I did it!

Yesterday at yoga training, I took my final yoga instructor exam, and I passed!!!! This means that after learning the operations part of working at the studio (Sunstone), I can start teaching. So, I should definitely be teaching within the next month. I am so excited!

The really cool thing about passing the test was that I didn't plan to take it yesterday. I was actually expecting to take it in a couple of weeks. But, at training yesterday, when our teacher asked me if I'd like to "test out" with a couple of the other girls in my group, I impulsively said "yes!", and then I thought, "What the heck did I just do!?" I didn't think I was ready. In fact, I had planned on clearing the evenings for the next couple of weeks to study. But, when I got into the room to take the test, I didn't let my nerves take over (and boy did they try!), and I actually did really well! I was more prepared than I thought. One of my good friends from yoga was testing with me (she was pretending to be my student), and I think that helped ease my nerves a lot. Thanks Des!!!

Anyway, I'm so relieved to have the test over with. I'm can't wait to start teaching. I only have 2 weekends left of training, and then I'm DONE! I'll have my weekends back with Pat and boys. We are ALL very excited about that ;-) I'm so grateful for all the love and support Pat has given me during the past 6 months of training. It was a big sacrifice for him to give up his weekends for 6 months to watch the boys while I went to training (7:30AM - 7:00PM Sat and Sun), and he did not complain EVEN ONCE! Now is he not a great guy or what?!

Love,
Amy

Nacho (Un)cheese

Over the years, I've tried making many different vegan (dairy-free) nacho cheese/queso recipes, but I never found one that I really liked. A few months ago, I finally found a recipe that had potential. After making some changes to it, I settled on combo of ingredients that create a really good knock-off cheese dip. Now, it doesn't taste exactly like the Velveeta queso, but it's got a cheesy flavor with the same consistency and appearance of regular queso. It's a hit in our house. Give it a try!

Nacho (Un)cheese

1 cup water
1 cup raw cashews (preferably soaked for at least 6 hours, but not necessary)
1 4oz jar pimentos, drained
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 ½ tsp salt, or to taste
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until completely smooth. Add more water, if need be, to thin out the sauce. Heat if desired.

Optional: For a true queso knock-off, add one can of Rotel (drained) to mixture and heat to desired temp. If you don't have Rotel, salsa will work. I add jalapenos sometimes.

Serve with tortilla chips, tortillas, and/or veggies…or whatever sounds good to you .

Enjoy!!!

Day at the Rodeo

My dad took Ethan to the Fort Worth Rodeo on Tuesday. They made a day of it (3pm - 10pm) and had a blast. This is a picture of them before they left. So cute...

Chocomole

Ok, so a couple of weeks ago I read an interview of Jason Mraz in Vegetarian Times, and he mentioned this chocolate pudding that he makes out of avocados. Apparently, it's one of his favorite things to eat on the road when he's touring. It sounded really interesting. So, I put it on my list of recipes to try. Well since then, I have seen other chocolate pudding recipes made from avocados. Coincidence? I took this as a sign that I need to make this pudding!!! So, I decided to try the recipe today. I actually didn't follow one specific recipe...it's impossible for me to follow recipes...so here's what I did: Took two avocados and 1 cup of cocoa and put them in the food processor. Then, I added about a tbs of coconut oil (to make it silky), chocolate almond milk (unsweetened), maple syrup, and agave nectar. With the milk and maple syrup/agave nectar, I just added them little by little while the food processor was on until I got the desired consistency and sweetness.

The end result was a really yummy chocolately pudding. You honestly could not tell it was made out of avocados! The texture ended up being a little bit firmer than regular pudding, but it still looked, felt, and tasted like a dark chocolate pudding. Here are a few pics. The white on top of the pudding is shredded coconut.




In the future, I think I'll add LESS cocoa...maybe use only 1/2 a cup for two avocados and add more if need be. It was just a little too rich for my liking. I'd also use more almond milk to make it less firm. The reason I used maple syrup and agave nectar was because I didn't want to use all my agave nectar. You could probably use either by themselves.

Clearly, Vance liked it....

Give it a try! Here is the Jason Mraz recipe, if you want more specific instructions: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/690

Love,
Amy