Banana Bonanza!

 

Bananas are awesome!  Not only are they high in potassium and vitamin A, but they also have an abundance of natural sugars for energy.  As a pre-exercise food, bananas are a great choice.  Monkeys know what they are doing when they chow down on these yellow fruits.  Here are some tasty vegetarian recipes easily adapted for vegans as well.

Banana Bread (adapted from Food Network)

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter or margarine
• 2 large eggs or egg replacer
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon coconut, rice, almond, soy, or dairy milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I like a little extra)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease 9x5x3 loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.  Cream together sugar and butter, then add eggs.  In a separate bowl, mash bananas with milk and cinnamon.  Add to sugar mixture and blend on medium speed just until blended.  Add dry ingredients and blend or stir until flour disappears.  Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour.  Insert a toothpick; if it does not come out clean, bake an extra 5 - 10 minutes.  Cool for about 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool before slicing.  

Extra notes: Adding walnuts would be a great idea for this recipe, since they are rich in omega-3.  I warm my slices in the microwave for about 20 seconds and spread with butter or honey.  Even though the bread is dense and somewhat cake-like, I bet it would make delicious french toast as well.

Mix 'n Match Smoothies

(2 servings)

1 cup of coconut milk

1 ripe banana

1 cup ice cream, soy cream, or frozen yogurt

A few tablespoons peanut butter

Handful of dark chocolate chips

5 or 10 strawberries, depending on size

Squirt of honey

These smoothies can really be made to suit any palate.  Just add whatever ingredients sound good at the time, but make sure to always have a liquid and thickener such as the banana or ice cream.  Depending on how thick or thin you want the smoothie, change the amount of liquid.  Simply add the chosen ingredients to the blender, whirl away, and drink your delicious creation, hopefully including a banana :D

Grilled Bananas

Prep the grill.  Once hot, place a few bananas on the grate until the skin starts to split.  Pull back the peel and enjoy caramelized banana nirvana.  The bananas can also be slice open before grilling, cut lengthwise and slathered with a mixture of honey and cinnamon on the exposed flesh.  Grill until the skin splits away from the flesh and serve as is or with cold ice cream.

Coupon Cat's Veggie Deals of the Week 5/22 - 5/28

Target 

Morningstar Products $3.00 each

Use 1 $1/2 Morningstar Burgers or Patties Coupon (Target Coupon) and

2 $1/1 Morningstar Products (Morningstar Coupon)

Total Cost: $1.50 each when you buy 2 boxes of burgers or patties

Hy-Vee (through 5/24)

Dole All Natural Premium Classic Salads $.99

Barilla Pasta $.99

Exotic Mangoes 2/$1

Stemilt Fuji Apples $.99/lb

Green Bell Peppers $.59 each

Green Giant Russet Potatoes $1.88/lb

Simply Juice $3.29

Green Giant Canned Vegetables $.88

Hy-Vee Dried Fruit or Trail Mix 2/$3

Sunkist Organic Lemons 2/$1

Cal-Organic Farms Organic Yellow Carrots $1.69/16 oz. bag

Jumbo Zeal Navel Oranges $.99/lb

Sweet Artisan Red Onions $.59/lb

Rice or Soy Dream Drinks 32 oz. 2/$5

(Yes, I know it's a lot of produce, but these are good deals for fresh fruits and vegetables which rarely have coupons attached to them)

While it would be difficult to explain all of the details of couponing in one go, I can at least describe the basics for any newbie.  I coupon at Target, Hy-Vee, Walgreens, and CVS.  Whatever store you choose, make sure you print and understand their coupon policy.  Depending on the store, you can either use only one coupon per item or multiple coupons as long as they are different types like a manufacturer's coupon or Target coupon.  Invest in the Sunday paper, at least one every Sunday until you really get the hand of everything.  The idea is to match up the sale prices of different stores to the coupons in the paper or online to get the best deals.  Great online websites for coupons include Target, Smartsource, RedPlum, and Coupons.com.  But remember, you can only print two of the same coupon per computer.  

I see couponing as a way to save money for other things I want in life.  Even if you only save $5 a week, small amounts really add up to big savings.  Some of my savings go toward buying items that I normally don't have coupons, such as produce.  I will gladly clip 10 coupons to buy cereal and pay less than $1 a box if that means I can afford to buy apples, oranges, strawberries, and raspberries in a single trip (this Vegetarian Cat loves her fresh fruits and veggies after all).  On most of my trips, especially to Walgreens, I save over 50%.

We are all just bananas, waiting to be peeled.  I just hope I make it to that classy glass dish aside scoops of chocolate ice cream, adorned with whipped cream, nuts, and a few cherries.  Not on the grimy alley asphalt, causing some dolt to slip and hit his bald head.  Just saying.

~The Vegetarian Cat 

Back For Summer: Thoughts and Cake Pops

College always has a way of zapping time, creating an inescapable vortex of homework, cramming, and exams.  But I'm finally finished [at least for now] until I decide my next move on this crazy pathway.  I picture mine to be littered with sand and seashells, perhaps a hermit crab crossing between my feet while cats frolic all around me.  I mean, I am the Vegetarian Cat after all, cats are everywhere in my perfect world.

 

I've formed and forgotten so many ideas, only to find myself at the keyboard, desperate to purge my mind of aching anxiety and pretty ponderings.  In my last post, I vented heavily about animal rights, a rant I plan to continue, but this time attacking with facts and figures, not raging emotion.  Despite my feelings being a great virtue to the cause, intense anger mostly leads to people thinking animal rights activists are lunatics without reason.  That's just not true.  Although my feelings and thoughts stem from my own sense of morality, I can also look at society and point out the flaws in the system, how animal cruelty simply adds to a decrease in overall happiness.  But this is for another blog entry, after I have enough time to completely research each of my arguments.  For now, I will continue to post yummy vegetarian recipes and cruelty-free products that I adore to hopefully amp up your recipe box and hygiene cabinet.

In the past few months, I have become addicted to couponing, donning another nickname: Coupon Cat.  As a [previous] college student, money tended to be tight, and my spending habits could have been a bit better.  But now, coupon binder safely tucked under my arm whenever I go to the store, I save a lot of money, averaging about 50% worth of savings every time.  And that's sticking to my vegetarian lifestyle!  An awesome place to start is at KCL, they have taught me so much about couponing.  Each week, I will share with you the best vegetarian deals around the country for all of the top stores, including Target [my favorite], Hy-Vee, Walgreens, and CVS.

 

Recently, I have been going through a lot of stress and anxiety.  A few weeks ago, I lost someone very close to me, an experience that continues to put tears in my eyes and a veil over my heart.  Dealing with loss is never easy, and the only comfort I find rests in the words of my mother, a permanent guiding light in my life.  The regret I have felt almost outweighed the sadness, wishing I would have been there more, asking myself why I didn't call more often or visit.  The constant rehash is deafening, a torture chamber of crying fits and urges to turn back time.  And despite now understanding more about life, about seizing the day and doing what you love every moment, I can't fill the empty space inside, not with anything.

Although minimal in comparison, my stress continued with moving out of my lovely little college apartment after 4 1/2 years.  For me, too much stress equates to a build-up of anxiety, which leads to tummy troubles and in this case, acid reflux.  I've researched a few ways of relieving stress, the number one result being exercise.  That means putting more miles on my bicycle [I am an ecogeek after all].  Taking proper vitamins, veggie ones of course, helps too, along with eating a proper diet full of greens and drinking about half of one's body weight in water per day.  Blogging also helps me relieve stress, because the words I write often express how I am feeling, definitely an outlet for negative and positive vibes alike.

Now, on to the recipe I cooked up last night and today.  I love sweets, perhaps a bit too much, and Starbucks Birthday Cake Pops are creamy, cute, and cookie doughy [yes, I know they are cakes].  So, I hunted around the web for a cake pop recipe and stumbled upon strawberry cake pops coated in chocolate.  I simply baked a strawberry cake mix according to the package, let it cool, mixed in one container of cream cheese frosting until it formed a dough, and chilled overnight.  The next morning, I rolled the dough in balls, chilled for about an hour in the refrigerator, and coated them in melted milk and white chocolate.  Sprinkles where then applied liberally before another trip to the fridge.  Most boxed cake mixes are already vegan, so using an egg substitute will keep the treats free of animal-derived ingredients.

The product I want to spotlight today is the vision enhancement vitamin by Gaia Herbs.  I tend to have higher pressure in my eyes, and this vitamin contains ingredients to benefit eye health, such as lutein and bilberry.  The capsule is derived from vegetable cellulose with vegetable glycerin inside.  I take one capsule per day along with my other veggie vitamins.

 

=^. .^= Critter Watch (* o *)

Polydactyl Cats!  My city's humane society randomly has a large number of polydactyl [extra-toed] cats up for adoption.  They are super adorable and just as lovable as any other feline.  Humane societies mostly run off of donations and thus depend on community support to feed, clean, and shelter these animals.  With my couponing, I have been able to get free pet supplies, including dog and cat food.  If you can, please donate to your local animal shelters; they really need and appreciate the help.

 

Time has a way of running from my fingertips, but I will try to keep this blog updated from now on.  Stay cruelty-free, animals need all the love they can get!

~The Vegetarian Cat

["When destiny calls you, you must be strong.  I may not be with you, but you've got to hold on.  You'll be here in my heart, always."  Always, Grandpa.]