Today I am Lucky

Actually, I'm lucky everyday.

As I drove home from my college in Long Beach, I realized I was lucky. Well, maybe not lucky but rather so much as happy. You see luck is something you don't have control over, but you do have control over happiness.
This morning I woke up upset. Why? Haha I have no idea. So I changed that. I took a walk around my neighbohood at 7 a.m. to look for Pokémon with my sister. That's right you heard me, I said Pokémon! Yesterday Nintendo released the much anticipated Pokémon Go app where you can catch Pokémon in REAL LIFE...well almost. But you see that is luck because of how lucky am I to live in the age where this is possible. Simply incredible.
So my day went on, I had vegan chow mein for breakfast because I wanted to. I got ready for school and put on some comfortable clothing (how lucky am I to be able to wear what I want?) and drove to school. It seemed like a good day so far but I didn't acknowledge it. I just went on with my life taking everything for granted...
Once I got out of class my dad bought me Subway! Oh then I was truely happy! :D But it wasn't until the way back home while I observed the tree tops along the freeway, that I relized I am so thankful for everything life has given me.
I am lucky to live where I do, to have the opportunitis that I do, to be who I want to be. However, luck does not guarantee happiness, you alone decide upon that joy.
Have a nice day peeps :)

Miso Soup

You make MISO happy! :D

Hahaha food puns are my favorite :)
Today I decided to make miso soup! I've only ever had miso soup once and I loved it! Actually it was with Tony the first time I tried it. Therefore, that pun it completely directed towards him <3

My day started off with a crazy nightmare-- too crazy to tell but if anyone is actually interested let  me know  haha. I've got all sorts of crazy dreams. After I texted my boyfriend the dream I decided to do some mid morning yoga (it was 10:30 a.m.). After wards I showered and got dressed.
Yeah there's honestly not much excitement in the teen-no-college-YET life... *sigh*.

I bought Miso Paste yesterday 

Why I almost forgot I did! O:

I've been dying to try Hot For Food's Vegan Ramen for months and I finally had the chance!

Or so I thought... 

Ahhhh why was I not prepared with ramen!?!? 

All I had was a tiny amount of udon and a whole pack of chowmein noodles and NO Kale. 

Then the calming voice in my head reminded me that Everything would be okay and I could definitely make do with what I had. 

That's  how this delicious miso soup came to be

--Haha who am I kidding Miso soup is the easiest thing to make! So what if I can't make the same dish as HFF :) My soup came out so delicious and it reminded me of Tony. <3

That soup was the highlight of my day :)

Vegan Soft Pretzels with Cheddar cream cheese dip!

I had a craving for pretzels

But there's not one place near me that sells Vegan pretzels *sigh*. 

Lucky me however, I have no problem with making my own as I love to cook and bake!:) I looked up a recipe and found this one : Vegan Soft Pretzels . Thus my pretzel journey began.

The first few times I had attempted pretzels back in he day I failed miserably. My guess as to why they came out terribly was likely due to using old yeast. I remember I tried to give my dough an hour of rising time and yet my pretzels came out dry and dense. It was a disaster and I was afraid of failing again! But I carried on with this new recipe because the comments raved that this was the best pretzel recipe out there! 

 This was after the boiling water/baking soda soak.

And after 15 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit:

 Ta da!!!! :D

I even made a vegan cheese and cream cheese dip!!! (recipe below) They came out nice and golden on the outside with a soft fluffy inside. They were delicious! <3 

Vegan cheddar cheese and cream cheese dip

Makes 1 cup of dip

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 c Daiya Cheddar cheese shreds
• 1/2 c Soy Milk
• pinch of salt 
• pinch of ground black pepper 
• pinch of mustard powder 
• 1/4 t paprika 
• 1/2 t garlic powder 
• pinch of cayenne powder (more if you want a good kick)
• 1 t Vegan Worcester sauce (be careful some contain fish)
• 2 T of Daiya cream cheese 

Melt the cheese with the soy milk over low medium heat constantly stirring(for about 3-4 minutes). Once the cheese is completely melted lower the heat to low and add in all the spices and stir for another minute. Turn off the heat and stir in cream cheese until it dissolves in the cheese dip. Serve warm and enjoy :) 

earth balance vegan cheddar flavor mac & cheese Review

Vegan Mac and Cheese in a box.

Am I dreaming?!! 

Nope, it's real! And where did I find it? On Walmart.com surprisingly! :D

It's no secret that earth balance came out with this gem a while back actually. But it was just too expensive in my opinion, so I set out to find the cheapest price online which led me to walmart.com . For only about $2 I was astonished! BANG added to cart!! Shipping made the entire price out to be $7. Yeah not so much of a steal now... But either way I bought it and it turned out to be the last in stock!!!!! OH YEEAAA! *Kool-Aid man voice* B-)

 A week later it was finally here. Behold:

"What's this?" -Navi.

I wanted to wait to try it with my boyfriend next time he came to town, but kept plum forgetting to buy the earth balance butter to go with the mac and cheese. On top of that, Tony didn't have any vegan milk when I finally did remember to bring it over. "Just use regular milk", suggested Tony. 

"No babe. Just no. What's the point of it being vegan mac and cheese then?!" I laughed and said.

I waited two months. 

Today, January 6th, 2016 I finally tried the mac and cheese. 

The instructions were simple just like the Kraft Mac and cheese. But the end result would be better! Because it was 100% plant-based and cruelty free!! *shed's tears of joy*

I boiled the pasta, drained it, added 2 Tablespoons of earth balance butter, and 4 Tablespoons of soy milk. I mixed and poured myself a steaming hot bowl...

It was not what I expected. 

The creaminess was there but the flavor just wasn't :( 

So by itself I would rate it 2/5 stars. 

Perhaps I got my hopes up too high. However, I was able to add my own flavors which in my opinion saved the dish. A dash of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder went in and boy did that make all the difference! Instantly this dish became 5/5 stars! :D But bottom line, would I buy this again?

No I don't think so. Unless the price went down to a solid $2. Until then I'll stick to the definite delicious mac and cheese recipe by The Vegan Zombie. 

What was your opinion of the earth balance cheddar flavor mac and cheese? Share your opinions down below please :)

An Intro to the Blog and me!

So here's my first post, YAY! 

I've decided to have a few different categories on my blog: A personal "real talk" side, a food and recipe side, and a fashion/ artsy side. I might even add more categories who knows, but for now 3 should be enough to handle. So look out for some cool ideas coming soon! (Shout out to Diana and Tony who are my only audience lol). But first I must warn you, writing is not my forte, but I hope to improve as time goes on. This blog should help.

Now lets get to business! Who is Sara?? 

Well if my intro wasn't enough to catch your attention then allow me to elaborate. Hi, I'm Sara :) 

I'm 18 years old, I'm a vegan, I like to paint, read, do yoga, learn, travel, and I love my three cats and one dog. C: 

(from left to right: Link, Umbreon, Navi, Gandalf)

I am not currently in school yet because I start in February so Yay one more month of FREEDOM!!!>:D And in case you are wondering, I am studying to become a Naturopathic Physician aka a Holistic Doctor. More on that later. :) As of November 22nd I am 18 and whoo I guess it's pretty great! Two days after my birthday I got a navel piercing and a day after that got my curfew changed from 9:00 p.m to 9:30 p.m WOW!:D Yupp 30 minute difference! Thanks Dad.

So in my spare time whilst I am not hanging out with Tony my lovely boyfriend... [pictured here enjoying a Vegan Santa Fe Chicken Burger at Veggie Grill, YUM ;) ]

 ...I am usually cooking up delicious vegan food.
Yup that's vegan!!!

 Among my favorite vegan cooks are Chris and Jon from The Vegan Zombie [theveganzombie.com] and Isa Chandra Moskowitz from [theppk.com]. As well as Lauren and John from [hotforfoodblog.com]. It was because of these four people that at one point I wanted my own vegan restaurant/bakery but decided to change course after realizing the high risk and investment that comes with starting a business. Well at least I realized this before it was too late haha. 

So that's me! Welcome to my blog :)!