Ranch, Dry Onion Soup, Mix and Taco Seasoning

Saw this on FB: Make your own Ranch, Dry Onion Soup Mix, and Taco Seasoning. I'm wondering if I can find a way to make Vegan ranch...anyone know?

Taco Seasoning:
1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon sea salt
Put ingredients into a jar and shake.

Dry Onion Soup Mix:
2/3 cup dried, minced onion
3 teaspoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a jar, then give the jar a good shake. I’d recommend shaking the jar to mix the ingredients well before each use.
Use 4 tablespoons in a recipe in place of 1 packet of onion soup mix. Store this in a dry, cool place.

Ranch:
5 tablespoons dried minced onions
7 teaspoons parsley flakes
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Mix together and store in an air tight container.
For dressing: Mix 2 tablespoons dry mix with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup buttermilk or sour cream.
For dip: Mix 2 tablespoons dry mix with 2 cups sour cream.
Mix up a few hours before serving, so the flavors all blend.

Eating a Plant-Based Lifestyle-Diet

Am I vegetarian or vegan? Well...I'm neither I'm actually doing a plant-based lifestyle diet that is basically like being vegan but for different reasons. So it means you cut out anything animal based (meat, eggs, dairy) and focus on plant based (things that grow like fruits and veggies). You also avoid processed foods.

The reason why is because it is much more healthy, prevents and can even reverse cancer and heart disease and other diseases, you'll have more energy (I was never a morning person, but now I can actually wake up and get going and am pretty happy!), and you quality of life is just so much better...you feel like you are really living!

Watch the documentary on Netflix, "Forks over Knives" and you'll get the gist of the science behind it. Watching that is kind of life changing!

We are not strict on the diet, so if we feel like having a BBQ once in a while we will, if we go to someone else's home we are happy to eat what they prepare, we just focus on plant based whenever we can and avoid putting things in our home that don't fit that lifestyle except on special occasions.

I find that we eat less food (because the energy content is so high in fresh that your body discovers after a couple of weeks that it doesn't need as much food) so that kind of balances out the costs of fresh priced foods by eating less.

The challenges I've faced so far are that you have to meal plan more because certain aspects require preparation, but there are fast options...like there are always salads, fruit, wraps, canned beans and veggies, most tofu aspects cook in 10-30 minutes, and I like to make two or three meals worth when I cook and eat them later that week or freeze them for when I need something fast or don't want to cook.

The funny thing is...I've never been a very good cook, but I'm finding I'm much better at cooking plant-based recipes and am more daring to try creating new dishes! My hummus wraps are a huge hit! And some of the meals I used to make work just fine if I am willing to replace the cheese and sour cream with avocado and cheese substitutes

We really like snacking on fruits and nuts so snack time is easy too! I really like soy nuts and puffed corn (it's like corn nuts) especially.

Happy Living!

P.S. Find some plant-based recipes HERE! :)

Trying to Fly

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
-Henry Ford

Easier said than done. Sometime I feel like the wind is blowing fiercely into my face and the only way to keep going is to crawl little by little...but at least I'm still going forward.

Today the musical phrase, "How do I live without you?" Keeps playing through my head as I try to keep from succumbing to the current storms in my life without having my spouse, and best friend, by my side. How do I live without him? Honestly having him gone for more than a week or two seems much harder to me than all the other storms I'm facing. Crawling even seems too daunting a task, so I'm doing my best just to stand firm and not be blown back.

Once upon a time I was really strong. I survived on my own just fine and all I could see was my future ahead of me. My hardest moments were only as weak as a crawl and most of the time I was driven to push forward. Why do I feel so weak now? Why are the simplest tasks such a challenge? Where is my drive to fly?

I want to be strong and normally I don't mind a challenge if it means I will become stronger or improve in some way, but right now all I want is my best friend and to ignore the rest of my life.

UPDATE: I guess I just needed to get that out of my system because soon after I wrote this EVERYTHING started getting better! I'm so glad I feel like I'm not even just "crawling" but "walking" again! If I keep at this pace I think soon I will even be "running" and that is close to "flying"! I'm so glad to be focus on the positive aspects of life again and to be generally happier. I do still miss my husband so much, but I know I will get through this and will be a stronger and better woman for him when he returns :)

Plant-based recipes

Recently our family has been switching to a plant based diet, which is basically like being vegan but for different reasons. I went into more detail about what that is in another post HERE, but here is a list of some plant based/vegan recipes we like or want to try :)

Follow the recipes that have pictures on my Pinterest board: Vegan Recipes
http://pinterest.com/dancingsilverw/vegan-recipes/

RECIPES WE'VE TRIED:

Avocado Reuben=Very good :) ...It might sound like it would be disgusting, but you'll love it once you try it
http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/recipes/avocado-reuben.aspx

Cheese sauce=OK. It helps fill that craving, but is very different and definitely something not to eat plain (tastes decently good on some wraps, tomato basil pizza, and with rice in Mexican dishes).

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=296050


Tofu Meatballs=So good!
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=595302
OVER
Vegetarian Spaghetti (add some spices of choice...lots will give it a nice spicy flavor)=So good!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/als-quick-vegetarian-spaghetti/
paired with garlic bread and salad = AMAZING!

There are many more and as I find time/remember them I will add them. A lot of what we have made has been based off of or inspired by some of my pins on my pinterest board.

THINGS TO TRY:
Sweet Potato Casserole http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/potatoes/r/sweetpotatocas.htm 

Two-Week Vegan Meal Plan HERE