I so baked stuff!

Here are the photos!

The Green Tea Cupcakes for Mother's Day are from 'Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World' I Can't wait to try out more recipes!!! These were amazingly delicious! And so cute!

This is our anniversary cake. It is a Mexican chocolate cake from a recipe I found on about.com and altered a bit, with vegan 'buttercream' frosting from the wonderful cupcake book. I made the 'D' and hearts out of marzipan, and sugared some flowers from my garden (that was a blast!). I was originally going to make a rather large and fancy tiered cake with Fondant. But I decided to keep it small and simple. Drew had the idea of still doing little tiers by putting half the batter in one shaped pan and half in another. I really need to find different sized pans. But I think the cake turned out really cute and man was it ever delicious!!!

I made chocolate covered strawberries as well, but they were gobbled up before I could get a picture of them. Drew said I'll just have to make more.

I have decided I really enjoy baking and giving people yummi little goodies. It's so much fun, and really, who doesn't love a gift that's sweet and tasty?

Loving the Change

Very soon I'll have some pictures posted from some of the things I have baked for Mother's Day and my 1yr Anniversary. I'm actually quite proud of myself - They turned out wonderfully delicious, and better yet, I finally followed through on my ideas!

It seems going vegan has done so much more for me than improve my health and help me lose weight (down 2 sizes now by the way!)
It was helped me actually DO things! I am excited again. Excited about cooking, baking, making things, living life!

I think there really is something to the whole philosophical viewpoint of "you are what you eat". I was eating death and pain and horror...and felt awful - Now I am eating health and life and I feel so wonderful!

I love being vegan! Absolutely love it! I think Drew is actually starting to love it too! =)

Yummi Dandelion Discoveries

Part of the fun of any new lifestyle is discovering new and yummi things.
I have recently discovered vegetarian chili that is actually GOOD, vegan fluffer-nutters that are better than the real thing (and WAY healthier too!), a vegan parfait that tastes like one of my favorite desserts in Germany, the most awesome tea ever brewed, and super duper friendly people. Thank you Dandelion Communitea Cafe!!!

Happy tummi - happy heart =)

Friendship

Some friends make changes more difficult...some friends don't care at all...but some friends not only respect the changes you make, they are excited about them!
I love those friends.
Some were people I expected to support my decisions, some came as a total surprise...
I am so thankful for all of them.

A cheesey mishap

I had some cheese today...and then almost hurled.
And no it wasn't a slip up or a moment of weakness...I just thought I'd cheer up my two favorite people, who I was sure were starting to hate me. And I even briefly considered pulling the cheese off of my sandwich...but then I thought "oh what the hell...it's just a little cheese...and I so love cheese..." Bad idea.

So...unless it's super gourmet imported unpasteurized so expensive i can almost hear my bank account go into the red cheese...I'm not eating it...ever! And even then it'll be very rarely, and in very very very small amounts.

My poor heart. I do love cheese oh so very much. But then, I also love not puking.

Vegan girl at a non-vegan gathering

I attended my first social gathering as a vegan yesterday. It's awfully hard to resist the smell of cookies and meat when you still have cravings from time to time. But I did.
I was able to have some of the salad my mom brought and some fruit...that was about it, and I was starving. Next time I need to make sure to bring something I can eat. or make sure there will be something there that doesn't have meat or cheese in it...and if it's another Joy/Jen gathering...maybe Jen will make those cupcakes she mentioned that I am drooling just thinking about...mmmmm....

So I learned something new - when going to a gathering it is definitely important to ask your friends A. if they would not mind providing something you can eat (if it's not a potluck) and/or B. if you can bring something of your own (or two....or three somethings).

Not that I go to very many parties...then again...there have been many pregnancies, or baby tryings all around me, so attending a baby shower is no doubt in my near future...which leads me to the question...what exactly do you do when attending a wedding? Just not eat? Bring snacks and eat them in secret when no one is looking? Things to ponder...

Oh god! And no cake!!! Unless they let ME make the cake...mmmm....yummi cake and money for me... Yes that's right, I can decorate cakes!

Good-bye fat pants!

So...all other reasons to be vegan aside...Oh my god! The weight loss is fantastic. In less than 1 month I have lost 12lbs. And I feel wonderful! My skin looks amazing, the part of my hair that isn't completely destroyed from perming then straightening is all shiny and soft...being vegan rocks!
I still have a long way to go in the weight loss department, but I think in about a week I can officially say farewell to the largest sized pants I have ever owned. Right now I can pull them off without even unbuttoning. Good bye fat pants!!! And good riddance!!!