Lemon Brown Sugar Scrub

Oh no! Running low on my weekly skin magic treat!

It's getting hot out there and time to show a little summer skin!
Thanks to The Lantern Skin Studio for this incredible recipe for pliant, soft skin that looks like the sun smooched all over before taking even one step outside to greet rays. Seriously, the glow affect alone is the reason to try this at least once. Your skin will eat it up and thank you.
This awesome scrub can also be used as a shaving precursor, but I use it once a week for its great exfoliating abilities. It's like a superhero in a jar- a super heroine without a cap (well, at least I tie a pretty purple bow around it for good measure!). Sugar is the sweet smelling gentle scrubber, olive oil is the luminous moisturizer, and lemon is the natural toner. Three great ingredients make for one beautiful union.
Also check out my latest thrift store outfit- a shoulder kind of day! Heehee! I love LOVE thrift stores. Best place to find bargains and unique one of a kind clothes. Very imperative as a vegan to read labels (I'm 100% cotton, polyester, satin, nylon, etc.) and remain cruelty free in all walks of life. :)

Lemon Brown Sugar Scrub Ingredients

2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix all ingredients and keep inside a tight jar.
Keep in a cool place.

When using, take an ample amount & smooth all over body.

Skin truly seems to start glowing & moisturizing thanks to olive oil!

Massage with a smooth scrubber for FIVE minutes. Thoroughly rinse clean in the shower & use regular soap/body wash afterwards. Towel your smooth skin dry.

As for the rest of routine (though skin is soft and cocoa butter silky), I massage coconut oil and Shea Butter Balm into towel dried skin.

Of course the moment called for shoulder showing off! Yay! A $5 Bisou Bisou dress from my fave thrift shop and a big smile for upcoming sun kisses to make radiant glow even more complete!

I'm leg shy. But the wind can breeze through these $7 floral lace Forever 21 tights easily and these Madden Girl heels (from Clash Consignment for $9) are to die for.

Vegan Guilty Pleasure Lover's Pizza: Veggie Palooza With Avocado Cashew Cream & Lemon Pepper Crust

It's like an edible abstract painting. A Kandinsky of some sort disguised as pizza palooza.

Ideas seem to come out of nowhere when forgetting traditional ingredients. A certain someone knew she would be making pizza this weekend and somehow forgot to buy Italian Seasonings at the last grocery store run. Speaking of which they charged me almost $4 for cherries when I didn't buy any cherries! Those brutes! Why do I always look at my receipts three days later....?
Well, I had cumin, coriander, turmeric, and all those other great spices, but that curved orange capped glorious Mrs. Dash looked at me straight in the face. I never thought to use her in pizza, let alone a crust, and figured what can go wrong!
It tasted fantastic- that citrus flavor is definitely a gold medal winner! Such a surprisingly albeit unique yum!
Piled high with leftover avocado cashew cream and Mount Veggie (heehee!), this is easily one of the most delicious vegan pizzas ever had the pleasure of making. No need for extra non-dairy cheeses for this keeper- the cream more than stands up to double duty as sauce and melted goodness.
So maybe it isn't always bad running out of Italian Seasonings every once in a while. It's become a recipe crutch that needs lesser leaning on. This time around, I also cut my usual homemade dough in half; favoring a thinner crust. Now officially brainstorming on what to make with it...

Veggie Palooza With Avocado Cashew Cream & Lemon Pepper Crust Ingredients and Preparation

Look at that baby rise! Mmmhmmm.

Lemon Pepper Dough

1 cup warm water
2 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoon lemon pepper (used Mrs. Dash)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cup flour
3 tablespoon olive oil

Mix water, sugar, and yeast. Set aside for ten minutes.
Add lemon pepper, garlic, salt, and black pepper.
Gradual add flour one cup at a time.
While kneading massage in olive oil.
Place dough into an oiled bowl and cover for an hour.
Cut it in half.
Roll out one portion, but cover and refrigerate the other.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Pizza ingredients

1/2 cup Avocado Cashew Cream
2 cup spinach
1/2 cup steamed broccoli
1/2 cup mushroom slices
4 small bell peppers, sliced
red onion slices
1 additional teaspoon lemon pepper
dash of salt

Stretch dough onto oiled or parchment papered pizza pan.

Layer on the avocado cashew cream. (Where on earth did those stripes come from???!)

Layer on the veggies. Sprinkle lemon pepper & salt.

Bake for 18-25 minutes. Yes, I know. The oven needs cleaning. Ha!

Ready to eat & colorful as can be!

Slices of heaven.

Vegan Picnics and Frugal Fashion

Lovely Saturday for a picnic.

I hope that everyone is taking the time out to appreciate this pleasant July weather. Don't sit indoors and be a watching television couch potato when the free great outdoors contains the most amazing happenings impossible for a remote control to well... control.
It has been straight cloudy, raining, thundering, and lightning here since the tail end of June. Once the sun decided to bless today with radiant beauty, I couldn't stay inside reading books and stroking kitty fur a moment longer. A picnic was definitely in order. A little peanut butter and jam sandwich with fruit and fashionable thrift store finds amongst a soft, chilled breeze, summer warmth, and the sparkling magic that always awaits any visitor to nature's picturesque pond.
The day couldn't have been any better. So wonderful...

Preparing a "never a dull moment" sandwich featuring Peanut Butter & Company's Dark Chocolate Dreams and raspberry preserves plus fresh raspberries. Side dish is mixed fruit of organic strawberries & grapes.

The awesome vintage rubber duck cloth was from the Village Discount Outlet for only $1 and too adorable to pass up! The basket is from Michaels and they always have huge 50% or more basket sales, especially in the summer! This was $5!

One must always be fashionable for a picnic! Sheer Forever 21 blouse from the Goodwill for $1.49 and cat print vintage style below knee length dress for abut $30 from an eBay shop. Purple ribbon is from Michaels.

Turquoise peacock tights for $7 from Target's clearance rack & American Eagle black flats for $7 from Clash Consignment- totally comfy footwear for the 2 1/2 mile journey.

The pond couldn't have looked any more magical.

Remember this bag? The $10 Strawberry Driving tote bag from Twist N' Shout Records in Denver? An adorable match to the cat print dress right?

Writing, snacking, and playing with my foam RTA bus.

Sandwich time!

A quiet leaf randomly fell and requested to be taken home. I obliged.

Shadow mischief on the tree.

White duck spotted waddling by!

Ah.... that summer pond life. Nothing could be sweeter than this. 

Vegan Raw Walnut Taco Salad With Avocado Cashew Cream

The most amazing salad ever!

Yesterday's International Raw Vegan Day also included more than blended smoothies. For dinner came about an enticing, quite fulfilling meal that combines fresh, crunchy colorful veggies, rich, fibrous black beans, and "beefy" walnut meat surrounded in a "cheesy" smooth avocado cashew cream sauce that is finger licking incredible.
Who needs to cook when you can easily prepare a savory dish as yummy and simple as this?

Vegan Raw Walnut Taco Salad Ingredients and Preparation

2 cup spinach
2 cup black beans, rinsed
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
4 miniature bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon garlic

Walnut Meat

1 1/2 cup raw walnuts
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1 1/2 tablespoon Liquid Braggs
pinch of paprika

Slightly grind walnuts and blend with remaining ingredients.

Avocado Cashew Cream

1 cup cashews, soaked (use some of the water)
1 avocado
3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Combine all ingredients into a blender until reaching desired consistency.

Toss veggies and black beans together.

Add walnut meat & toss again.

Stir in avocado cashew cream and serve.

Happy International Raw Vegan Day Pumpkin and Spinach Pie Smoothie

Thick, creamy, & amazing that it must be eaten with a spoon.

Happy International Raw Vegan Day!
I'm challenging myself to eat and drink all things uncooked and unprocessed today; including having cashews on soaked mode for Raw Walnut Taco Salad for dinner (very excited!) and fresh fruit for snacking.
For breakfast is this yummy green smoothie. Sure it looks a bit slimy and gross, but it has spinach, pumpkin, oats, and frozen bananas- great ingredients right! Easy to make and a terrific start to the day- makes your belly fill full for quite a long while!

Vegan Pumpkin and Spinach Pie Smoothie

1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup water
2 frozen bananas
4 dates, soaked
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves

Just blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Drink up!

Vegan Pumpkin Chickpea Patties

Crisp, flavorful patties fill bellies and plates with yummy goodness.

I went grocery shopping yesterday and kept saying to myself "don't forget the bread." I walked past the bread aisle every few seconds; making sure that I remembered that no loaf graced my kitchen counter. Since I use a reusable tote, I have to get bread last. Otherwise I get unwanted smushiness.
Well, needless to say, I forgot the bread, but recalled wanting to make some great patties for this beautiful, rain threatening Meatless Monday. 
Today's patty, or veggie burger that is, combines chickpeas and pumpkin with quinoa that makes it all compact and wonderful. Curry powder gives such a delicious flavor and paprika spices things up just a little bit. But it's the flour (you know the main ingredient in bread!) that makes it delicately crunchy perfection.
I should have actually attempted to bake fresh bread, but opted for a simple salad. I figured who needs croutons when you can make these irresistible patties?

Vegan Pumpkin Chickpea Patties Ingredients and Preparation

1 cup quinoa, cooked
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoon flour

Combine all ingredients together. You can choose to puree this, but I preferred the large chickpeas presence.
Heat a skillet with oil.
Make four rounded patties and gently place one in the skillet.

Fry each side for about 5-7 minutes or until a nice brown sear happens. Repeat with remaining three.

Enjoy inside a bun or with spinach & a side of fruit.

Raw Banana, Avocado, Strawberry, Blueberry & Cherry Juice Blend

There's nothing happier than a blender filled with good treats!

Why hello there July!
For weeks now, I've been incorporating fresh, raw recipes into my delicious animal free lifestyle (not a diet!); most importantly creating raw blends to drink up each morning. As much as I immensely enjoy downing summer smoothies and milkshakes; making raw juice blends without aide of additional sugars and dairy free milks has proven to be quite beneficial. Drinking a lot of water does have my skin looking radiant as well as eating plant based nutrition and using homemade products made from beautiful Mother Nature, but these juices add that certain enhanced glow that I just can't stop smiling about.
This first shared raw juice features ripened, almost blackened bananas (usually my drinks foundation for "sugar"), tangy strawberries, dark sweet cherries (also another "sugar" factor), blueberries, and my fave yummy ingredient that I will someday marry- avocado.
Others will add more vegetables like carrots, kale, spinach, and beets and taste so much better than the heavily concentrated V8! So drink up raw and feel greatly energized!

Raw Banana, Avocado, Strawberry, Blueberry & Cherry Juice

2 ripened bananas
1/3 cup blueberries
10 strawberries
10 pitted cherries
1 avocado
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Just whip all ingredients together in a blender.

It blends into such a pretty pink color of bliss.

Drink me.