Whole Food Plant-Based Recipe #1: Tofu Spinach Scramble

Idea #1 if you are starting a plant-based lifestyle:

Tofu Spinach Scramble

In a nonstick pan on medium/high heat, sauté onions, bell peppers, purple cabbage (cut in small pieces), add sliced mushrooms. Sauté further until onions are translucent. Crumble Extra firm drained tofu into mixture and cook further until tofu is thoroughly heated.  Add onion powder, garlic powder,  salt, pepper, paprika, and a dash of cayenne pepper.

 Finally, add a handful of fresh spinach. Cook just enough for the spinach to wilt. Done! The cooking portion shouldn’t take longer than fifteen or twenty minutes if your nonstick pan is preheated. No oil is necessary but it can be used. I don’t.

All veggies and spices are optional. Use what you like to eat. I don’t measure anything. Add as much of each ingredient as you like. I make an entire pan and eat it all. You won’t get fat off of veggies! Season to your taste.

This is how I cook. Not always tofu, sometimes O’Brien potatoes. Sometimes add rice or add the mixture to pasta. I mix up the veggies and spices. Add black beans or lentils. Sometimes no potatoes or tofu just veggies! I just don’t cook with oil that much and if I do it is usually just a nonstick spray.

More recipes to come.

My Top 5 Things I Wouldn't Want To Be Without

I recently watched a video or two on YouTube with the subject heading of Five Things I couldn't Live Without. I'm not into designer bags or trendy fashion accessories but there are somethings in my life that I would never want to be without. Here they are!

1. A Great Friend and Family Support System I love my family and friends and without them I would be nothing. No we don't always get along and sometimes we even hurt each other but we know someone always has our back.
2. An Automobile Yeah, this is something we take for granted at times but when we don't have one, we feel trapped and isolated. Mine is a 98 Dodge Caravan. It is a rust bucket and is about to turnover 200,000 miles but it still starts every morning.
3. A Roof Over My Head and Food In Our Bellies Another of the things we take for granted, but there are too many people without these luxuries. During this time of year, I speak of Winter, I have a warm place to lay my head and shelter for my children. We have food. Yes' I complain about the rent and the price of food, but it is truly a small price to pay.
4. My Babies Okay, I'm getting sappy, I know. My kids are my life and without them I would be lost. It is a lot of work raising kids but I, like many of you, wouldn't trade it for anything. They are 100% worth every effort.
5. My Faith In God Faith has gotten me through the most horrible times in my life. Without God in my life things would have fallen apart long ago. This is one thing that my mother gave me at a very young age and to this day I thank her. It is what made her a strong woman and He continues to do the same for me. 

This is an unconventional Top 5 but these things are what make my life easier and worth living. Take stock of your Top 5 Things That You Would Not Want To Be Without today!

Colors Of Autumn 1

These pictures require no words!

Thanks for looking! Follow my page and then go out and look at the colors! :)

Small Spaces For A Happy Home

One of the best ways I know to make my home a place I love to be in is to make small spaces that make me happy. A reading area to relax in, a comfortable pillow arrangement, a bookcase full of interesting things to read, or even a soft blanket to snuggle in while watching a movie can all help your home become an oasis of your own making. Do you have favorite books or magazines that can be displayed? Or maybe you have a piece of furniture, lamp, or art that makes you smile. Feature these things, instead of hiding them for safe keeping, so that your home becomes an extension of you and your hopes and dreams.

Statues and art can be inspiring but also they can expand the imagination you dream of places that you have never seen, but would like to, in times that you have never been.

My favorite lamp!  

My comfy couch complete with pillows and cuddly blanket.

Mother's mismatched tea set that makes me think of good times with her.

Fresh flowers and pictures of family can brighten your day!

Pictures of family and friends cause good memories to flood my mind when I pass by them. Inherited gifts give me great joy when I use them knowing that loved ones have also used and enjoyed them.

Simple sentiments are placed around the home to remind me to enjoy life and everything it has to offer.

Small spaces that make life more enjoyable add up to a home that is more enjoyable. You never know what a difference these things can make until you give them a place of prominence in your home. Just think, these are just a few simple things that can be done to make your home more of a part of you, a reflection of your life past, present, and future.

My Slideshow of Fall Decor

Single Mom Dating at 45!

After dating off and on and some relationship fails, I made the choice to just stop. Having a young son and dating at 45 years old is a whole lot different than dating at 30. The priorities are different. The range of life experience is different. Not wanting to expose my son to a revolving door of men coming into and out of my life, not dating was a whole lot easier of a decision. Alas, it is a lonely life. This is not to say that I didn't go out at all with a man occasionally, but I never really set my heart into actually finding someone. I figured if it was meant to be that I was with someone that he would show up eventually. Fortunately, he did show up and I am now the happiest I have been in way too many years.

Dating requires a person to put themselves on display in hopes that the other person likes what they see and and what they feel when they are around you. As a single mom, when I go out I have to consider so many variables, not just for the sake of the date, but for my safety and the safety of my children and home. Unfortunately, I found that there are lots of guys that wanted nothing more than to hop into bed for a one nighter. Definitely not my scene. Though I admit, the friends with benefits thing was an option but only with someone I knew and trusted. That, however, is a cold way to go because it still leaves you alone at the end of the night, unable to hold someone or express your hopes, dreams, and love to another. Your holidays, vacations, and whatnot will still be alone. It isn't a lifestyle solution for me.

 I was content with being single at least for the duration of the time that my son would live at home. Ten more years of being alone seemed like a small sacrifice. That and it spared me the possibility of being hurt yet another time. But then I wondered if I was doing him an injustice by not letting him see me happy and with someone, other than him, that wanted to hold me and be there for me. And I wondered if I was doing my daughters a disservice by teaching them not to deal with a situation or try things even though it may not have the desired outcome. I don't want to teach them to hide in a bubble because they are afraid of the possibility of getting hurt. So when the opportunity arose, I took the chance. After five years though, it was scary.

 Thanks to a good friend (Thanks Tracey!) who hooked me up with a friend of hers from work, there is someone in my life who is respectful, loving, compassionate, funny, honest, and patient. I don't know how the future will go but it looks very promising and I'm happy. 

 Yes, it is scary and yes, it requires taking a chance. But I am sure glad I did. Now my children can see me happy and having a loving, caring, and respectful relationship! And I have someone to share my life with when the nest is empty.

Turkey Vegetable Soup In The Crock-Pot!

 

      I absolutely love veggies! The Crock-Pot is also my favorite way to cook. Nothing better than throwing some ingredients into it, letting the smell fill your home, and having a nice hot meal at the end of a long day.  On the menu today is a Turkey Vegetable Soup. Keep in mind that all of the ingredients in this recipe can be switched up for either another meat or another vegetable. I switch it up often and very rarely make it the same way twice. This is a variation. Give it a shot!

Turkey Vegetable Soup

     1 lb of Ground Turkey

     1 1/2 cup of pre-sliced Onions and Bell Peppers

     1/2 package of Frozen Green Beans

     1/2 package of Frozen Cut Carrots

     2 cubes of minced Frozen Oregano

     2 cubes of minced Frozen Cilantro 

     16 ounce can of Stewed Tomatoes

     1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Salt

     1/2 teaspoon of Mrs Dash

     3/4 cup of Water

     Salt and Pepper to taste

     Turn the Crock-Pot on high. Put in thawed and lightly cooked Ground Turkey , Onions and Peppers, Oregano cubes, and Cilantro cubes. Let cook for three hours. At this point your home smells incredibly good. Now, here comes the veggies! Add Green Beans, Carrots, Tomatoes, Garlic Salt, and Mrs Dash (Find Mrs Dash at Amazon). Cook for an hour. Add 3/4 cup of water. Let cook for two hours. Salt and Pepper to taste. Enjoy!

     Pretty simple, huh?!?