OYMST Day #3: Hey Everybody, Have You Seen My Balls?

Don't be fooled. This isn't a cookie, or candy. It's a ball of energy boosting goodness. Don't get me wrong, it's NOTHING like any of the sweets I'd like to be nomming right about now. It does sate the ol' sweet tooth though. I was looking at the complicated ingredients of a Larabar and thought to myself: I've done this before, and I can do it again. Chocolate Covered Katie has about a hundred versions of these things and they're all the talk of the vegan blogosphere. Don't be so intimidated, It's basically the following:

1 c. dates, soaked overnight
1T cocoa powder
1/4 c. cashews
1/4 c. quick oats

After you've worn your patience pants and let your dates soak overnight, you might want to check the bathtub to see if they're all still alive. I kid, I kid. I'm talking about the fruit date, not the person/people you brought home with you last night. I think I just opened up a can of corny jokes.

Seriously, drain your dates, squeezing them slightly, and reserve 1/4 of the date water. (((giggle)))This makes an excellent sweetener for coffee and tea! (((more giggles))) Put the dates, whatever water is left, cashews, cocoa, and oats in a food processor and blend it. It will be sticky and messy. Make some balls out of that concoction and store in them in the fridge.

Tell me about a challenge you went through and how it transformed your life. Did you read all the Harry Potter books overnight? Did you re-enact Rock N' Roll High School with your friends? Did you eat all your veggies? Run a marathon? Tell me about it, stud.

OYMST Day #2: Sometimes You Feel Butternut, Sometimes You Don't

Butternut Coconut Rice from Appetite for Reduction paired with some steamed broccoli and West Soy Brand Asian Teriyaki Tofu made for a really nice lunch today. Question: why call it "Asian Teriyaki?" Perhaps Westoy's Product Development also subs as the Department of Redundancy Department. I used the pink rice I received in my swag bag from Vida Vegan Con. I honestly never knew rice could be so beautiful!

I'm finding making veggies that are sweet when roasted helps with the ol' sweet tooth. I was more upset with the tofu than anything else. C'mon tofu factory, if you're gonna make something that is labeled Teriyaki, please for the love of all things soy, make it taste like that. All Westsoy seems to taste the same to me. I shouldn't sound so ungrateful, it is just one of the many things that I get from my local food bank. In fact, The tofu, broccoli, and butternut squash came from The Hub.

Thanks for all of the encouraging comments! I'm seriously thinking about that pumpkin dip. Onward and upward Operation Yank My Sweet Tooth!

OYMT: Day 1 Guess what?

Let me start out by saying this is a really lame entry. Not much funny going on, but I'm not going to worry about it. I just don't have a big ol' goofy story of how interesting it is to focus my day on other things besides eating cookies and candy.

I can't believe it. When I don't start my day with sweets I'm not ravenously hungry by 11am. I'm a little less crabby and more focused. I know you all are thinking DUH, but I guess I just needed to take this adventure to see for myself. I'm really bad about using the following sentence as an excuse: "Well, that doesn't apply to me because I'm not diabetic. So why worry?"

Well, I'm sick of feeling like crap in the mornings, and I'm sicker of being moody. I know there's a connection to the amount of sweets I eat and my moods. I know it.

I had hummus and bread for breakfast, a lentil loaf sandwich and an orange for lunch, and the macaroni and cheese from Vegan on the Cheap for dinner, along with some baked beans, and another orange. Again, I really don't like keeping any sort of a food journal so that part of this challenge is going to be tough for me.

So how about that mac & cheese? Not bad. It's a tofu and nutritional yeast based cheese sauce and I added some extra lemon juice because it tasted a little bland. It does the job, but there are other recipes I like better. It was good--don't get me wrong, but it was missing some zip. Most of Robin's recipes are super easy to throw together and this one was no exception.

I'm hungry right now, and I'm wondering what I should fix myself for a snack. What do you raw/ low/no sugar people do? This is typically cookies & milk time right about now. I'm thinking some hot cocoa, but my Abuelita cubes are sugar, fat, and chocolate-so maybe some oatmeal? A handful of nuts? I've never done something like this without everything blowing up in my face.

Remember, there are two ways to support this project, you can send a direct PayPal payment to jennifermolica@gmail.com or you can read the blog every day, like fifty times. I don't think that would be such a great way to spend the day, but I'd be flattered by the dedication.