly stale – but not toasted. Alternatively of course you could just use stale bread!
5. Once the bread is dried out, cut the bananas into small slices and place the slices into a bowl. Add some peanut butter and mix around – it’s ok if the bananas get smooshed.
6. Stuff the banana mixture into the bread “pocket.”
7. In a separate wide and shallow bowl, combine the coconut milk, coconut milk beverage, vanilla, cinnamon, salt (if using), and chickpea flour. Mix until combined – it’s ok if there are a few lumps.
8. Pour oil into a large non-stick skillet until there is a very thin coating on the bottom – I used a 12″ skillet and used about 2T oil. Preheat the skillet.
9. Place the stuffed bread slices into the coconut milk mixture until well soaked. Then carefully place the soaked bread into the preheated skillet.
10. Cook each side for about 2 minutes. When it’s browned and crispy it’s done!
11. Serve with maple syrup, sprinkle with toasted coconut, and eat your “vegan coconut peanut butter and banana french toast” right away!

YUMMY!

7 Reasons to Read The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl

I just finished reading a book called The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl.

The book is written about Shauna Reid, who chronicles her weight loss journey over the course of several years.

In the beginning of the book, Shauna is extremely self-conscious, depressed, and frustrated. Her sister convinces her to go to a Weight Watchers meeting, where Shauna faces the grim reality that at just 23 years old she is just over 350 pounds. From there, she becomes a “dieting super hero” and starts a blog so that she can share her experience with others. I think it was also a forum for venting

I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. Here’s why I loved this book:

1. Shauna Reid uses humor throughout her process. Even though at times she obviously wasn’t feeling humorous, she managed to bring lightness into her writings. As a result the book is a real joy to read.
2. Shauna shows just how difficult losing weight can be. I think a lot of us think it should be easy (wasn’t it easy to put the weight on?), and so we get discouraged when the weight doesn’t peel off at our slightest effort. Shauna’s book shows us just how much effort it really is to lose weight and keep it off.
3. I loved seeing how Shauna transforms during her process. In the beginning of The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl, she was very focused on the number on the scale. I also felt she was very focused on herself – worrying about what everyone was thinking about her,  how she looked, her failures in the workplace. And as she lost the weight this really didn’t change at first. It wasn’t until she started really living her life that she began to look around her and see that there are other things in this world besides her. She shifted her focus to being happy and sharing that happiness with others. As she focused less on her self, she started to go on adventures and take risks – to enjoy her life.
4. The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl is overall a happy book. It felt good to read it. There aren’t any murders or tragedies. Although she has her moments, Shauna is constantly picking her self up and striving for a happier life.
5. The book is inspiring. I don’t need to lose 150+ pounds – I’m more in “maintenance” mode -  but seeing Shauna struggle with her weight issues – both physical and mental – enabled me to take a step back and see my own thought processes about weight. I feel inspired to “stay on track” without getting “neurotic” about it.
6. There is a clear message to parents about how to communicate with your children about weight issues. I don’t know if Shauna intended this or not in The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl, but I thought the connection between parental criticism about weight and future weight issues was crystal clear. I hope parents will read this and consider how they talk to their children.
7. Finally, the best part is that this book lives on after you’ve read it! You know how you read a good book and you don’t want it to be over? Well, in this case it’s not because you can keep up with Shauna on her blog. How cool is that?

French Toast: I’d Love YOUR Help!

I’ve been thinking about French Toast a lot lately, ever since I made vegan French Toast during the Labor Day weekend. It was so delicious. I hadn’t had French Toast, much less VEGAN French Toast, in a very  very long time.

So I was thrilled to stumble upon Vegan Appetite’s Food Network Friday to discover that the topic for this week is Banana Stuffed French Toast!

Here’s how Food Network Friday works.

Vegan Appetite selects recipe from The Food Network – in this case it’s the Neely’s Banana Stuffed French Toast.
All you do then is veganize it – remake the recipe without any meat, dairy, eggs, honey – any animal product at all.
And in the process you can add things in, take things out. Basically, make it your own.

So I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head for this.
But I thought it would be fun to ask YOU what you think would make an awesome stuffed French Toast.
Peanut Butter?
Marshmallow?
Coconut?
All of the above?

I’d love your help – what would be your idea makeover of the Banana Stuffed French Toast recipe?

Looking forward to reading your ideas!

Vegan Yum Yum: Hurry Up Alfredo

Today for lunch I made “Hurry Up Alfredo” from Vegan Yum Yum’s new cookbook, called Vegan Yum Yum.

It was delicious! I served it over egg(less) noodles with sauteed kale. It was so yummy I forgot to take a picture! It was also super easy to make – just toss all the ingredients into the blender and whip it up! So technically it’s  not only vegan, it’s raw too.

The recipe for Hurry Up Alfredo is posted on Vegan Yum Yum’s website. I highly suggest you check it out and enjoy!

Why Joe Wilson Needs to Practice Yoga + Recipe Giveaway Winner!

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been thinking about Joe Wilson since his outburst during President Obama‘s address to a joint session of congress on Wednesday night. As you’ve probably heard, Joe Wilson apologized to President Obama immediately after the session ended, which is nice. But I’ve been thinking that apologizing doesn’t really help Joe Wilson to change in any way – you know, to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again. As you may know, Joe Wilson has a history of “outbursts” for which he later apologizes. So to help Joe out, I am recommending that he take up the practice of yoga. I really think yoga can only help Joe Wilson become a better politician. Here’s how:

1. By practicing yoga, Joe will learn how to be present. He’ll learn how to maintain focus on what is in front of him and how to stop letting his mind runaway and make stuff up. So the next time he is “listening” to someone speak he’ll perhaps really hear what they are saying.
2. Joe Wilson will also learn how to maintain his inner calm while being in difficult situations. His emotions will no longer “get the best of him” as he will learn how to breathe and remain peaceful inside, no matter what is happening around him.
3. Most yoga practices encourage students to “turn inward;” to become more introspective and self-aware. I highly suggest that Joe Wilson seek out this style of yoga practice, as it will help him gain insight into how HE is part of the solution or the problem rather than simply calling people with whom he disagrees “liars.”

Joe, I sincerely would be willing to help you with this. Let me know.

OK, now it’s Compassionate Cooks Recipe Giveaway time!

To pick the winner, I used random.org.

What’s kinda weird about this is that there were 22 comments, and #23-25 represented the three tweets/blog posts that people told me they did. So #24 corresponded with Mimi of damnthefreshman15‘s tweet! Congratulations, Mimi! Be sure to contact me with your address so that Compassionate Cooks can send you your recipe packet! Thanks everyone for participating – there will be more giveaways to come!

Happy weekend everyone! I’ll be at DC VegFest tomorrow – yippee!

Recipe Giveaway – Just One Day Left!

Guess who loves the new shrubs that D. and I planted in our yard last weekend?

Rosie is so adorable – I didn’t have the heart to tell her to move.

The Compassionate Cooks Recipe Giveaway ends tomorrow Friday Sept 11 at noon. Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks is giving away a set of five brand new vegan Italian recipes to our lucky winner who will be randomly selected tomorrow. These recipes haven’t been published in any of the Compassionate Cooks cookbooks (The Joy of Vegan Baking and The Joyful Vegan) so our winner will be one of the first people to have them! All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of yesterday’s post about your favorite vegetarian recipe. You can also increase your chances of winning if you:

1. Tweet the contest on Twitter and make sure you mention @doubledogyoga.
2. Post the contest on your blog if you have one – let me know that you’ve done so by emailing me at julia AT doubledogyoga DOT com.

Good luck! I can’t wait to see who wins!

Marty Update

Well good news is that Marty had her second surgery this morning and the surgeon called to let me know that all went well. She should hopefully be coming home later today. Since surgery has a 95% cure rate for fibrosarcoma, I fully expect that we are in the clear for now. Thank you so much for your thoughtful words and hopeful prayers. It really does make all the difference in the world.

Don’t forget to enter into our Recipe Giveaway!

Compassionate Cooks Recipe Giveaway!

I’ve mentioned Compassionate Cooks several times on this blog. 

Image via Wikipedia

Compassionate Cooks is an organization founded by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Their mission is to empower people to make informed food choices, and to debunk myths about vegetarianism and animal rights. I listen to Colleen’s podcasts regularly, and I love love love her cookbooks The Joy of Vegan Baking and The Vegan Table.

You might say I’m a huge fan! I really admire the work she has done. Her website is chock full of information, as are her podcasts. And whether you are vegetarian, vegan, or omnivore I’m sure you would find many recipes to love in her books and on her website. The Compassionate Cooks’ website also offers recipes in packets of five based on certain themes such as “Thanksgiving,”"Afternoon Tea,” and “High Flavor, Low Calorie,” to name a few.

So….I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to give away a set of Compassionate Cooks’ recipes called “Hearty Italian!”

From the website: These filling dishes will satisfy anyone who thinks eating vegan means eating like a rabbit! These delicious recipes are perfect comfort food. Each recipe includes serving suggestions and variations of the recipe, as well as explanations of ingredients that might be unfamiliar.

And…these are all NEW recipes that will be in Colleen’s third cookbook!

To enter, please leave a comment here on your current favorite vegetarian recipe. I know, it’s so hard to choose just one! Be sure to either provide the recipe if it’s your own (and you want to share!) or let us know where to find it.

Get an additional entry each if you:

1. Tweet the contest on Twitter and make sure you mention @doubledogyoga.
2. Post the contest on your blog if you have one – let me know that you’ve done so by emailing me at julia AT doubledogyoga DOT com.

The giveaway closes at noon on Friday September 11. After Friday at noonthe winner will be randomly chosen by me and announced here.

Good luck!

9-A-Day Fruits and Vegetables Challenge Check In

So….how’s it going?

Image by tiffanywashko via Flickr

How have you been meeting your 9-a-day?

Me…I didn’t do so great yesterday. The reason being, I skipped lunch!
That RARELY happens but that’s how circumstances unfolded yesterday.

So here’s the tally:

• 1 banana in my morning smoothie
• 1 serving spinach in the smoothie
• 1 apple snack
• 2 servings Tomato Salad while I was waiting for the pizza to cook
• 1 serving Tomato Salad on my pizza

6 total. I think if I had had a proper lunch I could have made it to 9.

So today is another day. It’s 9-9-09 after all so of course I should go for 9 fruits and veggies!

How about you?