Hydro Massage

I love massages, but let's be honest.  Who has the time or money to spend on such a regular basis?!  Well... plenty of people I suppose (thankfully so since several of my friends are massage therapists).  But not this girl.  Especially not these days.

So when I discovered that my gym had added the HydroMassage bed... I was ecstatic.  And when I saw an 82 year old woman get on it, push a few buttons to start it up and proceed to tell me it was her favorite part of coming to the gym... I knew I could do it.

Maybe I got ahead of myself just a bit.  But I did figure it out (after 10 minutes).  The last 2 minutes were heaven.  :)  Now that I've got it figured it out... you bet I'll be using it on a regular basis.  Even my MawMaw loved it.  In fact, it helped convince her to upgrade her membership to the $20/month package so she had full use of the massage bed. ~ Christina

Upcycling Wine Bottles

As I become more and more green, I find myself constantly looking for ways to recycle or upcycle items all around me. Between my grandmother and I, and several local cousins, we have lots of wine bottles tossed each month. So I started playing around with ways to recycle them. I've got several different ideas... But being an artist, turning them into works I art seemed like the first option to try.

I took three different types of bottles and after thoroughly cleaning them I got to work painting. Here's the end result. I made it so all three could be used together as a home decoration. The larger bottle has a black square painted in the center in chalkboard paint, so you can write various messages on it. I like the way these came out. I'm gonna play around with a few more options on some others I have set aside. This might be a fun family "craft" project!

- Christina

Football Fun

To date, I haven't found a surface I couldn't paint... But it's always fun when I get a new challenge!

A month or so ago I was contacted by a potential customer, asking if I could paint a couple footballs for her sisters wedding. Hmmmm.. Sure, why not?! So I got to researching just HOW I could pull it off. End result... See below... Came out pretty cute. I learned a few new things during this project, in addition to expending my portfolio. :). - Christina

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

I haven't had a blueberry muffin in years. Definitely not since becoming vegan. And with summer peaking around the corner, I wanted to try and make some. I snagged some fresh blueberries from the local grocer and got to work experimenting with a recipe (or two). What's better than warm fresh blueberry muffins?!

These came out quite delish. I used smelt flour since I already had it... And I begrudgingly used sugar since all recipes called for it and I was worries I was making too many substitutions as it was. I'll keep playing with the recipe to see if I can make it even better... By overall I'm quite thrilled with these. Recipe to be posted on the Crunchy Cajun page this weekend. - Christina

80 Years Young

Since moving to Louisiana, I've been trying to get my MawMaw to accompany me to the gym. Not that she NEEDS to go (though I truly believe we all NEED to work out and stay physical), but I thought that having a more disciplined option would help her get back Ito being more physical. This past week she started talked about gyms... And I reminded her of my offer to have her as my guest and how her how to maneuver the facility. "Tomorrow," she said. Yeah... I've heard that for several months now...

Much to my delight, when asked this morning, she agreed to go! Yay! So off we went... To check out the newest location of Planet Fitness here in Lafayette. After a tour of them gym, we for to business on the cardio machines. The goal was to complete 5 minutes on each machine total so that she could get used to it and become familiar with how they worked. At 80 years young, turning some of them off and on can be a little intimidating.

We successfully completed 18 minutes total... Not bad. The elliptical was a little more strenuous on her knees than we wanted so that one was quickly nixed.

Next up was the "30 Minute Express" room where she learned how the area worked, a few step exercises to keep the heart rate up, and finally how to properly use the weight machines. She did fantastic!

With summer around the corner, she asked about ab workouts so we squeezed those in at the end. I was thoroughly impressed at how well she did. Her sense of humor was delightful as she tried each and every exercise, even those that make the experiences gym goer feel a little silly (like the hip abductor machine).

I watched her smiling and laughing and my heart burst into a million happy pieces. I felt so fortunate to be there with a her, having that experience. I may not have had a good workout, but I did have a GREAT time. :)

- Christina

Coconut Oil Biscuits (Vegan)

Let me preface this by saying I haven't had a biscuit in close to ten years.  Since being diagnosed with a dairy allergy, I've learned that most breakfast foods are no-no's. And since I typically juice first thing in the morning (or do smoothies), it's not something I think about or miss. 

But one of the vegan blogs that I follow, sent out a new recipe this past week for coconut oil biscuits... and it got me thinking.  Hmmmm... that sounds sorta yummy.  And as the days have gone on, I failed to delete the email. So this morning, while in downward dog pose, I started thinking about how good a warm biscuit would taste on this chilly morning.  The received recipe called for a few ingredients I had no interest in putting in my body (like vegan butter or shortening), so I decided to play around with a combination of three different recipes.  Yum.  That's all I have to say.

Coconut oil is no longer on the forbidden foods list, now that we understand how healthy extra virgin coconut oil really is. The richness and faint coconut flavor that the oil adds is wonderful, as well as being antibacterial and antiviral.  

These really are delish! Even my MawMaw (who cringes when she hears the word "vegan") ate one with me. :) It's the little things, isn't it?!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil cold
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 11 tablespoons soymilk to make 3/4 cup

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, soda and salt.
• Measure cold coconut oil and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry tool or two knives.
• In a measuring cup, put the tablespoon of vinegar and add soymilk to make 3/4 cup.
• Stir the wet mixture quickly into the dry, just until it holds together. Don’t overmix or knead. Scrape out onto a counter and pat into a rectangle 1-inch thick. Cut the rectangle into 6 squares (or cut round circles - my preference!). Place them on the pan.
• Bake for 13–15 minutes, until the edges look golden. Cool on racks, serve warm.

Chickpeas with Arugula-Lemon Pesto (V)

I LOVE when new recipes work out! That doesn't always happen for me. :)

Last night when reading through my recent issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter (awesome subscription I highly recommend), I came across a few plant strong recipes super high in fiber. Score! While I'm not normally one to try magazine recipes, this looked delish. With my dairy allergy, I've never even had pesto before (I know.... Can you believe it?!). So I decided this would go on this weeks menu.

Yum. That's all I can say. Yum. Even non-vegs will love it.

Recipe to be posted on the Crunchy Cajun Facebook page soon. Worth making! Promise. - Christina

Spinach Basil Brown Rice Risotto (V)

I've never made risotto before... and honestly wasn't too sure what it was.  But this recipe looked delish and I had all the ingredients so I gave it a try.  YUM!  It actually had a slight seafood taste to it... from the seasonings and peppers I think.  It was so good.  I'll definitely create the one again.  Recipe posted to my Crunchy Cajun Facebook page. :) ~ Christina

Old Tyme Grocery

In 1982, Glenn Murphree purchased Olde Tyme Grocery.  When he first bought the store, it had aisles of can goods, produce, and five small carts.  Although it wasn’t fancy, there were three things Glenn liked: it had character, a deli case, and a low price tag.  On Glenn’s birthday, they agreed on a price and around 3 o’clock, Glenn ran to the bank for change and was open by 5 o’clock!

Growing up in New Orleans, Glenn loved a good poboy.  He did not know anything about going into business for himself, but he did know that he wanted to make the best poboys possible.  In the beginning, Glenn was the only employee and made approximately 10-15 poboys per day.  

When my dad showed up in town (surprise!) this past week, the first thing he wanted was a good poboy.  A good SHRIMP poboy.  His older sister, my Aunt Bettye, swore by this place so we decided to all meet up and grab a late lunch there.  I'd never been... and since I don't eat seafood any longer it didn't really matter to me.  I figured they wouldn't have much for me to eat anyway.  Overall it was a cute little dive.  Hugely popular with the college kids, that much was obvious.  Dad said the poboy was ok... not "the best" he's ever had but not bad.  They did agree to make me a veggie poboy (which basically means lettuce, tomato and pickles on french bread with a little mustard).  So that was nice.  It was a gorgeous day out, so the outdoor seating was delightful.  Plus we had a wonderful visit with my aunt and cousin.  Can't be that! ~ Christina

The Pit Grill (Lake Charles, La.)

Searching for veg-friendly restaurants isn't always easy, but when I find one that goes out of their way to accommodate me.... I like to get them props.  The Pit Grill isn't fancy.  I probably would NEVER had even gone there to begin with, except their website showed some potential options and my cousin swore by it.  So off we went.  I wasn't impressed.  The place was ok at best in the cleanliness department.  Each menu item ordered was "not in stock" that day.  This adorable employee-only sign was in customer view (fail).  BUT... the staff went OUT of their way to make me a veggie wrap and to ensure it was dairy free (the line cook even came out to meet with me and ensure he understood what he could and couldn't use).  And the server was adorable and super friendly.  So I must give them props.  Service really does outweigh all that other stuff. :) ~ Christina

Not the fanciest... but hey! I'm impressed that this place threw together whatever veggies they had for this wrap.  It was tasty too. :)